A & C Wedding 4-27-13

With a refreshing color combination of teal and coral with pops of hot pink this beautiful Boca Grande wedding took place at Boca Bay Pass Club on April 27, 2013.   

The bridesmaids found this vintage two seater bike and attached a colorful display of balloons that matched a custom painting to match. 

Peonies, roses and orchids added just the right amount of color.

Floating candle & flower centerpieces sat inside a bed of river rock in a custom wooden box created by the bride's uncle.

The guests all signed a balloon.

All photos used with permission from Shawna Michele Photography.  Shawna Michele is located in Punta Gorda, FL.  Specializing in Weddings, Family Portraits, Sports, Commercial Advertising, Babies, Couples, and Engagement Sessions.    Her styling is a blend of contemporary, photojournalism and portraiture.  She offers packages that include albums, custom graphic design, digital files, and flush.    Shawna is fresh, fun and pure.  For more information on SM Photography click here.

Wedding Wishes,

~M

Christmas Weddings

The spirit of Christmas is in the air!!  The lights, trees, pine cones, poinsettias, and candles.   What a wonderful time to host a wedding.    It's a wonderful opportunity to use all the perks that already available.  Family and friends already plan their holiday trips and get together's.    The holiday decorations help you keep your wedding decor budget low.  Holiday treats, eggnog and toasty fires will remind you each year of the warmth of your cozy winter wedding.   What are your Christmas wedding plans?

Christmas Wedding Wishes,

~M

Wedding Tipping

Should you tip all vendors?  If so, how much?  When it comes to tipping, generally it's based on each vendor individually.  Unless a service charge is built in to a contract (usually with the venue & catering), you are never obligated to provide a tip.  However if a vendor exceeds your expectations you will want to acknowledge their superior service with a thank you note and a tip.  

Here is some general tip amounts and percentages for tipping your wedding vendors.

Band- $20 - $25 per musician

Bartenders- $20 - $25 per bartender

Cake Delivery Driver- $5 - $10 depending

Catering Wait Staff- 15% - 20% depending

Ceremony Musicians- $15 - $20 per musician

Disc Jockey- $50 - $150

Hairstylist- 15% - 20%

Florist Delivery Driver- $5 - $10 depending

Make Up Artist- 15% - 20%

Officiant- $50 - $100

Photographer- $50 - $100

Reception Wait Staff- 15% - 20% depending

Rental Delivery Driver- $5- $25 depending

Transportation- 15% - 20%

Videographer- $50 - $100

Wedding Planner- $100- $300

**Most commonly tips are handed out after the completion of the service or set up.  

**General rule of thumb is to tip never tip the boss only the employees. 

 **Always make sure to check and see if the gratuity is already included in the contract.  

Wedding Wishes,

~M 

Bride Guide: Rule # 1

If I could plead with every bride in the world to do this one thing when they are planning their wedding it would be to GET ORGANIZED and if that isn't your forte then hire a certified wedding planner to help you through your engagement.  

With having to make what feels like 80,000 decisions, having a bridal game plan will definitely help.  

At just about every book store (and also available for purchase online) you can find these "Bridal Bibles" as I like to call them.  These wonderful binders are chock-full of valuable information!! 

From invitation wording to budgeting tips.  Any one of these helpful binders will help you streamline some super important decisions.  

Pocket folders are critical to store all your important contracts, business cards, color samples and inspirational images.  

The detailed checklists will allow you to analyze a majority of the decisions in play before you go meet with your professionals. 

They will also help you to prioritize your dream wedding by what is the most important to you. 

While each wedding vendor you will have consultations with will probably have an even more detailed checklist for their professional field at least you can have you own ideas and checklist handy to showcase your personal style. 

 While it's important to be inspired by looking through bridal magazines and Pinterest.  Make sure to make your wedding your own.  No one likes cookie cutter weddings. 

Wedding wishes,

~M