"It was a complete success"

Sarah and Matthew

June 11,2011

Our Lady of Lourdes and Artsgardens

The title is what Sarah, the bride,said to me at the end of the night. Sarah and Matt contacted me just a couple of months before their wedding. Sarah knew she wanted her wedding to be FABULOUS but did not know exactly how to make it a reality. Tiffany from Circle City Designers and I worked closely together on the design of the wedding. Our focus was on everything- even down to the size of the diamond strand hanging from the centerpieces. Sarah and Matthew live in California so there were many late night phone calls and Skype meetings. But as Sarah and Matt's wedding day drew closer all the details came together. On the day of the wedding everything ran smoothly. However, I will admit that Sarah and her bridesmaids arrived to church just minutes before the guests which was not in the plan, but in the end everything worked out. The ceremony was nice. I especially liked when Sarah's mom stood up with the rest of the bridal party and gave her Matthew's ring. After the ceremony ended, Tiffany Stoner from Nathaniel Edmunds photography took the bridal party to a beautiful urban garden for pictures. I then raced to the Artsgarden and metup with my team to put the final finishing touches on the reception. Although Sarah and Matthew choreographed the cutest first dance, the highlight of the evening was the lion dancers. This was a Chicago based Chinese dance group who started the dancing off with a bang! I'm excited to see the video. I also wanted to thank everyone who was involved that helped make Sarah and Matthew's wedding a complete success. Of course, Tiffany at Circle City Designers, Jessica and Mark from the Ritz, Jess, Mike and Jeff from the Artsgarden, Tiffany and Meredith from Nathaniel Edmunds, Eyemax makeup, Bouquet and Garter, Jill at Westwood Paper, Evans A/V, DJ Jim Lewis and Tony Avellana for the music on the piano. I hope I'm not leaving anyone out. The couple is just now finishing up a two week honeymoon in China! Congratulations from the entire CCP and CCD team!

Life Altering Garage Sales: YEP, I said it!

I would never have banked on a garage sale having an effect on my psyche. However, this weekend, all of that changed. In an amazing turn of events, I did NOT have a wedding this weekend. Instead, I had a garage sale. A sale that accumulated items from not one, not two, but THREE homes I have been living in (meaning my possessions were there). I have never worked so hard to drag, lift, move and trash belongings that have encompassed nearly 30 years of my life. It was a span of time from the days when I got my first set of baseball cards and comic books, to the time I first became a mother, to days of picking up Little Tykes and My Littlest Petshop toys from all over the house, to the days I went back to school, to the days I decided to open my little flower shop, to the days I said "I Do". I realized all of these"things" had symbolically become of part of who I thought I was, a reflection of my likes and dislikes, my mistakes, my accomplishments, my joys and my sorrows. And now, after 3 days of work, these "things" lay in my garage with a masking tape price tag on them. How do you determine their worth? The little table that I love, the stuffed animal my daughter snuggled with while she was teething, the first set of dishes I bought when I got my first apartment. They "seem" so important. Can anyone else truly understand their worth?

Here's the therapy part. I know you were worried I wouldn't get there :) So, amidst all this "stuff," I have about 85 various vases and floral related things from my old flower shop. Anyone who knows me, knows that I define myself mostly as a florist. So this "stuff" is important!!!! I have held onto it for nearly 5 years now, collecting dust in the garage. It DEFINES me, right? I NEED it, right? SOMEDAY, it will be useful again, RIGHT????

Well, that probably seems silly to the reader. It's just a bunch of "stuff!!!" However, in an event that can be translated as nothing short of fateful, a young lady walks up my driveway, eagerness in her step, a smile on her face. She is simply out garage-saling hoping to find miscellaneous things that will help her get her business "inventoried". She didn't know she was about to walk on a landmine. This "STUFF" that I held on to for so long, just created a future for this sweet girl. She is a young florist, opening a little shop, hoping to get her feet wet in a big, expensive industry. I just made that a little easier for her. Each of these vases and miscellaneous "flower" parts will help her get started! I was just so excited at that, that I forgot all about how that stuff defined "me".

In the end, we sold almost every single item from those 3 decades of life, and here's what I discovered: NONE of it was worth ANYTHING to me. On this Independence Day, I want to celebrate my "independence" of material things. I will live a simple, clean, and clutter free life FOREVER after going through this experience. Life is not made up of the stuff we bring into our house, it is made of the love we put in our hearts.

Thank goodness I am also blessed to be in the LOVE BUSINESS!!!!!!

Happy Independence Day, go have a garage sale! Tiffany

We LOVE Beach Bum CARES!

Areas like the Caribbean and Mexico are traditionally the most popular honeymoon and vacation spots among American couples and families. While we are laying in the sun, sipping on a delicious daiquiri at our favorite resort, children and families just a few miles away are living in extreme poverty. Beach Bum CARES was founded to bridge the barrier between these very different lifestyles and give hope to the communities that provide us with such fabulous vacation opportunities.

Beach Bum CARES partners with schools and orphanages in your favorite vacation destinations, providing them with financial aid, relief and educational supplies. A team made up of Beach Bum CARES board members, vacationers and clients are then sent to these locations to personally deliver the gifts collected by the organization and make a difference in the lives of those most in need.




The organization pairs its volunteers with a partner in their general area of travel and provides transportation to and from the site. Anyone traveling in the area can participate, not just customers of Beach Bum Vacations! If you are interested in the opportunity to give back while on vacation, be sure to contact Beach Bum CARES through their website at www.BeachBumCARES.org!

If this opportunity just isn't for you, there are plenty of other rewarding ways to contribute to the organizations. Their website offers instructions for donating monetary funds and supplies that will directly benefit these communities as well.


If you are looking for a way to incorporate philanthropy in to your big day, consider donating your time and efforts with Beach Bum CARES!

A Notre Dame Wedding

Caitlin & Paul are the sweetest couple. He is a Notre Dame grad and she is a St. Mary's grad, so these families had strong traditions and they displayed them in such fun ways! Being a Notre Dame fan myself it was great to see them incorporate many fun things from the fight song to hearing their families speak of how they met at college. Caitlin & Paul now live in California and served wine from Paul's family's winery! Great personal touches throughout the day!

Thanks to Nate from Nathaniel Edmunds Photography for these great shots! It was so great to work with you Nate!

Once again the Crowne Plaza staff did an amazing job with everything!

Susan & Brian's Perfect Spring Wedding

Susan and Brian

May 21,2011

St.John and The Omni

Susan is one of the most sweetest brides. I had a FABULOUS time helping her plan her beautiful spring wedding. Susan had most everything planned when they hired me but wanted my expertise with decor and pulling it all together.

Pinks and golds were the perfect back drop for the Omni Severn. Maxi and her staff were top notch. The other members of Susan and Brian's dream team did a fantastic job as well. Thank you to Dan at Twisted Scissors, Tiffany of Circle City Designers, Paige from Sweet Seductions, Terry at Djs Direct, LSG Limo and the amazing photographs from Angel Canary.

Gearing up for that summer heat!

Congratulations to Andrea S.! Our newest alumni married off this Saturday at the beautiful Laurel Hall facility. An outdoor ceremony under one of our custom built arches (Thank you Tom!) and a quaint sit down dinner reception inside. So happy to be a part of your big day!

Nothing is more synonymous with "weddings" as is "summer"....And we are just starting to experience those midwest blazers, reaching almost 95 degrees last week! Hot tamales! With so many months of heat ahead of us, and so many "I do's" left to say, it is important to take special precautions for high temperatures on the wedding day.

*Put together tote bags for all the bridesmaids for the day of the wedding. Have water bottles, spritzers, hand held fans, and wet naps in each tote. That way the girls can spray themselves with water to keep cool, drink plenty of fluids, and dab off any sweat with a disposable towel.

*For outdoor ceremonies, be certain to provide fans for guests and a water station.

*Remember if you or your bridal party is drinking alcohol, they are more likely to become dehydrated. For those pre-ceremony celebrations, be sure to follow with equal parts water!

*Flowers are not meant to be in the heat and out of water for long periods of time. Plan your photo sessions around the heat of the day if you can. Designate one person to care for the bouquets throughout the day by recutting them and placing them in water in a cool area while not being photographed. Misting them with a water bottle can help too.

*If it is necessary to have your bouquets out of water for a long time before the ceremony, and you DO want to include lots of outdoor shots, you should consider ordering 2 bridal bouquets. One to take pictures with, and have one waiting for you at the ceremony when you arrive. Another tip: Don't go all white. White flowers are far more likely to show bruising and wilting than colored flowers. As a general rule, the hotter the day, the brighter the flowers...Dark pinks and oranges tend to hold up best under pressure and photograph great!

*Don't forget sunscreen for you and your bridesmaids. Your pictures are worth a thousand words. Don't let some of them be "man, your shoulders are RED!".

*Have a Plan B. When planning a wedding outdoors, there is always a Plan B in case of rain. Don't be afraid to enlist Plan B when it is just TOO hot. You want your guests to be comfortable and enjoy the day. If they are sweating their breakfast off, it gets harder to appreciate the ceremony and all its meaning. Plus, no one wants to be a sweaty bride :)

Enjoy the summer, and many blessings on your I Do's!

Stay cool :) Tiffany

A Wedding FULL of Color

Kyle and Caleb

May 14,2011

Scottish Rite Cathedral

The title says it all! When I first met Kyle and Caleb,

I never imagined that their wedding would turn out like this.

They told me they loved fuchsia, yellow and coral and they wanted everything to be personalized. After assembling Kyle and Caleb's DREAM TEAM of wedding vendors. We started personalizing everything. We started with the save the date cards and finished up with the monogrammed stir sticks. The monogrammed aisle runner for the ceremony was stunning.

The wedding day ran extremely smooth. During the ceremony, there were many laughs and even more joyful tears. Kyle and Caleb decided to incorporate the wooden box ceremony into their ceremony. And of course Kyle blinged out the hammer that sealed the box.

After the ceremony, all the guests gathered on the steps for Kyle and Caleb's GRAND EXIT. And boy, was it grand. Guests waved personalized ribbon wands, then the flower girls released fuchsia, yellow and coral wing tipped doves as Kyle and Caleb drove away in her dad's Ferrari.

At the end of cocktail hour Kyle and Caleb took center stage again as they danced their first dance as husband and wife as all of their guests watched from the balcony.

After dinner, there were more surprises when we turned off the chandelier and lit it up with the fuchsia spotlight. We also paraded late night snacks and Kyle appeared on the balcony to throw her bouquet.

Did I mention that over 7,000 roses were used for this wedding? All in fuchsia, yellow and coral.
Kyle and Caleb's wedding was absolutely stunning! Not one detail was missed. I was able to work with an amazing team of vendors. So thank you Ashley at the Scottish Rite, Renee at Thomas Caterers, Karen at Karen Hall and Co., Tiffany at Circle City Designers, Jill at West Wood Paper, Chris at Copper Moon Entertainment, Bob at Indy Visual, Jennifer at Jennifer Driscoll Photography,
Scott at Evans A/V, Beth at Yellow Rose Carriage and Cara and her staff at the Conrad Indianapolis and of course our staff at Circle City Planners.

Kyle and Caleb took a once in lifetime honeymoon cruise all around Europe .