A few random photos for a rainy Monday...

This bride liked my blog post of the seahorse tote bags and decided instead of filling up their welcome bags, they would be rolled up and had the guests place settings attached to them. Know what was really cool about these tote bags? She had one for each guest from Cafe Press that reflected their personality or a funny story from their past together. Guests had an awesome time untying their totes and showing each other what they had.


This guy was hanging out by a tree next to the reception - by the end of the reception, he had eaten all the pink flowers!


Guests stamped out a congratulations to the bride & groom - the bride was greeted with this as she made her way down the stairs to the beach...


I love Caribbean Rum Balls for welcome bags...


And all these other fun goodies...but see that bag of chips? Do not send those in advance - we can get them so much cheaper for you here! I noticed the bride spent close to $40 in express shipping just for a small box of chips! Yikes!


This is why I say not to send sunscreen in advance - she got very lucky that it didn't explode more than it did (you will not have a happy wedding planner on your hands if I'm washing sunscreen off all your goodies!).


Our new chalkboard sign to "warn" guests that there is rum in the punch...you have no idea how many toddlers I see parents almost give their first rum drink to!

An Indiana Wedding...

As all of my clients and Facebook fans know, I was off island for about a week at the end of May. I often go up to Indiana to visit family & Target (yes, I very much miss Target) but I rarely go at the busiest time of the year for us here in the islands. But a very dear friend of mine from college was getting married and I just had to be there...especially when she asked me to photograph the wedding for her!!

I absolutely love photography. Everything took shape when I was pregnant with my daughter Marley. I really wanted to capture some great photos of her growing up and purchased a nice amateur camera that at the time, I thought was WOW! Over the last five years, I've learned a lot about the differences of "a nice camera" and "professional camera". I've also learned that it doesn't make that much of a difference in a nice camera and a pro camera if you know what you are doing, have the creativity to make something work and well, Photoshop isn't a bad thing to understand either (which I am light years away from fully understanding!). Last year I upgraded to a full frame, pro camera and often have it with me at wedding to capture the fun details that I want to share with other brides. I've even shot a few weddings here when no one in our budget photography team was available.

As a wedding planner, it's a lot of fun to step outside of my coordination role for a bit and wear a different hat. I had an absolute blast at Shanna's wedding playing the photographer. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to edit even a 10th of her images, but these are a few of the teasers I sent over for her (fortunately, she is a very understanding friend while I wade through our busy June!). I hope you enjoy the teaser as well and would love any feedback!

Right before walking down the aisle


A fun little photo prop I brought along


I wanted to share this one because of the milk glass. Shanna's grandmother spent a year prior to the wedding collecting antique milk glass to use as centerpieces. The reception was held in a rustic old barn and the combo of the hydrangea, milk glass and old barn feel was so awesome and huge difference for me - I'm used to starfish and beach glass!


So far, this is one of my favorite images of the ones I've edited. I love the emotion on her father's face as he hugs his baby girl...but did you notice the guest seated at the table in the background? The what her father is holding in his hand? I love the little bit of comedy infused in such an emotional moment. I remember taking this image and it was the first one I pulled up on my computer - I was so excited about it!

Shepherd Hooks

I've seen a few island weddings that incorporate shepherd hooks for the ceremony - usually with a hanging jar either filled with candles (not always the best idea for a beach wedding) or flowers. I've also seen them with pompador flowers, which is always pretty. But in all my years of wedding planning, I can only really recall two brides that did the same. I was shopping around online today and contemplating buying some hooks & hanging mason jars...but is this a trend that is here to stay? I figured I'd better hold off until I get more requests (currently I have none!). It's hard to resist shopping for stuff so cute though...





I really love the idea! Just waiting for a bride to come along and say, "let's do it!"

Sand Dollar Estate Wedding

We do a lot of weddings at Sand Dollar Estate. It's a wonderful venue, has it's own beach (which is not always there, depending on the water level), and two great decks for dancing & dinner. I always love it when brides bring a photographer with them from the mainland...it's very interesting to see an "outsiders" take on things. Kristina & Brady sent me a link to their photographers blog over the weekend and I wanted to share it with you here. Their photographer, Jules, brought along her twin sister, Joy, the help with the event. I LOVED the fact that it was twin sisters in business together! I grew up with parents that ran a business together (and still do) and my husband and I are partners in our businesses. I love family operations. Seeing two sisters work together just melted my heart. I can only hope my girls can grow up and get along enough to work together one day too! Many days, the "getting along" part seems impossible!

Kristina put a lot of work and thought into her wedding. She was an Etsy girl, which you know I love! Here are some photos I took of the event as well...

Chalkboards everywhere! And fun straws and umbrellas for the drinks at the bar (this was the second set of umbrellas, the straws were gone before I got a photo):



Beautiful blue wooden hearts to decorate the appetizer table:



Wooden birds for the bride & groom's chairs at the dinner:



I'm so glad Etsy wasn't around when I got married...I'd still be paying it off!

A note on name cards....

Hello all! Just a quick blog entry while I'm thinking about this particular topic. A few weeks ago, I posted a link to an Etsy seller on my Facebook page with a picture of an adorable name card holder. Did you miss it? If so, here it is!



These are by Gallery360 - I think the price of $80 for 50 holders is pretty good. Now you may be thinking, are these really necessary? Cute yes, but many of the cards come as "tent style" where they stand up on their own.

Well, they are necessary! 98% of the receptions we do here are outdoor which means there is a very good chance a breeze is going to sweep through here and there. And when a breeze comes through, we have this:



Or all over the floor, garden, sand, etc. This picture really doesn't do justice to just what the wind can do. At Villa Botanica, we had namecards set up on a table in the garden - a nice gust of wind came through a blew three or four of them into the pond!

My final thoughts:

- Name cards and assigned seating are definitely a good thing.
- Name card holders are even better!

Operation Lemonade 2011

About this time last year, I had a bride that decided to forgo favors for a lemonade stand. Not just any lemonade stand, but one that supported Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. We set up the entry to Villa Botanica so that as guests entered, they could have a nice cup of lemonade before making their way to the ceremony site.



To be honest, there was so much going on at this wedding that I didn't really take the time to learn much about the charity that the bride was supporting. I hadn't thought much about the lemonade stand until recently, when I got an email from K12, an education site that I just signed my oldest daughter up for. Remembering the name from last year's wedding, I took a closer look.

If you're not familiar with the story of Alex's Lemonade Stand, here is a little synopsis from K12's site:

In 2007, we met Liz and Jay Scott, the parents of this remarkable young girl. They told us the story of the diagnosis of cancer Alex received shortly before her first birthday, and of the inspiring events that followed.

The doctors told Jay and Liz that even if Alex beat it, she would probably never walk again.

Alex endured many chemotherapies and surgeries, and by her second birthday, appeared to be beating the odds. In time, she managed to stand up and walk with the help of leg braces.

But the next year the tumors were growing again, and the family was shattered. When Alex was four she had a stem cell transplant, and told her mom, “When I get out of the hospital, I want to have a lemonade stand”— to raise money for cancer research.

Alex’s first lemonade stand raised $2,000. But Alex told her mom and dad her goal was to raise $1 million.

News spread about this remarkable child. People from all over the world, moved by her story, held their own lemonade stands and donated the proceeds to Alex and her cause.

When Alex passed away in 2004 at the age of eight, she had reached her goal of raising $1 million.

Now in its eleventh year, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has raised more than $30 million for cancer research.

Isn't that amazing?! Would you like to help?? Consider having a lemonade stand this summer in honor of Alex and all the things she accomplished in her eight years. Learn how here. And if you do, please let us know so that we can send you an awesome printable download lemonade stand banner!