4 Florida islands for your destination wedding

From the Keys West to Boca Grande, these were our favorite 4 Florida islands for destination weddings in 2010 and 2011.  They are all completely different, but all have wonderful wedding venues to choose from.

Key West

This tropical wedding took place at Casa Marina resort on Key West.  Islamorada is another great island in the keys - check out Cheeca Lodge and Pierre's. Image above by the uber talented Nancy Cohn

Sanibel and Captiva Islands

This pretty blush wedding took place at Kings Crown Lawn at South Seas Resort. If you're considering neighboring Sanibel Island you should visit Casa Ybel Resort.  Image above and below by the always awesome Impressions Photography

Boca Grande

Our sweet sweet southern bride Angela got married to Joe at the sweetest church and had their welcome reception, wedding celebration, and farewell brunch at Gasparilla Inn.  The Boca Grande Club is another of our favorites on the island.

6 Florida Gulf coast islands great for weddings

I am a fan of lists.  Particularly favorite lists.  Here are my favorite islands for weddings on the Gulf of Mexico and a place to get married on each.

Cocktail reception at Gasparilla Inn

1. Captiva: South Seas Resort. Island luxury, yet anything but stiff. Who to call: John or Teresa
2. Sanibel Island. Casa Ybel Resort. Natural and vintage. Relax here. Who to call: Jessica or Jen
3. Boca Grande: Gasparilla Inn. Perfected elegant beach town. Sophisticated beach Chic. Who to call: Lindsey
4. Cabbage Key: Cabbage Key Inn. Undisturbed natural beauty. Party in peace. Who to call: Ken
5. Useppa: Useppa Island Club. Tropical Garden Escape. Who to call: Jasmine
6. Pineland: Tarpon Lodge. Take over the place. Frozen in time.Who to call: Shohreh

Ceremony on the docks of Tarpon Lodge. Photo Credit: Impressions Photography

Please note that I don't have a single favorite on this list.  I love and recommend each of these islands and venues for very different reasons.  For that reason alone- I highly suggest you consider them all!

I flipped out for these!

I found these handpainted sandals at the Pacific Weddings website. These handpainted sandals are $19, and look like they're worth every one of those nineteen hundred pennies. I know its getting cooler where most of you are reading from, but I'm hoping that you're considering a destination wedding somewhere warm. And if that is the case, you'll want something unique for your feet!

Jen got married!

This weekends wedding was a special one. You might recognize the gal in the photo with me, its Jen, the wedding coordinator at Casa Ybel Resort on Sanibel Island. We've worked many weddings together over the last few years. It was an honor to be able to work with her on her very own wedding. Click HERE to see her photoshow. These are snapshots I took- the professional photos will be a few weeks...

Lovely Boca Grande

Yesterday I met a bride and her mom on Boca Grande. It's another one of the gorgeous islands here on the Gulf of Mexico. Whats cool about Boca is that it's nothing but blue water, beaches, and cute little shops and restaurants. Everyone rides around in golf carts or walks. You can boat, fish, play golf, shop, sun, and eat ice cream all day everyday. It's really just a totally relaxing atmosphere thats perfect for a destination wedding.

The totally fun part of wedding planning

A while back I posted about the "project manager-office job" part of wedding planning. Today, It's all about the fun stuff.
Yesterday I got to stop by one of my favorite florists, and pick up one of the most gorgeous centerpieces ever. Then I made my way through Sanibel Island and out to Captiva Island. Blue-Green water, and 3 dolphin sightings. Heaven.
I met my clients at one of the restaurants at their wedding resort for their menu tasting. Our tasting started with the passed hors dors for the cocktail hour. That's one of them in the picture- fresh fruit shooters! They were so refreshing, and I just loved the presentation. We got all giddy when chef brought them out because they were just so darn cute. We went through all the items and because of some dietary restrictions, I got to eat tons of food (oh darn). It was all sooooo good. Except for when the Chicken Satay came out. Then I frowned. Don't get me wrong, it tasted great, and it looked very nice in the presentation, but I have issues with Chicken Satay. I feel stupid walking around in a pretty dress, with a nice glass of wine in one hand, and a hunk of chicken on a stick in the other. I believe that all hors dors should be small enough to eat in one bite and not require a plate. So, I asked if we could change the presentation to a demi fork or spoon presentation. Chef said "sure!" and turned my frown upside down <~Giggle~>.
After filling up with all the goodies we went over to the actual reception site to do a table mock up. 5 different linen colors/fabrics, 3 chairs, and that fabo 9-part centerpiece. So fun. Love the combination we decided on- and it was not at all what I thought we would end up with. It's so very important to do this if you're able to.
After we decided on the linens, and narrowed down the chairs, we moved on to picking the colors for the Wedding Graffiti. I had ordered samples in each of her wedding colors. It was fun putting it up. As you can see...someone had a little trouble with the Aqua. It was hilarious.

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!

What makes a wedding a destination wedding?

des*ti*na*tion (des'ti-nAy'shen) n. The place to which one is going or directed.
There's a little debate about this, but I will tell you what I think. A destination wedding is one where the wedding is taking place in a location such that the majority of guests are travelling. So, even if the bride and groom live at the wedding location; if all the majority of their guests have to travel to get there- its a destination wedding.
What makes this different from a regular wedding is that while it is more complex in the planning, it also provides for a more intimate experience and quality time spent. Because everyone is going to be together for at least 2 days, you'll actually get to spend time having fun with your guests! Not just the 5 minute quick, stop by to say "hello thanks for coming", during the tour of the tables at your reception dinner. Read back a few posts to see what a destination wedding weekend can be: Documenting your entire wedding weekend
Do you have to do all these events? Absolutely not! But considering that all the people you care about most are travelling to celebrate with you, take advantage of it!
Chances are when you are having a destination wedding that you will have less "yes" RSVP's than if you have it at a location central to the majority of invited guests. So a destination wedding can certainly be less costly. Also, many popular wedding destinations are just plain old less expensive than "home". It's just like that house buying show on HGTV, What you get for the money I think its called; what $30,000 buys you in New York City buys you a whole lot more on Sanibel or Captiva Island. A destination wedding can actually be a budget saver.
So then whats a destination wedding planner? A destination wedding planner is experienced in planning not just weddings, but also experienced in weddings where there are travel and multiple events for the guests involved. Some destination wedding planners only plan weddings in the area they reside in, and some destination planners will also help you plan a wedding outside of the region. Tip: when you're looking for your wedding planner, they may not call themselves a "destination wedding planner", just ask if they have experience planning them.

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!

I took a day off!

So rarely does it happen. But today, I did not work at all on weddings. That doesn't mean I didn't think about them though. That is completely impossible. However, I locked myself out of the office. I did not check emails. I did not answer the phone. After doing chores about the house (yuck), I did flip through a few wedding magazines. I find that fun though, so its not work.
We also went to Denise & Kennys for a cookout. A great time as usual. We have a rather social circle of friends. It was so nice to come home to a clean house.
Oh! Let me warn you that I am a big dork in the eyes of many and just love Justin Timberlake. So I was thrilled to watch him on Ellen this morning as we (Kelly had the day off too and helped) put away 14 loads of laundry. Yep I was dancing the whole time. "I'm bringing sexy back, them other boys don't know how to act" I'm still singin it.

At the cookout I invented a new drink. Here's the recipe:
Some ice
Some Godiva Liquor
Some Malibu Rum
Some Milk
Don't ask me how much of each- 'cause I just don't know.
Marks back from Hawaii! Gotta go see how it went!
Pictures: Again- random. 1st is at Kennys surprise 45th birthday. Casino night...best fun I ever had at a party. 2nd- Sanibel Island. How lucky am I to work here!!!!

Traveling the globe

Or at least the US. So I'm in my office and I'm looking at the calendar and see all the cool places I'm going to in the next few weeks. I am so excited! I was supposed to go to Ft. Lauderdale Thursday, but that stupid storm Ernesto had the event cancelled. Later this month I am headed out to Ft Myers beach to attend a mock wedding at the Pink Shell Resort. Okay, so ft Myers beach is only a 25 minute drive- it's still an island, which makes it a getaway. It sounds like they're going all out for this "unveiling", so I can't wait. It might have something to do with the bridal spa package I get to test out. Hee Hee. Let's see if they can compare to the Wynn Las Vegas "get to know us" I attended last spring. That was the best ever.
Later this month I'm going to Los Angeles. How lucky am I to score tickets to the Ellen show? I'll let you know when it's on so you can see me dancing in the audience. I commented on Ellens blog this morning. Ellen, you are invited to momment on mine too.
After LA, I head up to Williamsburg to help Shayna (coolest wedding planner in Williamsburg by the way) with her Knot.com market party. Sure to be the event of the year since she planned it. I just talked to her 15 minutes ago. She's currently sitting under Stupid Storm Ernesto with no power. Go figure. I think Isis (coolest planner in Cherry Hill) is going to be there too.
Finally, I head up to Baltimore to meet up with all the who's who in wedding planners. Yep, we all know each other. The cool ones anyway. Just kidding. I know all you CCers are laughing right now.
THE PICTURE: That's a bunch of us wedding planners (Ccers) at the Wynn Las Vegas being silly.