Your Guide to Hiring a Bartender for a Wedding or Event

It’s likely that the only thing you’ve thought about for the bar at your wedding is whether you’ll have an open bar or not, but once you went to book your bartending services, you probably became quickly aware that there was a whole lot more to consider. Your potential bartender likely responded with a long questionnaire…

How to be an Amazing Wedding Guest – Etiquette Do’s and Don’ts

With times changing as they are, you might be wondering what the current etiquette expectations are for attending a wedding. Past formalities are now often thrown out the window, for convenience sake, and you may be tempted to apply every day conveniences to the idea of wedding guest’s expectations…

The Best Bra for Your Bridesmaid’s Dress

DISCLAIMER – This is a Product Review for Leonisa Bras. We did not receive any financial compensation for reviewing their products. –> I know, we’re sad about that too. 🙁  <— A little while ago we were contacted by the folks at Leonisa, the undergarment retailer, and they asked us to try out their products […]

Katie & Jonathon + Mercury Hall Wedding

Austin Wedding Venues for 300 and More Guests

Finding an Austin wedding venue for 300 or more guests can leave you feeling a bit underwhelmed. There are so few places that can truly accommodate this many guests that you might end up settling for a venue just because of the space alone. It can be quite frustrating, so we’ve put together this list […]

How Much Does A Wedding Cost?

How in the world do you arrive at a wedding budget? This is one of those things that couples and their families have been trying to figure out for ages and I’m sure this will continue to be the case. There are a number of ways. You can set an arbitrary number, based on what […]

Should You Do Wedding First Look Pictures?

If you’re a bride planning a wedding then I bet that you have probably been asked by your photographer if you’re planning on doing a first look. When I ask our couples that same question, about half of them have never even heard of this and half have a definite opinion on it – one […]

You Can Have Whatever You Like!

With Yellow Umbrella Events, you can have whatever you like! It’s not just some silly lyrics from one of last year’s rap song, it’s the truth. You CAN have whatever you like! And that’s all there is to it. Granted, you’ll have to pay for it, but you can have it. What in the world […]

What You Need to Know Before Booking Laguna Gloria for Your Wedding

Let us just start off by saying that we LOVE Laguna Gloria (also known as AMOA – Arthouse or The Contemporary Austin) in Austin, Texas. Not only is the building beautiful but the grounds are stunning and offer a number of different ceremony and reception location options. As Austin wedding planners, we’ve had the pleasure […]

The Top 8 Perks of Having a Resort Hotel Wedding

Austin and the surrounding area is home to some amazing Resort Hotels! (We’re kind of spoiled like that.) From gorgeous lake views to stunning hill country panoramas, you can find just about anything to suit your needs, within 45 minutes or so from our fine city. If you’re wondering what the difference is between a […]

The Cost Difference Between a Resort Hotel Wedding VS a Venue Wedding

Deciding between a Resort Hotel Wedding and a Venue Wedding is tough. There are so many factors to consider – will your guests want to stay on site, where all of their needs are attended to throughout the wedding weekend? Or would they prefer to be on their own and explore the city? Does a […]

What To Expect When You’re About To Do A Boudoir Photo Shoot

Today I’m going to let you in on a little secret. A lot of our brides like to do a pre wedding boudoir photo shoot as a gift to their groom on their wedding day. It’s true! And I’m always getting questions from the brides – What do I wear? Who should I call for […]

The 33 Things Your Wedding Photographer Really Wants To Tell You (But Can’t Without Hurting Your Feelings)

Oh if you could only hear the things that we hear from wedding vendors, both during and after, a wedding. It’s not meant to harm though. It’s much like any other job held by anyone anywhere. Doctors complain about patients not following their release instructions when they get out of the hospital. Mechanics complain about […]

Actual Wedding Trends For 2014

Last wedding season we posted a blog about the ACTUAL wedding trends that we were seeing from our REAL brides, as opposed to what some magazine says you’re supposedly doing. I, personally, hate being told what I’m supposed to be totally in to right now and prefer to make my choices based on what I […]

Eureka Photography Bragged About Yellow Umbrella Events

Our sweet friend, Mylah Burrows, from Eureka Photography in Austin, just wrote a blog about why she recommends that her bride’s work with a wedding planner  – and she featured Shea and I. And we’re pretty excited about it! It is always so humbling when your industry peers say such great things about you. We […]

We Won Best Design at Premiere Settings Austin!

In case you haven’t heard, Premiere Party Central held a design competition for Austin event planners at the Palmer Events Center recently. And it was kind of a big deal! Premiere Party Central selected 12 of the top event planners in Austin to compete in a design competition. We were to incorporate their rental items […]

Fan & Chris + The Plantation House

This is our favorite Plantation House wedding that we’ve ever done! Aren’t they adorable!? Hello!! Check out the Vera Wang – this is one fashionable couple! Fan and Chris held their wedding at The Plantation House in Pflugerville, Texas (just outside of Austin). Their wedding was over the top beautiful! From the Vera Wand gown […]

Lyndee & Caleb + Vista West Ranch

This blog post may more accurately be named “Flower Power at Vista West Ranch” due to the enormous amount of gorgeous flowers that were used in this wedding! You see, Lyndee is no ordinary bride – she’s a recovering florist. That’s right. Lyndee and her mother, Lisa, were the owners of Lisalyn Designs Floral, before […]

What To Expect When You’re Expecting…To Wear A Wedding Dress

Last night I attended an awards banquet and party for a local industry organization. The theme was My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and we were all encouraged to dress the part. I’m not going to go into the specifics of why, but I actually own a big pink tulle wedding dress, so this was my […]

Hyatt Lost Pines – Featured Corporate Event Venue by Yellow Umbrella Events

We’re about to wave a little goodbye to 2012 here at Yellow Umbrella Events and say “how do you do” to 2013. For us that means looking forward into the next year and deciding on what venues we’re going to be contracting for the various events we’re planning for next year. As we’re reviewing our […]

Top 5 2013 Wedding Trends from Yellow Umbrella Events

As Yellow Umbrella Events looks into another year of planning extraordinary events we are definitely noticing some big style trends in weddings (and even in some of our corporate events). And today we wanted to take a moment to share with you just 5 of our predictions for 2013 wedding trends. 1.)    The Great Gatsby […]

Yellow Umbrella Events Chats About Lighting Choreography

The bride and groom are twirling around the dance floor during their first dance as a couple and just at that final moment when the groom dips the bride the lights change in an instant from soft blue to dramatic hot pink and the spot light suddenly shines on the happy couple as they kiss. […]

Why Does A Wedding Planner Charge What They Do?

When we here at Yellow Umbrella Events were young and starting out we would often be asked “Why do you charge what you do?” or “How do you come up with what you’re charging?” and we would set out to explain our fee structure and why we charge what we do. It’s been quite a […]

Yellow Umbrella Events Offers Private Meteorologic Service To Determine Rain Plan

What’s the rain plan? This is a question that all of us here at Yellow Umbrella Events deals with on a regular basis. We are responsible to not only our lovely brides, but to our vendors, to insure that we’ve thought through their event and have made for sure that we’ve considered what will happen […]

Actual Wedding Trends of 2013

Actual Wedding Trends of 2013, According To Yellow Umbrella Events – The Low Down On What Real Brides Are Doing There are always so called “experts” in every field that tout the next big thing in their industry – and the events industry is no different. In a quick search this morning of wedding trends […]

The 7 Deadly Sins Of Wedding Guests – Part Two

Well here it is – the long awaited “Part 2” to The Seven Deadly Sins of Wedding Guests. If you missed “Part 1”, get caught up by clicking here: 5.) Keep Your Opinions To Yourself Yes, I know. Your grilled chicken breast was served with pesto and we know how much you hate pesto.  So […]

The 7 Deadly Sins Of Wedding Guests – Part One

Brides and grooms take note – You may want to post the link to today’s blog post on your Facebook page or wedding website because this isn’t going to be a proper Emily Post style etiquette lesson for your guests. This is a straight up “don’t be an idiot at our wedding” style article. And […]

The “Glitter Pear”

A couple of weeks ago, Yellow Umbrella Events, along with Margot Blair Floral, Crave Catering, Francois Photography, Loot Vintage Rentals, Debi’s Bridal, Onion Creek Salon and Day Spa, Intelligent Lighting Design, and Mancino Iron, created a custom wedding planning design room for Austin Wedding Day’s Engaged! In Austin Bridal Show hosted by the Westin at […]

Wedding Planner or not to Wedding Planner…That is the Question!

Here at Yellow Umbrella Events, we are often asked, “Do I really need a wedding planner?” It’s usually followed by, “I mean, I’m pretty organized, and I have a lot of friends that are crafty. I can probably do this myself.” And you’re right. You can do this yourself! You can absolutely use all your […]

Finding The Right Austin Wedding Caterer

At Yellow Umbrella Events, finding a caterer in Austin is, in our opinion, one of the most enjoyable aspects of planning a wedding. You and your fiancé have the opportunity to do something that you don’t usually do – host an amazing party for all of your friends and family! And a good party needs […]

New Wedding Trend Revealed – The After Party!

Sing it with me, “after the show, it’s the after party, then after the party, it’s the hotel lobby”. While I’m loathe to give props to R. Kelly on just about anything, I have to admit this song is quite catchy. It also brings me to the reason for my latest blog post – The […]

Yellow Umbrella Events Breaks Down The True Cost of a Twilight: Breaking Dawn Wedding

Alright you Twilight fans, Team Edward, Team Jacob, and lovers of all things Twilight, this post is for you. There’s been much talk around the blogosphere about this movie – particularly the wedding scene. Those of you that have read the books have probably waited for years for the release of this movie and now […]

Austin’s “Perfect Eight-Step Straight Razor Shave”

Life, just like your wedding, is all about creating memories through experiences.  Being the male half of Yellow Umbrella Events, I feel like it’s my responsibility to help couples inject some memorable “masculine” experiences into their wedding.  I do this during the wedding planning process by suggesting fun and unique manly touches that can be […]

My guests just spent what?

My Guests Just Spent What? Think you’re the only one shelling out big bucks for your wedding?  Think again! Did you know that the average wedding guest pays $565 – $686 on expenses related to attending your wedding?  I know this seems like an amazing number so let’s break it down: From information gathered from […]

Leadership San Marcos Kick Off Event

Last week Shea and I had the pleasure of not only planning and party styling, but also catering, the kick off event for Leadership San Marcos! We started working with Mary on this event a couple of months ago. Each year Leadership San Marcos offers a new group of local business members an opportunity to […]

Last Minute Mayhem!

  Most of our brides call us and book our planning services months in advance of their wedding and we get to know them through working with them up to their wedding date. But that’s not always the case. Some brides work diligently on their weddings on their own in the months leading up to […]

Welcome to Yellow Umbrella Events!

We are a full-service event planning and party styling firm serving the communities of Austin and Fredericksburg, Texas. Check back often for great party and wedding tips!   Cheryl Bailey Owner, Yellow Umbrella Events Austin’s Fine Event Planning Firm