San Antonians are known for their culture as well as their diversity, and the flower industry in the city is no different. It’s easy to find a fantastic florist at a reasonable price; you just have to know where to look!

1. Floral Elegance, Ltd (210.494.2024): Floral Elegance, Ltd is a small family owned business, complete with innovative design, over 15 years of accredited experience and award winning floral masterpieces. Owners, Adrianna and Mike Pedraza have worked with San Antonio’s Elite List of Wedding Vendors and Venues.  Floral Elegance, Ltd was the Official Florist for: Mrs. Texas International 1999, Miss San Antonio USA 1999-2009, Miss Teen San Antonio USA 1999-2009, Miss Fiesta San Antonio 1999-2009, Miss Texas USA 2007, and USA Local Pageant 2009. Floral Elegance Ltd’s wide range of services includes: daily personal orders, modern floral designs, full scale decorating, table lighting and up-lighting, drapery, and custom table linens.
2. Oak Hills Florist (210.349.6549): Located at 1729 Babcock Road, Oak Hills Florist has been serving San Antonio and the surrounding areas for over 30 years and boasts everything from fruit and gourmet baskets to tropical and European designs. A certified Texas Master Florist, Oak Hills Florist is able to provide the customer with an array of unique floral pieces for any event, including wedding ceremony and reception décor. Oak Hills Florist offers same day delivery to all of Metro San Antonio and twice daily to the Medical Center.
3. Blooming Creations Florist (210.520.1005): Located at 8035 Culebra Road, Suite 102, Blooming Creations is family owned and operated. They commit themselves to the finest floral arrangements backed by friendly and prompt service. Blooming Creations specializes in the following services: large inventory of fresh flowers, tropicals, plants, European/dish gardens, contemporary and traditional arrangements, high-style floral arrangements, silk arrangements, dried floral arrangements, weddings, gourmet and fruit baskets, and candles. With such a vast spread, you are bound to find a center piece that captures your heart!
4. Riverwalk Floral Designs (210.227.1775): Riverwalk Floral Design Studio is located in the heart of downtown San Antonio, on the ever-popular San Antonio Riverwalk. They specialize in high style, European, traditional and tropical designs, and South America roses. The owners, Tom Moore and Bob Fancher, are frequenters of the market and go almost daily to hand pick the flowers they sell in order to ensure quality, freshness and variety. Riverwalk Floral Designs is open from 8:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday and from 9:00am to 2:00pm on Saturday.
5. Botanika (210.733.8120): Located at 2615 Broadway, owner Melissa White has to be one of San Antonio’s most talented floral designers. Consistently providing clients with modern, elegant and super chic floral arrangements, bouquets and more! We heart her artistic and creative elements that she brings to each arrangement. Melissa is available by appointment only.

These are only a few florist options that San Antonio has to offer. The best way to find the florist that’s right for you is to research! Ask local friends and family, your wedding planner can also be a big help when it comes to narrowing the search.

A rising star in the catering community here in San Antonio is Columbia Culinary Team (CCT), one of our latest additions to our approved caterers list. Their incredibly creative menu is what sets them apart from any other cater that we’ve worked with yet! They are definetely not serving the bland and dry “catered chicken” at your event. This caterer’s menu is flooded with gourmet renditions of classic and contemporary foods. With items such as the Tandoori Style Quail, Veal Osso Buco or Scampi Modo Mio, your guests will be amazed at restaurant-quality style of food served at your next event.

Prior to opening their doors over 2 1/2 years ago, the CCT catered private events and gained a rather large following here in the Alamo City. Handling crowds of up to 1000 guests (w/events for up to 2000 guests in 2010)  is the same as catering a small dinner party for their team, as they strive to pay attention to the customers needs completely. CCT prides themselves on provided a dining experience that is at least equal to, if not better than that of the city’s best restaurants and we have to agree! Plaza Lecea has had CCT cater numerous in-house events and we have all experienced the first class service and savory dishes. They always have plenty of staff on-site for the events to ensure that every guest has a pleasurable experience.

Some of CCT’s most popular dishes include: Seared pepper crusted tuna on a chipolte cream cheese crisp with chili escabeche, smoked marinated pork loin with a peach jalapeno glaze, and bleu cheese stuffed bacon wrapped dates in a maple sabayon (is your mouth watering yet?!). Executive Chef, Jeff White, has a great ability to create tantilizing dishes for the masses, which is not an easy feat when you have cook the meals in their kitchen and then transport it to an event.

One of our favorite things about CCT is their affordability. Brides on a budget can still serve an amazing meal with quality service to their guests with CCT. Prices start out at $12.50 a person and go to around $50 for the works (majority of the dishes are under $25), but this pricing is also inclusive of porcelain plates and glassware. They also have a unique spin on service style. While most caterers only offer seated or buffet meals, CCT also has an option for family style service in addition to a seated or buffet meal. This is their most requested option, where they deliver large platters of food to each table–kind of like a buffet at your table. Your guests can choose the amount of food and the specific items that they want, fostering a family dinner-like atmosphere.

In addition to catering, CCT also provides bar services, linen, decor and event management services for your event. We are very proud to have such an innovative catering service on our list of approved vendors and we hope that you will check them out as well: www.thecct.net

Since opening their doors in 2000, Absolutely Delicious Catering (ADC), headed by owner Veronica Esparza, has grown to be one of San Antonio’s most successful full-service catering companies. With NACE’s Cater of the Year and President’s Award in hand, ADC has set a standard in the catering industry with in San Antonio. So what exactly do they do that sets ADC apart from the other catering companies? Veronica feels that developing personal relationships with her clients, guaranteeing that ADC exceed expectations is why they have become so successful. She has also worked very closely with her staff to ensure that they are able to grow professionally and personally, making them better employees and happier individuals in the long run.

With nine years of experience, ADC has hit the ground running in the San Antonio market. You will find them in a few dozen venues, working private parties and holding down the fort at their restaurant, Old San Fransisco Steakhouse, where their corporate offices and kitchen are located. ADC can serve up to 7000 people per event and do on average 800 events per year. They are known for their delectable food, but they also can provide rentals (linens, place settings, tents, stages, dance floors, etc), decor (including floral, arches, lighting, drapery, etc) and entertainment. They fequent our facilities as often as possible and we love it when they are out here!

Some of their more popular dishes include their international cuisine, like their Tour of Italy or their South of the Border menu. Our favorite here at Plaza Lecea is their ever so popular Chicken Picatta, garlic scalloped potatoes and vegetable medley. Menu pricing starts at $13 a person and is inclusive a salad (we recommend the spring salad with a raspberry vinaigrette), a protein, a starch, vegetable, roll and either tea or water. ADC is also our exclusive caterer for corporate meals here at Plaza Lecea. We have special pricing for their menus when renting our space. We can offer their breakfast, lunch, snacks for breaks, cocktail hour menus and bar services.

While their food is honestly amazing and completely lives up to their name, we really feel that their service sets them apart. Time and time again, our clients rave about how they felt like they were at a fine dining restaurant when being served by ADC because of their impecable attention to detail and above-and-beyond attitude. Each of their servers that pass through the doors of our facility treat guests as if they were serving them in their home and all reasonable requests are always prompty attended to.

You have many choices for catering here in San Antonio, but we highly recommend you checking out ADC for your next event! You wont be disappointed! Check out their menu here: http://www.absolutelydelicious.com/abdelmenus.pdf or call them at 210.342.2321 for more details.

Being in the shadows of Austin and all of the amazingly creative work that comes of out that town, it is so refreshing to see a vendor team here in San Antonio that is far beyond their time. That team is Maihar Design and they produce completely unique and one-of-a-kind ring bearer pillows and flower girl wands.

Sister duo, Melanie Ford and Ashleigh Davis established Maihar Design in 2008. They have since exploded on to the wedding accessory scene and haven’t looked back yet. Soon to expand nationwide, Maihar Design pairs creativity with good business sense to offer brides a chic alternative to the cookie-cutter pillows seen in bridal boutiques, out-of-date catalogs and online showrooms.

Even better, these pillows are not only distinctive, they are gorgeous! Meticulously crafted, the pillows combine lightweight linen, embroidered silk and textural weaves and are all trimmed with the highest quality grosgrain ribbon. These pillows exude style, modern design and unparallel craftsmanship. Not only are you getting a product that will WOW your guests as your little man walks down the aisle, it’s definitely something you can showcase in your home afterwards (what a great memento from your wedding!).

Their current collection couples traditional and ornate design into a 10” square pillow. You can view the collection and purchase these pillows online at Etsy. You can find them this fall in San Antonio’s own Bella Bridesmaid store that will open in Alamo Heights this September. Maihar Design’s Summer 2009 collection will be debuting soon and these smaller, 8” square pillows are quirky and whimsical with new color combos—different shades of pink paired with lime green and more!

In addition to the pillows, Maihar Designs also offers flower wands for your delightful little flower girls! These fabric wands are made from a quality silk material and are hand-sewn. Their colors and design will correspond with several of the pillow lines. Can’t you just see your adorable little ring bearer and flower girl walking down the aisle now?

Till next time…