Teal is in!

With Christmas decorations and colors abound, one color that is standing out everywhere is this teal/ aqua/ blue color. I found some awesome pictures for inspiration below. The hanging ceilings are so popular at these wonderful events! I love that teal is in along with peacock feathers since this is a huge theme of the upcoming wedding of BETHANY! It is so exciting to explore many themes and easy to want to have several themes. This is totally possible by incorporating colors/ overall themes/ and side themes.

Looks like my search for teal winter weddings turned into peacock teal weddings!

In love with this cake

This ring is one that we actually got for about $10.00 for the peacock wedding!

Magnetstreet and Zazzle

These places are a must use for Save the Dates or invitations for any occasion. For my peacock themed wedding I used Magnetstreet.com for the Save the Dates and Zazzle.com for my invitations. It was easy to customize the invitations to match themes and colors and also choose between many different ranges of price and designs. I am pretty eccentric and picky so being able to please me with price, convenience, and perfection of design is a tough task. Both websites exceeded my expectations and left me with a feeling of confidence that I had made a wise choice.

* Below are the pictures of my Save the Dates and Invitations*

Inspiration, ideas and original details for weddings, grooms and brides as gifts, jewelry and accessories, dresses and suits, stationery and decoration

Inspiration, ideas and original details for weddings, grooms and brides as gifts, jewelry and accessories, dresses and suits, stationery and decoration

Wedding MUSIC

I was browsing all my wedding planning websites today and while looking at them and became inspired and got happy visions from the songs I heard that were definitely appropriate for a wedding/ pre-wedding event. I also have to share what my husband and I had originally planned to have our "entrance to the reception" song to be, but because of a crap DJ lots of my music didn't happen the way I wanted it to. Here goes...


Dan and my planned entrance song... (Turn it way up in the beginning it's quiet at first) We probably would've played just the first parts and then just turned it down to change to the regular dinner music. At this point the "Emcee or DJ" should have been in control and introduced the bridal party and invited everyone to dinner.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Don+Felder/31OHxs?src=5 




I think this song is perfect for a first dance, last dance, walking down the aisle song, or good at almost any time at the wedding too. This is Good Life, by OneRepublic, and reminds you of the Good Life you are getting ready to have!!!

Find more OneRepublic songs at Myspace Music

This song is just about a happy ending and always makes me smile. Perfect for last dance or nearing end of the night. I posted the video because I like it too! Little bit of love! 
THIS SONG is going to be a super cute song at Bethany's wedding because everyone is going to start dancing and it's going to be awesome! Will we choreograph? Who knows? ... :P



Hope you all enjoy... and much more to come :)

The FOOD!

If food is the main event of your wedding like many, then the caterer will be a huge choice. Some questions you want to remember to ask yourself before even contacting a caterer are

1. What's your food budget?
2. How many guests are you expecting? 
3. Is there a caterer on site or will someone need to travel to you?
4. Remember to communicate details to your caterer, and I would not advise using a caterer without a tasting.

Here is a sample email that you could use to send a caterer, just fill in your own wedding details.

To whom it may concern, 

I am interested in your wedding services for my sister in law bride to be's wedding event on Month, Date, Year.

Are you available this day?

What do your services include?

Do you provide a complimentary tasting?

Is there a deposit required to reserve the date?

Do you provide tables/ chairs/ linens/ set-up?

Bartender services?

Flexibility in your menus?

As far as food we have a sample menu that includes hors'deouvres (something bacon wrapped), fruit display+fondue?, salad, mixed vegetables, pasta-(carbonara), (meat- salmon or chicken)entree, and dessert table (cupcakes). 

Thank you for your time. I am available anytime by email (YourEmail) and evenings by phone (YourPhone)

 We will be available (YourDate) in the afternoon for a tasting, please let us know if that date works for you.

-(YourName)

Wedding Info.

Name of Groom/Bride

Date of Wedding

Location of Event

Address of Event

Phone of Event

Time of Event

Hopefully that helps with the catering anxiety that comes. Now it's just up to you or your planner to set up the meetings and decide what you like and what can fit in the budget. Last minute changes are not a good idea here since the caterer may order supplies as soon as the menu is in place. Think about

• Appetizers (and how to spell hor' deouvres)
• Do you want there to be a cocktail hour?
• Do you want to have only appetizers and no main course?
• Main Course of Dinner- Buffet or plated?
• Meat (1 or 2 choices)
• Salad (1 or 2)
• Pasta/ Rice
• Veggies
• Dessert
• Do you want a cake?
• Do you want other desserts than your cake?
• Cupcakes
• Brownies
• Cookies
• Colored Candies of your theme
• Kisses
• Fondue with fruit

September planning for June Wedding

• This weekend we studied invitations and finally are finding that simple is good. Got some free samples from www.invitationsbydawn.com and more.

 
• Dessert table idea: Having a cupcake display with a giant cupcake for the bride and groom, and several small bowls of candies including pink sour patch watermelons, snickerdoodles/ pb cookies, brownies, white chocolate fondue and fruits, and hersheys kisses with stickers on the bottom "Kevin and Bethany 6-9-12.
• Got them from a great site on etsy.-> http://www.etsy.com/shop/LabelsRus?ref=seller_info 

• Currently looking for a good cake/cupcake place!

{--- <3

• Working on trivia questions to go on napkins at the engagement party and at the wedding.

1. High School they went to?
2. First move in the relationship?
3. How long did they date before getting engaged?
4. What was their first date?
5. How far apart are their birthdays?
6. How many cats do they have?
7. What was their first vacation together?
8. Where will they honeymoon?

• Making directional signs to the reception location.

• We met our photographer! Great nice guy, can't wait to see his work at Bethany's wedding. Larry Wells of Imagemasters Photography. Here's his site. www.imagemasterphotography.org He has done about 50+ weddings, can do photo editing, in about 8 hours will take appx. 400-500 photos, and is very happy accommodating all special portraits.

• Finally, the highlight of one of the fun parts of wedding planning- the food!!! We will be visiting 3-4 cateries in the area to see what we like. Vendors will include Hanford's Catering, California Catering Company, Hannibal's, and Kat's. 

Thank you Martha!

What an amazing blog from my friend, Martha! credit for photos goes to www.kiralaurenphoto.com

This reminds me of Grass Valley! What a gorgeous day!

Look at her veil! How beautiful!

All you need is love.

This cupcake table is cute. I am a fan of regular sized layered cakes because you can do so much with them, plus "cutting the cake" is a really classic, fun part of a wedding. These cupcakes are cute though!

Love those scrapbook pages for guests to write messages!

Love the Paper Lanterns and the light placement.

These are some of the coolest photos- most of my inspiration is from thinking of Bethany's wedding coming summer 2012

.Kira Lauren Photo

More inspiration- Photos and decor

This site has some wonderful inspiration! Future brides check it out!

http://www.weddingchicks.com/?s=bouquet

These umbrellas are SO cute! you can order them from http://www.lunabazaar.com/turquoise-blue-28-inch-rice-paper-parasol.aspx They have all colors.

More...

Absolutely love the peacock feathers on the base of the centerpiece... These turquoise colors are very Bethany!

Let's finish up the post with a wonderful set of Wedding day tips from http://www.weddingchicks.com/2008/10/16/wedding-day-tips/

TOP TEN TIPS FOR YOUR WEDDING DAY

1. Choose if you will see each other before the ceremony for photos or wait until after the ceremony based on the time of year and the time the sun will set. Ask your photographer when the light will be the best for photos.
2. Get a nice hanger for your dress. Have shoes, rings (clean please), and bouquet ready for photos.
3. Be sure that the getting ready room has plenty of natural light, is tidy, and not too crowded with people.
4. If you have a corset style dress, allow 20 minutes for lacing.
5. Shoes, shoes, shoes!!! Every bride wants to wear beautiful shoes on her wedding, but oh, the price she pays in PAIN!! Bring a comfy pair of shoes to wear for your reception.
6. Inform family members and wedding party to stay close after the ceremony.
7. Serve salads BEFORE speeches (if you have salads). Speeches that run long make for wilting salads and put dinner behind schedule.
8. Serve your vendors as you are served so they can take a break and be back for all of the action! No one likes their picture taken while they are eating anyway, so it’s the perfect time.
9. Don’t hold your cake ransom! Cut and serve your cake about an hour after dinner. Guests tend to enjoy their cake and coffee. We are pretty sure that the sugar and caffeine give them a second wind!
10. Enjoy your day, don’t let the little things upset you. It’s a little late at this point to worry about things not being perfect, so just go with the flow and have fun!! Remember, this is about your WEDDING and the commitment you are making to each other – not about your napkins being the wrong color.  It’s a day never to forget. Be humble, graceful, be grateful, and be a beautiful person on your special day.

Pink/ Teal/ Blue Centerpieces

These are wedding centerpieces made for Bethany's garden mystical- love happiness and peace wedding.

These are simple do it yourself ideas and they are cheap!

Still learning how to post these pics right- Centerpieces are a lot of fun!

Mirror bases are a must when using candles and LED lights.

A Business Plan

Today I helped my sister in law plan her summer wedding preparations (we have until next June, 2012). We discussed building our own wedding planning business with a power quad- Me, Bethany, Kristi, and an a to be "4th" member for when we start growing beyond 3's capabilities. We are extremely excited for having all this time to plan the wedding so we can slowly focus this summer on things like...

• wedding dress fittings
• centerpiece searching
• finding ways to change light colors and light up tables
• researching floral arrangements and fake flowers
• gazebo decorating ideas
• light that can be strung from tree to tree- flowers/ lights/ hanging candles
• attending other weddings/ researching ideas
• finding addresses and planning invitations
• making road directions signs and making re-usable templates for signs
• talking to those to be hired for bartender/ wedding host/ wedding coordinator/ wedding assistant

I am so excited for what is to come, more planning and meeting a potential business partner, Kristi!

I have now added Bethany to an Author for this site, so please keep reading and follow our wedding planning story.

I think that with the right personalities real big things can happen. Happy wedding planning, and here's my most recent website for fun wedding ideas.

OhWeddings.Net This site has adorable craft and do-it-yourself ideas that are cheap and super cute.I personally love the ideas for the personalized fact napkins, and on the babies site- the chocolate kiwi lollipops. What cute and fun ideas exist here!

Some links of particular interest...

http://ohweddings.net/decoration-fact-napkins.php

http://ohweddings.net/accessories-beautiful-hair-piece.php

http://ohweddings.net/food-gourmet-smores-table.php

http://ohweddings.net/do-it-yourself-jenga-guestbox.php

http://ohweddings.net/decoration-rose-napkins.php

http://ohweddings.net/decoration-wine-bottles-centerpieces.php

Love the last one- consider pairing this with a customized bottle of wine for each table!

First off... and Hanford's Catering!

I want to talk about my inspiration to start this blog- my wedding and planning my sister in law's (Bethany)'s wedding. I want to have a place that brides can come to see opinions of weddings in the area which I live (Grass Valley/ Nevada City, CA), options for planning, wedding styles, and my favorite parts- cakes, accessories, and themes. 

Although I know this will take some time to build, I hope to leave bits of knowledge here that I can come back to in the occasion that I plan someones wedding- plus catalog everything I liked and LOVED and hated about my wedding and others I've been to. SOOOO here's one thing that I absolutely loved about my wedding...

THE CATERING! I highly recommend Hanford's Catering, located in Colfax, CA. Hanford’s Wedding Catering Package Includes: Complimentary Menu Tasting, Customized Menu with Hors d’oeuvres, Service Personnel, China, Flatware, Linen Napkins (choice of colors), Glass Champagne Flutes, Buffet Serving Equipment, Linen and Fresh Floral Buffet Flowers, Water Pitchers on Your Guest’s Tables, Cake Cutting, Toast Pouring, Reception Event Coordinator, Delivery, A Four-Hour Reception.

·     Bacon wrapped scallops-hors d’oeuvres

·         Bruschetta Bar with 3 toppings  -hors d’oeuvres

·         Spinach Salad Baby Spinach with feta, mandarin oranges and caramelized walnuts tossed in a cherry-citrus ginger vinaigrette

·         Freshly Baked Assorted Rolls and Butter

·         Fruit and Cheese Platter

·         Vegetables

·         Wild Rice Pilaf

·         Entrée- Grilled Stuffed Chicken Breast
With sun dried tomatoes, fresh spinach, mushrooms & 4 cheese blend

·         Entrée- Sirloin Tip Roast Carving Station
Served with Au jus & Creamed Horseradish

·         Fresh Fruit Cascade
(Strawberries, assorted melons, grapes)

Plus,

Hanford’s Beverage Service Available (we hot this for an extra $2 a person)

Hanford’s can provide the bartender, beverage serving set-up, equipment, ice, and quality disposables glassware, lemonade, iced tea and soda
with a self service coffee station.

Please Note: Client to provide alcohol (no corkage fee) and soda

I was so impressed with their services (and they even saved me a plate of the bacon wrapped scallops since I was having photos done during the cocktail hour.)

Alright, here's the link to their website, where I am featured! Hanford's Catering