A Most Gorgeous Wedding: The Martha Paltrow Series

We nick-named Alison the most appropriate name ever: Martha Paltrow. Why? Because she is the complete personification of a blended Martha Stewart and Gwenyth Paltrow and so was her amazingingly stunning destination wedding on Captiva Island.
We were so fortunate to have Impressions Photography on board for the weekend to capture what was one of the highlights of the year. Because there were just so many insanely beautiful images, I'm going to share this wedding over several posts. So be sure to check back regularly, or even better- go ahead and subscribe (right sidebar) to ensure you don't miss out!
The wedding weekend officially started with the bridal party enjoying a spa day and the grooms party having a great day of golf. Then, just before the sunset, all 96 guests were invited to a welcome cocktail reception at Palm Tree Landing of Sunset Beach located on the South Seas Island Resort.
The Rehearsal Dinner
The rehearsal dinner was held right on the beach. The tables were covered with natural adobe linens keeping the soft beach feel alive.
For center pieces they had frosted votive candles with Phalaenopsis Orchids designed by Floral Artistry on each table surrounded by natural plants that the bride designed herself, which included a small local plant in a small glass vase with natural rocks on the bottom. The wine bar was decorated with Italian Ruscus garlands.
After having a few cocktails and passed hors d'oeuvres of Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes and Raw Spring Rolls (Rice paper wrapped crab, carrots, lettuce, asian noodles, and carrot ginger sauce) the guests enjoyed a selection of fresh grilled bbq favorites along with a chopped salad of Manchego, peppers, tomatoes, and olives.

Also on the menu was grilled corn on the cob, oven roasted baby potatoes, sliced watermelon, and cornbread & biscuits. And of course, it wouldn't be an island dinner without some Key Lime Pie!
Before the night ended, all the guests laughed and cried while watching a highlights video montage of Alison & Andrews lives including their dearest family and friends.

Here's to Another Great Wedding!Writer Bride's Cabbage Key Excursion

All photos on this post were taken by me, so yeah, they aren't so good because I am not a photographer who knows everything about lighting, angles, speed and all that stuff I find unfathomable to remember all at one time. But you get the point. To see better photos- always check out the photographers websites & blogs!

Writer bride wanted to have a fun getaway for all her guests the day before her wedding so we planned a cruise to Cabbage Key for a "Cheeseburger in Paradise" lunch. Rumor has it that Jimmy Buffet wrote the song after having one of their incredible cheeseburgers. I will personally vouch for the incredible part of that statement! To make the trip extra special we had dolphins jumping along side the boat. This time we did not end up getting soaked by dolphin splash, although I think we secretly hoped that somebody would.

Once we docked at Cabbage Key, each guest received a small bag with their name and table assignment. In the bag was a dollar bill and sharpie to leave their mark in the famous dollar bill room (see the walls in the team picture on the top right sidebar). Once guests finished their lunch, they were free to roam the islands trails, climb the water tower, play horseshoes and/or frisbee, and of course have a Cabbage Key Cocktail or 3.

More on Writer Brides wedding coming soon!

Neat idea for a placecard holder

Every once in a while I come across something neat in my junk email folder. Today I noticed these small jeweled boxes in the Pier 1 Imports ad and they immediately screamed, "Click me, click me". So I did. I clicked. Turns out they are only $10 for a set of 3. How pretty would these look on each place setting at your rehearsal dinner or wedding dinner on top of a beautiful rich colored napkin?

In this picture I paired an eggplant lamour napkin and saffron bichon linen from BBJ Linens. I think they would compliment all the jeweled boxes well. And then for the placecard, perhaps a very elaborate deep red ink calligraphy with gold embellishments.

Subject: Random Question #2516

Client:

Toasts for RD and Reception…
I’ve read it’s tradition for the groom’s parents to toast the bride’s parents at the RD, and for the bride’s parents to toast the groom’s parents at the reception…. Is that true?

Me:

Oh my gosh, you are so hilarious. I just realized you're numbering the questions. THAT is so funny.
There's tradition, and then there is what really happens. Tradition, yep- just what you said. What really happens...depends on the style and formality of the wedding and the kinds of guests you have. Here is what I will say for sure. Get as many of the toasts out of the way at the Rehearsal dinner. Ask everyone you think will want to say something, if they plan on saying something- before the weekend comes. Then ask them to do it at the event that you feel is most appropriate. This way you'll probably have more time to party/dance at the Wedding. Toasts and speeches on wedding night, on top of the other traditions (cake cutting, parent dances, bouquet toss, pictures, etc.) really cut into the time you actually get to just let loose and have a good time.

I love this and I think you will too.

I got a super fabulous email today from CocoMyles. They asked me to Blog about their product, and I was absolutely all over it after I tried it out. This site ROCKS. On the website you design your own dress: bridesmaid, rehearsal dinner, engagement party, you name it. I say find a reason to buy one. The dress I designed for myself- which I LOVE and can not wait to get, is just $135! GET OUT!
Oh, but there's more. Let's say you were flipping through InStyle magazine or watching the Grammys and you saw a celebrity in a dress that you just loved. CocoMyles actually has a celebrity inspired line. The dresses in this line are named appropriately, so you'll know which celebrity style you are wearing.

The Wedding Budget Series, Part 1: How much does the average wedding cost?

I have tried and tried to come up with a fail safe for this question and the truth is: There's no such thing as an average cost. I can tell you where to find out the average amount spent across the USA, but in no way will that hold up when it comes to your planning. Here's why; no 2 weddings are the same. In fact, I've never had 2 that were even remotely close to each other. I've planned weddings that were hundreds of thousands of dollars and I've planned weddings that were a couple thousand, and everything in between. Let me give you an example of how 2 weddings at the same to-die-for location, with the same amount of people can be so different in cost. Let's say there are 75 guests.
Wedding A:
The bride and groom decide to have their wedding on the beach on a Sunday at 11am. That way they can enjoy the gorgeous view of the Gulf of Mexico for the entire length of the ceremony & reception. Instead of a rehearsal dinner, they invite everyone out to the beach at 7:30pm, a half hour before sunset, play their favorite beach tunes on a portable cd player, and serve ice cream bars out of a cooler as they watch the sun go down. For the reception they choose a brunch buffet, which includes Salmon, Chicken, and ziti. They decide to host a consumption bar because people don’t typically drink as much during the day. For music, they hire a really good DJ to cover the entire event, but also have a soloist for the ceremony. For décor, the bride decided to stick with all roses in just 2 colors. Since it’s a Sunday afternoon, they were able to get a good deal on photography and videography coverage. The bride and all her bridesmaids had a Pina Colada-n-Papers party and made all the save the dates, invitations, and placecards.
Wedding B:
The bride and groom decide to have their wedding on a Saturday at 6:30pm. For the rehearsal dinner, they treated all 75 guests to a sunset cruise and a clambake on a nearby island. Their ceremony is on the beach with chivari chairs covered in a sheer light flowing wrap. A beautiful sunset cocktail hour with a mojito and martini bar, cigar roller, and a sushi station. A dinner under the stars is their dream. They choose a plated 5-course surf and turf meal for their guests with a five-hour open bar and wine service during dinner. For music, they have a string quartet at the ceremony, steel pan and guitar at the cocktail hour, a 12-piece band for the reception, and a DJ for the after party. For décor, the bride brings the florist a photo of Donald Trumps wedding reception and says, “I’d like this, only in my colors”. For the wedding stationary, the bride goes to a custom stationary designer and calligrapher for the save the dates, invitations, menus, programs, and place cards.

In both cases, the couple is getting their dream wedding at their dream location. So can you see how giving an average is difficult? The cost of each of these weddings- how about I let you make your best guess? Post your estimates via the comment link and I’ll post the answer and winner tomorrow. The winner will receive the next issue of Grace Ormonde Wedding Style- since it was the winner of the last survey. This is open to everybody: brides, grooms, wedding professionals…hope to hear from lots of you!

The Newest Trend: Documenting your entire wedding weekend

Not all, but most of the weddings I get to plan are 3 or 4 days of events. Here's the typical line-up:
Usually the weekend starts with the rehearsal dinner, (Thursday)
Followed by a welcome reception (Thursday)
A spa day for the gals and a golf or fishing tourney for the fellas,(Friday)
Perhaps then a sunset cruise, luau, casino night, or the newest rage- Karaoke parties (Friday)
Then of course the wedding ceremony, reception, and after party (Saturday)
And then it all has to come to a close with a farewell brunch... (Sunday)

As you can imagine, there are just tons of memories to capture with all this fun stuff going on. In 2005 I started to notice that more and more of my clients wanted to have all their events documented with professional photography and videography. And really, it kind of makes sense. You figure, when else in your life are you going to have all the people you care about and enjoy the most spending the weekend with you doing nothing but fun stuff? I had a wedding weekend, and I would give anything to have a few really good photos from our welcome reception and video of our best mans speech. One of the neat things I've noticed about these weddings where we've had everything covered is that by the time you get to the wedding, the photographer and videographer visually "know" everyone, and because of that they get amazing shots during the most important 6 hours (ceremony-reception).
Here are a few tips if you're considering going this route:
1. If you're going to have your photographer cover all or few events, make certain that your photographer is a not only a good wedding photographer, but also a good photojournalist. A photojournalist doesn't ask for things to happen, they photograph what does happen and most important, they photograph unobtrusively.
2. Book the whole weekend at once. The last thing you want to do is call your photographer a month before the wedding to ask her to cover the casino party only to find out she's already booked on another wedding for that day.
3. Book the videographer for anything that's going to be big on sound and/or movement- obviously anything where there will be speeches, toasts, or bad singing (ha!).
4. Take advantage of all this documentation- share it. In addition to your wedding video, have the videographer create a 15 minute highlight dvd of the best moments from the weekend to give to your family and wedding party. You can also have your photographer send the videographer some of the photos to add to the video highlights.

One more thing, this is an "extra". Adding something like this can throw your budget WAY off. If you can't swing the whole weekend, maybe just pick one extra event to cover.

I LOVE Florida!

It's 81 degrees right now and the sun is shining and the Gulf breeze is blowing. It is absolutely AMAZING weather here today. I met with Susan & Jim at the florist this morning for the consultation. They're getting married on Sanibel in May. They had just driven down from Cincinatti. Can you imagine going from Ohio to this (see picture)? Needless to say, it is a picture perfect day on the island. There were dozens and dozens of people lining Periwinkle on their bikes. There were people taking in the rays at the pool, people having lunch on the terraces and sidewalk cafes...just gorgeous.
Later this afternoon I'm driving down to Naples for a rehearsal. Erika & Gareth are tying the knot on the beach Sunday evening and then having a huge bash at her mom's house, traditional wedding reception followed by a New Years party. We did have to put a tent up (better safe than sorry), but it looks amazing. Lots of cool lighting and decor. The coolest thing, Gareth, who is a carpenter, built a dancefloor/platform over the entire pool. It is outrageous. I'll be sure to post before and after pictures.
Ok, I want out of the office- enjoy the day gang!

How'd it get to be December already?

It's been a month and there have been 2 really great weddings! I can't wait to share the pictures from both. Just this weekend was Julie & Phils. What a great couple. I had so much fun planning with them. For their rehearsal we had a tropical elegant dinner, beach front under a tent. The kids had their very own space- and totally took advantage of it. Finally Saturday, after a beautiful church ceremony they had a perfect Christmas themed wedding reception. Priority number 1 for Julie and Phil was the DJ. And boy did we have the perfect DJ! The dancefloor was at max capacity the whole night! It took a huge portion of planning time and a big chunk of the budget to get that DJ- but it was worth it because it was what was most important to the bride and groom. To see the photoshow, click the link on the right.

And last month was Krista & Chris's Vintage Hollywood wedding. It was amazing- by far the most personal ceremony I've witnessed. The Pro pics will be out soon, so I'm going to wait for those before I post too much more about it...something to look forward to for sure.

Goodness! I can't believe I haven't made an entry since Memorial Day! It really is amazing how time flies by; whether its because you're having fun, or working so much that you don't notice the sun coming up and going back down again.
When it comes to your wedding, time is not always on your side. So being prepared is crucial. What's the best way to manage your time and everything else for your wedding day? (Besides having a wedding planner of course) Create a timeline. Start with 1 hour increments and fill in the blanks. Ceremony start time, reception end time, limo pick up time, when the photographer is arriving, your hair appointment, etc. As you start filling in the blanks you'll be able to break it into a more detailed timeline like the one above. On your timeline, make columns so you can put notes in, contact info, and be sure to leave space to add things that you "almost forgot". Once your timeline is complete, you'll have a really great document to keep you calm and cool when you think everything is going wrong. You'll know exactly who is where and when and what they're doing. Most importantly, make your schedule reasonable. You can't get your hair done at 3pm and expect to be walking down the aisle 20 minutes later. be forwarned, it takes time to build a good timeline. My wedding timelines are usually 3 to 4 pages long, have every wedding detail noted, all vendors contact information, and take me 4 to 6 hours to create.
Todays tip: Buy bins with lids to fill as you're planning your wedding. One for the reception, one for the ceremony, one for the rehearsal dinner, etc. As you purchase items, put them in the box and keep an inventory sheet on top. That way when wedding day comes you won't have to sort through everything. You can deliver each box to the appropriate location and not worry that something is missing!
Todays Link: http://www.floridacasinonights.com/ These people know how to turn a rehearsal dinner into a PARTY! I finally got to attend one of their events as a guest and I was totally shocked by how great a time I had. I'm not a poker playing kind of gal- but for some reason when there's no real cash to lose, it is just so much fun!

Thank you to all the men & women who have served our country. Where we we be without you? Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I had the great honor of planning Mandi & Andy's destination wedding, which took place earlier this month. It was without a doubt the most emotional wedding weekend I've ever been a part of. The groom is currently serving in the Army, and as I write this entry, he's back in Baghdad. We didn't know when Andy would actually arrive for the wedding until the day before he got here. His arrival was the most touching moment I've ever witnessed (look back a few posts). Many of the family members from both sides of the families also served in the armed forces.
For the rehearsal dinner, we planned it as a welcome home soldier party. We decked the place out in Red, White, and Blue. The brides mom also added "support our troops" yellow ribbons, and each guest wore a yellow lapel ribbon. The room looked great and was the complete opposite of the pink and crystal themed wedding the next day.
My tip of the day: Don't be afraid to go out and do something totally different for your rehearsal dinner. Host a casino party (these are SO much fun), have a luau, have a dessert only party, have a tailgate party, host a wine tasting... the possibilities are endless!
Todays picture: A snapshot of the Welcome home party decor. Sometimes piling it on is great!
Todays link: Here's a website I found if you would like to send the troops a message.
http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/americasupportsyou/Message.aspx?SectionID=5