Monique Lhuillier Sample Sale!

HIYEE! So sorry for the long time no post…but I’ve just been extremely busy! Hopefully in a week or two things will die down and I can play catch up!

But for now…I want to make sure all my lovely brides are aware of the following:

Sample Sale!!

ONE DAY ONLY

Sunday, July 19th, 200910 am – 6 pm

Bridal & Ready to WearFrom 40% to 90% off
Merchandise is “as is” and all sales are final

No alterations provided. No appointments are taken

1201 S. Grand Avenue, 2nd FloorLos Angeles, CA 90015

Viceroy Santa Monica ~ Meet & Greet

This past week I was invited, along with a few other coordinators to Viceroy Santa Monica. I love the yellow/white/black well-known decor of the Viceroy Palm Springs and couldn’t wait to see what was in store for me at Viceroy SM.

I arrived early and waited in the lounge area by the bar. First thing that caught my eye was this kelly green chest. It’s a little shabby but yet so chic! Kelly Wearstler, designer of both Viceroys, have such a flair for mixing in the old and modern. Sorry for the blurry pictures I got off my iPhone.

The famous canary yellow that was sprinkled throughout the property.

I think these plates are almost as famous as the hotel itself.

Geometric patterns on the pillows, wallpaper, even structural designs of the hotel.

My FAVORITE design element of the day (something I would LOVE to do at my own home) are these ~ antique mirrors arrangement on the wall.

I didn’t realize Kelly’s decor style had a name ~ Hollywood Regency! She is the master of taking a strict color palette and clean graphic lines, and applied them to the glamorous, swanky style of old Hollywood.

I love the crisp apple green mixed with muted gray of Viceroy SM. Thank you Alison Montgomery, manager of catering at the Viceroy SM, for the invite. And I can’t forget, Jacqueline Cox, from The Tides, for the warm welcome.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Wishing everyone a HAPPY and PROSPEROUS New Year!

Short but sweet….(hopefully)

I know I’ve been missing forever….but I am swamped with weddings. I was finally able to upload the pictures from Wendy’s Bridal Shower (I know, it’s almost 2 MONTHS ago!). At least I posted eye candy! Photos courtesy of Jonilyn Photography…don’t things just look so much better through the professional lens.

Diddy Reese cookie favors

Tissue poms

Painted wooden numbers for tables

Ribbon place card board

One of my favorite moments when the Groom came by to surprise the Bride…she was in disbelief!

Picture of the lovely couple

The wishing tree was pretty popular!

White sangria awaited guests on a hot summer day

And finally…girls that made the day possible.

More projects for the bridal shower…

Here’s a couple more projects I worked on for the bridal shower. The first is a ribbon place card board. I purchased the foam board from Michael’s. Then using different pattern and size ribbons, I wrapped the ribbons around the board. The place cards will be the folded place cards with the back flap tucked into the ribbons. I’m working on the place cards now but there’s a slight hold up due to guests rsvping…

There was a huge sale at Michael’s this past Memorial Day. I couldn’t pass picking up a few more things. These foam letters were easy to paint and will add such a personal touch to the event.

And finally, these little tags to hang on the ‘wishing tree.’ Yes I know it’s a little extreme for a manzanita wishing tree for a bridal shower, but how can you deny me the fun?! Ivory over pink card stock fasten by adhesive spray. Pink eyelet with pink ribbon and finished off with different shades of pink crystals on all four corners.

And another great news! We were able to book Jonilyn to document the event. I can’t wait to see the event through her lens! Too see some of her talented work, visit her blog here.

First Gocco project!

After hearing all the raves about the Gocco machine ~ I was itching to test it out. I purchased the P11 kit from Norwood Studio. The kit came with the basic colors, extra light bulbs, and extra screens. I took the liberty and also bought the screen cleaner and the carbon pen (I like to sketch and knew the pen would come in handy).

My first project was to create a bridal shower invite. I wanted to start simple (didn’t want to scare myself on the first attempt). I looked online for design inspiration and finally settled on a simple flower design. After sketching the design and sizing the text on a mock up invite…I was ready (all paper supplies purchased at Paper Source). The text and the pattern was flashed onto one screen (for future use, I can block the text and still use the pattern on note cards, etc). The ink used was Razberry for the pink and wanting a darker brown than what came in the tube, I mixed the basic brown with a little black.

It didn’t come out perfect but I was happy with the result. I wanted something hand made and not necessarily perfect, not hot off the professional press (well that’s what I keep telling myself anyways). After rounding the corners here’s the result! I also printed the flower pattern onto the brown envelops and used textured pink paper for the envelop liner. Sorry the pictures are so dark but you get the idea!

Close up of the envelop ~

I’ll have to find another reason to use the Gocco soon!

Soolip Wedding

I’ve been looking forward to attending the Soolip Wedding Event for a month and I’m happy to report it did not disappoint. Wanda Wen, co-founder of Soolip is inspirational entrepreneur; she started with a passion for paper and $50,000 back in 1995. Now her ‘paper’ business has expanded to three boutiques on Melrose Avenue and SF famed lifestyle store Gumps.

Another reason I’ve been desperate to go was because the event was held at Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles. And what a gorgeous location! The high ceiling and columns were impressive and the adjacent courtyard was quaint and cozy. For brides looking for something different, this location will not disappoint. I think the rental fee for a Saturday night starts at $16,500 ~ not too bad especially if you can bring in your own caterer and alcohol. Here are a few pictures from yesterday.

The high vaulted ceiling of Vibiana

Courtyard with lanterns where the Carolina Herrera bridal gown fashion show took place

Whimsical cake by Cake Divas

Detail of the candy flower on the cake

Exhibitor: The Bridal Bar

Some pictures from the fashion show

My favorite for the day…

Notable mentions: we also enjoyed immensely the mini-cupcakes from Vanilla Bake Shop, cake bites by NancyKay’s Confections, and delicious appetizers from Creme de la Creme and Food Art.

Saturday Dress Shopping & Birthday Dinner

It’s official! My dear friend is getting marry next year. Mr. Friday (his nickname since their date night is always Friday) proposed. The poor guy just had back surgery and really wanted to make the moment special as I’m sure it was. I’m excited to be helping my friend since weddings are what I do best. =)

I think most brides would agree, trying on dresses is one of the most fun aspect of wedding planning. You make appointments at luxury salons, the sales consultant help dress you, and you coming out looking like a million bucks! Our first stop Saturday, Monique L’huillier.

I waited for my friend to change as I enjoyed the fresh flowers and chamomile tea with spices.

This was her favorite from the store..Camelot (same dress Kevin Costner’s wife wore).

Initially we were going to Barney’s New York, but they canceled since they are currently renovating the bridal salon. So instead we stopped in at Renee Strauss without an appointment. The staff was extremely friendly but we didn’t really see anything we liked.

Last stop was Saks Fifth Avenue. She fell in love with this gown ~ simple yet elegant.

After a day of dress shopping, we had a drink at W Hotel before dinner. The hotel is a little small for her 250 people wedding but we enjoyed sitting outside by the pool.

We had dinner at the Little Door Restaurant. Dinner was to celebrate an early birthday for the same friend since I will be leaving for China and she will be heading to Hong Kong.

We started with a bottle of Pinot Noir and the Assorted Mediterranean Appetizers.

I had the Grilled Filet Mignon with Green Peppercorn and Bone Marrow Sauce.

Lemon Roasted Organic Chicken Breast with Baby Artichokes, Garlic and Oregano

Grilled Rib Eye Steak with Sel, Herbs, and Cracked Black Pepper

Duo of Duck with Pomegranate and Candied Walnuts

Someone had the Pistachio Crusted New Zealand Snapper with Couscous (I didn’t get a bite or a picture). Use your imagination. =P

We ended the dinner with some champagne and the birthday cake from The Little Next Door ~ Raspberry vanilla cake.

And here is the happy couple. Lucky Mr. Friday. Now hurry up and chose a date!

Daylight Saving ~ Don’t forget to change your clock!

On Sunday, Nov 3, clocks fall back from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. One extra hour for everyone ~ WOOHOO!!

HAPPY HOLLOWEEN!

I wish I was a kid again. I remember first time going trick-o-treating….I was like ‘WOW, free candy!’ My parents dressed my sister and I up as clowns; identical even though she was 3 feet taller than me. And of course, when we were going house to house, people thought she was too old to be trick-o-treating. They thought sis was in college when in fact she was only 9!! We didn’t do many years of trick-o-treating before we moved on to giving out the ‘treats.’ We have a weird household, instead of candy, my dad is always giving out tee-shirts, posters, star war collectable coins, and oh yeah…that one year he was giving out small earphone radio thing-a-majig. We had kids coming back THREE times!

And now, I just want to borrow someone’s kid to take my dogs out in costume. Oh how we evolve. =)