This month I'd like to introduce you to, Michelle Rago, our featured designer.

Michelle is well known for her destination weddings and believes they are a gift for so many reasons. In her mind's eye the Destination is the lead character in the most intriguing movie. Michelle has tried to distill what she believes and does a fabulous job at it with each event she is a part of.

Michelle is always inspiring me and I am so happy to have her.

Preston Bailey

From Michelle: "Some places enter our lives and disappear almost instantly. Others forge an impression that change us forever. We build a connection with these special places, a relationship of experience and memory. Our paths bring us back, as they become part of our very existence. It is this intangible quality that lies at the heart of the perfect wedding destination, where a beautiful place meets the whisper of the past, of lives and loves that have come before. These places have been stealing hearts for a centuries...there are countless tales of the place, told and untold. I help the couple tell their story of love... falling in love is something we know a whole lot about.

Carl Jung famously said that “the meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” Transformation is another thing we know a whole lot about."

I love clear tops on destination jobs for rehearsal dinners. It takes the emphasis off of ceiling treatments and really gives you a sense of place. I make sure I work closely with the lighting designer to spot strategic trees and foliage along the periphery of the tent for maximum impact.

Lighting is always tricky when guests are moving from here to there on an island or in the woods. There is usually very little ambient light and the going can be a bit treacherous. For that reason I love these bamboo whip pools with the Chinese Lanterns. They wash the surface in warm light and the movement is fun and a bit flirty.

Catalaya Orchids are absolutely one of my favorites. Maybe because I am Polynesian or I am just a sucker for fuchsia but I adore this flower alone.

If, like the high school yearbook, a tent could get "best looking"....a Sperry tent would be one of the main contenders. These tents are elegant and have that nostalgic nod to the Great Gatsby. They also don't require a tremendous amount of fuss.

The shell bouquet is one of my first signature pieces. I cannot get away from them...we have made hundreds of them for brides. The trick is not to make them too big as they get a bit heavy but the beauty of them, aside from the obvious, is that you will have it forever!

The only thing the father of the bride said was...."Can we use my truck somewhere in the design?" Evidently he drove it everyday to the beach. It made the perfect lemonade station upon guest arrival and of course all that knew the man...smiled ear to ear.

I love to have something delivered to the hotel room every night for turndown service during destination weddings..whether its hot chocolate chip cookies with milk or kissing whale candies I like to reinforce that sense of place. In this instance there was a Y2K party for the younger set and we made up hangover kit invitations to the party the next night.