Mikaella Bridal Showcase

Come preview the latest designs by Mikaella and find your dream gown at the Gainesville location on February 19th - 21st!!

Enjoy cocktails and helpful tips from local vendors including The Flower Pot Bakery!

Appointments are recommended and will receive a special discount at the event!

Pictured above:
Wedding Gowns by Mikaella
Flowers and Cake by The Perfect Wedding Guide

We just got news that Caroline Johnson Photography is in search for interns in the Orlando area. This is an exciting opportunity to spice up your resume and learn from the best. If you fit the descriptions below please contact Caroline@cjphotographer.com by January 5th.

Also, check out her blog to get a taste of the everyday life inside the Studio at www.lifewithcaroline.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALIST | aka Creative Media Genius | internship


The Social Media specialist who will crown the first ever the title of "Creative Media Genius" is set to start early January. Qualified candidates will currently be enrolled as either a Communication, Journalism, Marketing, Advertising, or in a Visual Media program. Throughout the term of the internship you will learn about how to creatively utilize Social Media to continue to leverage the studio as a leader in the wedding and couture portrait market. All the necessary tool for execution will be provided to maximize the experience. The Social Media Specialist will need to present a social media plan and work the plan over the four months with Caroline Johnson Photography. Possibility for a longterm paid position upon completion of internship.

CREATIVE DESIGN | aka The Less is More designer | internship

The Creative Designer will be guided through the entire graphic design process that photography requires. The ideal candidate will have experience with Mac platforms, have a strong foundation with Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and the aptitude to learn Aperature and Lightroom. Projects to work on will consist of in house promotional pieces, Newsletter Design, E-mail Blast Notifications to vendors and clients, Album Design. A close hands on approach will take place through Management to guide and ensure that your skills sets are enhanced by the experience. Interns must commit to a minimum of 20 hours a week over a 4 month term. Possibility for a longterm paid position upon completion of internship.

FREE Make-up Trial

Come join us on November 7th for your free make-up trial with Simone! She will be in the Winter Park store from 11:00-4pm by appointment only. Simone is the owner of Make-Over Station located in Orlando. She is our go to make-up and hair stylist when it comes to all of our fashion shoots. With over ten years of industry experience, she has developed unique techniques to give you that bridal glow. The magazines suggest coming into your bridal appointment with hair and make-up similar to what you would wear on your wedding day. This is a great opportunity to see your whole look come together.
Please call the Winter Park store today ~ 407.647.8666

Vendors We Love: Posh Pastry!

It all started with a birthday cake...

Another vendor we absolutely love in the Gainesville area is Kristy from Posh Pastry! We recently got to spend time with Kristy when she participated in Denim & Diamonds Bridesmaid night at Solutions Bridal. Kristy wowed our brides and bridesmaids with DELICIOUS chocolate covered pretzels and DECADENT chocolate cake samples. We asked Kristy a few questions about Posh Pastry and how she got started in the biz.


"I wanted to make a cake for my son's first birthday, so I went to Michael's and took the cake decorating classes. I made his cake and it was a big success. Everything grew from that one little cake. I made more and more cakes for friends and family, learning lots along the way. I took all the classes that I could find, even attending professional classes at a pastry school. I was asked to make a very large alligator cake for UF and that's when Posh Pastry was born.
We built my cake studio, registered my business and got it licensed the week before the cake was due."

Posh Pastry offers the bride much more than a traditional wedding cake.

"I offer a new, fresh, approach to wedding cakes. Posh Pastry doesn't make
your grandma's style cakes. I specialize in modern cakes with a clean
contemporary edge. Each cake is completely custom designed just for the
bride and groom. We can do almost anything with cake. I've never said, 'I
don't think I can do that' and that has led to some pretty cool cakes! Our
sculpted cakes really set us apart from the rest. I've made a six foot
alligator, a life size guitar, a Porsche, and even a bag of Twizzlers!"

Posh Pastry also offers custom designed gourmet chocolate pretzels. They are
hand dipped and custom decorated to fit any color scheme, so they make great
favors. They look beautiful and taste amazing!!

Vendors We Love: Unique Designs!

Another vendor we absolutely love is Unique Designs out of Gainesville, Florida! Unique Designs is ran by Giovanni, Danny and Kenya, a trio of talented young people ready to shake up the wedding industry! Giovanni was able to answer a few questions for us during the preparation of the Florida Bridal Expo last Sunday.

How did you get your start in the Invitation Business?

"I started creating invitations before my little brother was born. My mother wanted a baby shower theme of Baby Looney Tunes (which was not available at the time). I was always being creative so I told her I would do them for her. I went to work on the design that started it all.... it was so corny and simple, it had a verse and a picture that was scanned onto the bottom of baby bugs bunny. Then the paper was rolled like a scroll and tied with a baby blue ribbon and a tiny plastic pacifier. It was cute for the time (10 years ago) =)

Since then I have always made my little brothers birthday invitations, I remember the famous Buzz Lightyear invitations that had a detachable Space Ranger card for each kid to get them access to the party, and the Bob the Builder custom tool belt invitations. That's what started getting me recognition from my mother's friends. I have always been obsessed with paper since then!"

According to Giovanni, inspiration comes from everything!

“Movies, TV shows, Music even current fashion trends. I have a lot of invitation ideas in my arsenal. I just don't have the time to make them all a reality due to my rightfully demanding clients. I am always being pushed to excel by our clients, so I get to be creative every day. That's mostly where I get my inspiration."

Fill in the blank: Unique Designs can offer their clients:

”A {unique} experience! Our approach is totally different than the rest. We don't hide who we are. We want to be different and that's the type of client we attract! Different! Unique! We are willing to explore ideas and go beyond the "normal" invitation.”

Unique Designs has recently re-launched their website. The trio at Unique had a vision for how they wanted the site to be for a long time and were inspired by a "chic New York style".

"We worked together with Lindsey of Pure: Photography by Lindsey Tropf to come up with the perfect photography of our invitations and K-Gallery for our killer head shots. Several brainstorming sessions later the new website was created. It is a sleek, sexy representation of who we are! We hope it speaks volumes for what we do, and why we do it. We are so happy with our website and we hope that clients are able to see our style through the site."

Proven true by many satisfied clients, clients will encounter a young, fresh approach to their invitations and stationery design when they book with Unique Designs.

Contact Giovanni with Unique Designs for an exclusive discount when you purchase your dress at Solutions during the remainder of September!

An experience to remember

Last Saturday Abby Liga from Liga Photography and Amy Morelli from 2U Collection joined us here at Solutions Bridal for a wonderful day with mimosas, while brides tried on numerous designer dresses. Abby Liga shot complimentary dress documentation to all the girls that tried on a dress that day! The entire experience was wonderful and both talented girls graced us with their presence, making the event all the more special. Abby Liga's amazing photography from that night can be seen in the collage posted along with this blog! Amy Morelli's stationary collections are creative, unique and should be used for any upcoming events you might be having!

Vendors We Love: Celebrations Catering

Continuing on our Featured Vendor Tradition, we have chosen Celebrations Catering as one of our favorite local vendors! We asked Leah Sherer, owner of Celebrations Catering a few questions about the biz and how she got her start in catering.

Leah got her start in catering after she left her teaching job to do something that allowed her to be more creative and aggressive. “The school system didn't fit my need to constantly grow and change”, says Leah. After trying a few part time jobs, a lunch delivery business was the end product. Leah claims, “It grew fast and all catering, not just corporate, became my gig.”

Celebrations Catering specializes in excellent customer service, not just food. "We add anything and everything to our agenda, our inventory, our menu as it’s needed, cause we never say no! We take it all on and make every event different from the last, no boring repeat stuff, no predictable stuff, lots of new, fun stuff.”

Leah shared with us that her favorite dish to eat is always an Asian, fun, and creative dish of any type or any other authentic ethnic food from any region. She also confessed that she wasn't so hot on American food unless it's true southern old school.

"Celebrations Catering can cook anything from Persian Smoked Sea Bass to mini cachapa pancakes from South America, to regular ol' lasagna if that is what the customer wants."

What can Celebrations Catering offer brides and grooms that will make their wedding day more special? "Attention to detail at an entirely new level! Putting the whole event into one big picture, bringing the entire day together, making sure everything gets coordinated to a perfect fit. We don’t just bring the food and feed the peeps, we do anything and everything I mentioned earlier…chairs, linens, flower arrangements, hang lanterns, create drink menus, design food name cards with perfection to match the theme, it goes on…"

Celebrations is opening their new catering hall Villa East on October 1st.

Visit Celebrations Catering website for more info.

Marvelous Maral

Caroline Johnson recently did an on-site engagement session of one of our recent clients, Maral. We were so excited to see the photo session. Since we keep the bride's secret, the wedding gown, we never get a chance to meet the fiance. Its nice to finally see the bride and groom together. Check out the full shoot at Caroline's blog: Life With Caroline!

Real Wedding: An Intimate Affair

Take a look at these. Our stylish and fun-loving bride, Stephaine Stinson, tied the knot this summer during her intimate nuptials and dinner party reception. One our Winter Park vendors, Abby Liga, was there to capture every tear and laugh. Stephanie was a bridesmaid of ours before she was a bride. She was in Ashley Posers wedding in November. Right after she walked down her friends aisle she was in the store searching her new gown... wedding gown this time. Stephaine was one of those brides, that know what she likes and wants. From the very beginning, she knew she wanted Abby Liga to photograph her wedding. She was so at ease with everything else knowing she had the right photographer to make sure she had the right photos to look back on from years to come. Next step, was the gown. Stephanie has style to match her personality. She opt for a sophisticated, elegant gown from Mikaella. Not wanting the typical, strapless ballgown, this dress had it all. With a clean line v-neck, low back to swoon her new husband, and a side bow to make her portraits have a wow factor. It was such a pleasure working with Stephaine on all of her accessories and mother's gowns. Check out more pictures at Abby Liga's Blog!

Congrats Caroline!!!

We got a super special surprise visit today from one of our VERY favorite wedding photographers... Caroline Johnson! And guess what?! SHE'S GETTING MARRIED!!! We had a great time helping her pick out a dress for her upcoming wedding... and she is going to look amazing!

Check out this cuuuute picture of Caroline and her daughter, Riley:

Caroline, we love you! And we know you and Blair are going to have the most fab Fall wedding! We can't wait to see some PICTURES!!!!

Real Wedding: Mrs. Tracey Berrios

In June 2008, I met newly engaged Tracey Thomson for the first time. Through out this past year I have had a blast helping all of her creative ideas become a reality. I even had the great pleasure of getting to know her now husband, Matt. He was a really involved fiance. Every time Tracey came in, Matt was right by her side to help with the details. We are all so ecstatic to see their wedding turn out beautifully. They are such an amazing couple that are truly in love.



Wedding Planner: Melissa,Masterpiece Weddings
Florist: Betsy Gardener, The Plant Shoppe
Cake Designer: Kristy, Posh Pastry
Gown: Marisa, Solutions Bridal
Bridesmaids: Watters, Solutions Bridal
Photography: Lindsey, Pure By Lindsey

Wedding Hot Spot

Last Sunday the crew paid a visit to Bay Laurel in Micanopy, FL. The wedding venue is a privately owned rustic house with a lake and acreage to share for tents.

As we entered the estate we were greeted by horse and carriage. One of our favorite wedding planners, Angela with Avie Weddings & Events, is the official on site coordinator. She has helped several clients say their "I DOs" in this quaint, romantic setting. Also, Party Time Rentals works hand and hand in planning the fine details to complete the wedding ambiance.

One great location, two great wedding vendors! Make sure to check this place out before you decide on your venue.

Attention to all Brides: There is a fabulous photographer on the loose!!! Her name is "Milton Gil".
I discovered her today when she came in with a few of her business cards. I love checking out new vendors for our lovely brides here at the store, so immediately I went to Milton Gil's website. I fell in love with her photography skill and creativity! She has a well balanced talent with taking pictures that are Creative/Artsy and mixing them with a twist of a Classy/Romantic taste.
Now hear me out, I am very picky when it comes to photographers. Some pictures just look all the same, but I really believe that Milton Gil knows what she's doing in the world of wedding photography.

Here is the website: miltongil.com

*Have fun!!!*--From the girls at Solutions Bridal in Winter Park:-)