I cant believe the day has finally come and gone. After months of hard work, planning and preparation - Michelle and Doug are married. I'd been working with this couple, their family and vendors since early this year, and it was starting to seem like this day would never come. After many meetings and discussions with the florist, photographer, linens and other industry professionals we pulled it off and everything looked phenomenal!

The wedding and reception took place at my job, with the ceremony on our front lawn and the reception on our tented pool patio. Michelle and her family wanted a really grand tent and after several discussions with the rental company. the resulting tent was stunning and beautiful. Another breathtaking sight was the Chuppah which was simple and elegant, but it was the icing on the cake.

The great thing about working with Michelle was that she was not a bridezilla, but she knew exactly what she wanted and would settle for nothing less. She was very enthusiastic, always greeting me with a hug. The overall concept for the wedding was old world romance, using warm golden colors like sand and champagne and accents of peach and rosy pinks. Michelle also found some great pearlised sea shells that she wanted to incorporate into the theme, which also really tied into being on the marina.

The end result left everyone speachless. When everything was complete it was truly a sight that left you lost for words. All the guests kept commenting on how great everything looked, but to be honest the wedding would have been nothing without the individual vendors who worked as a team to bring everything together:

Floral: Blooming Designs

Chuppah: I love Chuppahs

Photography: Amy Williams Photography

Tent: Pico Party Rents

Linens, Chiavari Chairs: Designer Specialty Linens

Entertainment: Red Shoe LA, Rossi Music

Videographer: Kolkey Productions

 Recently, my job hosted a wedding for an multi-cultural couple - the groom was Indian and the bride was Chinese. The wedding (one of three) was a combination of ethnicities, heritage, and culture. They catered in Indian food while the ceremony and reception consisted of dark reds that paid homage to the bride's Chinese ancestory. Even more interesting was the mix of guest's traditional garb. Beautiful saris and extravigant pien-fu (Chinese dresses) were all over!

Just last weekend, my sister got married in Northern California in the small city of Sea Side just outside of Monterey Bay. I could only get one day off from work so i flew out Friday night and flew in immediately following the reception Saturday night. Upon landing, I was totally unexpected for what awaited me.

The city of Monterey is beautiful! I only wish I had a little more time to spend there. It was such a quiet little town right on the coast of the Pacific. Our hotel, the Monterey Plaza Hotel was gorgeous. Right on the water (and i mean, RIGHT on the water), with ocean views for as far as the eye could see. Monterey is a small fishing town, made famous by John Steinbeck (Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men) who is from the nearby city of Salinas. Our hotel was right on the infamous Cannery Row, and they was even a small board room named after the author. There were even a few weddings going on at the hotel.

I was prepared to fly in, go to the wedding, and fly home, but when I go there I wish i could have stayed for a few more days visiting the small shops, eating out on the deck, and walking along the ocean. I now realize why authors always choose quiet, seaside town for their novels -  its the perfect backdrop for a murder mystery, romance or ghost story.

I hope to return to Monterey in the future and enjoy a few days of relaxation there. If you live in CA and what a quick getaway that you can drive to and save a little $$$ this is the place! 

Last weekend, my mother and i hosted a bridal shower for my sister, Frances, in my parent's Orange County home. I had fun making up bridal games and activities, planning the menu, and making the decor.

I chose the Flirty French theme because, from first to sixth grade Frances attended a magnet school that taught French, and France and the French language has always been something that she idolized (plus, the word "France" in Frances). Once we met a woman from Quebec in a restaurant, and Frances spent hours conversing with the woman in French.

Anyway, I had a very small budget so much of the decor was DIY. I printed clip art from MS Word and framed the images. A quick google search gave me a list of romantic sayings and phrases in the French language, which i printed on clear lables, stuck on place cards, and used as part of the decoration. I also used things from around the house like my Mothers Party Lite vases and candles.

The theme colors were pink, black and white. I bought individual packets of colored M&M's, circles of tulle and ribbon to create the party favors. I made a mistake when purchasing the balloons - i accidentally bought purple instead of black! Of course, the store wouldnt switch for the right color unless i purchased more balloons...so i had to keep purple. booo!

 For about $3-$5 you can download and print great games for any occasion at Purple Trail. but I decided to make my own (with Word, of course), but i dont think anyone really noticed that they were homemade. We played Bridal Pictionary, using movie titles and love songs, a Love Song - Movie Match-up (where they match the love song to the movie), and a game I made up where all the guests got in groups and had to make a veil using only the materials supplied (similar to the toilet paper wedding dress game). Frances chose a winning veil and had to wear it for the remainder of the day!

The menu was great. My mother made a cold Chicken Pasta Salad, I baked a Stawberry Pie with coffee, made pitchers of Cosmopolitins using a store-bought mix, and a friend brought in Croissant Sandwiches and Cookies. I thought it would be cute to serve fruit on skewers and that was a big hit! Its very inexpensive, easy to make and it looks classy!

All in all, we had a great time and the bride-to-be enjoyed herself. Ok, time for pictures!

So i've managed to grab a few pics from the industry mixer that my job hosted last week (the one that i was not invited to). There are two large banquet rooms (one indoor, one outdoor tented space), a small private dining room and an outdoor ceremony site. Each of the spaces were extravagantly staged to look like a reception, ceremony, or private party. All of our vendors came in (free of charge) to showcase their work and when I left at the end of the day, I have to be honest, the place looked fantastic!

I especially love the floral arrangments. The woman (dont wanna name her) does a fantastic job each and everytime she comes, but she really went over the top this time. I mean, she came in at 8am and worked straight through until 5pm...and then stayed for the party. She also did the complete set-up of the wedding chuppah (the canopy on the lawn) it was so beautiful. ok, enough jibber jabber....