How it is almost 2019? I feel like we were just slipping into those sparkly gowns from our C+L anniversary shoot. This year has been a whirlwind both in C+L land and our personal lives. Even though life gets crazy, we need to remember to take a step back and reflect. 
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2018 has been a wild crazy ride for the ladies of C+L. We are so incredibly lucky for all of the vendors and C+L couples we have gotten work with this past year. Because this year has been so amazing we wanted to share our favorite moments with you all. 

​Strap in friends, this is going to have lots of pictures of pretty things. 

Last year we posted our goals for 2018 and now it's our time to tell you how we did! 
 
PERFECT OUR CLIENT PROCESS // First of all, is this ever perfect? The answer is no. We're constantly improving our client process whether that is noting down questions we need to ask them, budget templates, welcome guides, all the things. We're in a much more streamlined place than we were last year, but cannot wait to keep improving! 

STYLED ELOPEMENT // Level up: planning a Glacier National Park elopement for 2019! 

BLOG POSTS // Our goal was to have one blog post a month. Well we did have 15 blog posts, but we missed posting in March, June, July, and August...have you noticed that since we hired an intern, we've had more blog posts? #blessMaredith

NEWSLETTER // We started a newsletter last new years and had some great interactions! We chose to put this on the back burner while we worked on our client experience. Maybe we'll bring this back to life in 2019?! 

BOOKINGS // We didn't set a number goal for 2018, but we had ten! We currently have seven for 2019 and are completely content with that number. This year we're getting more large packages - our fave! 

NETWORK // 2018 was the year of networking. We have straightened our relationships with vendors we've already had and created new bonds. We hosted our second annual vendor appreciation with the help of White Raven. We ate delicious Clove Cart Pizza and drank festive holiday punches.

FOCUS ON OUR FRIENDSHIP // Boy, did we. The first year of C+L was all about hustle. We were stumbling along trying to figure out our new business and it's all we could talk about. This year, life happened for all of us. We leaned on each other more than ever. 

THANK U NEXT 2018! 

We have been extremely lucky to be able to work with many delightful couples since the start of Champagne + Linen in 2016. We like to work with couples who reflect who we are and what our brand is - contemporary couples who want to enjoy what Montana has to offer with their loved ones. Melanie and Blake are a true C+L couple through and through. Their summer wedding last June at White Raven in Alberton, MT was the absolute perfect day filled with lovely little details that we still dream about.

It all started with some gold flatware from Target. Melanie saw photos from our White Raven winter styled shoot that featured this flatware, and gave C+L a call. She wanted to know if we would be able to help her find similar gold flatware. Although, Melanie and Blake did not end up using the same concept for their tables, the table setting at their wedding is still one of our favorites (Yes, we say that about every table setting).

The simple and clean decorations complimented White Raven’s modern elegance perfectly. They had a friend bringing ferns all the way from Washington for their centerpieces. Melanie and Blake had Polaroid cameras for their guests to document the day with. Homemade lip chap as a party favor. And a table of delicious finger desserts provided by Poppy Bakery (Mariah ended up ordering a dozen potato chip chocolate chip cookies from Poppy after that wedding…). 

The highlight of the wedding however was seeing how close friends and family were. Their special day included:

• the newlyweds getting (Smirnoff) iced by the officiant right after the ceremony and again during dinner
• tequila signature drinks
• Melanie’s gorgeous wedding gown
• Blake’s dapper suit
• The mother of the bride scream-singing Bitch Better Have My Money by Rihanna.

Photographer // Dina Remi Studios
Venue, Bartender & Catering // Summit Mountain Lodge
Transportation // Harlow Bus Service
Flowers // Mum's Flowers
HMU // Christina Stevens-Bridal Stylist
Rentals // The Party Store

We are wedding planners and designers, so it's easy to say we are a little extra during holidays. We've put together some beautiful tables over the past two years and we want to share our design tips for your Thanksgiving tablescapes! We're talking plates, napkins, goblets, all. the things. But make sure to read to the bottom where we talk about what is the most important thing about your Thanksgiving table!

Fun glasses // See these goblets? We bought four of them at Goodwill for less than $4. Guests will feel extra fancy with unique glasses, but they don't need to come with the extra fancy price tag. They also don't need to match! 

Break out the china // We're firm believers that if you have it, USE IT! It might be expensive, but it is a waste of money if they're just sitting in a box in the garage! 

Placecards // You can make these as simple or detailed as you would like! 

Napkins //  Place the napkins at each place setting, get some extra adult points if they're cloth! 

Napkin Rings // Don't have official napkin holders? No worries! These are actually leaf steams. If you live somewhere (like us in Montana) where leaves are long gone this time of year, grab some string or ribbon!

Fill that table //  Fill it with candles, drinks, florals, and all. the. food. And most importantly, fill it will people! 

In the end, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks. Your guests (aka friends and family) will not care about having dinner at an immaculately designed table. It's about who sits around the table! As long as there are some empty bottles scattered on the table, that's a sign of a successful night! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Cheers,
C+L

Haaaaaappy Halloween!! 

We hope you're reading this while snuggled up with a nice big bowl of candy - that's at least how we're writing this. 

Katy Shay Photo reached out to us exactly a week ago about participating with your Halloween styled shoot. 1. If you look at Katy's website you'll instantly fall in love with her and her style. 2. We LOVE Halloween (so much that we traveled to Seattle for a Hallowedding shoot last year!). So it was a pretty easy YES! 

It was easy to get to work on this shoot because we had almost everything on hand (including that sweet scull candle) because, as we said, we love Halloween. We wanted to showcase some blooms and Flower Happy Floral came in clutch and created an incredible wild fall bouquet and provided table flowers. 

Now the model, the crazy beautiful model is Nichole with Of the Wolves and her husband. They were such troopers! We had this shoot at 8 in the morning during Halloweekend, it's freezing at this time because, well Montana, and towards the end of the shoot, it started raining. They never complained once! 

Photographer // Katy Shay Photo
Florist // Flower Happy Floral
Models // Nichole and Mike with Of the Wolves
​Design // Champagne + Linen