Fido gets an invitation too

Wedding pups! That is right, dogs are big in weddings these days. Many couples consider their dog a part of the family, so why not include him or her? In this months Martha Stewart Weddings (page 186) there is an article on including Fido or Fee Fee and some wedding day doggy attire. This picture is of Gogo at Sarah & Billy's Sanibel Island wedding a couple of years ago. The girls at Floral Artistry created a garland of Italian Ruscus tied off with a satin bow to match the bridesmaids bouquets. Oh my gosh he's just so cute walking down the aisle.

And this is Sami! Sami wore a lei of white dendrobiums at Becky & Mike's Captiva wedding, just like the rest of the fellas.
Oh and please oh please- check the rules at your ceremony site, there can be restrictions on pooches!

Happy Birthday Jim!

Yesterday was my father-n-laws birthday. You know me, I love a reason to have a party, and this was the perfect occassion to invite the family over, for my husband to make his yummy ribs, and for me to do a fun tablescape. Jims a big golfer so the kids and I went crazy with the golf balls and tees!

Oh la la I love the Pink Shell

There isn't anything French about it, but I just love the new space at Pink Shell on Ft. Myers Beach. Dony & Sarah were kind enough to invite me out for a tour of the new facilities at the resort. Let me just say this- somebody kicked it up a notch. It is so cool! Very contemporary, hip, and modern, but still a kick-back in Florida feel. The colors are obviously tied in with the amazing view of the Gulf from the room and of course there's a terrace right off the Captiva room to chill out on when you need to take a break from the dance floor. Anyway, since I was out last August they have added oodles. Besides this new non-ballroom ballroom, there is a marina with docks, and I think 45 new rooms. Okay, the rooms. WOW. Why wow? Well, each room faces the Gulf, has a screened in porch on the gulf, oh and did I mention that a bunch of the units have hot tubs on the 2nd porch that faces the bay? Hello! Sign me up! Oh, one thing I thought was particularly cool was that there are 7 rooms per floor. And if your wedding guests take over all 7 rooms, you can actually have a welcome reception right there on your floor. The neatest location ever if you ask me. Talk about not having to worry about getting back to your room, the party is right outside your door! Oh, and if you eat at Jo Jo's by the main pool (I think its one of 4 pools), try the mediterranean salad (Thanks for lunch girls!). It is so good. I had to get back to the office, so I didn't get to go back to the spa (gosh darnit!) to meet the new spa director before I left. They have the best spa there, Aquagene. I for sure need to find some time to get back in there!

Win a year of Wedding Inspirations!

This week I have been catching up on all my magazine reads. There are some really great articles and phenomenal new ideas that I can't wait to try out. No worries, I'll be posting about some of them very soon. In the meantime, while I was reading all these magazines I was inspired to do something fun. A contest!

It's very simple- click on the comment link below and leave your name & blog address or email me your name & email address at WeddingTidbits@gmail.com. I'll randomly pick, and then announce the winner on July 16th and that lucky person will receive a one year subscription to all of these magazines!

Want to increase your odds? Leave a comment on your favorite article or idea from one of the above magazines and I'll enter your name in twice! Good luck everyone!

Some of my favorite spring '07 photos

Picture 1, Amanda. This photo was caught during a moment of outright laughter during the ceremony. The wind was coming at just the wrong direction and Amanda's parachute, ummm, I mean- veil proved to be a constant source of laughter through the ceremony. Fitting, because Amanda was the most hilarious client I have ever had. She really should go on a comedy tour. She had me in stitches for nearly a year. Photo Credit: Impressions Photography

Picture 2, Traci & Steve. Ok, I know everyone does this shot, but there was something about Traci & Steve when they were spinning about. They were totally lost in each other- and it totally came through in this image. Photo Credit: Julie Goodacre Photography

Picture 3, Jim showing off his newly adorned ring finger to friends. Ok, hands down, this is the most memorable shot and it is SO Jim. Jim was one of those grooms who came to his wedding excited to marry his bride and totally ready to celebrate his marriage with his closest family and friends. Susan & Jim's wedding was just down right fun. Photo credit: Gigi Hamlett Photography

Thank you fabo photographers for sending me images!

Exploding M&M's

About 3 or 4 days before each wedding, most brides lose all sense of reality and begin to act like they have had a cocktail of Chai tea with a splash of CRACK. For me it is absolutely hilarious. I get asked the funniest questions and usually end up crying on the office floor trying to hold it together to answer them. This is the question of the year. It came in 2 days before the wedding.

BRIDE:Hey there.... Mom and I are debating on whether to go ahead and do the M+M favors tomorrow or wait until Friday.... Have you ever had problems with M+Ms exposed to air?
ME:
Ok, you have totally lost it. Bride, they are m&m's. Have you ever seen an m&m explode when exposed to air?
This is going on my "top 10 hilarious questions from brides who went over the detailed edge" blog post. Remind me to do that.

I'm going to have to do some research on the other 9...I have about 4o bazillion emails to sort through to find the best. Hey- if you're a planner and have a doozie to add to the list- post a comment or email me!

Mariage de destination or Nozze della destinazione?

Destination Wedding Anyone? I was recently interviewed by Budget Travel Magazine about destination weddings and they've published the article online. Italy and France are big draws these days...but I had to give Captiva the #1 ranking. Click here to read the article!

I goof off a little

Last weekend while photographer Gigi Hamlett was busy taking romance shots of Becky & Mike, I grabbed one of her back-up cameras and took a few photos myself. I do this every now and again. She usually just ends up yelling at me for not focusing or "bouncing" off the wrong wall. Bouncing is a fancy lighting term I still don't get. Her camera is too complicated. But still, its fun for about 10 minutes. Being a photographer is so much more difficult than it appears. Besides taking pictures for like 6-8 hours, nearly non-stop, then there is the editing process. HOURS and HOURS and HOURS editing photos at a computer. Nope. No way. You couldn't pay me enough.
Anyway, I received an email from Gigi this morning. Here is a photo I took of Denise and myself while Gigi was chasing Becky and her dog Sami down the beach for this cool shot. Denise has worked with me at almost all the weddings in the last year- she rocks. Denise also married one of our dearest friends, Kenny (I set them up!),last Christmas night at a surprise ceremony.
I love weddings.

Pimp Your Flips

This past weekend was Becky & Mike's wedding weekend. It was such a great time! Clint Wiley entertained both Friday and Saturday and let me just tell you- there were people who never left the dance floor. For all I know, they are still there waiting on another encore. You can check out the short video of little ringbearer Cole dancing to Banana Pancakes at the rehearsal dinner on Becky & Mike's wedding blog. Have I ever mentioned I love Jack Johnsons music?

Anyway, let me explain the photo here. I shoulda known something was up when Becky asked me for my shoe size and favorite color in my wardrobe (hot pink & black). She surprised me, and I think all the girls in the wedding party (moms too), with a pair of these customized Reefs. Her sister Kelly embellished each pair for all of us. Oh how they sparkled in the sand. Very cool. Yes, I'm still wearing mine. Kelly is considering taking limited orders for her Wedding Flips, if you're interested, send me an email.

I'm a friend of Martha's

I received a lovely email today that just made me happy. I've been extended the Martha Stewart Friends & Family discount! Well how about that? Best part- I get to share it with you. The discount is good through June 22nd and all you have to do is go to www.marthastewartcrafts.com and enter the code MSCFF107 at
checkout.
Oh, and if you haven't been to the Martha aisle at Michaels yet, you are seriously missing out. Very cool stuff. Give yourself an extra hour. They managed to fit an enormous amount of stuff in this one aisle!

Ooooh I love nice stationery

I have to say, you never know where your next blog comment will lead you. Last week I received a comment from a reader (Dawn) and when I found my way back to her blog I found stationary paradise. Anna Bella Stationery is just darling! Truly, if you have 5 minutes, check it out. I wanted everything of course, but I think my favorite was the Khaki collection from her signature wedding line. At under $10 per set- I think it's amazing.
But that isn't the end of this post! I was reading some of Dawn's blog just this morning and I read about a collaboration she had with another Florida artist, Claudine Hellmuth to do these very unique notecards. I've never seen anything like them, and that, that I just love. You'll have to visit her website to see because it's truly something you have to see to grasp. Anyway, something struck me about the post and I couldn't put my finger on it. I clicked on the link, and it all came together. "GET OUT!" I yelled. My kids and the puppy all came running to the office to see what I was yelling about. The artist is Claudine Hellmuth! I know, you're thinking, "And this is so unbelievable because..." The kids and dog weren't as excited either. It's quite exciting to me though because Claudine Hellmuth and I had an english class together our freshman year of high school. It's a small small world.

If you can't do a welcome bag

Welcome bags are wonderful for destination weddings. It's one thing that I have noticed that guests consistently rave about. The thing is, they can get pretty pricey. This last season the bags we delivered ran between $5.oo each and $32 each. I know, pretty big range. What drives the cost is the actual container you choose, what is in the bag, and the expense of assembly and delivery. Most resorts will charge a fee to deliver to the guests rooms. Others may allow you to drop it off at the front desk for when your guests actually arrive free of charge. For sure check on this in advance. So what if even $5 isn't in your budget? There is still something you can do. The reason we do welcome bags to to welcome wedding guests who are from out of the area, introduce them to the locale, and provide them with the weekends itinerary (if there's more than just the wedding ceremony & reception). If you can't do this, how about sending out a wedding newsletter to all the guests who have RSVP'd "YES!", including all the information on it: Itinerary, favorite & nearby restaurants, things to do, and for sure a map. All this costs is your time, some nice paper, and postage. For certain, this is much less expensive, and your guests will still be tickled pink that you thought of them in advance. Got a little wiggle room in the budget? Use photostamps to spice it up. Or if you and your groom aren't camera shy, do a welcome dvd and mail that to everyone! You can totally get creative with this. And if one of you does do the welcome dvd- send me one, I want to see!

Here comes the organized wedding planner chiming in: There is absolutely no need to wait to do this. It can be done way way in advance. Don't dilly dally.

Marvelous Monograms & More

I know, I have blogged about monograms like 3 times this year already. But I like 'em, what can I say? Yesterday I came across this website and I got so excited when I clicked on the monograms page. This is not your ordinary run of the mill monogram shop! I LOVED so many of them I couldn't narrow down one if I tried. You must go check it out. Really, I think Kristin at I do Originals is just an amazing designer and I can't wait to use her stuff.

Phillip has a new website

Phillip Lloyd emailed me a link to his new website this morning. Wowza. It rocks! So I thought I would share. And how could you not want to get married here after seeing this picture?

The Cool Factor: Furniture

Every now and again I'll have a client who just wants to do something really cool. Something non-traditional wedding that won't interrupt the flow of her wedding, but will for sure add to the atmosphere. I always suggest good lighting 1st of course, because lighting totally transforms a room. Next though- furniture. Kick it up a notch! Especially if you have the option of having your reception in 2 different rooms; one for dinner and one for dancing. I got the new catalog from Room Service yesterday and was so excited to see all the cool new furniture they had. I especially love this round bar. How cool would it be to leave the dance floor to grab a cocktail from this bar, and then sit at this bench and watch your 80 year old Great Uncle Jack & your crazy roommate from college boogie down to a little Earth Wind & Fire?
Oh and yes- I am all about splitting the reception into dinner then dancing. Why? Because its really 2 different vibes anyway; I say take advantage of it. Dinner is for eating, toasting & talking, and beautiful romantic music. Then there's party time. Celebrate with fun music, dancing, and a party atmosphere.