As many of you know, I absolutely love where I live and work.  Surrounded by gorgeous islands and beaches, and so many other awesome parts of nature and history, it is a wonderful place to live.  I keep up with the happenings of all local wedding and event professionals with blogs and social networking.  The Jekyll Island Authority had a brilliant campaign on Twitter: a picture would be posted, and if you recognized where it was on the island, you would win a guest blogger spot on the official www.jekyllisland.com blog.  Having met so many beautiful couples and planned so many gorgeous destination weddings here, it was so nice to let everyone know why I love this area so much.  Check out our guest blog post on the Jekyll Island blog!

One of the perks of a grand party is the food and drinks.  With a lot of destination weddings here on Jekyll Island, St.Simons Island and Savannah, I have found more brides and grooms wanting to incorporate the area’s rich Southern culture into their menus.  The fun part (read= my most favorite part) is the choosing the cocktails!  Adding playful touches and substitutions can make a signature drink reflective of your event and your personalities.

Do you have a favorite Southern cocktail of your own?  Tell us about it!

If you are a member of Twitter, you have probably become addicted like most—but did you know some of Saint Simons and Jekyll Island’s wedding professionals are on Twitter, too?  That’s right—now you can keep up with your favorite wedding photographers, wedding cake bakers, florists, and wedding ceremony and reception venues.  Get to know them, learn about great tips for your wedding or happenings in the area. Being between such beautiful and unique cities like Savannah and Jacksonville, I’ve included some great wedding professionals that are in that area, too!

Follow Chris Moncus of Chris Moncus Photography

Follow Scott Seckinger of Serendipity Bakery

Follow Griffin Bufkin of Southern Soul Barbecue

Follow Dan and Sheila Zynda of Mobile Music

Follow Donna Von Bruening of Donna Von Bruening Photography

Follow The Beachview Club of The Beachview Club

Follow Caroline Carter of Events by Caroline

Follow Beachview Tent Rentals of Beachview Tent Rentals

Follow Morgan Gallo of Morgan Gallo Events

Follow Bradford and Melanie Watson of La Dolce Vita Studio

Follow Cassandra Cherneski of Flaire Weddings

Follow Teresa Earnest of Memories N’ More

Follow Scarlett Lillian of Scarlett Lillian

Follow Tricia Huddas of Tricia  Huddas & Co.

Follow Christina LeMarr of Sentimental Visions

Follow Trevor Jenkins of 98 Productions

Follow Kara Pennington of Kara Pennington Photography

Follow Heather Burge of Bleu Belle Bridal Salon

Follow Agnes Lopez of Agnes Lopez Photography

Follow Jekyll Island of Jekyll Island

Follow Anna and Spencer of Anna and Spencer Photography

And of course, don’t forget about us!  Follow Fabuluxe on Twitter.

With the gracious help of Jenny from Turner Classic Weddings, we have added two new videos to our website.  Please take a moment and check them out, as well as the wonderful, creative work from Turner Classic Weddings.  Jenny and Ryan are always a joy to shoot with and create spectacular results.

:: photos by scarlett lillian ::

With today being Valentine’s Day, you may be looking to take the romantic atmosphere to your cocktail hour.  If you want your wedding to be reflective of your love, passion and adoration for one another, don’t just incorporate it into your design…share some with your signature drink and hors d’oeuvres.  With the sensual flavors of chocolate and champagne, these are sure to be a hit!

Is your wedding in Savannah, St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island or Jacksonville?  We would LOVE to work with you, and have you appear in our new promo video!

To celebrate our fabulous start to 2009, we are offering a free month of coordination package to a lucky couple getting married in our service area.  This isn’t your mother’s day of coordination! We will work with you four to six weeks prior to your wedding:  obtaining information that is vital to the successful execution of your day.  We will begin to confirm your vendors, create your event blueprints and go over any (and every!) detail that is pertinent to your event.  Our team of lifestyle event designers will work to keep your bridal party, family and vendors updated and prepared with the latest information on your wedding day itineraries and plans.  Your team will also be there for you at your rehearsal, setup on the day of the wedding and complete coordination.  You can focus on being beautiful, in love and fabulous, while we handle the logistics and coordination of the day.

Are you excited?  Ready to enter?  Fabulous!

Send an email to blog@fabuluxeinc.com  with the subject “My Fabuluxe Wedding”, and tell us all about you and why your wedding is fabuluxe in 400 words or less (remember, we love details!)!  Be sure to include your wedding date and location.  You are more than welcome to send us pictures of the two of you or of some of your ideas—we want to get to know you!  Not in our area, but know someone who is?  Be sure to spread the word! 

Entries are due Februrary 7th, so don’t wait!  We will announce our winner on Valentine’s Day, so stay tuned!

The rules:

*One entry per fabulous couple, who do not have a coordinator

*Entries are limited to 400 words or less and may be accompanied by pictures to help us get to know you

*Weddings must be in April or May 2009, per our availability.

Good luck!

I received an unexpected, but very sweet call on Friday from Ashlyn Seckinger of Serendipity Bakery in Saint Simons Island. Ashlyn and I originally met at a vendor cocktail party held at the Village Inn and Pub.  The next time I came across Ashlyn was when I stumbled upon one her beautiful cakes at the Jekyll Island Bridal Show.  I was in complete amazement as she presented a beautifully ornate and detailed wedding cake that I monikered "The J.Lo Cake", because it reminded me of Jennifer Lopez’s Wedding (#3) cake (only better). 

Ashlyn called to ask if she could drop off a cookie platter for Christmas, and I was so honored and touched that she thought of us! 

and just another plug :

Thank you so much for thinking of us, Ashlyn!  We look forward to working with you very soon!

Last month, I had the wonderful honor and privilege of witnessing the marriage of Caryn and Jonathan.  Caryn and I worked together for about ten months to pull off one of the most beautiful and romantic weddings of our season. Everything was laced with a little detail of Caryn and Jonathan– their love and admiration for each other to their fun loving spirit. 

I knew from the Hands Ceremony where the officiant stated “Caryn, look at Jonathan’s hands– these are the hands that will provide for you, will wipe away your tears on a bad day and hold yours tightly as you bring your first child into the world…” that this ultra-personal, family oriented and beautiful affair is only a glimpse into your lives together.

Rachel, our new Fabuluxe Associate and I had the chance to team up with Scarlett Lillian and Turner Classic Weddings for Caryn and Jonathan’s wedding at Crane Cottage at the Jekyll Club on Jekyll Island.  You may have seen some of these on Scarlett’s blog, but if not– you may now bask in her awesomeness:

Caryn had one of the most beautiful and ornate bridal purses.  I remember  seeing it in her  notes at our floral consult, and I fawned over it then.  It is just as beautiful in person!

Caryn’s father passed away, so she commemorated his spirit by having him with her as she walked down the aisle, as a picture on a locket braided to her bouquet.

Everyone from Gay Whatley of Gay Whatley Floral Design to Tommy Tucker of Dance Jammers did a wonderful job in going the extra mile to create a fantastic event for Caryn and Jonathan and their guests.  I am so grateful and honored to work with such awesome professionals.  Scarlett, as always you did a fabulous job capturing what endures far longer than sparkly linens and lush flowers— the love and passion that ignited it all.

I know you have heard me talk about my home and where I work, but here is a chance for you to see it for yourself. So many people love the natural barrier island of Jekyll Island– I have come to love it, too. It is a great place to escape, relax and enjoy the beauty, love and people around you.

Check it out!

My adoration of cake should be criminal.  My love for children is natural.  So, when Masterpiece Weddings started up their “Let’s Eat Cake!” competition with 100% of the proceeds going to St. Jude’s Children Hospital, my heart melted.

Let’s Eat Cake! will include a cake design and tasting competition and a cake auction.  There will even be a crowd’s favorite award given to the pastry chef determined by guests to be their absolute favorite.  The event is fabulous because it allows everyone to participate– the aspiring pastry chefs, at-home bakers and the four star confection designers. 

What makes this event so touching is that every single penny raised will be donated to St. Jude’s.  So whether you are a cake aficionado, pastry chef or bride-to-be, definitely consider adding the Let’s Eat Cake! show to your event calendar in 2009.  Also, if you would like to compete or become a sponsor, check out their blog for more information.