New STAFF!!!

Hello again.....I promise this is the last post for the night!

I have to brag a little bit because we recently brought on two more staff members and they are soooo good at this "job" that I had to share!


First is Rebecca Mires, who was a referral from one of my other Directors, Kristye. Kristye promised me her "buddy" would be great for Diamonds & Dreams. Riiiight....well, guess what? Kristye was definitely understating the value of this buddy! Rebecca was MORE than great!

Rebecca came into this company with both guns blazing! I mean seriously, she assisted at one of our events, coming in very last minute (someone called in sick) and very UNINFORMED. The result? She absolutely meshed with our vendors and the rest of the staff. She didn't need a lot of direction (for someone coming into this with no training) and was always "forward thinking" which is a must in the industry. Some people have that ability and some do not. Rebecca has IT! Needless to say, there was no interning for Rebecca..(of course I didn't tell her that up front, she would have asked for more money!!!)...she's Diamonds & Dreams born and bred! We love Becca!

Next is Toni Schach......Toni contacted me explaining she was interested in working in the planning portion of the wedding industry. Now, keep in mind, I get a LOT of "I want to work weddings" emails, resumes, phone calls, etc. But Toni's request just kind of got my attention, so we began a dialogue. I explained to her my goals, my expectations and my dreams and asked her about hers. Long story short, I asked her to work a wedding with us that month, just to get her feet wet and see if she was truly "serious" and we'd go from there. Well, as it turned out, that wedding (as great as it was planned on our end), required a LOT more help than anticipated. As anyone who knows me can tell you, there is nothing at an event that "isn't my job" so the things that came up (that really should have been handled by others on site) got handled by my crew.......and Toni. She never stood around twiddling her thumbs, she jumped in and got the job done and then came and asked.....what next? Do u love it?? Needless to say, she didn't have the normal "probation time" either. Toni is a gem and I'm hoping she stays with me for a long, long time! And did I mention, she's involved deeply as a pageant contestant AND a part time race car driver??? My staff is WELL ROUNDED!

Both Rebecca and Toni helped out at last week's fashion show at the Hill Country Bridal Fair and I have to say, they did an amazing job! Our "dressing facilities" were extremely lacking and yet they made it work! Thank you for a job well done!

As for the rest of my "employees" (they are actually my partners in crime, but I have to keep them scared of me so they work harder!)....I love you all to pieces! thank you for always making me (and our company) look fabulous!

Hill Country Bridal Spectacular 2008

Hello all!



You can always tell the true "wedding season"......bridal fairs galore! San Antonio, New Braunfels and Boerne. Bandera, Austin, Houston....you name the city and the "fair" will follow shortly behind!



We recently participated (and again, partnered with Megan's Bridal Corner) in the New Braunfels Bridal Fair and I thought I'd share a couple of photos from the show and show off some of the gowns and my booth! Also involved in this venture was Kim Middlestat of KM Impressions (air brush make up and image consulting) and Stephanie Eiland of Vanity Island Hair! They did such beautiful work and even pulled me off the floor for "touching up"........they gave up after a while........I'm hopeless! :)

Another plus for the day, my booth "neighbor" was Sweet Traditions..Lynda Stansberry, Owner/Baker Extraordinaire!....best cakes in all of Texas! (and she was handing out cupcakes!! Is life grand or what?? )



I hope you enjoy.......and I'll post more later.

...and a BIG thank you Rhonda Hagen for the great photos! You rock, girl!

Marquardt Ranch Grand Opening!

Hello everyone!


We were recently asked to participate in a grand opening in Boerne, Texas at the beautiful new venue, The Marquardt Ranch. The great folks at MR were such gracious hosts and we're glad we were there! (That would be Dru Steubing - venue owner and his cohort...Amanda Spakes (Weddings by Showtime).


My good friend Teresa Sandvig (Elan Imaging) came by to view the venue and also to visit my "booths" (ok, they were dressed tables, but I still conducted business!). Here's a couple of photos she snagged for me! I'd upload more, but this blogger won't allow it! Dru (I believe) has more photos on his site, too.


Also, here's the link if you'd like to view more of the photos and take the virtual tour! It really is quite beautiful and very peaceful. the marquardt ranch

Great Day SA hosts a wedding show...and we were there!

Hey !!!

I'm baaaack!

We recently had the opportunity to participate in a great, hour long wedding show that KENS 5 tv hosted! How much fun is that???

I was interviewed by none other than Bridget Smith, KENS' own vivacious hostess with the world's most bedazzling smile (seriously, I couldn't concentrate on the questions because I was mesmerized by her mouth! ) She is not only fun, intelligent and beautiful......but baby those teeth! :)

Anyway, I was sick as a dog.......running a high fever and just didn't much care about anything (which probably explains my lack of nerves on the show! I was too sick to be nervous!) Anyway, it was a lot of fun despite my illness and I held company with some other really great SA vendors!

The video is too large for the blog, but my advertisers at San Antonio Weddings Mag worked it onto my home page! Please check it out! Diamonds & Dreams was the very first segment, but please watch the entire clip as it does house some other talented folks, too!




I'm a star! I'm a star! (in my mind I am!!) Have a great week everyone!

news to share

Hello everyone!

Again, its been over a month since I posted, but I just seem to keep getting busier and busier! I need an in office assistant......I'm working on that too!

First, apologies for the lack of photos of the By Invitation Only show we hosted in december. The files are just too large to load on this blog and I haven't had the time to get with Teresa Sandvig to get the "reduced" versions!

As soon as I get them, You'll get them! :)

I am terrible at blogging technological information! lol