As the Florida chapter chair for the Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants (ACPWC) Karry Castillo of Uniquely Yours had the opportunity to collaborate with the ACPWC course instructor, Carol Davis of Events of Excellence, on the annual Speakers Day which concluded the course offered in August at the beautiful Orlando Hyatt Grand Cypress Resort. This year’s Speakers Day topic focused on informing and inspiring the students in the area of wedding design, especially in working with their clients and other wedding professionals to develop a cohesive wedding aesthetic to be infused into every aspect of the wedding design.
Our featured speakers included the always creative Lee Forrest of Lee Forrest Designs, linen expert extraordinaire Rashida Erskine of BBJ Linens Orlando, and the talented graphic and paper design divas Sarah Matthews and Lisa Badeen of Orange Blossom Ink. Each speaker shared information about their respective businesses, outlined how they work with clients, and discussed their collaborative approach to design. Their speeches culminated with a design presentation that featured an organic, eco chic theme perfect for Florida brides and a darker, sexier theme appropriately named Midnight Escape – both the result of collaboration between Karry and the presenters to serve as an example to the students on how a wedding professional team should work together to bring a bride’s unique wedding vision to life.
Here are a few of our favorite snapshots of the designs. (Thanks to Lisa Badeen for being the un-official photographer!)
Florida Eco Chic Paper Design
Sarah and Lisa were very conscious and deliberate in selecting eco-friendly products, inks, and materials for this special paper suite.
Table Items – Menu, Place Card, and Table Marker
Invitation and Response Card
Packaged Invitation and Program
Closeup of Menu and Place Card
Table Setup on Woven Grass Charger
Florida Eco-Chic Tablescape
Linens
Rashida Erskine of BBJ used a variety of chairs to show the creative options available dependent upon the client’s taste and formality of the event. Those chair options included a chivari with covered with a gold lamour chair pad, covered banquet chair with rosette tie, and wood folding chair with flip sash. Rashida also used a gold lamour napkin upon which she rested the menu. The featured table linen was a grass twist from BBJ’s newest line. BBJ Linen proudly carries a variety of linens that are created from recycled materials and they also utilize an eco-friendly washing process for laundering their products.
Floral Design
The floral design was both simple and elegant. Lee used an urn filled with live orchid plants that may be transplanted post wedding day and enjoyed for years to come. The urn itself can also be re-purposed in the client’s home and garden. The urn was surrounded with white beach glass for added texture and sparkle. Eco-friendly soy candles were used to provide warm natural light. Lee placed a palmetto branch, widely available in Florida, as an added highlight for one of the seating treatments.
Midnight Escape Paper Design
In contrast to the simpler eco chic design, we chose to present a design with a darker, richer, more lush palette. Sarah and Lisa used a variety of accents, including feathers and crystals, which were carried from the invitation suite to the actual table-scape.
Save the date, invitation, reception card, and response card
Menu and Escort Card – We loved the scalloped border and crystal and feather accents on the escort card.
Menu and Table Marker
Midnight Escape Table-scape
Linen Design
This fall and winter you can expect to see dark jewel tones predominate wedding design. This table-scape was created to showcase some of the hottest hues for this year’s fall and winter weddings – deep purples, plum, burgundy, fuchsia, and silver as a metallic accent. Again Rashida Erskine highlighted a variety of chair treatments. A ballroom chair was covered with a cerise lamour chair cover and tied off with an eggplant lamour sash. A mahogany chivari chair was shown with a cerise lamour chair pad cover and eggplant lamour sash. The table itself had a base linen of eggplant lamour and was covered with a purple damask type patterned overlay with satin band. The silver bengaline napkin was laid upon a frosted silver beaded charger alongside the menu and accented with a single purple dendrobium orchid.
Floral Design
For this table-scape, Lee was able to showcase more of his creative talent and floral design genius with an over the top centerpiece. The main arrangement was a towering manzanita tree dripping with fuchsia, purple, and white orchid strands along with sparking strands of crystals and glowing candles. At the center was an arrangement of lavender roses surrounded by a collar of black feathers. Three small arrangements of lavender roses and feathers in silver julep cups surrounded the main centerpiece along with a scattering of crystals and votive candles. Can you say, “Hello Gorgeous!” ?
Another look…
And under the lights…
A very special thank you goes out to all the talented professionals who participated in or contributed to the success of Florida’s ACPWC 2009 Speakers Day. You are the epitome of a wedding dream team:
Rashida Erskine – BBJ Linens Orlando
Lee Forrest – Lee Forrest Designs
Sarah Matthews and Lisa Badeen – Orange Blossom Ink
And a big thank you and amen goes out to Angela Palacio and her gracious staff at the Orlando Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress for hosting the course. The students had a wonderful time and your team went above and beyond each and everyday we were there.
Fall is officially here, though we are enjoying the summer temperatures and climate for at least a few more weeks here in Florida. With fall comes the opportunity to welcome the cooler weather by celebrating with friends and families over al fresco dinners and seasonal related gatherings. Whether you are tailgating with friends at your alma mater, hosting a “best of” chili cook-off, or simply enjoying a casual supper club atmosphere celebrating the season’s harvest, you will want to entertain in style. There are so many wonderful products available right now, perfect for fall entertaining. Here are some fall favorites and essentials the Uniquely Yours team recommends for your registry:
All Clad Deluxe Slow Cooker – Great for a number of fall recipes, not too mention year round use for easy and delicious one dish suppers.
Williams Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking – A wonderful resource for slow cooker recipes and tips. Really, cooking can’t get any easier.
Use these glass hurricanes for lighting or fill with “fillers” such as cranberries, leaves, or nuts for seasonal color and texture…
And fall is the season for all kinds of pies - Emile Henry Ruffled Pie Dish
And for prepping and rolling out those flaky pie crusts – Marble Pastry Board
And we absolutely adore these Covered Pumpkin Mugs and Leaf Plates, perfect for hot soup, chili, or beverages…
For serving sandwiches while tailgating or cheese at a wine tasting – Wood Wineglass Appetizer Plates
Beautiful plates for dinner or dessert – Harvest Fruit and Acorn Plates
Linens in Autumn Hues… Chrysanthemum Napkins
And for some fun, how about a pumpkin carving kit for carving out creative jack o lantern designs?
For Your Lighting Needs - Zinc Hurricane Lanterns and Birch Wrapped Candles
Create an autumnal scene beneath these glass cloches…
Serve up a delicious fall themed salad from this rustic bark rimmed salad set…
And don’t forget a pretty display stand for those pies you’ll be baking – Emma Cake Stand
For special dinners from fall into late winter, serve with these pieces – Lenox Park City Metal Serveware Collection
Do not rush into selecting registry items. Take your time and give careful thought to the things you require for daily use, occasional use, and seasonal specific use. You want your registry to be well-rounded and represent your lifestyle. And remember, be sure to select items that you can enjoy in every season. Look for a post in the coming months with our favorite registry items for holiday and winter entertaining.
Happy Seasonal Entertaining!
Today’s post features more beautiful images from Rachel and Brandon’s beautiful wedding post ceremony and into the reception. Thanks again to Mike Buoy Photography. Enjoy!
Love that beautiful smile!
The handsome fellas…
Calla lilly centerpiece, simply elegant…
Shorter Centerpiece
The candy buffet was a hit!
The cake…
Reception fun…
Beautiful bride and groom session images…
Congratulations, Rachel and Brandon. We wish you and your family a lifetime of blessings.
Much love and hugs,
Sara & Karry
Earlier this wedding season, we had the pleasure of finally seeing one of our favorite couples walk down the aisle. Rachel and Brandon, along with their families, had experienced more than their fair share of craziness and disheartening situations through 2007, 2008, and 2009… all while trying to plan a destination wedding. But their steadfast love and devotion to each other saw them through to their beautiful wedding day.
Rachel and Brandon are a couple who have their priorities straight when it comes to the focus of a marriage and are truly in love. Sara Shoemaker, Uniquely Yours planner extraordinaire, was proud to have assisted in the planning of their day from beginning to end.
One of our favorite details of the day included the family monogram and motif they personally designed and integrated into all their printed materials, and they did a fine DIY job with them we might add.
The vibrant colors of their personal flowers and centerpieces popped against the overall muted neutral and ivory tones they selected to unify the details of the day.
And we are completely in love with the incredible images Mike Buoy of Mike Buoy Photography captured. He is truly a master of storytelling. Here are some of our favorites from the ceremony. (Aren’t their children adorable?)
Rachel, the beautiful bride getting ready…
There’s a wedding day story to those shoes!
Rachel has one of the most beautiful, infectious smiles that light up a room!
Monogram and motif on programs and custom aisle runner…
Rachel’s dad prior to the ceremony.
Sweet photo of their baby boy with grandad…
Brandon, the handsome and ever so sweet groom.
So happy! Aren’t they just perfect together? Really such a gorgeous couple…
We really had a time narrowing down the photos to a few favorites, so we’ll be back tomorrow with some post-ceremony and reception photos, plus some incredible shots from their bride and groom session.
Today’s post is a continuation of the great interview we had with Mike and Ann Buoy of Mike Buoy Photography, featuring more of their gorgeous wedding photography. Enjoy!
Describe how you approach each client’s wedding.
As storytellers, Ann and I approach each couple’s wedding as a story, the start of a new family, and a continuation of a family’s legacy. The bride and groom and their commitment to one another is the center of story, but the story expands well beyond them into the sphere of relationships of the loved ones surrounding them. Therefore, it is imperative to capture not just the ceremony and couple, but the subtlety of the unique relationships surrounding them.
Our style of story telling is timeless, but far from traditional. We avoid trendy shooting or processing in our imagery as we strive to keep our work as organic and authentic as possible. We expect our art and our story telling to stand the test of time. Ultimately, we want our couples to look back on their wedding day imagery 30 or even 50 years from now and still have it visually communicate how the day felt.
What can clients expect from your photography team prior to, during, and after the wedding?
Prior to the wedding, Ann and I take a very consultative approach to helping our bride’s plan their day. Working with our brides and their coordinators, we help design a timeline and family formals lists that ensure that we a have minimal impact to the overall flow and enjoyment of the day.
On the wedding day, we take an unobtrusive approach in offering little direction, allowing the day to flow naturally and capturing it as it happens. There will be some minimal direction during the group formals which are usually 20 minutes or less. All of our couples choose to take a few minutes after being united as husband and wife for some alone “bride and groom time”. We love capturing the joy and connectedness we get to see our couples experience during this time.
After the wedding, we want our couples doing as little as possible (there’s already so much to do as a newlywed!) Therefore, we take a full-service approach to delivering their wedding story. Ann and I sit down after every wedding and de-brief, discussing the style, pace, relationships, small little stories that unfolded throughout the day and ultimately the way the day felt. Ann then does an amazing job selecting images and designing a custom storybook album that brings that couple’s story to life. This design is presented within just weeks of the wedding.
What do you see as future trends in wedding photography?
There couldn’t be a more exciting time for brides in regards to their photography. There are so many different approaches and styles to choose from such as unobtrusive documentary to directed fashion-based shoots, timeless to trendy and traditional. There really is a perfect photographer and approach to match every brides’ style and tastes.
However, we have seen a large influx of photographers looking to make that “quick buck” that offer very little in the way of service, products or value, simply “turning and burning” a disc of images and moving onto the next couple.
Thankfully, there are photographers that are committed and passionate about the experience they provide, creating products that allow the legacy of the couple live on and the artistic expression that photography allows them.
How can interested brides contact you?
We can be contacted through our website at www.mikebuoy.com, emailed directly at info@mikebuoy.com or call our studio at 321-281-9491. Our office hours are Monday-Thursday 10am-5pm and Fridays until noon.
Thank you Mike and Ann for sharing your time, insight, and beautiful work with us. You are a talent and a blessing! Here’s to many beautiful wedding stories.
Today’s Wedding Pros In The Know are the fantastic husband and wife team, Mike and Ann Buoy, of Mike Buoy Photography. Based in Orlando, Mike Buoy Photography offers clients a unique photography experience, one that is founded upon the story of each couple. The Uniquely Yours planners have enjoyed working with Mike and Ann on several beautiful weddings. They are definitely not your traditional photographers as their perspective and approach set them apart. Enjoy their interview. We think you will agree they are a photography firm that is going places.
How did you get started in the wedding photography business?
Back in 2005, one of my best friends, Jason, basically dragged me kicking and screaming to shoot a wedding with him. Up to that point, fine art nature and sports photography had been my forte. My only experience with wedding photography had been with my own wedding photos in 2002 (calling them sterile, stiff and uninspiring would be a compliment.) To say I was uninterested in creating more work like that would be an understatement. I finally gave in under a single condition, that I shot it in my own style and not that of a “wedding photographer”.
We had my wife Ann join us as our assistant and went in with the focus to simply capture what I felt throughout the day. I had never had so much fun!! My cheeks hurt when I got home that night from smiling all day. It was the perfect combination for my skills as a people person, the timing I honed as a sports photographer and my eye as a fine art photographer. Later that week, I told Ann that I had found my calling in life. I fell in love and the affair continues to go strong.
I had the honor of shooting Jason’s wedding this past spring. I guess he saw something in me back then that I couldn’t see myself.
What services do you offer?
We are a boutique wedding studio specializing in the art of telling timeless wedding stories. We are known not only for our ability to capturing amazing wedding day imagery, but for the amazing client experience we provide.
We like keeping things simple by offering one “package” designed around our passions for getting to know our couples and telling their full wedding story in a storybook album. Each couple’s story starts with a “getting-to-know-you session” that is designed to be a fun time hanging out, getting to know our couples and capturing images that truly reflect and honor who they are individually as well who they are as a couple.
True to our story telling philosophy, on the wedding day we provide unlimited coverage so that we are able to capture the entire wedding day story start to finish (not just parts of it…) Finally, we design and produce a handcrafted storybook album that serves as the final vehicle for our art and the unique story of the couple.
Of course, we have several other products and services that can be added on to the base package so that each couple can craft exactly the package they want.
What sets you apart from other photography firms?
We have a deep passion for life, love, laughter and the stories they tell about relationships. We’re not just photographers. We’re storytellers and historians using imagery to tell the stories we and others experience. We are known for our ability to visually communicate the way our couple’s wedding day felt by capturing authentic, emotive images of our couples and the relationships surrounding them.
We’re not just about creating “pretty pictures”. Instead, we look to our couples for inspiration and we capture images that honor and reflect their unique personalities. We invest the time with our couples to learn about them: their relationship, who they are, and what’s important to them. We look for cues in their body language, interactions, paying close attention to how they sit together, hold hands and communicate with one another. By simply looking for the spirit, love, joy and connection in each couple we find all the inspirational fuel we need to capture images that are beautiful, profound and unique to them
Lastly, we only accept a select number of commissions per year. It is more important for us to experience a connection with our couples and make sure we are a good mutual fit than to simply fill an available weekend with a wedding. This ensures that we are able to invest in each couple and provide the experience that we are known for, ultimately being a blessing to our couples and their families on their wedding day.
(Don’t you just love their work? Incredible! Stay tuned for the remainder of the interview in tomorrow’s post…)
As planners, part of our work with clients revolves around wedding design. Central to the design process is the selection of colors. We feel that colors provide the base palette upon which the wedding design will be created, tying all the elements together into a cohesive and well though out whole from the invitation through to the bride and groom’s departure. Most brides easily select one color, but selecting one or more complimentary colors can be a bit of a challenge for many, especially when selecting the attire of attendants. But relief has arrived in the form of a unique, yet smart partnership. You can color us happy because last week, popular wedding gown and social occasion dress design firm, Dessy Group, announced its new venture with Pantone, the world’s foremost color authority. Dessy and Pantone have paired up to bring couples a collection of tools that will help them overcome their color selection woes. At www.dessy.com/Pantone, you will find a number of styles perfectly matched to select Pantone colors along with design boards and inspirational ideas to help you color coordinate until your heart’s content and then some! Explore a variety of diverse color combinations; choose Dessy styles and accessories by color code. There will be no color miscues in your wedding when you order and use the smart swatch cards which you can freely exchange with your wedding attendants and professionals. Check out their website, and explore the options available. Your newest challenge will be deciding which color combinations you like best…
OK, we admit it. We have not been the most consistent bloggers recently. Please forgive us, but we have been quite industrious. We have been busy wrapping our sweet summer weddings, working on final details with our fantastic fall brides, and dreaming and designing with our spring brides. The team has also attended many industry events, networking opportunities, and workshops all to bring you, our readers and clients, the latest and greatest in the wedding world and planning services. So, without further ado, we look forward to recapping a few of our spring and summer weddings and bringing you some of our recent favorite finds! Don’t forget, we love to hear your comments, so drop us a line.
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