Warm Wishes from All of Us at Celebrations

Our BIGGEST Sale Ever!!!!

If you're one of those people who wait for the last minute to shop for Christmas decor or you're one of those people who constantly feel the urge to add more to your Holiday decor, this SALE is for you!!!!

Every single Christmas item has been discounted from a minimum of 40%! So drop everything and run to Celebrations!

KK Alese, Cayman's Own Rising Diva, Releases Her Solo Album, "Unexpected"

Cayman Islands is indeed home to some of the world’s finest talents. In fact, there is a bounty of musical talents right here in Cayman from Reggae artists to pop rock and indie groups, you name it we’ve got it!!

I am so delighted to say that one of the most recent musical stars to rise from Cayman is a wonderful young lady who indeed grew up as our neighbor and great family friend. I am referring to the incredibly talented Karen Edie who performs and records under the name KK Alese.

KK, who made her solo debut at the 2005 Cayman Jazz Festival has since performed internationally, opening for critically-acclaimed artists such as Brian McKnight, Natalie Cole, Maxi Priest & Morgan Heritage to name a few. It is not before time that she has released her long anticipated solo album featuring well known artists such as Bounty Killa and Beenie Man. Her album entitled “Unexpected” is a delightful fusion of Reggae, Soul, R&B & Hip Hop, appealing to all ages. I highly recommend this to everyone so get yourself a copy sit back, relax and enjoy you won’t be disappointed!!! Pick up your copy at Celebrations!!!!

Shhhhh!!!! We Have A Secret To Share With You!

Don't Miss Our Biggest Christmas Sale Ever!!!

Our Way of Saying Thank You!

Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without a huge Sale! So in celebration of this wonderful Holiday, we're discounting all of our Christmas Stock. In addition to this, we're also doing loads of prizes and give-aways all throughout the Sale ( Nov. 26-28, Thurs-Sat, 9am-6pm)

Come and take advantage of all the wonderful deals we have in store for you -- our own little way of saying Thank You for your continued patronage.


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Art of Stylish Christmas Decor

If you are in the Cayman Islands and you are keen on learning tips and tricks in Holiday Decor... you have to come join us!

Please see invite below.

Contact us for more details! 623-2044 ext 161 or email us at info@celebrationsltd.com

Cayman's Only Enchanted Christmas Store Opens! Let the Season of Goodwill Begin

In true Celebrations style , we kicked off the Festive Season with our Annual Christmas Open House and Customer Appreciation held last Wednesday evening at the Mirco Centre.

As guests arrived they were serenaded with a live performance from the talented violinist, Kate Allenger who set the mood with a festive selection of well-known Christmas melodies. Next, Ms. Nadia Fagan, Celebrations’ Director of Business Sales stepped up to the stage and gave a warm welcome to guests before introducing the amazingly talented Vivendi performers to the stage who wowed attendees with a breathtaking acrobatic display and stunning costumes. I was next on stage to thank everyone for attending and who gave a brief overview of the year, outlining the challenges and triumphs this being Celebrations “Sweet 16th” year in business. Reverend Godfrey Meghoo then gave his annual Christmas blessing and without further ado Celebrations’ Enchanted Christmas Store was officially opened. Guests swarmed into the store to purchase the latest in Christmas décor and to admire the beautifully designed Christmas Trees on offer this year, “it is like walking into a Winter Wonderland” one customer commented, “the only thing missing is snow!”

Throughout the evening guests were invited to enjoy an open bar, appetizers from Azzuro as well as samples of Seven Fathoms Rum, wine from Cayman Corker & beer from CayBrew. Mixmaster DJ of Krystal Entertainment provide the music for the evening with fantastic prizes being won throughout the night kindly donated by the Ritz, the Marriott, the Wharf, the Westin and Hemmingways to some very lucky winners!

This year Celebrations’ chose the Special Olympics Cayman Islands to be the recipient of all proceeds made from their Annual Wreath raffle. Maxine Everson and her team from the Special Olympics were extremely happy with the response from attendees raising almost CI$800. Mary Fortney was full of praise for one of the athletes, Shanike Ebanks who also attended the Open House and who gained a lot of supporters on the night, “Guests not only purchased the raffle tickets but also chose to make personal donations to the cause as well” she said. Mary mentioned that all money raised would be going towards purchasing a new vehicle for the athletes which they desperately need, they were very grateful to be given this opportunity by Celebrations.

I was delighted with the turnout for the Grand Opening . I just love this time of year, our Open House is a great way to start the season and gives us the chance to show our appreciation to all our valued customers. We have a wonderful selection of gifts this year, including a fantastic line in Lennox giftware specifically for Christmas and as always we take great pride in bringing the newest trends and styles to Cayman both in décor and gift items.

Exciting News! Wedding Conference in Turks & Caicos

Great exciting news! I have been asked to speak at the 5th Annual Wedding Conference of the Canadian Wedding Planners being held this year at Beaches, Turks and Caicos. The president of the association, Danielle Andrews and I met earlier this year in New York at the Destination Weddings and Honeymoons Celebrate Romance Conference in Plaza Hotel, NY, where I announced that I have embarked on writing a book "Caribbean Wedding Style".

The other speakers for this conference include the following wedding professionals:

Sasha Souza, Sparkliatti
Andy Ebon, Wedding Marketing Network

Ciara Daykin, Roc kstar Wedding Planner
Simon Daykin, Gutsy Groom

With my 15 years of professional experience as a wedding planner and designer, I will be sharing tips and trends for destination weddings in the Caribbean

. There is a constant rise on the number of couples who choose destination weddings over traditional weddings and the Caribbean is the very top choice amongst destinations. The gorgeous beaches, the perfect weather all year round, the top of the line service and amenities all add up to the charm that the Caribbean has to offer.

I'm so excited to be travelling to Turks and Caicos and to meet these wonderful planners from Canada! See you all in paradise!

Sponsors:

Cayman's Enchanted Christmas Store

It's that time of year again...the Season that we all look forward to -- Christmas!!!

And to kick start the festivities, Celebrations is inviting everyone to Cayman's biggest and most extravagant Christmas event - Celebrations Christmas Open House. Join us as we open the doors to Cayman's Enchanted Christmas Store!

As part of Celebrations Christmas tradition, we've chosen Cayman Island's Special Olympics as the beneficiary for our annual charitable wreath raffle draw. Refreshments and hors-d'oeuvres would be served.

Rsvp : info@celebrationsltd.com

Hope to see you at our Open House!

Sheenah + David : Contemporary Cayman Wedding

I have done this blog a great injustice by not blogging regularly. And here I am, trying to make amends.

_____

When Sheenah and David, a local couple, came in for their preliminary consultation, the one design element that they have asked for is sleek and modern. From the outset, I knew that this wedding would be one to remember.

Here are just a few of the fab photos of such a modern and breathtaking wedding at the Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman by this stylish couple!

Congratulations Sheena & David!!!

photos courtesy of : A Better Angle Photography

Cayman Destination Wedding in Outer Space!

Talk about out of this world! Being in wedding and events is the most awesome industry you can be in! You have to love it, must have that burning passion and feel so humbly gracious when results such as our story today reveals, that it reaffirms your passion and so makes it all worthwhile!

Two days ago Ahmed (one of our Senior Event Planners) and I had the great privilige to be invited to attend a brief ceremony at the Westin Casuarina, where the ‘out of this world’ Cayman flag was presented to our Cayman Islands Government!

Well the story is, Capt. Greg Johnson and his lovely wife Nannette, had their destination wedding right here in Grand Cayman on January 19, 2008 at a private villa in Rum Point. Both Greg and Nanette are astronauts working at NASA in Cape Canaveral! Greg is a Pilot for NASA while Nanette is a Grounds Engineer.

What clinched their decision in choosing the Cayman Islands as the perfect place for their wedding was the fact that they always have such a marvelous experience every time they visit. In fact, their first vacation as a couple was right here in Cayman.

To quote Nanette:
"Greg and I had our first vacation together on Grand Cayman in July 2007. Greg always said that one of the keys to a happy marriage is to be compatible on a vacation so this was sort of a test for us, a fun one at that! Needless to say we had a perfect vacation. We spent a luxurious romantic week, just the two of us and had a wonderful time - scuba diving, snorkeling, hanging out at Rum Point, shopping in Georgetown, touring Pedro's Castle, eating out at all the excellent restaurants, and floating in our pool. Two months later Greg proposed so I guess we were pretty compatible.After he proposed I found out there was an ulterior motive to our trip. We both knew we wanted to have a destination wedding so while we were on vacation he was also scouting out possible wedding locations,"

Ahmed was the Wedding Planner for this couple, and together himself and the entire team at Celebrations, coupled with the wonderful service providers for their wedding made for a very special event, one that made so much of an impression, this wonderful gentleman, Greg, very kindly offered to take the Cayman Islands flag to space and to fly it during the mission and then to return it to the Government of the Cayman Islands on his return. What an incredible gesture of good feeling, what an honor! Ahmed was personally invited for the Atlantis Space Shuttle ( STS-125) launch last May 11. STS-125 is a 5.3 million-odyssey that was the final servicing mission for NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Greg is the pilot for this historical mission.

Capt. Greg in the Atlantis cockpit.

The STS-125 crew posing with the Cayman flag behind them all floating in space.

Grand Cayman from outer space. Photo taken by Capt. Greg Johnson.

This is such an amazing story, and for me, I am so proud of our Islands and that our team was able to be part of their wonderful experience in Cayman in making their wedding so memorable that they wanted to include this little island in this special way. That’s why I love what we do…. making people happy, and being part of their lives in such an incredible way, nothing could be better! The Johnsons brought their wonderful family with them on this last trip and plan to make many more trips to our Islands in the years to come. Thanks again Greg and Nanette - we are so honored!

Ahmed, Nanette, Capt. Greg Johnson & Jo-Anne after
the formal presentation of the Cayman flag to the Cayman government.

Vanessa + Keith : A Simply Exquisite Cayman Wedding

Vanessa and Keith, got married here at the Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman on June 26, 2009. The ceremony was at the world-famous 7 Mile Beach and the wedding reception was at one of Ritz's posh ballrooms.

This gorgeous wedding was fully inspired by the beach but there was absolutely nothing casual with the wedding decor. Purple was also the predominant colour as it is the bride's favourite.

Beautiful Vanessa admiring her bridal bouquet of lavander roses.

....with her bridesmaid's

....a sweet kiss between the newlyed, Vanessa and Keith

...a close up of the sand dollar escort cards.

...Ritz's ballroom fully transformed for the wedding reception with water-like lighting effect all over.

....little girls having fun at the wedding

...the bar with shell accents

All the best Vanessa & Keith!

Photos by: http://www.davidwolfephotography.com

Vicky & Tony : Cayman Destination Wedding

Tony and Vicky Smart, the UK couple from Liverpool, who won their dream wedding ( designed by Celebrations) and spend their honeymoon here in Cayman courtesy of the Department of Tourism were overwhelmed with the arrangements made on their behalf.  The couple who arrived on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009, were in awe of their 3 bedroom suite supplied by Caribbean Club  with a breathtaking view of the world-renowned 7 Mile Beach.

Their wedding ceremony was held on the beach of the Caribbean Club. With only 8 guests in attendance, it was a very intimate wedding but  no details were spared. The ceremony was performed under a uniquely designed canopy  with stunning floral and diamante accents that shimmered in the afternoon sun.

 Following the ceremony, a cocktail reception was set up by the pool and then the dinner reception on the balcony of their suite.

The day after their wedding, before leaving on their honeymoon, they were treated to a Stingray City trip which they said was one of the highlights of their destination wedding.

For their honeymoon, the couple travelled to Little Cayman, the smallest island of the 3 islands that makes Cayman, and stayed at the Southern Cross Resort, " We felt like we were on our own desert island", said Vicki. " We went snorkelling, sea fishing and met some lovely people."

Vicky and Tony sent a lovely email after landing back in the UK: " Tony and I are back home now!!!We were very sad to leave your beautiful islands! It was a dream come true and far exceeded anything that we could have hoped for, even now we can't believe it really happened. Thank you all so much again for making our wedding perfect. Vicky & Tony xx"

Thank you Vicky & Tony...you were such a pleasure to work with. We hope you'll come and visit us again here in the Cayman Islands.

Photography by: David Wolfe

Engage!09 Featured in Cayman Compass

Article written by Cliodhna Doherty of Cayman Compass.

Here's the article verbatim.

Some of the biggest names in weddings are saying “I do” to Cayman as a top wedding destination after a top notch wedding symposium’s success here recently.

Such was the impression made that within days of the conference taking place, a new up–scale wedding has been moved here from another Caribbean island and much interest is being shown from wedding planners.

Engage ’09 Something Blue, a Luxury Wedding Symposium was held at the Ritz–Carlton, Grand Cayman from 21 –24 June.

Kathryn Arce & rebecca Grinnals of Engaging Concepts. Photo by Stacey Kane

The organizers of the prestigious event, Rebecca Grinnals of Engaging Concepts, Inc. and the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism literally brought together the ‘best of the best” in the wedding industry.

And now the Cayman Islands can only be set to reap the rewards, according to organisers and local sponsors.

“It was an awesome event for Cayman and it went really well. It can only translate to more weddings and celebrity weddings coming here,” said Managing Director of Celebrations Jo–Anne Brown, one of the main sponsors of the event.

“Quite simply it was an amazing success, really beyond our wildest dreams,” said Mrs Grinnals who is Romance Consultant for the Cayman Islands.

With the top names in weddings in attendance, including Preston Bailey and Michelle Rago among many other famous wedding designers, planners, photographers and media, the high impact luxury wedding business summit attracted the high end wedding industry professionals.

“Over 175 attendees came from 27 states and nine countries – as far away as Calgary, Alberta and the UK.”

Such top media as Darcy Miller of Martha Stewart Weddings and Carley Roney from The Knot.com will also provide high publicity on the event and destination. There was also much live blogging from the event.

Preston Bailey during Engage! 09.Photo by: Stacey Kane

A top name in celebrity wedding planning, Preston Bailey said, “The location is beautiful, the beaches are great and what I’ve noticed so far is there’s a lot of good taste here and there’s money, so all of those ingredients are really perfect for a wonderful destination area.”

Mrs Grinnals said there is no question that the symposium will bring more luxury wedding business in both the long and short term to the Cayman Islands.

“We had destination wedding planners going on island site tours afterwards with the sole purpose of seeking locations for couples they are working with.

“We have a story of a Texas based wedding planner who had already been in touch with a couple she is working with who had started planning in St. John in the USVI but she called them from Cayman and told them that they must switch destinations as this was the perfect location for what they were looking for.”

Mrs Grinnals noted that about 80 per cent of the speakers/attendees had never visited Cayman before and they were enchanted with the beauty, sun, sea, sand and the level of talent on island to support weddings.

“People could not believe it and cannot stop talking about it. And these are key influencers in the wedding market . . . We created an environment that allowed everyone to not just tell these influencers/bridal media what Cayman is capable of and what makes it such a unique and special destination, we created an environment to show them – and that is so much more powerful.”

Photo by Stacey Kane

Celebrations’ Mrs. Brown gave attendees the benefit of her extensive years of experience in the destination wedding industry from a Caribbean perspective as part of a panel discussion.

“It was very awesome to be on this panel and questioned from people from all over the world,” she said.

She got the message out that Cayman wedding planners can be an extension to wedding planners coming to work on–island.

And the feedback to her, in turn, was that it was wonderful to have a company such as Celebrations that is equipped to such a level as they are, with ability to provide for all facets of a wedding, such as transport trucks, calligraphers, seamstresses, tents chairs etc. On other Caribbean islands upscale or celebrity wedding planners have to deal with many different suppliers and vendors, some of whom may not be that dependable.

Mrs Brown explained that Celebrations did all the floral for the entire event from beginning to end. The first night was designed by big name Michelle Rago but was still executed by Celebrations.

“There was some amazing feedback,” she explained. “It’s very heart–warming because these people [the visiting wedding planners] work with budgets that have no restraints.”

And for the Cayman Islands, definitely more high–end weddings will come from this, she admits. “So many planners have emailed me and said they will be pushing for weddings in the Cayman Islands,” she said.

Mrs Brown also announced at the symposium that she is writing a table–top book “Caribbean Wedding Style”, with her perspective of what Caribbean wedding style is.

And the trend for destination weddings looks like the market will continue to grow, despite the recession, the conference heard.

Twelve years ago when destination weddings started they comprised of one or two per cent of US weddings and that figure has now grown to 20 per cent.

An Emmy–winning film crew was on hand to capture all of the footage for a planned one–hour television special on the event and the many attendees, to air near the end of 2009.

The brand new wedding website www.caymanvows.ky was launched by the Department of Tourism at the event

_______________________

More photos of the final night, taken by the fabulous Stacey Kane