On May 19, 2017 these two beauties quietly said I Do on a sunny evening at Hammond Castle in Gloucester, MA. We had the pleasure of sharing this special night with them as they eloped and will forever be thankful for that.. 

Happy first anniversary loves. Hope you are enjoying some icecream today. 

xo
~Tiffany 


Stunning photos by the uber talented (and really cool) Cody Jordan 

Tented weddings and events are kind of our thing. For the past 7 years we have worked with our clients to create some amazing tented weddings and events all over New England! From the beaches of Cape Cod to the mountains of NH. An airport in Plum Island and back yards all over New England. Hardy Farm in Fryeburg Maine and the Stevens Estate in Andover, Massachusetts. Over the years we put tents in some of the most beautiful places!

Our clients come to us because they want something different, something that matches their style! That may be a wedding at Spencer Peirce Little Farm in Newbury, MA or a client appreciation party on the waterfront in Newburyport, MA. We have put a tent on the beaches of Provincetown on Cape Cod and on the shores of York, Maine. Yeah, tented weddings and events really are kind of our thing!

And we couldn't be happier with that! We love the logistics of planning a tented event. From designing a tent layout in our custom programs to watching the weather in preparation for the big day- we love every part of putting together a tented wedding or tented event. Do not let this intimidate you- tented weddings and events may have a lot of working parts but we will guide you every step of the way. We have been doing this for 7 years. We will keep the stress level down and help you work out every detail.

Interested in something like this? Planning to spend your wedding day in a tent? Are you throwing a big party and plan on renting a tent? Want to know who are favorite companies to work with are? Want to know who does the best job with a tented event? We should talk. We will help you make this a reality.

Talk soon,
The Tented Wedding & Event Pros at Detailed Engagements
email: hello@DetailedEngagements.com phone: 978-380-4162

ps: here are a few photos of some of our tented goodness that we have worked on through the years. Enjoy!

Photos by: 

Alex + Betty Photography
Zac Wolf Photography
Karen Kelly Photography
The Rustic Studio
Martino Micko Photography
Heather Littlefield Photography
Anne Skidmore Photography, Jordan Luciano
Matthew Yeaton Photography
She of the Woods Photography
Dee Renee Photography

And the rest are courtesy of a Detailed Engagements iPhone :-) 

I was invited to spend the weekend at the Mountain View Grand Resort and Spa in Whitefield. NH by their catering manager Ms. Katie Norris and I jumped at the opportunity! My better half and I left work early a few Fridays ago and made the beautiful drive up to the White Mountains to this stunning resort. As soon as we arrived at the beautiful grand entrance a bellhop named Daniel welcomed us and set the tone for all that we were about to experience that weekend! We were quickly checked in and brought to our gorgeous room. We thought it was absolutely stunning with its picturesque views of over 30 mountain tops including Mt. Washington but we later learned that this was actually the bridal suite where the bride usually gets ready on the day of her wedding! It was spacious and a perfect set up for this with its separate sitting area, breakfast nook and large bathroom. Well played MVG! Once we were all settled in we decided to enjoy our first evening at the resort with a cocktail on their sprawling front porch known for its spectacular views of the sunset. And the sunset that evening did not disappoint. It was an absolutely gorgeous view and all I could think about was how stunning a mountain side ceremony at sunset would be at this one-of-a-kind resort. We did a little exploring on Friday evening to see as much as we could. We came across a game room that had a movie theatre across the hall! We saw the outdoor skating rink and an outdoor fire pit. We sat by fire places enjoying their oversized leather chairs and an adult cocktail or two from their in house tavern. If we hadn't already figured it out- this little self guided tour would have told us that the MVG resort was truly special and we were in for a wonderful weekend.

We enjoyed all that this historic resort had to offer while we were there from dining in Harvest Tavern on Friday evening and chatting with Lauren our fabulous bartender to competing in an Ax Throwing competition on Saturday morning before enjoying some time in the pool and sauna. But one of the top experiences we enjoyed was dining in the 1865 Wine Cellar on Saturday night. This was phenomenal! The moment we walked down the stairs and stepped into this impressive setting we knew we were in for a wonderful experience. From the quiet, relaxing setting to our exquisite meals everything was perfection! But our waiter Javar made the night! From his wine knowledge to food suggestions- it was just perfect. We enjoyed our chats with him and ended up having a relaxing meal that lasted over 2 hours! While we were enjoying ourselves down in the Wine Cellar we felt like time had stopped and we were in our own little world. I can't say it enough- it was perfection.

The whole time I was enjoying myself I kept imagining this resort as the perfect setting for a wedding, a large corporate retreat or any event for that matter. What the Mountain View Grand Resort has created is not just a wedding venue or an event space but a feeling and an experience. From the second you and your guests step out of your car and enter up the stair way into the grand entrance you will become lost in the experience and never want to leave. From winter nights roasting marshmellows by the fire the night before your wedding to welcome parties on the veranda on a warm summer evening- this resort has it all. I haven't even mentioned their gorgeous venue spaces yet! With something for every group size, every style and every event- they do not disappoint. If you have not thought about this resort for your wedding or event or even just a weekend away you are truly missing out. This is a NH mountain resort at its finest located in the beautiful White Mountains.

Just writing this is bringing back all of the feels from our trip and is making me want to go back again! Hmmm... when do we have another free weekend?! MVG here we come!

For more information on weddings and event at Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa or to book a weekend away for yourself visit:
www.MountainViewGrand.com or email Katie at KNorris@MountainViewGrand.com. Make sure to tell them I sent you ❤


Cheers!
~Tiffany J. Learned
Owner
Lead Wedding & Event Planner

Well done Pantone, well done. Big kudos to the 2017 Pantone  Color of the Year. We love it! Every wedding needs a touch of greenery. From the classic ballroom affairs in downtown Boston to a rustic barn wedding in the New Hampshire mountains this color will work for all styles and in lots of color pairings. 

Cheers Pantone! We love the choice. We know we will be seeing lots of this in this year's wedding designs! 

~Tiffany

Small budget and a BIG Pinterest board? You might be setting yourself up for disappointment.

One of the first things I ask my new clients to send me is their Pinterest Board. This is like a little magic look at what the couple has as an expectation for their special day. As much as I love using this site it also makes me very sad. There are so many options, so much to look at! So much to inspire to be like as a couple but unfortunately Pinterest is NOT reality for 99% of the couples getting married today. I hate to be the bearer of the bad news but its either you hear it from me now or you find out the hard way on your wedding day.... 

Your wedding is NOT going to look like your Pinterest Board. Your wedding is going to be amazing, It is going to be perfect. Perfectly yours. But it will NOT look like your Pinterest Board. 

OK drink that in, read it again. Now breathe. 

Unless you have a HUGE budget and Martha Stewart as a fairy godmother your Pinterest Dream Wedding Board is not going to come to life. 

Here are a few factors that will play into this: 

• 99% of the time those spectacular photos are not real weddings- they are staged, styled photoshoots. The pros who put that up had the luxury of waiting for the perfect weather to shoot that in and took that shot over and over again until they got it just right. What you can not see is the team of designers, stylists and other pros standing just off camera to fluff, fix and adjust between each photo just to get it all absolutely perfect. 
• Your budget simply won't allow for it. That crazy, cool sprawling centerpiece is simply not within your modest budget and there is no discount, or flower "switch-out" that can make it within your budget. There isn't a florist in the world who can create $1,000 centerpiece for $25 a table. It. Just. Isn't. Going. To. Happen. 
• Your venue, location, reception/ceremony site is nothing like the one you have pinned in your Pinterest Board entitiled- Dream Wedding. You can not actually hang things from the ceiling in your venue, you can't have actual flame in your venue and your venue is a ballroom in NY- not a barn in So Cal.

Now that I have burst your Pinterest bubble and you hate me think about this- who else is telling you the truth? I know it is hard to hear but I never want to have a couple believe something is possible when it simply is not. From the budget hurdle to venue constraints there are things which will make your wedding different, special and perfectly yours. Embrace it! Love it! You are marrying your partner in crime, you soulmate. That is what is important- not how close you can get your 'real wedding' to look like your Pinterest wedding. 

So often I want to just call Pinterest and ask them if they know what they are doing to people!?! They are giving them a false sense of reality and then when the couple realizes they can not actually afford all that they have pinned in their boards they are let down and nothing seems 'good enough'. That truly breaks my heart. Yes, I am a wedding planner but I am also realistic. Weddings are but one day, one very important day, but one day nonetheless in the trip known as you life which you will take with your new husband/wife. That is what is important. Stop comparing yourself to all of those other weddings and just plan yours. Don't set yourself up for unrealistic expectations only to have them crushed when the it comes down to the bottom line of how much things cost. 

This blog come out of a place of love. I have chatted with far too many couples who have an unrealistic expectation for their wedding day because of the ideas they have on their Pinterest Board. Ask them after their wedding what the day was actually like. They will tell you it was perfect- but nothing like what they had 'imagined' it would be like. 

Now keep pinning but pin cautiously. Do not walk into your florist or your cake maker with unrealistic expectations otherwise you will be very disappointed. Think clearly and logically and it will save you a lot of heartache in the long run. Trust me. 

Happy planning & thanks for reading! 
Talk soon,
​~Tiffany