Jacksonville Wedding Giveaway Worth $30,000!

How would you like to win a FREE wedding?  Register now for your spot in The Wedding Party's Dance2Wed "Don't Stop the Music" Dance-a-thon!

When: Friday, October 21 9:00 pm - Saturday, October 22, 2011 until last couple is standing

Where: Aloft Jacksonville Tapestry Park

Who: All Engaged Couples & Friends

The Grand Prize:  A wedding valued at over $30,000!

That's right... all you have to do is be the last couple dancing on October 22nd, and you score a free wedding package! The dream wedding prize package includes:

• Ceremony and reception for up to 100 guests at Aloft Hotel

• Catering package from Mai Oui Gourmet

• Photography package from The Wedding and Portrait Photographers and Thomas Lester Photography

• Videography package from In Motion Video Productions

• Wedding cake by Simply Delicious! Cakes

• Stationery from Celebrated Occasions and Kouture Kreations

• DJ services from D'Land Entertainment and Y? Entertainment

• Photo Booth provided by Y? Entertainment

• Hair and Makeup services from A Glamour Bride

• Floral arrangements for the ceremony and reception

And of course, coordination by First Coast Weddings and Events! Find out more details and review the complete rules on The Wedding Party's website. We hope to see you there!

What Is The Wedding Party?

As you may know, our office is located inside The Wedding Party.  I thought I'd take a minute to tell everyone what that means, exactly! We are:

• A group of wedding professionals that share office space.
• All independent companies - we are under no obligation to refer/recommend the other businesses that are part of The Wedding Party, although we think they are pretty swell.
• Usually all in the office on a given day, so a bride can drop in anytime to ask a question or get information.
• A lot of fun to be around; stop in and see for yourself!

We are  not:

• A "package" deal... while our Client Concierge can certainly arrange for a bride to meet with all of us in one day, we don't offer a single contract for all wedding services.
• Exclusive in any way - I would love for my fellow wedding planner/coordinator friends to refer their brides to The  Wedding Party's professionals, and invite them to stop by anytime to say hi!
• Scary. Trust me.

You can check out The Wedding Party's website for a photo tour of our office, and for a list of all the companies represented.

Another Open House!

We're having another open house at The Wedding Party, and you're invited!

You are cordially invited to attend an Open House Reception to explore Jacksonville’s first wedding mall

It’s like a bridal show every day!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm 8640-8 Philips Highway, Jacksonville

Be sure to pick up your copy of "Expert Advice For A Stress-Free Wedding," a packet of tips and questions to ask when choosing your wedding professionals.

Plus, we will have great goody bags for each bride and groom that attend!

Totally Cute Cake

I saw this photo and just had to post it - this totally adorable and edible work of art was created by Gaby Colindres.  Gaby is the owner of Sweet Art Shop, and one of the owners of Serenatea.

Serenatea offers a variety of items from petit fours to cupcakes to hors d'oeuvres.  Some of my favorites are the cookies, which make wonderful favors for a shower or wedding.

An Excellent Open House

It was a great night last night as The Wedding Party, Jacksonville's only wedding mall, welcomed dozens of brides and grooms to our open house.  The passion and energy that you feel walking through the doors of The Wedding Party really lets you know that all the businesses inside strive for excellence in everything they do.  If you missed it, watch the blog for announcements about the next one! The food by Serenatea was delicious - especially the Pina Colada dip!  (these are my snapshots, stay tuned for pro pics from Kevin Winter!)

I could eat a hundred of these truffles!

Ham rolls, stuffed olives, sausage wraps, oh my!

And of course to top it all off, fabulous wedding cake from Simply Delicious!

These cake truffles live in the freezer just two doors down from my office...very dangerous indeed!

Another fun treat for the night: a photo booth!  This is "glamour girl" Kimberly, a former client and now friend, goofing off for the camera.  I would highly recommend this for a wedding, birthday party, any even really!  This one from Photobooth To Go, a division of Dan Harris PhotoArt.

There is so much more to write about!  But I'll wait to get Kevin's photos...

Open House at the Wedding Party

You are cordially invited to attend anOpen House Reception to explore Jacksonville's first wedding mall

It's like a bridal show every day!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm 8640-8 Philips Highway, Jacksonville

Bridal Show Fun!

This weekend was extremely busy for the First Coast Weddings team! Not only did Danielle and Donna have a wedding at beautiful Deerwood Country Club, I co-produced one of the largest bridal shows in town, the Jacksonville Bridal Connection.

Melanie and I spend several hours Saturday night preparing goody bags for the brides, and then my co-producer Sharon (also publisher of North Florida's Premier Bride) were at the University Center until 3:30 am supervising the setup.  This is the "glamorous" stuff they don't show on TV!

I was back at the University Center at 8:30 am Sunday to greet vendors, put out last-minute fires, and get ready for the 375 brides to arrive.  Thank goodness Danielle and Melanie were on hand to handle the First Coast Weddings booth!  Here's a snapshot of them setting up, taken from my Blackberry (so it's not great):

We were part of The Wedding Party's booth, which as our matching t-shirts claimed, "ROCKED!"  What a great atmosphere full of fun and professionalism.  From what I heard, everyone that stopped by loved it!

Our friend Wes Taff of Scenecrafters stopped by to shoot some video of the show, which I can't wait to see!

And now I'm taking a well-deserved day off to recuperate.  :)

My Wedding Party Rocks!

It's true! It's Your Wedding is now The Wedding Party!

What is the Wedding Party?  Well, first of all, it's where our office is located!  Second, it's like a bridal show every day!  Not only can you stop in to see the First Coast Weddings team, but you can visit with Jacksonville's top wedding professionals:  DeLand Entertainment, Celebrated Occasions, Simply Delicious, Serenatea, and more!  All in one convenient location, two miles north of the Avenues Mall.

Be sure to visit The Wedding Party at two upcoming bridal shows:

Fall Bridal Fantasy Renaissance World Golf Village Sunday, August 31 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Jacksonville Bridal Connection UNF University Center Sunday, September 7 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Or stop in Tuesday through Friday at 8640 Philips Highway, Suite 8!  (As an added bonus, we're right next door to the Connie Duglin Specialty Linen showroom!)