Bridal expos are a funny thing.  We do about four big ones a year plus a handful or more boutique ones and, to be honest, I love them.  (Don’t tell Jason because I use this as a weapon every year because he magically manages to be shooting weddings on the expo dates – wins me A LOT of brownie points – and I mean A LOT!!!)  Now I love the expos not because I have to schlep all my gear to and from the car bumping in and bumping out, physically building our stand with a drill and screws (a very funny sight) and then be on my feet for three, whole, days. (There ain’t nothing fun about that part I can tell you!)  What I do love is meeting all the brides (and mother-of-the-brides and bridesmaids, mother-of-the-grooms and, of course, the somewhat shellshocked, grooms) and I also love meeting all the different people running all the amazing companies that offer all these services for your wedding.  So it was at the last bridal expo (or perhaps the one before that???) that I met Angie Rogers and found out about her great company, Tickled Pink Events.  We had a great time chatting and talking about our work so we were really thrilled when Angie brought her lovely clients Tim and Jacqui to us for their wedding photography.  Since then we have been trying to make a time to chat up and talk some more but, you know, busy schedules never collide.  So here is my virtual chat with Angie – but I hope to make it a real one very soon.

How did you get involved in styling events?

My dalliance into event styling came as a natural progression from wedding planning, through clients who had ideas and pages of magazine clippings for a ‘look’ of their wedding but weren’t quite sure where to source products and how to bring their ideas together to create their own unique style.

What services do you offer?

Tickled Pink Events offers assistance with any type of wedding and event planning and styling, as well as beautiful handmade stationery and style accents.

What do you love most about what you do?

I love seeing the transformation of the bride and groom on their wedding day from normal everyday people into these glamorous beings that looked like they’ve stepped out of the pages of Wedding Style Guide. I also love watching their faces light up when they see their ceremony or reception venue transformed with all their ideas, it is a really rewarding experience.

Best wedding you have styled and why?

Of course I would have to say my most recent clients Jacqui and Tim who trusted me whole-heartedly with their wedding planning and styling. They were always so open to ideas and suggestions and really gave me free reign to plan their wedding which was very humbling. Also my clients Kate and Andrew who got married in the backyard of Kate’s parents house. It was a beautiful and relaxed wedding, we made dozens of pink and white paper lanterns, using in vintage papers/ribbons and hung them from the trees in the ceremony area. It was a simple idea but looked so pretty and perfect for the location.

Given there are so many ways to go to style your wedding, how do you help your client make a decision about which way they should go on their wedding day?

I think the key is to listen to your clients, what they say in the early planning stages in terms of ideas and styling is often what they keep coming back to. With Jacqui and Tim’s wedding, words like elegant, classic, hot pink and most importantly fun were uttered many times. So I used these as inspiration to create something that was personal and unique to them.

What do you think will be the big styling trends for 2011 – 2012?

Keeping it simple and elegant, reinventing the classics but with your own style stamp, absolutely anything vintage, video ‘save the dates’, monogram of bride and grooms initials, cheese buffet rather than a lolly buffet and eco chic.