Casa Casuarina ~ Jackie Ohh... Style

On April 4th, 2009(and the hottest day of the entire year might I add) Tom Chillot and Kristi Crisafulli tied the knot at what is known as South Beach's most treasured property, Casa Casuarina (the mansion of the late Versace). This home is more a museum than an exclusive hotel. With only 7 suites, it is the most exclusive venue in all of South Florida. Together with his two beautiful children, Tom and Kristi partied the night away with their closest friends and family whom all of which flew in from all over the world. Congratulations and We wish you the best.

I wanted to post every single picture I had of this wedding but unfortunately I had to narrow them down. The pictures came out amazing! Thank you to Martha and Jesus Ramirez from Unique Design Studios. Just when I think you cannot surprise me, you do.

Please visit them at http://www.udsphoto.com/

Giant 13 foot trees lined the backdrop of the ceremony. Although the pool made of bizzaza tiles made of 24 carat gold are amazing to look at, we wanted to create a scenery that not only would compliment the property but would be classic, simple, and unique. Clusters of over sized hallow candles At this venue, less is more!

I am all about the details! Each family members seat had their name on a heavy card stock paper tied with an elegant satin ribbon. Not only does it make the chair look pretty, it assures the family members that there chair will be reserved for them and they will not forget where they sit after they walk down the aisle. The seats second row were not assigned however each seat had a reserved sign attached to it. It worked great and looked beautiful!

In lue of favors, the bride and groom wanted to send a monetary gift to three charities. Each of their guests were able to print their name on these charity card and chose the charity of their choice. Frames were place on this table describing each of the charities and the reason the couple chose the particular organization. After the wedding, the couple made donations to each of the charities in the names of the guests as per their choice. It is such a great idea to donate to charity instead of giving out trinkets. The participation of the guests really gets them involved and makes it so much more personal and meaningful.

Although every aspect of a wedding is my favorite part, I would have to say the decor is probably my all-time favorite part of the wedding. Even more so when the ceremony location gets transformed into a completely different look for the reception. If you notice, the ceremony looked modern and clean and the reception is soft and flowy. This gives the guests the constant element of surprise, hence more Wow- Factor.

Chef Dale Rey prepared the most amazing menu for this wedding. The first course was a carpacio of Maine lobster, then the first of two main entrees - roasted filet Mignon and following with pan seared grouper! I thought that the guests would not be able to eat two entrees but the food was so amazing, they all did! I couldn't believe it!

The couple was very easy going when it came to the decor - they put it in all in our hands. Rick Interian and I both worked on the details to make this reception spectacular. When they saw their sample and loved it, Rick and I knew we had struck gold! Simple, elegant, all about the details- it made the reception fit right in with the gorgeous mansion. Avant Gardens did a stupendous job putting together all of the floral details for the wedding.

Hanging candles were added to these huge trees that now set the stage for the bride and groom's head table. Using candles and blue lighting, were able to create the perfect ambiance; The essence of romance is so important to maintain at an outdoor, evening wedding. We did not use pin spots in the tent since the look of this wedding was more soft and flowy. The saturated hues of blue and the tons of candles used in the table filled the clear tent with just the right amount of like and made the entire reception glow (hence not needing the extra enhancement of pins).

Miniature crystal buckles were placed through black velvet ribbon and tied around in each glass cylinder. The buckle and ribbon accent made each cylinder have character and added a sparkle factor. I love love love using buckles, then again I love using anything that sparkles! =p The hallow candles that were used down the aisle at the ceremony were moved to various locations around the reception. Again, using the same element in a different location for a complete different look. I try to re-use items as often as I can; however I make sure it looks different somehow.

One of my favorite pictures! Munchkin!

This spectacular cake was designed by my favorite confectioner, Rosie Cunille. Amazingly she took smallest fabric sample of the Bride's Oscar de la Renta gown and replicated it perfectly on the cake. Adding crystal accents to each flower was just the right touch to make this cake out-of-this-world amazing! It truly was flawless and prob. one of the prettiest cakes I have ever seen. What is a party without a little entertainment? Not my type of party at least! These performers were great! they actually did acrobats with the brother of the bride! It was enjoyable and hilarious. The entertainment was the greatest ending to an amazing four course dinner and the ideal beginning to a true South Beach PARTY!

One of SOBE's premier Club DJ's spinned the best of old school jams and top 40 hits. What an amazing Party!

Wedding Coordinator: Jackie Farah Fernandez and Day of Execution Managers Jessica Rico and Jennifer Gonzalez for Jackie Ohh... Events. Venue: Casa Casuarina, South Beach. A special thanks to Chef Dale Rey and Stazzie Appleyard. Girl, there are too many words I would have to say to you =) lol, I will some it all up with "Thank YOU". Martha and Jesus Ramirez from UDS Photo- amazing as always. Rick Interian and Avant Gardens you totally Rocked It dude! Rosie Cunille I don't have to tell you what you already know. To the rest of the vendor team and the Gansevoot Hotel- Thank You!

The Kendell Wedding

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Kendell. These two love birds love the outdoors and being absolutely wild! From hunting, riding their motorcycles, traveling, and speeding through Miami in thier Ferrari, ths couple love to live on the wld side. The first time I met Maggie, I knew the wedding was going to be unique and very much about how her and her hubby to be were so in love. No matter where you were that day, their love for each other caught your attention. Congrats you two! I wish you nothing but happiness and joys all the days of your lives.

Photo Credit: ME! Not bad huh? I am getting to love my toy!

Custom linens were made for Maggie and Glen. She wanted to match the baroque black and champagne linen she fell in love with for her royal table. Bruce Barbaree found the perfect match and vua-la! Custom Linens, napkins, and chiavari cushions.
Weeks before the wedding, Maggie had decided on what she wanted for her centerpieces until one day we were doing our final walk through and we came across an event her florist was doing in Granda. She walked in and her eyes went straight to this rustic yet modern and chic design. The centerpiece below was tweaked from the original design, we had to make it Maggie's style!

Candles were something that Maggie and Glenn insisted on having candles all over the wedding reception. The essence of romantic candlelight was further enhanced with deep amber hues throughout the room. What did we do before lighting?

Everyone knows that cakes are one of my favorite things in the whole world. Well, imagine when the cake is THIS funky!?! I love that Maggie and Glenn were adventurous and completely out of circle of the aspects of "traditional" weddings. We got so specific on the zebra print- it had to be authentic and very real. The red roses in between the tiers was the perfect accent to make this cake amazing! It was the centerpiece of the whole room; the cake really brought the decor together.

Here are some more pictures of the decor on the tables.

Enhanced lighting on the band makes the guests more into the actual performance of the band. It adds variance in the room and makes the band pop rather than blend in with the wedding decor. Let's Party!

Wedding Coordinator: Jackie Farah Fernandez and day of Execution Managers Jessica Rico and Jonathan Lombard for Jackie Ohh... Events. Venue: Biltmore Hotel Design. A special thanks to Bruce Barbaree from Biltmore Event Design. To the event team: what a great wedding! It went off without a hitch! Congratulations to all of you on another job well done!

The Minto Wedding- My Valentine

Welcome to the Brad and Kirsten's Wedding. On Valentine's day, these two love birds pledged their vows and had a celebration of a lifetime at the Beautiful Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. This was a very unique experience for me; I worked with Brad, the Groom the entire time. I have not ever had the pleasure working with the groom as much as I did for this wedding. I thought it would be challenging being that I was so used to working with the bride, it was actually great! Brad knew exactly what Kirsten wanted and together their ideal for their dream wedding was one their guests would never forget. They did not have a theme per say but if I were to put one to this wedding, the theme would be "Nothing I have seen Before". From a Hollywood style Step and Repeat to a custom tailored band, everything was out-of-this world gorgeous! Enjoy!

Photo Credit goes to Rob Shaprio

Can you say CUSTOM? Everything everything everything was custom made for this wedding. From the stationary to their linens, and even the centerpieces were never used before... it was all made, designed and built for Brad and Kirsten. This is like candy to me! We had so much fun designing the look for each aspect of the wedding. Brad is a very detailed "dude" and together with an overly detailed wedding planner, DETAILS DETAILS DETAILS... it makes it all come together. Right Bradley? LOL

Can you say CUSTOM? Everything everything everything was custom made for this wedding. From the stationary to their linens, and even the centerpieces were never used before... it was all made, designed and built for Brad and Kirsten. This is like candy to me! We had so much fun designing the look for each aspect of the wedding. Brad is a very detailed "dude" and together with an overly detailed wedding planner, DETAILS DETAILS DETAILS... it makes it all come together.

Prior to the guests entering the cocktail hour, they walked on a Hollywood style step and repeat. We used red stations to rope off the area, a long ruby red carpet, and bright lighting. The step and repeat wall had the Biltmore Hotel logo, the date, and Brad and Kirsten's names. It was so much fun watching all of their guests taking pictures the entire hour.

So, here it is... the centerpiece that was so big it didn't fit in the elevators. Typically, centerpieces of this magnitude are built on site, but this was a tedious task. I was exhausted from watching the designers strategically place over 400 french, red tulips perfectly aligned in 5 rows and 7 feet in length. It only took 3 hours to make all four- Phew!

Red, my favorite color... and the color of LOVE- Happy Valentine's Day! Individual tulips were carefully placed on each side of the royal table to compliment the center design. The sleek look of the sides was a perfect combination. We had to make sure it did not distract form the center... in this case less was more. =)

Custom black linens were made to fit each 24 foot royal table. Custom runners were also made with a new slate fabric on the market. It was finished with black borders to match the linens. Black square chargers, red dupioni cushions, and napkins and black chiavari chairs finished the tables. It was a risky color combination, but thankfully Brad and Kirsten were the couple that was not afraid to be daring. Gorgeous!

Brad and Kirsten have traveled the world together - we used their favorite places as the names of their tables. Since there were so many out of town guests, the table names coincided with the guests at that table. The guests seated at the table above were all from New York. Such a cute detail.

Round tables were placed in the middle of the royal tables. A manzanita branches hanging glass crystal tubes, hanging candles and lush florals sat in the middle of each table. The material we used for the runner on the royal tables were made floor length as a different look for these tables. The combination was stunning!

Many brides ask me, "what goes on in the room while we are cocktail hour?" Last minute touch ups and final meetings. Here I am with my staff, testing lighting for the final time and Libido working through the final sound checks and reception details.
You might not have noticed, but each picture below were different color lighting. We used "cool" color changes throughout the night. It was a great addition to the "party" atmosphere Brad and Kirsten wanted to have at the wedding. Intelligent lighting has been one of the best things introduced into the event industry. The versatility is inspiring.
I thought I would end with Banana Cake... yum! The couple fell in love with this sleek design for the cake. It tasted even better than it looked... if you can believe that.

Brad and Kirsten, What a journey! I told you it would be perfect, the evening was so amazing. It is definitely a wedding that not only your guests but your vendor team will never forget. It was so great meeting both of you. Brad, thank you for being daring, risky, and non-traditional.

Wedding Coordinator: Jackie Farah Fernandez, day of managers Jessica Rico and Jonathan Lombard for Jackie Ohh... Events.

My Valtentines- Venue: The Biltmore Hotel Coral Gables Yadi Rose- I seriously could not have done this without you; you are a true doll. Biltmore Event Design: Bruce Barbaree- you make it soooo easy Darling! Photographer: Rob Shapiro. Band: Libido - by the way they brought the house down!To the design team: Thank you thank you thank you. This wedding is just to add to the many we have all done flawlessly. Your openness to step out of the box and abilty to custom make ideas brought this wedding to life.

Amazing job GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jackie Ohh... in Vegas!!!

What a week! I got back from Vegas last Thursday... it was such an amazing experience! Over 500 people gathered together on Wednesday at DreamWorks Studios in Vegas for the Event Solutions Spotlight Awards and Catersource CATIE Awards. It was truly a surreal feeling to be together with the Best of Best in Event/Wedding Professionals. There were over 35 categories of awards, some of the finalist for other awards came from Miami! It was great seeing them there. Congratulations to all of the finalists and to the winners. It is a great honor to have been selected for such prestigious awards.

My Cousin's Getting Married This Weekend!

Jen and Chris are getting Married on Saturday, March 7th!

I am so excited to be just more than a guest at her wedding... It's going to be absolutely amazing!

Congrats to both of you. I can't wait until Saturday! Thanks for letting me help- I promise I will not work too much (well I promise to try at least lol)

Here are some of their out-of- this- world Engagement Pictures
by Jackie at UDS Photo. Love these pictures!

http://www.udsphoto.com/

Spotlight Awards in Vegas!

Howdy Ya'll! I am in gorgeous Las Vegas for the Event Solutions Conference and the Spotlight Awards Gala this evening. I am so excited to be here with my amazingly loving and supportive husband and family. We are all so excited for the Gala this evening. Thank you to all who voted for me, I am forever grateful for your continued support. All of your e-mails the last couple of days are so thoughtful and very much appreciated. I will keep everyone informed of the Awards this evening.

Vote Jackie Ohh... Event Planner of the Year!

November 14th, 2008 - Janruary 26th, 2009

PLEASE VOTE

Jackie Ohh... Events
for the 2009 Spotlight Award for
EVENT PLANNER OF THE YEAR!

All you have to do is click here:
http://www.event-solutions.com/spotlight/vote/

and Vote for Jackie Ohh... Events - Event Planner of the Year/East Coast.

I thank you ALL in advance for your votes.

I truly appreciate your continued love and support.

I will be traveling to Vegas in Febraury

for the National Conference and Black Tie Awards Gala.

Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Jackie Ohh...