Weddings by Lindsay

Simple.Elegant.You

I am so excited about being a Weddingstar wholesale dealer! Everything from favors to candles to stationery you can find it at weddingstar. If you buy through me you not only have access to all of these great products but you save a considerable amount. The next person in Central Florida (Daytona, Palm Coast, St. Augustine, New Smyrna, Port Orange, Orlando areas) that books me for any of my planning services will receive this cake topper FREE!

Many congrats and best wishes to all of the Central Florida brides and grooms!

February 22, 2010 will be a day to remember for this cute, young couple. Their ceremony was to take place inside the Lightner Museum Courtyard by the bridge. All day I was watching the weather radar and kept Alison & Max posted on what it looked like. Up until the last minute (literally) it started to rain. At that moment I called it and we moved the guests inside the Chapel next to the Wedding Authority offices. Even though the ceremony was not exactly how they pictured it, it was beyond beautiful and intimate. With a bit of good luck from the rain, they rang the chapel bell and exited to take pictures. As soon as they stepped out the rain cleared and blue sky popped out! It turned out to be a beautiful evening for them. The reception followed in the Sala Menendez room with A1A Aleworks providing the catering and music by DJ Timmy.

We all had such a wonderful time with Alison & Max and their families and close friends. Congrats again and best wises!

Thank you to all of the vendors that helped make this day a beautiful one!

Vendors for the night!

Dj Timmy
Mark Dickinson Photography
A1A Aleworks
The Wedding Authority
Defore’s Cake Design
Sally’s Roses & More
Weddings by Lindsay

Congrats to Shanna & Brandon on your upcoming wedding! I am so excited to be working with this couple. They have chosen Casa Feliz in Winter Park as their venue for their June 25th wedding. Keep checking back to see how their planning is coming and what vendors they have chosen for their big day.

Welcome Rachael & Willard! We are so excited to help this couple plan their August wedding. Rachael has chosen a mossy green and chocolate as her main colors accented with ivory. A simple, elegant and intimate affair it is sure to be beautiful. Most of the planning will be done through email and working with Rachael’s mom, Liz. We look forward to helping them search for the right vendors for their special day!

Everyone involved in the wedding planning process tends to forget a very important person…the groom! We all focus on the bride and details however, the groom should have some opinion…it’s his big day too! There are many times I, as a Central Florida wedding planner, have not met the groom until the day of the wedding. I love working with both the bride and groom, knowing them as a couple and knowing their likes and dislikes for their special day. Here are some duties for the groom-to-be…

• Choosing your side of the wedding party-best man, groomsmen and ushers
• Deciding on attire-with keeping with the wedding’s style
• Choosing wedding bands together
• Selecting and purchasing wedding gifts for the bride and his wedding party
• Arranging for and purchasing the marriage license-check out your county’s website for more information.
• Planning the honeymoon-unless you are planning a surprise and your bride-to-be is ok with this I advise you do this together.
• Compiling your guest list
• Arranging transportation
• The Gift Registry-many guy’s dread this, but I promise it can be fun! These days couples are registering for anything and everything; including tools, electronics, entertainment and sports equipment. It’s like free shopping…who doesn’t like free?
• Go to as many vendor meetings with your bride-to-be as possible. She does want your opinion! Especially food and the bar.
• Making toast at the rehearsal dinner
• Have fun!
• Dance with your bride!

It’s not just about what we do, but what we know! Having a wedding planner used to be a luxury, but now it’s attainable for all couples.

When a couple gets engaged and starts planning their wedding it is usually their first time trying to figure out how to actually plan the big day. Planners have experience and knowledge you can only get from planning many weddings. Today’s average wedding can take 250 hours to plan! That’s a lot of time many don’t have these days. From invitation wording to honeymoon planning it can be an overwhelming task for anyone. Planners guide and assist you with making informed decisions.

You want to enjoy this time being engaged to the love of your life, not feel like you took on another full time job. Cut yourself some slack and hire a planner that has experience and will take your dreams and visions and make them reality!

Here are some tips for saving money in Central Florida…

1) Hire a wedding planner-whether you want to plan your own wedding or need help with selecting vendors, a wedding planner can save you money, stress and time. A Day Of Coordinator takes the stress away from you, your family and your bridal party so you can truly enjoy your special day! Besides the photographer, it can be the best investment!

2) Ceremony-living in Central Florida and near the beach allows many brides to have a beach ceremony. Not only does this save you money but it also makes for beautiful photos and can be intimate and allows you to be creative. You don’t need to worry about flowers and decor with a beach ceremony. With a simple arch and your bouquet the beach provides a natural look and feel to your ceremony.

3) Flowers-With today’s economy, brides are looking for more ways to save money but still be creative. One way to do so is to utilize silk flowers. Whether you use just silk flowers or combine them with real flowers you can save quite a bit of money.  Plus you can keep the flowers and not worry about how to preserve your bouquet. For centerpieces think of using fresh or fake fruit!

4) Day of the week-While most weddings do happen on a Saturday, many couple’s are choosing weekdays or Sundays to celebrate their wedding. This will save you money with the venue and most, if not all, vendors. Many vendors offer discounts on weekdays and Sundays.

5) Time of day-having your wedding in the evening usually means a full dinner will be provided. Think of having a late morning or early afternoon wedding and provide your guests with a lighter meal. This will cut your costs on the catering and sometimes even the venue since it is not a peak time of day.

Whether your budget is small or large, you can create a wedding that will be memorable. Thinking outside of the box and being creative you can have a personalized wedding that everyone can enjoy!

Yacht Weddings in Florida

The State is usually known for romantic beach marriage ceremonies. However, for those couples who are looking for something else, something more classic like yacht marriages, the city has a quite number of choices. One Florida wedding venue that is worth looking into is the Queen’s Harbour Yacht & Country Club located in Jacksonville, Florida. The venue is situated on the waterfront and is an ideal place for outdoor ceremonies.

For those who are really serious about a formal, classy yacht marriage, one of the best options for a Florida wedding is the Carrousel Yacht in Miami Beach. It features a super yacht that measures 135 feet. It is docked along Miami Beach. The Carrousel Yacht is open for rent and is usually used as a popular venue for marriage ceremonies and marriage feasts. Some couples also hold their rehearsal dinners in this venue. Among its notable features is a charming top deck which can hold up to 150 people

Hotels and Popular Venues for a Florida Wedding

Among the popular Florida wedding venues are the numerous hotels in the area. One of the main attractions in the city, apart from its spectacular beaches is Disneyworld. For fairytale themed marriages, the Buena Vista Palace is a good place as it is in the Downtown Disney Orlando wedding hotel. For a touch of sophistication, the Boca Raton Resort and Club can be the perfect backdrop for that very special day of Florida Wedding in the life of a couple.

The city is also known for its rich heritage. For couples who want a touch of history at their marriage ceremony, they might want to consider looking into the two famous restaurants Upstairs at Bizaare and Bizaare Ave Café. These two restaurants are popular haunts for the locals. They can provide relaxing and laid-back venues without sacrificing elegance and style. The only difference they have with the hotels is that they do not have the air stiffness that hotels are known to possess. They will lend character and warmth to the whole Florida Wedding.

Romantic Winery and Other Alternative Venues

Couples who want something different from the city Florida wedding will be able to find a piece of Napa Valley in the Florida Estates Winery. The charming plantation in Land O Lakes, the Florida Estates Winery provides the romantic background situated in quiet rolling hills.

No marriage ceremony is complete without excellent food. Among the famous hotels, for Florida wedding, known for their delicious offerings is the Hilton Naples & Towers Professional Catering Team. The Hilton is well known for its excellent food and AAA 4-Diamond Accommodations. What sets the Hilton apart from the other venues is its Italian flavor brought on by the hotel’s Mediterranean Venetian interiors.

Couples travel from all over the world to visit and have a wedding and honeymoon in Florida.The beaches in Florida fronts either the Gulf of Mexico’s emerald color waters on the West side, and the Atlantic’s beautiful blue waters on the East coast.There are lots of destination get aways that are great for all to travel and expierence.

When the party’s over, the guests have all gone home, and all the thank you cards have been sent out… what do you think your guests will remember most?
 
The food? The flowers? The cake? None of the above.

They’ll remember if they had a fantastic time at the wedding, which is directly related to how much time they spend on the dance floor!

This is one of the most important benefits of having a great band for your South Florida wedding music. Not only must the music be great, but you must have a bandleader that knows how to get people on the dance floor and keep them there!

You could have the greatest musicians on the planet at your wedding, but if they’re not playing the right music at the right time, the dance floor will be empty. That’s a concert, not a party!

You see, the bandleader is similar to the quarterback on a football team, and the rest of the band is like the team. The bandleader needs to call the right “plays,” getting more and more people up to dance, and working the crowd for maximum fun!

This can also be observerd in DJs. The music is the original recordings, so musicians’ talent is not a factor. Two DJs can have the same stack of CDs, however one party will rock, and the other will be a bore. It’s WHAT music is played WHEN, that keeps the crowd dancing.

A DJ also blends one song into another, so there’s no break in the action on the dance floor. A professional South Florida wedding band will perform medleys, to accomplish the same thing.

Manhattan Music, Inc., based in Pompano Beach, Florida, uses this concept at all their performances.

Many couples make the mistake of basing their choice of band based solely on the band’s talent, rather than their ability to skillfully work the dance floor. This can result in what I call “the concert effect.”

How do you know if the band understands this concept?

If the band sends you an audio CD of their music, (recorded in a home studio, and polished to “perfection”) you can bet they don’t get it. They’re featuring their talent, not their ability to create a hot party. Considering most weddings are professionally videotaped, it raises questions as to why they aren’t presenting any live footage.

If they send you a “staged” video, (lip-synced in an empty room; typically with edits to a crowd dancing at some other event), they don’t get it. In fact, they’re hoping YOU don’t get it!

If the band shows up with a “set list,” they more than likely will just play the songs in the play list order, and whatever happens on the dance floor is left to chance.

Live video footage demonstrating the talents, musical styles, as well as how the band works the crowd is the best way to determine if the group can make the party sizzle, second only to being a guest for four hours at someone else’s affair.

Most couples want an amazing dance party for their wedding, not a concert. It’s the difference between an unforgettable event and a “nice time.”

South Florida wedding ceremonies are performed against a steady backdrop of exotic locales, including beaches, yachts, historic buildings, city and tropical locations. And the right classical music can really set the stage for a romantic, memorable wedding ceremony.

Talent notwithstanding, there is more to performing wedding ceremony music than a musically talented performance. While there may be many superbly talented musicians in our schools and conservatories, performing a wedding ceremony requires professionalism and a musical timing that many students have yet to attain.

Classical Musicians

Classical musicians always add an air of romance and tradition to any wedding ceremony. There are several different musical styles of classical music you may want to consider in selecting music for your South Florida wedding ceremony. Pieces such as “Canon in D Major” by Pachelbel is arguably the most popular processional music for weddings.

A harpist with a flute player, (referred to as a “flautist”) are among the most popular instrumentation, often with the addition of a cellist. String quartets, trios, Woodwind quintets and brass choirs are sometimes used for dramatic effect.

Band Musicians Offer Flexibility

Many ceremonies are also performed by the keyboardist and woodwind player from the band that will play dance music at the reception. These musicians can perform classical pieces using orchestral sounds, in addition to the flautist. They can then switch to jazz piano and sax for the cocktail hour, in contrast to the ceremony music. It can also be more cost effective to use the band musicians at the ceremony.

As your guests arrive, “prelude” music is often played to set the stage and create the atmosphere for the ceremony about to take place. It is important for the musicians to set the tone, as well as be sensitive to the crowd and the venue.

Timing Is Everything

In performing music during the wedding procession, the musicians must be able to time the music’s tempo, start, ending, as well as be able to go into a “holding pattern” if necessary to accommodate the length and pace of the ceremony processional.

They must also be able to create a musically dramatic moment upon the entrance of the bride. This moment is amongst the most memorable at any wedding ceremony, and must be well-executed for maximum effect.

The recessional, or trip back down the aisle at the conclusion of the ceremony is a time for celebration, and this should be reflected in the musical selection. You may opt for a traditional piece by Mendelssohn, or perhaps an upbeat Jewish piece in the case of a temple wedding.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Depending on the size of the crowd, as well as the setting (indoors or outdoors for example), the musicians may be required to amplify their instruments to be heard. Many harpists have an elaborate system of contact microphones installed on their instruments, while many violinists and cellists use a clip-on microphone strategically placed.

When making a decision on hiring a wedding orchestra in South Florida for your wedding ceremony, keep in mind they generally have a two hour minimum, so more than likely they’ll be performing at your cocktail hour as well. You may want to make sure the classical musicians can play a variety of popular songs, including jazz standards, ethnic melodies, and show tunes. Amplification is a must for the acoustic instruments to be heard over the noise of people chatting and eating.

South Florida wedding musicians can be auditioned via audio CD, or from a website if the audio quality is good. It is very difficult to go to someone else’s wedding ceremony to hear them in person, so recommendations by music companies or wedding planners can be helpful in your decision. Be aware that sometimes these wedding professionals may make a commission on their recommendations, so educate yourself as to the reputation of the person you’re taking advice from.

Selecting the best South Florida wedding music for your ceremony can be fun and exciting, and should always include professionals in the industry to assist in making the right choice for your needs and desires. Having wonderfully talented musicians perform for your ceremony can create a magical experience you and your guests will long remember.