Julio and Billie Tie the Knot on Valentines Day!

Congratulations Billie and Julio!!!

Do you remember in the movie LOVE STORY the famous line…….Love isn’t love till you give it away??? Well, with that in mind, Loving Unity Officiants and selected wedding professionals decided to sponsor a contest for one lucky couple to enter to win a free wedding ceremony on Valentines Day! The lucky winners were Billie and Julio of Largo, and their three children!!! What a beautiful wedding they had. The venue was Islands Bamboo Gardens in Pinellas Park! Kelly and Karlyn provided the setting that included a beautiful bamboo archway for the couple to be married under, and the music for the ceremony. Billie and Julio exchanged their vows next to the waterfalls, Koi pond, and fabulous variety of Bamboo! This location was beautiful and peaceful! All who attended were amazed by the beauty and peace they experienced while they were there to witness Billie and Julio exchanging their vows. The stunning red rose bouquet, boutonnière, and rose cake top were provided as a gift from The Rose Garden Florist. The red roses were exquisite!!!

The couple selected a religious wedding, which I officiated, and they lit a unity candle to join their lives together. The beautiful photography was compliments of Britt McAllister.

What would a wedding be without cake?? The moist and tasty cake with raspberry filling was provided compliments of Bonnie Yarborough of Celebration Cakes! It was one of the best cakes I have ever tasted, and I taste cake at just about every wedding that I officiate!! After cutting the cake, the couple danced their first dance as husband and wife! Following their dance, the couple celebrated a toast with custom wine provided by Hugh and Jean of Wine Works! Not only was the wine custom made, but notice the front of the bottle!! It had the couple’s photo and wedding date! How special!!! After the toast, the couple was presented with a gift basket provided by Kendra Briggs and the Perfect Wedding Guide! All of the guests and the vendors that provided their services for Billie and Julio signed guest book compliments of Michele of Paper Players and gave the couple a wedding card and personal gift.

This was a wonderful example of love; each vendor gave of their love to provide this couple with a gorgeous, meaningful, and spectacular wedding celebration that they will remember for the rest of their lives!!!

Heartfelt thanks to all my fellow wedding professionals, whom I also consider very dear friends, for giving of their time and talents to make a dream come true for Billie and Julio and their children!!!

Thanks to the following wedding professionals:

Islands Bamboo Gardens - Kelly & Karlyn - www.islandlawnservices.com or email at island1@tampabay.rr.com
Photography - Britt McAllister 727-512-1681 www.brittusa.com email britt@brittusa.com
Cake - Bonnie Yarborough - Celebration Cakes 727-517-7260 or email contact@celebrationcakes.biz
Custom Wine - Jean and Hugh at Wine Works- 11869 34th St. N St. Petersburg 727-556-2535  www.wineworksfl.com

Flowers - Heather at Rose Garden Flowers & Gifts - 10592 Seminole Blvd., Largo - 727-391-1200
Gift Basket - Kendra Briggs on behalf of the Perfect Wedding Guide
Guest Book - Michele Whitaker of Paper Players - invitations
Officiating & Coordination - Rev. Virginia Bishop, LovingUnity.com 727-532-6181

Bamboo Island Gardens - Valentines Wedding

CONGRATULATIONS Billie and Julio!!!!!!!!!!!! They are the winners of the Free Wedding Contest sponsored by Loving Unity Officiates!!! Billie and Julio will enjoy their ceremony at the Bamboo Island Gardens on February 14th! The bride will have beautiful roses for her bouquet and cake top provided by The Rose Garden in Largo, Florida, the Wedding Cake will be provided by Bonnie of Celebration Cakes, the Photography will be provided by Britt McCallister, and Wine Toast will be provided by the Wine Works, Guest book/Photo Album provided by the Paper Players!  They'll also receive a lovely honeymoon gift basket from Kendra Briggs!   I will be posting all the great photos of this couple and their event, as well as the vendors who gave of their time and talents to make this possible for this well deserving couple.

Love is truly in the air!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"For Better For Less" Wedding Flowers

A few weeks ago I met a lovely woman named Irene who is the owner/designer/creater for "For Better For Less? Wedding Flowers. I had the opportunity to personally see some of her creations, and all I can say is WOW!  The colors were  vibrant and the array of flowers exquisite!  Irene, works from her home and can offer an affordable alternative to traditional flower shops.  She told me she enjoys being able to give individual attention to each and every client and offers realistic prices.    She will provide a free consultation, and will help you to choose the perfect flowers for any budget.   Give Irene a call at 727-868-0522 or email her at Irene@forbetterforless.com or check out all the photos in her portfolio online at www.ForBetterForLess.com
It was a pleasure to spend time talking with Irene, and I am sure you will enjoy her as well.

Rach's Wedding Rescue!!

I am just humbled when I hear stories of how people go to the rescue of hurricane victims. My husband and I are on the disaster team for our local church, but mostly we just repair roofs and put in windows!!! So when I heard what Rachael was doing to help the victims of Hurricane Ike, I wanted you to know as well!

Tomorrow, on the Rachael Ray show, Rachel and her staff will be going to the rescue of hundreds of brides whose dreams for a beautiful wedding were swept away by Hurricane Ike in Texas. Leave it to Rachael to step in to pull off a beautiful and grand wedding celebration to be held at the Statium. The brides of Harris County will be given a celebration to remember! Thank you Rachael for going beyong and recognizing the importance of weddings and giving these couples the opportunity to have a fantastic wedding!!! Hope you will all get a chance to check out the show tomorrow, or have a look at Rachel's site at www.RachaelRay.com for more detail. Way to go Rachael!!!!!!!!!!

St. Petersburg Womens Club - Intimate Garden Wedding - Michelle & Dan

The St. Petersburg Women's Club, 22 Snell Isle Blvd. NE in St. Petersburg was the perfect setting for the intimate garden wedding ceremony of Michelle and Dan. The outside gardens were blooming, and they shared their vows under the archway with a beautiful backdrop. The St. Petersburg Women's Club is a beautiful setting that allows you to have your wedding outside, a cocktail reception area inside, and the reception area. There is also a "get ready" area for both the bride and groom. It was the first wedding I had performed there and I was very impressed.

The bride was escorted in to meet her groom to beautiful harp music. Meredith Coffman was the harpist. Meredith can be reached through http://www.mcharper.net/ or phone her at 813-854-4277. The DJ was Woody Luke of Luke Entertainment and they are at http://www.lukeentertainment.com/ or call him at 813-545-6363. Woody provided "Crash" by Dave Matthews for the first song for the couple to dance to. Flowers were provided by Thai-Rific http://www.thairificorchids.com/ or you can call 727-321-2732 The photographer for the wedding was Fritz of Good Memories by Fritz, and the picture of the couple in this blog was provided by Fritz. He can be reached at http://www.memoriesbyfritz.com or you can call him a
727-724-6363 or 813-310-7537
The delicate Pink wedding cake was created by Cakes By Carolyn at http://www.cakesbycarolynn.com or their phone at 727 327-5725. The catering done by Amici's Catered Cuisine. Diana Johnston and the staff of Amici's set up a beautiful display, which blended with the theme color of pink. Amici's can be found on the web at http://www.amiciscatering.com/ or their phone at 727-447-1600.

This is a fabulous venue for your wedding, it is a pleasure to also provide you with information about the vendors that helped to make such a beautiful wedding day for Michelle and Dan. Congratulations!

Bob and Heather from Arkansas!!

Bob and Heather came down to the Tampa Bay Florida area from Arkansas! It was a beautiful sunset wedding ceremony at Sand Kay Beach! I love the involvement of the children as they gave their mother away and the family was joined together with the sand ceremony. What a beautiful couple, the kids call him "Bear" and I can see why! He just loves her boys and they cuddle with him like a big soft bear!!! At the reception they called their grandad Pappa Bear! So cute. Hope you enjoy their pictures. Pay special attention to the cakes! The grooms cake is a Bass which was tasty red velvet cake, and the wedding cake was awesome. Can you believe the couple transported the cakes from Arkansas. Cakes were made by Shelly Lyons cake shop in Springdale, Arkansas. Jennifer of Shelly's cake shop was on the Food Network for surprise engagement cakes. How lucky we were to taste her great cooking. Have a look at Shellylynns.com The grooms cake was a Bass as Bob is a professional Bass Fisherman and part of the FLW for the past 7 year. Congratulations Heather and Bob, Reid and Cole!!!

Rusty Pelican, Tampa - Congratulations Catherine & Brad McGuire

Catherine & Brad said their "I Do's" at the Rutsy Pelican in Tampa. It was raining outside, but as all of us in the wedding business knows.........rain on your wedding day is a lucky sign! The Rusy Pelican provided a beautiful indoor area for the couple to be married in spite of rain, and the couple just brought along their own sunshine! Don Valente and the staff of the Rusty Pelican provided outstanding service. If you get a chance to go there to eat, you will enjoy the panoramic view of the bay and a great menu selection. Best wishes Catherine & Brad for a long and happy marriage!

Florida Marriage License - Florida Couples Save $$$ on Your License!

In this uncertain economy, every couple is looking to save some money while still having a beautiful wedding ceremony. I can understand that for sure!! If you book your wedding during the months of November or December, as my gift to you, you will receive the Marriage Preparation Course free of charge! By participating in this marriage preparation course, you are able to receive a substantial reduction in the cost of your marriage license. Every little bit counts! Give me a call now at 727-532-6186 to see if your date is available and get your discount on the marriage license.