Business

introducing jaime!

September 15, 2015

Windy and I feel super lucky to do what we love everyday. We feel even more lucky when we find fantastic team members who are willing to work hard with a smile on their face! Our Fall intern is just this and we are thrilled to introduce Jaime to you! 20150519-_OP_5321-Edit

LOVES: I have a major sweet tooth! I love to bake and my passion for baking began at a young age. We didn’t normally have tons of sweets around my house and my mom didn’t bake, so I developed this passion on my own. I’ve made homemade croissants, chocolate souffle, and not to mention I make some of the BEST chocolate chip cookies ever! Aside from the sweets, I also really love to cook. Anytime I’m home visiting my family my dad and I make homemade pasta and pizzas. My mom likes to call us all wannabe Italians because we love Italian food so much! I also really love to travel and experience new cultures. Currently, I’m dying to go to Greece and Prague!

PASSIONS: I consider myself very creative. I am always making things. Everything from recipes, to jewelry, to tie-dying pillow cases, to short movies! I idolize Martha Stewart! I also really love volunteering. I have volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters for five years. The student organization I’m involved with develops and coordinates service projects for the Richmond community.

DISLIKES: Bad manners. Eggs. Mashed Potatoes. [Most people can’t seem to get over this last one.]

FUN FACT: On Pinterest, Walt Disney World follows me! They have 132k followers and are only following 167, I think it’s the coolest thing ever! I REALLY love Disney and it’s my dream to work for the company one day.20150519-_OP_5240-Edit

Jaime dove right in with a killer wedding in Williamsburg with Windy. She’ll be frolicking around Richmond with us, so be sure to give her give her a great big hug!

20150519-_OP_4876-Edit[All of these incredible photos are by Mary Otanez Photography!]

We can’t wait for her to get her hands dirty and find a passion for this business! Welcome to the team, Jaime! We are thrilled!

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introducing hasslehoff!

July 8, 2015

A few weeks ago, we introduced our intern Katie. Today, I’d like for you to meet another integral part of our team–Hasslehoff! Now I know what you’re thinking: “You mean THE David Hasslehoff? The star of the 1980’s hit soap opera featuring scantily clad lifeguard’s and slow motion running?” Well yes, sort of.

We officially named our life-saving, wedding emergency kit, Hasslehoff. It saves lives.

In this industry you must be organized and prepared for anything that may happen. Whether it’s a lipstick stain on a white wedding dress, mother nature, or a guest that needs her shoe repaired, a well-stocked emergency kit is a staple for us event pro’s! Our kit is literally filled with everything you can think of–toothbrushes, floss, stain sticks, baby wipes, sewing kit, floral clippers, floral tape, pins, bridal garters, monofilament, bobby pins–you name it and it’s probably inside. After all, Hasslehoff saves lives. He’s certainly saved our lives a time or two. Here is just a glimpse of what we keep stocked:hasslehoff

Some are more obvious than others, but let me give you a run down: black socks for the unlucky groomsmen who forgot them, diapers pins for a wedding bustle as regular ones just won’t do, baby powder to mask stains on wedding dresses, s-hooks for hanging signage in or around tent poles, and floral tape, cutters and pins for the broken boutonnieres.

While this is only a small portion of what we bring in preparation for a wedding day, we hope this gives you some insight and tips into packing your own wedding day emergency kit! What are some things you include?

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introducing katie!

June 1, 2015

While we’re rounding out the Spring wedding season, what better chance to announce our perky, happy and hardworking Summer intern? Back in April we welcomed Katie to the LK Events and Design team. She now she’s officially official to all of you!

20150519-_OP_4972-EditWithin the first week, she was helping Windy coordinate weddings in the pouring rain and the following week she was moving 200 chairs with me. Talk about an introduction to the labors of this industry! But proving her bubbly personality, she was smiling the whole time. Here’s a bit about Katie in her own words:

Hi! I’m Katie! It’s nice to “meet” you! Currently a senior at VCU studying public relations, I am so psyched to be an LK intern this Summer and see the in’s and out’s of event planning. So far I’ve made it through the rain, heat, bumps and bruises and I’m loving it. Some of my favorite free time activities are hanging by the river with friends or being with my cat, Toby. Two of my favorite things in the world are coffee and sour patch kids, not together of course! I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Summer hold for me!20150519-_OP_5288-Edit

We can’t wait either, Katie! She’ll be hopping around from wedding to wedding and attending marketing events with Windy and I as well. Y’all give her a big ol’ hug when you see her!

Oh, we should mention her favorite dessert is cheesecake! Lucky for her she got that on her first wedding with me!

katie collage[All of these incredible photos are by Mary Otanez Photography!]

Welcome to the LK team, Katie! We’re stoked to have you!

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richmond wedding expo: behind the scenes

January 20, 2015

For those of you not intimately involved in the wedding industry, wedding and bridal shows are events that happen usually twice a year and are a strong marketing component of a lot of vendors in the wedding world.

Hundreds of brides, grooms, mothers of the bride and maids of honor gather together to get just a sampling (literally) of the vendors in the RVA area and a glimpse into the hot trends in the wedding industry – all under one roof.

LK was lucky enough to snag a booth this year at the Richmond Wedding Expo at the Richmond Marriott Downtown this past Sunday, the 11th. Hours of planning, prepping and actual labor went into our time at the show, and it’s all worth it at the end of the day. Thank goodness for supportive husbands! They were up and out of bed, helping us unload downtown by 7:30am on a Sunday. Good men, these two! [We absolutely loved the extra height and brightness from our white pipe and drape from Rent- E-quip!]

IMG_3233Even my daugher, Edie, was up and in to help!IMG_3234Voila! The finished product! [Fabulous sparkle linen from Classic Party Rentals of Virginia and couch from Ampa Events. The photos featured in our booth came from these incredible photographers: Laura Gordon, Kristin Moore, Joyeuse, Carly Arwine.]
LK Expo Booth 2015IMG_3242And our favorite addition was the Instagram Photobooth Prop! This was a hit with attendees and vendors alike, and in someone’s hands the entire show. So much fun! IMG_3240IMG_3282 IMG_3280 IMG_3278

It was incredibly important to us that our booth spoke to who we are as a business and was an open and comfortable area for couples to come and chat with us.  We had a great time designing the booth and then meeting so many fantastic couples.

A successful day for sure! Thanks to Richmond Weddings for a great show, the vendors who helped us with our booth, and the lovely folks who came by to chat! We met a ton of prospective clients and are super pumped to bring you all on as official members of the LK family!

All the best,

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the “B” word

September 15, 2014

We are tackling a bear today, y’all. Yes, the dreaded subject of the wedding budget (Get it? “B” word?). Regardless of how much money you have to spend, this topic is usually met with a heavy sigh, or just complete avoidance.  [Budget? What budget?] We are talking about a few simple tips and tricks to get your started. We’re not diving too deep into this today, but just a few small conversations and evaluations can take a huge load off of this bear.

We’d like to put a different spin on the “moo-lah” conversation. Let’s not talk about percentages of how much should be slated to venue vs. food vs. rentals. You can Google, Bing or Yahoo Search “wedding budget” and literally 8.5 million topics appear. Just trust us. Talk about overwhelming, no? Let’s talk big picture. Let’s start at the beginning and we’ll coach you on how to do this crazy financial thing.

Put First Things First – Who is going to contribute to the overall budget and how much will each party fund? In the 21st century, long standing traditions of the bride’s family footing the entire bill are rare. Add to that, partners, grandparents, relatives and the bride and groom’s contributions and you could potentially have a crowd large enough to be considered a Kickstarter campaign for your wedding! Lucky you! On the other hand, it it’s just the two of you who are hosting this event, have a “sit down” (to use a Soprano’s term) and have a budget discussion. Nope, it’s not fun, but you’ll have 10,000 more of these in the course of your marriage. May as well start with this one!
Prioritize – Sit down and talk about your wedding. What are the items that are most important to the two of you?
Are you foodies, and you absolutely must have that custom farm-to-table, localvore menu?
Plan on wowing your guests from the moment they walk in? They venue will be a priority then. You’ll need something large and opulent enough to hold all those people.
Maybe you’ve envisioned an outdoor wedding with tents and lighting set at a plantation, then the rentals must be a priority for you.
Once you set those priorities, you’ll use this as the central, driving force for all things wedding. From venues, to caterers and rental invoices, if you maintain your priorities throughout the planning process, you will end up with the wedding you wanted from the very beginning.
Spend Smart – Seems obvious doesn’t it? Of course you want to spend smart! But with weddings, emotions are also at play and that can cause some of us to spend with our heard over our brain. [Insert: “We’re only getting married once… we can splurge on just this one thing right?]
What we mean by this is get as much for your money as possible. Love a venue because it’s pretty? That’s great, but that doesn’t help you in your quest to seat 155 of your closest friends and family. If there’s another venue that is comparable in cost, but you get tables and chairs and maybe even linens, that’s a better spend. This potentially frees up funds to be allocated to other items in your budget. Very important.
Don’t try to fit a square peg in a round hole – The message here is: work with what you book. If your reception is in an old historic building, work with that. Don’t fight it and try to make it a W Hotel ballroom. You’ll spend too much money trying to change something that can be fantastic. Trust us, we’ve seen it.
Babysit that Budget – Finally, watch the budget like a puppy loose in your shoe closet. The moment you ignore it, it can go off the radar. Before you know it, you’re over budget in several areas. Manage it. Keep track of it. You can “move the beans” around from bucket to bucket as you spend and save (and honestly, that’s kind of fun!) but keep your eyes on it. Because we know what a puppy can do when left unattended!
Hope you found this helpful!
Until next time…
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crafty cocktails

August 29, 2014

What a perfect way to kick off this Holiday weekend–cocktails! And not just any cocktail, these three delicious recipes all feature Richmond’s own Belle Isle Moonshine, a locally made 100% organic corn moonshine, distilled in copper stills. But that is not all! One of my September Groom’s, Alex Wotring, is the co-founder and managing partner of this incredible local company! He so graciously shared his top three most favorite drinks with me and we’re featuring them today. Go grab some Belle Isle Moonshine and make your self a refreshing cocktail this Holiday weekend!content_cocktailoftheweek725

Monk on Moonshine

38oz of Belle Isle Premium Moonshine
19 1/2oz of Punt e Mes Sweet Vermouth
4oz of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
4oz of Green Chartreuse
Aged in a new, charred oak 2 liter barrel

Most people don’t want to wait 5 to 6 weeks for a drink or buy a barrel, but if you have patience, it is totally worth the wait! Because all of the ingredients are aged together, the cocktail takes on a silky smooth texture that is on a different level.

oldfashioned

Shiny Old Fashioned

2oz Belle Isle Premium Moonshine
1/2oz simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1/4oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
Bourbon soaked sun dried cherries
Fresh orange wedge

Might be my favorite! The sweetness from the muddled orange and maraschino liqueur works perfectly with the bitters and the pepper finish of the Premium Moonshine. If you take the time to make the bourbon soaked sun dried cherries, it’s a great snack when you get to bottom of your drink!

moonshine-mule

Moonshine Mule

2oz. Belle Isle Premium Moonshine
1 oz. fresh lime or lemon juice
Ginger beer
Lime wheel for garnish

It is a play on a very popular cocktail right now, the Moscow Mule. Our spirit is similar to a vodka, which is traditionally used in Mules, but the sweetness from the organic corn blends even better with a good ginger beer than even the best premium vodka. I prefer lemon juice in my mules and will sometimes use Crabbies Alcoholic Ginger Beer when we need an added kick!

indexWe just love supporting local business, especially if they allow for cool, creative cocktails at a party or event. Consider incorporating local foods and beverages into your wedding and adding signage so that you’re guests, especially the out-of-town ones, get to know Richmond and our incredible resources. I also encourage you to read up on Belle Isle Craft Spirits on their website and their book that just launched. They’ve teamed up with renown restaurants in the area to create some super yummy recipes for every palate.

Thank you, Alex, for sharing some recipes and feedback with us! We are thrilled for your wedding in just two short weeks!lindsay-signature

Make sure to follow Belle Isle Moonshine on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

an artful wedding

August 22, 2014

Back in June we had the privilege of showcasing at Richmond Bride‘s an Artful Wedding at The John Marshall Ballrooms. It’s been awhile since either Windy or I were behind a bridal show booth, but it was tons of fun and we met wonderful brides, moms and friends. It also helped that we set up shop right next to the delicious Cakes by Graham! Enjoy a few of our instagram photos we snapped throughout the day. Leave it to us to be so busy chatting with brides we forgot to snap a picture of the whole table. Don’t you ever feel like you need a photographer to follow you wherever you go just to remember to capture memories?

blog1545069_10152465061499303_4872882210258472839_nWe designed our booth with our brand in mind, of course. So LK blue was everywhere! We provided ideas for brides for favors, signature drinks and stationery with a watercolor motif. We popped the centerpiece with our favorite coral charm peonies and other gorgeous blooms by the talented Mary Henry with M Henry Design.  Our vendor friends were incredibly generous to provide wonderful things for us to display. The cake was supplied by Sweet Fix, the stationery and signage was Design Corral and the linen was Connie Duglin. You folks made us look good!IMG_2054.JPG10473614_10152465061569303_5559470891639613001_n10410571_10152465061379303_8396490810679192340_nBonus! We also got to meet and greet with Monte Durham from “Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta“! photo

Thanks again, Richmond Bride, for having us! It was a ball!

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better together

August 8, 2014

Better Together, a great song by Jack Johnson, is coincidentally used for weddings quite a bit. But for Lindsay and I, it’s one of the many reasons we teamed up this year. Truly, we are better together.

Richmond Bride magazine may agree too, they titled an article about us “Better Together” that came out in June and we are thrilled!whitespace

Let’s back up.  In March, Lindsay and I were meeting with a linen vendor for an event when Lindsay received a voice mail from the editor of Richmond Bride magazine. She had heard about our new business partnership and wanted to interview us about it for a feature. On speaker phone, outside of The Jefferson in my Mom minivan, we were divulging our newest business endeavor to Anne!

So here it is! No link, unfortunately, but we encourage you to head to your nearest Barnes and Noble to pick up your copy. Note we’re on page 16!

Rich Bride Article

 

Thanks Richmond Bride!

Enjoy everyone!

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pop the bubbly, a blog is born!

July 15, 2014

Pop the bubbly, get down and do the worm, shout ’til your hearts content or just simply clink glasses with us! We are launching a new blog–the two of us. Say what?! That’s right the two of us. Let me rewind and catch you up.

In January of 2014, I joined forces with the incomparable Windy Jennings, formerly of Weddings by Windy here in Richmond. Our friends over at Don Mears Photography so effortlessly coined us “Windsay.” Irresistibly cute. While the official company name is still LK Events and Design, same brand and all, “Windsay” just has a certain ring to it, don’t you think? We just couldn’t let it go. In a nutshell, here is our history:

Lindsay started a business.

Windy had a business.

Windy dissolved said business.

Windy and Lindsay remained good friends.

Lindsay went on the silent hunt for a planner to help expand LK.

Windy was secretly wishing to get back in the business.

Windy approached Lindsay with an idea. Lindsay loved the idea.

Windsay was born.

head shots, LK Evenets and Design, Lindsay Kennedy, Windy Jennings

head shots, LK Evenets and Design, Lindsay Kennedy, Windy Jennings{Photos by PhotoLadyLove}

Since Windy and I joined forces under one roof, a ton has happened! We launched a new website, hosted a party, was featured in a local magazine and now we’re starting a fresh, new blog!

lkscreenshotWe hope you’ll take the time to peruse our new website and galleries and learn more about us! If you’re coming from my old blog, Dulcet and Dapper, welcome! After almost two years, it’s about time for a fresh new blog with new content. don’t you think? Both Windy and I will post here about once a week to feature fun things we’ve done, beautiful things we’ve found and what we hope will be really helpful information to guide you through the planning process. Consider us open books!

Raise your glass, y’all, because we are celebrating over here!

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