So excited..

I just returned from beautiful sunny Newport Beach, California. Although I wished I could have stayed at beach all day, I was actually there for this years Annual Association of Bridal Consultants conference. I reconnected with many other planners from around the world, and got to see some new trends in decor. I think my favorite part of the conference was when I got to meet two very very successful people in our industry. The first one was Barbara Wallace, author of Wedding Vendor Handbook. She was also featured on the Real Housewives of Orange County when she did Lauri and George's wedding.



Also, on the second night of the conference we attended an all White party (La Couleur Blanche). At this party I was kind of a renegade and wore black with my white, and low and behold I was lucky enough to meet world-renowned event designer and lifestyle expert Colin Cowie! The better part was that we dressed just alike. I told him we both had the same style, and he had a great laugh! What a good humored person Colin is.



It was so great to see how these and many other planners do weddings all over the world!

"Falloween" Wedding Reception 11/01/08

One of my favorite parts of being an wedding planner is being able to share my work with so many people. Recently I was lucky enough to be asked to plan a "Falloween" Wedding Reception for a dear friend of mine. Warning...This posting might be a little longer than normal but I am overly excited.

I remember the first time Keri, Brian, and I sat down to discuss their reception. This was somewhat of a typical meeting in respect that Brian was not very interested in picking out colors or decor, and Keri was concerned about the formality. Quickly during the meeting it became abundantly clear what they were looking for....CASUAL, FUN, and SIMPLE. So I immediately became elated, because this was such a different request then any other weddings we have done!! Everyone knows I love a design challenge.

We did have many challenges. First was that the couple wanted the reception to be on Saturday 11/1/08. Ok so that's Halloween weekend, which as we all know in St Louis could be very very cold. So keeping that in mind, the couple wanted the reception to be held in their big beautiful backyard. The last request was that it would not be your typical formal dress up type of reception. Instead they wanted their guests to feel relaxed. They said "it had to be casual, and simple, and incorporate halloween and fall."

We watched the weather religiously that week. I kept telling them to think positive. Boy did we luck out. It was almost hot that day. The weather was clear and 75 during the day and 50 in the evening.

The reception started at 5pm and went on late into the night. I believe all the guests were amazed by the transformation of the backyard. Keri and Brian have such a beautiful home, and backyard. We simply played up on the fall foliage that was already there.

The couple had approximately 65 people. Because the weather was so cooperative we were able to have cocktails and prefunction throughout the yard.


There were tons and tons of illuminated jack o'lanterns that Keri's friends had carved. The jack o'lanterns and lighting we put in the trees throughout the yard, made for a romantic feel.


Lanterns

Prefunction tables

Inside the tent area we used candles, and lanterns, and simple lighting to achieve ultimate romance. However, I did sprinkle in just enough of my signature "sparkle/bling" in the centerpieces.


Centerpieces
The cake
Thank you to Keri and Brian for being so adorable and absolutely a delight to work with!
Keri & Brian
Keri with me
Photos courtesy of a Juan Alvarez a budding photographer from Chicago.