We love waking up to a Facebook newsfeed featuring Tamara Wendt Design's work. If you're wondering how top designers transform generic hotel ballrooms into a distinctive reception spaces, look no further than this photograph of Tamara's work. Using high impact design pieces like a large crystal chandelier, shimmering fabric swags, and crystal hanging columns, Tamara draws your attention completely away from the more generic (not bad, but not wow!) features of this hotel ballroom and toward the modern, chic backdrop that sets the stage for a reception that is all about the couple and their vision.

Notice the glimpse that you get of the table centerpieces in the background ~ more neutral colors accented with bling ~ this time in the form of Tabletop Manzanita Trees dripping with crystal bead strands and pendants. Elegant, photogenic, and budget conscious without looking like it.

For us, this photograph is worth a thousand words when it comes to answering this question that brides face almost as soon as they get engaged: How can a wedding design pro add value to our reception? The answer, every day of the week and twice on Sunday (Saturday night?), is that when you hire an established wedding designer, you get access to her experience in making the most of venues like yours by employing reusable, high impact pieces like chandeliers, crystal columns, manzanita trees and Crystal Bead Strands. And you get a person with a battle tested team that can meet the challenges of your day without bothering you -- or your mother -- with tons of last minute questions. And you get high impact, high quality design pieces at a great rate because the designer knows that investing in them herself is a great value for her business and for her clients ~ and she can pass that value along to you. Not only is a wedding designer an investment in your having a low stress wedding day, but it's also an investment in your guests' overall experience and in the value that you get for your design budget.

If your wedding designer did an amazing job creating a custom event landscape in your venue, we'd love to see the photographic evidence. Shoot us an email at help@shopwildthings.com, and we just might feature your special day here on our blog. (And hey, if you're a wedding designer whose work rocks, don't be afraid to let us know that, too! We don't mind a little horn tooting among friends.)

We are grateful to Tamara for allowing us to use her images of Tamara Wendt Design events.