A Sea of Love

These guys definitely rule when it comes to super-fancy, high-end catering (not everyone in town has served meals to both Presidents Obama and Bush). But it's about more than the food for Cassandra—clients rave about the impeccable service and reliability.

Commissary is a bakery, a butcher, a gelateria, and a market all in one. Impressive, right? These are the people behind all of the Headington Companies restaurants—CBD Provisions at the Joule Hotel, Mirador at Forty Five Ten, and Sassetta and GoGo in the Design District. Everything down to the butchery is done on-site in the bakery and subterranean kitchen. The catering program is extremely popular among locals, and for smaller parties the experienced chefs will come and prepare the menu in your own kitchen.

While you can order Fluff Pop ahead of time, the best way to incorporate the made-for-grown-ups cotton candy into an event is to have it spun for your guests on-site. People go crazy for the flavors (guava, lychee, cotton candy).

While his business runs the gamut from backyard BBQs to formal dinners, Chef Chris Patrick really excels at in-home catering for clients hosting formal events. Patrick's menus are incredibly creative (don't skip dessert).

We've sung the Joule's praises for its nice rooms and fantastic restaurants, so it's really no surprise their catering department (they'll tweak the existing CBD Provisions menu to your liking or simply start from scratch) and event spaces are great as well. Oh, and they cater off-site parties, too.

This is the kind of old-school, full-service catering business that puts the same amount of effort into a basic breakfast buffet as they do an all-out holiday dinner. But Alberto Lombardi and his wife Vivian don't just stop at food: Their staff will gladly set up, serve, and then clean up any event, big or small.

Much like its restaurant, Mi Cocina catering specializes in traditional, elevated, incredibly tasty Tex Mex food. Thankfully, whether you go for passed appetizers or a complete sit-down dinner, it can (and should) be accompanied by the killer margaritas.

Adria Lea and her husband Colt handle weddings as a team, so your photographer can (literally) be in two places at once—for example, the bridesmaids and groomsmen can both be photographed getting ready without any rushing back and forth. More than that, Adria’s a genius with natural light, so you won't catch her carting around too much equipment. Clients also love that that there’s very minimal photo-shopping involved in the entire process.

Amy Karp’s photography business is a family operation—Amy takes the photos, and her husband, Jon, handles the business side behind the scenes (though he does take some gorgeous photos of his own, too). What the clients get is the feel of a small one-man show with the professionalism and speed of a larger outfit. Side note: Amy’s side passion is underwater photography, should the occasion ever call for it.

Photography is much more than a weekend hobby for Preston Smith; when he’s not shooting weddings and engagement photos, he’s shooting editorial work for clients like Reebok and RVCA. For weddings, he works with his wife, Heather, to capture every special moment—he has an uncanny knack for hidden candids, like facial expressions at key moments, or intimate hugs between guests when they least suspect to be photographed. Importantly, his turnaround is astonishingly fast; you’re likely to have photos back before the honeymoon’s over.

Steven Karlisch has been shooting weddings for close to twenty years. A childhood spent traveling with a photography-loving father piqued his interest, but it was only after a year studying architecture in college that Karlisch changed majors. While his wife was moonlighting as a photographer for a small wedding company, Karlisch decided to become a wedding photographer, and their photo studio flourished from there. His specialty is timeless, classic photography and the emotion behind the first look or the speeches. And he always tries to incorporate an architectural component, which lends dimension to his work. Karlisch is available to shoot both local and destination weddings.

Steven Visneau developed an appetite for photography as a child, habitually thumbing through his mother’s magazine collection. After a stint as a touring musician, Visneau purchased an old Nikon camera from a friend, started shooting, and never looked back. The photographer is comfortable capturing every situation—portraits, lifestyle shots, fashion editorial, you name it. But it’s Visneau’s images of the Texas Ballet Theater that are some of the most beautiful we’ve seen.

Steve Wrubel—husband to DJ extraordinaire Lucy Wrubel—is by no means a minimalist. No matter the subject matter (though big celebrations are his forte) the resulting photos are sure to be full of life and color.

DJ Jason has had a long career playing music; he’s been DJ'ing for more than 15 years, including playing on several radio shows and a long-time residency at Whisky Bar in Dallas. Couples say he’s particularly adept at reading the room—while he thoroughly questions the bride and groom on their tastes and vision before the event, he’ll never use a pre-made track. P.S. When drunk guests request the Wobble, he’s always in your corner.

Sometimes only a live band will do. And sometimes that live band must be a thirteen-piece, three-horn band that can keep the energy up all night long. Emerald City’s repertoire is varied enough to appeal to everyone on the guest list, however the band is always happy to adapt the playlist to your specifications. Primarily located in Dallas, these guys are in high demand year-round, so book well in advance for weddings.

Jordan Kahn Music Company is like a traditional wedding band on steroids. All five members have years of experience, so their renditions of all the party staples (Boogie Shoes, Shout, Rebel Yell) sound just as good as the real thing.

Bubbly, hilarious, and well-versed in the music that gets people out of their chairs and onto the dance floor, Lucy Wrubel is a bona fide Dallas celebrity. She spins at all manner of events, from big fashion parties (she killed it at the goop shop opening party) to private events and even offers "musical wallpaper" services for restaurants and shops.

As if we needed any more proof that legendary party planner Todd Fiscus can do no wrong, his beloved Highland Park flower shop just moved to a bigger, better space. This means more room (two beautiful floors-worth) for candles, vases, cut blooms, an orchid bar, and a small but beautiful outdoor garden.

Cebolla Fine Flowers is owned by couple and business partners Luit and Jamie Huizenga, who have been running the business since shortly after Luit emigrated from Holland in the '80s. Their state-of-the-art warehouse (where they also live with their daughter) is equipped with geothermal heating, which keeps the countless orchid plants healthy year-round. In the summer months, they actually offer monarch butterfly chrysalises, which eventually hatch and fly away. If you can't make it to their shop on Lover's Lane, they deliver to almost every neighborhood in the city.

Grange Hall's unusual arrangements definitely feel like they're in a class of their own. Keeping in theme with the otherworldly nature of their shop (one of Dallas's best), their floral arrangements look like they could be found in a cabinet of curiosities. They're excellent at incorporating unusual props like feathers, ribbons, and oddly-shaped vases.

The Atlanta outpost of Jackson Durham was so popular that founders Heath Alan Ray and Charles Vance decided to spread the wealth to Dallas and enlisted Todd Events alum Sara Fay Egan to run the show. While they’re a full-fledged event planning company with insane vendor connections (both domestically and abroad), designing lush floral concepts is their sweet spot.

Kyle Branch is a young Dallas multihyphenate splitting his time between working at TenOverSix and creating unusual, retro-looking flower arrangements at Peaches. Oversize fronds and foliage dominate his arrangements, letting the flowers take a back seat. Branch—yes, that’s really his name—likes to break rules, playing with clashing colors, size, and scale so the arrangements spread far beyond the confines of the vase. This dichotomy works: Peaches’ pieces are a fabulous and unexpected addition to any event or tablescape.

Three Branches is operated by two sisters, so it's safe to say floral design is literally in their blood. There's purity to their bouquets and centerpieces as they often stick to monochromatic palettes and no more than a few types of blooms per arrangement.

Katherine Mathes is a Dallas favorite because of her turnkey approach to event planning—she handles everything from event design, to marketing and invitations, to coordination, to flowers for everything from dinner parties to huge corporate galas. She’s got a big team backing her up, too, so she’s a great resource when you’re trying to pull off something particularly ambitious.

Everything is bigger in Texas, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Dallas' foremost event planner wholeheartedly subscribes to that philosophy. Todd's events are lavish and glamorous in the best way, and there's no challenge he won't take on. Looking for a water feature with live performers? On it. 400 square foot ómbre flower wall? Consider it done. They recently joined forces with Suite 206 Luxury Event Rentals, too, who has one of the most comprehensive rental libraries we've ever seen.

In Italian, Bell’Invito means “beautiful invitation.” The novelty of this company is that you can send out custom paper invites, but go through the entire process online (unless you opt for the couture line, which needs to be ordered in-person). Former fashion art director Heather Wiese spent a lot of time in Italy and fell in love with the artisanal quality of the stationery there. With Bell’Invito, she marries traditional craftsmanship with the demands of modern life. After customers fill out a detailed digital form that dictates the design, the stationery is made on a printing press dating back to the 1800s; the result is shipped within ten days of proof approval. Given that a three-month window is normally required for stationery of this caliber, the speedy turnaround is a lifesaver for time-starved planners.

The focus at Kerri Ellis Davis and Margretta Hill Wikert's Highland Park Village shop is custom monograms, which they can apply to all the obvious stuff (invitations, linens, coasters) as well as the not-so-obvious (leather coolers, dining chairs).

Nicole is a great classic calligrapher. You can select from a number of different styles, and while she's based in Dallas, she takes orders from across the country. And yes, she really is left-handed.

The great thing about Paper Planet is that their offerings are endlessly customizable—papers come in hundreds of colors and weights, and their designers will work overtime to get the spacing, font, and layering just right. FYI: The store itself is filled with cards and other knick-knacks, so don’t be surprised if you leave with a shopping bag of gifts that are totally unrelated to your event.

Unlike many other stationers, Jill Efrussy Sour doesn't make her clients choose from pre-designed templates. Instead, she starts them off with a detailed questionnaire to help figure out a 100% custom motif to best suits their sensibility.