Three Beautiful Brides at the Country Club of Orlando

On Saturday, April 4, 2009, Mari Hansen married Kevin Ball at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando followed by a reception at the Country Club of Orlando. What made this particular wedding special for Wonderful Weddings is that two former brides were guests at this wedding as well as their grooms—Kelsey and Chas Crofoot and Lauren and Bo Schneider. Here is a photo of me with Mari, Kelsey and Lauren—aren’t they beautiful? When I saw Kelsey in the narthex of the church, she said she and Chas had been working in the yard earlier in the day and Chas hurt his finger and that they were out of band-aids. Chas was quick to point out that he could probably get one from me at the wedding because he knew I would have my emergency kit! Following are some photos from Mari’s wedding; I especially like the one of me with the groom, the groomsmen and the two Dads—I must have been giving them some serious information as they are all so attentive! And here are some beautiful photos of Mari who looks like she could be a model for the cover of a bridal magazine! Jeff Hawkins of Jeff Hawkins Photography took these images and the guests danced the night away to Derek and the Slammers.

Last evening I hosted our annual Wonderful Weddings Holiday party. Each year I select a "festive" shirt and send them to the girls as part of their "invitation" (you might recognize this shirt from the previous blog!). We have grown to seven now including our two apprentices. We had a fabulous evening and the weather was perfect as we dined outside on our new front terrace (not finished yet but we're getting there!). Much of the decor was provided by Brian and Richard from Flourish Productions. And they even sent over David, one of their staff, to act as server. He made us feel special as if we were dining in a five-star restaurant!

I hope that everyone has a fabulous holiday and all the best in 2009!

A Family Thanksgiving Tradition ... and A Great Place for a Destination Wedding!

My husband Brooks is an architect and for many years I had heard him speak about the town of Seaside located in the Panhandle of Florida. He showed me some photos and it looked so lovely. So in 1997 when all other family members had other plans for Thanksgiving, we rented a small cottage and spent most of the week of Thanksgiving there. Brooks tooks many, many photographs of the houses and the pavillions and of course the beautiful white sand beach, blue water and magnificent sunsets. The following year we asked our grown daughters if they would like to join us and thus, it has become a Weiss family tradition to spend the week of Thanksgiving in Seaside! Over the years, the family of course has gotten larger so we've had to rent a bigger house! And our friends and family who receive our Christmas cards with the photos from Seaside on it always comment on how big everyone has gotten! At one point, there was only one grandchild in the photos--now there are three! Here are some photos of our time at Seaside.

Seaside has a great wedding department which I met with back in 2004. If you go to the Seaside web site and click on weddings, you can reach them. They are very accommodating and have a comprehensive list of locations and vendors.

Best Holiday Wishes to everyone and I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

A Birthday Brunch with Good Friends at La Coquina!

A week ago Sunday my husband and I were invited to help Richard Streitler celebrate a "significant" birthday! Brian Joyce, his partner, put together this special birthday event! We have had dinner at La Coquina before at the Hyatt Grand Cypress but have never experienced this fabulous Sunday brunch! It takes place in the kitchen but it's not a kitchen the likes of which you've seen before! A few photos of the food were taken by my husband Brooks before we got busted (they don't like guests taking photos!). The champagne flowed freely for over two hours and I must admit, we did go back for more several times--we surely did not want to miss anything! Brian and Richard are proprietors of Flourish Productions and Brooks and I are charmed that they included us for this special celebration! Our server, Maria, has been with the hotel for 21 years--she told us that the hotel will soon be undergoing a big renovation. After brunch we went out onto the patio area so that Brooks could smoke a cigar! It was just too nice of an atmosphere to leave! What a nice way to spend Sunday ... with good friends, good food and good champagne!

Puff 'n Stuff Event

I was honored to be invited to a lovely client-oriented event hosted by Puff ‘n Stuff Catering which was held last night at The Ballroom at Church Street. I have known the folks at Puff ‘n Stuff for a very long time—they catered my oldest daughter’s wedding in 1988! The premise of the event was of course to showcase their fabulous cuisine but also to portray to their brides how an event could look at the venue. In the atrium area at check-in I was happy to see Chris Chan playing the piano. I have known Chris a long time—he is certainly one of the finest performers around! I had the opportunity to chat with Heidi Brice and Mary Brumley and Sandy George and Ralph Rendsland, all familiar staffers with Puff ‘n Stuff. But I also met Shira Smith and Bonnie Ell. Art Faulkner of Works of Art Photography was documenting the event. Art is also another long-time industry friend and many thanks to him for the photos included here! The space was divided into three segments with cuisine and décor to complement each. The Asian foods were complemented by the edgy florals displayed by Lana Pelham-Faulkner of Fairbanks Florist. The reds and blacks of the linens and the flowers Lana used were quite spectacular! It was a nostalgic evening for sure. Lana was one of the very first vendors I met back in 1989, the year that Wonderful Weddings was established. And I met Art not long after that. Art and Lana were recently married at Casa Feliz on July 19th of this year! I also chatted with the ladies from Kroma Makeup Studio. They told me about their recent re-location to Maitland. Out front was parked a beautiful 1965 Rolls Royce owned by Barbara and Simon White of VIP Transportation Group. They happened to leave about the same time I did so I got to follow behind them—what a beautiful car! Puff ‘n Stuff, thanks for including me as a guest at this beautiful event!

Meet Our Newest Apprentice Galyna!

We recently enrolled our second candidate in our Suddenly I See Apprentice Program! Galyna Saltkovska learned about our program in the Fall/Winter issue of Central Florida Bride Magazine. Galyna was born in Russia and came to the United States about six years ago. She has a Bachelors Degree in Organizational Management and a Masters in Production Management from the Institute of Economy and Management College in Simferopol, Ukraine. Galyna has worked in the hospitality industry in Central Florida for Vinelli Catering and Hard Rock Café. She also works part time as a pre-kindergarten teacher at Blue Lake Academy in Eustis. And if all of this doesn’t keep her busy enough, she also owns and operates TWR Private Limousines, Inc. which she established with her husband Paul Chaples in June 2007. Their fleet serves Central Florida, including Orlando, Tampa and Daytona. Galyna and Paul have a six-year old daughter who is quite talented as a gymnast!

“My Dad was an event organizer; therefore, I was surrounded by a family that loved throwing the best parties. Ever since I was a child I have always wanted to be able to help plan parties that would be unique. With this career choice of wedding planning, my mind can be opened wide with no restrictions.”

Galyna has chosen a late spring 2009 wedding and an early fall 2009 wedding as the two events for her apprentice program. Galyna, welcome to Wonderful Weddings!

Wings of Sound - Alive After Five Event

Last night I attended Sanford’s “Downtown Motown” street party. This is the monthly “Alive After Five” event sponsored by the City of Sanford and the Historic Welcome Center. Kim House, who owns and operates (along with her husband Pete) Riverhouse Pottery Art Gallery and Gift Shop and who also is vice president of the Board of Directors for the Historic Welcome Center, contacted me back in August to inquire about the availability of Wings of Sound to perform for the event. Not everyone knows that in addition to my position as owner and operator of Wonderful Weddings, I have also been the manager of this fabulous band since 2001. I met them in 1992 when one of my clients had already booked them for her wedding; once I heard them they immediately became a favorite! And when they asked me to assume their manager position, I did so without hesitation. The mobile stage on which the band performed was provided by Bill Heard Chevrolet and it was rocking for nearly three hours! The weather remained a question for the event but at around 3:30 the rain stopped and a beautiful blue sky was visible. A light breeze, the food, the art and of course the lively music literally had everyone “Dancin’ in the Street!” I handed out lots of cards last night. One woman was ready to book them to perform at her 60th birthday party … which is not for five years! And Kim House told me that she would love to have the band back same time next year! Thanks, band members John Brown, Dian Kelly (aka Aretha Franklin at Mel’s Diner at Universal Studios!), Don Pittman, Walt Hubbard, Jeff Green, Gary Stephens, Gary Listort, Eddie Marshall and Steve Sinkiewicz for adding the perfect element to “Downtown Motown!”