Destination France Part 1 of 3

My summer vacation became an excuse to explore a destination wedding venue I have been dying to visit. The Chateau de Massillan, in Provence, is my idea of a perfect hotel. It's small, discreet, luxurious, filled with history, great design, delicious food and a well-stocked wine cellar. The staff is uber-friendly, the GM charming and earnest and the experience sure to be unique for every one of your guests. If you are planning a wedding for 40-80 guests and you’re looking for a castle that feels like home, here’s your spot. Chateau de Massillan is a boutique luxury hotel located in Provence. The Chateau is a unique and magical property, built in the 16th century as a hunting lodge by Henri II for his mistress Diane De Poitier. The Chateau only changed hands a few times over the centuries until 2000 when German interior designer Birgit Israel redesigned the interiors in a modern, classic style. The décor includes 19th century crystal chandeliers, antique furnishings revamped in 21st century silks and velvets. 1950s lounge chairs and ultra-modern sconces sit comfortably in this ancient building.

Here's a view overlooking the internal courtyard and fountain. This is the perfect place for a summer wedding dinner for up to 80 guests. Imagine music wafting down from the balcony -- and it's a great place to toss your bouquet!

A close up of the fountain.

One of the spots where you can choose to have your ceremony -- what a fabulous aisle.

The lavender and mature trees create a bucolic backdrop for ceremony or cocktails at this completely private chateau. Perfect if you are looking to escape the paparazzi.

The front entrance, looking like a fortress. Luxurious both inside and out.

An interior courtyard photo-opportunity.The lavender growing in the circular entry-way provides a fragrant Provencal greeting for you and your guests. The 24 acres of park land with pine woods, a small lake, open fields and a walled vegetable garden offer at least a half-dozen picture perfect backdrops for a wedding ceremony, cocktail hour or dinner.

A lounge chair or two set apart from the pool, overlooking the courtyard. Yet another charming spot for a ceremony or cocktail.

Poolside you look upon the walls and towers of the chateau.

See what I mean?

My car upon departure -- I promise you I did not want to leave! Stay tuned for more posts on weddings at the chateau, food, interiors and more...
For more on wedding venues in France, check out Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Dash for a Diamond & a Cure

I love this idea. Michael C. Fina and Tacori are sponsoring a treasure hunt for a $20,000 diamond, a honeymoon and additional gifts. The registration deadline is September 2 and the "Dash" is on September 12, culminating at Michael C. Fina where you can meet additional sponsors such as Ron Ben-Israel and the Wedding Library. Join us in supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and join in the hunt!

Monday French Chic Inspiration

Erinn came up with another inspiration board to start your week off right. The chicness of this French board is pulled together with soft blush colored details and black and white photographs. She thought a French winter wedding would look a little something like this:

Heather Gray, Blush and Ivory

{Eiffel Tower}{Bride}{Groom}{Necklace}{Bridesmaids}{Shoes}{Cake}

What do you think? We think it's lovely.

Monday French Chic Inspiration

Erinn came up with another inspiration board to start your week off right. The chicness of this French board is pulled together with soft blush colored details and black and white photographs. She thought a French winter wedding would look a little something like this:

Heather Gray, Blush and Ivory

{Eiffel Tower}{Bride}{Groom}{Necklace}{Bridesmaids}{Shoes}{Cake}

What do you think? We think it's lovely.

GatorBrite Professional Cosmetic Teeth Whitening

GatorBrite Professional Cosmetic Teeth Whitening is offering an amazing deal for MasterPiece Weddings clients! They are currently offering professional teeth whitening for brides and grooms for only $75.00 a person. (Retail is $129.00!) Now, if you haven't thought about it, having your teeth whitened before your wedding is probably a necessary investment. You want those teeth to sparkle against that bright white dress and shine in those timeless photographs. Plus, it's just another reason why you should go with MasterPiece Weddings! If you think that's a good deal, it gets even better! Why not have your entire bridal party go? When you bring in 4 or more people, the bride and groom can have their teeth whitened for free!

You could look like these brides with their beautiful, dazzling smiles!

What are you waiting for?! Here are the details:

GatorBrite Professional Cosmetic Teeth Whitening

101 N. Main Street Gainesville, FL 32601

352-505-6886

{photo1}{photo2}{photo3}

GatorBrite Professional Cosmetic Teeth Whitening

GatorBrite Professional Cosmetic Teeth Whitening is offering an amazing deal for MasterPiece Weddings clients! They are currently offering professional teeth whitening for brides and grooms for only $75.00 a person. (Retail is $129.00!) Now, if you haven't thought about it, having your teeth whitened before your wedding is probably a necessary investment. You want those teeth to sparkle against that bright white dress and shine in those timeless photographs. Plus, it's just another reason why you should go with MasterPiece Weddings! If you think that's a good deal, it gets even better! Why not have your entire bridal party go? When you bring in 4 or more people, the bride and groom can have their teeth whitened for free!

You could look like these brides with their beautiful, dazzling smiles!

What are you waiting for?! Here are the details:

GatorBrite Professional Cosmetic Teeth Whitening

101 N. Main Street Gainesville, FL 32601

352-505-6886

{photo1}{photo2}{photo3}

A Name Change

Many changes come with getting married. A new house, a new lifestyle, new kitchen appliances and future family additions. But first things first, the biggest change is a new last name. When it comes to changing your name, a woman can decide to take it or leave it. We're asking you newlyweds to please change responsibly!

Some women become attached to their maiden name but still want the same last name as their husband. A quick fix: hyphenating that baby and putting all the names together. What women don't consider is the possible torture of writing out all of those characters on every important document that exists. We're talking checks, doctor visits, insurance forms...the list could go on forever. Just think, you could be writing this out every day:

or this one...

So brides, think carefully about your future name. You don't want people stumbling over your name and not remembering it after an introduction. If you want to keep your last name, make it your middle name!

What did you decide to do with your last name change?

A Name Change

Many changes come with getting married. A new house, a new lifestyle, new kitchen appliances and future family additions. But first things first, the biggest change is a new last name. When it comes to changing your name, a woman can decide to take it or leave it. We're asking you newlyweds to please change responsibly!

Some women become attached to their maiden name but still want the same last name as their husband. A quick fix: hyphenating that baby and putting all the names together. What women don't consider is the possible torture of writing out all of those characters on every important document that exists. We're talking checks, doctor visits, insurance forms...the list could go on forever. Just think, you could be writing this out every day:

or this one...

So brides, think carefully about your future name. You don't want people stumbling over your name and not remembering it after an introduction. If you want to keep your last name, make it your middle name!

What did you decide to do with your last name change?

Plum, Charcoal and Slate

Our latest inspiration board was done by Erinn in our office. She was inspired by the color plum and the richness it brings to a wedding. Mixed with the dark charcoal and lighter slate gray, the board becomes very vintage, romantic, and elegant in it's details. Take a look for yourself...

{shoes}{invitations}{wedding dress}{chandelier}{table setting}{bridesmaid}{flower}{suit}

What do you think?

Plum, Charcoal and Slate

Our latest inspiration board was done by Erinn in our office. She was inspired by the color plum and the richness it brings to a wedding. Mixed with the dark charcoal and lighter slate gray, the board becomes very vintage, romantic, and elegant in it's details. Take a look for yourself...

{shoes}{invitations}{wedding dress}{chandelier}{table setting}{bridesmaid}{flower}{suit}

What do you think?

Help us, Help You

There is a poll below, please participate and let us know your thoughts:

Help us, Help You

There is a poll below, please participate and let us know your thoughts:

A Book by it's Cover

Don't judge a book by it's cover - it's a commonly used saying. Bascially, some of the most unique finds are found in the most unlikely and sometimes plain- of places. Or if you are expecting one thing from "it's cover" you maybe be suprised.

Well, this weekend - I was cutting into a fruit that I've cut into gazillions of times... a Honeydew Melon...

Your typical HoneyDew... the palest of greens on the outside, the thump was perfect, we were ready for the super sweet suculent fruit on the inside.

Well, when I cut it open, this is what I found.

Huh? A HoneyDew on the outside, and Catelope like on the inside?!?!? Is this a new thing, maybe a Honeylope, or a Cantedew?



But, {I promise!} I do have a point, don't judge a book by it's cover, don't think you've found the perfect wedding planner, because you see an advertisment that says they are "the premier planner" that planning company dubbed themselves that... or fall in love with a photographer because they have a nifty website, or a super chic blog... get to know who you are hiring. It's your wedding... learn about your vendors.



In other words...



Read the fine print!

A Book by it's Cover

Don't judge a book by it's cover - it's a commonly used saying. Bascially, some of the most unique finds are found in the most unlikely and sometimes plain- of places. Or if you are expecting one thing from "it's cover" you maybe be suprised.

Well, this weekend - I was cutting into a fruit that I've cut into gazillions of times... a Honeydew Melon...

Your typical HoneyDew... the palest of greens on the outside, the thump was perfect, we were ready for the super sweet suculent fruit on the inside.

Well, when I cut it open, this is what I found.

Huh? A HoneyDew on the outside, and Catelope like on the inside?!?!? Is this a new thing, maybe a Honeylope, or a Cantedew?



But, {I promise!} I do have a point, don't judge a book by it's cover, don't think you've found the perfect wedding planner, because you see an advertisment that says they are "the premier planner" that planning company dubbed themselves that... or fall in love with a photographer because they have a nifty website, or a super chic blog... get to know who you are hiring. It's your wedding... learn about your vendors.



In other words...



Read the fine print!

Friday Funness!

I love, Erin's Designs on her lists! I use her Blog Idea's list and her Grocery List, and her To-List... yeah, I am list kinda girl.



But I love this new Honey Dew List! Don't you - what a cute idea to print out some as an addition to a Bridal Shower gift!



Check out her other lists here, and print them for FREE!

Friday Funness!

I love, Erin's Designs on her lists! I use her Blog Idea's list and her Grocery List, and her To-List... yeah, I am list kinda girl.



But I love this new Honey Dew List! Don't you - what a cute idea to print out some as an addition to a Bridal Shower gift!



Check out her other lists here, and print them for FREE!

Fab Find!

Don't laugh... Promise...



If you've promised - you can keep reading.



Hello, my name is Melissa, and I am clean freak.



There I said it - it's out there.



The point of the "coming out" is that when John and I built our house, the one thing I didn't know was that we had hard water, hard lime infested water. And this lime infestation although really didn't affect our drinking {we have filters} it did affect our toliets. And I loath toliet rings, and I couldnt' get rid of the stupid ring on the toliet, it drove me crazy and I tried everything, Lime-Get-Rid-Of-Products, Scrubie Brushes made of all kinds of materials, ranging from metal to plastic... Bleach this and Bleach that, every toliet cleaner made of everything you can image.



You get the point...



Okay, so then I found this... a non-chemical miracle worker. Have you met Pumie?

It is amazing, and cleaned that ring, and polished my toliet, no chemicals!



I am calling this the miracle worker and thinks it's the best invention EVER! Would make a great hostess gift, along with a bottle of wine!

Fab Find!

Don't laugh... Promise...



If you've promised - you can keep reading.



Hello, my name is Melissa, and I am clean freak.



There I said it - it's out there.



The point of the "coming out" is that when John and I built our house, the one thing I didn't know was that we had hard water, hard lime infested water. And this lime infestation although really didn't affect our drinking {we have filters} it did affect our toliets. And I loath toliet rings, and I couldnt' get rid of the stupid ring on the toliet, it drove me crazy and I tried everything, Lime-Get-Rid-Of-Products, Scrubie Brushes made of all kinds of materials, ranging from metal to plastic... Bleach this and Bleach that, every toliet cleaner made of everything you can image.



You get the point...



Okay, so then I found this... a non-chemical miracle worker. Have you met Pumie?

It is amazing, and cleaned that ring, and polished my toliet, no chemicals!



I am calling this the miracle worker and thinks it's the best invention EVER! Would make a great hostess gift, along with a bottle of wine!

Mark your calendars! Amsale Trunk Show this weekend!

The entire Amsale bridal collection, including the new Spring 2010 line, will be available for viewing this weekend, Friday August 21st and Saturday August 22nd.  Amsale will be making a special guest appearance on both days, which will be a great opportunity to work closely with the designer herself.

Amsale's Flagship Salon is located at 625 Madison Avenue, between 58th and 59th Streets.

Appointments for the trunk show are required and availability is limited so call soon to get in on this weekend’s event.  If you need any further information please email Emily at Emily@Amsale.com.

Catering Crumbs!

One of our favoritest, funnest caters now has a blog and a twitter account! So check out Catering Crumbs for fun catering advice, amazing urban catering ideas, and just plain fun stuff!



Leah and her staff work really hard at finding fun unique wants to display food, they make eveything fresh, and their displays are incredible!



So check it out, and then follow Leah on Twitter, at CateringCrumbs!



{and if you aren't following us, we are WeddingPlanner1}

Catering Crumbs!

One of our favoritest, funnest caters now has a blog and a twitter account! So check out Catering Crumbs for fun catering advice, amazing urban catering ideas, and just plain fun stuff!



Leah and her staff work really hard at finding fun unique wants to display food, they make eveything fresh, and their displays are incredible!



So check it out, and then follow Leah on Twitter, at CateringCrumbs!



{and if you aren't following us, we are WeddingPlanner1}

Wedding JumpStart!

We had such a great time at Wedding JumpStart on Saturday! We met with so many brides - ate amazing food from Celebrations Catering, Kake Truffles from KB Kakes, and the service at Jay's Bridal was amazing!



In case you are unsure of what Wedding JumpStart is, we are at - Amanda and I were at Jay's Bridal all day to chat with brides, answer questions, offer free wedding advice, give planning guides to those in need, offer vendor referrals, and offer support and advice when needed.



If you don't know if you can or need a wedding planner, that's a great time to chat with us and see how we can help you!



We should be at Jay's again soon, we'll keep you posted.

Wedding JumpStart!

We had such a great time at Wedding JumpStart on Saturday! We met with so many brides - ate amazing food from Celebrations Catering, Kake Truffles from KB Kakes, and the service at Jay's Bridal was amazing!



In case you are unsure of what Wedding JumpStart is, we are at - Amanda and I were at Jay's Bridal all day to chat with brides, answer questions, offer free wedding advice, give planning guides to those in need, offer vendor referrals, and offer support and advice when needed.



If you don't know if you can or need a wedding planner, that's a great time to chat with us and see how we can help you!



We should be at Jay's again soon, we'll keep you posted.

Inspiration Board: Red and Orange Watercolor

The same idea as last week's - focusing on soft, washed-out tones - but this time with red and orange. I find it surprising how much it plays down the intensity of these two colors. Quite gorgeous! Thanks Ashley for another beauty!

{cake, placecards, bridesmaids, couple, flowers,

fruit, centerpiece, invitation, shoes}

Inspiration Board: Red and Orange Watercolor

The same idea as last week's - focusing on soft, washed-out tones - but this time with red and orange. I find it surprising how much it plays down the intensity of these two colors. Quite gorgeous! Thanks Ashley for another beauty!

{cake, placecards, bridesmaids, couple, flowers,

fruit, centerpiece, invitation, shoes}

The Pure Relaunch

We just got word about some awesome giveaways that will be (and have been!) going up on the blog of talented wedding photographer Lindsey Tropf, with Pure: Photography by Lindsey Tropf.

She has completely redone her business branding: colors, logo, website, business cards, blog, and more. To celebrate and share her own excitement, she is having a week of giveaways before her launch with unique wedding items from both local vendors and some personal Etsy favorites.

So, starting today until next Wednesday, make sure to head to her blog each day to enter! Every day will be a new giveaway with the winner(s) announced the next day. The prizes get larger and more expensive, so be sure to keep going back until the end!

And... she just released her new logo - isn't it adorable? We couldn't be more excited for her! Make sure to check it out.

The Pure Relaunch

We just got word about some awesome giveaways that will be (and have been!) going up on the blog of talented wedding photographer Lindsey Tropf, with Pure: Photography by Lindsey Tropf.

She has completely redone her business branding: colors, logo, website, business cards, blog, and more. To celebrate and share her own excitement, she is having a week of giveaways before her launch with unique wedding items from both local vendors and some personal Etsy favorites.

So, starting today until next Wednesday, make sure to head to her blog each day to enter! Every day will be a new giveaway with the winner(s) announced the next day. The prizes get larger and more expensive, so be sure to keep going back until the end!

And... she just released her new logo - isn't it adorable? We couldn't be more excited for her! Make sure to check it out.

Friday Funday!

It's been a while since I've given you something just plain cute to look at, but honestly, I am thinking about renting out my nieces as Flower Girls! I'd make millions!

How adorable are they!

Meet Peyton, she loves to talk on the phone, she has great manners, and is just super cute!

Meet Sydney, she loves Movies, Dolls, and Stuffed Animals, she is just plain adorable!!!

Friday Funday!

It's been a while since I've given you something just plain cute to look at, but honestly, I am thinking about renting out my nieces as Flower Girls! I'd make millions!

How adorable are they!

Meet Peyton, she loves to talk on the phone, she has great manners, and is just super cute!

Meet Sydney, she loves Movies, Dolls, and Stuffed Animals, she is just plain adorable!!!

Don't Miss This One

I know we already told you about one of the fabulous bridal events we'll be attending this fall, but in case you cannot make that one, we will also be attending the 2009 Fall Bridal Fantasy Show on August 30, 2009 from 1PM-5PM. 

It will be held at the Renaissance Resort inside the World Golf Village Complex in St. Augustine, Florida.

And... it is sure to be fabulous...

Don't Miss This One

I know we already told you about one of the fabulous bridal events we'll be attending this fall, but in case you cannot make that one, we will also be attending the 2009 Fall Bridal Fantasy Show on August 30, 2009 from 1PM-5PM. 

It will be held at the Renaissance Resort inside the World Golf Village Complex in St. Augustine, Florida.

And... it is sure to be fabulous...

The Sweetest Thing: Tracey and Matt

Just received the sweetest thank you note from one of our May couples, Tracey and Matt, accompanied by this fabulous thank you card...

{Images courtesy of pure.}

Isn't it stunning? Anyway, their note read:

We cannot thank you and everyone at MasterPiece Weddings enough for all of the time and care you took to ensure that our wedding day was perfect! Having you at our wedding really put us at ease. There is no way we could have made it through the day without you! You were professional, but very personable when dealing with our desires and we appreciate every detail. Thank you for your encouragement and support throughout the entire process. We cannot recommend you enough to anyone that is getting married! THank you from the bottom of our hearts for your dedication and care, as well as all of the special touches to make our day unforgettable! 

So sweet! Sometimes I cannot believe we are so lucky to get to work with such wonderful people!