Best tips for Wedding Hairstyles

The way in which you wear your hair for your wedding will be a big part of your overall look. Hair always sends a message, whether it is polished, beachy, trendy, or something else. Finding the right person to do your hair for your wedding is key, because your wedding is not the day to do your own hair or to trust an amateur. These tips will help you to find a great wedding hairstylist for your big day.

While many women already have a hairstylist that they trust without reservation, there are an equal number who do not have that kind of relationship with a particular stylist or salon. It might be that you get your hair cut at a walk-in salon or that you are getting married in a town far from your home and your hairdresser. Or perhaps you even have someone who normally cuts your hair, but you are not sure that you can trust her to style it for the most important event of your life. Whatever the case, bad hair results in a bad looking bride, so this is no time to take chances!

Start your search for the perfect wedding hairstylist by asking around. Word of mouth is always the best way to get recommendations. Keep in mind that styling hair can be very different than cutting or even coloring it, and that different stylists may have different specialties. I once knew a stylist who was a brilliant colorist, very talented at cutting hair, and always current with the latest trends and techniques. She had no interest in creating formal hairstyles however, and routinely referred brides to a more junior member of her salon who had great enthusiasm for updos and other wedding hairstyles. So be sure that you ask your friends, family, or wedding vendors specifically for a great wedding hairdresser, not just a great hairdresser.
Once you have a couple of recommendations, it is time to get on the phone. There are several important questions to ask any hairstylist you are considering. Of course, you need to know about their fees and their availability for your wedding date. If you are looking for a salon which has enough staff to style the hair of your entire bridal party, and the mothers of the bride and groom, in addition to the bride's hair, definitely see if they can handle that. Perhaps you are looking for a stylist who will come to your hotel on the morning of the wedding or one who has a great makeup artist available at her salon. Or maybe you have extremely long hair or want a non-traditional hairstyle; these are all important things to discuss with a potential stylist.


The next step is the trial run. Schedule it at least a couple of months before your wedding, in case you are not happy with the first attempt. Be sure to bring pictures of hairstyles which you like, a picture of your wedding gown, and your wedding hair jewelry. If you are planning to wear a special piece of wedding jewelry, such as a dramatic pair of crystal chandelier earrings, you may wish to bring those too so that your hairstyle can be planned to show them off. During your trial run, pay attention to things like how well the stylist listens to you, how informed she is of current trends in wedding beauty, and how long it takes her to achieve the style you like. Also go in with an open mind, because she may have some suggestions on how to improve upon a hairstyle you saw in a magazine. Be sure to leave your hair in the style created at the trial run for the rest of the day to see how well it holds up.

If the first trial run is a success, there is nothing left to do but to book your appointment for the morning of your wedding. If the hairstyle created was close, but not quite right, you may wish to have a second trial run to fine tune things. Of course, if you were not at all happy with either the hairstyle or the experience of working with a particular stylist, by all means, keep looking. Every bride deserves to have fabulous hair on her wedding day.

Chat soon,

J



Some Yummy Wedding Treats

Let's get the wedding basics down; dancing, fun, laughing, celebration, love, and of course, food. Everyone knows that when they go to a wedding they are going to get a good meal and some delicious wedding cake. So why not top it off with some edible wedding favors?

Edible wedding favors can be presented in a wide variety of ways like in bags, glass containers, boxes, and many others depending on the item. But the fact is that your guests will absolutely love to sit down to some delicious treats whether it be some cupcakes, chocolate, mints, or any other scrumptious idea you can find to offer as the perfect wedding favors to your very important guests.

You can even use edible wedding favors such as candies, cookies and other treats to compliment the theme of your wedding and enhance all the hard work and long hours of planning that you have put into creating a wedding that is totally you and immensely dreamlike. Break barriers with edible wedding favors because your guests will automatically loosen up when they are munching on some of their favorite treats and talking animatedly about the beautiful ceremony that they all just witnessed. With some great edible wedding favors your guests will get ready to party, dance, and laugh with you at your wedding reception that you've worked so hard to make a reality.

You can even try personalizing the packages that these edible wedding favors come in so that your guests have a memento from your wedding even when the delicious treats have all been consumed by the happily munching mouths of your friends, family, and loved ones at your wedding reception. Here are a few stunning examples of edible wedding favors that will certainly enhance the mood at any wedding reception, whatever theme you have chosen during your months of careful planning.

Decor Ideas

When it comes to wedding decor, Over the Top Events is your one stop shop to ensure creative style and glam be the talk of your wedding. We not only work to incorporate your theme, shade ruse, location, term, family traditions, guests and budget, but we also ensure attention to detail and adding a personal touch be a weighing factor.  Wedding decor thoughts are guaranteed to make your wedding almost like a nightmare chain for you. Brides and groom alike go back and forth through their wedding planning stages on their concept and theme, that a great deal of time is lost, so why not bring in a professional to not only save you your valuable time, but as well save you money.

When working through your ideas for your wedding, here are some great ideas to keep in mind:

Venue decoration: Nowadays, weddings take place in all kinds of venues from mansions and gardens to beaches and vineyards. While selecting wedding decorations, take the time to balance in with the global feel of the place.

Theme-based decorations: Today, many people fondness having wedding themes that deem the period. When planning such a theme, ensure that the décor, candles, crockery and plants reflect the overall theme. For example, sallow or silver decorations for an iciness wedding and greens and flora for a spiral wedding.

Centerpieces: Centerpieces can be anything from low to tall flower arrangements, votive candles, candelabras, hovering or aromatic candles, wedding place license holders, petals, etc... When planning for your centerpiece keep in mind the height of the venue ceiling, and over size of the room.  Be sure to capture the color scheme while complimenting the rest of your table décor.

Candles: Besides being lovely eyesight, lighted candles also design a classical romantic atmosphere. When selecting candles as part of your overall décor, judge factors like the height, width, elegance, aroma, paint and burning time. For example, while votive candles would be superior for sharp functions, you must get post candles or tall tapers for a dinner with dance.  Another great way to add ambiance would be to select a votive in your color scheme, rather then go with that old boring clear or frosted votive.

Seating Card and Sing in Book Table: When drumming up ideas for this area be sure to remember that this will most likely be the first thing your guests see as part for your wedding decor.  Everyone always rushes to find where they’re seated and discover who else is sharing the table. Place card holders are great and although these cute objects may appear wholly unadorned, they can make a world of difference to a wedding.  The cost ranges from surprisingly affordable to very steep.  Add stunning arrangements to the table, and be sure to marry the overall them of the wedding.

Now that you have some ideas for wedding decorations, use these ideas and your imagination to coin a magical wedding day that is surely to make the feel elite and remain in the minds of guests for a long time.

Keep these ideas in mind and you’ll be sure to wow your guests,

Chat soon,

J



Style and trends for 2011 wedding receptions

The 2010 wedding season has pretty much come to an end and all the hot new (and some continued) trends are beginning for 2011. 

For a lot of couples planning their weddings, less is more this upcoming year. Many of my clients are having a lower guest count and a more intimate feel. Venues such as an art gallery, tented outdoor locations, beaches, farms, historical sites and other hipper locations are replacing the huge banquet halls of the past.
Today, receptions have many add-ons that were unheard of twenty years ago. Decked-out photo booths give a whole new element to what the photographer captures. This is a chance to have a photo of every single wedding guest, and have them take home a memory immediately with them.  Though a costly investment, for those DYI couples, and alternative would be to set-up an area in the reception with a backdrop and some fun props and have the photographers assistant tae the photos, rather then a full setup of a photo-booth which could run into the thousands for all the prints.

Comfy couches and intimate seating areas dotted throughout the venue provide the guests with a living-room feel that allows for conversation areas that are private, while also providing the photographer with casual and relaxed picture opportunities.

Cocktail hour commences with a wide array of finger foods that feels like a red carpet gala. Why not make this time a more sociable atmosphere by installing some lounges and sofas and increase the number of hors d’oeuvres, which will ultimately allow you to decrease the number of services during the main course.
For those that prefer the “traditional’ 4- 5 course meal, opt for a family-style service- think big platters loaded with chicken, beef and pastas, help spark conversation with guests who don’t know one another and provide a celebratory touch. Light-hearted dishes and a relaxed atmosphere will put a relaxing spin on the evening.  Also, very current are gourmet food stations with hors d’oeuvres and perhaps a brushetta bar is a big new trend. Buffet service is also in!

When going with a more intimate of rather less “traditional” wedding, many couples are choosing to offer an extraordinary dessert tables rather then the 4-6 tier wedding cake.  These eye candy tables are decorated with the theme of the wedding and so many delicious items for the guest to indulge in. An array of color is displayed on these tables and to name a few hot items which are pleasing to any guest are Macaroons, chocolate covered candy and pretzels, unique selection of shortbread or butter cookies, and of course the famous cupcakes (and minis) all dyed to match the colour of the wedding theme.

Be sure to check out our resources for more information on what’s hot in the upcoming 2011 wedding season,

J

Cupcake Camp Montreal 2010

Hi everyone,
It took all week to go through all the delicious cupcakes and be able to report back to you all!  Cupcake Camp Montreal was a huge success.  With over $34,500 being raised for Kids Help Phone & Tablee des Chefs us Montrealer’s should be very proud.  In addition to all the wonderful people who donated over 21,000 cupcakes, the volunteers who donated their time and award winning calmness, and all those who stood in line for hours, yes I said hours.  I must admit I arrived just in time and just before the doors were set to open, as if I were even 10 minutes later, I would have been one of those unfortunate people who had to continue waiting in line all the way down Renee Levesque.  Even with the winter chill in the air, Montrealer’s kept their bodies bundled and their belly’s ready.

It was literally every cupcake fan’s dream! Walking through the exhibition it was so hard to choose which to select to taste as there were so many amazing flavors, I don’t know how people could walk away with only 3 or 4! The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth was packed with cupcake fans, so much so that it was nearly impossible to get to the tables where they were presented, but rest assured I made my way through.

There was so much to see and do … the gourmet coffee, movies for kids, a kid play area for coloring & fun and just the excitement of being in a room with over 20,000 cupcakes! Another fun thing to do was the Cupcake Cannon where you could buy a cupcake for a donation to the charities & have it shot at someone else or yourself.And lastly the competition… there were some seriously talented people taking part in the competition see below for some pics! 

 

There was so much to see and do … the gourmet coffee, movies for kids, a kid play area for coloring & fun and just the excitement of being in a room with over 20,000 cupcakes! Another fun thing to do was the Cupcake Cannon where you could buy a cupcake for a donation to the charities & have it shot at someone else or yourself.And lastly the competition… there were some seriously talented people taking part in the competition see below for some pics! 

The kids cupcakes were awesome, you could tell they put their heart into them. As for the pros entries so many stood out there was one which was a replica of an IPhone, another was of a Jack, and finally one of the Canadians Monster!

I was really impressed with the kids competition (photo below) and the amateur cupcake entries, especially the amateur entry of a fairy - great job by everyone!

All in all it was an amazing day that did something spectacular. It is really amazing how something so small, like a cupcake, can do something so powerful!

Congratultions to everyone who participated, volun teer, adn most importantly sampled!!!

Can't wait until next year!



The Announcement

You'll have to properly inform guests of the extravagant event you plan to throw. The theme for your event starts with the invitation, which makes a huge statement while marking the person's expectations, and sets the tone for the whole evening. So, you'll want to be sure to keep your paper products a clear reflection on your style whether very formal, semi formal, modern, Victorian, casual, etc...

An invite with gold engraved script and a snow white ecru border is appropriate, but not too enchanting. To go totally out without stepping out of bounds, consider some of these ideas. Choose the finest paper: textured, flock, embossed, patterned a heavy stock, or marbled papers for the rich Chic look. Forget the natural floral-pressed papers; even a light weight text paper is a little too delicate. What's hot right now, and has been for a couple of years, is BIG, BOLD,  and BEAUTIFUL: elaborate typefaces -- invites that feature embellishments and ornaments, trimmings and ribbons, or fonts that are thick and heavy -- and reminiscent colors like teal, red wine, tangerine, and fuchsia; and rich textures such as velvet ribbons and baby brass pearls or stones.

Embrace embellishments and monogram watermarks. A simple two tone border or a double layered seal might be enough trimming. Unifying all your event stationary elements for your invite, reply card, menu card, envelope, and even program is crucial.

Whatever style of invitation you choose, make it's eye-catching!

Chat soon,

J

Cupcake Heaven

Who loves cupcakes? I do! I do! But sometimes I just wish that they didn’t need to be so…ummm….cupcake-y.  So let’s talk about this.

Perfect for your next sweet table (yep, we do those too!) Cupcake Wrapture offers couture for cupcakes. At OTTE, our jaws dropped when we found these beauties based out of Vancouver, BC.  With perfect polka dots, tantalizing twists, and gorgeous glitter It was almost impossible to pick a favorite but I fell head over heels for Hugs n’ Kisses. So cute for an engagement party!

Order them online at http://www.cupcakewraptureshop.com/

Looking for something a little more kitschy? Roundabouts Cupcake Sleeves are just the thing! Wrap up your delicious delicacies so your friends are pleasantly surprised when they realize that what looks like a burger or a root beer float is actually a cupcake! Being the girlie girl that I am, I LOVE the Glam Powder and can’t wait to use them at my nextspa party! They even do custom work YAY!

Order them online at http://www.roundaboutcupcakes.com

Want to give this girly dessert a masculine touch? Get inspired by Butch Bakery and try a recipe with beer, whiskey or bacon. He’ll have nothing to complain about.

They don’t ship to Canada but it’s definitely worth a look: http://www.butchbakery.com/

If you love cupcakes as much as I do, and c’mon I know you do, join Jaime this weekend as she visits Cupcake Camp Montreal in support of the Kids Help Phone and La Table des Chefs. On Sunday November 21, 2010 from 1pm-5-pm at The Fairmount Queen Elizabeth Hotel.

For More Information Check Out: http://cupcakecampmtl.org/

 

With Love,

C

Why Create a Wedding Timeline

As much as I'm sure you would love to fast forward to your wedding day immediately after your fiancé pops the question, weddings take time and careful consideration to plan. There are many elements to making your day everything you always dreamt it would be, so it is imperative to create a time line leading up to your wedding day.

Hiring a wedding planner to facilitate every aspect of your wedding from venue to menu, from decor to floral is the first move you should make.  If you choose to be a more Do-It-Yourself kinda bride ensuring someone orchestrates the big day for you is key, otherwise what fun will you have?  You will need to keep track of important tasks, vendors, participants, and most importantly, deadlines. Having every detail accounted for and mapped out will help alleviate any unnecessary stress.

Here are a few tips from the team at Over the Top Events:

Decide the formality of and style of the big day (traditional, victorian, themed, elegant, modern, chic,...)

Create your budget. Consider everything from the dress to the wedding officiator, including everything in between

Start interviewing and booking wedding professionals: planners, ceremony site, receptions sites, caterers, waiters, bartenders, photographer, videographer, florists, etc.

Get inspired by checking out the trands for the upcoming wedding season

HAVE FUN!!!

Chat soon,

J

A Fabulous Dress

Hi Everyone!

Let me share these fantastic bridesmaids dresses from Two Birds Bridesmaid. The girls were wearing them in short Cabernet Red at a recent waterfront wedding and the result was spectacular! So flattering, absolutely adorable and totally re-wearable (I swear!). As a lover of all things pink I’m personally digging the Fuchsia but at OTTE we think that the Aubergine and Olive are just to die for!

Finally, a dress that your bridesmaids will wear with a genuine smile!

Check them out at: http://www.twobirdsbridesmaid.com/

 

With Love,

C

About the Owner and Lead Designer

Jaime Korey is not your average event planner. With a rich background in the marketing and hospitality industries Jaime has developed a love and passion for the little things that make an event POP.  To each event, Jaime brings an unsurpassed attention to detail and a creativity that is simply to die for.

For 10 years Jaime honed her logistical and management skills working with organizations including Marriott, Club Med and Royal Caribbean Cruise lines. Acting as the director of strategic group management Jaime trained Marriott employees on all elements of hospitality service, logistical coordination and most importantly, customer satisfaction. At Club Med Jaime organized and orchestrated all of the private charter events and worked to enhance local sales as Chief of Bar. She made sure to take each event, both social and corporate, to the next level always striving to exceed expectations. While at Royal Caribbean Jaime worked at sea to coordinate all of her clients needs as the onboard group manager.

After working with such great organizations it was finally time for Jaime to take matters in to her own hands. With a love of creativity and a passion for the event industry Jaime opened up the doors to one of Montreal’s finest event planning companies: Over The Top Events.

For the past 6 years Over The Top Events has been a trailblazer in the Montreal Event industry bringing the hottest trends and inspiring creative design to events across the island and beyond. With full service event design and coordination and a unique line of custom invitations Over The Top Events is your top stop for all of your event needs.

Call us today to find out more about how we can make your next event spectacular.

Welcome to our New Blog

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to the brand new Over The Top Events (OTTE) Blog. My name is Carolyn and I will be the voice of OTTE while Jaime is hard at work planning all of your weddings and special events.  Every Wednesday I promise to bring you the newest and most exciting wedding trends and special event buzz.  We’ve got a great 4-week rotation set up for you where we focus on Fashion, Etiquette, Great Finds and Fabulous Food. From time to time Jaime will hop on to showcase some of her magical event creations or I’ll pop in to share my newest burst of inspiration.

At OTTE we custom design our events for each an every client so it’s only fitting that we do the same for our blog!

We want to talk to you! Ask us your questions, share your concerns and let us know if there is anything you want to see. We can’t wait to hear from you J

With Love,

C