Congratulations Dave and Alyssa

High atop One Shell Plaza, with its floor to ceiling windows, the Downtown Club at the Plaza was a beautiful place for this reception. We haven’t been here in a few years and it was nice to be back. Jason, the Coordinator was a great guy to work with as well.

The colors for this reception were green, brown, and ivory, and were perfect for the room. The tables had ivory tablecloths and ivory napkins. The elegant centerpieces consisted of tall vases, with alternating orchids and calla lilies sitting in a few inches of rocks and water. Each table was named after a location at Duke University that was special to Dave and Alyssa. For favors, each place setting had a small envelope tied with a green ribbon, filled with Texas wildflower seeds.

Alyssa wore a beautiful gown that had a vintage feel to it. It was strapless, champagne colored, with beaded embellishments. The skirt had layers of soft tulle over satin, which fell to the floor. The champagne satin sash completed the antique look. It was simply gorgeous! Alyssa carried a full bouquet of ivory and green flowers wrapped in an ivory ribbon. Her Bridesmaids wore brown, knee length dresses and carried bouquets of assorted ivory and green flowers, tied with an ivory ribbon. Dave and his Groomsmen wore black tuxes with black vests and ties, with green orchid boutonnieres.

After dinner, the special dances, and the toast, it was time for the cake cutting. Alyssa’s cake had three stacked tiers, with pretty scroll designs. The middle tier had the couple’s monogram, and each tier had a green ribbon at the bottom. The top had a beautiful cluster of ivory roses and green orchids. Dave’s cake was a Duke basketball court. It was pretty cool!

For the Bouquet and Garter, we did the Anniversary Dance instead of doing the traditional Bouquet Toss. The longest married couple (46 years!) was given the bouquet and gave some words of advice to Alyssa and Dave. Then, we did the traditional Garter removal and toss.

When it was time for dancing, this crowd was a blast! They were so much fun and liked to dance to everything, and occasionally sang along as well. They had a great group of dancers. From Oldies, to Hip Hop, to Country, they liked it all. The dance floor was packed all night long and they were so much fun! The night came to an end, and the Newlyweds ran though bubbles to head off to their new life. Congratulations!

Couple weds in Home Depot

Here's a cool story for you all to read:
http://www.ocregister.com/news/home-253157-store-depot.html

Congratulations Brian and Rachel

This reception was held at the Wildcat Golf Club, which is the preferred club of all the professional sports teams in Houston – how cool! We’ve never played here before, and we found the staff and the Food and Beverage Manager Cindy, to be friendly and helpful. We definitely look forward to working here more often.

The colors of this wedding were red, blue, and green. At first I didn’t understand why, until I discovered that Brian is Scottish and they chose the colors from a Scottish plaid pattern. Brian wore a plaid print tie in those colors, and the Bridesmaids had the same print as a sash around their dresses.

I must tell you about Rachel’s white dress: I loved it! It was so unique and beautiful. It had short sleeves, and a row of tiny buttons down the front. The fabric was, I don’t know how to describe it, but kind of like a sheer layer of a white floral print over the other layers. Rather than have the more traditional skirts that we’re used to seeing, the dress simply fell in soft folds to the floor, with a small sweep train in the back. The dress had an almost vintage feel to it. To top it off, Rachel wore a thin head band of pearls. She carried a bouquet of white flowers with red floral accents. The Bridesmaids wore dark blue knee-length dresses with a Scottish print sash, and red shoes. (I loved that touch!) They carried bouquets of white hydrangeas tied with the same Scottish plaid fabric as on their dresses. Brian wore a dark suit with his plaid tie, and a red boutonniere, and his Groomsmen wore dark ties with white boutonnieres.

After Brian and Rachel made their entrance and had their first dance, it was time for dinner. Following the nice buffet, it was on to the toasts and cake cutting. This couple chose Bavarian cheesecake wedding cakes, and everyone loved them! Rachel’s cake had three, white, stacked, square layers, with black ribbon at the bottom of each. The couple’s monogram was on each side of the middle layer. Brian’s cake was pretty cool: it was chocolate, with the World Series of Poker logo on the top. I think we know what he likes to do in his spare time!

After the cake cutting, we did the parent’s dances, and the way this couple did it was a bit unique. After Rachel danced with her father for a minute or so, we invited all fathers and daughters in the room to join them on the dance floor. It got pretty packed. Brian did the same with his mother, as we invited all the mothers and sons in the room to join them. Again, the dance floor was filled. It was really nice, and showed how this couple places an emphasis on family. After that, party time!

This group wanted music that was a bit out of the norm, and it was a perfect reflection of Brian and Rachel. No country (Yes, you can have a great wedding in Texas without country music.), very few of the current top 40/Hip Hop songs, and more of the older fun artists like Beastie Boys, and Run DMC. You can have fun on the dance floor with all those great oldies! Rachel and her friends were out there most of the night, and a few of the Groom’s friends out there dancing were hilarious (you know who you were)! And the group of you guys at the end – you were cracking me up!

After the Bouquet toss and plenty more dancing, the night wound down and the Newlyweds headed off to their new life as husband and wife. Congratulations!

Congratulations Wes and Celina

This wedding took place at the Garten Verein in Galveston. Everyone loves this octagonal-shaped historic dance hall, and it’s a favorite for wedding receptions. The colors for the day were black and white, with a touch of pink. The tables had floor-length white table cloths with black pin tuck overlays. The chairs had white satin chair covers with black ties. The alternating high/low centerpieces consisted of assorted white and pink flowers, with candles around the base.

Celine wore a gorgeous white, strapless gown. It had all over beaded accents with gathers of smooth white satin wrapping around the gown, held in place with decorative accents. There were gathers and pick ups all around the bottom of the gown, with more in the back from the bustle. They really added to the drama of the gown. In her hair, Celina had a simple beaded accent on one side, which was very elegant, and perfect on her. She a bouquet of assorted white and pink flowers hand tied with white ribbon. To finish off the look, she wore the most awesome hot pink shoes! The Bridesmaids wore black knee-length dresses, and carried smaller versions of Celina’s bouquet. Wes was handsome in his black tux, white vest, and white tie. He wore an elegant white boutonniere. His Groomsmen wore similar black tuxes and boutonnieres.

After dinner and the toasts, it was time for the cake cutting. The Bride’s cake consisted of three stacked tiers, with a few white daisies accenting the layers. The Groom’s cake was white with chocolate ‘dripping’ down the sides, and the Texas A&M logo on the top. (To add to the A&M touches, they had a Texas A&M card box as well.) They had a nice cake cutting, no smashing, and on to the special dances. Following the special dances – party time!

Celina had told me that this group loved dancing, and she wasn’t kidding. She was a dancer in high school, at A&M, and then spent four years as a Houston Texans dancer. No wonder Celina and all of her friends could dance so well! It was evident that they all loved to dance, from Hip Hop to Oldies to Country to anything else you could think of. They had a lot of fun on the dance floor!

There were a few other really cool touches to this wedding reception. For one, they had a photo booth. There were all kinds of fun hats and props for the guests to use, and the pictures were put in a scrapbook for Wes and Celina to keep. The pictures and the captions were so funny! Another neat touch was the trolley. They had a trolley shuttling guests back and forth from the church to the reception, and then back to their hotel. That was an especially great idea for the guests who want to drink but not worry abut driving.

After a fun night of dancing, and the bouquet and garter, the night came to a close (although I think this crowd could have partied all night long!). Celina and Wes bid farewell to their guests, hopped aboard their trolley, and headed off to their new life. Congratulations!

Congratulations Ace and Andrea

This elegant, beach-themed wedding reception took place at the Hotel Galvez, which was the perfect location. I never knew you could mix black, white, seashells, and elegance together, but this couple did it and it was beautiful! The tables had floor-length black pin tuck linens with white napkins, and white chair covers. The flowers were gorgeous. They were done by Ace and his coworkers (it turns out that he is a Floral Designer, and a good one that that!) There were three alternating centerpieces: tall vases with calla lilies, shorter vases with orchids in water with and seashells and lights, and wide vases with pillar candles of assorted sizes in sand and shells surrounded by shells on the table. To tie in with the theme, the tables were named after places in Galveston, such as “Moody Mansion” and “Seawall Boulevard.”

Andrea was so beautiful in her strapless, ivory gown. It had a fitted, gathered bodice with a low bustle. The matching veil had lace edging and was pinned into her updo. Andrea e carried an elegant full bouquet of white calla lilies, hydrangea, roses, and others. Her Bridesmaids wore black-knee length gowns and carried bouquets of yellow and white calla lilies and hydrangeas. Ace looked great in his black tux, black shirt, ivory tie and vest, and white calla lily boutonniere. His Groomsmen wore all black, with their white ties and yellow boutonnieres being their only color. The fun part was the guy’s shoes: Ace wore white Converse and the Groomsmen all wore black Converse.

After a nice seated dinner, it was time for the special dances. You should have seen Ace dancing with his mom – it was awesome, and they rocked the dance floor!! Not to be outdone, Andrea and her stepfather did a great job as well. As soon as we met this group, we knew they’d be a lot of fun, and we’re right! Once the special dances were over, it was party time. They danced to everything from Salsa to Michael Jackson to Country to everything else you can imagine. A few times, half the room was singing along to the music. When we played “Conga”, they spontaneously started doing a Conga line on the dance floor. And Ace, the Groom, was hilarious! He was the king of the dance floor, and for a good reason. Later, a group of people basically reenacted the dance scene from Footloose, with the guys on one side of the dance floor and the ladies on the other side, dancing towards each other. It was so funny! Later, Andrea jumped into Ace’s arms as he spun her around like in Dirty Dancing. They also did the dance from Thriller, and others. Like I said, this group was fun!

When it was time for the cake cutting, the guests were in awe of the amazing cakes. The Bride’s cake had five white tiers, with a black ribbon at the bottom of each. A few orchids and calla lilies were on each tier and the top. It was very elegant. The Groom’s cake was incredible! It was a Jeep. Not a flat cake with a Jeep on top, but the whole cake was shaped like Ace’s Jeep. It had the tires, grill, seats, a windshield, everything. And most of it was edible. It was sitting on a base of ‘sand’ (brown sugar) and shells, with a few palm trees around it. Just amazing!

After more dancing, the Dollar Dance, and the Bouquet and Garter, and the guests enjoying the chocolate candy buffet, the night sadly came to an end. I think this crowd could have danced all night long! Ace and Andrea ran out through a shower of petals, jumped into their limousine, and headed off to their new life. Congratulations you two!