Party for the Brides!

It's been a long summer and we're finally ready to party with the brides! Our new planning studio & brides library officially opens this Wednesday at 10am. But before we open for business, let's have one last party...just for the brides.

We hope you'll stop by to have a glass of champagne or wine and see what the excitement is all about. While you're there, you might as well put your name in to win one of our grand opening prizes. We going truly grand with this one- so we figure the drawings should be GRAND as well. What does that mean? It means that at least 1 of our prizes will be worth several thousand dollars. Hint: Photography, Wedding Planning & design, invitations, and more! The list of prizes is growing, so who knows what else is in store.
Okay, you talked me into it. One last little hint at just one of the prizes: Julie Goodacre Photography

My favorite reception timelineThe Celebration Timeline

The thing is, there are so many hundreds of ways to have your reception run. And while no 2 weddings are even remotely similar, and this timelime will not work for every wedding, I do have this one particular timeline that I love to use when possible.

Dare I spill my guts? I vote yes. Before I tell you though, I want to explain why. I developed this particular timeline after:
1. Experiencing so many weddings where the guests (especially the bride & groom) just were not ready for the party to end because the dinner portion of the evening took up so much of the time that the reception included.
2. Another never ending issue- having to get all the traditions packed in before the photographer & videographer left, without rushing through them.
3. Breaking up a packed dance floor 4 times in an hour to do one of the traditions.
4. Do you like to be interrupted 4 times during a nice dinner out with all your friends? No? Me Either. So why do it at your wedding? Stop the constant flow of interruptions!

Let me say this though; most of my awesome and amazing clients (yep, they ROCK. Every last one of them) don't do every wedding tradition. Bouquet tosses and garter tosses are few and far between. Same goes for big exits. So like I said- this timeline isn't for everyone. But it works quite a bit for us! If you do use it, let me know how it goes.

Guests seated
Newlyweds introduced
Newlyweds welcome & thank guests
Father of the bride toast
Best Man & Maid of honor toasts
1st course
Cake Cutting (guests remain seated, have the cake somewhere everyone can see it or roll it in)
2nd course
3rd course (cake)
Call guests to dance floor for 1st dance
The special All Guest dance (VERY IMPORTANT)
First break for slow song - 2nd dances (let your music professional make the call on when this should happen- they know how to read the crowd).

Notice this- all the traditions are done by the 1st slow song and because you did the all party song immediately after your 1st dance, the photographer and videographer caught video of everyone on the dance floor.
Yeah, you see why I love this timeline?

My fortune cookie said,"Something nice is coming to you in the mail"

Well of course I ran right out to our mailbox which is now located at:
2722 Skyline Blvd, Studio 3
Cape Coral, FL 33914 YEAH!

Alas, there was nothing exciting inside the mailbox. Maybe the nice thing that is coming will arrive tomorrow. So what could my something nice be? I'm hoping that I'll receive a note from one of our newlyweds. I love getting notes after the weddings. It always makes my day.

Did you ever consider getting some envelopes pre-calligraphed for your thank you notes? I reveived a thank you note the other day that was calligraphed. Wow, did I feel special. I'm pretty sure that the bride went ahead and added thank you note envelopes to her order of invitation envelopes. What a great idea right?
If you need a calligrapher: www.SarahHanna.com

I'm speaking up!Sept. 17 at the Catalina Hotel, South Beach

All the best of the best of Florida's luxury wedding professionals in one room and me with a microphone. Excited? Yes. Nervous? That too. Next month I'll be speaking at the Brides in the Limelight event at the Catalina Hotel in South Beach.

Oh yes, the hot topic. All about the world of blogging. Everything from what a blog is to why you have to have one. Got blogging questions? Send me a gmail and I'll try to answer it at the event. Just don't ask me anything super technical. I swear I'll pretend like I never got the question.

Are you coming? For sure comment below so I can be on the lookout for you there! If you haven't made plans to come yet, do so soon. From what I hear its close to capacity. I hope to see plenty of familiar faces and meet even more new ones.

Mazel Tov Hailey!Our 1st Bat Mitzvah

So when Haileys mom called me I was caught off guard. Why? Because I'm a wedding planner. I never really considered planning Mitzvahs. But Lisa was persistent, and willing to let me learn all about Mitzvahs. This is Hailey with her family. And they are even nicer than they look.Can I just say how wonderful this weekend was? It was such an amazing event. From the services at the synagogue that brought tears to my eyes, to the travel themed party that was off the charts! Man it was a great weekend. I can't wait to do it again. Here are a few photos from the celebration at Grandezza Country Club. As usual, these are our totally unprofessional photos. Doreen Kline was on hand to get all the good ones, and as soon as they come in, I'll be sure to share.Slushee anyone?
The Bling stations
Caught doing quality control at the photobooth
Hermit Crab races- wow that was way more exciting than I expected!
Each adult guest received a globe that lead them to the country (table) they were seated at. Kids were lead to tables by their passports; which they also used to earn stamps at their kids only cocktail hour. For each location they traveled to, they received a passport stamp to go towards a drawing at the end of the evening.
Photo trees showed off hundreds of photos from Haileys journeys around the world with her family & friends
The candle lighting ceremony
Dippin Dots!
Ah Paris.Adult cocktail hour to the left, kids to the right.
A sweet treat on the way out
Party over here!

The VIP Party at the Planning Studio & Brides LibraryThe Door is open, come on in

And quite the party it was. Never in a million years did I expect the turnout that we had. Thank you everyone for coming out and showing your support. This party was for the top local wedding professionals in the area. We plan on having a grand opening party for the brides next month. Stay tuned for more on that. Here are some photos & notes from the evening.
Yum. Crudites, cheeses (I love Boursin), sushi, and best of all...couture cupcakes courtesy of Andrea Houser at Flour cupcakes.
Andrea, Dominique, Michelle & Denise
Eddie from Planned Perfection who fancied up the place with some of his beautiful hydrangea and rose arrangements.
Julie Goodacre & Clint Wiley
As Andrea and Jessica head out for the evening (hey, wait, how'd a bride get in?), John Martin & Ellie from LaPlaya and Rob from AMC video say goodnight.
And the best shoe award...
goes to Ashley Brockinton (far right), here with her charming husband Sam and their newlywed assistant Ashley.
Dom & Michelle. I have no idea what I would do without these girls. I have the best interns on the face of the earth. They make me laugh and keep me focused. They inspire me and they are going to be amazing planners one day. They even went out and bought me my favorite bottle of wine, WOOP WOOP. Yeah, that's me doing the WOOP WOOP dance.
I can't stand those boring Hello, my name is" name tags. I don't do boring.
So the hot spot that night- the bathroom. That's right, the bathroom. Home of the veil, polaroid camera, and corkboard. You'll have to stop by and add your photo. It's funny as all heck.
Left to Right: Cassie from Talent! & me, Sean Hynes & guest from Grandezza Country Club, Beth from Floral Artistry, Amanda from South Seas Island Resort, Krista from Impressions Photography, Sean, me & Shari from Shari Bare Photography

James & Glenn went and got famous on us!

I had a feeling this would be a popular wedding, especially with these handsome fellas and the talents of Shari Bare shooting the event:
James & Glenn on GayWeddingsbytheknot.com
Congrats Shari, James & Glenn!

Mountain Wedding+Showcases+Studio= Busy

How this much time got away from me is still to be figured out! Hopefully I'll be back on the daily post this week. I have showcases and news on my new Planning Studio and Bride's Library
to share with you, and some great photos from Montana where I currently sit looking at some rather amazing mountains. Quite the change of scenery from the lovely beaches at home to say the least.
Montana? Yep. I came out to help my dear friend Nicole of RSVP Shindig (Denver) with an unbelievable destination wedding in Bozeman. There is no lack of scenery, beautifully designed wedding, or Dom Perignon around these parts.
We got quite behind on the showcase (sorry), but promise to get all the info out to every who inquired asap. Some of the showcases that came in already are AWESOME and more than I had ever expected.