Praise & Preview

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

And we all just got our new Grace Ormonde's and Inside Weddings, so here are a few pics I just can't stop oogling over today. These pics are like candy to a kid, like pb&j, like mountain fresh air- oh, you get the point.Click to enlarge... a parasol of blooms and butterflies, a staff bursting with a shower of orchids and crystals, a table I think I'm saving for my own wedding, and wings made out of flowers and gems! What a delight!

Surprise!

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.

Pensacola Magazine Photo Shoot

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 show!

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!

Beautiful Beginnings

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 !: )

For ONE week and ONE week only!

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! Calling all Brides!

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!

Kim, Jesse, and News from the Bliss Team...

Here are a couple shots from our two new upcoming photography talents that were also clicking away at the Southern Wedding Style Magazine cover shoot- they are amazing! (More to come from these two!)

Kim














Jesse
News from Bliss...

We are SO BUSY! We're getting overwhelmed with amazing response from our shoot and somehow every bride on the Gulf Coast decided to contact us this week. We think the approaching New Year makes people realize there are lists and lists of wedding tasks to be done and they need a little Bliss in their lives! haha We're happy to help make a couple's dreams come true- what great work we get the honor of doing!

Our Bliss Wedding Winners, Brittney and Alan, came by the shoot last week and had some amazing pictures taken. You'll just have to wait for the magazine to view them.. we love surprises...

We have a NEW OFFICE in Gulf Breeze!!! It's a blessing for us to have a central location for meetings and production (and the water view isn't so bad either). We're creating a gallery of the best work in the area from photographers, cake bakers, and all the best vendors around so you can have a real "one-stop-shop" to view portfolios and get unbiased opinions on who's who where to find the best of the best. We love vendors who consistently produce a flawless product or service and pride ourselves on matching vendors to couples based on their personalities and real wedding day needs. We're thrilled to finally be able to showcase the best vendors in the area with pictures and samples rather than just talk about them. "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words", right? Contact us to set up an appointment in our new space. We'll pour you a glass of champagne and do what we love to do most- talk weddings!

We will be at the Bridal Expo next weekend (January 7th at the Pensacola Civic Center)... we hope to see all of you there. Make sure to pick up a copy of the new edition of Coastal Weddings Magazine which debuts at the show. We have two great articles and tons of great Bliss pics in this issue. Also, make sure to say hello to some of our favorite vendors who were showcased in our recent cover shoot... MySpayce Event Space, Rae Leytham Photography, East Hill Photography, Consider the Lilies, Eat!, Portobello Market, The Bridal Loft, etc etc... it's always fun to do a show with people we love to work with and who excite us with what they do.

Well, the New Year is upon us and the Bliss Team is READY. We look forward to another year of even more fun and magic! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Rick, Rae & Wes, and Jace, OH MY!

One sneak peak from each and more to come from Meg Baisden Photography soon! Click each image to zoom in...


















Rick Shamberger of East Hill Photo for SWS Magazine
Model, Tamara Eve; Location, MySpaYce; Cake, Betty Weber; Linen, Cloth Connection; Hair, Paul Knight of Revolution Studio; Make-up, Emily Stiles and Toni Lazzaro; Gown, Lazaro from Minton's


















Rae Leytham Photography for SWS Magazine
Model, Jessica; Location, My SpaYce; Jessica's Gown, Badgley Mishka; Hair, Paul Knight of Revolution Studio; Make-up, Emily Stiles and Toni Lazzaro; Nails, Stillwaters Spa; Diamond Jewelry, Rock Hard Designs













JRD Photography for SWS Magazine
Models, Lance and Natalie; Location, Jackson's Restaurant; BMW 7 Series, Sandy Sansing BMW; Lance's Tuxedo, Randall's Formal Wear; Natalie's Gown, Marissa's Boutique; Hair, Paul Knight of Revolution Studio; Make-up, Emily Stiles and Toni Lazzaro; Lance's Lapel, Fiore of Pensacola; BMW Wreath, Consider the Lilies

Success!

Ladies and gentlemen, the earth moved on Tuesday in our sleepy little town! Southern Wedding Style Magazine is off and sprinting thanks to a team of AMAZING vendors, models, stylists, photographers, and a little magic!!

Just a preview.... so much more to come....

48 hours till the SWS Cover Shoot!!

This photo shoot is off the charts!!!

I'm so tapped out of brain power right now that it took me about ten tries to write this sentence. That's when you know you shouldn't be blogging... you have been warned...

So, we staged the first shot today with all the models in preparation for the shoot on Tuesday. It made all of us applaud it was so sexy! Gowns come tomorrow, BadgleyMishka dresses came yesterday, linens arrived on Friday, flowers... well, a few problems with customs in Ecuador but they actually made it yesterday and they are flawless!, the cake bakers are baking, the chefs busy in their kitchens, jewelers are polishing, and we need some SLEEP!

Tomorrow we dress the space and take the first deliveries from vendors. It's amazing- this photo shoot, this magazine, our team, our models, and everything about it is the most exciting Christmas gift for Bliss. We are so thrilled and are so grateful to everyone involved. GO TEAM!

More to come...

This Just In!

We'd like to welcome the following amazing vendors to our Cover Shoot roster:

Nouveau Flowers, Floral Design www.nouveauflowers.com
&
Antique European Linens, Linens and Decor www.antiqueeuropeanlinens.com

The last three days have been crazy! Kara Marie and Danielle headed to Mobile on Saturday to take a look at the breathtaking gowns that Barbara at Minton's will be bringing for the shoot. Go see Barbara. She's been working at Mintons for 18 years and knows her dresses! oh- and the gowns she's bringing... well, let's just say someone really needs to get married at this shoot!!!

This morning Kara Marie went to The Bridal Loft to visit our favorite all-things-wedding diva, Ms. Brenda Carraway. Kara Marie also got a sneak peak at the upcoming edition of Coastal Weddings Magazine and she was floored. This issue promises to be bigger, better, brighter, and full of Pensacola's finest. Brenda is providing us with four stunning gowns seen no where else on the coast. Thank you, Brenda!!! Brides, if you haven’t done so, mark your calendars for the 2007 Bridal Expo. More details at www.thefashionconnection.net See you there!

This afternoon, I placed our final order with Cloth Connection (linens for Donald Trump and Melania's wedding, Star Jones' wedding, etc.) who is sending us specialty linens for the floral designers to use on their designer table-tops. Jessica at Cloth Connection pulled out all the stops for this shoot and we are so so grateful. www.clothconnection.com

And just now, I ordered a boatload of blooms from farms all over the world. Did you know that the flowers you get from your local florist most likely 'grew up' in Holland or Ecuador? Those aren't just ordinary roses! Mayesh, a big provider of cut flowers out here in California is also working with me to get us some hot stuff you don’t normally see in little ole P'cola. www.mayesh.com

To give you a picture of what's in store for the upcoming Southern Wedding Style cover shoot, we have over $60,000 worth of designer gowns, over a million dollars in diamonds, four Grace Ormonde inspired designer table tops (one from each of our fab floral designers), cuisine from the best chefs on the coast, four hot shot photographers (the real artists for the day!), 12 drop dead gorgeous models (including Miss Pensacola, Krystal McKown!), cakes that would make anyone break a diet, four sweet chariots to use as your getaway ride, champagne, sweets, décor, decadence, and a partridge in a pear tree.

(And PS... the word on the SWS street is that there will be a TV crew at the shoot! More to come on that...shhh)

14 days till Christmas!

SWS Photo Shoot Models, Oh My!

A special thanks to our soon-to-be Cover Models!!! We are so thrilled about our line-up of models for the Southern Wedding Style cover shoot and can't wait to put them in those gorgeous gowns/tux's and have Toni, Emily, and Paul work their make-up/hair magic. These ladies and lads are a photographer's dream~ We know Rae, Rick, Meg, and Jace will be in HEAVEN!

Our stunning "Cover-Brides-To-Be" as of 12/8:
Jessica S., Kadee, Lauren, Jessica, yes - we have two Jessica's!, Tammy, our gorgeous model from the Bragg pics, Krystal, Miss Pensacola!, Natalie H., a current Bliss Bride~ stunning!, Carlotta, Erienne, Nicole, Jamie, Debra, Natalie V.

The Gorgeous Moms:
Celia, Theresa, Elizabeth

and... The MEN!
Lee, Lance, our master Lighting Designer and on the InWeekly "Lust List" last year!, Vincent, Ari, Joe

Bliss is on MySpace!

www.myspace.com/blisseventgroup

Southern Wedding Style Photo Shoot

We are all so floored- the good news keeps pouring in! Never before have all of these vendors come together to collaborate on something so exciting.... Brides, we've asked the BEST of the BEST to do what they do best at our premiere cover shoot for Southern Wedding Style Magazine (online edition debuts in the Spring and will have TONS of priceless info for your Big Day!). Check out this line-up and give these vendors a CLICK!

My Spayce, Venue www.myspayce.us
Jackson's, Venue www.jacksonsrestaurant.com
Eat!, Catering www.eatmorefood.com
Portobello Market, Catering
Crema, Catering
Sandy Sansing BMW, BMW 7 Series www.sandysansingbmw.com
1952 Rolls Royce, courtesy of Phillip Morris and My Spayce
Horse and Carriage, Harold Garrett
Sherry's Cakes, Cake www.sherryscakeshop.com
Betty Weber, Cake
Confections on the Coast, Cake
Sweet Creations by Sharon, Cake www.sweetcreationsbysharon.com
Fiore of Pensacola, Flowers
Bliss Event Group, Flowers www.blisseventgroup.com
Consider the Lilies, Flowers www.considerthelilies.biz
Kebbie Hollingsworth, Flowers www.khfloral.com
Revolution Studio- Paul Knight, Hair Stylist
Rick Shamberger, East Hill Photography www.easthillphoto.com
Meg Baisden Photography www.megphoto.com
Rae Leytham Photography www.raeleytham.com
JRD Photography www.jrdphotography.com
Stillwaters Med Spa, Manicures/Pedicures/Specialty Bridal Spa Treatments www.stillwatersmedspa.com
Toni Lazarro Make-up www.tonilazzaro.com
Emily Stiles Make-up
Rock Hard Designs, Diamonds/Jewelry www.rockharddesigns.com
Elebash's, Diamonds/Jewelry www.elebashs.com
Marisa's, Evening/Wedding Gowns
Badgley Mishka Gowns from the designers!!, Gowns
Brenda Carraway and the Bridal Loft, Wedding Gowns and Accessories www.thefashionconnection.net
Randall's Formal Wear, Mens Tuxedo'’s
Minton's Bridals and Formals, Gowns www.mintonsonline.com
Antique European Linens, Linens www.antiqueeuropeanlinens.com
DUH, Registry
Kents Special Events, Rentals www.kenstspecialevents.com
Cloth Connection, Specialty Linens www.clothconnection.com

The list keeps growing!!!

If you are a current/past/prospective Bliss Bride and want to come to the shoot just to take a peak, let us know! Email me- bliss@blisseventgroup.com

Many thanks to all of the vendors involved~ What a great way to start Christmas week!

Heather and Jimmy...Pictures!

The pictures are in and they look great! Salter Photography did an amazing job of capturing the evening on film. Check out the remaining images at www.salterphotography.com/cleary. What a cute couple!

AND THE WINNER IS...

photo copyright The Image is Found Photography

......drumroll......


Brittney Allen & Alan Busler

CONGRATULATIONS!

Alan returns home from a year serving in Iraq on Monday and has no idea about the good news in store~ We called Brittney last night and she was full of happy tears! We are thrilled to make this beautiful and deserving couple our Bliss Wedding Winners!

BUT... we did say something about that show where Oprah gave everyone a car, didnt we!?

Well..... the following couples are WINNERS TOO! We just couldn't say NO so we're giving each of the finalists a piece of the Bliss Wedding! I'm calling all of you today too but if you are anxious you can call me too- 850-454-8558.

Mindy & Brent
Jennifer & Jason
Jamie & Michael
Lauren & Alex
Christina & Nathan
Tara & Shannon
Elena & Kyle
Rachel & Joshua
Marissa & Nicholas
Lauren & Neil
Jennifer & Dusty
Gretchen & Edward
Rachel & Robert
Diane & Michael
Heidi & Derrick

So much LOVE in the air this Christmas~
Merry Christmas from all of us at Bliss!

Lara, Danielle, Kara Marie, Tiffany, Samantha, Natasha, Lindsey, Hayley, Stephanie, Jessie, and Andrea : )

Ho! Ho! Ho!

I get the joy of playing Santa Clause today~ Are you ready?! I'm calling you today..... you Bliss Wedding Winner, you! Many thanks to ALL of our finalists and to every amazing couple that took the time to share their love story with us- you are all so blessed. As cheesy as it sounds, you are already winners! We will post the winner here as soon as we talk to them and calm them down after they hear the good news. Merry Christmas, right!? : )

In other news.....

We are all so excited about Phillip Morris's new 'Spayce'. Phillip is a family friend and quite the entertaining genius- it's about time he unleashed his magic on Pensacola! Check out the new digs at www.myspayce.us. This new ultra high style venue is just what we've been craving!

You will hear more about this, but for all you blog-stalkers, I'm opening the doors to "Real Weddings" submissions for Southern Wedding Style Magazine. Send us pictures, your contact info, a short story about your Big Day, the vendors you used, and make sure it's ok with your photographer for us to use your pictures on the SWS website and possibly in the print edition. Vendors, we welcome your submissions too! Send us your favorite weddings~ we can't wait to see what you're proud of! Send all submissions to lara@southernweddingstyle.com. (Only low res images for now please) We will contact you for more details and to let you know when your wedding will be featured. You work hard to make your Big Day perfect, so we want to show you off!!!

25 Days till Christmas!

Angry BrideTurns Wedding into Charity Benefit!

click this. trust me.
you may have to click on the article again to zoom in. Love this!

Sneak Peak...

For those of you Bliss Blog lovers who are wondering what in the world is going on with us not announcing the winners of the Bliss Wedding, the story is that we got several responses on Thanksgiving and wanted to give each one a chance to tell us more over the phone and in person. We are push-overs for a good proposal story! So, bear with us. We PROMISE to announce the winners this week!!!

In other news, we are all crazy preparing for our December 19th HOT LIST cover shoot for Southern Wedding Style Magazine. A sneak peak for you: Jackson's, Eat!, Portobello Market, Big Sexy Foods, Elebash's diamonds, dresses from The Bridal Loft, etc etc, and some HOT photographers... the best of the best! We are so thrilled and I frankly can't sleep- visions of sugar plums and Jackson's key lime purses~

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM BLISS!

BLISS WEDDING WINNER...

We've decided to give you one more day! You have until midnight tomorrow night to submit your story on our website. We've had dozens of fantastic entries and we look forward to announcing the winners Saturday morning!

Check back....

Aloha~

I just returned from a much needed week in beautiful Hawaii. I visited some of the orchid farms we order from and witnessed dozens of weddings! It was amazing. Another purpose of the trip was for an upcoming wedding we are doing in April. This huge wedding has a modern and fun Hawaiian twist to it, so much research was done. I am definitely inspired.

BLISS WEDDING WINNER

So, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and in the spirit of GIVING, we've had a contest on our website for a Complete Bliss Wedding. You have 24 hours left to submit your story!

And the winner is.....


stay tuned!

Honeymooning in St. Lucia

This picture is from our balcony - what a view!!!

First of all, let me say how wonderful my wedding went! So glad I didn't see all the 'behind the scenes' action!! I would have been a wreck. But I knew I had a group of very talented girls keeping everything flowing smoothly! I must say that our wedding was the most fun I have had in a long time. And to all the future brides out there - get ready to talk, talk, talk! Here's my little hint for when you are out of breath and tired of hearing 'Congratulations': (it's nice and all but geez!) run to the dance floor and dance the night away, you will have so much fun and you don't have to talk to everyone!! It works perfectly! Thank you especially to Bliss - without you it wouldn't have happened! Thank you to Big Sexy Food - the food tasted superb! Thank you to A DJ Connection - Jeff you were awesome! Thank you to Kris from Consider the Lillies - my flowers were gorgeous, just how I wanted them! Thank you to everyone else I may have left out!

So after our wonderful, absolutely perfect day, we packed for our Honeymoon and Monday we were off to St. Lucia. We had a great time, however, I wouldn't recommend their Sandals Resorts. Not the best service, especially for the price! And there were ants all in our room, YUCK! But besides the not so great things, everything else was fabulous. St. Lucia is a gorgeous island, and I would defintely recommend visiting it (and if you do, I would recommend a great little hotel called Ladera, it's on Oprah's must do list). When we got there, we took a Hellicopter transfer to the resort. It was so much fun!! The first couple days, we did what a newly wedded couple should do -- get your mind out of the gutter-- WE RELAXED!! We had our own private plunge pool which was nice in the afternoons, and the beach was pretty nice, however, not as nice as Pensacola Beach =). We went Deep Sea Fishing, and caught nothing except quite a few Heineken Bottles and some Rum Punch! We had a good group so it made it lots of fun even though the other boat caught a Blue Marlin! The next day we took a private tour of the island and saw the Banana Plantations, the drive up Volcano (which really stinks!), we drove through the rain forest and through little fishing villages. Then, my favorite, we did a Canopy Zip Line tour in the rainforest! It was so incredible, I would recommend it to everyone, but get ready to look a little stupid! I was definitely a little nervous at first, but after the first part, I was ready to go faster and faster.

Now we are home and back to reality....it's hard, but I am glad to be back with my kitties and puppy!

Thank you to everyone who made my wedding the most perfect and the happiest day of my life! Robby and I appreciate it so much!

Congratulations Heather and Jimmy!

This weekend I had the pleasure of coordinating the wedding celebration of Heather Hudson and Jimmy Cleary. They were married at Old Christ Church on the nicest Saturday afternoon we've seen in a while. Jimmy looked dapper in his creme tuxedo and Heather was an absolutely stunning bride. Her attendants wore floor length mocha satin dresses and carried flowers in colors of peach and apricot. Jimmy's groomsmen were in black tuxedos with coordinating champagne accesories. The ring bearer (all 18 months of him!) behaved beautifully as the flower girl pulled him down the aisle in a flower adorned wagon. After the ceremony, the celebration moved to Crabs on the beach where everyone ate, drank, and danced the night away. The bouquet was caught by the groom's sister and the garter was snatched up by the father of the groom (who is single!). The bride and her stepfather brought tears to everyone's eyes as they danced to 'Butterly Kisses.'

I have to share one story, now that it's all said and done. Heather will never know (well, now she will!) that one of the children at the party stuck their fingers into her cake before it was cut. Tiffany and I made sure that it was fixed before anyone noticed. However, that worry went away as I watched the bride and groom prepare to cut the cake. This was the first time in a long time that I have seen a groom brave enough to clobber his new wife with wedding cake! Heather was a good sport and returend the favor, so they ended up with matching icing masks. Turns out that a few finger holes were the least of her worries!

I now have a special place in my heart for Heather and her mother, Teresa McLellan, who treated me like a member of the family. Thank you both for being such a pleasure to work with. I can't wait to see the pictures!

Black and White and Red all over!

This past weekend, one of Bliss' own wedding producers was married to her high school sweetheart. Ms. Natasha Dimalanta is now Mrs. Natasha Williams! Her planning for her own BIG DAY was done expertly! I, along with other Bliss producers Tiffany, Danielle, and Samantha, had the pleasure of overseeing the "flow" of things at Natasha's reception. Her divine taste conjured up a beautiful black and white scheme, with splashes of bright red roses scattered throughout the historic Pensacola Museum of Art. The gorgeous paintings were a perfect backdrop for her fabulous event! Natasha looked simply stunning in her gown (and her ear-to-ear smile). As flawless as it seemed, no one ever suspected that while the majority of the guests were doing the Cha Cha Slide, I was extinguishing a small fire caused by a not-so-sober guest playing with the votive candles. The guests didn't get to see the behind-the-scenes frantic scatter to get the reception tables/chairs/chaircovers all set up correctly before everyone began to arrive. Nobody saw Danielle using her chewing gum to collect chards of glass from the table linen (this was hilarious!). I can't say that anybody else witnessed me catching a falling framed portrait to prevent all of the piano decorations from being wiped out. That's what I like to tell couples that are considering hiring a planner! Catastrophes WILL present themselves at your wedding, it's our job to make sure that nobody else has ANY idea that anything went wrong! Anyways, all-in-all, the wedding was absolutely WONDERFUL! It's so refreshing to see two people that are truly in love the way Natasha and Robbie are! Congratulations you guys!

Julie & Billy

Happy One Year Anniversary to one of our favorite brides!

My Big Day...

Is approaching so fast, I can't believe it!! It has definitely been a crazy past two weeks. It has been an amazing journey though - planning my own wedding. I am a little sad that it's about to be over, but I also can't wait to see it all pan out. I have had such a blast with all the parties and get togethers. This picture is from our Booze Cruise party on the Steel Crazy! Don't you love the cheesy hats we were made to wear. I just know that our wedding day is going to be the most perfect day of my life with great friends, family, food, drinks, and most of all the most perfect man in the world. I am, however, a little sad about losing my last name (I am keeping it as my middle name). I think I have actually grown to like spelling 'Dimalanta' and hearing people try to pronounce it, it's pretty hilarious what comes out sometimes! Now I will be plain ol' Natasha Williams.
Robby and I are going today to do the paperwork to make our marraige legal, I guess this is the first big step towards the wedding. I am so excited! I just still can't believe I am about to become a 'wife', it seems so wierd. Not like we aren't basically married already! I guess the actual title is a bit overwhelming, I feel a little old. Just wait until I become 'Mom', yikes!!
Well, I have a thousand things on my mind, and I think I have spend about 45 minutes writing this...I can't seem to concentrate on much these days! Thank you Danielle, Kara Marie, Tiffany, and Samantha for helping out on the Big Day, you have put my mind as ease. And Lara - thank you for being so wonderful during this crazy time and for the roses, they will be gorgeous! I am so lucky to have such an amazing group of women part of my life! I am so lucky to have found Bliss!

Planning a honeymoon is FUN!

After getting recently married in August, my husband and I were planning on taking our honeymoon cruise in the spring. Just yesterday, I decided I couldn’t wait that long. I admit I am a little (gross understatement) impatient and tending towards neurotic when it comes to anticipating events such as this. Anyhow, my inability to wait any longer ended well, because it caused us to pick a date in January for our West Caribbean honeymoon cruise! I can’t wait!! I cannot think of a better way to celebrate the new year than on a cruise with my husband. It’s his first cruise, so he’s even more excited than I am, if you can even imagine that. We plan on going on as many excursions as we can pack in. Snorkeling (my absolute favorite) and visiting Mayan Ruins near Belize are our number one picks. I will take tons and tons of pictures with my new digital camera, so check the Bliss blog later to see them. I’m sure those photos will result in at least one painting memorializing our trip, so look for that as well! Also, in a couple of days, I will also officially have the name of “Samantha Rich Crooke.” I completely love my new name. It’s very original, very hilarious, very me. It turned out wonderfully for me that my maiden name was Rich, and I married a Crooke!

One of my friends Crystal is actually getting married today in Texas. Her and her soon-to-be-husband Kyle, both shown in the picture on the left, are such a perfect match for each other. Individually they are wonderful people, but together they are completely glowing! They are just getting married legally in a courthouse, with the “real” wedding to be next summer in Pensacola. In a couple months they are moving to New Jersey where Kyle is being stationed, having recently joined the air force. I wish them the best of luck on their exciting new life together!


I hope all is well with all of you soon-to-be-brides. That includes Natasha, one of our own Bliss members, who is getting married in a matter of days! Good luck, girl!