Stacy and Michael are such a fun couple and they wanted a really festive wedding so they chose New Year's Eve 2010 for their wedding celebration party complete with sparklers. They chose the perfect party setting, the elegant
Renaissance HotelRenaissance Hotel in North Hills. We first met in June to start planning the ceremony. I helped them put together exactly the ceremony they wanted including telling their wonderful love story complete with the humor this couple love.
When Marty and I arrived on December 31, 2010, the section of the ballroom for the ceremony was all ready to go. Aren't the pink up-lights nice? The chair seats were covered in a pretty mauve color. The pedestals and flowers by
Kelly Odom Flowers were beautiful.
We peeked in the adjoining ballroom where the tables had been set up and were ready to be moved into the ceremony area when the guests left after the ceremony and the partition removed. Everything was really glittery and festive for a big party. The centerpieces were also by Kelly Odom.
And here is the beautiful cake by
Sweet Memories! Even the cake is glittery!
Michael and Stacy chose the perfect party DJ, Ken Holmes, of
Joe Bunn DJ Company. He told me that he had really been looking forward to this wedding because he could tell when he met with the couple that they wanted a really fun celebration. Ken and I have done many weddings together. He plugged my microphone into his system and the sound was just perfect.
Stacy's friend, Samira Collins, was tapped to be her wedding director and she sure did a fantastic job of rounding up these "ready to party" bridesmaids and groomsmen and sending them down the aisle. Here we are going over some of the logistics. Thanks, Samira!
The guests had to be shooed into the ceremony room from the hallway where they were signing the guest book and so full of excitement anticipating Stacy and Michael's wedding ceremony and reception. Everyone was so dressed up for the occasion. The color scheme for the wedding was black and silver so I am wearing black and silver, of course! The guys and I are ready to enter and get this ceremony underway.
Around the corner and out of sight, the mothers and their escorts, our Man of Honor whom you cannot see in this photo but will see later on, and the bridesmaids and our bride are ready to get started. That's Michael's mother, Pat in the foreground with her grandson, Andrew, who wanted to escort her in. Stacy's mother, Linda, is turning around to look at her beautiful daughter! Samira is checking with Stacy and getting ready to cue them in.
Stacy's dress was simply spectacular. It looks rather white in the photographs but it was SILVER! A beautiful platinum silver. I have never seen anything like it. It was perfect for a New Year's Eve wedding. Her father, Barry, had the honor of escorting her down the aisle.
Our photographer was
Heather Swanner. She was everywhere getting some really wonderful shots. Stacy's eyes filled up with tears from the very beginning. She just could not stop them from rolling down her cheeks. I think we went through 3 tissues! I just kept handing them to her and when she finished with each one, Michael stuck it in his pocket! She told me later that she never thought she would cry like that but she just could not help it!
When I told the story of how Michael and Stacy met and got together, the guests' laughter filled the room again and again. They especially liked the part where Michael thought Stacy's name was Stephanie and how he tried to find her several months after they had initially met while dating other people. He knew she was a hairstylist so he made appointments with every stylist named Stephanie he could find, whether he needed a hair cut or not! They eventually ended up running into each other again at an after work get together with mutual friends. Michael was determined not to lose Stacy again so he swept her off her feet by whisking her away on a getaway weekend of shopping and fun in the sun and, well, she was hooked from then on!
The big kiss! Michael proceeded to "dip" her as everyone was applauding and cheering!
Now they are married and so happy! They led the wedding party and parents to the lounge while I instructed the guests to go to the lobby, pick up a sparkler and line up outside the hotel for a "mock" exit of the couple for photographs. Michael and Stacy wisely knew that they would never get everyone rounded up for this at 1:00 AM after all the celebrating.
One of the little flower girls is holding Stacy's train while Michael's mother talks to her. Magnificent dress! I wonder if she will start a trend. Stacy told me it was the first one she tried on and she just knew it was THE one!
They are so happy to be married and all their hard work paid off in a beautiful wedding. That "thing" I am holding is the handle of the huge sparkler that will be lit when I go out to join their guests.
This is Scott, Stacy's Man of Honor! He was great but had been worried about fluffing her dress and not knocking over the flowers on the pedestals. Scott, you did it perfectly!!
The guests outside all lined up waiting for the bride and groom. Thankfully it was a balmy evening of between 50 and 60 degrees.How fortunate for Stacy and Michael as only a week earlier we had temps in the twenties and 8 inches of snow!
Here they come!
After the mock staged exit was over, the guests extinguished their sparklers and proceeded to the mezzanine for cocktails before the reception. Those giant sparklers were about 3 feet long and rather a challenge to put out because the burnt part had to be bent in order for the flame to get stuck into the bucket of sand. Consequently you see here a bucket full of still burning sparklers!
Michael and Stacy, you really did a fantastic job planning a fun, festive and fabulous New Year's Eve wedding! Congratulations to you both and I wish you every success and happiness in the world!
