November 09, 2017

Our Wedding - 11.11.11

November 09, 2017/ Monique Garcia

Unless we are friends on Facebook, there is something I've never really shared with the world. You might have heard all of the funny stories, scares and precious moments during a meeting between sips from your coffee cup. But honestly, I can't believe it's taken this long to share it.

Family, Friends, Blog Visitors - I give you some photos from our wedding.

Yup. The day 10 years in the making, 7 years dating; November 11, 2011 was the day that Gus and I were married.

According to Gus, his day got started with waking up at 5:30am. He was so excited, he couldn't sleep anymore. So instead, he ran laps around what would be our apartment complex to try to get tired but that didn't work. 😂 The rest of his day was spent hanging out with his friends at what would be our apartment, playing video games and hanging out. Once they were ready to go, he gave his groomsmen their gift (a flask with their favorite superhero on the front) and took a celebratory drink.

Back at my parent's house, I spent all day watching my favorite Disney Movies and spending time with my bridesmaids. My youngest sister even made a sign for the front of our house. Once we were all ready to go, we headed out to our venue.

Our wedding was themed after the movie Aladdin. We kept the main colors navy and gold with accents of other bold colors that reminded me of all the treasure found in the Cave of Wonders. We had place card holders that were small golden elephants, Moroccan lanterns centerpieces instead of flowers, and my favorite detail, a magic carpet that we would be married on. And another detail we decided upon was dressing up our ring bearer and flower girl as Aladdin and Jasmine. I'll let you keep scrolling to enjoy the magic that unfurled that night. 😉 ✨

One of the major snafoos but one of the funniest moments of our wedding was that unfortunately, the DJ could not play the song I had chosen to walk down the aisle to. When they tried to play it, a loud boom screeched over the sound system 💥 and my poor ring bearer ran back up the aisle screaming for his dad. Thankfully we had a backup song from some Disney themed instrumentals that we had playing prior to the ceremony. So a lesson for all: have a backup plan and don't stress if something goes wrong. It will just forever be part of your wedding day story. 😅

And WE GOT MARRIED!! The rest of our night was filled with lots of laughter, dancing, and more memorable moments.

And there you have it...our big day in a nutshell. It was a day we will never forget.

November 07, 2017

The Invitation That Started It All

November 07, 2017/ Monique Garcia

Isn't it funny that for most of us, the one thing that holds the highest significance why we start our businesses or new life chapters isn't something that everyone gets to see? Funny enough, I was made aware some time ago that I've never shared an actual image of our wedding invitation. This was just a part of our story that I hadn't thought about before. Of course, I've told our story of how our business started to clients and vendors. It's been one of the bits of information that remained after our rebrand back in August. But this is the first time our invitation will be seen (unless you were a recipient of the invitation of course). 😉

Something I would like point out is that this wasn't the first invitation I had made before. In fact, I had been creating invitations for some very important family celebrations such as both of my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversaries and helping a one of my dearest friends with her bridal shower and wedding invitations. These weren't elaborate invitations at all, not like what you've see from me today. But...our wedding invitation was the first real moment I got to create something that reflected the people behind the event. It was a lot more personal and meant so much more.

You see when it came time to decide on our invitations, I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted to let guests know exactly how magical this moment in our lives was going to be. While we visited a few invitation shops, they just didn't have what I was looking for. Needless to say that the more "Nos" I received, the smaller I felt. If it hadn't been for Gus' encouragement, we would have probably gone with some plain, mundane invite that everyone else was using.

Don't get me wrong...it was a ton of hard work. I bought shimmer paper to really give the "shining, shimmering, splendid" feeling I desperately wanted to glow from the invitations. My mom found invitation packs at Target 🎯 on a clearance rack that had similar, delicate design that my wedding dress also had. I looked up through countless rules of invitation etiquette while adding some new twists to personalize our invitation suite a little more. We may have also sent them out a little later than we should have 😅 , but the results were worth it.

So what would be my one bit of advice if you choose the same route that I did for my wedding day? PLAN AHEAD.🗓 Do your research and see if the cost and time spent (because it will take a lot of time) is really worth it for your time frame and budget. I have had cases where brides have come to me either having experience with DIY projects or know how design, but just didn't have the time to create their invitation suite. Designing them yourself can also bring extra purchases like paper cutters, extra paper and envelopes for "just in case" boo boos. 😱 🤕

Well, that's that. Now you can't say you haven't seen our wedding invitations. 😜 😁 And maybe...just maybe...I'll be sharing some of our wedding photos too.

September 21, 2017

Justine & Ryan - A Rusty Pelican Wedding

September 21, 2017/ Monique Garcia

Justine was one of the wonderful brides we met at a bridal show over at the Rusty Pelican. As it would turn out, Justine was marrying her one and only, Ryan, and host her guests to a delicious Sunday Brunch 🍳 🥓 🥞 🍤 (which the Rusty Pelican is famous for). Looking for something simple and clean, we stuck to keeping the invitation printed on white stock, but integrating a Gold Leaf Pocket to take Justine's invitation up a notch. 🥂

After finishing up her invitation suite, we began working on Justine's wedding day paper goods. One detail that I'm especially excited about was the personalized place settings for each guest. The extra touch of calligraphy added a thoughtful touch that would surprise guests once they arrived at their tables to mimosa and brunch (Like wine and dine? Anyone?). 🍾 Scroll below to see more details from Justine and Ryan's big day.

I'm so excited that we were able to design a custom suite that would personify the clean, modern design Justine and Ryan were looking for. Wishing these newlyweds a life full of love and laugher. 😘 ☺️

Vendors

Venue - Rusty Pelican

Photography - Alan Phillip Photography

Dress - Brides of Florida

Suit - Calvin Klien from Macys

Florals - Blooming Gardens

Invitations, Paper Goods, + Calligraphy - Only One Mark, Inc. (US!! 😍)

Hair + Makeup - Bombshell Makeover Makeup Chris Richards

August 31, 2017

Moody 4 Life - A Palmetto Bay Village Center Wedding

August 31, 2017/ Palmetto Bay City Center/ Monique Garcia

Gus and I met Nasima at a bridal show last year. Upon meeting up for our one on one consult, she was very specific with her expectations. Nasima was looking to create a suite completely designed around butterflies.🦋 As with all my brides, we played around with all the possibilities and invitation types. We finally narrowed down our options and I took to task. Needless to say, creating her invitation suite was definitely a treat.

invitation Photo Credit: Dipp photography

After getting to create this colorful invitation suite, we immediately began planning her day of paper goods suite. All I can say is that they turned out as equally as beautiful. We even incorporated some hand lettered pieces to make guests feel welcome. Oh and who doesn't wanna know what's in their drink. 😉 🥃 🍹

Getting to see how my bride's big day went always sets my heart a flutter. 🦋 😍 Wishing Nasima and Mahiri all the best in this new chapter of their story. 😘