February 21, 2013

A Gift of Love Wedding for Ivonne and Andrew…………….The Story

Let’s take a tour of what was at the wedding of Ivonne and Andrew before their day even begins.  The Sheraton all decked out in draping by Kamini Designs and silver satin linens to complement the lovely Chivari Chairs and Chargers from A Chair Affair.  The chairs were a beautiful silver with white pads that captured the wedding colors perfectly.  When you look from afar at the dinner tables as you entered the reception room, you cannot help but think you are walking into a dream with the hues of blue and white up lighting from Orlando Lighting and DJ, bringing out the tall crystal trees on the tables by A Chair Affair. The trees enhanced the clear glass chargers with silver edges that were on the table. The chargers were complimented on the guest tables by a bride and groom, chocolate favor made by Sweet Marilyn’s for the guests and a  white chocolate wedding cake  favor, made by Diane from The Wedding Party for the Bridal Party.  Diane also assisted the wedding planner, Rosie Moore of 27 Miracles, on this day.

At the table, 27 Miracles encouraged the bride to select pictures and name their tables something that would be meaningful to them.  They decided to choose words of encouragement like: faith, hope, and love; patience and trust; and other similar words that reflected their spiritual values. These table names, menus, place cards and wedding programs were custom made by Marisol Rodriguez of Invitations by Nannuk.    It gave the guests opportunities to look at the couple’s pictures on the different tables as they walked around socializing. David, from A Magic Moment Photography, was there to capture the beauty of the décor, as well as, the bride and her friends having some fun times before the wedding was to begin.

Now, the ceremony site was, in and of itself, decorated with beautiful backdrop draping from Kamini Designs to allow the Arbor from A Chair Affair to glow in the background.  Now imagine an aisle runner fit for a princess; that is what Anna from Artistic Aisle Runners did for Ivonne and Andrew.  She made them a customized Aisle runner with their names on it including their willow logo from their wedding invitation.  Stunning!! Is the word to use. The chivari chairs brought elegance to the ceremony room, creating that clean look of silver and white.

Now, the groomsmen entered the ceremony wearing black tuxedos, making quite an impact as they entered supporting their friend Andrew.  The tuxedos were from Minervas Bridal and these guys looked sharp! The girls on the other hand take you back in their stunning long peri colored gowns from Minerva’s Bridals.   Their hair and makeup created by Jennifer of The Story Telling Experience.  Jennifer Lee and her team created a hairstyle suitable for this wedding theme and each bridesmaid. The girls looked amazing.  The mothers were beautiful in their gowns, they were oh so proud of Ivonne and Andrew and  looked stunning in their updos and make up. No wedding would be complete without the flowers for the bride, consisting of White Roses and Calalillies with diamonds inside.  The Bridesmaids each had a bouquet of White Roses as well. Bethany from the Gaylord Palms Floral Design Team personally delivered the flowers to the bride and each girl.  She pinned the men’s boutonnieres as well. I loved the personal touch of having Bethany there to ensure the flowers were kept fresh until the moment they were ready for them.

As you know, no wedding is complete without the soft harp strings of the talented and lovely Christine MacPhail.  She brings the romance and calm in to the atmosphere as everyone listens for the cue, “Here Comes the Bride!” Christopher Gaitan, Rollins College of Music and Amy Silverman, NYU College of Music are two vocalists known for their singing together.  Their voices blended in such a way that drew emotion out of everyone, as the guests enjoyed listening to them sing from the heart ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ and ‘Wait for Me’ by Rebecca St. James.

That is a lot of things going on in one wedding ceremony, right? Nope, WESH Channel 2 News had seen many of the other TV stations broadcast interviews and stories about this couple Ivonne and Andrew and they had to come out and film this wedding.  Adrian from WESH Channel 2 arrived just in time; as we opened the doors to let the bride walk in, uh oh…he wanted to film….okay luckily plan B in place, our vocalist Amy singing, Wait For Me.  Hmm, see that is why it helps to work with a DJ that communicates so well, that is Andres Roque of Miami Pro DJ’s, who quickly thought what to throw in there and said the song works ( a few minutes early but we can swing it.  Good save….Channel 2 got their story and the bride thought Justin Bieber was at the wedding, lol!! I am not that connected now, lol…

Okay the big moment…the walk of a father and daughter as he gives his most precious gift away to Andrew.  The bride was stunning, her hair had grown in long enough where she was looking like Demi Moore, she wore that short hair well with the special headpiece made by Minervas Bridal. Ivonne’s makeup was done by About Face Design Team’s, Jeshel.  It was tearful as her emotional father lifted the veil to give his beloved daughter away.  The beautiful Maggie Sotero gown from Minervas Bridal looked stunning on Ivonne. It was made for her!  She had her Angela Nuran Shoes in Blue to keep her comfortable throughout the day. Mr. Hebbeler could hardly give the bride away without tears. Wow, what a touching moment for all who experienced this beautiful moment in time.

As Pastor Silva pronounced them husband and wife and released Andrew to kiss his bride, Andy Martin of Andy Martin Photography,  quickly captured this photo opportunity from afar, all with the  approving look from the father of the bride and Nannuk Media brought to life the tears of joy that the father of the bride was showing.

The guests were escorted by the lovely Donna Cook, the Director of Social Events at the Sheraton Hotel Lake Buena Vista,  up to the Lobby where they picked up their bubbles for a shower of love orchestrated for Ivonne and Andrew.  What the guests and the happy couple did not know was that just outside the door a beautiful Cinderella horse drawn carriage was awaiting them, decorated in ribbons of silver, white and lilac, by High Horse Carriage Rides.  Judy and Dixie were all dressed up in their riding attire top hat and all, fit for a Queen and King.  We had the help of Nicole from Weather Forecasting Consultants; we were able to get the minute by minute forecast to know how the rain would fair up for the carriage ride.  The rain held off!! We could not have changed rain, but we sure had peace of mind that we were on track if we stuck to the timeline and avoid the rain. As soon as I got the signal that the guests were ready and lined up, I escorted the happy and anxious couple to the lobby where they saw the horse and carriage and they were ecstatic, they could not believe it! The pictures will reveal the look of surprise as the guests blew bubbles at them.

During cocktail Christine MacPhail continued to entertain the guests with her beautiful music on the harp while the guests mingled.
It came time for the bride and groom reveal of the reception site.   Itook her one by one to all her vendors that she had not met yet.  First it was Adrienne with Funny Faces Photo Booth. Then she met the team of planners, Diane Jenson from The Wedding party, Lara Goldman (my other assistant for the day, at least that is what she did for the moment, you will find out later the big important job she had to do for the bride and groom).   We stopped at Espresso Events by Mark Covey.  The coffee was so popular, felt like you were at Starbuck’s!! She saw her Unity Candle table was converted in to a memorial table, showcasing her two brothers and her grandparents. She was so very touched.  The unity Candle was sent to her by Janet at Ivy Lane Design.  The tapers and the unity candles holders were handpicked by Rosie Moore of 27 Miracles as a special gift. It was a silver heart with a diamond teardrop.

We made our way to the center of the room where her beautiful aisle runner had been placed for her grand entrance in to the reception; she had an opportunity to look at it in more detail.  More tears of joy!! Okay at this point she hugged me so many times that I said; you are not supposed to make the planner cry now!  We moved on to the cake table, there was a 3 tier cake, with flavors of strawberry/vanilla and funfetti, pineapple and chocolate.  Rosen Shingle Creek’s Francesca Rahmani made sure that the cake had that bling look, to match the rest of the theme at the wedding.  The cake topper was that of the couple’s initials.   As we moved to the Sweetheart Table there was a beautiful handmade picture frame with the couple’s picture in it.  Ivonne immediately asked who that was from, I said, “I will tell you later.” But we did stop and admire the beautiful sweetheart table decor with the satin linen, nicely scalloped by Kamini designs.  There was a big surprise for Andrew the groom.  A groom’s cake made by Loyda’s Fantasy Cakes!  It was a glove on the diamond of the baseball field with a Yankee baseball player that looked just like the groom. He was ecstatic!!  The bride and I were on the same path the same night, I had asked her what Andrew liked because I wanted to do something special for him this evening and she laughed and said you took the thoughts right out of my head.  Off we went to planning and she gave me the idea of him liking the Yankees and thought something along those lines.  Loyda from Loyda’s Fantasy Cakes is well known to custom make cakes and as soon as I told her about this, she went to town making the molds and studying the picture of Andrew.  She has an art!  It was almond vanilla and chocolate chips inside!

Okay let’s get the party started! As the guest dropped off their gifts at the gift table and their gift cards in the hand made gift box by RJ Glamour and Innovation, they all looked around in amazement at the splendor and beauty of the Sheraton Hotel’s decor.  Kamini Design, Chair Affair and Orlando DJ and Lighting really did a fabulous team effort with the linens, draping, up lighting, chivari chairs, chargers and the crystal trees.  Everything looked amazing and complimented one another.

As the bridal party walked in dancing away and being unified to each couple’s entrance, DJ Andres Roque of Miami Pro DJ, made sure to get the crowd prepped for the grand entrance of the new Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Steward!! In they came dancing to Don Omar’s Kuduro.  They went in to their first dance choreographed by Frankie Agosto of Salsa Heat.  The couple started with a slow dance by Rascall Flats, “I Won’t Let Go” and straight in to their Bachata dance by Prince Royce, “Las Cosas Pequenas”, many did not think Andrew could dance like that!  Frankie, Great job teaching the couple!

The special father/daughter dance revealed similar footage at the ceremony rehearsal, but of course, today on their wedding day, they had much more fun performing it for their guests.  Father and daughter had a great time. The mother/son dance by Jim Brickman was titled         “A Mother’s Love” and they had everyone in tears, awww….so… Andrew livened it up with a fast paced song towards the end and got the bridal party up on the dance floor dancing with them.

As an exquisite, two entree dinner was served,  the guests had the opportunity to watch the video slide show of Ivonne and Andrew growing up, they listened to vocalists, Chris and Amy sing, ‘When God Made You’ serenading the guests during dinner.  The evening would not be complete without the mother of the bride’s surprise that she helped plan with me.  We know the love Mr. Hebbeler has for his daughter and he went through a lot with her during her surgery, radiation and chemo.  We had Mrs. Hebbeler send us pictures for the slide show of just Ivonne and her dad which carried the music of  vocalist, Chris Gaitan, singing “Cinderella” to them. We were not sure if they were going to dance or watch the slide show and they decided to watch.  Bring out the tissues as the guests were moved by the song, the slide show and watching the love of a father and daughter.

Toast by best man and maid of honor were delivered, as well as a thank you’s by the parents of the bride and by the bride and groom to all the vendors.  Rosie had one last surprise for the bride and groom, the vendors did what 27 Miracles is known for, the “Rose Surprise” whereby all the vendors present, including the staff at the Sheraton, showered the bride and groom with a rose and a hug from the bottom of all their  hearts!

It came time for the big surprise of the evening!!! The honeymoon, slideshow in position, the surprise guest in place, DJ ready, with bride and groom on the dance floor.  As Andres from Miami Pro DJ’s announced that they already knew of their honeymoon night donated by the Sheraton, he let them know that they had a two night stay at the Royal Plaza Hotel in Downtown Disney and a special couples massage at the Sheraton’s, Palms Spa.  Then he turned it over to Lara Goldman.  Who is that?  She is from Belize; she flew in Friday night to be able to deliver in person from Romantic Travel Belize, a fabulous 5 day, 4 night stay in Tranquility Bay Resorts.  The bride and groom could hardly contain themselves as they watched video of where they were about to jet off to.  Can’t wait to see the pictures.  At this time Lara also let the bride and groom know that the special picture frame was hand made by her.  It was beautiful.  By now everyone wanted to go on this fabulous trip after seeing the video of this resort, including me!!

The cake cutting, garter and bouquet toss signified the night was coming to an end.  As we see dad’s  watchful eye when  Andrew takes the garter off Ivonne.  But the funny thing is, his next daughter catches the bouquet and dad wants to stop any guys from catching the garter.  He already gave up one daughter in one night, he wasn’t making it two!!!  But all in good fun Paulette, Maid of Honor and sister of the bride, had a great time with this part of the wedding ritual as you can see from her dancing.   After a night of dancing “The Gift of Love” came to an end, as the couple waited until every guest left, there was no secret getaway or special send off, as they had that earlier with the horse and carriage. There was honestly, just not enough time to celebrate this joyous occasion, that could have kept going with the adrenalin rush.  But as we took gifts upstairs with the bell hop, it was evident that they were exhausted. As they sat on the couch in their room, I explained the final honeymoon details and flight information and said my good byes.   The married couple surrendered to tiredness, but a happy ending……..

The wedding day vendors that made this truly an Amazing day are listed here with their websites: And of course without my right hand Marcus Moore, none of this day could have been possible.  Thank you to everyone…..

Rehearsal Dinner Vendors for Ivonne and Andrew’s Wedding  https://27miracles.com/2012/08/26/a-surprise-rehearsal-dinner/

Holiday Inn Lake Buena Vista Downtown  www.hiorlando.com

White Rose Entertainment  http://www.orlandodj.com/

John Michael Catering http://www.johnmichaelevents.com/

Elegance of the Pen chelsea.ann.1091@gmail.com

Jerdan Photography http://jerdanphotography.com/

Treasured Moments Videography http://tmvphdfilms.com/

Wedding Vendors for Ivonne and Andrew’s Wedding 

27 Miracles  www.27miraclesbyrosie.com

A Chair Affair  www.ChairAffairRentals.com

A Magic Moment  http://www.amagicmoment.com/

About Face Design Team  http://www.aboutfacedesignteam.com/

Amy Silverman/Vocalist/NY University

Andy Martin Photography  www.andymartinphoto.com

Angela Nuran Shoes www.angelanuran.com

Artistic Aisle Runners  http://www.ArtisticAisleRunners.com

Christopher Gaitan/Vocalist/Rollins College

Elegance of the Pen by Chelsea

Espresso Events http://www.espressoeventsorlando.com/index.html

Funny Faces Photobooth www.funnyfacesfoto.com

Gaylord Palms Hotel  http://www.gaylordhotels.com/palms-home.html

Harpist Christine MacPhail www.orlanodharpist.com

High Horse Carriage www.highhorsecarriagerides.com

Ivy Lane Design  http://www.ivylanedesign.com/

Invitations By Nannuk www.invitationsbynannuk.com

Kamini Designs http://www.kaminidesign.com/

Loyda’s Fantasy Cakes/http://www.facebook.com/groups/175306743278/

Miami Pro Dj http://www.miamiprodjs.com/

Minervas Bridals  www.minervasbridal.com

Nannuk Media http://www.nannukmedia.com

Orlando DJ and Lighting www.Orlandodjandlighting.com

Pastor Michael http://iglesiadedioscvv.com/index.htm

RJ Glamour and Innovation www.rjglamourinnovation.com

Rev Marcus Moore http://www.27miraclesbyrosie.com

Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel www.rosenshinglecreek.com/

Royal Plaza Hotel http://www.royalplaza.com/

Salsa Heat   http://www.salsaorlando.com/

Sheraton Lake Buena Vista www.sheraton.com/Orlando

Sweet Maralyn’s Chocolates  http://sweetmaralyn.com/

The Story Telling Experience http://www.thestorytellingexperience.com/

The Wedding Party www.theweddingparty.us

Romantic Travels Belize www.romantictravelbelize.com

Thank you for reading this brief account of the “Gift of Love” Wedding of Ivonne & Andrew.

We hope it will inspire the reader to join forces with a special group of people to touch the life of Anyone that they feel has a need.  –The community of vendors who make it happen.

For more stories about this couple click on the following link to our blog and here you will find more stories, pictures, videos and interviewshttps://27miracles.com/category/a-gift-of-love-wedding-ivonne-and-andrew-81212/

27 Miracles  www.27miraclesbyrosie.com