in february, i had the pleasure of working with julia and wayne on their wedding at the the grand del mar . It was such a great wedding, and the grand del mar is such an awesome venue! we did the first wedding there when they first opened, and they are still as dedicated and focused on great service and personal attention as they were on that very first wedding! this time, we did the ceremony on the aria lawn, and then moved over to the manchester salon for the cocktails, and onto the capella room for the reception. it was so great to be able to show the guests so many beautiful aspects to the hotel. lavonne from adorations created simple but stunning wrought iron centerpieces that picked up the rustic vibe in the capella room, and provided just the right touch of an amber candle lit glow. danielle biel from sky blu photography was able to capture so many amazing moments from the wedding day, and the cowling band seriously blew everyone away! they were great!! thanks to paula mayer , make-up and hair guru! she makes everyone look amazing :) thanks also to julia and wayne for including me on your perfect day~ it was great!!
stephanie & chuck
i recently had the pleasure of doing stephanie & chuck's wedding up in dana point. i was so excited for this wedding, since stephanie and i have been friends since college, and her and chuck have been together as long as josh and i have!! it is so great to see friends get married, and even better when you can help them out! josh shot the wedding, and lavonne from adorations provided some really awesome florals for the day. we had amazing weather, and after the ceremony headed over to the salt creek grill to party and celebrate. thank you stephanie and chuck for allowing me to help, and congratulations! it was definitely worth the wait!!
southern weddings~ ali & dave
we just received great news from paula luna over at luna photo- ali & dave's wedding was featured on the southern weddings magazine blog! this is so exciting, as we just loved all of the details that went into their day, the photography was awesome, and ali and dave are great! have a look at the southern weddings magazine website as well to see more photos....
mari & ricardo
i recently had the pleasure of working with mari & ricardo for their march wedding at founder's chapel and the u.s. grant. i thought mari was one of the most poised and calm brides ever~ during our planning, the ceremony itself, and the reception as well. she had a clear vision of what she wanted, and it showed on the wedding day. my staff and i had so much fun on the day of the wedding~ the band seriously rocked!! thank you to ele music for their awesome performance, crazy balloons (yes balloons~ it was awesome!!) and fun songs that kept 200 people dancing into the wee hours of the morning!! the decor was beautiful, and was provided by floralworks inc. shades of chocolate brown, pink and champagne were the colors of the day, and blended beautifully with the ballroom. kyle from elysium productions was on hand for the videography, and i look forward to seeing the footage. and of course, thank you to tim otto for capturing the day so perfectly in the shots. you rock!
the special event
ahhhhh. this is the sound of me relaxing (on a friday, no less!) after a very long few months. i was so excited when i was chosen to be a part of the wedding luncheon for the annual special event conference. for those of you who do not know what that is, simply put- it is like disneyland for coordinators and event designers. about 9,000 industry professionals flew in from around the world to participate in a 4 day conference filled with parties, lunches, dinners, educational seminars and the like. i was asked to help with the huge luncheon that would serve about 600 guests. my job specifically, you ask??? well, it seems that i was to be a part of the gift bag committee. i actually found myself beginning to enjoy the process of asking people to donate things to the bag. and yes, after 10 hours of stuffing the bags with the crew, i was really ready for the lunch to be here so that i could let it all go. and now, after 4 days of parties and lunches, and dinners, and more parties (easily one of the best parts of my job!!) i am resting. (and thankful that i do not have a wedding this weekend). the highlight of my week, you ask? hands down it was when i found myself sitting next to ines di santo talking about our daughters. she is such an amazing dress designer- if you have not seen her work, check her out now :) she is so great- and she is drawing me some sketches for my studio! yeah! thanks to michele from mbride for connecting us :)
emily & jordan
this is a bit out of order, but better late than never!! i was brought on to help out emily and jordan who were getting married in an intimate ceremony at the hotel del. there were only about 20 guests at the wedding, but it was such a great, intimate family affair. emily and jordan were the sweetest couple and the entire group came from texas (which is always fun for me!). although it was a small group, emily loved flowers, and that was definitely the focus of the day!! lavonne from adorations came through with some gorgeous flowers and josh was on hand to take the photos. (i really loved some of the photos from this wedding- the couple was so cute!) thanks to everyone, and congratulations to emily & jordan!
merry christmas!
the time has come again :) i cannot believe how quickly the years fly by! here we are at christmas again. i wish everyone the very best for the holiday season, and a very blessed new year. thank you to all of the people who have helped me throughout the year- my vendors that i love working with, and who always make me look good, the most amazing group of brides ever- i am so lucky to have been able to work with you all! , all of my amazing assistants who make the days run so smoothly, and of course to my family and my husband, josh. you always help me when i need you and you always make me see the good in every situation. thank you to my kids who make me feel young and blessed - even after a 14 hour day!! i very much look forward to 2009- it is going to be great, and i have lots planned for mint weddings!! all my best, and i will be back working in january!
carolyn & chuck
this was a fun wedding for me- it was actually my aunt's wedding, and it was so much fun! we never drink while working at a wedding, so it was great to be able to have fun and relax! the wedding ceremony took place at the little chapel of the roses, and the reception took place at the prado. (ironically, this is where josh and i got married, too!) josh was the photographer, my cousin did all of the flowers, i coordinated the wedding and i even went back to my roots and made the wedding cake. all in all, it was a family group effort, and it all paid off! the wedding was beautiful, and everyone had a great time. also included in this blog post is a picture of son ryan dancing with my cousin's boyfriend. kids are crazy :) since i am stealing these from my husband's blog, there is also a very embarrassing picture of me dancing with my daughter. ummmm, i guess this is why i don't drink at weddings!! :)
laura & tom
laura and tom were married at the hotel del on the vista walk, and held their reception in the coronet room. i loved laura right from the start. she has such a warm and vibrant personality. she had a necklace that she loved, and it was her idea to take inspiration for the wedding colors through this necklace. what a great concept! joyce from j design did the flowers, and she did a great job incorporating the colors from the necklace. we used colors of orange, tangerine, coral and even a few reds to add color to the beautiful setting of the del. the fabulous ultratones provided the music, and they had the crowd dancing all night. kim seidl was the photographer, and she did a great job with the photos! thank you to everyone who helped on the day, and best of luck to laura and tom!!
courtney & bret
i had the pleasure of working with courtney & bret for an entire year to plan their wedding. it was so much fun, since courtney and bret have such great personalities and were open to all kinds of ideas :) courtney & bret decided to get married at paradise point- so pretty! since bret is a big outdoorsman, courtney wanted to surprise him with a cocktail hour that was devoted to him and his friends. baby bass swam in tall vases, bear grass accentuated the patio, and a giant sculpture of a moose was the ice luge and cooled off everyone's drinks. (50/50's of course :)) courtney and bret were lucky enough to have been chosen for the bride and bloom magazine shoot earlier in the year, and they chose lavonne from adorations to decorate the day. she did not disappoint as the floral were beautiful, and the ceremony site was gorgeous. we used two vintage cars that belonged to courtney's family to bring up the bridal party, and they made quite an impression on the guests. the tijuana dogs played during the reception, and jen dery was on hand to document the day. thanks to everyone who helped make this a beautiful day- what a great couple!
professor aull
yes, that's right. :) sort of....i was asked by a friend of mine to come and guest speak at a class that she teaches at sdsu. rachel peniche runs a thriving business as a wedding coordinator, gala fundraiser extraordinaire and the list goes on and on. she is one busy lady and does an awesome job with her many events around san diego and beyond. when she called to see if i would come and guest speak at her class on event planning, i leapt at the chance. after all, this was a goal that i had set many years ago for myself. (for those of you who don't know me, i am a huge advocate for setting goals.) while i was still in college (many years go :) i made a goal of one day teaching a class- somewhere- about something- sometime. well, mission accomplished. it was fun (for me at least :) thanks rachel- my 1 day faculty parking pass is hanging on the board in my studio :)
southern weddings magazine
so i stumbled into the office this morning, and had a great surprise waiting for me :) it seems that jaclyn and adriane's wedding has made the papers again- this time in southern weddings magazine. check out the link: www.swsmag.net. it's a really cool magazine devoted to southern weddings, (think the south, not southern california :) being from texas, i LOVE the vibe of a southern wedding, so it is really fun to be in there....anyone want us to travel? paula, lavonne and i are ready!
ali & dave- august 23
i was SO super excited when i got the call that alison was engaged- she is jaclyn's sister (see below) and we were so happy to be chosen again to help the family out! i adore them- they are so cool, nice genuine and really like to have a great time! i literally could go on and on about this family, and the wedding itself- there are a million fun details!!! here are a few of my favorites wrapped up for you all :) amazing dress by ulla maija (bought from the best- michele from m bride salon.), (just a word on the bride- fearless alison- she is so edgy and cool- not afraid of anything, and ready for everything. she is so much fun and was open to so many suggestions and ideas. it was such fun working with such cool people. plus, her mom rocks and we always have a great time together!!) on with the details!
ceremony magazine
kari & nick - august 30
kari and nick were so much fun! they were so laid back through the whole planning process, and it was great because you could tell that they were actually just really excited to be getting married!! (sometimes i think it is easy to lose perspective :)i was so lucky to get to work with heather moreau from vallentyne photography. i had heard great things about her, and it was great to work together. we even had the same shoes on :) the ceremony, cocktails. and reception were all out on the beach at the del, so although i had raging shin splints the next day, it was well worth it!! the lighting was awesome, the dancing was so great (thanks to eddie valenzuela from boogie nights- he knows how to dj for true dancing!!) and for the big surprise- fireworks, s'mores and a bonfire! what a great event! so much fun :)
ooops (part 2)
so, if you can tell how busy a girl is based upon her blog, then i hope that you all can see that mint weddings had a very successful year :) yes, it's true- it has been over a year since my last blog entry- but i have been up to a lot!! here is a run down:
the bride and bloom magazine
viva costa rica!!
yes, it's true- mint weddings is going international. i can't wait, and every assistant i have is vying for the chance to assist south of the border :) we will be heading down in april for the destination wedding of stephanie and chuck, so keep your eyes peeled for shots of me in the rain forest!!
laura & david- september 2
i was so lucky to have 2 great brides on this very hot holiday weekend! laura and her guests came all the way from chicago and kansas city to celebrate in san diego, and what a celebration it was!! the ceremony and reception both took place at the darlingon house in la jolla, and lavonne from adorations provided such cool decor. it was about a million degrees outside that day, and at one point, i started questioning our color choices- white, lime green, and a ton of black!! it was so hot during our set up, but once the guests came, i was glad that 1. it cooled down, and 2. that we chose that color scheme!! it was SO cool. we wanted to make it a bit more contemporary, so we brought in white lounge furniture, black and white toile pillows, lanterns, square tables, black charger plates, black chivari chairs, black linens, white napkins, and beautiful florals. cam turner once again wowed us with her cool paper products, and lavonne outdid herself with the florals. joshua aull got all the shots, and barry from big daddy played all the right music. it was such an awesome night, and i was privileged to be a part of it. thanks laura & david!!
michele & tony september 1
it was really hard to believe that i was already into september, but here i was anyway :) the summer flew by with so many fun and crazy events, and now it was time for michele's. michele and her mom are the sweetest people, and michele hired me to take any pressure off of her mom. i thought that spoke volumes about their loving relationship and how kind and thoughtful michele is. i was lucky enough to be at the del for the second weekend in a row, and in the ballroom, no less :) the ceremony took place at st. brigid's, and then we all made our way to coronado for cocktails and the rception. kathy wright once again brought it home with a nod to the del's historical romance. gatsby style lamps and tall centerpieces were just beautiful, and the rose petals and candles finished the look. i think michele also wins the "coolest bouquet ever" award (if there is such a thing :) her and kathy decided to further enhance the old style of the del, and kathy did a fan decked out with gardenias, white ostrich feathers and crystals. it was so cool and unique, and michele rocked it!! the cake was also decked out and added to the look. we had bagpipers, bands, dj's , organists, and a ton of other music playing throughout the night. i think the show stealer was the cigar bar, and everyone loved the lounge, too. it was a great night, and i discovered something else really cool- a key lime pie martini from the martini luge. i never drink at weddings, but i was forced by the bride to sample a sip, and i'm glad i did!! i'm normally not a martini fan, but anyone looking for a twist on the traditional should consider this one!! thanks to tony, michele, and your great families for including me on the day. what a treat it was!