Natalia and David Dunteman

This past weekend, August 2nd, 2008 David and Natalia were married at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables. Congratulations guys! We had some great times laughing and enjoying the planning. This couple and I have been working together for about 8 months and it has been a blast! They are so much fun and daring- which is great! We designed a classic yet contemporary wedding reception for them. Natalia was all about the flowers and the textures and David was all about the lighting and the details. Together with their details and ideas, I created a vision for their entire wedding. I have to say, we made a fabulous team! Honestly, every single employee of the hotel came into the reception set up to see what we had created... they were all amazed. I could not be happier with the outcome of the entire day!

Thank you to all of our vendor team for another amazing production. Martha Ramirez from UDS Photo took the pictures below. Martha, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to shoot these details for me. Below are my favorite pictures of the reception decor.... Enjoy!

P.S.- the candles were not lit for these pictures- these were taken about 2 hours before the reception started.

A moonlight LED light was shining over the dance floor to create the feeling that the natural light of the moon was coming through onto the dance floor. It was the perfect touch for the romantic setting we were looking for. We utilized Intelligent lighting for this reception. As the guests entered the room, we used an amber/blush lighting around the perimeter of the room. The off white fabric we chose to drape the entire room enhanced the color of the LED's shining from below. The chandelier in the middle of the room was lit in a dark shade of blue to add contrast and a wow-factor to the reception decor. It was perfect combination with the amber and the blush. The chandelier was a huge focal point in the room therefore we enhanced its grandious look and made it the centrepiece of the entire room. I love to do these types of effects with lighting. It looks great in photos and in person, it takes your breathe away. We had a New York based stationary company design their menu cards using their monogram which Natalia and David were in love with. The tripple mounted papers and whispie design around the menu enhanced the elegance each place setting.
Each guests' Champagne flute had a different love quote that I rolled into a simple, delicate design. Each quote was placed on the flutes for the guests to read as they sat down. It was such a cute detail to the decor on the table as well. Talk about WOW. Our florist designed these new birch branch trees for this wedding. Each was about 7 and 1/2 feet from the table. They are a huge accent in the room specially with the high ceilings that the ballroom had. Each tree had over 70 white, dendrobium orchid sprays throughout the tree limbs adorned with over 2 dozen hanging crystals and finished with iridescent, amber glass votives. Each guest got this tiny favor- it's a love bean- the cutest things! Inside this box is a mini white pot with potted bean inside. When each guest takes the pot home and waters it... in a couple of days/weeks the bean starts to sprout with the word "love" on it. Such a cute detail!The bride and groom table was decorated very simple however we placed two centrepiece trees behind their table to make the entire look of the reception come together. This element of decor was an amazing detail to add to our fabulous look. Soft pin spots were shined from the roof to brighten up each work of art. The pin spots were softened to 75% to assure that romance was the ambiance in the room. It was the perfect brightness for our romantic look. Slowly throughout the dinner, the lights dimmed to a deep shade of blush/plum. This added mood lighting to the evening. Once dinner was served, the entire room changed to this midnight blue. Every guest was amazed. I'll never forget David was taking a shot from his vodka luge when the room changed and his mouth stayed open for at least a minute. He was in awe on how the room looked. He looked at me and said, "Jackie, This is incredible... You are incredible!" I'll never forget that moment- it is what I live for. I love everything about this wedding. Specially how we played with the lighting to give the guests the sensation of always having a surprise. When the Party started, the lights around the entire room would change with the music. There were cool patterns throughout the night flowing around the room. It was an incredible evening. An evening they all will never forget. Nati and David, thank you so much for allowing me to be such a big part of your wedding day; I had such a great time wotking with you both. I wish you all the love and happiness in the world! To all of the vendor team, again, thank you thank you thank you. Amazing Job! To Roxanne Campos and the Catering team at the Hyatt Regency- you guys all were great. Thank you for allowing us to transform your ballroom. I look forward to working with you in the near future.

Jackie Ohh... Nominated Event Planner of the Year

I have the great honor to be nominated for Event Planner of the Year! The news was a complete surprise to me, I was floored when I got the e-mail. I had to read it over a dozen times before it really sunk in! I am overwhelmed with excitement. Words cannot express how amazing it is to be nominated for this prestigious award. Fellow event and wedding professionals are the ones who nominated me ... Thank you to all of you who support and believe in me and my passion and love for my profession. I am very much looking forward to the months ahead and the awards convention in Vegas! Wish me luck!

Congrats Kristi and Tom!

On April 04th, 2009 Kristi and Tom will be getting married at the gorgeous South Beach Treasure, Casa Casuarina (the mansion of the late Gianni Versace). Together we have searched for the perfect venue for their wedding and we found it! Congrats Kristi and Tom. I am so excited that you have chosen the perfect location for your amazing wedding day. I'm truly looking forward to working with you on making everything about your wedding day magical.

Here's a picture of Kristi and Tom at our tasting last month at Casa. Aren't they the cutest? The entire meal was beyond perfection, out-of-control delicious!!! Chef Nina is a genius. =)

Laura and Richard Marquez

Congratulations Laura and Richard Marquez! On May 10th, 2008, Laura and Richard had the most beautiful, spectacular wedding at the gorgeous Biltmore Hotel. The entire vendor team agrees that this is one of the most amazing weddings that the Alhambra Ballroom has ever seen. I can’t talk enough in how amazing The Biltmore Hotel and their staff (including but not limited to Bruce Barbaree, and Deborah Howard) were with us from the second we started planning up to the wee hours of the morning when we were still breaking down. Thank you from the bottom of all of our hearts- outrageous job guys!

Six weeks before Laura and Richard were due to wed, I got a call from Laura; I heard the sweetest voice on the line a bit frantic, nervous, and very anxious. Laura was very stressed and overwhelmed with the wedding and had no idea where to start or what she wanted, she had planned the wedding for 2 weeks and the big event was less than 2 months away. I calmed her reassuring her that it would all get done and better yet, it would be the most perfect day she could ever dream of! Talk about TURBO PLANNING….all we had was a venue, we needed everything else- We had a lot to do and we had a BLAST planning it. There were some bumps in the road of course; their church burned down shortly after the couple had hired me, but thankfully the Biltmore was able to offer a space for us to put up at tent and house the ceremony at the venue.

All these outrageous photos were taken by Martha and Jesus Ramirez for UDS http://www.udsphoto.com/. You both are truly amazing! Thank you.

Meet the Bride and Groom ...

Laura Dajer

Richard Marquez

I love this image... Amazing job Martha!

The Roudy Bunch.... We had such a great time with this

Bridal Party... they are all such Party Animals!

The Groomsmen and Carlos and Barbara Marquez

(Parents of the Groom)

The Bridesmaids and the Beautiful Bride Ceremony Decor
We designed a crisp, modern look to the ceremony. By using a tri-colored draping design for the ceiling of the tent, it made the ceremony have life and more of a cozy, intimate feel.
Magical Moment!
The Place Card Table
Everyone knows how I LOVE to come up with unique and creative place card ideas. Laura and Richard love Disney World! They go for vacation every chance they have. However, it was the general opinion that Disney should not have been added to the decor of the wedding. In visiting the bride and groom at thier new home, I noticed tons of pictures of them... so how could I incorporate thier love for Disney and thier love to take pictures of their every memory? Caricatures! We found an artist that specialized in this type of picture rendering and we had him artistically re-create pictures of Laura and Richards favorite moments together (many of which were at Disney). They came out soooooo cute! Paper Studio miniturized them on place cards and on the back printed some fun facts about the bride and groom including pet names for eachother and how they met.... All of the guests loved this small detail.

Each table had an enlarged version of the picture so that guests could find thier designated tables. each picture was in a matt with a sharpie so that guests could leave Laura and Richard a message.
Here are some pictures of the reception... I apologize for the amount of pictures there are but I love them all and I couldn't chose which ones to post!
We used intelligent lighting to light the entire perimeter of the room in amber and lit the chandeliers and the ceiling in blue to create a romantic star-lit ambiance to the dinner.
The key to decor is to bring it all together from the bottom to the top. From the linens and rentals to the flowers and lighting, it should all come together perfectly. We carefully Chose each detail to assure that it was the perfect look for Laura and Richard's dream wedding. Lighting is essential when desinging your romantic reception. Even if it is a little bit, the enhancment of the lighting truly transforms the room and the mood of the wedding.
Our florist ROCKED! Amazing Job guys! Exactly what we wanted... PERFECTION!
Each guest received a calla lily bookmark with a small note from the bride and groom.

We chose glass beaded chargers to make the table more elegant and further compliment the of the glass that was used in the decor.

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Richard and Laura Marquez

How amazing is this picture? Thier first dance as husband and wife...

Laura and her Daddy Dancing Salsa

The Love Tent "Chuppah" was turned into the most picturesque location for the cake. We added two pin spots to enhance the beautiful creation in the after dinner lounge.

The ceremony tent was transformed into the after dinner lounge with pictures of the bride and groom, cigar rollers, bars, and tons and tons fo romantic candlight. We added amber lighting once the night fell to enhance the romatic mood.

Modular sections were placed throughout the 2100 sq ft tent. Guests frequently visited to casually talk, smoke, and just take in the night breeze (which was so yummy)

Once dinner ended, Miami's own Willy Chirino joined his 16 piece orchestra for a spectacular performance. He played all of his greatest hits include a personal favorite of mine, Soy Guajiro.

The entire ceiling of the ballroom changed colors with multiple patterns throughout the night.

A picture from up above. In order to create the perfect look for each table, we double pin spotted each centerpiece for the maximum enhancement to the overall decor.

Lemon Drops anyone? Richard and Laura are somwhere in there.... LOL

Dancing the night away! This wedding was Beyond Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jackie Ohh... Events, UDS, and the Newlyweds!

The Wedding Team: Wedding Planner Jackie Farah Fernandez and day of assistants, Jessica Vega and Yilena Ramirez for Jackie Ohh... Events, Martha and Jesus Ramirez for UDS Photo, and last but definatly not least, Bruce Barabree for Biltmore Event Design. To the ENTIRE wedding DREAM team, all of you were great! The execution of the entire wedding was flawless! I cannot thank you enough. Thank you a million times over!

I received an e-mail from Laura two days after the wedding and I wanted to share it with all of you.

Jackieeeee! Mama we are in the middle of our honeymoon but could not wait to come back to thank you for all your hard work. We have to congratulate YOU for the success of your work. You are amazing at what you do and from the first day I met you I knew things were gonna come out more than perfect. You overexceeded all of our expectations and we do appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts. I am happy to say that everytime we speak about the wedding you come to the conversation and how you made it happen.From both of us thank you and from me, thanks for being more than my wedding planner. I know how special you are and I am happy you were part of one of the most special days of my life and please expect to continue to form part of it. I look forward to meeting your husband and getting together all of us to grab dinner or something.Please extend my thanks to UDS. I cannot wait to see the pictures!Talk to you when we come back!

Love,Laura Dajer