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Getting Ready
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I love my bouquet. It turned out exactly how I wanted!









Close up of my new 'do









Admiring it a little more with my friends!








I look like I'm supervising factory workers!










Peeking out to see the guests!
















My Dad wishing Darren good luck!






Our programs







 
 
 
 
Ceremony
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I can't wait to get to down that aisle!















A little kiss before he gives me away.


Here we go!












The sand ceremony




We couldn't stop smiling!


































RECEPTION DETAILS


Seating Chart


Head Table with Monogrammed Runner


Engraveable Guest Platter








Wedding Cake & Grooms Cake


How Cute! Darren inherited a 1950's Cultass Supreme from his Grandfather and it means a lot to him. I gave a picture to Carie for her to match and of course she got it perfect!

 
 
 
 
Reception
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We're now Mr. & Mrs.!



Time for our first dance! We took like 12 dancing lessons and couldn't remember anything! We ended up just doing our own little dance.







Our favors





Another shot of the tables!





I never knew my mother-in-law had it in her!
















MISCELLANIOUS DETAILS


The DIY wine charms I made my bridesmaids! I gave them each a set of 16!










Our wedding invitation
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HONEYMOON






                                           The Mrs. bathing suit!

We played a lot of cards!






Our red flag given out each morning to stick in the sand when we were ready for the next frozen drink. Can it get any better than that?!


Our sad faces because we don't want to leave...

 
 
 
 
Vendor Information
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Ceremony Location - Mission Inn Resort & Club
I am giving Mission Inn an A+. I always had kind of planned on getting married somewhere exotic or in more of a metropolis area (verses a town in the middle of orange groves!). And then my father-in-law got remarried at Mission Inn a few years ago and I really fell in love with it. From then on I knew this is where I would want to have my wedding. It has everything I was looking for- beautiful grounds for an outside ceremony, alternative options for unexpected weather, beautiful reception venues, a VERY hands-on coordinator (which I will get to next), and the option for guests to stay on-site at a nice resort that offers lots of things to do (golf, skeet shooting, a marina, pool, etc)

What really sealed the deal though was Joe Runnels, the inhouse coordinator. Considering I am the oldest of two daughters, this was my parents first experience financing a wedding (very generously I might add) since their own wedding back in the 70's- inflation had changed things a bit obvs. But once my mom heard everything Joe would be helping out with, we were sold (well, I was already sold). The biggest thing for my mom is she didn't want any of us to have ANYTHING to do the weekend and day-of except enjoy ourselves, and he assured us that would be his role in the wedding. What's even more impressive is he delivered on all of it and more. He had great follow up throughout the entire planning process (which is rare in the wedding industry it seems), arranged for babysitters, golf for the groomsmen, did vendor confirmations, stayed the ENTIRE wedding making sure everything was going smoothly. They even bring in a second coordinator for the day-off to ensure everything goes as planned. I really just can't say enough about Joe and his staff. Even my Dad was commenting the next day on how great of a job he did at the wedding (and my Dad doesn't normally notice those things!)
 
Reception Location - Mission Inn Resort & Club
See above.
 
Cake Creator - Cakes By Carie
Hands down, another A+. I am a freak about wedding cake- I actually would go to a wedding JUST for the cake alone, so this topic I could go on forever about.
I wouldn't be able to find something to pick on even if I tried. Carrie is known by EVERYONE in Lake County because of her unbelievable cakes and for her sweet personality. When I first talked to her on the phone I thought- "there is no way this girl is a day over fifteen" because she has the cutest voice and sweetest demeanor! We went for the cake tasting and probably was a little caught off guard and scared when my sister and I devoured every single sample and then proceeded to scrape every last bit of icing and crumbs off the platter. It was just so good!!

A+ on customer service- she listened to what I wanted asthetically- buttercream (NO fondant), pink callas, gold ribbon, etc.- and the finished product was literally the exact description of what we had talked about. Not to mention, I gave her a picture of what I wanted for the grooms cake (a 1950's Cutless Supreme Darren inherited from his grandfater) and I was blown away at how exact the cake came out- she even added a little 'Just Married' sign on the bumper with little fake beer cans on strings! My friends and family are still talking about how moist and delicious the cake was!

Oh, and she even made us a honeymoon cake- the size of the top layer of our cake- to eat the next day. The only bad news is she is scaling back on her cake business because she is going back to school to be a teacher. Sadness!

Cakes By Carie 22 S Prescott St Eustis, FL 32726 (352) 357-9319
 
Florist - Robin at Silksations
Another A+. I actually met with a couple other florists in the area, and then was introduced to Robin by a family member. I gave her a call, literally like a month before the wedding, and we did everything over the phone. I emailed her pictures of what I was looking for- and she came back with a quote that was literally HALF of what all the others were quoting (for the exact same work!).

I had very specific ideas in mind for the colors of flowers I wanted, the size of the bouquets, etc. The thing I loved about Robin is she really listens and tries to understand the vision you are going for. And in the areas I wasn't sure what I wanted- she had great ideas. Not to mention, there were a couple areas I was looking to save money and she definitely tries to offer alternatives to fit within your budget.

What sealed the deal is when the bouquets were brought to the bridal suite on the wedding day. There was a collective gasp from everyone in the room because the were so beautiful! EXACTLY what I had in mind and described to her (and what makes it even more impressive is I never even saw a mock up beforehand). She also did my centerpiece arrangements working with the glass I bought on my own. We used three long stem calla lillies spray painted baby pink- and they looked flawless. She did the entire set up for the reception and it came out wonderful. I HIGHLY recommend her for anyone in the Central Florida area. She is a young florist building her business and she *REALLY* works hard to deliver exceptional results.
 
Photographer - Thomas Alan Photography
Ditto above, A+. I probably spent the most time overall researching photographers. I was looking for someone who offered a photojournalistic touch and a package that included everything that I had decided was important (2 photographers, engagement session, unlimited time on the wedding day). But I didn't want to use half my wedding budget on the photographer either.

I met with Alan and really clicked with him- the thing I liked most is he seemed really interested in hearing what we wanted in a photographer and what we weren't looking for. The package we went with offered two photographers, the engagement session, rehearsal, unlimited time the day-of (he started that morning at the salon and he hung with us till the last song at the reception!), Album, & CD and 4x6 print of proofs.

I just got back the proofs on Pictage and we are VERY happy with his work. He really captured our day and frankly he was wonderful to work with. I highly recommend Thomas Alan!
 
Disc Jockey - Accent Entertainment
I am giving Ronn a B+. I have to stress that I REALLY like Ronn and think he did a great job at our wedding. The reason we chose him is because he is low-key and classy verses cheesy and in-your-face, which I did not want! Because of the cheese-factor associated with your normal DJ, we almost went with a band but decided against it because I really wanted a lot of fun 'booty music' that a band can't play. I actually booked Ronn over the phone before even meeting with him (one of the draws of planning long-distance) because of the comfort level. He really took the time to learn about our preferences and what we had in mind as far as atmosphere goes. We met in person a month or so before the wedding and again he took over two hours going through everything to ensure he delivered exactly what we had in mind.

The reason why his score is a B+ verses A or A+ is because of this: during our meeting he took copious notes on everything from exactly how the processional would go (i.e., the order of the bridesmaids, order of the groomsmen, who the ushers would escort, the order of the reserved seating at the wedding, etc.) He said there was no need for me to write it down because he would email me all of it after our wedding. In the craziness leading up to the weekend of the wedding I forgot to look for it and it didn't occur to me until the day before the rehearsal that I still hadn't recieved the notes. I called him, he profusely apologized and said that he would deliver them to my parents house the morning of the rehearsal (I needed them for the rehearsal because it had the order of the processional and everything else for the coordinator!) They never were delivered to my house. I found this to be really disappointing- aside from the fact that it caused unnecessary stress- he didn't follow through with something he said he would do.

He did do a great job at the wedding and played all the songs that we had requested him to play. The bridal party literally did not get off the dance floor all night! Even with the mishap, I would still recommend him to others looking for a good dj.
 
Invitations - Inviting Smiles
A+
They very were easy to work with. I ordered a sample beforehand and really liked the quality of the card stock. I called customer support with a question before I ordered- they were super nice. I placed the order, it was delivered exactly when they said it would be, and everything was perfect! I got a lot of compliments on them.
 
Rental Company - BBJ Linen
Another A+! And they really worked to earn that score because of how much I bugged them! This was another vendor that I did everything sight unseen with. I had an idea of what I wanted to do from looking through their online gallery. I worked with Elvira in their Orlando office and she was a big help. I was initially looking for a full table linen for each table and when she quoted me the price and I did the calculation I knew that would not be an option! Instead of just leaving it at that, she worked with me to come up with an alternative- using a chair tie as a table runner which still gave the color but saved me $25 dollars per table! As I was deciding on my chair ties and napkin color I would ask her opinion and she literally put me on hold to grab everything from the showroom to do a mockup while I was on the phone with her! She was a huge help to me!

I also paid the extra money for set-up of the linens and I am very thankful for this. Everything was executed exactly as I had requested- the chair ties were knotted in the style I requested, napkins folded just like I wanted, etc.
 
Jeweler - Overstock Jeweler- Bridal Jewelry
Since we bought our wedding rings in South Florida I figured instead I will review my bridal jewelry here.

I was looking for chandelier earrings and an antique-looking bracelet. After looking around everywhere I stumbled across this website. Not only do they have a huge selection of chandelier earrings, but everything else too. What's cool is they make knock-off jewelry so they have replicas of Cartier, David Yurman, Tiffany, Mikimoto, etc.
 
Tuxedos - Men's Wearhouse
They get a B. Overall, everything was fine. The only glitch was Darren's brother's tuxes (both the best men) were missing the ties! I will admit this is partly my fault because I should have reminded him to check before he left, partly the fault of Darren's brother because he picked up both tuxes and no one went through it to make sure everything was there. But in his defense, he is not a tux rental expert and wouldn't know to do that anyway- I feel it is more Men's Wearhouse responsibility to ensure they are sending out the complete tux before it leaves their store. Word to the wise, make sure each groomsmen knows to try on their tux before they leave the store! This will eliminate any chance for error.
 
My Dress - Something Blue Bridal
This review is hard because I really do like the staff and the boutique- so I will split it into two reviews: my shopping and buying experience and my alterations experience. Shopping and Buying Experience- A++. Something Blue has a great selection of dresses- both high end and midrange in price. The staff is SO sweet and unpretentious. The owner really cares about the customer. I shopped at a number of boutiques in South Florida where they were rude, would not tell me the name of the designer until I was 'under contract' (which I found completely asinine- like I am going to spend thousands of dollars on a dress that I don't even know by who it's made), would not let me shop through the dresses instead requiring me to describe what I was looking for and then for some reason 'pulling' styles that were the exact opposite of what I had just described because *they* thought it would be flattering on me. What the hell?!? Oh, and absolutely no pictures allowed when I tried on a dress.

Something Blue was a breath of fresh air comparatively speaking. They welcome you to shop through their selection, on each dress their is a tag with designer info, pricing, materials used, etc. They pull the dresses you have requested to pull. They allow you to take pictures of each dress you try on. And overall they are just super, super sweet ladies. I was so impressed with their staff throughout my entire shopping and buying experience.

Alterations Experience- D. I can honestly say that this experience was the only time I truly went 'bridezilla' throughout the entire wedding planning. I had scheduled an appointment for my final fitting to take place three weeks before the wedding. It ended up that the same day I had scheduled the appointment for was the same day I needed to do my makeup and hair trial, so I called and rescheduled to move it up one week to the Saturday before. The girl I spoke with said that was not a problem and she was putting me down for 3pm. I asked her to please confirm with the seamstress while I was on the phone that my dress would be ready by this date (because I would be driving up from Fort Lauderdale specifically for this appointment). Yup, yup- seamstress is already done, see you at 3pm. They called me on Friday to confirm my appointment for the following day. I drive four hours to my parents that weekend, we go to Orlando for the fitting, and when we walk in to the boutique all the sudden no one has any recollection of my appointment. And the seamstress is still working on my dress- or better yet, just started it!!! Holy cow, this was a bridezilla moment where my mom thought she was going to need to give me a paper bag to breath into. :) The owner wasn't there (which explains a lot, this would have never happened otherwise). Once I calm down, we talk with the seamstress and reschedule for the Friday before the wedding (which is Sunday). This made me extremely nervous cutting it so close but everyone assures me that it will be fine and if there are any changes that need to be made (I only needed very minor alterations in the first place) they will be able to take care of it on Friday and have it ready for me by the afternoon.

My sister goes in the Thursday prior to the wedding to pick up her bridesmaid dress and on her way out she says "we'll see you guys tomorrow for the final alternation on the wedding dress" and again there is complete confusion because- suprise- the seamstress who scheduled me to come in on that Friday doesn't even work on Fridays!!! They call me (in Fort Lauderdale at work) to deliver the news and this lead to my 2nd bridezilla moment. The girl didn't understand why I couldn't just come in on Saturday (the day before the wedding!) for my final fitting. To make a long story short, I demanded to speak to the owner. Through speaking with her everything was taken care of- she had the seamstress come in on Friday from her other job as planned for my fitting. I have to also say the owner handled everything just like a responsible business owner should- took responsibility, let me vent, understood my frustration with empathy, and assured me she would do whatever was necessary to make it right. And she did.

Even considering the drama surrounding the alterations, I would still highly recommend Something Blue to all my friends and anyone looking for a bridal boutique. They owner and her key staff members really do care about the customer.
 
Bridesmaid Dresses - Pearls Place
The dress designer is actually Jim Hjelm from the Just Tea's collection: http://www.jimhjelmoccasions.com/teas/index.html

Pearls Place- A+. I found the dress on Jim Hjelm's website- loved it- and had the girls go to their local bridal boutique that carried the dress and try it on. Then I called Pearls Place to see if they carried it, which they did, and ordered it through them. We saved like $130 off the retail price by ordering through Pearls. They gave me a delivery date, and it actually came four weeks before scheduled!
 
Hair Stylist - Brittnay Perry at Profiles Salon
I absolutely love Brittnay. First, she is young so her techniques are very much in line with today's styles. And just like every other vendor I worked well with- she listens to what the client wants. And I have to add something that really impressed me- on the day of my wedding she was EXTREMELY sick and not only did she make it for our appointment and did four girls hair, but she still took the time needed to make sure everyone came out perfect. I highly recommend her to any Lake County brides.
 
Makeup Artist - Patricia LeJeune
This is another one I will have to separate into two parts for scoring purposes.

Airbrush Makeup- A+. I LOVED my makeup. I mean, I LOVED it! At first, this was one of the areas I had decided to go it alone due to budgetary reasons. Then as I kept talking to friends who raved about their airbrush makeup they had done for their wedding day, thankfully I changed my mind. Patricia and her assistant did my entire bridal party including my mom and we all loved our makeup. The airbrush technique really gives a flawless look all day long. She also did a great job with eye makeup- I wanted a more dramatic smokey eye and I liked what she did.

Customer Service- C. I first have to say that Patricia is super nice and very in-tune to her client. She listened to what I wanted and delivered. She has great follow up too. The reason for the C grade verses an A is because while she was with us doing makeup on my wedding day, one of my bridesmaids was complaining about her hair and decided to change it from a half up/half down do to all down with a little black headband. Patricia mentioned she should tease the crown a bit to give it a more formal look- great idea. Before she left, she asked my bridesmaid if she would like her to tease the top really quick. She never mentioned any charge for this *help* ever. She literally took two seconds, teased it and done. As Patricia was collecting the payment from everyone, this particular bridesmaid had gone back to her room to get cash from her husband so my mom said she would include her part in the check she was writing. When the bridesmaid returned and had the $60 to pay my mom back for what she had covered (Patricia had by then left), she realized that Patricia had charged her $110 dollars- $60 for the makeup PLUS $50 for hair!!! This really upset me for a number of reasons- one, I really can't see how she justified charging $50 for teasing a section of hair. Two, she offered this- it was never requested of her. Third, if she was going to charge $50 for something she offered, it would be the professional thing to do to inform the client upfront what she would be charging for this 'service' verses secretly throwing it in at the last minute when the client isn't even there to consent. And lastly, I felt it was kind of sneaky not mentioning this fee to my bridesmaid and then throwing it in at the last minute when she is out of the room and Patricia knew that my mom would have no idea. As you can see, this is still a sore subject with me.

I would still recommend Patricia to anyone. Again, I think she is super sweet and does a great job. Just as I did here in the review, if I do refer her in the future I will be sure disclose the little hair incident.

*UPDATE*- I have since talked to Patricia and explained to her my feelings toward the situation. She really wanted to understand, she completely took responsibility for the whole situation and INSISTED on refunding not only the $50 for my bridesmaid's hair but the $60 for the makeup as well. She was completely apologetic and really wanted to know what she could do to make the situation right. She even overnighted me an assortment of makeup! I actually am pretty floored at how much she cared and the length she was willing to go to make everything right.
 
Honeymoon Destination - Couples Negril
The honeymoon and photographer were the top two most researched subjects. I spent hours upon hours researching resorts and locations. We had a short list of criteria- we wanted to be able to pay for it in full before the wedding (hubby does not like debt!), we would only have a maximum of 8 days for honeymooning so we didn't want to be on a flight for a full day (or more), we wanted something on the beach, and we wanted something partially inclusive so we could drink as many frozen drinks as we wanted and not worry about the bill! :)

At first, I was very against going to Couples- I thought it seemed kind of cheesy for some reason. And I was scared the food would be like cruise ship food since it is all-inclusive. But we talked to a couple friends who had honeymooned there and all of them loved it. We booked 7 nights/8 days in the beachfront suite and LOVED every single bit of our entire trip. The room and resort was awesome, the staff were literally the friendliest people I have ever encountered, and the weather was unbelievable. We have both traveled a bit and stayed in some really nice hotels, and I would rate this one along with some of the nices places we have stayed in terms of service.

Oh, and one of the coolest things is they have something called "Red Flag Service"- they give you a red flag on the beach and anytime you want another drink you simply stick your flag up in the sand, the waiter comes and takes your order and ouila!
 
Other Vendor - Programs/Table Numbers/ Monogrammed Table Runner- Kristen Shortt of I Do Originals
Kristen was one of my favorite vendors to work with! She is SO sweet and I can not recommend her enough to any bride looking for a cost effective way to do their programs without investing hours upon hours of time. In the beginning, I priced out many different companies for my programs and decided that this would be one of my DIY projects (even though with work I had no idea how I was going to find the time required for what I had in mind). I came across Kristen on the Knot, and contacted her to do a monogram for me (she does your first one for free) and through perusing her website I saw that she does programs literally for almost the same as it would have cost me to buy the card stock! (and when you factor in the time as a cost it was a real bargain!)

She was very helpful in assisting me with an outline (I was so lost!) for the program, she designed everything and sent me the proof, once I approved she was off to work! A few weeks later I received them and just as I had expected they came out beautifully!

She did such a good job that I asked her to make me a monogrammed table runner and my table numbers (another project I had planned on doing myself and realized it would cost the same and turn out better if I had her do them!)

If you are on a DIY budget with limited time for projects I highly recommend Kristen!
 

 
 
 
 
Other Vendors & Websites
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Bridal Shoes- Touch Ups ordered through Shoebuy
http://www.shoebuy.com/

Hair piece, Tiara T145 (not worn as a tiara)- Haute Bride
http://hautebride.com/tiaras2.htm

Shoe Clips (did not end up wearing)- Absolutely Audrey
http://www.absolutelyaudrey.com/

Brooch for Wedding Dress- Advantage Bridal
http://www.advantagebridal.com/rhbr.html

Save-the-date Magnets- Stationary Studio
http://www.thestationerystudio.com//

Glass for Centerpieces- wholesaler HJK Imports
http://www.hjkimports.com/

Guest Book- Platter from Engrave Plates
Our guests really loved this- we had so many guests come up and tell us how unique it was!
http://www.engraveplates.com/

Colored Sand for Sand Ceremony- The Sand Bin
http://www.thesandbin.com/

Cake Topper- Toppers With Glitz
http://www.topperswithglitz.com/

Wedding Favor- Wish Upon A Star Wine Stopper- Favors By Jude through Ebay
Holy cow, this was the best deal. These things sell for like $4.00 on other website (*cough*theknot*cough*) and we found them here for a $1.60 and they include a personalized name tag!!
http://stores.ebay.com/Favors-by-Jude

Wedding Favor- Monogrammed Tin with pink Candy- Ebay
To be honest, I can't tell you who we ended up ordering these through because my crazy Mom found a better deal every day! You just have to do searches on ebay. When my Mom started looking we thought $1.00 a piece was a good deal and I think she ended up buying them for like .35 cents a piece! (not including the pink candy)

Monogrammed Label for Silver Tin & Lottery Ticket Monogrammed label for OOT basket- All Weddings Related on Ebay
http://stores.ebay.com/All-Weddings-Related-By-Karen

Personalized Wine Label for OOT basket- By Design Creations on Ebay
http://stores.ebay.com/By-Design-Creations

Necklaces for bridesmaids- Forever 21
http://www.forever21.com/Default.asp?cookie%5Ftest=1

Bridesmaid dress ribbons- black grosgrain ribbon from Walmart

Bridesmaid Gift- set of 15 wine charms- my only DIY project!

My Mrs. swimsuit for the honeymoon- Classy Bride
Oh BOY was this a hit with the hubster! It was worth every penny considering how much he loved it! I wore it on the first day of our honeymoon and literally every time I turned around he was taking a picture of it!
http://www.classybride.com/justmarriedswimwear.htm

Monogrammed stationary for Thank-You notes- The Stationary Studio
http://www.thestationerystudio.com//

Table stands to hold table numbers & Frame for Table Assignments- Michaels


As I think of other vendors, I will continue to update. I am also making a list of websites I found useful and hope to include those soon too.
 

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