FREESTYLE Music Awards 2008

On Wednesday March 26, 2008, the first annual Freestyle Music Awards took place at the Dade County Auditorium in Miami. I had the pleasure of working closely with Lily and Leonard Bolden from Bolden Productions, Ovidio Santiago from Clear Channel and Latif Mercado from LA Entertainment. I was in charge of making the VIP area look spectacular and ensuring the event went off without a glitch….. and that is exactly what I did!

On the eve of the awards there was a private –invite only party at the Hyatt in Downtown
Miami to celebrate the upcoming festivities. I was honored with an award for my hard work, passion and dedication to the event. I also had the pleasure of meeting first hand Lil’ Suzy (she is such a nice - genuine person), Coro, Johnny O, Angel and Debbie Deb to name a few.

The day of the event started off with a lot of running around, non-stop phone calls, last minute issues and so on… I was the go-to person with all questions and issues.

We literally converted the parking lot into a VIP tent that looked phenomenal! Gilbert Villela from Christina’s Party Rentals provided all rentals including portable a/c for the tent, oversized generators, over a thousand feet of red carpet, crystal chandeliers and then some… Prior to the award ceremony, the guests were greeted by the oversized and amazing floral arrangements provided by Avant Gardens and the gourmet hordeouvres display provided by Chris Bulgarin from Delicious Catering.

The actual show was spectacular! The performers did a fabulous job taking us all back to the “old” days. It was great seeing everyone come together under one roof. They saved the best for last which was TKA aka K7. They ended their show with their renowned song.. Maria! After the show, the VIP tent was packed with positive energy and happy people!

Many thanks were given to Lily Bolden, Ovidio Santiago and Latif Mercado for their hard work, dedication, passion and constant belief in these artists! I am extremely proud to be a part of such a wonderful event. As stated by Lily many times, “this is only the beginning, next year will be bigger and better” and I am lucky to be a part of that.

May FREESTYLE live on forever!

Almonte / Jirtian Wedding

On Saturday, March 15, 2008, Vilma and Mark were blessed by an absolutely beautiful and amazing day!

The wedding celebration took place at the Double Tree Ocean Point in Sunny Isles, Florida. The ceremony started promptly at 4:30 pm and was officiated by the renowned Reverend Eddie Rodriguez. As Rev. Eddie rang the commencement bells, the guests admiringly turned to receive the bridal procession. As Vilma walked down the aisle accompanied by her older brother, Pedro Almonte, Mark's smile was genuinely glowing!! They performed the sand ceremony which consisted of sand from Santo Domingo (Vilma's hometown) and Boston (Mark's hometown) . Each container of sand was carried and presented by Brian (Vilma's son from a past marriage) and Andres (Mark's son from a previous marriage).

After the ceremony, while the guests enjoyed their outdoor cocktail hour, the couple proceeded to the sandy beach where professional photographer, Maria Baiz took advantage of the moment! She captured the couple running in and out of the water and just having plain old fun!

Once the cocktail was over the guests were escorted to the main dining area and were greeted by the beautiful flowers provided by Gil Sosa and the fabulous tunes provided by Albert Gil from Vision DJ's. The lovely couple danced to a medley of Billy Joel's "Love you just the way you are" and Mana's "Bendita La Luz". Following their dance, the bride danced with both her brothers, "Hero" by Mariah Carey and was concluded by the groom dancing with his sister, "What a wonderful world" by Louis Armstrong. The traditional formalities continued to take place by having speeches and then their first course.

After dinner, the party began and the guests danced until their feet ached! Vilma and Mark seemed to happy to have each other and their families join them on such an important day! It was a true pleasure to see two families come together and share their happiness!

Brides against Breast Cancer

March 7-8, 2008, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

On Saturday, March 8, I (along with 6 of my fabulous and hard working students) had the pleasure of volunteering at the Brides against Breast Cancer Gown sale (www.makingmemories.org) . This took place at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale. We had the entire ballroom full of beautiful designer dresses ranging in prices of $99 up to $2000. With all proceeds going towards finding the cure for breast cancer, it was a delightful experience helping brides finding the "one". Within 2 hours of the show we had already sold 2 dresses and had 10 brides in the dressing room. It was very exciting to know that my students and I were having fun while helping out the community.

This is definately a great bargain for the brides and I feel it allows them to feel good about the purchase knowing that the proceeds go towards good use. I look forward to continue volunteering my time and expertise.

This event was coordinated by the very talented Lori Patterson from a Memorable Affair and Liz Gomez from Liz Gomez Events. Thank you ladies for being active and for allowing this event to place!

Puente / Gomez Wedding

On March 7, 2008, Janet Puente and Oscar Gomez tied the knot! The church ceremony took place at St. Hugh's Catholic church in Coconut Grove and the wedding reception was held in the Merrick ballroom at the historic Westin Colonnade in Coral Gables.

It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shinning and the girls were all in the bride's room getting their hair and makeup done. Kevianno excelled in making the girls beautiful and glamorous with his make-up techniques. The hairdresser (whose name I will not release) was the total opposite. She, herself, was 2 hours late (we had a total of 8 people to do their hair) she had sent in an assistant which started some of the girls off, however her presence was needed. As the day progressed, the issue with the hairdresser seemed to have worked out. The girls looked absolutely stunning in their couture bridesmaids gown. Janet looked amazing as she was going down the historical staircase towards her awaiting antique Rolls Royce.

Once at the church, photographer, Claudia Cebrian and videographer, Carolina Bonnelly were awaiting Janet's grand arrival. The groomsmen were in place, the procession was neatly organized as the doors opened and Janet began her procession alongside her proud father, Mr. Ignacio Puente. Oscar's smile lit up the entire church, when he saw his beautiful bride walking down the aisle. The ceremony went by smoothly and the guests began to depart to the reception location.

Upon arrival at the Colonnade, the guests were greeted with drinks, assorted passed hords. and a wonderful Jazz Trio (friends of the bride and groom) . The sign in "book" was a personalized platter and was placed on a beautifully decorated table containing candles, orchids, neatly placed rose petals and various cylinders all product of Gil Sosa. Once the guests were allowed to enter the ballroom, they were wowed by the wonderful sound of Tradison band.

After the formal introductions the salad course was served. Soon to follow was the main entree. During dinner, DJ Ubi provided music selections like bossa nova, light jazz and some spanish guitar selections.

The dancing soon began as Tradison opened up the dancefloor with their traditional and genuine spanish sound! The dancefloor, quickly filled and remained that way until 2:00am.

Overall, the entire event was flawless and thhe bride and groom had a wonderful time at their wedding. The positive comments received from the guests were very rewarding and although it was a very long day/night for me I was exstatic to have yet another happy client!