SISTER FRIENDS! It was so much fun recording this episode. Kalyn Mastin is such a sweet “friendor” of mine as she has been someone I have looked up to since starting OFD. Of course we talk about loved ones, the nuisance of social media but hospitality deaths? THAT’S A NEW ONE! Listen and subscribe now.
Love you bushels,
ONE FAT DOVE
With all good fairy tales lets start the blog with…
Once upon a time, there was this wicked awesome photographer named Karrie. She had this wonderful idea of wanting to incorporate different wedding details into a styled shoot. One of which was to have a blue wedding dress versus the classic white. From a mutual point of contact, she reached out to me where I instantly feel in love!
Being a Disney fanatic myself, I felt the shoot would have more of a Cinderella vibe. Now Karrie specializes in having vibrant and moody photos, so during the planning I thought it would be a nice contrast to have softer colors. Lately I have been obsessing with wedding colors of blues, pinks and greens.
It was VERY important to showcase a love story. Erin with Words Made Semple added envelope inserts and a detail card of the famous love song “Because You Loved Me” by Celion Dion. When designing your invitation suite, you don’t have to have bold expensive pieces to make your suite memorable. You can use different inks and color paper to show the important wedding details.
If I haven’t made it clear before I will make it abundantly clear now. I AM ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH DETAILED PHOTOS!!! I can’t get over how such small details showcase a wedding to its fullest. Let me say I really wish more planners and brides would take the time to add little pieces just for these photos. During the planning process a bride will spend so much time deciding how invitations, menus, name cards and save the dates should look that they are often forgotten. Add small pieces of vintage ribbon with wedding flowers to make these images pop. When planning ask your photographer if they have detailed backdrops or if not please provide your own. Don’t forget to use images of your favorite accessories of shoes and diamonds. Did you see the tiara for a wedding band? #goals
To keep this fairy tale alive, I wanted to add romantic details to the tabletop decorations. Taper candles are a big love of mine; however, most venues will not allow for you to have an open flame. The electric or better known as dripless candles work great for weddings especially if you are wanting to recreate the setting. To clarify, for the photo shoot it was fine to have an open flame considering the flame was only for a short period. Tapers were placed on various heights of old books to create the staggering look. Remember love stories are a “tale as old as time.” I wanted the books to be the details versus a bunch of flowers. Notice there is no flowers but small amounts of greenery going across the center of table. Garland can be terribly expensive so Victoria with Bright Eyed Blooms used left over greenery to place around candles and books.
The table was six feet and enough to show for a place setting of four. Instead of using folded or chavari chairs, we used a bench with two vintage tufton upholstered chairs. I do love chargers under the dinner plates but I didn’t think it was necessary; I wanted simple and subtle details. So I used a clear glass plate, a linen napkin folded for a menu card, disposable silverware and tall stem champagne flutes.
Now I feel this can sound contradicting but hear me out. I love having colors for table linens instead of your basic colors of white, ivory and black. I also really love having table runners but I wanted to add different details besides having one table runner going across the table. The runners used in images are called cheesecloth and often come in short measurements where multiple are used to create the draped images. Now using a basic color for the table linen, I feel the cheesecloth was able to show more. I used multiple pieces of the cheesecloth to weave throughout the table to go across the table vertically and horizontally.
When planning photo shoots one of the hardest things is finding a couple who is off during the week days. Most venues will not allow for you to do a photoshoot during the weekend considering those are wedding days. For me to find models I find it to be easier by posting on Facebook Groups. One of my favorites is Dallas Girl Gang. It just so happens the bride model Tiffany is a “friendor.” (Vendor/Friend…. Get it!) Long story short, she had been searching to do a photoshoot to celebrate five years of marriage with her husband Jared. Needless to say it felt right to have their love story in the images. They were able to reflect the love they have for each other be divine while looking AH-MAZING! They were able to get photos taken for FREE to celebrate their wedding anniversary. **Side note, not only is Tiffany a stunning model but she is a rocking awesome DJ!!!
To accomplish this look it was all thanks to Tease to Please. For hair details, I didn’t want to do an updo as I felt it would take away from the dress. So having full volume curls was perfect. Not to mention most brides don’t do just curls anymore! The makeup has soft pink eye shadow with a dewy highlighted finish. Tiffany did such a wonderful job with modeling the gown as it fit perfectly for her! The gown had an outer layer of blue sparkles shimmering the entire shoot. In my eyes, she was Cinderella.
BIBBIDY, BOBBODY BOO all the vendors and models took the vision of the shoot to make it come true. Thank you to the many Fairy Godmother’s: (Link will connect to vendors Instagram)
Photoshoot was featured on The Southern Social Texas blog! Click here for the direct link.
Cheers to a happily ever after!
Love you bushels,
ONE FAT DOVE
Life can be short and sweet, so why not create it in an episode! A MAJOR question OFD gets a lot of is styled freakin’ shoots. We love them and it is a great tool to get marketing engagements. Listen for some behind the scenes and lessons.
Love you bushels,
ONE FAT DOVE
Summer has been good to One Fat Dove as we have continued to thrive with 2019 and for future 2020 events. For today’s blog post I wanted to feature one of my beloved newlyweds Nina and Chad Kahn. Back in December Nina, hired me within only a few minutes of talking. From start to finish she was easy and a joy to work with.
For the wedding colors, she decided on having soft colors of blue, white, greens, and subtle details of gold. There was a simple elegance to the wedding as there were small details radiating throughout the venue. For starters, Chad (the groom) made the cake stand and the wooden signs!
One of the newer trends I have started seeing is coming up with a creative way to escort guests to tables and seats. Even though there wasn’t a huge number of guests all the little details were very important to Nina. So finding some old window blinds was perfect! It was so easy to setup as they folded in and a BIG plus they were light weight.
Decorations for the outdoor ceremony was classic with chair markers and petals cascading down the aisle. With the wedding being in August, it was absolutely a gorgeous day. With it being hot there was complimentary waters for guests to stay hydrated and to cool off with program fans. Joined one as family, the happy couple wanted to commemorate a loved one who was watching over them. During the ceremony there were happy tears and giggles as everyone was ready to celebrate the unity of Nina and Chad.
Inside the reception hall tables were dressed with blue table clothes instead of the simple white. There was also a beautiful spread of greenery with candles, lanterns and white chavari chairs. The guest book matched the wedding invitations and programs with a water color piece of the venue. Cheesecloth table runners were able to be draped on the wooden parson tables and the sweet heart table. As a gift, guests were able to take home koozies with a drawing of the couple’s four-legged friend Colt.
Not going to lie during the reception, I was balling! The groom was having a sweet moment with his mother during their dance and he started crying. Needless to say I am a softy for a man who cries and it was precious. For the father, daughter dance the bride did a choregraphed dance routine that had everyone up on their feet. Side note: one of my favorite catering companies is Patriotic Pig who does BBQ. Literally everything that I have had is stellar and they have such a cute catering setup to match the guest decor. Guests were able to have some amazing sweet treats of cake and late night popsicles. There was a photoset of an old vintage truck with the sign of #kickingitwiththekahns. As the night rolled around, the truck was able to be used as the getaway car as bubbles were blowing saying some sweet goodbyes.
Let me make a statement… when you have a nice venue, you don’t have to have a lot of decorations! This is fact people and the Kahn wedding surely proved this. The venue was a beautiful, blank canvas. With the details Nina wanted, it highlighted the features of the venue. All vendors did a wonderful job making sure the day was ran completely smooth. Vendor list is below with direct links to instagram:
Venue: @springsvenue
Coordinator: @onefatdove
HMUA: @baleighkerrmakeup
Photography: @kalynshaephotography
Videography: @4500films
Florist: @trfloral
Bakery: @backhomebakery
Sweet Treats: @steelcitypopsfw
DJ: @allaccessdj
Catering: @patrioticpigweddings
Linens: @amlinenrental
Bridal Gown: @blissbridal @morileeofficial
To Nina and Chad, I pray you have a marriage full of love, hope and compassion. Stay patient in times of worry and to be kind in times of sorrow. I am so happy for you both and thank you for the opportunity for me to be apart of your happily ever after.
Love you bushels,
ONE FAT DOVE
All photos used for this post is by Kalyn Shae Photography. Kalyn is one of my favorite photographers to work with as she is personable and honest. Thank you Kalyn for the beautiful images.
Hey girl hey! Sarah Donaldson is talking all things hair and makeup. Sarah is a sweet “frendor” as we talk ALL things events. We go into so much details of personal life, professional experiences and challenges. Find her on her social media platforms Instagram and Facebook @simplysarahjane.
Love you bushels,
ONE FAT DOVE
What the french toast ya’ll?!?! Literally was thinking to myself for several weeks, how I felt its been a while since my last blog post. When looking at my last published date, it showed for back in April. Not to mention it happened to be a post about the struggles of infertility. My bad on leaving you with an awful cliffhanger for months!
Let me be real, I went through an awful depression. The crying and eating my feelings away definitely took a toll. I held myself back from work and was not acting myself at all. Originally, I wanted to go through IVF right away but then I started to see so many other doors open. After much consideration and prayers, Shawn and I decided there was no rush. We knew we needed to glue our life back together. With that…
Baby I am BACK AT IT AGAIN!!!
Clearly there is so much I need to catch you up on. If you don’t already follow OFD on Instagram and Facebook. Click on the links and freakin’ go like and follow my ass! Not to toot my own horn but yo girl has some fantastic images from a great group of photographers.
As you know back in March I did my first ever podcast airing. It was so much fun to interact with others and really just to talk about how OFD was continuing growth. I have always been intrigued with podcasts mainly listening to crime, thrillers, business coaching and motivational influencers. Knowing I needed to get involved with podcasts, I decided to have one for One Fat Dove.
Starting I knew I wanted to have my business confidant, best friend and my Matron of Honor to be a co-host on the podcast. If y’all didn’t guess its Momma Heather. (Shame on you if you didn’t know!) Ya’ll its super small and our first few episodes we were “testing the waters.” Originally we wanted to keep it super professional and make it where we talk about all things lifestyle. We thought it would be cool for listeners to engage with us while running a start-up company as we continue to grow. So ya’ll could follow our journey as we learn some tough lessons and to share successes.
Listening back on episodes, I felt like we weren’t being raw and real. Let me tell ya it was way too hard to NOT say SH*T! So after some deliberation we have concluded that our podcast WILL TOTALLY involve cussing, bitching, debating and tons of love in between. Currently, we have a small audience on Apple Podcasts. Click on this LINK PLEASE. Listen, Subscribe and Rate… along with our other 20 something listeners. I have even made it easy for you to listen on the OFD website. (Love you mean it!)
So since beginning of April, we have had twelve events, two styled shoots, adding a new service of linen rentals and one much needed vacation. I promise I will not go into all details of each wedding now… I will save it for later! We have engaged with so many new vendors and have really made life-long friendships with clients. In all, I am so blessed to say, “Our journey is just beginning.” We are continuing to grow including hiring more planners to the team. In case you didn’t feel my excitement, having more planners means doing more events! Rad right?!
In addition to having more team members, we also have some new exciting plans. We have new collaborations, doing a travel photoshoot and expanding the business. If it has been one thing I have learned quickly in the events industry, DO NOT TELL ANY OR ALL OF YOUR BUSINESS IDEAS!! While there is some ah-mazing individuals in the industry there is also some freakin’ savages. I wish I could tell you what is to come but I am keeping my fat mouth shut. Be patient and know its good…. like really good.
A Gatsby Affair
The party of love shoot was inspired by the 1920s and the beautiful classic Great Gatsby. I wanted to take a modern spin from a 100 years later (going into 2020) having a story of romance and fun. In the old sport fashion, the celebration was in the elegant country side mansion as the wedding party was able to ride in style. Vows would be exchanged under a drapery of flowers with the ceremony surrounded by candles. As the reception proceeded, the table top décor showcases different patterns and textures while they drank champagne under the “stars.” The richness of gemstone colors is reflected of diamond white, amethyst, emerald, topaz and sapphire.
Vendors included the following:
Wedding Planner: One Fat Dove
Photography: JL Glamour
Videography: Creatve Wedding Films
Venue: The Milestone Denton
Florist: Bright Eyed Blooms
Wedding Cake: Ruthi Hutson Cakes
Invitations: Sincerely, Addison
Rentals: 5 Star Rental
Bridal Gown Boutique: WED Bridal Boutique
Tuxedo Rental: Mister Tuxedo
Hair Artist: Simply Sarah Jane
Makeup Artist: Rouge and Rose Beauty
Transportation: Romantic Remembrances
Jewelry Accessories: Park Lane Jewerly
Band: Intensity Entertainment
Calligraphy: Write This Way
I truly enjoyed working with a large platform of super talented vendors. Each vendor took an incredible leap and trust into the vision. Of course Justin with Creatve Wedding Films does a wonderful job of showcasing the glam and fun from the shoot. During the photoshoot, I was inspired for a new podcast episode. Trust me, its one you will NOT want to miss as I get questions on this subject ALL THE TIME!
There are so many stories we have from the previous months! I absolutely want to make more time to do blog posts. (I swear!) I find there is a lot of stories I don’t say on social media or the podcast that would reflect good content for the blog. In all honesty, I could definitely do better with my time in making this a priority.
Everything that is said and done for OFD is all ran through me! Katie freakin’ Waara… ME. This journey has been a way of going through a juggling act. In one hand I have professional admirations of growing the business, managing current clients while engaging new and controlling business investments. In the other hand I have my professional life where I have a hard time managing laundry, forgetting to wash my hair and LIVING on caffeine/wine. At times there seems to be no balance but F**K it, its called LIFE!
Love you bushels,
ONE FAT DOVE
THE Mother Daughter podcast is back in action! After spending almost two weeks apart they reflect on events and talk about the importance of setting goals. Giving personal insight on such a passionate topic while reflecting on Kentucky roots.
Love you bushels,
ONE FAT DOVE
When starting OFD, we wanted the passion for events to reflect on future clients. Having the “pursuit of going for your passions” has been a mission statement as the business keeps growing. When bringing on interviews, we want the individuals to reflect the same traits. Rebekah Laskowski not only embodies this for her professional life as a photographer BUT she radiates this life style to her four kids. With THE Rachel Hollis following her on Instagram, you know she brings on the southern charm in a fierce fashion. Please follow Bekah’s personal Instagram @rebekah.laskowski or professional @sweetgsphotography.
Love you bushels,
ONE FAT DOVE
Giddy up ya’ll as the end of 1st quarter is almost to a close! A promise I made for 2019 goals was to keep track of myself to see what I am accomplishing vs. the improvements still needing to be made. I will say it is a continuing effort everyday to work on myself. There is so many times I focus on others or events. I feel it is a trait I get from my Momma. Thanks Heather!
So here is my up to date recap of my PROS and CONS.
PROS: I have become very deligient with making sure I am cooking more. Originially I would find recipes on Pinterest and thought they looked so easy. I would go to the store and buy all these weird ingredients and NEVER used them again. Part of it was I didn’t know how else to use various ingredients. I kept hearing about a company called Hello Fresh. They send ingredients with recipes to your front door that is perfectly proportioned for your meals. It’s not precooked for you and you get to learn more about cooking while YOU are making these delicious meals. Needless to say Shawn and I have been HOOKED!!!! We recommend it to everyone and consider it a date night when we work on cooking a meal together. Click on the link to receive $40 OFF your 1st order! Very super fun!
At the beginning of the year, I thought it was super important for me to create a schedule. I say this very generously as it is still a work in progress but I feel like it is getting there. I don’t like waking up super early so when Shawn wakes up at 6:45am, I am up! For a morning routine I like to take care of the dogs with feedings, make coffee, turn on the news, pack Shawn’s lunch, make the bed, do dishes or laundry and check emails. This seems to be more of my daily pattern. Depending on my workload, I will take an afternoon break to go workout or will even take a nap! Again still a work in progress.
A professional and personal goal I had for myself was to be more organized. Being organized has a huge factor for work because I do my business from home. I will be honest there has been a few times when I couldn’t walk in my office without stepping on papers. In my garage, I would make a path for all the materials to be eventually stored away. When looking at the chaos and mess it started to reflect myself. I needed to start with organizing my life before I started doing MORE new things. Each day keeps getting better!
As I am still continuing to bust my bootie, I have encountered on some pretty amazing relationships. Clients and vendors have been stellar to work with! In return this has kept me motivated to building more of an engagement with my audience. I am loving all the new support and can’t wait for future events together. #firstwivesclub #girlgang
CONS: Ya’ll I am definitely more of a positive person than negative BUT lets be real. I would do anything else than besides going to workout. I really do try and make it a goal for myself. Everyday I keep it a goal! When I get the will power, I ALWAYS feel better after I get done with the workout. BUT THEN, there are times I am so tired I want to prop my feet up and cuddle the puppies. Other times go drink champagne. If you were in my shoes which would you choose puppies & champagne or workout?!
A battle I seem to be facing is being more present. Yes I will watch the news, interact more in person versus my phone but at times I feel uncertainty. Like I am so curious to know how people live their life. WTF. My question is always why? Why do I value what others are living versus counting my own blessings? I have a wonderful husband, a super supportive family and a business continuing to grow. It is everything I have hoped for and still feel like I need to be checking other people’s feed. There is definitely plenty of room for improvement.
March has been a way to play catch up. It hasn’t been nearly as crazy as the month prior but still steady! Again, when reflecting on myself I knew there was a lot of things I needed to organize. I have felt inspired and started doing projects around my home. Has it stopped me from doing OFD Events, OF COURSE NOT!
We kicked off March with a new styled shoot named Vintage Cowgirl! It was the first time I interacted with other animals besides my dogs at a photoshoot. The only way to describe the experience I had was magical. Below is the inspiration board.
Victoria Noble who happens to be a dear, sweet vendor/friend/client had the opportunity to collaborate together! We wanted to create a concept to show our love of yellow while making it look elegant. We knew we didn’t want to make it your typical farm, horse inspo but we wanted to capture the essence of what nature brings. Using natural light really helps with illustrating a story between a couple or bride with the love of horses. The horses ya’ll were so amazing as personalities really did shine through. I can honestly say I never thought of having to worry about the flowers being eaten!
The details of the table arrangement was completely goal worthy! I started working with some new vendors who embodied the same concepts as I do. The way vintage meets crystal makes it become unique whimsical pieces. Please feel free to check out One Fat Dove’s Instagram page for more pictures!
A very special thank you to the vendors who participated in the styled shoot. Please make sure to go follow on Instagram!
Videographer: @jrowfilms ⠀⠀
Florist: @brighteyedblooms ⠀⠀
Coordinator: @onefatdove ⠀⠀
Photographers: @shelbynicolephoto & @kendyllbphotography⠀⠀
Table & Chair Rentals: @5starrental ⠀
Tabletop Rentals: @wabisabi_vintage
Stationery: @crackedglitter ⠀⠀
HMUA: @phoenixbeautyteam ⠀⠀
Venue: @benbrookstables⠀
For the month of March, OFD had the wedding of Mrs. & Mrs. Hyde. The happy couple wanted to go with neutral colors of greens, white, gold and cooper. Little details were shown with the plates showcasing the HYDE last name. SOOO CUTE!!! Wedding guests were able to party the night away with great music, drinks and many laughs. Cheers to the newlyweds! Venue is at The Springs at Rockwall Manor.
Ya’ll I am so excited to say not only have we been published but we have been published TWICE! NUMERO FREAKIN’ DOS!!!
FIRST, publisher is with Dallas Voyage. From what I gather they are in every major city announcing new and upcoming businesses. They got a referral from another girl boss who I LOVE named Sarah Donaldson. Getting the email I was entirely skeptical because I didn’t know who was messaging and if it was real. During the interview I felt very comfortable and started seeing more posts. I actually started hoping for it to get published. Needless to say the article is out and I am so pumped with how it turned out! Here is the link to check out OFD’s article.
SECOND, the styled shoot showcased last month called 24K Love has officially been PUBLISHED! What was so bananas is I found out about the publishings on the SAME FLIPPIN’ DAY!!! When God has a plan, it really shines through. Check out the link for the Ultimate Wedding Inspiration for white and airy.
If you don’t listen to podcasts, YOU TOTALLY NEED TO! I am so hooked on business, motivational and crime podcasts. Heck, I hardly listen to music anymore! For being such a busy person my mind is usually all over the place. If I can think about what other people are saying to me then I wonder less into my own thoughts. One of my favorite podcasts I listen to happen to be two awesome chicks in the local Dallas area. Sara and Maddie are the ultimate girl babes behind the podcast called The Pretty Filter. Their mantra is to bring the prettiest, most authentic self. I have been a HUGE fan for a long time and often get excited for a new episode every week. They contacted me a few weeks ago to do a recording and had the best time!!! You can check out my episode here! If you want to listen to more episodes go to Instagram @theprettyfilterpodcast or subscribe to Apple Podcasts.
If you can’t tell already March has been a super rad blessing. There are times I feel God is with me in every step. In only 10 months, he has given me so much wisdom, so much encouragement and above all so much love. April is quickly approaching and I can’t wait to show y’all what OFD has been working on. GO LOVE SOMEBODY TODAY!!!
Love you bushels,
ONE FAT DOVE
Hello Darling! I’m Katie, the girl behind One Fat Dove. I live in the Lone Star State outside of the Dallas city limits. Growing up under the Mason-Dixon line planted my southern rules to life: keep things simple, love the sweet things, call Mama and ALWAYS pray.
For years, I have been wanting to create an outlet for anyone to feel confident with the life they live in style. One Fat Dove is an events and lifestyle website to reflect my quirky, upbeat personality. I firmly believe my style embodies from the women in my family: with a pinch of classy, a dollop of hip and a whole lot of sass! From my heart, I hope you enjoy reading. Thank you for visiting.
Love you bushels!
ONE FAT DOVE
