Hi Y'all...it's really wedding time.  And we are incredibly excited to share Alyssa and Max's wedding with you.  It was a 3-day celebration of love, light and laughter.  Two families came together to celebrate an incredible couple.

Max and Alyssa met at Duke University.  She was a star tennis champion and Max was a nationally ranked golfer, who now plays professionally.  They were together all through college and after getting their careers off the ground, they decided to get married.  Their wedding in December 2022 was emotional, fun, and full of AFTER PARTY fun!

A huge thank you to the entire team who helped create such amaze-balls weekend.

The Ben Hotel, West Palm Beach

Simply Events Design

Sunny Lee Photo

Pineapple Films

Kiss This Make Up

Rock with U - Ceremony Music and Reception Entertainment

THE WELCOME PARTY

THE CEREMONY

THE DETAILS

THE AFTER PARTY

We are excited to share Leeann and Matt's fantastic wedding at Jupiter Beach Resort.  But first a little bit of a story.  I met Leeann and Matt in 2019.  They always wanted a summer 2021 wedding.  And then Covid arrived in our lives.  Our plan was to stay the course and just take it all one day at a time.  We kept going with wedding weekend planning.  Matt continued his job as a golf pro and Leeann and kept working as a veterinarian.  We were jamming along. Bridesmaid dresses were ordered.  And then the company from which we ordered them went out of business due to covid.  Ok, so creative thinking we were able to order direct from the manufacturer.  All was good until the DHL that was taking the dresses to their processing center caught on fire.  Yep, that's right folks bridesmaid dresses were destroyed in a DHL truck fire.  Definitely a first for this wedding planner.  Thankfully the manufacturer was able to make and resend them quickly.  So let that be a lesson to order things early! 

And the beachfront welcome party with fabulous steel drummer.  Perfection for a summer South Florida night. 

What made Leeann and Matt's wedding so incredible was all of the personal touches.

Their knot tying ceremony was perfectly them and symbolized the strength of their relationship.

She was the third generation bride in her family to use the same cake topper.

There were chocolate recreations of their doggies peaking out the cake.

Leeann's bespoke cowboy boots were fire. Did we mention that they live in Texas?!

Her custom denim jacket was the perfect compliment to her boots.

All the groomsmen were given socks that had pictures of Matt's face on them.   ;-)

The poem her dad wrote for he and recited during his speech, made everyone at the reception cry. 

Matt and Leeann named their signature cocktails after their doggies.

They shared so many beautiful family photos on their memory table.  We loved seeing wedding photos from multiple generations in their families.

And the blue smoke during their sunset photos was the perfect against the waning light of the evening.

And the chocolates from Hoffman's Chocolates that were the favors for each guest were so yummy!

All of these little details are what makes a wedding unique and personal.  All of their guests left the wedding feeling as though they got to know a little bit more about them. Everyone had an incredible weekend and that's what it's all about.  People came from near and far to share in their love and witness them making a lifetime commitment to each other.  And that my friends is what all of this is all about!

As always it takes an incredible team to create such memories.  We want to thank all of the following:

Rehearsal Dinner Location: Tommy Bahamas Restaurant Jupiter

Wedding Venue: Jupiter Beach Resort

Music/Entertainment for Welcome Party and Wedding Day:  Rock with U

Engagement and Wedding Photography:  The Stewarts Roam

Wedding Cake: Sweet Tiers

Bride's Dress:  Bacio Bacio Bridal

Bride's PreWedding Spray Tan: Tan Lines Optional

Hair and Make Up:  Kiss This Make Up

Florals: Southern Floral Company

Chairs, Glassware, Chargers, Linens: Atlas Event Rental

All printed materials: Minted.com

Neon Sign: Etsy.com

Officiant:  Father James Gavrilos

Seaglass Placecards:  Family Friend

It may be April but we are feeling those holiday vibes with Ellie and Michael's Christmas time wedding.   We planned their wedding for a year and it didn't disappoint!  They are are so darn cute together and we love how they embraced the holidays with their look and feel of the wedding.  It's a good reminder that if you want a holiday wedding it can be done without being cheesy or like an over the top Hallmark Movie! (sorry Hallmark I love to binge your holiday movies...but they are a bit cheesy and that's why we love them)

Fun fact #1 - The groom's cousin, Matt Gumley - was the original Chip on Broadway's Beauty and The Beast and his band performed at the reception.  Honestly, one of the best peformers we have ever seen at a Wedding!

Fun Fact #2 - The bride made all of her own signage on acrylic herself.  She is super creative!

Fun Fact #3 - The menus included each person's name - served as placecard- and the color wax seal attaching the name denoted the entree choice.

A huge thank you to the amazing and talented vendor team:

Venue: PGA National Resort and Spa

Decor: Simply Events Design

Photography:  Blink and Company Photo

Printed Materials: Minted.com

Table Numbers: Bride DIY

Church: St. Ignatius Loyola Cathedral Palm Beach Gardens

Ceremony Musicians:  Master Musicians

Cocktail and Reception Entertainment:  Matt Gumley Band

Cake:  Johnson's Custom Cakes

Hey Y'all!  We hope you are all well and taking the recommended precautions to stay well!

At this time, we have rescheduled any remaining March weddings and all April weddings.  May weddings are being evaluated on a case by case basis at this time.  We wanted to share a few tips on how to navigate this difficult time.

We are working with all of our couples to navigate through this process.  

All client interactions are via telephone, Facetime or Skype for the foreseeable future.  We are rescheduling weddings for Summer 2020, Fall and Winter 2020 and into 2021 depending what dates work for you all.

We highly urge you to postpone and not cancel.  You have put your heart and soul into your wedding day.  You will still get to celebrate your love and commitment with your friends and family...it just may be a different date.  Your friends and family WANT to celebrate with you...they want to share in your joy.

If you have friends who are getting married and they don't have a planner, please share these tips with them...

1.  Contact your venue - questions to ask

a.  What is your policy on date changes, postponement and cancellation as it relates to the Coronavirus?

b.  Will I still need to meet my food and beverage minimum if I have a smaller guest count than anticipated?

2. Room Blocks

a.  If you signed a contract guaranteeing a set number of rooms to be booked, can that guarantee be waived?

b.  If I schedule to an off season time will my room rate reflect the lower costs?

3.  Contact all other vendors and ask about rescheduling and transferring deposits or refunds if they don't have your new date available.

4.  Marriage licenses - They are good for 60 days from the date which you apply (go to the clerk's office and get the license).  If you have to reschedule and your new date is beyond those 60 days you will need to obtain a new marriage license from the County Clerk's office.  As of this time, you will need to pay another $93 fee.  The clerk's office has not announced plans to waive fees for expired licenses and rescheduled weddings.

5.  Try to stay calm - It is perfectly normal to feel sad, disappointed, angry, and frustrated.  This is uncharted territory for all of us.  None of us knows how to feel from one minute to the next. And that is OK. 

Happy Monday! Today I thought I would share some of the mistakes or pitfalls of the wedding planning process.  Just a few tips to remember when planning your big day.

1.  Remember why you are doing this....Too many people get caught up in all of the little details and stress of wedding planning.  Remember that you are marrying the love of your life.   You are committing your lives to each other in front of friends and family.  You are celebrating your love.  

2.  Don't always steer the conversation to your wedding planning...When you are with your friends and family, yes, they want to hear how it is going.  No, they don't want wedding planning to be the only topic of conversation when they are with you....plus you want to keep some of the fun details a surprise!

3.  Losing your personality in the wedding...You are celebrating the love of two people.  Let your personalities show, as individuals and as a couple.  It can be through decor, table names, food choices, song choices..but stay true to yourselves...Just because you saw it on Pinterest doesn't mean you have to do it.  Be yourself!

4.  Not hiring professional, experienced wedding professionals...This is a big one!!  You think you are getting a great deal by hiring that DJ or Photographer that's a friend of a friend who does weddings on the side...BIG MISTAKE...make sure your wedding pros are experienced in wedddings, have the appropriate licensure and insurance, can provide references.  There are horror stories all over the internet from brides who went the cheap way and it ended up costing them so much more emotionally and monetarily.

5.  Underbudgeting...Don't underestimate how quickly the small things add up...postage, garter, that cute little sign you saw on etsy, hair accessories, getting your nails done, driving around town on wedding errands (hey, gas is expensive). 

Happy Wedding Planning!

Jen, Mandi, Nikki and Lara