Tiffany + Ben + Marc Weisberg = Totally Cool Couple and Totally Cool Engagement Shots

 

I love fun engagement shots!  Check these out from my uber talented photographer friend, Marc Weisberg!   Marc shot this fabulous, fun couple and really captured their personalities.  Can't wait for this Nixon Library wedding on August 19th, 2011.

What's Trendsetting in the Wedding World? Hang your Decor from the Ceiling and Take a Trip to Home Depot

LOVED last night's ABC-OC meeting (Groupies from the Event World Unite!)  because it showed some of the best stuff happening right now in the wedding world.   Cool decor... awesome food stations... and great friends!

Look UP! It's amazing what you can do if you create one focal point in the room, which is what Bound Events  and the Newport Beach Marriott did last night. If you're a bride, think about how you can personalize your ballroom by creating an amazing room centerpiece!

Think OUTSIDE the glass vase!  Check out those cool cocktail hour centerpieces made from Home Depot dryer vents.

 Special thanks to Bob Ortiz for shooting over these photos early this morning, and for all of the other trustworthy, swell vendors at the event:  Fusion Linens , Catherine Joanne Cakes,  Raise the Cake, Calligraffiti, and The Event Consultants, Carcano DJ, GME DJ, Moore and Cruz Photography, Stefani Welsh Photography, and the Awesome Sweet Station from All you can Sweet.

"OH the Places You'll Go" Dr. Seuss Inspired Bar Mitzvah

"You'll go Far, Young Man!" -Dr. Seuss

I recently coordinated a one-of-a-kind, totally fun and whimsical Bar Mitzvah at The Marconi Automotive Museum.  SUCH FUN with such a great family!  Great themed stations from Award-Winning Jason's Catered Events included "Cat in the Hat" Cosmos... and "I am Sam"  Martinis...Gourmet Mashed Potato Station,  Awesome Slider Station with Three Types of Sliders, and a Gourmet Chili Station.   Amazing fried candy bars and mini donuts from Shelly at The Fry Girl.  YUM-O.  The Awesome Bar Mitzvah Mom created her very own candy station in the Turquoise and Red colors of the party.  Abbit the Average was his usual wacky self... strolling through the party and making everyone laugh.  Special thanks to the Awesome Jen from PhotoJenic for the detail shots.

Clever Names from the Book were our Table Names...including  Great Places!High Flyers!Great Sights!High Heights!Weirdish Wild Space!The Waiting Place!Another Chance!Brighter Places!Escape!Any Direction your Choose!Wide Open Air! 

    





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Centerpieces with OH So Cool Places

Once again, Thanks to the talented Jen Bierman from Photojenic for capturing these detail shots.

2011 Wedding Trends Report... Straight from Summer Watkins of Grey Likes Weddings

If you haven't checked out Greylikesweddings lately, you might have missed something super swell!  At the ABC-OC meeting last week, Summer Watkins, of Greylikesweddings, talked about the 2011 Trends in Weddings. 

Biggest upcoming trends are: 

1) Back to Basics~ A Return to the Classics... STUNNING. Timeless, Classic, Feminine Looks.  Incredible Live Bands.  Classic Cakes. 

2)  Color Statements in a New Way ~  Neutral Palattes with a Pop of Color. Fashion Forward Design.  Statement Pieces on Brides and Bridal Party... Necklaces (think SHORT, BIG, THICK, CHUNKY) and FINALLY!  For the Bridesmaids out there... Your Own Choice of Dress in a Particular Color.
3)  Didn't your Mom always tell you, "Make new friends, but keep the old ?"    Perfection here in the OC.  Check out Found Vintage Rentals  for the perfect combination of New and Old Decor for your Event.  Jeni Maus has created a one- of- a- kind Vintage Rental Company... here in the OC  (had lunch with her today..:)  ) She definitely knows how to mix the old with the new  ... and how to create your perfect event.

Serious Fun for Human Options... What a night!

Once in a while, I take a night off... and have some serious fun while supporting a wonderful cause!  What a blast we all had being PINK LADIES at the Human Options Fundraiser at Balboa Bay Club.  Special thanks to my friend, Laura, who organized the evening.  An incredible worthy cause,  Human Options deserved all that the evening brought to the organization.

A quote from The Daily Pilot:  "An impressive $435,000 was raised at the "Serious Fun Party" produced by Human Options. The Balboa Bay Club & Resort, Newport Beach, was the setting for the 1950s "Happy Days"-themed event.

The crowd wore vintage clothes. Some women were in poodle skirts and saddle shoes and some men in lettermen's sweaters. Other ladies chose to show off a little upscale '50s attire, wearing vintage dresses accessorized with the mandatory choker of pearls and the upswept hair of the period. "

A Swell Blog: Nicole and Mike... Inspired by San Francisco and Father of the Bride

A Swell Blog: Nicole and Mike... Inspired by San Francisco and Father of the Bride

Artisan Chocolates in Orange County.... A Swell Idea... Oh Yeah

Hey Fellow Chocolate Lovers!
 You need to know Luisa.  She's one of a kind , and if you are lucky enough to have event favors from Luisa the Chocolatier, Yum-o. Delish. The O word.  (Oops.  That's not politically correct, but I had to toss it in.) The kind of chocolate your guests will savor, not toss out . I have this saying about event favors... the favor should be either edible or usable. Luisa's chocolates are BOTH. Enough of my digressions.
Let's chat about Luisa.  She's old school.  Only works by referral.  Doesn't know what a blog is.  That's one of the reasons I love her.  But, really.... her chocolate is enough to love her.

From my trusted colleague, Luisa..."Everything we make is made by hand. We don't have machines (I wish I had).  The shape items: crocodiles, hearts, ballerina slippers, pacifiers, baby carriages, wedding cakes, etc.
Everything is done by hand, by order. After we mold each item we clean it, brush it, paint it if requested and trim by hand either in cellophane or in a box. All this hand work is qualified as artisanal."
On this photo you will see some "hand dipped truffles" and some "hand molded" truffles. The top layer are hand dipped.

Very few chocolatiers hand dip truffles these days. We are one of the last houses that does this job on the West Coast.  Most of the chocolate stores buy little chocolate "balls" and they fill them with truffle. We don't do that. We pipe our centers by hand and then we hand dip them. These are our finest product.
I make my ganache using real cream and butter as I learned in school in France and as I did at the pastry and chocolate store I apprenticed. I don't make shortcuts. We don't buy pre-made truffle mix from any company.
My flavorings are real: we use real fruit purees for the fruit truffles,real ground nuts for the nutty , etc. etc.
I don't advertise. Do a good job and the people will do the marketing for you.
I work mainly by referral. It has work well for me for 15 years." 
~Luisa the Chocolaier

If truffles aren't your thing, call her!  She'll make you whatever you want.

If you'd like more information about Luisa, visit her at http://www.luisachocolatiere.com/  ... or, better yet, call me.  We'll go visit Luisa together.

Scripps College + Incredible Vendors + Love of Family of Friends = A Swellegant Wedding

Each wedding that I'm a part of renews my belief in love. Recently, I had the unique pleasure of coordinating a wedding where family and friends helped create a day that came together in a way that renewed my belief in community. Scripps College made an incredible background for this wedding. I couldn't believe the amount of volunteer support and cool vendors that came together to make this day happen. Thanks to the beautiful and calm, talented and wise Katie Clark, for these photos.
For the full wedding show, click below:

http://www.kathleenclarkphotography.com/show/StephSaxon/
Beautiful, Stephanie!

Congratulations, Stephanie and Saxon. May you stay forever happy.

So... where has Natalie been lately?

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA ILLINOIS! On the heels of my busy June wedding season in Southern Cal, I took off to the corn fields to a wedding of a former favorite student of mine. Planes, trains, and automobiles to get to my old college town (Go ILLINI!) of Champaign, IL. Going back to my roots to remember my teaching days right of college. Thanks for the warm welcome, LaBrecques. The reception at the top of the U of I stadium was unbelievable. Eye candy, baby!

A few tips for my wedding couples at the beginning of your planning processes:

• Think outside the box! Reception Sites don't have to be in hotel ballrooms... even in Southern Calfornia. We can transform any location to create your dream day. When you're at a cool location, so much less decor has to be brought in.
• Brides and grooms.. http://www.wedquarters.com/ is a great place to start when making a website. Visit http://staceyandtc.wedquarters.com/ to see a detailed website that was made by the bride herself.
  

The Miracle of Lighting at an Event

Time to give Tim from Best of the Best some props! Look at these before and after room shots of a wedding that I coordinated last weekend at University Synagogue in Irvine. The only thing better than the lighting at this wedding was the family. Incredible experience for me. I have the best job in the world.

THREE HOURS BEFORE THE RECEPTION! VOILA! THE MAGIC OF LIGHTING.

2009 Wedding Statistics - A Little Trivia for you

LOVE NUMBERS? GETTING MARRIED?

I recently grabbed a cup of tea and listened to a Webinar (gotta love those~ you can even participate in your jammies) on marriage stats... glad to share the information with you

Here are some latest statistic in the wedding world:
The average wedding budget in the US in 2009 is $28,704.00.

In California, the average wedding budget is $37,024.00.
The average number of guests attending a wedding is 166.

77% of all wedding being planned are first marriages.

The average engagement is 9 months.

The average age of a bride is 27.2 years.

86% of brides plan on the internet, but 99% book vendors in person. Savvy brides!

Most wedding couples are likely to be paying for part of the cost of the wedding.

Happy Mother's Day! Happy Father's Day!

Had such a fun Mother's Day... eating way too much and lounging with Vish and Hanna. I can't believe that this is my 20th Mother's Day. It really is amazing how fast the time goes.

Got me thinking about all of my past clients and their adorable children. I always love it when I am included on the family emails with baby pictures. Who doesn't love baby pictures? DELICIOUS!

A Swell Mother's and Father's Day to all of you.

DYLAN PARENTS MARRIED 2007

NELSON FAMILY MARRIED 2006

LOGAN PARENTS MARRIED FEBRUARY 2007

MY VERY OWN THREE VISHNYS! NATALIE AND VISH MARRIED 1986

Scrumptious Tabletop Decor at The Nixon

The Beautiful Nixon Library is one of my favorite places to coordinate events. Thanks to Laura and Carrie for arranging an incredible wedding show last month. I teamed up with Jason's Catering, Chameleon Chairs, Petals by Xavi, Dutchess Paper, Fusion Linens and Signature Party Rentals to create incredible tables for wedding couples to see. Thanks to the uber swell Allison Cotton, I'm able so share the photos with you. Enjoy!

Max Who is Worth a Million

Love this fella and his family! What a great Mitzvah we had the the uber cool Newport Beach Sports Museum. I live for the energy of Mitzvahs...and this was one rockin' party. Mazal Tov , Max. You're more than a swell guy!