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.