Monday, November 23, 2009

Annie and Eric - Casa Carol Ann

Annie, Eric and 114 of their closest family and friends flooded into the city of Puerto Vallarta two weeks ago for a week-long celebration of their nuptials! The event was long-awaited, and when I say long-awaited, I mean loooong-awaited. Believe it or not, this couple has been together since - take a deep breath - eighth grade! Needless to say, we knew that this wedding has to be extra special, a true celebration of their love that has already, at such a young age, stood the test of time (and puberty!)

The couple choose a palette of tonal greens, touches of navy blue and a few pops of orange incorporated into just specific areas of the wedding! The mood was lively and fun, the setting was elegant and romantic - it was a perfect day!!!

A few of our amateur photos of the event to keep you appeased until we are able to get our hands on some of amazing photographer Jay Reilly's professional shots! Enjoy!

First, the pre-ceremony cocktail reception in the villa entrance terrace!






Following an hour of mojitos and mingling, guests were ushered downstairs to the main terrace for a ceremony that Annie said she hoped "would make everyone cry!" In preparation for the tears but also knowing this was a huge celebration, we brewed up a "Ceremony Essentials" table equipped with everything their guests needed for the ceremony - personalized tissue holders (for the tears), hand-painted maracas with their monogram logo (for the kiss) and Hershey's kisses (for fun)!






The huppah required for the Jewish wedding ceremony took center "stage", and hanging vases with white orchids surrounded the entire terrace, dangling above pillar candles that lined the railing. At the last moment, lush white rose petals were placed on the aisle, as well as a bit of a bribe to keep the flower girl moving toward the front!





Guests found their dinner table assignments in wooden boxes, customized with photos of the couple - from start to finish!



The dinner area setup was a bit more serene than the cocktail area - the "pops" of orange were absent, and a soft romantic vibe took over the entire villa living and dining areas! Annie liked the idea of different shape tables and varying centerpieces - of which fruit could play a part! We also used childhood photos of the couple to create personalized table numbers! So . . . this is the dinner area we came up with (daytime and nighttime shots!):














Following dinner, guests were invited back downstairs for cake, an amazing dessert buffet, cigars in the cigar lounge and relaxation in the transformed ceremony-terrace-now-lounge-area! (Sorry, my photos of the dessert buffet are really amateur!)







For professional shots of the bouquets, and some behind-the-scenes insight, visit us here.

From the bride and groom:

We're back in Chicago and its cold and raining - Eric and I are so sad to have left Puerto Vallarta so soon and are a bit depressed from ending the most amazing weekend of our lives. Words can not express how incredible everything was and how thankful we are to you both - as well as the entire Dazzling Details team. Every detail was better than the next and you truly exceeded every expectation we had. Thursday & Friday night dinners could not have been more perfect and were the best kick-off to the most amazing wedding ever.

The wedding was truly unbelievable. It was everything I pictured and more. We honestly can not thank you enough and I plan to tell everyone and anyone that will listen how amazing Dazzling Details is.

Thank you again for all of your hard work and for making our vision come to life and giving us the a better wedding than we could have dreamed!

Best, Annie & Eric Block

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Jen and Micah - Dreams PV

Jen and Micah wed at Dreams on November 10th; the weather was perfect, the day was beautiful and the tides - well, the tides were unusually high! Jen and Micah really stressed that they wanted their day to be full of fun and interaction with their guests; they told us that their favorite thing to do together is playing board games, cards, etc. and Micah even jokingly asked if it was possible to do "game night" at their wedding! Well, we did include games . . . in perhaps a less-expected way - and the night was full of fun and guest participation!!! The amateur photos from Jen and Micah's day; more professional photos later on from photographer Paulina Ulloa!



I love moments like these when bridesmaids dash off for a photo, leaving behind a pretty collection of bouquets, clutches and shoes!









For more on the Scrabble Board dance floor - check here!


To encourage guest participation, we created a wedding Mad Lib - a story about the bride and groom's meeting and first big date! Guests did a great job of providing vocab words to make the story truly . . . unique!


Guests took home traditional Mexican games - Cubilete, Loteria and Mexican playing cards - as gifts!




In lieu of a guestbook, we created mini wish books that also served as table numbers. Guests at each table were asked to share their wishes for the bride and groom in their table number booklet!



And throughout the day, we received more comments and questions on these centerpieces than anything! Several people even asked where they could buy them for their own weddings later that week at Dreams! Fortunately for Jen and Micah, there was no chance of a duplicate as they were made in our own workshop! We loved how they turned out!!!






For more on how this venue went from a flat beach space to a funky, interactive wedding celebration, go here!!!

Congraulations Jen and Micah! It was a privilege to work with you!!!