Prestigious Occasions WINNER THE KNOT BEST OF WEDDINGS 2016

Prestigious Occasions NAMED WINNER IN THE KNOT BEST OF WEDDINGS 2016

Tenth Annual Best of Weddings Awards Honor the Top Wedding Vendors Across America

Towson, Maryland/January 12, 2016—Kay Fraser, owner and creative director of Prestigious Occasions Event Planning & Design is pleased to announce that Prestigious Occasions have been selected as a 2016 winner in The Knot Best of Weddings, an award representing the highest-rated wedding professionals as reviewed by real couples, their families and wedding guests on The Knot, the #1 wedding resource.

In 2016, only 2% of the 250,000 local wedding professionals listed on TheKnot.com have received this distinguished accolade. In its tenth annual year, The Knot continues its longstanding tradition of supporting local wedding vendors with The Knot Best of Weddings 2016, an annual by-couples, for-couples guide to the top wedding professionals across the country. To determine the winners, The Knot assessed almost one million reviews from real couples across the various vendor categories—venues, musicians, florists, photographers, caterers and more. These winners represent the best of the best for wedding planning professionals that a bride or groom would want to consider order to inspire, plan and pull off their own unique wedding.

“At Prestigious Occasions we love assisting our clients with creating memories that will last a lifetime,” Kay Fraser, owner and creative director.

The Knot has helped inspire and plan more than 25 million weddings. With a rich history of providing quality content and inspiration to couples, The Knot is making it easier for couples to connect with just the right wedding professional to create a wedding that is unique to them.

About

Prestigious Occasions is an event planning and design company. We provide professional wedding planning and styling services with a fresh and inspiring approach.
We are a Baltimore, Maryland based company servicing the Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia and beyond. With our proactive planning approach we work with you to design your wedding within your budget and with open and endless communication as we bring your vision to life. We like to meet with clients as early as possible in the planning stage to help guide you on the right path and identify the services that works best for your wedding planning needs.
Whether you are looking for creative designs for your wedding and would love a professional touch or simply prefer to have a professional planner on your team to execute your vision. We are here to begin working with you and take the stress away!

Prestigious Occasions

Event Planning & Design

722 Dulaney Valley Road Suite 384

Towson, MD 21204

410.783.8211

www.PrestigiousOccasions.com

About The Knot

The Knot is the nation’s leading wedding resource with a marketplace that seamlessly engages, matches and connects couples with the right local vendors, products and services they need to plan and pull off their wedding.

Planning a Wedding in a Different State

Planning from a distance can sometimes be challenging, whether you are planning a destination wedding to an island or to another state. Hey let’s face it planning an event in the same state can be a bit much! 

We are no strangers to this concept, so far for the 2014 year we have completed three weddings with Brides that live in another state and have traveled to Baltimore to tie the Knot! This happens for a variety of reasons; they may have met the love of their life in Baltimore or simply grew up in Maryland before relocating. Let’s face it planning a wedding in a different state can be stressful if you do not have a good plan in place and great support (family and/or your wedding team of vendors). 

Our most recent wedding was with a wonderful couple that resides in the state of Texas. We worked with them on planning their wedding with a good amount emails, phone conversations, and other forms of communication. There were in person meetings when they traveled in town during the nine months we worked together. 

By the time they arrived into Baltimore a few days before the wedding, they were in very good shape with minor items to take care of. 

If you are planning a wedding from a distance, do not stress it can be done.

Here are a five tips to help you plan your wedding in a state you do not live in:

1.      Start planning as early as possible by creating your own detailed planning agenda. While there are many online tools to help you stay on track, those tools do not know when you will be traveling to the state you will be getting married in. This may mean booking your photographer at 5 months out instead of 8 months. Side note: choosing a good photographer is very important!

2.      Do not rely on online sources for everything, this is very helpful…but sometimes this may sway your decision of quantity vs. quality. Use online as a tool and dig a little deeper in what wedding professionals have to offer in their areas of expertise, not all details and portfolios fit online.  

3.      Consider hiring a planner ….you should consider meeting and hiring a professional planner that is very knowledge of the industry and the market. Since you are planning from a distance, their communication must be GREAT!

4.      If your venue has a planner some things you should keep in mind are: will the venue planner assist you will identifying vendors, negotiating contracts, schedule appointments, and attend meetings? These are things should consider and will be beneficial with an outside planner assisting you along the way.

5.      When you plan on traveling into town, plan weeks in advance…most vendors are working on events for the weekend. If you can schedule all your appointments within a 5-15 mile radius this will be helpful for you. Tip: If you planner has an office, schedule a full day of appointments at their office so you can get lots accomplished without traveling. 

There are so many things that you will need to know, research as much as possible until you have a good understanding, be as organized and detailed as possible when contacting vendors and planning overall. If this is too stressful or you just need some help, considering interviewing at least two to three planners.

Colorful Teal and Orange Nigerian Fusion Wedding in Baltimore, Maryland

Colorful Teal and Orange Nigerian Fusion Wedding in Baltimore, Maryland

This is blog is originally posted by Munaluchi Bridal, we are so excited that one of our weddings was selected to be a feature!

Thank you Charlotte & Sola!

Posted Mar 5 2014 by Angela Washington in Multicultural Weddings, Nigerian Weddings, Real Weddings 

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Charlotte Young and Olusola Fadare’s wedding was a chic and heartwarming celebration of culture and love.  Charlotte’s stunning face, and timeless natural updo were complimented beautifully by her gorgeous crystal statement earrings. Olusola looked like prince charming in his perfectly tailored tuxedo, which he accessorized with charming personalized black cuff-links that read, “I Do.”  This stylish couple fused Charlotte’s African American heritage with Olusola’s Nigerian culture throughout their ceremony and reception. In tribute to the groom’s Yoruba Nigerian roots, their bridesmaids wore Ankara fabric print dresses and danced the night away to Nigerian music; to celebrate the bride’s Southern roots, the couple jumped the broom and soul food was served during the reception. Paosin Photography took the most lovely pictures of this gorgeous fusion wedding.

Quick Facts 

• Wedding Date:  08/17/2013
• Wedding Location:  Preston Hall, Baltimore, MD
• Wedding Colors: Teal and Orange
• Wedding Flowers: We made the flowers for the wedding: I used balsa wood and preserved roses for the bouquet and the bridesmaids used real touch calla lilies.
• First Dance Song: ”Amani” by Philip Monteiro/”I Love My Baby” by Wizkid
• Wedding Cake Flavors: Praline-the wedding cake came from a french bakery.
• Wedding Menu Favorite:  Everyone loved the blending of the Nigerian and American foods, my personal fav was the Nigerian moin join.
• Bridesmaids Gifts: I spent the summer in Morocco and brought back Moroccan pillows, pottery and jewelry for all the bridesmaids.
• Groomsmen Gifts:  Traditional Nigerian caps.

                                 
Wedding Theme
We were inspired by our desire to infuse African American culture with Nigerian style and tradition. We wanted to use bright bold colors and so chose teal and orange.
Wedding Style
My wedding dress was a fit and flare gown from Allure that I paired with a Maggie Sottero diamond belt and a lace veil from Etsy. I loved all of my accessories, but my favorite were my wing tip earrings from Nordstrom.
Incorporation of Culture
We did our best to mix both my SC and his Yoruba Nigerian roots: My bridesmaids wore Ankara fabric print dresses and the groomsmen wore matching Ankara bow ties. We jumped the broom, had both Soul Food and Nigerian food and played both styles of music.
Most Memorable Moment 
There were so many great memories, my fave was after we said I do and jumped the broom, we danced down the aisle to “I Love My Life” by Demarco.
Wedding Advice
Don’t be afraid to stand up for your wedding vision, everyone will offer their input but it is your wedding and at the end of the day you want to be happy with what you see.

Vendors

• Wedding Planner: Prestigious Occasions
• Invitations/Stationery: Invitation Consultants/Vista Print
• Ceremony and Reception Location: Preston Hall
• Wedding Dress: Allure
• Bridesmaids Dresses: Tailor Made by a family friend
• Grooms Suit: Topman
• Hair: Octavia at Studio Chique
• Make-up: Laide Akinfolarin of Style Dazzle
• Shoes: Luichiny
• Photography: Paosin Photography
• Videography: Faraday Video Productions
• Florist: We designed our own flowers
• Wedding Cake: Patisserie Poupon
• DJ: Dee’Jay Donn

Planning Checklist, What First? - The Venue Selection

Greetings and welcome to our blog. 

Planning a wedding can be stressful at times when there seems to be endless details and decisions to make. There are so many checklists and timelines to read, which one is right for you? The reality is you have to pace yourself base on order of importance and your finances. In this blog we will focus on the venue selection and guest list.

Each individual has their own top priorities when planning their wedding…Is the venue one of the most important essentials of the day to you?

The best thing to do is not set your date first. You may fall in love with a venue, however your ideal date is not available…then what do you do? If you have an open mind during the search for a venue, their available date can determine your wedding date. The rental rates and per person cost per guest may be cheaper to host a wedding on a Friday or Sunday instead of a Saturday. In 2012 we had a handful of Thursday evening weddings as well. Have your ideal date/month….however also have an open mind this can save you some money. Some venues are currently booked going in 2015 so don’t wait on securing the one you love with a deposit. During the planning process you will learn that deposits and contracts are the key items to secure your date. 

Have you thought about the number of guests that you plan of attending your wedding? This will play a role in the venue as well.  Your venue should be able to accommodate your estimated guest count comfortably. Remember the more guests you add the more tables, line, centerpieces, etc…

Be prepared putting together the guest list can be a headache! You may have to set a specific amount of guests that you will allow your parents to invite and also come to an agreement with your fiancé on the absolute final number of guests that you will accommodate. Remember the numbers add up pretty quickly. 

Consider meeting with a planner and getting some fine points on planning your wedding. Before you rule out hiring a planner at least meet with one whom is well knowledgeable in planning weddings professionally. 

Happy Planning!