She also customizes one of a kind cards, invitations and paper gifts for all your friends and family.

Tammy Golson Events designed the table display and did a fab job!

Here is a view of “The Story of Us”. Katie did this one for her own wedding and guests loved reading about all of their adventures. It’s like a mini movie on paper.

A unique and personal way to do a seating chart. This takes a lot of thought and preparation and makes guests feel included in your day.

All of these drawing s are so cute, unique and above all personal. For me, it is all about the connections and personal relationships. Looks like Katie feels the same way.

I loved the table that Merci New York designed for Newlywish for the New York Magazine Event. Merci New York is known for her great fashion sense and styling gorgeous city brides but she also does a great job designing smaller events like the bridal shower, brunch or bridesmaid luncheon. I loved the purples and oranges she used, the french macarones and the incorporation of different pieces that you can register for at Newlywish.

Lindsay Landman found some cool eclectic chairs, a bench and a table from various parts of the studio. She then used a pashmina for a table runner and mismatched plates for the place settings. Each Jason Miller plate from Bobby Berk Home gave a little twist to the homey yet still formal table. She used various pieces from stores like Fish’s Eddy, Bobby Berk Home and Bowery Kitchen: which are all found on Newlywish. My favorite piece of the entire project was the dog painting, Isaac had on one of the walls in the studio. It just adds to the living room feel and works well with all the colors.

You can learn more about the design on Lindsay’s blog and see the webisode here.

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This series is a way for me to share with you all the people I know and love getting to work with. I hope these are helpful when making your decisions about your wedding. I enjoy getting to know my clients and making everything personal and authentic to them, so why not share the people who help create these amazing wedding moments.

You have a great eye for fashion and what chic new yorkers getting married are looking for, what is your background?

I have a BA in journalism and fine art, and a corporate background in the fashion industry.  I’ve worked in fashion design, merchandising and marketing – and eventually resigned as Director of Sales and Marketing at a popular resort wear company in order to begin Merci New York.

My most enjoyable professional duties were always fashion styling (look books and catalogs), managing my companies’ Web sites and marketing collateral, and planning corporate events.  Reflecting on that (with 20-20 hindsight, of course), I now realize that Merci New York was a natural progression.

Your blog and styling is very popular among chic and fashionable New York wedding couples and wedding industry, how did Merci New York come about?

It all began when I was planning my own wedding. Having leaned on several New York City fashion, event and social sites during my time in Manhattan, I assumed I’d quickly find a similar site for the citybride… essentially, a site that showed her the ins and outs of how to create a fashionable New York Wedding.  I also hoped to find a company or resource that would help me create the lust-worthy details found in all the luxury-market wedding magazines, (since as we all know, working a corporate job in NYC leaves no time for DIY).  Ultimately, my search came up short.  The web was packed with crafty DIY tutorials for a very different bride, so I scouted everything out on my own.

After our wedding was published in The Knot magazine, I inadvertently began fielding wedding questions from friends and acquaintances in the fashion industry and beyond.  A light bulb went off! I decided to start what my friends and I were all looking for – a chic and stylish resource for the busy city bride (the blog) and a styling company that helped create memorable details.

What exactly does Merci New York do?

Merci New York is a chic, boutique styling house offering fashion, event and prop styling for weddings, special events and editorial projects. Our goal is to make your wedding {and all the events surrounding it} their beautifully-styled best.

We are able to do this because we are seated at bridal market, viewing all the collections for you – months before they are in the ateliers.  We are forging connections with all the bridal magazine editors, chatting with them about what’s hot, hip, new and still unpublished.  We are translating the trends you do see  (vintage, vineyard, barn-side rustic) into your Manhattan (loft, ballroom, restaurant) venue.  We are also the wedding correspondent for the Plaza Hotel, Rent the Runway and was a keynote speaker at Maddy K’s Bridal Boudoir event in Montreal {a role previously filled by Marcy Blum in 2009}. Ultimately, Merci New York is helping the city bride weed out the cheese and create a beautiful, modern, elegant New York wedding.

As your personal bridal stylist, we can:
-help you find “the” dress, as well as perfect, sought-after accessories
-join you on your big day to dress, bustle, button and pin you to perfection
-guide the choice and coordination of all bridal party attire
-manage your engagement session wardrobe, location and aesthetic
-assist in honeymoon wardrobe, registry and gift shopping
-make sure your reception decor is perfectly styled down to the last detail.

Why do you feel there is a need for this service?

Most New York City brides are very busy ladies.  They manage challenging careers, hectic (yet fun) social lives, hobbies, friends, family… and their wedding.  They know fashion.  They know style.  But they don’t have the time to put it all together, and they certainly don’t have time to DIY.

What they want is a chic, polished, elegant wedding worthy of a magazine tear-sheet.  Merci New York is the one-stop solution to making that happen.  We style a city bride’s wedding to perfection, make sure she is her picture-perfect, fashionable best on her wedding day, and collaborate with her vendors and photographer to make sure her high-style wedding is placed within the top wedding publications.

Does a bride need to book Merci New York for their entire wedding experience or can they pick and choose based on what they need?

Merci New York’s menu is structured in a la carte format so each bride can select the specific services she needs.  We firmly believe that every wedding (and every bride’s style) is unique, so we pride ourselves in creating custom-tailored quotes that specifically approach our clients’ budgets.

There is also a pre-conceived notion that styling is only accessible to the jet-set socialite.  Not true!  While we are thrilled to work on comprehensive projects, Merci’s stylists are also available to jump in wherever you need an extra hand (or stylist’s eye).  Because we understand the importance of small details, there is no project too tiny for our team to tackle.

Do you have any tips for a bride wanting to make her photos, WOW! ?

Here are a few tips that can help you chose your engagement (Get to Know You) shoot wardrobe:

-       Think color —  Everyone looks better in it.  You do yourself a disservice by limiting your wardrobe to monotone neutrals.  Color makes your photos interesting.
-       Don’t match, don’t clash, coordinate —   You are not looking to “match” but you are looking to wear colors that compliment each other and do not clash.  Make sure your fashion shares a cohesive look and tone.
-       Have at least two outfits on hand – Like an editorial shoot, your fashion should fit with the mood.  If you are moving all around the city in the same outfits (and let’s face it, there are only a handful of poses you can really stick), your shoot just looks like a tourist’s travel book.  Yes you covered a lot of ground, but that’s not what this shoot is about.  Think of your shoot like an artist’s composition; what outfits suit the locations you are visiting and why?
-       Don’t ignore your personal style—That said don’t take this as an opportunity to go off the deep end.  Make fashion choices that you are comfortable with, and don’t use this opportunity to take risks.  Your GTKY shoot  should showcase you and your fiancé as the people you are.

My big secret—ladies, accessorize BIG.  As a general rule, the camera shrinks your jewelry.  Make accessory choices that border on big and bold, and in photos they will appear cohesive, and to scale.

Here are some pics of Merci New York owner, Jacqueline Weppner, at work.
Dressing the bride and pulling elements that go with the inspiration board for the event

all photos by Sofia Negron Photography

I had been doing public relations after college and after a relatively short time I realized that I reallydidn’t like pitching to the media, but I did really like using events to improve the visibility of my clients.  I had always loved planning events and didn’t really know that it was a career possibility until I evolved my little PR consulting business into events only.  A little known fact is that my PR biz, started in 1999, was originally called Mediasmarts – then when I left the media part behind and was just pursuing events, I changed to MS Events in 2001, and shortly after I got married, it became Lindsay Landman Events in 2002.

My undergraduate degree from Penn is in English and Art History.  I went to college planning to be a journalist and left college planning to be a teacher.  That worked out well… Though I still do love to write (I am 100 pages into my first novel –shhhh!) – and I have taught many classes and workshops over the years.

I adore working in tents.  I love taking a blank canvas and building a complete environment from scratch. I can do a lot in lofts too, which is why I am so lucky to have the opportunity to do most of my work in New York City where we have tons of cool loft spaces.  This past year, though, I had the great honor of working abroad and it was the best experience of my professional life, so I’d love the chance to do more work around the world.

Design: Related to all visual decor elements including, but not limited to, lighting, linens, flowers,table settings, staging, fabric, food presentation and printed materials. This is sometimes called styling (I am a fan of this word as I feel that is has a more accessible tone to it).

Production: After the design is developed, it needs to be produced. This entails everything from arranging the flowers to purchasing the candles and hanging fabric to building backdrops.  It is the labor element related to events and what takes them from fantasy to reality.

Planning: The logistical and organizational aspects of events are all planning tasks.  Selecting vendors, negotiating contracts, making timelines, setting appointments, etc. Great planning is what makes a party tick because it doesn’t matter how beautiful it looks if it is disorganized or lacks flow.

Leap tall buildings in a single bound! Ha! Just making sure you’re paying attention… My process involves first getting an understanding of what my client loves, hates, must have and definitely does not want at her event.  Then, I begin designing by showing big picture concepts to see how my client reacts or relates to the images. After I get feedback, I start sourcing materials, doing sketches, pulling fabric swatches and preparing floor plans. The next step is creating samples of the main décor elements for approval and finally, I create a production manual that details the entire process of bringing the conceptual design into reality.  It is this manual that is the “play book” that allows my entire team to understand what they need to do/buy/make/build to create the event on the big day.

Since I can remember, I have had more ideas than I knew what to do with.  I love designing because there is no limit to how creative I can be. Designing allows me to let go a little bit and push the limits of what my clients think is possible. I love planning too but it is more systematic in a lot of ways.

The clients who are often the best match for me are those who are creative and open minded and a little less tied to tradition.  My very best clients are those who really trust me and with whom I build a close personal relationship.

I think that my design style is what makes my work original and I think that my ability to manage the intricacies of both design and planning allows me to stand out from my competition. I describe my style as contemporary and approachable – I want my events to look fresh and different, but not so crazy over-the-top that guests can’t feel comfortable.

I personally love to work with a client from the time of engagement so that we can work together to select a venue that will lend well to the style of design they have in mind.  If a client comes to me having already selected a venue, though, the next milestone would be before selecting save-the-dates and gowns since my design process includes input on those items as part of the complete design.

Well…. If you were to select me as your event designer, you can also hire my company to plan your wedding.  You are not required to hire us for both (meaning you can hire us for design only), but I think there is a great benefit to doing so.  Many designers in the major metropolitan areas also offer planning as an additional service, but not all do (and not all are qualified to!) so you should inquire with the designer you are considering.

A planner is focused on the organizational and logistical details of an event and while many planners have a great knack for aesthetics, few are skilled in full scale design which involves knowledge of flower design, lighting techniques, room styling, graphic design and spatial planning.

A great event designer looks at an event from beginning to end and works with a client to creatively unite every aspect of an event. While a traditional florist focuses on specific arrangements, an event designer thinks about the overall event environment and therefore has a lot more room for creativity because we are not limited to tabletops and other traditional surfaces.