Merry Christmas to you and yours!

I hope that all of you have had a wonderful and restoring day! I certainly did. I love this time of year! Maybe a little more this year because I wasn't chained to a workstation in a flower shop from mid November until today :) I did fill in at a VERY busy flower shop this past week and will be there again for New Year's and Valentines day (and probably more to come) so I got a reminder of what I am NOT missing working like crazy every holiday! But I do love to design so it was fun to get back to playing with flowers. I am enjoying my little break from teaching and can't wait for some upcoming weddings. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and A joyous New Year! See you in 2010! All of my brides and grooms will soon be able to say " I am getting married THIS year!" I know that is exciting!

Kiley and Matt Professional Pics

I had the pleasure of working with a Photographer new to me... Justin Demutiis of Justin Demutiis Photography.com his work is beautiful and he was a pleasure to work with. He has some stunning photos on his blog, that make mine look even more shabby... I will never have a career as a photographer! :)
Check them out here:
www.justindemutiisphotographyblog.com

Kiley and Matt, Nov. 21, 2009

On Saturday Kiley and Matt were married at Church of the Reedeemer in Downtown Sarasota. After the ceremony I could only think of the Sound of Music as the bells rang for quite some time announcing the new marriage! :) For the first time I worked with Justin DeMutiis and his assistant. He was a true pleasure to work with and the engagement photos were amazing! I can't wait to see the final portraits!

After the ceremony guests headed over to the Van Wezel for cocktail hour on the bay with Dan from Steel Pan Sounds, and into the gourgeous ballroom for dinner!
Bee Ridge Florist provided the lovely centerpieces, with my favorite Bells of Ireland and Circus roses. Michael's on East was the caterer and the service was top notch! They provided the gold chivari chairs and clear chargers with gold beading. Under the charger were circular gold menus. The favors were my favorite 2 choices rolled into one... The couple are avid pet adopters and chose to make a donation to an animal shelter close to their hearts, and represented that with delicious sugar cookies shaped like dog bones from their baker.

Affairs in the Air did some beautiful satin draping and uplighting which totally transformed the room! The bride and groom are enjoying the touching toasts!

The "lounge area" was so pretty!

My camera was acting up all night, but this shot still looks kind of cool with the special lighting that Felix the D.J. provided. The dance floor was packed right up until the end. Mom seen below in the black dress was on the dance floor all night and it was so cool to see how happy she was for her daughter!

Pastries by Design in Sarasota made the cake and the cookie favors, it was stunning! And yummy!

"All the single ladies..." There were quite a few!

This fairytale day for Matt and Kiley was made complete with a sparkler send-off and a surprise from Mom: A horse drawn carriage get-away to take the couple to the Hyatt.

I hope Matt and Kiley enjoyed the little surprises I left in their suite... Angela worked at the farmer's market earlier that day and brought me the best smelling roses to decorate their Honeymoon suite! :)
Congratulations Matt and Kiley! Your wedding day was wonderful and Angela and I had a great time helping you have your Dream Day!

5 and a half years already!

It is hard to believe that yesterday marked 5 1/2 years that Dream Day Productions has been helping brides and grooms to have dream weddings! Here are a few pictures I loved as I took a walk down memory lane...
Kendra featured below is about to have a baby any day now!

I love this shot from Kellie Day!

To mark this little piece of history in our company, any bride booking before Dec 14th, 2009 will be eligible for our 5 .5 year special pricing... 550.00! 2 coordinators will be 700.00. Both packages include 10 hours on the event day, unlimited email assistance, and 2 consultations in person. Travel for areas outside the established radius is 75.00 (one time fee) and rehearsals (when available) are 50.00.

Just a tip

Many times when you have an offsite caterer you are able to take any remaining food home with you. Great, if you have family staying in town, or a get-together the day after the wedding. Only problem, is that most caterers don't provide anything to put the food in. So be sure to ask to see if you need to bring a few disposable or Gladware type containers for extra food. You paid for it right? :)

Erin and Kyle October 17th, 2009

Erin and Kyle had a beautiful nautical themed wedding at the amazing Tampa Bay Watch Saturday. The wind had really picked up throughout the day, presenting some challenges, but overall it was a wonderful day.
Most of the family was from out of town so Travel Lovers Tours provided transportation for the couple's guests. The driver was great and he even was my Knight in Shining Armor as I was lost at midnight in Down Town St. Pete! More on that later... Erin's dress was beautiful with a lace halter and sheer train!

Cakes by Carolyn made the Delicious cake with raspberry filling. You can't see from the picture but in addition to the fan coral in the navy wedding color, were also little yellow fish! So cute!

Longboard Photography gathered everyone on the lawn after the first dance to get this group shot.

The lighting in this picture is a little weird, but honestly it was during Michael Jackson's Thriller, so it seems oddly appropriate! Man, could this crowd dance! The floor was packed the entire night with young and old dancing their hearts out! There was even and old school dance off! James King from Grant Hemond and Associates did an outstanding job!

Each of the bridesmaids wore a different Navy dress and they all looked amazing! I love that color, it flattered each of them, and having each choose their own dress made them all look great!

The flowers were made by the bride's sister and were in blues, whites, and yellows, they looked great and the freesia smelled amazing! Rev. Virginia Bishop was the officiant and the bride surprised the groom with a cigar roller during the cocktail hour. Overall it was a great day and it was a pleasure to work with Erin and Kyle on their special day, they were so laid back and obviously in love!

Now for my wonderful end to the evening... being lost was completely the fault of me and Mapquest... I had offered to drop the couple's things from the wedding at their vacation rental. I got directions from the internet and was on 7th Ave in St. Pete, down by the Vinoy and the Pier, for over an hour, trying to find the house number in the dark. I asked the neighbors I saw walking dogs and was told that the numbers skip around at every cross street but there was such a number... finally in desperation I called the poor shuttle driver at midnight and he was my savior!

I was supposed to be on 7th Ave in St. Pete Beach- not far from where I started... oops! I did find it finally and all's well that end's well!

Britton and Steve Oct 3rd, 2009

On October 3rd I had the pleasure of seeing Britton and Steve get married. The Best Man and Maid of Honor said it best in their toasts, they are simply great people! Britton's laughter lights up a room! She was actually a co-worker at the flower shop for a while, now she is finishing her education to become an RN. I did meet Britton and Steve long before I knew who they were when I did the flowers for her now sister-in-law, and Steve's sister a few years ago. It was great to see Kari and Dirk at the wedding yesterday and see how their family of 2 has grown to a family of 4! :)

Britton chose the beautiful Crosley mansion for her backdrop, and the mocha colored bridesmaids dresses were so pretty! Her colors were buttercream, green, and mocha. Lovely!
To make the ceremony so persnal, Britton's aunt officiated the ceremony.

Affairs in the Air created a beautiful look for the ceremony and later the dancefloor with the hanging lanterns. So cool!

Lynn Morris, who Britton found through Nellie's was the photographer. Look at the beautiful sky right after sunset! Crosley has such an amazing view!

Britton had a cute candy buffet, of old fashioned candies. Please follow her example and don't buy too much, a little goes a long way! Interspersed through the dessert room were old wedding pictures from the couple's famillies. In the dinner room were pictures from Britton and Steve as children. It made it so personal, it was "her house" for the day!

This was after many guests had already enjoyed the cupcake table. Let me tell you, this was the best cake I have had in a loooong time- cupcake or not! Delicious! Cup Cakes A Go-Go in Sarasota created the adorable and yummy cupcakes!

I apologize I didn't get a picture of the Bride and Groom's cupcakes before they were wrapped to go, they were amazing!

The partied till the very last minute when they had to jump on the trolley for home.

The beautiful flowers were from Addington's and the D.J. was Lazarus Fernandes.

Congratulation Britton and Steve! I am so happy for you!

Getting back into the swing of things!

So this summer has certainly come to an end on a busy note! Fall begins tomorrow, I always know that one because it is also my birthday... I have been teaching for 5 weeks now and I love it! I also have been having meetings with my fall brides and soon you will see some new wedding postings. I am excited for one of the next weddings- it was a designer at Addington's who is tying the knot in just few days! Below are some pictures from my star themed 1st grade classroom for anyone that is interested. I am back to taking bookings and I look forward to hearing from you!

Job Board

My front door

View of the front of the room, it was still unfinished. Note the clock sitting on my stool...

My behavior board.

My newest chapter in my life!!

So some of you may know that I have been working on finding a teaching job for some time. It took me 10 years to get my degree as I worked full time and was raising a daughter for part of that as well. I had always had the goal, long before children, that I would be teaching before my child would start school so that I would have the same schedule as my kids. Well, I was becoming more and more depressed as the days ticked by... Madison starts kindergarten August 24th.... Back in April I finally had my first teaching interview. The position was not for sure going to be filled, so I waited patiently (well not really...) and got a call Wednesday asking if I could come interview again on Friday. I did, and waited anxiously the rest of the day for the call back. They said they would make a decision that day as their school begins on Aug 17th!

So you may have guessed from the title of this blogpost--------I got the job!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am now a first grade teacher at a Private school, just as I always wanted, and before Madison starts Kindergarten. Can I just say how awesome it is to fulfill such a long term goal????? God does answer prayers, just not always on our schedule! (But sometimes He does!!!)

So what does this mean?
Well for me=
- I start Monday morning at the school getting my classroom ready for Meet the Teacher on Tuesday! School starts the following Monday!
- I also have a kindergartener to get off to school!
- I am also starting a Girl Scout Troop for my daughter that needs to get going!
- I am a first year teacher, in a new grade-level for the school, so plenty of kinks to work out, right?
For my Brides=
-As of Friday I no longer work at Addington's Florist. Some of you that have inquired about bookings there I have already talked to about this possibility.
-For bride's booked there currently, there is NO CHANGE... I am still going to be connected to the shop for your bridal work.
- My current bride's will probably notice that for 2 weeks or so as I settle into this huge change in my life that my contact is a little slower than usual, I also will not have access to the computer all day as I did before, so I will get your answers as soon as possible, I promise!
- For prospective brides, I can no longer take bookings on Fridays.
-Current Friday weddings will be factored in to my schedule and nothing changes.
- Current Friday rehearsals are not be affected. New Friday rehearsal bookings will be made as I am able.
-Dream Day Productions is still in business and I will be taking new bookings after September 15th. I need a few weeks to get organized and readjusted.
-Lastly, I must postpone the Bride's Summit, as this is no longer a "quiet time" for me! As you can see from the information above!

I hope that as the end of the summer draws near you are all doing well! If you have questions please feel free to email me!

The Chuppah girl visits Sanibel Island

On Sunday July 5th I traveled down to Sanibel Island to Casa Ybel for the wedding of Todd and Carolyn. I was so nervous about the beach ceremony becuase we haven't had the best weather lately, but it was lovely out!
The Thistle lodge is so charming!

So here is the illustrious Chuppah in all its glory. I tediously hand stitched a cover for the Chuppah and now it is available for rental. I do think it came out pretty well! I would also love to see it with greenery and some floral on the front corners....

The very first person I spotted when I arrived at Casa Ybel was Jason Angelini. I felt bad for him so far from home with his baby so far past her due date. Luckily she held out for a few days and he was safe! She is adorable and home healthy by the way... Here I stole one of his posed shots :)

This was a beautiful bit of sky I shot from the car on the way home over the Causeway leading off Sanibel.

Until next time...

Orlando Vacation

I hope all of you blog watchers are enjoying your summer and hopefully finding a little time for R & R. I am taking full advantage of the summer being the least popular wedding season in Florida to sneak in a few days off here and there. Seems like from September through June I am go, go, go with weddings for Dream Day Productions and Addington's Florist, sometimes both at the same time.

Hope you enjoy a few pictures from my recent tript o Orland with my daughter and my 2 oldest nieces. We had a blast but came home very tired! I need a vacation from my vacation!

At the Hanes Make a Tee store at Downtown Disney, it is new and really cool!

We had to try on all the silly hats...

I never get tired of looking at Cinderella's castle, especially dressed up in color at night.

Have a happy 4th of July everyone!

My adorable daughter

My daughter Madison is a total Ham! So for a Father's Day surprise I took her to a few different locations for a Modeling session. I then used the pictures for a storybook on Shutterfly. I haven't received the final product ( I know we are late, Daddy saw the online preview) but it was a super easy program to do and I loved all the different layout options. It would be great for making a parents album or a guestbook for your wedding, using engagement or photos from your courtship.
Below are a few from the 150 pictures I took. I will say that I have even more respect for the photographers I work with, especially ones that do lots of kids! Her Daddy is a huge superman fan so she wore her Supergirl Dress and cape for some of the shots, as well as the feather boa I got for her a the Chonda Pierce comedy concert and the everpresent princess tiara~ It's a bird, it's a plane, it's SUPERMADDY!

Me and my girl!

It was rainy and windy so the hair was not soo good... the sky was really cool though!

Umbrella shots are great for rainy wedding days too! Get them at the Dollar store and have the whole bridal party assemble under umbrellas, super cute shot!

Look at that stormy sky, good thing Supergirl is on the case!

See you back on the blog soon!

The last one is one of my favorites.. I just told her to pose and this is what I got! :)