Wedding Styles
By Desireè
Shall we dance? As we all know is the title of the movie that Richard Gere chose dance as an interest to bring energy back into his life and zest for living. Maybe he had alternative motive to begin but the dancing actually helped him to express his inner passion and dance became a way of life to him. In the end his love for dancing he was able to share with the love of his life his wife!
Anyway, the first dance is certainly a major part of any wedding celebration. It is the moment that all the guests truly enjoy watching a couple’s first dance as newlyweds! It is this dance and this song that will be remembered for always as couples continue the journey of love and life.
What song should it be for the first dance? Quite often couples do not realize that they have a special song …. They really had not thought about it much until that moment. Or they instantly know what that song is. The song can be fast or slow paced, it doesn't matter just as long as it means something to them both. We researched what might be the possible top ten first dance songs and this is what we found for your information.
1. "Marry Me," by Train
2. "You & Me," Dave Matthews Band
3. "Angel," by Jack Johnson
4. "When You Say Nothing at All,' by Allison Krauss
5. "Brighter Than Sunshine," by Aqualung
6. "Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop," by Landon Pigg
7. "All of My Love," Led Zeppelin
8. "The Way You Look Tonight," by Frank Sinatra
9. "Make You Feel My Love," by Adele
10. "'Til there Was You," The Beatles
Once the song is determined, we always suggest to couples that perhaps that might want to have a few dance lessons for “their” song? If dancing is not their forte then why not get an expert to help them with the process and design a dance with the song? There are many places that you can go for dance lessons. We have also found that with the hustle and bustle of all the wedding plans it can even take some of the stress away and is a great way to spend time together. Learning to dance and having the confidence for your first dance as a married couple is a great feeling and your guests will love the effort you have made to make this dance special for them to enjoy. Believe it or not it also becomes part of the entertainment for the evening.
By Pauline Parry
Months before The Special Event in Phoenix this January 2011, a group of creative partners gathered at Good Gracious! Events one morning to brainstorm our wedding design contribution to the Wedding Gallery. We were represented the Wedding Industry Professionals Association (WIPA) of which we are members and so had a little more pressure to work as a team than if we were just doing this ourselves. This room at the Phoenix Convention Center was our, ahem, inspiration ... Just a little pressure!
But our thoughts on that day of brainstorming our design and concept was a wedding brunch in a meadow ... cows, flowers, wine, cheese. All very bucolic and lovely. But of course that wasn't enough. What if we turned that on its head in some artistic, Phillip Stark sort of fashion? So the initial sketch that came from Eddie Zaratsian at Tic-Tock Couture Flowers was this ...
It was bold, fun and ripe (sorry for that cheese pun) with design opportunity! From there the team kept throwing in more suggestions until we got to this:
AMAZING, yes?!
It ALL came down to teamwork! This was a great example of how we work at Good Gracious. As president of WIPA, it fell on me to take the lead on the gallery, but from there I assembled a team of creative partners that were right for this project and were WIPA members.
We work this way on all our events as well. We don't have all these services in-house so we can partner each time with a team that is right for the event. It allows us to say to the client: "We've assembled just the right team for you." And then communication, professionalism, trust and teamwork make it all work perfectly.
With that said,this team began with myself and Good Gracious Creative Director, Dan Smith. We assembled Eddie at Tic-Tock, Vanessa Rockafellow from Cachet Wedding Designs, and Erin O'Donnell at BBJ Linen as our core team. Together we brought in the additional partners listed at the end of this post. They are all great and we could not have done this without our CREATIVE PARTNERS!!!!
THE MAIN EVENT
SETTING THE SCENE
THE TABLETOP
THE DETAILS
THE CAKE
Bringing new meaning to cheesecake, this was a savory cake; each tier was another round of cheese as is illustrated in above.
THE MENU
The menu was placed between two squares of white lucite, very chic. The brunch may have been fictional but the menu created for it was really delicious!
BEGIN
CROQUE MADAME
grilled ciabatti country ham, mustard aioli, smoked gouda topped with quail egg grilled tomato and tomato thyme jelly
SECOND
SMOKED SALMON FLATBREAD
than flatbread with ribbons of smoked salmon goat cheese cream fraiche capers and red onion
MAIN
CAPRESE EGG WHITE OMELETTE
basil, burrata, tomato balsamic reduction crispy basil
with
FRISEE PANCETTA SALAD
frisee pancetta crispy yukon potato pancake
INDULGE
FRENCH TOAST NUTELLA
squares filled with nutella and cream
BABY DOLL PANCAKES
with golden syrup, almond praline
BERRY SMOOTHIE CARAMEL CLUSTERS
three berry yogurt with caramel popcorn oatmeal clusters
THE TEAM
Pauline Parry
Good Gracious! Events
Dan Smith
Good Gracious! Events
Eddie Zaratsian
Tic Tock Couture Flowers
Vanessa Rockafellow
Cachet Wedding Designs
Erin O'Donnell
BBJ Linen
Thanks to our entire team!
At Good Gracious! Events, our culinary team
is SERIOUS about its commitment to delicious, quality cuisine ...
... but you won’t find any attitude here!
Our culinary core team from left to right: Laurie England-Smith, Benjamin Esquivias, Joanne Purnell, Irma Delgadillo, David Cho, Margarita Hernandez, Dennis Quintanilla, Rosina Esquivias, Gabina Martinez
Meet our culinary core team...
Margarita Hernandez, Executive Chef
As the heart of our kitchen, Margarita keeps our reputation for quality alive. Tiny but mighty she is fiercely committed to creating food that is not only exceptional, but that fulfills the culinary expectations and desires of our clients.
Joanne Purnell, Chef de Cuisine
Every day, Joanne tries some new way to present or prepare a dish, keeping our menus fresh and innovative. When she comes around the office with a new delicacy for us to try, all we can say is thank goodness for job perks like this!
Dennis Quintanilla, Sous Chef
And of course, behind every great chef, is a sous chef like Dennis. He's always one step ahead of Margarita and Joanne while in prepping in the kitchen, and three steps ahead while overseeing a kitchen at a party.
Rosina Esquivias, Pastry Chef
Rosina begins each day thinking about sweet endings, sharing in our philosophy that we are only as good as your last bite!
Benjamin Esquivias
Making the cut as our man with the "knife stuff" is Benjamin. We leave the fine art of chopping, cooking and prepping in his more than able care.
Gabina Martinez
Our go-to girl for sauces, dressings and marinades, Gabina's words to dine by are: reduce, seduce and give it some juice.
Irma Delgadillo
If God is in the details, then Irma is an angel. For 16 years Irma has been ensuring that all the parts -- from candied nuts to breadsticks -- that make up a whole Good Gracious dish are simply perfect.
Laurie England-Smith
One of the main things Laurie has learned from her extensive culinary experience at restaurants and off-site catering, is that it's OK to take your work home, especially when your husband is also a chef!
David Cho
Passion is what keeps Good Gracious ahead of the curve, and that passion is in every one of us. David is a perfect example of our entire team's ability to find happiness in what you love, and loving what you do.
The Good Gracious! Experience:Dedicated * Talented * Simply Delicious
