The Sedona Weddings and Corporate Events Guide

Eventsbyshowstoppers.com

Outdoor Sedona Weddings

Are Breathtaking

One of the most memorable weddings we produced in 2008 was for Karen and Steve.  We quickly discovered we were all on the same page from day one.  The entire process was so much fun.  Karen wanted lots of purple for her wedding and she got it.  The challenge was to use varieties of purple, bring in elements of the southwest yet keep the look of a wedding, respect the style of the home and to create all of this in the heat of the summer on a windy day.  We pulled it off perfectly.  We didn’t do it alone though.

Karen Lynn, Sedonaweddingplanner.com planned every detail of this Sedona wedding until the last light went out.  It was complicated to pull this wedding off.  There were so many details to address and Karen was incredible.

No surprise who did the photography. Katrina Wallace, Sedonabride.com delivered the most beautiful photos you could ever imagine.  Katrina has a passion for her work and always makes Show Stopper’s designs look just like they did in person.  We have included some of our favorite shots.  You can see more of this wedding on Katrina’s website blog. Thank you Katrina, Andrew and Karen for making this wedding so special.  And thank you, Karen and Steve, for letting us do this for you.

Designer Bouquets Are

Unsurpassed

At Show Stoppers

Just look at this gorgeous bouquet Ken made for Karen.  He and Karen both love orchids so he used just about every orchid known to mankind.  It had such depth, texture, rich color and a subtle but sexy hypnotic fragrance.  The bouquet was the perfect complement to her fabulous Christian Dior gown.  Click on all the pictures to see more detail.  You can see color right down into the center of the design.

Professional Wedding Decor

To Tempt The Senses

The couple came out of the home strolling through the courtyard garden to greet the already seated guests.  I thought the entry gate, with antique Mexican doors, was perfect for the ceremony since it was already an arch.

We decorated the arch with manzanita branches, succulents, liatrise, stock, ocotillo, varieties of orchid sprays, larkspur and cholla cactus skeletons.

Guests were seated in the circular drive between a huge Spanish fountain and the entry gate.

The bowls of the giant fountain were designed with golden barrel cactus, agave, succulents, kale, larkspur, liatrise, orchids and cholla cactus skeletons.  There were the petals of 750 roses strewn across the top of the water.  They completely covered the surface.  It looked like some kind of exotic algae growing on top of a tropical lagoon.

The ring bearer carried one of our custom boxes with the rings inside.  The box was covered with galax leaves then decorated with succulents and orchids.  A purple ribbon finished the look.  He was so cute and so proud to be a part of the ceremony.  He was just beaming.

Weddings Sedona Style!

The centerpieces were made of fresh manzanita branches anchored in a base of polished alligator juniper.  Manzinita grows all around the home and looks stark and fabulous in silhouette against the twilight.  Quartz crystal specimens were drilled out to house a votive candle that created a mystical glow.  They served a duel purpose by weighting down the centerpieces.  Wire votives were hung from the branches surrounding a core of spilling orchid sprays, liatrise, stock and larkspur.

I love this photo that Katrina set up with the centerpiece against the aqua colored pool.  We hung small quartz crystal points to finish the look.  More tiny crystals were tossed around on the top of the table for the guests to take.

This great photo shows what can be achieved with good lighting.  We used small pin spots with pale pink gels on every centerpiece.

The evening concluded with dancing under the almost full moon.  Our lanterns looked great along the edge of the yard.  Howling coyotes sang a celebratory song just for Steve and Karen as the sun sank behind the formations of red rock.

Thank you Karen and Steve. You made this an experience we will never forget.  Jim and Ken

Return to Show Stopper’s website HERE:

Recently I was inspired by a program I saw about a festival in Tibet where thousands of flower petals were used to create an intricate carpet for seekers to trod upon as they entered a holy site.  Being a seeker of new things to do in my field, I decided to put my own spin on this idea and incorporate it into our weddings in Sedona. These great shots were taken by Katrina Wallace, Sedonabride.com, and really give an idea as to what can be done limited only by imagination and budget.  This bride from Manhattan wanted a carpet of yellow and green.

From above you can see the subtle crisscross pattern of peach roses against the yellow.  A space was left in the green grass and dotted with yellow craspidia and apple green Yoko Ono mums.  A yellow row of rose petals finished the border.

This detail shot gives a good idea how tedious one of these designs can be.  All of the flowers have to be right side up and spaced perfectly for the best effect.

Rose Petal Carpets Get Raves

Here is another special carpet we enjoyed designing.  This carpet was designed for a wedding reception at Seven Canyons.  The Sedona family owns one the the largest Navajo rug showrooms in the Southwest.  We thought it would be appropriate to design a piece inspired by the beautiful patterns seen in Native American rugs.  The pattern was first drawn onto graph paper then translated onto the grass inside the tent.  Pin spots with the palest pink gels popped the design.

We incorporated eagle feathers for the corners and added traditional Navajo crosses outside the perimeter.  Care had to be taken to choose pointed white rose petals to form the sharp lines of the concho design in the center.  Also, colors had to be selected that would contrast against each other to get the crisp lines of the piece.  In all, the petals of about 1000 roses were used for this carpet.

The bride and groom were announced.  They entered the tent walking through the carpet of petals to the astonishment and delight of all the guests.  Everyone was stunned.  If you would like to see more of this reception, please see a wonderful SLIDE SHOW HERE:  ( Notice our custom sewn and painted tent walls )  This became a Sedona Wedding to remember.

We have created dozens of these innovative carpets and have been overwhelmed with their popularity.  We will be featuring more in the future so please visit us often.  We would love to hear your comments and become acquainted.

This luscious carpet was designed for one of our New York brides.  We used Sterling Silver roses and a combination of ivory toned petals.  Jenawa wanted green incorporated somewhere so we narrowed the width of the piece to show more of the green lawn.  We used a champagne glass shape to keep within the spirit of a celebration.

You can see more of Jenawa and Adam’s wedding under our featured Weddings category.

This rose carpet was created for a autumn wedding at Forest Highlands Golf Club in Flagstaff.  We used two colors of red roses and deep orange roses to get the effect.  Petals were sprinkled along the outside edge to soften the reflections of light streaming in from the glass windows at the end of the aisle.  Photography by Cameron Clark,  www.cameronkellystudio.com

Return to Show Stopper’s website HERE:

   We are so grateful that one of the largest and most respected event rental services in California, Arizona and New Mexico has honored Show Stoppers by choosing one of our events to feature on their main website.  Hundreds of clients contact the specialists at  Tri-Rentals everyday for quality, tenting, tables, chairs, staging, tableware and just about anything needed for events in the entire southwest.  Work with them once and it will become clear why Tri-Rentals is hands down our favorite rental company.  Our friend Deb Beggs from Tri-Rentals has become a major player in Sedona often traveling up once a week from her Phoenix office.  Thank you everyone at “Tri” for being so supportive of Show Stoppers.  You make us look so good and we could not stop the show without you!  Visit the Tri-Rentals website and our featured event HERE:

On June 3rd, the most wonderful event took place at the Arizona Grand Resort in Phoenix.  It was the 10th Anniversary Gala for Phoenix Bride and Groom magazine.  Please visit the magazine here:   It all began in a photo shoot with the renowned artists, Katrina Wallace and Andrew Mejia, of Sedona Bride. See: SedonaBride.com. Everything just seemed to click and came together really fast.  Don’t miss the slide show of the photo shoot and the gala!  All the images really tell the story how everything evolved in such a special way.  See the SLIDE SHOW HERE:  One of the shots made the cover, which inspired the colors of the event.  Show Stoppers was asked to design the festivities.  The unbelievably talented event and wedding coordinator, Victoria Canada, worked with Show Stoppers and the results were over the top.  Visit Victoria here:

We began this project with a 16,000 square foot empty room at the wonderful Arizona Grand Resort.   Please visit:  arizonagrandresort.com

Our job was to transform the space with the use of fabric draping, painted backdrops, lighting effects and, of course, flowers.  The first thing was to draw a floor plan to scale.

Victoria came up with the brilliant idea of dividing the room into two parts so the guests could gather in the first third of the tent and watch interviews on large screens while having cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres.   A wall of sheer, white, billowing fabric was erected with an entry to the rest of the tent constructed of truss and fabrics in the middle of the fabric wall.  The entry doubled as a stage where Fran Samuel, her staff, Victoria, Ken and I were introduced to the crowd.  We used a black and white theme in the gathering room.  The idea was to have guests in a temporary but elegant black and white setting.   Then, after the program, follow the juggler and stilt walker into the main room through the entry portal into a world of amazing color…. sort of like Dorothy opening the farmhouse door and stepping into the wonderful world of OZ.  It worked!

Below is the view from the black and white room looking through the entry. As guests entered, they could go to the right or left around the colorful arch backdrops at which time the magnificent room was revealed.  Notice the incredible matching floral displays Ken designed in the entry with submerged golden barrel cactus and vividly colored tropical flowers.   They were a hit to say the least.   As guests walked around the backdrop, this is what they saw.

We love this shot of Ken’s centerpiece with the room in the background. Notice the rose petal carpet under the ariel performer’s rigging!

The rose petal carpet was 20 feet in diameter and required 2000 roses in three colors.  It took 5 people 2 hours to make.  It took the ariel entertainer only minutes to muss.

Our friend, Andrea Blaut, owner of Sedona Cake Couture designed the cake and matched my color scheme perfectly.  This cake was a stunning 5 ft. tall multi-flavored masterpiece.  Visit Andrea at: sedonacakes.com

Here is a really fun shot of Fran and Victoria cutting the cake.  Everyone had such a great time!

….. including me!

I can’t close this post without this shot of all those incredibly gorgeous girls on Victoria’s staff.  Thank you Brenna for helping us lay down the rose petal carpet!The 10th Anniversay Gala celebrating Phoenix Bride And Groom Magazine really was the the greatest show on Earth.  Ken and I want to personally thank everyone involved with this very special event.

The team at Show Stoppers are just overwhelmed by the generosity, interest and recognition we have received from the media, national wedding blogs, numerous Arizona bridal publications, national bridal magazines and the special events industry.  This spring and summer has been a banner year.   Now, in our third appearance, The Bride’s Cafe, one of the most popular blogs in the industry, has featured yet another one of our Sedona Weddings.  Thank you Janie for this great honor and for appreciating what we are doing.

The wedding of Heather and Matt was truly a special one.  Heather gave us the colors and literally said, “do whatever you want.  I trust you.”  Now that’s the way to get an artist’s attention.  Don’t miss this feature on TBC.  It’s worth a moment of your time.  

Hope you enjoy what we did.  Visit the Bride’s Cafe HERE:  

Oh, after you see the images, just take a look at the wonderful comments about Katrina and Andrew’s photography and our design work.  There are a lot of nice people out there.  Thank you all for your interest and for visiting Show Stoppers.  You can return to Show Stoppers website HERE: Jim and Ken