Facebook Expert?!

It's true, I love Facebook.  I sign on throughout the day to see what everyone is up to.  I have Facebook for my Blackberry.  I love to play games on Facebook with friends around the world.  But am I an expert?

Probably not.  However, I was quoted today in the Dabbling Mum's blog about integrating your personal and professional lives through social networking sites like Facebook.  Interested?  Read the post here.

(For my wedding-professional-friends that read this blog, what is your take on Web 2.0?  Post a comment!)

Style Me Pretty!

Style Me Pretty is one of the most famous wedding blogs around.  If you haven't heard of SMP, run, don't walk, to check it out!

Style Me Pretty is known as THE place for wedding inspirations - whether it is a new product, photos from real weddings, or DIY creations.

We were invited (yes, Abby and her team are very choosy about who is listed!) to be in the Little Black Book, which is an incredible honor.  Here's how the website describes their collection of wedding professionals:

Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book is a highly edited collection of wedding service providers - from mom and pop boutiques to A-Listers. Personally recommended by our closest girlfriends, industry insiders and Style Me Pretty readers, there are three hand-picked listings per category. Brace yourself, though…it’s that good!

We'd also like to congratulate Jacksonville photographer Agnes Lopez for being chosen too!

Melanie Wishes She Knew...

From our “I Wish I Knew…” series!

I wish I had known how much I was going to want our wedding festivities to last; I would have made an extra effort to plan a farewell brunch with all of our guests.  Many of our friends and family just happen to run into each other during breakfast at a restaurant close to their hotel.  I've heard many stories about how fun it was to spend some extra time together and reminisce about the night before.  And each time I've said to myself, "I really wish we had been there."

Your wedding will probably be the only time you have so many of your loved ones celebrating together in the same time and place, and it is a very touching experience.  The farewell brunch is a great way to spend more time with your friends and family in a more relaxing and informal atmosphere.  You'll get to hear about parts of your wedding that you missed, and of course how fabulous it was!  So when you begin to think that you couldn't possibly plan another wedding related gathering consider adding just this one more:  I wish I had.

Kudos to Clay at Anything With Plants!

Clay Tillman, Weddings and Special Events Coordinator at Anything with Plants and Flowers recently completed the class European Hand-tied Bouquets hosted by Teleflora at its state of the art Education Center in Oklahoma City, OK.  Floral designers from all over North America attended the seminar to sharpen their skills and grow their design abilities. Clay participated in four days of intensive hands-on design sessions, mastering the latest hand-tied bouquets. Taught by world renowned floral designer, Els Hazenburg, AIFD of Aalsmeer, Holland, the class focused on discovering new materials, design techniques, color theory and marketing ideas for fresh flowers. Each student was taught how to update their design style using the latest techniques from Holland.Students were challenged to complete a series of projects during the class.

“This class explored how flowers can be used in many exciting forms for today’s trend-conscious customers,” said Marie Ackerman, AIFD, Teleflora’s Vice President of Education. “The students were challenged to interpret the ideas presented and to add their own creative twist.”

As you interview vendors for your wedding, be sure to ask how they stay up-to-date on current trends and new products.  Continuing education is vital in every industry, and we highly recommend working with vendors that value this experience.

Heather Wishes She Knew...

From our “I Wish I Knew…” series! I wish I had hired a videographer.  It sounds cliche, and I hear videographers say it all the time, but there are some things that are great to see on video.

Since I work behind the scenes, I never like being in front of the camera, especially a video camera.  You'll very rarely catch a glimpse of me in wedding photos or video.

But I can remember my wedding reception like it was yesterday, even though it has been seven years.  To see all of my family dancing together (a rare sight for a Southern Baptist family!) made me so happy.  Our reception ended well past its scheduled end time (or so I was told), and we danced so much that the dance floor actually started coming apart.

As great as my photos are from that day, I wish I had a video as well - I know the "video" in my head won't last forever!

Totally Cute Cake

I saw this photo and just had to post it - this totally adorable and edible work of art was created by Gaby Colindres.  Gaby is the owner of Sweet Art Shop, and one of the owners of Serenatea.

Serenatea offers a variety of items from petit fours to cupcakes to hors d'oeuvres.  Some of my favorites are the cookies, which make wonderful favors for a shower or wedding.

Emma Wishes She Knew...

From our “I Wish I Knew…” series! As soon as l got engaged, l was very excited to start planning for my special day. Even though l help to coordinate weddings, you really learn how easy it is to go over your wedding day budget when it is your own wedding. To keep within my budget l cut back on the things that l thought were not as important to me. However, looking back l now wish that l had really thought about it a little more. One of the biggest things that l wish l would have spent a little more money on was my photography package. Since l had a videographer l skimped a little on my photography package and did not get as many pictures as l had wanted. Nearly two years later l now know why people say to spend that little bit extra on your photographs, as a picture lasts a lifetime!

Melanie Wishes She Knew...

From our “I Wish I Knew…” series! I wish I knew where we were planning to go for our honeymoon before we set our wedding date.  We had already booked our venues for December 1st before we had even thought about our honeymoon destination.  We eventually decided on St. Lucia in the Caribbean in January.  This happens to be the peak season for most of the Caribbean and the prices for hotels and air travel are at their highest.  Our honeymoon cost almost double what it would have if we had gone in April.  If the date or time of year for your wedding is not a priority, consider planning around your honeymoon destination's off season.  You may find some great deals, and less crowded beaches or attractions.

Melinda Wishes She Knew...

From our "I Wish I Knew..." series! Planning a wedding can be very stressful.  You probably have all the skills and knowledge to plan your own wedding, but in order for it to be successful, you need help. Hire a planner even for just the day of the wedding, so you can be relaxed and not too stressed about the arrangements. I wish I had known that.

Melinda and her husband, Reynold (photo by Camera Bliss Photography)

I Wish I Knew...

I recently asked our team what they wish they had known as they were preparing for their own weddings, or what they learned looking back. In the next few weeks we will be sharing these little tidbits, starting today with our intern Melinda!

Wedding Day Snacks

Snacks may not be one of your top priorities as you are planning your wedding day.  But guess what?  You'll need them! I had a meeting with one of my Spring '09 couples on Saturday that reminded me of this point.  As we discussed the bride's love of sunflowers, the groom asked if they would still have seeds in them.  Then when we talked about using hypericum berries in the boutonnieres (I love berries, by the way!), he made another snack comment.

So, for all of those grooms-to-be out there that love to munch, here are some yummy recipes for Trail Mix that can fit nicely into a plastic bag on your wedding day!

SUGAR FROSTED TRAIL MIX

4 c. Sugar frosted corn flake cereal 2 c. dry roasted peanuts 2 c. plain chocolate candies 1 c. chopped dried apricots 1 c. raisins

In large bowl combine all ingredients. Store in tightly covered container or plastic bag. Yield 10 cups.

ULTIMATE TRAIL MIX

1 cup dried cranberries 1 cup dried blueberries 1 cup dried pineapple 1 cup dried apple pieces 1 cup peanuts 1 cup cashews 1 cup almonds 1 cup marshmallows (any kind) 1 1/2 cups puppy chow 1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup peanutbutter chips 1 cup butterscotch chips 1 cup white chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

VANILLA CHIP TRAIL MIX

1 stick butter, melted 2 tbsp. cocoa 2 tbsp. sugar 4 c. Cheerios cereal 4 c. Wheat Squares cereal 1 c. slivered almonds 1 c. golden raisins 1 (10 oz.) pkg. Hershey vanilla milk chips

In 4-quart bowl, place butter. Microwave on High 1 minute or until melted; stir in cocoa and sugar. Add cereals and almonds; stir until evenly coated. Microwave at High 3 minutes, stirring every minute; stir in raisins.

Microwave on High additional 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Cool completely stir in vanilla chips. Store in tightly covered container in cool, dry place.

(I found these recipes on Cooks.com - check out the website for more!)

Angelique and Matt's Engagement Shoot

Here is a preview of good things to come!  Angelique and Matt are busy planning their November wedding at St. John The Divine Greek Orthodox Church and reception at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, but they took an afternoon off for super incredible photographer Scarlett Lillian to capture these engagement images.

Visit Scarlett's blog for more! I am so excited about the wedding day!

Spotlight: One Ocean Resort Hotel & Spa

Today Danielle and I attended a National Association of Catering Executives meeting at One Ocean, Jacksonville's newest hotel and event venue.  The food was delicious!  Here are some snapshots I took during our tour:

If you want more information about booking your wedding at One Ocean in Atlantic Beach, contact Hetty Ubilla at 904-853-2329.

An Excellent Open House

It was a great night last night as The Wedding Party, Jacksonville's only wedding mall, welcomed dozens of brides and grooms to our open house.  The passion and energy that you feel walking through the doors of The Wedding Party really lets you know that all the businesses inside strive for excellence in everything they do.  If you missed it, watch the blog for announcements about the next one! The food by Serenatea was delicious - especially the Pina Colada dip!  (these are my snapshots, stay tuned for pro pics from Kevin Winter!)

I could eat a hundred of these truffles!

Ham rolls, stuffed olives, sausage wraps, oh my!

And of course to top it all off, fabulous wedding cake from Simply Delicious!

These cake truffles live in the freezer just two doors down from my office...very dangerous indeed!

Another fun treat for the night: a photo booth!  This is "glamour girl" Kimberly, a former client and now friend, goofing off for the camera.  I would highly recommend this for a wedding, birthday party, any even really!  This one from Photobooth To Go, a division of Dan Harris PhotoArt.

There is so much more to write about!  But I'll wait to get Kevin's photos...

Cheryl & David (09.14.08)

So Cheryl and David weren't technically married on 09.14.08.  They actually renewed their wedding vows today, 36 years after they originally exchanged rings in Hawaii.  It was a touching ceremony (that I actually got to perform!) to reaffirm their love for each other.

Cheryl is the best wedding officiant in town, so it was interesting to see her on the other side of the ceremony!  She surprised David with a performance by Prince Pele's Polynesian Revue, beginning with the Hawaiian Wedding Song.  The show ended with Cheryl, her sister, and I getting a hula lesson!

I feeling truly honored to take part in this special day!

Open House at the Wedding Party

You are cordially invited to attend anOpen House Reception to explore Jacksonville's first wedding mall

It's like a bridal show every day!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm 8640-8 Philips Highway, Jacksonville

Planning a Bachelorette Party

Last weekend was my sister-in-laws wedding, and it was a beautiful, fun and exciting day.

I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid and also coordinating the Bachelorette party.

I wanted to do something fun but also a bit different to the traditional Bachelorette parties that l had attended in the past. I decided to do some online research to get some fun party ideas. After some intensive research, l decided to order a Tarot Card Reader / Belly Dancer to attend the party. I was a little skeptical of how this would work out, not knowing how entertaining a Tarot Card Reader/ Belly Dancer would be. The company found at this web site: http://www.aleena.com/magi/ was very professional and leading up to the bachelorette party promptly returned any of my phone calls or emails.

On the night of the Bachelorette Party, I decorated the house with some fun items from Party City! Melanie, the Tarot Card Reader/ Belly Dancer arrived right on time. She immediately made everyone in the room feel comfortable and got straight down to business. We all got to have individual readings, which l must say were incredibly accurate. Everyone in the room was buzzing with excitement about their readings. Once the readings were complete, Melanie then gave all of the girls a lesson in Belly Dancing, which was quite a work out!

Melanie stayed for a little over two hours, and l feel like it was money well spent. She fit in with the group of girls splendidly! Everyone who attended the party had so much fun, especially the bride to be!!

Bridal Show Fun!

This weekend was extremely busy for the First Coast Weddings team! Not only did Danielle and Donna have a wedding at beautiful Deerwood Country Club, I co-produced one of the largest bridal shows in town, the Jacksonville Bridal Connection.

Melanie and I spend several hours Saturday night preparing goody bags for the brides, and then my co-producer Sharon (also publisher of North Florida's Premier Bride) were at the University Center until 3:30 am supervising the setup.  This is the "glamorous" stuff they don't show on TV!

I was back at the University Center at 8:30 am Sunday to greet vendors, put out last-minute fires, and get ready for the 375 brides to arrive.  Thank goodness Danielle and Melanie were on hand to handle the First Coast Weddings booth!  Here's a snapshot of them setting up, taken from my Blackberry (so it's not great):

We were part of The Wedding Party's booth, which as our matching t-shirts claimed, "ROCKED!"  What a great atmosphere full of fun and professionalism.  From what I heard, everyone that stopped by loved it!

Our friend Wes Taff of Scenecrafters stopped by to shoot some video of the show, which I can't wait to see!

And now I'm taking a well-deserved day off to recuperate.  :)

Special Contest for Blog Readers!

This Sunday, September 7th, we will giving away a great prize to the first bride or groom that comes to our booth and mentions this post!

FREE WEDDING WEBSITE FOR 6 MONTHS from Wedding Window!

Wedding Window offers the best customization and easiest setup of all the sites we have previewed.  This $59 value goes to the first bride or groom that comes to our booth (look for us with The Wedding Party) and mentions this post!

How much easier could that be?!

Remember This

College roomie Melissa and I outside our old dorm room - 13 years later

Today I spent a fun morning at my alma mater, Flagler College, helping students move in to their dorm rooms.  Luckily I was joined by my good friend and former roommate, Melissa.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't remember college.  At all.  I have a few random memories, but I don't remember the classes I took, professors I liked or hated, or big events on campus.  I go to Alumni Weekend events and don't know a soul, other than the three people I keep in touch with on Facebook and two close friends I see frequently.

But, as Melissa and I were wandering the halls of Ponce and the streets of St. Augustine, she was able to jog my memory a little bit.  I realized that I do have memories of those three and a half years (couldn't wait to graduate, had to get done early!), they are just buried somewhere deep inside.

As I was driving home along A1A, I know that the 10 years since I graduated have gone by so quickly too, and I'm sure I have forgotten lots of things along the way.  It's a great thing to have friends and family and photos to help you remember, but how great would it be to have a journal?

My mom has my great-grandmother's daily journals from the early seventies.  By that point, Great Grandma was in her 80's, but she lived to be 104 so that was still pretty young!  Her diaries include fascinating info like the weather forecast and her day's activites (always including "watched stories" - her term for soap operas).

While I'm certainly not disciplined enough to keep a daily journal, I would like to encourage everyone to start a journal of some kind - whether it is online in the form of a blog, a Word document you add to on a regular basis, or an old-fashioned hand-written dairy.

Especially as you plan your wedding, you will have so many great memories - advice you are given, fun moments with friends, the time you and your mom spend choosing your wedding gown.  Write it down!  Or document it through photos or video.  Anything to make these momemts last, because trust me, you will be celebrating your 10th wedding anniversary before you know it!