It has been quite a busy spring and early summer season for the Uniquely Yours team. Now that we have a few weeks before the fall season starts up, we are excited to bring you several new blog posts! We have so many creative ideas, products to share, and of course, beautiful weddings to feature.  But before all of that, I thought it would be nice to introduce you to our new studio space, “The Living Room”.

We have always wanted a creative space in Orlando to meet with clients, and this past April that dream came true as we partnered with a fantastic group of professionals for the opening of “The Living Room”.  Here are few photos of the new space. The space design and decor was done by none other than the super talented Becka of Studio 222 Photography.

Isn’t it sweet? We love it here!

This month we hosted our Summer Open House at the Living Room. It was wonderful having a space to greet and mingle with engaged couples and professionals alike.  We hope you will stop by for a visit soon.  Just give us a call or send an email first as we schedule meetings by appointment.

All Photos Courtesy of Studio 222 Photography

Recently  I was invited to attend an intimate gathering of trend setting destination planners from around the country for an exclusive look into some of the wonderful destination properties found in sunny and luxurious Vero Beach.  The Vero Beach Chamber of Commerce hosted the first “Come Discover Love” event in early May.  This was a great opportunity for the attendees to “discover” all that Vero Beach and the Treasure Coast has to offer brides desiring a destination wedding in Florida, the number one destination wedding location.

The welcome reception was held at the chic Vero Beach Hotel & Spa, a beautiful oceanfront, boutique property.  We enjoyed seeing many familiar faces and meeting new ones while at the reception.

An after party followed at the ever popular Capt. Hiram’s resort where we were given a venue tour and had more time to mingle and meet the other attendees.

The next day featured a leisurely ecology cruise on the Indian River courtesy of River Queen Cruises. We were fortunate to sight a few dolphin on our tour of the most biologically diverse estuary in North America.

Our next stop was Gloria Estefan’s modern Costa d’ Este resort where we enjoyed a wonderful lunch and had the pleasure of hearing destination wedding expert, Susan Moynihan, editor in chief of Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine.  It was so refreshing to hear that Florida is tops among preferred destination wedding locations.

Dom Perignon was one of the lunch sponsors.

Photo Source: Ray Santana Photography

Creative floral design for the luncheon was provided by the talented and gracious Andres Aguiler of Mystique Flowers.

Photo Source:  PS Photography

After lunch, we were able to hear and meet none other than Grace Ormonde of Wedding Style Magazine.  Grace discussed the magazine and her current book tour showcasing her new book, Grace Ormonde Weddings.  Everyone in attendance received a copy of Grace’s beautiful tome, “Being In Love Never Goes Out of Style”, courtesy of the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce. The book is filled with beautiful images from the magazine, Grace’s personal reflections, tips, and photographs and stories of real weddings from around the world.   I was thrilled to meet Grace in person, and have her sign my personal copy. The book is unlike any other with its focus on the love and commitment of couples which is central to what we do as planners.

That’s Grace Ormonde signing my personal copy!

Photo Source: Ray Santana Photography

The lush and tropically inspired Caribbean Court Boutique Hotel was our next stop.  This is a gorgeous property featuring a variety of indoor and outdoor settings perfect for intimate weddings.

Our group traveled on from the Caribbean Court to McKee Botanical Gardens where we learned more about the garden’s history and the beautiful areas of the garden that are available for weddings and other social occasions.

The Great Hall at McKee

The evening ended with a sumptious dinner back at Costa d’Este poolside where we glimpsed a stunning setup by renown designers, The Event Firm. Unfortunately, it was just a glimpse as everyone quickly moved indoors as a storm approached.  Fortunately, our friends Patty and Susy of PS Photography were able to capture the scene beforehand.

The Event Firm did a great job recreating their designs indoors for the backup plan.

Our final day in Vero Beach concluded with sunrise yoga and brunch at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort where we heard from none other than Rebecca Grinnals, expert consultant to the wedding industry and founder of Engaging Concepts. Rebecca’s presentations are always informative and inspiring, providing plenty of food for thought on how to manage our business and best serve our clients.

Come Discover Love offered a wonderful retreat and it was a pleasure attending the property tours and getting to meet so many fantastic planners and talented professionals from across the county with whom I will be corresponding.

Vero Beach is the perfect location for brides seeking  privacy and luxury in an intimate setting that is so close, yet far removed from the bustle of Orlando. The Uniquely Yours teams looks forward to working with future destination clients as they discover all that is to love about hosting their wedding celebrations in this exquisite Florida location.

Note: All photos are courtesy of PS Photography unless otherwise noted.

When people think of wedding publications, The Knot immediately comes to mind.  The Knot is synonymous with all that is current in the world of weddings and is an incredible resource for inspiration through their online Real Wedding galleries, interactive  planning tools, and both their national/regional print publications.  This summer, the Uniquely Yours planning team (Karry Castillo, Sandy Dostal Thornton, and Jackie Becker) had the opportunity to assist with the planning and production of The Knot’s North Florida Networking Luncheon.  The luncheon provided a unique outlet for invited professionals across the North Florida region to meet and network.  Featured speaker for the luncheon was none other than Alan Berg, Vice President of Local Strategic Marketing and Director of The Knot Market Intelligence.  So in addition to the great networking, the attendees were able to hear first hand the newly released results of the Knot’s latest Real Wedding Survey and learn powerful tips and advice for improving their businesses through targeted, specific marketing and sales strategies.

Photo Courtesy of Dawn McCarthy Photography

Selected for its gorgeous landscaping and river views as well as its outstanding cuisine, the beautiful and historic Epping Forest Yacht Club served as the host venue.  Epping Forest has been a Jacksonville landmark for nearly a century and was originally the home of Alfred and Jessie duPont.  It is a venue that combines all the magnificence and charm of yesterday with today’s style and sophistication.  Kudos to Dan Cook, Assistant General Manager/Catering Director, and his staff at the Yacht Club for their outstanding service and commitment to excellence. No wonder, Epping Forest is renown as a beautiful location for Jacksonville weddings and social soirees.

Epping Forest Yacht Club

Back of Epping Forest under the centuries old oaks

Greet Table

Because we were into the early summer months we wanted the event design to be light and fresh and work well within the historical environment of the venue.  We decided upon an airy french country palette of soft creams and ivories which would flow well from the outdoor meet and greet through to the indoor luncheon.  Lynette Self at the extraordinary Rose of Sharon European Florist brought our vision to life through her creative floral talents and we could not have been more pleased with the beautiful results.  Rashida Erskine of BBJ Linen further instilled life and color into our design scheme with coordinating table linens throughout the venue.

Cocktails by the fountain overlooking the river

The Dining Room

Uniquely Yours Planner Sandy Dostal Thornton and BBJ Linen Sales Manager Rashida Erskine

Sharon Clark of I Need A Favor, embellished the Knot emblem and logo to correlate with our theme and location by including a vintage, soft line drawing of the mockingbird.  Sharon graciously provided the name tags, menus, sponsor cards, swag bag tags, and programs.

Sponsor Cards

Nametags

Menu

Bag Tags and Programs

Each attendee received a cute Knot tote-bag filled with the latest issue of The Knot Florida and special goodies from the luncheon sponsors without whom we could not have put together such a wonderful and productive event.  Special thanks goes out to the following North Florida professionals for their partnership and support:

Peterbrooke Chocolatier – Gourmet Chocolate Popcorn

Choux Designer Cakes & Pastries – Cupcake Dessert Display

The Write Touch – Stationery Items

The Spa At Bartram Walk – Mini Spa Products

We were thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Courtney Craver of Sublime Studios who documented the day along with Eric Torres of Collab-Creation Wedding Filmakers whose video is to be used for future Knot events and training.  Thank you Courtney and Eric for your talent and beautiful images.  All images courtesy of Courtney Craver of Sublime Studios unless otherwise noted.

Finally, we want to thank David Hanscom of Y? Entertainment whose team went above and beyond the call of duty at the last moment to provide the required audio-visual equipment and tech services as well as the entertainment for the entire event. We were impressed with his response to our call to action and greatly appreciated his sense of humor as well as his technical skills.

Uniquely Yours was honored to not only plan this event and work with the incredible team at The Knot, but also to participate and get to know so many of the wonderful North Florida wedding professionals with whom we look forward to doing business.

The late spring and early summer months were busy ones with the Uniquely Yours planning team attending conferences and making appearances at various wedding industry happenings.  One of those happenings was The Sophisticated Bridal Showcase - “Something Blue”, a favorite among the Uniquely Yours planners. Frederick Smith, showcase producer, put together an amazing event featuring many of Central Florida’s finest wedding professionals at the expansive and beautiful Gaylord Palms.  Guests were greeted in the ballroom foyer which was decked out as a cool lounge area, courtesy of Room Service Rentals. Here they could take in a beverage and enjoy the creatively inspired work of renown photographer Damon Tucci.  Stepping into the ballroom, the guests were able to visit the booths of the featured wedding professionals which spanned every category imaginable from favors to custom invitations, bridal fashions, cakes, event design, venues, and more!  Savvy brides were able to make significant planning progress by setting appointments with wedding professionals, taking advantage of special offers available the day of the show, and arming themselves with new products and ideas for customizing their own weddings.  We were proud to be part of this showcase. Within this luxurious setting, we were able to showcase our wedding planning firm, network with some incredibly talented professionals and best of all, connect with so many wonderful, sweet couples looking to plan their weddings in style.  A huge thanks goes out to Frederick Smith for bringing the Sophisticated Showcase to Orlando. We had a great time, and look forward to the next one!

Here are a few pictures of our booth. We went with a cooler, South Beach style take on the “Something Blue” theme.  We think it turned out beautifully.

Chic Yacht Club Wedding

Adam and Meredith were married at the beautiful Eau Gallie Yacht Club.  The Uniquely Yours team worked closely with the bride’s mother as well as the bride to create a destination affair that was both chic and timeless, yet suited to the nautical atmosphere of the wedding venue.

The family created  some of the cutest “beachy” welcome pails for their guests, complete with key lime cooler cookies and sunscreen! Also included were custom designed guest itineraries for the weekend which detailed all the fun activities planned the week prior to the wedding on through to the reception.  The covers of the programs were designed by an artist commissioned specifically to create a modern portrait of the bride and groom.

The colors of the wedding day were shades of white and ivory. The talented floral mavens at Thallo Floral Design put together an amazing look that seamlessly tied the event together from the bridal party bouquets through to the reception centerpieces which were a combination of tall vessels bursting with dendrobium orchids and table lamps surrounded by low arrangements of lilies and hydrangea.  The linen lines featured a beautiful gold bichon complimented by black lamour napkins, and black lamour cushion covers. The cake table was swagged in multiple layers of gold bichon, gold lamour, and ivory bichon.  Event lighting provided by Sophisticated Gents Entertainment and Event Design set the mood with tones of amber that transitioned into pinks as the evening progressed.

Meredith and Adam pledged their vows outdoors on the lawn overlooking the intracoastal.  The ceremony was a true family affair with members collaborating to officiate and entertain.  Additional musical accompaniment for the ceremony was provided by Gail Collins and her amazing team of talented musicians from String Music Specialists.  Due to the unpredictable winds and noise that often arise during waterfront ceremonies, we always recommend audio support, and  professsional John O’Hara was there to make sure key personnel and musicians were properly outfitted with microphones and to make sure all the guests could hear both the vows and musical entertainment.

The dinner reception was held indoors and the menu did not disappoint as the Eau Gallie Yacht Club is known for its wonderful cuisine. Guests enjoyed their choice of salmon, filet mignon, and chicken entrees. The beautiful cake was designed by Something Sweet Cake Studio.  DJ Kevin of Sophisticated Gents Entertainment kept the dance floor hopping through the evening.  Guests also had a great time hamming it up in the photobooth, complete with costumes and props. The emotion of the day was perfectly captured and documented by the talented Jason and Sara Martin of Concept Photography.  Meredith and Adam enjoyed a sparkler departure and left their guests with a sweet remembrance of the day with a box of custom chocolates from Chocolate Creations by Connie. We love the flavors they selected which included chocolate martini ganache, cappuccino chocolate ganache, dark chocolate caramel walnut cluster, and a black forest truffle.    Thank you Meredith and Adam for allowing us to assist in planning and designing your beautiful wedding!  Congratulations and best wishes as you embark on new adventures together!