Guess who is checking in at the Casa Monica?!?!

BRET MICHAELS, yes, the Bret Michaels, from the 80's hair band, Poison! Mr. Michaels will be staying here at the Casa Monica with his Rock of Love tour bus....how fun!

On another note, I was standing at the front doors of the Casa Monica this past Saturday afternoon waiting for a Bride and Groom's arrival and who walked through the doors towards his car? KID ROCK! Kid Rock had a concert at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre and stayed with us in the St. Francis Suite on Friday night. Pretty cool week with some Rock Stars at the Casa Monica! :)

We have three great wedding coming up this weekend and are looking forward to beautiful October weather! Have a great rest of your week!

Erin

Wedding CAKES

So we have a few cakes that we loved within the least few months!

Check out these pictures, from Megan and Garrett's Wedding in July! Congratulations to the newlyweds! Megan was super organized and we loved her green and teal wedding! She surprised Garrett with an FSU Beer Pong Groom's Cake! Arlene at Sweet Weddings created both cakes! We love it!

This next two cakes was done by Signature Cakes By Paul, this couple loves to travel and LOVES Paris! Congraultions to Kellie and Randy!

All of these pictures were taken by myself or by Paul from Signature Cakes by Paul.

Upcoming Posts

Hello!!! Sorry I have not blogged in a LONG time!! Between vacations and trainings we have been in and out of the office. I wanted to let you all know what upcoming posts I will be doing.

1. First we have had some intersesting cakes recently! So I will be posting some of those pictures as well as vendors.

2. We also did our first GROUP tasting, what a success! It was a chance for a select amount of upcoming Brides to come in and be treated to all the wonderful items that they would be able to choose from for their reception and see different decor set ups, be entered for door prizes and spend some time with your Chef's, and Megan and I to answer questions! If you were not invited to this Tasting, have no fear, if you are one of our 2009 Brides, you invite will be coming !

3. I recently attended Sales Training one of our AMAZING, sister properties, El Monte Sagrado in Taos, New Mexico, WOW! is just about how I can sum it up, I will post some pictures of the property that we took. If you are looking for a romantic, calming, honeymoon where you can stay at the resort and spa or take a horseback ride up the mountain, go skiing, white water rafting, all sorts of activities. El Monte Sagrado is located half way up Taos Mountain and offers unbelieveable views and experiences!! Great food too!

I will get these posts up soon, but I also just wanted to check in! Remember to contact either Megan or I with any questions you have. I am 5 months out from my wedding and wow, there is a lot of work to do! Let us know if we can be of any assistance to you!

ORLANDO BASED VENDORS!

DAY ONE:

Megan and I decided since we are a little bit slower this month to take the opportunity to visit our fabulous Orlando vendors that we hope to see more and more here at Casa Monica. Many of them are currently Preferred Vendors at two of our sister properties, The Grand Bohemian Hotel and the Celebration Hotel.

We started out with fabulous floral and event design company FLOURISH with Richard and Brian and along with them we met phenomenal designer, Lindsey Luxa, with DRAGONFLY, if you are looking for unique invitations, menu cards, place cards, thank you notes, anything, pairing Dragonfly and Flourish is a smart choice! These two companies work so well together from the custom designed and hand-made invitations complimented by the design, decor and flowers for the ceremony and reception!

Next we were on to the Winter Park office of the Heather Snively and Emily Darling and their team from WEDDINGS UNIQUE, Heather and her team can often be seen on wedding shows such as Platinum Weddings! You don't have to be hosting a Platinum Wedding to have these organized and creative wedding planners. They have many different packages that they offer. Check out their award winning planning and design! Weddings Unique is very familiar with the Casa Monica!!

We then went onto see the fabulous studio of JOHN UNRUE PHOTOGRAPHY. We can't say enough! We love John, Ricardo and Kristal! Not only are these photographers simply stated AMAZING, they are hilarious! Both Megan and I had trouble talking as we were laughing so hard! Quick Fact: among the amazing weddings that they have done, they did Johnny Damon's Wedding!! Check out their blog for the most recent work and start learning more about the dedication and fun they have while photographing!

We ended our first day with special event decor company, RAINING ROSES, meeting Chris, Jesus and Diana. It was great to be able to see the "behind-the-scenes" work that they do! Wow, they make all of their props and design, paint, build, anything you can think of! Raining Roses is hired by many of our Brides for floral production as well as event decor!

As day one ended, Megan and I checked into the Grand Bohemian Hotel, one of our sister properties and enjoyed a dinner downtown, above is a picture taken by our intern, Sarah who happened to be in town that evening as well!

DAY TWO:

Day two began with visiting our Coporate Office, The Kessler Collection, it was a chance to put faces to names and see a small portion of Mr. Kessler's favorite artwork which he gladly shares throughout all of his properties!

We then stopped be to see the fabulous and talented family at BAKE ME A CAKE, at their Pastry Shop and Bakery. YUM!!!!! We were given an entire box full of samples for the ride home! We sat and looked and smelled and looked again at amazing designs. I wonder how people can be so creative with cakes and just how do they do it?! Beautiful and FUN cakes for Wedding Cakes, Groom's Cakes, Birthdays, Showers, etc...Check them out!

We also had a chance as we were heading back towards St. Augustine to see Corrine and Gregory Heck at DETAILS FLOWERS AND PHOTOGRAPHY in Daytona Beach! This amazing husband and wife team have a beautiful studio right off the beach to showcase their distinctive floral and event design as well as Gregory's Fine Art Wedding Photography.

Megan and I truly appreciate all of the amazing vendors we were able to see in the Orlando area! Thank you for your time and we look forward to seeing you at the hotel! For those looking for vendors, be sure to take a look at these vendors!

Atlanta Weddings Show

Erin Poticny, Jen Hamill, Angela Sheets, Jordan McKelvy, Marc Bauer

picture taken with Erin's camera.

I had the pleasure to join some of the other Kessler Collection Wedding Teams in Atlanta, GA in July for a trade show at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead. What a great turnout from the Brides and Grooms from the area! Thay had a wonderful fashion show and we did a give-a-way for a two day/one night stay here at Casa Monica! I was joined by Jen Hamill and Angela Sheets from the Exceptional Events Team from the Mansion on Forsyth Park in Savannah, GA and the newbie to the company, the Bohemian Asheville (which is opening in December) in Asheville, North Carolina had General Manager, Marc Bauer and Exceptional Events Manager Jordan McKelvy attend.

So, if you are looking for a vacation, honeymoon, meeting or wedding, check out of the the fabulous properties from The Kessler Collection, many in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Taos, New Mexico, and Colorado!

Real Wedding: Courtney and Austin

Personalizing Your Special Day! Courtney and Austin got married in May 3rd in a beautiful, natrual setting at the Oldest House Gardens They had an Old Town Trolley bring their guests back to hotel for the cocktail hour and reception in the Flagler Ballroom. Their menu consisted of the New Monica Mixed Greens Salad and a customized dinner of Cold water Lobster tail with saffron butter sauce, Omaha Filet Mignon and balsamic demi reduction, truffle mashed potatoes and haricot verts.

They are a beautiful, young, local couple who were so creative in their planning and really personalized their wedding down to the smallest details. With signature drinks and great food, beautiful flowers and great music, the Flagler Ballroom was host to this great couple's first night being married! Here are a few of their pictures courtesy of Red Fern Photography, out of Palm Coast, FL.

Congratulations Courtney and Austin!

Classy and Sophisticated in St. Augustine

It is a hot and sunny day here in Saint Augustine, we have been having our typical afternoon storms to cool things off, but it is not stopping people from getting married! Megan and I just received these photographs from Robert, Weddings By Robert.

Congratulations to the gorgeous couple, Erika and Robert! Take a look at the great photo Robert took of Erika and Robert through the doors of Casa Monica below. As well as the one above of Erika and Robert standing in front of the Castillo de San Marcos, one of the beautiful and unique locations for wedding pictures!

You can check out more of Robert's photography at www.weddingsbyrobert.com.

Summer in Saint Augustine

Megan and I are beginning the slower season of the wedding seasons...May was a blast and we had phenomenal weddings, but very busy!! With Megan out of town for her own sister's wedding and relaxing from doing such a great job, I am going to post some pictures of weddings that we have had recently. Sit back, and enjoy and more to come soon! If you are a past Bride, we would love to see your pictures, if you would like to share, just send them via email or have your photographer send them over.

The pictures above were shot by Ave One Studios, Qiana and Aaron were married out underneath the Sultan's Pavilion! Congratulations!!!!

The above pictures are from Andrew and Tiki's Wedding, shot by wonderful, local photographer Alison Miller! Their ceremony was in the Courtyard of the Lightner Museum and then their fabulous reception was in the Flagler Ballroom! Congratulations Andrew and Tiki!

engage!08 with PRESTON BAILEY

Erin with PRESTON BAILEY

MARCY BLUM and PRESTON BAILEY

PRESTON BAILEY & SIMON T. BAILEY

Happy Friday! It is a gorgeous summer day here in St. Augustine, I recently attended engage!08 hosted by Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce from Engaging Concepts, at our sister hotel, Celebration Hotel in Celebration, FL! Wow! Is first what I need to express. What an amazing chance to get together with other professionals in the industry and share, discuss, network and learn.

Loaded with amazing speakers as Rebecca Grinnals, "Release Your Brilliance" author, Simon T. Bailey, Susan Moynihan, Harmony Walton, Liene Stevens and Christine Boulton. It was a such a great chance to get to know others and learn about different oppotunities and trends to be able to serve our Bride and Grooms better! Simon T. Bailey , an AMAZING motivational speaker pumped us up about "releasing our brilliance!"

To add to the packed list of great speaker, Rebecca and Kathryn lined up the amazing and talented wedding/event planner, MARCY BLUM and wedding/event designer to the stars, PRESTON BAILEY to come in and speak candidly and honestly in a question and answer session with all of us! I have to say it was an exciting time! We were also given fabulous gift bags, made by Tulla Belles, that included Simon T. Bailey's book, "Release Your Brilliance," and Preston Bailey's book, "Inspirations." Check out the pictures above that I captured with my camera, so exciting!!!


A big thank you for Rebecca and Kathyrn for hosting such a wonderful event! Thank you and we can't wait to hear abour the next one!!!

Spring Weddings

...And the wedding season is in full swing, Congratulations to our couples who got married this past weekend. We had a large wedding in our Casa Monica Ballroom in which the Bride and Groom chose to have an 80's Glam Rock/Hair Band perform for their wedding. What a blast! Papercutt really got the crowd going dressed in full 80's get-up with pink boas, big blonde wigs and florescent color schemes! One of the best parts of being in the wedding business is watching a Bride and Groom's personality come out in their own wedding. Whether it be formal, casual, romantic, and subdued or a party crowd, all of the weddings are so special in their own ways! Every wedding is different! We look forward to hosting your personalized, special and unique wedding soon!

Best of....2008 the knot

We are thrilled to announce that the Casa Monica Hotel was voted by local Brides in The Knot's 2008 Best of Weddings Pick for Reception Locations! this is such an honor as we have received this award for the 2nd year in a row.

As we are jumping into the wedding season we are also continuing to stay ahead with the hot trends of 2008 and will be attending engage!08 which is a wedding symposium hosted by Engaging Concepts, in which we will hear from top professionals in the industry such as Rebecca Grinnals, Preston Bailey, and Marcy Blum. We are looking forward to heading down to our sister property in June, the Celebration Hotel who will be hosting this symposium! Much more information to come!

An Easter Weekend Wedding

On Easter Sunday, Melissa and Slava exchanged vows and had their reception in the Flagler Ballroom. Their flowers were beautiful and done by 57 Treasury with a unique cake done by Sweet Weddings. Jennifer Brum photographed this happy couple who danced the night away to the wonderful music played by Carlton McGee. Check out these beautiful pictures below:

Weddings in St. Augustine and Staying at Casa Monica!

We are loving the warm weather and beautiful, clear skies here in St. Augustine. It is a quieter weekend here with one wedding ceremony on Saturday with a small reception and then another smaller wedding on Sunday as well! Landon and I have decided and booked here at Casa Monica for our wedding reception in February 2009 out on the Pool Deck and Sultan's Pavilion! We are very excited. We are going to have our Ceremony at 2:30pm at the Cathedral Basilica followed by a reception from 5p-10pm. In between we are going to have the Old Town Trolley Company take our guests around on a tour of St. Augustine! We are working diligently to book everything else, but it is a relief to have our ceremony and reception booked.

My sister's wedding was the last weekend of February and was a blast!! She had her rehearsal dinner at 95 Cordova, here in the Casa Monica. There were approximately 26 people and it was a beautiful setting in the Sultan's Room. If you are interesed in booking a Rehearsal Dinner, Bridal Luncheon/Shower or Wedding Brunch in the restaurant, please contact Allison Wilson, Inspired Events Manager at allison.wilson@casamonica.com or 904-819-6164. Enjoy some of the pictures below:

These pictures are of Shannon and George on their way to the Rehearsal, Shannon and I just waking up in the St. Francis Suite (we slept soo well, the beds are amazing!) the morning of their wedding, Shannon getting her hair and makeup done by Megan at Small Indulgences Day Spa, kissing and becoming Mr. and Mrs. DeLeon, small Bridal Party shot on Flagler College campus, Shan and George on the carriage that took us around for pictures, my sister and I, Landon and I, their cake by Irma Kay Strickland, and George who was surprised by the NY Yankees garter I got Shannon, his favorite team! (All of these pictures were taken from my personal camera by Landon, my father or myself.)

Black, White and Silver with a Splash of Color

Mary and James Holden got married this weekend out on the Sultan's Pavilion and Pool Deck with a beautiful reception held in the Casa Monica Ballroom. With 100 of their closest friends and family watching, Mary was ecorted down the aisle by her brother who also sang Mary and James' first dance song! It was so special. Mary and James decided on renting black chivari chairs which looked gorgeous against their black tablecloths with silver Simple Elegance overlays and black chargers. They had a designated children's table with a full candy centerpiece, it looked great and kept the younger ones busy and excited! We are looking forward to a busy weekend ahead as Megan will be blogging next week, I will be enjoying my own sister's wedding on Satuday! I am so excited!

Sunny, Warm and Back from Atlanta!

Wow, the weather the past few days here has been AMAZING! With temperatures in the mid 70's and the clear blue skies it is hard to believe that it is only the beginning of February! We hope the wedding planning is going well for all. Megan and I recently got back from The Special Event Show 2008 in Atlanta (where it SNOWED) and we took courses in the Wedding Track so we came back with great themes, ideas, and trends! Organic weddings are big, his and hers stations during cocktail hour, the late-night snack, such as mini-cheeseburgers or pigs in a blanket passed towards the end of the night or tray-passed sweets. So much information! It is certainly making the wedding planning on my end a lot of fun!! Landon and I have set the date for next February and are looking forward to the planning process, (Landon has much more of an opinion, even on colors that I thought--:) I am thrilled he wants to be involved)!

Big Weddings at the Casa Monica!

This weekend we have a wedding for 320 people here at the Casa Monica. Michelle and Richard are beginning their special journey with their ceremony at the Cathedral Basilica followed a trolley bringing their guests to the hotel. They will start their celebration with a cocktail hour of signature drinks, (Sangria and Mojitos), and butler passed hors d'oeuvres in the Flagler Ballroom. Following cocktail hour they will have their Queen Sophia sit down dinner on the Sultan's Pavilion and Pool Deck, and then dance the night away in the Casa Monica Ballroom! Following their reception, their guests will wish them well on the front steps of the hotel and see them off on a horse-drawn carriage. How beautiful!

Exciting News from the Casa Monica Wedding Team

It truly has been a tremendous holiday season around St. Augustine and the Casa Monica Hotel! We have some exciting news to announce, I was proposed to by my boyfriend on Sunday night the 23rd. I am very excited to start the wedding planning and it is great to really know how a current bride feels. We will be getting married in St. Augustine and I can't wait!

A Beautiful Wedding Weekend

To go along with the wonderful 75 degree weather, perfect clear blue skies and the stars shining above, the Casa Monica hosted three weddings this weekend, two of which were outdoor. On Saturday night, Ashley and Matthew, along with their 215 guests danced the night away with Diggin' in Dreamland on the Sultan's Pavilion. Their menu included a raw oyster bar, butler passed hors d'douveres of lump crab cakes and mojito marinated shrimp cocktail with plantains, a delicious cheese display and the Queen Sophia Sit Down Dinner. While their guests enjoyed the music from a harpist and violinist during the cocktail hour, Ashley and Matthew enjoyed cheeseburgers, french fries and champagne in their suite before being introduced to their excited guests. Ashley is one of four girls in her family and her sister is getting married here as well in May. We're looking forward to hosting another Altenburger Wedding soon!

Latest Wedding Trends Spotted at the Casa Monica Hotel!

One of the most fun aspects of hosting weddings each weekend at the hotel is seeing how different couples interpret the unique setting of the Casa Monica for their event. No two weddings are ever the same - with a variety of different color schemes, food and beverage choices, themes, entertainment and so much more!

Recently we have seen some of the hottest trends in weddings hit our ballrooms - including cupcake wedding cakes, long 'family style' tables instead of traditional rounds, vibrant color palettes, whimsical wedding cakes, horse & carriage entrances and exits and dining under the moon and stars on our amazing pool deck! We will share more so be sure to check back often!

Two Amazing REAL Weddings!

Be sure to check out two amazing REAL Casa Monica Hotel weddings that have recently been profiled on the special Weddings Section of our website!

The profiles share the stories of the unique weddings of Christy and Michael of New Orleans and their fun-filled destination celebration and Kristin and Ben from New York City and their spectacular and vibrant event!

Thank you to these wonderful couples for sharing the images and details of their personal St. Augustine wedding celebrations and to their photographers for capturing each and every moment!

[Photo Credits: Christy + Michael: Agnes Lopez; Kristin + Ben: Darice Michelle]

Casa Monica Wedding Locations: Sultan's Pavilion and Pool Deck

We are often asked about the various locations available at the Casa Monica for weddings. One of the most popular and certainly most unique venues for weddings in St. Augustine is the Sultan's Pavilion and Pool Deck.

Accomodating up to 175 for a sit-down dinner on the pool deck and under the permanently tented pavilion, this outdoor venue is flexible for wedding ceremonies, cocktail receptions and dinner followed by dancing [although county noise ordinances do require live music to be completed no later than 10:00pm].

Be sure to inquire about this one-of-a-kind location for your St. Augustine wedding!

[photos top to bottom courtesy of: Damon Tucci, Damon Tucci, Agnes Lopez, Agnes Lopez and Kris Graham]

In The News!

Casa Monica Hotel weddings are often featured in bridal publications and leading wedding websites - Here are links to our weddings featured on TheKnot:

Jennifer and Adam

Anna and Hector

Crystal and Chad

Karen and David

Enjoy!!!!

Real Wedding: Kris Graham Photography

Kris Graham Photography recently shot this gorgeous outdoor wedding at Casa Monica. The entire event took place under clear blue skies on our pool deck and under the opulent tent of our Sultan's Pavilion. We just loved the bright gold and lime green orchid color palette selected by this stylish bride and groom. The guests danced under a starry night sky as hundreds of votive candles flickered around them...magic!