Michele & Kurt : The Engagement

We are off to our first wedding of the season at a private estate in Palos Verdes and we're obviously praying and crossing every finger and toe that there will be no rain upon Michele & Kurt's big day. No matter what, though, I just know it will be glorious! We have all sorts of vintage meets formal love going on today and I can't wait to share the real wedding images.  In the mean time, though, check out these beachy engagement images from one of my favorite photographers, Steve Steinhardt.

 

  

  

  

  

Congratulations Michele & Kurt!

Is it appropriate to invite the officiant to the wedding dinner?

Of course! It's always great to invite the minister and his wife to dinner, however, please don't be offended if they don't make it. The reality is, they may be invited to many wedding dinners a year. If they took every couple up on their invitation, they may never have a Saturday night to themselves.

Wedding Mares

It's 3:30 in the morning and I've already been up for two hours due to Wedding Mares. Yes, planners have them too. Of course, mine are not exactly the same as a bride's...My dress fits just fine and my bouquet isn't dead. Mine are more like the band didn't show up or I ordered the wrong linens and it's ruined the whole design of the event. As nonsensical as they are, wedding mares can leave any bride or planner with an overwhelming anxiety and anytime I have them, it makes me empathize that much more with my clients. I plan weddings all day, every day, and I still get anxiety about each and every event I plan. While, after over 150 weddings, I now know there is rarely such a thing as a completely perfect wedding, perfection is what every planner still strives for. And, while I'm definitely not a psychologist, I would guess this quest for perfection is the source of these wedding mares.

As annoying as not being able to sleep can be, these little nightmares just remind me of how much more stressful the planning process is for the bride in her quest for perfection. I mean, this is probably the one and only time you will plan an event this large and with all of the emotions involved, who wouldn't be stressed. But, just know that with so many moving parts, there will be little things that may go wrong but in all my years of planning, I have yet to have one of my wedding mares come true and I almost guarantee yours won't either. But just in case, I keep a notebook on my nightstand with reminders to handle the next morning, like "reconfirm the band" and "doublecheck the linens". That is, if I am actually lucky enough to be able to fall back asleep.

Tanasia & Adrian Get Hitched

It's been about a year since Jane Park took over our Hawaii Studio and it's about time you see what she's been up to! Jane worked with Tanasia and Adrian for several months to help design her vintage, yet refined wedding day which took place at one of my favorite places in the world, the Haiku Mill on the island of Maui. This intimate wedding of 26 is one of the sweetest visions I've laid eyes on and in case you missed it, Style Me Pretty also agreed! From porcelain vases, raw silk linens, antique lace table runners and exposed stone covered throughout the venue, the textures alone make my heart a flutter. Check out a few images from A Beloved Wedding, one of my new favorite photographers in the islands:

Destination Weddings & Honeymoons A-List Planner

We're so lucky to have made the A-List Planner List from Destination Weddings & Honeymoons. We are on the list with 30 of the world's best planners and are honored to be in such good company!

 

Also, we provided a bit of advice in this month's issue for Lisa Milbrand's Aisle File article on "Wedding Planner 101." We love sharing our advice with one of our absolute favorite destination wedding publications! Thanks again, ladies, for including us!

Real Life Bride: Week 16

As I mentioned last week, we had set up a few vendor appointments to get things going. On Tuesday Ryan and I headed up to LA and met with two different rental companies along with my mom and Beth. The first was really great and had a wide variety of options for china, stemware, flatware, chairs - everything. We were able to walk through the massive warehouse and have the staff pull out tables and belly bars for us to see. We also looked at benches and cushions for the ceremony seating and cocktail lounge area. It was nice to have Ryan there to be able to give input...and I was pleasantly surprised that for the most part we agreed on our preferences!

The second company we visited had less selection and just simpler options all around. While Ryan and I are feeling comfortable with either company/option, we know the nicer company will come in with a higher quote, so we'll just have to see if the price difference is worth the product difference; but something tells me that for my mom it will definitely be worth it! Her preference is to have more options than just your standard stemware and china.
We also decided to use some mix and match dinner plates. Beth has some great pieces that she's collected from Home Goods and Marshalls, so we've decided that in the next eight months we'll scour these stores and TJ Maxx to find complimentary pieces. We've already picked up 17 dishes! Overall I think it will look really pretty on the tables, and it's fun to have a project to work on. I also like knowing that we'll be able to keep a set of 12 of the dishes used at our wedding; it will make for a very meaningful memento of the occasion!

This would be both hopelessly romantic and mortifying all at the same time. Here's hoping there's just the right amount of cheese in your engagement...

Carnival Love

I'm dying to find a parisian, vintagey, carnivalesque inspired excuse to celebrate. Whether a little girl's birthday party or a baby shower, I would be giddy all the live long day...

 

 

 

 

from top to bottom: inspiration from erin ever after, carnival inspired candy bar from rebecca thuss, vintage bingo cards, apple cotton candy from the swell life, frozen lemonade from time, hand made penants from rebecca thuss, carousel from snippet and ink, colorful cake from martha, balloons galore from dorthe alstrup, the sweetest vintage tin of champagne truffles in the perfect shade of pink, vintage carnival tickets to trade for all of the above goodness

Why is catering so expensive per head, versus going to a restaurant? For example, why can I go to dinner in Los Angeles and have an upscale meal for $50 to $75 per person but caterers in the area can't seem to do something comparable for less than $100 per person? 

Catering is definitely one of the top expenses of planning your wedding and every couple can't help but feel a little uncomfortable when cutting a check in the five digits to a single vendor for their wedding day. Believe me, I can empathize! There are a lot of logistical details that go into catering and the expense to actually cater an event. To make sure I didn't leave anything out, I reached out to one of my all time favorite catering chefs here in Los Angeles, Jerry Baker of The Food Matters. Here are just a few elements that Jerry mentioned to me that differ between catering and dining at an existing restaurant (thrown in with a little of my own commentary):

~Caterers have to build a new kitchen at every event, where as restaurants already have this in place. This includes bringing in ovens, shelter, lighting, etc. Essentially at every event, caterers build out their own personal kitchen that is similar to that of an existing restaurant kitchen.

~Restaurants are able to serve other customers while you are eating your dinner allowing them to make additional revenue for not only the restaurant but also for the servers staffing the restaurant, where as a caterer and their staffing is there only for you and your group when catering your wedding.

~Restaurants are typically able to sell overages on the food to other customers or turn them into additional profitable menu items to be served on different nights. Whereas, caterers actually have to overbuy just in case of additional guests, large eaters, etc. and at the end of the night the leftover products go to waste. It's not likely that the caterers will have an event the next day using the same products or menu that you had at your wedding.

~A restaurant has an area where all of the food can not only be prepared, but one where dishes, silverware, plates, etc. can be cleaned. A caterer often has to prepare the food off-site, safely transport the food to the temporary kitchen built for your day and then transport the cooking equipment and such back to their off-site kitchen for clean up. Talk about time consuming!

~Staffing at a restaurant is also different. The amount of setup a restaurant server has to do compared to that of a catering server doesn't even relate. Catering staffs do a whole lot more than wipe a few tables down and refill salt and pepper shakers for the evening crowd. This being said, they start hours before the event helping prep everything from building a bar from scratch to plating up and expediting food throughout the evening all while on a strict timeline.

Anyway, I don't know about you, but just typing this out is exhausting! I definitely wouldn't want the job of catering a wedding. With that being said, though, I am so thankful there are so many talented chefs like Jerry, who couldn't think of anything they would rather do. Thanks Jerry for your insight into the world of catering!

Nina & Russell Get Hitched

 I've been dying to share images from Nina & Russell's wedding for months now! Now that Snippet & Ink  has shared their take on it, I'm free to share all of my favorite moments and details from the day.  Nina was highly inspired by a trip she had taken to India in years past. This paired with their new home of Los Angeles and their native city of New York City, resulted in a vibrant yet edgy wedding with ethnic moments. I was in love with them and their amazing style! Enjoy!

I love aqua, teal, electric blue and every shade in between. A vintage typewriter guestbook in turquoise and red accents was a lovely welcome for their guests. 

Hand crafted pillows made from an Indian sari was the perfect way to warm up the ceremony benches

Moroccan lanterns from Mosaik in West Hollywood filled with fresh florals lined the ceremony

Indian inspired tunes were played in the background while Nina walked down the aisle

A tattoo booth might have been too risky for most couples on their wedding day, but it was the perfect activity and favor for the friends of this couple!

Their too-good-for-words photographer, Jonathan Canlas, couldn't have told the story any better! Thank you for sharing Jonathan and thank you Nina & Russell for allowing me to be a part of your amazing day!