When most people think of balloon arrangements, they picture a few floating colors attached to a weight. When I imagine them, I see elegant carriages, castles, and Cowboy Pete! I’m Leilani Stendebach , certified balloon artist and owner of Event Planning by Leilani, Inc. where we design and plan weddings, trade shows, parties and supply top quality rentals.

My grandfather always told me, “You’ll have a business of your own someday but learn on someone else’s time. Get all the experience you can working for other people.” He was right. I learned the tricks of the trade working in the hotel business and for a convention decorating company before striking out on my own. I took my experience and contacts in the hotel business and got to work.

What started as a business out of my home and garage fifteen years ago is now my dream job. In 2002 I became a certified balloon artist and soon began winning awards for my ‘out of the box’ creations. As a family business, my daughter Treva also mastered this creative illusion of color, movement, and design and today artistic balloon arrangements are a large part of our business. With certified artists on call, rest assured your event will shine right on schedule.

With over 6,000 square feet of warehouse space, I have everything I need at my finger tips to make my clients the star of the show. We supply rentals and deliver gorgeous décor for events of up to 1,500 people. Whether you need pipe & drape, trade show decor, balloon decor, wedding coordination, wedding rentals or party rentals, we can deliver the kind of event that your guests will remember. Let us bring our expertise and unique creativity to your next special event!

Event Planning by Leilani, Inc.

It’s hard to improve on something as elegant and gracious as Coles Garden Wedding & Event Center. Gorgeous gardens, the beautiful architecture and convenient amenities are the features that have made it a favorite venue for so many different events for years. I’m Jenny Wood and my husband Willie and I are the new owners of Coles Garden.

We’ve updated this breathtaking property that has drawn interest from people all over the world. We were no exception. Our wedding reception was held here in 2004 and made a lasting impression. When I discovered it was on the market and knew I needed larger accommodations for my insurance office, One General Agency, I couldn’t resist the possibilities.

It was almost too good to be true. The rooms were perfect for meetings with clients and the building would offer more space for staff as well as a much more scenic view! But, it was also too beautiful not to share with people who wanted to welcome their guests to a spectacular event. I decided to host events and our agency under the same roof. The journey has been fun and exciting!

It didn’t take much to update a good thing. We added new flooring, crystal, chandeliers, lighting, spacious dressing rooms for bride and groom and little updates that put the icing on the cake. When people step into the enchanted world of Coles Garden and realize how reasonably priced our custom or prepackaged rates are, they can’t walk away!

We partnered with Deep Fork Grill to offer clients high quality and affordable catering services but clients are also permitted to bring in their own. Keeping flexibility, we also have in-house professional wedding coordinators and allow clients to bring in their own. We revived the indoor chapel so that guests can choose between an indoor wedding ceremony that captures the outdoor view or choose to recite their vows on one of our gardens. Either way, cascading waterfalls and vibrant, colorful gardens will catch your eye everywhere you turn!

Coles Garden

Hello, my name is Rhonda Davis, the owner of Moliere Bridal in Oklahoma City. Although my degree and background was originally in accounting, I always had the dream of one day being in a retail setting – especially one that was service oriented. Plus, I was fascinated with every aspect of weddings, particularly because it is such a service-oriented industry.

In September of 2009, I purchased Moliere Bridal which had been in business with a wonderful reputation for 18 years. I purchased the exquisite inventory and kept the wonderful staff, including the manager, consultants and seamstress who is truly a master of her art.

Moliere Bridal specializes in wedding gowns, but we also offer, bridesmaid and flower girl dresses, tuxedos, shoes, jewelry, headpieces and veils. We have one of the largest selection of wedding gowns in the state. Of our six designers, we are the only Oklahoma retail bridal shop to carry five of those lines. – you’ll find them no where else in the state but Moliere and no two gowns are alike. Because of our special order experience, we are extremely knowledgeable about taking measurements for dress sizes 0 to 28.

At Moliere Bridal, we pride ourselves on our exceptional service throughout the process from selection to fitting and final fitting. Moliere is one of very few area members of the National Bridal Service, an organization which specially trains all our consultants.

Another service we offer is gown preservation. After your wedding, we will assist you in preserving your gown as a cherished heirloom or perhaps for other generations of family brides. Your gown is cleaned and preserved in an acid free environment – beautifully displayed in a white, windowed box.

Remember that few decisions are as important as the style, fit and care of your perfect wedding gown. Please visit Moliere Bridal and discover the special order – special service option that will definitely “turn heads” at your wedding.

Rhonda Davis, Owner

Moliere Bridal
6401 N. W. Expressway
Oklahoma City, OK 73132

(new location as of May 1, 2010)
800 N. W. 50th
Oklahoma City, OK 73118

405-728-0485

molierebridal@sbcglobal.net
www.molierebridal.com

Believe it or not, research shows that a first impression (good or bad) is set in the first seven seconds or less! How your guests almost instantly feel about your special event will affect their entire experience and help form lasting memories. Luckily positive first impressions can actually be “staged.”

Hello, my name is Tahnya Schilke, the owner of Suddenly Simply. I am also an Accredited Staging Profession (ASP). I guess you could say I’ve been staging ever since I was a child who thoroughly enjoyed moving around furniture and household accessories.

Even then, I could sense the difference the placement made in how I and others felt.
My educational background is in special education and psychology, but I eventually realized that staging events, residences and commercial properties is what I enjoy. So, I began my staging company – Suddenly Simple.

My job (which I love) is to create space and  atmosphere for your event using my understanding of space, color and proportion with the goal of achieving the desirable affect. In simple terms, what you place and where you place objects creates an ambience that effects emotions. How do you want your guests to feel? Impressed, relaxed, inspired, excited, romantic? All these and more are the result of creative staging.

The first part of the process is my sitting down with brides, grooms and other clients, listening well and truly understanding what effect they want to achieve for their occasion or theme. When I tap into their vision, I creatively use that knowledge to choose and arrange areas such as the entry way, reception table, ceremony stage and/or the overall impact of the area, whether it’s an indoor room or an outdoor patio.

I try to primarily use what is already available, including furniture, decorations and accessories – instead of spending a great deal of the budget on additional items. I can do as little or as much as clients prefer from a single centerpiece or a “wow” table at the entrance to arranging the entire venue. Stretching the budget is a major priority.

In addition to staging events, I also use my training and talents to stage homes to make them more saleable, hotel lobbies, offices and other commercial properties.

If you’re planning a special event, don’t underestimate the power of creative staging.
Let Suddenly Simple help create the vision that will emotional impact your guests from the first seven seconds, throughout the event and forever in their memories.

Tahnya Schilke, ASP, Owner Suddenly Simple Ph: 405-436-3181 stagers@suddenly-simple.com www.Suddenly-Simple.com

 Hello, my name is Sondra Reeves, the owner of Dreamcatcher Carriage and Party Ponies in Tulsa. I’m lucky to have been around horses all my life. After graduating with a degree in education, I worked in the Human Resources field, but eventually decided to pursue my real passion, which is horses, and share that love with other people.

I discovered the joy of carriage driving when my daughter brought home our first team from Minnesota.   The business began with offering Christmas carriage rides, but the referrals grew the business to include weddings, adult and children’s birthday parties, anniversaries, romantic proposals – all types of events all over Oklahoma.

The horses are well trained with experienced drivers. The horses are also “street legal,” which means we’re licensed to drive them on private streets and at all sorts of venues, including churches, schools, corporate gatherings, hotel parking lots and even private backyards for the smaller birthday ponies.

At our own 25-acre ranch in Sapulpa, just outside Tulsa, we host campouts, hayrides and theme parties.

Dreamcatcher Carriage and Party Ponies works individually with each client, decorating our carriage and horses with color-coordinated flowers and plumes. We can even decorate them according to your theme; some we have done in the past include tuxedo, western, Mexican, East Indian and more. 

Dreamcatcher Carriage and Party Ponies
Tulsa, Oklahoma
1-918-CARIAGE (227-4243)

www.dreamcatchercarriage.com
www.dreamcatcherpartyponies.com
catcherofdream4U@sbcglobal.net

  Hello, my name is Johnny Williams, owner of Catch-A-Glimpse Retreat Center. The inspiration for our venue’s unique name came to me while at a church service back in 1995 when the minister urged us to take a minute to “catch a glimpse” of God’s goodness and mercy.  

We found the perfect place near Cashion, Oklahoma – 160 acres with a 4,000 square foot Colorado style log home which we converted to a daytime meeting and retreat center. The central point is the 900 square recreation area which we call Antlers Room. There are also several break-out rooms and a game room. Our lovely outdoor areas are available for fishing, archery, BB gun fun, canoeing, hay rides, treasure hunts, water balloon launching or just enjoying a bonfire cookout with smores and hot dogs.   Our 2,400 square foot barn serves as a multi-purpose building which you are welcome to decorate to suit your event. Catch-A-Glimpse Retreat Center is within minutes of Edmond, Deer Creek, Piedmont, and Northwest Oklahoma City.

If Catch-A-Glimpse Retreat Center sounds like the perfect place for church and school events, you’d be right. But, we also host all types of events here, including weddings, family reunions, graduations, fall festivals and corporate meetings with team building exercises.

     Johnny Williams
Catch-A-Glimpse Retreat Center
11400 South County Line Road
Cashion, Oklahoma 73016
405-433-2092

johnnywilliams@catch-a-glimpse.com
http://www.catch-a-glimpse.com

Fabulous Fair Faire! 
 
Everyone agrees that the Oklahoma State Fair Park is famous for its food, but if you’re only thinking corn dogs and funnel cakes, your are in for a welcome surprise- especially if you are planning a special event. 

Dan Parker, the executive chef of Ovations Foodservice at Oklahoma’s State Fair Park is originally from Vancouver, Washington where he operated a home style deli restaurant for five years.  Then after, Chef Dan became executive chef at a country club, and for fifteen years he catered on site events of all types, parties, meetings, receptions, reunions, and golf tournaments.  In 2006, Ovations sent Chef Parker to supervise the catering for a quarter horse show at the State Fair Park, and was then offered a full- time position as the State Fair Park’s Executive Chef. 

(Read More…)

Horse Magic!

There’s really nothing else that says “special occasion” like a horse-drawn carriage!  The majesty of the impressive equines and that almost hypnotic “clip clop” chant of their hooves inspires romance, awe, majesty or just plain fun for events of all kinds. (Read More…)

Oklahoma Mountain Weddings

Many brides dream of a romantic mountain location for their wedding, but the Rockies are too far away and a destination wedding simply isn’t in their budget.   The good news is that Oklahoma has its own
mountains surrounded by lush forests and gorgeous vistas.  Even better news…a fabulous wedding chapel has just opened in this ideal location. (Read More…)