Still here? Head over to Alyse Woodward Events blog and WIN!

Here are the details:

Today is not only my two year wedding anniversary, it is the unofficial one year anniversary of my decision to start blogging regularly. To celebrate - I will be giving away several $25 Target gift cards - because when was the last time you walked out of that store empty handed? :)

In May, A Perfect Engagement began the transition to Alyse Woodward Events and two months ago the blog moved to the new address: alysewoodwardblog.com. The new blog is customized, easier to navigate and is receiving more traffic than ever, but we lost some of our subscribers in the move. So we have created a giveaway in effort to get everyone back on board.

Here is how to enter:

1) Leave a comment with your name and your preferred method of subscription to Alyse Woodward Events.

2) Spread the word - convince a friend to subscribe to Alyse Woodward Events. When your friend leaves a comment with their method of subscription, have them leave your name as well. Each time your name is mentioned, you will be entered to win again.

For every 25 new subscribers, there will be a $25 Target gift card to giveaway. Comments will be accepted until August 25, winners will be announced on August 26.

All current subscribers and future subscribers qualify, but you must subscribe {via reader, email or blogger follower} to be entered to win.

What exactly does it mean to subscribe to the Alyse Woodward Events blog?

Glad you asked - we recently installed buttons on the right side of the blog that make it incredibly easily subscribe in a reader {yahoo, newsgator, aol, bloglines, netvibes, google, pageflakes, etc}. A reader will automatically update when a blog, like this one, publishes new content. By subscribing in a reader, there is no need to bookmark a web-page and constantly check for updates - your reader will do that for you.

Not interested in subscribing in a reader? That's OK! It is equally as simple to enter your email address and receive updates when new information is posted. You will never receive more than one email per day and will not receive an email if new information is not posted.


This is the first of many giveaways on the Alyse Woodward Events blog, so subscribe! Don't hesitate - you won't want to miss any of the upcoming goodies!

Still hanging around here?

Still here? But this blog has MOVED!

Please check out alysewoodwardblog.com!

Or for more information read THIS post.

Drumroll please!

As of today A Perfect Engagement Weddings and Events will be known as Alyse Woodward Events.

All new posts will appear on alysewoodwardblog.com, so please update your bookmarks, web links and readers. Wouldn't want you to miss any of the real weddings, vendor spotlights or helpful hints readers have grown accustomed to here!

Current Clients:
Your contract, payment plan and level of service will all remain the same.

Prospective Clients:
Please check out the new website + blog to view our portfolio and to learn more about the services offered by Alyse Woodward Events.

Vendors:
Thanks so much for your interest in and continued support of A Perfect Engagement. Please update your website and blog links to alysewoodward.com and alysewoodwardblog.com respectively. The phone number will remain the same, but all email correspondence should be sent to alyse@alysewoodward.com. To be added to the formal email announcement and press release, please email me or leave a comment below.

Email down

Email may be down for the next few hours. Sorry for the inconvenience! We will let you know when everything is up and running again!

Chocolate COVERed Party in the News

Check out the latest Scene and Heard slideshow on the Charlotte Observer online for images from the Chocolate COVERed Party held in celebration of the April/June Carolina Bride cover story.

A special thanks to The Observer's own Social Editor, Olivia Fortson, for attending and covering the event!

A Perfect Engagement Bride Blogger | Melissa's Centerpieces

When we met Cydney of The English Garden last year at a bridal show, I had feeling she might be the florist for our wedding. She is creative and really listens and works well with brides. Since Cydney's shop is practically across the street from Brier Creek Country Club, I felt confident in my decision to work together because she works so frequently with my venue. Cydney listened to our vision, relayed ideas on our inspiration photos and worked amazingly within our budget. I couldn't have asked for more.

Cydney met us over at Brier Creek Country Club one day to show us some of her table mock-ups she had prepared. The candelabras we are using (after a thorough search/manhunt for them) are from A Table of Contents in Raleigh. CE Rentals in Raleigh was also nice enough to let us borrow the linens we planned on using for the wedding. We will be alternating a damask pattern with a black satin on each table, as well as alternating high and low centerpieces.

Brian + Christie | Engaged

And almost married! This super fun couple is tying the knot tomorrow afternoon in uptown Charlotte surrounded by nearly 300 family members and friends. Christie is a great friend from college so I was ecstatic when her mother Carol contacted me about working on Christie and Brian's wedding. I can't wait to see them start their new lives together tomorrow... Congratulations you two!

image credit: Katherine Fallis

Katie + Jorge | Video Sneak Peek

Katie and Jorge were married on May 9th at the lovely St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dilworth. Though I don't have any professional images to share yet, take a look at the video Katie's talented sister put together on the day of the wedding to give to the couple as a present at their second reception. Congratulations Katie and Jorge! I hope you are ready to enjoy two weeks of all Spain has to offer!

Melissa + Alan | Engaged

I am heading up to Raleigh this morning to meet with Melissa, our fabulous bride blogger, for her final venue walk-thru. We are also attending the final meeting with the florist and then Melissa is going to clue me in on the placement of all of her incredible DIY wedding items for the ceremony and reception sites.

Melissa and Alan recently had an engagement session shot by April Sirit of Evoke Photography. This will be the first time I have worked with April and I am very, very excited about it! To see more of Melissa and Alan's engagement images and more of April's work visit her website!


















All lovely images: Evoke Photography

A Perfect Engagement Bride Blogger | Melissa's Location

My fiance and I knew we wanted to have our ceremony and reception in the same location to make it easier for our abundance of out of town guests. When we saw Brier Creek Country Club's Jasmine Court Wedding Lawn, we immediately fell in love with it. It was absolutely perfect.

Our target number of guests was around 75 people and Brier Creek has a perfect smaller room to accommodate our guests and not have it feel so empty. Palmer's Cove also has a outdoor veranda attached which is perfect for our cocktail hour.



Our location is also convenient to RDU airport and most of our favorite spots in Raleigh. The staff at Brier Creek has been a pleasure to work with and our food tasting went really well.

Be sure to check out all of Melissa's posts!

Chocolate COVERed Party

About a month ago I found out that one of our 2008 couples Jessica + Steve would be featured as the cover couple for the April/June issue of Carolina Bride. Well in my humble opinion, having one of my couples featured in a magazine is a pretty good reason to throw a party. Jessica + Steve's fabulous photographer Cheyenne Schultz and Best Impressions Caterers marketing genius Josh Dernosek and I got together and devised a plan to throw a sweet party in less than three weeks.

The Chocolate COVERed Party would not have been possible without the help of all of this phenomenal and creative vendors.

Lounge Furniture | American Furniture Rental
Catering | Best Impressions Caterers
Event Space | Byron's South End
Cake | Cake Lady Jill
Photography | Cheyenne Schultz Photography
Linen | Connie Duglin Linen
Flowers | Flowers From the Cellar
Miscellaneous Rentals | Party Reflections

Pam from Flowers From the Cellar did an outstanding job on the flowers for this event. We talked about the color scheme and how many pieces I would need for the event and she took care of the rest. If you are looking for a fun and insanely creative florist for you wedding, Pam is your girl.

Roses dipped in chocolate and centerpieces filled with chocolate chips added to the sweet smelling ambiance in Byron's that night. Cocktail tables topped with truffle colored crinkle taffeta linens tied with satin and organza sashes surrounded by chivari barstools were a great place to mix and mingle.

Feathers, bamboo and chocolate make for an incredibly stylish centerpiece.

Comfortable and chic lounge furniture from American Furniture Rentals filled the space nicely and gave party guests a place to relax with a glass of wine and a sweet treat!

Best Impressions Caterers outdid themselves with an assortment of dessert shooters in strawberry, vanilla and peach.

It wouldn't be a Chocolate COVERed party without strawberries drenched in chocolaty goodness.

Well hello there white chocolate, dark chocolate and milk chocolate cake baked and designed by rockstar Cake Lady Jill.

Best Impressions pastry chef created decadent chocolate truffles that were displayed in intricate boxes made of only chocolate! Talk about talent!

Although not pictured here, Best Impressions also provided a chef attended creps station and bananas foster a la mode.

As if the chocolate COVERed sweets and cake weren't enough, I made sure all the guests visited the candy bar filled with chocolate and strawberry malt balls, chocolate COVERed pretzels, white chocolate peppermint bark, dark chocolate peppermint bark, rock candy and hershey's kisses.

Of course by the time guests made it to the candy bar they were filled to the brim, so to-go bags were a must!

The stars of the show, Cover couple Jessica + Steve

My way cute husband Philip stopped by the event after work to show his support... although really I think he may have just come for the food. :)

Cheyenne Schultz, Jessica Lowrance Sack and Alyse Woodward

Cuties Candice and Daniel Lanning of The Beautiful Mess

Candice with Amy from KA Studios

Photographers Thomas Geist and Geoff Schultz

Photographers Geoff and Cheyenne Schultz with Kristin of Kristin Vining Photography

The always serious Josh Dernosek of Best Impressions

Cover bride Jessica and her sister Josalyn

Alyse and Cheyenne trying our best to not look like Amazon women next to the super cute and petite Critsey Rowe. Critsey and I are working together for the first time in October and I can't wait!

Cheyenne and Geoff with fellow photographer Stephanie Pulliam

One last shot with the couple as they head home with flowers, extra cake and other goodies!

Katie + Jorge's Wedding Day!

Katie and Jorge are tying the knot today... and doing so in style. A cathedral ceremony, orchids, peacock feathers, trolleys and two receptions are on the menu! Here's hoping the rain holds off and rays of sun come shining through!

image sources: project wedding, brides, jl designs, harper's restaurant group

A Perfect Engagement Bride Blogger | Melissa dyes for color!

When I decided to dye my crinoline, it was the most apprehensive I felt about any DIY project because of the potential for disaster. However, with the help of my maid of honor, it all went off without a hitch. I used three boxes of fuschia dye to get the bright fuschia color and Voila! The crinoline matches my shoes perfectly!


How to dye your crinoline:

1. Fill your washing machine with hot water.

2. Dissolve the dye in hot water first, NOT in the washing machine. Two cups of water to one pack of dye. Stir until the dye is completely dissolved.

3. Submerge the crinoline in the hot water in the machine, until it is completely wet.

4. REMOVE the crinoline from the washing machine.

5. Add the dye, and one tablespoon of detergent, and let it agitate for a minute to get fully mixed.

6. Add the crinoline back in, completely submerging it.

7. Start the wash cycle over again, so you have the full amount of time. Do not empty the machine, just twist the knob around again.

8. Keep an eye on the wash time. Let it agitate in the washer for 15 minutes, and then, wearing gloves, pull it out, and untwist it and smooth it out so it will dye evenly. Otherwise it will be tye dyed.

9. Put it back in for another 15 minutes. It needs to be in the dye solution for 30 minutes total.

10. Let it go through the rinse cycle. Open up the machine, look at it, and determine if you are happy with the color. If you would like it the color to be deeper, start the process all over again, without skipping any of the directions.

11. If you are happy with it, let it finish the cycle, and pull it out to airdry. Voila!

12. Run your machine on the quick cycle twice with detergent and one to two cups of bleach to clean out the machine.


Word to the wise, your crinoline may shrink during the dyeing process, so you may want to purchase a size up just in case. I bought my crinoline off the knot's trash to treasure board for a great price. The crinoline I dyed was David's Bridal style number 603.

April Showers Bring... May Weddings!

And our first May wedding takes place on Saturday! Check out the fabulous aisle runner, unity candle set and banners I Do Originals created for our Saturday couple.

Help A Bride Decide!

Choosing a color palate can be one of the most challenging parts of planning a wedding. Particularly when the bridesmaids dresses are black and do not limit your color creativity in the least! One of our own brides is currently struggling with this very decision.

Should she go bold and bright with intense shades of pink, green, orange and yellow? Or tone things down a bit with softer flowers like peonies and colors in lighter shades of pink and green? She loves them both so I am reaching out to our blog readers for help!

Which do you prefer?

all images: project wedding