A Sweet Thank You from a Great Groom :)

Beth is out of town for a few days but I just had to post this sweet, sweet review from one of our most recent clients.

We love our couples, especially when they are so appreciative of our hard work. Sharee and Daniel were no exception...they were so grateful the entire day and Beth and Christina really enjoyed making their special day a success. I only worked with Sharee and Daniel in the beginning but even with the small amount I contributed to their wedding, they were still thankful which just goes to show how wonderful they are. We often get sweet notes and emails from our brides, and we've had a few grooms post reviews as well, but Daniel's is so kind and special that I had to post it here. You know how much wedding planners love details...and his review is full of them! Thank you so much Daniel (and Sharee) for this review, we are so glad you were happy with our work and that you loved your flawless wedding.

Shawna, Beth and Christina of Flawless Occassions made us feel like a special couple from the very beginning. Our initial meeting began with a fantastic overview of what levels of planning they could provide for us. Even though we selected the Day Of Package, the trio were an integral part in our planning efforts. We were able to ask them for ideas on vendors and they provided us with their recommendations. Their knowledge of vendors and ability to give us insight into the world of wedding planning made the selection of quality vendors easy and left us feeling confident leading up the wedding day.

A few days prior to the wedding, we sat down with Beth to discuss the day of the ceremony. Beth had reviewed with us the many items that were needed for the rehearsal dinner and actual wedding day. Her list of items to review identified numerous things that we had not thought about; which meant that we were able to solve them before the wedding day! Thank goodness! Beth contacted all of our vendors to make sure that all the vendors were lined up for the wedding day, which alleviated one of the many things we were working on for the day. Even prior to the wedding day, Beth was coming up with solutions to items, Flawless Occasions was able to suggest a violinist for the wedding.

On the actual wedding day, Beth and Christina made the day perfect. Beth and Christina were there at every moment in the day to handle any issues. My fiancee's hairdresser had a mix-up and Beth was all over solutions. At one point, my fiancee had a moment where she needed a bobby pin, BAM! Beth and Christina had a whole roll of bobby pins (That's how prepared they were).
The violinist worked great. They made sure that everyone was relaxed and enjoying the actual day! During the reception, anything that I needed was taken care of (at one point, I asked for a glass of water, and Ta-Da! it was done).
My wife is saying that this review is going a bit long; so to make a long testimonial short, choose Flawless Occasions. They made our day great and we are sure they can do it for you.

Don't forget, if you would like to see more reviews, please visit our page on weddingwire.com!

Sharee and Daniel's Tampa Palms Country Club Wedding

On April 10th, Cristina and I had the honor of coordinating Sharee and Daniel's Tampa Palms Country Club wedding. This was our first wedding at Tampa Palms and it was a wonderful venue! Sharee and Daniel's ceremony took place on the veranda which overlooks the golf course. Since the veranda is covered and has ceiling fans, the guests were able to enjoy the shade on this beautiful sunny day. The guests were also treated to the beautiful music of violinist, Levi Mitz.

Pastor Mark Wood did a wonderful job officiating the ceremony for this special couple as they were surrounded by family and friends. The scenery at Tampa Palms is absolutely stunning, so photographer Carolina Araujo and her second shooter, Esther Louise, were excited to be able to take all of the after ceremony shots on the lush Tampa Palms grounds. I really enjoyed working with Carolina again and meeting Esther and I can't wait to share some of their professional photographs!!

The cocktail hour took place in the courtyard so the guests were able to truly enjoy the gorgeous weather! After coctails and scrumptious hors d'oeuvres, the guests moved indoors (just a few steps away) to the ballroom where they enjoyed a wonderful dinner and dancing.
Fishhawk Florist created very unique centerpieces that went perfectly with the simple but elegant design of Sharee and Daniel's wedding. Alessi Bakery
designed an amazing cake that had chocolate branches with real orchids. It was not only great to look at, but it was delicious too!

Sharee and Daniel are surrounded by so many wonderful people. Everyone danced the night away because the DJ Mike Mello from Frank Lebano & Company really knew how to rock the house! This crowd could really dance!!

There were so many personal touches that really made this wedding unique to Sharee and Daniel and the love they share. My favorite was their card box which was a vintage suitcase with stickers from their travels together. Another detail I loved was their guestbook - Daniel proposed to Sharee at a castle in Germany, so they used a photo book from that castle as their guestbook.

Sharee and Daniel are such a cute, kind, genuine, and loving couple - the kind that you can look at and tell that they are obviously madly in love. They are truly lucky to have found one another and to be surrounded by so much love and support from their family and friends. There is no doubt that they will have a very happy marriage together!

A quick shout out to Janelle who referred this amazing couple to us! Thanks Janelle!!!! We really appreciate you putting in a good word for us and connecting us with Sharee & Daniel!

I also wanted to thank Christina, my assistant coordinator, for all her hard work! She did an amazing job - including knocking on just about every door in the Tampa Palms hotel to find Sharee's Mom so she wouldn't miss Sharee stepping into her wedding gown!

Sharee and Daniel - Thank you for hiring Flawless Occasions to coordinate your wedding day. Christina and I had so much fun working with you both and being a part of your big day! Welcome back from your Aruba honeymoon!

Here are some (okay, actually there are a lot!!!) of the pictures I took from Sharee and Daniel's wedding! Enjoy!!









Ready for the ceremony!



The ceremony was full of smiles, laughter and tears of joy...






I loved Sharee's purple shoes!!!!


What a fun crowd!! Such gorgeous views at Tampa Palms too!




Cocktail hour and reception...

Bellair Beach Bridal Show and a Fresh Face at Flawless

We took advantage of a weekend in April without a wedding to participate in a bridal show at the brand new Bellair Beach Community Center. Much like the Clearwater Beach Rec Center or the Davis Island Garden Club, this reasonably priced venue is a blank slate with a prime waterfront location. A few additional pluses are the plasma screens in the room (perfect for showing a slideshow of photos), the private beach area, a wall of windows overlooking the bay, an attached patio great for a cocktail hour, and the ample free parking attached to the facility. This is definitely going to become a very popular venue!

We had a wonderful time at this bridal show seeing some of our favorite vendors and meeting new ones. The I-Do Bridal shows are all organized by Debbie of DD's Blooms, a florist we enjoy working with. We actually won a raffle to be in the next bridal show for free, so we'll let you know when that one is going to be. Also, there was someone else new at this bridal show -- our new assistant coordinator, Christina! Here are a few photos from the show, and a short bio about Christina at the bottom.















Our Flawless table decor and candy buffet!
















































A beautiful cake by Olympia Catering





































A beachy blue food display by Visual Delights

















Delectables had a delectable display, of course!




















It was great to see Michelle from Paper Players again. She did the invitations and programs for one of our May brides!













Here is one of the beautiful designs by DD's Blooms at the show





























The ladies of Flawless Occasions...


Introducing our new assistant coordinator, Christina! Christina joined Flawless Occasions this spring and she comes to us with several years of experience relevant to the wedding industry. She previously was employed at the Hunter's Green Country Club and she was also a fine jewelry consultant for 6 years. She is not only bringing some great experience to Flawless Occasions, but she also has some wonderful talents. Christina is skilled in embroidering and monogramming - she can create your wedding monogram and personalize any items you are interested in from t-shirts to hoodies to his and hers towels. She also loves to create personalized wedding favors and ceremony and reception items. Christina is a graduate of the University of South Florida and an avid Bulls fan, as well as the mother of two beautiful twin daughters.

What's better than 2 Flawless blondes...? THREE! Welcome Christina!

Bold Bridal Party Patterns

I have a confession to make... ever since Monica got married on "Friends", I have had a secret obsession with patterned bridesmaid dresses. Several years later, I still love that look!

Who says bridesmaid dresses have to be solids? I personally love the look of a patterned bridal party. It brings a whimsical and fun element to the overall style, and it's perfect for those spring and summer Florida weddings! More and more bridal designers are coming out with patterned bridemaids dresses, including David's Bridal, Alfred Angelo, Dessy, and Mori Lee, among others. But another great thing about going the non-traditional route for bridesmaids dresses is that you can get them in non-traditional places. Consider looking at stores like BCBG, White House Black Market, J. Crew, and even your local department store. Not only can you find a great deal and possibly save your friends money, but you will also be giving them a unique look by making a statement with their style. They may even be able to wear the dresses again which is an added bonus.

I've posted some inspiration photos to help you make your bridesmaids a little bolder this wedding season. As you can see, a patterned bridesmaid dress can be either casual and cute or formal and elegant. There are so many options out there, so have fun shopping! I added a few photos for the guys as well because we want them to look good, too! :)
(photos by Dessy, Brooke Schwab Photography, and TheKnot.com)