Votre Vie en Rose

Sheree & Tom!!

2010-03-18T15:13:00.001-07:00

In anticipation of their pending nuptials THIS weekend, I wanted to share pictures from Sheree & Tom's e-session with the fabulous Max Wanger (ever wonder where the big pink balloon engagement shot that's been plaster on all blogs the past year came from? Well...Max's your man!).

Sheree has in many many occasions assist me on weddings. She's calm, collected, a real professional and a complete sweetheart! I had so many vendors compliment her and ask if she'll be working with me day of; not to mention how great I feel to know she's holding the fort when I'm assisting the bride. I can't say enough what a great friend she's become over the years.

So her day is finally here! This Saturday to be exact. I am beyond ecstatic for her and Tom. I know their wedding is going to be fabulous! But most important...I know they are going to share a wonderful life together!!!

Well on to some eye candy! How Max use of 'negative space' can not be compared. All his photos are so simple, yet so powerful. I can't wait to see the wedding images!!! :)

This is probably my FAVORITE from the day!

I can totally see this as an enlarge canvas hanging in their home...

Ahhh...such a sweet picture!

Teiko & Frank's Wedding

2009-12-23T19:35:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for my blogging hiatus! This year has just gone by way too quick. Since I last blogged, I've squeeze in quiet a few weddings (including the wedding of very serious redhead FBI agent from the show '24!!!!'), vacationed in Spain, and now we're days before Christmas and the end of 2009! What a year it's been!

I seriously didn't think I'll be blogging till Jan (you know, New Year resolution and all that...) but this sweet couple had me coming out of hiding early. :P

Teiko and Frank are amazing. When it was predicted 70% rain on their wedding day, at a venue where everything was planned for the outdoors, they embrace the unexpected and their wedding turned out to be one of my favorite of all time. How amazing is it with the wet and cold winter storm brewing outside and the wedding took place in the toasty Villa del Sol d'Oro? The whole indoor space was decked out in beautiful lighting and hundreds & hundreds of romantic candles engulfing the whole villa with delicious smells of figs, citrus, jasmine, and roses. You know how rain heighten certain smells? Well the rain really 'heightened' the emotions of the day. It was a beautiful and very sentimental wedding and I felt honor to witness these two amazing people tying the knot.

The following are video stills I 'stole' from their wonderful cinematographer Daniel Boswell. Head over to see the amazing cinema reale clip on his blog!

What spectacular light...Teiko looked so soft and glowing!

Classic picture captured as the couple looked out into the rainy forest

A very touching moment, seconds before father and daughter walk down the aisle, Teiko's dad lower her veil...

Teiko's adorable 90+ year old grandma travelled all the way from Asia to be present for the wedding!

One of my favorite snapshot of the day. Teiko's expressions is so sweet, so full of love...

I can't wait to see more from their photographer of the day, Jonathan Moore. I was able to have a few sneak peeks from their hilarious and fun loving 2nd photog Susanica Tam. Take a look at the wedding through her lens!

I hope you enjoy the eye candy. Wishing everyone out there a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a healthy and prosperous 2010!!!

Monique Lhuillier Sample Sale!

2009-07-08T15:16:00.000-07:00

HIYEE! So sorry for the long time no post...but I've just been extremely busy! Hopefully in a week or two things will die down and I can play catch up! :)

But for now...I want to make sure all my lovely brides are aware of the following:

Sample Sale!!

ONE DAY ONLY

Sunday, July 19th, 2009 10 am - 4:30 pm

Bridal & Ready to Wear from 40% to 90% off
Merchandise is “as is” and all sales are final

No alterations provided. No appointments are taken

1201 S. Grand Avenue, 2nd FloorLos Angeles, CA 90015

In case you're wondering...

2009-05-19T06:11:00.000-07:00

The Knot Unveils 2008 Real Weddings Survey Results

2008 WEDDING BUDGET SURVEY RESULTS
How much do brides spend on their cake? Caterer? Venue? In 2008, $29,334 was the average wedding budget in the US (not including the honeymoon) reflecting a 5.2% increase year-over-year.

Category Average Spend 2008 vs. 2007
Wedding (Overall) $29,334 +5.2%
Reception Venue $13,667 +7.4%
Reception Band $3,633 -11.5%
Reception DJ $943 +0.3%
Photographer $2,655 +0.2%
Videographer $1,591 +1.2%
Wedding/Event Planner $1,907 +8.6%
Wedding Gown $1,032 -22%
Florist/Décor $1,924 -2.4%
Invitations $538 n/a
Wedding Cake $555 -19.7%
Ceremony Musicians $414 -12.0%
Catering (Cost per Head) $73 +6.9%
Wedding Day Transportation $725 +6.7%
Favors $352 n/a
Rehearsal Dinner $1,640 n/a

GENERAL WEDDING STATISTICS
Number of guests: 148 (nearly the same as 2007)
Number of bridesmaids: 5 (up over 2007, when average was 4)
Number of groomsmen: 5 (up over 2007, when average was 4)
Length of Engagement: 15.7 months (a 26.6% increase over 2007)
Most Popular Month to Get Engaged: December (17%)

NATIONAL 2008 WEDDING TRENDS

TOP PRIORITIES: Venue, Band, and Photography: The bulk of the average wedding budget is dedicated to the reception venue ($13,667, a 7% increase over 2007); followed by the reception band ($3,633 on average); and photography ($2,655 on average).

BUDGETS: Budgets Are Bigger and Everyone’s Contributing: The bride’s parents (44%) and the bride and groom (43%) are paying for the majority of weddings. Grooms’ parents also contributed (12%) in 2008.

ENGAGEMENTS: Couples Are Engaged Longer: Couples marrying in 2008 were engaged for an average of 15.7 months, more than 25% longer than those married in 2007. A majority of couples (71%) lived together prior to getting married.

VENUES: Brides are Looking for More Unique Locations: Traditional venues, like reception halls and restaurants, dropped off slightly (10% and 11% respectively) as couples chose inventive sites, such as historical buildings, vineyards, and beaches. In 2008, 35% of ceremonies took place outdoors.

FORMALITY: Weddings Are Casual: Only 20% of weddings in 2008 were characterized as “formal/black tie”.

PLANNERS: More Brides Hire Planners, Particularly Day-of Coordinators: Nearly half (41%) of couples employed full wedding-planning services in 2008, while “day-of” services jumped 14% in popularity.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Photography Is Editorial and Digital: Almost all (93%) brides chose “documentary” style photographers, and 90% of photographers shot in digital.

CAKES: Most Brides Choose Designer Cakes: Over 51% of couples chose an independent cake baker to design their wedding cake.

WAYS TO SAVE: Brides Are Hot on Do-It-Yourself: More than half (55%) of brides made their own favors and ceremony programs. Other top DIY categories were escort cards, save-the-dates, invitations, and decorations.

MUSIC: Four Times More Brides Choose a DJ over a Band: The most popular style of band was Rock-and-roll/Motown (40%) the second most popular was Jazz/Big Band (18%) in 2008.

FIRST DANCE SONGS: Brides Love Classics: The top three first dance songs were: “At Last,” by Etta James; “Bless the Broken Road,” by Rascal Flatts; and “Everything,” by Michael Buble.

LOCATION: Many Couples Are Marrying Far Away: In 2008, 1 in 5 couples planned an out of town wedding, with 1 in 10 couples hosting a full-fledged destination wedding, characterized as “200 or more miles away from where the bride and groom live (including non-US locations).”

GROOMS: Guys Are Involved Whether They Like It or Not: Many (36%) of grooms were “very involved” and 58% of grooms were “somewhat involved.”

REHEARSAL DINNERS: Side Parties Are Serious: The average rehearsal dinner spend in 2008 was $1,640, reflecting larger parties and pricier menus; the morning-after brunch cost, on average, $827.

INTERESTING REGIONAL DIFFERENCES
With the large sample size, results of the 2008 Real Weddings Survey can be broken down on a region-by-region basis. Some interesting regional differences are:

New York City has the oldest brides and grooms, with average ages of 31 and 33. Respectively, Utah has the youngest, with average ages of 25 (bride) and 27 (groom).

Iowa and Nebraska couples have the largest weddings, with more than 200 guests.

Hawaii, Maine, and North Carolina have the most casual weddings. Connecticut, South Florida, Chicago, Detroit, and New York City (and surrounding areas) have the most formal (black tie).

Central Pennsylvania has the lowest average wedding budget ($20,653), reflecting an 18% drop over 2007. Long Island, NY has the highest average wedding budget ($56,823), followed by New York City which rang in at $52,904 (an intriguing 5% drop-off compared to 2007). Las Vegas, Nevada, weddings experienced the highest jump in overall bridal spend at 19%.

The top 10 “most expensive” places to get married are: Long Island, New York; New York City; Northern New Jersey; Hudson Valley, New York; Chicago; Connecticut; Los Angeles; South Florida; Rhode Island; and Orange County.

Article found on Business Wire 4/08/09.

Dave & Nancy's Wedding!

2009-05-12T06:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back we attended the wedding of our good friends Dave & Nancy. They've known each other since college and we always guessed they would end up together. :) Their beautiful wedding was held at the Four Season Beverly Hills and coordinated by the ever fabulous Angel from Events of Love and Splendor ~ I told them they would be in good hands!

Sneak peak courtesy of the second shooter Andrew Lin Photography.

I love the ruby red bouquets against the silvery BM dresses created by florist Kate Baker.

Love the shot of the ceremony with the palm trees in back

Here Dave looked so happy with his new bride!

The night was kept pumping by the amazing Brady from Props Productions!

A picture of the grand entrance on the left, and a game they played during the reception on the right. The guests all had a few laughs as secrets of the couples were revealed!

The couple's main photographer was Josef Isayo who shot our wedding. Can't wait to see some of his work! It was a wonderful wedding filled with friends and family. Dave and Nancy have a very bright future ahead of them! Congratulations again and FINALLY! :D

Bottega Louie Downtown LA

2009-04-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

I was lured into Bottega Louie because of their coffee. For a buck, you can enjoy this new eatery in downtown LA. But as I sat there enjoying the coffee with a few macaroons ($1.75/per), I realize this could be a potential wedding venue!

The location comes with a full bar

Impressively large windows

Amazingly high ceiling (can you imagine what could be accomplish with lighting?!)

Full kitchen

It would be for a fairly small wedding (100-150) and I'm not sure if you can bring in your own caterer. But the location is the epitome of trendy downtown living.

And I leave you with a couple fuzzy pictures of the dessert...

Macaroons

Cupcakes

Vacation Recap Part 2 ~ Santorini, Greece

2009-04-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

Warning ~ long post!

Leaving Crete in the FlyCat 4 ~ smaller than the ferries and takes half the time.

After a STEEP drive from the harbor, we arrived at our apartment. We stayed in Firastefani which is quieter than the main town of Fira.

Walkway behind our apartment ~ one short walk from Fira.

Santorini's famous caldera view (cable cars down to the old harbor)

Old paddle boat left on the roof but look at the view ~it really is breathtaking!

A short bus trip to Oia we arrived at the main church square.

Santorini's famous blue domed churches

Ammoundi Bay in Oia - I read on a travel book that there's a little path on the bottom that lead to a swimming hole where you can swing to an island with a church

So after hiking down 200+ steps (which I told hubby was better than the 600 steps from Fira down to the old harbor)

We sat down and had lunch - grilled fish, fried tomatoes, Greek salad, and of course, white wine

I found the path and there's the 'island' - there was a scene from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 shot here! And since I was 'planning' on swimming to the island, I was so glad there were other people about. I know if the area was empty, no way the hubs would let me.

So the story goes, I swam to the island (the water was cold but comfortable). Not being familiar with swimming against waves, I was pretty tired. I couldn't pull myself over the edge of the embankment. After struggling for what felt like forever, another adventurous soul came by and pulled me up (so embarrassing!). I took a quick look around the church (and noticed too late if I had just swam a little further, there were steps leading up) and dive back into the water. Being tired as I was, I swam pretty close to the island, which was a HUGE mistake. I scrapped my knee against rocks and was jabbed by a sea urchin. I climbed atop a flat rock bed and proceed to pulled the sea urchin 'needles' out. My rescuer from earlier even called out as he swam by if I was okay! I was mortified!

And as I'm battling my way back, here's hubs sitting nice and relax dipping his feet. :P

Finally, we enjoyed the famous Oia sunset that keeps the tourists flocking.

We dined at Vanilia (amazing fish soup) and took a picture of the church next door

Kamari (black sand) Beach

The weather was amazing! You rent a umbrella and a couple chairs for 5EU. There were also travelling masseuse on hand!

Love the different color and architecture of the houses! So cute and quaint!

We also visited a few wineries - Santos and Domaine Sigalas. I'm not one for white wine but Santorini wines are unique. The island is covered with lava and pumice stone from the devastating volcanic explosion (1650BC). This catastrophe (and limited water supply) created the foundation for perfect soil conditions which produced the very distinctive Santorini wines.

The vines are cultivated in low basket shaped crowns, close to the ground for protection from the strong winds.

Domaine Sigalas

One of our most memorable meals was at Selene ~ great food with a beautiful view and an attentive staff, we couldn't have ask for more.

Hubs in the glowing light

Final morning we bused back to Oia to drink in its beauty one last time...

Next stop - Paros, the poor man's Mykonos!

Flower Trial

2009-04-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Last week I visited Flower Allie at her new studio in Fullerton to view a sample centerpiece for the sweetest bride to be. And we were ecstatic to be greeted with something more beautiful then what we could have imagine.

To give proper credit, the following picture was what was sent to Allison to recreate ~ something whimsical, soft, and girly.

I'll have to apologize this isn't a great picture taken with the iPhone. The fresh curly willows were very flexible thus easily bent into desired shape. Allison spray painted them to the dark brown color seen below.

Close up of the floral arrangement on the bottom ~ shades of pink from light to dark ~ roses, orchids, peonies, and hydrangea

Allison feeling there should be 'something something' to brighten the willows attached the delicate stephanotis to the branches ~ the perfect touch.

And for cocktail, we didn't want to go with the usual floating flower and Allison came up with this ingenious idea ~ peonies on curly willows!

I'm excited to see all the beautiful flowers come together day of! Only a month left to go!

Joanne & Adam Epics!

2009-04-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

Joanne is one of the sweetest girl I have ever met. I am so excited for her and Adam! With their wedding right around the corner, I thought I'll share some of their sweet images. Be warned...after these photos, you might get a toothache! :P The following images are from their fabulous photographer Louis Palos.

Picture perfect ~ I love how Louis captured this tender moment

Isn't Joanne the cutest?! The way she's looking up at Adam full of love and mischief!

This should be a billboard advertisement for jeans!

Amazing light caressing the couple...

Another one of my favorites...I love the clear blue sky

I can't wait to see more...Joanne and Adam got mad skillz in the picture taking department!

Vacation Recap Part 1 ~ Crete, Greece

2009-03-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

So as promise, here's a quick recap of my vacation in Greece last September. It was WONDERFUL 18 days filled with great food, great wine, amazing sights, and unforgettable adventure.

This is our cute little pension in Chania, Crete. I love the crisp blue against the white...

And the view in the patio was breathtaking!

Old Venetian Harbor

View of the light house in the Old Venetian Harbor

First night out we bought some cute souvenirs. After a bottle of wine with dinner, we were a little tipsy and even named each one of them. :)

Pedestrian street - Theotokopoulou, where our pension is located

After a wonderful and hearty breakfast, we trekked to the lighthouse. The lights through the clouds would have made for some good pictures ~ where's a professional photographer when you need one

Next up , Municipal Market - it's shaped like a cross and use to be the finest indoor market in Europe

Third day, we drove to Falasarna ~ west tip of Crete, 45min from Chania

Since the weather was cold, there was no body there even though it was the weekend

Last morning in Chania before driving east to Iraklion. Look at the man standing on the rocks to fish!

The drive took 2-3 hours and in that time, we passed through rain and sun

We visited the Palace of Knossos first (15 min outside Iraklion). Here's a picture of horns representing strength and fertility

The Palace was designed to take advantage of natural lighting and ventilation

And I'll end part 1 with this picture taken after eating outdoors on the harbor. Iraklion as the capital of Crete is much more industrious with lots of construction. I was happy we stayed majority of the week in the picturesque town of Chania instead.

Viceroy Santa Monica ~ Meet & Greet

2009-03-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

This past week I was invited, along with a few other coordinators to Viceroy Santa Monica. I love the yellow/white/black well-known decor of the Viceroy Palm Springs and couldn't wait to see what was in store for me at Viceroy SM.

I arrived early and waited in the lounge area by the bar. First thing that caught my eye was this kelly green chest. It's a little shabby but yet so chic! Kelly Wearstler, designer of both Viceroys, have such a flair for mixing in the old and modern. Sorry for the blurry pictures I got off my iPhone. :P

The famous canary yellow that was sprinkled throughout the property.

I think these plates are almost as famous as the hotel itself.

Geometric patterns on the pillows, wallpaper, even structural designs of the hotel.

My FAVORITE design element of the day (something I would LOVE to do at my own home) are these ~ antique mirrors arrangement on the wall.

I didn't realize Kelly's decor style had a name ~ Hollywood Regency! She is the master of taking a strict color palette and clean graphic lines, and applied them to the glamorous, swanky style of old Hollywood.

I love the crisp apple green mixed with muted gray of Viceroy SM. Thank you Alison Montgomery, manager of catering at the Viceroy SM, for the invite. And I can't forget, Jacqueline Cox, from The Tides, for the warm welcome.

How amazing is this dress?

2009-03-02T06:02:00.000-08:00

I always LOVE short wedding dresses but this dress just takes the cake! I wish I know who the designer is but I have a strong feeling it might be the bride! To see more of Hilary & Joe's wedding, please visit their photographer Aaron Delesie's blog.

Brides Against Breast Cancer

2009-02-25T10:49:00.001-08:00

This Friday & Saturday Feb 27-28, the Brides Against Breast Cancer Nationwide Tour of Gowns are in Anaheim. For two days only, brides can shop from huge selection of wedding dresses in all sizes and prices at 25-75% below retail. These beautiful wedding dresses have been donated by past brides, designers, salons, and manufacturers so that proceeds from the sales go to benefit Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization which grants end of live wishes to terminally ill metastatic stage IV breast cancer patients.

Power Hours
Making Memories will host special morning hours of operation to offer brides a 'sneak peak' and first pick of the thousands of gowns available for her one special day. "Power Hours" are on Friday, Feb 27th, 2009 from 10:00am to 12:00pm - admission is $20, advance registration is required and space is limited. Please visit here to register.

Here are the details on the Brides Against Breast Cancer Wedding Dress Sale:
Location: Anaheim Marriott Suites Hotel 12015 Harbor Blvd Garden Grove, CA
Hours: Power Hours: Friday Feb 27th, 10:00am - 12:00pm
Gown Sale: Friday Feb 27th 12:00pm-8:00pm Saturday Feb 28th, 10:00am - 4:00pm

When to splurge, when to save: Juggling the cost of your wedding

2009-02-23T20:53:00.000-08:00

By: Associated Press - Texarkana Gazette -
Published: 06/22/2008
NEW YORK—Khris Cochran splurged for her wedding seven years ago. The ceremony was in a rose garden overlooking San Francisco Bay. The cake was made by a star baker featured on the Food Network. The honeymoon was in French Polynesia.

Then came the debt. She was $5,000 in the hole before she lost her Silicon Valley job in the dot-com bust. “It took years to get out of that debt,” she says. “By being so tied to the wedding dream, I ended up in a financial nightmare.”

Weddings are said to be recession-proof, but the same can’t be said for couples’ budgets. As the economy takes a hit, many nearly-weds are looking for ways to scale back on a lavish wedding without sacrificing a special day. Wedding spending is expected to dip slightly this year to about $28,700 per event, according to trend tracker The Wedding Report Inc. That’s down just $28 from last year’s high, but it bucks the 48 percent growth that surveys by the Conde Nast Bridal Group documented from 1999 to 2006. At the same time, the fever for budget-busting weddings hasn’t broken. Wealthy couples are now focusing on understated flourishes, says celebrity wedding planner Marcy Blum: “Serving Cristal, for example, as opposed to having elephants.”

What’s worth the splurge, and what’s a smart save? Here are some ideas for richer and for poorer:

SAVE: GUEST LIST

You can always elope. Barring that, if you want to save money, trim the guest list.“You really don’t need to invite everyone you know or have a party of 20 bridesmaids,” says Maria McBride, an editor at Brides magazine and author of “Party Basics for New Nesters.” If you really want a big crowd, consider a smaller wedding with a separate cocktail reception. It beats a 300-person sit-down dinner in both cost and atmosphere, says Blum. “There’s no way to go about making it affordable and really fabulous, unless you’re a rock star or someone you know is Kuwaiti.” If your parents really want all their friends to attend, or your colleagues at work expect invites, remember it’s your day. A good rule of thumb: Have you had dinner with this person in the last year? If not, and you live in the same city, consider a cut. Looking back, Cochran wishes she and her husband had invited only the people closest to them. “It’s not only an instant budget saver but a way to make the whole event more intimate,” she says.

SPLURGE: SETTING

David Tutera, who planned Star Jones’ wedding, advises couples to focus their spending on the venue and decor, including flowers. One of his clients is spending $1 million on flowers and design, including 50,000 roses. “People walk away remembering the unique experience you create and not the food that you served,” he says. He and Blum each stressed the importance of lighting, which they say many couples overlook. “They spend tons of money on decor and they have a great band, but if they don’t spend on lighting, you can’t see what they’ve done,” Tutera says. For Eda Kalkay, design and location were the most important decisions for her October 2007 wedding. The 150 guests to her city-meets-country wedding at an estate in New Hope, Pa., were treated to a white fantasy in the woods, with globes of white hydrangea, white candelabras and a surprise performance by a gospel choir. The price tag? More than $300,000. But she has no regrets.“It was so beautiful it felt surreal,” says Kalkay, whose wedding was being featured on WE TV’s “Platinum Weddings” this summer. If you want a luxe setting at a discount, ask for a deal on a Friday or Sunday wedding, or cut costs with a daytime affair. And consider alternatives to expensive floral displays, like smaller “tablescapes” of candles and fruit, or centerpieces using a single type of flower, bought wholesale.

My two cents: I often get asked by my clients "why do I need lighting?" I can't stress enough the importance of lighting when it comes to the design of your wedding. It's the difference between having a candlelight dinner at a fine restaurant and dining under the harsh white light on your kitchen counter.

SAVE: INVITATIONS

Cochran, who now runs the Web site DIYBride.com, says invitations are an easy way to cut costs.“Paper is cheap and most people have a computer, word processing software and a decent printer already at home, which makes invitations an easy way to save some cash and be creative,” she says. Invitations set the tone for an event, but Tutera, author of “The Party Planner,” thinks guests are more likely to remember the last moments of a wedding. Etiquette experts still frown on electronic invitations, so prepare for raised eyebrows if you cut that corner. Instead, Blum suggests cutting down on invitation inserts and heavy stock that waste paper and increase postage.

SPLURGE: PHOTOS

A wedding is only one day, but the photos last forever. Even on a budget, brides rarely lament the amount spent on a quality photographer. “We really love our wedding photos and still get compliments on them to this day. She was worth the extra cash we spent,” Cochran says. Photos were so important to Kalkay, she spent $50,000 to bring in photographers who regularly shoot celebrity weddings. If you’re cutting corners, however, you may be able to find a skilled student photographer who’s eager to earn extra cash and build a portfolio. And you can forgo a videographer altogether. “It’s very passe compared to photography,” says Tutera.

SAVE: FAVORS

You might really love that silver box with your monogram on it, but guests who have been to several weddings will probably toss it when they return home. “Nobody needs another placecard frame, or a bottle of crummy wine with your name on it,” Blum says. It may seem like a small expense, but even cheap trinkets add up when you have a lot of guests. Odds are, there will be no complaints if you skip the favor entirely. (Cochran also points to money-wasting extras like toasting flutes as a bad idea.) If you really want to give your guests favors, Blum suggests something edible. “You’d be much better off to have all your bridesmaids or ushers bake cookies and enclose a great recipe,” she says. Another nice touch: offering a coffee cake or brioche on the way out for the next morning’s breakfast.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T07:26:00.000-08:00

Paper Source Weddings 2009

2009-01-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

For all the people out there that's as addicted to Paper Source as I am, there are a few upcoming events at all Paper Source stores!

Complimentary Creative Wedding Demos ~ February 21, 2009

11:30 am - Announcing the Big Day

12:45 pm - Inspired Invitations

2:00 pm - Tasteful Tabletop Décor

Exclusive Event: The Wedding Suite ~ March 5, 2009

6:30 - 9 PM (seats limited to 15)

$35 per person ~ Sign up with a friend and receive $5 off each seat!

Special E

2009-01-28T11:49:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited to have discovered a company that offers this service for all the brides and grooms out there! Quoting from the company's website, ' Special E is a green service that rescues leftovers from meetings, conferences, parties, weddings, and special events, then recycle them in ways that help our planet and people in need.'

After your event, the company will come and pick up the left over food and deliver it to food banks, soup kitchens, shelters to feed the hungry and homeless. Floral arrangements or centerpieces will be delivered to hospitals or nursing homes. Empty cans and soda will be recycled and proceeds goes to abused and abandoned pets. The list goes on what the company can rescue and put to good use.

What this company offers is amazing! As a planner, I usually stay late into the night to oversee the break down and clean up of the event. There has been times where I delivered left over flowers to nursing homes because I couldn't stand to see the beautiful, fresh flowers getting thrown away. Some venues already allow couples to pack the left over, this company offers that extra step of delivering the food to the people in need. There's so many hungry people out there, wouldn't it be great if we put everything you planned to use and help the less fortunate?

There is a fee associated with their service and you would need to fill out a form to determine the exact amount. I know if everyone do what they can do help save the planet, we'll be leaving a better place for the next generation. I encourage couples to plan ahead and work this into their budget!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

2009-01-25T22:47:00.001-08:00

Wishing everyone a HAPPY and PROSPEROUS New Year!

Another Etsy find!

2009-01-23T14:05:00.000-08:00

I always have a soft spot for adorable creatures. I know this isn't really wedding related but hey, I can't help but share. Hope it brightens your rainy day.

Made by Katie from Skunkboy Creatures!

It's a New Day!

2009-01-20T15:00:00.000-08:00

Taking the words right from will.i.am

My favorite moment

Not a single arrest

Photos courtesy of USAToday

Angel & Jonathan's Wedding

2009-01-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

The first time I met Angel and Jon at the local Coffee Bean, and they began describing their wedding vision, I WAS EXCITED ~ the unique and mysterious venue (The Houdini Estate), ceremony by a enchanting well, follow by the reception in the gardens. Angel wanted all the luxury of a ballroom but in a garden setting. I was up for the challenge and I am so happy how everything turn out. Angel & Jon's wedding was truly a memorable event! Thanks to Emi from Evoke Photography for all the beautiful images!

Angel's custom made gown was gorgeous! Layers and layers of tulle ~ she looked like she was floating on a cloud.

Here are her fabulous bridesmaids in their cute PJs helping her dress.

I love the beautiful portrait of the lovely Angel

Christine Saunders from The Spiraled Stem was the genius behind all the beautiful floral. Even though the setting is garden-like, Angel wanted clean and modern lines throughout. Christine was able to stick to the blue and yellow pallet of Angel & Jon's Alma mater, and added a little pink throughout. Christine used tulips and mini callas, for clean lines and added hydrangeas to the bridesmaids' bouquet to soften the look.

To include their Chinese heritage, Angel and Jon had a friend designed a logo which was the combination of their Chinese last names. It was featured on their wedding website, invites, photobooth pictures, etc (not a good picture but their logo is on the stamp). Angel also attached a Chinese double happiness charm to their invites.

First look ~ so cute and sweet!

The estate was filled bridges, stone paths, waterfall...all perfect photo-opt locations!

Here's a great view of the ceremony (and the enchanting well) from the steps leading up to the helipad on the estate.

The centerpieces were trio of graduated-height tall glass vases with alternating pink (cymbidium orchids) and yellow (mini callas) color schemes.

Another amazing detail was their cake from Susina Bakery. The pastry chef delivered the cake and literally built the cake as the guests were enjoying their meal. I love the plexiglas and the glowing votives beneath the cake. Adorning the cake was custom made cake topper of Angel and Jon's Wii characters (the pastry chef had to build a stand within the cake to hold the 2lb weight!)

Here's a view as the sun was setting ~ pin-spots, color washes against the trees, string lanterns, gold chiavari chairs, beautiful blue satin linen...I think Angel's vision of elegance was perfectly executed.

Cute photobooth picture of the happy couple! You can see their unique logo a little better on the bottom.

Angel and Jon, I had a wonderful time working with you in planning your wedding. We had some challenges (the logistic of the venue was crazy! One way in, one way out ~ with the team of vendors we needed, it took a lot of coordinating!) but I think in the end, that's what made your wedding spectacular!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2008-12-25T08:08:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Can you believe it's almost 2009?!

Here's some pictures from my recent trip to Atlanta to visit my best friend from high school!

At the World of Coco-Cola

Stone Mountain Park

Shopping area in Downtown Atlanta

This picture was from a few years ago when she was a bridesmaid at my wedding! None of my DIY projects would have come to fruition without her help!

Have a GREAT HOLIDAY and see you next year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T10:38:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's already that time of the year ~ HOLIDAY SEASON!!! Wishing everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Election 2008

2008-11-04T14:06:00.000-08:00

Did you?

Myra of Twigs & Honey

2008-10-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

I'M BACK!!!! I had a wonderful relaxing vacation. Just finally caught up on all my mail and wanted to leave a quick note to let everyone know that I arrived back safely. I'll be doing a trip review soon (PROMISE). I'll break them down to more 'manageable' parts. :)

But first off, I just got these pictures of Wendy & Marshall's wedding from Michael Norwood Photography and wanted to post a few pictures of the hair adornment made by the talented Myra from Twigs&Honey.

Fabric from the bridesmaid dresses were sent to Myra and she created three distinctive pieces incorporating the material.

Myra created elegant blush orchids for the bride's hair

I LOVE Myra's spotted feathers so I ask her to include some in my piece

Here's another shot of the orchids as the Bride dances with her father

We received so many compliments on the flowers all night

Myra is pretty busy and isn't currently taking custom orders at this time. But for brides with wedding dates a little later this year or next year should definitely contact her soon. As for the rest of us, we have to wait for the rare listing of items not reserve for brides. :)

Celebrating our 3rd anniversary!!!

2008-09-16T09:33:00.001-07:00

After whirlwinds of weddings...Hubster and I are off on vacation to celebrate our 3rd year wedding anniversary! I will be out of the office till the second week of October. I'm not sure of my Internet connection so please be patient with my response to emails.

We're heading to GREECE!

I am so excited! This is actually going to be a 'relaxing' vacation. What can I do on the island of Santorini for five whole days? I guess I'll have to lounge on the beach! :P

Here's a quick itinerary of our trip:

The first part of the vacation will be a bit ambitious ~ driving from one end of Crete to the other. Flying in to Chania, Crete ~ here's a picture of the old Venetian Harbor

Driving to the western most part of Crete ~ Falassrna, Kissamos

Heading east to the capital of Crete ~ Heraklion

Then ferry to the island of Santorini for five blissful days

Next up, Paros, the 'poor man's Mykonos'

And finally ending the trip in Athens

I can't wait! I will make sure to drink lots of white wine, eat lots and lots of lamb, honey & yogurt, calamari, and anything else I can get my hands on. AND I promise to come back with a full report (unlike last year's China trip).

My Nga & Andrew's Wedding

2008-08-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

My Nga and Andrew are the sweetest couple. They're both teachers ~ which I've always admire...we need more people like them to teach so kids have a better chance for their future. The couple got married in July and just recently returned from their honeymoon in South America. My Nga and I grabbed lunch to catch up and I can't believe it, she bought a gift for me from her honeymoon! For her to thought of me and might I say 'wasted space in her suitcase' to bring me something, I was completely touched! Here are some pictures from their photographers from Magic Eye Photography.

An engagement pic of the sweet couple...

Look at My Nga's beautiful bouquet by her florist Dodie from Brassavolas. Dodie was a pleasure to work with and he has such great energy and creativity! I was amazed by the size of the peonies used throughout the wedding...each flower was the size of my hand!!!

My Nga with her sister and mother in the traditional Vietnamese gown. My Nga is so bless to have such an amazing family. Her sister was tremendous help with the guests since I didn't speak Vietnamese.

Andrew giving Nga a kiss on her cheeks during the tea ceremony

My Nga in her beautiful custom wedding gown walking down the aisle with her father

Not only did they have a LARGE guest list (whopping 500 ppl!), they also had a pretty large wedding party

The whole room was draped in ivory satin with amber up lights lighting from behind, dark brown satin linens for table and chairs, ivory napkin with the menu in English and Vietnamese (Nga is so thoughtful!), traditional wooden dolls in clear box with ribbon as favors, and of course...the magnificent manzanita branch centerpiece. The whole effect was dramatic and elegant.

A closer look at the centerpiece with the 'staged' sweetheart table in the background

And here's their delicious cake from Cinderella Cakes

A happy ever after...

My Nga & Andrew, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day. Your family and friends were so warm and welcoming and I was overwhelmed by their embrace. I know with the strength of your bond to each other and the support of your families, you two will have an amazing life together!

One HOT couple ~ Carrie & Seth

2008-08-21T14:29:00.001-07:00

I'm busy...but when I saw these pictures of Carrie & Seth's epic session, I couldn't NOT post about them. Aren't they gorgeous?!! Carrie and Seth are crazy HOT couple and their amazing photographer Tara Rochelle was able to capture their HOTNESS! :)

Carrie looks a little like Courtney Cox, but prettier of course!

This picture shows their personality to a T ~not only crazy/sexy/beautiful ~ but quirky and fun as well.

Ahhh...this picture is so tender!

I love the different color and texture backgrounds Downtown LA offers...

HOT HOT HOT!

Amazing lighting

I love love love shoe shots!

Isn't she LOVELY...

Seth's not so bad himself...

And these two lovelys are a couple after my own heart...they're getting married at STONE MANOR! After almost 3 years, I'm back at the location I got married at! I can't wait!!!

Short but sweet....(hopefully)

2008-08-20T02:24:00.000-07:00

I know I've been missing forever....but I am swamped with weddings. I was finally able to upload the pictures from Wendy's Bridal Shower (I know, it's almost 2 MONTHS ago!). At least I posted eye candy! :P Photos courtesy of Jonilyn Photography...don't things just look so much better through the professional lens. :)

Diddy Reese cookie favors

Tissue poms

Painted wooden numbers for tables

Ribbon place card board

One of my favorite moments when the Groom came by to surprise the Bride...she was in disbelief!

Picture of the lovely couple

The wishing tree was pretty popular!

White sangria awaited guests on a hot summer day

And finally...girls that made the day possible.

More sample centerpieces...

2008-07-09T22:19:00.000-07:00

I love sample centerpieces...they give you a glimpse of what's to come.

The first one was created by Dodie Sy of Brassavolas Floral Couture. Isn't it gorgeous?! The reception room is going to be draped with satin brown linen, soft amber lighting, and intermittent tall and short centerpieces.

Here's a close up of the flowers. They're such VIBRANT shades of pink and orange.

The second sample centerpiece is the creation of the talented Kate from Kate Baker Floral Design. I have heard about her and seen many of her creations and am so happy I finally get to work with her. This brides is also going with satin brown linen but her colors are shades of bring pink to light pink. This arrangement is made with pink hydrangeas, roses, spray roses, pink dahlias, green berries, snap dragons and more! I love the delicate calla lilies in the vase. Kate is going to 'shape' the callas so it curves a bit more.

I can't wait...both these weddings are right around the corner!

A breezy day by the beach...

2008-06-19T14:25:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I headed over to Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach. My beautiful bride Elizabeth and her mom Vickie were not impressed with their tasting a few months ago. Side story ~ the hotel was trying something a little different ~ inviting all the couples and their family for a group tasting. In a way it allowed the couples to see what can be achieve at the hotel (lighting, table set up, station displays, etc), but it was a little lacking on the one-on-one attention I think every couples need. I'm happy to say, Portofino will be offering something a little more intimate in the future.

During our meeting, the entree was prepare by the request of the catering manager to alleviate any concerns Elizabeth and Vickie might have. And it was delicious! Chicken linguine with shrimp, squash, mini cucumber, and asparagus. Perfect for a couple that didn't want different entree selections but do want variety in their dish.

Next up, Mary of Ava's Garden presented the sample centerpiece. It was gorgeous! Roses, hydrangea , Queen Ann's lace atop a rectangular vase with black ribbon and a shiny crystal buckle.

Here's a close up of the flowers. Elizabeth decided to go more pink ~ shades of bubble gum pink and less white and green. I think it's going to be gorgeous with the amber lighting around the room.

And here's a close up of the black ribbons and damask votive Elizabeth and Vickie made. I think it's fabulous ~ modern elegant with a flirty twist.

I can't wait to see everything come together on their big day!

Wendy & Marshall's engagement session

2008-06-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

Here they are...the long awaited epic session my beautiful friend Wendy had with MNorwood! And Michael did an amazing job! I LOVE LOVE the different backgrounds. It's just awe-inspiring what a talented photographer can do! Something so subtle...yet so beautiful! Please visit his blog for more photos. And...midnight tonight, Michael Norwood is unveiling his brand spanking NEW WEBSITE! :)

Christina & Rei's wedding!!!

2008-06-13T10:08:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, I had the honor of coordinating Christina & Rei's wedding at The Athenaeum. The venue itself is a gorgeous testament to architecture. But fill it with love, laughter, friends, and family, the venue shined ever more brightly. Thank you Jay and Peggy from Jay Tsai Photography for capturing these shining moments. Christina and Rei are really a match made in heaven.

Beautiful shot of the rings in the folds of Christina's gorgeous Paloma Blanca wedding dress

Family and friends looked on as Christina finished her makeup

This is why I love this girl! As Christina's heading down the archway for their 'first look,' she throws out the 'piece sign.' I love how happy and excited she was!

One of my favorite shots from Christina's portrait session. It looks like a framed picture ready to go on the wall.

Another amazing shot from the couple's portrait session around the campus.

My FAVORITE picture of the day! This really captures the spunk and fun-loving nature of this wedding. Christina with her sister Amanda the MOH and Rei with his brother Joe who is the Best Man.

These beautiful manzanita trees were at the top of the steps creating a beautiful backdrop to the ceremony. Eddie really outdid himself this time!

The table were dressed in champagne linens and chocolate brown napkins. Each place setting adorn with menus made by the bride (on her Gocco no less!) and a cookie favor packaged in yellow with gold thread. The breathtaking centerpieces were the creation of Eddie from Commerce Flowers.

Christina and Rei practiced their first dance which was a fox trot to 'The way you look tonight' by Frank Sinatra.

The day was filled with touching moments. One that stood out especially in my mind was the BM and MOH toasts ~ funny but still brought tears to your eyes, the best kind!!

Jay captured this tender moment amiss the partying going around them.

I know Christina and Rei are going to have a wonderful life together. They just complement each other so well! They have the love and support of amazing family and friends and I feel so blessed to have been there to witness their love and happiness. They're currently on their FIVE week honeymoon in Italy and Greece! I know! FIVE WEEKS! I already asked if they could pack me in their bags...sadly, it was a no. :D For more pictures and an amazing slideshow, visit Jay's blog.

Christina & Rei's engagement session...

2008-06-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

Christina and Rei will be getting married this weekend at The Athenaeum in Pasadena. With their wedding fast approaching, here's a look back at their e-session by San Francisco photographer Jay Tsai. I love how the "feel" of SF was captured in these images. You can see more from the session here.

This picture is amazing ~ blur of color

This has to be my favorite picture. I love the black and white! I love the movement in this picture. I love that Christina is laughing without holding back!

So romantic!

I love the softness of the next two pictures...

If I was Christina, I would have a hard timing choosing one single shot for the enlargement. Stay tuned to see more of Jay's amazing work after the wedding!

Tasting at the Intercontinental Los Angeles

2008-06-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

One word to describe the food at this hotel ~ SPECTACULAR! I had the pleasure of attending a food tasting at the Intercontinental Los Angeles - Century City. We had a variety of food choices and I came out of the meeting with a full tummy and a very satisfied palate.

First off the appetizers:
This is the vegetable strudel with baby spinach, ratatouille, chive, herb, ricotta in beef jus. Very delicate and flaky and perfect to start the evening with.

I'm not a big fan of ravioli, unless it's really good ravioli. This butternut squash fit that bill. The skin wasn't too thick and the sweetness of the butternut was a surprise. Included in the dish was toasted pine nut and fried sage. Such an aromatic dish...

We tried two salads but the dishes was devoured prior to me getting a chance to take a photo. The catering manager presented a second dish since the first dish was a little flat (still taste wonderful though). This is the arugula greens, feta cheese, pine nuts, and lemon vinaigrette (I think you can tell now I LOVE pine nuts).

Now on to the Entrees:
First up, brioche & cranberry stuffed chicken. This dish was amazing! The meat was moist and the cranberries were a burst of flavor with every bite.

Also very yummy, chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto.

Filet mignon with roasted beef state tomatoes.

Pan seared filet mignon with Japanese pumpkin ravioli. Nothing against the filet, but the other dishes out shined this wedding staple.

On to the fish...
White wine poached Chilean sea bass with braised artichoke.

Saving the best for last, herb crusted halibut with polenta cake. Hands down, no comparison. This was the BEST dish. And look at the display, doesn't it just make your tummy grumble?

I hope you enjoy this food post. I for one am sure looking forward to this wedding! :D

Sample centerpieces

2008-06-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

I've been to a few sample centerpiece viewings of top LA florists recently and forgot to post about them (I know! How could I?) So here you go...three in a row. And once again I apologize for the 'non-sharp' image. I think I'll have to revert back to a camera instead of relying on the iPhone.

First up, I had the amazing pleasure of meeting one of TOP Hollywood florist Kevin Lee from LA Premier. He caterers to the Hollywood elite and I was so happy to be able to see his work. Here is what he created for a fall wedding...

The bride decided to add different shad of reds and maybe a bit green. The water in the vase will also be red. I can't wait ~ with the flowers and lighting, it's going to be so rich and romantic!

Next up, the super talented Michelle Brue of Floral by Fauna. Michelle is such a pleasure to work with. There is no bound to her creativity!

Close up of the rich jewel tones.

And finally, the ever so sweet Eddie of City of Commerce Flowers. This bride wanted soft and elegant floral arrangement with a slight edge. I think Eddie did wonderfully and the bride was very very happy. This wedding will be coming up this weekend ~ stay tuned and be WOW by Eddie's work.

Finising up the ribbon place card board

2008-06-02T10:31:00.001-07:00

Here's the finish product! Sorry for the past few blurry pictures. It's just so easy to use the iPhone. :)

A close up...

So what do you think?

More projects for the bridal shower...

2008-05-28T23:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple more projects I worked on for the bridal shower. The first is a ribbon place card board. I purchased the foam board from Michael's. Then using different pattern and size ribbons, I wrapped the ribbons around the board. The place cards will be the folded place cards with the back flap tucked into the ribbons. I'm working on the place cards now but there's a slight hold up due to guests rsvping...

There was a huge sale at Michael's this past Memorial Day. I couldn't pass picking up a few more things. These foam letters were easy to paint and will add such a personal touch to the event. :)

And finally, these little tags to hang on the 'wishing tree.' Yes I know it's a little extreme for a manzanita wishing tree for a bridal shower, but how can you deny me the fun?! Ivory over pink card stock fasten by adhesive spray. Pink eyelet with pink ribbon and finished off with different shades of pink crystals on all four corners.

And another great news! We were able to book Jonilyn to document the event. I can't wait to see the event through her lens! Too see some of her talented work, visit her blog here.

First Gocco project!

2008-05-23T16:04:00.000-07:00

After hearing all the raves about the Gocco machine ~ I was itching to test it out. I purchased the P11 kit from Norwood Studio. The kit came with the basic colors, extra light bulbs, and extra screens. I took the liberty and also bought the screen cleaner and the carbon pen (I like to sketch and knew the pen would come in handy).

My first project was to create a bridal shower invite. I wanted to start simple (didn't want to scare myself on the first attempt). I looked online for design inspiration and finally settled on a simple flower design. After sketching the design and sizing the text on a mock up invite...I was ready (all paper supplies purchased at Paper Source). The text and the pattern was flashed onto one screen (for future use, I can block the text and still use the pattern on note cards, etc). The ink used was Razberry for the pink and wanting a darker brown than what came in the tube, I mixed the basic brown with a little black.

It didn't come out perfect but I was happy with the result. I wanted something hand made and not necessarily perfect, not hot off the professional press (well that's what I keep telling myself anyways). After rounding the corners here's the result! I also printed the flower pattern onto the brown envelops and used textured pink paper for the envelop liner. Sorry the pictures are so dark but you get the idea!

Close up of the envelop ~

I'll have to find another reason to use the Gocco soon!

A beautiful day at the Villa...

2008-05-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday...Briana & David got married at the beautiful Villa Del Sol D'Oro. It was a beautiful day full of love and laughter. The weather cooperated by staying sunny and breezy. We had an amazing team working along side us. Everything was perfection. Briana was GORGEOUS and David...not too shabby either. I 'stole' the following images from their awesome photographer Marlin Munoz ~ go to his blog to view more!

Gorgeous shot of Briana's shoe

The bird cage veil was for pre-ceremony pictures

The bridal suite had these vivid blue walls

Briana and her girls ~ I have to say, Briana's MOH Rachel is the BEST!

The dashing groom and groomsmen

Briana is full of spunk and laughs

The bride's bouquet was luscious ~ soft full peonies with orchids and green coffee berries

This looks like a magazine shot ~ one of my favorites of the day (who am I kidding, all the shots are amazing!)

Tender moment between father and daughter

The string of crystal and orchids swayed lightly in the wind - courtesy of great needle work by Michelle Brue

The mood in this picture can not be expressed ~ so soft, so romantic

After the sun set, the villa came alive with all the twinkling lights

It was a wedding filled with love, laughter, and happiness. I know Briana and David have a bright and beautiful future ahead of them.

Amazing photo!

2008-04-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

WOW...I love this picture from Maya & Kevin's wedding taken by the ultra talented Jules Bianchi!

Briana & David ~ Engagement

2008-04-16T01:14:00.000-07:00

From our first meeting at a cozy coffee shop in Pasadena, I knew I was going to have fun helping Briana and David plan their big day. Briana with her welcoming smile and sweet personality (and we're both DOG people!), I'm really going to miss our 'status meetings' and text messaging.

With their wedding day fast approaching...here's a look back through the lens of their talented photographer Marlin Munoz.

Briana and her ELECTRIC BLUE pumps and David not wanting to be outshone...his cherry red Chevy! A little birdie told me David spent more hours polishing the car then getting ready for the shoot! :)

I love Briana's expression in this one! She's just SO CUTE!

Ahh...the symbolism in this photo...

There was a few more sexier shots that you can check out at Marlin's blog...didn't want to steam up your computer screen. :P

Black, White, and Yellow

2008-04-10T23:09:00.000-07:00

Always love this look ~ so fresh and modern ~ yet always a classic!

Kim & Jerry's Beach Ceremony

2008-04-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

As promise, pictures dutifully downloaded from my iPhone. Here are the pictures of the beach ceremony of Kimberlee & Jerry.

Look at the little flower girls! They were so adorable!

Can you believe Kim's father build the arbor? Amazing!

Soolip Wedding

2008-03-31T09:38:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forward to attending the Soolip Wedding Event for a month and I'm happy to report it did not disappoint. Wanda Wen, co-founder of Soolip is inspirational entrepreneur; she started with a passion for paper and $50,000 back in 1995. Now her 'paper' business has expanded to three boutiques on Melrose Avenue and SF famed lifestyle store Gumps.

Another reason I've been desperate to go was because the event was held at Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles. And what a gorgeous location! The high ceiling and columns were impressive and the adjacent courtyard was quaint and cozy. For brides looking for something different, this location will not disappoint. I think the rental fee for a Saturday night starts at $16,500 ~ not too bad especially if you can bring in your own caterer and alcohol. Here are a few pictures from yesterday.

The high vaulted ceiling of Vibiana

Courtyard with lanterns where the Carolina Herrera bridal gown fashion show took place

Whimsical cake by Cake Divas

Detail of the candy flower on the cake

Exhibitor: The Bridal Bar

Some pictures from the fashion show

My favorite for the day...

Notable mentions: we also enjoyed immensely the mini-cupcakes from Vanilla Bake Shop, cake bites by NancyKay's Confections, and delicious appetizers from Creme de la Creme and Food Art.

Kimberlee & Jerry's Wedding

2008-03-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

It was beautiful this past weekend. The weather was perfect for a Southern California beach wedding. I do have to apologize the only pictures I got of the wedding set up on the beach was on my iphone. After hiking up and down the sandy slopes carrying baskets filled with water bottles, white folding chairs, programs, etc...you too would be too lazy to go back and grab a camera from your car parked a million miles away ~ okay, not literally a million miles but that's what it felt like. Anyways, that's the excuse I'm sticking with. We'll all just have to 'wait patiently' for the professional pics. =)

Here's a few picture from the reception at The Belamar. Kimberlee and Jerry were such a crazy fun couple - it must be something with attending UC Santa Barbara. As soon as the music started after dinner, the dance floor was packed! I had so much fun planning their day with them.

Here's the room setup

The simple modern certerpieces consist of candles, river rocks, wheat grass and the ranunculus added the burst of color. Note the table name made by the bride ~ song names on one side and song lyrics on the other ~ too cute!

I love their 'place cards!' The father of the bride has amazing skills working with wood ~ he made the white wood box for the place cards AND the arbor for their ceremony. I'll have to find a picture so everyone can be throughly impress.

Kimberlee decorated the rock with the guests' name on one side and their table 'song' on the other. She also stamped each rock with fish, cow, or chicken to distinguish the meal choices. After the cocktail, the DJ asked guests to move into the ballroom with their 'pet rock' ~ the guests had a good laugh.

I'll post more pictures once they are done. It was a fun loving wedding and I couldn't have been more honored to have been a part of it. I know Kim & Jerry will PARTY ON!

Finally...a post!

2008-02-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

I do have to apologize for being missing in action for so long. January was kind of my month off. I took the time to finish up a few personal items (that if left unattended, would have dragged ANOTHER year). And next thing I know, a few meetings here...a wedding there...it's already the end of February! I missed posting about Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day. So I guess this will be the beginning of a few 'catch up' posts. =) And I promise I will do my China Trip review (geesh..if I wait any longer, I might as well post about my next big trip!).

Great news is this year is looking VERY exciting. I have a couple of out-of-town brides, brides planning their wedding at private residences (always my fav), couple of good friends getting married, an impending proposal, and finally, I'm going to be a bridesmaid! OH THE FUN we're going to have!

I'll keep this post short ~flexing my posting muscles~I promise to keep up! And keeping with the theory (post without picture is no post at all). Here's a picture of me, my BIL, and my in laws on the steps of Yunnan University, China.

Waiting patiently...

2008-01-17T15:45:00.000-08:00

Most of the time my posting of wedding pictures aren't very consistent. And I really can't balm photographers because I know how busy everyone are and all the post-op processing many take weeks, even months! But I so do not enjoy waiting for professional pictures. BOO! That's why I want hubster to take photography classes ~ for your viewing pleasure. Maybe I should get classes for him as a 'gift?' =)
So as we all wait patiently for pictures of my last wedding, I realize I didn't blog about the couple's engagement pictures at the Mission Inn in Riverside. So here's a couple of my favorite pictures to tide you over. And to give credit where credit's due, pictures are taken by Alex from Perfect Zoom Photography.

Design your own dress!

2008-01-10T12:45:00.001-08:00

I was reading archive blogs (yes, I'm very productive) when I stumbled upon Olivia Luca on {frolic!}. It's amazing ~ you can build your own dresses step-by-step...from the bodice to the skirt; from fabrics to color; you even set the color of your skin tone! It's so much fun to see the different fabrics and details. And the best part, the dress I designed cost about $1500! It's such a great site for brides to see the different style of dresses and learn about all the different fabric. Have fun!

My last wedding of 2007

2008-01-04T14:25:00.000-08:00

Another excuse for not blogging (really) was because I was doing my job! Very funny, I know. =) My last wedding for 2007 ~cutting it close~ was Ing & David's nuptial on the 29th. They had a beautiful ceremony and lunch reception at the famous prime rib restaurant Lawry's Beverly Hills.

The beautiful flowers were the creation of Bernie from Creative Floral Designs.

With Lawry's Christmas decoration in full force, the bride opted for simple and elegant red roses and green hydrangeas. Here's the sweet heart table ~ still missing it's center arrangement.

The delicious cake was from Rosebud Cakes.

Beautiful candy roses and silver beads adorn the cake.

The bride being avid reader presented her guests with wooden leaf bookmarks.

Centerpieces and table number

Ceremony took place in front of the mantle. The wedding was officiated by the groom's childhood pastor (the pastor's wife went to high school with the groom's mother!). The ceremony was so personal and touching. Instead of the unity candle, the couple did a water ceremony ~ when the two clear liquid combined, the combined water burst into this vibrant fuchsia ~ such a surprise for the guests!

And here's the bride right before she started down the aisle

My pictures didn't turn out very well due to the dimness. Hopefully I'll get the professional pictures from the photographers and will post the better pictures then. I wish Ing and David the best life has to offer. I really enjoy getting to know the couple and their families (the groom's parents were 'prom dates!). Have fun in Indonesia!

Happy 2008!

2008-01-02T12:00:00.001-08:00

Okay...REALLY...I'm BACK! I know it's unforgivable that I haven't posted since leaving for my vacation back in Nov (and just so you know, this is a no picture post ~ oh the shame!). But seriously, I've been swamped. Never again will I take vacation during Thanksgiving. Hubs and I came back and all the Christmas decorations were already up! It felt like we 'almost' missed Christmas. I'm ashamed to say we didn't decorate at all (I barely had time to get the Christmas cards out). It took weeks just to sort through emails, request for meetings, buy Christmas gifts (I almost forgo gifts until Mom gave me her sad 'puppy dog eyes'), and coordinated my last wedding of the year!

So now that's all done...I'm looking forward to the new year! I have quiet a few weddings I'm looking forward to; not to mention my very good friend WENDY who's getting married in Sept (she finally decided on a date & venue..hahaha). I will also be her 'MOH' ~ only second time in my life I assume that post. I am sad to say I'll be missing two very good friend's wedding (what's up with May 2?) since I'm already booked for the day. But I am excited ~ new year, new beginnings ~ good luck to all 2008 brides and let the FUN begin!

I'm BACK!

2007-12-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say I'm back after a fabulous vacation in Southern China. I miss my wedding planning and am SO happy to jump right back in. I will do a vacation recap after I upload all the pictures. But right now, I have tons of emails to sort through. So for now, here's a photo from the picturesque old town of Lijiang.

The after wedding blues...

2007-11-12T10:30:00.000-08:00

Another wedding has gone and it was simply amazing. Besides the couple being the nicest people I ever had the pleasure to work with (they asked how my meal was during the reception...crazy kids), the bride already wrote a sweet email thanking me!

I love planning and can't imagine life without planning something. Be it vacation, weddings, birthday parties, showers, get together...planning is my one happiness in life. It gives me something to look forward to. I'm very happy and grateful to be doing what I'm doing. I saw this article on Washington Post and oh how I can relate. After the wedding, I always miss the emails the bride and I share or the meetings we had where we laughed and joked. I'm often wondering with the bride where the year's gone. =) Good thing I have a trip to distract me from this 'after wedding blues.'

Thank you Sarah and SirvTee for allowing me to be apart of your special day. You two are the sweetest people. I know your lives together will be filled with love and happiness...and most importantly laughter!

A quick hello!

2007-11-09T15:28:00.000-08:00

No time to write since I'm off to a rehearsal but I just had to share. I got an email from Elizabeth sharing her engagement pictures. There were soooo many beautiful pictures, but of course, especially since Elizabeth and Brian are such a gorgeous couple! Here are a few of my favorites from their talented photographer Brian Crane Photography.

Too gorgeous for words...

2007-11-08T16:16:00.000-08:00

These pieces by Tejani are just too beautiful for words. Each jewelry is so delicate and and detailed...perfect for a bride on her big day. The jeweler is based in NYC but the pieces can also be purchase online.

Balloon send off...

2007-11-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

I'm sure many of you have seen the usual sparkler send off at the end of the wedding. But have you seen a balloon send off? From the looks of this picture...it's amazing! I can almost feel the excitement and electricity in the air. It makes me want to have an outdoor afternoon wedding just so we can have the same experience.

Saturday Dress Shopping & Birthday Dinner

2007-11-06T07:08:00.000-08:00

It's official! My dear friend is getting marry next year. Mr. Friday (his nickname since their date night is always Friday) proposed. The poor guy just had back surgery and really wanted to make the moment special as I'm sure it was. I'm excited to be helping my friend since weddings are what I do best. =)

I think most brides would agree, trying on dresses is one of the most fun aspect of wedding planning. You make appointments at luxury salons, the sales consultant help dress you, and you coming out looking like a million bucks! Our first stop Saturday, Monique L'huillier.

I waited for my friend to change as I enjoyed the fresh flowers and chamomile tea with spices.

This was her favorite from the store..Camelot (same dress Kevin Costner's wife wore).

Initially we were going to Barney's New York, but they canceled since they are currently renovating the bridal salon. So instead we stopped in at Renee Strauss without an appointment. The staff was extremely friendly but we didn't really see anything we liked.

Last stop was Saks Fifth Avenue. She fell in love with this gown ~ simple yet elegant.

After a day of dress shopping, we had a drink at W Hotel before dinner. The hotel is a little small for her 250 people wedding but we enjoyed sitting outside by the pool.

We had dinner at the Little Door Restaurant. Dinner was to celebrate an early birthday for the same friend since I will be leaving for China and she will be heading to Hong Kong.

We started with a bottle of Pinot Noir and the Assorted Mediterranean Appetizers.

I had the Grilled Filet Mignon with Green Peppercorn and Bone Marrow Sauce.

Lemon Roasted Organic Chicken Breast with Baby Artichokes, Garlic and Oregano

Grilled Rib Eye Steak with Sel, Herbs, and Cracked Black Pepper

Duo of Duck with Pomegranate and Candied Walnuts

Someone had the Pistachio Crusted New Zealand Snapper with Couscous (I didn't get a bite or a picture). Use your imagination. =P

We ended the dinner with some champagne and the birthday cake from The Little Next Door ~ Raspberry vanilla cake.

And here is the happy couple. Lucky Mr. Friday. Now hurry up and chose a date!

Let them eat cake!

2007-11-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

I know the title is the name of a popular bakery in Southern California but it just seems so appropriate for this post. Actually, these cakes are too beautiful to be eaten! =)

All cakes from Cakework in San Francisco.

On Dal 2: It's all about the crab‏

2007-11-04T14:44:00.000-08:00

On Friday night, I was able to convince some of my friends to check out this restaurant with me. It's located in Crenshaw, not the safest location, but after reading the glowing report from LA times and had other friends that actually patroned the restaurant; I was really looking forward to dinner.

This is their famous crab hot pot. We ordered the largest pot with 5 crab shells, thin bean sprout, bell cap mushrooms, and other stuff. Hehehe...I only eat, I don't cook. Due to friends weaker than myself, the pot was only 'small' spice. It was amazing even at mild, the pot was pretty spicy.

The service was impeccable. They had a wait staff cut the crabs so the tender meat is easily accessible. As you can see, they also divied up the crab shells. And yes, there was a scoop of rice in the shell with the broth.

We also ordered the pasta to try. The server brought a small round dough which she stretch and pulled until it's thin then teared them into small pieces to be cooked in the broth. I actually took a picture of the end result but my bowl was kind of 'not very clean' so I'll leave it to your imagination. The pasta was chewy but not as good as I hoped.

For the men in our party, we ordered the braised beef since seafood wasn't enough. This dish was mostly tomato based (where our crab pot was more the Korean hot paste) and a little sweet.

The last dish was the fried rice. The owner's son cooked it right in front of us. He used some soup from the braised beef pot, rice and his own special seasoning. It was delicious. We also ordered a large seafood pancake that we all ate before I had a chance to take a picture.

All in all, the food wasn't out of the ordinary. The small dishes the restaurant provided was better than most Korean restaurants ~ grilled fish, raw crab legs, small sausages, dried sweet seaweed. The crab hot pot was good but not extraordinary. The braised beef was sweet ~I don't usually like sweet ~ and included chewy rice cakes that I'm sure I ate a ton of. We all agree the seafood pancake and the fried rice was good, but not something we never had before. So will I go back, probably not. But it is worth a try!

Daylight Saving ~ Don't forget to change your clock!

2007-11-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Nov 3, clocks fall back from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. One extra hour for everyone ~ WOOHOO!!

China...here we come!

2007-11-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

I am so excited ~ a real vacation! It's for sure because we BOUGHT the tickets! I know, I know...not like I haven't taken one recently. WELL, it has been a while. I went to visit my sister and her twins Jan 2007. So it's been almost ONE year. And visiting to me isn't really vacation. Last real vacation was to Europe (Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Munich) June 2006. I was hoping for Spain this year but it'll have to wait...we'll probably go next Sept for MIL's 60th birthday.

Anyways, on to gush about my vacation. We are heading to southern China, Yunnan province. Hubs family are from there and to hear him talk, that is his 'motherland' and proud of it. I mean seriously, every person we meet from China, he will ask: 'What province are you from. I'm from Yunnan.' AS IF...the dude's never even been there! I'm glad he's proud and I'm happy we're finally visiting. It's been a long time coming.

We will be flying in through Hong Kong and landing in Kunming. Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan province. It has a long history and was the ancient gateway of the famed silk rode. Today Kunming is the heartbeat of Yunnan province, enjoying a reputation as one of Chinas’ most picturesque cites as well as being the most popular tourist destination in southwestern China. Like other major cities in China, Kunming combines an ancient and proud tradition with the dynamism of being a modern metropolis. ~tripadvisor

The weather I heard is much like here. I guess the exact location across the globe will be about northern Mexico. There are about 25 ethnic minorities in Kunming, and the city is celebrated as 'City of Eternal Spring.' It's well known for it's diverse cultures and breath-taking natural scenery (hubs' afraid it's going to be like Yosemite). I'm hoping we get to see the major attractions like the Shilin (Stone Forest), Xishan (West Hill), Grand Park, Black Dragon Pool and much more! Kunming is also famous for it's bit part in history. China's lifeline to the outside world ~ Burma Road ~ had one of its terminals at Kunming.

Lugu Lake

Shilin (Stone Forest) is a maze of grey limestone towers. A walkway let you wander around the rock formations. Nearby villages are inhabited by the Sani tribes people who sell handcraft and act as tour guides. The location of Shilin has once been covered by the ocean. When the ocean pulled back erosion has been shaping the stones to the impressive “forest” it is now.

Tour guides dress in traditional Sani outfits at Shilin

I'm expecting to see lots of different ethnicity, clothing, traditions...

This is the canal that runs through the city

Huating Temple in the West Hills area

We'll be in China for about 10 days and before heading back to US, we will stop in Taiwan for 5 days. Depending on if I'm still angry at my sister, I'll go visit her. Arghhh...I can sure hold a grudge. BUT...I won't let that damper my spirits. I'm going on VACATION!

Sarah & SirvTee Engagement Pictures (part 2)

2007-11-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

More amazing pictures from Sarah & SirvTee! These pictures are from their 'casual' engagement shoot. There is one of Sarah in her second hanbok and I just LOVE the color. She look amazing (thanks the the uber talented Joyce Luck). After all these practice on their photo shoots ~ Sarah and SirvTee are going to be SPECTACULAR on their wedding day! All photos by Studio One.

The colors in this photo is just amazing. I love how vibrant Sarah hanbok is against the soft pink background.

The color added in this b&w photo is totally cool. I've seen where photogs add color just to the lips or flowers, etc and it always look a little cheesy to me. But this...this is GOOD.

Cloudy gray days make for great photos...look how the blue pop!

One of my favorite photo of the sweet couple.

It's a little over a week left before their BIG day. I am super excited for Sarah & SirvTee!

HAPPY HOLLOWEEN!

2007-10-31T11:59:00.000-07:00

I wish I was a kid again. I remember first time going trick-o-treating....I was like 'WOW, free candy!' My parents dressed my sister and I up as clowns; identical even though she was 3 feet taller than me. And of course, when we were going house to house, people thought she was too old to be trick-o-treating. They thought sis was in college when in fact she was only 9!! We didn't do many years of trick-o-treating before we moved on to giving out the 'treats.' We have a weird household, instead of candy, my dad is always giving out tee-shirts, posters, star war collectable coins, and oh yeah...that one year he was giving out small earphone radio thing-a-majig. We had kids coming back THREE times!

And now, I just want to borrow someone's kid to take my dogs out in costume. Oh how we evolve. =)

Mom's BIG 6-0 Birthday!

2007-10-30T20:49:00.001-07:00

Mom's big 60th birthday was last weekend. Initially...I was full of ideas: we were taking a trip to Napa, then we were going on a 4 day cruise down to Mexico, 3 nights in Vegas, etc, etc. In the end, it was a day in Temecula. I was a little disappointed (okay, 'little' is an understatement). I guess it took me a whole week to 'get over' the disappointment to actually blog about it. Geesh, if it was last weekend, you wouldn't hear the end of it. In the end, I realize what was important was that my mom was happy and we were able to celebrate with love ones. And that my sister who wasn't able to join us and fouled my plans...it's her lost not ours (okay, maybe I'm not completely over it yet).

My aunts and uncles from San Jose flew down to celebrate with us. We had a fun dinner at Yamashiro (one of Mom's favorite because of the view, not the food). Since it was extremely dark at the restaurant, I didn't take any pictures. My little cousin B also joined us for the festivities. After dinner, we head to Old Town Pasadena for the infamous Pinkberry. My parents and my aunts/uncles never tried it before. They were amazed at the long line especially since the night was cold. Here we are waiting in line.

After the little frozen yogurt adventure,we head home for cake cutting and present openings. The cake was dark forest with a layer of Chinese pudding ~ it's from a Chinese bakery by hubs' work. Besides the 'American' sounding flavor, the cake itself was the typical yummy, light Chinese style cake.

Here's hubs and I with Mom & Dad (yes, I'm wearing pajamas, it was a long day). Look at the pile of gifts! My aunts informed Mom all the gifts were just random junk from their house packaged nicely. It's mainly just for the purpose of ripping open presents. They were JOKING of course. =D

Dad broke open one of his precious liquor collection. The sketch on the bottle is created by the master of art deco, world famous designer Erté. Initially there was 7 bottles in the set. Another bottle called "Inedit" has been launched in 1995 as a tribute to Erte's life and work (he died in 1990). Only 4,000 units have been produced. The design on the bottle is the first one that Erte created for the Vigne bottle, but censored at that time on the American market because the girl on the draw was half nude.

Erté created the luscious shape of the decanter, and then conceived visuals to represent the seven stages of the courvoisier cognac-making process. Each one of the decanters is filled with an exceptionally rare blend of the best cognacs -- some dating back to 1892 -- the year of Erte's birth. The third design in the series, "Distillation" inspired Erte to portray the coaxing of the precious spirit which is distilled from the wine, which reminded him of the genie appearing from Aladdin's lamp. ~ Courvoisier

Dad has been collecting since the bottles were first released. A few years back he opened bottle #8 when we had a family reunion (the earlier bottles are higher in value since people started drinking them before the artist passed away). This time for Mom's birthday, he opened bottle # 7 "la Part des Anges." Prices vary drastically...I seen it for $500 on ebay to $1500 at retail.

Here's my cousin B tempting the dog with persimmons.

The poor thing didn't realize B was instructed not to give him any. A dog can dream though.

Next morning we headed to the Temecula wineries. I didn't know what to expect. Temecula had much smaller scale wineries than Napa or Sonoma and the wines aren't as good. But the positive is Temecula is only an hour drive. We started at the Hart Winery. It was fairly small (literally a small shack on a hill) but they are building another bigger structure in the back. The owners are very friendly and it was a great start to the day.

Next up, Thornton Winery. It's a nice enough place but my only complaint was that I called ahead of time to see if I could bring my doggies, which they said I could. But look at the white sign to the right.

So the kids and I were out front in the lawn enjoying ourselves while the gang had lunch inside. I of course entertained myself playing on my iPhone ~ poor neglected kids.

Grandma came out after lunch to play with them. This is why I LOVE my mom. She really cares and always play with them and give them treats. My mom truly functions in the capacity of the grandma that spoils the grand kids rotten!

Then I called them for their afternoon treat and look how they come running.

Water, pupperoni, and chicken jerky.

Off to the other side, I saw the lawn was set up for a wedding. I was able to see the florist setting up before we left. The winery closes at 5pm and I'm assuming open to weddings after that. I can vouch for the food though. Mom bought me out a hamburger with grilled mushroom and it was delicious! I had my own little picnic under the trees.

All in all, Temecula was nice. It's not comparable to the Napa or Sonoma but it's our own little piece of wine country.

On our way home we went through the sand storm again. This time hubs had his camera ready. Initially we thought it was only in the morning but on our way home, it was just as bad. It's only for a short two miles before you reach I-10 on the 15 freeway. You can see from the side of the picture how hard the wind was blowing. All the trees were tilted dangerously to the side. It felt like we were underwater and the trees were the seaweed floating with the current!

Sometimes it was so bad you could barely see the car in front of you. All the cars came to a standstill. I can only compare the experience to driving through thick fogs.

And this is why there's high wind advisory.

Favorite mood boards

2007-10-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's easy to lose track of things when planning a wedding...especially when you are bombarded with a million pretty things. You want to include everything and anything, but in the end, you don't want to end up with a jumbled confusion as your wedding! So I recommend brides to create mood/inspirational boards.

It's very simple and basic and you don't have to be computer savvy to know how. Just start collecting pictures you see on the web, or in a magazine, or take photos of things around you. It doesn't have to be anything specific...sometimes it can be as subtle as just a color combination that you feel attracted to. Below are a few examples of mood/inspirational boards that I really like.

I LOVE vibrant colors and as you can see, so does the camera.

Simplicity at it's best. Clean and elegant...black, white, and yellow wedding.

Happy and fun colors bring spirt to your wedding.

Soothing, unexpected colors are very chic! And as you can see, you can collect pictures of furnitures and room decor to create your board.

Cute twist ~ lime green with navy blue

I'm not usually attracted to pale colors for weddings, but this next two inspirational boards may just change my mind!

Elegant white with frosty gray and blue

A little more warm and rustic...

Pretty in PINK!

This to me feels very old Hollywood glam...almost Gothic but not quite.

So now it's your turn to create something totally fabulous!

Sweetie Pie Honey Bear

2007-10-27T06:05:00.000-07:00

I had a hard week and look what I got when I came home Thursday night! =) My cutie pie hubby got me this GORGEOUS ring! He's always so good at getting me gifts for no apparent reason except to cheer me up. The ring was beautifully wrapped in a wooden box. I feel so lucky and so loved. =)

Briana & David's Engagement Party

2007-10-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

One of my gorgeous bride from next year just sent me pictures of her recent engagement party. With all the bright colors, traditional outfits and customs ~ the party sure looked like a blast! Briana is like a ray of sunshine ~ now I see where she gets her infectious smile from.

Yum...fried egg rolls

The procession of the groom's family bearing gifts covered in red cloth

Exchange of gifts

WOW...look at that gorgeous ring! Good job David! =)

I am extremely bless to be invited into your lives. I know your wedding is going to be AMAZING...fill with fun and laughter and most importantly, LOVE.

I heart J.Crew

2007-10-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to find companies like JCrew starting a wedding line. No longer will bridesmaid dresses or wedding gowns cost a small fortune, with no prospect of wearing it again.

For your beautiful bridesmaids:

Silk Taffeta dress ~ taffeta gives the gown a more stiff formal look, but the color and cut is whimsical

Also Silk Taffeta but in a baby doll dress

Lighter Silk chiffon dress

And for the queen bee (I'm been watching too much Gossip Girl ~ you know you love to hate the show!)

From the Spring 2008 JCrew line...pretty fabulous isn't it?

Introducing to you...my babies

2007-10-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

These two are the love of my life (oh, besides hubs). They are the ones that greet me excitedly when I walk through the door. They wait patiently for me to wake up in the morning before attacking me with their love. As I'm typing away on the computer, they lie on the ground besides my feet. The young one would claw my knee once in a while to remind me that they're both waiting for me, but never rushing me. Every time as I get ready for work, they look at me with their big puppy dog eyes. They bring me immeasurable amount of joy. They fill me with laughter at their childish antics. I never experience such unconditional love as theirs. My cute little babies.

My Maltese oldie has been with me ten years. If I had a kid, he/she would be ten! I never treated him like a dog and he never acted like one. He knows when I'm happy, when I'm joking, when I mean what I say, and when I need an extra pair of ears. Throughout these ten years, I lost him once (grandma left him in the yard too long and he snuck out the fence). That was the worst day of my life. I tear up just remembering the day and I thank God (or whoever above) for giving him back to me. A few months back he gave us a health scare. I know he's getting older but he has quite a few good years left with me. I'm still in search of a house with a HUGE backyard for him.

My baby schnauzer is another story. He really is a dog (if that makes any sense). He's playful, attached, bratty but completely lovable. I forgot what it was like to have a pup. He loves to eat grass and tears them out by the roots. Too bad my backyard is a concrete jungle. Reason why every time he's back at my parents, he thinks their backyard is a buffet. He's usually the one that starts the laughter. I love how he tries to entice his older brother to play with him! He never seems to give up or get tired, but when he does tire, he snores when he sleeps. In the year that we had him, he had weaseled his way not only into my heart, but everyone else's as well (being that my parents initially thought he was related to a rat!).

Well there you are, these two little munchkins are the key to my heart.

The 20 Most Expensive Celebrity Weddings

2007-10-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

Living in LA, you can't but be interested in all the celebrity gossips...and of course, celebrity weddings! Here's a list from Forbes of the top most expensive celebrity weddings!

20. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban (June 2006): $250,000

19. Marc Anthony and Dayanara Torres (December 2002): $500,000

18. Mariah Carey and Tommy Mottola (June 1993): $500,000

17. Ashley Judd and Dario Frachitti (December 2001): $750,000

16. David and Victoria Beckham (July 1999): $800,000

15. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston (July 2000): $1 million

14. Tori Spelling and Charlie Shanian (July 2004): $1 million

13. Donald Trump and Melania Knauss (January 2005): $1 million

12. Madonna and Guy Ritchie (December 2000): $1.5 million

11. Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith (August 2001): $1.5 million

10. Eddie Murphy and Nicole Mitchell (March 1993): $1.5 million

9. Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren (October 2004): $1.5 million

8. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones (November 2000): $1.5 million

7. Elton John and David Furnish (December 2005): $1.5 million

6. Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman (November 2005): $2 million

5. Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky (October 1991): $2 million

4. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes (November 2006): $2 million

3. Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar (March 2007): $2.5 million

2. Paul McCartney and Heather Mills (June 2002): $3 million

1. Liza Minnelli and David Gest (March 2002): $3.5 million

Sarah & SirvTee Engagement Pictures

2007-10-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

My couple getting marry in November at San Gabriel Hilton just sent me these studio pictures. They are too adorable! I love the color of the Korean outfits! And I'm so happy SirvTee got a chance to wear the white tux! He initially wanted to wear it for the wedding but now wearing it for the pictures AND engagement party, I think he's ready for something new! Sarah is so sweet and warm...we're both non-stop talkers I feel sorry for SirvTee when he just sits there and stare at us! =P You guys are too cute for words and SO ready to get marry next month. Let's get the party started!

Red Cheese Photobooth

2007-10-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is to inform all the guests that have no idea photobooth pictures are digitally given to the couple! HAHAHA...just kidding. I just received a email to these pictures from Mary & Gary's wedding (a few post down). Everyone looked like they had so much fun. =)

Cute couple getting marry next year

I love goofey group pictures!

A couple of girlfriends

I love this! Gary's dad!

And finally...the wedding couple! You two crazy love birds are too cute for words.

Nita & Nat's Wedding

2007-10-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

Feast your eyes on these amazing pictures from Michael Norwood! It was well worth the wait! Thanks Nita for sharing your amazing pictures! It was a gorgeous gorgeous wedding and I love reliving the day through the photos!

Nita & Nat had an amazing wedding. It's such a thrill to relive the day through these photos. I wish you guys the best! I know life has something good waiting for you two! =)

Wine & Food

2007-10-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

Adding to my post about signature drinks is a post about wine. First off, let me confess: I love my glass of wine but I am no expert. What I do know is everyone is different, thus my favorite wine might not be your cup of tea (or should I say 'your glass of wine'). Most people insist on sticking to red wine for red meat and white wine for seafood or white meat. I don't agree (might also be because I'm bias towards reds)! A light pinot noir might go well with your chicken or a smokier fish dish. Choosing the wine for your wedding is yet another way to personalize your wedding. Take a chance and buy a few different wines (5 cent sale going on at BevMo) and determine what you like. If you really have no idea where to start, here's a great website about wine pairings. Pick a few wine from the suggestions and have your own wine tasting night!

What's your signature drink?

2007-10-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

One way to reduce the headaches of open bar is to limit the different types of drinks. Most commonly done is to have wine, beer and signature drink(s). It's a great way to personalize and save a few bucks ~ best of both worlds! Create a cute bar menu listing the Bride's favorite drink and the Groom's favorite drink. Or a lot of brides create the 'Something Old ~ like a classic martini, Something Borrowed ~ pink cadillac, Something Blue ~ blue hawaiian, Something New ~ lychee martini'menu. Or come up with your own twist! Here's a great link to find recipes or your signature drink!

Birthday food...review

2007-10-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

Prior to burger, we went to Ocean Ave Restaurant for their happy hour oysters! Very yumalicious!

Here's the extensive menu

The menu was dated so I took a pic...reminds me of how wedding photog do this on the wedding day

I had the Happy Hour Rogue on tap

Happy Hour oyster are only $1.50 each! Amazing!

Canadian Bay Shrimp Cocktail

Honey looking very content

On to Father's Office for our burger

It was way too dark but I wouldn't give up. This is our sweet potato fries in a little shopping cart - it even rolls!

The burger was a good as they say - caramelized onions, gruyere cheese, arugula on toasted french toast. The meat was extremely smokey and paired with the cream cucumber dip that comes with, it has a kick to it. (Disclaimer: not my picture, it was way too dark, I stole the pic from the web)

Picture of the left over, I think we had one too many oysters.

Wednesday before hubs' birthday, a couple of girlfriends and I went out to celebrate a belated birthday for a friend. We went to one of my favorite restaurants in Old Town Pasadena.

I love sitting outside ~ especially on a cold but sunny day.

The bread they provide is so yummy. It's more like garlic bread, hot out of the oven. You have to be careful not to overindulge since you still have appetizers, entree, and dessert to go.

Clams with grapefruits ~ never had warm grapefruits

Grilled calamari

Red curry paella

Seafood penne

Roasted lamb and baby spinach ~ I LOVE pine nuts

And I'm very sorry there's no picture of the dessert. We ate it before I got a chance to take pictures. We had warm bread pudding with vanilla ice cream and panna cotta with mango syrup. YUM. Oh and I forgot to mention, their red sangria is pretty good too.

And after my own dinner party, I joined the boys at Taiwanese beer house called Indian Cafe. I really shouldn't have gone since the boys were taking hubs out. But how could I refuse free beer? So forgive me for spoiling your plans (NOT)!

Here are a couple pictures of hubster's friend's new puppy Pita. She's a beagle and only 5 months old ~very very affectionate and adorable! I love how she barks (sounds like a fog horn).

And that was our day. Filled with food and friends. =)

It's Hubster's BIRTHDAY today!

2007-10-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!

We been celebrating birthdays together since 1994 (geesh that made me sound old). Here's to another hundred birthdays I get to celebrate with you! May all your wishes come true (well of course, you have me don't ya)! Love you hon!

So today, since neither of us are working, we're taking it slow and heading out to Santa Monica. There's a burger joint hubs been wanting to try out since reading about it in a magazine. It's call Father's Office. It's a tisey tiny place located on Montana Ave. But most importantly, it has the best burger in the region, if not US! The restaurant has no wait staff and you order directly from the bartender. The owner Sang Yoon is very strict about serving a no nonesense burger; there are so substitutes and your fries don't come with ketchup. Be careful ordering beer though, I believe there are bottles costing hundred of dollars.

Will report back with details and of course pictures!

Candles, candles, and more candles...

2007-10-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

Candles are wonderful! I hate to say it (especially since I LOVE special lighting), but candles are a less expensive alternatives to lighting. Lighting can change the mood of a room, but if you don't have the budget for lighting, candles can soften a room and give a beautiful glow. Often times brides would ask me (or mother of the bride would ask me), how many candles should they buy. Or can they mix and match different shapes and sizes of candles? In my opinion, anything goes!

I dug around in my computer looking for good examples. For some reason I expected to have more pictures, oh well, but here are some:

I love votives! There's never too many. You can line a window still...

Candles around the centerpiece or part of the centerpiece

Square votives with square centerpiece

Square vases with floating candles surrounding the cake ~ notice the different heights

Square centerpiece with circular votives ~ it works

Bridesmaid bouquets in vases ~ use as head table decorations

Basics ~ votives surrounding the cake

Some brides personalize by wrapping ribbons around the votives

Lanterns and Moroccan votives...

Another square centerpiece with round votives

Votives adding light to the guest book table (from knottie ccla)

Beautiful flowers and candles surround the cake ~ designed by Square Root (again from knottie ccla's bio)

What to wear to a courthouse wedding?

2007-10-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who will be getting married first at the courthouse, follow by a reception later on in the year. As I scoured the internet for something appropriate for her to wear, I found these dresses.

I love this little dress. It's structured where it reminds me of the dress suits women use to wear back in the 50's when they got married in court.

The o' so popular BCBG dress.

Stepford wives

Greek goddess dress

Or this cute little number from Wiksten

If you are willing, I think there are many many selections for the untraditional brides out there.

Brian & Elizabeth

2007-10-05T23:08:00.001-07:00

As soon as I met Elizabeth and her mom Vickie, I felt like I already known them. It helped that Vickie wrote a brief email prior to our meeting describing her daughter's wedding and included a link to Elizabeth & Brian's wedding website. I felt privileged and honored they would share their site with me. Reading about how the couple met, their guest comments, seeing pictures of their family and friends, I felt attached.

Elizabeth is as sweet as can be and Vickie is such an amazing mom. During our meeting, we chatted about weddings and florists and caterers and invites...and next thing you know, it's been a couple hours (we did have a snoring man in the corner adding to our amusement)! But usually after the initial meeting, I rarely come out thinking much because I am afraid of disappointments. But I threw caution to the wind and came out of the meeting hoping and wishing they would hire me. I really really like them and wanted to do anything possible to help Elizabeth with her wedding! Thus I am SO excited to say, my wish came true and I will be helping Elizabeth plan her wedding next August!

Here's an adorable picture of the couple that I snatched from their website.

Brian's a pharmacist and Elizabeth is a speech pathologist working with children with autism. They really are an amazing couple!

And here's a picture of Elizabeth with her mom Vickie on the left and Brian's mom to her right. This picture also from their website is taken during Brian & Elizabeth's engagement party.

I really feel lucky to be doing what I'm doing. I love weddings. I love the people that I meet and I love helping them plan their weddings. I'm sure I mentioned this before but it's amazing that people are willing to let me share this milestone in their lives.

Jump Photos!

2007-10-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

How cute are these?! I know it's been popular for brides to set up a photo area for guests to take pictures. Often times the couple will provide props such as funny glasses, hats, boas, etc. But I never seen where the bride ask guests to take pictures with a theme. Carla & Pete did just that! The couple had a digital photo set up against a huge backdrop and asked all their guests to jump!

Carla's brother who was also a groomsmen

Not surprising ideas from a extremely talented interior designer Carla Lane. These pictures are from her recent wedding at the Parker Palm Springs.

Cindy & Kevan's Wedding at Calamigos Ranch

2007-10-03T06:40:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday Cindy and Kevan got married at Calamigos Ranch. I met Cindy during orientation for MBA. We ended up being in a group together for the first year of school. We share many fond memories: Cindy teaching us Stats after class (I was able to manage a A all because of her!), birthdays celebrated at karaoke, our group trip to China. Cindy's parents even helped us with accommodations when we went to Beijing for a week following the school trip in Shanghai. And even though Kevan wasn't part of our group, he was an unofficially adopted member who was always goofing around with us in the back of the class. It was inevitable Cindy and Kevan fall in love and get marry!

Side note: Kevan's mom is Erin Gray from Silver Spoon. I never watched the show but heard she was very popular during her days. I don't know what happened to Kevan but Erin was amazingly beautiful (I kid, I kid)! =)

Calamigos Ranch is amazing. As soon as you enter the grounds, the peacefulness sweeps over you. No longer the hustle and bustle of a big city, the woods transport you to a small New England town. The 130-acre expanse can accommodate up to four weddings at one time. However, with each secluded setting, a bride can rest assure to have her own private event. The staffs are very sweet and helpful. The meals are delicious. Calamigos Ranch offers comprehensive packages that are very reasonable. No wonder so many couples get marry here each year!

A bridge leading us into the wedding:

Cindy looked so happy on her wedding day.

Place cards ~ the color leaf denoting meal selection

Here comes the handsome groom

Kevan's half-sister Samantha ~ isn't she gorgeous?

Ring bearer (Kevan's half-brother) and the flower girl. They were so cute! The flower girl forgot to sprinkle petals down the the aisle. But every time someone tried to tell her, she stops right in the middle of the aisle!

Here comes the happy bride!

The arch was amazing~ completely covered with branches and white flowers. It was a beautiful backdrop to the ceremony. Cindy and Kevan laughed and cried through the ceremony.

The KISS!

And they're MARRIED!

Here's Erin Gray and her husband.

Right after the ceremony

Cutie pie ring bearer

Yummy cake

Room set up

Centerpiece ~ green hydrangeas and branches, simple and elegant

Hydrangea centerpiece, bride's bouquet, and the favor of hershey's kisses with personalized tags (Kevan would like to point out he made the tags).

The wedding was wonderful and it was nice to see old school friends again. Cindy and Kevan are currently on their honeymoon in Hawaii (where he also proposed!). I wish you guys the best life has to offer!

Vegas, Universal Studios, and Random Stuff...

2007-10-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

Well since I haven't posted in quite a while (yes, lazy blogger here), you're getting plethora of random pictures I took the last 2 weeks. So here it goes...

New Homes in Walnut ~ don't ask, one of hubs' past time is to go look at new homes. I actually don't have pictures of the new homes but...

Hurricane-like candleholder, possible centerpieces

These beds/sofas are sleek! A loungy cocktail for your guests

So it wasn't just hubs who was interested in these new homes. There were so many people there we had to parked down the hill and hiked up! And one funny sight was a lady carrying her purse with the strap around her forehead! It was like what you see on National Geoggraphic of working African women tying their load on their forehead (and no, she wasn't African American). I just burst out laughing but wasn't quick enough with my iPhone to snap a picture. So you're just going to have to imagine!

Next up, lunch special at Sushi Gen in Honda Plaza. Every time we need a cheap sushi fix, this is where we go. The sushi is fresh and for $15 bucks, you get this plate of sashimi, tofu, seaweed salad, cucumber salad, miso soup, and a bowl of rice. Arrive early though; the line is usually 1.5 hour long.

Amazingly, I had two weekends in a row I didn't have to work. So last weekend, we went to Vegas. I don't like Vegas. I don't gamble. I can only eat the buffet once the whole trip, and unless I have extra cash to burn, I can't afford to go shopping. So why were we in Vegas you asked...blame it on the hubs. Here are some pictures of our fun filled trip.
Tahiti Village Resort

After our one buffet at Paris, we walked around to work off the food. When I looked up, the ceiling reminded me of Les Galeries Lafayette in Paris.

Here's hubs trying his luck on the slot machine.

And here are pictures of our drive home...I love it when the sun shines through the clouds.

Moving on to this past weekend. On Saturday, we went to Universal Studios Hollywood.

Can you believe? As if eating fast food itself isn't fatting enough.

Our first stop...a walk through their haunted house where ghosts and goblins jump out at you. It wasn't too bad since there were tons of people and you usually see who got scared ahead of you. But it didn't stop me from gluing my self to hubs and plugging my ears with my fingers. For some reason, if I don't hear the 'BOO' I'm not as scared. You should try it next time.

Next: Terminator 3D. Our dear old Governor Schwarzenegger will be forever be known as THE Terminator.

And yes, hubs that was very against my blogging (privacy issues and all) ask I put these pictures up. He wants the world to see the resemblance. Who's he kidding?

Peforming characters...must be hot to be dancing in those costumes!

The HULK

Next ride...Revenge of the Mummy! Too bad the ride was so short!

And finally, our favorite, the Studio Tour

The backlot

King Kong

Cars from movies

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

The Flash Flood demonstration

Wisteria Lane of Desperate Housewives

Mike's house

Susan's house

Whoville from How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Bates Motel from Alfred Hitchcock Psycho

And Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds

We ended the day with funnel cake (hub's fav). I like it better than the ones at Magic Mountain. It's not as sweet and the whipped cream is much yummier than powdered sugar.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post...wedding at Calamigos Ranch and Erin Gray!

Ing & David

2007-09-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

I don' think I ever met a nicer couple. Ing is an accountant and currently going to school to be a pastry chef at the well-known California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena. How amazing is that?! She's very sweet and soft spoken. During our initial meeting, I think David (the groom) talked more about what they wanted for their wedding! =) It's always a nice surprise when a groom decides to meet during the beginning. Usually, I meet the groom late in the game ~ at rehearsal. So coming to the coordinator meeting with his sweet fiancée already says a lot about David. He's very outgoing and direct, almost the opposite of Ing. But like I always said, opposites attract, Ing and David balance each other out making them a perfect couple. I can't wait to work with them on their wedding!

Not your typical flower

2007-09-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

Daisy always bring a smile . It's something you give to brighten someone's day. It's not a common flower brides use for their wedding. But I have just such a bride. Here are some pictures she use for inspiration.

Daisy favor boxes

For daisy cookie favors and daisy cake, click here.

Adorable candy favors

Balloon decorations has a bad rap...look at these adorable daisy balloons. You can learn to make them on Martha Stewart by clicking here.

Or these huge DIY daisy centerpieces

I'm sure everyone seen this list:

Baby's breath = Everlasting love
Bachelor's button = Celibacy, delicacy
Calla lily = Magnificent beauty
Carnation (pink) = Woman's love
Carnation = Pure love
Cornflower = Delicacy
Crocus = Cheerfulness
Daisy = Innocence
Dogwood = Duration
Fern = Magic
Forget-me-not = Remember me
Freesia = Innocence
Fuchsia = Confiding love
Geranium = True friendship
Hellebore = Calming
Hyacinth = Sport and play
Iris = I have a message for you
Ivy = Friendship
Jasmine (pink) = I attach myself to you
Jasmine (white) = Amiability
Lady's mantle = Comfort
Lilac = First emotions of love
Lily-of-the-valley = Return of happiness
Mint = Virtue
Myrtle = Love
Oak leaf = Bravery
Orchid = You're in my thoughts
Peony = Bashful
Peppermint = Warmth of feeling
Primrose = Youth
Ranunculus = Radiant with charms
Rose (white) = I am worthy of you
Rose = Love
Rosemary = Remembrance
Snowdrop = Hope
Sweet pea = Delicate pleasures
Sweet violet = Modesty
Sweet William = Sensitivity
Tulip (pink) = Caring
Tulip (variegated) = Beautiful eyes
Tulip = Declaration of love
Violet (blue) = Faithfulness

Different flowers have different meaning to everyone. I think the important thing is not having to go with what's expected, but what makes sense to you. It's your day!

Can I borrow the bling?

2007-09-21T01:35:00.000-07:00

I often thought about this concept and with the power of Google found a few companies (if not all providing wedding bling). If celebrities can borrow bling...why can't a bride? Adorn Brides is just this company! They have been mentioned on Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and In Style Weddings. That's some fabulous press and not many people have heard about them. It must be a East Coast thing. =)

Look at this beautiful pearl bracelet the company offers - all yours for the day for $290

A couple other companies are also available, such as:
Borrowedbling.com ~ primary costume jewelry with three membership plans ranging from $29.95 - $99.95 a month

Bagborroworsteal.com ~ originally for designer handbags, the company added jewelry rental in 2006. The company is also a three membership plans ranging from $9.95 - $5 a month

This little beauty is only $60 for the week

Imoveritonline.com ~ also features three membership plan starting at $29.95 - $49.95 and the borrower can rent for as long as they want

No matter if a bride is adorn in jewels or bare except for the dress, a bride is always beautiful on her wedding day.