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Check out this helpful advice from expert planner: Sharon Holm, of Tulsa Weddings and Design   Tips to help you find your wedding inspiration   Jot down the names of your favorite designers and don’t just limit it to fashion – think outside the box and even include home interior. design ideas. Pulling different types inspiration from several sources is a great way to figure out what you like and dislike. Then, start a Pinterest board titled “personal style inspiration” and you will soon find a continuous vibe within your “pins”. “Something that makes you feel confident and beautiful is never out of style”. This does not apply to clothing only. Designers love to experiment with different patterns textures and accessories throughout the design process to dream up interesting centerpieces and statement decor. A good chat with your friends and family will always get you pointed in the right direction. When planning a wedding every bride is looking for successful feedback and insight to the types of activities, food and drink that will be enjoyed most at their wedding. So, start discussing! Grab a glass of wine and put your feet up while paging through a bridal magazine often does the trick for dreamers block. Again, don’t forget to browse through other decorating magazines to see what trends captures your eye. Food blogs and recipe books are also great resources to enhance every day inspiration. You are sure to find a wide selection of menu ideas, table settings, and more all accompanied with the perfect ambience and creativity you were looking for.  Take a trip back in time and browse through an antique store. Personally, there’s just something inside those old shelves that triggers ideas for new and improved creations.  Love to travel? You can often find great inspiration from places you have been or places you wish to go. Personalize your day with culture and your guests will be talking non stop to all their friends about your wedding day.  Last but not least, go window-shopping. If you want to find the hottest trends and must-have items they’re always displayed at big department stores. See something you love snap a photo, it’s a great way to determine what truly catches your eye.  All photos courtesy of web- no photo credit available

Emily Corral and Daniel Mason were married May 12th on a perfect Friday afternoon. Rain was forecasted for the whole day but, in true Oklahoma fashion, the sun was out by the end of their portraits and shining strong by the end of their ceremony at their church, St. Benedicts in Broken Arrow. Their Catholic faith is very important to both Emily and Daniel and was evident in even the smallest details of their full mass ceremony. Emily is also a wedding photographer and so having been to a variety of weddings in Tulsa she already had a vision in mind of the things she wanted most for her wedding day. Almost all her vendors were Tulsa Wedding Society members. In fact, Emily and Daniel were originally planning on getting married on a Saturday in May but when one of their preferred vendors, Andrea Murphy Photography, was already booked they checked with their church and moved their date. So often in this industry, we see clients wait a little too long to book their favorite and preferred vendors so for this reason we highly recommend booking all your “must-have” vendors first thing when planning your wedding so that they aren’t booked with other clients. Emily and Daniel, we all loved being part of your wedding and are so grateful for being entrusted with all the intrinsic and personal details of your beautiful and special day. May you have many years of love and happiness ahead of you. Featured Vendors Andrea Murphy Photography Lionsroad Tulsa Bridal Beauty Divine Designs by Mandy

Hannah and Stephen were married May 13th at Christ the King Parish and had the reception at The Bond in downtown Tulsa. This gorgeous day was coordinated by the talented Whitney from Erica Weddings with a classic look and a soft lavendar pallette. She utilized four TWS professionals as well! Featured Vendors Wedding Coordination | Erica Weddings Floral Design | Divine Designs by Mandy Photography | Picturesque Photos by Amanda DJ | Lionsroad

Did you know that you could earn $100 from Tulsa Wedding Society by simply booking our trusted members for your wedding? This program is designed to reward brides who see the value in working with TWS vendors. Since it’s inception, we have honored 89 passports. That’s $8,900 that we have given back to our brides. How do you qualify? • A bride must have a contract with a minimum of 4 TWS vendors. • The contracts must meet each members booking minimum. • The bride must submit an email inquiry to info@tulsaweddingsociety.com to redeem her passport no later than 2 weeks before the wedding. That’s it! When all the bookings are confirmed, the bride receives an email requesting her address. Then a check for $100 is mailed directly to her the following Monday after the provided wedding date (this process can take up to 7 days). We love being able to give back to brides and, besides, who couldn’t use an extra Benjamin on their honeymoon?! Here are a few links to weddings that have used at least four TWS members! Jessica and Blaine Mia and Calvin Dawnette and Mike Samantha and Adam

We love it when members of our TWS family get to work together with the same couple. Check out what Redeemed Productions has to say about the adorable Jessica and Blaine who used three of our members! “The wedding day was perfect! No joke, it was amazing. The bridesmaids all looked beautiful and were having a great time in the hotel room when we arrived. We were able to get some really cute photos of Jessica and all of her bridesmaids together before she got into her dress. While we are talking about that dress, WOW!! This dress from Kleinfeld Bridal was the perfect dress for Jessica. It was breathtaking when she put it on! Back to the story of the day…after she got into the dress, we were able to get the day moving along! The bridesmaids had gold dresses and they were beautiful! Some of our favorite photos were taken right outside The Mayo Hotel with Jessica and Blaine. This entire wedding party was so easy to photograph, and they made our jobs super easy! We honestly have too many things to say about this beautiful wedding and amazing couple. From the flowers that were so stunning from The French Bouquet Tulsa, to the white dance floor and the LOVE letters from LionsRoad, they truly did have a picture-perfect wedding day! We hope you enjoy these images as much as we enjoyed working with Jessica and Blaine! We can’t wait to share these!” Featured Vendors Videography | Redeemed Productions Floral Design | The French Bouquet DJ | Lionsroad

We’ve all seen them. The photos of wedding receptions outside on beautiful wood tables or under large full trees but to make sure everything goes as planned, Laura Talbot with Ms. Laura’s Cakes is here to give you a few things to keep in mind when cake is involved. Frosting is made with butter. It melts. Putting cakes outside exposes them to the elements: heat, wind, dirt in the wind, birds (birds poop), squirrels, bugs, ants, as well as cats and dogs that may be a part of the property or even part of the ceremony. However pets don’t know they aren’t supposed to eat the cake and may stick their snout up there and lick it. Lets not forget about the ground. I have never encountered a patch of level dirt and grass suitable for the needs of a cake table. Just putting a table outside and eyeballing its levity won’t cut it. You don’t want your cake to lean or fall do you? Neither do I. You will need to get wood and shims (shims are tapered wedges of work that you can get at any hardware store or local walmart or target) and use a level. Make that table straight. Also putting a piece of plywood on the ground for the table to be places on is a fantastic idea as often times the cake is heavy and the table legs can sink into the ground causing the table to become un-level again. The plywood stops the legs from sinking into the dirt. I’ve had many clients ask what frosting doesn’t melt outside. My guess is they ask this because they know frosting melts but they want to have a way to get around being able to stick their cake outside for hours without trouble. The answer? Have cake with no frosting (that means no yummy filling either) because all frosting and filling will melt. Talk to your baker and find out what their policy is for outdoor receptions. My policy is to watch the weather and if the temperature is going to be hot then I deliver the cake as close to ceremony time as possible with instructions that the bride and groom should do the cake cutting first thing after saying ‘I do’. (Yes, before the meal and the first dance. Butter in heat waits for no one, even brides and grooms.)

Mia and Calvin were married on a beautiful overcast day in March at the classy Dresser Mansion in Tulsa. It was a heart-felt day with so many happy tears and emotions. The black and gold, art deco theme was pulled off perfectly by Rene Punch at Mom and Me Events. Congrats, you two! Featured Vendors Dresser Mansion Mom and Me Events Picturesque Photos by Amanda Lionsroad

This week, Dave Richardson, President of Wavetones Inc. (including the bands Brava Quartette, Hook, The Wavetones, and Wild Honey) gives you five tips on choosing and working with a live band on your wedding day. Live bands can create an incredible atmosphere and wonderful entertainment for your guests. Check out his tips below! • Make sure you take time to meet with the band leader several weeks before your wedding day. This will give you a chance to go over the timeline for the reception and discuss your expectations for the band. Take time to go through the band’s playlist and discuss what you like and don’t like. Finally, let them know if there are some songs on their playlist that have an unpleasant memory and you would prefer it not to be played. • Even though you have hired a band for your reception, do not be afraid to use recordings of the songs you have selected for your First Dances. Sometimes it’s not just the song, but the original recording of the song that is romantic. No matter how talented your band is, there really is no way to replicate the magic of an old recording by Louis Armstrong or Etta James, or even a newer song by John Mayer or Rascal Flatts. • It’s always a good idea to make it clear that you do not want the band to drink alcohol at your reception. Allowing any employee the opportunity to drink alcohol while working almost guaranties that someone will drink more than they should. Your wedding reception is far too important too invite the possibility of bad behavior from the band into your special day….not to mention they have full access to the microphones. • Hire the band that plays the music you want at your reception and not just whatever band was available and then asking them to change. I remember playing a reception with The Wavetones where the bride and groom came up and asked us to only play Country music. At that moment I would have loved to have been able to meet their request, but we are not a Country band. Those are not songs we have learned, rehearsed, and memorized. They told me they knew we were not a Country band but assumed we could play a nights worth of Country songs if needed. Assuming is never a good idea. • Make sure to ask the band what their plan is for music during their breaks and make sure they have a plan for “non-stop music” even though they will need to take a couple breaks to go to the restroom and rest their voices. If they do not have a plan you are comfortable with then ask them to put together two iTunes playlists on their computer and set the preferences to “Crossfade Songs”. Then email them a list of 12 songs you would like to have played during their breaks (6 songs per break). NOTE: A band does not need more than two twenty-minute breaks during a four hour reception. Featured Vendors Wavetones Inc. Picturesque Photos by Amanda