W360 goes to Dallas!

Recently Wedding 360 went to Dallas to film 3 brand new teaching sessions with Todd Fiscus, the creative genius behind Todd Events, a multi-tiered, award winning design studio. Todd was one of our professors in March for the Academy for Planners and Designers in San Francisco. His content was so popular with the wedding professionals who watched it on our Online Academy, that we took Andrew Hsu, our W360 Videographer, and went to Todd's studio to capture on film more of Todd's boundless design and business expertise.

The Wedding 360 Filming team: Andrew Hsu, Todd Fiscus, Jubilee Lau, and Jean Marks (Jubilee and Jean are the founders of Wedding 360 LLC)

This is the headquarters and hub of the wedding and event planning division of Todd Events; we were able to use The Apartment, a popular event venue owned by Todd Events, for our filming.

A reminder to the dozens of busy staff members who were working at the Todd Events headquarters, that Todd was being filmed for Wedding 360!

Andrew in action, on set with Todd Fiscus. This sequence was part of the segment on table top design.

For another segment, Todd begins with an overview of the kinds of floral design he prefers, and quickly launches into how he could take these concepts and create designs of gigantic proportion, still based on what he has done on the smaller scale. Consistency, says Todd, is the most important part of design, no matter what the scale.

Todd is a master of design and detail, so even the displays for his Wedding 360 presentation had to be perfect.

Todd changed his jacket for the actual filming of this segment, so students watching different videos will realize he is now presenting an entirely new area for their learning.

Before and after the filming Todd and his Todd Events team made sure the Wedding 360 crew was fed and entertained well. We had dinner at Tillman's Roadhouse, a trendy, upscale Texas bistro owned by Todd Events. We were treated to signature cocktails, three flavors of French fries, ribs, Chicken Fried Steak, but don't forget.....

...... those comfort food desserts, created by Todd, such as Peanut Butter Cookie Sundae, with Homemade Bittersweet Fudge Sauce! Here Todd pours on the sauce himself for our table to share; there was more...in fact, s'more...

.....it was by far the "Cook at your Table S'mores" with house-made graham crackers, 3 flavors of homemade marshmallows and dark Belgian chocolate that brought the most joy to my partner Jubilee....Andrew wasn't too disappointed either!

There was one more special treat we enjoyed with Todd Events in Dallas; Todd had just welcomed Pippa, a 7 week old Pug puppy into the Todd Events family. Here Pippa is enjoying the loving attention of one of Todd's administrative team...Pippa seemed to never be out of someones arms... but when Todd went home, Pippa was ready to be with Daddy!

It was a privilege to be a part of the Todd Events family for 3 days; we learned more than we realized there was to learn about the wedding and event design business! All of it is now on film, for us to share via Wedding 360 Online Academy, with designers and planners who want to grow their business and stretch their creativity! We will have release dates available soon!

A Garden Wedding

When Christine and Stephen hired me to help them plan their October Garden wedding, I was really excited to know we would be working with Allied Arts in Menlo Park! As a gardener and floral photographer myself, I love any chance to be in one of my favorite gardens. But the more I get to know this couple, the more excited I am to see all their fun plans come together.

Looking over the rustic fence into the Blue Garden in Allied Arts.

The ceremony will be in the Blue Garden, but the orientation of the focus of the wedding was our mission last Saturday, when we visited Allied Arts.

We discussed the different options as we stood in the middle of the Blue Garden.

Should it be here.........

..or here......

or here....??! You will have to wait to see, as the decision is still under discussion!

The hydrangeas won't be as blue in October, but they will have a tinge of blue mixed with some lovely antique looking burgundy and grey shades... the natural backdrop will be perfect for Christine's color palette of blues, purples, and burgundy shades, with some bright green and cream for contrast.



Stephen is British, and comes from a long line of English gardeners; his family will certainly enjoy the charm of this California version of formal garden, with hundreds of roses, perennial borders, fountains, stone and brick pathways, and of course a place for tea in the center!


Christine is a concert pianist, whose friends, all professional musicians themselves, will be providing ceremony and cocktail music. One of our decisions during our visit was where to place the Stringed Quartet; the music for Christine and Stephen's wedding will not be background, but rather the musicians will be taking a primary role throughout, so we needed to be sure they could be both seen and heard! The bride, groom and musicians will be the key players at this wedding!

I will be writing more about the developing plans for Stephen and Christine's wedding celebration; creative ideas in the works to blend musicians, gardeners, Brits and family friends, for an unforgettable Garden Wedding.

Elegance at the Bently Reserve

It was a treat to get out this week in support of my good friends Bev Yip and

Michelle Barrionnuevo-Mazzini, in their fourth year of Promises and Pearls, an upscale wedding event enjoyed by both engaged couples and wedding vendors. Thank you for all the hard work, Bev and MB!

I had a great time with Bev Yip, Especially Yours Chair Covers., Elisheva Basseri, A Bride's Best Friend, and Kristine Tobin, of Palo Alto Sheraton Hotel

The Bently Reserve was elaborately decorated by Hartmann Studios,

Enhanced Lighting, and Asiel Designs, among other vendors.

Mary Phan, Very Merry Events, Elisheva and Kristina enjoying the ambiance at Promises and Pearls

Asiel Design created some amazing tablescapes (above and below) to give us all inspiration for the weddings ahead this year!

Chantal, owner of Nouvelle Vogue, poses with Elisheva, near the booth where Chantal and her partner, Saida, displayed several of the designer wedding gowns available in their San Mateo Bridal Salon.

The San Francisco Bay Area is a wonderful place to be a wedding professional! Each time I go to an event like this I am reminded of the vast amount of creativity, energy, and enthusiasm spread among the artists and vendors with whom I have become friends. I am proud to be a part of this dedicated group!