Caribbean Ritual Dancers!

I had such a fun weekend! We worked hard on so many fabulous weddings - my clients were all happy, laid back and fun and you really can't ask for anything more than that. Of course I took a ton of pictures and I thought about doing one large blog post on all our weddings this weekend but I think I'm going to break it down a little. I first wanted to write a blog on the Caribbean Ritual Dancers...they are amazing. If my daughters choose to get married in the US Virgin Islands, you can be that these girls will be at the wedding (well, not these exact girls - they'll probably be too old to move like they do by time my babies get married!).

Look how gorgeous they are!

After dinner, we had the bride & groom cut their cake and then the dancers were introduced and wow'd the crowd with their island girl moves...

My bride & groom mailed me a large box of Mardi Gras masks and boas - in the middle of the performance, the dancers grabbed a handful and started handing them out to the guests. It was a huge hit - everyone on the dance floor, dancing and learning some new moves. You can't ask for any better entertainment at a reception!

We have another full week of weddings ahead of us but I hope to put up as many blog posts as I can to show you all the fun we're having - plus all the great ideas my brides bring with them. Just wait till you see the bouquet from this past Saturday night!

You like videos, right?

Sure you do! I don't know if it's my internet connection or not, but it took FORVER for this 4 minute video to download on YouTube. Hopefully those stateside do not have to wait as long. But if you do, it is TOTALLY worth the wait. I suggest turning the music off on your computer, let it play through once (slooowly downloading) and then once it's done, hit replay with the music on.

This was an event we helped out with in collaboration with Havana Blue. It was so much fun to work on! And I can't get over what an amazing job their video guy did - Glen Elliott of www.gmelliottvideo.com - awesome!

La Hora Loca!!!

I've been meaning to share this for awhile now - this wedding took place last month at Havana Blue. Actually, the wedding was in Our Lady of Perpetual Help (remember the post with all the rose petals....40,000, yes, 40,000 rose petals to fill the aisle!). The cocktail hour and reception were hosted by Havana Blue, at Frenchman's Reef. Our bride's family was Peruvian and it is a Peruvian tradition to have a "La Hora Loca" during the reception - a "crazy hour" and crazy it was!

We started with these Caribbean Carnival Dancers entering the reception and showering the guests with Mardi Gras-esque hats, masks, boas and pulling everyone out onto the dance floor.





We then had Princess Diana come and amaze the crowds with her fire dancing.



We ended the night with the Carnival troupes dance routine...absolutely the coolest thing. You don't have to be Peruvian to have a la hora loca. It's a great way to bring in island traditions and expose your guests to some of the local culture. It is totally worth every penny and something your guests will remember for a long, long time.

Name Cards...love this!

I can not take credit for this idea or this wedding, I believe all the credit goes to the bride and Havana Blue, but I just had to share this. I am definitely looking forward to a bride that wants to do this at her own reception. I think it is so beautiful!

Of course, not every wedding really needs name cards or a seating chart. But I have found that when you have a larger crowd and multiple tables, people actually do like to be told where to sit. I've been to too many weddings in the states where the bride decided to let people chose where to sit and what happens is, guests arrive at the reception and throw their purse or coat on a seat and walk away. So as you walk around and try to find a place to sit, you have no idea how many seats are taken up at a table, who you are sitting with, if there is enough room for the other couple you want to sit with, etc...Ok, I'm going off course. This really isn't a problem at destination weddings, but I wanted to vent my frustration to those stateside brides - use a seating chart! People expect and appreciate it!

So, back to the subject...place cards. I've seen them done a million different ways and my favorite is when they double as a favor (more to come on this subject later). But the other day, I stumbled upon a wedding and I was just delighted with the bride's decision to make the place cards work double duty as table decor. Check these out!



Overall, these may be a little pricier than your everyday card holder but on the other hand, you don't have to spend as much for table decor. The rose head is going to cost about $3 per rose, but you can get the glass votive fairly cheaply at places like save-on-crafts.com and orientaltrading.com. For me, the challenge would be to make the actual card, but that's because we don't have a craft store on the island. A bride could easily make the cards at home, ship them to me and we could make a gorgeous display of these at the entrance of the reception. Guest could pick up their name card/favor/table decor and head to their seat. These really looked wonderful on all the tables.

The best part? How well they coordinated with the amazing wedding cake from VI Desserts:

Have your cake...

and eat it too! I just love this cake from our wedding last night at Havana Blue on St. Thomas. The blue matched the bridesmaid dresses perfectly. More pictures to come soon!