~ Winter Special ~

We know that winter can be a wonderful time of year to get together with family and friends. The best part about the holidays is that they always seem to bring us together once again. 

Here at Special Occasions we believe in coming together in joy. After all, we've built our business on the love of celebrating together. 

So, as our holiday gift to you, we want to give you a little something to help make your celebrations warm this winter. 

Starting the first of December we are discounting our chiavari chair rentals down to $4.00 per chair and offering our table linens at 10% off the standard price*. 

We are so thankful to have made so many wonderful friendships throughout the year with many of you. If we haven't said it before, we would like to take a moment and just say Thank You. Thanks for your returned friendship, your trust and your continued support. 

Happy Holiday's Friends!

*Discount Available on events held December 1, 2013 - February 28, 2014. Flint Location Only. Not eligible on previous orders or bookings.  Call for more information 810.603.1380

"Sex & The City" Inspired Wedding - Grand Rapids, MI

Photo Credit : Every Last Detail Blog

Being the first to set up at every event, we don't always get to see how the final story plays out. That is why we LOVE it when weddings we contribute to are featured online. This is one of those events. 

The linens featured in this event were provided by Special Occasions. Click here to view the entire event: http://bit.ly/17NHW33

~ The Burlap Runner ~

Thank You for Our Nomination

Wow, what an amazing week it has been! Thursday, Special Occasions was invited to the Flint/Genesee County 2013 Business Awards. We were honored to be nominated for the Outstanding Women in Business Award.

The event was held at the Riverfront Banquet Center in Flint, MI. A beautiful venue which we were able to compliment with our linens for an overall stunning event. The awards banquet brought light to many of the stellar businesses that we share a community with. Awards were given in the categories of outstanding service businesses, outstanding manufacturing businesses, outstanding minority-owned businesses, outstanding woman-owned businesses, outstanding green businesses and outstanding corporate citizenship. To say the least, we were surround for an evening with truly amazing people. To contribute to the collection of amazing people, we brought with us several of our staff members. If you have worked with us in the past or met any of our staff members we hope that you will agree with us that we have one amazing staff as a whole. Everyday they make us proud with their actions and attitudes. It is because of them that we believe we were honored in this way at the Flint/Genesee County Business Awards. 

It turned out to be a lovely night filled with conversation, laughter and appreciation. While we did not take home the woman owned business award our owner, Lorrie Sage, was honored during the event for her growth and excellence in business with the ATHENAPowerLink® Award. 

After the award banquet we finished out the week by sending a few of our staff members to the Hero Round Table conference being hosted in Swartz Creek, MI. The conference spoke about the knowledge and tools needed to create humanitarian, service-focused hero's in our community and through out the world. We were honored to be part of this ground breaking cause and simply cannot wait until we can attend again next year with even more of our staff members. 

Like I said before, it was an amazing week! We are rejuvenated, ready and looking for more ways we can create a positive ripple effect within our community and those who we have the pleasure of coming in contact with on a daily basis. 

- Special Occasions

Gearing up for a Great Holiday Season

Things are starting to slow down now for the 2013 wedding season. We're seeing only a few weddings each weekend instead of the 25+ per weekend we were doing over the summer months. However as the wedding season starts to wind down, the holiday party and bridal show season is starting to ramp up! This is always such a fun time of year for us as we are able to really put our minds together and come up with some show-stopping displays of our talents at the bridal shows. If you haven't been to a bridal show with us, we would love for you to join us and see what our displays consist of. This will really give you an idea of what we can do! 

A list of our 2013/2014 Bridal Shows

November 7 : Sloan Museum, Flint

January 3/4: Four Points Sheraton, Saginaw

January 4: IMA Brookwood, Burton

January 5: Holiday Inn, Grand Blanc

January 11: Bavarian Inn, Frankenmuth

March 1: Durant, Flint

April 5: Grand Banquet Hall, Freeland

This weekend was our first bridal show of the season at the Birch Run Expo Center. What a fun time we had getting to know many of the brides and grooms we will be working with over the 2014 wedding season. 

Here is one of the tables we put together for the Birch Run bridal show. What do you think of this color combination? Do you think it will be a trend for the upcoming season?

Dessert Bars

One of the hottest trends hitting the wedding scene is dessert bars. Imagine, if you will, a table filled with divine chocolates, tantalizing treats and scrumptious cakes ready for your guests to indulge in. 

No waiting for the cake to be cut here!  

We've put together a list of our all time favorite dessert bar photos below. 

WARNING: This is going to make you incredibly hungry.

Isn't this a great idea and fun for fall? We love the use of a seasonal treat (caramel apples) as well as the use of non-traditional wedding items for the display such as the water tubs and crate boxes. 

Tips for Planning a Fall Wedding

Although I hate to admit it, fall is right around the corner. Soon the trees will be turning from green to a gorgeous array of red and golds, the weather will cool and the pumpkins will start to ripen. While I am totally sad to say goodbye to summer, fall does offer a spectacular time of the year to get married. If you are getting married or are thinking about getting married in the fall read on to learn about how to make the most of what mother nature has to offer during this time of year. 

Color Choices: 

You are planning your event during one of the most colorful times of year for nature. However, don't feel like you need to stick only to the "autumn" colors of brown, orange and red. Open your wedding pallet up to rich hues such as plum, navy, aubergine, or a dark ivory and compliment what mother nature already has to offer. If your set on using a fall hue such as orange or brown, try highlighting them with a fresh pop of color such as charcoal grey spiked with a blush pink or tangerine. 

Your Gown: 

Who says short wedding dresses are just for summer? This year, the knee length dress is in style for fall. With the trends pointing towards all things vintage, search out a dress that either has invisible neckline or tons of lace. Better yet. . find a deep ivory dress and pair it with a knock out, color spiked shoe. Worried about being too cold? Love will warm you. :)

Go Green for Your Wedding

Now, being born and raised in Michigan, when someone says "Go Green" two things come to mind. The first being Michigan State and the second being eco-friendly living. And if you are a Michigan State Grad you already know that these two go hand in hand. Michigan state has implemented a campus wide sustainability campaign that helps them to reduce their carbon footprint and also helps to replenish the natural environment around them. Did you know that you too can reduce the carbon footprint you leave when planning for your wedding? You can, and it's easier than you think!

We Believe in Hero's

Here at The Burlap Runner and Special Occasions East we believe in community enrichment, we believe in giving back and most of all we believe in hero's. Being a hero is more than just calling yourself one. It is about looking out for those around us, stepping up and helping out when you're needed and finding ways to come together as a whole to better the circumstances in which we all live. This is why The Burlap Runner and Special Occasions has opted to join in a giveaway to help promote the Hero Round Table conference that is being held in our nearby city of Swartz Creek, MI this coming November. 

We Want You!

The Burlap Runner is looking for Michigan couples who want to see their weddings featured on our blog!

Did you pull off the best wedding ever? Was your theme second to none? Did you DIY your event? Send us your pics and story for the chance to show it off to the world. We are all watching and waiting.  

Top 10 Color Mistakes You Don't Want to Make

It was probably the first thing you did when you started planning your event, but choosing the right colors can be the most critical point of planning. Be careful not to make these top ten color mistakes!

1. Don't choose too many colors. - I know, I know. . you started off wanting a pink wedding, then the purples were pretty and the blues. . oh the blues. . trust me, as someone who also loves color I feel your pain. However, when planning an event it is best to choose one or two main colors and add one (possibly two) more as an accent, but be sure that they all coordinate together. Unless you are having a rainbow themed wedding, keep it simple. Too many colors will confuse your guests.

2. Pick and theme and stick with it. - Whether you have decided to go with vintage, classic or modern stick with it. Choose your colors appropriately. Hot pink and lime green are not going to fit into your classic theme.

~ Planning for Wedding Boutonnieres 101 ~

There are so many different flowers, colors, and styles of boutonnieres out there; how do you find the right design for your event?. Sarah White, owner of Fox Glove Flowers, recommends starting with the brides bouquet first in order to set the general floral theme of your event. Next, move on to boutonnieres and then finally end with designing your displays.

Today we are going to share with you a simple guide to help you with the initial stages of planning your boutonnieres.

Welcome to The Burlap Runner

Welcome to the Burlap Runner, brought to you by Special Occasions East. We wanted to create a fun and inspirational place to share wedding ideas, event DIY projects and giveaways with you. Thus, the Burlap Runner was born.

Be sure to stay up to date on all of our exciting posts by subscribing to our blog.

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Thank you for joining us and be sure to watch for more great posts coming this week!

~The Burlap Runner~