Interview with...ME!

I was honored to be interviewed by the awesometastic Invitation Consultants  the other day, they asked me five fab questions about what I do.



Here's a little preview..

To see the entire post with pictures go here to their blog!



You don't want to miss out!

No Wedding Planner

I recently had the opportunity to observe a wedding that didn't have a planner. I really had a hard time not interfering. Like a serious hard time. In fact, in the end, I couldn't not interfere.

Cartoon Source

But here were some things that I observed as a by-stander/not their wedding planner/didn't want to take over.



1. The bride wasn't dressed 15 minutes before she was supposed to walk down the aisle. Neither were the bridesmaids. No one knew what to do, they were very sadly lost. No direction, the photographer was snapping pictures, but no one had any clue, when I said, "okay, there is about 10 minutes before we have to have you ladies lined up, let's get ya'll dressed." And then it was chaos... I heard things like "WHAT! 10 minutes!" "Wait, I have to finish my make up!" "Where are my under wear!" and much more.



1.5. The mother of the groom sat down with the regular guests, she didn't know she was supposed to be "special".



2. The flowers were wrong. They were delivered wrong. Not intensely wrong, just the wrong color... But no one knew what to do or how to get a hold of the florist. Luckily, I had the florists cell phone number.



3. No one knew how to line up, there was no direction, I wound up getting everyone lined up and cue'ing the musicians.



3.5 The muscians didn't know when to play and not to play, the guests sat to no music at all. She had no music to play, didn't know what to play or that she should. (she was a friend)



4. The musician had no clue when to start and stop the music. When the bride and groom made it back down the aisle, she stopped playing and the guests left the chapel in silence.



5. The guests had no idea there was even a reception or how to get there.



6. At the reception, the DJ had to run everything, because the bridal party, family and venue had no idea, there was no timeline, and just plain unorganized.



7. The bride and groom came up to me like 40 times to thank me. Because they had no clue what they were doing.

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

I hope you have something spectacular planned for Christmas! I think Christmas Eve has become by favorite holiday. I know it sounds silly, because really it should be Christmas, and it used to be. I mean the hub-bub, and waking up early cuz Santa came!Santa came! And the jumping on the bed to wake everyone in the house up at 6AM and my parent stumbling to make coffee just to stick toothpicks in their eyes while my sister and I hustle and bustled to tear everything open faster than my parents could stir cream into their coffee.... that part will always hold a special place in my heart.

Me and my sister dancing circa 1983ish

BUT....

Christmas Eve.

Now that is holiday that I am loving.

And here is why.

Bad Picture we took while everyone was eating and mid conversation

Friends and family gather at our house for the Feast of the Seven Fishes. This is my 17th year enjoying this tradition. We've added some new recipes and made it our own, but the Itailian Feast of the Seven Fishes is so much fun to prepare. We always set the menu earlier in the month, and John and I prep and cook and plan this amazing meal to share with our friends and family.

There's no stress, no hustle and bustle. Just a meal, some prayer, some wine (there's always wine), fun conversations over new recipes and old.

And then at midnight we go to church, sing, and then at the end, wish each other a Merry Christmas. And go to bed remembering what The Holidays are all about.



I think it's the tradition of it all, something I can pass down to Gabriel, and something he can carry on to his family.



And I love it!

If you are curious as to what the Seven Fishes is all about here goes:

The long tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve dates from the medieval Roman Catholic tradition of abstinence—in this case, refraining from the consumption of meat or milk products—on Fridays and specific holy days. As no meat or butter could be used, observant Catholics would instead eat fish, typically fried in oil.





There are many hypotheses for what the number "7" relates to, one being the number of Sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church. Another theory is that seven is a number representing perfection: the traditional Biblical number for divinity is three, and for Earth is four, and the combination of these numbers, seven, represents God on Earth, or Jesus Christ.



Or the Seven Deadly Sins, the seven days of the week... or just cuz someone long ago thought 7 was a good round number.



Either way-



Merry Christmas!

You never know....

You'll never know who you'll meet. Or when.



You see, I was invited to a birthday party for a dear friend, and I sat down next to a guy that I thought looked as if I could make good conversation with.



Super nice guy, he and his family and friends immediately had me laughing, and the conversation was easy.



I asked him what he did. He said that he was an Event Planner.



I thought, pstcha... whatever. Sure you are. Everyone is an event planner. Whatever.



So then I asked him what type of events he planned, he mentioned some large corporate events, for fashion clients, and large marketing firms.



Okay, sure you do... maybe... maybe you plan something sort of cool like that.



Then he sees me tweeting... he asks me about Twitter... and my blog. And I ask him more about what he does.



Then he casually, and I mean oh so casually, mentioned he'll be on Martha Stewart Radio on Wednesday.



Casually.



No Biggie.



So, I introduce him to my friend Jen, and now Mark Addison and I are BFF's. And I think he's super cool, and I'll cling glasses with him anytime of day.



Have you met, my friend, the Event Planner in New York, Mark Addison? Mark, meet my blog friends, friends, meet Mark.

Love Wedd

Have you been to the funnest Bridal Boutique in Gainesville? If not, you must make a trip to Love Wedd!

If you aren't in Gainesville, head over to the Love Wedd Blog for fun giveaways, and FREE workshops that we'll be hosting there!

Be True

The best advice I can give you....

Left Overs

We are taking time to enjoy our Turkey Hangover, and I hope you are doing the same!



Have a great Gobble, Gobbley-rific Weekend!

{Martha Stewart}

Happy Thanksgiving!

From all of us at MasterPiece Weddings, we wish you and your family the best of Thanksgivings!!!



Please take a moment for everything you have to be grateful for!



I feel so grateful for my family and friends and all of the amazing things that are to come.



God Bless you and your family

The Big Move

If you follow us on Twitter or Facebook you know I've been mentioning change and rolling with the changes rather than trying to fight them. Because really, I hate change. Don't move the things on my desk, or mess with my computer. I will beat you up. Seriously. Just ask my husband. He moved a painting in the house, and now has 9 fingers. (okay, slight exaggeration...but slight)



Okay, well here is the deal-io.



Due to some long and complicated curcumstances the building that MasterPiece Weddings is in, is being taken over by the bank, and the bank wants to move in. Big business at it's finest. So the little guy has to move out.



Sooooooooooo, we are looking for a bigger and better space that will be awesometastic and incredible, and frankly, worthy of our awesometasticness!



We'll be homeless for the holidays, but the first part of next year, you'd better believe there will be a party for our new crib!!!



PS - Don't worry, if you need us, just call the office! It's all being transfered to a central number. Nothing is changing but our location.



PPS- You can always visit us at Love Wedd!

Oh The Places We Went

These shoes were definately not made for walking. In fact, they are what I have dubbed my "Wedding Shoes". I have found over the years, that I must have comfy shoes for working weddings. Otherwize, there is no walking at all the day after a wedding. And then my back is killing me, and then John can't stand to hear me moan and groan... so I wear something cute for the ceremony, and then the wedding shoes come into play for the remainder of the wedding...



And these shoes, these, right here...

Yes, those are holes on the bottom of the soles.



It was a silly emotional thing for me to come to the realization that I must toss these shoes, and I could have should have thrown them out months ago, because they really had, had enough. But I couldn't. They had to see me through the remainder of our season. I mean, really, these shoes had seen alot of emotion, they had been with me through alot.



63 Weddings.



These shoes made it through 63 weddings with me. That's a lot of I Do's. A lot of running, a lot of miles of running around, a heckuvalot of secret missions, love notes, emergencies, tears, sweat, and maybe even some blood, but really... just plain a lot of stuff.



So they had to see me through the rest of our season. Had to. Must.



And now that our season is over until January (I'm sad, but also kind of glad, we needed a mini break, and the holidays are coming up... so it's fambly time).



But these shoes had to see me though Ashley and Jordan's wedding to successfully finish their mission. And they did.



And I am proud of them. I'm proud of us, and our team!



John asked me if I was going to bronze them. Sort of silly... although I did consider it.



And honestly, just thinking about the last 63 weddings makes me a bit emotional. I started wearing them before I had Gabriel, before I knew I was pregnant. Why, in the world did I wear them so long? Its not like  I couldn't afford new shoes... nostaglia maybe? Comfort? Lazy?



So, now on the new shoes. New love. New weddings. New beginings.

Brazilian Blowout

Normally, on a regular day, you've probably seen me looking like this, my hair is naturally curly, so I just toss some product in it, and throw it back. It's easy, really easy, and looks like this (not too bad, right... I mean, it doesn't look ghetto, right?):

 

When I have some time, I can blow dry dry it straight, it takes 40 minutes, can still be frizzy, needs lots of products, and looks like this:

Sometimes I actually wear my hair curly and down. The problem is that it's crunchy and untouchable. Kind of kinky, sometimes it looks good, sometimes it curls whack and just looks funky. Like this:

(by the way, this was Halloween, we don't normally dress G up as a Giraffe)

So, why all this talk about my crazy hair?

Well, my friend Glenda at Creations asked me if she could do a Brazilian Blowout on me, I am not one to have anything done to my hair without really thinking about it. I mean, sheesh, I didn't even have my hair colored until about a year ago, so this would be a huge decision for me.

Here were my thoughts:

"You have very frizzy hair Melissa, you should get it done, I mean, think about the research side of it, if you have a Brazilian Blowout done, in Gainesville, you can be a tremendous assett to your clients if they have questions about having a Brazilian Blowout done...."

"Why not, what will it hurt, you can still wear your hair curly if you want to, you'll be able to step out of the shower, and not have a big frizz ball on your head.... but what if you look like you have no volume... but no frizz... but what if... okay shut up and trust Glenda!"

Soooo... tomorrow, the decision and the results.

What would you do?

Continue to Learn

I had an amazing opportunity to go to Orlando last week to attend a workshop held by The Association of Bridal Consultants. And I finally got to meet a long time friend, Mark Kingsdorf! One thing that was said by Mark Kingsdorf has stuck with me. And reigns true always.

Vendors drive Hot Dog carts, we are Wedding Professionals.



I think that will forever change the way I think. You, of course, want professionals at your wedding, and in the rare occurrence, maybe a Hot Dog Cart (and if that's the case I'll find you one...) But regardless, the people, the professionals that make your wedding dreams come true must be a professional.



You want an expert to handle your wedding, someone that is knowledgeable, reliable, honest, trustworthy. Not a vendor, a Professional.



(and if you want a Hot Dog Cart, I'll make sure they are professional)

Melissa Featured in Style!

We are so honored to be featured on The Stylish Planner, especially considering how completely unstylish I consider myself. It was an honor to be interviewed with The Stylish Planner, let alone featured!



Check out our complete interview, including my favorite jean, a picture of my family, and my cleansing regime! I give you all my deep dirty secrets.



Plus we love The Stylish Planner, so you've gotta add it to your daily reads!

Napkin Folding!

One of my favorite non-wedding blogs is How about Orange. If you haven't checked it out, please do!



I am still thinking about these amazing napkins that I saw there last month! How fun would these be at your next dinner party!!!



You can find the Step-by-Step directions here.



But seriously, I love these... probably not appropriate at Christmas, huh?

Eat More Chikin!

{My nieces last month}

Caution:: Unrelated Wedding Post Ahead

So, I was on the phone wtih my sister the other day, my neice Peyton butts in (not unusual) and this is our conversation:

Peyton: Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, Auntie Missa!

Me: Hey Peyton!

Peyton: Auntie Missa, why are their cows outside of Chik-fil-a?

Me: Well, Peyton, the cows want you to eat chicken and not cows.

Peyton: Ohhhh, that's good, because cows are gross and they have yucky pen!ses on their bellies.

{From the mouth of a almost 4 year old}

Paloma's Nest

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about Paloma's Nest. Here at MasterPiece Weddings, we absolutely are in love with everything Paloma's Nest!!! 

The now famous ring bearer bowl, is now, well, famous.

I love that they have expanded to make every incredible event in your life special! How incredible would this be for Gabriel! I think it's perfect to store his rosary beads, or adorn our Christmas Tree!

 Make every incredible timeless event special with Paloma's Nest!

{This post was not in any way compensated by anyone, this is truely posted due to my love of this product}

Friday Fun Day!

I was looking back at posts and I can't believe I never posted this!!



This was from Gabriel's 3-month photoshoot, thank you so much to Footstone Photography for capturing Gabriel so well!! He really did have fun and was totally pooped afterwards!!



And, they got some pretty fantastic images.... we think he's pretty cute, so that helps!



Thanks again, Footstone Photography!!!

Its All in the Details

A wedding is all about the details, our clients strive to make sure the details are all amazing. So why overlooks something like this?

Happy Mother's Day to Meeee!

Okay, so it's almost a month late, and I don't know why I didn't post this sooner, probably because, well, although ya'll probably dont' think so, I don't like to brag.



But here goes.

I was on the front-freakin' page of the paper on my first Mother's Day!!!!

Okay, so now that I got that off my chest... well, mostly.

Yup, on Mother's Day I was on the front page of our local news paper, right under the story on the oil spill! Yup, I'm big fat news!

Here's the picture....

Yup, that's me and Gabriel, front and center!

Here's the article:

It took Melissa DiStefano 29 hours to give birth to her son. It was painful. It was frustrating. And thanks to Twitter, her friends and family lived through it all.

"I tweeted through my entire delivery," said DiStefano, who had to have a C-section after her contractions stopped. "I wrote things like 'These contractions suck.' 'Looks like I have to push.' 'We're going to be here awhile.' It was extremely painful, but doing that really became my focus. I only put the phone down during the actual surgery."





DiStefano, 35, has always been plugged into technology, and now she and other moms in the digital age are using it as a major tool in motherhood.



She even set up a Facebook page for the 4-month-old, where she and her husband regularly update his status. Gabriel has 119 friends, eight videos and tons of photos.





From gadgets to new media, mothers today embrace technology as a way to be informed and stay connected. Children's precious moments aren't just captured, but uploaded, posted and texted.





Instead of sneaking a peek in a diary, just check a Facebook wall or recent history on the computer to see what kids are up to. Forget about music boxes and CDs, just turn on Pandora.





DiStefano's smartphone and Flip video camera are just as much a part of her mommy life as bottles and diapers.





She uploads cute and funny videos of her son Gabriel to YouTube and shares photos with friends and family through Facebook, Flickr and Picasa. She uses her phone to send picture messages of Gabriel to her sister  and her mother in South Florida. With her webcam, DiStefano also uses Skype so the family can talk to each other and see the baby.





"When there's so much distance, it's hard to feel connected, so with all the technology it's so much easier for family and friends to feel like they're a part of his everyday life," said DiStefano, owner of wedding planning business MasterPiece Weddings.







Being a working mom of a young child, Newberry resident Maria Rizzo loves that she can check on her baby with a few clicks of a mouse.



The entire time her son Anthony, 2, has been at Kidsworks preschool, she's been able to log onto a password-protected website and watch him via live Internet webcams set up throughout the facility. The preschool started using the system in 2000.





"It wouldn't have been a deal breaker if they didn't have it, but it's definitely a good selling point, especially for new mothers," said Rizzo, 37. "I had a hard time going back to work and it was really helpful to be able to see him. It makes a big difference."





Larkin Kieffer said being a parent today means you have to really stay engaged and connected. Her cell phone is a big part of being a Mom to her 11-year-old son Noah.





If she's running late or sending someone else to pick him up, she taps out a quick text message. She said he has to send her a text every time he leaves or arrives somewhere. It may seem like a chore to him, she said, but for her, "it's total peace of mind."





"I never want it to be that he can't tell me something important," said Kieffer, who got her son a cell phone last year. "I'd rather know he can get in touch with me and, technologically, I'm only a second away ... It actually makes me worry less."





Marcheta Cole Keefer, communications/tourism marketing manager for VisitGainesville, isn't a super tech mom. Her children, Christian, 10, and Katie, 9, don't have cell phones and she encourages them to use dictionaries and encyclopedias rather than Google or Wikipedia.





But when it comes to school, she has enjoyed the benefits of technology. She receives a weekly newsletter from her son's teacher about the upcoming week's classwork and homework assignments.







"I just think that's great. I travel a lot, so wherever I am, I can find out that information and know what's going on with him at school," said Keefer, 48. "It's been very reassuring and helpful."





Although most mothers praise the joys of technology, Rizzo said it does have some drawbacks. During her pregnancy and after she gave birth, she found herself obsessively researching online about newborns and child rearing.





"It was really hard to have so much information at my fingertips. There was so much information and everybody has a different opinion about everything. There's blogs, forums ... and sometimes it can feel overwhelming.... I just finally decided not to consult the Internet and rely on myself and trust my instincts."

April Fools!

So, I've always wanted to do a super fun April Fools joke... but I never have. Or what I thought in my head, never materialized to what I thought was really that amazing!

Soooooooooooo....when I mentioned what I wanted to do to my competition for April Fools, everyone said I had to do it! MUST. HAVE. TO.

So we did.

I cannot thank Shena enough for making our "home video" look amazing!!!

Masterpiece April Fools Prank from Platinum Digital Video on Vimeo.