Recipient of the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards 2011

The Wedding Belles has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Wedding Planning!

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation.

The Wedding Bells stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud The Wedding Belles for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

We are happy to announce that The Wedding Belles is among the very best wedding planners within the WeddingWire Network. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.

For more information, please visit us at WeddingWire.

Isidra and Jason K. Wedding

This young couple came to The Wedding Belles just 7 weeks prior to their scheduled wedding, looking for day-of coordination. They told us that they had their venue (Camp Lucy) and 125 guests, but had no other plans in place. After talking with them for a short while, they decided to hire us to plan the entire wedding. We quickly got to work, finding the necessary vendors and getting everyone on board for the short time crunch. During the 7 weeks of planning and preparing, the guest list swelled to 300. Changes were made accordingly, and the wedding was moved from the small chapel to the outdoor pavilion. On a beautiful and breezy July afternoon, 300 friends and family joined Isidra and Jason for their beautiful outdoor ceremony and reception, where everyone partied into the late evening. The hit of the reception was the Big Mac groom's cake—it was photographed as much as the bride!

Brandy and James C. Wedding

This summer wedding and reception was held at beautiful and stately Austin Club. Brandy and James came to The Wedding Belles a couple of months prior to their wedding in need of day-of coordination. As it turned out, they also needed help finding a couple of their vendors, so we helped them get the needed ones booked. Lots of candles and pink flowers were the decor of choice. Candles in tall cylinders on top of a tiered riser were used for the ceremony in front of a large mirrored wall. The same cylinders were moved to the guests tables during the cocktail hour, and we added smaller votives around the cylinders. A big hit, for grown ups and children alike at the reception, was the candy bar. Following the cocktail hour, guests were served a sit-down dinner and then danced and visited until midnight.

Heather and Reagan Wedding

Heather and Reagan hired The Wedding Belles for day-of coordination of their wedding and reception, which was held at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Chapel on Saturday, January 16, 2010.

Families came from all over the United States to attend this wedding, and it was very important to Heather and Reagan that they spend as much time as possible with their families. The Wedding Belles did the entire set up of the reception, as well as worked with the vendors to be sure that everything for the wedding and reception were handled in a timely manner.

Many family touches were used for the wedding and reception—a grandfather’s Bible was used alongside the unity candle; a grandmother’s cross was attached to the Bride’s bouquet; a late mother’s special tins were used to hold the centerpieces for the reception tables; a grandmother’s life-long collection of napkins, each one different, was used at the place settings; and quilt squares were signed by the guests, and given to a grandmother to quilt into a wonderful wedding keepsake.

The Wedding Belles added small touches to the reception decor—bunches of lavender tied with purple satin ribbon were used on the buffet table and the guest sign-in table, along with ecru and purple tulle and votive and tea light candles. When the rod and draperies provided by the Bride were determined not to be the right size, The Wedding Belles provided trees with white lights sitting on various sized boxes, wrapped in white paper and tulle, to help disguise and hide a very large portrait at one end of the reception room. As the Bride and Groom were leaving for their honeymoon, and all of the family were in from out of town and staying in hotels, when the reception was over The Wedding Belles took charge of the Bride’s wedding/reception decor and supplies. We washed, folded and stored all of the used napkins, as well as washed and packed the silverware, and held everything until the Bride and Groom returned and could pick up their things. (Just another small service provided by The Wedding Belles!)

Katie and James H. Wedding

For Katie and James’ wedding, The Wedding Belles handled day-of details. This couple held their wedding and reception at home, which sat on acreage in the Hill Country. The guests sat under a white tent on a beautiful October afternoon, looking towards an arch covered in roses and lilies, which served as the altar area. Beyond this were rolling hills and trees which provided a wonderful backdrop for the late afternoon ceremony.

After the ceremony, the chairs were removed from the tent while tables were set up and decorated for the reception. As the DJ played and guests helped themselves to drinks and the buffet, the bride and groom posed for photographs and mingled with guests. When it was realized that there were no planned centerpieces for the tables, The Wedding Belles pulled together a quick, simple decor—floating candles in tall vases, votive candles and rose petals.

Joanna H. Wedding

This wedding was truly a family affair. Small and intimate, it was held at The Mansion at Judges’ Hill in Austin.

The wedding ceremony was limited to family members and held in the parlor. The bride wanted the decor to be very simple and understated, but elegant. As The Mansion is quite ornate on the interior, less was more in this situation. Large to small pillar candles lined the columned antique mantle, with silver votive holders mixed in. Silver candle jewelry was interspersed around the candles to add a bit of shimmer. Guest chairs were covered with white satin chair covers and tied with silver satin sashes. A simple tall cylinder vase on each guest table held a single stemmed iris bloom and a floating candle, and was surrounded by a stem of pussywillow and small votive candles.

Following the ceremony, the guests retreated to the veranda for drinks and visiting, while the staff set up the luncheon buffet. A cellist provided the wedding music, as well as music during the transition. When the buffet opened, a Mariachi band took over and entertained guests while they dined, and continued playing for the remainder of the reception.

JoDe R. Wedding

This wedding was done for a young couple who were on an extremely tight budget, as they were paying for the wedding themselves. They wanted to spend more of their money on the reception than on the ceremony.

Getting married the week before Halloween, the only thing they knew they wanted was a fall theme with fall colors. For this wedding, The Wedding Belles did everything—from making all the floral arrangements and bouquets to taking the wedding photographs and decorating the wedding cake.

Angelia C. Wedding

This couple was also paying for their own wedding and, again, were on a very tight budget. The wedding and reception were held in the same room. While guests were helping themselves to drinks following the wedding, the staff at the country club changed the venue from wedding to reception within 15 minutes and the party started.

Diana and Bradley A. Wedding

The beautiful stained glass windows in this church really took center stage. Minimal decorations were used in the sanctuary. Candles and bows down the aisle and an arrangement on the altar was all that was needed.

The bride and groom wanted to spend their budget on the food and drinks for the reception, where they partied with all of their family and friends. Outdoors at the entry to the reception venue, we decorated the bushes with roses and tiny white lights. Rose petals and candles were used on the tables, along with small floral arrangements. The bride found some red heart shaped marbles which we used among the rose petals on the tables.

Around the dance floor was a mix of cocktail tables, as well as dinner tables for seating.

G. Wedding

The couple wanted an outdoor reception at the groom’s family home. The entry courtyard was decorated with a tall “gift” wrapped in ribbon. We had a table indoors to handle all of the gifts brought to the reception. Pew bows from the wedding were used as decorations at the reception. We used a family antique crocheted table cloth for the cake table with a red underlay. A chocolate fountain added to the fun as guests arrived. Outside, a metal gazebo was used and decorated with grapevine and lights, and a teardrop candle chandelier was used for illumination. Dinner was served from the outdoor living space. The house eves, the flower beds, the trees were lined or filled with white lights which gave the entire backyard a romantic glow as guests dined, danced and visited.

Florence and Elton S. Wedding Anniversary

For a 50th Wedding Anniversary party, we decorated the cake with yellow roses and greenery. The 50-year old wedding gown was put on a mannequin on display. There was a table of pictures from the couple’s 50 years together. While guests waited in the receiving line, a copy of the couple’s wedding film, which had been converted to disc, was shown and made for some great conversation.