Lyssa and Ryan May 30, 2008

Lyssa and Ryan were married just a few short hours ago at the Grand Plaza hotel on St. Pete Beach. It was a pristine (though a tad warm) day! Lyssa looked absolutely gorgeous! Her dress was beautiful and the orchid in her hair suited the look perfectly! (Ryan looked nice too!) Here is the first glimpse of the new Mr. and Mrs. Stealing a quiet moment alone after the ceremony, no mistaking that they are on St. Pete Beach with this as a backdrop!

The lighting in the ballroom was great as the bride and groom share their first dance.

The cake decorator was Chantilly cakes, the groom's cake below was also Chantilly but in cheescake.

Since the Presidential ballroom and the penthouse suite are literally next to one another I had time to "reallocate" resources to do a little decorating... (wink)

Even during their last dance, Ryan and Lyssa were all smiles. I approve of the song choice, Michael Buble', if you don't know what I mean go down to February's posts!

It's time to go home everyone...... A very tired ringbearer!

The D.J. for the evening was Rob Sword of Sword Sounds, Kellie and Clint Day were the photography duo and the bride DIY her flowers from Thai-riffic orchids.

Congratulations Lyssa and Ryan!

Sarah and JP May 25, 2008

Sarah and JP and I have been planning together for just a year almost exactly. We began our planning together with a search for a venue. After looking at 9 venues, I do believe that Sarah picked exactly the right one. The wedding was flawless and couldn't have been better! Here is the first (sorry it's dark) picture of the happy couple! A large, very cooperative, great looking bridal party!

This was another wedding that I did the flowers for, Sarah is an interior designer and decided on a green, cream, and chocolate color scheme. It came out quite beautiful!

Below is one of the tall centerpieces, it had 3 small arrangements around the bottom.

My favorite piece of any wedding! It is an arch that was painstakenly made of curly willow, pussy willow, cymbidium orchids, dendrobium orchids, and hanging candles (and a little cement and wire) ;)

Both Sarah and JP had a lot of college friends at the wedding. The sorority sisters are here holding JP in the middle of that pile!

And here is Sarah with her girls.

Cutting the cake!

Sarah and JP decided not to do a garter toss, but there was quite a group of single girls lined up for the bouquet toss!

I must say that Sarah had a great collection of vendors. The ceremony was held at Faith Lutheran Church in Sarasota. Strings Attached played the touching and ecclectic assortment of music for the processional. The reception was at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota. The hotel was newly renovated and looks absolutely amazing! The catering staff was top notch and I could not have asked for anything better! They were truly on top of every detail. Limelight Photography was there to capture each image. D.J. was Rob Vollmar from Grant Hemond and Associates. I have to say one of the best D.J.'s that I have worked with! The dance floor was packed (literally- people were dancing on the carpet) all night. He talked when needed and didn't when he didn't!

Congratulations Sarah and JP for a job well done with your planning! Working with you was a complete pleasure!

Tracey and Jason May 24, 2008

Here Tracey and Jason share there first dance as husband and wife, they both looked completely lost in the moment.

Tracey and Jason rented a beachouse on Treasure Island (just north of St. Pete Beach) for a private beach ceremony and reception. I officiated the ceremony that was quick, meaningful,and painless. Angela was there to coordinate. The bridesmaids and the bride did the flowers, and for 2 florists, Angela and I had to say they did a great job!

Here is a shot of the beachouse that they rented. It was a neat venue and gave them a place to stay so they were ready for the ceremony.
I love this shot of the bridal party on the beach! Corey Conroy was the photograher, I hadn't worked with him before but he was a pleasure and did a great job catching memorable moments.

Tracey and Jason had a fun food wedding! They had apps, a buffet dinner, a fondue station, and late night snacks with an ice cream bar, nachos, and popcorn. While honestly the catering staff and d.j. had their multiple snafu's throughout the evening Angela and I were able to get them back on track and they had a great wedding. Congratulations Tracey and Jason!

Kathy and Brian May 17th, 2008

So first off, I am sorry that I am so dreadfully behind blogging weddings. I have had so many in May with many more at the flower shop! So on to Kathy and Brian. They were married at Venice Church of the Nazarene in my hometown of Venice and had their reception at the Jacaranda West Golf and County Club in Venice. Kathy, her Mom, and Mom's friend Tammy put many hours into planning and it showed. Kathy had one of the prettiest church weddings that I can remember and they put a ton of detail into the reception.
This was another wedding that Angela and I did the florals for. Angela put her "big and showy" talents to use on the centerpieces. It was a great wedding. Here are a few photos from the day.

Johanna and Aaron May 2, 2008

My next set of congratulations go to Johanna and Aaron, who were married
on Friday at the beautiful Don Cesar Beach Resort. Aaron is a lucky man
because his bride was absolutely stunning. This was a double wedding for
me as I coordinated and did the flowers, though I must give props to Angela
for help with the tall centerpieces and Elizabeth for help with the short
centerpieces. The rest was my labor of love.
{ a quick note to photographers on that one, he 3 times tried to lay the
bouquets on the floor or have the girls put them down in the sand- EEK!
A florist's nightmare. If I put his camera in the sand I am sure he would
feel as I did, appaled:) }

Sorry the pics aren't quite in order, bad blogger, anyway here are Johanna
and Aaron looking like they are having a great time. They were on the dance
floor almost the entire evening so props to them! D.J. was Frank Lebano.

Cake was by Publix and flowers from me. It was one of the most expensive
toppers I have made to date...
As I said, a little out of order- Mr. and Mrs. sharing their first dance

as husband and wife... P.S. loved her earrings!

Three fun designs to incorporate my fave color scheme of all time,

PINK & GREEN! Johanna let me have a little creative freedom on

these pieces and hopefully it paid off for her. I think they were pretty cool!

The bridal party was looking great in lime green and hot pink. The girls

all had dresses that suited them from the same designer. They looked great.

I loved Johanna's unique and fun design for the place cards. It was 2

canvases with coordinating ribbons that the cards hung on. Simple, fun,

and easy to make and utilize. She could use the boards later at home for photos.

I also loved her unique idea for the guest book! It was a "my publisher" album

that she made with pics of her and the groom that everyone signed. Something

they will actually like to look at later... Very cool.

Here a quick glimpse at the tall centerpieces...

So another couple ride off into the sunset, by the way the weather was perfect

and they had a beautiful sunset. Great job planning Johanna, it was a pleasure

and the wedding was beautiful!

Congratulations!