Wedding Chicks Launch Party

What a spectacular event!! The creative, awe inspiring, savvy Wedding Chicks hosted their launch party for their wedding inspirational blog last night at the Arroyo Trabuco Golf Course. Thank you Amy + Jocey for hosting a beautiful event and bringing so many of us in the industry together! Your work is amazing and I'm so proud of the both of you for launching such a perfect site for us all to learn and gather ideas from!

Jennifer Schuemann with It's Your Wedding Day had a huge part in making the event happen - so much detail and beauty went into everything (nice to finally meet you too!). Great music and Entertainment by Vox DJs, florals by Elegant by Design, donuts (yes, I said donuts) by The Fry Girl Inc. who was preparing them fresh on the spot! Amy & Jocey looked gorgeous with their make-up done by Carina at Flawless Faces...who was a pleasure to talk with. The ice sculpture from Carving Ice of the wedding chicks was spot on, amazing!!! Did I tell you I enjoyed the best vanilla cupcake ever?! Thanks to It's all about the Cake!

Here are few photos that Kerrie Underhill of Platinum Weddings by Kerrie took and was so kind enough to share with me to post on my blog! Thank you and nice to finally meet you Kerrie!







(from left) Kerrie Underhill of Platinum Weddings by Kerrie, Heather Moreau of Vallentyne Photography, Jocey of Wedding Chicks and JoceyBella Invites, and myself!

{ lis + kim }

I loved this wedding because the couple was sooooo much fun! Truly a silly, laid back, awesome couple. Not too mention super in love with each other. Hearing about their journey of finding each other during the ceremony was my favorite part...the personal vows were the best I've ever heard! It was so wonderful to be a part of everything, so thank you Lis & Kim! The wonderful photos are from Suzi at Q Weddings and there was great entertainment by DJ Ian Gotler at Red Shoe Productions. Walter & Spencer did a great job with all the beautiful florals and working with the greenery and natural beauty that Ojai Valley Inn & Spa already has to offer.












My favorite of Kim!

What to say!

Today I was a guest blogger on the Wedding Chicks blog discussing the ever popular and tough decision of wedding locations. Take a peak!

{ Wedding Chicks }

Wedding Chicks is here and what a great site this is!!! For all those wedding related questions you have or just plain want to view pictures and ideas, this is the place visit. Free giveaways and chances to win can be yours! See if you can find me anywhere listed on here? The talented and brilliant creators Amy + Jocey are truly on to something!

Ojai Valley Inn & Spa

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to coordinate my first wedding of the season at the gorgeous Ojai Valley Inn & Spa Resort. Recently rated by TripAdvisor as the #1 Spa in "World's Best Spas" for 2008. Pictures soon to come of the amazing couple...

However I highly recommend this venue and resort for a wedding and even a girls getaway or bachelorette weekend! Nestled 30 miles south of Santa Barbara and just inland of Ventura...it's romantic, peaceful and like no other!

{tagged by amy squires}

Amy tagged me and wants me to tell you more about myself!

What was I doing 10 years ago?
: : 10 years ago I was 20 years old and studying abroad in Florence, Italy. Me and my crew of 6 girls who traveled to Italy are getting together in St. Louis at the end of March for our 10 year reunion.

Things On My To Do list
: : find the right color paint for the inside walls of my house
: : plan my next trip with my husband (we just went to whistler, Canada and now I have the bug to go somewhere warm!)
: : find a way to do some destination weddings this year or next!
: : golf more
: : put pictures in an album from a big trip last year

Places I have Lived
: : san clemente, ca (currently)
: : san francisco, ca (met my hubby there!)
: : san luis obispo, ca (college)
: : santa barbara, ca (hometown where i grew up)
: : florence, italy (studied abroad)

Bad Habit
: : chocolate chip cookies
: : not loading the dishwasher in an organized way
: : keeping my house too clean...

Things Most People Don’t Know About Me
: : i love to cook homemade meals and drink red wine with my husband
: : i love lululemon clothes
: : i have done 9 triathlons, 1 marathon and walked the 3 day breast cancer walk
: : i would do just about anything for tickets to the Oprah show
: : i was a nutritional science major in college at cal poly
: : i am super ambitious and entrepreneurial
: : i wanted to start a crumble topping business years ago called "kiley's krumble." It was a hit with my friends but i never really got it going! I got married and fell in love with weddings.

I tag you!
Katie Moos
Jeffrey Lawler
Jihan Abdalla
Joel Austell

On the GREEN train!

After reading the most recent issue of Martha Stewart I came across some fabulous "green" tips and sites to look at.

1. Think about donating to a charity in lieu of gifts. Give a small keepsake like a potted plant of herbs, tree seedlings in biodegradable containers or edible gifts such as fair-trade coffee or organic chocolate.

2. Buy carbon offsets at Native Energy

3. Create your invitations with recycled paper!
Oblationpapers
Pancakeandfrank

4. When you register, make a note of asking that the gift not be wrapped. Don't allow this as an option for your guests when placing the order for buying you something.
5. Cut down on unwanted catalogs and credit-card solicitations that start arriving soon after you register by asking the stores you register with not to sell or rent your address. Subscribe to greendimes which for $20 will remove your name from mailing lists and plants 10 trees on your behalf.

6. Consider having your ceremony and reception close to each other or at the same location. You won't have your guests driving 20-40 minutes and consuming gas getting there. Think of all the guests who might not be carpooling?

For more great ideas about going green take a look at these sites!
Eco Chic Weddings
Portovert

Wedding Statistics

The Wedding Report has put out some facts about 2007...what do you think?

• Averge # of guests: 167
• Average engagement time is 17 mo
• Average bride age 26
• Average groom age 28
• 2,290,578 estimated Weddings in San Diego County
• Consumers spend on Weddings $28,800
• Average dress is $1,564
• Average engagement ring is $5570
• Most Weddings occurred in Aug (1st), July (2nd), and June (3rd)