Beach Weddings

Beach weddings are so popular for us, living in Florida by the beautiful beaches. There are so many little details to help make your wedding day memorable and unique from the rest. I came across some very cute place card holders for all of you brides that are having a beach, Floridian style wedding and want that extra touch when it comes to details.

New Review on WeddingWire

Quality of Service: (5.0/5.0) Responsiveness: (5.0/5.0)Professionalism: (5.0/5.0) Value For Cost:(5.0/5.0) Flexibility:(5.0/5.0)

From: Molly Wedding: 05/23/2009

This might just have been the best money I spent on my wedding! As the Type-A bride who planned every little detail, as the day got closer, I started to freak out that on the day-of, I would be the only one who knew what was going on. (I was even having crazy wedding anxiety dreams where I would arrive on my wedding day with only the services and vendors I had booked at that point in real life: in the first one, I didn't have a dress. Then, I had a dress and no flowers. Then, I had a dress, and flowers, and my brother showed up in blue jeans to walk me down the aisle because we hadn't booked tuxes. It was started to wear me down.) I hired the girls at celebrate! to give me wedding-day peace of mind, and boy, were they worth it. They took my contracts and managed things for a couple of months out (not bad for a "day-of" package). They met with me, reviewed my checklists, created my time line, made sure I booked the last little details (or helped me book them) and were integral in getting everything together (and making sure nothing was forgotten!) the day before and day of. The wedding nightmares ceased as soon as I hired them and I was dreaming peacefully up until my perfect day. I knew that someone besides me was the common thread running through all my vendors. (Plus, they paid for themselves when my florist forgot a few flower details and they whipped out the contract to show her that we had it in writing. . .I got a refund from the florist for those missed details.) Ask yourself, would you spend $20,000 or $30,000 on a broadway production only to skimp on hiring a stage manager? My wedding was a beautiful production and these girls were my beautiful, professional, and invaluable stage managers. Hire them! You will sleep easier.

We will miss you!

One of our wonderful event planners will be leaving the celebrate! team. Stephanie, who has been working for Jenna & I for over a year now is moving to St. Louis. We are so sad to see such an amazing person leave and will miss her very much. Thanks Steph for all of the hard work and dedication you have put into celebrate!. We have loved every moment of working with you and wish you much success in your future.

Jenna, Stephanie & Jen

Unique Wedding Food

So a big way to say thank you to your guests for coming to your wedding is to provide them with a great dinner but most wedding banquet food is the same. It usually consists of a chicken or beef with a potato side dish and a veggie. Want to give your guests something to talk about when it comes to your wedding day food, check out these great unique food options:

Travel Around the World Food Stations:

Set up your wedding reception room withe numerous food stations. Each station represents a certain county with ethnic food from the area. Here a a few great stations: a pasta station to represent Italy, chicken skewers and fried rice to represent Japan, and meatball loaf with martini mashed potato bar to represent USA.

Our Favorite Foods Menu:

Choose a wedding menu based around your favorite foods. Make sure to include a menu card on your guest table telling your guests why you picked the food you did.

Upscale Home-Cooking County Buffet:

Make comfort foods look glamorous and yummy by adding intricate details to your home-cooking county buffet. Instead of just having fried chicken have your caterer make mini fired chicken on a stick with 3 dipping sauces. Have your caterer make mac and cheese on a stick, mini meatloaf in a red wine tomato sauce, and a mashed potato bar where your guests can add the toppings they want.

Wedding Advice

As always, I was searching the internet for new wedding ideas and came across some great words of wisdom for newlyweds to live by:

*Always try to outdo each other in kindess, that way you will never lose site of the positive
things in your relationship.

* Never go to bed angry, even if you are not happy with the conditions."

* It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.

* Always believe in the importance of love, for it is the strength and beauty that brings music
to our souls.

Last but not least and one of my favorites because it is so very true...

* Women: Do not expect your husband to change after marriage!

* Men: Do not expect your wife to not change!

Sweet Thank You

One of our favorite July brides wrote me the most amazing thank you note I have ever read. Therefore, I just had to share it with all of you:

Jenna,

I just want to say thank you, for everything that you have done for me, my wedding, and even beyond that. You have made such an impact on our lives, especially my mom. She doesn't see you as our wedding planner, she sees you as her friend. You have no idea what a relief that is to me because she is my very best friend and I'm 3,000 miles away, so knowing that there's you if she ever needs to call means a lot. You are a very special person with a beautiful spirit and heart and you have touched each of us with that. I could never be grateful enough. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being more so much more than just our wedding planner!

XOXO,

Amanda

Stay tuned to see Amanda's wedding photos from Sandy Brantley Photography

Molly and Len's Wedding

Molly and Len's wedding took place in Jacksonville, Florida at the beautiful St. Joseph's Church and Omni Jacksonville Hotel. The entire day was filled with hues of pink and navy and of course LOVE. Below are a few of my favorite photographs from their amazing photographer, Gretchen Whipple.

Molly and Len,

Congratulations again! We feel so blessed to have been involved in your wedding. Thank you so much! We wish you many blessings.

Love,

Jen and Jenna

Check out the rest of Molly and Len's photos under the Featured Weddings section of our website!

Fun Wedding Shoes

Weddings are magical moments in time. Weddings are elegant, beautiful and enchanted but also tons of fun. Add a little fun to your wedding day by adding some fun wedding shoes. What a fun wedding trend!

INSPIRATION BOARD: Peach, Champagne, and Ivory

Trina's wedding is going to be a beautiful affair with hues of peach, champagne, and ivory. Check out her beautiful inspiration board:

Lyndsay and Tim's Engagement Party

This past Saturday night was Lyndsay and Tim's Engagement Party at Caffeine's Wine Cellar. This night was full of great food, wine, and friends. Congratulations to our dear friends, Lyndsay and Tim.

Anne and Ryan's Wedding

We are so excited that Anne and Ryan's wedding photos are in!!!! Jason and Meghan from Narrative Image did such an amazing job! Here is a sneak peak, check out the rest on celebrate!'s website under featured galleries:

Anne, Ryan, and Your Families,

We had such a wonderful time planning your special day with you. We feel so blessed to have been part of one of the most important days in your life. We wish you a world of happiness.

Love,

Jenna and Jen

Wedding Hairstyles

For your wedding day, you want to feel as beautiful and as comfortable as possible. Figuring out how you'd like your hair to be that day is important because you want to look back at the pictures and think about how lovely you & your bridal party look. If you are weary of an up-do that consists of too much hairspray or that your hairstyle may not reflect your natural look, here are some fresh ideas that may help inspire you for your very special day.

Wedding Tunes for 2009

If you are trying to decide on some new, more up-to-date songs to play at your wedding, the list below is filled with the top 10 new wedding songs that brides are selecting for 2009. 

• "Lucky" by Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillet: Play it during the first dance.
• "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay: Play it during cocktail hour or between dinner courses.
• "Good Time" by Alan Jackson: Play this song right after dinner.
• "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson: The perfect song to play during the cake cutting.
• "Single Ladies" by Beyonce: To be played during the bouquet toss.
• "Beautiful" by Akon: A slow song for later in the evening.
• "So What" by Pink: A fun song for the single guests to dance to after a slow one.
• "Just Dance" by Lady GaGa: Ideal for when the party has picked up.
• "Green Light" by John Legend: To be played toward the end of the evening.
• "When the Night Comes" by Dan Auerbach: Play this as the last song at the end of the night.

As you can see, the "chicken dance" didn't make the cut. If you want your guests to really enjoy the dance floor, try to select songs that are more modern and fun like the ones above. 

Lyndsay & Tim's Wedding Cake!!

I recently went with my bride Lyndsay, to The Pastry Studio for her cake tasting. We had such a blast with the owner, Sherri Meyers and all of her creative ideas for this wedding cake. Lyndsay and her fiance, Tim, have decided to use Sherri and her team of wedding cake design experts. The cake is going to be absolutely amazing with a very classy yet unique spin. The cake is designed based around Lyndsay's gorgeous wedding dress. It is going to be a small replica of the unique details on her gown. The cake will be an off-white, 3 tiered cake with a bit of champagne shimmer. Extremely classic with a couture design!! Absolutely breathtaking!

Lighting

When you are dreaming up your wedding day decor please do not overlook the lighting aspect. Creating a warm environment through lighting for your guests is important and will make your wedding day even more spectacular. Here are a few ways to add some lighting to your wedding day:

UPLIGHTING: Have a professional install uplighting (using your color scheme) around the room.

CHINESE LANTERNS: Hang Chinese lanterns with LED lights above your dining area to create impact on the room.

CANDLES: You can never have enough candles. Simple place candles all around the room, centerpieces, and any specialty table to give your wedding reception a romantic feel.

GOBO DESIGN: Have a "GOBO Design" created using your monogram or theme to add lighting and design detail to your dance floor. Guests will not be able to stay off this fun floor.

NEW REVIEW on Wedding Wire

Quality of Service: (5.0/5.0)

Responsiveness: (5.0/5.0)Professionalism: (5.0/5.0) Value For Cost:(5.0/5.0) Flexibility:(5.0/5.0)

From: Anne, Wedding Date: 6/13/2009
Jenna and Jen helped us with the planning from beginning to end. They thought of and took care of details that never would have crossed our minds. They go above and beyond and do the little things that make all the difference in making your day enjoyable. They were there to walk us through everything and keep us on track as to when dances were to take place, the toasts, cake cutting, etc. They made everything happen so smoothly and effortlessly that no one had to worry about a thing. We would highly recommend the wedding planners at celebrate! to help with your big day.

Kendall and Trevor's Engagement Session

Jen and I finally got to meet some of our favorite clients in person--KENDALL AND TREVOR!!! We had such a blast with the two of them going to vendors meetings and just getting to know each other. After our busy day of wedding planning these two lovebirds strolled off and had some fun taking engagement photos with Gregory Heck from Details. Here are just a few of our favorites:

P.S. Kendall and Trevor....You two look so CUTE!!! We cannot wait for your wedding day next May!!!!

Bridesmaid Dresses

Since I have two wedding coming up in 2010 that I will be a bridesmaid in I have been looking at a ton of bridesmaids dresses lately. Here are some of my most favorite cuts that hopefully will inspire you when you are dressing your wedding party:

J Crew

David's Bridal

Eden Bridal

Tips for Choosing Great Bridesmaid Dresses:

• Make sure that the dress comes in a variety of sizes to fit all your Bridesmaids
• Invite your Maid of Honor and Bridesmaids to give their feedback on a few different dresses selections
• Make sure for your wedding party tries on their dresses prior to purchase to make sure there is ease of movement and everyone feels comfortable with the size and style
• Coordinate the color of the dresses with your wedding theme