Signature Cocktails

March 23, 2015

Concept/design,/sourcing/styling: Engaged & Inspired. Photography/Styling: Michele Beckwith Photography.

We've curated a collection of tasty cocktails perfect for signature drinks. We've put together a collection of drinks with a variety of alcohols (for both the mister and missus), simple ingredients allow you quickly and easily stock your bar, and that are relatively simple for bartenders to create (goodbye bar lines!).

VODKA

Moscow Mule
4 oz Vodka
1 oz fresh lime juice
Ginger Beer
Mint Leaves

White Cosmopolitan
2 oz. Grey Goose vodka
1 oz. St. Germain liquor
1/2 oz. lime juice
1 oz. white cranberry juice
Orchid or any other edible flower & Ice

WHISKEY

Grapefruit sour
1 oz Grapefruit
1 oz sugar
2 oz irish whiskey

CHAMPAGNE

French 75
1.5 oz gin
1 small blood orange juiced 1/2 lemon juiced
3 oz Champagne

La Rosette
1⁄2 part St-Germain
1/2 part Brut Rosé

RUM

Dark & Stormy
2 oz light run
2 oz dark rum
Fresh grated ginger
Ginger beer
lime wedge

TEQUILA

French Kiss
4 basil leaves
8 oz blood orange
2 oz lime juice
4 oz Anejo Tequila
2 oz sweet vermouth

GIN

Blackberry and Meyer Lemon Gin and Tonics
12 blackberries
20 fresh mint leaves
2 Meyer lemons (can sub. regular lemons) 1/4 cup simple syrup
12 ounces good quality gin
tonic water
ice

Blushing Bride
2 parts gin
1 part St Germain
1 part grapefruit
Garnish grapefruit wedge
Sprig of thyme

Bride Blogger Alisha // Our Wedding Inspiration

March 20, 2015

As promised, today I'll be sharing my wedding inspiration board! Before I get into it, let me take a second to sing the praises of Pinterest. How in the world did any bride get along without it? Its such a fab way to find design inspiration and collect your thoughts.

Last week, Tony and I sat down and started our officially Pinterest planning board. After lots of debate and tons of pins, this is our end result. Check it out and leave us a comment below with your planning suggestions. We can use all the help we can get!

The first thing we agree'd on was our main color. We're going burgundy for the win! I just love how the rich color pops against the greenery in this bouquet!

I'm still trying to figure out what other accent colors to through into the mix. Maybe a few shades of pink, white, and light champagne gold?

As far as our personal wedding style, we are still playing around with different ideas. We've decided that incorporating the burgundy color is a must, but that's the only idea we've actually nailed down so far.

As stated in my last post, we want to include some "Old Hollywood" style but we're trying to be careful not to make it too cliche. I'm thinking that our wedding day looks could be the perfect area to infuse in some of that vintage glamour. More on that in a later post.

By far our biggest challenge has been the venue. We pretty much want big budget style... but with a small price tag. Hey - a girl can dream, right?

My ideal venue would be someplace affordable, with a killer view for our outdoor ceremony, and a elegant/modern indoor space for our reception. It's really important to me to have some natural elements in our day but I don't really want that rustic or lodge-y look.

Am I crazy? Does that even exist?

I love, love, love this table setting. I die over the mix of colors and textures every time I see it! It's pretty much my wedding in a tablescape.

Our cake selection will be of the naked variety because I love them! I've never been a huge frosting fan so I was really glad to see that this trend caught on. Plus, how gorgeous is that cake?

Lastly, can we talk about sparkler exits for a second? We really want to create a fun send off to close out our big day. I've always loved the idea of a sparkler exit and I can't wait to run through ours together!

Tell me what you think or leave me a comment down below and help me plan my wedding!

5 Ways to Reduce Waste At Your Weddings

March 18, 2015

Planning the details of your big day is fun, time consuming and sometimes costly! We've been there to clean up plenty of weddings and we always seem to see the same things being thrown away at the end of the night. So today we are sharing a few tips on how to save on your wedding and avoid tossing lots of lefties at the end of the night.

PROGRAMS

Programs are beautiful, but after the ceremony they serve little purpose. Programs are often something not a lot of guests grab and they end up in back in a box and sent back home with you. Cut down on both your budget and carbon footprint by printing about 50% of your total guest count.

CAKE

Oh cake. Unless you are planning on a diet of dessert only for the first month of your marriage, you'll want to manage your dessert order a bit more carefully. Consider only ordering desserts/cake for about 75% of your guests.

FLOWERS

Flowers are an incredibly important part of your wedding day decor. Skimping on the flowers isn't necessary something I'd recommend, but there are ways to manage the waste that is inherently associated with them. It is such a shame to toss them all at the end of the night, and we completely agree.

Consider giving them away to guests at the end of the night. We often move centerpieces to another table at the end of the night for guests to take on their way out! Create a little sign letting guests know they are up for grabs and they will all get out to good use! You could also reuse them for a brunch the following day or donate them to a retirement home or hospital!

FAVORS

I can't tell you how many weddings I've been to that ended with wedding favors scattered all over the place (or boxes and boxes of extras that just get put back into the couples car). An easy way to remedy this problem is to skip the favors all together, but if you must have that wonderful little favor, order only enough for about 50-60% of your guest count.

SIGNAGE

We love signage - but there is no need to create a sign for each and every piece of your wedding. Consider consolidating a few things together in one (for example: welcome details plus your Instagram hashtag) to save some space. After the wedding you may have the opportunity to use a few of these signs as home decor afterwards! A lot of wedding signage can be re-used as a way to inject a little love and personality into your place. Consider hanging statement signs in your living room and your "Mr." and "Mrs." chair back signs on the ends of your headboard in your bedroom.

I'd love to hear how you plan to cut down waste on your wedding day. Leave your tips and tricks in the comment section below.

Union Hill Wedding | Patricia & Arnaud

March 16, 2015

Patricia & Arnaud are originally from Europe, but are currently living in Northern California. They decided to have a small wedding and invited 20 of their closest friends and family from Europe to celebrate their marriage together in California! It was a weekend experience unlike any other filled with good food, good wine and a gorgeous ceremony. They were some of the most fun clients to work with, not to mention, they had mad style! The bride wanted lots of color and wasn't afraid of vegetables in her floral, so we adorned the centerpieces with kale and artichokes. It was such a wonderful day with such a great vendor team!

VENDORS:

Venue: Union Hill Inn // Planning, Design & Floral: Engaged & Inspired // Photographer: Michele Beckwith // Tabletop Rentals: Frances Lane // Rentals: Classic Party Rentals // Day-of Paper Details: Bright Room Studio // Catering & Desserts: Lila & Sage // Band: Lucky Devils Band

Well Hello There! | New Bridal Blogger, Alisha

March 12, 2015

Hello lovely brides! My name is Alisha and I'm super excited to say I am the newest E & I bridal blogger. That means every week I will be here sharing my wedding planning journey; including personal updates, inspirations, and latest obsessions.

Today I thought I'd introduce my fiance and I, give you an update of my process so far, and share my engagement photos - because I love them! Keep reading and let's be friends!

Photos by the awesome and talented Blurred Line Photography.

ABOUT US

The handsome guy you see beside me is Tony. We've been together for 7 ish years now and he's the best friend a girl can ask for. He and I have been through everything together and I can't wait to see him at the end of the isle on our wedding day.

Something kind of cool is the fact that we actually own a wedding videography company called Koa Weddings. We stared it together last year and absolutely love the work. Wedding days are magic. The joy and excitement in the air makes the day feel unlike anything else and we are so thankful to the couples that let us be a part of their moment. Best job ever!

The Proposal

Tony popped the question while down on one knee on Christmas Eve. I'll never forget how nervous he was and how long it took for the "Holly bleep this is real" feeling to sink in. I mean, after seven years of being together I knew we would get married eventually but had stopped trying to guess when. I was completely caught of guard and it was amazing!

I know you're thinking - WHAT TOOK HIM SO LONG? Well I like to think the answer is simply, love is patient. However, the fact that we 17 when we first met probably had a lot to do with it. Our photographer put it best when he called it our seven lucky years. I couldn't have said it better myself and for the record, it was totally worth it!

Wedding Style

Since my fiance and I are into film and videography, we are planning a budget friendly, "Old Hollywood Glam" inspired wedding with modern touches. I really don't want it to look to costume-y or theme-y so it's been a process trying to put things together that toe the line.

As far as color palette goes, since we are considering a fall wedding, we are going with deep burgundy plums, an array of pink and neutral tones, and lots of greenery. I plan to share an inspiration board with you in the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Planning

To be 100% honest, the planning has not been going great so far. Turns out, I am the most indecisive bride EVER! The only thing I know for sure is that I really want to get married and I have my style set. It's the details that give me trouble and turn me into and obsessive, over-thinking mad women.

I think that's where this blog comes in. I'll be here, every week, working out the details of my big day. I hope you'll join me on this once in a lifetime journey that is my personal wedding planning experience and I'd love to be included in yours too! (Comment below)

Until next week.

Pattern, Texture, Shine | Bridesmaid Trends for 2015

March 8, 2015

Now that you've booked the venue, know your color palette, and have been obsessing over your awesome new dress, it is time to figure out what your bridesmaids are going to wear. Gone are the days of those typical bridesmaid dresses. Let your girls pop in pretty frocks that compliment their personalities and body styles.

Finding the perfect bridesmaid dress can be tricky but, luckily - we've got your back. Today we are sharing three stunning trends that are sure to set your maids apart from the pack.

Pattern: Floral Love

Floral prints are making a comeback, big time! Choose a bold print for high impact or a more delicate one for a classic, demure look.

Photo Credit: Burnettes Boards — Photo Credit: Burnettes Boards

Texture: Pretty Pleats

I stinkin' LOVE pleats! If you're looking to keep things simple but want to give your girls that little extra oomph - pleats are your new best friend. It's an easy way to add texture, but still maintain that sweet bridal style. Bonus - these dresses are usually pretty flowy making them a little more forgiving for your body conscious bridesmaids.

Photo Credit: Every Last Detail — Photo Credit: Every Last Detail

Shine: Glam Neutrals

This trend is for the bride that wants a more neutral color palette, but needs a little glam in her life. It is both bold and subtle, and oh so perfect!

The prettiness is overwhelming, I know, but we would love to hear which styles sent you swooning this year. Whether you're all about the floral print, in love with shine, or obsessed with another style not mentioned here - leave a comment and let us know.

NOW HIRING

February 9, 2015

As we gear up for everything we have planned for Engaged & Inspired, and based on the scope of the events we are producing this year, we need the hands, minds and talents of a few key people to join the team.

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT:

Positions Available: 3

Event Production: This is what a wedding day looks like - long hours, sore feet, and basically the best feeling of accomplishment watching it all come together. This position entails about 6-10 hours of help on the wedding day with tasks such as installation, assistance to vendors and strike. We're talking a jack-of-all-trades on the wedding day. HUGE bonus points if you are located in the Monterey/Carmel (maybe even Santa Cruz/San Jose) area as most of our weddings are located in Carmel and Carmel Valley.

ASSOCIATE PLANNER:

Positions Available: 2

Event Production: Event days will look the same as the one listed in the Production Assistant job description above.

Office: This position entails a small amount of weekly office work including handling emails, taking care of rental orders, booking room blocks, design sourcing, timeline and diagram creation, prepping wedding files for each wedding, and a variety of other tasks to assist in the success of each event.

PROduction Manager:

Positions Available: 1

Event Production: Event days will look similar to the description above with the exception of managing both the Engaged & Inspired team as well as the vendor team on-site and off-site. The right candidate will not be afraid to get dirty and do what it takes to get the job done.

Office: This position entails but is not limited to the following:

Act in a Project Manager capacity for Engaged & Inspired weddings
Manage the Engaged & Inspired team on both office and event days
Attend and/or run Site Visits & Rehearsals
Create contracts, proposals, and timelines as needed
Assist in event design
Manage rental orders, day-of production schedules, etc.

This position will act as an extension of me and will have a hand in every project throughout the year.

Who you are:

The right candidate will bring their own unique skills and expertise to the job, but here are a few qualities we are looking for on the team:

Industry Experience:
- 1 Year (for production assistants)
- 1-2 years (for associates planners
- 2-3 years (for production manager)

Must have reliable transportation
Motivated, self-starter
Problem solver
Team player
Demonstrates attention to detail
Ability to work in stressful environments
Eye for styling and design
Must be local

how to apply:

Feel like you are a fit? Email me at allison@engagedandinspired.com with the subject of the position you are applying for. Please also include your Instagram and Pinterest profiles as well as any pertinent photos to showcase your work.

I'm very excited to be expanding Engaged & Inspired so much this year, and I am really looking forward to hearing from you!

Austin & Ryan // Beach Engagement Session by Jasmine Lee Photography

January 20, 2015

I absolutely love seeing client's engagement photos. But these. These might just be my favorites of all time. Photography by the wonderful Jasmine Lee Photography.

I've been working with these two for almost a year now. As we get closer to the date, I'm getting more and more excited about the details and overall design we have in store. She has been so excited about this every step of the way, and it has been an absolute dream working together. No drama here! Just lots of really fun talks, planning meetings and tossing ideas back and forth. I get more and more excited as each idea evolves.

Let's just say that I'm pretty darn excited about Austin & Ryan's wedding at Holman Ranch in April.

Holman Ranch Wedding // Ali & Bo

January 15, 2015

It is always a pleasure working with Paradise Catering and Studio Mondine and this 200 + person wedding at Holman Ranch last October was no exception. I'm sharing just a few of my favorites from this beautiful day in Carmel Valley. Vendor details and a weather report (for those looking at getting married in Carmel Valley and need some weather deets!).

Venue: Holman Ranch // Catering: Paradise Catering // Coordination: Engaged & Inspired // Photographer: Perfect Circle Photography // Floral: Studio Mondine // Lighting: Chic Event Rentals // Desserts:

Weather Report: October 18, 2014 - No sign of rain. Warm throughout the day. Started getting a bit chilly toward the end of dinner.

Favorite Table Runners

January 9, 2015

Ahh table runners, the best way to dress up a table without a ton of fuss. Renting your runners is always a great option, but if you just can't seem to find something that suits your fancy and perfectly completes your design, here are some of my favorite options to buy.

If you aren't looking for anything overly graphic, texture always wins! (Sources for where to purchase these runners below). Good luck finding that perfect runner!

Table Runners in order: Kilim Black & White Table Runner // Oh Joy! Gold Table Runner // Grey Graphite Table Runner // Gold Dot Reversible Table Runner // Maison Du Soleil Table Runner // Leather Twilled Table Runner // Handwoven Macrame Table Runner // Netted Fringe Black & White Table Runner

(PS - if anyone does buy these I might be interested in buying them from you after your wedding)