Randolph Brook Air Force Base, San Antonio- June 19, 2010

Sarah and Jordan were such a great couple to work with. They were married on June 19th, 2010 at the Randolph Brook Air Force Base Chapel. The groom, Jordan, is a Captain in the United States Air Force and was deployed for most of the planning process, so it was really great to see this couple joined together after their time apart.

The bride loved hanging out with her girlfriends at Sunday brunches and she wanted to recreate and incorporate that special time into her wedding. The reception was held in the Officer’s Club Sky Room. It was decorated in yellows, creams and golds. Guest enjoyed a Champagne Fountain and a Bloody Mary Bar. It was a great event full of family and friends.

Adriana & Randy

Adriana and Randy were married on May 1st, 2010 at The University of the Incarnate Word Chapel with a reception at the Sheraton Gunter Hotel to follow. We worked with this client for over a year planning her special day. The venue was stunning in the colors of chocolates and pinks with crystal accents. The bride surprised the groom by changing into her cowboy boots for the bouquet and garter toss. It was so much fun. Everything came together beautifully!

Using Themes for Weddings

Several new trends have been emerging recently for themed weddings, rather than weddings based around a color scheme alone. Some of these themes include Alice in Wonderland (and other movie themes), carnival, antique-inspired (muted colors, lace, etc), holiday inspired, maps/travel inspired… and much, much more! Using a theme can be beneficial for a couple if they choose one that showcases their personalities and interests because it makes their event even more personal. Check out this adorable Alice in Wonderland themed cake by Cake Nouveau.

Some helpful tips when choosing to use a theme:

1. Start with something simple: What is different about you two as a couple that stands out from most others? Some examples:

• If the couple met on a plane, works for an airline, or enjoy flying… an airplane-inspired wedding would make sense!
• If the groom or bride (or both) have musical talent, a wedding centered on the musical aspects would be a great theme for that couple.

2. Make sure the theme matches the couple.

• This is very important! Your wedding should center on the marriage of the two of you, so make sure the theme you pick represents the two of you and your interests.
• It wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to have a map/travel themed wedding if the couple hates traveling!

3. Try to keep a theme that can be transferred over to several different elements in the wedding. Ask yourselves questions like:

• Can this be transferred into the cake/ floral arrangement/ photographs?

When a couple chooses to use a theme inspired by their own personalities and interests, there is less risk of falling into an overused or cliché theme. They can look back on their wedding and be excited that their special day represented them well and was so personalized to them. Here's a really cute example of a travel-themed wedding found off of Green Wedding Shoes. The couple featured was actually going to travel the world right after their wedding, so this is a great example of how to use a theme to your advantage!

For other ideas, check out our post on our Wizard of Oz themed wedding. Very cute!

Ashley & Bryan Photos

Having so much fun working with Ashley and her mom to plan her wedding!

Ashley and Bryan just had their engagement photos taken with Bend The Light Photography.

I think the photos are super cute!

Grenada - West Indies

I had a wonderful time exploring the beautiful island of Grenada this week.

I found the island to be rich with culture and unspoiled by big chain resorts. The island is laid back and peaceful.

Couples planning a destination wedding or honeymoon will find this island fulfilling whether they prefer a remote quiet boutique style resort or larger full service spa style resort.

English is the primary language of Grenada. This makes a very appeal island to visit. Getting to Grenada was relatively easy but after a full day of travel you must have a nice frosty beverage at your hotel bar to celebrate your arrival to this charming location. My choice drink on the trip was a Blue Horizon....much like a Blue Hawaiian...very yummy!

I wouldn't really recommend driving in Grenada unless you have first taken a tour. They drive on the left side of the road which can be overcome but they do not have very many street signs so this makes driving very difficult. Many of their roads are one lane and on the edges of cliffs. So when traveling into the rain-forest it is best to take a tour. Taxi's are available on the island.

I had a wonderful time and I know you will too when visiting Grenada!

Check out this slideshow of pictures from some of the amazing properties in Grenada. Click here to view.

Contact us for wedding and honeymoon plans! We have some great specials we can share with you!

Kristina & Dave

Kristina and Dave were married at the groom’s family ranch in Medina, Texas. The couple felt the ranch would be a perfect location for the site of their wedding so once they were engaged the groom’s family immediately begun a huge renovation project at the ranch. A barn was constructed and the grounds around the 100 year old home were completely transformed. The ceremony took place in front of a lake that exists on the property. The family had a dock built specifically for the occasion. This wedding was a destination wedding for everyone involved. The couple wanted to treat their guests to a bit of Fiesta so we arranged for everyone attending to stay at the Marriott Plaza Hotel downtown. On wedding day we used motor coach buses to pick all of the guests and transport them the 90 miles to the ranch. The guests were greeted to gentlemen holding cowboy hats with the wedding programs.

Once the guests were seated the wedding began with the maid of honor playing the fiddle as she walked down the aisle.

It was amazing! The wedding party including the bride and groom all wore cowboy boots and we encouraged the guests to do so too!

We designed gorgeous invites that were perfect for this ranch wedding and added our suggestion on the invite so all guests would be prepared.

Following the ceremony the guests enjoyed cocktails around the home and then they all walked down to the barn for dinner.

The guests dined on some Texas flavors served from food stations. For dessert they were treated to Peach cobbler. The wedding cake was really a homemade pie made especially for the newlyweds by the bride’s mom.

The doors to the barn remained open and a large bonfire was set up outside.

The guests meandered in and out listening to the live music inside and enjoying the bonfire outside. Inside the barn we decorated with a combination of round and long family style tables.

We covered the tables with simple burlap runners, galvanized pails filled with wildflowers and tree trunks with candles on them.

It was truly a Texas Wedding.

Photography: Peacock Photography

Floral: The French Connection

Hair/Makeup: The French Connection

Invitations and print work: The French Connection

Elva & Anthony

Elva and Anthony were married at Incarnate Word Chapel with their reception following at the Westin Riverwalk Hotel. This wedding was amazing. I had a blast working with this couple. It was so much fun combining their personal design styles. His style was modern and hers romantic. I think we achieved a perfect balance of both.

She wanted pink throughout her day. I loved the bridesmaid's dresses. Elva allowed each of her gals to choose their own dresses each in a different shade of PINK.

We had pink cocktails that greeted the guests as they arrived to the reception and the ballroom was beautifully lit in a wash of pink. The standard round tables were swapped out for wide and long tables. This created a more intimate atmosphere.
And the Spurs coyote made a special appearance as a surprise to the bride.
This was a wonderful event that turned out beautifully.

Check out this video clip . Click the bride and groom's names below to view the video clip of this wedding Thank you to Elite Video for sharing the below clip.

Elva& Anthony from elitevp.com on Vimeo.

Anne Marie & Dave April 10, 2010

Anne Marie and Dave are well traveled and their journey to meet each other took them literally around the world. That being said, we made this the theme for their save the date postcard. On the cards we designed a map that showed the journeys of each Anne Marie and Dave and then where they met.
The guests came from all over the world. This was was basically a destination wedding for most attending. For the invitation we incorporated the bride and groom's color scheme along with their current home town's skyline. The invites turned out really cute. They are fun and festive and I love seeing San Antonio's skyline incorporated.

The entire event took place at the beautiful Southwest School of Art and Craft. Having done many events at this venue we handled this one much the same as we have in the past. We love make use of all the gardens here and using the inside too. This wasn't a huge guest list so moving the guests around wasn't a problem at all. The ceremony was held at the gazebo, with dinner in the convent garden. Since the groom is originally from Australia we incorporated native Australian animals as table names and used them on the escort cards as well. The groom also treated the guests to sweets from Australia which served as favors.

After dinner guests were led in to the chapel by mariachis. Guest had a great time dancing the night away in the beautiful amber lit chapel. At the end of the evening the couple departed in a horse drawn carriage.