I have a heart to be fostering authentic relationships with my clients, and that is how this event truly came to be.   NOTE: Couples… KLP Brides and Grooms – I hope you get a chance to read this one because this one is for you.

You know when you dream about a day, an event, for months….thinking about the guests, the food, the hosts…and praying everything goes to plan? Hoping everyone has a fabulous time and knows how much you appreciate them? Sounds a lot like wedding planning actually! But as you know, I’m married (love you Agustin!)  so I haven’t been planning a wedding – I have been planning a party, a celebration, that would hopefully cause my brides to walk away feeling loved, encouraged and a part of a community that is excited to celebrate marriage alongside them!

I had this awesome spontaneous dinner party/get together this past fall with some of my #klp_couples out in Colorado, (love this pic!) and it got me thinking about the amazing couples I get to meet, befriend and walk through a beautiful journey with.  I saw new friendships formed that night, I saw photos of double dates of my couples together after the event and I saw a beautiful picture of a community I was blessed to be a part of…that I was privileged to be fostering.

So that night in Colorado got me thinking about the KLP community I hope to create, and so I guess you could say that the “KLP The Pampered Bride Party” is only the beginning. :)  Because #klp_couples, I am so honored (this word is overused in the photography world)…hmm..blessed and privileged.  It’s hard to find the right words besides…well…THANK YOU.  Thank you for inviting me to tell your story. Thank you for welcoming me in like a part of the family. Thank you for allowing me to be that cheerleader on your big day. Thank you for letting me pursue a friendship with you. Thank you for trusting me. And thank you for supporting me.  It is because of you guys that I am able to pursue this passion fiercely.  So before I get teary, let me show you some pretty photos of a celebration/party that I will never forget!

But before I get ahead of myself, I want to tell you about an incredible group of women who came on board and helped me throw a pretty AWESOME event!  I wanted my brides to be sipping Mimosas, eating delicious and delicate macarons, laughing, getting to know each other and then walking away with real life tips and tricks that they would be excited to learn about.  So I decided on fitness, party planning, make up and styling.  I reached out to these women in February and I knew if they each said yes – we’d have the perfect team for this kickoff party!

So let me introduce you! Then be sure to scroll down to see more about what they shared!

Fitness : Personal Trainer Kylie Smith with KSMITH Fitness.

Event/Party Planning:  Wedding Planner Rebecca Grant of New Creation Weddings

Make up Artist: Angela Rodriguez of Makeup Artist Angela

Style: Personal brand & style consultant Kim Peterson of Uniquely Savvy, Inc.

Also special thanks to these lovely ladies helped me bring the party to life!

Event Prep, flower design, and Paper Flower Favors: Quynh Nguyen of Pink + Posey

Party Styling : Rebecca Grant. We went with a gold and white theme with pops of color with the fruit and florals!

Desserts + Macaron Favors: Candice Ward of Eat More Cake by Candice (plus she is a past bride too!!)

Candice, these Macarons are incredible and they were so delicious!! The lemon + Rosemary cookies plus the Madelines! Yum!! No surprise that I did not have any desserts left over!

After mingling for a little while, Kylie kicked off the party sharing about fitness!  One thing I love about what Kylie has to offer is not only her knowledge in fitness, but also her knowledge about nutrition and good food.  Kylie has past experience as a chef that she brings to the table, so she can create fun recipes that are healthy AND delicious!!  Kylie’s overall philosophy is simple: physical fitness and overall health is a way of life. Being healthy should be sustainable, fulfilling, and unique to you and her goal as a personal trainer is to help educate, motivate and guide her clients through this process!

During the Pampered Bride Party Kylie shared with us some tips and trick about how to fit fitness into our everyday, busy lifestyles and also provided us with a fun, High Intensity Interval Training workout for all of us to try out at home.  She even created a 10 MINUTE workout for our girls to have on hand when they only have a few minutes to spare!  No equipment or gym membership required!

Then we had the incredible Wedding Planner Rebecca join us to share about Party Planning! Rebecca also styled the event and took my ideas with the gold and white theme and brought it to life! Rebecca and I met through a mutual friend and I did my first styled shoot here in Seattle with her and it got featured on Style Me Pretty! We have worked alongside each other at weddings and I knew she would be a great addition to the team! Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and talent!! The #klp_brides loved learning about these helpful tips that may seem small but make ALL the difference!!

Next up – Make up!  Angela is a renowned makeup artist specializing in Wedding & Special Event makeup. Skin is truly her speciality and she prides herself on being able to not only match any skin tone, but show a truly flawless finish, making you feel like the best version of yourself. She’s been featured on several blogs & networks over her growing 8 year career including King 5’s New Day show, Style Me Pretty, Seattle Bride & Groom Magazine, and most recently Footlocker’s MegaShoot with Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour.

Angela asked one of the brides to volunteer as her model, and she showed us how to turn a day look into a night/party look! We all were leaning in close on this one and had tons of questions! I’ll share her golden tips for those who couldn’t make it! When you turn a day look into a night look with only a few minutes on hand, here is what you should focus on!

“I touched up her eyes cheeks and lips. Those are the three spots you want to hit to create that transition tonight look. I did a tope crease color, filled in her brows a bit, fixed her liner, added concealer, added bronzer and blush, a powder face highlight, and added a lip liner, lip stick and gloss.

The idea is that you add a shadow color to the eye, even if it’s in a conservative way like just a tope in the crease. Add a lip color, and add a bronzer/blush duo, or some sort of cheek color, whatever you like, and define those brows to frame the face.”

Alene, you look GORGEOUS!

We wrapped up the party with Style and man, did we learn a lot!!  With more than 25 years of experience, Kim is a personal brand & style consultant and Founder of Uniquely Savvy, Inc.  Kim works with individuals, teams, and organizations to elevate authentic personal brands and style, inspire confidence, and live more empowered so that they can attract more of who and what they want in business and in life!  A key emphasis of her style and branding business is on empowering clients through personalized education in how to dress their shape, coloring, and that which makes them unique and savvy!

I was so thrilled to hear that Kim came on board to pamper my brides!  Kim taught each guest, with a personalized session, how to celebrate her unique shape with customized “fit to flatter” best practices considering shape/fit, color, fabric and patterns. We were amazed watching how such small adjustments to straps or sleeves or lengths can make to flatter your shape!! Her tips definitely will impact how I shop in the future!!

Each bride went home with a goodie bag, a box of delicious macarons, and beautiful paper flowers!

Quynh, these paper flowers are stunning! You are so talented!

I wrapped up the KLP The Pampered Bride event with a pink champagne toast! I got a chance to share a bit of my heart with them, celebrating my incredible brides past and present, community, and marriage!

Ladies, thank you so much for coming on that rainy Saturday! I missed my other brides that couldn’t make it, but don’t worry – there will be more events! ;)

If you made it to the end of this post, THANK YOU! Cheers!!