In the Press | One Fine Day Featured on Bridal Guide

One Fine Day is featured on Bridal Guide's site! As I am very aware of how awful wedding fairs can be, I decided to produce, design, and coordinate a spin on a wedding fair called Tahoe Unveiled, A Day in the Mountains with Tahoe's finest vendors. Every detail has been designed to create an enjoyable experience for brides, friends, and moms to soak up the romantic side of wedding planning. Bridal Guide featured my tips on how to prepare and enjoy yourself at Tahoe Unveiled and similar events.You can view part of the article below, or go to Bridal Guide's site for the full article.

To reserve and purchase tickets for Tahoe Unveiled, click here.

Bridal Guide Feature

Thinking of attending a bridal event or expo in your area? Have you already attended a bunch and feel more overwhelmed than ever? Relax and take a deep breath, then take in a few tips from Stephanie Anderson of One Fine Day, an event planning company based in northern California.

1. Know Your Budget. “Determine what your top three priorities are,” Anderson suggests. “For instance, you may have your heart set on a specific venue, amazing photography or an awesome band.” Depending on the cost of your must-haves, break down what you’ll have left to spend on, say, flowers and food.

2. Come Prepared. Before the event, determine what your wedding style is, i.e. modern, shabby chic, vintage, rustic elegance, etc. Create an inspiration file that features your favorite colors, flowers, foods, and more. “When you are meeting with vendors, it’s great to have a picture that you can point to,” Anderson says. This way, you’ll be able to tackle what you’re looking for without sifting through what you’re not.

3. Get Chatting. Talk up the wedding vendors to see if you really click, because after you’ve chosen them, you’ll be dealing with them for the better part of a year. “Ask them who they are, how did they get into the business and what their basic philosophy is,” Anderson advises. “It helps in developing a level of understanding for both the bride and the vendor.” Plus, a good relationship can pave the way for constructive negotiating on prices and services.

4. Have fun!

Inspiration Board | Rustic Elegance with Whimsical Accents Part I

I created these inspiration boards for a client seeking rustic elegance with touches of whimsical, unique, and unexpected notions. The wedding is slated for The Cornerstone Gardens in Napa Valley, CA. The venue is a designers dream with three incredible locations for the wedding: the vineyard lawn for the ceremony, the wedding garden featuring an open tent for dinner, and the garden barn for dancing! There are so many creative avenues - I love it! Take a look at some of our ideas:

The bride's ideal colors are fresh yellows and greens. She would like the flowers to look complete and polished, but freshly picked from the garden. Both the bride and groom's style is fun, crafty, and creative hence the incorporation of unique elements including: colorful buttons for decor, a hallway table as an accent piece, a selection of colorful beverages in a galvanized tub, and croquet to keep the guests entertained.

There are oodles of ways to display your escort cards. The bride requested some form of hanging with clothespins. I took this and ran with it. Here we have flower seed packets, antique postcards, gift bags and escort cards as one, and a few more fun styles. In addition, I threw in the seating board, as the colors and style fit perfectly with the couple's wedding features.

Stay tuned for more of their inspiration boards!

Pretty Paper meets Snap Dragon

While doing my daily research for crafty, inspiring, chic, and anything interesting, I stumbled upon Satsuma Press' website. Satsuma Press is a letterpress and design studio based out of Corvalis, Oregon. Their work is beautiful and has a lot of personalized touch.

Beyond the images of their work, I came across a very touching story about their son, Liam, who has a neuromuscular disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. He is a gorgeous little boy who seems to be as ambitious and outgoing as your typical 6 year old, but the poor thing has a disability that prevents him from using his legs. He gets around in his "Snap Dragon" - a fantastic nickname for his mobile chair, which also reflects the character of this ambitious fellow! Due to his condition, his parents are in the process of raising money to make their bathroom fully accessible for the little man. If you would like to read about Liam's daily adventures and/or donate, you can go to his site - We Love Liam.

Sassy Chair Covers | Wild Flower Linens

Just like a lady needs a dress, so do the chairs! Standard, plain slips are now a thing of the past as Wild Flower Linens has raised the design bar by producing formal wear for chairs. They have a wide selection of styles and colors - some simple and contemporary, others bold and elegant! They are a perfect way to sass up any event or even to distinguish the bride and groom's chairs! Here are few to tickle your fancy - you can view the entire collection on Wild Flower Linens' site!

Design Inspiration from Wedding 360

As promised, here are a few pictures from the Wedding 360 design seminar I attended a few weeks ago. I don't want to say too much about the first collage, as the pictures speak for themselves. The images walk you through the Museum of Petals dinner, which was held at the St. Regis San Francisco. The theme was 5000 petals, which is the amount of petals used to create this beautiful room. Gloria Wong and her team did a fabulous job.

Clockwise: Top images ~ the entrance to the Museum of Petals dinner. A modern display of white couches, floating candles, silver tables, and pink lighting create a fun and unique setting. The ice bar, courtesy of Chisel It, consists of beautiful arrangements on top of the bar as well as frozen inside the waist of the bar - super creative!

Middle ~ Petals blanket the dinner tables, while floating candles in clear vases add a warm touch to the setting. A man made tree (courtesy of Gloria Wong and her team) stands elegantly in the center of the room with petals hanging from every angle. It serves not only as an eye catching design, but also as the focal point that justifies the surrounding accents.

Bottom ~ Petals carefully sprinkle the linens including the floor-to-celling fabric, which creates a warm atmosphere and soaks up empty space.

A few of our unbelievably inspiring educators. Pictured here: Youngsong Martin of Wildflower Linens, Catherine Hall of Catherine Hall Studios, Tara Guerard of Tara Guerard Soiree, champagne for our tasting compliments of the Henry Wine Group and Componere Fine Catering, the fabulous Jean Marks and Jubilee Lau (hosts of the event and producers of Wedding 360) pictured with Grace Ormonde of Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, our seminar room in the St. Regis San Francisco, and one of the panels featuring Youngsong Martin, Catherine Hall, and Grace Ormonde.

Phenomenal Design Seminar!

I feel so unbelievably inspired after listening to and learning from the creme de la creme of the wedding industry. More to come soon from who we met, our favorite designers, and so much more!

Inspiration Board | Fabulous Martha

You have to love Martha Stewart for her fabulous creativity. Here are a few of my latest favorites.

1. Elegant program pockets ~ hanging on each chair, these programs perfectly incorporate the couple's invitation design while serving as a pretty accent to the ceremony setup.

2. Ribbons for boutonnieres ~ what a classy and simple way to bring color and uniqueness into the groomsmen's attire.

3. Branches for bouquets ~ these snowberries are booming with originality. Better yet, you don't have to worry about the flowers dwindling or staining your dress!

4. Program Fans ~ useful in multiple ways and great for an outdoor wedding in the heat. I especially like the colorful print on the back of the fans.

5. Fruit for Flowers ~ I love the idea of utilizing fruit for centerpieces. It creates a fresh, colorful, and casual setting for your guests. To top it off, this couple incorporated a yellow themed menu. This look is especially aesthetic on long dining tables.

6. Herbs for decor ~ fresh, natural, and simple. Utilizing bunches of herbs is a lovely way to decorate the aisle. I love this color combination of dark wood chairs, fresh green rosemary, and cream ribbon.