Wednesday Wise Words

"The earth laughs in flowers." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Photo by: Ashley Brockinton

Wednesday Wise Words

"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world." - Brandi Snyder

Photo by: Ashley Brockinton

A romantic destination wedding up do (aka pretty hair)

I just love this soft and romantic up do that I found on Pinterest this weekend. Very wedding, very polished and anything but overly structured.
You can find more great beauty tips just like this at The Beauty Department

I think I'll do a trial run myself next week!
Tip: Always do a trial run with your wedding stylists. Both hair and makeup. It'll mean you can be even that much more relaxed on your wedding day knowing that you and your stylist are on the same page.
Pin It


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Marco Island, Florida

Wednesday Wise Words

"Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense, and have her nonsense respected." - Charles Lamb

Photo by: Liz Daly

A Stunning Beach Wedding Video: Ritz-Carlton Naples Beach

Our last wedding of the summer! Liza and Todd and their guests came from St Louis to Naples to believe it or not- cool off! It was 10 degrees cooler here at Naples Beach on their July wedding day. This is a great short highlight produced by Seaglass productions. The weekend was amazing from the rehearsal dinner at the dock, to the welcome reception at Tavern on the bay, Golf at Tiburon at the Ritz Carlton Golf resort to finally the wedding at the beach resort. Enjoy this really cool highlight reel. We have; about 20 times!

Liza & Todd Wedding Highlights from Seaglass Productions on Vimeo.

Pin It

A thank you from the 2011 Grand Wedding winners

The Goodwin Family :Audrey Snow Photography

Earlier this year we had the 2nd Grand Wedding giveaway. Christy & Keith were selected to win a wedding with the best of the best wedding industry professionals of south west Florida. Christy reached out to us because she wanted to thank everyone who was a part of making their family official.  Here is the thank you note from Mr and Mrs Goodwin.
Pin It 

Where do we even begin to express how grateful we are, to have been chosen for The Grand Wedding 2011? From the moment we were announced the winning couple, to our amazing Wedding Day, the entire experience was absolutely AMAZING! Each and every vendor involved, went above and beyond to ensure that the whole process was enjoyable, stress-free and FUN! Keith and I could have NEVER imagined that our special day would be SO perfect and involve every aspect to represent our unique relationship. From sushi being served at our Rehearsal Dinner, to our children being involved in the ceremony, you certainly took our desires and requests to heart making the entire event feel like a fairy tale.  We were relaxed and carefree throughout the experience and beyond!  The extra care you took and the time you spent on every detail was very evident as the day flowed smoothly.  Thank you for allowing us to personalize our wedding and for being flexible with our sentimental requests.  Even in our most extravagant dreams, we could not have imagined such a romantic and more perfect Wedding Day!  Thank you all so much for your passion and dedication in the wedding industry, we are telling everyone we know about each and every vendor and the wonderful service you all provided. You gave us the opportunity to blend our families into ONE and make it official. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone that was involved with The Grand Wedding 2011.

Sincerely,

Keith & Christy Goodwin

Jada, Rya and Jordan

The 2011 Grand Wedding Professionals: Ashley Brockinton Photography: Bridal Portrait ::Click:: Audrey Snow Photography: Wedding Day Photography ::Click:: Casa Ybel Resort: Rehearsal Dinner ::Click:: Customized Wedding Creations: Aisle Runner ::Click:: Daily Chocolates: Favors ::Click:: Frank Jean LMT: Massage Therapy; Frey Valet: Valet services ::Click:: New Moon Cruises: Private Charter ::Click:: Get Groovy: Invitation Design ::Click:: Derek Trenholm Band: Wedding Band ::Click:: Hotel Indigo: Honeymoon Suite ::Click:: I Heart Films: Videography ::Click:: Impressions Photography: Detail Photos (Wedding Day) ::Click:: Jennifer King: Hair & Makeup Styling; Kakes by Karen: Wedding & Grooms Cakes ::Click:: Lauren E Wiley: Ceremony Vocalist ::Click:: Luminaire Foto: Fotovideo ::Click:: Maria Glassford Photography: Engagement Session ::Click:: Nick Adams Photography: Rock the Frock Session ::Click:: Pop Jewels: Wedding Day Accessories ::Click:: Pro DJs: Wedding DJ ::Click:: Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center ::Click:: Signature Florals: Wedding Florals ::Click:: Tie The Knot Bridal Salon: Wedding Dress and Bridesmaids dresses ::Click::

Have an over the top lunch

One of my favorite parts about weddings, besides the celebrating, is just the prettiness.  So, why not "try out" one of the ideas you are considering for your wedding with a planned luncheon for you and your bridesmaids?

These images were taken by Impressions Photography for a styled shoot (in early 2009) that was featured on Style Me Pretty. I still love these strong colors in daylight.

Wednesday Wise Words

"Love is friendship set on fire." -Jeremy Taylor

Mike and Audrey Photo by: Ashley Brockinton

You get what you pay for & be nice.

Quick bits of advice:
Do not ask for discounts.  When you ask for a discount, you often end up with discounted service & product. So I advise against it. True wedding professionals will always charge what they are worth anyway.  Your follow up to this advice may then be,

"Well then how do I save?"

I think its quite simple. Ask for what is possible for the amount you have to spend. Yes, its possible that the answer could be that there isn't anything. But you'll never know unless you politely ask.

This leads me to my next little tip.

"Lauren getting ready" Photo by Ashley Brockinton Photography

There is no reason why you can't reach out to who you think could be the absolute best in any given field because you're afraid they're going to cost too much or your wedding isn't going to be grand enough for them. You may be pleasantly surprised. For instance, let's say that you love hair & make up artist "Brillianta Wonderful", but she looks really really expensive. You saw her work in the fancy wedding magazine, the uber sophisticated blog, and her website portfolio is off the charts amazing.  Just because her name is everywhere does not mean that you can't have her and she's going to be insanely expensive.  What if she's been wanting to go where your wedding is taking place and this is the perfect opportunity for her, especially because she's just going to be on the next island over the week prior? It happens more often that you would think.  You don't know until you ask.

Finally, the nicer you are the more people want to go above and beyond for you.  It truly is that simple.

Who is that at Weddings by Socialites?

Left to Right: Randi, Jordan, me, Alyssa, Melissa and Kylie

It's been ages since I showed everyone who exactly has been working here all these months! Jordan and Kylie have moved on to their next internships, and like just about everyone else before them, I wish more than anything that they could stay forever.
Thank you Impressions Photo for taking our spring photos!

This is Alyssa.  She's our Google forms expert, remembers everything said at meetings and makes amazing cupcakes.

 This is Jordan,  Jordan was the one who worked so hard on #MarthasWedding. She's also the master at getting to-do list knocked out.

This is Kylie.  Kylie is the one who started the studio dance break craze.  She's also somehow inside my head and can finish any sentence that I get stuck on, using the exact vocabulary I would have.

Melissa! Our very own culinary guru. She also doesn't complain about having to sort through 18 months of weddings to send for publishing.

Randi sits next to me for good reason. She knows how our weddings run better than anyone else.  7 down, 5 to go!