Wedding Pink Blog - The Latest News + Updates!
Wow, it's hard to believe that Melissa and Jeff's wedding is 2 months away. The weather has finally warmed up and I had a chance to catch up with Melissa and Jeff to take some engagement photos.
I can't wait to share some of my favorites...
Check out the beautiful necklace Melissa is wearing - it was donted by Todd Reed, www.toddreed.com.
I had a fabulous time yesterday with many of our vendors for The Wedding Pink. We had a little get together and everyone had a chance to meet Melissa and Jeff. It is such an honor to have so many great individuals donating their time for The Wedding Pink, I truly cannot thank them enough.
Our gathering was hosted by Lala's wine bar & pizzeria and they were so kind to donate some pizzas for us. Thank you Lala's for your generosity!
Here are a few photos from the evening, somehow a few of you escaped my camera (Christine Hoyt of CH Studios Custom Clothier - dress alterations and Anne Mansfield who is a magnificent officiant).
Laura of Couture Colorado and Shannon of Al's Formal Wear, Cherry Creek.
Janette and Bill with The Espresso Affair.
Dave the supreme DJ of Elements DJ and Jeff, the soon-to-be groom.
Laura of Couture Colorado and Kristi, the amazing florist, with Fleur Decor.
Melissa, the soon-to-be bride with TC of Muse Events, wedding planner extraordinaire, and the one and only, fabulous Kelley of Kelley Kakes.
Nathan and Michael of Pink Monkey Event Decor.
Melissa with Lisa of Mares Video Productions.
I would like to take a moment and wish a Happy New Year to everyone and especially to all of my donors and supporters who have made this venture possible.
It was an incredible year with the launch of Cheryl Ungar Gives and The Wedding Pink. For those of you just tuning in, we have decided to make The Wedding Pink an annual event and are already working on another fantastic event for 2012. I hope to announce the details early in the year.
Meanwhile, Melissa and Jeff are in the midst of planning their wedding and are meeting with many of the vendors. Don't worry, we will be posting photos along the way as well as photos and video from the actual wedding.
I am overwhelmed by all the generosity and support of our community. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Biscuits & Berries sous chef, Andrew, with Melissa and Jeff. 
TC of Muse Events enjoying the spirit of the season. 
Laura, caterer extraordinaire at Biscuits & Berries. 
I thoroughly enjoyed the tasting with Melissa, Jeff and TC (Muse Events) the other day at Biscuits and Berries Catering Company.
Biscuits and Berries has graciously donated all of the food for The Wedding Pink. A little more information about their company.
Biscuits & Berries is Colorado’s #1 recommended caterer. The owner, Gwen Neely’s expertise and passion for the catering business pervade every aspect of their business.
Their experienced and dedicated employees with impeccable taste, has brought Biscuits & Berries to the fore front of the Colorado catering market.
Neely’s Associates’ diverse staff comes from the top hotels, restaurants and hospitality schools. But they worked their way up. So they understand – and respect – every part of the process.
Their chefs have manned the kitchens of four-star restaurants and the management team is dedicated to excellence and the service staff is selected with the greatest of care.
They have a continuing education process to train new employees and ensure longtime staffers constantly refine their skills. Each person who works at Biscuits & Berries takes great personal pride in their company.
To learn more about Biscuits and Berries please visit their website, www.biscuitsandberries.com.
As a thank you to all of my fantastic wedding couples this year, I am happy to announce that I have made donations to 2 wonderful breast cancer organizations. My pledge for this year was a minimum donation of $1000 and I feel blessed that I was able to donate a total of $1250!
The first organization is Sense of Security. My donation will go directly to a grantee of the financial assistance program and will help pay a month's worth of living expenses such as rent, utilities or groceries. Sense of Security is an amazing organization and here is a little more info about them:
"We seek to provide a sense of security from financial hardship and enhance the quality of life for Colorado breast cancer patients in treatment. Sense of Security has served more than 675 Colorado breast cancer patients while in treatment by providing over 1.3 Million Dollars towards housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, COBRA or insurance premiums and other basic living expenses to over the last 10 years."
The second organization is the St. Joseph Hospital Foundation, specifically the special fund for the Comprehensive Cancer Center. If you are not familiar with the Comprehensive Cancer Center, this is their charitable mission statement:
"The Comprehensive Cancer Center at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital is an integrated community cancer center offering a full spectrum of cancer care services including screening, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, clinical research and support services for patients and their families.
Your donation to the Comprehensive Cancer Center will assist our multidisciplinary team of highly skilled physicians and care givers in providing exemplary clinical services and the highest quality medical care and support services to all patients in need, including the medically under served."
Melissa sent me a Save the Date last week and I think it is just perfect.
I want to thank Rachael at Crested Butte Events for her generosity in donating the entire invitation package for The Wedding Pink. Just a little background on Rachael, not only does she offer invitations to her clients, but she is a fabulous wedding and event planner located in Crested Butte, Colorado. If you are considering holding a wedding or event in Crested Butte, I highly recommend you chat with Rachael, www.crestedbutteevents.com/.
I had so much fun with Melissa and her friends & Mom dress shopping this past Saturday at Anna Bé Bridal Boutique. She has picked out the perfect dress, it is simply stunning on her. Don't worry, I haven't given it away in any of these photos!
I also would like to take a moment to thank Anna and Breanna from Anna Bé Bridal Boutique for their donation to The Wedding Pink. It is because of the generosity of all of the vendors that this wonderful event is possible.
If you are in Denver and are searching for the perfect wedding dress or accessory, please visit Anna Bé Bridal Boutique. You may find more information about them on their website, http://anna-be.com/.
The Wedding Pink - 2011 will be held on Sunday, April 17 at Mile High Station in Denver, Colorado.
All of the excitement of selecting and announcing Melissa and Jeff as the recipients of The Wedding Pink has calmed down for a bit. In another month or two, we will jump into all of the wedding planning and start scheduling meetings with the vendors. I plan on photographing some of the events so check back for progress updates to the wedding planning.
Melissa and I touched base a couple weeks ago and I think that I am as excited for her wedding as she is!
I am thrilled to announce our couple for The Wedding Pink, Melissa and Jeff. I had an opportunity to sit and chat with them the other day and their story is very deserving and heartfelt. You can read their story here.
We are already in the planning process for the wedding which will take place April 2011 in Denver, Colorado. It is certainly going to be a spectacular day for all involved.
We are in the final hours of accepting submissions for The Wedding Pink. Next week our panel of judges will review the submissions and select our top 3 finalists. We will announce the couple that we select here on my blog. Please stay tuned!
On another note, The Wedding Pink has received such a tremendous response from our community that we have decided to make this an annual event. We are looking to hold the 2012 wedding in a Colorado mountain town!
Thank you to everyone who has helped make The Wedding Pink a success!
There are only 11 more days left to submit your story for The Wedding Pink. I would like to take a minute though to thank the couples who have submitted their stories thus far. I am touched with the submissions that I have received, each one heartfelt and deserving.
When I launched The Wedding Pink the one piece that I did not realize is the difficulty we are going to have in selecting only one couple. I truly wish we could give a wedding to everyone.
Please stay tuned to my blog. We look forward to announcing our chosen couple in the next 2-3 weeks!
The other day I received a little box in the mail. Much to my surprise it was a beautiful hand forged and fabricated necklace from Todd Reed, who by the way is my favorite jeweler ever! If you are not familiar with his work, it is definitely worth a peek, www.toddreed.com.
Todd has graciously donated this necklace for the bride who is chosen for The Wedding Pink. A few details about the necklace - 18 karat yellow gold with raw diamond cubes channel set in a circle. Isn't this simply stunning?
I also want to remind everyone that there are only 3 more weeks left to submit your story for The Wedding Pink. Please do not delay, deadline is Friday, August 20!
I recently heard about this wonderful Colorado based organization called Sense of Security. At the end of the year I will be donating money to this organization in the names of all of the couples whose weddings I have photographed throughout this year.
A little bit of info about them:
They seek to provide a sense of security from financial hardship and enhance the quality of life for breast cancer patients in treatment.
Sense of Security has provided over 1.2 Million Dollars toward housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, COBRA or insurance premiums and other basic living expenses of breast cancer patients in treatment. And they have assisted over 650 Colorado breast cancer patients.
75% of the assistance they have provided has been for housing assistance and groceries. These basic needs have been the top requests from breast cancer patients throughout Sense of Security's existence.
They are proud that so much of their funding goes to ensure that breast cancer patients can stay in their homes and have enough good food to nourish them during their debilitating treatment.
It's official. We have our complete team of vendors for The Wedding Pink.
I would like to publicly thank all of them for their contribution to this great event; Mile High Station, Biscuits and Berries, Muse Events, Weddings Etc., The Magnolia Hotel, Mares Video Productions, Kelley Kakes, Fleur Decor, Anna Be Bridal Boutique, CH Studios Custom Clothier, Al's Formal Wear - Cherry Creek, Anne Mansfield, Crested Butte Events, Elements DJ, LesliesArts, Face Effects and Todd Reed Jewelry.
For a complete list of vendors, please visit our details page, /details/
A prominent Denver venue had graciously agreed to host The Wedding Pink and we are finalizing the details later this week. We hope to announce the venue and some other very cool extras next week. Please check back for this exciting announcement!
Recently I have had some conversations with people about The Wedding Pink and would like to clarify an important detail. The Wedding Pink is open to anyone whose life has been recently effected by breast cancer, whether it be the bride or someone from the bride/groom's family. If you are engaged and fit this criteria we encourage you to submit your story.
On another note, we are close to securing the venue/caterer. I hope to announce this exciting news here any day now. Please stay tuned!!
Recently I have had several inquiries from brides-to-be that are not Colorado residents. We have officially opened up submissions nationwide. A few things to keep in mind though, The Wedding Pink will take place in or near Denver, Colorado and the chosen couple will have to travel here for the dress shopping, the dress fitting and the engagement session etc.
If breast cancer has recently touched your life and you are engaged, we encourage you to submit your story for an amazing wedding give away. We look forward to hearing from you.
My team of Colorado wedding vendors is coming together very nicely. So far, we have an incredibly talented group of people that will all be working together to make The Wedding Pink a success.
I am happy to introduce the two wedding planners, TC Decker of Muse Events and Tanya Porter of Weddings, Etc.
Also, I am thrilled to have Anna Be on board, they will be donating a beautiful wedding gown.
Over time, I will be announcing the other vendors joining our team.
The response has been tremendous. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to peek at my site and email wonderful comments. I already received a submission for The Wedding Pink, simply amazing. The young women's story is even more inspiring. Looking forward to being able to share some of the heartfelt stories.
On another note, we are considering opening up submissions nationwide for The Wedding Pink. Would love to hear your thoughts on this, please comment below.
I have yet to officially announce Cheryl Ungar Gives, but I have told a few clients and friends. So far, I am touched by the response and feedback that I have had.
I would like to share a recent story. I had an opportunity to reconnect with a client of mine who needed an updated portrait and I happily agreed to stop by his office to catch up, chit chat and take a few quick snaps. In conversation, I mentioned Cheryl Ungar Gives and he to was touched by what I was doing. Fast forward a week later and come to find out he made a donation in my name not only to the Young Survivors Coalition but also the Denver chapter of the Susan B. Komen Foundation.
His generousity is overwhelming and greatly appreciated.
Thank you Kevin Yoshida of Braun Yoshida Architects!
And, here is the portrait I took of Kevin that day...
