Live from Hot-Lanta!

We're live from Hot-lanta - well Cold-lanta really. We came down for a little warm weather, a lot of education, and some great parties - and we got snow!

This week The Special Event - a huge special events conference - is taking place in Atlanta, Georgia.

We have been dazzled by the Georgia Aquarium, wowed by the New World of Coca-Cola, and seen the essence of the South with the Wedding Luncheon.

You will be thrilled to know that we have discovered new products and new ideas to help make our weddings and events extra special.

Plus, it has been wonderful to reconnect with old friends, meet new ones, and refresh our love of weddings and events.

The images are of the Wedding Luncheon and Gallery - great inspiration!

A Bridal Extravaganza

There will be a fabulous bridal event taking place on Sunday, January 27th at The Willard Hotel in Washington DC.
The incredibly talented floral designer Preston Bailey (no relation :)) will be there along with famous wedding cake diva Sylvia Weinstock.
Attendees will feast their eyes on couture gowns from wonderful designers and feast again with a four course tea presented by the staff at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel.

Go to http://www.engagedmagazine.com/ for more information and tickets. See you there!

Flower Girl Frocks

If you are in the market for a cute flower girl dress, be sure to check out the sale at the Crew Cut division of J Crew. They have simple, pretty dresses on sale now for $ 120.00 at www.jcrew.com.

Ringing in the New Year

We couldn't have chosen a nicer couple to spend New Year's Eve with than Lindsey and Christopher who were married on 12/31/07 at the historic Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore. The Basilica is the United States' first cathedral and it recently had an extensive renovation to make it one of the most breathtaking churches anywhere.

The candlelit ceremony was a subtle start to what turned into the most festive evening ever. After the ceremony, over 250 guests made their way to another historic Baltimore venue, The Hippodrome Theatre. The cocktail hour, with Broadway tunes playing in the background, was filled with delicious food including a sushi station and a huge raw bar.

The guests (who each picked-up a mini champagne bottle with their place card attached) were then invited into the main theatre and were surprised and delighted to find that they would be having dinner and dancing on the same stage where many famous people have danced and performed over the years.

The gorgeous decor of the stage started with an over-the-top beautiful sequined turquoise tablecloth and black chivari chairs with sashes from Select Event Rentals. The flowers were gorgeous from designer Jeanne Graham of Blue Sage Floral Design and some of the photos here were taken by Jeanne's talented husband Geoff.

Over 800 pieces of NYE fun blowers, hats, horns, and glasses were creatively and equally distributed among the guest tables. The black and white dance floor and black lighted curtain were provided by Perkins Productions.

The dinner of lobster and tenderloin catered by Spectrum Caterers was fabulous and kudos to such a wonderful staff at Spectrum for making sure with their great and attentive service that all guests were comfortable and happy.

The dance floor was filled from the very beginning and with each song as the popular band Powerhouse rocked the stage. Photographer Arthur Remanjon and videographer Jim Skipper of Black Tie Video captured each moment of the party.

The wonderful wedding cake complete with frosting fireworks was created by the talented staff at Charm City Cakes.

A few minutes before midnight as the staff was serving more champagne and confetti poppers, a huge screen appeared above the band (dropped from the ceiling) and the ball drop from Times Square appeared. The guests got to count down to midnight with Dick Clark as Auld Lang Syne filled the stage.

Oh, and if that wasn't enough, when the guests finally started to leave well after 1:00 am, while they waited for the valet parkers from Courtesy Parking to retrieve their cars, they helped themselves to a wonderful lobby buffet of coffee and hot chocolate in to-go cups and cute bags of munchkin donuts.


Congratulations Lindsey and Chris!

Puttin' On The Ritz

The Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, Virginia was the romantic setting for the wedding of Megan and David on December 29th. The weekend of activities started with a fun and flirty bridal shower at the Betsy Johnson store in Tysons II on Thursday evening. On Friday the wedding party and out-of-town guests spent the morning at a very cool bowling party and then everyone had a chance to chill before a ceremony rehearsal and a fabulous rehearsal dinner at Maggiano's.

The wedding day brought beautiful weather and a bride so in love with Monique Lhuillier gowns that she just had to have two! She wore the first ballgown type dress to the ceremony and a sleeker party gown to the reception. No wonder she couldn't choose between the two because each was so beautiful.

The ceremony which took place at a church in Reston was made even more special by the fact that the groom's father was the officiant. The walkway to the church was lined with luminaries and after the ceremony the guests were each given a custom labeled CD with a compilation of special wedding songs to play on the way to the reception.

The stunning reception flowers by Jose of Art with Flowers filled the ballroom at The Ritz in a lush winter wonderland. Jose added 200 Black Magic roses to a magnificent cake designed and baked by Duff Goldman at Charm City Bakery in Baltimore.

Fun elements like a photo booth, martini bar and monogrammed cupcakes as a take home favor ensured a good time for all. The decor of the ballroom was accented with a white dance floor (complete with a custom lighted monogram) and band stage by Mike Blondell at Accent on Events.

The wedding guests entered the reception and enjoyed delicious hors d'oeuvres as six strolling violins serenaded them. Later as the doors to the Ballroom opened, the swing and jazz sound of The Joker's Wild, a DC area band, drew people right to the dance floor. To finish out the party, the more contemporary sound of deejay Steve Burrows of MSE Productions filled the room.

A Sunday morning brunch wrapped up the weekend nicely at The Ritz and wedding guests who attended from all over the country made their way back home filled with happy memories.

Congratulations Megan and David!

Warm Winter Wedding

Five Farms is one of our very favorite wedding sites. Located in a beautiful section of Baltimore County, it was the setting for the marriage of Lori to Cary in early December. The rooms were decorated tastefully for the holidays and Lori added her own special touch with her wedding colors of chocolate and Tiffany blue.
The wedding cake was created by the talented staff at Sugar Bakers and the amazing floral designer Rennie from Simply Beautiful Flowers decorated the club with just the right touches of fresh flowers from room to room.
Deejay Jeff Thompson had no problem keeping the dance floor full with this very lively crowd and there were baskets of Chinese slippers at the edge of the dance floor for that moment when the heels must come off.
The beautifully designed food stations were overflowing with jumbo lump crab cakes, roasted beef tenderloin, New Zealand lamb, and a delicious looking pasta display.
Dessert was an incredible gathering of hundreds of Italian cookies made by the bride's mom and her family. We added cello bags and pieces of ribbon so that guests were able to take their favorite cookies home with them.

Lori and Cary spoiled their guests staying at The Marriott Hunt Valley Inn by providing wonderful hotel gift bags upon their arrival, a great dinner on Friday evening at The Cinnamon Tree restaurant, and a shuttle service to the wedding and back on Saturday. No wonder the guests felt comfortable about partying the night away.

Congratulations Lori and Cary!

A Virtual Martini with Steve from Steve Canning Photography

Let's have a Martini with Steve from Steve Canning Photography.

Share a fun fact about your home life.
At our house, we have no need for alarm clocks. Our two kids wake us up before 7:00 AM every day.

How did you get started in business?
I started off carrying bags for other photographers and working in the darkroom. 10 yrs later I was ready to open shop.

What has been the highlight of your career to date?
Last year we were hired to photograph a wedding at Disney World. My parents live near Orlando. So my wife, kids, and I spent the whole week with them. Then my wife and I covered the wedding. It was a lot of fun! Mickey and Mini crashed the reception.

Give us your favorite wedding or event planning tip.
Always leave yourself a little more time then you think you need, especially for the photo session.

When you travel, what is the one thing you cannot live without?
When I’m on long drives I’ve got to have my sunflower seeds to chew on (my wife thinks it’s so gross.)

Tell us some of your favorite places to shop both local and out-of-town.
My favorite place to shop is the Redskins store. No matter how many times they break my heart I still wear their colors. It’s in my blood.

And we must know your favorite local restaurant.
I’m a big fan of Carrabbas. I love their Pollo Rosa Maria! I also love anywhere that’s serving crabs!

Let’s say you have a day off and you are able to do anything at all for 24 hours (money is no object). What would that day look like and who would you be with?
I’d start the day with all of my family and close friends snowboarding on a big mountain out west. Then drop off the kids and fly to Las Vegas to hit the jackpot!