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.

How amazing is this dress?

I always LOVE short wedding dresses but this dress just takes the cake! I wish I know who the designer is but I have a strong feeling it might be the bride! To see more of Hilary & Joe’s wedding, please visit their photographer Aaron Delesie’s blog.

Paper Source Weddings 2009

For all the people out there that’s as addicted to Paper Source as I am, there are a few upcoming events at all Paper Source stores!

Complimentary Creative Wedding Demos ~ February 21, 2009

11:30 am – Announcing the Big Day

12:45 pm – Inspired Invitations

2:00 pm – Tasteful Tabletop Décor

Exclusive Event: The Wedding Suite ~ March 5, 2009

6:30 – 9 PM (seats limited to 15)

$35 per person ~ Sign up with a friend and receive $5 off each seat!

Special E

I’m very excited to have discovered a company that offers this service for all the brides and grooms out there! Quoting from the company’s website, ‘ Special E is a green service that rescues leftovers from meetings, conferences, parties, weddings, and special events, then recycle them in ways that help our planet and people in need.’ 

After your event, the company will come and pick up the left over food and deliver it to food banks, soup kitchens, shelters to feed the hungry and homeless. Floral arrangements or centerpieces will be delivered to hospitals or nursing homes. Empty cans and soda will be recycled and proceeds goes to abused and abandoned pets. The list goes on what the company can rescue and put to good use. 

What this company offers is amazing! As a planner, I usually stay late into the night to oversee the break down and clean up of the event. There has been times where I delivered left over flowers to nursing homes because I couldn’t stand to see the beautiful, fresh flowers getting thrown away. Some venues already allow couples to pack the left over, this company offers that extra step of delivering the food to the people in need. There’s so many hungry people out there, wouldn’t it be great if we put everything you planned to use and help the less fortunate? 

There is a fee associated with their service and you would need to fill out a form to determine the exact amount. I know if everyone do what they can do help save the planet, we’ll be leaving a better place for the next generation. I encourage couples to plan ahead and work this into their budget!

Another Etsy find!

I always have a soft spot for adorable creatures. I know this isn’t really wedding related but hey, I can’t help but share. Hope it brightens your rainy day. 

Made by Katie from Skunkboy Creatures!

Black, White, and Yellow

Always love this look ~ so fresh and modern ~ yet always a classic!

Design your own dress!

I was reading archive blogs (yes, I’m very productive) when I stumbled upon Olivia Luca on {frolic!}. It’s amazing ~ you can build your own dresses step-by-step…from the bodice to the skirt; from fabrics to color; you even set the color of your skin tone! It’s so much fun to see the different fabrics and details. And the best part, the dress I designed cost about $1500! It’s such a great site for brides to see the different style of dresses and learn about all the different fabric. Have fun!

Balloon send off…

I’m sure many of you have seen the usual sparkler send off at the end of the wedding. But have you seen a balloon send off? From the looks of this picture…it’s amazing! I can almost feel the excitement and electricity in the air. It makes me want to have an outdoor afternoon wedding just so we can have the same experience.

Favorite mood boards

Sometimes it’s easy to lose track of things when planning a wedding…especially when you are bombarded with a million pretty things. You want to include everything and anything, but in the end, you don’t want to end up with a jumbled confusion as your wedding! So I recommend brides to create mood/inspirational boards.

It’s very simple and basic and you don’t have to be computer savvy to know how. Just start collecting pictures you see on the web, or in a magazine, or take photos of things around you. It doesn’t have to be anything specific…sometimes it can be as subtle as just a color combination that you feel attracted to. Below are a few examples of mood/inspirational boards that I really like.

I LOVE vibrant colors and as you can see, so does the camera.

Simplicity at it’s best. Clean and elegant…black, white, and yellow wedding.

Happy and fun colors bring spirt to your wedding.

Soothing, unexpected colors are very chic! And as you can see, you can collect pictures of furnitures and room decor to create your board.

Cute twist ~ lime green with navy blue

I’m not usually attracted to pale colors for weddings, but this next two inspirational boards may just change my mind!

Elegant white with frosty gray and blue

A little more warm and rustic…

Pretty in PINK!


This to me feels very old Hollywood glam…almost Gothic but not quite.

So now it’s your turn to create something totally fabulous!

I heart J.Crew

I am so happy to find companies like JCrew starting a wedding line. No longer will bridesmaid dresses or wedding gowns cost a small fortune, with no prospect of wearing it again.

For your beautiful bridesmaids:

Silk Taffeta dress ~ taffeta gives the gown a more stiff formal look, but the color and cut is whimsical

Also Silk Taffeta but in a baby doll dress

Lighter Silk chiffon dress

And for the queen bee (I’m been watching too much Gossip Girl ~ you know you love to hate the show!)

From the Spring 2008 JCrew line…pretty fabulous isn’t it?