Well, the time is getting closer.... we are about to release a whole bunch of shots from our December cover shoot for Southern Wedding Style Magazine. We've been keeping them under wraps until they were all in our hands and as soon as we get the last few disks, we will be releasing some phenominal images. Wait till you see these pictures! WOW!
Canary Diamond Ring- Rock Hard Designs
As promised, today I am revealing the BIG SECRETS! Secret number one.....I'm going to be a mommy!!! Joe and I are so excited, and so are both of our families. It will make for a couple of first-time grandmas, grandpas, great grandmas, and even a great great grandma! That's a lot of generations! I am about 11 and 1/2 weeks now, and my waistline is rapidly expanding. That puts the baby to be due around August 16th (my birthday!). It'll be nice and SCORCHING hot outside. But brides, don't worry! It won't stop me! However, I've blocked off about a month and a half that I will not be doing any planning or weddings. Annnnd secret number two...with the new life-changing event, we've been forced to really take a look at wedding dates! I've been planning this wedding just about since we started dating 8 years ago, and now it's time to buckle down and make some decisions. SOOO, the date is November 16th! I'm DEFINITELY not revealing any wedding info on this blog. That's all a secret! If I told ya'll what I was doing, you wouldn't need to hire me! SO that's it! Hope it was a suprise for those of you who didn't know!!!
It is definitely a HAPPY Weekend! Kara Marie is in Erie, PA with her family (yes, she has BIG news to announce on Monday when she returns), Danielle just bought her wedding dress in Birmingham (she's engaged!... and of course planned and booked her entire wedding within 24hours), and Ari and I drove into the California snow yesterday for a much needed day trip.
So, we are just so so busy with weddings that I got to a point late Friday night where I cringed at the sight of wedding cake. You are planning YOUR wedding... imagine planning 30 at once! Sometimes it gets to be a little overwhelming : ) Brides and vendors call 24/7 and the men in our lives start to think of devilish ways to "accidentally" break our blackberry's. haha. But, it's a labor of love. Truly it is.
We live for the moment we send the bride down the aisle and she looks so calm and relaxed because she knows everything is taken care of. She can focus on her husband-to-be and enjoy every sacred moment without thinking about whether or not the caterer remembered her cousin is allergic to nuts and needs a special meal. Or whether or not the band knows that playing "Let's Get It On" will make her grandma blush. Or if the cake is melting in the warm summer sun out in her hot tent. We have it all taken care of. It's all about trust. We do not falter. We just make her day perfect. Now, behind the scenes it's sometimes not-so-perfect. The flower girl spilled grape juice on her white dress, the father of the bride forgot his tie, the cake was delivered to the wrong address, 30 extra guests decided to come to the reception, etc. But the Bride will never know anything went wrong. That is our job- our distinct and trained skill.... to make magic happen. No matter how detailed we are in our planning, something out of our control sometimes goes awry. And those moments are what excites us most- that's when we get to shine. Super-wedding-planner to the rescue!
But, back to our daily lives. Friday night was one of those nights. I said to myself "Self, you'll be better to your brides if you just let the weddings go for one moment." And it's in that moment that I remembered the entire purpose of the work we do and why people do this 'wedding thing'. To celebrate the love. The devotion. The future with your husbands-to-be, your someday children, your someday grandchildren, your future laughs and triumphs. That is the point.
I ask all of you brides, moms, sisters, and friends to take a moment this week to reflect on the point. Put all of the planning aside -the dress, the flowers, the music, the expensive little mini wedding cake favors you just can't live without- and come back to the love. Cherish every moment with those you love. Make your Love laugh. Tell mom and dad "thank you". Say a little prayer for someone in need. And most importantly, CELEBRATE the love you have for each other!
In this reflection, I am always re-invigorated... ready to take on ANOTHER 30 fantastic, unique, personal, intimate, and stunning new weddings! Each bride is a gift and each wedding an opportunity to help her celebrate the love she has for her friends, family, and new husband. It's awesome work that we do!
We are all spending today coming back to the point. Kara Marie with her family, Danielle with hers, and I with the man I love and our ridiculously cute kitty.... who is currently on my desk eating a corner of the new Martha Stewart Weddings (I guess she likes Carolina Herrera!~)
Wishing you all a very happy, relaxing, and love-filled week!
In the spirit of keeping everyone in suspense....
...I have a secret! The BIG announcement(s) will be on Monday, January 29th...so stay tuned!
Yesterday was part of our weekend marathon (the rest is today!). Kara Marie, Samantha, and Natasha had a cute little wedding yesterday at NAS. It was beautiful! All white and gold ... with the officers in their dress whites... gorgeous! (yes, I'm partial to men in uniform ; ) haha Anyway, congratulations to the newlyweds!!!
Danielle and I spent the day with a really amazing new bride. We went with bride, mom, and MOH (who may get the award for the MOH of the year- she was such a great support to the bride yesterday and so fun on our little road trip) on a road trip to see Barbara at Minton's where she found THE dress. We all cried- she was so beautiful in this gown! We can't wait till the Big Day! Many thanks to the three of you for making yesterday one of those days where we say to ourselves "wow- I love my job!" We just couldn't be more excited about the wedding and the next few months with you!
Today we have our open house for all the wedding planners in town- we can't wait to meet you all! Cheers and have a blessed Sunday!
Pensacola Magazine! CLICK TO VIEW
WHAT'S NEW: Well, we have finally streamlined our services! Now, on the Bliss website, you will find three levels of wedding production services -The Bliss Wedding, Limited Bliss Planning, and The Wedding Day as well as a listing of our Standard Services that come with any level of production services. *The Standard Services are not a separate 'package'... they are what we do with all levels of service : ) Lucky you!
Also, we have now highlighted our Signature Services: Bliss Flowers (yes, we ARE a full-service florist -everything is done in-house- and if you already have a florist, we work with them too!), Bliss Paper (90% of our brides use us for invitations and paper goods when they find out we do everything custom and get amazing papers from all over the world), Bliss Couture (we help you find your dream dress or we will have it made for you), Bliss Lighting (our lighting designer is a genius and will turn your boring tent or space into a moonlit wonderland!), Bliss Perfection and Bliss Beauty (we offer personal training for Brides -and Grooms!- and a full listing or wedding day beauty services that come to you), Bliss Tabletop (linens so beautiful we want to WEAR them!), Bliss Diamonds (we love diamonds so we decided to help you find the best!), and finally.... Bliss Pricing (our #1 goal is to keep you under your ideal wedding budget). This is just a partial list of what we offer. "Full Service" really means FULL SERVICE when you are a Bliss Bride. We do it all! Check out the website for all the new details.... www.blisseventgroup.com
I'll be flying to Pcola today! I can't wait! It's so so cold here in LA, so you better have at least some sunshine waiting for me : ) This weekend we meet with two fantastic new brides who are sure to wow us with their wedding day design ideas, we have a beautiful mid-January wedding on Saturday that we are doing everything for from flowers to coordination, a new couple coming in on Friday, a trip to see Barbara at Minton's to pick out a dress for another new Bliss Bride, a cake tasting, a Bliss "open house" for all the wedding planners in town that we refer to when we can't take a wedding on a busy weekend, a final design meeting with my favorite mom and bride duo on Sunday, a Bliss Team meeting, and Danielle and I are going to support our vendor friends and will stop by the bridal show on Saturday morning. whew!! The life of a Bliss Producer! : ) See you all soon!
I got a great email today from a favorite MOB ("mother of the bride" OR "mother of bridezilla".. whichever each particular MOB wants to be known as : ) Here's what she wrote to another future MOB who asked her about working with Bliss (I had no idea she was writing this! so generous!)
Q: Have you had a good experience with Bliss?
A: "Yes, yes, yes!! As you can tell by my response, I am very pleased with the work that Lara and her staff have done for us. My daughter's wedding is not until April, so we haven't experienced the whole "big day" yet, but the gals from Bliss have been phenomenal in their attention to details, as we have been planning now for over a year. Lara has a unique ability to take your dreams and make them into reality. She has been a tremendous source of calm for us and has reassured us to the point that we are able to focus on and truly enjoy our duties, which are basically finding the wedding dress, bridesmaids dresses, grooms attire, and such. The whole wedding dress thing was such a great time for [my daughter] and I, and it wasn't overshadowed by us needing to run around to do a million other things. This is really a perfect set-up for both [my daughter] and I, since we both work full time, and I travel frequently with my job, so being in town to do all these "planning" chores would not have been easy for us, plus we haven't had to endure the stress of it all either. It has been a very special time for both of us. I can tell you that investing in the work of the Bliss group has been well worth it for me. They have a tremendous ability to do their research and work and have so many contacts in so many locations across the country, that it has been a very big plus for us. I wish you and your daughter the very best in your wedding planning and hope that all her wedding dreams come true! Best wishes and Congratulations, [MOB] "
Wait till you see this wedding (we're all counting the days). It will be featured in Southern Wedding Style Magazine and it will blow your mind! Thanks, MOB~ Much love to you both
And now, the preview of our Pensacola Magazine Weddings Edition bouquets.... well.... ONE bouquet.... you'll just have to wait a few more days till the mag comes out to see the other... ; ) CLICK TO ENLARGE
Finally I can post a picture of the surprise Christmas wedding portrait I did for this beautiful couple, Katie and Chris! Chris' mom commissioned this oil painting from me unbeknownst to the newly married couple. I had to be very sneaky and hush hush about the whole thing to ensure that I didn't spoil their Christmas surprise. Since they were all the way in Minnesota, I had Chris' mom email me a picture of them with their painting on Christmas so I could see their reaction and show all of you. One of my favorite things about being a portrait artist is being able to create something that will truly be loved and treasured by people for years to come. What a great way to commemorate the love that they have for one another! I feel so lucky to have had that opportunity, especially with such a sweet and truly in love couple. They sent me the nicest thank you letter too - check it out:
"Dearest Sam- This is Chris and Katie, finally sitting down to thank you appropriately for the surprise that we had Christmas morning! We were both shocked that Patty had been so sneaky to acquire the beautiful portrait for us and i wish you could have seen the look on our faces when we saw how amazing it truly was...=)...WOW....it's beyond perfect and again we have to thank you for choosing to use your incredible talents on a portrait of us....Patty sent prints to my parents and grandparents as well and they are all just in awe of it...it captures an amazing moment and memory in the beginning of our marriage that is unforgettable....I only hope that we can assist in spreading the word of how intriguing your work is! Everyone who sees it knows who painted it that's for sure...=)... We hope you enjoyed your holidays ( the first as a married couple just as ours was =)) and we hope that you have just as much happiness in your marriage as we have found....Thanks again Sam and best of luck in your future endeavors as an artist!
Sincerely, Chris and Katie Premo"
On that note, I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. I feel truly blessed to have such a great outlet for my creativity in Bliss and to be part of such a great team.
Danielle and Samantha worked hard over the last 36 hours on two signature Bliss bouquets for a Pensacola Magazine Weddings Edition bridal fashion shoot today. I will post pics later tonight! Stay tuned...
In other news, have you seen the new Grace Ormonde Wedding Style?!?!? Brides, if you don't already scour to find this magazine the second it comes out, start now. Grace Ormonde is THE magazine. I can't even call it a wedding magazine- it's a work of art. I savor every page. There is a wedding I worked on with Colin Cowie featured in this issue. Now, I only did behind-the-scenes planning work, but none the less, it's great to see the final product! All those phone calls and negotiations- wait till you see this wedding ("Feature Wedding: Annie & Scott"). Check out that Richard Tyler custom gown- WOW!
What a fabulous (and truly exhausting) day it has been! Today we participated in the Coastal Weddings Bridal Expo at the Pensacola Civic Center. As always, Brenda Carraway did a fantastic job and pulled everything together beautifully. We spent the entire day talking to such amazing brides and even one groom who was courageous enough to brave the crowds solo (you know who you are!).
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to thank all of you again for providing such a breath of fresh air. Every time I attend a show, I come away so inspired by all of the newly engaged couples and their touching stories. I wish we could clone ourselves and work with all of you.
And to our vendor friends, it was so great to see all of you today. I'm thrilled that I finally got to meet the amazing Patsy Brown! If you haven't yet, check out her blog at http://patsybrown.blogspot.com/ to get to know her. Photogs Rae & Wes Leytham were such a highlight to the day (as always) and the ever talented Rick Schamberger unveiled a special image that is near and dear to our hearts. Meg Baisden delivered a disk of pictures that we're all dying to devour! Randall's Formal wear (don't you just love Robert?) and The Bridal Loft put on a spectacular fashion show. Chef Lee from eat! amazed all of us as he carved an ice sculpture before our eyes. To be honest, I don't know who had more fun...the brides who were excited about planning their big day, or all of us dorky vendors who get such a thrill out of catching up with each other!
All in all, it was a great day and I cannot wait to get started on designs for some of the incredible brides and grooms that we met today. Congratulations to all and may your wedding day be Pure Bliss!
While I was in sunny-global-warming-hot LA working on a couple big weddings we have this spring, the Bliss girls were hard at work in Pensacola at the Beautiful Beginnings Bridal Expo. I just want to take this time to thank my team. Rarely do I write to them on the blog, but I think today is a perfect day to start and over the next week I'll be giving our "blog stalkers" a little behind-the-scenes on how things work at Bliss.
First things first... Tiffany, Natasha, Danielle, and Kara Marie, you are absolute gems! I get emails from brides who just write to tell me how much they enjoy working with each of you. When you call me right after your meetings with couples, you always glow. You probably don't even know this, but the most excitement I hear in your voices is right after you've spent time with a bride and groom or a mom and daughter. It's these times that I feel incredibly blessed to work with four women who have the same passion and joie de vivre for creating celebrations as I do. It's a true gift to know each of you. Keep doing what you are doing- you are making dreams come true for so many beautiful brides! I am so grateful and excited about the FUTURE!
I also want to thank all the vendors we work with on a daily basis and the bevy of new wedding pros who have taken the time to introduce themselves to us lately. Your warmth and enthusiasm about what we do is equally as exciting to us- it shows us that there are vendors out there who believe in what we hold dear to us- collaboration. A wedding is all about a team of professionals coming together to produce a day that is unique, personal, and unmatched. We never tell the same story twice! Vendors, thank you for your priceless talents and for taking the time to get to know us- we're thrilled to know you too !: )
WIN A BLISS WEDDING! If you attended the Bridal Expo at the Pensacola Civic Center you are eligible! Visit the Bliss Website THIS WEEK ONLY and enter to win a full Bliss Wedding! Again, you have 7 days to write us a short blip about why you and your love deserve to be the winners and we will announce the winners next week. This is ONLY for brides who attended the Bridal Expo on Sunday the 7th. Hurry! The last time we did this we had so many amazing entries that we decided to give everyone something. Yes, we're softies. We love a good love story : )
OK...no kidding here... we got 34 new wedding calls last week. We booked four new weddings in the last four days! We're almost full for 2007, so brides.... don't let time run out and book us while you can! We're suckers for weddings, so it's really hard for us to turn people away, but we're getting to that point. There must be magic wedding dust in the water this year... so many weddings!!! It also speaks to true love... lots of happy people who found that special someone to share their lives with. We're all so happy for you and can't wait to see all of these wedding through~ Cheers to a blessed and joyful 2007!
HAPPY 2007 from the team at Bliss Event Group and Southern Wedding Style!!!
We are excited to announce a few new additions to our ever expanding team!
Kim Sellers has just been brought on as our new in-house photographer. Kim was one of the fantastic new talents at the SWS Cover Shoot and will continue shooting for the magazine over the next year and working with us on getting some behind the scenes images from a few of our larger weddings. We are also excited to introduce Kim as a new up-and-coming wedding photographer and look forward to debuting her work on our website very soon. Welcome Kim!!
Very exciting news as of just yesterday is the addition of Tamara Childers, our new Assistant Wedding Producer! (for those of you that don't know, every member of our wedding planning team started as an "assistant" and had to work their way up to "Producer" status... we don't just hand out these titles! We send each gal through rigorous training first so our brides get the best of the best!)
BRIDES, We're taking submissions for Real Weddings for our hot new magazine, Southern Wedding Style Magazine. Talk to your photographer and send images and a short write up about your wedding to realweddings@swsmag.com. If your wedding is chosen, we will contact you for more info and to get the inside scoop on your Big Day! If your wedding hasn't happened yet, even better! Let us know what you have planned and we may chose YOU to follow throughout your planning process and document your experience. What a great way to start 2007!
If you haven't already picked up a copy.. get your copy of COASTAL WEDDINGS MAGAZINE. It's out and we're all over it!! You can get a FREE copy at several locations... Pensacola Visitor Information Center, hospitals, clinics, salons, numerous retail shops, day spas, etc. And come to the BRIDAL EXPO this weekend... Sunday at the Pensacola Civic Center. Come say hello to the Bliss Team- we would love to see you there!
Wishing you and yours a BLISSFUL 2007 and a joyful and memorable wedding planning season. We look forward to all this new year has in store for us! Cheers!
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