Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Perfect Destination Wedding at Casa Ybel

It is such an amazing feeling to see an ecstatic bride and groom, sipping champagne and gazing into each others eyes with that look that tells you this couple is going to last forever. There is not much else that makes you feel as good as knowing their day is truly perfect. That is exactly what happened on Saturday, March 21, 2009 for us here at Casa Ybel Resort. We were pleased to host the wedding of Alicia and Kirk, the new Mr. and Mrs. Golinghorst.

Leading up to the day, Alicia made it clear that all she wanted was the perfect destination wedding, surrounded by her closest friends and family. Her day turned out to be just that-perfect! It was in the mid 70's, sunny, and gorgeous outside. They had a beach wedding, and an Intimate Reception in our Waterfront Dining Room. Alicia was incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to have her wedding designed by a fantastic new wedding designer/planner, Antoinette Golinghorst (owner of Paparista, website coming soon!). It was even more lucky that Antionette happens to be her sister-in-law, so she was able to keep it all in the family. Antionette did an amazing job designing the perfect wedding for Alicia and Kirk, fulfilling every one of Alicia's visions and expectations for her day! Her design work was truly beautiful, and we wish her the best of luck with her new business. We here at Casa Ybel worked very hard to assist Alicia and Antionette in their endeavors, and our staff created an amazing day they will remember forever!

The ceremony was truly lovely, and simplistic, which is perfect for the beach.
The guests enjoyed lemonade and background music for a pre-ceremony mingling portion, before the ceremony began.

During the ceremony, the bride and groom stood between to sand filled containers, arranged with gorgeous Bear Grass, which danced in the wind while they said their vows.
Antoinette designed fantastic ceremony programs for them, which were made to match the wedding invitations, and adorned with the bride and grooms monogram.
They were tied with light blue ribbon, and hung on the chairs along the aisle. They lined the aisle with simple hurricane glasses, filled with sand, moss, and candles.

They had a heartfelt ceremony complete with readings, and a Unity Sand Ceremony.

The reception room was simply gorgeous!
Our couple opted for small square tables, as opposed to rounds, to create more of an Intimate atmosphere.
They topped the tables with burlap overlays, and light blue napkins with handmade menu cards tucked in each of them.
The centerpieces were simply fabulous floral centerpieces with ivory hydrangeas, green spider mums, and green berries, in square glass vases, with light blue ribbon around each.
The amazing centerpieces, bouquets, and registration table floral were all done by Lisa at Ballantine (http://www.ballantineflorist.net/).
The guest favors were cute little candle lanterns with each guests individual initials inscribed on them.

The table numbers were adorable hand made little booklets that opened to reveal pictures of the happy couple, along with empty pages for guests to write well wishes on.
The colors and design of the room were very calming, fresh, and simplistically elegant.
The cocktail reception space was set with our wicker furniture and throw pillows, cocktail tables arranged with floral pieces and seashells, the beautiful registration table, and the bar.

Casa Ybel created a wonderful candy station for the couple with Tiffany Blue and Moss green candies to match the wedding colors. The centerpiece of this table was the wedding cake; a simple white design, decorated with fresh flowers. The wonderful cake was another Masons Bakery achievement (http://www.masonsbakery.com/).

The meal was an elegant plated affair, with butler passed appetizers, yummy salads, and duet plated entrees. The guests were given the choice of :
Grilled Filet of Beef and Butter Poached Lobster Tail with Red Wine Sauce
or
Macadamia Crusted Chicken Breast and Jerk Rubbed Grouper Filet.
The meals were every bit as tasty as they looked! After dinner, cake, and some dancing, the group finished the night with a late night treat station including chocolate and sugar cookies, chocolate covered strawberries, fudge brownies, and ice cold milk.

This was, from start to finish, the perfect destination wedding, and we are so pleased to have had the opportunity to work with this amazing couple, and make their wedding day dreams a success. Casa Ybel Resort wishes Mr. and Mrs. Golinghorst the best of luck for their future!! Congratulations!!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Casa Ybel Wedding Department Attends the Cape Coral Bridal Show!

The Catering Department for Casa Ybel Resort had the pleasure of attending the wonderful Cape Coral Bridal Show on March 9, 2009. This bridal show was hosted by Cape Coral's Yacht Club, and was a beautifully done event.


A great deal of wonderful vendors came out to cater to our area's bride's and we all had fun along the way! We were fortunate enough to meet some amazing brides, and great vendors that we had not had the pleasure of working with yet. We hope to get the opportunity to work with all of the amazing vendors in the future, and sincerely hope to work with some of the couples we met as well. We had a wonderful time, and cannot wait for the next opportunity to reach out to our local wedding community!
We had fun decorating our booth with some amazing shots taken around the property, as well as a cute little candy station for the brides.

Thank you so much to the Cape Coral Yacht Club for hosting such a wonderful show!

Casa Ybel Resort Wedding Weekend!

Casa Ybel Resort is incredibly fortunate to have the ability to host so many weddings and events every year at our beautiful resort! We are blessed enough to be sitting on 23 acres of private beach and lawn space, which gives us the opportunity to hold multiple events in one weekend, while still keeping each event private and special in it's own right.

We had a very busy weekend this week, hosting 6 events between Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! We were even able to accommodate a last minute (as in, three days before) wedding for a local island Resort owner and his lovely bride! Thank you so much to Dennis Hendrix, owner of Sanibel's Kona Kai (http://www.konakaimotel.com/), and his new bride Allison for choosing Casa Ybel Resort! We are truly flattered, that you chose our beautiful property, when you had so many choices on Sanibel! It is nice to receive recognition from other local business owners.
Casa Ybel would like to congratulate it's latest newly weds:

Mr. and Mrs. Ebert

Mr. and Mrs. Landman

Mr. and Mrs. Conway

Mr. and Mrs. Daum

Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson

We are truly honored to have been given the opportunity to host your amazing weddings!

What a gorgeous weekend it was, with perfect weather, lots of sun, and some of the sweetest couples we have had the pleasure of working with. Thanks again to our amazing clients, staff, and management for pulling off such a flawless wedding weekend!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Casa Ybel Resort Beachfront Wedding

Casa Ybel Resort would like to congratulate it's newest happily married couple,


Mr. and Mrs. Herdrich!




Meagan and Jamison were married on Saturday, March 7th on the lawn overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, here at our beautiful resort. We were blessed with another amazing day, with temperatures in the high 70's, a light breeze, and an amazing sunset!


After the ceremony, the guests enjoyed cocktails on the outdoor terrace of our Thistle Lodge Beachfront Restaurant. They watched the sunset while being entertained by a fantastic steel drum player, and munching our famous Coconut Shrimp, along with Beef Satay, and Bacon Wrapped Scallops.


The guests then made their way up our grand staircase, to the Waterfront Room on the second floor of the Thistle Lodge for dinner and dancing!

This room is an intimate space, adorned with Victorian and old world Florida style decor, and floor to ceiling windows overlooking the water. The room was decorated beautifully, with white linen and chair covers.

The centerpieces were tall cylinders, filled with cymbidum orchids and floating candles. The cylinders were surrounded by votive candles, and natural seashells, all placed atop a lovely sea foam green chiffon, which was made to match the bridesmaids dresses. The amazing centerpieces, and bouquets were done by the talented Sue Bain of Signature Floral and Gifts! (http://www.signature-florals.com/index.html).


The bride and groom entered and danced a heartwarming first dance to a lovley acoustic version of "At Last", sung by the very talented Maid of Honor, who accompanied herself on the guitar.



Everyone then enjoyed an amazing plated meal, prepared by our fantastic Executive Chef John Wolff, and Executive Banquet Chef Jamie Crisp. The guests had their choice of a New York Strip with frizzled onions and a red wine demi glace, or Seared Snapper with Leeks and a Lump Crab Ragout.


The Chef's even prepared a wonderful vegetarian pasta dish as a special request for one of the bridesmaids!

The cake, prepared by Masons Bakery, our exclusive baker, was a three tiered delight, with design meant to look like the wedding invitations.


After dinner, the guests danced the night away with the help of a wonderful DJ, and a bongo player to accompany the dance music.

It was a magical evening, full of great moments, wonderful food and views, and a party this family will not forget anytime soon!


Congratulations again to the new Mr. and Mrs. Herdrich!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Summer Weddings at Casa Ybel

Casa Ybel Resort on Sanibel Island would like to extend an exciting offer for Summer Weddings and Events!


We currently have space available for Summer 2009. We understand the impact the economy has had on everyone, including budgets for weddings. As a result, through the months of July, August, and September, we would like to offer a 10% discount off our package prices for weddings booked on any day, aside from Saturdays.


If the full wedding package doesn't appeal to you, or you would like to keep things more simple for your summer wedding, why not consider a brunch? Brunch weddings are another great cost effective solution to have the destination wedding you dream of, without breaking the bank! We have amazing brunch menus, which we can customize to your liking, as well as stunning locations for your ceremony and reception. We can provide sweet mimosas, spicy Bloody Mary's, Tropical Rum Punch, fresh fruit juices, exotic coffees, herbal teas, and more! Come celebrate your wedding or special occasion with us during the Summer of 2009! We promise to make it a day you will certainly never forget!

For more information with regard to our wedding packages, brunch options, summer availability, and discount options, please contact our Catering Sales Director at 239-472-0693 Ext. 1352, or via e-mail, jessica@casaybelresort.com

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Casa Ybel Resort Waterfront Wedding 2/28/09

Casa Ybel Resort would like to congratulate it's newest happily married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Dellagnolo!

Boris and Katie were married at a church in Fort Myers, and later held their stunning reception at our Casa Ybel Resort Saturday, February 28, 2009. They were a very sweet couple, and we had a wonderful time hosting their event. Boris and Katie began their reception by hosting an hour long cocktail at the outdoor terrace of our Thistle Lodge Beachfront Restaurant. The guests enjoyed butler passed appetizers with their cocktails, while the bride and groom took amazing pictures on the beach around sunset. The guests were then escorted into the Waterfront Dining Room, where they were treated to quite a surprising first dance! The bride changed out of her formal church gown, and into a more informal (but equally stunning) slip dress. The bride and groom then proceeded to shock everyone by performing a full hip-hop first dance, complete with top hats and canes!

The reception room was extremely elegant, with the chairs wrapped in ivory satin, and the tables adorned with ivory satin linen and topped with ice blue organza.

The cake, created by Masons Bakery, was a beautifully prepared three tier square cake adorned with a lovely swirl design in the frosting, a light blue ribbon and later garnished with white chocolate edible calla lilies, to tie in the centerpiece flowers.

The centerpieces from Floral Artistry of Sanibel, were made with light blue and ivory hydrangea, as well as an assortment of ivory roses and calla lilies. The centerpieces were completed with tall glass floating candle holders, of various heights to provide dimension to the table. The reception was a heart warming family affair, complete with a slide show of the family throughout the years, and pictures of the bride and groom as children holding hands!

This was truly a family occasion, and a love story 15 years in the making. Casa Ybel Resort thanks the Campbell and Dellagnolo families for sharing this very special occasion with us!