I don’t think it is any secret how much I love fashion accessories.  I think you can take the simplest outfit and dramatically up the style quotient with great accessories.

I’m feeling generous today, so I have a nice little giveaway item to share with you.  Simply leave a comment below telling us what your favorite accessory item is and why.  Every comment will be “tossed in a hat” and a winner will be drawn from all the entries.

I really debated keeping this Polka Dot Pin for myself.  It is soooo cute!  I wear a lot of black and white, so I could think of a dozen or so ways to wear this. 

Seriously, you’d better comment below in order to win it before I change my mind!  Happy weekend, everyone!

Note from Jeannine:  Melissa and I were at Eventology together in 2009, but didn’t connect personally there.  I began to follow her on Twitter after the conference and I’m so glad I did!  As my good fortune would have it, I was able to hang out with Melissa and get to know her better in June at WeWed in Southwest Florida.  Melissa is so positive and upbeat and she has a wealth of wedding planning knowledge.  I hope you enjoy her Style Profile.  Be sure to follow her on Twitter at @WeddingPlanner1.

Location: Gainesville, Florida  | Serving North Florida, including Gainesville, Ocala, Jacksonville and The Panhandle

Company Name: MasterPiece Weddings

Number of years in business: 16 
 
Website: www.masterpieceweddings.net 
 
Blog: http://masterpieceweddings.blogspot.com 
 
Please describe your product or service: Full Service Wedding and Event Planning 

How would you describe your personal style? Wow, this is a hard question, I would say Simple, Classic, Awesometastic Modishness. 

How does your personal style relate to your business branding?  Romantical, Fresh, Modern, Awesometastic 

What would you like people to know about you that they will not discover through your website or blog?   Let’s do this as 7 random Melissa facts: 1.) I am a work-a-holic. 2.) I worked up until the day before I went into labor. 3.) I believe completely in miracles. 4.) My life is an open book, ask me anything, honestly. And sometimes I am too honest. honestly. 5.) I’ve had cancer twice and beat it twice! Take that CANCER! 6.)  I’ve been told I am too chipper. I’m okay with that. 7.) My husband and I tried to have a baby for 15 years, were told by 7 doctors we couldn’t get pregnant and now have an amazing 7 months old baby boy!

What message would you like to convey to others in the industry?  First, be yourself, don’t try to copy someone else’s work.  The hardest thing in a creative industry is to find who you are.  Create your company and your brand without trying to be what you think everyone else wants you to be.  It took me 14 years to figure that out.  I was what I thought brides wanted me to be, not who I really am.  Be yourself, and don’t copy, steal, or borrow someone else’s work.  Please.  Find your own creative style and embrace it.
 
What is your most treasured possession? My son, Gabriel. My Family. My Faith. (not in that order) 

Please share your favorite beauty or style tip: Be Yourself, and Dress Yourself. Don’t try to be someone else. Shop smart. Check the sale racks first. 
 
What is your "go-to" meeting attire? Slacks and Black Blouse, fun accessories and black strappy heels. 

What is your "go-to" evening industry event attire? (i.e., associational meeting, vendor or venue open house, etc.) – Boringly enough, a little black dress, and strappy heels. 

What is your attire for wedding/event day set-up? Set up, is jeans, and a black shirt (wow, I wear a lot of black) and comfy shoes, usually flats or sneakers. 

What is your attire for actual wedding/event? Cocktail dress (black) and black flats. 

What style and brand of shoes do you wear on wedding/event days? My new favorites for the past year are Charlotte Russe flats, I needed to buy 100 pairs, I love them! 

What are your favorite jeans and why? White House Black Market jeans fit me so well, and I seem to get a lot of compliments when I wear them, I should wear them every day! 

What are a few of your favorite cosmetic products? I am not into big name cosmetics, so Almay is my go-to, since my skin is sensitive.

What products are in your current skincare regimen? Soap. Water. Rinse. Repeat. And moisturizer in the AM. (Gosh, I am boring, huh!)

Who is your favorite celebrity style icon and why? Half Giada de Laurentiis (for her honesty and sense of self, half Jennifer Garner (her inner and outer beauty, ability to juggle work and mommy’ness) half Drew Barrymore (for her ability to overcome extreme adversity and still maintain grace and success.

Please share with us (in 50 words or less) your favorite beauty or style tip: I am obviously not the best person to give you beauty advice… I mean seriously. I am pretty plain Jane. But I can tell you from experience to wear clothes that fit you, don’t wear clothes that are two sizes too big because they are comfy (those are PJs) but be comfortable. And be yourself. Because you are beautiful!

Editor’s Note:  I’d love to feature your Style Profile on The Stylish Planner!  If you are a Wedding or Event Planner, click here for a submission form:  Stylish Planner Submission Form .  If you are any other wedding/event vendor, click here:  Wedding & Event Professional Style Profiles.

 Source

Inevitably, at least once a year, I allow my priorities to get completely out of line. Honestly, I have several self-destructive behaviors that you would think I would overcome as I get older. Some I do, some I don’t. Here are a few of the repeat offenders for your reading pleasure:

• Zombie TV marathons – I am so tired at the end of the day that I crash in front of the TV, watching an absurd amount of TV when I really should be sleeping. Seriously, I really should clean my own house instead of watching Niecy Nash and her crew clean someone else’s.
• Poor food choices – lately, I grab whatever is quick and keeps me from having to cook. Never mind that it isn’t the best choice, it’s fast and I can eat it at my desk.
• Skipping workouts – I had a real workout today for the first time since March and my body can feel it. I know I am so much better at everything when I take that time for myself, so why do I dread it so much?
• Procrastinating the hard stuff – I’ve been doing this a lot lately. I just need to put on my big girl panties and deal with things – at the top of the day, no less.
• Working long hours. I know you do this too, and some days call for long hours, but not every day. I tell myself all the time, “When I get caught up I can go back to regular business hours.” Guess what? I will never be caught up – I just need to prioritize better.
• Not nurturing my relationships. I couldn’t tell you the last time my sweet hubby and I had a date night. How on earth I ended up with a wonderful man who puts up with my idiosyncrasies is anyone’s guess. My son has spent a large portion of his summer as a gamer. I console myself with the fact that most of the games are educational, and it’s too hot outside anyway. I have some amazing girlfriends, but honestly, I couldn’t tell you what most of them have been up to. I. am. awesome.

Really, the list goes on and on. My son starts back to school next week. Back to school time has become a sort of checkpoint point for my annual goals aka New Year’s Resolutions. When I look back to what my life was like this time last year, I was in a much better place than I am now. As a result of having taken on so much this summer, I am overlooking important details – both in my personal life and business.  Why, why, why do I do this?!

It ends today.

I have spent the better part of the last two days feeling sorry for myself and beating myself up. Strangely, I think I needed to experience this low in order to gain the resolve to make some changes. Does anyone else feel this way about life, or am I losing it? Wait. Maybe I don’t want to read the answers to that.

Actually, I decided to share this today because I suspect that some of you do the same thing, right? (Please say yes, please say yes!)

If you feel the same way, invite me to your pity party – not only will I be there, I’ll bring the chips and salsa. Thanks by the way, for stopping in to mine.

I’ve been a loyal follower of Daily Candy for a long time now.  Recently I was hanging out on the site and found these wonderful “how-to” videos for various hairstyles.  With the summer heat beating down, my hair is a frizzy mess and I dare not wear it down.  I’m a super visual person, so these videos will be so helpful and allow me to add a couple of new styles to my repertoire.  I hope you like them too.

Video #1:  Perfect Messy Bun

Video #2:  Side Ponytail

Do you have any fun styles that you’d be willing to share with us?  Email info@thestylishplanner with details.  Thanks!

Back in early May, I wrote a post about a recent analysis I had completed of my wedding business.  I was curious about several things, but in particular, I wanted to take a look at what my average client’s wedding budget and guest counts were.  You can read the post here, but today, I’m talking about target market in a different context.

The analysis was a real eye opener for me.  I could recite the wedding budgets and guest counts of each of my weddings, but looking at my last six averaged together was surprising.  I saw things I hadn’t realized previously.  For instance, I would have guessed the average guest count to be at about 175 – in reality, it was 215.  I would have guessed the average budget to be $45,000, in fact it was double that.  I also noticed a common link to the Interior Design community in Atlanta in my referrals, but I didn’t realize how many clients were really coming from this source.

Seeing the information all on one page was such a help to me.  Now, I share this form in The Style Plan workshops.  Since we are now in the second half of the year, I thought perhaps you would like to do a market analysis also of your first half of 2010, or your last six weddings like I did, whichever you prefer.

Target Market Analysis

Take a look and let me know what kind of results you find.  I’m sure you will be surprised with the findings of at least one area of the analysis.

Have a great week!

Today I’m really excited to share with you a product that I have often wished existed: Hem Gems .

www.hemgems.com

Hem Gems will help you get over the “blues”.  You know, the denim dilemma of needing multiple pairs of jeans in varying lengths.  Longer jeans to wear with heels, shorter lengths to wear with flats. These savvy studs (like tie tacks) are available in four styles that will allow you to shorten any pair of pants – easy peasy.

Check out the Hem Gems website for the 4 different styles that are offered.  At just $20 for an eight-pack, this solution is much more economical than going to a tailor or keeping jeans in more than one length.

What do you think?  Like them or not impressed?

Historically, every Thursday, The Stylish Planner has shared with our readers a wedding or event planner with a great sense of style.  I’ve received many inquiries from photographers especially about featuring other vendors.  So, I’m opening up the Style Profile feature to now include all wedding and event professionals.  Currently, The Stylish Planner has over 1700 unique visitors each month and our readers are all over the U.S., Canada, and Australia.  I know our readers would love to see more Style Profiles, and get to know the amazingly talented people we have in our industry, so take a look at the guidelines below in send in your feature!  In order to be considered for a feature on The Stylish Planner, the following criteria should be met:

· You must be a wedding or event professional with an active single domain website.

· Your submission should include at least one photo of yourself. You can submit as many as you like. I can create a photo collage if you send multiple images. Photos should meet the following criteria:

o Photos should be no more than 1 year old

o Photo(s) should not be smaller than 300 pixels in width. (I can adjust if what you have is larger than this.)

o Preferred photo format is .jpg. If you choose to submit .gif or other files, please know that we reserve the right not to use them. Photo formats other than .jpg appear grainy and are difficult to enhance for the website.

o Photographer credit must be included with photos! (Please include photographer’s name and website.)

· Please include the attached questionnaire with your submission. Send the submission and photo(s) via e-mail to info@thestylishplanner.com with “Featured Professional Style Profile” in the subject line. Please remember to include photo(s) of yourself according to the above criteria.

You will be advised if you are chosen to be featured on The Stylish Planner and when your feature will be posted. Once your feature is posted, you will receive a badge (shown below) for your website or blog. We would appreciate if you would post a blog entry on your blog about your feature. Also, please follow @StylishPlanner on Twitter and re-tweet our announcement of your feature. Thank you in advance for helping us promote The Stylish Planner blog to other wedding and event professionals!

PLEASE NOTE:  If you are a wedding and/or event planner, we have a more detailed questionnaire for your style profile!  Please click here for details: Featured Planner Submission Guidelines.

I have struggled with back pain since a car accident in 1994 that nearly took my life.  In 2006, I spent a year in physical therapy and was tested for every auto-immune disease you can think of because of my intense pain.  Eventually the physical therapy worked, but not without pain during the exercising and workouts that my therapist prescribed.  I much prefer exercise over medication, so even now when I have flare-up’s, I can do the exercises that I learned in order to get relief.  (That and generous applications of Icy Hot.  Not the best smelling stuff in the world, but it helps my pain when nothing else does.)

Lots of things can create back pain and after talking to so many wedding professionals, I’m convinced we don’t take care of ourselves as we should while we are working to create excellence for our clients.  Here are a few common reasons why you may be experiencing back pain and what you can do about it.*

1)  You work too much.  Did you know that sitting puts 40% more pressure on your spine than standing?  Back muscles weaken if you don’t use them; inactive joints lose lubrication and age more quickly.  Get up and walk around for a couple of minutes every half hour—take trips to get water, use the bathroom, or grab papers off the printer.

2)  You’ve been skipping your workouts.  Get moving to alleviate aches and pains.  Even a light workout such as walking gets blood flowing and eases stiffness associated with back pain.

3)  Take up yoga.  Because it promotes deep breathing and relaxation, as well as stretching and strength, yoga may help with both emotional and structural triggers of back pain.

4)  Ignoring the pain could make it worse.  Over time, an increase in muscle tension intensifies pain.  Identify and write down details of your pain throughout the day and in varying situations.  Relay that information to your doctor or physical therapist.

5)  You’re stressed.  (No joke!)  Chronic or acute stress can directly trigger back pain and cause your whole body to clench up.  Muscles that contract need to relax eventually – if you’re stressed all the time and those muscles stay tight, it can eventually cause major pain.  Think of ways to calm down such as exercise, hanging out with friends or family.  Relax and read a book.  Listening to music has been proven to be particularly helpful.

Most importantly, see a doctor.  You could have an issue that cannot be treated by any of the means, or that could be aggravated by exercise.  A doctor can prescribe the best form of treatment for you based on your condition.

*Information for this post was adapted from an article on Prevention.com

Do you suffer with back pain?  What is your favorite back pain remedy?

I have struggled with back pain since a car accident in 1994 that nearly took my life.  In 2006, I spent a year in physical therapy and was tested for every auto-immune disease you can think of because of my intense pain.  Eventually the physical therapy worked, but not without pain during the exercising and workouts that my therapist prescribed.  I much prefer exercise over medication, so even now when I have flare-up’s, I can do the exercises that I learned in order to get relief.  (That and generous applications of Icy Hot.  Not the best smelling stuff in the world, but it helps my pain when nothing else does.)

Lots of things can create back pain and after talking to so many wedding professionals, I’m convinced we don’t take care of ourselves as we should while we are working to create excellence for our clients.  Here are a few common reasons why you may be experiencing back pain and what you can do about it.*

1)  You work too much.  Did you know that sitting puts 40% more pressure on your spine than standing?  Back muscles weaken if you don’t use them; inactive joints lose lubrication and age more quickly.  Get up and walk around for a couple of minutes every half hour—take trips to get water, use the bathroom, or grab papers off the printer.

2)  You’ve been skipping your workouts.  Get moving to alleviate aches and pains.  Even a light workout such as walking gets blood flowing and eases stiffness associated with back pain.

3)  Take up yoga.  Because it promotes deep breathing and relaxation, as well as stretching and strength, yoga may help with both emotional and structural triggers of back pain. 

4)  Ignoring the pain could make it worse.  Over time, an increase in muscle tension intensifies pain.  Identify and write down details of your pain throughout the day and in varying situations.  Relay that information to your doctor or physical therapist. 

5)  You’re stressed.  (No joke!)  Chronic or acute stress can directly trigger back pain and cause your whole body to clench up.  Muscles that contract need to relax eventually – if you’re stressed all the time and those muscles stay tight, it can eventually cause major pain.  Think of ways to calm down such as exercise, hanging out with friends or family.  Relax and read a book.  Listening to music has been proven to be particularly helpful.

Most importantly, see a doctor.  You could have an issue that cannot be treated by any of these means, or that could be aggravated by exercise.  A doctor can prescribe the best form of treatment for you based on your condition.

*Information for this post was adapted from an article on Prevention.com

Do you suffer with back pain?  What is your favorite back pain remedy?

Tags: Atlanta Wedding Planner, Wedding and Event Professionals, Wedding & Event Planners, Wellness Wednesday, Back Pain, Bad Back Habits

Temperatures lately in Atlanta are reaching the 100 plus mark on clear days.  That makes it hard to look and feel polished when running from meeting to meeting.  You may be trying to beat the heat in your part of the country too, I know.  To freshen up without starting over, try this 5-minute touch up:

1)  Remove excess oil,  smooth out foundation and eye shadow with an oil-blotting sheet.   I like Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets.  You can purchase these at most drug stores and discount retail stores for about $4.50.

2)  Then spot apply light foundation wherever yours has worn off.  Reapply concealer as needed.

3)  To brighten your face, sweep a shimmery multitonal highlighting powder on your cheeks using a blush brush.  The right powder will have a hint of color and contain light-reflecting pigments that boost radiance and make you look well rested.  Try Bobbi Brown Bronze Shimmer Brick Compacts – they come in varying shades and retail for about $38.

http://bobbibrowncosmetics.com

4)  The last step for your midday touch up?  Slick on a medium-toned pink or berry lipgloss.

You look marvelous!

What’s your beat the heat summer tip for make-up?  Let us know!

Tags: Atlanta Wedding Planner, Tuesday Beauty, Wedding and Event Professionals, Wedding & Event Planners, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Clean & Clear Blotting Sheets, Summer Make Up Touch Up