Just in from a family member of Thelma and Gary (blog entry below). Bride, Thelma Acquaah-Harrison's mother is a direct descendent of a King of Ghana while Groom, Gary Uzonyi's grandfather was from a line of Dukes from Hungary! I apparently am a descendant from a long line of people with a sixth sense! Now enjoy reading.

When it came to planning Thelma and Gary's Oct. 15, 2011, wedding here in Tampa, the term royal wedding was always on my mind.

Not only was it a priviledge to spend 18 months being involved in the behind-the-scenes planning, but it was an honor to witness first hand how a graceful, genuinely thoughtful bride and groom celebrated their special day with friends and loved ones at their side.

Thelma, a Tampa native, planned from a distance (Ann Arbor, MI). Her few visits here were detail-oriented and significant. She chose, to our delight, to work work almost all of our recommended vendors. Trips to Tampa included meetings with them, our staff, site visits to both her church and reception hall. When Thelma was not able to be here physically, I was her eyes and ears when it came to determining things like the water taxi docking site next door to the reception venue.

Her family church, St. Paul's Catholic in Carrollwood, was set for the wedding; and prior to booking with us, Thelma had secured the Davis Islands Garden Club for her mostly outdoor reception. She and Gary had envisioned autumn-clad guest tables seating up to 200 guests along the waterfront with a limited amount of activity indoors in the clubhouse.

Thelma's wedding day began early with hair styling and make-up by Jazzy Jewels at a friend of the family's  home near the church.

 As it turned out, the guest count dropped to a comfortable 140 and the indoors became a welcoming area where they could perform a "first line" island tradition where guests waived white hankerchiefs heralding in the bride and groom. Because we knew the outdoor dinner would be less formal, we encouraged Thelma and Gary to conduct all dances, welcome, and toast prior to guests being excused to the back lawn.



DJ Eladio of DeLite Entertainment provided both indoor and outdoor speakers. After dinner, guests were invited back indoors for a lounge-style setting for lots of dancing, bouquet and garter toss, and eventual cake-cutting.

Thelma was all about details that addressed the weekend needs of her out-of-town guests, including most of Gary's family. Room blocks were secured at two Downtown Tampa hotels; shuttle service arranged from wedding site to hotels; water taxi service from hotel to reception site and back.



Christy Monaco, my daughter, was secured to attend to pre-reception activities including the rehearsal the night prior, the ceremony, and guest send-off via water taxi. Being our daughter growing up in" the business" came in handy when she needed to stay behind at the hotel to bring a needed item from the couple's room.

Our favorite florist, Carmen, provided all of the beautiful fall-inspired wedding flowers. To our surprise, Thelma opted for a simple guest table centerpiece: a watering can from Michael's filled with green hydrangia and bright orange accents from her favorite Publix in Citrus Park. It worked and looked stunning.




Because Thelma's visits were few to Tampa, we scheduled two different guest table viewings at our office. Event designer, Ashley, mapped out a chocolate brown floor length cloth with sage green napkins, and orange chair ties a full 14 months prior to the wedding.

Come the wedding day, the weather was dry and sunny, but the wind played havoc with the outdoor tables. Our determined service staff spent an extra hour doing table settings but got everything in place prior to guest arrival. When we unwrapped the cake topper monogram, it was broken. A dab of super glue from our tool box put it back into commission.

The bride and groom's favorite fillings along with a layer of pumpkin spice were incorporated into their wedding cake designed by Nicole of Sweetopia Bakery.

Thanks to Jason Angelini Photography for sharing many of the photos above with us!

Vendors:

Event Planning / Catering / Design: Catering By Robert / Event Concepts . FL
DJ Services: DeLite Entertainment
Photography: Jason Angelini
Ceremony Flowers/Bouquets: Carmen's Flowers
Ceremony Coordinating: Christy Stalnaker Monaco
Wedding Cake: Sweetopia Bakery
Make-Up: Jazzy Jewels
Outdoor Chair and Table Rentals: Coast to Coast Event Rentals
Sky Lanterns: www.skylanterns.com
Reception Venue: Davis Islands Garden Club
Ceremony Venue: St. Paul's Catholic Church, Carrollwood
Accommodations: Sheraton Riverwalk; Embassy Suites
Transportation: Tampa Water Taxi

Wedding couples here in Florida tend to gravitate away from outdoor wedding celebrations during the rainy season of July - September. The South Florida Museum in Bradenton an outdoor setting that can be seamlessly moved under cover if the weather turns less than cooperative.


Such was the case for Barbie and Matt's destination wedding there on September 24th. Unlike other outdoor facilities where the only "cover" you may have is a rented tent, the museum offers a "breath of fresh air" with its open Spanish Plaza surrounded on three sides by usable, sheltered event space. From the Colonade corridor to the small Spanish chapel, each area has some kind of "personality" if you must opt for shelter.


So when local weather reports indicated a intermittent rain during our set up time, we had the liberty to start doing our table decor one place and then moving everything to the open courtyard when blue skies prevailed.

Even though public events do not have access to the inside of the SouthFlorida Museum, there's a lot of eye-appeal available outdoors. The facility's resident manatee, Snooty, can be viewed leisurely swimming in his outdoor aquarium. Centerpiece of the courtyard is a large lighted fountain with a statue of Hernando DeSoto on horseback. The entire plaza area resembles traditional Spanish architecture during the era of the "explorers" to old Florida.



The couple's sunset color combination was highlighted with gold charger plates and a touch of chocolate brown in the napkins. A mixture of tall lanterns, small votives, and single daisies in mini vessels added some solid texture to the Casablanca design overlays from BBJ Linen.

Even though the small air conditioned chapel was Barbie's choice for her ceremony, she had considered other options including the Colonade area with the shades draped down to hide the plaza area. There is an additional indoor Boardroom area available for pre-wedding getting dressed or special gatherings during the reception. We found the main Spanish Gate entry area the perfect location for the buffet as the kitchen is nearby. Food stations can also be set up under the overhang area in front of the museum doors where a moveable bar is tucked away in an enclave.

The South Florida Museum does allow clients to bring in their own alcoholic beverages with a caterer's liquor liability insurance.

The entire plaza area is covered with a canopy of cafe lights offering a romantic setting under the stars. Here's more images of Barbie and Matt's celebration compliments of Erin of Three Green Leaves Photography.






Event Planning, Design & Catering (Event Design: Kent A. Billiter):
Catering By Robert / Event Concepts . FL
Venue: South Florida Museum, Bradenton
Florals: Carmen's Flowers, Tampa
DJ: Bill of DeLite Entertainment
Foliage: A1 Foliage
Cupcakes: Sweetopia Bakery
Overlays: BBJ Linen
Chair and Table Rentals: Classic Party Rental
Photography: Three Green Leaves Photography

Ally and Dominic started planning their "old Hollywood-style" wedding well over a year prior. There was never any question about the type of venue they wanted: something nostalgic where they could bring in their own caterer.

They chose Catering By Robert and the historic Centro Asturiano in Ybor City. Not only could they host their ceremony in the club's second floor theater, but their social hour in the bistro and main reception in the huge third floor ballroom. It was a picture perfect evening filled with red rose petals, glimmering candlelight, and elegant touches of black and white damask print.










Event Planning, Decor and Catering: Catering By Robert

Jessie and Ryan's June wedding celebration in Central Florida was reflection of their close ties with their native state even though careers had taken them far away to Louisiana . . .

We love the challenge destination weddings provide! Here's some glimpses into this special couple's celebration that started at their family church in Winter Haven and ended at the Magnolia Building in the Mirror Lake Complex in Lakeland.

Many thanks to Divine Light Photography for capturing the beautiful mood of this celebration.

Kristina's and Jesse's early May reception at the Davis Islands Garden Club followed a popular trend this year with the color combination of cornflower blue and apple/sage green. With uplighting help from Celebrations of Tampa Bay the interior of this popular venue was transformed into a mystical blue backdrop for their evening celebration after the sun went down.

We absolutely adore events that offer a both a daylight and an evening mood. Because the Garden Club emphasis is on the outdoors, it's always wonderful to be able to focus on party mood set by professional lighting once dancing gets into gear indoors.

Kristina started early in planning her reception look. Her guest table decor was featured at our December 2010 open house by our event designer Christy. Kristina furnished her proposed guest favors, a ribbon-tied bottle opener along with some general ideas on her centerpieces which would be higher glass cylinders with natural brown sticks and lower fish bowls with embedded blue and white flower clusters.




When fresh florals became too expensive, Kristina explored other options for silk clusters and use of butterflies which were a part of her original garden theme. About a month prior to their wedding, we were able to meet at our studio and revised the original table design to intermingle her DIY-friendly elements with our in-house (no charge) centerpiece components. She furnished two sticks per table with hot-glued butterflies and alternating blue and green monach silk butterflies within our fish bowls with the silk calla clusters.

Small LED lights illuminated the bottoms of all centerpieces positioned on top of our mirror squares and surrounded by four flickering votive candles.

Blue butterflies highlighted fish bowls with white silk hydrangea clusters.

Our funky chrome vases perked up the buffet table set on the far right side of the garden club main room.

Well placed blue uplighting captured the club's new crystal curtains behind the traditional long head table.

Let Them Eat Cake provided a non-traditional cake display that featured mini cupcakes on the bottom tiers and a double wedding cake on top. All decorations were edible and glass tiers were held up by tulip champagne flutes.

Guest tables featured neutral cloths and chair covers with cornflower blue napkins and alternating ivory and apple green chair sashes.

On the patio, the round displayed hors d'ouevres table featured a tall set of olive green candle holders that provided illumination on both sides of the large picture window.

Our signature cheddar cheese spread was fashioned into a fanciful butterfly by production manager Chris Hazel.

Everything Matches! Our bar settings even reflect the reception color scheme. Here our bartender Dave Redman added some small matching embellishments to his station on the back patio.

Pre-arranged floral pieces from the church were added to the gift and head tables.

A home, whether it is your own or a spacious vacation rental, is a great option for celebrating a special milestone.

Here in Florida, many out-of-state couples use their weddings as destination / honeymoon options. In many cases the rental of a home offers wedding week or "weekend" accommodations for the bridal party or close family members.

When you consider the high room rate of staying a waterfront beach resort, a vacation rental is a cost-effective alternative especially when you consider you can have all the privacy you want.

If your own home has a nice open space or large outdoor setting, there's nothing more personalized than a birthday, anniversary, or wedding celebrated right there.


If you decide to explore a "home" wedding or party, consider the many challenges that come with this option. Since most weddings are 50 or more people, you should be aware of the higher costs of hosting a home party vs. an event hall.

Time of Year

If decide on an all outdoor event, make certain you choose a less windy, less humid, and less "wet" time period. Even if you are not on the beach, be mindful of the aggravation wind can ensue. This can be problematic for place cards, bar napkins, taller centerpieces, and even all tablecloths.

Don't wait until the last minute to acquire butane heaters or fans/air units. Put them into your basic budget. The same goes for a tent. These are not just items you can have a rental company provide an hour before your party.

Open Spaces

Having a spacious natural setting amid tall trees may be picturesque, Unless you are prepared, you may find that nature has other plans. Seagulls and other birds can add some unwanted "white garnish" to your tables and food presentations. Avoid placing any open food items in the area two or three hours prior to the start of an event.

Keep guest table settings simple and consider placing flatware on top of napkins. Centerpieces that are low offer better resistance to wisps of wind. If you do go with pieces that are taller, make certain your decorator weighs them well with water and rocks. Avoid flower holders that are tall and skinny with all weight at the top.



In the spring, tree droppings and plant pollen, can ruin the tops of displayed tables and chairs. If you have access to a "blower" at least an hour prior, use it to "shake down" overhanging branches and foliage to prevent spillage. If you are in an area with a number of trees, you might at least consider small canopies or overhang area for food and beverage displays.

Instead of open flame candles, you may want to invest in floating candles or submersible LED lights inside of glass containers. This offers some assurance the wind will not tamper with your flickering light source.

The Kitchen Inside is Still YOUR Kitchen

Most modern homes boast open kitchens connected to entertaining spaces that are likely popular nesting areas for some guests. Avoid having your caterer do any preparation or clean up work in this space. Suggest the use of a garage or laundry room to keep mess contained. This area should be easily accessed from guest tables for clearing purposes.

There also should be some water source available. When ordering rental items, consider "back of the house" long tables for event staff.




Hidden Expenses

If your home is in major residential neighborhood, you may need to consider shuttle transportation to and from a remote parking area. In some cases, if there is street parking, a valet service should be considered to avoid neighbors' driveways from getting blocked.

Besides a contingency tent, consider any and all rentals you may need. This can include a dance floor, dj table or elevated platform for a live band, serving tables and bar. If the vacation rental home you have secured for your wedding weekend has limited or non-indoor use of the home for non-staying guests, you may need to budget in a portable restroom unit. This is ususally a trailer that requires close access to water and electric.

And don't forget any special permitting for beach ceremonies and tent installation.