Proposals & Surprise Parties

Last weekend I had the pleasure of throwing a little engagement party for two friends of mine. The best part was that she didn't know. He planned the day so well, there were so many surprises. One of which was this Wall-E ring box he used to hold the ring. How amazing is that?

After the proposal, he took her to dinner where 40 of their friends and family were there to surprise her! After dinner everyone went to my house for dessert and drinks. I didn't have time to go as crazy as I would have wanted (it is wedding season people!) but I put together a few things that I thought would be really fun, mostly having to do with dessert. 

Those little jars were the favors, and they were a hit! I made chocolate pudding along with chantilly whipped cream. They were super easy and soooo good. 

The Engaged & Inspired Wedding Planning Workshop

Introducing....The Engaged & Inspired Wedding Planning Workshop! 

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What It Is: Consider this your wedding planning bootcamp! Learn everything you need to know to plan your perfect wedding, without hiring a planner. 

Who You Are: You want to plan your own wedding. You love a good challenge but you have a job and a life and can't spend every waking hour planning (even though you really want to!). You need a little push in the right direction and then you'll be off the races!

How It Works: Upon arrival you'll be greeted with the full service planning binder that I give to each of my clients and use myself day in and day out. This will act as your planning guide throughout planning your wedding. 

First up, Vendors! Finding your perfect vendor team is so important, but is also SUCH a challenge.  We will go through the must-ask questions, give you the tips you need to know to find that perfect someone and even have a few talented professionals on hand for you to talk to.  Flower samples, portfolio books, cake tastings - it'll all be there. 

Next we will move onto logistics! We will create the first drafts of your wedding timeline, vendor production schedule, venue diagrams, work out seating charts, transportation schedules, room blocks, wedding websites, venue logistics and SO much more. When the time comes to finalize these pieces, you'll be ready to tackle these things head first.

Now we get to the fun part, design! Turn that Pinterest board into a full fledged design plan and mood board with help from our staff. You'll walk away with a first draft design plan including color palettes, ideas, and where to source everything! Then it is on to rentals, linens and finding out how to secure and source some of those pieces that are oh so important in bringing your inspiration to life!  

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We will do a few budget checks along the way to ensure you are in line with where you need to be, show you some styling tips, and constantly give you tidbits of advice that will make your wedding planning journey that much easier. What we have listed here only scratches the surface of what this full-day intensive wedding planning session will entail and in the end, you'll be sent off to plan your wedding with a solid foundation on how to finish up from there. 

If you haven't realized by now, this workshop isn't just a bunch of lecturing that will leave you with a notebook filled with to-do's and little tidbits of knowledge. This is a full fledged hands-on day of wedding planning! You'll get all the tips and tricks of the trade, hands on help throughout each piece, and plenty of samples along the way. Try the foods, feel the linens, mock up the tablescape, and turn those ideas into reality. You'll walk away prepared to conquer it all! 

The Details: Join us on January 31 in San Francisco. Hours: 10-6. Breakfast goodies and full lunch will be served! Price: $395. Exact location TBD. 

Sign Me Up: Sounds awesome, right? Buy Tickets Here!

Kris + Michael | Holman Ranch Wedding

Here are a few shots of our first wedding of the season back in March! I'm seriously so in love with that dress. The lace and buttoned back is such an incredible detail, don't you think? This was such a great season starter at Holman Ranch. 

The Timeline | How To Make Your Wedding Day Last

Everyone tells you your wedding goes by in a flash. And they are right. But you might not realize how right you really are. They key to making your wedding day last is in the timeline, and the current traditional timeline needs a lot of work. So let's dive into this, shall we?

You are on a schedule the whole time. Have you ever been on a minute by minute schedule for 8 hours straight? It is kind of brutal, and that's the honest truth. I pad timelines throughly, and yes, sometimes things are a little off. Honestly, the timeline is second for me to the feeling of the day. Want to do rounds at tables (which are taking more time than we alloted for), do it! The timeline is meant as a guide, so I always make it second to the couple creating amazing memories on their wedding day. That said, there are some things you can do to make yourself feel a little less scheduled throughout the day. 

Getting ready: Start getting ready early, enjoy your time with you girls and make a morning out of it. Drink mimosas, get breakfast delivered and make that time a great experience for your bridal party. It's your wedding day, what else do you have to do?!

First look: Do it. Seriously. It'll save you so much "wedding time". When couples opt for a first look it offers a chance for you to get a lot of photos done ahead of time - bride portraits, groom portraits, bridesmaids photos, groomsmen photos, couple photos and full bridal party photos. I like to give about 2 hours of time before the wedding for all these shots, plus about a half hour before the ceremony for touchups and to sit down and take it easy before walking down the aisle.

When couples don't do a first look, all the above photos I listed out have to be done during cocktail hour. This means a few things - you definitely won't be joining the cocktail hour, and you won't have a chance to breathe before we are onto the next. A first look allows you and your bridal party to enjoy a bit more of the actual wedding since we got so much out of the way ahead of time.

Family photos: Ahh family photos. Now these are kind of a pain logistically. Of course you want some photos with your wonderful family, and you should have them, but try to keep the list short. Keep it as close to immediate family as possible, and always make sure you have a family shot list planned. This will help the photographer get all the shots you are hoping for, and will give them a list of names to call out for each photo. Unfortunately your sweet aunt doesn't realize that grabbing a drink and chowing down on the yummy apps while everyone is looking for her, well, that's taking time out of your couple portraits or maybe even your 15 minutes of time to enjoy cocktail hour. Let your family know ahead of time if they are in photos and tell them to be around and available so we don't have to go on the search for them!

Dinner: take a few minutes to eat and then it is off to do rounds and say hi to your guests for the first time since the wedding began! (3 ish hours later!!). But that can't take too long because you've got sunset photos and toasts! It is all a whirlwind. If you do a first look, you'll have been able to enjoy cocktail hour and at least say hi to a few people. Not too much you can do here in terms of making this time last a little longer, but do tell each person giving a toast to be mindful of the time. They don't have to rush it, but telling them to be mindful will help them understand that they don't have an infinite amount of time. 

Dancing: Once you've hit the dancing portion you have a little more freedom to let lose and enjoy yourself. This is often the first time you'll get a moment to yourself. Do you want that interrupted by yet another thing? Cake cuttings, bouquet/garter tosses and other little traditions of that nature can be awesome if you're into them, or they could just be one more thing that pulls you off the dance floor. Just think about it before saying you definitely must do them.

TLDR (Too Long, Didn't Read):

Do a first look and get as many pictures as you can done before the ceremony starts. 

Create a shot list for family photos and keep the number of photos to a minimum.

Add 10 minutes into your timeline right after the ceremony for some alone time with your new husband! Believe me, it is worth it. 

Tell the special people giving toasts to be mindful of time.

Toss out tradition. It's your wedding day, you don't have to do anything. If cake cutting or the bouquet toss have no meaning to you, scratch them.