EXTRA! EXTRA! Read All About It!

Brides, Grooms, and Your Fantasy Affair Fans: Head to your favorite local vendor to pick up the newly released Spring/Summer issue of Central Florida Bride Magazine!

Inside you will find features on the weddings of Melannie & Ricardo (August 8, 2008) and Tanya & Darrell (February 16, 2008). PLUS!

Once more, the editors at Central Florida Bride called on us to lend our wedding expertise to local brides. So turn to page 60 for "9 Tips To Initiate The Planning Process;" written by Sarah Pickar Sleeth & Sharia Riley.

HOT trend to try...

If you're planning a winter wedding, skip the traditional after dinner coffee and spring for an enticing Hot Chocolate Bar! In December, guests dropped homemade marshmallows in flavors like Vanilla Bean, Peppermint, and Chocolate Chipetta in their fresh hot cocoa and devoured the results. We also added a shots stand with Kahlua, Amaretto, Peppermint Schnapps, and flavored syrups to give our guests some dancing fuel.

Destination We Do!

Orlando is synonymous with sunshine, family fun, and romantic getaways. To no surprise, with everything this city has to offer, Orlando is THE spot for destination weddings. The girls at Your Fantasy Affair have created a perfect solution for those out-of-town brides who want to say their nuptials stress-free and IN STYLE!

Introducing our Couture Destination We Do Design Package

Especially designed for intimate weddings, our Orlando destination wedding package covers all the essential elements. Ceremony location....check! Officiant....check! Beautiful bouquets....check! Photographer....check! FABULOUS wedding coordinator.....double check! The only thing missing is you and your honey.

Your Fantasy Affair has been deemed Destination Wedding gurus! Put your fears aside and trust THE wedding coordinators who know destination weddings in Orlando and abroad.

Walking in a *MODERN* Winter Wonderland…

For her December 20th wedding, OB/GYN doctor & bride, Pamela Cates wanted to welcome her Indiana family and friends to a modern winter wonderland wedding reception set in Florida. But how do you host a winter themed wedding for snow birds from the North, without freezing temperatures, ice, and actual snow? Hire the ladies at YFA of course!

For their ceremony, Pamela & her fiancé, Dominic, wanted to engulf their guests with romance. The lights of the Omni ChampionsGate International Ballroom were turned down, dozens of pillar candles lined Pamela’s aisle, and Raining Roses built a candle topped altar that didn’t leave a dry eye in the house.
Lead coordinator, Sharia Riley, tossed the standard winter idea of all silvers and frost and challenged Pamela to go “modern bold” with sapphires, peacocks, and lots of white fur! We brought the snow to Florida; and guests entered a snow falling modern winter wonderland with live harp music.
Sharia brought up the final challenge to her team: Why do one tablescape when you can have five? The YFA ladies put our heads together to create 5 distinctly different tables that left every guest feeling like a VIP. No table was alike, not even the stemware, chargers, or flatware!
Long banquet tables with silver burst chargers and iridescent paillette chair covers and a runner.
Round tables with iridescent peacock linen and arrangements bursting with white orchids (a la Raining Roses). White velvet napkins and silver sparkle chargers.
Sapphire square tables with dark helix chargers, snow fur chair caps and napkin bands accented with sapphire brooches for the guests to take home.
Custom canopies were created for the Bride & Groom’s family. Inside the VIP tents hung a crystal chandelier, white cloth-back chairs, and each guest’s place setting held a bowl stuffed with white fur and a full bloom red rose (the Groom’s favorite color).
Close friends of the Bride & Groom sat at Vegas style booths near the dance floor. Instead of an expected arrangement of fresh flowers, Raining Roses and Wizard Connection froze a bouquet in a solid block of ice. Half of the guests sat at custom Room Service banquet booths, half sat in the trend setting ghost chair. Pamela & Dominic sat at their own custom built sweetheart table, covered in white satin and adorned with hanging crystals.
DJ Carl mixed R&B music from behind the couple's custom ice bar; and celebrity photographer, Damon Tucci, was on hand to take record of the whole evening.

Attention Frequent Shoppers!

So very often I get a call from brides telling me about a recent trip to __________ (fill in the blank with your fav arts and crafts store). Usually the conversation goes from a great sale on cylinder vases to a 20% off coupon used on .99 cent glass rocks. Every now and then, I also get a mix of fish bowls, floating candles, and tulle circles. Now....do not get me wrong. Used the right way they could look great. However, there is a special aspect to wedding design (or decorating) that one must always keep in mind: Shop smart and with a PLAN!

Your wedding should be about YOU and the GROOM. A shopping spree at the local ___________ (fill in again!) with no plan of action or list of essentials is usually a blasé wedding mishap waiting to happen. Here are some tips for creating a beautiful AND unique wedding!

1. Pick a couple items you LOVE and not what you like or think would look nice.

2. Just because your wedding is chartreuse does not mean you have to buy every chartreuse ribbon, candle, and vase you see. Find ESSENTIAL decor items and make those pop!

3. Think of the big picture. Decide on your ideal look and work from there. NEVER go into a store and buy a lot of stuff that you are hoping will fit together later.

4. Consider purchasing unconventional elements. Just because you usually do not see it at weddings does not mean you shouldn’t! Most guests have seen the typical vases and marbles. Find a substitute that is in the same price range but will give a bigger WOW!

I have equipped you with the tools; your hubby-to-be will equip you with the card :), so now you are officially ready to go shopping!

Add ART to Your Envelopes & Wedding Reception

We can't contain our admiration and love any longer.  The work of Sarah Hanna is nothing short of stunning, and we adore how it adds a flair of the extraordinary to envelopes, menu cards, and other wedding stationary.  

Miss Hanna, a third generation artist, founded her company on the belief that attention to detail must be extraordinary.  She forgoes traditional calligraphy pens for artist's paint brushes, and each name is written by hand with care.  All inks are custom mixed to ensure her extraordinary result.  

Forgo Favors for Charity!

How many weddings have you been to where a candle or piece of chocolate is given to you as a wedding favor? In this day and age, those that were hurting before are hurting worse now and American’s are now less able to give to charity. Our solution? Instead of the traditional favor make a donation in each guest’s name to your favorite charity. I think it’s important to note that we may plan plenty of weddings each year, but we’re also guests to many as well. For us as guests, we are just as happy seeing a charitable contribution as we are with a yummy Godiva chocolate bar!

Visit http://www.idofoundation.org/ for more info!