Fresh Summertime Menu Ideas

Our clients Stephanie + Coby had an incredibly fun wedding. Stephanie was all about smells, tastes, and textures at the wedding. From the invitations to the centerpieces and menu, each detail was a reflection of this vision. She wanted to provide their guests with a fun + unique experience. From the dueling pianos to the amazing menu, the wedding was outrageously fun, delicious, and really them. With about 250 guests present, we wanted to showcase a truly tantalizing menu.

Basil-lemon sorbet was served up to each guest in between their amuse bouche and entrée courses to cleanse the palette. After the dinner plates were cleared, the catering staff brought out miniature cakes for each table. They cut into the cakes, but guests had the fun of serving up their own slices. Stephanie + Coby cut into their own miniature cake - their guests raved about what a unique idea it was!

It's so much fun to think outside the box and provide your guests with sweet and unexpected touches to create a memorable dining experience.

Cheers! Aleah + Nick

Photos by the amazing Frank Ross

Quick Tip of the Day

We've gotten such great feedback from our readers about the expert planning tips we write about, so we've decided that today will mark our first day of quick tips! We'd love to hear what you think! Let us know if you have planning questions you'd like us to answer!

-Tip of the Day:  If you're trying to trim your guest list (whether it's because of your budget or limited space), think about whether you'd invite that long lost high school friend over for dinner in your home. Furthermore, would you take them (and a date) out to a dinner that would cost anywhere from $200-$1,000 (or more) per head? If not, you might want to think twice about inviting them.

When all is said and done, each guest you invite adds cost, and not just the cost of their entree and drinks. Each chair, specialty napkin, and favor add up. It's not just about cost either. Think about how intimate you want your wedding to be. Every additional guest beyond your family + friends (think: bosses and neighbors) means more guests you will need to tend to and greet. It's more people to entertain. When it comes down to it, you want to truly enjoy your wedding with those you love + cherish. Happy Planning! Aleah + Nick

Gorgeous Confections, Part III

In this final installation of these lovely, frothy confections, I wanted to show off this dress with a statementsash. I just love the look; it's so glamorous, yet a bit understated. It's from Etsy seller Oumo and called Allison Wonderland; it's a steal at $580!

Enjoy! Aleah

Gorgeous Confections, Part II

How lovely + sweet is this Blushing in Pink dress by Ouma on Etsy, $840?

Talk about taking your breath away; any bride would look absolutely stunning in this whimsical confection.

Gorgeous Confections, Part I

For summer brides, I tend to think of ethereal, light, and gorgeous dresses. This striped carnival party dress fits the bill for a rehearsal dinner on a warm summer night. It's fun, it's frothy, and it's just lovely! At $188 from Etsy seller Ouma, you can't go wrong!

Cheers! Aleah

Sweet tea tin arrangements

I just adore these sweet arrangements placed in vintage tea tins. They're so simple, yet so charming and lovely.
Yellow + green images from Crear Weddings
Navy tea tin image from Tea With Friends

Cheers! Aleah

Part III: Wrapping Up Our Wedding Planning Process

Continued from our posts last week, we wanted to shed some light on how we worked together to plan our 2003 wedding. We felt it was important to give our readers and clients a look into what we felt was most important to us during the planning process. Being full-time (and married) event planners who work with each other + our couples on an intimate level with each wedding we plan, we know more than perhaps anyone how important it is to come together during certain aspects of the planning process.

Here a the Top 3 Rules we lived by when planning our own wedding 7 years ago:

1. Divide. Let the creative juices flow but divvy up the tasks if you both have something you want to work on. Let your spouse-to-be lend ideas where they are comfortable but come together on items you both care about equally.

2. Ask. Ask your fiance what matters most to them. Even if they aren't interested in flowers, ask their opinions on color choices and what they think about the centerpiece option you chose. Even though they might not care and want you to take the lead, they'll appreciate that you value their opinion.

3. Laugh! Wedding planning should be a fun, lighthearted, and special time in your lives. Don't sweat the small stuff. You'll look back 5, 10, or 50 years from now and not only remember what an amazing wedding celebration you had, but what an unforgettable time you had planning it together!

Cheers,

Aleah + Nick

Happy Mother's Day!

We hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day! Aleah + Nick
*Photo from Be Imbued

Happy Mother

Photo love: Meghan Aileen

These images from a Santa Barbara wedding by Meghan Aileen just make me happy. The romance and the true happiness really shine through!

Be sure to check out her site for more eye candy! Aleah

Another glassybaby giveaway!

We just love glassybaby and our readers + clients had so much fun with the last giveaway that we've partnered with them again! The glassybaby of your choice could be yours!

Here's the scoop:

-Anyone can enter but you need to be a fan of ours on Facebook +/or Twitter

-Visit glassybaby's website and check out their assortment of vessels.

-Come back to our site and comment on this post, telling us which glassybaby you'd like (also give us your name - no anonymous posts!).

Voilà! A winner will be chosen on Friday, May 21st - if you're a fan of ours on both Facebook + Twitter, let us know and you'll receive 2 entries!

Good luck!

Part II: Our Wedding 7 Years Ago - How We Planned

...Continued from Tuesday's post.
Once we set our wedding date and determined what was most important to each of us, we set out to divvy up what that meant for our planning process.

Much like how we work today, Nick dealt with the logistics of our big day: the music, the food, and the party aspect. Aleah worked on selecting our flowers, color palette, linens, and special touches that would not only set our wedding apart but make it totally us.

This is perhaps the most golden piece of advice we give our clients today. No matter where you get your inspiration from, what your wedding looks like, or the type of venue your bash will be held at, be sure that your wedding is a true reflection of you.

How did we incorporate us into our wedding in addition to our style + the overall vision? We got creative, thought outside of the box, and just made things plain fun. We knew we wanted our guests to remember dancing like crazy so we created an awesome play list for our band that was totally Nick + Aleah. We also peppered in some rap, classic rock, Frank Sinatra, Van Morrison, and all sorts of fun mixes that all of our guests boogied to.

Up next...how we brought our individual ideas together and our best tips for working together and remembering your planning process for the fun time it was.

One of our local brew kegs; having a fully stocked bar was very important to us!

Our wedding flower market

For the third issue of Nonpareil Magazine, we envisioned and brought to life a totally out-of-the-box idea for wedding favors: a wedding flower market. It was inspired by trips to European flower markets and dessert buffets: the perfect hybrid to entertain guests and give them something fun to remember. Click here to see our feature.

Cheers! Aleah + Nick *Photo by Shannon Lee Images

Our Wedding Planning: 7 years later

Planning a wedding from our point of view:

We were married almost 7 years ago (!); the summer we graduated from university. This made for a super busy, but fun year - shuttling across the state back to the city for dress fittings, cake tastings, and all things wedding, while studying hard and getting ready to graduate.

We often get asked what our wedding was like and how we planned, so here's Part I of a few part series to give you all some insight and shine light on how to make your planning a fun, stress-free, and joint venture!

Nick proposed on a trip to Oahu, Hawaii, and after the cloud of fun celebrations, congratulations, and the overall excitement died down just a bit, we set a date 11 months down the road. Knowing the summer of 2003 would be crazy already, we made it even crazier and set our date as July 26th. We had known for some time that we'd be married at Aleah's family home on a charming island in Admiralty Inlet in Washington. Venue, check.

Getting these two items out of the way immediately was #1 on our list, given that we were gearing up for a crazy last year of university. We set out to get incredibly organized with our planning before the insanity of school began, and laid out what was most important to each of us. For Aleah, it was about the celebration, but the focus was on the ambiance and feeling of the wedding; coastal elegance. For Nick it was about the party aspect; showing our guests a totally unforgettable time and (the food, the drinks, and the band), being the fun-loving people we are!.......

Stay tuned for how we broke up our tasks, came together on certain planning details, and more planning tips! Cheers, Aleah + Nick

*My veil!

Photo Love: Frank Ross

I've always just loved this image from Stephanie + Coby's wedding! It's so carefree and reminds me of what fun their wedding was! Cheers, Aleah

*Photo by Frank Ross Photographic

One of our favorites: a cocktail party where a wedding "happened"

Mako + Booth are some of our all-time favorite clients who wanted their 2007 wedding to be a cocktail party where a wedding "happened." Talk about awesome!

There was no ceremony seating (just a few chairs set out for grandparents) and their ceremony + reception were held in the same loft space that we turned into a fun party scene. The only thing that signified the start to the ceremony was the surprise bagpiper we arranged to play - the groom had no idea! Guests naturally formed an aisle and the bride and groom walked down together. It was such a sweet ceremony and the perfect example of planning your wedding your way.
Cheers! Aleah + Nick
*Photo by La Luz Photography

Monday Coffee: Our Top 3 Tips to get your design ball in motion

We know often times the hardest part in starting to design your wedding is just getting started Here are our Top 3 Helpful Tips to help you get that design process started:

1. Talk to your spouse-to-be about the feeling you want your guests to experience when celebrating with you. Do you want a black-tie event where guests are wowed by amazing, lush centerpieces and floral installations? Do you want your guests to relax in a laid-back setting and adorn dining tables with low, more understated centerpieces? Concentrate on that feeling and map out how you can make that happen.

2. Look around for inspiration. This can start at home; look at the colors on your walls, any paintings you might have, or vacation photos from that romantic trip to the South of France or a romantic trip in New England. Inspiration can come from anywhere; you just need to keep an open mind and start collecting magazine clippings, online photos, and browse through inspirational design books. Think about how you can implement styles you find in books or online and make them your own.

3. We always tell our clients (and continue to say this in our posts): stay true to you. Inspiration can be found anywhere but your wedding should be a reflection of you, not an exact replication of a wedding you saw online. Draw from inspiration you've found and implement key pieces how you like. If it's a gorgeous striped linen from Provence, France you picked up on a trip, talk to your linen provider about providing coordinating napkins. If you have a photo of some fun writing on a sign (like this) you snapped, have a designer tie that into your stationery goods.
*Photo I snapped in Monaco Happy Planning! Aleah + Nick

Sunday Simplicity

Lavender bundles at the Vieux Nice market

Photo from our most recent trip to the South of France

Happy May Day!

I love the simplicity of this topiary in a julep cup - perfect for May Day an in celebration of the Kentucky Derby!
Cheers, Aleah

*Photo from theknot.com

This Just In!

We were so thrilled when Nonpareil Magazine jumped at our out-of-the-box idea for their third issue. We wanted to breathe new life into the popular candy and dessert buffet idea and give brides and grooms a fun project and favor display to wow their guests: a wedding flower market.

Check out the current issue (just released yesterday!) and stay tuned to our blog for more photos and a continuation of our wedding flower market. A special thank you to the amazing Kristy Rice from Momental Designs for creating the lovely flower tags and an awesome wedding sign (we'll post soon) and the amazing Shannon Lee from Shannon Lee Images for capturing our design so well!

Happy Planning! Aleah + Nick