A Lazy Sunday as a Supermodel

We had a lazy Sunday yesterday....All the kids came over to see Sinclair!! She LOVES Sunday when Hailey, Daniel, Veronica and her sister, Christina come to see her. It is usually the wind down from a fast paced weekend and everyone can focus totally on her!!! Yesterday, Daniel took my camera and they played "dress up" -- Veronica put her in all these fabulous smocked dresses she got hand made in South America. As you can tell she LOVED all the special attention.

From One Ham to Another.....

I am not sure why these photos crack me up but they do! Veronica took these the other day....Sinclair discovered her first real piece of ham. She savored every last bite!! This little girl is a Texan to the core!

Truly a storybook wedding!

D-Day is FINALLY here!!!!

Veronica and her Daddy, "CoCo" are pure royalty! When the monumental carved doors opened in the Cathedral, Veronica lit up the room and sucked the wind of out it at the same time! She reminded me of Grace Kelly and Ava Gardner combined. Absolutely breathtaking!

Sinclair leading the way.....

Here is a photo from the night of the wedding on Friday night....the first of many to come! One of my dearest friends Lisa Jane took this photo of us right after the nuptials. She is such a fabulous photographer you don't even notice my daughter and I soaked in baby puke!
I love my husband so much....he so precious!! Love that gorgeous man!!!! We make gorgeous babies too!


I was curious as to why one bride needed over a DOZEN photographers. They seemed very aggressive and not even gracious at times. I asked Veronica about this when we reached the reception and she said "Ohhhh, we only hired one photographer, the rest are paparazzi" I must have looked obviously stunned. Well, the photographers worked for Cosas, Vistazo, People Espanol and were contracted by Latin Vogue and most of the international newspapers. There was three television camera crews on hand as well! Then it dawned on me (note to self) she really WAS South American royalty!

Not only could Daniel have not chosen a more perfect bride - but her family is just as ideal. Her parents, are so stunning and gracious -- very, very warm and genuine. We are so excited that we have all come together as a joint family. Veronica's sister, Christina is moving to Houston next month and we could not be more thrilled. If it were up to us we would move them all over to Texas! I told CoCo, we hope "to marry all his girls off to tall Texans!" (He smiled so big!)

Mr John Daniel Schiller, III and Miss Maria Veronica Wong Salas were married in San JoseMaria Escriva de Balaguer in La Puntilla in Guayaquil, Ecuador at half past nine o'clock in the evening on October 26, 2007 the bilingual full Catholic mass ceremony was officiated by Father Rainiero Maninccioni. Full mass communion preceded a personal fireworks show overcasting the city in the couple's honor.

The bride was presented in marriage by her parents Mr and Mrs Otton Wong Lama donning Reem Acra couture encrusted with embedded crystals and seed pearls, accented with platinum atop a double faced heavy silk ballgown that was enhanced by a cathedral length veil. Wrapped around the bride's bouquet of orchids was an antique silk crocheted handkerchief carried by her great-Grandmother, over 84 years prior.The bride adorned a Platinum and diamond vintage tiara that was a Wong family heirloom consisting of over 45 carats of diamonds. The tiara was originally worn by her maternal grandmother over fifty years ago, was highlighted by pear shaped Graff drop earrings, a gift from her grandparents, Mr and Mrs. Otton Wong Carrera.

The groom's Father, John Daniel Schiller, Junior served as his son's best man.

After services, the standing room only mass followed the bride and groom via Police escorts to meet an additional 1200 guests at the Isabella ballroom which is the largest ballroom in all of Ecuador. The decor was designed and orchestrated by international designers Layla and Alexandra Anton of Noches de Gala. Over 100,000 orchids flown in from New Zealand were designed by Presidential florist, Cruz Veintimilla of Akdeniz. Guests were awed by a twelve foot tall wedding cake flown in from Miami. 22,000 deserts each handmade by artisans in Peru, Lebanon, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Columbia. The ballroom was encased by dual waterfalls 36 feet high.The 10 piece band, Reyes serenaded the guests from midnight to 9 AM. A full seated breakfast was served at 7 AM consisting of the traditional fresh seafood ceviche.

Guests included Ecuadorian Minister and Presidential nominee, Leon Roldos; Mr and Mrs Antoine Chouery of Paris and Miami and Mr. and Mrs Alfredo Dassum, Mr and Mrs Elio Wong, Former Texas Secretary of State Jack Rains and Mr Meredith Cullen. Guests flew from ten Countries (including USA, Ecuador, France, Lebanon, Israel, Italy, Columbia, China, Argentina and Chile)

The couple plan on honeymooning in Salinas, the Maldive Islands and Rome. Afterwards, they will make permanent residence in Houston, Texas.

The final countdown....

I wanted to show a few outtakes less than 36 hours before the reception. Veronica and Daniel's reception started at midnight on Friday night (October 26th) -- this is the largest ballroom in the country of Ecuador. The evening is preparing for 1500 guests (1800 invitations were mailed out) The workers just got through laying new carpet in the ballroom. The branches were being arranged to hold the greenery and the majority of the 100,000 orchids that were being shipped in from New Zealand the following day. I included some of the orchids they were using at the bases on the florals. Note the individually wrapped netting on each bud.

They divided the various sections of the room to feature a speciality of the country. The cigar roller was flown in from Cuba, the coffee was imported from Vienna, the chocolates from Switzerland. I truly cannot capture from the photos below how massive the transformation these designers made to this ballroom. John and I were worried they were on a time crunch and we just did not think they would pull it off in time....not only did they work through the night both nights and set up for three days straight -- it was magical!! This event would have blown away anything from Hollywood or New York standards. When the bride and groom arrived back from the church and the doors were still closed....the guests waited patiently and in unison you heard over a thousand people gasp in awe when they saw the completion. No wonder, there were over 15 paparazzi and three news crews there to cover it!