Gorgeous Fall California Wedding by Heidi-o-Photo

June 29, 2011 By blogmaster 1 Comment

Fall is absolutely our favorite time of the year, and this oh-so-lovely autumn fete by Heidi-O-Photo knocks our socks off! The Vista Valley Country Club is the beautiful backdrop for Megan and Mike’s outdoor wedding. Plus, all the colors, textures and seasonal details of the wedding reception offer great inspiration for an autumn wedding.

As told by Heidi: Megan and Mike wanted a wedding with an intimate feel, but with all their friends and family. So, despite having a lot of guests, they chose a venue that created a very intimate feel. Their ceremony site was completely isolated- all the guests rode golf carts down into a valley covered in oak trees. Their exact ceremony site had a ceiling of trees which added a very romantic feel. Also, normally San Diego has very temperate weather in the Fall, but on their wedding day it was foggy and misty the entire day, but it also added a very soft/romantic/intimate feel to the day and to the photos.

For the decor, since the wedding was in October, they wanted a fall theme. They perfectly combined roses and pumpkins with fall leaves, to create a nice mix of rustic and elegant. They wanted to honor their family in their day, so at their ceremony site, on the bridge that entered into the ceremony they lined each side with photos of each of their relatives on their wedding days. Also, Megan chose her sisters as her Maids of Honor.

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Wedding Photography: Heidi-o-Photo | Wedding Venue: Vista Valley Country Club |

Heidi-o-Photo and Head Over Heels are proud partners of Two Bright Lights!

Filed Under: Real Weddings Tagged With: , , ,

Something New, Something Blue: The Real Wedding of Keri and Dan

June 29, 2011 By Susan Southerland 4 Comments

I’m just delighted to share today’s real wedding story with you. I had the pleasure of working with Keri and Dan on their March ceremony at the Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Celebration, FL and Disney’s Shades of Green for their reception. The couple decided to infuse March’s birthstone color (a soft aquamarine tone) in their floral and decor, and the result was truly stunning! They also decided to go against tradition and incorporated something “new” in the father-daughter dance, described by the bride below.

Keri and her mom were so sweet! They had a great time together planning everything. They were one of the best mother-daughter planning teams I’ve ever had the privilege to work with. Many thanks to Keri’s family as well as Randy Chapman of Chapman Photography (www.chapmanphotography.com) for these lovely images!

Susan: Tell us about the proposal.
Keri: We were in Key West, FL on vacation in October 2009. Dan surprised me on our last night there by renting out our own private sailboat for a sunset wine and cheese sail. He tricked me because I really wanted to go on a sunset cruise while we were there and he kept saying he didn’t want to do one because they were cheesy. Meanwhile he had this sunset cruise planned for months. He proposed right at sunset. The two crew members were in on it and had champagne ready for us! It was absolutely perfect.

Susan: What was it like for you on the morning of your wedding?
Keri: The morning of our wedding was so much fun. I have such amazing friends and I loved being with all my all of them getting our hair and makeup done. Dan and I decided to not exchange gifts but instead to exchange cards. He sent down his card in the morning and it was so sweet it made me cry.

Susan: What was one delightfully unexpected moment on the wedding day?
Keri: My husband’s family presented us with a handmade painting of the two of us. It was such a nice surprise. We will cherish it forever and always remember our wedding day when we look at it.

Susan: Were there any particular elements of your wedding day that you considered unique or personal touches?
Keri: We did a lot of special touches during our wedding. We did a memory table, our table names were all our favorite Disney Couples, a wedding slide show, we brought in Three 3 OH Nitrogen Ice Cream, and instead of doing a guest book with did a wedding quilt. However my favorite personal touch was my special father-daughter dance. My father and I are very close and I knew one song wouldn’t do it for us. I asked our family friend, Annemarie Fairhurst, to help choreograph a special dance for us. It was so hard, but we kept it a complete secret. We started out with “You are the Sunshine of My Life” and then busted out into a choreographed dance to several songs such as “Thriller,” “I’m too Sexy,” “Center Field,” and “Can’t Touch This.” It was such a special moment and my father and I had a blast doing it.

Susan: Based off of your experience, would you share some advice for other brides and grooms who may still be planning their weddings?
Keri: My advice is don’t rush your wedding if you don’t have to. We had a year-and-a-half long engagement, and because we had so much time, we got everything we wanted. It made the planning process less stressful. Dan and I are SO fortunate to have such amazing parents who made our wedding day possible. And Just Marry! (www.justmarry.com) was so great during the whole planning process and made sure our wedding day was very organized!

Once again, many thanks to Keri and Dan for sharing their story with us — it was a pleasure working with them on their special day! Do you have a real wedding story you would like to share? If so, please email me 8 or more of your favorite wedding or vow renewal photos along with details about your experience. You might be the next bride featured on our wedding blog!

If you have questions on this or any other wedding related topic, please post for me here on the wedding blog or send me an email to susan(dot)southerland(at)pwg.com. Also become a fan on Facebook (search: Susan Southerland Secret) or follow me on Twitter (@Susansoutherlan).

Your partner in perfect planning,
Susan

Filed Under: General Wedding Planning, Real Weddings Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wedding Catering Trends: Centerpiece Stations

June 28, 2011 By Jody Wimer 1 Comment

Food as décor makes a lasting impact that can carry through a theme, color scheme or element of design at your wedding reception. Because you eat first with your eyes, today’s caterer has an arsenal of industry tricks and props, trendy display equipment and creative ingenuity to ensure that your food displays are as beautiful as they are delicious. This is truly an act of taking a traditional buffet concept and creating a centerpiece station.

By following the modular lines of this space, the colors of the art on the wall, and taking a minimalist approach, Lon Lane’s Inspired Occasions created a beautiful centerpiece station that anchored this Kansas City event with elegance and a trendy ice application.

Under lit clear lucite tables resplendent with edible “art” created by the Good Gracious! Events team in Los Angeles created a central focus for this event, as did their stunning centerpiece station constructed of “raining” florals and small plate portions below.

Photo Credit | Good Gracious! Events of LA


Incorporating stunning props, lush linens, food as art and succulent plant life, A Joy Wallace Production of Miami created this stunning “A Taste of Peru” centerpiece station to delight guests.

Centerpiece stations can be devised in all shapes and sizes also, with vertical concepts being especially fun. This tapas bookcase of items like oyster shooters and tiny tapas trays created by Good Gracious! Events anchors the space with a 3 dimensional display that guests can approach from all sides…thus beauty and traffic flow function.

A similar creation by Culinary Crafts of Utah for an outdoor reception featured a “Southwestern Snack Bar” comprised of three varieties of fresh salsa, gourmet tortilla chips, fried slices of crispy yuka, and fried beet chips with accompaniments.

And not to be left out, desserts comprise stunning centerpiece stations also…with color, beauty and texture Lon Lane’s Inspired Occasions created a display of parfaits, chocolate strawberries, and more.

While Good Gracious! Events created topiaries of French macaroons, and displays of other dessert delights that looked almost too lovely to eat!

So as these member companies of the International Caterers Association have exhibited, centerpiece stations can be the perfect anchor for your wedding reception décor, as well as a beautiful alternative to a traditional buffet of chafing dishes that will temp all your senses.

––Jody Wimer is the founder and creative force behind JPC Event Group, an East Coast full-service catering and design company creating spectacular weddings for nearly 15 years. She currently writes and contributes to many industry magazines, blogs and publications, and currently sits on the Board of the International Caterers Association (ICA).

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