Congratulations Clarissa and Jon!!

We were honored to be chosen to work with delightful Clarissa and Jon on their romantic Italian inspired wedding held this past April at the lovely Bella Collina hosted along with Dana Acevedo.  When I first met Clarissa, Jon and Clarissa's mother Chris, I was immediately inspired by them, their story and how at ease they were with each other....so clearly in love and happy to be getting married.  Clarissa has a rich Italian heritage and  so Bella Collina seemed perfectly fitting for this sweet wedding.  After a ceremony on the Grande Lawn, we moved inside the club for dinner and dancing to White Rose.  These darling miniature Italian Cypress Trees were one of 5 favors for their guests and this stunning cake was made by Party Flavors  The festive cake 'tree' stand 'lives' at Bella Collina and certainly fits the location perfectly.  A big thank you to Becka and Nate of Studio 222 Photography for these amazing photos that capture this lovely couple and this gorgeous wedding so well.  We ended the night with sparklers and fireworks from EJ Weppel of Creative Pyrotechnics  Congratulations to you both....I loved working with you and your sweet families!!

Cindy

 

ok-- really committed and some Q & A

As we await some of the amazing photography from the team of talented photographers shooting the weddings of our brides and grooms...now friends!!  I thought I would take some time to answer a few questions.  I am asked consistently the following questions and so perhaps I can add this to our blog of information...as I re-commit myself to successful blogging!  I want the posts to be helpful and full of information and that takes so much time to do it right.  I won't do it if I cannot do it correctly.  And, that applies to everything we do.  Maybe I need to apply that to cleaning out those pesky cabinets in my guest bathroom!  h

Q:  How do I tell my guests that our wedding is adults only?

A:  I get this question for every single Adults Only Wedding I have ever worked on.  The invitations should be addresses to the guests that you are inviting.  If you are not inviting the children, the invitation outer and inner envelopes are not addressed that way.  For example, the Outer Envelope would be addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Joe Smith with the Inner Envelope addressed to Joe and Jane or Joe, Jane, Billy and Susie if the children are included in the invitation.  As an aside, guests that receive such an invitation should recognize that great thought has gone into the guest list for a wedding and it is rude to ask the hosts if they could attend with their children.  However, this does occasionally happen and the host is put in the difficult spot of telling their beloved family and/or friends no.  But, a gracious way would be to share with the guest that there is limited space in your ceremony or reception site and you have taken great care to invite everyone that they possibly can and that you hope they will still be able to attend your wedding.

Q:  When should I mail my invitations?

A:  Another fine question I get asked consistently.  I recommend you mail your wedding invitations 7.5 weeks in advance of your wedding, farther out if you have international guests.  I also recommend that you mail them on a Thursday so they will arrive on Saturday (generally) when we typically do open and read our mail.  I also recommend that you have your Respond Cards due back on or before the Thursday 2.5 weeks prior to your wedding.  This will allow a few Respond cards to come on in through Saturday and you can have the weekend to double check your guest counts, finalize seating arrangements, etc with your family when it is much easier for everyone to get together to finish up these last plans.  Remember, too, that your catering counts and floral counts will generally be due that next week and 2.5 weeks gives you enough time to finish those last few details.

I hope these little hints help you.  Be sure to write me or comment if you have your own questions!  I am happy to post them with the answers on the blog.

I PROMISE I will be much better at this!!!

Happy Planning!

Cindy

Where have we been??

Alright....no excuses for the extremely uncool lateness in posting the weddings from the amazing brides, grooms and families we have been honored to work with this year.  I am totally committed to catching up on this and so please bear with me while I add all the photos we have received recently.  Still collecting....but they are on their way.

Today, we are working once again at the Gaylord Palms with Jessie and Francis on their lovely and traditional Wedding.  Pics will follow!  I promise....along with all the other 7 we have worked on this crazy busy June plus the 3 more we have next weekend!  WHEW!!!  Thanks for everything....we LOVE you all!

Cindy Saunders

Need Some Color Inspiration?

As I was exploring a new website that I recently encountered called Stumble Upon, I found this really fun tool by Preston Bailey, A-list Celebrity Wedding and Event Planner that helps you as a bride choose a color pallete for your wedding based on the theme, location, and the number of guests you are expecting. It is a fun tool that allows you explore multiple wedding colors, helping you to find the ones just for you! This is great to use when meeting with your florist, picking out your bridesmaid dresses, and even tasting and designing the cake! Whether its pink, blue, green or my personal favorite purple, this tool will help you find colors perfect for you. So have some fun,

play around, and let me know what you think!!

Whats Your Color Story?

Happy Planning,

Jessica

Congratulations Sophia and Andy!!

Eight weeks before their wedding, we met the darling couple Sophia and Andy. They had a beautiful and intimate Korean wedding on New Year's Day at the Gaylord Palms with the help of Pam Becker, Local Catering Manager. Their ceremony took place in the wedding pavillion under an arch of babies breath, with a reception following in the Orange Blossom Ballroom. Photography was done by KJ Jung with Rebekah Studio, and a special thanks to Party Flavors for the wonderful cake! We don't have photos yet, but look forward to getting them very soon!!!   Such a wonderful day, Congratulations Sophia and Andy!

Congratulations Monica and Andrew!

We are pleased to say that we were able to take part in the beautiful wedding of Monica and Andrew at the Gaylord Palms on December 30, 2010 with the assistance of Catering Manager, Chris Shimkus. The ceremony took place in the Lower Castillo Fort with a cocktail reception following in the Orange Blossom Ballroom, and then the reception in the Sun A Ballroom to end the evening. A gorgeous sight of White ostrich feathers, rhinestones, and white hydrangeas were created by Cheryl's Distinctive Creations, making both the ceremony and ballroom breathtaking. Curt and Stephanie with Nu Visions Photography were there to capture all of the special moments. A special thanks to them for providing these gorgeous pictures! The evening concluded with dancing to the wonderful sounds of The Buzzcatz and the delicious taste of Party Flavors who designed the beautiful cake. Such a beautiful day for a beautiful couple!

Congratulations Jessica & Merlin!

Jessica and Merlin were an absolute pleasure to work with and our first Egyptian wedding. They were married on October 9, 2010 at the beautiful St. Mary and Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church in Oviedo follwed by a reception at the Embassy Suites in Downtown Orlando. The reception was held in the San Juan Ballroom and Molly Meeker was our wonderful catering manager who's attention to detail made this day even better for Jessica and Merlin. Florals were done by Lisa Vilcsek with Revel Design Company, and the linens and centerpieces were made by Merlin's mother herself. They both did a fantastic job! Photography was done by Edmund Rhodes with Rhodes Studios, and as always, he did a fabulous job. Entertainment was done by White Rose Entertainment and the beautiful cake was done by Party Flavors. It was a beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple!

wow! What a busy Fall and Winter Season!

Hi SWE fans!  ok - there is no excuse other than we have been CRAZY busy this Fall and Winter with some spectacular weddings and our blog is behind!  So, we are working hard to update and get all our wonderful photos up to showcase the gorgeous and fun weddings we helped create with our amazing brides and grooms.  Please watch for the updates coming!!!  Check out this sneek peek photo from the amazing Misty Miotto taken at Bella Collina in October.

On a side note, visit www.stereomood.com  What a cool internet radio site that lets you pick your mood and then the site plays a mix of music to fit your mood.  I tried it at my desk while working and it's super fun and energizing!!!

Happy Planning!  Cindy