Real Weddings: Erin Jacoby and Mike Walker: THE SLIDESHOW

I do love the slide shows that Garrett and Joy put together for our couples and their families!
As we take it easy from celebrating {and eating!} this Holiday Season, the gracious photography duo were kind enough to share the slide how with me- {I thought this would be an easy blog-read during this busy week!}
So-- from me to you: Please revel in good love and good laughs with this incredible couple and their incredible families on this most incredible wedding day...

Real Weddings: Lisa and Mitch at The Shores Resort

Note to all budding wedding planners: This job can be very bitter-sweet! Having Lisa and Mitch enter our E- Events world was so sweet, they were an utter delight! To see them marry off and drift off to "happily ever after..." --admittedly sad, yet proud!
Lisa and Mitch live in Minneapolis, and when she called me about 7 months prior to her wedding with a "Clean Slate" my creative interest was peaked...
Lisa's challenge {did I hear someone say "challenge??!!"} was the ethnicity and authenticity that was paramount in being portrayed.
Lisa is half Filipino, half Indian and Mitch is African-American. Challenge? NO! A goal...YES! Recently, I have been chatting with loved ones about how well I respond to goals set forth before me...
First, we needed to find the ideal venue. With the couple's criteria in place we found that The Shores Resort in Daytona Beach Shores perfectly matched their specific wedding weekend goals and style. Next, a Catholic Church to accommodate Lisa's Filipino heritage. The Basilica of St. Paul could not have offered a more perfect backdrop to tradition and old-world opulence--
Onto our reception design--
Lisa repeatedly explained to me that her favorite part of living in her newly-transferred home of Minneapolis was it's downtown arts district which fostered her and Mitch's contemporary and metropolitan flair.
Note to self: Design a wedding reception that it is worthy of this aesthetic!
Raining Roses, Unique Option, BBJ Linen, Plumb Fun Photo Booth, Simply Cinematic and Garrett Nudd were all on hand to assure these elements were met in the moment and in the end with their treasured tangible memories.
Using a harmonious color palette of burnt orange and mahogany accents,the use of only 2 blooms for floral and the rectangular shaped dining tables to feed our 200+ guest list proved to be successful for this beautiful, yet odd-shaped ballroom. The tables were set on and angle with the dance floor in the middle of this ~L~ shaped ballroom "marrying" {ha!} the two sides of the room along with 4 carefully designed furniture groupings.
The result was a comfortable, sleek and chic room design worthy of this hip and trendy couple-
C'mon! Look at her Yves St. Laurent shoes--
The proof is in the stiletto!

Glitz. Glamour. Reveal E Events and Liga Photography Style!

W-O-W!!! I have already gotten such tremendous feedback regarding our grand opening soiree last night-
We have all heard the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words..." My personal dictionary is now overflowing and I shall not even attempt to compete with the phenomenal slide show images from Liga Photography except to say:
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your support, encouragement and love. Our guests included current clients, previous clients, {Hopefully NEW clients!!} professional partners, personal friends and Winter Park neighbors. I feel so incredibly blessed and humble.
My personal and sincerest thanks goes to Jeffrey Stoner, DJ Carl, Jay and Aaron with Flowers of Winter Park, Awny Kashoggi with Unique Option, Kevin with Moore Fine Foods Rashida with BBJ LInen, Amy Morelli with 2u Collection,Alicia Zutter of Alicia Zutter Couture {fabulous designer!!} Tommy Hart with American Audio Visual, my TEAM {Jessy, Brittany and Nancy; what would/could I do without you??} and all of you-

Roll -em!

Inspired Wedding Tabletop Decor:"Daoyi Icepiration"

One may say I over-think things. Of course, I would disagree, arguing that I think things through thoroughly... :)

This tabletop that "the team" and I created was born from a couple of things I had been wanting to do for some time which were:

1. Creating a table scape that was actually "inside" the table. A little "off," I know, but I have grown to expect by now that both Awny Kashoggi and Tommy Murphy just "get me!"


2. Appeal to an Asian aesthetic and culture which I am completely fascinated with.


3. To not just out ANOTHER ROUND table on the floor. The idea was to "inspire" after all!

With that criteria, our "Daoyi Icepiration" table was born. My research showed that Mazu Daoyi's life took an extended journey, much as I refer to the process of wedding planning.

This table was, I felt, the most challenging. Thank goodness I was surrounded by the additional creativity and enthusiasm of Awny and Tommy. Awny's ability to "space configure," much like an architect, brought this table higher with sleek, black leather stools around. He determined exactly how to produce the"inserted" design. Of course, Tommy took it from there with the amazing zen design with carefully selected floral, trays as chargers and stones.

Taking it even one step further, we recruited phenom, Lindsey Luxa with Dragonfly Custom Design to create our menus on acrylic. Yes, acrylic!

I am also especially thankful to Damon Tucci who got the real polished images you see here and even scaled a ladder to get them.

This table was especially marvelous and gratifying. Though we used this as strictly a "show table," I was grinning from ear to ear when the general manager to The Ritz Carlton told me he wished he could eat at that table...:)

Inspired Wedding Tabletop Decor: Effortlessly Elegant

The second table that I featured with my select partners for the most recent Ritz Carlton, Orlando-Grand Lakes wedding show, "Impress, Indulge, Inspire" was named "Effortlessly Elegant."

Borrowing a few words from the E Events tag line, Tommy, Awny and I set out to create a table that was high on style, class, decorum and grace.

I became admittedly nervous while planning the original 3 table "looks" with the gentlemen, fearing I was alienating a large demographic who remained classic and traditional. {When taken off the leash, I tend to get carried away and go for "bravado" rather than "mainstream!"}

To my delight, a 4th table option was offered to me, so I truly jumped at the opportunity to design and plan this absolutely gorgeous table.

This was indeed a "dining table," and one that I personally dined at that evening along with some special guests. Tommy, as always, became insistent on the practicality of the table testing and re-testing the guests' sight-line. {So important, and it was noticed and appreciated by guests that evening!}

I love how the applicationof one floral color hue. White in this instance, made the bold impact and statement I was looking for while keeping the "traditional" bride content as well. Equally as pleasing, were the vases selected for the centerpieces. Traditional glass? Yes. The different shape, however, brings on that "fresh " approach I call for. {That's how YOU stand apart!}

BBJ Linen assisted us with this linen selection for this table and did a magnificent job of bringing what was in my head to the table. I adore how they treated the chiavari chairs with that chiffon and ribbon; it was so ethereal.

Lindsey Luxa with Dragonfly Custom Design created breathtaking menus and escort cards, classic in design but on metallic paper with a crystal accent atop. Perfect!

Along for the ride, taking pictures and dining next to me, was Damon Tucci who was kind enough to capture this table for me as well...{top photo}

Inspired Wedding Tabletop Decor: "Big Sur"

A question I often ask my clients, vendor partners and even myself is "What inspires you?" I find that if thought our carefully, it can open the door to many creative opportunities and experiences.

Several months ago, I had the distinct pleasure of having been asked to participate in an evening to assist The Ritz Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes to "Impress, Indulge and Inspire." Guests that already had their special date on the books grew increasingly excited over the designs created by our area's top wedding and event planners, floral designers, furniture rental ingenues and the like. Prospective clients invited could not get their dates on the books quickly enough after the stellar evening.

Enlisting a team that I was extremely compatible with was my first priority. With that in mind, I immediately called Tommy Murphy with Greenery Productions and Awny Kashoggi, owner of Unique Option. As I have come to delightfully expect, an initial pow-wow between us sparked such enthusiastic creativity and inspiration. Getting in a room with these gentlemen is exhilarating and I left the table dizzy with the anticipation of seeing our collective ideas brought to life.

Indeed, the reality far exceeded my expectations!

Our first table we labeled ,"Big Sur" as this same team was inspired by a recent couple, {and recent blog post} Christie and Harvey Heller.

Organic, earthy, natural and hearty with a splash of "over the top," the table was presented with the use of camphor vines with cymbidium orchids wired woven amongst the branches, a natural stone overlay over moss green velvet and shantung linen provided by Wildflower Linen. Awny's water walls surrounded by candles in varying heights carried our imaginations to what we had dreamed the ideal rustic yet glamorous environment would be out west.

To tell our story from beginning to end, we had invitations, escort cards, and menus designed with organic paper, real leaves and stones by the innovative Amy Morelli of the 2u Collection.

I was fortunate enough to have the gracious offer from Damon Tucci to capture my table images and the rest are from Tommy's trusty camera.

What inspires you...?

Real Weddings: Christie and Harvey Heller

How do you not only marry a couple that lives in 2 separate states, but truly come from 2 very different styles??

Clearly these lovebirds have enough in common to be madly in love nut, the challenge?? One of them {Christie} hails from Boulder, Colorado and the other {Harvey Heller} hails from Orlando.

As I brainstormed my approach to designing this wedding, I was perpetually challenged by respecting both and "marrying" not only these 2 people, but their lifestyles as well.

Christie and Harvey were such a delight, mainly in part because of their implicit trust and in me. Christie was still living in Boulder and her visits were few and quick.

They were already established with their venue, Maison and Jardin prior to enlisting my help and were set with space, food and beverage. They even got married in Big Sur the weekend before which made my main objective planning a superb party!

While elegant and stately, Maison was hardly rustic {Boulder} or the intrinsic "Orlando vibe."

hmmmmm...

Recruiting Tommy Murphy with Greenery Productions put our best foot forward and were overjoyed with putting ideas and proposals together to get our couple inspired and eager to see their results. We felt particularly challenged by an "addition" to the venue that revealed the mechanics to a tent frame. The creative ceiling treatment prepared by Tommy's designers was spectacular! Natural wood lattice accompanied by camphor vine and hanging amaranthus and greenery transported us to and enchanted forest.

Striking linen from Wildflower Linen offered such a sophisticated flair-

The design was further complimented with design ideas and furniture groupings from Awny Kashoggi with Unique Option. The entire outdoor space was dedicated to a social hour where guests sipped on 2 signature champagne cocktails and enjoyed music and the ever popular photo booth by Plumb Fun.

As guests were invited inside, they experienced a"woodlands" scent easily created by using a sensory teaser by Scent Events.

Christie and Harvey were so thrilled they invited the entire vendor team to share in the culinary delights prepared by Maison for all of their guests. Fabulous!

...and because "pictures say a 1,000 words," I was fortunate enough to have photographer and fellow girlfriend, Abby Liga on hand for these wonderful shots-

New York Ave...We're Making Progress!

...so the new office is in full swing! We are definitely feeling more at home now that the new, fabulous and unbelievable furniture has arrived thanks to the creative genius that is Awny Kashoggi and his incredible team at Unique Option.
Yesterday, I was instructed to merely unlock the door for his wonderful crew to come in and load in the furniture. I was then to report back to the office at a certain time to see "the reveal" of sorts and offer feedback. {Very home-makeover show!}

Feedback?!? As if!!

As I explained to Awny last week while he was describing all that he had planned to bring over to the office, "If I told you that you could show up with inflatable furniture I would be okay with that--would you believe me??? Because I would!"

Above you will see what I saw as I left the office when the furniture truck arrived...

After, you see my personal "supporting cast" including our newest coordinator Brittany, along with our energetic {and nearly cloned!} intern Jessy and the "favorite" {and you all know that she is...} Terri! Just as I had hit my threshold with all things feng shui, these sassy ladies kicked it into high gear to start getting our pad in order.

Phew! Now that was a full day at the office!