WHAT YOU READ IS WHAT YOU GET

It's very important for you to read each contract thoroughly for every vendor that you hire.

Do not under estimate a small mistake on a contract and have corrections made before you sign the dotted line. Once you have signed the contract, your are acknowledging and giving written consent that the document is factual.

A contract should have the minimum items listed.

Time of the Event

Date of the Event

Start Time of the Event

End Time of the Event - especially important for vendors that charge you and hourly fee if you go over your time.

Arrival time of vendors - Especially important for photographers and florists. Most photographers establish a time to start taking pictures prior to the ceremony. Florist will most likely drop off the bouquets and boutonnieres for you and your bridal party.

Event Location - including address of venue

The vendors address and phone number

Your point of contact on the day of the wedding

Your address and phone number

WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE - WHO WILL WIN?

Our team at Alce Events, and two of the employees at Specialty Insurance Group, have entered into a 6 month weight loss challenge as of June 1st. Their total combined weight loss goal is 60 pounds. My goal is to lose 50 pounds by December 15th. At 214 pounds and 5'3.5 inches, I developed type II Diabetes at the age of 28. What seemed like a sinus infection that I couldn't "shake off" turned into two weeks worth of sleepless nights, excruciating muscle cramps in my legs that were nearly paralyzing until the pain subsided, and a constant, insatiable urge to drink endless bottles and cups of water. The final straw for me was when I noticed that I had lost 10 pounds in two weeks without dieting, and one day while in the shower I noticed that my left leg was numb. Freaked out, I went to my doctor right away. My glucose levels were at 572, and I was hospitalized for four days. At that point, my body was no longer absorbing the nutrients in the foods I ate because they were being flushed out with the enormous amounts of water that I drank daily. If you've ever been diagnosed with any type of disease, you know what I mean by your life is forever changed when the doctor utters the words that contain your diagnoses.

During my four day hospital stay, I had more blood work done than I can count on my fingers and toes, and had blood drawn from my artery through my left arm. That hurt more than all of the blood work combined! My triglycerides were high and my potassium levels were very low. I drank liquid potassium once and then advised my nurse to switch over to pills in order for me to hold it down. I was also given Niacin to which I had a horrible reaction to and developed a hot (literally) rash and itching from head to toe. Not scratching while the Benadryl injected through my IV took effect was almost impossible.

My husband was there every day to make sure that I was ok, and watched to learn how to inject the insulin and check my glucose levels along with me. Although my husband is 6'2 and thin, he changed his diet along with me to be supportive. At first, I did not know whether to laugh or cry when I saw him reading food labels to count carbs, dietary fiber and sugar in the foods he'd prepare for me. I am very blessed and fortunate to have such a wonderful man by my side! We have both learned how to choose healthier food alternatives.

Eight months later, I am no longer insulin dependent but use two types of medicines, along with diet, to keep my glucose levels under control. As emotional as it may be to write this blog, I hope that it helps inspire those of you who have come across my story and struggle with your weight and/or weight related health issues. I've had to learn that food is not your enemy! At 29, my mind is made up that I WILL enter my 30's a healthy and vibrant young lady with many personal and professional goals and dreams to attain.

This challenge has made me accountable to myself, the participants from Specialty Insurance Group and you my blog readers. By opening up about such a personal and frustrating part of my life I can be a true example that living healthy is doable, and always the best choice over crash diets and binging in order to look "your best" for your wedding or special occassion.

Stay tuned for updates on each of our progresses, frustrations, failures and most importantly... successes!

AMAZING FLORIDA BEACH WEDDING VENUES

Looking for a beachside wedding location in Florida? Check out the BeacHhouse Waterfront Restaurant in Bradenton, FL. The views of the beautiful Gulf are breathtaking, and make for a memorable and romantic wedding day. Their food presentation is top notch, and the buffet servers interact with your guests creating an ambiance where everyone can mingle and get to know one another. The BeacHhouse offers two ceremony locations on the beach, and two covered pavilions with ceiling fans during warm weather. They also have two sister properties - The SandBar and Mar Vista.

SPECIALITY INSURANCE GROUP'S LUAU ANNIVERSARY

Pictures of Specialty Insurance Group's summer luau

to commemorate their company's one year anniversary.

Thank you for choosing Alce Events!

We wish you many more years of success to come!

Wedding Luau

Summer is here!

And what a great time to have a wedding luau with beachside pictures that are both graceful and romantic. The team at Alce Events has put some ideas and pictures together that will help you create that beach luau without an expensive price tag. We have found glass, round and square vases at Dollar Tree stores for $1.00, that are perfect for your floral arrangements. They also carry a variety of luau party supplies, including children's raffia skirts that can serve many purposes for your luau decorations.


Instructions for DIY Luau floral arrangement:
As seen in the picture below, separate the raffia skirt into sections (approximately 3 inches wide) and place the glass vase in the middle of the strands so that you have the same length of material remaining on both sides of the vase. You can glue the bottom of the vase to the strands when you initially place it on top to secure them in place, and make it easier to work the ends when gluing them over the edge of the vase.

Cut the loose ends of the raffia skirt (approximately 1 inch) to make the ends even. Select one end of the raffia strands to begin gluing them onto the glass. Use a hot glue gun and sporadically put glue on the ends of the strands. Fold the strands over the edge of the vase. Be CAREFUL! The glue is EXTREMELY HOT and can burn your skin! It's recommended to use a disposable plastic utensil to press the strands against the glass until they stick to the vase. The plastic utensil will not stick to the glass unless you allow the glue to harden. Cut the rope from the other end of the skirt and follow the same procedure. Half the vase will be covered with raffia. You will then follow the same steps again on the remainder of the glass to cover the entire vase.





Let the glue dry for approximately two hours. Then go back and secure loose strands, if any. Once the glue is dry, you can begin arranging the flowers in the vases. Certain Publix grocery stores sell multicolored lilies, and an assortment of other flowers, at 3 bunches for $10. Please not that these flowers may not be available at your local grocery stores and you may need to purchase them from a wholesaler. The vase can hold 3-5 lilies with additional accent flowers. **Please note that the flowers used in the pictured arrangements are not lilies.

To add to the overall theme, you can also incorporate seashells on the guest tables to complete the luau feel of your wedding day.

Stay tuned for more decorating tips and wedding advice next week!

WEDDING PLEDGE 2009

I pledged to write about someone that has made a great impact in the wedding industry and whom I truly admire. Beverly Ann Bonner, the Master Planner of the Association of Bridal Consultants in Massachusetts, was the first person who came to mind. As a member of ABC myself, I was fortunate to train with Beverly Ann, and coordinate the first of many prestigious weddings.

Beverly Ann is a true example of an entrepeneur, and mentors many planners to be successful in the event planning business. She coordinates ABC's networking events in the Boston area. Being able to meet with various event planners and vendors was beneficial because I would not have networked with the belly dancer, candy favor specialists and regarded photographers that were invited to these events, had I researched them on my own. She is also very approachable and makes the time to make sure you have all of the necessary tools to be great.

In closing, being able to see an experienced wedding planner's master craft has been very encouraging to hone my own skills and make weddings ultra special for my clients. Meeting and working with some of Boston and Orlando's finest vendors has afforded me the opportunity to provide my clients with the ultra chic and fabulous events they expect from their event planner.

I work primarily in the Orlando area, and still maintain contact with Beverly Ann. In November, I'll get to meet with her again at ABC's annual conference, and continue to network with many other great vendors.

AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE

Have you and your groom discussed if you'll have one joint checking/savings account? Do you know your credit score? Discuss your goals as a couple and establish a timeline to reach them together. Always be honest with each other so you can take the proper financial steps to purchase your first home, start a business, and/or start your family. Financial surprises are never fun, and neither is getting denied for credit.

Know where you stand with all three credit bureaus. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three largest agencies, and they do not all report identical information. A low beacon score and derogatory information can raise your automobile insurance premiums, cause you to miss a job opportunity and/or pay higher interest rates on mortgages and loans. Any erroneous information should be disputed right away directly with the reporting agency, and they'll investigate it with the creditor at no cost to you.

Though there are many unforeseen circumstances that may have been out of your control, and affected your payment history, do not let a bad credit rating discourage you. Instead, make the necessary changes to improve your credit standing. Check out freecreditreport.com. For a monthly fee, they'll monitor and inform you of any changes to your credit report. Having a game plan can help to minimize the arguments often caused by financial stresses.