Diana & Zac ~ Married! {Part 1}
Diana and Zac married in Sonoma County in the cool crisp fall months and as hoped, the weather was glorious. Buena Vista Winery is the oldest established winery in Sonoma County and wonderfully off the heavily travelled wine route, so we felt private and secluded for this little bit of vintage French inspired wedding.
Sapphire blue, apricot, ivory and luxurious pearls was set forth perfectly with the bridesmaids dresses and the soft and very romantic florals, Philip Rice, floral designer, is a genius with each of his design pieces (Part 2 will feature the centerpieces).
When setting up the Wine Ceremony, we selected a red and a white wine from the Buena Vista Winery collection.
Inside this majestic stone winery are three wine caves dug into the hillside.
Sam with Sharpe Photographers was my sidekick throughout the entire day… be sure to come back in a few days for Part 2 to see more photos showcasing all the beauty!
Happy 1st Anniversary Liz & Kevin
Kevin and Liz married May 12, 2012 in Amador County at the gorgeous Karmere Winery, Plymouth, CA. Liz will enjoy Mother’s Day tomorrow… and she’ll enjoy their First Wedding Anniversary on the same day!! LOVED this couple… the kindest, sweetest and so-so compatible. It was truly an honor to work with them.
The color palette was Robin’s Egg Blue with Eggplant. Perfect! Liz and Kevin wanted a cocktail style party with strolling, munching (Mac & Cheese martini bar and chocolate mousse… yummmmm), and lots of dancing.
Loved their Wish Tree, where guests wrote sentiments and best wishes on pretty individual cards.
Is Liz gorgeous or what?
And one more note… this wonderful couple will not be spending their anniversary together. Kevin has been serving for several months in Afganistan (thank goodness for the occasional Skype.) Thank you Kevin for your service to our country. HAPPY FIRST ANNIVERSARY KEVIN & LIZ!!
The “before” pictures of the barns
This weekend I drove with the floral and event designer to the big down of Arbuckle (up I-5 about an hour from downtown Sacramento). We checked out the “improvements” to the location for our clients’ wedding to be held this September. Rice growers and almond farmers, the family homestead sits smack dap in the middle of their almond orchards. Ceremony in one very old rustic barn, cocktails in a larger very old rustic barn (get the concept, here?), and we’ll construct an outdoor tent pavilion for the dinner service. Dancing and partying will be back in the cocktail barn.
So check out the ‘before” pictures… you won’t believe what we have planned for this property and two barns for this September extravaganza!! A little grading, lots of cement work, a few board and nails – good to go!
Happy 1st Anniversary ~ Cassie & Matt !
May 5, 2012 was an outstanding day for Cassie & Matt. I happen to know they are celebrating their anniversary in a tropical location with waters as blue as their eyes, and the same as the color palette of their wedding.
Each guests received a personalized shot glass; their escort card was a lime wedge (paper) with table indicator. So fun! and that just gives you a little hint into these party animals!
Love the finished product of the cake design… perfect for the theme. And the custom cake topper showing their profession and likeness was awesome!
Delta King Riverboat in Old Sacramento, California was the setting for the wedding (on the landing) with the reception in the Paddelwheel Room. All those New York guests loved the location! What a party!!
Photos by Sarah Dawson Photography, flowers and alter fabric by Cuttings Floral Design, cake by Village Cake Shoppe.
My 30th Wedding Anniversary!
Today is my 30th Wedding Anniversary. That’s kinda cool, huh? Ready for story hour? Grab a beverage and let me share details about our wedding planning and the big day – April 23, 1983.
Introduced by our crazy friend, Sylvia “the Greek,” who knew we were meant for each other (she was right!). Jim and I dated for 2 years. The proposal came as a result of us talking about taking a Hawaiian vacation. He knew it was awkward for me to tell my mother and aged grandmother about going on a vacation together (we weren’t married after all), so Jim asked – “Well, do you want to get married?” We were driving on I-80… in his Datsun B210 pickup truck. Romantic Devil. And yes I accepted.
We then discussed what we wanted in a wedding and reception. Since this would be my 2nd marriage (Jim refers to M1 as my “practice marriage”) I figured a simple park gathering. However, being Jim’s first marriage, he imagined a church wedding – A CHURCH WEDDING??! Oh geez. Been there, done that. Sooooo, both Presbyterians from our long ago youth, we selected Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Sacramento. That’s the traditional formal part of the day.
The night before was the usual rehearsal… which I’m sure I took the reins and organized it, although there was a “church lady” and even then, I was respectful and held back and knew my place. We took our bridal party and immediate family to the original Shakey’s Pizza Parlour. For all you Sacramento old-timers, you’ll remember the place – complete with the front window demonstrations of the fellas making and tossing the pizzas in the air. Our entertainment? A trio of banjo players. Don’t judge.
We had one attendant each and to this day, both are still in our lives. I selected a fun and flirty wedding dress – off the shoulder with handkerchief hem. Jim wore a chocolate brown tux (he looked so dreamy, swoon). My color palette was ivory, burgundy and chocolate brown. I really wanted Rubrum Lillies (Stargazers) in my bouquet as they are the perfect color. Because the flowers arrived from the growers as very tight closed buds, my florist soaked the stems in warm water to force the buds to open. He even took the flowers home to change out the warm water throughout the night. That’s a dedicated florist, and NO I was not a Bridezilla!!
I had no father in the picture and being a second time bride, I did not need anybody giving me away, so being the contemporary modern girl, I approached the last pew where Jim was waiting and we walked down the long aisle together… presenting ourselves to our family and friends.
During the ceremony, Jim admits that his mind wandered a tad and pondered that our minister looked like Colonel Sanders (well, he did!). Jim got nervous and his nose started running. He didn’t want to sniff, so drainage went down his throat, and then a coughing spell occurred. Nice! After that little episode, we heard the annoying crying (screaming) of a baby (discovered it was our Best Man’s child). And why didn’t mama take that kid out of the sanctury??!
We finished up traditional photos inside the church while the guests gathered on the front steps waiting for us to depart. In those days (prior to slip ‘n fall litigation) rice was thrown, and we were pelted as we ran down to Jim’s Triumph TR3A convertible – which our friends tied shoes and cans from the bumper. The car was a piece of junk, but fun to drive.
Now for the reception – for the fun and funky part, not traditional, we held it at a J Street Deli/Restaurant – named Squatty’s Deli (classy, huh?). I knew the owner and thought the space perfect for that casual fun party that I desired. You know the kind of place, ferns hanging over dark wood booths, we used the claw foot bathtub from the day-time salad bar, and filled it with ice and champagne bottles.
Now, admitting to a very big mistake…the wedding invitation read “4:00 p.m. ceremony followed by a champagne / hors d’oeuvre reception.” Do you know what that means? My guests were starving and cold cuts, cheese, veggie platter and little meatballs didn’t cut it. The toothpicks used for the meatballs became tedious, so somebody went behind the deli counter and got a large slotted spoon! (must have been one of Jim’s friends… not mine!) That meant we ran out of meatballs quickly. It was easy for me to ask the deli owner to slice more meats and cheese… all we had to do was pay for it. I do believe our guests were quite intoxicated – flowing champagne and little food will do that! But hey, they had serious fun!
For music, we rented an authentic jukebox – guests could select their own tunes (a precursor to the modern day iPod). However, another little mistake… nobody instructed us on how to clear the music, so when it came time for our First Dance (Billy Joel’s, I Love You Just the Way You Are), we had to wait and wait and wait – until finally somebody unplugged the jukebox which cleared the music and we could start fresh. Whew! A “hard boot.” (For those of you who don’t know what a jukebox is… here is a picture.)
Our cake was pretty and I think tasty (not sure I paid attention to taste). We did not smash… Jim knew better. My crazy Greek friend who matched us up 2 years prior, made hundreds of Greek Bride’s Cookies – so much powdered sugar was on the floor!
We partied, we laughed, we drank (I drank too much and didn’t eat enough, tsk tsk) and we drove home to our midtown flat for our wedding night – the Triumph got us home safely. The next day we left for a lovely 3 night stay over on the coast.
Naturally, I loved our wedding. Would I have done things differently? Probably. Our photo album has a sum total of 14 photos, and I know each one by heart. Back in those days, the photographer would not bother taking “detail” shots – it was all about the bride and groom, thus I don’t have “room shots.” or many other things that I thought were awesome. Oh well. We will flip throught the pages of our album tonight and smile (or groan). What happened to those people in the pictures? So young, so thin – the clavicles! The memory lives on, and so does our very happy marriage. Two beautiful daughters, we’re still a happy couple and family. Life is good.
Thanks for reading. The End.
Darbie & Dave ~ Married { Part 2 }
Please enjoy more visual delight of this North Shore Lake Tahoe wedding, which nuptial took place at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Incline Village. After the ceremony, the bridal party had photos taken along the shores of the lake on a private dock and beach. The weather was gorgeous!
The reception was held at the hillside Chateau Incline Village… really, really yummy and beautifully displayed appetizers were served on the fantastic balcony overlooking the golf course and lake.
Darbie loves the color orange… what a fun bright color scheme. From the orange wooden love birds (a re-occurring theme), to the DIY signs, the linens (from Wildflower) and of course the gorgeous flowers! (btw, floral artistry by Reno based B&B Designs). The best addition however, was the theatrical lighting effects created by Bryan Greenwalt of Music & More Entertainment. So perfectly effective.
How cool is this? Darbie and Dave made this string-art heart for the place cards. Unique and fun.
This very pretty wedding cake was created by Flour Girl Cakes out of South Lake Tahoe.
DJ Bryan had the guests in the palm of his hands for the dancing and entertainment portion to the evening. Darbie and Dave’s First Dance was perfectly executed (those dance lessons pay off!) While some enjoyed the tasty treats of the s’mores station outside on the balcony, others got their groove on and danced the night away!
A million thank yous to all the vendors who participated in making Darbie and Dave’s vision come to life. And another million to my sweet couple for asking me to be a part of the planning process.
Photography by Nelwin Uy Photography (flown in from Manila, the Philippines).
Darbie & Dave ~ Married {Part 1}
Darbie contacted me after having planned quite a bit of the wedding. She needed some help pulling it all together and having a go-to person on the day. I loved this couple… so gosh darn in love! I learned that frequent visits to the Lake Tahoe basin made the area a special place, so special that Dave proposed to Darbie while on a Rubicon Trail hike (a big surprise!) The decision became very clear – to marry at Lake Tahoe – specifically Incline Village on the North Shore. On wedding morning, preparations began at the conveniently located and lovely property of the Hyatt Hotel.
A truly awesome full nuptial mass was held at the St. Francis of Assisi Church on the Mt. Rose Highway. The alter windows are floor to ceiling showcasing the Tahoe splendor, pine trees and views of the lake. The parish priest offered one of theeee best wedding services I’ve ever attended. Sentimental, personalization, lots of humor… just wonderful.
Can you tell that Darbie loves the color orange? What a beautiful job of floral artistry by Reno based B&B Designs. Wait until you see more in Part 2 – come on back!
Photography by Nelwin Uy Photography (flown in from Manila, the Philippines).
Remembering a Springtime Wedding with a Nod to Easter
When Easter is near, I am reminded of the colorful, fun and extremely pretty wedding of Katie & John. Wilson Vineyards was the perfect setting for this spring event and being within the Easter season we threw in a few colored eggs and baskets, and the perfect theme was developed. Enjoy these images and have a Happy Easter.
A beautiful sweets table was created by Carissa of Sugar and Spice Specialty Desserts. All the lovely flowers designed by Sarah of Cuttings Floral Design (and BTW, the bride’s mama carried daisies in her wedding!) Photography by Jordan Zink Photography.
Weekly Wedding No Nos
Each week I will continue to post Wedding No Nos – things that might make your guests (or YOU) irritated. As a planner, I hear guest comments all the time (muttering under their breath). I know what works and what might need some improvement. So here are just two in today’s post.
#15 – LONG LINES AT THE BAR - Obviously the biggest hit at the bar is immediately after the ceremony, does this poor bartender look like he can handle 150+ folks rushing to him all at once? The catering rule of thumb is 1 bartender for every 50 guests. Request of your wedding venue to have 2 bartenders working during the first hour (then one for the remainder probably is enough). Ask for a couple of servers to be at the ready with tray passed wine and a non-alcoholic beverage as the guests are arriving… thereby taking the weight off the bar.
#16 - THE “ROAST” TOAST ~ This is directed to the honor attendants giving the traditional toast. Please do not make this a roast of the groom (generally the ladies are much sweeter toward the bride). A toast is giving well wishes to BOTH bride and groom. Remember your humerous story (that goes on and on and on and) is only funny to you… the audience is not as involved in the escapade as you are! This is not the time to embarass anyone! Be short, sincere, prepared, and interesting.
S.F. 49ers pick up my groom!
Just want to give a shout out to my former groom, Marlon Moore and his beautiful bride Hertha… both former Sacramentans, Marlon played wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins. That’s where they’ve been living for the last few years, but now the San Francisco 49ers have picked up Marlon to play for them – hooray for us and hooray for Mr. and Mrs. Moore!! Hertha is happy to come back to her home state, sad to leave Florida, but not sad to leave behind the large water bugs that freek her out!!
Go Marlon… Go ’9ers!! If you want to see some pretty eye candy, check out Hertha and Marlon’s wedding photos here.