Carol and Mike were married 30 years ago and unfortunately things didn't work out.  They divorced and went their separate ways and on with their lives.  Years go by, they each get remarried and what once was seemed like a blip in the radar screen.  Then out of the blue, 30 years later they found each other again.  The sparks of first love flew and last summer Carol and Mike were remarried by a friend at the courthouse who knew them "back then". 

On January 9th, before moving away to start their new life in California, Carol and Mike threw a grand celebration to celebrate their reunion with about 50 of their closest family and friends.  They had the most perfect invitations - "sometimes it ends where it all began" and I had my first expereince with arranging centerpieces!  Thank goodness Carol went with simple loose stems!  Held at the Davis Islands Garden Club, the party was to take place outside on the patio overlooking the water.  We had plans for stringing white lanterns across the ceiling, uplighting the trees and having delicate drapes blowing in the breeze.  Well, January 9th turned out to be one of the coldest nights of the year with the temperature dipping down into the 30s.  So... Plan B!  Everything was moved inside - lounge area and tables on one side, food on the other and dancing in between.  It turned out to be a great evening, filled with dancing and laughter and love. 

So it just goes to show you that sometimes love never does die... it just needs to be rekindled.  Best wishes Carol and Mike for a lifetime of happiness!

We're lucky, we live in the Sunshine State, but not everyone is so fortunate.  So as a big snow storm is barreling right now towards the Northeast coast, we can sit back and kick on the AC because it's still 70+ degrees outside.  So if planning your wedding here in Tampa Bay, why not give your guests a taste of what is in store for them before they even arrive.  Obviously welcome bags at the hotel are a great treat, but sending them some information in advance will get them as excited about your wedding as you are!

For those out of town guests, when you receive their RSVP card that says they are coming to help you celebrate your big day, consider mailing them a packet of information about our wonderful city.  A local overview map and some brochures on local attractions will help them plan some extra activities during their downtime and maybe even have them turn the weekend into a week long vacation.  I mean, who wants to go out and shovel snow when you can go to the beach?!  Stop by your local Chamber of Commerce to pick up some information or local hotels that have brochures displayed in their lobby.  It's all free. And don't forget to add a letter from the two of you about your favorite spots and things to do here in Tampa Bay.

We live where people come to vacation... how great is that?!

Time, Inc. has decided to close InStyle Wedding magazine and its last issue will hit the newsstands on December 25th.  A few of my blogs in the past have been on information found in this magazine and I will be sad to see it go.  Below is some great information pulled from its current fall edition regarding different ideas for your bridesmaids' attire.

At one time or another, most ladies have been a bridesmaid or two.  It's at that time you realize whether your best friends have good taste in clothing... or not.  The days of all bridesmaids needing to look all matchy-matchy are behind us and the best gift we can now give to our closest friends is options.  Now, that doesn't mean that they can all go pick out whatever they want... after all there are professional photos that must be considered.  But here are a few tips from InStyle Weddings magazine on options that will look cute and coordinated:

1) Different Styles, Different Shades - You choose a base color then let your bridal party pick out their own dresses in shades of the same color family.  Honestly, not my favorite option to give them... this is when you, the bride, may find out whether or not your friends have good taste in clothing if you didn't already know...

2) One Style, Different Shades - Pick one dress all the same, but open up a rainbow of opportunities.

3) One Color, Different Styles - Bridesmaids aren't one size fits all.  Why not let your friends choose the cut that flatters her frame the best.  Personally, this is my favorite option!  What a concept... maybe your bridesmaids would actually wear the dress again!

4) One Dress, Different Accents - Why not customize the dress with a different color sash as an accent or for those fall or winter weddings, a shawl could be a cool accent too.

Now there are a couple of other ideas for options you can also give them:

A) Jewelry: You pick the one element to keep the look coordinated like pearls or crystals, then let the wedding party pick their own individual pieces.

B) Shoes: Provide them with the shade they should be - most popular are metallic like silver or gold or a simple black - and then let them pick out a shoe that will be comfortable and one they may actually wear again.

C) Hair: Rather than having all matching updos, why not let them wear their hair the way they like to so they feel like they look their best?  Lord knows that I wish someone told me that it is not a requirement to have an updo in order to get married... what was I thinking?!

I am happy to announce that the toy drive was a huge success!  Eighteen89 collected about 300 toys to be donated to the YMCA's Polar Express program that supports Sulpher Springs Elementary School.  A special thank you to everyone who donated toys.  It is because of you that these kids' holidays will be much brighter!

Food and beverage is the most expensive element to a wedding.  In fact it counts for upwards of 50% of your budget.  Obviously the first way to save is cutting back on your guest list.  Invite only those closest to you.  It's time to cross those people you haven't seen in years off the list and draw the line on the family... how close are you really to your cousins twice removed?  Less guests = less money!

For food, consider serving heavy hors d'oeuvres instead of a full dinner. Action stations are very popular and trendy these days and people will get enough food to fill them up, but because it uses smaller plates and they have to move around the room more from station to station, people tend to eat less.  Also, it's a myth that a buffet costs less than a plated meal in a lot of cases.  If you do opt for a buffet, cutting your protein or meat selections down to two instead of three will definitely save you money.

And finally, selecting a venue that will allow you to bring in your own alcohol will save you an incredible amount of money.  Alcohol has an average of a 200% mark up on it so if you can buy your own, that's a great option.  If doing this, however, I always recommend hiring a bartending company to serve your guests.  It is incredibly important for that company to carry liability insurance though - that takes the liability if someone drinks too much off you and places it on the company that served them.  It also though gives them the right to cut off your guests who have had too much to drink.   And if purchasing your own alcohol is not an option, limit your bar to maybe beer and wine only.  And while not ideal, you can host a bar for the first hour or two and then have it turn into a cash bar as well.

Happy eating and drinking!!

Okay, I have seen some really cool things that brides and grooms do to personalized their weddings, but on October 10th I saw something that was really awesome!  Shay and Anthony were married at Christ the King Catholic Church and their reception was at Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club.  It was a fairly large wedding with about 250 guests.  Shay's nationality is German and Anthony's is Italian and Spanish.  They wanted to incorporate their heritage into their wedding and believe me, they did it with style!

There were several unique elements that they brought to their special day - cigar table, candy table, gelato machine instead of a wedding cake, but their entrance into the reception was one that I will remember for a  long time.  On all of the guest tables, there were flags of all kinds of nationalities; primarily USA, Germany, Spain, and Italy.  Shay even organized it so that the flags on each table matched the guests' nationality.  So during the main entrance when they walked into the room, all of the guests were waving their flags.  It was an amazing site and it jumped the energy in the room up tenfold! 

They had a beautiful reception all the way around, but those special elements around their culture were the things that had the guests talking and had me totally impressed!

No, not for me!  For Chris and Michele's wedding!  On October 3rd, two of the police's finest officers were married at the Sheraton Riverwalk Hotel in downtown Tampa.  It was a beautiful ceremony and the couple took advantage of a great sunset for pictures that evening.  It was the same night as the Metallica concert, but that didn't stop Michele and Chris from jumping into the hotel shuttle with their photographer and several heavy metal fans to hop over to the University of Tampa for some great sunset shots.  If only those guys knew who they were riding with in the van!

The reception was beautiful in the Riverwalk ballroom, but it was the little special touches that made the evening extraordinary... and at times hilarious.  First off, the favors were small boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts.  Get it... police officers and donuts?  The guests acted "insulted", like they couldn't believe that one of their own played into the stereotype, but let me  tell you those donuts were gone fast by the end of the night!  And I do have to say they had one of the coolest cake toppers I have ever seen.  It was a replica of the two of them in their police uniforms - down to the last detail.  The back side of it was even funnier (go Michele!).  Too cute!

Chris and Michele were my favorite kind of clients - relaxed, good natured and smiling the whole night long!! 

Unlike the rest of the United States, off-season in Florida is mid-June through mid-September.  There are the two H's to deal with - heat and hurricanes - but for the budget conscious bride, that's when you will save a ton of money.  Venues are willing to lower their food and beverage minimums and vendors are willing to lower their normal rates so your dollar stretches a lot further.  Obviously it goes without saying, I would strongly suggest purchasing wedding insurance - particularly because of H number 2 potential!  But if the two H's are too much to deal with, you can also consider a Friday or Sunday date.  Saturday evenings are the highest priced so opting for a weeknight or Sunday will give you much more flexibility in terms of budget since there is a lot less demand for those dates.

Another consideration is the time of day... obviously evenings are the most expensive.  Morning ceremonies are readily available on Saturdays and a brunch or luncheon reception will cost a lot less.  Since the demand is reduced for those times, venues will work with your budget more and the menu will still be plentiful, but much less expensive than a dinner.  In addition, people tend to drink less during the day than an evening so you can still incorporate alcohol, but mimosas and bloody marys cost a lot less than martinis and cocktails!

Recently there was an article on Angie's List that highlighted some couples across the country that were out major bucks due to companies going out of business.  The interesting part about this story is that out of all of the couples who were interviewed for the article, not one had a wedding planner.  Dena Davey, a spokesperson with The Association of Bridal Consultants was quoted as saying, "you can enjoy your wedding because a professional with the proper credentials will be able to see something coming that a bride might not".  Planners are a very close-knit group and the word gets around about shady and shaky vendors.

A few years ago there was a highly respected photographer in the Tampa Bay area that ran into some big trouble.  At the time I had one wedding client who had booked him and paid the deposit.  For months, I tried to track him down, get straight answers, spoke with other professionals in the area and had that never ending gut feeling that said "we need a Plan B".  I spoke with my client and advised her that I thought we should go ahead and terminate the contract, interview other photographers and book someone else for her wedding.  She could always take him to small claims court and try to get her money back.  Good thing we did because about two months after her wedding there was a big news story locally exposing this photographer and about 60 brides who paid the entire amount of their contract and did not get a single picture from their wedding day.  Huge scandal, major lawsuits and even bigger heartbreak.  That's one milestone in life that is just impossible to recreate.

Also quoted in the article was Kyle Brown, the executive director of the Bridal Association of America.  "You're going to pay a little more for experience, but how can you put a price on peace of mind?".  I couldn't have said it better myself.

On top of hiring a professional wedding planner, consider wedding insurance.  Typical policies can cover everything from a no-show vendor (or one that does show but fails to product the product) to family members being stuck at the airport to companies that you have secured (and paid for!) that go bankrupt due to the worsening economy.  Here in Tampa, the average wedding probably runs about $25,000 - what else do you own for that amount of money that you don't have insurance for?

So today I received an e-mail announcing that a certain wedding program is offering a discount for home study course that costs $495 to earn the designation of a "certified wedding specialist".  Sounds impressive, right?  Hummm... $495 + on-line computer course = "specialist"?  Whatever happened to experience??

All I'm saying is to be careful if someone uses certifications to try and impress you in this industry.  There is no course that can replace years of hands-on, hard work in the field.  A certification might look great on their wall, but when it's all said and done, it's just a piece of paper.  Make sure they have the experience and expertise to back it up!