Top 10 Wedding Planners in Jacksonville, Florida
2014 Planner of the Year - National Association for Catering and Events
I've just returned from the National Association for Catering and Events (NACE) conference - known as Experience! 2015 - in Scottsdale, AZ. I love going to conferences, and I think continuing education is crucial in our industry. Even though I have been doing weddings for 16 years, and I have owned my own company for 13 years, I learn something new at every single session I go to.
While I anticipated coming home with lots of great new knowledge, I didn't anticipate coming home with this amazing award: 2014 Planner of the Year. Wow. I'm still in shock. Especially since I didn't even know I was nominated!
Our NACE Northeast Florida Chapter President, Belinda Cottrell from the Marriott Sawgrass, secretly entered me into this category. I have no idea how much time she put into this process, but I'm sure it was many, many, many hours of digging. 
Having submitted awards entries for our chapter, I know how detailed and arduous the process is! So my eternal gratitude goes to Belinda and everyone else that helped her gather the information she needed.
So what is Planner of the Year? According to the pretty glass plaque (which I can't get a decent close-up photo of), this award is given "for outstanding achievement in the overall planning and production of events, as well as contributions which have made significant impact on the catering and events industry." Wow, again. That's pretty heavy. And a lot to live up to! It amazes me that my industry colleagues think that description fits me. I am beyond humbled! It still hasn't sunk in that the beautiful glass plaque with those words etched on it also contains my name.
When I earned my Master Bridal Consultant designation in 2011, I was so honored that a panel of my peers thought that I deserved to be in this amazing group of professionals. And now, to be selected for one of the top honors in our industry, I can't believe that I get to do what I love every day and that people think I'm THIS good at it. Mind. Blown.
I have lots and lots of cool information to share that I learned at the conference, so stay tuned for more blog posts in the coming weeks. Cheers!
Green Bride Guide Approved!
I was just notified that First Coast Weddings has been approved as a vendor on The Green Bride Guide!
Being green isn't hard; here are a few ways that we try to stay eco-friendly:
- Our office is as paperless as possible. We use Google Apps to keep all of our client files, vendor files, and business documents online and easily shared with our whole team.
- We recycle whenever we can, including the stacks of out-dated wedding magazines. If there's something we love, we cut out that page rather than storing the whole issue.
- Our team carpools to events when possible.
- Our clients often choose to discard items they buy for their weddings - candles, vases, baskets, mirrors, and more. Rather than toss them into the trash, we toss them into our storage unit, and let future clients use them for their events.
- We are also happy to take floral arrangements from the wedding to local nursing homes - the residents love to see all the flowers, and many florists will make them in disposable containers if you request this ahead of time.
What are your favorite ways to go green? Is there anything you are planning for your wedding that is eco-friendly?
Are We The Best Wedding Blog?
I hope so! And I hope you think so too. As you may have read in our post last week, we have been nominated for Best Wedding Blog in the 2009 EventProfs Blog Awards. We would really appreciate it if you would take a minute to vote for us! (Our blog title is "Something To Talk About")
Voting will close on September 21, 2009 @ 5:00 pm EDT. Only 1 vote can be cast per person. All duplicate votes will be disqualified.
We've Been Nominated!
We're honored to have been nominated for the Best Wedding Blog award in the 2009 EventProfs Blog Awards! Voting opens next week, we'd love for you to take a moment and vote for us!
Plus, we're in such amazing company! Other nominees include:
We've Been Nominated!
I'm so honored that we are a BlogLuxe Awards: Blog You've Learned From Nominee! Voting is open until July 6th, and each person can vote once per day. 2009 BlogLuxe Awards will be presented at the SocialLuxe Lounge event at BlogHer '09 in July!
I hope you will stop by and vote for us - and vote often!
