A Real Wedding Sneak Peek: Jon and Joy Love Aubergine & Platinum
Hello wedding people,
I hope you've been enjoying the holiday season, getting lots of what you want and none of what you don't! Mr. Wonderful and I have been exploring our own backyard, something we rarely get to do during wedding season. We got to be tourists in Union Square and Nob Hill (always scouting wedding locations on the way), and just came back from a quick trip to Carmel Valley, where we stayed at the Santa Lucia Preserve. More Carmel Valley wedding news slated for early 2011!
In the meantime, I wanted to take a look back at one of my favorite weddings of the year. Jon and Joy are middle school sweethearts! Having known each other since they were 12, this was a much anticipated wedding by their family and friends. Over 200 guests came out to support and celebrate with them. They were so gracious, stunningly beautiful and such big-hearted people. It's impossible to post all my favorite images, so I'm going to share a small part of the day with you. Jon and Joy were so excited about the design process, so I made sure to get them back in time from pictures to enjoy the ballroom untouched, and sneak them out again just a few moments before their guests began to arrive.
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- A Sliver of What Awaits...
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- The Happy Couple's First Glimpse of the Ballroom
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- Smiles for Everyone!
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- Exploring all the Details
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- Homerun Jon & Joy!
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- Awww, More Wedding Planner Love!
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- Jon lights up when he gets his 2nd bouttoniere: with fiber optic lights embedded!
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- High Fives for a Wedding Homerun!
Here's a peek at what Jon & joy saw. Take a look at the Geoff White Blog for more featured photos. Scroll down after the pictures to see Jon and Joy's fabulous, all-star wedding team. Enjoy!
Photography: Geoff White
Flowers: Nicole Ha
Lighting & Draping: Julio of Enhanced Lighting & Sound
Hair & Make Up: Maria Chang of Professional Makeup Artistry
Invitations & Paper Goods: Marivic of Marizette Paperie
Video: Mayad Productions
Reception: The San Mateo Marriott
Ceremony: All Saints Church
Guest Book: Screenbooth
Special Announcement: Certified by the Guide!
Today I became a member of Here Comes the Guide, the best and most respected wedding resource in Northern California. HCTG members go through a rigorous screening process, and I can’t thank my colleagues and clients enough for their praise. Merci, Muchas Gracias, Vielen Dank and Todah Rabah. Read all about me here. I had a really hard time only selecting 8 photos for my listing, so here are a just a few of my other tasty favorites...
(Click to enlarge.)
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- Me & my team setting up cocktail hour. Photo courtesy of Geoff White.
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- Melissa and Mike getting a lesson from on how to cut their cake! Photo courtesy of Geoff White.
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- A heartfelt hug from the Father of the Bride to the Groom. Photo courtesy of Tim Sohn.
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- Jon and Joy celebrating after seeing their beautiful ballroom for the first time! Photo courtesy of Geoff White.
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- After 8 hours of set up: Jon & Joy's eggplant, sage and silver ballroom is complete. Photo courtesy of Geoff White.
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- Chris and Jen under the chuppah. Photo courtesy of Lori Paladino.
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- Alina and Sean sharing a laugh during their toast. Photo courtesy of Joy Marie Smallwood.
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- Looking over the winery lawn at Fess Parker right before dinner at Jordan and Kevin's wedding. Photo courtesy of Cory Foster.
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- Me, with Mandi and her mom the morning of her wedding.
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- Kristen and Sean's old-world ballroom. Photo courtesy of Lori Paladino.
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- The stage is set for Kristen and Sean to exchange their vows. Photo courtesy of Lori Paladino.
Sweet Dreams,
Elle
Photo Credits: Geoff White, Lori Paladino, Tim Sohn, and Cory Foster
A Very Wordy Wedding
This past wedding season I’ve worked with some very inventive couples.
The fabulous groom's cake by BethAnn of Studio Cake.
Yes, those are real game pieces on the place cards!
Christina and Burt met while serving in the Navy. As their relationship blossomed and they were stationed apart, one of the ways they stayed involved in each other's days was to play Scrabble on their mobile phones.
The actual scrabble board that Burt used when asking Christina to marry him!
This joint affection for the game lead to Burt’s very creative proposal, taking a portable scrabble game board and gluing the pieces down to spell out a beautiful sentiment, then dropping to one knee and popping the question.
I love that Christina & Burt drew inspiration from their proposal and shared something personal about their relationship with their guests. Each escort card had the guest's initials and either a double or triple word score. The handmade table "letters" represented an oversized scrabble tile. The sweetest surprise was that Christina had a special groom's cake made for Burt that replicated the board he used to propose to her.
Be creative!
-Elle
Florals by Ingela Floral Design.
Hello again, wedding world!
It’s been far too long since my last post, but with good reason. I had the honor of being the wedding planner for 14 amazing couples this season, one of them being my own baby
Yummy german chocolate cake from Jordan & Kevin's summer wedding. I nabbed the recipe from his mom for my Thanksgiving feast!
brother and his new wife. There are far too many highlights to recount in one post, but I plan on getting back to the blog on a more regular basis to share some of my favorite moments and images of the year.
As 2010 winds down, I’m looking forward to my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. I think it has a lot in common with weddings: a chance to gather all the people you care deeply about and celebrate with a delicious feast! I am certainly counting many blessings this year, including all the wonderful and unique couples I’ve worked with.
Till Next Time,
Elisheva
How to be a Good Bride, Groom, Wedding Planner and Guest
Your wedding day won't be perfect. Are you surprised I said that? Now, wait, let me explain. Perfection doesn't exist, and holding yourself to that perfect standard takes away all possibilities for spontaneity and authentic moments. But if you're like me, you still aim for a pretty high standard. And you should. But you should also keep in mind these things, which are often overlooked, when preparing for your wedding day.
Bride & Groom
Your guests can only have as much fun as you are having. A huge part of your job is to be as relaxed and well rested as possible. When I say relaxed, of course I know that butterflies in the tummy feeling comes along with being a bride or groom and making one the biggest public commitments of your lives. That's all part of the process, but combine that with sleep deprivation and short nerves and you've got a formula for disaster. Invest in your experience (and your future memories) by taking one week off work prior to your wedding. I know times are hard and vacation days are slim. But 5, 10 15 years form now you won't give a second thought to losing those days. But you will still remember how you felt on your wedding day. Work with your wedding planner (or bridal party if you don't have one) so that you aren't doing more than one wedding related task per day that week. Why? You need this mental pause to be able to refresh internally. Plan to get plenty of fresh air, sunshine, nutritious foods and exercise. All of these things help balance your body and mind and make it more possible for you to be open to the hidden joys and surprises that come along with any wedding day.
Wedding Planner
My job is also to be as well rested, prepared and forward thinking as possible. Since we've been planning together for at least the last few months, I should know what you and your partner are most excited about (i.e. that organic menu you've been planning with the chef or seeing your best friend from college who now lives in Australia) and also what you are most anxious about (your dad giving a long winded embarrassing toast or your brother taking the mic from the band to do a little karaoke). This way I am able to cut off any potential problems before they start, and trouble shoot any unforeseen issues that come up on your wedding day. I will also show up early, staffed appropriately and be a support to you, your family and bridal party, and be a resource to all your hired professionals to trouble shoot any unforseen issues.
Wedding Guests
Your job is easy! Show up on time (and this means 15-20 minutes before the ceremony is scheduled to begin), leave your day to day stresses at home, and be prepared to fully celebrate the love of this couple and the shared bond they have with you. Congratulate the couple heartily at your earliest opportunity. Get up on that dance floor at the first invitation, and bring as much joy as you can to this unique day in their lives. Want to go above & beyond? Buy a copy of the local paper to add to your gift as a topper and keepsake of your big day. Since you probably won't get a chance to talk much with the bride & groom, send them a hand written note along with a print out of your favorite snapshot you took that day and send it out right after the wedding. Planning on taking lots of pictures on the wedding day? Great! Just remember that the couple has likely paid thousands of dollars for their professional photographer, so just don't get in the way of their shots. Depending on how many photographers there are, below is a list of shots that are often not captured at weddings. Try for these shots and be adored by your friends!
- Parents / Bridal Party reactions to the bride & grooms first kiss, first dance and speeches and toasts
- Your table setting before the food gets served
- Kids playing away from the main action of the party
- Late night dance shots after the photographer has left of grandma getting her groove on!
Want more advice that you won't find on any checklist? Visit my friend Ron's blog for a great post on the invisible moments that make a great wedding.
Happy Wedding Season!
XO Elle
Wedding 360: The Academy for Planners and Designers
Hello again, wedding-verse! I’ve been behind on my blogging duties lately, but for good reason. For the past two months, I’ve been a part of the behind-the-scenes planning team of Wedding 360’s inaugural The Academy for Planners and Designers, one of the most ambitious educational conferences for wedding planners and designers out there. This project is the brainchild of Jean Marks and Jubilee Lau (I like to call them the J's), who have been amazing friends and supports ever since I entered into this beautiful industry 8 years ago. You can see a video of the Next Day Edit captured by Andrew of Studio MSV for a taste of the conference.
The J's vision was to produce a content rich program that would give experienced planners and designers the tools to take their businesses to the next level. They started by picking one of the most fabulous hotels in downtown San Francisco, the St Regis, as the conference home.
You know with my Ritz-Carlton background, I am not an easy person to please, but their staff was amazing, and I even recognized some familiar faces from my hotel days! The J's then recruited some of the most amazing industry elites, like David Beahm, Todd Fiscus, Rebecca Grinnals, Sean Low and Tara Guearerd (pronounced Taw-ra, not Ter-ra), whose portfolios and client lists, I have to say, are larger than life. Come on, meeting the wedding designer of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones? That’s only a tad bit intimidating. In real life though, they are all very humble, generous, gracious and, well, real.
Highlights: I got to meet some pretty amazing planners from all over the country, see one of my weddings presented in the photography forum by Catherine Hall, felt like a rock star at the Emerald Underworld and Museum of Petals parties designed by the uber-talented Gloria Wong, and was inspired by walking through the four designershowcases put together by Nancy Liu Chin, Jonathan and Linnae of Asiel Designs, Grant Rector and Tara Guerard.
Though I played just a small role in bringing this conference to life, I have to say, I feel like a proud mama! Everyone brought such great energy to the conference, and I overheard so many people saying the information they learned was crucial to catapulting their businesses forward. I’ll post more on content later, but for now, I’m going to reflect on what I learned, and how I can better serve my clients over the next year and beyond. I'll leave you with this quote from the amazing David Beahm, "If you create good and you allow good, your business can only be good."
My Proposal Story
Congratulations to all the newly engaged couples of the world!
Christmas is one of the most popular days of the year to propose (along with Valentine’s Day, New Years and your birthday) and I thought it would be nice to share with you how Mr. Wonderful proposed to me way back in 2001.
On a regular Saturday morning, he told me we had plans for the day. Since I am the planner in the relationship, I was thrilled that he planned something for me, but still, I had no inkling about what was coming.
We lived in San Francisco near Golden Gate Park at the time. He didn’t tell me where we were going, but when we drove around Stow Lake (the biggest lake in GGP) I wondered why he was dressed so nicely for a day in the park. We got out and he led me to the boat rental area. We were students on a shoestring budget back then, and I remember thinking this was something we could do without…and I made the mistake of saying so! He looked so disappointed so I quickly changed my mind.
We got into a little rowboat and he paddled us around the lake. It was early September, the best time of year in San Francisco, and the sky was bright, the air was crisp without being cold, and he seemed sooooo nervous and out of his element. He rowed us to the little island in the middle of the lake, and rested the boat up against it. It was then when he pulled out the ring and asked me to be his wife. I was floored! Of course I said yes as soon as I could catch my breath. On our way back to the shore, we passed a couple on their wedding day getting their portraits taken…a good omen, I thought!
That’s my proposal story, what’s yours?
Hello, so nice to meet you!
Welcome to my little home on the internet, "Wedding Planner At Large". This is my first blog post, so I suppose I should tell you a little bit about myself. Now let's see, I'm a wedding coach and planner based in the San Francisco Bay Area. My passion is bringing weddings to life that reflect my couples true personalities, wishes and hopes for the future. And making the wedding planning process as joyous as the wedding day itself. I'm married to Mr. Wonderful, the best husband ever. We got married in San Francisco over six years ago. He's from the Black Forrest in Germany, and I'm still trying hard hard, hard to learn German. It's tough. (Wie geht es dir?)
I love people who are passionate about their life and work. I love weddings because they are one of few "once in a lifetime" chances for you to be in the same room as all your loved ones, gathered for the happiest of occasions - to celebrate you! I also love brownies, goat cheese and home grown tomatoes (though not all together) and I dislike olives, licorice, standing in long lines, traffic and people who put own agendas above all else.
Now about this blog: If you’re getting married, I hope you'll let me know what it is you are most looking forward to and most dread about planning your wedding. I'll answer as many questions here as I can. Check back here from time to time for planning advice, musings, my fabulous clients and the wonderful weddings I get to plan!
Here is a picture of my global headquarters:
Be Well,
Elisheva (Elle for short)
Recent Posts
- The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe
- A Veteran’s Day Wedding
- Revisiting the Royal Wedding
- A Bride’s Best Friend’s First Wedding Timelapse Video
- A Winter Wedding in Red and White
My latest tweets
- @NancyLiuChin Now that is a stylin' man. ;)
- @NancyLiuChin Your hubs is a class act. Take a pic of the boutt, I want to see.
- New home page video is up...I had so much stage fright shooting this - def. prefer to be behind the scenes! http://t.co/W2uWLg7G
- @mbweddings @TodaysBrideSF Looks fantastic! Sorry to miss this one. Can't wait to see everyone's photos
