Tis The Season.... To Get Engaged!

To all the men out there that are thinking it's time to ask the one woman in their life they could never live without to be their other half as long as they may live... 


Susie Q Events is here to help! 


It does seem the holidays tend to be the right season to propose. With all the love in the air it's a very romantic time. Susie Q Events can help with an idea of how you will do it. From helping you set up the flowers, candles, hot air balloon, classic car, dinner, picnic.. you name it and we can do it! 


Contact Susie Q today to schedule a meeting! 

Richie + Mandie

I know I have not had a post lately but Susie Q has been busy busy!

I wanted to take a moment to share a wedding that I had the honor of being part of last weekend. 

Amanda and Richard were married at the Shenandoah Valley Country Club in Front Royal, VA. When I arrived on site amanda was as relaxed as could be getting her hair and make up done. She gave me her last minute details and I was off to work making sure all the loose ends were tied up. 

Amanda has her own wedding photography business in partnership with another photographer called Merrissa Hill and Amanda Hoyle Wedding Photography and in fact they were highlighted on my blog in an earlier post. 

Here a few moments captured by Sonja Rio Photography who did a beautiful job! 

The beautiful bride and Susie Q

The ceremony was set up in front of the Fair View House

 

Amanda and Richard's son Tristan was the ring bearer. 

About to walk down the aisle

First Kiss

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Woodard!

Bride's Bouquet by Sponsellar's Florist 

Gorgeous Cake by Celebration Cakes

First Dance 

DJ Connection was the preferred DJ for the wedding - JD Ringer is absolutely the best! 

Congratulations to Mandie and Richie! Thank you for letting me be a part of your special day! 

Heaven on Earth - A Florist's Perspective

Susie Q Events: Tell us about Linda Merritt..

Heaven on Earth: I am married to Bill Merritt and live in Manassas, Va.  I have 2 sons and 4 grandsons who are the love of my life!  My two little maltese dogs and cat are in close competition.  I have been involved in floral design for over 30 years and retired from the Federal Government 10 years ago.  I spent the majority of my career with the U.S. Customs Service in Washington, DC.   I am the owner of Heaven on Earth Wedding Flowers and also design all of the bouquets for weddings.  I always feel like every wedding is "one of my own", and I love working with brides!

Susie Q Events: Describe heaven on earth floral design in six words…

Heaven on Earth: Heaven on Earth makes dream weddings/events a reality.

Susie Q Events: Was floristry something you’ve always wanted to do?

Heaven on Earth: Ever since I was a little girl, I have hade a love for flowers.  My grandmother had massive gardens with all kinds of blooming flowers and I think she passed her passion on to me.  I can remember walking home from grade school  - picking flowers and bringing them to my Mother.  There is nothing more enjoyable than working with flowers and turning them into beautiful creations.

Susie Q Events: What is the strangest thing you have ever been asked to create?

Heaven on Earth: I don't think that I've been asked to create anything strange - but perhaps unique might be a better desription.  Last year we had a winter wedding and the centerpieces were sparkly white birch branches and white ostrich plumes and pearls spraying out of a tall glass trumpet vase.  The tables were sprinkeld with glass diamonds and glitter - it was beautiful when the entire ballroom was finished.

Susie Q Events: What is your advice to a bride choosing a florist and what are some things brides should look for when looking for a florist?

Heaven on Earth: My advice to brides is to select a florist with whom they feel a connnection.  Someone who takes time to see their real vision and listen to their ideas.  A good florist gives advice to a bride, based on years of experience, and then does exactly what the bride wants.  After all, it's all about "the bride".  A bride should also be able to see pictures of actual work; i.e., bouquets and ceremony/reception arrangements.  A good possibility is also a florist who has good write-ups on resource websites, such as The KNOT and Weddingwire.  References should also be freely given. 

 

Susie Q Events:  What are some arrangements that you don’t get requested often but you think look great for a wedding?

Heaven on Earth: I love designing arrangements and bouquets that are "different".  Arrangements that include vegetables (like artichokes) and other unusual flowers such as hanging green amaranthus are really awsome!  In Fall and Winter months, branches and earthy accents are also very pretty additions to floral work. 

Susie Q Events: Where do you see your business in the next 5 years?

Heaven on Earth: In five years, I would like the business to include local floral delivery in the immediate Manassas area - arrangements for anniversaries, birthdays and funeral work.

Susie Q Events: How is Heaven on Earth Floral Design different then its competitors?

Heaven on Earth: Heaven on Earth is very different from typical florists.  We specialize in weddings and events and the designs we make are very different from regular FTD type work.  Weddings have afforded us the opportunity to see beautiful reception venues and churches in the entire Washington, DC area and we take pride in being able to recommend the type of arrangements that compliment specific styles of weddings.  We have the luxury of working with the most beautiful flowers avilable (orchids, mini callas, etc.), where most florists work with FTD style flowers (carnations, mums, and alot of fillers).

Susie Q Events: What is the process when a bride decides to work with you for her wedding day?

Heaven on Earth: Each bride first meets with me for a free consultation.  And, from that meeting, I prepare a written flower proposal.  A deposit of 1/3 of what we think the total order might be is required to book a wedding.  I then work closely with each bride and order the flowers two weeks before the wedding date.  At that time, any final balance is also due.  We are very flexible and can update the order and/or meet with the bride as often as she likes up to the two week mark.  We also offer delivery and complete set up - we never "stop and drop".  It is important to us that everything is as perfect as can be. 

Thank you Linda for sharing with us! 

Heaven on Earth Florists can be contacted by emailing linheavenonearth@aol.com or visiting the website at www.heavenonearthweddingflowers.com

Help Wish Upon a Wedding Win Charity of the Year and a grant for $15,000 to Help Them Make Wishes Come True!

We have a special charity that is very near and dear to us called Wish Upon A Wedding. 
This charity helps couples that are terminally ill or have life altering circumstances achieve the wedding of their dreams.


Wish Upon a Wedding has a chance to win top charity of the year and win $15,000 to help those less fortunate have a blissful wedding and celebrate each others love. 


It only takes a moment to VOTE.

The Stay Classy Awards program is the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the country, honoring the achievements of the nation's top charities, businesses and individuals. This year's program will be in San Diego on September 17th.

 

Out of over 2,000 entries, Wish Upon a Wedding (http://www.wishuponawedding.org)was chosen by judges as one of the TOP 25 philanthropies, nominated to win Charity of the Year in the 3rd Annual Stay Classy Awards. 

 

This award could help the organization secure grant money valued at $15,000, enabling them to further enhance  their current programming and services.  It is their goal to begin providing travel and accommodations for distant families, which they currently lack the funding to do.  Your vote can help them reach their goals more quickly!

 

It only takes a moment to VOTE, so please do so today.

 

http://classyawards.stayclassy.org/classy-awards/voting

Best Wishes, 

Susie Q Events 

Let Them Eat Cake!

Wanda's Cakes is a wonderful wedding cake vendor based in Centreville, VA. Wanda is quite possibly the sweetest person you will come across when planning your wedding. Wanda has an assortment of flavors of cakes and frosting. She is very creative and truly can achieve the design you would like for your wedding cake. 

I had the opportunity to ask Wanda a few questions about her business. 

Susie Q Events: Tell us about Wanda's Cakes..

Wanda: I have been in the cake business for 35 years, creating cakes that are as unique as the brides wishes. Party cakes and grooms cakes are also available.

Susie Q Events: How did you get started in the wedding cake baking business?

Wanda: I taught school many years ago and one of the other teachers brought in the cakes that she made in her cake decorating class. There was so much interest from the teachers that she offered to teach us after school. Being pregnant with my first son, I was interested in learning so that I could make his birthday cake....and the rest is history. I now average about 150 wedding cakes a year and also do party cakes and grooms cakes.

Susie Q Events: What sets you apart from other bakeries in the area?

Wanda: I am not a bakery in the traditional sense. I am licensed in Fairfax County and specialize only in cakes and wedding cakes. I custom design all of my cakes, so everything is special order.

 

Susie Q Events: What is your favorite flavor of wedding cake?

Wanda: I offer an array of cake flavors for the brides to choose from, I have no real favorite.

Susie Q Events: What is the most challenging cake you have made?

Wanda: Probably a very close replica of Van Halen's guitar was the most challenging. 

Susie Q Events: What do you find are the bride’s biggest concerns when choosing a wedding cake? 

Wanda: Unfortunately the brides are concerned about price of the cake.

Susie Q Events: What is the process for creating a wedding cake and how long does it take? 


Wanda: Many more hours go into the process of creating a wedding cake than one would think. It begins with the first contact with the bride, perhaps at a show, or just phone call or email. An appointment is scheduled for the bride to meet with me and taste and plan their cake. Sometimes a second meeting or emails to confirm every detail. Then there is planning, buying the supplies, mixing icing, baking, making special trims, as necessary, icing, decorating and delivering.....then of course the book keeping and always 
the dishes and cleaning of the work area!!! So as I said, many more hours than one would think.

Susie Q Events: If a bride would like to order a cake from Wanda’s Cakes what is the process?

Wanda: Please visit my website (wandascakes.com) and contact me by phone or email.

 Wanda, Thank you so much for speaking with us about your wedding cake business!

If you would like to order a cake from Wanda or schedule a consultation please call 703.830.3866 or e-mail at wandascakes@cs.com.   

She Will Say Yes! Marriage Proposal Planning

Susie Q Events Introduces Marriage Proposal Planning

Centreville, VA: August 16, 2011

Did you know that 80 percent of women are disappointed in their marriage proposal?

Susie Q Events is rolling out a new service to ensure that YOU and your fiancée do not join that statistic!  This month the events coordination company is introducing a Marriage Proposal Planning package to provide a new take on a timeless tradition, the marriage proposal.  Although similar services are available in the New York area, Susie Q Events is the first to introduce Marriage Proposal Planning to the metro DC market.

Susie Bacus, owner of Susie Q Events, saw a demand for these services present in the DC events planning market and decided to capitalize on the opportunity.  Since 2009, Susie Q Events has been operating as a wedding and social celebration planning company in the Northern Virginia area.  This year they have expanded their services to include the entire “DMV” – Northern Virginia, Washington, DC and Southern Maryland.  

They offer three types of packages in their new Marriage Proposal Planning service suite: proposal consultation, proposal planning and proposal production.  Each of the packages has a flat rate pricing guide and is customized to meet the needs of the soon-to-be-groom.

“In wedding preparation, the proposal is always the foundation of the marriage story,” explains Bacus.  “Our brides want to experience a romantic, once-in-a-lifetime moment that can be retold again and again to friends, family, children, and grandchildren.  At Susie Q Events, our goal is to assist the groom-to-be in preparing a special moment that will last forever in her memory… and of course one that will result in the answer ‘YES!’”

For more information on how you can perfect your proposal, head over to www.susieqevents.com. 

What do you think? Please feel free to comment on all of our posts! We would love to hear from you! 

A Moment in Time with Merrissa Hill and Amanda Hoyle Wedding Photography

Susie Q Events had the opportunity to get up close and personal with one of our favorite wedding photography duos. Merrissa Hill Photography and Amanda Hoyle Photography partner to shoot all their wedding photo sessions. They truly complement each other in every aspect to create the most breath taking images. You can absolutely tell they love what they do and do it well. Apart from weddings Merrissa and Mandie each own their own photography business and love to photograph senior portraits, maternity and family photographs.

            

 Merrissa &  Mandie 

                                                                 Photography credit: Sam Puc Power of Passion Tour

Susie Q Events:  Tell us about Merrissa & Mandie. Who are you? Where did you come from? What inspires you?

Merrissa:  Merrissa Lynne Hill.  As a child I had the opportunity to grow up in many different places from Iowa, Tennessee, Alaska, North Carolina, to the panhandle of West Virginia, where I currently reside with my husband and soon to be 4 year old son.  Gosh what doesn't inspire me... I love photographing people and finding that something special in each of them.

Mandie: Amanda Michelle Hoyle, mother, soon to be wife, sister, daughter.. I was born and raised in Front Royal, VA. There are so many things that inspire me... Just looking out the window and seeing the beautiful skyline makes me want to run and get my camera. I also love watching and learning from other photographers, including Merrissa of course.

Susie Q Events: How did you both get started with photography?

Merrissa: I recall at the age of 4 my mother telling me, "... put down that camera before you break it!"  I have had a love affair with it ever since.  My first real job doing photography was in Harpers Ferry taking old time portraits using a late 1800's era 8x10 camera.  I loved it then and am still in love with it today even with all the technological breakthroughs.

Mandie: I started taking pictures at a very young age, I just always knew that that's what I wanted to do. Even when I was a senior in high school I was taking my friends senior portraits. I did my 1st wedding when I was only 17. After that first wedding when I saw the reaction the couple gave me when they came to see their pictures, I knew that I would never stop. It makes people happy, and I love making people happy.

Susie Q Events: How did you two meet and why did you decide to start a partnership in photographing weddings?

Merrissa:  I met Mandie when I photographed her senior portraits.  She expressed to me then that she was planning on continuing her education and studying photography.  She contacted me when she graduated college and began working with me before she ventured out on her own.  From the first time we met, we clicked and our friendship has continued to grow throughout the years.   After photographing quite a few weddings together, we both discovered how well we complement one another.  It was just a gradual transition and as the time passed we both realized that we preferred to photograph weddings together.  At times we have still done weddings apart though it feels like there's just something missing.

Susie Q Events:   How long have Merrissa Hill and Amanda Hoyle Wedding Photography been in business?

Mandie: We decided to officially merge the wedding part of our businesses in March of 2010, but we have been photographing weddings together since May 2008.

Susie Q Events:  How many weddings per year do you all shoot?

Merrissa:  Every year it varies but usually anywhere from 15 to 25.

Susie Q Events:  What has been the most memorable wedding to shoot and why?

Mandie: I really have to think on this one because there are sooo many. One of my favorites/most memorable was a destination wedding I photographed May 2010. Sadly Merrissa was already booked so she didn't get to come along, but it was on the beach in Corolla, NC. It was a very intimate wedding, the whole family was very welcoming and sweet. It was awesome to be apart of the amazing celebration.

Susie Q Events:  Have you ever had anything go wrong  at a wedding, and if so how did you handle it?

Merrissa:  Thanks for asking me this one, Susie.  Okay, so not every wedding is going to be perfect but you have to learn to maintain a sense of calmness despite whatever situation may arise.  Of course I have had my share of hiccups.  One that comes to mind would be when my lights would not operate correctly so I just opened the main doors to the chapel and used ambient lighting which ended up still creating some beautiful portraits.  Sometimes you just got to go with the flow.

Susie Q Events: What is your advice to brides when choosing a photographer?

Mandie: The most important thing is to make sure she picks someone she clicks with. We spend a lot of time with our brides, we are with them the entire day and then of course after when we are going through all of the images and picking favorites for their album. So it's important to like who you are working with. Another important thing to consider is the quality of someone’s work. Once the big day passes the pictures are what you have to look back on, so you want to make sure you pick someone who really knows what they are doing and delivers quality images and products.

Susie Q Events:  Which five words would your friends choose to describe you?

Merrissa: Mandie describing Merrissa....... Reliable, caring, sweet, beautiful & talented.

Mandie:  Merrissa describing Mandie.....  Funny, Driven, Caring, Compassionate & Passionate

Susie Q Events: Finish this sentence… I’ve learned the most from…

Merrissa:  Trial and Error.  Every experience teaches you something, whether good or bad.  You just have to open your eyes and learn from it.

Mandie: Experience. Even through all the years of school and all the books I have read- the number one thing I have learned the most from just getting out there and taking pictures.

Susie Q Events:  What is your advice for Brides on their wedding day in relation to their photographs?

Merrissa:  Have fun, be natural, enjoy the day and let us do the rest.

Mandie: Don't worry about them- we have it all under control :) Right Riss?

Susie Q Events:  Where do you see your business five years from now?

Merrissa:  I can only see it being even better than it is now.  We are both excellent at staying on top of trends and technology to enable us to take our business to new heights.

Mandie: Even more awesome........ Just kidding............................maybe. ;) Seriously though- we really want to be much better known as Merrissa Hill & Amanda Hoyle Wedding Photography and really establish our partnership. You never know what the future brings but I certainly hope for big things.

Merrissa & Mandie, thank you for sharing so much about your business with us. 

Photography credits given to Merrissa Hill and Amanda Hoyle Wedding Photography.