2009 Just Marry! Favorite Wedding Ideas and Vendors from A to Z, L is for Lee Forrest Design

Love Lee Forrest Design.  Wow, is all I can say about Lee.  Talented and just one of the coolest people in the industry.  I truly love hanging out with him as a friend.  I must do that more often.  Talent wise, he’s so creative and just one of a kind.  I am always so over the moon with his designs.  He makes me look so amazing when I refer him.  After all, I’m only as good as the team that I put together.

It was just last year that I was looking to Lee to assist me with really jazzing up a room when a local country club double booked the ballroom and we had to move into a much smaller room.  Lee and his staff came through with flying colors.

Here’s some samples of that wedding:

http://www.halwade.com

http://www.halwade.com

http://www.halwade.com

http://www.halwade.com

And a picture of Lee:

And here’s some amazing decor that he did for us when we partnered together for the Ritz-Carlton, Orlando Grande Lakes show.

http://www.damontucci.com

http://www.damontucci.com

http://www.damontucci.com

http://www.damontucci.com

2008 Favorite Wedding Ideas and Vendors from A to Z, J is for Jesus Rodriguez and Raining Roses

J is Jesus Rodriguez and Raining Roses. The genius himself along with his design associate Chris Giglio really can do anything. They design weddings with floral chandeliers and bar mitzvahs with halloween and soccer themes. I just don’t know where the ideas come from, but they never seem to run out! Thank goodness. They can also cover dance floors and place gorgeous custom designs and logos on them. Here’s also to never forgetting Jesus’s partner and Chris’s good friend, Jonathon Panczuk who brought Raining Roses to Orlando along with Jesus. We miss him and I assure you that we think about him often and remember the fun banter and the beautiful decor that he brought to our lives.

Here’s some of the amazing events that Raining Roses has done throughout the years:

http://www.davidwillems.com

http://www.damontucci.com

http://www.damontucci.com

http://www.nuvisionsinphotography.com

http://www.sterlingphotography.com

2008 Favorite Wedding Ideas & Vendors from A to Z – C is for The Collection!

Yes, C is for The Collection, located in Winter Park.  Right on Park Avenue.  So convenient for doing a bit of wedding dress shopping and then hitting the wine bar or one of the many wonderful restaurants on Park Ave.

I am moving up on 11 years in this crazy wedding biz and Millie and her beautiful store have been around the entire time.  The Collection has some of the most elegant gowns you will find in the Orlando area.  And you can expect to be treated like family in this store.  What better way to shop for that gown you will wear for that all important event, the wedding ceremony.  And this shop is not just about wedding gowns, but bridesmaids dresses, mother’s gowns and flower girl attire.  They carry gowns from some of the most talented designers in the world.

Vera Wang

Monique Lhuillier

Reem Acra

Lazaro

And many of our brides are happy customers.  Here are some of our beautiful brides in their gowns from The Collection.

Sarah Katta at the JW Marriott, courtesy of nu visions in photography

Emily Hayes at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes, courtesy of Damon Tucci

Terri Oster at Jekkyl Island, courtesy of Karla Fountain

Nicole Gravenmeir at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes, courtesy of nu visions in photography

A Truly Meaningful Wedding – My Friends Art & Lana

Art & Lana

What can I say about them? They are perfectly matched for each other. This proving that it’s never too late to find true love. They did! And now they’re hitched, as of July 19th 2008. Congratulations my dear friends. Art being one of the people I’ve known the longest in the biz and Lana is part of our girls night group. The best friends a girl can have.

I was so lucky to be included as a guest at this intimate celebration. And of course I had to offer a bit of help. I know that my good friend Susie Weiss with Wonderful Weddings truly would have loved to help and to be there to see this couple get married. After all, Susie helped them get together. Unfortunately, Susie and Jeffrey already had a wedding that day at the lovely Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes. So, I did what I could to help make sure things were organized and was even smart enough to bring along some extra help in my talented associate, Sally Jarvis with Just Marry! With her there, I was able to relax and have fun at Art & Lana’s wedding.

They really made it their wedding. You could say that they put the Art & Lana stamp on it. Here are just a few of the special touches they chose to incorporate into their special day:

Keeping their event casual and intimate. Sun dresses for the ladies and guys in pants and casual tropical shirts. Not a suit to be found. And they only included their family and close friends. Which made it a truly love filled evening. Everybody celebrating Art & Lana and their marriage to each other.

Seeing each other before the ceremony to do some romantic pictures. This always helps to take some of the tension of the wedding day away.

Having the cocktail hour before the ceremony and having a specialty cocktail. A Mojito none the less. The perfect Florida cocktail for a hot day. Refreshing.

Including their dogs, Smitty and Nick in their ceremony and giving them lovely floral decor for their collars.

Including their grand-daughter and niece in the ceremony. The processional was beautiful with the girls and then Art & Lana being walked by the pups.

Writing their own vows. Now, I was already crying from seeing them off down the aisle, but all of us girls really turned on the water works when they read their personally written vows. It was so obvious to all of us how much they love and adore each other. This is one couple that will certainly stand the test of time. Precious.

The homemade limoncello that Art had been cultivating since December. It was included as a shot with the melon and prosciutto.

The surprise from Susie. She had hired the beautiful antique Rolls Royce owned by Larry Gerry for the departure. And they left to sparklers of course. Always the best pictures with those.

Here are some of the gorgeous photos shot by Art’s talented photography team,

Here’s some of our girls night group. Those of us who were able to attend. We missed you Bonnie, Faye & Jennifer. Pictured below from left to right are Susan Southerland from Just Marry!, myself, Janine Boylan from the Grand Bohemian Orlando Hotel, Lisa New with BBJ Linen, Stephanie Rounds of nu visions in photography, Lana and Lisa Konecny from E Events.

The happy couple!

Here’s some of Lana’s beautiful decor. You can visit her at Fairbanks Florist.

Such a silly couple

The vendors that assisted Art & Lana with their beautiful wedding were,

Ceremony & Reception site, Casa Feliz located in Winter Park

Family vacation rentals, Villas by Christi

Hair & Makeup, Kari Larsen with About Face

Bride’s Jewelry, Sandi Loychik

Officiant, Judge Rom Powell

Decor, Fairbanks Florist

Photography, Art Faulkner Photography courtesy of Neal Sands

Catering, Arthur’s Catering

Ceremony Music, J.R. Krisanda

Reception Music, Danny with Power Entertainment

Transportation, Larry Gerry with Classic Rolls Royce

Honeymoon Location, Grand Bohemian Orlando by Janine Boylan

A trip to Denver & Bachelor Gulch

I’m getting so excited and just wanted to share with all of you. Jeffrey and I leave today to head out to Denver for a week. I’m on vacation, relaxing and enjoying myself. My Jeffrey has to work some. He is shooting some video for the Ritz-Carlton in Denver and then also participating in another Down the Aisle Wedding Show with one of our best friends Lisa Konecny from E-Events. Lisa did this show at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes last year and now she’s taking it national. I’m so excited for her. Austin Scarlett from Season 1 of Project Runway will also return for this show.

After the show, Jeffrey and our good friends Scott and Kristy Chenell are heading off to the Ritz-Carlton in Bachelor Gulch. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this property, it is located near the Beaver Creek and Vail resorts. It’s very near to where I love to ski in Beaver Creek. It will be so weird to be up in the mountains with no snow, but we plan to enjoy the outdoors by horseback riding and hiking. We will return for the next ski season, so that Jeffrey can finally try his hand at skiing or snowboarding.

I’m so looking forward to to this trip and the fact that I’m not working! As some of you may know, Susan from Just Marry! is currently in Italy coordinating a wedding along with two of our other best friends from nu visions in photography, Curt and Stephanie. So, it will be nice to get away, because I’m dying that I’m not in Italy. Jeff and I love Italy and can’t wait to go back. Our favorite city is Venice!

Hope everybody had a fab & fun 4th of July! I’ll be back in touch when I return to the office on Tuesday, July 15th.

Impress, Indulge, Inspire at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes

It was an honor for Just Marry! to participate in the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes most recent wedding show. This show had the top planners and decor designers in the area featured. The planners involved were Susie Weiss with Wonderful Weddings and Lisa Konecny with E Events. And truly the creme de la creme of the floral designers in Orlando, Lee Forrest Design, Greenery Productions, Lee James of Grande Lakes Floral, Raining Roses, Flourish and Botanica.

The evening began with couples networking with some of the Ritz’s preferred vendors, Damon Tucci, John Unrue, Jeffrey Stoner and nu visions. Beautiful Music played some lovely background music during this meet and greet time. We planners and floral designers were in the ballroom putting the finishing touches to the tables. Each planner was able to do at least 3 guest tables. Just Marry! chose to do 4. We have to thank Lee Forrest for providing the beautiful decor and design ideas. It was great fun working with him. He is extremely talented. BBJ Linen provided us with the beautiful linens (table linens, napkins, chair pads) and PKS Rental provided us with the mahogany, black and white chiavari chairs that helped to finish off our tables. Our fourth table was added a bit later in the game and Stephanie Rounds with nu visions in photography suggested that we use some glass sculptures from Keila Glassworks located in the City Arts Factory in downtown Orlando. This made for a clean, modern look for our final table. Once all of the table designs were complete, the doors to the ballroom were opened and the guests entered and visited the various table designs before finding their designated spot at the beautiful tables. We had an amazing meal. Following was the official menu of the evening,

Appetizer

Duo of Dumpling Squash

Ravioli with Nutmeg Froth and Bisque with Vanilla Cream

&

Gulf Coast Crab Gnocchi

Fiddlehead Ferns and Corn

Basil Foam

Salad

Layers of Baby Greens

Pumpkin and Chevre Cheese Cake

Cranberry Orange Vinaigrette

Gingerbread Tuile

&

Layers of Baby Greens

Gorgonzola Wellington, Spicy Walnuts

Strawberry Rhubarb Vinaigrette

Entrée

Grilled Filet Mignon

Potato and Celery Root Puree

Spaghetti Squash, Jumbo Asparagus

Red Wine Jus

&

Cashew Crusted Halibut “Summer Roll”

Purple Thai Rice, Enoki Mushrooms

Preserved Ginger and Green Tea Broth

Dessert

Chef to Prepare

Chocolate Tart with Burnt Marshmallow

Flambéed Bananas, Espresso Ice Cream

&

Chef to Prepare

Lemon Curd Crepes

Grand Marnier Strawberries

Coconut Sorbet

All I can say is yummy! I’m such a foodie and this was so delicious. I especially loved the fiddlehead ferns. The dinner courses were also paired with some wonderful wines. Starting with one of Susan’s and my favorite wines, Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. It really was a treat for anybody invited to the show as Arthur Murray Dance Studio performed to the wonderful stylings of the Ricky Sylvia with the Buzzcatz. This band is truly one of the best around! The evening ended with the couples being able to chat with the various A-1 vendors in attendance and enjoy some delectable desserts and after dinner drinks. It is always a pleasure to do a wedding at the Ritz-Carlton. Truly one of my favorite venues in the city! Following please see our table top displays, provided by our amazing sponsors. Thank you again to Lee Forrest! A true artistic talent. The following images were provided by Damon Tucci where noted and nu visions in photography. Thanks guys for the beautiful images.