CJ's Off the Square featured on TheKnot.com!

It has been in the works for a while now, but we're delighted to share with you that the September wedding of our friends Misty & Blake has been featured on TheKnot.com's Real Wedding section! We shared several of our favorite CJ's weddings with Rebecca at TheKnot.com and theirs was the standout favorite due Misty's unique style and their stunning pictures (thanks to The Photographix). And yes, for those of you who are so perceptive, that IS the same Misty & Blake of Nashville Event Lighting!

Please click on the image below visit their feature on TheKnot.com to read more about their beautiful day. Who knows - YOUR wedding may be next!!

25 Free Invitations Offer Extended!

Now through April 5^th, receive 25 FREE invitations or save the dates when you order from any Checkerboard wedding album or our Save the Date album. Here are some of our favorites:

A Great Deal on Great Photography

Our freinds at the Photographix wanted to let you know about this great offer. Check it out!

CJ's Off the Square has a new site!

It has been a long time coming...but we finally launched our new website! Thanks to all of you who provided feedback and ideas. We hope you enjoy the new look. Let us know what you think!

The Sweet Escape

Thanks to all of our brides and vendors who came out to Maples Wedding Cakes in Murfreesboro this last weekend for The Sweet Escape! We hope you all had a wonderful time tasting all the new flavors (especially the mind-bending Bar-B-Q, which was shockingly delightful!) and seeing their new designer cakes. Stay tuned for our next event!

For those of you who attended, make sure that you note the $50 gift card you received for use in our WCW Boutique. You may use that on any of our amazing invitations, save the dates, programs, or accessory items!

Enjoying some samples!

Many thanks to Jimm Wright and Elaine McCord for the beautiful flowers and decor they provided - I loved the fireplace! And of course we'd also like to thank Jack Menard with Silent Light Images for taking and sharing these great shots with us.

Browsing some of our favorite ensembles by Encore Studios!

Many congratulations to our friend Jennifer of Reveal Event Style who is now engaged herself!!

Jen from The Photographix stopped in for a visit!

Elaine McCord, Liza Hippler of Maiden to Married, and Jimm Wright enjoy the goodies!

Kelsie (braving a cold!) and I call it a night - great to see you all!

Cakes: The good, the bad, the ugly?

It is just one more day until our "Sweet Escape" cake tasting event at Maples Wedding Cakes in Murfreesboro. We hope you can join us!

I was chatting with Jay last night and they were running out of pans to bake over 10 flavors of cake for this amazing tasting event!

Remember, the event is free, but space is limited and you must register in advance.

In the spirit of awesome cakes, I thought it would be fun to pop over to the Cake Wrecks blog.

Some of the cakes on this site are actually pretty good from a technical point of view...but perhaps misguided in theme. My sister in law sent this to me this morning and if we didn't have clients scheduled all day, I just might spend the day laughing and commenting on these crazy cakes!!! Enjoy!

--CJ

Fun Idea For Your Wedding Program

Looking for something fun and a little bit different for your spring/summer wedding program?

Consider a fan program from the WCW Boutique.

These are perfect for a garden ceremony but can also work for a formal church ceremony too. They come in lots of different colors and can easily be customized further with a satin or organza bow in the color of your choice.

For pricing information, give us a call or click here to download the brochure. This is the perfect time to order programs for you May & June wedding.

Not sure what needs to go in the program? We can help! We have a handy program template you can use as well as lots of experience with the many different wording styles.

Give us a call today to get started: (615) 465-8099

--CJ

Invitation of the Week

Happy Spring Everyone! Well, it is not yet spring officially, but I think the birds and the sunshine here in Franklin have a different opinion! I bring you this latest post from my living room, where all of my are windows flung open and enjoying a most delightful breeze along with my 4th cup of coffee. It makes me think of the Snow Patrol song "Crack the Shutters" which is in the current office music mix (great song...okay CD. Eyes Wide Open is a masterpiece that is hard to top).

Okay, the coffee habit comes from super chilly winter mornings and I will have to ween myself back down to a cup or two soon. But all that aside, I can't wait to finish up some of my desk work so I can go outside and enjoy this beautiful day!

I thought I would start a new post series to highlight some of my favorite boutique items each week and brag a little on our clients who have such great taste in paper. I invite you to share your thoughts with us. Amy and I would love to see this blog become more interactive and dynamic so please share your comments with us.

Now on with the Invitation of the Week:

A while back, I mentioned that black and white with an accent color seemed to be the look for 2009 weddings. I also have to say that the reverse is true...using a bold color, and then accenting in black or white. Both create major impact and evoke an instant reaction when first revealed.
There is nothing subtle about either of these looks...and I think that is what appeals to so many of our clients.


Take a look at these bold and beautiful invites from our boutique. Don't you just want to RSVP right away!? I can tell that the couple who sends these out know how to have a great time and I wouldn't want to miss the big event!

What do you think? --CJ

Win a free Couples Shoot from The Photographix!

Okay, you guys just have to hear about this! Our dear friends, Jen and Ann of The Photographix, are giving away a FREE shoot to the couple who submits a winning image to their blog! Jen and Ann have shot dozens of weddings & events for us and are always a hit, and their clientle includes Sara Evans, Sheryl Crow, and Joe Don & Tiffany Rooney! This is a great chance, don't let it get away!

Visit their BLOG for more details, or read a little more below...

"Hello to all our blog readers!Photographix has decided to try something new to get you more involved with us! We love all the feed back, comments and, well, the overall interaction that our previous clients, new clients and blog reader friends share with us, so to show our appreciation we would like to give back something to you...We might do this monthly or every other month depending on how many of you guys participate :) So we would like to do a little contest...different themes everytime and this is how it is going to work. We ask you to submit an image...story...whatever, then we will post them on our blog to share with others. Photographix doesn't want to have to pick winners so we have decided to let our Photographix "peeps" do that...yes, that's right, you fellow blog readers get to vote by leaving comments on your favorite pick! We really think this will be lots of fun for everyone and the great thing is anyone can submit to them. So get involved with us and let us know what you think!First submission: Submit an image showing "LOVE" between couples...be creative! And no distasteful images please :) Up for grabs: Free couples shoot session (that's right, sitting fees waived). Can be as relaxed as you want or you can dress back up in your wedding attire...you choose!

Site: http://www.thephotographix.com/
Email: info@thephotographix.com"

Join us for Feile Franklin!

Every March, citizens of Franklin, TN take to the streets in celebrate St. Patrick's day as only Southerners can: a beer festival. Feile Franklin (pronounced FAY-la, means PARTY!) is coming up on March 14 and you really should come on out for a great afternoon of "Irish" pride (I use quotes because, come on, you don't have to be Irish to party down with a pint).

Everyone is welcome to enjoy the live music and crafts, but to partake in the beer tasting, tickets are $30 in advance or $35 on the day of. Unfortunately, CJ's Off the Square is just one block too "off the square" to be a part of the festival, but that won't keep us from any excuse to have a beer during work hours! So stop in and say hi if you are in the neighborhood. If you are lucky, there just might be a Guinness or two left for you!

For more information about Faile Franklin, click here.

"Her Nashville" feature on CJ's Off the Square!

CJ's Off the Square is thrilled to be featured in the newest edition of Her Nashville magazine! A great article on of our favorite 2008 weddings, Michelle & Joel on September 21st, is the "Big Day" feature. So fun to hear their story all over again!

Check out the online feature HERE.

A Great Way To Give Back

Hi friends!

I just wanted to take a quick moment to let you know about a very cool concept from my photographer friend, Michael Howard. Take a look at this cool way he is giving back to the community and feel free to contact him directly if you know of a couple who might benefit from this program:

http://www.howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=30