Memories of Paris

Kimi and Steve's wedding at Ralston Hall was a reminder for the two of them and their guests, of their love for Paris. After 3 trips to Paris in the last few years, Kimi and Steve wanted use the details of their wedding to reflect a flavor of Paris...



This escort card display was made by Steve, because they did not find the exact Eiffel Tower they were looking for!


Fleur de Lis emblems were on each wish card which were hung by guests on an antique French stand or placed in the ornate gold box, for Kimi and Steve to read through later.


This Parisian inspired box was hand made for the gift envelopes; each picture frame and flower stand was lovingly sought and found at flea markets and on eBay, to convey the Parisian theme Kimi and Steve were developing.


The favors were combination of framed Polaroid photos, taken during the reception, of each guest, and leather luggage tags, displayed in antique suitcases...a tribute to all the flights Kimi and Steve have made to Paris!


The Ballroom at Ralston Hall provided a naturally French feel for the ceremony, and with the addition of French silk fabric draping the gold chiviari chairs, the European ambiance was complete.

The cake was of course topped by the Fleur de Lis, with an ornate gold stand supporting the elegant four tiered cake decorated with hand painted gold flourishes distinctly French.

Viva la romance!

Wedding 360 in SF and Sonoma

The last few weeks have been filled with planning sessions for the upcoming Wedding 360 events, Wedding University, in January, and The Academy for Planners and Designers, in March. (See the Wedding 360 website for details of my partnership with Jubilee Lau to produce educational events for Engaged Couples and Wedding Professionals)

OUTDOOR PLANNING:
Part of our planning included a trip to the Kunde Winery in the Sonoma/Napa area, to have a tour, and discuss a proposed stop at Kunde during our Wine Tasting Tour, which will follow our Academy in March. Gloria Wong Tritasavit, who is our design lead for the event, Jubilee and I spent a day enjoying the crisp Fall weather and the beauty of a vineyard, filled with the bright colors of changing leaves and fully ripe grapes.

The Dunfillan Winery, built in the late 1800's on the Kunde Winery property, produced the first labeled Cabernet Sauvignon wine.

What was once a thriving winery, these ruins now provide a romantic backdrop for weddings; just before our visit, one of the staff members had been married there...the bright orange and yellow lanterns were part of the decor which remained.


When we visited, the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were ready for harvesting and the "crush" which is the busiest time for any winery, was underway....throughout our tour, we saw wagons full of grapes, some green, some red, some deep purple like these...being taken to the wine presses where the fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon wine you will enjoy with with a delicious meal in a few years, begins its journey from the vine to the glass.

Jubilee helps with the harvest...Gloria can take care of the grapes closer to the ground!

One of our professors for the Academy will be Ethan Mantle, head chef and owner of Componere Fine Catering; this Spring he partnered with Kunde Family Estate to create a beautiful organic vegetable garden on the Kunde property. Every week Ethan and his staff drive up from the Bay Area to harvest fresh produce and herbs to use in the preparation of the gourmet meals served at the weddings catered by Componere.
Ethan will teach a class on "Cutting Edge Catering" and how presentation and taste go together to create a design element guests will never forget. Part of the tour in the wine country will be an opportunity for Ethan to show us his garden, and discuss how using natural, organic "home grown" foods is a central part of his vision for a complete catering experience.

Jubilee, Gloria and I had to sample some of the cherry tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, and fresh herbs, just so we could let Ethan know everything was growing well! My favorite moment was biting into a sweet, ripe yellow pear tomato, which was still warm from the sunshine..yummmm!...that took me back to my gardening days in Georgia, where I had a huge vegetable garden, as well as goats, chickens, and rabbits...but that is another story :).


Jubilee and Gloria join our tour guide and hostess, Naomi, for one more stolen tomato, before we moved on with our tour of the 800 acre Kunde estate.

Jubilee and Gloria pose at another wedding venue on the property, called Boot Hill, where wedding guests enjoy 360 degree views of the vineyards and rolling hills which make up the Kunde Estate.

We look forward to introducing visitors to California for our March Academy for Planners and Designers, to the beauty and relaxed pace of the stunning Napa/Sonoma Wine Country.

INDOOR PLANNING:
In the same week, Jubilee and I had a "staff meeting" in San Francisco, with the group of talented professionals who have aligned themselves with us to plan and carry out the 2010 events being produced by our business, Wedding 360.

Jeanette Elliott, Janece Shellooe and Amanda Chan, discuss schedule and logistics for the Wedding University.

Janece Shellooe, who handled registration, gift bags, and student binders last year, this year leads the entire Wedding University team; on Sunday, January 31st, at The Four Seasons, in Palo Alto, we will offer our 2nd "Afternoon of Elegance and Education", from 11am to 5pm, with classes taught by highly acclaimed wedding professionals, an amazing design showcase, and unending food offerings for the students, provided by the Four Seasons chef. The 2009 event was a huge success, so with Janece in leadership, we are taking what we learned at the first TWU and adding even more opportunities for learning and fun. Registration for the 150 person event, will begin on November 16th.

Elisheva Basseri, Gloria Wong Tritasavit, Karen Miyanaga, and Gail Lee, to the left in this photo, discuss design and layout for the social events which will be a part of the Academy, as well as the Boutique Trade Show, and the Design Showcase.

Also being discussed at this meeting in other small groups, was the Inaugural Academy for Planners and Designers, to be held March 14-16th, at the St. Regis San Francisco. After our Wedding University this year, many wedding professionals requested that we plan an event particularly to educate and inspire those who work with engaged couples, both in planning and designing their wedding day. In response to that request, Jubilee and I worked the last 6 months to lay the groundwork for the Academy. We have been encouraged by many colleagues and friends in the industry, to move forward with our plan; we pulled 12 of them together at the Julia Morgan Ballroom to brainstorm and delegate the work that lies ahead!

Jubilee, Catherine Hall (Catherine will teach a class with Gene Higa at the Academy on Concierge Client Relationships), and Melissa Miller.

We all look forward to seeing you at either the Wedding University in January, or the Academy for Planners and Designers, in March. Please take a look at our blog, wedding360llc.blogspot.com, for ongoing details about our events.

Peter and Courtney were so fun to work with on their wedding day because they were having the best time of anyone! When you see Geoff and Lara White's photos just posted on their blog, you will see what I mean...as Lara said, the happiness was contagious...towards the end of the evening, I was pulled into the dancing by the mother of the groom, and it felt absolutely RIGHT!! This was a wedding worthy of dancing by all!

http://blog.geoffwhite.com/uncategorized/courtney-peters-perfect-wedding-day/

San Francisco welcomes Kelly and Mark!

Cheers for a beautiful San Francisco Wedding!

Kelly and Mark decided to have their wedding in Kelly's beloved San Francisco, even though they are now living in Los Angeles; after only one meeting in January, they chose to hire me as their planning liaison for the wedding day. For the next 7 months, we kept in touch, as Kelly did most of the planning work herself, but wanted me to be available during the last 6 weeks or so, and on the wedding day, to take over all of the details, my Month-of Package. See my blog entry on the day I first met with Kelly and Mark:

http://jeanmarksweddings.blogspot.com/2009/01/january-work-day-in-sf.html

I actually had not seen Kelly and Mark again until the day before their wedding, but I had all the vendor contracts, had created and communicated an extensively detailed timeline, and had taken over all the vendor communication weeks before. Getting together at the University Club on Friday before the rehearsal gave us the opportunity to finalize all the placement details...we were a good team!

The ceremony was at St. Patrick's Church on Mission Street, and the reception at the University Club on Powell and California; managing the transportation for the 140 guests from the hotels to the church, from the church to the reception, and back to the hotels after the reception is always a challenge in San Francisco with traffic, but I am happy to say the ceremony began exactly on the dot of 3:30, and the dinner was served even a little early, so there was more time for dancing. I don't know this for sure, but I have heard weddings and receptions without coordinators do not always run on time!


The classic arches, brick and copper textures made beautiful backgrounds for the Lucie Silveira, of LucieXYZ Photography to capture some wonderful shots of Kelly and Mark, and the wedding party, after the ceremony.

Here is Lucy, in action, taking a shot that will be treasured forever.

After the photos at the church, the limo took Kelly and Mark to the beautiful University Club, where my good friend, Barbara Lewis, the catering manager, and I were waiting to greet them with champagne.

The University Club is the brick building seen below, with all the flags out front...I took this photo from Kelly's room at the Stanford Court Hotel, which is just across the street, at the famous cable car intersection of Powell and California...you can hear the ting ting's of the cable cars all day and night...so very San Francisco!

Kelly and Mark couldn't resist taking a walk on the historic Cable Car Crossing before going in for their introductions into dinner at the University Club; note Lucie risking her life in the middle of the street to get the perfect shot! To make this moment even more special, Kelly and Mark's first date had been atop this very hill, and included a ride on the cable car...


...now they have a photo to remind them that a first date can lead to lots of wonderful things...even a wedding!

Buttons, Butterflies and Ice Cream Bars

Brandon and Marissa are a playful, light hearted couple, who put together a wedding celebration at Nestldown that fit their personalities perfectly! It was really fun for me to be involved where they needed guidance, during our year of wedding planning partnership, but to stand back and enjoy all the amazingly creative ideas they came up with!

Marissa used buttons to make the bridesmaids bouquets, the groomsmen's boutonnieres, the family corsages, and even to embellish the ring bearer's pillow.

Marissa started the day by showing us the unique shoes she would be wearing under her Melissa Sweet gown; this was just one of the many surprises she had prepared for the wedding day!

Instead of the traditional guest book, Marissa and Brandon had a Polaroid camera, with props to make the photos more fun (the operative word!)and note cards for the guests to glue on their photos, then write a personal note to Brandon and Marissa, and display it on the bright and fuzzy green poster board Marissa created for the wedding day.

In case people were not sure what to do, Brandon and Marissa created an example of what they had in mind...even their beloved dog was included in the day, via photo!

Marissa's mother was Japanese, and so in memory of her, Marissa made and strung the traditional 1000 cranes, which are a symbol of good fortune; my staff was able to hang all 1000 of them from the arbor in the ceremony site at Nestldown. When I first met with Brandon and Marissa a year ago, Marissa was just beginning to do the origami folding of the cranes. It took her all year to complete the project, and the result was beautiful and heartwarming.

Close up of the rainbow colors Marissa used for her Origami cranes...one more element of bright color which was infused throughout the wedding decor.

Another way Marissa chose to honor her mother's memory was to have each guest release a butterfly at the end of the wedding ceremony; as the Monarch Butterflies flew around enjoying the flowers in Nestldown's Chapel, or winged their way up into the Redwoods, the full rich sound of Andrew Bocelli's "A Time to Say Goodbye" wafted up with them. I was glad I brought a big supply of Kleenex, as the vendors needed them as much as the guests.

One of the butterflies decided to stay for photos with a groomsmen, and remained on his custom designed "button-eire" all afternoon!

After the ceremony, guests were invited up to cocktails beside the Koi pond, then to dinner on the lawn, where once again, Marissa and Brandon had a surprise for the guests...hand made, brightly colored pinwheels, in jars full of candy, were the centerpieces, which would go home with guests as another reminder of the incredibly personal and playful wedding!

The final surprise of the evening was to be the arrival of Aunt Lali's Ice Cream truck...as the guests were inside dancing, we sneaked Marissa and Brandon out to don aprons, climb into the ice cream truck, and be ready to serve their guests.





When everything was in place, I cued the DJ to turn down the music, so the guests could hear the ice cream truck music...then he said, "hmmm...it sounds like dessert is outside...let's go see." As the guests poured out of the barn they were greeted by the bride and groom offering Push ups, Popsicles, It's-It bars, Ice cream sandwiches, and every other kind of ice cream bar we all remember from our childhood.



This photo really captures the spirit of Brandon and Marissa's wedding; they wanted to serve up a generous amount of child like fun and lovingly prepared surprises, to delight their friends and family.
(I must confess, I had TWO It's-It Sandwiches...I could not decide between mint/chocolate, or vanilla/graham cracker, so the kid in me gobbled both! Later the adult regretted it a tiny bit, but they were yummy!)

I am so grateful been a part of this amazing wedding day, and of Brandon and Marissa's lives for over a year; I will miss them, but I know we will get together to view the photos and the video, when Rhee and Justin complete them....and, until then, I did bring home a pinwheel!

Venue, Nestldown
Photography, Rhee Bevere Photography
Videography, Weddings on Film
Caterer, Poetry in Motion
Ice Cream Truck, Aunt Lali
Butterflies, www.amazingbutterflies.com

Wedding 360 is Launched!

Announcement, Announcement!


I have just launched a new business! Wedding 360 LLC, will be an adjunct to my thriving wedding planning business, to provide inspiring and helpful educational programs geared to engaged couples and wedding professionals. Many of you will remember The Wedding University, which Jubilee Lau and I founded with Julie Kiendra and Kelly Nelson, at the Four Seasons, Silicon Valley, February 8th, 2009.

Jubilee and I spoke to a "full house" last February, at the Four Seasons, Silicon Valley, for The Inaugural Wedding University; my topics were "Creating a Timeline that Works", and " It's All about the Experience". I will be enlarging on these topics, providing more details and handouts this year.

After the day was over, I enjoyed chatting with couples who attended The Wedding University.

The event was amazingly successful! Requests poured in for more similar events. At the same time, Jubilee and I realized what a passion we have for helping couples plan their weddings, and for working with the professionals who are part of the wedding industry. One evening, over dinner, we decided to start a business together, to do more of what we love!
It has been a very demanding and stretching time for us since that decision last March, but here we are, with a new business, a new website, and lots of plans for more elegant and educational events in the months and years ahead.

Please visit our new website:

www.wedding360llc.com,

for a full description of our vision and plans for Wedding 360!!

All in a day's work...

....what do wedding planners DO when they aren't at a wedding???

The three appointments I had this week with my current clients show the variety of activities and meetings I arrange and attend...this must be one of the most interesting jobs in the world! First I was at a tasting with a gourmet catering company, for a November wedding; then I found myself selecting elegant dinnerware for a French-inspired wedding dinner coming up in September; and finally, meeting with family and vendors for a "walk through" at Nestldown, for a large and exciting August wedding.

First, the food!


Ethan Mantle, owner and chef, of Componere Fine Catering, creates a tasting not to be missed! He provided my clients, Tiffany and Darren, with the exact meal, including appetizers and wine, which their guests will be served at Kohl Mansion in November! Yum! Naturally, I had to come along to help with the "work" of testing the menu....as they say, hard work, but someone has to do it!

I am going to look up the names of these appetizers to add to my post, as Ethan also gave us a formal menu, but for now the pictures are worth a lot of words!

Every prawn should have its own customized dipping bowl for fancy sauces, don't you think? Tiffany was pleased to show it off for me!

A creative and personal time I enjoy with my clients, is meeting at rental companies to "play" with options for their table decor. We get to try different combinations of linens, china, glassware, and napkin treatments, to see exactly how the bride and groom want their guest's tables to look for the celebration dinner.

Kimberly and Steven are planning a Parisian themed wedding dinner for their September celebration at Ralston Hall, in Belmont; last week, Kim and I met with Bernadette, at Classic Party Rental, where we selected a table setting worthy of Louis the 14th! I can't wait to see all the gold rimmed crystal, gold edged chargers, and brocade linens decorating the tables in the already ornate Ballroom at Ralston Hall!

I took this photo of Kim, toasting her fiance Steven, since he couldn't join us to choose the table setting elements...he will see it all for himself, sitting beside his new bride, in just six weeks!

Finally, at the end of my week, I had a "walk through" at Nestldown, with the parents of the bride for an August wedding. Courtney lives in Southern California, so her parents, Suzanne and Gregg, have worked closely with me in firming up all the details for the wedding.

Suzanne, Gregg and I going down the trail to the chapel where Peter and Courtney will have their August wedding ceremony.

As the wedding day approaches, visiting the wedding location with the clients, to finalize where everything will be placed, and to discuss the flow of the event, is a very important part of what a wedding planner offers. We call this the "walk through", because we literally walk through and discuss each aspect of the wedding day, fine tuning the floor plans, the timeline, and taking down each and every detail from the client; now they can relax, knowing they have passed on to someone they trust, ALL the details which have swirled in their head for months!

Here the proud parents stop to pose in the very place Gregg will be walking his daughter down the aisle to marry Peter...there were a few tears from dad, quickly disappearing into a proud smile!

I am explaining how the wedding party and family members will enter, where the grandparents will sit, and how guests will be welcomed and seated, before the ceremony begins...the chapel was set up for a wedding that day, so we were able to visualize exactly how eveything will look for Peter and Courtney's wedding.

We then headed up the to Koi Pond area to discuss the details of the cocktail hour, which eill immediately follow the ceremony; we determined where the guest book, stringed quartet, cocktail seating, and escort card table will be positioned to make the best use of the space, and to provide optimal comfort for the guests.

Finally, we met in the barn to discuss with Frank Goldstein, whose band Manhattan Towers will provide dinner and dance music, where to place the band, the speakers, and the lighting, to provide adequate dancing space, as well as seating areas, for those who prefer to "watch the action"!

Each of my clients was encouraged by the meetings I was able to set up and attend with them; this is one of my favorite parts of my job...creating the assurance for the couples I work with that what they see, taste and experience on their wedding day is exactly what they have been planning for and dreaming about. All in a day's work!