Building our Street Team!!!

Wedding season is upon us and we are looking forward to some amazing events this year.

We have a great opportunity for college students wanting to gain experience in the event industry.

Email us at info@thefrenchconnectionevents.com or call us 210.349.8301 if you would like to be apart of our Street Team!

Wedding Shower - this time it's for me!!!!

Our wedding shower is today...I am so excited!! I have to force myself to not get up do a million things to prepare. I keep saying today is for you and Scott!! Difficult when you are the one used to organizing, planning and being in control of EVERYTHING!!!

6 of my friends and family have come together to spoil us with this shower and I have no idea what they have in store for us. The only detail I know is that it is New Orleans themed as it is a Honeymoon shower. Yep, we are headed to New Orleans for our honeymoon! But other than that I am clueless.

We decided to have the shower at our house because we feared we have too many people wanting to bring kiddos etc and didn't want them to feel unwelcome. Ha! It turns out no one is bring children!! The good thing about that decision was it forced us to push hard and get our back yard finished!! Our yard has been under construction since March 2010!! I need to post before and after pics...we went from a yard with lots of lawn area to one that has almost every inch of it covered or utilized. We added a pool, a pool house and a new basketball court/pad. Now when the grass turns green it is going to look amazing!! I can't wait. Scott put in a lot of hard work to get everything done for today. I love him!!

My dad passed away a little over two weeks ago. It has been a difficult time pushing through the flood of emotions but my wonderful friends and Scott have really helped me so much that I am feeling a lot better. Of course there are moments when I feel a bit sad but they are brief as I am forcing myself to focus on all the wonderful things that are going on in my life.

I have had so much fun planning weddings for 100's of brides over the years and now I am relishing in the process for myself!!

I will post pics soon and let you know how it all turns out! And hope the girls like the shower gifts I made them. They turned out super cute!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

San Antonio Weddings Fair

On January 8, we particiapated in the San Antonio Weddings Fair at the JW Marriot. It was a wonderful event for everyone involved. We had the opportunity to meet brides from all over Texas!

Half the fun was designing and putting up our wonderful booth!

We created beautiful paper flowers to decorate the space. There were these large flowers decorating our main table, interspersed with glowing candles. We also had small flowers in moss that gave off a wonderful, organic feeling.

We put together and designed these beautiful frames with pictures of our weddings. The individual pictures were framed with creative chalk designs!

How to Juggle Wedding Planning with Your Career - eleGALA.com

How to Juggle Wedding Planning with Your Career

by eleGALA.com Photograph by: The French Connection
Ensure your professional life doesn’t suffer while you’re in wedding-planning mode…
Planning a wedding is essentially a full-time job, and if you’re already a busy professional, guess what? Your workweek doubled the moment you said “yes,” and the delicate balance between your professional and personal lives is in danger of collapsing. So how can you juggle your career and your wedding without losing your sanity?
Your Daily Planner is Your Best Friend
Getting organized is the best way to avoid missteps and their accompanying headaches. Appointment books or electronic planners are literally the bottom line when it comes to organizing your work and personal life. There it is, right in front of you, a complete visualization of your day, week, or month. Use iCloud or your Google account to sync all your calendars so when you enter an appointment in your phone, it automatically shows up on your computer and tablet. You can also color code all of your entries so you can easily differentiate between work and wedding.
Stay Organized
If you have a method of organization that works at work, use it for your wedding. Take control of your all checklists with an organizational system you can stick to. Google Docs is great because you can access it from any computer, Smart Phone, of tablet, but if you aren’t a tablet toting, spreadsheet-loving bride then an old-fashioned three-ring binder will definitely work.
Divide and Conquer
Surfing the ’net for bouquet ideas while on the phone with an important client is generally a bad idea. Instead, segment your day into times when you are solely focused on work and solely focused on the wedding; letting one intrude on the other can slow you down. Designate your lunch hour for calling vendors or 30 minutes in the afternoon to look for dress ideas. If you’re taking time out of your workday, plan ahead to arrive early or stay late to make up for any lost time.
Maximize Free Time
You’ve got a lot on your plate, so what was once “free time” may now have to be used more productively. Try to swipe some items from your to-do list after hours. Instead of vegging on the couch during Grey’s Anatomy, use this time to multitask. An easy chore like addressing save-the-dates or organizing your Pinterest boards can be done in your pjs without missing any of the action on TV.
Don’t Be Afraid to Delegate
Your fiancé is your greatest untapped resource; divide wedding-planning tasks evenly between the two of you. (It’s his wedding, too, you know.) Then delegate even further. Accept help from anyone who offers, especially bridesmaids. Give small tasks to immediate family members or bridal attendants (key word is small – don’t turn former friends into resentful full-time wedding planners).
Hire a Wedding Planner
Sure, we know you can do it all on your own, but do you really want to? Lower your stress level by hiring a professional wedding planner. If you don’t want to give it all up, consider talking to a professional about how they can help with the parts that feel overwhelming. Most wedding planners offer a whole slue of services from décor design to simple day-of coordination, so you can pick and choose what services suit your needs.

Take a Break
Kicking up your heels as your task list exponentially expands may sound a tad indulgent, but allowing yourself some time to rejuvenate is essential to avoid burnout. Some downtime will even make you more efficient. Have you ever tried going for a morning run without a good night’s sleep the night before? The same applies here. What activities comprised your free time before the career versus wedding juggling act seized your soul? Reading? Hiking? Painting? Don’t let those activities slip; take that time to yourself and enjoy the relaxation that comes with doing something that you enjoy.

Don’t Be Afraid To Ask
So you’ve organized, compartmentalized, multitasked, delegated, and rejuvenated, but you still find that there just aren’t enough hours in the day, and your work is suffering. Don’t ignore the problem and hope it goes unnoticed. Schedule a meeting with your boss to discuss your situation. Avoid blanket complaints about being too busy and unfounded requests for time off. Instead, present the problem and possible solutions. Explain the job duties that are suffering, and share with your boss ideas for how you can accomplish them more efficiently.

Erin and Kolby- Crystal Elegance

After dating for two years, Erin and Kolby tied the knot on a beautiful summer day. The event was held at The Marquardt Ranch in Boerne, Texas. The ceremony was held outside, under a clear, blue Texas sky.
The French Connection designed the event, including the beautiful flowers. The aisle of the ceremony was decorated with shepherds hooks with a balls of roses and crystal. As well, there were ivory and champagne rose petals lining the sides.
Custom-made signs led the guests around the grounds.
Crystal chandeliers hung from the impressive, mature trees that flourish on the grounds. They added an elegant detail to an outdoor event.
While the guests waited for the ceremony to begin, they were treated to a delicious beverage station to help keep them cool!
The French Connection designed the custom menus and reserved signs for the reception tables.
The centerpieces for the dining tables were created with ivory, champagne, and pink roses in clear vases. The tall vases included hanging crystals, recalling the outdoor chandeliers. A dynamic look was created in the diningroom by alternating between tall and short centerpieces.

A special thanks to Bend the Light Photography for such beautiful photos of this very special event.

"The Knot" Best of Weddings 2012

We are so grateful and excited to be picked as a "Best of Weddings" vendor by "The Knot" magazine, yet again!
Thank you to all of our brides for helping make this possible!

Monday and Tuesday of this week we joined in with the 15th Annual Kappa Kappa Gamma Tablescapes at the San Antonio Country Club. It was so much fun and really exciting to see some of the creative designs from some of our peers in the industry. Proceeds from this year's event will benefit Seton Home, a residential faciality that provides shelter and support services for homeless pregnant or parenting teens and their children.

We called our table Simple Abundance. The design was unique but still attainable... Let us know what you think of our table!
Pictures below

Ropin Dreams!

We are thrilled to have participated with last weekends event for Ropin Dreams. For those of you who have not heard of this organization please check out their website. www.RopinDreams.com

For their silent auction we donated a basket full of items we contributed along with items donated by some our generous vendors.

Our basket raised $210 for this organization that is dedicated to bringing a day of smiles to the child who faces daily challenges due to serious illness or injury.

We want to give a special THANK YOU to the following vendors who contributed to the basket:
-Don Strange Catering
-You've Got Paper
-Alamo City Liquor
-Page Barteau Catering

Ashley and Bryan: A True San Antonio Wedding

Ashley House and Bryan Jones were married September 24, 2011 at the beautiful Margarite B. Parker Chapel at Trinity University.





For their reception they chose Pearl Stable. This was the perfect location because guests were able to go upstairs to the lounge area and also outside on the balcony. The weather was so perfect that day that many guests chose to spend time outside.







The best part of the wedding was all the creative freedom we had. The bride gave us some ideas and let us design everything! And with the help of Pizzini Design's colorful floral, we were able to bring the event to life!



In honor of the bride's new last name, the guests were given Jones Soda as wedding favors. They were able to choose from 3 different flavors, with 3 different pictures on them. This was a hit with party guests because of how unique it was!


The guests were so pleased! Everyone kept saying how the wedding was so "them".

Nancy and Andrew Taft

Nancy Bustamante and Andrew Taft were married August 6, 2011 in the stunning Chapel of the Incarnate Word. Their reception was held at JW Marriott.
They had a string quartet for the ceremony and the Groove City Band for the recption, all provided by Allegretto Music.
The bride and groom, along with family and bridal party, arrived in style thanks to Star Shuttle and Charter, and Rolls Royce Limo.

The elegant floral was provided by Castle Hills Floral

This life-like Barcelona Jersey groom's cake was done by Ultimate Cheesecake Bakery

The couple and their guests ended the night being serenaded by mariachis.

All photos by: Gary Gibson

Who Pays For What - Tips from eleGALA.com

Wedding Budget Etiquette - Who Pays for What?

tips from eleGALA.com
photos by: Perez Photography

Learn which side of the family is typically responsible for which wedding costs and the tradtional wedding budget etiquette.
Tradition states that the bride’s parents are responsible for fronting the bill for the wedding reception; these days, the bride’s parents, groom’s parents, and the couple themselves all contribute to the wedding pool.

That said, it helps to come to the budgeting table prepped with the traditional list of which side pays for what. These conventional “rules” can then be adjusted according to your financial situations:

Wedding Costs Paid by the Bride and/or Bride’s Parents:
Ceremony rental fee
Bride’s dress and accessories
Ceremony flowers and décor
Bouquets for bridesmaids and flower girl

Photography and videography
Engagement party
Bridesmaids’ luncheon
All vendor services for reception, including food, beverages, décor, and entertainment
Groom’s ring
Invitations and stationery
Transportation for bridal party to and from ceremony and reception

Wedding Costs Paid by the Groom and/or Groom’s Parents:
Marriage license and officiant’s fee
Groom’s attire
Bride’s bouquet, boutonnieres for ushers, and corsages for mothers and grandmothers
Honeymoon travel
Rehearsal dinner
Bachelors’ dinner
Both of the bride’s rings

Costs Incurred by the Wedding Attendants:
Their own attire, including shoes and accessories
Bridal party hosts bridal shower and bachelorette party
Groom’s party hosts the bachelor party

Wedding Planning

I have been planning weddings for over 10 years now. Helping couples and their families through the maze of checklists, vendors, budgets, etiquette guidance, to have a theme or not to, designing the day, flowers, linens, photography tips, I have fired a maid of honor for a bride, played mediator between many mothers and daughters and fought countless battles with on behalf my dear clients. And now I am a bride to be!

Nope I have never been married!

I will be marrying the sweetest man next April.

Planning my own wedding has really made me be able to see what my brides feel and expect of their planner. Sitting on the other side of my desk as my assistant/planner goes through my checklist and reminds me of all the things I need to work on and the things we have left makes me think THIS IS SO WORTH IT!

Going through this process is exciting. I can't wait to marry this man! We decided to give ourselves a year to plan our wedding. I am thankful for every second of time we have. Not only does it give us more time to save, it also allows me more time to plan and personalize my day.

I always said I wanted to get married on a beach but once I became engaged having a beach wedding no longer felt like us. It was definitely me but not US. We decided we would have a day that is rich with family and friends. Relaxed and not overly fussy. Let's see if I can manage not to go overboard by the time the wedding gets here!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Plaza Lecea- Dancing the Night Away

Natalie and Kenton were married on a sunny day in June. After beautiful ceremony was held at University United Methodist Church, the guests headed to Plaza Lecea for a fun reception. Everyone had a blast with the dress-up photobooth and danced the night away. They even had a limbo competition to top off the night! Check out some of the pictures by The French Connection:

8 Complaints that Irk guests by eleGALA.com

Check out this insightful article from eleGALA.com
Mind your guests and avoid these major oversights so your wedding celebration is one that everyone can enjoy.
Chances are, you’ll be the only one to notice if a flower is out of place or the best man dons the wrong shoes, but wedding guests everywhere agree that the following blunders make for a painful wedding experience…
8 Wedding Guest Complaints

1) Bad Timing – Long pauses between the ceremony and reception are generally a bummer. If you cannot book the ballroom immediately following the ceremony, arrange for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at an adjacent space.

2) Cash Bars – Sorry, a cash bar is never an acceptable money-saving solution. Swallow that expensive pill by thinking about this: You would never ask guests to pay for a cocktail in your own home; your wedding should be the same. Consider simply serving wine, beer, and a signature cocktail to cut costs. If you’re on a budget, a full bar isn’t necessary.

3) Stranded Dates – Don’t create a painful experience for your attendants’ dates. Speed up the marathon photo sessions and seat dates together with the wedding party at the reception.

4) Stranded Guests – If your wedding reception and ceremony locations are far apart or far from accommodations, you should provide guest transportation. Besides the obvious safety concerns of drinking and driving, your guests should remember what a lovely time they had at your wedding – not what a pain it was to get there.

5) Unaccommodating Accommodations – Failing to provide information for convenient and affordable accommodations for long distance guests never goes over well. Don’t force guests to be their own travel agents, and don’t secure the only room block at a five-star hotel unless all of your guests have five-star budgets.

6) Silent or Tardy Dinner Bell – If your four hour reception falls during meal time, understand that your guests will be expecting just that – a meal. And they’ll expect that meal during normal lunch or dinner hours, so don’t wait until 10 pm to serve dinner.

7) Ungracious Hosts – Failing to acknowledge any gift or thoughtful gesture with handwritten, personalized thank-you notes is always an etiquette faux pas and never a breech that goes unnoticed. Suffering from writer’s block? These useful thank-you note examples will help you get started.

8) Just Plain Tacky – Ok, let’s get it out: When it comes to money dances, novelty songs (hokey pokey comes to mind), or singles dances, most guests are in agreement that it’s a little out of date. Of course, there will always be those who find these acts acceptable and those who don’t – but as host/hostess, your job is to make guests feel at ease and comfortable, so consider your audience as you decide on the evening’s events.

McNay Art Museum - All in Pink

Raquel Linares and Robert Orozco were married at the beautiful historic San Fernando Cathedral, here in San Antonio. Their reception was held at the McNay Art Museum. Mariachis played during dinner and for the reception The Latin Connection took the stage. The guests had a great time dancing the night away in the custom-lit room. Take a look at some of the photography by Anahi Navarro.



This gorgeous cake actually has the words from 1 Corinthians 13 written around the different layers. This verse, which speaks of the true meaning of love, was also read during their ceremony.
The adorable lifelike grooms cake ws custom made to look just like the couple's dog. TOO CUTE!!!!
We just loved designing her invites for her. The image of the cathedral was a touch that finished off her invite and I think is what she really fell in love with about our design.

I adored Raquel's color choices. The bridesmaids dresses really set the tone of our design. The French Connection designed the flowers to help turn the bride's vision into reality.