Friday, December 31, 2010

Goodbye 2010

Wow! Here I am, staring at my computer screen, on the LAST day of this decade. Where do I even begin? What a year.

First, an apology. (I know all the blog-theory-expert people say you're not supposed to do this, but I'm going to anyway.) I haven't blogged since July. JULY!! There are a lot of reasons why, and a lot of excuses, but mainly it comes down to this: I have been insanely busy. I've been up to a lot, both personally, and in business, so here is my attempt at a 2010 recap to share with you a bit of what I "forgot" to blog.

In January we had two amazing weddings. This was one of them, and I still haven't blogged the other. In fact, I only blogged ONE real wedding this whole year? Oops.
Anyway, here is one of my favorite images from our January wedding at the White Room -- Jen and Ian, if you read this, I can't believe your one-year anniversary is almost here!!
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See that hanging strand of orchids? My hubby hung those (with me directing from the floor, 5+ months pregnant). Just seeing this picture reminds me of how much he does for me and my business, and how I couldn't do this without his support!!

In February, I attended the Making Things Happen intensive in Atlanta, and it was such a great experience! It energized me, reminded me to be passionate, and to surround myself with creativity. It also officially inspired me to start another business.

We took a leap and established Flaire Event Rentals. I saw a need for affordable chiavari chair rentals and didn't think any of the current rental companies in town were fulfilling this need. So we leapt. (I was pretty excited about this, but my husband needed some convincing..well, here it is, nearly a year later, and he's definitely on board now!!)

In March I had another amazing wedding -- this was one of our Start-to-Finish planning weddings this year, and this wedding also utilized the rental products of Flaire Event Rentals!! I haven't blogged this wedding yet, but here are some of the shots of our lovely new chairs in action! :)
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I took April and most of May off from the world of weddings to prepare for the arrival of baby number two, (girl number one!!), our sweet Calla Nell. Someday I'll share her birthstory here on the blog. She was fashionably late (13 days to be exact) and we almost ended up in the hospital for an unplanned induction, but God was gracious and He allowed her to be born at home, completely drug-free, as I'd been planning. (She came just 2 days after my hubby's graduation from Law School!)
Here is her sweet face! (I can't get enough of this little girl in case you haven't noticed from my Twitter feed).
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Then, just 13 days after our Calla was born, I was thrust back into the world of weddings with a bang -- three weddings in 4 weeks! Here are a few shots from some of them.
My first Indian wedding! These photos are from the incredible Ingrid Damiani.
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We also had another fun beach wedding that we supplied chairs, linens and lighting for! Thanks to Corinna Hoffman for this collage.
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In July, things slowed down a bit, wedding-wise, but my family had something big happening -- my husband John was taking the Bar exam! It was a stressful period of waiting, but Praise the Lord, he passed!! We were so thrilled for God's blessing in this area.
In August,we took a vacation up to Maryland so my husband's family could meet our baby girl. When we came back, Corinna Hoffman took some fun family pictures for us!
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In September, my mother and I began working on my THIRD business, a retail boutique! We are now co-owners of a gift shop in the Riverside Area of Jacksonville. Our adorable little shop is called Flaire Celebrations, and it's located in a cute little bungalow that also houses my new wedding planning office and rental showroom. We had a few more rental bookings in the fall, but prepping for the gift shop opening has pretty much been the focus of the past few months, and we had our grand opening in November! I will try to post pics from that event in the next week or so.
In December I attended the Making Things Happen Reunion in Watercolor, and it was definitely a highlight of my year. I liked this intensive even better than the first one, in Atlanta. I got to know so many amazing women, and I am looking forward to supporting them in the new year.There will definitely be more posts to come as a result of that weekend.

For now, I leave you with a few of my goals for 2011.
1. I will post more often (hey if I post more than once every 6 months, I'm doing good, right?)
2. I will be authentic and open.
3. I will forgive more quickly.
4. I will trust more.
5. I will celebrate my successes, but I won't settle or become complacent.
6. I will lose 10 pounds of baby weight!! :)

Finally, be on the lookout for our rebrand, coming in early 2011! I've been working for the past several months with designer Emily Ley on our new look, which I am excited to reveal in the coming days!

Lookout 2011, here I come!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Visit the Flaire Team at the Jacksonville Summer Bridal Show

This Sunday, July 25th, Flaire Weddings and Events will be exhibiting at the Jacksonville Summer Bridal Show. This bridal show will be held at the Main Library building, downtown. This may seem like a strange venue for a bridal show, but if you've never visited the new library, you need to -- it's a stunning venue for weddings!

We'll be showcasing our event design and planning services, as well as specialty rental items. If you've been thinking about hiring a planner, stop by, say hello, and learn a bit more about what we do! (Mention you saw this on our blog and we've got a special gift for you!) We'll also be offering a special booking incentive to any bride who books our planning services on the spot, so if you've been considering booking with us, do so on Sunday and take advantage of our special offer!

For more information about the show, visit Perfect Wedding Guide Shows. Sunday's show begins at 1 pm, and tickets are $7.00 in advance, and $10.00 at the door.

Hope to see you there!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Welcome, Baby Calla!

If you've been following my blog, you know that we were expecting our second little bundle of joy in early May. Well, God had other plans and she came in Mid-May -- 13 days late! I was a bit nervous for a while because I had a late May and an early June wedding booked, but everything turned out fine!!

Our sweet little girl, Calla Nell, was born at home on May 17th, 2010 at 9:55 pm. (Yes, it was a planned homebirth!! We worked with the awesome midwifes of Fruitful Vine Midwifery Service -- those in Jacksonville interested in natural childbirth should definitely check them out!) She weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and was just over 20 inches long.

When she was just over a week old, Calla had her first photoshoot with one of my favorite photographers, Corinna Hoffman!

Here are a few of my favorites from her session!

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I love her sleepy wink in this one!
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This is my favorite of me and her together!
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This is her big brother, Ian. He sure loves her!
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More images can be seen on Corinna's blog! Thanks so much, Cory, for taking these, we love them!

I look forward to sharing Calla with you, my readers, as she grows and learns the wedding planning ropes! (lol, jk.) Sort of. :)

Friday, April 16, 2010

Whitney and Chris are engaged!

Whitney and Chris are one of our fun October couples, and we were so excited when we saw their engagement shots from the talented husband and wife duo Ginger Dupre Photography.

Whitney and Chris are planning a Brunswick, Ga wedding, so they chose to highlight the area with their engagement shots. Whitney's also using a peacock feather theme, and I loved seeing the feathers incorporated into their shoot!

Ginger and Jon did a great job with these images, and now I'm even more excited for this wedding!

Enjoy. :)

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Congrats, Whitney and Chris -- we are super excited about your wedding!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

We're making things happen!

It's time for a business and personal update.

We have definitely been making things happen for Flaire Weddings and Events in the past few months, and more to come in the coming weeks!

One of my big projects for the beginning of this year was to put together our spring intern team. Well, two wonderful interns will be joining our team and will try their hand at their first wedding this coming Saturday. Blog interviews for each of them will be coming soon.

Next up, a HUGE project that I have been working on behind the scenes for quite some time now -- another division of our company is opening up soon! We are in the final stages of prepping for its launch, and you're sure to hear much more about it in the days to come.

Finally, I'm working on streamlining some business processes and putting new systems in place to keep Flaire running like a well-oiled machine! :)

Personally, there are couple things we still need to "make happen."
"Baby sister," as my three-year-old son Ian calls our new little one, will be here in 8 short weeks.

That's quite exciting. There's only one problem. Her nursery: a construction zone.

We live in a 90-year-old historic home, and we recently decided to renovate the nursery. Which meant removing the plaster walls and installing new wiring. And that's been done.

That's all that's been done.

SO, we are now at crunch time to get this project finished before our little bundle arrives! (And when I say we, I TOTALLY mean my hubby. He gets to have all the construction fun by himself.) I'm better at saying, "This goes over here," or "I'm picturing something like this," while he actually wields the nail gun, drywall sanding tools, wire cutters, etc.

On top of this baby project, he's also working on graduating from law school (which will happen this May!!!) and prepping for the bar exam this summer.

Needless to say, 2010 has been off to a busy start!

I can't wait to update with more news about the upcoming developments, and look forward to sharing more in the future! :)

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Real Wedding: Jenifer & Ian

Jenifer and Ian had such a beautiful wedding. Their venue, The White Room, is one of my favorite St. Augustine venues, and it was the perfect backdrop for their celebration.

Jenifer contacted me about Wedding Day Coordination back in April of last year, and we exchanged a few emails about availability, pricing, etc. Well, I didn't hear from her for quite some time, when I got an email from her this fall. Jen said they had thought about doing the coordinating themselves, but then as details started to pile up, quickly realized they wanted a coordinator assisting them. Jen cracked me up in one of her emails when she wrote, "What were we thinking??!" Needless to say, I was thrilled to be coming on board as the Wedding Day Coordinator, and what a fun and moving wedding it was! I'm so glad I got to be a part of this special day for Jen and Ian.

The couple currently lives in NYC, but had attended Flagler College in St. Augustine, so they were coming back to Florida for their wedding celebration.
Even though rain and cold weather changed their plans (the ceremony was originally planned for Ian's Aunt and Uncle's home in St. Augustine), everything still was gorgeous, and I was so impressed with how laid-back they both seemed considering this major change!

Jen and Ian's night was made possible by these fabulous vendors:
Venue: The White Room
Photographer: Jason Angelini Photography
Florist: Ian's Mother, Denise!! (She did an amazing job!!)
Cake: Classic Cakes
Transportation: Old Town Trolley Tours
Ceremony Music: Rick Kuncicky
DJ: Andy Calvert, High Fidelity DJ's

I was so excited when I saw these pictures appear on Jason Angelini's blog -- enjoy!
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Such a stunning bouquet, made by Ian's mother!
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Jenifer and Ian chose to do a "First Look" to get some amazing shots before the big moment. Fortunately, the rain let up a bit to allow time for these outdoor shots!
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Loved these chair florals!
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The White Room Loft served as a beautiful back-up location for the ceremony. My team had fun hanging the lace chuppah and stringing these orchids! (Since I am in my third trimester of pregnancy, I didn't do any work on the ladders -- I just got to be the boss from the floor!) hehe. :)
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One of my set-up team members, Amy, was a math major in college, so planning out this escort card arrangement's spacing was right up her alley!
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The gorgeous reception room.
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Jen and Ian had a shrimp and grits station which looked like a big hit! The grits were served in these martini glasses.
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The Viking Hat groom's cake. :)
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Congrats Jen and Ian on your beautiful wedding -- thanks so much for allowing the Flaire Team to be a part of your celebration!