Sarah and Aaron's Professional Pictures

A quick update to the post below...there are some great teaser pics of Sarah & Aaron's wedding on the Root Photography blog. Check them out!
http://rootphotography.blogspot.com/

Sarah and Aaron's Gorgeous December Wedding

On December 19th, Sarah and Aaron were married at the Isla Del Sol Yacht and Country Club in St. Pete. I have worked with this couple from the beginning of their planning and it was so much fun to see it all come together. They live in Northern Virginia but were still very involved with planning the details of their day so their personal tastes were reflected. They are an amazing couple and the love they share is truly special.

The weather was a little chilly, but the sun was shining brightly and their outdoor ceremony was gorgeous! Dana Dineen decorated the gazebo with chiffon and an array of magnificent flowers. The pink flowers picked up the color of the bridesmaid dresses and the ties that the groomsmen wore. Sarah had a beautiful bouquet of pink peonies that were wrapped in material from her dress. She also wore a big pink peony in the back of her pretty up do which was done by the amazing Darla Stafford. Sarah's make-up was done by the wonderful Julissa of Beauty Brought Out. Sarah looked absolutely stunning and she did not stop smiling the entire day!

Here are some pictures I snapped during the ceremony!
Isla Del Sol has a wonderful private beach area that is ideal for wedding ceremonies!













Sarah & Aaron chose the private dining room for cocktail hour and their reception. The room has sweeping views of the inter coastal which all of the guests enjoyed! A Linen Valley provided the chair covers, sashes and table linens while Dana Dineen adorned the tables with breathtaking arrangements. Sarah put together adorable little jars of pink and brown M&M's that served as both place cards and favors.
Instead of a traditional guest book, the couple had a wish bowl where guests could write down marriage advice for the newly weds.

RJ Vida from Advanced Entertainment kept the crowd on the dance floor all night. This crowd really did dance the night away!!

Sarah and Aaron also provided transportation for their guests so that no one would have to worry about driving. Embassy Limos was on hand all day and night with a 36 passenger bus that took guests back and forth between Isla Del Sol and the Sirata Beach Resort. The guests really appreciated this and I think it was well worth it!

Nathan and Jensey Root from Root Photography were there to photograph this wonderful occasion. It was so nice to work with them and I can't wait to see the photos they captured! We hope to be able to share some of their professional photos in the near future!

Miranda and the Isla Del Sol banquet staff went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect and they were truly a pleasure to work with. They were very accomodating, friendly and provided excellant service to all of the guests. This is truly a hidden gem and a great location for weddings!!

Here are some more photos that I took of the details and the reception. Enjoy!

























Sarah and Aaron, it has been an honor to work with you over the last nine months planning your dream wedding. You were so much fun to work with and it was really nice getting to know you. You are a beautiful couple and your love for each other just glows! I wish you a lifetime of happiness together !!

December has been quite busy for us at Flawless. We've done some weddings, had some parties, met some new clients and vendors, but mostly importantly we have spent time with our families and friends which is what the holidays are all about. When we have some time soon, Beth will be sharing some great things on the blog and recapping what we've been up to this month.

We have had such an amazing year in 2009, getting to share in some beautiful weddings and events with our clients and becoming an award-winning company! We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and best wishes for 2010!

It's the little things...

A wedding planner has a lot of duties on the day of.... setting up, checking contracts, keeping the timeline, taking control of drunk family members who are requesting horrible songs for the DJ to play, etc. But perhaps one of the most important things we do is ease the mind of the bride as she gets ready on her wedding day.

Megan was one of my favorite brides and I loved working with her on all of the her wedding details. She hired great vendors and had everything planned out wonderfully, but when her big day came around, she still had some anxiety and nervous anticipation like many brides do.

She was getting ready at a separate location and wasn't able to be around to see the decor and all of her work come together. So on the day of her wedding as a way to make her feel better and show her that everything was under control and looking beautiful, I would take pictures on my cell phone and send them to her throughout the day. She was so thrilled every time I sent the pictures, it really made her feel more at ease and even more excited for the wedding day.

I had no idea these little picture texts I was sending were caught on camera, but here it is in this photo by Jason Angelini.

Black and White Winter Wedding Inspiration Board

Florida might not be the winter wedding capital of the world due to our year-round tropical climate, but some couples still envision that holiday wedding. When choosing a theme for your wedding, especially during the holidays, less is more in my opinion. You do not need to overdo it with the holiday decor to still create a winter feel.

A black and white color scheme looks great during any time of the year, however it really can create a beautiful and elegant winter wedding. Consider using lots of candles and white lights to warm up the room, along with white linens with black accents. The Alfred Angelo gown pictured in the board was actually worn by one of our former brides and it is very striking from the back with it's elaborate black train, but still remains somewhat traditional from the front with simple white beading. Your bridesmaids will love you if you choose a black dress, or allow them to choose their own black dress so there is more of an opportunity for them to wear it again. Having little accents of silver throughout will also add to that winter feel with sparkle and shine.

blackwhitewedding by Shawna Berger featuring 1928 jewelry

Fun Find Update: Personalized Ornaments part 2

So just a few hours ago I blogged about personalized wedding ornaments, and shortly after posting I received an email from one of our blog readers. Kristin shared what is now officially my favorite personalized ornament website, Calliope Designs. She has ordered from this website for years so they are obviously reputable - it's always great to get firsthand customer experience. Thank you so much for sharing this site with us, Kristin !! These are some of my favorite wedding ornaments, but just an FYI, they have tons of other categories like occupations, family, etc.

Fun Find: Personalized Ornaments

Yay!!! It's December, and holiday season is in full swing! If you are looking for the perfect gift for a newly engaged or married couple, or maybe you just want to get something nice for yourself to commemorate your own nuptials, check out these personalized bride and groom ornaments from Etsy.com (this website is so addicting, beware!). Since today is the first of December, it's time to start thinking about your holiday gifts if you haven't already or if you are like me and do not dare to venture to the mall on black Friday. These ornaments are from the Etsy sellers 2TwoPeas, Memesclay, and TheUrbanGarden.
Happy Shopping!

New Venue Alert

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! We had such great things happen over the past few days, with winning "The Best of the Knot" 2010 and booking several weddings in just a few days. I feel very blessed to have been brought into this (thank you Beth!!!).

Anyway, the week before Thanksgiving I dined at a fabulous new restaurant in Tampa called Brio. Brio is a Tuscan-inspired Italian restaurant with delicious food and a wonderful ambiance. It has white draping from the ceilings and columns, and rich colors of deep red and gold which give the restaurant a warm and elegant feel.

Brio has several banquet rooms on the second floor of the facility, many of which have their own outdoor terrace and lounge area. Some of the rooms have flat screen tv's (perfect for showing a dvd slideshow of photos or whatever you desire). The rooms can hold small parties or be opened up to hold large parties of over 150 guests. They are decorated so beautifully that you would need minimal additional decor, and their food prices are reasonable, which makes this a very budget-friendly venue without losing out on quality or ambiance. The attached outdoor terraces are perfect for cocktail hours prior to your event, or just a place to relax during. The staff is very attentive and the food is excellent. So if you are looking for a nice place to hold anything from a bridal shower luncheon to a holiday party to a rehearsal dinner to a wedding, check out the new Brio at International Plaza. We would love to help you plan an event there! For more information, including room layouts and banquet menu pricing, click here, or just email us and we will help you start your planning. Here are some photos of the event facilities sent to us from Tammy at Brio.

We are proud to announce that Flawless Occasions has been selected as "Best of the Knot" 2010!

I received a very exciting (and surprising!) phone call today from The Knot!! Flawless Occasions has been chosen by our brides to be ont he Best of the Knot 2010 list! We are excited and flattered that our brides have taken the time to rate our services, rave about us, and nominate Flawless Occasions for such a prestigious award!!
A great big heartfelt THANK YOU to all of our brides who contributed to the Knot surveys and ultimately helped us earn this honor.

For those not familiar with The Knot, it is a wonderful reference for wedding planning. They post tons of ideas, have lots of wedding planning tools, and have talk boards for brides to discuss their weddings, vendors and anything else related to the big day. They also have local boards where brides in a particular area (such as south west Florida) can talk about local resources.

In past years the Knot "Best Of" winners were all published in a magazine. In 2010, there will not be a magazine - but all winners will be published on the Knot on January 22, 2010. This link - http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/planning-a-wedding/articles/best-of-weddings-2008.aspx - will tell you more about how vendors are selected for this award. (It is not by who advertises with them, but completely based on bride feedback!)

THANK YOU again to our brides for your continued support, feedback and friendships! We are thrilled to have earned this honor while doing a job that we absolutely love!

Great Holiday Gift Idea for the Engaged Couple

Do you know someone who is getting engaged over the holidays or a Bride and Groom to be who would love some help with the wedding planning process??? We have the perfect gift for them!!

Flawless Occasions offers gift certificates for any denomination. The gift certificates can be used toward any Day of Coordination package or Planning Package. It is a gift that any engaged couple would absolutely love!

To find out more information, send an email to Beth at beth@flawlessoccasions.com or call us at 813-340-5108.

Brides Florida Event

Beth and I had such a great time at the Brides Florida event last night at the T. Pepin Hospitality Center. First of all, this venue is so cool. It is definitely not your average banquet hall - it's modern, beautiful, and artsy at the same time. Second of all, this event was fabulous. Ashly Olivier did a wonderful job putting on this event with Brides Florida magazine.

We had so much fun mingling with our friends in the wedding industry such as Shem and Carolina, a few of our favorite photographers, and Alexis, our friend from the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. We also got to try some amazing food from Puff N Stuff catering - as you can see I loved the flatbreads so much that I took a photo (I admit I am slightly obsessed with delicious food). We also were treated to entertainment by Black Violin, which I would describe as hip-hop-meets-orchestra. I love live music, and these guys put on quite a show. The awesome decor you will see in some of my photos was created by conceptbait and Botanica Florist. Linens by the Sea provided the beautiful specialty linens.

We are very appreciative to have been invited to such a fantastic event. It's really nice to be able to be a guest sometimes, and we were definitely pampered by these wonderful vendors. If only all of our Wednesday nights could be like this.... :)
Here are some fun pictures I took of the evening!

Holly and Ryan's Professional Pictures

In October, I posted about Holly and Ryan's Safety Harbor Wedding. Holly was an absolutely stunning bride! Shem from Blue Lane Photography did an amazing job capturing Holly's natural beauty and all the elegant details of Holly and Ryan's wedding day. We are so excited that Shem has given us permission to share some of her gorgeous photos!! (Also, check out Shem's website and blog to see more of her beautiful photos!)


























Congratulations once again to Holly and Ryan! You are a wonderful couple and we wish you a very happy life together!