Venue: Hammock Dunes Club | Photographers: Stout Studios | DJ: White Tie Events | Wedding Party Flowers: Something Borrowed Blooms | Cake: Publix | Makeup: Christina Burns | Officiant: Peggy LaRoche
Morgan and Nick - Hammock Dunes Club, Palm Coast
Nikki and Tyler - Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, Ponte Vedra Beach
Venue: Ponte Vedra Inn and Club | Photographer: Booke Images | Hair and Make Up: Studio Bride | Florist: Rose of Sharon | DJ: DJ Jacob Towe and Co.
Taylor and Henning - TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach
Venue: TPC Sawgrass | Photographers: @Lyndsey Anne Photography | DJ: Nice Entertainment | Florist: Rose of Sharon | Cake: Classic Cakes
Mary and Kevin - TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach
Venue: TPC Sawgrass | Photographers: Brooke Images | Band: Bay Kings | Florist: Floriade | Cake: Classic Cakes | Hair: Grazyna Mercado | Makeup: Kimtasha Armstrong | Tent and Rentals: All About Events | Cigar Roller: JC The Cuban Cigar Roller
Alexa and Mitch - TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach
Venue: TPC Sawgrass | Photographer: Brittany Bishop Photography
Elizabeth and Kyle - TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach
Venue: TPC Sawgrass | Photographers: Brooke Images | Videographers: Take One Productions | Band: Rhythm Nation | Florist: Rose of Sharon | Cake: Classic Cakes | Bridesmaids Hair and Makeup: Paulina Perez | Ceremony Music: Wehner Weddings | Fireworks: Fireworks By Santore
5 Things To Know Before Hiring a Wedding Planner
- We're not psychic. Communication is key, and we can't read your mind. If you make changes to the number of guests, the time of the ceremony/reception, the budget, etc. we need to know these things. One "minor" change can have a trickle-down effect that you don't realize.
- This is our job. Yes, we love you, and we are always happy to talk to you. During business hours. Or the occasional pre-arranged after-hours meeting. While we try to be flexible to accommodate your schedule, please understand that we also have friends/family/obligations outside of work, and if we don't take time to have a personal life we're going to have a nervous breakdown.
- It's really hard for us to schedule meetings and reply to emails on the weekends. Imagine it's your wedding day, and your wedding planner/coordinator is trying to squeeze in three meetings before arriving at your venue and working 12 hours. Not ideal.
- A wedding is a party, not a performance. We want you to have fun and enjoy your wedding day. And yes, details are very important. But when your wedding becomes such a production that you can't enjoy it with your family and friends, it's time to scale back a bit.
- We have ideal clients. If we feel our style/price point/personality doesn't match what you need, we're happy to refer you to another coordinator/planner. Don't be offended - we want you to have the best experience possible!
Bonus #6. We hate sparkler send-offs. Handing people that have been drinking for 5+ hours fire and then asking people to walk very close to them is a bad idea. Find another option for your send-off!
10 Tips From Bride To Bride
This article was written by one of our former brides, Lauren, after her wedding! We hope you enjoy these tips.
Place a small number on the back corner of each response card, and record that number on your guest list. You WILL get RSVP cards back that do not have a name written on them or a return address on envelops, and the stamp from the post office from where it shipped from will only go so far.
Go to Wedding Expos! See what and who your choices are first hand and in person. Expos give you a chance to see everyone in one place, whether you are looking for one vendor or all of them, and you don’t have to drive all over town to find out they are what you are looking for. Hint: Take your fiancé! If he/she isn’t involved in the wedding planning, they sure will appreciate you after a Bridal Show experience!
Please, oh please, don’t buy a dress that weighs more than you. I had a light strapless dress and the only thing I could think about 30 minutes until the end of the reception was taking it off! (And no, not only for that reason!) You don’t realize how much a heavy dress can interrupt your night.
Do schedule a little night photo-shoot with your photographer. We did pictures around 10:00 pm when everyone was good and comfortable on the dance floor. We snuck away and took some great shots, along with having a little breather so you get a few minutes of sweet alone time.
If you choose to wear a veil, as much as you love that veil and won't have another opportunity to wear one, let me just share my experience before you make the decision you don’t want to part with it the whole day. Everyone that hugs you or dances with you will tug on the veil (without knowing of course) and whatever style your hair was at the beginning of the day will look torn up! If I were to do it again, I’d take it of after dinner!
Do a fake cake! The bottom layer of our 5-tier cake was the only part of the cake that was real so we could cut into it and get those priceless picture of smashing it in each others faces. The rest of our cake was in the kitchen already sliced and put out right after we cut into it. Instead of having waitstaff at your cake table for 30 minutes making a mess, it was already done.
Make an email address only for wedding correspondence. I had (my name)2B(future last name) and it worked great! If you want to stay in contact with any of your wedding vendors after the big day, send an email to specific people politely asking them to update their address book.
Do eat! My hubby and I didn’t make it around to everyone’s table; if that’s rude, we sure didn’t get any complaints. We noticed as we were eating, the people that were going to leave early or knew they weren’t going to run into us on the dance floor came to us.
I worried up until a few weeks before the wedding about what “Our Song” was going to be. Its really easy getting frustrated finding a song if you don’t already have one when you’re listening to every word making sure its perfect, however, not you, your hubby, or your guests will most likely hear every word like you did listening by yourself. My advice, pick a song that’s just special between the two of you.
Make sure both sets of parents have a speech planned. Our wedding was pretty traditional. The groom's parents threw the Rehearsal Dinner, where his parents said a little something, and my father had a toast during the wedding reception. I know it sounds very traditional, but it really sets the tone for two families becoming one. Everyone could feel the love our parents had for us and our new spouse with words they said.
Kaley and Ross - TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach
Venue: TPC Sawgrass
Photography: Wiler Weddings
Flowers: Anything With Plants and Flowers
Cakes: Classic Cakes
Entertainment: Bay Kings Band
Laura and Jamey - Memorial Presbyterian Church + Timuquana Country Club Wedding
Ceremony Venue: Memorial Presbyterian Church
Reception Venue: Timuquana Country Club
Photographer: Life and Love Studio
Florist: Rose of Sharon European Florist
Entertainment: White Tie Entertainment and Wehner Weddings
Cake: Heavenly Chocolate Creations
Linens: Connie Duglin Specialty Linen
Laura and Collin - TPC Sawgrass Ceremony, Ponte Vedra Beach
Venue: TPC Sawgrass
Photographer: Life and Love Studio
Ceremony Music: Wehner Weddings
Flowers: Floriade
Summer and Frank - TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach
Venue: TPC Sawgrass
Photography: J. Mosley Photography
Flowers: Rose of Sharon European Florist
Cake: Classic Cakes
Beauty: Casey Does Hair
Mallory and Chris - Bowing Oaks Plantation, Jacksonville
Venue: Bowing Oaks Plantation
Floral: Marble and Pine
Photography: Flora and Fauna
Catering: 4 Rivers
Entertainment: The Royals
Video: Seth Dunlap
Cake: Creme De La Cocoa
Kimberly and Gene - TPC Sawgrass Wedding, Ponte Vedra Beach
Venue: TPC Sawgrass
Photography: Dana Goodson
Videography: Take One Productions
Flowers: Arlene's Designs
Cake: Classic Cakes
Entertainment: D'Land Entertainment and Wehner Weddings
Beauty: Key To Glam
Jessica and Scott - Epping Forest Yacht Club, Jacksonville
Ceremony Venue: Basilica of the Immaculate Conception | Reception Venue: Epping Forest Yacht Club | Photographers: Ivey Pictures | Videographers: Take One Productions | Band: Rivertown Band | Flowers: Velvet and Twine | Rolls Royce: Sir Gilbert | Tent/Rentals: Beachview Event Rentals, Connie Duglin Specialty Linens, Southern Charm Vintage Rentals, and A Chair Affair
Paige and Paul - Cathedral Bascilica + River House Wedding, St Augustine
Ceremony Venue: Cathedral Bascilica
Reception Venue: River House
Floral: Rose of Sharon
Photography: Alex Michele Photography
Catering: Catering By Liz
Entertainment: DJ Jacob Towe
Video: CollabCreation
Cake: Sweet Weddings
Transportation: Old Town Trolley / Red Train Tours
Photobooth: Chic Booth
Wedding Trend: Using Pillows
Lounge furniture is fabulous for weddings of all sizes. But it often looks awkward when not tied in to the rest of the design. So how do you make it work?
Pillows!
That's right, just like you use pillows on your sofa at home for a pop of color, add pillows to your lounge furniture to do the same. And even better - use them to add texture!
Creative Coverings has an easy solution - they rent pillows that match their linens! Rather than buying a bunch of pillows that may not match your home decor, rent them. The photo above is from the Creative Coverings website. What a fun look!
How could you incorporate pillows into your wedding design?
Wedding Trend: Curated Food Stations
ABC Florida State Conference Recap #BeBoldABC
This week, I had the pleasure of working with my dear friends and fellow Master Wedding Planners Carmen Mesa of Carmen Mesa Events and Tammy Waterman of Special Moments Event Planning to produce a fabulous conference for wedding professionals. The Association of Bridal Consultants' Florida State Conference is always a labor of love, but hearing each and every attendee walk away saying how much they had learned makes it all worth it! Here's a little recap: Saturday night, we treated our amazing speakers to a fun evening at Sweet Pete's and The Candy Apple Cafe and Cocktails.
Sunday morning kicked off with brunch, where I got to tell everyone some interesting facts about Jacksonville. (#ILoveJax)
(thanks to Rose of Sharon European Florist for the centerpieces, Beachview Event Rentals for the chairs, and PRI Productions for the super cool Jacksonville backdrop)
After brunch, we went into our general session room for lots of great educational content:
- Steve Kemble -Revitalize and Re-Energize Your Brand
- Lauren Sarnoff Atwaters, Ten23 Designs - Creating a Unique Event Experience
- Meghan Ely, OFD Consulting - From Stressed to Streamlined: Creating an Organization Syste that Works
- Tamatha Cain, Choux Cake Studio - Emergency Wedding Cake Fixes
- April Knight, Jos. A Bank - How To Tie A Bow Tie and Fold A Pocket Square
- Donnie Brown, Donnie Brown Weddings and Events - Reading the Red Flags: Don't Let This Happen To You
And then it was on to the poolside cocktail reception! The weather could not have been more amazing. As event planners, we always worry about the weather when planning outdoor events - especially in August in Florida! But there was not a drop of rain that day, and the breeze made the rooftop deck quite comfortable.
Day 2 of the conference started with a casual breakfast. How cool are these centerpieces from Rose of Sharon European Florist?
And the Omni Hotel Jacksonville staff created the letters "ABC" out of the parfaits!
For Tuesday's lunch, each speaker was assigned a table. Lauren from Ten23 Designs created these adorable signs with their names! She also made tons of other cute decor pieces that were used throughout the conference.
Monday's educational sessions were just as amazing as Sunday's:
- Meghan Ely, OFD Consulting - Attaining Expert Status: How to Become on Expert Industry Leader
- Susan Southerland, Just Marry! - Selling to Couples at Every Planning Phase
- Charlene Shirk, C. Shirk Productions - Pitch Perfect: How to Deliver A Great Media Interview
- Bryan Glynn, BGPictures - Critical Website & Internet Tips for Your Business and Making $$ with YouTube
- Donnie Brown & Steve Kemble - Social Media As Your PR Consultant (Round Table)
Sadly, it was time to say good bye to all of our friends, new and old. These little snack packs had water, chips, and sweets for the drive/flight home.
It was an amazing (and exhausting!) three days, and I am so thankful for everyone that attended. Want to see more photos? Check out the ABC Florida Facebook page.
Wedding Trend: Two Aisles for Same-Sex Ceremonies
As same-sex couples prepare for their wedding ceremonies, the question often arises about the processional. Traditionally, a groom may enter from the side while a bride may walk down a center aisle. But what if there are two brides or two grooms? Who walks where and when?
A recent trend involves creating two aisles for the couple to process down simultaneously.
- If you are marrying in an outdoor space with lots of room to play with, the two partners could walk in from the sides to meet in the middle.
- Or, create two sections of chairs rather than two, creating two aisles from back to front.
- If escorts will be walking the couple down the aisle(s), consider having an extra-wide aisle for both pairs to walk down together. This is a great symbol of families uniting together.
The great thing about personalizing your wedding ceremony is that it can be a true reflection of your relationship. There are no strict rules - get creative!
