Wedding Program: Thank you to your guests...

Very commonly, a Bride & Groom take the opportunity to thank their guests for joining them by having a note on their program. It is most commonly listed on the last page or back of the program. Another good place would be the very inside cover or backside of the cover page.

If you are like me and cringe at the thought of expressing yourself through creative writing, you may look for outside sources of inspiration such as a poem. I found a one recently that truly expresses the meaning and importance of the day.

"Marriage is not a culmination, it is a beginning.
The beginning of a life that will grow and change in

ways more wonderful than we can imagine.
Many years from now, when we look back upon our life,
love and this day, we will remember that flowers, music
and food were not what made this day so special.
It will be our memories of sharing the beginning of our life
as husband and wife with you, our friends and family.
Having you here with us today has made our
wedding truly wonderful."

Being a Wedding Planner ..........

As most of you know, I don't make it a habit to brag or show boat myself or creative talents. With so many gifted and talented event professionals, I feel it would be quite unprofessional and foolish. Having been a business owner for less than 5 years, I feel I am still developing and growing my talent and business skills.

BUT today, my email box greeted me with a notice from WeddingWire letting me know I had a new review. This is always a great interest to me and my team. The reviews truly let us know how we're doing, where we can improve and if our clients are happy.

Photo credit: Clint Shuttlesworth

The newest review came from one of my biggest clients (Ava & Matthew) that I've had ever in soiréebliss! Events history. She and her groom were truly a delight to work with. The importance of her review was that the week of her wedding, so many things went wrong for me personally; lost power for 3.5 hours in my office during the busiest production days, car problems which threatened time efficiency, miscounts on paper for stationary items, and computer problems when working on seating charts and event documents. I felt like gremlins were teasing my last inch of patience that week.

So, after reading Ava's review, I was truly touched by the rave review and praise for all the hard work, long hours and sleepless nights. YES!! It completely made my heart grow with utter happiness to know we made a difference in making a couple's wedding day truly memorable. It's moments like this that validates my decision to have started soiréebliss! events 2.5 years ago, why I work the long hours, the personal sacrifice of personal time and how I approach every wedding in such a personal manner with heart-felt care and concern. Today is a day I am truly proud.

And, it goes without saying that soiréebliss! Events is not just me, I'm thrilled to have an amazing team. My deepest appreciate and thanks to them; Helen, Sarah, Traci, Cassandra, Janna and our newest member Jennie. Without them, I wouldn't be able to make an event happen.

Let me share with you what Ava had to say:

Three wordse helped us fulfill our wedding vision by listening to our desires and ideas and used her creativity to enhance our wedding.

Professional - She was always polite, timely, and had a great network of vendors that also delivered superb services.

Worry Free - She was always on top of every detail and kept everything running smoothly so planning the wedding was a truly enjoyable experience.

During the wedding week, Samantha and soireebliss! were with us every step of the way from final walkthroughs, to rehearsal and dinner, to the wedding and finally the reception. Every detail was covered, all ran 100% smoothly and the event was a total success.

As a recent bride I highly recommend you hire a wedding planner; and that wedding planner should be Samantha. She and her team work so hard that she is worth every bit of her fee. After saying "I DO" to my fiance, hiring Samantha was one of the smartest things I've done.

Thanks again Sam for everything.

Photo Credit: Shawn Fashion Photography

It's Official....the new award badge is here

With each little award or recognition, I get so very excited. Each award is truly precious and humbling to me. Not only is it a testament to amount of care, passion and hard work we put towards each event, but it's a recognition that are we are impacting the lives of those we work with. It also serves as a little motivator on days when things feel challenging or as though everything is going wrong. It reminds us of the joy and great rewards of being an event planner.


So, even though it's a simple little badge, I share it with great pride and with great humility thank my clients who chose to hire soireebliss! Events for one of their biggest and most memorable days in your lives.


Sincerely,


Samantha, Helen, Sarah, Traci, Cassandra & Ashley

Happy Anniversary soiréebliss! Events!

Can you believe it?! soiréebliss! Events is celebrating their 2nd anniversary. Looking back over the past two years, I can say that I am fabulously thrilled to be here. When I initially launched soiréebliss! Events, it was a long time dream. It's been a lot of hard work, made a few mistakes and sent 46 Brides down the aisle. Statistically speaking, we beat the odds. Experts say 70% of small businesses fail in the first year and 60% fail in the second year. With all this said, I'm most proud of the many blessings and friendships I have developed along the way.

So, with much excitement, one of those blessing I would like to share with you today. For the second year in a row, soireebliss! Events has been awards the 2010 Bride's Choice Award.

Houston, TX – January 19, 2010 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced soiréebliss! Events has been selected to receive the WeddingWire 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Wedding Planner!

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

soiréebliss! Events is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that soiréebliss! Events is among the very best Wedding Planner within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards.

With a new year, comes new things. Over the next few weeks, I would like to share with a recap of some of the fabulous weddings from 2009. soiréebliss! Events will be getting a whole new look and possibly a great new office. I'm excited to share with you the exciting things as move forward in a successful 3rd year.

Photo credit: Studio563

Looking For A Unique Groom's Gift???

As I was buzzing through my daily emails, I came across a great gift idea. This particular item caught my attention as it hit on one of my favorite memories from when I lived in Indiana. Nothing was better than a hot dog and beer, sitting in the seats behind home plate on a sunny afternoon at a Wrigley game. As a female, I thought that so many Groom's would share this memory as well.

So, if you have a baseball-loving Groom, this may be a perfect Groom's gift:

Offered by Red Envelope. These aren't just cuff links—they're a piece of baseball history. Crafted of salvaged seats from America's most famous and beloved stadiums, these cuff links are one of a kind. Coated in the original paint of the stadium seat colors, each cuff link boasts a deep patina collected from decades of home openers, double-headers and grand-slam ovations. includes hand-numbered and hand-signed certificate of authenticity

The best quality about these unique cuff links that make them truly special are their variation in color as they are truly from the salvaged stadium seats. Each cuff link is hallmarked with the name of the stadium engraved on back. The cuff links are being made from some of the most memorable stadiums around the country: Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium or Shea Stadium.

This would truly be a gift treasured for years to come!

Why I love my job......My clients!

As a wedding planner, one has to wear many hats, counselor, problem solver, negotiator, cheerleader, financial planner and time keeper. Sometimes those hats are worn all at once in some of the most in opportune times. All this is done is a calm, graceful manner, appearing as though everything is perfect, right on schedule and nothing is wrong and the event is going exactly as you planned. Even though you may be off schedule by 5-10 minutes. For someone like myself, I pride myself on my skill and ability to run my events down to the minute.

But, we push on for the ultimate goal of fulfilling our clients dreams to create one of their most memorable days in their lives. We set our own needs aside on wedding day, forget that our feet hurt, dieing of heat and possibly starving from our last meal having been several hours possibly before set-up began. Some may call us crazy. Others look at wedding planners as having the glamorous spotlight and others are surprised to hear you can make a living being a planner.

Ultimately, it's the rush of happiness I get at the end of an event when the couple leave glowing with joy. Knowing that I have helped to create an evening in their life which will be a lasting memory they will look back on with happiness. It completely washes away any fatigue, hunger or frustration I may have been feeling. This is a perfect example of why I love my job!!!

"Samantha! EVERYTHING was perfect! What an incredible day yesterday! Thank you so much for everything. All of our guests kept saying over and over how beautiful it was, how much fun they had, and how good the food was! I totally meant to say thank you and give you a big hug last night before we ran off with the parade, but I was so caught up in everything! So.... THANK YOU! *big hug*"

Megan & Greg Owen, Wed: 7/25/09

Chic Affair at the St. Regis - Part II

As promised, I wanted to show you more from Abby & Ben's St. Regis Affair. Honestly, it's been very hard to pick and choose which pictures to post as Abby & Ben's wedding was so amazing. Every detail was so unique and personal to them as a couple. From several members of the wedding party singing songs during the ceremony and reception, family pictures adorning the cocktail hour space and cake table, incorporating the Bride's Mother's lace to create the "Something Blue" garter and ring bearer's pillow to the guests being entertained with Showtunes during the cocktail hour. As part of the Groomsmen's gifts, they were given a bowtie and cuff links to wear for the wedding which each were different to match their personalities. The entire ensemble of wedding stationary was a beautiful letterpress design from the New York designer Hello Lucky!. The guested were served an incredibly delicious four course meal, entertained with a 10 piece live band and enjoyed many memorable moments. For me, one of the most fun moments was watching the Bride & Groom part-take in the Hora. To see their excitement and joy made the day perfect!

The event was comprised by some of the best vendors:

Ceremony/Reception Venue: St. Regis Hotel Houston
Photographer: Studio563
Florist: Plants & Petals
Cake: Who Made the Cake
Ceremony & Cocktail Music: Divisi Strings
Reception Music: Commercial Art Band
Wedding Stationary: Hello Lucky
Hair & Makeup: Jordan Temple Makeup

More pictures to follow.............