Deena and Eric

Deena and Eric were such a great couple to work with. And their wedding was just stunning. That is my word of the day with this wedding. First off they choose a venue that I have been drooling over for years and could not wait to do a wedding there, so I was thrilled with the back yard of all back yards in Austin. Then Deena and I when talking came up with a color that was bright and bold just like she was. Top that off with some other awesome vendors. Oh and then Deena was a striking old Hollywood starlet in her dress, and Eric was handsome and striking in his own way. It was a smaller wedding but they had a blast and I have to say their friends and family know how to have a good time. If more of them lived closer I think I would want to hang out with them. See Below for some of the Amazing Cast of Vendors.

Venue: Dunveegan Keep

Photos: Melissa Glynn Hemera Nyx Photography

Cater: Pink Avocado

Sweets: Sweet Tempered (who I sadly say are not taking new customers but they did wonderfully).

And I want to thank Nery Lauderdale for all her hard work.

Laren and Justin

This was another wonderful wedding. I have been working with Lauren and Justin from across the country with stop in visits here and there. They had a very definite idea of what they wanted and what they could do to get it. I loved helping them find the right elements for their big day.
Here is some of the cast that made this day happen:

Venue: Caswell House (Craig was a huge help with switching from ceremony to dinner and clean up)

Caterer: Pink Avocado. I have to say I am always impressed with these guys and their service and their food. The apple goat cheese quesidilla appetizers are a favorite now of mine.

Photos: The Nichols (these photos are mine I will post theirs when they get the editing done).

Cakes: Blue Note Bakery (And yes every bit of that grooms cake is edible).

Sound: Stretch Sound. Justin and Lauren knew what music they wanted so they put it all on an IPOD and then JT put together a great sound system that provided music upstairs and downstairs for the event. Oh and he was helping move tables and chairs when we were switching to the dinner time from ceremony time. Way to go above the call of duty.

Coordinator/Planner: Myself and new to the team Channin Young (thanks for all your hard work Channin).

Heather and Reid

Heather and Reid hired us for their Fall reception. Teresa and Nery were on hand for this event and handled everything beautifully, while I was a phone call away preparing for another event.

I loved the colors and garden feel that they achieved here. This was an afternoon wedding and a pretty laid back feel, just like this sweet couple. I hope to do another post soon with professional photos.

Some of the Cast:

Cakes and Cupcakes: Polka Dots

Caterer: Food Heads

Photos: Sarah Q (the ones in this post are by my staff)

A special Thank you to JT with Stretch Sound who stopped by when the sound system was not working properly on set up and did his thing and got it running without any troubles. What a great guy.

Salt Covenant

There are several stories and biblical scriptures that I have read in researching this. The general concept is that the bride and groom are entering into a covenant with each other, and it is signified by each bringing some of their own salt to the marriage and they combine it into one container of salt. The only way the marriage can be seperated or divorce allowed is when every single grain of salt is sperated and given back to the correct person. Since there is no way to do this its a symbol of a lasting covenant. I will paste below some information I got from other locations.

From http://www.marriagesaltcovenant.com/FAQ.html
What is a Salt Covenant?During Old Testament times, agreements and promised were sealed by salt covenants. Each man would take a pinch of salt from his pouch and place it in the pouch of the other. Their agreement could not be broken unless they could each retrieve their own grains of salt. A Marriage Salt Covenant does the same thing by asking the bride and groom to combine their grains of salt. Their commitment to each other can not be broken unless they can each retrieve their own grains of salt. Since this is not possible it is a symbol of an unbreakable covenant and promise of love


Why do you use salt?Salt is considered a pure substance. Many people believe salt to be a good luck symbol and consider it to be a the purest of all earthly materials. It is used in many religious ceremonies as a symbol of purity.


Do you color your salt to match our wedding colors?No, we do not color our salt because then you would be able to separate your salt from your spouses and it would no longer be an unbreakable agreement


Can we perform the Marriage Salt Covenant during our ceremony?Yes, most churches will allow the Marriage Salt Covenant to be performed during the ceremony. Check with the church or minister performing the ceremony to be sure.


Do we have to perform the Marriage Salt Covenant during our
wedding ceremony?No, the Marriage Salt Covenant is a wonderful addition to your ceremony but it can also be done in a more intimate setting before or after the ceremony. You can use the Marriage Salt Covenant to enhance the commitment that you have made to your spouse anytime, Many couples choose to do it during their reception or during the rehearsal dinner.


Is the Marriage Salt Covenant just for newly weds?No, the Marriage Salt Covenant is great to renew a couple's commitment to each other no matter how long they have been married. It makes an excellent anniversary gift.


Can kids participate in the ceremony?Yes, we encourage children to participate in the union of their parents. We offer additional vials for children to be able to participate in the ceremony and be reminded that they to are a part of the commitment being made.


Is it appropriate to use the Marriage Salt Covenant to honor our
families?Yes, we often have couples looking for a way to honor deceased or living parents or loved ones use a Marriage Salt Covenant. You can purchase extra vials for them and have you or another family member or friend pour them into the unity vial with yours.

Mark and Shelby Spire 10/6/07

Last Tuesday I was sitting in my Ladies Bible Study and we were talking about what is going on in our lives and such, when one of the ladies told us how she is getting no sleep as her wedding was coming up that Saturday and everything was just caving in on her. So after the study I asked her what was going on and what she needed help with. She and I have not talked much and she did not realize that I was a wedding planner. I volenteered to help her out and let her get some sleep. Friday I got to the location at 2:30 and meet up with a group of her family and some friends and we decorated the location. The wedding was in San Marcos at Aquarina Springs (wedding on the lawn reception in the old resturant). The brides mother was very prepared. She had mapped out where every table was going and gave it a letter. Then she put all the decorations for one table into a box and labled it with the letter. And then in the box was a diagram of the table and how the decorations should be set out. We had the tables set up in a matter of an hour and a half. That is including putting all the chairs around. I don't know her official colors but everything was fall. Browns and Ivory accented with red orange and golds. Very nice. Each of the guest tables had a white table cloth with an ivory runner set on it diagonally. In the center of the table was a gold charger plate. On the plate was a glass hurricane with a white candle in the middle. The candle was surrounded by pebbles (natural brown pebbles). The pebbles were on the charger a bit as well. Then there were three candle tea light holders that looked like fall leaves that surronded that and then loose fabric leaves in fall colors scattered on the table. Simple but nice. There were artificial flower arangements in brown and golds on the cake table and two wood gold initials of the couple. THe cake table itself was drapped with the train of an old brides dress (the mother picked it and a veil up at a yard sale for $15.00). It was a nice touch. The grooms cake was a red velvet cake frosted in an ivory color and was decorated with fresh flowers from the flowers used in the bridal party flowers. Brides cake was also ivory (chocolate cake) pain with peach ribbon on each layer and dots for the boarder. A small bride and groom on top were actually sitting on the edge. Fresh flowers were placed behind the couple and around the cake. Again simple and lovely. The ceremony site itself was basic white chairs facing Spring Lake. A Table was at the end. It had an ivory table cloth that was passed down from the grooms family. On it was the items they needed for a salt covenant (I will post later what that is for those not familiar with it). ANd there was a floral arrangment that matched the ones on the cake table.

Bride wore a white sleeveless dress with bead work at the waist and a detachable train. This seemed to continue the Simple but elegant theme going with all the wedding. THe bridesmaids were in strapless brown gowns that came just below their knees with gold stappy sandles of their chioce. The groom and groomsmen were all in brown pin stripped tuxes with ivory vest and ties and brown shoes. Very nice. Wedding was at 1:30 and started on time. Service was short and the pastor was the grooms father. There was definatly a lot of personal touches to the ceremony because of the family connection. The caterer was with the University and the only one allowed at this venue. The food was not what I would call great, but this is not a refelction of the couple they did what they could with who they were working with. They served Cheese Quesadillas (that all tasted a bit overcooked to me) with chips and queso (that actually was burnt and hard by the end of the reception) and then cheese and veggies with ranch dip. Those were fresh and no problems and had just about enough. There was also some great cookies sugar, peanut butter, oatmeal, snickerdoodles and there were pleanty of these. They only had one gallon of punch and three gallons of lemonaid with pleanty of water. The punch and lemon aid ran out very fast. The caterer said this is all the mother of the bride ordered. I talked to her and she confirmed it and just thought it would go further. But didn't want them to bring more so it was water for all after that. I can not beleive that they would not tell her when placing the order that would not be enough for 140 guest (ended up with 160). They also did not have enough plates for the finger foods. Guest ended up just using napkins eventually.
Bride and groom were sent off under bubbles and their car was shrink wrapped with paper stick to the windows and a trail of things behind the car. Including a few pvc pipes and an orange caution cone. It was a beautiful wedding and such a happy loving couple.