Wedding Shoes

Get Fancy!

Listen up, ladies! We always put so much effort and excitement into the dress for our big day, but what about the shoes? Everyone thinks because the dress will cover them up, they don't need to be anything spectacular...but they are so wrong! Shoes are making a huge comeback with brides today, and they're not holding anything back...brides are going from fancy and bejeweled, to vibrant colored and stunning!

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We love the shoes in the top photo, they're so elegant! They are bejeweled but solely in the back and down the heel, which is a very unique look and provides lots of detail. Sometimes less is more! On the other hand, the bottom photo shows that less is more, really is only "sometimes". Take these signature Christian Louboutin's, for example. They are neutral in color, and simple yet so detailed at the same time. The beautiful beige detail with the classic red soles make these shoes absolutely stunning! They're so different compared to just any off-white satin shoes (which are also gorgeous, of course).

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Another huge trend we're seeing lately is colored shoes for your wedding day! If you're like me and love bright colors, this would be perfect for you. It adds a pop of color and detail to your overall look and also adds a fun touch to your photos! More and more lately we're seeing brides use writing on the soles of their shoes; a love note from their groom, the words "I Do", or "Mrs. ____". It can be whatever you want to write, but I love the idea of writing a special something between you and your groom on the soles of your shoes and walking down the aisle in them...it's so romantic!

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If you want to add fun color into your wedding day, but your shoes aren't going to show through your dress - enter bridesmaids! Pick a vibrant color for your bridesmaids' shoes as an alternative. Having multiple pairs of bright shoes will compliment your dress and, believe it or not, make you stand out more! 

Now, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go shoe shopping... These gorgeous, vibrant and elegant wedding shoes bring a whole new level of excitement for your overall gorgeousness on your big day! More and more brides today are stepping outside the box and choosing something daring and exciting for their big day...now we know why! 

Displaying Dessert

Get Stylish!

Are you tired of displaying your sweet treats the same way every time you throw a holiday or dinner party? So are we! As you probably know, DME loves getting creative with food when it comes to design, and this past holiday, we tried some new ways to add some fun to the dessert table! 

Okay, you can't deny that these Oreo pops are just adorable! DME's good friend Lisa Weagle makes these fun little treats and we're always first in line to grab some! She covered these Oreo's to look like little chicks just for our Easter celebration! These treats are perfect for special occasions and can be decorated according to each one...genius, right??

To spice up our dessert table, we garnished some of the plates and bowls with a single Orchid; it adds a little bit of extra color and is so beautiful! If Orchid's aren't your favorite flower, you can choose whichever one is your favorite and can even use it in all different colors!

Here, we have all different flavored cupcakes! We had them made with extra color to represent the Easter holiday, and rather than just display them on regular plates, we decided to switch it up! We took two birch logs and placed one of them three quarters of the way on top of the other, and filled them with the cupcakes. In the second photo, we took brownies and cheesecake to garnish the top of each log. We added an Orchid and marshmallow bunnies and chicks to add even more Easter fun to the design! Also - if you notice next to the birch, we took little wooden bird nests and used fake chicks and eggs to add extra detail to our theme! 

This is the beautiful overview of the entire dessert table! As you can see, the birch logs, fun marshmallow candies, and the Orchids, all add an extra fun touch to the overall design. These are just a few fun ways that you can spice up your dessert table. If you're ever stuck for an idea, just garnish the desserts with a flower of your choice and it will make all the difference!  

Follow Dana Markos Events on Facebook and Twitter for more fun tips on how to add detail to every design! 

Orthodox Easter

Color, Color, Color!

This past weekend, DME celebrated Greek Orthodox Easter with our wonderful family and friends! Since Easter is our biggest holiday, we love to go over the top with the table design. This year, we decided to keep it casual, springy and fun, using lots of color on the table!

If you look closely, you'll notice that we used mason jars for the water glasses. If you didn't know already, mason jars are making a huge comeback! They're the latest rage, and its no wonder why! They were perfect for the casual springtime look we were going for, and they're not something you see everyday! Also - we decided to use our own dish ware, which matched perfectly with the theme, and added an extra personal touch since it was our own. The blue and white plates contrast so well with all of the different colors on the table! Since we used so much color in the flower arrangements, we wanted to use more clean, muted tones to balance the design.

For this Easter table setting, we decided to keep it very casual. Rather than using centerpieces that were packed tight and more formal looking, we used flowers that would be somewhat separated in the vase and almost fan out in a way. Using green leaves in the arrangement adds extra contrast between the colors of the flowers and the vase, really giving off that relaxed springy feeling. Also - notice the color of the vases? We used turquoise vases for the bigger centerpieces to add even MORE color and detail to the overall look.

Instead of using all large centerpieces for your table, switching it up by using smaller arrangements adds a lot of texture to the table! Specifically, using all different vases makes it even more detailed! We used different shapes, patterns and colors for the smaller vases. Some were silver (as you can see in the photo above), some were plain glass, and others had texturized designs.

If you're looking for a unique way to make place cards - look no further! As you all know, I am a huge fan of birch, and this is just one more great way to utilize it! Peeling off the birch bark in semi-small pieces is the perfect place card! It adds to the naturalistic look and is so much different than just using a regular paper place card! Your guests will LOVE it!

Now, as you probably know, DME is a huge fan of candlelight. Since we were using mason jars for the water glasses, we decided to stick with that theme and incorporate it into the rest of the design! Instead of using regular votive candles for the table, we used small square-shaped mason jar candle holders. We poured water 3/4 of the way to the top and placed floating candles inside the jars. This added a really fun touch to the springtime theme. Also, since these candles and jars are bigger than your average votive candle, it gave off a much more prominent glow than usual and left the table looking so gorgeous!


This table setting is most definitely my favorite so far! Using the relaxed but colorful centerpieces, the mason jar water glasses and candle holders, and the different textures of arrangements really made this table spectacular. More specifically, using this design atop a long rectangle farm table really gave a rustic but springy feel. This look is perfect for an indoor OR outdoor dinner party! We hope you got some great ideas from this blog and loved this look as much as we did!

*We want to give a huge thanks and special shout out to New England Country Rentals for the beautiful table runner, farm table and chairs!!!

Graduation Parties

Time to Celebrate!

It's almost that time of year! Graduation is right around the corner, and whether it's a high school or college graduation, the students are ready to celebrate! If you want to throw a graduation party that is going to be different from everyone else's, think outside the box! This blog is going to feature a college graduation party that Dana threw for his daughter last May. We're going to give you great tips on how to turn any space into a spectacular event! 

The graduation party took place at the 1640 Hart House in Ipswich, MA. If any of you have been there, you know how amazing the food is, and how beautiful and rustic the space is! Dana really wanted the room to transform into a contemporary design, while still having some of the rustic features that the room is known for. In front of the fire place he used lots of candlelight, and even used trees draped in lighting as an extra touch. Also, he brought in two white leather couches with bright, funky pillows and two glow tables to really bring a pop of color into the room! The lounge-type feel the couches bring, help guests feel like they can relax while having fun at the same time! It's comfortable and relaxing for you and your guests!

Here's a better look at the pillows used on the leather couches. Rather than just using regular pillows, Dana went for bright, vibrant colors that also added extra texture to the room. You may not think that using ruffled or textured pillows would make a difference, but trust me, every detail counts! Also - they were super comfy!! 

Okay, starting with the top photo - how much do you LOVE those table cloths? Just like the pillows, they have an extra touch of design to them which makes the color stand out even more. It also contrasts great with the simple green centerpieces on the table! In the second photo, you can see that Dana piped and draped the whole room. He used sheer off-white draping to add to the contemporary design, but also, it made the night feel much more private and special! Using lighting behind the pipe and drape is also a great idea because it gives off a beautiful glow. 

Here's a shout out to Jenny Cakes for surprising the family with a Peanut Butter and Jelly cake for the special evening! Let me tell you - it was amazing. Having a fun flavor like that at a graduation party is so different! It will have all of your guests wanting more - and it looks fabulous too! 

This is an idea you will LOVE. Two months prior to this graduation party, Dana's beloved wife Liz passed away from brain cancer. He and all of the guests surprised his daughter Amanda with lanterns that floated up into the sky as a tribute to Liz. If you have someone special that can't be at your graduation party, this is an amazing way to pay tribute to them and feel like they are there with you! And if you don't have someone special that can't be there, but love the idea, do it anyway! It's such a beautiful sight and it's a way to bring all of your guests together! 

Since graduation is right around the corner, take some of these beautiful ideas to make whatever space you're going to use, be spectacular! No matter how small or big you want your party to be, the decor should always be something unique and representative of the person you're throwing it for! Think about what they love and it will be a night to remember!

Using Food In Design

Food For Design

Throughout the years that DME has been designing, we have really diversified our creativity! We love finding new ways to make your event the most spectacular, and and evening you'll never forget. We strive to make the space you chose come alive through unique, detail-oriented design. One of our favorite items to design with is food! I know what you must be thinking, aren't we supposed to eat the food? In this case, no. There are so many different ways to incorporate food into your design, no matter what time of year your event is taking place! 

These two photos above go perfectly with the Fall season! As you can see in the top photo, we used a large variety of fruits and veggies, ranging from oranges to pomegranates to gourds!  If you're throwing a dinner party or having your wedding during the fall, using apples, oranges, pears, even mini pumpkins, would be so gorgeous! The different colors of all the fruits and veggies against the flowers brings such detail to the overall design and is so different! 

Here, we have some photos from AIR's 2nd Annual Tablescapes: The Art and Design of Entertaining where DME won Best of Show! We designed a table called "The Hunt" and used apples, pears, chestnuts, berries, etc. Of course the flowers were absolutely gorgeous, but the extra detail of using fruits and veggies on the table, along with gold accent apples, really completed the overall feel of what the table was supposed to represent. 

This is my absolute favorite! I love the use of lemons and limes in floral pieces, especially in Spring and Summer. They make the whole design look so fresh and clean, and you can use them in different ways!  They can either be used whole, or you can cut them in different ways. Above, you can see that they were cut into slices, whereas in the pillars on the floor, most are whole and just a few are cut into wedges. They're definitely more diverse than you'd think! By cutting them into slices, it's more of a subtle look but the inside of a lemon gives off more detail. If you use them whole, it gives a greater pop of color to the design!  

If you were a skeptic of this idea before, I know you've changed your mind by now! All of these designs incorporated fruits, veggies, and different types of nuts, but they all achieve completely different looks! So, whatever time of year your event is happening, pick your favorite in-season fruits or veggies and get creative!