Haunted Gingerbread Houses?

Several of my friends and associates in the wedding industry were recently invited by Tony Santos, VP of sales for Executive Chef, (www.executivechefevents.com), to participate in one their team building events, just so we will know how their company "operates"! Below is my team, as we pose with the finished products of 45 minutes with gingerbread, pretzels, lots of candy, royal icing, fondant, and marshmallows...plus a bit of wine and appetizers to keep us going!!

My team included Jubilee Lau, Jubilee Lau Events; Morgan Doan, Events by Morgan; Sue Mylan from Julia Moargan Ballroom; Orna Maymon of Ornamento Floral Design; Kathleen Kirkpatrick from Villa Montalvo.

We worked on tables set up at the front of the Ferry Building, in San Francisco. These are the "raw materials", before our team began the 45 timed minutes of creative frenzy!

Amanda, Jubilee's assistant, and Jubilee collaborate on design and decor for the Boo! house.

Working diligently on the front porch of the Boo House, Kathleen Kirkpatrick models how her Executive Chef hat works nicely as a beret!

While my team was finishing up the last touches on our haunted houses, I visited a few other tables to see how the "competition" was doing; everyone was having a great time, but I think the other teams had more professional help than we did!

Stacie Halliman, of the Four Seasons, SF, had a bit of structural advice from the two of the Executive Chef executive chefs...

Neil Adams, of Blueprint Studios, observes here, but later in the evening, he came up with the winning gingerbread haunted house "neighborhood"...it included a cemetery of famous Hollywood horror actors, a house that had become a crime scene, and a haunted out-house; now that is thinking outside of the gingerbread box!

Happy Halloween, 2008!

The richness of team work

I love being a team player, and recently I had the opportunity to become a part of the wonderful team of professionals working together on Connie and Colin's wedding at the Flood Mansion in San Francisco.

Several months ago, my good friend, Gloria Tritasavit, who was handling the design for Colin and Connie's wedding, asked me to step in as the Month of Coordinator for their wedding, to handle logistics, create a detailed timeline, and oversee the smooth running of the rehearsal, ceremony, and reception, from beginning to end. I was delighted to work alongside Gloria again, as we had in September, for Marce and Alfie's wedding, at Nestldown.

The first member of the wedding support team I worked with on the wedding morning was Barry Peterson, Catering Manager for the St. Regis in SF, where the bride, her mother, and all of the bridesmaids were staying. Barry set aside a room just for doing hair and makeup, from early in the morning through the departure of the last limo, on the wedding day. He even provided a beautiful, and healthy lunch for the bride and bridesmaids...I always recommend a simple meal of protein, fruit, and water for the bride on the day of the wedding; Barry took this to the next level!

Bride and bridesmaid lunch delivered to the Hair and Makeup suite, for Connie and her bridesmaids; it was as delicious and healthy, as it was beautiful!

I was able to hop into the limousine (Andiamo Livery Service offered great service throughout the day...another strong team member!) with Connie's mom, in the last run from the St. Regis; we arrived at the Flood Mansion, for the pre-ceremony photos right on time.


Every area of the mansion was a full of action, with vendors moving like dancers, in and out of each others paths, taping down cords for microphones and speakers, placing crates of glassware and plates near the dining tables, creating floral masterpieces on site from buckets of gorgeous flowers, unloading boxes of props, taping down yards of silk for the aisle runner, installing tall poles for draping and lighting, etc.

The Dessert Buffet was in position, ready for the addition of the delicious variety of sweets, when the sun had set, and dinner was complete.

The cocktail tables were ready to be moved onto the Cortile, once the ceremony had concluded there.

If there was ever a need for a timeline, and overall coordination of details, this multi-faceted wedding was one of those times! As a part of the wedding team, I was able to bring together the multitude of details and timing needs, so that each individual vendor's focus was respected, and factored into the overall plan of the day.

When I arrived I immediately grouped the family and wedding party for the scheduled photos with Anna Kuperberg, another fantastic team member; then I met with Steven Emerson, of Ever Music, and the sound technicians from SF Booking, to determine where to set up mics and speakers for the ceremony, cocktails, dinner, and dancing.

Meanwhile, Gloria, Jonathan from Asiel Designs, and Gloria's assistant were setting up the escort cards in preparation for the guests' being invited into dinner, from the cocktail hour outside.

Gloria and Jonathan work together to get the unique design of escort cards exactly as Gloria had designed it.

Once I had seen that each of the vendors was on-site, unloaded, and very close to having their part of set up complete, I turned my attention to getting the family, wedding party, and of course Connie and Colin, in place for the beginning of the ceremony.

When I went outside to check on the ceremony set up, I caught this photo of the ring bearer, enjoying the stringed trio warming up for the ceremony...I am sure he is a violinist in the making!

Another essential part of my service at a wedding is to provide at least one professional wedding coordinator assistant to help me throughout the day; now was the time when we were both extremely focused, stationing the ushers to welcome and direct the guests as they arrived, grouping the bridesmaids and groomsmen, positioning the parents, the ring bearer , flower girl, and of course Colin and Connie, for the beginning of the ceremony.

Once I cued the musicians to begin the processional, the ceremony was ready to begin, with the seating of the parents. It is always emotional for me to see the bride and her father, a little teary with joy and memories, head down the aisle to the waiting groom...I see it as a treasured privilege to be the last one to see them, as I straighten, and "fluff" the bride's train for the long awaited entrance...sigh...!

The next 5 hours went by quickly for everyone; the wedding, the cocktail hour, the dinner, dessert buffet, and dancing went smoothly, and we stayed true to the timeline, without feeling constrained.

The menu which Colin and Connie had spent months selecting, and fine tuning, down to the most minute detail, was prepared and served flawlessly, and deliciously, by Betty Zlatchin Caterers.

One of the many elegantly displayed and perfectly seasoned appetizers which were passed to the guests during the cocktail hour.

The result of all the months, days, and hours of preparation, with hard work by each member of Colin and Connie's wedding team, was the beauty, elegance, and fun enjoyed by all the family and guests.

The guests found their escort card with their name and table assignment presented on lacquered wooden trays, in the Adams room at the entry of the Flood Mansion.

Just beyond the Adams room is the entrance into the main dining area at the Flood Mansion.

The tables were set with customized place cards, detailed menus, and striking black/white, blue and yellow decor.

This is the bride's chair at dinner; Connie had asked me to place her wedding shoes there, so she could rest her feet during the cocktail hour, in comfy flip flops....4" heels create an elegant look, but I think a break for the bride's feet, before the first dance, is a great idea.

The overview of the dining room, during the first course, oysters on the half shell.

The dessert buffet, with the Croquembouche in the center, was a huge hit for the wedding guests, both for the beauty of the design, and for the delicious choices of small sweets.

I would love to work again with any and all of the wonderful wedding professionals who made up Colin and Connie's "team"; they are:

Gloria Wong Tritasavit, Design (www.sashandsugar.com)
Asiel Design, Florals (www.asieldesign.com)
David Zlatchin, Caterer (www.bettyzlatchincatering.com)
Anna Kuperberg, Photographer (www.kuperberg.com)
Steven Emerson, Ever Music Group, (www.evermusicgroup.com)
Enhanced Lighting, Draping and lighting (www.enhancedlighting.com)
The Studio Agency, Hair and makeup (www.thestudioagency.com)
Katherine Baird String Trio (www.sfbooking.com)
Andiamo Livery, Wedding Day transportation (www.andiamolivery.com)
Pure Luxury Transportation, Evening wedding transportation (www.pureluxury.com)
St. Regis Hotel (www.stregis.com)
Mandarin Oriental Hotel (www.mohg.com)
Hotel Vitale (www.hotelvitale.com)
and me! (www.jeanmarksweddings.com)

A full wedding weekend....

Marcie and Alfie's wedding weekend began with the rehearsal at Nestldown, on the Saturday morning before their Sunday wedding. Here, Marce and I survey the arrangement of the wedding party, before practicing the exit, entrance, and overview of the ceremony with everyone.

Everyone, including Marce and Alfie, seem pleased with the rehearsal, and are ready for the next event of the weekend!

After the rehearsal, Marce and Alfie had planned an afternoon of wine tasting in the Santa Cruz Mountains for 100 of their out of town guests, many of whom had never been to California, much less experienced the fun of tasting wines, in the same location where the grapes are grown and pressed.
The vans pulled away from the hotels just an hour after the rehearsal for the wine tour which would stop at 3 Santa Cruz wineries, and then take all the guests to a rehearsal dinner at an Italian restaurant in Felton.




After a good night's sleep, Marce, Alfie and about 85 of the close family members were up early to begin preparation for the family tea ceremony and brunch, which would precede the afternoon wedding.

Hair and makeup service began at 7:30am in a room set aside at the hotel; during the day over 24 people rotated through the room for hair and/or makeup.

I had been working with the staff at the Hotel Los Gatos, and Dio Deka Restaurant for several weeks, to design a customized tea ceremony arrangement, to finalize details for the brunch after the Tea Ceremony, and to set aside a location for the hair and makeup services.

I was well supported by each of the staff at the Hotel Los Gatos, and know that the smoothness of Marce and Alfie's wedding day was enhanced by the service we received there.

Alfie and Marce serve tea to Marce's parents in the time honored way of showing respect and gratefulness to close family members by the couple who are beginning their married life together.

Marce and Alfie wore beautiful traditional Chinese outfits, as another way to show respect and appreciation for the culture and traditions of their beloved families. As Marce and Alfie are both "only children", thus the one wedding either family will be blessed to celebrate, there were many tears of happiness from all participants, including the bride and groom.

Following the tea ceremony, Alfie and Marce hosted the family and guests to a lovely brunch at the hotel; after eating brunch themselves, Marce and Alfie excused themselves to change out of their traditional Chinese clothing, for the drive to Nestldown, where Marce would put on her wedding gown, and meet Alfie for photos.

At this point I also headed out to Nestldown to check on the set up for the wedding day, my final step to coordinate in this full wedding weekend!

First the ceremony site, check!


Then the barn, in process, check!



The cake had been delivered and set up in the proper location, check!


For 10 months, in tandem with my "logistics" planning for this amazing wedding celebration, Gloria Tritasivit, a wedding designer and owner of Sash and Sugar, had been working with Marce and Alfie to incorporate Marce and Alfie's favorite pastimes...reading great books, and enjoying tea together..into the theme and ambiance of the wedding day. I had Gloria's layout with me, so as I walked the grounds at Nestldown, I began to see and enjoy all the fruit of her design development.

Outside, the guest sign-in table, which was a display of books, tea things, jewels, and antique boxes holding paper for the guests to write personal notes to the bride and groom, was guest ready...check!






Escort card boards, with personalized tea bags for each guest, denoting their table assignment (the tables, of course, were named after various kinds of tea), were set up on the way in into dinner. Check!




The 17 "queen" sized tables, being set up on the lawn, suggesting the elegance and beauty of a lovely tea party. Check!




And at this point, I became quite busy making sure that the guests were welcomed, directed to the ceremony site, and that the bride, groom, bridal party and family members were in place for the ceremony to begin, which I am pleased to say, started promptly as scheduled, at 3:30pm!

I will rely on the photographer for the further images of the wedding day, beyond the set up; but I know the wedding was a success because, as we moved through all aspects of the wedding day, Marce and Alfie kept remarking excitedly, that the day was like a dream come true!

So the preparation, planning, and care that went into creating the warmth and personalization of Marce and Alfie's wedding were all worth it; after a full and rich wedding celebration, spanning an entire weekend, hosting guests from around the world, Alfie and Marce left for their honeymoon, knowing they had created blessed memories, which would stay with their families and guest for years to come.

Many thanks to Marce and Alfie's amazing wedding team, which included:

Pre wedding:
Wine tour: www.thesantacruzexperience.com, Tea Ceremony/Brunch: www.diodeka.com, Hotel accommodations: www.hotellosgatos.com, www.tollhousehotel.com, Hair and makeup: www.wowpretty.com, Transportation: www.thesantacruzexperience.com, and www.lonestartransportation.com
Wedding:
Caterer: www.lepapillon.com, Flowers: www.wiggyflowers.com, Photography/Videography:www.xsightusa.com, Lighting/Draping: www.elle-music.com, Officiant: www.ministermaggie.com, Cake: www.edithmeyer.com, Design: Gloria Tritasavit, www.sashandsugar.com, Ceremony/cocktail music: An Elegant Touch of Strings, DJ: Rise Above Productions

Succulents, Sushi, and a Turtle

Abby and Joe wanted a very natural, elegant, and sustainable sort of wedding celebration; one which represented their commitment to the environment, their love of the outdoors, and their appreciation of the simple things of life. Choosing as their venue Fogarty Winery, with its panoramic view of the entire SF Bay area, was the first step in bringing their love of outdoors and natural beauty into the center of their wedding planning.




During the 7 months I worked with Abby and Joe, we had a blast filling in the details! One of the special surprises we had for the guests was waiting to greet them when they came into the Hill House for the cocktail hour...a reminder of Abby's childhood pet, and another of the "green" elements of their wedding day......

...what could be more "natural" than a turtle wedding cake? Abby and Joe's cake, designed by BethAnn Goldberg was make specifically to their specifications, and was as delicious as it was amazingly creative!

This weekend a team of incredibly creative and caring wedding professionals came together to create a wedding celebration perfect for Abby and Joe...one which was savored by the family and guests, because each element so represented the uniqueness of their beloved Joe and Abby.






Leisha Montrose, our florist, caught Abby and Joe's vision right away, and helped design arrangements with many sustainable elements, such as succulents, moss, and lichen, which could be taken home by guests, and planted in their own gardens. Many of the centerpieces were actually miniature gardens, with accents of white dahlias, wheat grass, small apples and artichokes; the escort cards were displayed in a reusable wooden tray of wheat grass, adding to the sense of having a garden growing all around us.



Their guest book was a scrap book, with engagement photos on almost every page, allowing guests to sign around the photos (all of which were taken outdoors of course!). I recommend this type of guest book, with lots of empty pages, and an assortment of colored gel pens, to encourage guests to write, draw, and have fun in their messages to the bride and groom. This kind of guest book becomes a keepsake which couples will treasure for years to come, as they look back, to read the personal notes from their guests, beside photos of them, as they looked at the time of their wedding.


Chocolate brown, cream and shades of green were used through out the wedding decor; one of the bridesmaid's bouquets is shown here, resting on Abby and Joe's personalized guest book. Small green apples, wheat grass and the brown wooden walls of Fogarty Winery make the gift card basket fit in perfectly with the overall theme.


Abby's bouquet included flowers which are not usually seen in bridal bouquets, in shades of green and cream, with strips of grosgrain ribbon holding the stems in a "just picked" design. When I was holding on to Abby's bouquet during some photos, I nestled it in the branches of a rosemary plant in Fogarty's garden, and took this photo, to remind me of the way it fit naturally into the environment of a garden.

Lady slipper orchids, succulents, oregano, Queen Anne's Lace, green hydrangea, white dahlias and roses were part of the unusual selection of flowers in Abby's bouquet.

The linens we chose to use for Abby and Joe's dining and cocktail tables were all of a textured cotton, woven with a basket like pattern, perfect for the natural look of the flowers and containers.

Abby and Joe chose to work with Componere Fine Catering, who did a fabulous job with service, presentation, while providing unbelievably fresh and original taste for each item on the menu. Abby and Joe were pleased that Componere used foods which were organic and sustainably grown, an important aspect to the overall goals of the wedding.
Componere was also pleased to meet Abby's father's one request for the wedding dinner: a "live" sushi bar during cocktails. Componere found some to the best sushi chefs in San Francisco, to come up to Fogarty, and set up a display which kept guests coming back for more, or staying right there to get the next creation! Abby's father was quite pleased!

I caught this shot of Abby's "friend", before we moved him into the front part of the hill house for his "cutting"; he seemed to be keeping a close eye on the setting up of the sushi bar...do turtles eat fish? I am not sure, but he certainly seems interested...



It was hard for Abby and Joe to make the first cut into their wedding cake, so they chose to only touch the smaller cake, which the turtle was carrying on his back..then they went in for dancing while Componere's staff cut and served the lower part of Mr. Turtle, which was lemon cake with raspberry filling; the top layer was carrot cake, which I understand would have been to bumpy for the shell design!


Well it was a wonderful day, and I was pleased to be a part of all the decorations, surprises, and logistics; as I was leaving, I noticed this message, left by a departing guest, which I caught with my camera, just as the sun was setting:
Everyone at the wedding was able to see how much Joe loves Abby, and at the end of the day, that is what really counts!


I want to thank all my wonderful vendors who worked so hard to see this amazing celebration become all that Abby and Joe had hoped for!

Venue-Thomas Fogarty Winery, www.thomasfogarty.com
Caterer-Componere Fine Catering, www.componerefinecatering.com
Photographer-Todd Rafalovich, www.toddrafalovich.com
Videographer-Justin Fone Productions, www.justinfone.com
Florist-Branch Out Flowers, www.branchoutflowers.com
Musicians/DJ-though Joel Nelson, www.joelnelson.com
Cake-Studio Cakes, www.studiocakes.com
Transportation-Pure Luxury, www.pureluxury.com