Candace and Tom's Elegant Affair

On October 16th, Candace and Tom exchanged vows at Saint Paul's Catholic Church in St Pete. After the ceremony, the guests headed over to the Tradewinds Resort to celebrate.

About 240 guests shared in the celebration and I think that every one of them stayed on the dance floor enjoying the great music played by DJ Joe Lorenzo from Expert Productions. This crowd really knew how to have a good time!
The room look magnificent with pink uplighting, black linens with fuchsia accents (from A Linen Valley)and gorgeous centerpieces by Dana Dineen.

Candace and Tom really had some wonderful things planned for their guests. Natalie from Chic Sweets created a fabulous candy buffet which was a huge hit! They also had Cigar Rollers from Nicacabana Cigars, baskets full of flip flops so people could dance the night away and fun props for the dance floor. The guests really enjoyed themselves!

They also had a cake from Publix which was as beautiful as it was delicious. The cake table was adorned with rose petals, votives and pictures of Candace and Tom's parents on their wedding days.

Carrie Wildes Photography was there to capture all the special moments and details. In fact, here are some of Carrie's amazing photos from the day!

Candace and Tom - you truly are a very special couple and it was an honor to be part of your day! We wish you both a happily ever after!






























Thank you Carrie for all the great photos!!!

Happy Veterans Day and a Sneak Peak

In honor of Veterans Day, here is a sneak peak of one of our latest newlyweds, Desiree and Trey, from Erin of Memories by Erin Leigh. We give many thanks to our past veterans and current soldiers, including Trey, for your service to our country. Happy Veterans Day!

More from this sweet beach ceremony to come...

Stacy and Paul Tie The Knot

On October 15th, Stacy and Paul were married in a beautiful ceremony at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Dunedin. Stacy and her bridesmaids carried gorgeous bouquets from DD'S Blooms and looked amazing in their gowns.

By coincidence, the church was having their fall festival the same day as Stacy and Paul's wedding. After the ceremony, their photographer Kimberly from Kimberly Photography was able to take them to the fair and capture some fun photos on the ferris wheel.

While Stacy and Paul were taking pictures, the guests headed over to the Marriott Suites on Sand Key for cocktail hour on the pool deck. Daniel Giron played guitar as the guests enjoyed appetizers and cocktails. The weather was gorgeous!

The reception was held in the ballroom at the Marriott. RJ Vida and his crew provided the gobo on the dance floor and the blue uplighting. The lighting really added a unique ambiance to the room. Grant Hemond DJ Tim LaVechia got the crowd on the dance floor and Shutterbooth provided a fun memento for guests. The candy buffet was a huge hit and the cake from Chef Nelson was scrumptious!

Stacy and Paul spent almost a year taking dance lessons so they could surprise their friends and family with a choreographed first dance. Paul and Stacy had another big surprise for their guests too. After dinner Stacy changed to a knee length gown and the newly weds took the dance floor to do a swing dance. They did a fantastic job and the guests were truly wowed. Thank goodness Ian from Movie Magic Productions was there to capture it on video!

The guests really enjoyed the fun surprises, the personal touches and the delicious food. Desiree and the rest of the Marriott staff did a wonderful job taking care of the guests.

Stacy and Paul, I really enjoyed being a part of your special day! I wish you both a lifetime of love and happiness.

Kimberly did a beautiful slide show of pictures from the day that you can check out on her blog. .

I also snapped some photos during the day which are posted below. Enjoy!

Shannon & Corey's Westshore Yacht Club Wedding

On October 9th, Shannon Fitzpatrick and Corey Holthaus said "I DO"! I met Shannon only a fewshort weeks before her wedding and from the moment we met I knew she was going to be a lot of fun to work with. I was so excited to be her Day of Coordinator.

Shannon's vision for her wedding would best be described as sophisticated fun! Their wedding took place at the beautiful Westshore Yacht Club in Tampa. The venue had such an amazing presence. From the moment you walked in, you could see the breathtaking views of the water, the spiral staircase leading up to the cocktail area, and then into the stunning ballroom with more magnificent views.

As the wedding was ready to start and I opened the doors for Shannon to begin her walk down the aisle and become a Mrs., she looked absolutely glamorous. She was calm and was as ready as ever to see her groom.

Shannon and Corey exchanged vows out on the Marina Side pool deck. It was the perfect backdrop for the outdoor ceremony. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and there was just a slight breeze in the air. Their photographer, Jessica Leigh, was there to capture all of their wedding day moments and turn them into memories they will have and can share forever.

As the photographer took Shannon, Corey, and the bridal party out for pictures, the guests were invited to head upstairs for cocktail hour. To get things going, guests walked up to the 2nd floor and were greeted with high top tables, a full bar, white glove butler service, and the Daniel B. Marshall Band. Once the newlyweds had returned from taking pictures they joined their guests during the cocktail hour were then escorted into the banquet room where their DJ, RJ Vida, got the party started.

Shades of chocolate and pink were delicately scattered throughout the ceremony and reception. The floral arrangements and bouquets were done by Apple Blossoms. Shannon chose soft pink and white gerbera daisies for her centerpieces and to add soft touches around the banquet room. Shannon and Corey decided on cupcakes instead of the traditional cake. They elicited the help of The Cupcake Spot to design their scrumptious dessert.

The couple was an absolute dream to work with. Their wedding date was pretty special for me as well because it was my 5 year anniversary. Shannon and Corey ended up giving me the best gift ever…they asked the DJ to make a announcement to wish me a happy 5th anniversary and out of no where my husband appears and they start playing our first dance song from our wedding!!! I mean, are you kidding me? They had this planned for over 2 weeks!

At the end of the night, Shannon and Corey (and several friends as well) decided to end the evening with a splash…literally. They counted to three and jumped into the pool fully dressed in their wedding gown and tux! It was a refreshing way to end the night. It was such a great way to end the evening.

Not only was this wedding special because it was my first wedding I was planning solo and I would now share a wedding anniversary with the amazing couple but also because I can now call Shannon and Corey my friends. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to be a part (literally) of their special day.

Photo Feature: Larissa and Derek by Jerry McGaghey

We can't wait for Larissa and Derek's wedding at the Crosley Mansion in Sarasota next month! They are such a fun couple and their wedding is going to be so beautiful.
We also can't wait to work with photographer Jerry Mcgaghey again. He recently shared with us some of Larissa and Derek's engagement photos taken around the University of Tampa and downtown, and as usual we were so impressed by his unique and modern style. Here are some of my favorite photos from their session!

A Sweet Safari Baby Shower

Last weekend while Beth and Christina were busy with 2 weddings, I traveled down to Miami to create a baby shower for my best friend, Marty. She wanted a jungle/safari themed shower to reflect her and her husband's love of animals. I surprised her with a candy buffet favor table for her 35 guests which also highlighted the beautiful 2-tiered animal print cake made my Candy's Sweets and Treats. The cake was delicious and Candy's Sweets and Treats are also well known for their adorable cake pops which will ship nationwide starting this holiday season, so check her out. The candy buffet featured animal print chinese takeout boxes, a variety of candy in greens and browns, and adorable animal head lollipops. Of course I had to add some safari animals around too, which will be future toys for baby Landon. It was really fun putting on a different type of event since we typically just do weddings, and in fact Beth has an upcoming baby shower she is also planning for one of our fabulous former clients. It's so exciting to be included in our clients' lives as they enter the next phase of their lives.

Here are some photos I snapped to share "Landon's Sweet Safari" candy buffet table. Enjoy!

Fall Into Love Photo Session Giveaway

We have 3 weddings to blog and more to come.. wedding season is in full swing! But in the meantime, photographer Shay Cochrane recently sent us a little note to share with our clients that she is having a great giveaway for a couples photo session. Time is running out, so send in your photo today for a chance to win, and let her know that you read about it on the the Flawless blog!

Welcome to Tampa, Puff 'N Stuff!

Last week the Flawless Occasions girls were invited to a very intimate tasting with Puff 'N Stuff Catering. Althought Puff 'N Stuff has been a premiere caterer in the Orlando area for many years, they have just recently opened a Tampa branch to serve this side of I4. We are so excited to be able to recommend this caterer to our brides and grooms now! Our friend Amy Brace (formerly of Brides Florida magazine) has now joined the Puff 'N Stuff team and invited us to this special event at their headquarters in the T. Pepin Hospitality facility.

We were so pampered at this tasting, and the food was just as fabulous as the presentation. Puff 'N Stuff prides itself on creating innovative dishes that look just as good as they taste. From the cesar salad with the personal mini cheese grater to the lobster mac and cheese (which was my favorite by the way), each dish kept topping the previous one. We were also so appreciative of the beautiful, personalized cutting boards that were given to each of us with our names carved in (you can see this photo towards the bottom) - it was such a personal touch!

Thank you to Amy and the Puff 'N Stuff crew who put together such a delicious and wonderful tasting event; we can't wait to collaborate with you in the future! I took some photos - enjoy! :)

Top this Toast!

So last year the hot YouTube wedding video was the ceremony entrance dance performance to Chris Brown's song "Forever", and it went on to be copied by brides and grooms all over the world. But at the beginning of September, a groom went even further and turned the reception toasts into a scene straight out of a Broadway musical. Literally. The groom re-created the famous scene from Fiddler on the Roof where a groom-to-be and a father-of-the-bride are celebrating a recently arranged marriaged and everyone toasts, dances and sings "To Life"! Fiddler on the Roof just happens to be one of my absolute favorite musicals. Oh, and the groom just happens to be the creator and star of the new popular Broadway show "The Heights", so that helped a little too.

He secretly met with family and friends multiple times during the month preceding the big day so that the performance was fully rehearsed and ready to go, and the bride had no idea. It was a great surprise for the bride (her reactions are great), and the guests got front row seats to a Broadway-worthy performance. I really hope this gets copied as much as the ceremony YouTube video was because it's so fun. Click here to view the full article, and here's the video - L' Chaim! (to life!)