We are beyond excited to announce the launch of Valley & Co.!

Valley & Co. is our new blog featuring unique, stylish, and exquisite wedding and lifestyle inspiration. Here's a sampling of what you'll find over there! www.valleyandco.blogspot.com Head on over and let us know what you think! Of course, keep the Good Life on your list of daily reads; we'll continue to post our Monday Coffee, Nick's picks, and other fun details!   Photo by Llanes Weddings

Tip of the Day

With so much beautiful wedding inspiration on the web and in magazines, we know it's easy to get swept up in DIY projects. But we have some words of advice: please, do not take on too much in terms of DIY-ing on your wedding day. There is a big difference between sweet + simple DIY projects and taking on your entire wedding from a DIY standpoint.

Think about what you will be sticking your family and friends with and whether that's an "honor" or a burden. Asking them to show up five hours early on your wedding day to set up tables, hang your 50 tea-stained garlands, create 20 centerpieces, and make sure everything is in order just isn't fair (yes, we have heard this request). Sure, your family, bridesmaids, and friends love to help out and support you and likely won't decline the bride-to-be, but just don't ask too much and know when you are taking advantage.


Save your own sanity: we've heard about too many brides rushing around on their big day trying to make sure the homemade centerpieces, dessert display, and candy buffet are placed just right instead of relaxing.  Utilize whatever team you have assembled: your planning team, your design team, florists, and lighting team are professionals and you hired them for a reason. If you have a vision of a sweet dessert set up, relay this to your baker. Have an idea for take-home gifts and want to make them yourselves? That's great but just make sure you finish the project and give them to your banquet manager ahead of the wedding to pass out after dinner. Try to avoid adding on duties for your wedding party; they should be spending time with you and relaxing the morning of your wedding, not running around supervising.


The key to staying sane and not having a heart attack is to control how many projects you're taking on and, if you insist on doing them all, please, please make sure that your projects are completed well before your wedding. There are countless ways to personalize your big day without creating too much to do.  The last thing we want is for you to get so far in that you're to stressed to enjoy your day and the celebration.
Cheers, Aleah + Nick

Quick Tip of the Day

We're taking a break from our Monday Coffee session this week (stay tuned; we're working on something very exciting!). Instead, we bring you this quick tip of the day:

Brides, please make sure your wedding dress is hanging from a pretty hanger on your big day! It will be seen in photos over and over again, so if your frock didn't come with a lovely one, ditch the plastic hanger and spring for a padded one. It's a small detail, but each and every detail counts!
Cheers, Aleah
*Image from Furious Photographers

Shining a New Light on Baby's Breath

I know, I know. Baby's Breath has long been looked at as nothing special; simply filler. Well it's making a name for itself and for the right wedding it can be positively lovely. Here are examples of baby's breath used 4 ways:

It's striking on its own as a ceremony piece, lovely tucked into a more modern bouquet, whimsical in milk glass vases as centerpieces, and just plain pretty when made into a wreath. Enjoy! Aleah

Images from: 1. Real Simple 2. Wreath Palace 3. Pacific Weddings 4. Flower Advisor

Oh, Paris. How I Love Thee!

Olalin has the most amazing gowns inspired by Paris. Love.

Saturday fun with cake

Erica + Rodney are such a sweet couple and they wanted to personalize each detail of their wedding, like the script on the cake! Talk about lovely and sentimental. Photo by Kate McElwee

Photo Love: Alex Studios

Our bride, Sandy, looked so ethereal on her big day. I love this image captured by Alex Studios. Enjoy! Aleah

Quick tip of the day: remember to eat and stay hydrated on your big day! This goes for wedding artists, too!

Just lovely: fern bouquet

I love this fern bouquet; sweet, whimsical, and truly unique! Photo from Acorn Cottage

 Our quick tip of the day: remember to have FUN during your planning process. Don't sweat the small stuff!

True Romance: candle centerpieces

A while back we wrote about some lovely tips to decorate properly with candles (read here). Today we wanted to share some inspiration for candle centerpieces that are striking. Many of our clients are encouraged to alternate centerpieces; they'll dress up half of their dining tables with a candle centerpiece and half with lush flowers. Not only does it add great interest and something unexpected, but it can be less expensive than going with all-floral pieces.

For Emily + Ryen's wedding, Floressence created a nearly candle-only centerpiece, but adorned each of these arrangements with curly willow + simple lilies. The floating candles and moss accents were just lovely. Photo from Amore Studios.

This candle-only display is really stunning, and perfect for not only weddings, but intimate dinner celebrations. It's just so  warm and inviting. This image found here

I've always loved this image from a past issue of Martha Stewart Living. Floating candles + orchids come together to create an unusual, yet striking, display.

Happy Planning! Aleah

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