Posts Tagged ‘four winds weddings’

A Mid Summers Night

Friday, June 4th, 2010

We have scoured the internet for the most romantic and fun outdoor lighting configurations. This blog is dedicated to the DIY bride who is looking to create amazing ambiance on a budget.

{Source}  1. New York Food Company 2. Junie Moon 3. Style Me Pretty 4. Laura G Blogs


Beautiful and inspiring lighting can be achieved on any budget. Check out Luna Bizaar for over 20 varieties of Chinese lanterns. Sival Lighting is a great source for commercial grade string lights. If you are looking for candle lanterns, Wholesale Mart has a good variety of reasonably priced items.

A Honeymoon That Almost Wasn’t

Friday, May 7th, 2010

Our Costa Rica vacation giveaway has been a real learning experience for the team at Four Winds Wedding Blog. We received over 300 comments from people of all walks of life and got a little glimpse into our audience.  Although we decided the winner completely randomly, it seems as though we picked the perfect candidate for this trip. We want to share with you an email written by Stephanie Longoria, the winner of  a 5 day luxury spa vacation in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

I never win anything!  Having said that, it is hard to put into words how excited we are to have won this amazing vacation. We had pretty much written off the idea of having a honeymoon.  Between us we have four children; Aaron works full time at a local college, as well as part time at a bookstore; I go to school full time and work part time at a museum. Whew!  How do we even have time to get married?! It is natural for us to put things like a vacation for ourselves onto the back burner…which of course does not mean that we do not desperately need it.  In fact, with our super busy lives, Aaron and I get so little time just for “the two of us” that we have never had more than a two-day vacation in our entire three-year relationship. It’s sort of sad when you think about it!

We do talk about our vacation fantasies! We’ve even dreamt of going somewhere where we could just RELAX….TOGETHER!  And have nothing to do except have a massage, go on walks, and spend time together.   Some place beautiful and lush where we could sit and watch the sun set with a glass of wine after a lovely day.  You know, things people like us dream about.

When I saw the giveaway and looked at the pictures of this gorgeous Inn and Spa…I could see us there.  This was exactly what I wanted for us on our honeymoon.  The honeymoon that would only be happening in my head that is!  I knew we would not treat ourselves to anything like this with all of our other obligations.  So, I signed up for the giveaway as I had nothing to lose and only a possibility of something wonderful in my future.

Imagine my shock a few days ago when I received the email from Four Winds Weddings saying that I had won.  Of course, my neurotic mind thought that somehow this was a mistake.  Had the site been hacked?  I had to look at your blog AND Facebook page a few times AND call various friends and family members to verify that they too were seeing my name as the winner!  Then Calvin, the owner of Los Altos de Eros also contacted me:  at this point, I finally believed that this might actually be reality. We get to have a vacation…a beautiful vacation, just the two of us.  Not just any vacation either, one where we get to stay at this beautiful hill top Inn and Spa in Costa Rica and have a day cruise and definitely that glass of wine while watching the sunset.

Thank you so much for this.  What a wonderful thing to look forward to and what a beautiful thing to look back on when we remember the beginning of our marriage.  You have given us an amazing gift.  It looks like paradise and we can’t wait to live that fantasy that I thought would remain in my head.

~ Stephanie Longoria and Aaron Stanley

Stephanie and Aaron, we are so glad that we could help make your honeymoon dreams possible. Thanks again to
Los Altos de Eros for the generous luxury package.

Photo credit:
Catherine Bitter

Tax Day Mood Lifter

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Are you feeling the tax day blues? Here are some uplifting wedding ideas for those couples with newly revised wedding budgets. First we start with some gratuitous puppy pictures of our two golden retrievers:

…and the ever-popular DIY photobooth for those looking for a great, affordable way to create vintage prints

We {heart} these DIY birdfeeders from Polkadot Bride.

Everyone loves tulips! Here is a spring inspired wedding favor DIY

A Glimpse into the World of Villas

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Costa Rica is blessed with beautiful beaches, tropical rainforest, amazing mountain cloud forest and some incredibly lavish villas. Most people would probably be surprised at how affordable a luxury villa can be when you break it down to the cost per person. We have found bargains for $50 per person/night.

The beauty of renting a villa as a wedding or reception location is that you can create a completely custom decorated space. The chef, music and photography is all curtailed to the wedding vision of the bride and groom.  Depending on group size, many of these villas will provide plenty of room for your guests as well.

The typical amenities that come with the villa rental are daily maid service, 24 hour security and private concierge. Additional services like private chef and catering, airport pickup/drop-off and personal driver can be arranged as well. There are several websites out there that work exclusively with villa rentals on a large scale. Here are some of the websites that we use to find and secure villas for our clients. Craigslist Costa Rica is a great resource for finding privately listed homes. VRBO is another site that we use. It has the largest international database of villas. Villas Caribe typically has a different offering of private homes and it specializes in tropical caribbean locations. With a little research, you can uncover a villa that fits your budget and your tropical wedding vision.

Four Winds is currently hosting a luxury Costa Rica vacation giveaway at the highly acclaimed Los Altos de Eros Luxury Inn and Spa. Visit our contest page for details.

{DIY} Photo Booth Love

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

There is no question that having a photo booth at your wedding is a great idea. In fact, its downright trendy, but what value would you place on the rental of this archaic Polaroid device. Yes, we believe that nostalgia is worth something, but is it worth $1500 for one day? Yeah… we didn’t think so. If you are a little crafty and a little techy, you can create your own automated wedding photo booth for little to no money.  The only requirements are a laptop, a photo printer and a creative backdrop.

If you own a Macbook, you won’t even need to use an external camera. Also, since the computer comes preloaded with Photo Booth, one option is to simply use this software to compose the images. The route that we would recommend is to check out the enhanced Photo Booth software created by David Cline. Here is a link to his blog: <sevenEightcline. What David has done is automated the process so that guests are prompted to type in their own name, which is then stored in a pre-assigned file on your computer. He has also re-oriented the photos so that they are aligned vertically like traditional photo booth pictures. If you own a computer that runs Windows, check out SeeMonkey. This software does essentially the same thing as the Photo Booth program on the Mac. The only difference…it costs $150 for the software.

If you are looking for higher quality images, there are two routes that you can take. If you have a DSLR camera, you can use your own equipment and with the addition of a wireless remote, you can capture images without the need of a photographer. Another option is to ask your photographer to set up a photo booth inspired area at your wedding. Your photographer will be able to adjust the lighting properly so that everything looks just right.  Don’t forget to get creative with the backdrop and make sure to bring some props for people to use. Here are some examples of professional photo booths.


Country Inspired :: Engagement Session

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

It is finally Spring! If it is still a little chilly in your neck of the woods, possibly we can stir up some warm thoughts by sharing these lovely engagement photos with you. Now, say hello to Ryan & Amber, and their photographer Eldad Efendi. These soft, vintage inspired photos may conjure up thoughts of Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper on the beloved Wonder Years. However, this romance story is even better because it will end in marriage!

These stylish engagement shots capture the rural country upbringing these two shared in common, in the Pacific Northwest.  ” When Eldad suggested a country theme, it just seamed right. We both love the look of engagement pictures in a big city, but that wasn’t us.  We instantly reverted back to childhood when we arrived at the Farm in Van Zandt, WA.”

Even though their roots and the images are truely country, this couple has a keen sense of style. This was evident to us throughout the design planning process for their Summer 2010 wedding. This couple has a clear idea of what they want and are willing to do the research to see all that is out there on the web.

The angle they choose to take these shots, tell a paralleled story. ”We were looking for a timeless classic look,  with a modern twist and I think he (Eldad) captured that feeling.” – Goal accomplished Amber! Oh- did we mention that Eldad’s Assistant, his wife Kerri, even offered the cowboy boots off her feet to capture one of the shots, adding an extra kick of country.  We love hearing  stories of how vendors  go above and beyond for their couples!


Check out other photos captured by this Pacific Northwest photographer,
Eldad Efendi. And, keep an eye out for more on this couple after their Summer 2010 wedding at Snoqualme Falls.  We already know it will be spectacular!

***

∞ Enter to win our Costa Rica luxury vacation giveaway valued at $3200. We pick the winner live on our blog 04/30/10 @ 6pm


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