In The Heart Of Historic Downtown New Orleans Hidden Amongst High Rises

In the heart of historic downtown New Orleans you will find something extraordinary, a hidden gem amongst high rises. In the midst of the Central Business District,known for it's daily grind you find a place of sanctuary when you walk through the doors of Spa Atlantis.

Back in 2000, Richard Borne was in control of a successful computer consulting company when he developed a desire to exercise another part of his brain. He attended massage therapy school not realizing that he would soon acquire a love and passion for his new craft.

Richard chose a new career in property management where his time would be flexible to pursue his true passion, and we all know what happens when you follow your true passion, everything else seems to fall in to place.

The sudden aftermath of Hurricane Katrina left our city in ruins but luckily left Richard's home with no damages. Richard tried to return the money that was given to him for damages but there were no provisions on how to do so. He had two choices; he could start his life over in a new city which would have been easier because he was left with no friends or family in New Orleans or he could stay here and do something special for our city. In result a business plan was conceived and now we have a place for locals to escape reality.

Richard and his staff are known for their second to none customer service. Richard said, "Spa Atlantis is my baby and we will accomodate our guests in any way that we can." They use clean products that are eco friendly such as Dermalogica, Niven Morgan and Get Fresh so you can always be sure that you are getting the best treatment.

There are many options to choose from at Spa Atlantis, including massage, body & facial treatments, waxing, nails, hair styling with additional ammenities! They specialize in bridal services, intended to relieve and remove the stress from planning a wedding. Whatever your needs, they can customize your services for you, your bridal party, family and friends.

They also encourage executive parties. Richard feels that it is important for employees to use their services to bond with each other and it just helps people to feel better. Richard said, "Sometimes insurance will even pay for some or all of the service due to the state of overall well being."

I hope you take my word for it and try this place out, but if you are in need of more assurance you can find recent reviews of their services on sites like google, yahoo, and trip advisor. You can also find them on my website www.BrideAndGroomPlanner.com located in the health & beauty section.

Where The River Bends

There are changes that take place everyday, some are minor where some are major. This natural occurrence usually plays a hand in changing life as we once knew it. Ashley was preparing to open Nola Flora, where it's original location was not where we find it today. Due to Hurricane Katrina we now find Nola Flora along with Nuance where the river bends. Somehow fate played a hand in selecting this unique combination where Ashley, a talented floral artist and Arden, a glass and metal artist would be able to combine innovative ideas and grow together!

Driving to Nola Flora for my initial visit with Ashley I did not realize that I was about to meet someone who is beautiful on the inside and out. You can see Ashley's true nature not only by speaking with her but also through her work. She incorporates her character along with your ideas to bring a vision to life. I explained to Ashley that I as an outsider can see the uniqueness in each one of her projects, but the real question was, "How does this come about, how do you create this type of perfection for your brides." Ashley said, "The key is that I work closely with my brides where the importance lies in making it special for them.

A few months passed since I had first met with Ashley, so we decided it was time to catch up. I met her where our conversation seemed to pick up right where it had left off, not missing a beat. My interest was in what projects Nola Flora and Nuance had coming up, and you could tell in Ashley's eyes that she was truly eager to tell me everything. Nuance carries a fine collection of jewelry, candles locally poured in Plaquemines Parish, one of a kind second line handkerchiefs, pottery, hand blown glass, and toasting glasses that they will specialize to the taste of the bride. These items will be great gifts for a bridal party or even a bridal registry. Brides you can find out more about these specialty gifts, as well as meet Ashley & Arden at the upcoming "Weddings of the South Bridal Show" produced by Weddings By Janie Glade, held at the Royal Sonesta on February 21st from 1:00 to 4:00.

Outside of the bridal arena Nola Flora is prepared to "Go Green" for our loved ones on Valentines Day. You all have to check these reusable gift bags out, they are actually purses that Ashley found while she was in Vietnam. She has a variety of styles and sizes. Each handbag is carefully thought out. She fills each with items such as lavender mittens & booties, chocolate flaxeed eye masks, heatable eucalyptus frogs , candles, and Fleur de Lis wines stoppers just to name a few. My favorite one was a smaller style that was created for a young girl that contained a candle and hand lotion. Please get into the shop uptown at 730 Dublin St, these exclusive pieces are going fast.

As you can probably tell, Nola Flora & Nuance have plenty of great things in store for our community. Some of their ideas are still in the midst of creation, so as of now all I can tell you is to please keep an eye out. If you get a chance stop in and visit with Ashley & Arden, you will feel at home as soon as you walk in the door. You can also find Nola Flora at www.BrideAndGroomPlanner.com

A "Bachelorette Bootcamp" Weekend Experience

Over the weekend I attended, what my girlfriends and I like to call "Bachelorette Bootcamp" for one of our very good friends, Missy. She is getting married in El Salvador to our friend Jose in a short while. Unfortunately, quite a few of us girls will not have a chance to make it to the actual wedding so we all played a part in making sure Missy's weekend experience was special.

Our plans were to start the weekend off on Friday afternoon with a walk through the French Quarter, shortly after checking into the Hampton Inn Convention Center. Previous to our stay, I could say that I was familiar with this property but had no clue on how pleasing and accommodating the weekend was going to be because of our choice of hotels.

It was a treat walking into the old New Orleans style hotel lobby on such beautiful wood floors, gazing at the decor complimentary to my favorite, open brick walls. Checking in was extremely easy and the location was central to all of the fun local New Olreans hotspots we planned on spending our weekend; Rock N Sake, Lephare, Republic, Red Eye, and Lucy's to say the least.

Michelle Burtch of the Hampton Inn properties greeted us upon arrival and escorted us to our room for a tour. Entering we realized that this wasn't just any room, it was a suite to accommodate our every need. It was perfect for us! With my favorite brick walls, including a nicely sized kitchen where we would set up our bar, a large living room and a large bedroom overlooking the pool, we looked at each other with excitement, saying aloud this choice was a great one.

I can safely say the Hampton Inn Convention Center property was great for many reasons but the one above all was the bonding experience it gave us girls. This is surely a memory that Missy or the rest of us will never forget. Some of us being old friends and some of us new, you can only imagine how our stay here brought us closer. We now have good friends and a great weekend to be thankful for!

For more information on a great stay like ours or perhaps holding your wedding at one of the Hampton Inn properties locate them in the local merchants section of www.BrideAndGroomPlanner.com/New-Orleans

For additional information you may contact:

Sara Northcutt Bartlett
1201 Convention Center Blvd
NOLA 70130
504-566-9990
sara@highpointe.com

Christie Talamo
Sales Manager Hampton Inn Downtown-French Quarter
226 Carondelet St.
New Orleans, LA 70130
504.529.5077
504.529.5453 (FAX)
ctalamo@highpointe.com

A Tale Of Two Countries

Some things in life are just meant to be. It has been said that each one of us has a soul mate, the person god has made special for each and every one of us. Unfortunately, we don't particularly know when we will find this love, it just happens. You could meet the love of your life in a grocery store, in college, perhaps it might be a friend of a friend. All of our stories are different, and unique. Within the past few years I have been able to witness one union that is profound in the way that it has touched my heart.

Marc & Monica met in Mexico City. Marc was partly on vacation while in attendance of his cousins wedding. When they met, little did they know that by exchanging email information they were going to be engaged three years later. Marc & Monica mildly kept in contact through email but soon lost touch. It is funny how technology has played a large part in their life because soon they found each other again and hit it off by means of instant messenger. There life was changing with each conversation. Marc & Monica decided they would meet in Argentina. Within the time they finally got to spend together, it was known that they had something special.

How was this to happen, Marc lived in New Orleans where Monica lived in Colombia. Each hard at work, Marc having a strong business of his own and Monica studying her lifelong dream of fashion, it was hard but possible. This was something worth working for. While fate was on their side, a separation of miles would be difficult. A strong commitment to each other was going to be an important factor, if this was going to work. Through the years, meeting in different places and communicating through various forms of technology, their love grew stronger. It was finally time to start their life together.

About a month ago, Marc flew to Colombia for a visit where he would make Monica the happiest woman in the world. He thought to himself, "I always felt that it was impersonal for people to propose in a restaurant. Well as plans normally change, Marc & Monica went out for dinner to a restaurant that was uxepectidly very familiar to the stages of their early beginnings. It couldn't be any more perfect, people cleared the restaurant and the time was right. Marc said, "Mi Amor' and presented the ring to her. While I am privileged to know more details of this beautiful story, I will leave you with your imagination.

My final words are that I am extremely happy for this young couple who are very special to me. They are now in the planning stages of their wedding that will be held in Colombia where I feel lucky that I get to attend. For all that are reading, I hope that you get to experience something as beautiful as this!

From Day One!

Starting a new business is quite the process and it can be a little scary. Well as most of you know I am going through the initiation of building my business, BrideAndGroomPlanner.com of New Orleans. There are many things to do and plenty of people to meet to reveal my true character and what I have to offer.

One person comes to mind when I think of the first day I plunged into the world of wedding industry professionals, Christine Breaux of Weddings In Style Magazine. I will never forget how we met. I attended a meeting at the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, where Christine was the guest speaker. I was astonished in amazement on how knowledgeable, smart, classy, and funny she was while she worked the room. She spoke of trends in the industry, and gave us advice on destination brides. In a seconds notice, Christine points to me out of a crowded room and asks, "Why are you here", I was obviously nervous, but proudly explained! Her idea for pointing me out and asking me this question was to show that we were all there for the same reason. Immediately after leaving this meeting I sent Christine a follow up email expressing my thoughts on how I felt about her and would appreciate it if we could stay in touch. From day one, Christine has been a kind source of knowledge for me and has been extremely supportive while extending her expertise. It is so nice to know that we as wedding industry professionals have a support system within each other.

Christine and her team at Weddings In Style Magazine are working so hard to make the wedding planning experience less stressful. Her new issue of the magazine was just released and coming up soon on February 28, 2010, they will have their next bridal show at Westin Canal Place.

You can find more information in the New Orleans Events section of www.BrideAndGroomPlanner.com/New-Orleans

For advance tickets log onto www.weddingsmagazines.com

A Young Girls Dream

I am speaking for myself and for the young women that have grown up in and around the New Orleans Metropolitan area, when I say it is a dream to wear a gown created by designer Harold Clarke. I remember strolling beside the original showroom on the corner of Iberville and Dauphine, where Harold's gowns were on display like artwork, imagining if I would ever have a chance to wear one of these exclusive pieces. Little did I know that eventually there would come a time in my life where I would actually get the pleasure to sit down with Harold and learn more about him and what he does.

Walking in to his new location, which is on the second floor of New Orlean's own Rubinsteins, I was a little nervous. Now that I have come to know Harold I don't know why I was the slight bit nervous to begin with. Harold's calm demeanor puts you at ease immediately upon arrival. You can tell he has pure and honest intentions when speaking with him. I had so many questions for him, but the most important one was what lead him to where he is today. After telling me a story on how he fell in love with couture fashion, his answer was a simple one. Harold said,"It is important for me to stay true to my passion, I am just a man doing what I love." Harold is pure inspiration.

There are many great things going on at Harold Clarke Couture Atelier, March 20th they are presenting us with "Weddings Couture". I am so glad that I get to be included in this venture. Weddings Couture will be an exclusive bridal event that you will not want to miss. Find out more about this upcoming event in the New Orleans events section of www.BrideAndGroomPlanner.com/New-Orleans

Destination Brides Get Ready For New Orleans

New Orleans is one of the most beautiful and historical cities in the country that holds an ambiance for romance. From the riverfront, to the French Quarter, New Orleans hosts a variety of unique and memorable locations for your wedding. This is why New Orleans is now one of the most popular cities for destination weddings. With a rich culture, amazing culinary choices, world famous music, and Weddings by Janie Glade, New Orleans will make any wedding a dream come true.

I have had the privilege of not only meeting Janie Glade & Terry Merlenbach of Weddings by Janie Glade, but also the privilege of becoming very close with them. They have become quite like my wedding fairy godmothers. Yesterday, I met them both for lunch at Domenica, which is located in the Roosevelt Hotel downtown, to catch up on the past couple of months. I can't tell you how genuinely kind these two women are. I asked questions on some of the recent weddings they have created, and it is a pleasure to listen to the way they describe what they do, you can see the passion in their eyes. Janie's mind runs a million miles a minute with new ideas, while Terry keeps track of every detail.

Janie & Terry's focus is on destination brides that have an eye for being unique. Janie explained, that the city sets a scene for a blank canvas for every one of their brides. When they originally meet with their beloved bride for the first time, they listen and learn about her desires to get a feel for what they will create for her special day. There has not been two weddings that have even been close to being similar. Janie & Terry are true artists when it comes to making their bride's dream a reality.

One of their brilliant ideas that is coming to fruition, is their bridal show that they are producing to be held at the Royal Sonesta on February 21st from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This is going to be an event that brides will not want to miss. I will be at the point of registration with my BrideAndGroomPlanner.com girls greeting every newly engaged bride, while there will be an array of specialized wedding vendors that Janie & Terry deal with on a regular basis. Believe me when I tell you, if they are affiliated with Janie & Terry, they are the best of the best. I am certainly looking foward to being there!

For more information on Weddings By Janie Glade and their upcoming bridal event stay tuned to www.BrideAndGroomPlanner.com/New-Orleans