Mayda & Lester's story is not your typical "Love at first sight", "High school sweethearts" or "Introduced by mutual friends". They actually met when and where I met my husband, Rodrigo. For those of you who don't know the story, it briefly goes like this: One night of November 2004 my sister, my mom and I decided to stop by the Nicaraguan Festival and Expo at the Tamiami Fairground. We stood in a crowd to listen to a music band that was playing. Lester, Rodrigo and a friend were standing right in front of us, and we could not see the show so they offered us their spot and we switched. Then, Lester starts making conversation with my mom and she finds him to be a well-mannered young man. He asks my sister to dance and then we all engage in general conversation.
At the end of the night, they ask for our number and my mom decides to give them our house line. The rest is history. Many things obviously happened and here we are almost 5 years later, both of us married to these awesome guys that we never expected to meet that night and who we blew off several times :/. Life is beautiful and brings blessings along with it in perfect timing, sometimes you just don't realize right away.
The Planning
When they got engaged in May 2007, Mayda and I started brainstorming ideas for the design of the Wedding. She knew that she wanted a Garden themed Wedding but specifically envisioned something Elegant and Classy. Well, let me tell you it was all that and much more. She picked the colors Hot pink and Lime green and we got busy planning right away.
I wanted them to have their Wedding at an exclusive place (since I have been to many Venues already), somewhere that was not popular and definitely had no multiple Ballrooms. I found the perfect spot in August of that year, when they inaugurated the Courtyard Marriott of Coral Gables. The place was a hotel of another chain before but it had been completely renovated and had this modern vibe and clean look that I just loved. I took them for a walk-through and they were sold! They were actually the first ones to book a Wedding at the Hotel since its opening. The Hotel offers the option of having your Ceremony in their Poolside Deck on the 2nd Floor and they loved the idea of an intimate Ceremony, so they booked that spot too.
We had lots of fun putting all the details together. Fortunately, Mayda was a very open-minded bride when it came to fresh ideas so this made that much easier. The design could not have come together as beautifully without the participation of so many wonderful Vendors (Listed at the bottom of this post).
I wanted them to have their Wedding at an exclusive place (since I have been to many Venues already), somewhere that was not popular and definitely had no multiple Ballrooms. I found the perfect spot in August of that year, when they inaugurated the Courtyard Marriott of Coral Gables. The place was a hotel of another chain before but it had been completely renovated and had this modern vibe and clean look that I just loved. I took them for a walk-through and they were sold! They were actually the first ones to book a Wedding at the Hotel since its opening. The Hotel offers the option of having your Ceremony in their Poolside Deck on the 2nd Floor and they loved the idea of an intimate Ceremony, so they booked that spot too.
We had lots of fun putting all the details together. Fortunately, Mayda was a very open-minded bride when it came to fresh ideas so this made that much easier. The design could not have come together as beautifully without the participation of so many wonderful Vendors (Listed at the bottom of this post).
THE WEDDING
Now on to the fun part, Mayda & Lester's Wedding. May 16th, 2009 finally arrived. My beautiful sister had the most amazing night of all times! She really sunk in every moment of the day and looked radiant all night long.
Here is a scoop of the Ballroom transformation, as it has become Stylish Events Blog signature:
Ceremony
That week, the weather had been pretty scattered showers and the day of was no exception. It was raining on and off, and the Ceremony had to be moved inside the Ballroom due to this issue. We tried our best to make it look beautiful inside and with the pink lighting, everything was glowing and the room looked very whimsical, actually. Mayda & Lester were not too happy about this, but once the Ceremony was over they expressed how much they loved the way it turned out.
A Bamboo Huppah was custom built for Mayda & Lester's Ceremony. It was the focal point of the room and it was draped with white sheer linens. White chivari chairs with hot pink cushions and lime greem bows were set-up in semi-cirle on each side of the room. In the aisle, a personalized Aisle runner with their monogram. Since the Ceremony was supposed to be outdoors in the heat of Sout Florida, Mayda had also made personalized Water Bottles for their guests.
Sign-in Table
The Placecard display was designed to display the Garden theme with a bed of wheatgrass where the White place cards were displayed. We also wanted to incoporate a hint of the design into the place cards so we bought plain white ones and decorated them with light pink flowers on the corners for contrast. A leather picture album of Mayda & Lester's Engagement session was displayed in the Sign-in table for guests to check out their shots and write a message for the happy couple.
Reception
The pink lighting had the Ballroom glowing beautifully and it added such an ambiance to the atmosphere. The tables stood out with vibrant Lime green Dupionui table cloths and hot pink satin napkins. The chairs used at the Ceremony were re-arranged for the Reception and all the Spring lively colors had a dramatic contrast. The Centerpieces consisted of round Cylinder vases topped with pink roses, white hydranges and curly willow. One hydrangea and crystal pebbles were also place inside the Cylinder to avoid an empty look.
The favors were cute green boxes that close with petals flaps on top. We added a round tag with Mayda & Lester's monogram and tied it with a pink ribbon. They were perfect!
On the dance floor, a GOBO with the Mr. & Mrs. name and Wedding date was displayed. Behind the Sweetheart Table, Mayda wanted to have draping so we custom built it for her Reception as well :) to help her stay within her budget. It definitely added Elegance to their spot and looked amazing with the Uplighting.
Cake
Ok, this one was a conversation started all night! Everyone had something to say about it and honestly, I had never seen so many people taking pictures of the Wedding Cake LOL. It was intended to be a focal point in the Reception so it was highlighted with a Pinspot light.
Thanks for Rosie from Elegant Temptations for bringing the design to life. To the surprise of many, it was a green buttercream cake decorated with pink flowers with a rhinestone middle and had rhinestone rimmed at the bottom of the tiers.
For the stand, the illusion that the Wedding Cake was seating on a garden of roses was created. The acrylic stand was filled with petals and these overflowed onto the table, sorrounding the Cake.
Party
DJ JP had everyone and I really mean all 90 guests on the dance floor most fo the night. He really hit the spot and played music for all ages and all genres. He definitely was a crowd pleaser when he played "Palo de Mayo" which is like Nicaraguan booty dance, per se. :) He did a great job with group participation for "The Crazy Hour" towards the end of the night. People were braking it down with Mardi Gra masks and beads for a while, with Carnival music and La Conga, etc...
I would personally like to thank each and everyone of the Professionals that were part of Mayda & Lester's Vendor team because they all went above and beyonf their duties. Not only as a Wedding Coordinator but also as a family member, I appreaciate all your hard work.
Credits
Photography: Devynn, DB Images http://www.dbimagesblog.wordpress.com/
Video: Javier, My Treasure Videos http://www.mytreasurevideos.com/
Flowers: Landy's Flowers by Gerardo http://www.flowersbygerardo.com/
Cake: Rosie, Elegant Temptations http://www.eleganttemptations.com/
Now on to the fun part, Mayda & Lester's Wedding. May 16th, 2009 finally arrived. My beautiful sister had the most amazing night of all times! She really sunk in every moment of the day and looked radiant all night long.
Here is a scoop of the Ballroom transformation, as it has become Stylish Events Blog signature:
Ceremony
That week, the weather had been pretty scattered showers and the day of was no exception. It was raining on and off, and the Ceremony had to be moved inside the Ballroom due to this issue. We tried our best to make it look beautiful inside and with the pink lighting, everything was glowing and the room looked very whimsical, actually. Mayda & Lester were not too happy about this, but once the Ceremony was over they expressed how much they loved the way it turned out.
A Bamboo Huppah was custom built for Mayda & Lester's Ceremony. It was the focal point of the room and it was draped with white sheer linens. White chivari chairs with hot pink cushions and lime greem bows were set-up in semi-cirle on each side of the room. In the aisle, a personalized Aisle runner with their monogram. Since the Ceremony was supposed to be outdoors in the heat of Sout Florida, Mayda had also made personalized Water Bottles for their guests.
Sign-in Table
The Placecard display was designed to display the Garden theme with a bed of wheatgrass where the White place cards were displayed. We also wanted to incoporate a hint of the design into the place cards so we bought plain white ones and decorated them with light pink flowers on the corners for contrast. A leather picture album of Mayda & Lester's Engagement session was displayed in the Sign-in table for guests to check out their shots and write a message for the happy couple.
Reception
The pink lighting had the Ballroom glowing beautifully and it added such an ambiance to the atmosphere. The tables stood out with vibrant Lime green Dupionui table cloths and hot pink satin napkins. The chairs used at the Ceremony were re-arranged for the Reception and all the Spring lively colors had a dramatic contrast. The Centerpieces consisted of round Cylinder vases topped with pink roses, white hydranges and curly willow. One hydrangea and crystal pebbles were also place inside the Cylinder to avoid an empty look.
The favors were cute green boxes that close with petals flaps on top. We added a round tag with Mayda & Lester's monogram and tied it with a pink ribbon. They were perfect!
On the dance floor, a GOBO with the Mr. & Mrs. name and Wedding date was displayed. Behind the Sweetheart Table, Mayda wanted to have draping so we custom built it for her Reception as well :) to help her stay within her budget. It definitely added Elegance to their spot and looked amazing with the Uplighting.
Cake
Ok, this one was a conversation started all night! Everyone had something to say about it and honestly, I had never seen so many people taking pictures of the Wedding Cake LOL. It was intended to be a focal point in the Reception so it was highlighted with a Pinspot light.
Thanks for Rosie from Elegant Temptations for bringing the design to life. To the surprise of many, it was a green buttercream cake decorated with pink flowers with a rhinestone middle and had rhinestone rimmed at the bottom of the tiers.
For the stand, the illusion that the Wedding Cake was seating on a garden of roses was created. The acrylic stand was filled with petals and these overflowed onto the table, sorrounding the Cake.
Party
DJ JP had everyone and I really mean all 90 guests on the dance floor most fo the night. He really hit the spot and played music for all ages and all genres. He definitely was a crowd pleaser when he played "Palo de Mayo" which is like Nicaraguan booty dance, per se. :) He did a great job with group participation for "The Crazy Hour" towards the end of the night. People were braking it down with Mardi Gra masks and beads for a while, with Carnival music and La Conga, etc...
I would personally like to thank each and everyone of the Professionals that were part of Mayda & Lester's Vendor team because they all went above and beyonf their duties. Not only as a Wedding Coordinator but also as a family member, I appreaciate all your hard work.
Credits
Photography: Devynn, DB Images http://www.dbimagesblog.wordpress.com/
Video: Javier, My Treasure Videos http://www.mytreasurevideos.com/
Flowers: Landy's Flowers by Gerardo http://www.flowersbygerardo.com/
Cake: Rosie, Elegant Temptations http://www.eleganttemptations.com/
DJ: JP, JP Productions http://www.jpdisco.com/
GOBO/Uplighting/Spotlighting: DJ Ubi http://www.ubismusic.com/
Linens & Chair Rental: AB Cover Designers http://www.abcoverdesigners.com/
Draping & Huppah: Stylish Events http://www.stylishevents.net/
I hope you enjoyed this post, typically I blog about Weddings only and keep it as business related as possible but in this case, I had the opportunity to share with you a bit more about my life (and family).
GOBO/Uplighting/Spotlighting: DJ Ubi http://www.ubismusic.com/
Linens & Chair Rental: AB Cover Designers http://www.abcoverdesigners.com/
Draping & Huppah: Stylish Events http://www.stylishevents.net/
I hope you enjoyed this post, typically I blog about Weddings only and keep it as business related as possible but in this case, I had the opportunity to share with you a bit more about my life (and family).
Thank you for reading,
