Save the dates....one of my favorite details of a wedding!  This is the first introduction to your wedding weekend, and  my brides have been super creative this year. 

Hope that these will inspire you...here are some of my favorites!

Most of my couples this year opted to use a postcard as their save-the-date!  Not only do you save money on postage, they are very cost effective through on-line print houses or local speedy print service providers.



TONY AND JILL-
found an artist on www.etsy.com to create this lovable save-the-date card and I assisted with the print order through an on-line print house.  They also have the original art from the artist!  How sweet it is!!!





Lindsay and Sean-
used my graphic designer to create this modern design.  This save-the-date was used as their holiday card as well!  We turned it around in a week!  Lauren Brown is the photographer behind the great family image that you see.  She includes an engagement session in her packages so that the couple can get comfortable with her taking pictures and how they interact before the big day!  Great work Lauren!  I can't wait to share the wedding with all of you!!!

 

If you joined the fabulous Bridal Affaire at MSU this weekend, then you know what great vendors and ideas were showcased at the show!  How do you sort through everything to make sure you are getting the best for your wedding day?

Leslie Lukas Weddings & Events has been offering wedding planning and floral services for the past decade.  A sure way to get what you want, is by hiring a professional that has the experience and vendor relationships to create the wedding day of your dreams, along with a proven track record. 

SPECIAL PROMOTION

Through January 31st, Leslie Lukas Weddings & Events is offering 7% off your entire wedding flower order.  This could save you considerably depending on your flower budget!  For instance, if your wedding flower budget is $1500, then you would save $105. 

Book by January 31st to receive this discount!!!  ***a contract and deposit is necessary to hold your wedding date.  Visa/MC is accepted!!!

HEN PARTY PROMOTION

 

If you are logging on to see what this Hen Party is all about, all you need to do to qualify for our drawing is subscribe to our blog, and additionally, send an email to leslie@leslielukas.com and in the subject line write HEN PARTY.  In the body of your email, please include the following information:

Name
Wedding Date
Wedding Location
Mailing Address
Email
Telephone number

***HEN PARTY Contest Rules
To define a hen party, it is what you make of it!  Traditionally, it is a gathering of your best girlfriends or friends to enjoy good food, atmosphere, and time together before your big day!  Leslie Lukas Weddings & Events will make this an unforgettable party for you and 6 guests.  Up to $500 value.  She will provide planning assistance, invitations, decor, food and non-alcoholic beverage at a place that the winner and Leslie Lukas Weddings & Events agrees upon.  Travel Fees may apply if location is outside 20 mile radius of Bozeman.  Date of the Hen Party is based on availabilty of Leslie Lukas Weddings & Events.

 

I have to say that I just love the people and creativity of those in my life.  I just received the best invite ever for a holiday party!  Check this out....the creative minds at Peach Street Studios are doing it up right!  Happy Holiday Celebrations!!!  LL

Greetings!!!!  I thought I would blog a bit about this coming Holiday Season and a few things that I enjoy...

Montana is so amazing in the winter...as is spending the holiday season here with family and friends!  From the Christmas Strolls in our little communities like Bozeman, Livingston, and Ennis, to the best and biggest skiing in America, to wonderful food, music, and parties...

Enjoy the links to some of my favorite Holiday things....

1. Hey Day: WONDERFUL and whimsical gifts including Joe's Parkway gourmet foods...
2. Moonlight Basin: Awesome accommodations, food, and SKIING
3. Sweetpea Bakery: Order early to satisfy your sweet tooth...have them do the baking for you!!!
4. Laura B. Palmer Art: Beautiful artwork that should adorn your walls...if not now, someday!
5. Gifts.com:  The on-line source to every gift possible!--a generic way to shop if you don't have the time to stroll!
6. Jeni Fleming Trio: CD Release, "Home for the Holidays" gets my SEAL of APPROVAL!!!  Congrats on such an amazing album! 
7. 320 Ranch:  Authentic Sleigh Ride dinners...can that be any more Norman Rockwell????
8. Dew Drop In:  get the holiday shopping done without your kids!
9. Downtown Bozeman:   Boutique Shopping at its best!
10. Bequet Confections:  Homemade caramel confections made in Bozeman, MT to send all over the country...spread the caramel joy!

other favorite things--cooking dinner for family and friends, christmas decorating, Hot Buttered Rum, Santa Claus, my Children (seeing the holidays through thier eyes brings me great joy!), and fudge, no nuts!

Season's Greetings and hold your loved ones close!!!

Best, LL

MONTANA MULE:  2 shots whisky, juice of half a lime, shaken with ice, strained over two cocktail glasses with ice, and topped with ginger beer...mmmmmmm!

Details, Details, Details!!!  Oh, it's so fun to plot and create new ideas and combinations to use as design inspiration for weddings and events!  I had the privilege of working with one of Montana's top photographers, Lauren Brown, on a recent shoot that we put together to freshen our portfolios and have a lot of fun in the process!  Thanks to Elsa Campbell of the Woodlands for the use of one of the most gorgeous venues for our location and to Montana Party Rentals for allowing us to use a few rentals....A special thanks to Lauren for making it look so effortless and for putting together these inspiration boards! 

Holiday....i love the hand stamped table cards that were created to greet our guests and the punch of color from the jewel pink rose.  This typically would have been on the boring side without them!   Rules need not apply for Holiday!!!



Winter Scene...winter wheat from my families farm and white winter berries help achieve a diverse use of natural materials with interesting textures that don't compete with the wild table cloth...for a simpler look, one could have just used all white flowers in a clear vase for immediate distinction and definition between cloth and decor.  This looked completely amazing in the stunning setting of the woodlands...and it left your eyes pleasantly seeking out each pleasant detail.



Fall Flair...I love the fall colors in this story.  The red increases the vibrancy of the other materials, making each element POP!

 
Just a quick note if you are looking ahead and planning a spring time wedding in the Rockies...you must be able to embrace the weather!  Anything can happen in Montana spring, from snow, rain, wind and glorious sunshine or all four in the same day!  Please take a look at this beautiful and intimate spring wedding.  Photography by none other than Lauren Brown Photography of Southwest Montana...

Ruth and Robert's wedding happened to be on the only day in April where it didn't snow!  What are the chances!  The couple chose Leslie Lukas Weddings and Events while on a mission to find great vendors for their wedding at the Museum of the Rockies Wine Classic, in Bozeman, summer of 2007.  At the Classic they saw the gorgeous flowers and design that we did, and they also found their caterer, Ryan Lafoley....you never know where your plans will formulate!



  

   


    

           

 

 

"I want to share an incredible letter of praise that I just received from Laura and Mike, a wedding that I coordinated and designed flowers for in late August of this year...the photo story is incredible, as is the photographer that took them, Lauren Brown...!  Enjoy!" LL


Dear Leslie,
Let me just say that having you help us with our wedding was
incredible. You are kind, creative, fun, and you pay extra special
attention to the details. You are also professional, prompt, and easy to work
with. We think you are simply adorable and we loved having you with us. In
fact, we both felt incredibly lucky to have you there to help direct our guests and bridal party,
given that our wedding was pretty large.

Leslie, you think of things that we never would have thought about! Here
are a few tiny examples that I would have forgotten.

• You made made these beautifully decorated little kits for the wash rooms during the wedding reception filled with combs, hairspray, mouthwash, and mints.  People really seemed to appreciated that.
• Also, you organized a small ladies party while I got ready for the actual wedding, we had
  plenty of drinks, sandwiches, cookies, and fun before the ceremony. It felt so special to have all of my favorite people come and be with me during this time.
• You even made beautiful ribbon wands for our flower girls to have on their place settings at dinner! They loved that!

My husband was a little shy at first about having a planner help, and
for us, you were the perfect fit. My mother, who happens to be quite
high strung, was concerned about many of the details with planning and
the flowers in particular. Leslie, you brought a level of comfort and
relaxation to her and we felt that it was imperative. You did a
fabulous job and my mother was elated.

The highlight for me was that we had also hired you to do our
flowers. I had no idea what was in store for us but when I saw what
you had done, my eyes almost popped out of my head! Your flowers were
the most amazing arrangements I have ever seen in my life and I
would not say that if I did not mean it. They were UNBELIEVABLE. Leslie, you
made our wedding look and feel so warm and amazing. Mike and I are
still talking about it and so are our guests. It was the most
beautiful time of our lives. Given the size of our event, you made
it all go more smoothly than any other wedding I have been to. There
was virtually no stress whatsoever!

Leslie,  you are awesome and our wedding was personal, perfect, and
unforgettable. I really want other brides to know how extraordinary you are.
Cloud 9 is the best place to be on your wedding day.

Big Hugs,

Laura B. Sawaya
2410 Westridge Drive
Bozeman, MT 59715
www.laurabluepalmerart.com

"Laura is a local artist, and the flower selections that I made were a reflection of some of the dominating color pallets found in her work as I new she would love it!  Mike is a bear biologist and I brought in rustic elements that he felt comfortable with, like moss and rocks!"




The guests were greeted with beautiful arrangements in rich, bold, colors.  We placed a water table near the entrance with a great looking enamelware water dispenser and glassware, that looked elegant with a small arrangement and river rocks to weight the table cloth...




We almost made the call to move the ceremony, as it started spitting rain, but as the ceremony time grew near, the storm bypassed us, opening up the sky to a gorgeous gray-blue....




Laura and Mike had a non-traditional ceremony which encompassed several religions and spiritual elements...to bring together the difference of religions between thier families and friends....



Guests tossed petals at the newlyweds to help them celebrate....




The couples favorite drink...the mojito...was in plenitude during the cocktail hour, while the bride and groom snuck away for some portraits!  Good thinking!!!



More photos by Lauren Brown Photography to be featured in an upcoming blog on this wedding...

I am lucky enough to work closely with Nashan Photographers who has wonderful relationships with many national bridal magazines such as Brides, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride, the KNOT and Martha Stewart Weddings Magazines.  Melanie submits many weddings that she shoots, and since we work together so much, it allows my work and the work of my company to be published as well.  Since 2002, Paradise Custom Weddings has been published over 14 times because of Melanie...and I want to thank her!  It adds such creditbility to the level of design and planning that we do for our brides each year.  Enjoy this wedding that was published in Brides Magazine just this spring.  To see the spread that was recently published follow this link to Brides.com:  Devan and Jeff
and to see other weddings that were published a few years ago, follow these links:  Mark and Mandy and Jessica and Sean

   


The detail on the cake mimicks that on Devan's dress....

   

The bride spared nothing when it came to the details of this carefully planned and executed wedding...

  

I LOVE the bridesmaids dresses and how they related to the style of the wedding...



and the guests enjoyed every minute...





  

Ingredients for this perfect wedding:

Leslie Lukas Weddings & Events (formerly Paradise Custom Weddings):  wedding design, planning and flowers
Montana Party Rentals:  Rentals
Nashan Photographers:  Photograhy by Melanie Nashan with second shooter Keegan Nashan
Second Street Catering:  Catering
Cakes from Cabin Ridge:  Rebecca Nicklin, award winning cake designer
Vision:  Devan Pederson, Bride

    
I am so excited to blog about the local non-profit group Hand Me Down Some Silver, INC. I have jumped on board this train to assist with HMDSS events throughout the year.  We just completed the 3rd Annual Silver Celebration and Fund raiser that was a huge success.  It took place at the historical Gallatin Gateway Inn.  The warmth and vitality of the wonderful people behind this organization is truly inspirational.  It would not be possible without the fabulous Jake and Jeni Fleming and the Jeni Fleming Trio, nor the board who serves this cause with such passion...Thank you for making me a part of something truly special! 

Hand me down some silver, Inc. was created to provide young musicians the education, tools and opportunities to more fully experience the life-enriching benefit of music, as well as explore the many aspects of music through the following ways:  Scholarships to help kids purchase instruments Financial, educational, logistical and technical support for young musicians´ensembles, Educational seminars/workshops/performances specific cally for the benefit of young music students with a goal of instilling a richer culture within the community, Grants to young musicians for the purposes of performing and recording their own CD projects such that the young musician learns many practical aspects of the music industry, Working in conjunction with, but separate from, other local music and charitable organizations

The evening was spectacular and included musical performances by local Jazz musician Jeni Fleming, Jazz by the children's group Blue Shoes, Eden Atwood, Stephanie Davis and much more....A special thank you to Keegan Nashan, age 15, who took the spectacular photographs of this event.  Keegan is an associate photographer that shoots with Nashan Photographers (her mother Melanie is a dear friend and colleague).  Keegan, thank you for your clever shooting abilities, you are a true talent.