Bridal Show

The bridal show of the Wedding Professionals of Flagler County was a huge success today. We had over a hundred brides. Miss Flagler County was an able hostess and modeled a bridal gown. All the vendors were very busy and we had a good time with games and drawings for prizes. The winner of the dream winner were Angel and Angela who were so happy they cried.

Hello again

Well we have been off vacationing again. Back at work getting ready for this weekend's wedding at the Ginn resort. Alison and Darren are a sweet couple from New Jersey. Alison is originally from Texas and met Darren from New Jersey in Tennessee. Now they are getting married in Florida. They sure do get around. The following week Jacqueline and William from The Bronx, New York are coming down for a beach wedding. We haven't met them yet but have been burning up the phone wires and emails planning all the details of the wedding in Vilano Beach. We just booked the wedding of Cyndy and Michael from Maryland. Their wedding will be at Anastasia State Park on August 28th. We are going to have to get into shape for the long boardwalk there. I don't know how long it really is but it seems like at least a mile in the heat. I love summer, but lately we have been having a real heatwave for the last six weeks. Remember, if you are having a beach wedding here in Florida in the summer it is going to be hot hot hot, so dress lightly and keep it short. A good idea might be bottled water with lables with your names and the date on them to pass out to your guests. We carry the lables at www.exceptionalweddingsupplies.com. You can paste them over the lables of the water you buy..

Another Vilano Beach wedding

We have just booked the wedding of Jacqueline and William. This will be a destination wedding in Vilano Beach. The couple are from the Bronx, New York and are looking forward to their beautiful beach wedding followed by a dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Kingfish Grill. Jacqueline is ordering her cake from Publix. Their cakes are amazingly good and very budget wise. They also provide excellent service to their customers. We look forward to meeting Jacqueline and William athough I feel like I already know them after the phone calls and emails we have already shared.

Christa and John

Last Saturday was the wedding of Christa and John. John is from Florida and Christa is from Texas, but fate brought them together and even though they lived so far apart, they managed to see each other often and fell in love. The ceremony was held on Vilano Beach just above St. Augustine. The reception was at the Reef restaurant. Christa was gorgeous in a strapless gown with a sort of smocking detail on the skirt and a beaded top. Hydrangeas were used for her bouquet and for decorations. John was very hot in a black suit. It was the hottest day of the year. Someone said she heard it was 102 degrees. I believe it. Fortunately the ceremony was not too long and everyone arrived on time so we were able to get back into the air conditioning before anyone passed out. John is a pilot so the two were off in a private plane for a trip to Bahamas for their honeymoon. Family and friends came from New Jersey, Texas Kentucky and Florida for the wedding. This couple is much loved by many people and deserve the best.

We just booked the wedding of Walter and Tara. They are getting married October 3 at Vilano Beach. October is the best time of year for a beach wedding. The weather is just a bit cooler and hurricane season is over for all intents since there are seldom any that late in the year. We haven't met Walter and Tara yet as they live in New Jersey, but Tara's mom Kathy met with us to make the arrangements. I will be calling Tara soon to start the writing process to give them the ceremony they really want.

It is always a joy to hear form a couple we married years ago. Whitney and Rob were one of the last couples we married in New Jersey. We had already moved to Florida but were commuting north to finish up our commitments there. Wendy and Rob have been married seven years today and are still very happy. They have two beautiful girls, a dog and a house and say they are having a great life. We always feel a little pride when he hear that to feel that we had some small part in helping create this loving family.

This evening we had the great pleasure of performing the baptism of the son of a couple we married three years ago. Quinten and Melissa were married in 2006 at the beach at the River to the Sea state park. It was this same spot where they chose to have their son Christened. Malik Antonio Johnson is six months old and tolerated the whole procedure with great patience. The family invited us to join them at the celebration dinner at Portugalia Restaurant in Bunnell. The food and the company were most enjoyable. We look forward to many more years serving this wonderful family with their spiritual celebrations.

Meeting Marissa

Last night we met with Marissa who is being married in September. We went over the details of her wedding ceremony. I will get started on it this week. Marissa is from New York but both she and her fiance have family in Palm Coast so their wedding will be held here at the Hammock Beach Resort.

Marissa is using our good friend Stephanie of Weddings by Stephanie as her Day of Coordinator. She is in good hands and her wedding and reception will be great. It was fun getting to meet her after corresponding via email the past few months.

WIN YOUR WEDDING

The organization we belong to, Wedding Professionals of Flagler County is having a Bridal Show on August 2, 2009 from 2-5 PM at the Palm Coast Yacht Club. Admission is FREE and best of all, if you register ahead of time at our website www.flaglerbridalshow.com you will have a chance to win your wedding. All of the vendors have agreed to donate their services to put on a wedding for you if you are the lucky winner. For more details go to the website. This is a super offer you don't want to miss.

Working with professionals part I

After a nice vacation in New York and New Jersey we are back in Florida and very glad to be home. As nice as it was to visit our son and see some old friends, there's no place like home. We have had a little break but are now gearing up for the next season. Summer is always a little slow and it gives us time to regroup as we book up weddings for the fall. We bought a litttle camper and plan to do a bit of exploring this summer. We are always in touch with our I phones and laptop, so keep those emails coming. You will be answered right away as always.

There is a lot of talk on the internet forums about DIY (Do it yourself) weddings. Yes, some things can be done yourself, but it's your wedding! Do you really need all that stress? Weddings don't have to be a huge expense and you can still use professionals to help you pull it off so it doesn't look like you did it yourself. A wedding planner is a good place to start. She (or occasionally he) knows who the best vendors are and is in a position to negotiate prices for you. They can help you set up a budget and stick to it. You can avoid expensive mistakes with a good wedding planner. The wedding planner is with you every step of the way, accompanying you to your appointments to keep things on track. She is someone to help you design the theme of your wedding and make sure the components complement each other. She will come to know your taste and style and will help your wedding reflect that style. A wedding is not just another party. It is the reflection of your commitment to each other and the start of your life together. It is worth the investment to have it done right. The thing I want to stress here is that your wedding planner should be an experienced and credentialed professional. The Association of Bridal Consultants requires classes, apprenticeship and performance to be a member. Look for the ABC logo on the website of your wedding planner to be sure she is qualified to do the job.

Helmut and Solangel

Solangel came to the U.S. from Belize and Helmut came from Germany. As fate would have it, their paths crossed and they fell in love. They were married yesterday evening at the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine. The wedding was supposed to be at Washington Oaks state park, but four days of rain made the ground too soggy and the wedding was moved indoors to the reception site. I wish I had taken a picture of the three year old ring bearer, but he was absolutely the cutest little guy and walked down the aisle all by himself holding the ring pillow with great dignity. The flower girl, a little older performed flawlessley spacing out her petals in perfect order. Children can be so unpredictable but whatever they do they are adorable. Even when they sit down in the middle of the aisle and cry. Helmut and Soli are off to a honeymoon in Jamaica and we wish them all the love in the world in their life together.

Coming up soon

We are back from our vacation in New York and New Jersey. We saw our son who lives in New Jersey for mother's day and saw many old friends from where we used to live before moving to warm and sunny (usually, but certainly not today) Florida. It is amazing how they got older and we stayed the same. We also went out to the veteran's cemetary on Long Island to pay our respects to Rev. Ted's mom and dad who were both veterans, and to my brother who also served. Although I grew up in Manhattan, I can't deal with the noise and traffic any more and I am so glad to be home.

I got a call from Soli today. She and Helmut are getting married on Thursday and have decided to change the ceremony site from Washington Oaks to the reception site in St. Augustine. We are having the most torrential rain storms this week. Seven inches already and due to continue through the week. Rev. Ted just got a call that he had to go our to our boat to secure it because it is about to float away. I will be back on Thursday to tell you all about Soli and Helmut's wedding and will hopefully have pictures. Tonight we have the meeting of the Volusia County Wedding Professionals and tomorrow night a meeting of the board of the Flagler County Wedding Professionals. It is a very busy week.

Bridal Show update

We have moved our bridal show date and place. We decided at last night's meeting of the Flagler Wedding Processionals that Father's Day was probably not the best day to lure the brides away from their fathers. The new date is August 2. We have also moved it to the Palm Coast Yacht Club at 1 Yacht Club Drive, Palm Coast. Mark the date on your calendar (in ink this time).

We are getting ready for the wedding of Helmut and Solangel later this month. We are taking this weekend off to visit some family for Mother's Day.

Craig and Pam

Tonight Craig and Pam got married on the beach outside their house in St. Augustine. The reception was around the pool in the back yard. Craig is the golf pro at the World Golf Village so his friends from there did the catering. Fantastic food. Christine's colors were pink, coral and mint green. Her cake was decorated with real pink tinged orchids. The bride's bouquet was pink roses and mint green hydrangeas. Pam and Craig had a reading of one of my favorite poems about marriage and the sand ceremony with mint green and coral sand. Pam and Craig have waited a long time for this special day and everything went perfectly. Even the brief threat of rain went away and kept the weather from being too hot on the beach.

Ashley and Matthew

This afternoon was the wedding of Ashley and Matthew at Chapel in the Garden in Port Orange. Ashley was georgous in a beaded strapless mermaid gown. Matt was tall and handsome in his black tux. Her colors were mint green and yellow. Her two sisters were her joint maids of honor and she had two bridesmaids. The maids of honor wore long gowns in green and the bridesmaids had tea length dresses in mint green overlaid with black tulle. Very unusual and very beautiful. The most unusual touch was the pair of red shoes that Ashley wore with her white wedding gown. Since the gown was floor length, they didn't really show except for an occasional glimpse of red. Ashley's sisters and parents were born in England and Ashley was born in the USA and while the rest of her family has English accents, she does not. I have a feeling she is quite the independent spirit.

Vacations and weddings

We have been away. We took a week off and went to Las Vegas to our timeshare there. This brings up a good point. We have six timeshares. Because of this, we can often purchase extra weeks at a very low price at some really nice resorts. If you are planning a honeymoon and want to save some money, and are one of our couples of course, it might be worth a chance to see if we can do something for you to save you some money and have a really great honeymoon at a great price. We might even be able to get you a few nights free if you are willing to listen to a timeshare presentation, but with the extra weeks, you don't have to do that.

We came back to do the wedding of Jessie and Derek at Anastasia Island State Recreation Area in St. Augustine. It couldn't have been a better day. The sky was blue as could be. The couple marked the aisle with potted bromeliads sunk into the sand and a bamboo framed canopy over the altar area. The bridesmaids wore dark orange knee length dresses and Jessica wore a long formal white gown with flowers in her hair. The men were all dressed in white which looked brilliant against the sand and sky. The bromeliads and the bouquets were in an assortment of brilliant colors. It made a lovely scene. This lovely couple are off to a honeymoon in St. Lucia and I am sure they will have a great time. Derek is in the military so they are making the most of their time together till he gets the dreaded call to serve.

Sergio and JoAnn's garden wedding

Sergio and JoAnn just got married. They had a garden wedding in the courtyard of the Oldest house in St. Augustine. JoAnn wore a strapless beaded gown with a long train and chapel veil. Her daughter, Brianna wore a white dress with a champagne ribbon and bow around her waist. They had a sand ceremony using brown and tan sand and the sand set from our exceptionalweddingsupplies.com. It was engraved with their names and the date. They also had a memorial vase of peach roses for her mother. Her father read the Apache Blessing to them and her sister read a poem. Sergio and Joann had a medallion ceremony where Sergio presented a necklace to JoAnn's daughter, Brianna as a token of his promise to love her as his own and to help JoAnn in raising her. You could see that they had a very special relationship already.

Castle Otttis

Yesterday we contracted with Misty and Robert for their wedding at Castle Otttis in Ponte Vedra Beach. No, that is not a mis-spelling. The three t's represent the trinity. The castle was built after a 13th century castle in Ireland by Rusty and his friends. It is an amazing place. Misty and Robert are coming in from Newport News, Virginia where he is in the military. The wedding is this weekend. The military gives us many short-notice weddings since they don't seem to give their members a lot of notice about when they will be active.

Megan and Damen

The Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine was the site of the Saturday wedding of Damen and Megan. The weather was perfect despite earlier forecasts of rain. Megan wore a beaded gown with a short train and carried purple irises. The bridesmaids wore dark hunter green gowns with bouguets of various colors. The men were dressed in tuxedos. They are such a lovely couple, just perfect together. Megan and Damen had the handfasting ceremony. This is an ancient pagan tradition adopted by Celtic marriages in which thirteen ribbons, each of a different color representing wishes for the couple (for example, green for weath, white for purity, etc) are tied around the couple's hands. The ribbons are removed before the end of the ceremony, but they are reminded that the it is up to them to keep the bonds tied. It is from this tradition that we get the term "tying the knot." In ancient times the couple was thereby joined for a year and a day at which time they would go again before the officiant to either have the marriage made permanent or to dissolve their union. Today we have marriage licenses so they only have until Monday when we file the license. But we know from the way they looked at each other that there is no danger of that happening. We wish them a happy marriage forever.

Friday, April 3 was the wedding of Michelle and Lee at Anastasia Island State Park. Lee had set up a framework draped in fabric on the beach for their evening wedding. His preparation time was cut short by tornado warnings and heavy rain in the morning but at the time of the ceremony, the weather couldn't have been better. Lee is a dentist who has been in practice one year. I am sure he will be able to keep that beautiful smile on his bride's face. The sun was setting over the dunes as they said their vows, casting a warm glow. A small reception on the beach followed the ceremony.

May wedding

Speaking with my colleagues, I am finding that brides are booking closer to the date of the wedding for all their services. This is certainly true for us too. While we have some weddings booked for the fall, most seem to be coming in just a month or two before the wedding. Last week we met Pamela and Craig. They are getting married on May 2nd. Just over a month away. I find these days I am working on three or so weddings at one time, no longer having the leisure of months of planning. I am not complaining though. It is a new challenge and other than occasionally getting the names mixed up in the first drafts, it seems to be working out well. Pamela and Craig are getting married outside a beach house in crescent beach. They are a local couple, (practically neighbors) who still appreciate what a great place this is to vacation as well as to live. We are very excited about performing their wedding ceremony and look forward to meeting their families and friends as well.

A wedding in the mist

Michael and Dawn came down from Pittsburgh for their wedding on the beach. We had it at the River to the Sea Preserve. They have been staying at Disney World and drove out for the day. After the wedding they intended to head up to see a bit of St. Augustine before returning to Disney. The day was very overcast despite the forecast of partly cloudy. There was a light mist falling but it wasn't enough to dampen our spirits. The clouds made a stunning backdrop for the ceremony. Dawn's two daughters and Michael's two sons were included with a medallion ceremony where the boys were presented with shark's tooth necklaces and the girls got more feminine necklaces as tokens of the day The couple had a sand ceremony with mint green and navy blue sand and topped it off with sand from the beach so that they could remember our beautiful beach forever.

Lisa and Robert

Lisa and Robert came down from New York to her parent's home in Palm Coast to be married yesterday evening. They were married at the clubhouse at Grand Haven. Lisa and Robert told us they wanted a fun wedding and that's exactly what they got. Their guests told us that they had never had so much fun at a wedding ceremony. Lisa and Robert told us it was exactly what they wanted. We were invited to the reception and had a great time. What a wonderful couple! And their families were just as wonderful. Lisa is one of the most relaxed brides I have seen and it showed when someone stepped on her dress and it tore and she said, "Oh well, Iwasn't planning to wear it again anyway."

This Saturday at Grand Haven

Lisa and Robert just left our office. We were going over the last minute details for their wedding ceremony on Saturday. They just flew in from New York and their first stop was the county courthouse to get their liccense. They just happen to live in Bellerose which is then next town to Rev. Ted's home town of Floral Park, so a lot of reminiscing will be going on at the reception this weekend. They have Mr. DJ doing the music for the ceremony and reception and A Unique Occasion is their limo company. Good friends of ours, both of them, so I know they are in good hands.

Volusia County Wedding Professionals

We had a really productive meeting last night at the Volusia County Wedding Professionals, discussing new trends in the wedding industry, so we can all keep abreast on what is going on in each other's areas of expertise. We learned a lot about the latest ideas in photography, music and flowers and how to all do our best to keep our brides happy in spite of the economic difficulties this country is enduring. These types of meetings keep us informed so that we can better serve our couples no matter what their need may be.

Dawn and Michael

We have been in touch with Dawn and Michael who are flying in from Pittsburgh to get married on one of our beautiful beaches. They are tired of the long winter and ready for some of our glorious Florida sunshine. Their wedding will be Monday at the River to the Sea Preserve, on the beach just south of Marineland. They are going with mint green and blue for their colors and want some of the beach sand in the sand ceremony container to forever remind them of the beauty of this place that we so take for granted.

Christine and Michel's wedding

Today was also the wedding of Michel and Christine. They both live in Ottawa, Ontario Canada and came down to the Ginn resort for their destination wedding. Many of their family and friends joined them to enjoy the wedding and the perfect weather. Christine's bridesmaids included Michel's daughter Isabella and their two sons served as ring bearers. Christine surprised Isabella with special bracelet to commorate the occasion. The bridesmaids were dressed in burnt orange which was a beautiful contrast to all the greenery surrounding them on the Ginn lawn. The reception was held aboard the Sundancer. After a honeymoon at the resort the couple will be returning to the frigid north. I am so glad I get to stay here.

Tiffany and Justin

Tiffany and Justin got married today at Washington Oaks. Everyone was in white except the maid of honor who wore a tea length mint green dress. They were married on the Octagon with Tiffany coming down through the rose garden. She was very smart. She rented a tent to use as a dressing room at the top of the stairs. This way she didn't have to walk all the way back to the house and change in the bathroom which is rather small. She had the sand ceremony with mint green and light turquoise sand, and a memorial for her mothergrandparents before the ceremony started. She used a vase personalized with their names and roses in the vase. Beautiful.

Michelle and Lee

Michele and Lee from Gainesville have booked their wedding with us. They are from Gainesville and are getting married on the beach at Anastasia Island on April 3rd. We will be working hard to get everything done in time but I know it will turn out just fine. April is such a beautiful month for a beach wedding. The weather is usually perfect. It is not rainy season yet and not too hot on the beach. I am also partial to the date because it is my birthday. I can't think of better way to celebrate.

Marisa and Robert

We just heard from Marisa and Robert who are getting married on September 26th. They have a website on weddingwire: www.weddingwire.com/risaandrobbie . If you want to see a really well organized website to use as a plan for your own check their's out. It has all the information their families and friends will need to attend their destination wedding in Palm Coast.

More news

We talked with Joanne today to finalize details of her ceremony on April 11. She and Sergio got engaged on June 11th and consider 11 to be their lucky day. April is going to be a very busy month but we will be fine. We love weddings and couldn't be happier.

Meet Soli and Helmut

Soli is from Belize and Helmut is from Germany. They came to Florida where their paths crossed in a way that could only be due to fate. They are getting married on May 21 in Washington Oaks. We had the pleasure of meeting with Soli this afternoon to begin planning her ceremony. She is a beautiful and intelligent woman and we can't wait to meet Helmut.

meet the soon-to-be weds

Today we met with Damen and Megan from Tallahassee who are getting married April 4th at the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine. A really nice couple, we are having a good time getting to know them and to write their ceremony. There isn't a lot of time but we work well under pressure and are really happy to be doing their wedding. Yesterday we had dinner with Christy and John from Daytona Beach who are getting married June 20th. We had met them before this past August, but got together to go over some more details of their wedding. You will here more soon about the two weddings we are doing on Saturday. One at Washington Oaks and later the second on the Ginn Yacht. What a fun weekend that will be!

Vilano Beach

Yesterday we were starting to feel sure that our luck with the weather was not going to continue. Steven and Holly had come down to St. Augustine with their families from Loveland Ohio to be married on the beach. There was obviously a storm brewing off to the west as we arrived for the 5:30 PM ceremony. Well God was on our side. The wind died down and the rain held off and the ceremony was beautiful. Holly chose the colors of the ocean, sea green and aqua blue for her sand ceremony. Their son Zachary, not quite two, was a delight as he checked out the shells on the beach while mom and dad got married. Holly's dress was perfect for a beach wedding. A street length dress of creamy white chiffon with a silver waist band, it beautifuly combined the elegance of the occasion with the simplicity of the beach. While they chose the traditional "Canon in D Major" for the processional, Brian Paisley's "She's Everything" was chosen for the recessional. It was agreed that it described Holly perfectly. We wish them a happy time the rest of their vacation and a safe trip back to Ohio, brrrrr.

Bridal Show

Sunday, February 23rd, there will be a bridal show at the Belk department store in Palm Coast from 2 to 5 PM. We hope you will stop by to meet us. There will be time to chat about our services and you can get to know us better. We look forward to seeing you then.

Fairfield Inn and Suites

More good news! I just got word from Sarah Bates at the Palm Coast Fairfield Inn and Resorts that their grand opening is scheduled for February 10th from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Be sure to check out this beautiful new hotel. Your out of town guests will find this hotel convenient and able to meet all their needs. See them at http://www.fairfieldpalmcoast.com/ Take a look and see what beautiful accomodations you guests can enjoy while at your Flagler County event.

Port Orange on the river

Greg and Amy had a perfectly beautiful day for their wedding. After several days of very cold weather, with temps falling into the 20's at night, the day Amy and Greg chose to get married was warm and sunny. Their wedding was held at the Riverside Pavillion in Port Orange. Apparantly Amy is known for being a bit late to most occasions and the joke among her friends was that she would be late for her own wedding. The joke turned out to be on them because after the processional for her attendands, we played "Waiting on a Woman" for a couple of minutes before playing the bridal march. The song is about a woman who is always late, but includes the lines that although she was late for the wedding, the honeymoon made it all worth while. It was at that point that we faded it out and started the traditional "Here Comes the Bride". Amy and Greg were a great couple to work with, fun and relaxed. We wish them every happiness in the future.

A church wedding

Last friday afternoon was the wedding of Sergio and Gail. They were married at the Chapel in the Garden in Port Orange. This chapel is ideal for a "church" wedding for the couple with no church affiliation. Set in magnificently landscaped grounds, it is a lovely place complete with a loft for great photographs of the ceremony, a stained glass window and a church bell to ring after the ceremony. The theme colors were black and pink. The groomsmen and Sergio wore black tuxedos with pink ties and vests and the bridesmaids were in pink. The flower girl had a black and pink dress and pink flowers prevailed, although the bride was in a traditional white beaded gown. The weather this time of year can be unpredictable so Sergio and Gail lucked out with a perfectly sunny 70 degree day.

New Year's Day wedding

David and Nicole celebrated the new year by getting married on New Year's day, which as I have said, is our anniversary so it was a very special wedding for us. Nicole, a former Marine and David, a former Army Soldier are both avid fishers and hunters, so it was natural that their theme was camouflage. Their cake, made by Publix in the Hammock was frosted in camouflage and featured a stream cascading down the cake complete with fish, trees, animals, rocks, and assorted equipment. I knew Publix was good but this was spectacular. They also had an armadillo shaped groom's cake also made by Publix. Their bride and groom cake topper was hand carved from wood. Our new wedding supplies store carries camouflage ring pillows, pen and guest book sets among other things. Nicole's mother made a ring pillow shaped like a fish and carried in a fishnet. Very cute. They had their ceremony at Washington Oaks at the octagon and the reception was held at the Palm Coast Yacht Club. Our good friend Capt. Kirk was the DJ. What a great way to start of the New Year.