Carine's New Year Sample Sale

Carine's New Year Sample Sale Sunday, January 17th, 12pm to 3pm Gowns will be priced as low as $999 to $1,899, marked down from original retail prices ranging from $3,000 to $9,000. Up to 75% off retail prices - a fantastic savings for brides! Designer wedding gowns from today's premier designers: Angel Sanchez, Carolina Herrera, Junko Yoshioka, Karl Lagerfeld, Kenneth Pool, Melissa Sweet, Monique Lhuillier, Platinum Collection, Reem Acra, Rivini, Rosa Clara, St. Pucchi, and The Vineyard Collection. Sale is first come, first serve. No appointments needed. All gowns are sample size 8 or 10. Gowns can be altered to fit a smaller size. Preview a small selection of sample sale gowns at carinesbridal.com

Our New Logo Revealed!

We are excited to officially reveal our new logo. We reached out to Aimee of Creative Montage to create a fresh and timeless logo for Exceeding Expectations. We have excited news and happenings in 2010, and wanted a logo to reflect the changes that will be taking place at Exceeding Expectations. Below is the logo we have been using for the past three years, as well as our new logo. Let us know your thoughts!

OLD LOGO

NEW LOGO

We've Been Blogged

Head over to Blue Sky Films Blog to read more about Nicole & Seth's wedding!

Real Weddings: Nicole & Seth

Veronica and I had the pleasure of coordinating Nicole & Seth's big day at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, DC. Their ceremony was held in the STUNNING garden of the Omni, and their cocktail hour followed on the patio. Guests were later escorted to the ballroom for dinner and dancing. Head over to Freed Photography's blog to check out the amazing work of Nick Griner, Nicole & Seth's amazing photographer. Congratulations Nicole & Seth!! Venue: Omni Shoreham, Washington, DC Photographer: Freed Photography (Nick Griner) Videographer: Blue Sky Films (Sarah Mendiola) Flowers: Kensington Flowers Cake: Classic Bakery DJ: Bialek's Music (Patrick Miranda) Ceremony Harpist: James Dronenburg Makeup: Creative Images (Clarissa Gary-Tinker)

Real Wedding: Cindy & Tony

This past weekend our team had the pleasure of coordinating Cindy & Tony’s special day. Their ceremony was held at Fort Belvoir Chapel, with a reception following at Fort Belvoir Officer’s Club.Our Bride & Groom were able to enjoy their family and friends while our team handled all of the logistics.Congratulations Cindy & Tony! We wish you all the best. Vendors: Reception Venue: Fort Belvoir Officer's Club Photographer: Jessica Smith Photography Cake: Bees Wedding Cakes Florist: Royal Floral Design DJ: Crown Entertainment (DJ CJ) Transportation: Fleet Transportation We loved the accent lighting in the ballroom The Belvoir Room offered stunning views of the Potomac. Cindy & Tony's guests departed with peanut butter fudge wrapped in a monogrammed favor box.

Guests were invited to sign a plate that will be hung in the couples new home.

Their beautiful wedding cake

Real Weddings: Benita & Jeff

We had the pleasure of assisting Benita and Jeff with planning their blue and white themed wedding on Saturday, August 8th. Benita & Jeff’s ceremony took place in a church in Washington, DC Saturday afternoon. They provided a shuttle for their guests to and from the ceremony and reception (which is always a nice touch). The 100 person reception took place at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Crystal City. I can not say enough great things about the first class service that Marriott provided. My team and I were blown away by their attention to detail and attentiveness to our Bride & Groom as well as the vendors. Details of Benita & Jeff’s big day are below:

Benita & Jeff's Gorgeous (and delicious) wedding cake.

Blue and white centerpieces alternated amongst the guest tables.

The tables were dressed in crushed metallic linen.

At the end of the night, the wonderful staff at the Marriott surprised our Bride & Groom with a special treat!

All-star line up:

Reception Venue: Crystal Gateway Marriott: A very special thank you to Megan Grosso and her fabulous team)

Videography: 5 Star Entertainment: It is always a treat to work with Jim and his very professional team of videographers.

Photography: Arthur Bunda Photography: Job well done for Arthur and Oscar!

Hair & Makeup: Richie Makeup: My bride’s always look amazing when they have their hair and makeup done by Ky.

Photobooth: Posh Booth: Neal and his partner worked very hard to make sure all guests had their picture taken and put together a wonderful guest book for Benita & Jeff to take home at the end of the night.

Cake: Creative Cakes: Very good cake and a pleasure working with Ann.

Florist: Convention Floral: Nubia’s work is amazing, and her wonderful spirit makes working with her a treat.

Transportation: Reston Limo: Great job Reston Limo!

Happy Anniversary to us!

We are excited to celebrate our 3 year anniversary! Three years ago today Exceeding Expectations opened its doors with the mission to provide affordable, professional, and reliable wedding and event coordination to all brides, regardless of their budget. We have been very blessed to have worked with amazing clients, vendors, and all-star staff. Here is to an amazing fourth year of business. Keep up the good work team!

Vendor Spotlight: MyEasyPhoto

One of my favorite photographers is Don Cherry (JMD) of MyEasyPhoto. His unique personality, talent and affordable prices are what brides love most about him. We have worked with Don on various occasions over the past few years. He was the official photographer for my wedding weekend and took my engagement photos. If you are need of a photographer for your wedding, birthday party, or special event, be sure to check out MyEasyPhoto, and tell them Exceeding Expectations sent you! Get to know Don of MyEasyPhoto:

1. What makes MyEasyPhoto unique is the ability to offer customers and clients professional high quality prints within minutes ofcapture. We’ve been in the “onsite printing” business since 1999 and have seen the industry grow from prints in hours and minutes to very high quality prints in seconds. We are extremely proud of being able to produce a stunning print within seconds of capture.

2. How do you exceed your client’s expectations? We first sit down with out client and determine what our client’s needs and expectations are. We then produce the goods by working hard to exceed those expectations in every way possible. The first rule we throw out is a limit on the number of images captured during a client’s wedding or event.

3. What is your favorite time of year to shoot? The Spring! I’d have to say that the “Spring” is my favorite time of year to shoot. I say this because the natural outdoor colors add so much more “pop” to photos. Nothing irks me more than to see a photo of a couple with a cluttered background when nature offers us the best background one could ask for.

4. At what local venues or landmarks do you most enjoy working? In this area, the District is so unique. There is no other location in the world better than DC. The landmarks and monuments really add to images captured there. An honorable mention is the Quantico Base Chapel because from a photographer’s point of view, the windows allow a lot of light to come through.

5. What’s one of your favorite photography trends? My favorite (and most exciting) photography trends are the following: 1) The ability to capture wireless and images instantly appear on the computer screen or wherever desired. I once did a wedding and had guests images appear on the church’s video system. As I captured candid images of them signing the guestbook and waiting for the wedding to start images would suddenly appear on the church’s large video screen. Seeing this occur, many people wondered how we made this happen and many thought this was a nice “touch” to the wedding: 2) For another client (…Geomyra and Philip’s wedding), we were hired to provide on-site prints of guests arriving and standing on the red carpet! The guests loved it! I even presented the B&G with a few choice prints that were captured during their reception. It was an honor and a blast to have been a part of their wedding. 3) Digital Capture Technology. This is very important part of the equation. Now, this is not to say that one could not capture an equal or better image with any other camera,,..but the release of the Nikon D3 has had the greatest impact (IMHO) on shooting weddings than any other camera in history. When it comes to weddings, the Nikon D3 is the only camera in my bag.

6. Is there something you wish all bride’s knew about your job or the wedding photography industry? I wish they knew how much I really care and enjoy capturing some of the most special moments of their lives. I also feel so specially honored to have been selected as their wedding photographer. I tell you this, if I were financially well off, I’d shoot weddings for free.

7. Do you have wedding saving tips and advice for our bride's on a budget? I sure do! If on a budget I recommend that the B&G skip on those things that will matter less as time goes by. For instance, the limo ride,...or even the videographer. Why? Well, think of it this way, video captures moments,…photography captures a single moment that can never be repeated! Lastly, the B&G should choose a venue that works for their lifestyle and character versus trying to go way overboard and be in debt from day one of their wedding.

When I’m behind the camera, I feel like a rock star,…like a celebrity, like an Olympic athlete poised to break a record. I enjoy photography so much I wish I could have a camera in my hands 24 hours a day,…everyday! I feel so honored to be the photographer that captures so many special moment of a person’s life. We all have but a few moments to live on mother earth and given the chance to capture a single moment of a person’s life is of such great honor for me that I’m in sheer awe. Of the thousands of images I captured, I still find it hard to delete an image. I say this because once deleted, the moment captured becomes lost in the space of time spent. Lastly, my greatest reward is when I get the chance to visit a client or friend’s home and see my work all throughout their homes. You know, there is no better feeling for me as a photographer than seeing my work on display in the daily lives of friends, customers and clients.

http://www.myeasyphoto.com/

Don Cherry (JMD) Ph: (703) 850-6367

myeasyphoto@comcast.net

Real Weddings: Daisy & Travis

One of our favorite couples Daisy & Travis was married on Friday at the Stone House in Sterling, VA. Daisy hired us to assist her in planning her big day from the beginning. We assisted her with finding top notch vendors within her budget and that fit her style. Daisy and Travis’ red and white themed wedding was intimate, fun, spiritual, and a breath of fresh air. Check out the event details and photos below:

Ceremony chairs set and ready for the guests

Bridesmaid bouquets

Daisy's red rose bouquet accented with rhinestones was absolutely gorgeous.

The strawberry and cream filled cake was one of the best that I have tasted. It was very popular among the guests. The detail in the cake design was a perfect matched to Daisy's dress.

The new Mr. & Mrs.

A special thank you to the all-star line up of vendors who did an amazing job:

Florist-Memorable Bouquet & Favors Photography-My Easy Photo Music-Total Dynasty Entertainment (DJ JButtah) Tables & Chairs-Potomac Party Rental Linen-Gala Cloths Cake-Taylor Made Cakes Catering-Wilson’s Catering

Exceeding Expectations is Featured!

We are super excited to be August's Featured Member on i-wed.org. I-wed is an online community made up of amazing wedding professionals around the country. It is a great resources for planners like myself to learn and grow from my peers in the industry. We are truly honored to be apart of a wonderful group of professionals. A special thank you to the always fabulous Terrica and the i-wed family.