5 Styling secrets to a Luxury Wedding Look on a Moderate Budget

Photo By: Still Life Studios, Linens By: Southwick Linens, Floral By: Flower Bar

1) Chose a venue that you LOVE

Yes, your venue will serve as the foundation for your wedding day. Choose a place that simply makes you feel good when you walk the property. Think about the entire experience, how you felt upon arrival, the grounds that you walked, the overall views, the service, and overall ambience. Often clients are “sticker shocked” by the price of their most desired venues, but guess what? If you choose a venue that you love, with lovely natural built-in features, you won’t have to spend a fortune transforming it.

2) Linens

People tend to choose linens toward the end of the planning/design process when they should actually be the second thing you do, once the venue is selected. Linens are the second major part of your foundation. Pick colors that work within the space and with your color-scheme. Upgrading to floor length linens (meaning the table legs are covered) always give your reception a clean, polished, luxury look.

3) Keep it Classic

Be cautious not to follow the current trends too heavily. Reason being, “trends” don’t often age very well. You don’t want to look back at your wedding one day and say “Wow, what was I thinking?” Now this doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate touches of fun trends, but when it comes to your overall design, “going classic” is always a safe way to build an overall beautiful and timeless look.

4) Repurpose big floral pieces

Pre-arrange with your florist and wedding planner to have your gorgeous large ceremony florals smoothly transported and reset into your reception during the cocktail hour. Yes, you can use the same floral arrangements and your guests will never know.

5) Lighting

Yes, up-lighting, bistro lights, and tons of candlelight can completely enhance any space. Include candlelight everywhere and in unexpected places to create a luxury experience. Up-lighting your reception walls can transform your event and really help to set the mood.



Until next time,
Jennifer Starr, J.Starr Stylized Weddings

What to Ask During Your Entree Tasting

Let’s talk Entrée Tastings....

Often when you have booked a venue or a catering company, a complimentary Entrée Tasting is included. This is your chance to come in and sample the cuisine options for your wedding day and make your culinary decisions. This can often be a confusing time, so let’s dig in:

Photo: Still Life Studios

FAQS and Understanding the Lingo

HORS D’OEUVRES
Q: How many hors d’oeuvres should we choose?
A: For a full cocktail hour, industry standard suggests five to six pieces per person.
Q: What is the difference between butler-passed hors d’oeuvres and a stationary display?
A: Butler-passed hors d’oeuvres are hand-passed and presented to your guests. Stationary displays are presented on a table that allows guests to help themselves.
Q: Can we offer both butler-passed hors d’oeuvres and stationary displays?
A: Absolutely! It is very common to offer both.

BAR
Q: What is a hosted bar package?
A: A hosted bar is when you pay a per person/per hour price for drinks.
Q: What is a hosted on consumption bar?
A: A hosted on consumption bar is the same as running a tab – as guests order drinks, they are then added to the total bill.
Q: What is a cash bar?
A: A cash bar is when your guests purchase their own drinks on a cash/credit card basis.
*Please note bar options can differ from property to property depending on the type of liquor license that they have.

Prior to attending your tasting, you’ll need to know a few things……

• What is your required Food and Beverage Minimum (your contract should included this figure)

• How many guests will be attending (best estimate)? Out of those guests, how many will be 2 and under? (Typically they are free) and how many are between the ages of (2 & 12) typically they qualify for kids pricing.

• Go through your list and determine how many of your guests will be drinking alcohol.

Additional Questions to Ask:

• Will there be a tip jar at the bar?
• Will your staff pour wine or champagne during dinner?
• What Vegetarian options do you offer?
• What do you offer for children’s meals?
• Do you charge a cake cutting fee? Will your team cut and serve our cake?

This portion of the planning process can be a bit overwhelming. Remember if you’ve hired a wedding planner, consider asking them to attend the Entrée Tasting with you. Otherwise try your best to really study the menu options ahead of time and don’t be shy to ask your Catering Manager or Chef many questions during the tasting.


With Style & Sincerity,
 Jennifer Starr
Owner of J.Starr Stylized Weddings

J.Starr Magazine Editorial Shoot at Wrigleyville West

This past February I had the opportunity to plan and style an editorial magazine shoot and cover for Arizona's Finest Wedding Sites Magazine.  The year prior I was so unbelievably, fortunate to style SIX covers for all Arizona Wedding Publications.  So this year, with my recent pregnancy and influx in amazing clients, I told myself I was only allowed to take a very small handful of specialty projects and this shoot was one of them. 

And one would think after doing six magazine shoot the previous year, I'd be a seasoned pro...but truth be told, this particular shoot was challenging one.  But it's good to be challenged right?  That what makes us better.  This was definitely one of those times for me.  The reason being, this was a BRAND new property and this was their FIRST magazine photo shoot.  I was really determined to deliver them a shoot that truly their style and vibe. 

The reason this was a struggle is because this beautiful venue is very modern with touches of historic baseball elements with it being located right next to the Chicago Cubs Training Spring Training Fields.  Mixing "modern" and "baseball" was the real tricky part.  It wasn't until I sat down with Patricia of Wild Child Floral Designs that the ideas for this shoot really began to start taking place. 

 I really appreciated Patricia.  Her mind operates similar to mine...always going and constantly changing and evolving ideas.  All and all I'm exceptionally proud of how this shoot turned out.  I think our goal to infuse "modern" and "historic baseball" really shined.  And of course this was all due to the amazing group of talented creative partners that worked with us on this shoot. 

As always thank you to Arizona's Finest Wedding Sites Magazine for this opportunity. Also, if you haven't had a chance to tour this new venue yet, I highly encourage it.  Christina Ayers the Wedding Specialist at this property is a delight to work with and (p.s. she's also an upcoming J.Starr Bride to Be!) 

Stay tuned for this cover to debut in the Spring! 

SHERATON MESA WRIGLEYVILLE PHOTOSHOOT PARTICIPANTS:

www.sheratonmesa.com

Photographed by
Still Life Studios • stilllifestudios.com 

Floral design
Wild Child Floral Design
wildchildfloraldesign.com

Cake
Piece of Cake Desserts
arizonaweddingcakes.com

Hair and Makeup
Linda Valenzuela
linda.valenz@gmail.com

Groom’s Attire
Mr. Formal • mrformalaz.com

Event design

J.Starr Stylized Weddings
jstarrweddings.com

Paper details
The Event Essentials
theeventessentials.com

Gown
Wedding Belles Bridal Boutique
weddingbellesaz.com

Tables and Chairs

Glamour & Woods
glamourandwoods.com

3 Small Items Most Couples Forget on their Wedding Day

Photo: Still Life Studios, Bouquet: Wild Child Floral Design

1. Card holder
Yes, something to “hold” your cards (which most likely will contain money). Consider a basket, a bird cage, a decorative box—basically anything that can serve as a holding device to keep all your valuable cards from floating all over your gift table. This doesn’t have to be a tacky white box, it can certainly be something stylish that blends nicely with the rest of your décor. It’s a good idea to assign a family member or best friend to look after this item.

2. Specialty pens
Consider what type of pens you would like your guests to use for signing your guest book (or guest book alternatives). Couples often spend time and money on beautiful keepsake materials but forget about the pens, guests often end up having to use a ball point pen from the resort’s front desk.

3. Remove all the wrapping and price tags
Remove all the wrapping/packaging and price tags ahead of time. This will save you, your wedding planner, or the catering staff tons of precious time on the day of your wedding. Consider these items and anything else you might have incorporated; photo frames, favor boxes, unity candle, champagne flutes, dress, jewelry, garters, etc. Have all of your personal items “show ready."



Until next time,
Jennifer Starr
J.Starr Stylized Weddings

How I Find Appreciation in the Daily Chaos

We now live in a time period of fast, instant, and digital.  For many reasons this is great, and other for reasons not so much.  A few years ago my belated sweet Granny said “I don’t like those digital camera things, I never get photos from you anymore.” Uggh, those words tug at my heart so much. 

It wasn’t until recently that I learned how to infuse my digital brain with my memory keeping heart. This is where “Project Life” comes into play. 

There’s a few different ways to use Project Life, but my favorite is by using the Project Life App. The app is super easy to use, very user friendly. 

Every week I spend some time going through my weekly photos and putting together a few layouts.  Then I journal about my recent thoughts, cute things my little ones say, and listing out our day to day happenings.  This app makes doing this super quick, like maybe only 30 minutes per week, it’s almost therapeutic for me in some ways.

This helps me to appreciate my life so much.  You see, there are so times when I go to bed each night feeling exhausted, frazzled, and a little defeated.  But when I take some time to reflect back on my day or the week…I feel so much better! It makes me realize how many wonderful moments that happened, even the crazy, stressful, wild moments become sweet when reflected on later. 

Then the best part is printing out the pages, slipping them into page protectors, and inserting them in an album for my family to enjoy.  I love this because it’s not a bound book, it’s an ongoing process.  You also have the options of inserting tangible memorabilia if you want to. (like concert stubs, kid’s drawings, love notes, etc.)

Then I display in our album in a place in our home (opened up) for our family to be able to flip through it easily as they pass by.  I love moments when I catch my girls glancing through it.  It’s really cool hearing them point out loved ones and reflecting back on fun things that we did. 

I simply love that we have a physical album of our memories.   Our sweet memories aren’t just sitting in files on our computer never being shared or appreciated.  I hope this is something I can keep up with for a long, long time.  I hope one day to have a big beautiful bookcase in our family room filled with albums of our special times. 

If memory keeping is special to you, I highly, highly recommend you check out Project Life, I’m quite sure you’ll love it. 

With Sincerity & Style, Jennifer Starr

J.Starr Stylized Weddings

3 Advantages to Doing a "First Look"

(Photo by Chard Photography)

Today let’s discuss one of the first questions your photographer is likely to ask you:
Do you want to do a First Look (sometimes called a First Meeting) or do you want to do a Traditional Timeline?

What does this mean?
A First Meeting = You see each other before the ceremony in your formal attire.
A Traditional Meeting = You wait and see each other at the ceremony.
What are my thoughts? Bottom line, you must do what feels right in your gut. Yes, there certainly are many advantages to doing a First Meeting but you must be comfortable with this idea.

Advantages Include:
1. Calming the Nerves
Every single wedding I’ve been involved with, always includes lots of nerves before the couple sees each other for the first time. The very moment they set eyes on each other and embrace, you can instantly see the nerves fall away, they relax their shoulders, loosen their smiles, and breath. It’s as if in that moment they remember what it’s really all about.  Often times seeing each other before the ceremony helps the couple to enjoy more of their day because they are relaxed.

2. More time with Family and Friends
Great news, once you’ve done your “First Meeting” you can then take your family and bridal party photos BEFORE the ceremony. This is a huge PLUS. Everyone has fresh hair, make up, attention spans and they’re still SOBER (hopefully).

3.The Golden Light is Spent Just on YOU!
With all of the family and bridal party photos done, this means the Photographer gets to spend a nice chunk of time with you two during the best lighting of the day! Just imagine how beautiful your wedding photos will be! Your family and bridal party will actually get to enjoy the cocktail hour while you get in some alone time together (along with your photographer). Having your VIPS be a part of the cocktail hour definitely creates a better overall energy with all of your guests. Your family will love being able to mingle with all of your guests and your bridal party will definitely appreciate being “off duty” during this time.

Happy Planning
Jennifer Starr
J.Starr Stylized Weddings

The Best Parenting Advice Ever Given to Me...

I have three little tiny teeny people.  Yes, I’m the proud mama of my twin 3 ½ year-old girls and my 3-month little boy and they rock my world.  Truth be told, there was a time not so long ago, that I ached to be a mama so bad I feared that it might not happen.  You see, my husband and I were married for 8 years before we started our family. 

Looking back now, I’m incredibly thankful for the years we had together alone before having kiddos.  During those eight years, my husband completed a lot of schooling, a lot.   Also during that time, we endured the sudden loss of my mother in law.  These factors kept postponing (and understandably so) our timing to start our family. 

Finally, my husband completed his program, and our hearts were slowing healing.  It wasn’t too long before we realized we were pregnant, with TWINS (yes, naturally)!  As soon as that happened the flood gates opened and I was bombarded with “the baby world.”  I received tons of mail, magazines, emails, unsolicited advice….it was truly information overload for this girl.  And if I’m being completely honest, there was a part of me that was really scared about losing “me”.  Don’t get me wrong, I wanted this more than anything and I was overjoyed that we were having twins…but at the same time, I was worried.

I was worried that being a mom would take over my identity. 

It wasn’t until one day I was talking to my OBGYN (I believe we were discussing breastfeeding at the time) and she looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Whatever makes YOU the happiest, will make YOUR children the happiest.”

I tell you what, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t repeat those words to myself.  Those words are applicable in nearly every aspect of parenting life.

Breastfeeding moms, corporate moms, stay at home moms, and freaks like me = Mamaprenuers. 

The truth is, being a parent is hard.  And the hardest part…is how critical we can be of ourselves when it comes to parenting.  Because raising children doesn’t stop, it’s constant and continuous.  And “mom guilt” is the WORST.

I should be home right now; my kids miss me.  We shouldn’t go on a stay- cation, we should use that money towards swim lessons, uggh the house should be cleaner and more organized for my family.  The thoughts go on and on. 

But at the end of the day…it goes back to the question “Was I a happy mom today?” Sure, not every day is always YES…but I think if most days can be YES…then I feel like I’m doing alright.  And the best part, this has definitely helped me immensely with “finding myself in being a mom.” I didn’t lose myself afterall.  Sure my responsibilities of being a mother require the largest part of my life, but I’m still able to be me and do the things I love to do.  Though, they may be limited, planned out way in advance, and require some budgeting tweaks… but all in all my little people continue to help and challenge me become a better person. 

So to my fellow mamas or soon to be mamas….ask yourself “what makes YOU happy” and continue to do it, it’s “okay.”  I’m sending you a virtual hug,  and I’m here if you need a sitter too…heck it’s already a circus around here J  

Honest Ways to Alleviate Stress in the Final Stages of Planning Your Wedding

(Photo By: Brooke Photography)

Hello Friends ~

Especially those friends in the middle of planning a wedding...

First of all, please allow me to give you a virtual hug and a pat on the back. I understand planning a wedding is hard, it’s time consuming, and it never ends. It really is like having a second job, especially if you haven’t hired a wedding planner. So let’s talk about ways to alleviate some of that stress in your final stages, shall we?

 1. You can skip the cake tasting
It is a fun part of the process, but if you don’t have time, skip it. Request a phone appointment, email over some design ideas that you have, and select your cake flavor without actually tasting them. Chances are they’ll still be delicious, if you’ve chosen a reputable company.

2. Surrender the Party Favors.
Honestly, most of them end up being left on the tables at the end of the night and get tossed out anyways.

 3. Allow the DJ to Select Your Music.
Inform the DJ of the genre of music you like and let he/she do the rest. They know the songs that get dance floors moving.

 4. Let go of the seating chart and paper products.
If you didn’t hire a professional to design these for you (and you were planning on creating these items yourself) let it go. Open seating will be just fine.

 5. Stop looking at Pinterest!
Remove that app off your phone until the wedding day is over. The colors you have chosen are perfect, your dress is perfect, your guest book is perfect. Seriously, please do not torture yourself by flooding your brain with every wedding idea in the world.

6. Ask for Help.
Again, if you didn’t already hire a wedding planner, you still have time. Many planners (myself included) offer a “Final Planning” service. This will save you loads of stress and worry and will be an investment that you will never forget. This is meant to be a fun time in your life, let a professional help you bring this beautiful day to life for you.

Until next week,
Jennifer Starr
J.Starr Stylized Weddings