Happy New Years

We want to wish your family and you a very Happy New Years!!! celebrate! News Years to the fullest and we wish you much love, happiness, and success for 2010!!!

Backyard Wedding

So many of our clients are wanting to create a more relaxed atmosphere for their guests on their wedding day. A great idea is to have an upscale backyard barbecue wedding. Get creative with your wedding day menu by having posh food creations like miniature burgers, chicken skewers, fried green beans, miniature ribs, and shot glasses full of macaroni and cheese. To add pizazz to your decor consider having wild flowers on the reception tables, jars of jam and hot sauce for favors, and checkered tablecloths. You will be amazed with how upscale and beautiful your very comfortable wedding reception will become.

Juliann and Scott

This week we are preparing for the beautiful marriage nuptials at the wedding of Juliann and Scott. The wedding is going to take place this Saturday at The Casements in Ormond Beach, Florida. Jen and I are so excited for this wedding and cannot wait to see the gorgeous bride and handsome groom on their wedding day. What a great way to kick off 2010!

Winter Wedding Themed Place cards

With December approaching rapidly, brides are getting ready for their winter themed weddings. There are so many cute ideas to spice up a Christmas or winter wedding. A few of our Decemeber brides are showcasing their guests place cards with Christmas ornaments to tie into the theme as well as using them as their favors. What a great idea!

Don't you just love these place card ideas?

DELICIOUS Thanksgiving Desserts!

Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away! With all of the hard work and preperation in the kitchen for your amazing dinner, why not leave the dessert to the experts!

You MUST check out these delicious Thanksgiving treats that Sherri at The Pastry Studio has to offer:

From The Pastry Studio's Kitchen:

Layerd Cakes: Italian Rum,Chocolate Decadence,Carrot, Coconut, and more!

6 inch cake serving 8 to 10 guests $50.00

Gourmet CookiesTrays: chocolate chip,white chocolate macadamia nut, chocolatechocolate,cranberry oat

14 count medium tray $36.00

26 count large tray $72.00

Apple Streusel Pie-a delicious vanilla bean custard baked with fresh granny smithapples, topped with cinnamon sugar and candied walnuts. $25.00

Bourbon Pecan- bourbon and chocolate surrounding fresh pecans baked to perfection. $25.00

Pumpkin Pie- creamy and smooth with just the right amount of spices. The top has wonderful leaves made out of pastry dough baked to a beautiful golden brown. $22.00

Peanut Butter Pie-smooth and creamy peanut butter filling in a chocolate gram crust.$22.00

Call TODAY to place your order!!

The Pastry Studio

386.255.6404

Bon appetit! Bon appetito!

Top 10 Wedding Songs

Theknot.com had this great list of the top 10 wedding songs and I just had to share it with all of you:

Lucky" by Jason Mraz featuring Colbie Caillet
Who will like it: The bride and groom and the rest of the lovebirds.
When to play it: The first dance.

"Viva La Vida" by Coldplay
Who will like it: Everyone.
When to play it: During the cocktail hour or between dinner courses.

"Good Time" by Alan Jackson
Who will like it: The country-music lovers.
When to play it: Right after dinner.

"The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson
Who will like it: The romantics and nostalgics.
When to play it: The cake cutting.

"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" by Beyonce
Who will like it: All the single ladies.
When to play it: The bouquet toss.

"Beautiful" by Akon
Who will like it: Couples and hip-hop enthusiasts.
When to play it: As one of the first slow songs after dinner.

"So What" by P!nk
Who will like it: All the single guests.
When to play it: Following a slow song to get everyone back out on the dance floor.

"Just Dance" by Lady GaGa
Who will like it: Your guests who like to dance.
When to play it: Once the elderly guests have left and it's time to get the party started.

"Green Light" by John Legend
Who will like it: Couples and any singles who may have paired up at the end of the night.
When to play it: Toward the end of the evening.

"When the Night Comes" by Dan Auerbach
Who will like it: All the couples.
When to play it: As the last slow song at the end of the night.

List courtesy of theknot.com

Welcome to the celebrate! family!!

We are so excited to welcome Scott and Juliann to the celebrate! family! These two are such an amazing couple with great personalities! With a mixture of love, care, fun and a whole lot of sweetness...it's a match made in heaven!

Jenna & I are so anxious to work closesly with this amazingly fun couple. They show true love and passion for each other and not to meantion, have so much fun!

They will be getting married this January at the newly renovated Casements, which is absolutely stunning!

Congrats to the adorable couple!!

Happy Birthday Alyson!

We would like to say a very HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our dear friend Alyson! We hope you have an amazing day, filled with love, laughter and happiness! To you and to many wonderful years to come!

Happy Birthday Aly!

Featured Couple: Trina and Tom

Trina and Tom's wedding was a beautiful intimate affair that we showcased to you awhile back. Now, check out more of their wedding photos on the Featured Couples section of our website.

Photo by: Leahjeanphoto.com

#5 CINCINNATI Inspired Wedding

BIG NEWS for celebrate!!

I have some very, very exciting news to share! Jenna & I have been approached by a television production company to star in our very own reality T.V. show!! We met with the film crew and the producer last week and are thrilled to say our meeting went very well!

What better way to showcase our strong love and passion for planning weddings? The show will be showcasing our glamorous and NOT so glamorous lives of being wedding planners. It will be based on the weddings we are planning, client consultations and the actual wedding day event. We will also be filmed on our personal lives outside of work and the experiences we go through. We can't be more thrilled and hope that once it airs everyone will watch!!

We will keep you posted on the status and details of the show.

Any suggestions for a fabulous name for the show???

Job Shadow Thank You

In October we had the wonderful experience of having a great girl, Katie, job shadow us. It was so fun to showcase what Jen and I love to do--Plan Weddings!!!

Katie wrote us this amazing "THANK YOU" note and I just had to share it:

Dear Ms Jenna Jones:

Thank you so much for allowing me to complete my job shadowing assignment with you. I learned so much about planning weddings and the requirements needed to become a wedding planner. I especially enjoyed being able to help at the ceremony and telling everyone when to go. I had such a great time. I will always remember how great you were mentoring me. You did such an excellent job answering all my questions. I really hope I can shadow you again soon.

In the next few months I will be making critical decisions about my future, and I really wanted you to know how much your insight means to me. Thanks again for taking the time to work with me.

Sincerely,

Katie

#4 BOISE STATE Inspired Wedding

#3 TEXAS Inspired Wedding

#2 ALABAMA Inspired Wedding

#1 GATORS Inspired Wedding

College Football Inspired Wedding Ideas

Since it is my FAVORITE time of the year, college football season, I thought it would be fun to get inspired for wedding decor based on the top football teams in the nation. So I am going to use the top 5 teams from the BCS standings from October 19th (of course I just love the fact that my GATORS are #1):

#1 Florida

#2 Alabama

#3 Texas

#4 Boise State

#5 Cincinnati

So get your game face on and brace yourself to get inspired by the nation's top college football teams!!!!

A Big Thank You

We just received this oh so sweet thank you note from one of our brides and we just had to share.....

Hi Jen and Jenna,

Steve and I just got back from our honeymoon, and I wanted to tell you how much we appreciated all you did for us. The wedding was amazing and went just as I had it in my head. Which was a surprise because something usually goes wrong. If anything did we didn't know about it, you two were heaven sent. All of our guests keep raving about how it was the best wedding they've been to in a long time. And the choir was a huge hit, it was more than I expected,I got chills when the whole congregation started to sing along!

We can't wait to see the pictures!

You two worked your fannies off , thanks again for all the hard work!

Love, Julie Heiden

Photo by: Leah Jean Photography

celebrate! Invitations

Don't forget that celebrate! has invitations for every occasion! We have something for everyone, from birthday parties to baby showers to wedding receptions. We also carry a large variety of invitations to fit within all budgets.

Check out our invitation website:

www.celebrateinvitations.cc.easy.com

Yellow makes the world a better place!

Guess what color has been a huge trend for 2009 & has made its way into many ceremony and receptions for 2010?
YELLOW!

I just love the fun, unique ways you can incorporate yellow as either your main color or just an accent to your wedding. Yellow has been a popular wedding color throughout the year and will continue to be favored during 2010. It's great because it can take your beach or outdoors wedding to another level with the bright, vibrant color or can bring warmth to your indoor reception decor.

Here are some great ways to jazz up your wedding decor with using this fantastic color!

Maddie's Challenge

We would love for everyone that reads our blog to help participate in this!!

"Maddie's Challenge"
has been circulating on Facebook for the past few weeks and has reached thousands and thousands of people.

Maddie Poynter is an almost 3 year old, beautiful little girl who has been battling cancer since her diagnosis on June 20, 2009. She is scheduled to have surgery to remove "The Beast" this Thursday October 8th in Boston, MA at Boston Children's Hospital. A challenge has been presented all across the country to have as many people wear pink, Maddie's favorite color, in honor of Maddie, on Thursday, October 8th. Please have as many people that you know wear pink that day and take a photo. Once you have taken your photo please post a picture of you in your prettest pink outfit on "Maddies Challenge" Event page on Facebook. This will show Maddie and her family just how many people have been affected by Maddie's story and also to show how much support they have across the miles!!

Also, if anyone is interested in donating to Maddie and her family to help cover their medical bill expenses, you are able to do so through their paypal acctoung: kpoynter@twcny.rr.com. Little donations add up quickly!!

*If you are not able to post your pictures, please email it to me.

My email is: jen@celebratetheevent.com

Little Miss Maddie

Fall Themed Parties

Oh how I love this time of year! The weather feels wonderful, the trees are beginning to change and the excitement of the holidays are quickly approaching!

Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are extremely busy times of the year for all and can bring a lot of stress. We would love to help eliviate some of your holiday stress by helping to plan your holiday parties!!

Please contract celebrate! to start planning your event today!

386.677.0018

Fall Inspired Flowers

It's the perfect time of year to really show off a theme at your wedding. With the wide variety of the romantic colors of fall, you add a lot of character through your centerpieces and florals. Jenna & I absolutely love this time of year in the wonderful world of weddings! We have so many different options to work with when it comes to designing the perfect florals for the event design. We always make sure that all of the flowers bring a sense of warmth as well a creative flair to the event!

Here are some photos of fall flowers with exquisite color!

Fall Inspired Linens

Creating a beautiful reception for your guests begins at your table linens. Beautiful table linens are essential to your wedding and create the masterpiece that will leave your guests and you remembering your wedding forever.

Fall is the perfect time of year to really create drama to your tablescapes by adding linens in deep hues of browns, reds, tans, and oranges. Below are some of my favorite fall linens that I hope will inspire you.

Beautiful Wedding Sites in Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach is a beautiful location for your most special day from the beach to the Halifax River to all the yummy seafood you can find. Here are some of Jen's and my top favorite wedding site locations:

Sunset Harbor Yacht Club

The Plaza Resort and Spa

LPGA International

Fall Inspirations

This weeks blogs are going to all be about the fall season that is quickly approaching! We are so excited about the change in the weather, colors and beautiful flowers that bloom this time of year.

The colors of autumn/fall are universally bright, bold, and rich. Amber, gold, burnt orange, rust, mustard yellow, sage green, chocolate brown, copper and burgundy are some of the more popular hues but couples interested in using a fall theme at their weddings are not limited to just these bright shades. Adding white or creamy accents can lighten fall colors and add a sense of warmth and a wedding feel to the theme.

Stay posted this week for all of our wonderful fall themed blogs!

Fall Inspired Wedding Cakes

Today is the first day I actually have started to feel fall coming. The air seem a little cooler and all my plants look like they are about ready to change colors. With fall here, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite fall inspired wedding cakes.

Welcome Stacy and Jeremiah

Jen and I are so happy to welcome Stacy, Jeremiah, and their families to our celebrate! family. The wedding is being planned for March 20, 2010 at the beautiful Ponte Vedra Club and Inn. So far, Stacy has found the perfect wedding dress and knows she wants her wedding to be simply elegant dressed in hues of whites and greens. We are so excited to help her make all her wedding dreams come true.

THE INSIDE SCOOP on this AMAZING COUPLE

The Engagement (in Jeremiah's words):

July 11th, 2009 marked the big day. Stacy was picked up in a chauffeured car and driven out to the beach. There I had setup a table on the beach surrounded by tiki torches right at the time of sunset. We enjoyed a dinner of grilled chicken salad, breadsticks, and fresh fruit followed by homemade cookies :) Josh Lee provided romantic acoustical background music! After dinner came the question, and fortunately without hesitation, a YES!

Wedding Gifts: Welcome Baskets

A great way to thank all your guests who traveled miles to be there on one of the most important days of your life is to have a welcome basket waiting for them when they check into their hotel block. Just imagine traveling all day and walking into your hotel room to find a beautiful, thoughtful welcome basket from the bride and groom, what a warm and fuzzy feeling!!!

Here are some ideas to include in your welcome baskets:

• Map of the Area
• Sunscreen
• A Mini First Aid Kit
• Trail Mix for Snacking
• Customized Water Bottle (Include your Wedding Date)
• Personalized Thank You Note
• Wedding Cookie
• Itinerary of Wedding Activities
• Coupon Book for the Area

Need help planning your welcome baskets, call the professionals at celebrate! today. 386.677.0o18

Guide to a GREAT Wedding Day Toast

You said yes? Sure, you are probably okay with wearing the tux or luxury dress and even with most of the bridal duties but you suddenly realized you have to speak in public. Oops! What to do next?

Before you start wondering how to tell the bride and groom you just can't speak at their most important day or you come up with some cover story, you need to know that giving a wedding day speech really isn't all that bad. Relax, enjoy & speak from your heart.

In fact you can make it a joy! Here are some simple tips that are sure to get you through your important task, some tips to help relax, and enjoy the expereince.

Tip # 1 - Preparation - First of all, preparation is important! Take the time to do a bit of preparation and the whole process gets much easier. Allow yourself to spend a bit of time just thinking about what you want to say and then start writing down speech topics and ideas. Once the project begins to take shape, write it down so you remember it. All this preparation will pay off.

Tip # 2 - Read a Few Ready Made Speeches - Reading a few ready made wedding day speech examples is not a bad idea either, especially if you have never heard a good one. They will give you an idea of where your speech topics should be going and will act as a good guideline as you work on your text. Use them only for inspiration to write a personal speech text.

Tip # 3 - Incorporate Humor - Humor is always an ice breaker! Jokes and funny remarks are a great addition to any public speaking speech. Consider adding a bit of humor to your talk. It will make people laugh and it will help you to relax as well.

Tip # 4 - Take Time to Practice - Make sure that you take some time to practice the wedding day speech. You do not want the first time you actually deliver the speech to be in front of 300 people. Practice in front of a mirror or in front of some friends several times so you become more relaxed with the speaking habits. Videotape or record your efforts and watch the progress.

Tip # 5 - Keep it Short - No matter what kind of wedding speech it is, keeping it short is important. There are many activities going on at a wedding and no one wants to sit for a half hour and hear you speak. So, make sure your speech is not more than about five minutes or so.

Last but not least....take a deep breath, relax and speak from your heart!

Wedding Gifts: Bridal Party

The members of your bridal party are such an important aspect of your wedding day. These are the ladies and gents who have not only supported you but dealt with all your wedding day jitters and freak-outs. Here are some cute ideas to say a big THANK YOU!!!

This great monogrammed manicure kit is from Swankychics.com

A great gift for your groomsmen is to buy the tie they will be wearing to your wedding and pair it with a yummy bottle of wine.

Treat your bridesmaids to a monogrammed makeup brush case from Brides 2 Babies Embroidery. Fill it with the lipstick they will be wearing at your wedding.

Give your groomsmen monogrammed golf towels from celebrate! Invitations when you paly golf the morning of your wedding.