Archive for November, 2009

7th Annual Turkey Potluck

Friday, November 27th, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy some pictures of our 7th Annual Thanksgiving on the Roof (Alley). It started 7 years ago with eight of us friends, a turkey fryer, and a roof. Now it is 60+ people, their families, everyone’s favorite homemade recipes, and an alley! The more the merrier! Just put it on your calendar for the Sunday before thanksgiving! See you next year! :)


























Posted in orange county wedding planner, potluck ideas, thanksgiving decor, thanksgiving party | 5 Comments »

Hollywood Inspired Wedding

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Remember my article for Style Unveiled that discussed CONCEPT vs. THEME? Well, this is the wedding that was my inspiration. I cannot even tell you how much fun this couple, their bridal party, family, and wedding was. It held EVERYTHING Hollywood! The venue was smack dab in the middle of all of the LA movie studios. There were crazy people in Hollywood to dance and take photos with. The guests and bridal party were rockstars at karaoke during the reception. The bride and groom’s favorite movie posters displayed the table names. A vintage ticket booth served up the seating assignments. Some sweet dance moves from the former ballet dancer turned groom. A FULL CHOREOGRAPHED Beyonce dance to “All The Single Ladies” instead of bouquet toss! HIGLIGHT Of my career!!!! I will post the video as soon as possible!
Vendor LOVE:
Event Design & Florals: Jesi Haack Weddings
Ice Cream Sundae Buffett: Ramsey’s at the Club
Wonderful Assistant: Mary Lallande with Jay’s Catering :)


























This last picture WAS NOT posed. This really happened. Chris, the groom, answered his phone during the portrait session and Bridget was like, “WHA???” love them. Chris and Bridget, thank you so much for being the most amazing clients I could ask for. Your love is truly inspiring and I am blessed to know you!

Posted in hollywood style wedding, orange county wedding planner, romantic style, ticket booth | 4 Comments »

Grumpy Old Men Day

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

Ok, so apparently party planning runs in my family. This party was just WAY too much fun not to share with you guys. So, my hubby’s friend turned 30 years old a couple of weeks ago. We were hanging out in the garage and started brainstorming ways to celebrate Isaac’s birthday. Ryan came up with an amazing idea. Grumpy Old Men Day. Oh man, did it go crazy! I was so proud of how my hubby put it all together! He even had an excel spreadsheet :) All of the guys never broke character ALL day! From waking the birthday boy up at 5am, to coughing and hacking during every conversations, to throwing a shoulder out of socket during a swim sesh (seriously happened, maybe they are older than they thought)…
My wonderfully talented husband documented the entire celebration through his lens.
Here is a look at their itinerary:
5am: guys meet and put on their wardrobes (thrift store old men outfits)

515am: surprise Isaac by waking him up with major coughing and hacking and making him dress in the old man outfit they chose for him


530am: went to the donut shop at Blackie’s and read newspapers in the dark
6am: Longboarding at Blackie’s


9am: worked on their car since the battery died from leaving the lights on (another true old man thing that happened)

10am: Breakfast at Omelette Parlor
11am: Golf 18 holes



2pm: lunch at clubhouse, whiskey, scotch and pipe smoking

3pm: shananigans in the parking lot

330pm: jacuzzi time (they used the railing to get in, i’m sure)
4pm: newport beach PD helicopter flew overhead because of their rowdiness

430pm: one old man’s shoulder was dislocated during a swim race


5pm: BBQ for “supper”
9pm: retired their canes and went for beers at Goat Hill




Posted in orange county event designt design, party ideas, party themes, personal | 19 Comments »

Yellow Page Flowers HOW-TO!

Monday, November 16th, 2009
OK OK!!! I finally did it. I finally put together a HOW TO for my yellow page flowers. I hope you have fun making these eco-friendly gems! Leave me a comment and let me know how you would use these yellow pages flowers! Check here for my original post.






Posted in eco friendly decor, eco friendly wedding, orange county event design, orange county wedding planner, paper flowers, yellow pages flowers | 4 Comments »

Business Card Organization

Friday, November 13th, 2009
Every time I walk in the door after a fun night at an industry event, I drop a stack of business cards on my desk. As an event designer, you KNOW I had to think of a cute, organized way to store these nuggets. So I had a cute, red dish that I threw them all in. But when I needed to find someone’s number, or email address, sifting through the endless pile of cards was actually really annoying. So, I decided I was going to take control of the clutter madness on my desk. I went down to my garage, found an old flower box that was leftover from an event. I pulled a cardboard box out of the dumpster (yes, it’s true) and I found some old school price tags in a drawer. Then I got to work.
Here is what I started with: cardboard, price tags, scotch tape, scissors, small box
I cut the cardboard to the size of the vessel I was using for my file. Keep the height of the cardboard dividers taller than the vessel you are using, so that you can read your tabs.

Next, tape your little tag on the top of the cardboard piece. As you add dividers to your file, slightly move each tab over a smidge, so that they can all be seen once inserted into the file.


Alphabetize all of your dividers for easy access

And, the final product! Super cute, cheap and organized!

Posted in business card organization, orange county event design, orange county wedding planner | 5 Comments »

Marvimon Succulent Wedding

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
You guys. I am DY.ING. This bride is gem. A prize in my cracker jacks. A dollar bill in my dirty jeans pocket. A WHOLE cookie in my cookies and cream. Yes, she was amazing. And her groomwasn’t too shabby either :) Jessica has so much style that she has her very own, successful wedding blog, Mason Jar Bride. She also is a regular blogger for one of my faves, Wedding Chicks.
Ok, so let’s break it down. It was an amazing dream team of vendors. Sarah K Chen was the GENIUS behind the lens. I couldn’t decide between all of the RIDICULOUSLY UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING images that she sent me! She also set up a super awesome photo booth with fun props. This is definitely my longest post yet because she is such a brilliant artist.
Melody, from Sweet and Saucy Shop completely blew me away this time. Ok, she does EVERY time. You guys all know how obsessed I am with her. But seriously, I was BLOWN AWAY.
Jessica and Curt are super creative, and both are amazing artists and Curt designed his wedding cake to look like a block of wood. I was IN LOVE> Mel nailed it.
Katie, from Bad to the Bone BBQ brought the goodness. Her and her team of beauties were a complete BLAST to work with. And their sliders were gone in a millisecond. I had guests literally following me around asking for more of them.
And really? I could not handle how amazing Michael Antonia from The Human Jukebox was. I think I became a stalking fan. I did not stop dancing (while working) the entire night. Seriously, ask anyone. He was so smooth and cool. I haven’t seen anything like it!
And the key to all of our success was . The Marvimon House What an impeccably eclectic venue. I couldn’t have dreamed up something cooler. Jeff was a jewel to work with!
And of course, my team at Jesi Haack Weddings. We designed this event and also created the floral design. We did Kale (lettuce) bouquets for the bridesmaids with touches of plum eucalyptus leaves surrounded by baby’s breath. A complete succulent bouquet for the bride wrapped in her grandmother’s pearls. And succulent bouts for the guys with a touch of a peacock feather.
This was a wedding that made me laugh, smile, spread my creative wings, and completely fall in LOVE with my job.
Here is the vendor breakdown. Follow them on twitter!
Event Design + Floral Design: Jesi Haack Weddings. Follow!
Photography Brilliance: Sarah K Chen. Follow!
Wood Box Wedding Cake: Sweet and Saucy Shop. Follow!
Amazing Tunes: The Human Jukebox. Follow!
Sweet Venue: The Marvimon House






































Posted in eclectic wedding, marvimon house, succulent bouquet | 13 Comments »

Owl Stir Sticks How-To Video

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Have you been over to WhoWhatWeddings yet? Go now! An amazing, informative, stylish, and super inspiring website for all things wedding! Remember my owl stir sticks from Carlie’s awesome baby shower? Well, they created such a buzz that I was asked to do a video How To segment for WhoWhatWeddings and Hostess with the Mostess. So honored! Don’t make fun of my dirty window or my cheesy acting skills. Ok, go ahead and make fun. I would.

Posted in diy decor, orange county event design, stir sticks, vintage decor | No Comments »

Theme Vs Concept

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Go to Style Unveiled for my latest article, Theme Vs Concept. Designing your wedding should be about YOU. Style Unveiled rocks my world! Thanks Kim & Heather!

Posted in wedding design orange county, wedding theme | No Comments »