NEW CONTACT INFORMATION!!

I'm very excited to announce that beginning today Emma Lynn Designs will now be known as Lindsey Nartker Designs. The past year has been absolutely wonderful (thanks to awesome clients and vendors!). I take great pride in the events that I help design and coordinate so it seems only logical that I brand my work with my own name.

How does this affect you?
All you'll need to do is update your address book and favorite links.
My new email address is Lindsey@lndevents.com
You can visit my new website at http://www.lndevents.com/ and the new blog at http://www.lndevents.blogspot.com/.

Don't worry - you can still visit the old website and use the old e-mail address. The main website and e-mail addresses will automatically forward for a few weeks (but please update your records anyway!)

Would you believe me if I said that I had even more fantastic news?

Beginning April 1st I will officially have a studio space in downtown Birmingham. It's been a really fun journey getting the space ready and I can't wait to share it with you! Stay tuned for pictures on my new blog.

New address:
Lindsey Nartker Designs & The Event Studio
640 North Old Woodward, Suite 102
Birmingham, Michigan 48009

Fortunately my phone numbers are staying the same! You can always contact in the office at 248-731-7151 or on my cell at 248-930-8819.

I really look forward to sharing all of this with you! If you have questions about any of these new updates please let me know.

Jillian and Prince Video Trailer

Here is a sneak peek from Jillian and Prince's wedding from February 21st. Enjoy!



Jillian and Prince - Trailer from Jamie Honce on Vimeo.

Black Stone Chicago

I'm back from the Windy City, and although it was raining for 48 hours straight while I was there, it was still a great business weekend. Meghann from Blush and Bashful Events acted as our tour guide on Saturday. Our 'Tour de Chicago' got cut short due to the weather, but we did get to visit the beautiful historic Blackstone Hotel. This hotel was closed for most of the late 1900's, but was renovated (with something like $20M!!) and reopened in April of 2008. The designers kept all of the original wood working and historic elements, but added in splashes of color and modern furniture. It's a great example of traditional meets contemporary. Take a look at some of the picture below of the different meeting and banquet rooms they offer.

Meghann VanderBaan, Lindsey Nartker, and Laura Davis

Out of the Office

I'm heading to Chicago this weekend for a conference sponsored by The Association of Bridal Consultants. I'm really, really looking forward to a weekend full of inspiration and new ideas. Slightly different then most conferences I attend, this weekend is geared toward running a successful wedding business. I probably won't come back with a ton of pictures, but I'm fairly certain my current clients will see some improvements in the way I do business. I think even the seasoned veterans need new ideas and processes... sometimes we get so used to doing things a certain way that we shut our eyes to new ideas.

I've decided that I'm going to devote the entire long weekend to working on my business and all the 'behind the doors' type stuff. I'm leaving my computer behind... it's going to be really difficult for me (seriously!) but I think it'll help keep me focused on the reason I'm going in the first place.

In addition to my computer being at home, I'm doing a little change with my e-mail provider. If you send me an e-mail and it gets kicked back don't worry... please just resend it. I've been told that I may have up to 24 hours of interruption during the switch. Frustrating, but I suppose it's part of running a business...

I'll be home late Monday night and will start returning e-mails and phone messages on Tuesday morning.

Have a wonderful, warm Detroit weekend - I'll chat with everyone on Tuesday!

PS... did I mention that my birthday is on Sunday? LOL.... I suppose I'll be doing a little celebrating while I'm away too!

Four Sisters, Four Weddings - in one year!

While doing my daily dose of blog reading and internet surfing, I came across a story published by the Today Show.

While I've had clients who have had recently married siblings, I can't imagine the pressure of having your 3 sisters married within months of your big day. Working with a bride and groom to make their wedding a true expression of who they are as a couple is one of the things I pride myself on - but WOW - trying to make an event truly unique when paired with the pressure of 3 other family weddings... now that is what I call a challenge!

Who doesn't love a good challenge though? I know I do... too bad these ladies live so far away!

Watch the video here or Read the story here

Real Weddings: Jillian and Prince

I promised pictures from Jillian and Prince's wedding - so here they are! A huge thank you to Aruna from Aruna B. Photography for sharing these georgeous shots. I can't wait to see the album!

Jillian and Prince were married at Mother of God Parish, followed by a huge reception at the Westin Hotel in Southfield. They decided to use the Atrium for the celebration, versus the more traditional ballroom the Westin offers. I think this was a great decision! The Atrium is this amazing space between the hotel and the office buildings, full of lush greenery, beautiful stone work and small fountains. It's also multi-tiered so it provided a unique canvas to work with when planning all of the decor elements.

This celebration was rich with cultural traditions, special recognizations, and more family and friends then I could count! (The final guest list was somewhere around 376!)

Jillian really wanted a winter wedding to play up the warm, rich colors this season offers. She choose aubergine as her main focus and accented with soft shades of gold. I think gold is such a great color to work with - it naturally presents such a warm and welcoming feeling.

Enjoy the pictures below!

Photography: Aruna B Photography

Videography: Jamie Honce Productions

Ceremony Venue: Mother of God Parish

Reception Venue: Westin Southfield Atrium

Florist/Linens/Rentals: Designs by Guzzardo's

Band: Bassam Saleh

Wedding Cake: Holiday Market

Transportation: Blue Drive City Club

Invitations: DIY by the bride

Guest Favors: Shutter Booth

Shutter Booth is always a good time! The team from Aruna B. Photography, Jamie Honce Productions and Emma Lynn Designs jumped in the booth for a few fun pics. Keep in mind that we were all a bit tired at this point in the evening.... haha, I think the pictures speak for themselves!