Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Why I love these clients

This is them during our super important phone meeting tonight.


Yeah, they take planning seriously.  I wonder if that wine is a good one.
Bring me a bottle guys.

Blizzard Bride Series Vol.5

This was a fun wedding to recap.  I'm smiling pretty big right now.
 The escort card (message bottles) table in the Kings Crown Brick room.  I still don't know how Krista gets these cool pictures in the mirrors without getting herself in their too.  Magic I guess.
 This dining room is a completely blank slate.  When I want to bring color in, I do it with linens.  I was so excited when Melody gave me the go ahead to have these custom linens made for the room.
 Something about an acoustic guitar is island wedding perfect.  Jeff & Mel were lucky enough to grab Clint Wiley after he had an event cancellation.
 Just a reminder...don't forget to reserve seats for special guests at your ceremony
AND to tell them they have special seats!
A huge storm rolled in during the ceremony time, so we moved the ceremony & cocktail indoors.  This was the Sand Ceremony table.  Jeff & Melody's moms carried in the jars of the mixing sand.
We used a few items from the Brick room to dress the table.  I'm all for double duty!
 Another one of Krista's cool mirror photos.
 One of my favorite pictures that I never knew happened.  Mel & Jeff stealing a few minutes away.
 A small photo memory book that I'm sure a prized possession.  Gotta love that Polaroid Pogo.
 The end.
Read all of the Blizzard Bride Series here.

Blizzard Bride Series Vol.4

The Details.  This might take up a post or 2 because I have so much I want to show!

 This was a wedding where we wanted  flowers, but the natural beach elements were more of the focus.


 A small ribbon detail that makes the bride & groom chairs a little more special...as they should be!
 I absolutely loved the mix of Coral, Salmon and Green colors in the bouquets.  How can you not smile at this? The photo tree was one of 4 we had up at the welcome reception the night before.  It was fun to have around again in the girls getting ready room.
Gorgeous work by Floral Artistry.  The texture in Melodys bouquet was perfect.  I love the tie back to Ireland in the Bells of Ireland (Remember the Paddys from Vol. 2?)

The entire Blizzard Bride Series

Blizzard Bride Series Vol.3

One thing that I love about South Seas is that Chef Sebastian is great about creating menus that are both pleasing to the eye and palette.
 
With an indoor dinner reception you can have your 1st course pre-set if the food is such that it can bear the wait of seating time.  It's crucial to have a timeline enforced if you're going to try this style of dining.

Key Lime tarts.  Pretty much the law to serve them at some point during a Florida wedding weekend.

 Chicken never tasted so good.  Except to the vegetarians.
Their roasted vegetable puff pastry entree was equally enticing.
 A perfect fit.  Melody designed these menus herself after seeing this particular napkin fold & treatment in our studio during one of their planning visits.
 Yes, there was a sweet tooth factor.  They skipped the wedding cake for a sweet station instead.


The entire Blizzard Bride Series photographed by Impressions Photography

Blizzard Bride Series Vol.2

 Funnest dinner ever.  Instead of clanking forks against glasses, Mel & Jeff's guests serenaded them every time they wanted the newlyweds to kiss.   It was HILARIOUS and the cutest thing ever.  Everyone got into it.  Even me.  And yes, I was whisked away quickly once they heard my not so brilliant singing voice.
 This was really neat.  The bride & groom were gifted a case of Paddys, an Irish Whiskey, which apparently is extremely difficult to get in the U.S.  So difficult in fact, that when Mel & Jeff went to go buy it for their toast, they couldn't get it.  All their friends went on a viral hunt for the whiskey, and somehow...the distillery found out about their story.  Much to their surprise, the company sent them a case, via a rather extensive travel itinerary.




 Here's some more of the serenading...
To see all the Blizzard Bride Series posts click here

Blizzard Bride Series Vol.1

I can not believe I haven't blogged this wedding.  Last June we had this just absolutely fun, great family escape wedding weekend at South Seas Resort.  Truly, one of those weddings where you just don't want it to end because everyone is having such a great time together.  This is EXACTLY what destination weddings should be like.  All these images are by Impressions Photography, who never seem to miss a beat.  I love Kristas detail shots!
How you welcome your guests is important.  Melody & Jeff wrote individual notes to each guests inside their message in a bottle style escort cards.

Three simple cymbidium orchid stems with grass and sand gave life to this otherwise blank wall.
Later in the evening the pillar candles really gave this foyer a romantic glow.  I''m a fan of pillars when possible.  Tealights and votives don't make quite the statement.




Rather than you're typical gift envelope box, we stacked these travel cases on a table and left the top one open.  This way it didn't interfere with the rest of the decor.
Not your average table number holder.  We used sea elements everywhere we could.  I was so excited to come across these coral pieces.  I'm pretty certain they weren't meant to be table numbers, but that's beside the point.

While the girls all got ready, they had these cute little bag lunches.
No boring brown paper bags on my watch.

More coming, no worries.  I have to narrow it down from like a million great pictures.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The New Years Bride Series Vol 5.

I promised a great ending, and here it is!  The directors cut from AMC Video.  This is one of my favorite directors cuts ever.  Here's why.  We were able to get some great video, completely uninterrupted by having Rob come in early, prior to the photographer.  That way he could just capture some truly candid moments that are usually missed.  He was able to bring some equipment that allowed him to stay out of the way, but really catch what was going on.  I was more than astonished by what he created.  Makeup never looked quite so pretty going on as it does here.  Just so peaceful- the way it should be.  This video is exactly what you want to be able to look back and remember- how much you really enjoyed the day with all its movements and sounds.

Ashley and Grant - Director's Cut from Rob Epple on Vimeo.

filmed and produced by Rob Epple from AMC Video Productions www.amcvideo.com

See all the New Years Bride Series by clicking here

The New Years Bride Series Vol 4.

Ready for more?  The wedding only gets better.  Here's what happened when the sun finally set.
The tent was divided into 2 sections, the lounge and then Dining & Dancing.  For Dining & Dancing we draped the ceilings with sheer panels and white light beads.
Here's Mrs. Prince dancing with her dad on the Mohagany dance floor. Yes, I cried.
This cake by Ellas Cakes was outstanding.  So much so that there wasn't a slice left. It sat front and center at the opening of the lounge to the dining & dancing so that it could be a true focal point.
In the lounge we had 2 conversation sets with tables that lit up blue at night.  We went with all clean lines in here, so potted orchides were perfect.
The blue paper lanterns stole the show in the lounge.  The varying heights and sizes added the perfect sense of whimsy without it being too busy. Sheer panels and palm trees were the perfect way to divide the 2 spaces without taking away from the tropical & light feel that we were trying to create.
The photo station is always a huge hit at our weddings.  The guests sat and took pictures at their leiasure and then signed the album with notes and messages.
As you can see, lighting played a big part in the design of this wedding reception.  Between the ceiling light beads, the amber uplights, the blue lit lanterns, and the blue lit tables in the loung- we were able to create 2 magnificent atmospheres in one structure.
Did you see the rest of the New Years bride posts? Click here.  Still one more to come!

The New Years Bride Series Vol 3.

Like I said- it was cold.  So we did have to put the sidewalls down.  The best thing we did was make sure that we had walls with "windows" for the portion of the reception that was during daylight.  Another option is to get a clear tent, but since we had a lighting feature that evening, we decided the white top would be best.
The tablescapes consisted of bamboo folding chairs, espresso pintuck linens, ivory pintuck napkins, hydrangea, and candles in cylinders of sand and starfish.
For the U-shaped head table we simply trimmed the outer edge of the tables with low candles, small hydrangea arrangements, and starfish.  In the intersecting corners were 2 large cylinders that tied into the tablescape design on the guest tables.
Here's a closeup of the corner pieces on the head table. Sand, starfish, shells, and sand dollars.
I designed the menu cards to fit appropriately on the tables considering the amount of room we were going to have.  The pintuck napkins were too busy for a menu card, so the menus had to have a place on the table.

Did you miss the 2 previous New Years Bride posts? Here they are: Vol 2 Vol 1

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

The New Years Bride Series Vol 2.

Not only was this the coldest wedding we've ever had, it was also hands down the windiest!  These bamboo structures were supposed to have natural linen canopies.  We improvised with the white ribbon. 
Floral Artistry adorned the chairs along the 3 aisles with bear grass, italian ruscus, and raffia.
There is something to be said about not pushing the envelope.  Especially when the environment is so striking.
Same goes for the boutonieres.  These dendrobium and stephanotis for the guys are as fancy as they need to be, which is anything but fancy.  Uncomplicated is good. 
The bridal bouquets however, I love a little umph in this department.  Mrs. Prince carried a bouquet of long stemmed white french tulips and stephanotis in hydrangea.  No greenery at all.  I love an all flower bouquet.  The bridesmaids carried bouquets of parrot tulips in light blue hydrangea.  The moms carried poseys of white dendrobium orchids. 
 

101 Destination Wedding Planning Tips

From the editors of Destination Weddings & Honeymoons