A Sophisticated Garden Beach Wedding on Captiva Island: Vol 1

I know, garden and beach are two totally different things.  I admit, I wasn't sure it was going to feel right- but wow, was I ever pleasantly surprised by how well they blended. This wedding proves quite well that you can have a sophisticated and elegant formal affair at an island beach resort.
Please enjoy these images from Emily & Caleb's wedding here and you can see more in The Knot magazine currently on newsstands.

All the wedding guests received this custom map designed by Samira Gast.  Samira is one of my favorite calligraphers and is hands down one of the nicest (and most patient) people on earth.  On the back, Emily & Caleb wrote personal notes to welcome everyone to their celebration.

 This wedding was different from most destination weddings that I've planned in that it was just about 24 guests, all were family, and half were kids!  In the next volume you'll see how we made sure all those kids had the time of their life.  This single card was the invitation and the response card we designed.  Everything all wrapped into one.

 The epitome of a stunning garden brides bouquet by Floral Artistry. I loved how delicate it looked with the barely there colors in the roses against the orchids.

Emily.  She has the most amazing style. Such a classic wedding beauty.  I knew right away that Jenn King was who we needed to have for this look to be perfected.  So off to New York Emily went for a trial.

Caleb had this effect on Emily- she smiled this big every time he looked at her.  Yes Emily, you really do. 

 I love real strings at ceremonies. A nice trio or quartet just changes everything.

This is without a doubt my favorite menu ever.  It was the most luxurious table top detail we have ever designed and I so wish we could have them more often. Being that there were just 24 to make, we were able to splurge.  The calligraphy was by Samira and it was placed on top of 3 layers; one of which being shantung covered.  Each 9.5x7 menu was over a quarter inch thick!

All images by Impressions Photography
Don't worry, there are more coming. Be on the lookout for Vol. 2 (and maybe 3)

Wedding splurges and over the top ideas

Reading through some of my favorite magazines today, I started imagining over the top ideas and splurges that I would love to see and experience.  What would you love to do?

A concert
How cool would it be to have a vocalist do a very short performance between cocktail hour and dinner at your wedding?  Maybe 3 songs or so, 10-15 minutes maximum.  But really cool amazing songs that everyone could watch and enjoy.  Something like At Last by Etta James, Crazy Love by Brian McKnight and You and I by Michael Buble. I would just fall in love all over again. So romantic and unexpected.
Excessive Flowers
I'm talking adding floral focus points just because. I do not mean centerpieces on the dinner tables.  I mean add tables just so they can have flowers on them.   Big gigantic flower arrangements that make everyone go, "Ooooohhh, that is gorgeous"

Flowers by Signature Florals

Calligraphy
Wouldn't you agree that calligraphy just makes everything that much prettier, polished, and decadent?  I would add calligraphy to everything if I could.  Not just envelopes, escort cards and place cards.  I'd do menus, vows, invitations, welcome letters, programs, maps, display cards/signs...
Amuse Bouche & Wine
One of the reasons I love my favorite restaurant is that when we are seated, we are immediately served an amuse bouche and a 2 sip pour of wine or champagne.  I feel so fancy and special
Dinner Ushers
This is really over the top, but how cool would it be to have someone greet each of your guests at the entrance of your wedding dinner, escort them to their seats and hand them a beautiful menu (with calligraphy of course).

Chef Sebastian at South Seas.  Photo by Impressions

Your chef, the keynote speaker
Even with the simplest of dinners, when a chef describes his creation, you are immediately taken to a place where you just can't wait to enjoy the flavors.  How fascinating would it be to have the chef come out between courses and describe what you're about to dine on?  Suddenly Chicken Piccata is the most gourmet mouth watering dish you've ever wanted to experience.

Again, over the top and splurges.  But you know, we all can dream can't we?

Blizzard Bride Series Vol.3

One thing that I love about South Seas is that Chef Sebastian is great about creating menus that are both pleasing to the eye and palette.

 

With an indoor dinner reception you can have your 1st course pre-set if the food is such that it can bear the wait of seating time.  It's crucial to have a timeline enforced if you're going to try this style of dining.

 

Key Lime tarts.  Pretty much the law to serve them at some point during a Florida wedding weekend.

 Chicken never tasted so good.  Except to the vegetarians.

Their roasted vegetable puff pastry entree was equally enticing.

 A perfect fit.  Melody designed these menus herself after seeing this particular napkin fold & treatment in our studio during one of their planning visits.

 Yes, there was a sweet tooth factor.  They skipped the wedding cake for a sweet station instead.

The entire Blizzard Bride Series photographed by Impressions Photography

The New Years Bride Series Vol 3.

 

Like I said- it was cold.  So we did have to put the sidewalls down.  The best thing we did was make sure that we had walls with "windows" for the portion of the reception that was during daylight.  Another option is to get a clear tent, but since we had a lighting feature that evening, we decided the white top would be best.

 

The tablescapes consisted of bamboo folding chairs, espresso pintuck linens, ivory pintuck napkins, hydrangea, and candles in cylinders of sand and starfish.

 

For the U-shaped head table we simply trimmed the outer edge of the tables with low candles, small hydrangea arrangements, and starfish.  In the intersecting corners were 2 large cylinders that tied into the tablescape design on the guest tables.

 

Here's a closeup of the corner pieces on the head table. Sand, starfish, shells, and sand dollars.

I designed the menu cards to fit appropriately on the tables considering the amount of room we were going to have.  The pintuck napkins were too busy for a menu card, so the menus had to have a place on the table.

Did you miss the 2 previous New Years Bride posts? Here they are: Vol 2 Vol 1

Take notes & pictures at your early meetings.

Most things you'll be deciding during your wedding planning will not be instaneous decisions and many will be difficult to finalize. Mostly because there are so many wonderful options these days.Today lets use your Wedding Dinner (or Brunch!) as an example.
Choosing your wedding food and drink can be one of the more complicated, however, if you make a couple small efforts in advance of your tasting, making those final decisions won't be a struggle. One of my clients recently came prepared with a survey she created so that she and her fiance could write down their thoughts as they came and not forget some of their reactions.
Also, we took photographs of every dish that landed on the table. This way, when they got home, they could open up the wedding planning blog we have set up for them, and match the survey notes with the photos of the items they tasted.
A little extra pre-planning can make all the difference.

Destination Wedding Rule #5

Feed well, and feed appropriately! When it comes to your events, especially the outdoors ones, choose your menus wisely. Lots of hot and fried foods after 8 hours in the sun, particularly when your guests aren't used to the heat, is not a good idea. So the key is to offer as many light and refreshing selections as possible.

Need to catch up on the rules so far?
Rule 1, Rule 2, Rule 3, Rule 4

Prevent fainting at your wedding

Ever wonder why you hear of brides and wedding party members passing out at the altar? I'll tell you why, because it actually happens. Common cause: lack of eating, followed by an adrenaline rush while heading down the aisle, and then standing up for 15-45 minutes.

Simple fix: Eat food. Good for you food.
For Blizzard Bride & Grooms wedding this month,they had your everyday packed lunch: sandwich, snack cheese, and pretzels in lunch bags, we made them cute of course (because you know we only do cute), and let everyone in the wedding party grab at will.
This is Me with Blizzard Bride & Groom. We'll post more pics from their amazing wedding in Kings Crown soon!

Wedding Decor from a non-wedding source

I try very hard to include unique details in each of the weddings I design. Many times that means finding pieces that aren't labeled "wedding" and placing them in a strategic places.
One of my favorite places to go for inspiration is Homegoods. I made a stop there today as I'm planning a dinner party that is going to allow me to truly step outside the box. During my visit I found all these items that I easily found use for, whether it be wedding decor related, or wedding planning related; even wedding gift related.
I found all these fantastic inspiration books on the end cap (love the red clearance sticker!). I picked up a few Williams-Sonoma books for the library. They 're great for finding menu ideas when you're looking to kick your wedding menu up a notch.
These all make great and inexpensive gifts for your bridesmaids. I confess to buying one of each for myself. The iStand has to be the coolest under $10 gift I've come across in ages. The monogrammed book of note sheets is sitting on my desk right now, and the cute little journal is in my bag, ready for jotting down ideas I get while I'm out and about.roll in my purse.
I adore all these details I found. The album is perfect for collecting written well wishes at the cocktail hour and then inserting all the digital prints your guests send you after the wedding. The 3 lanterns would make a perfect escort card display centerpiece at any kind of outdoor celebration. I found 6 of these beautiful green vases throughout the store. I can just see them filled with big bushy Peonies or Hydrangeas. And this board- so perfect I bought it. The frame on it is gorgeous and the corkboard makes it perfect for a seating chart (cover with giftwrap, wallpaper or fabric first).
Look at this collection of chairs! I can just see this eclectic mix at a massive rehearsal dinner or bridal luncheon table.

Post #301

I can't believe I've had over 300 posts. That's craziness. In a fury of boredom driving home from Savannah, I read through a bunch of old ones and found yet another wedding I missed! So...here are the pro photos from Smiley brides wedding (a.k.a. Amy & Stephen). Amy is a wedding coordinator herself, so I had a blast planning with her. Click on each picture that you'd like to see enlarged. Each guest received a chocolate menu...serious wow factor.
The Newlyweds table. Dinner with all your best friends. Does it get better than that?
Amy & Stephen had the best of the best for music- Clint Wiley Band. They rock! Clint's band has the best playlist I've come across in a really long time. They actually keep current with what you hear on top 40 radio. That's almost unheard of with wedding bands.
How can you not love the occassional photo just for laughs? Stephen is a hoot!
5 minutes 'til aisle time...
See what I mean? She never stopped smiling!


The Peonies, oh the Peonies. this was a bad year for Peonies. They literally arrived the day before the wedding, and until one day prior, we didn't know if they'd come at all. Talk about holding your breath!
This my friends, was another great wedding!
Ack! I nearly forgot to give credit where credit is due: Phenomenal Photography by Julie Goodacre and Magnificent Makeup (and hair) by Fresh Beauty Studio.

The Truth about your wedding menu

The truth about your wedding menu: Nobody cares what it is as long as it's hot and tastes good.
Consider all the weddings you've been too. Is the meal what you remember most about them? Doubt it.
Think about the BEST wedding you ever attended. Was the meal what made it? Doubt it.
Chances are that the best thing about your favorite wedding was the great time or feeling you had there. It's probably the memory of a band so amazing that you were dancing for so long your feet were swollen into your shoes. Or your lack of memory due to a really great signature drink. Or maybe it was how incredibly romantic and intimate the night was. Or perhaps it was how gorgeous the ceremony & reception looked and made you feel. But like I said, chances are- it wasn’t the meal.

My point is this, don't stress about what you put on your wedding menu. It's one of the elements of planning a wedding that I have noticed clients get more stressed about, and they just don't need to. So with that said:
***Feel free to serve chicken. These days, you can get some mighty good chicken! Chefs are amazing with their accompaniments and presentations, let them kick it up a notch and get creative with it. Why chicken? It is almost always the least expensive entree on a catering menu. Those savings mean you can bump up your budget on the things that really do make a huge difference in your wedding memories (the band, the flowers, etc.).
***Have a shorter dinner. Go the 3 course route rather than the 4 course. Again, there is the cost savings. Even better though, the time savings. That 4th course could easily eat up another 30 to 40 minutes of your "party" time.
***Do go all out for dessert. It's consistently a big hit when it’s done, and because it happens later in the evening- guests do remember it.
Cool ideas: add a dessert buffet, candy bar, Venetian table, or fresh doughnut bar.

Menu Selection – Infusing Local Flavor

One of the most memorable (and important) decisions you can make is your menu selection. It’s your wedding and you should choose the food that you want to enjoy. Be mindful of your guests, but think of yourself first. Having local flavor was very important to us!

After the ceremony, we had a one hour cocktail reception on the terrace overlooking the beach. Our menu was:

• Cheese plate


• Seasonal fruit plate


• Shrimp cocktail


• And several specialty cocktails including BahamaMamas and Pina Coladas.
  
  

From the cocktail reception, we moved to dinner:

• Wild Mushroom and Cheese Ravioli with lobster nage sauce and fresh herbs


• Choice of Halibut or Herb Crusted Filet Mignon


• Warm Pineapple Tart served with pina colada dressing


• Wedding cake (chocolate)
  
  

Depending on the destination wedding you are planning (Caribbean vs. Europe) and the number of guests you bring, you may want to infuse local flavors and ingredients into your wedding. It will make your wedding more memorable.

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.