As many of you know, I really love what I do and part of that is working with great clients and amazing vendors.  I was thrilled that I got a chance to work with Vero Suh(and her fine assistant, AC).  They were so fun to work with and made the day so relaxing.  It was also great to see Andrea + Jamie of Coquette Events who did a great job on this event.  Finally, how could one forget the cupcakes.  Crystal and I will always remember the kindness of the baker who brought all vendors cupcakes to sample.  Who doesn't appreciate a tasty cupcake?

California

What made this wedding so wonderful was working with planner Frances Liu of Charmed Events.  Her professionalism stands out.  Throughout the planning process, she remained focused, positive, and supportive.  Her communication was excellent and made for such creativity.  Since much of my interaction is often with the planner, I love it when there's this calm spirit and fun energy.

The photographer, Geoff White Photographers captured this amazing wedding.  One of my favorite images is of the couple with a great tree in the background.  The sun is shining.  You could never tell that it was a day in April.

Thanks SMP, Frances, GWP and our beautiful couple.

Best Thing Ever: Reception Decor

Recently I was doing some research on backdrops.  I don't know how it happened but my internet search led me to this amazing table.  I was blown away by this wall of paper flowers.  Amazing - yes.  Fabulous - definitely.  Inspiring - absolutely.  Beautiful - for sure.  Transforming - positively.

This wall was designed by the talented crews at Hartmann Studios and let me say - bravo.
Best Thing Ever.

Real Wedding: Summer Soiree

Mandi & Khoa | Asian Art Museum Wedding from IQvideography on Vimeo.

Mandi and Khoa are such a sassy and sweet couple.  Mandi is inherently kind and warm. Khoa is reserved and calm.  Together they are just perfect.   I'm so honored to have worked with them on their Asian Art Summer Soiree!!!!

This beautiful and sweet short film by IQ Videography is charming to the core.  You will love it.

Part of why this wedding was so charming and elegant was the fact that I got to work with a few wonderful vendors including Gwen Helbush of Where to Start, Alicia Slater of Global Gourmet Catering,  and Cliff Brunk the so cool photographer.

Sit back and enjoy this short story! (If you can identify me in the video, I'll send you a "sparkly" gift - Only 1 winner!)

Press: Vogue Japan

Photography from Leslie and Jeff's wedding by Lisa Lefkowitz

Thrilled that some of the floral details from Leslie and Jeff's Refreshingly Beautiful wedding was featured in Vogue Japan.

If the images look familiar, it's because some of the details of Leslie and Jeff's wedding designed by my super talented buddy, Gloria Wong was already featured in Brides Magazine.

Lisa Lefkowitz who I admire so much worked her magic on these details and I am blushing just to have a few of the floral pieces in their wedding guide!!!

Aren't all the details so clever.

Edible Trends: Biscuits Lovin' from Pink Blossom List

A week or so ago, I announced that I would be featuring some of my favorite posts from Pink Blossom List. Today, I'm featuring some of Erin's Food posts. 

Being a lover of biscuits, this article makes me hungry which is so appropriate as fall is a season for restoring the soul.  With the fall harvest, Thanksgiving, and other end of the year parties, it's time to enjoy some good eats.

Inspired by New York Times article You are Making Your Biscuits Wrong, we couldn't help but feature the homemade biscuit as our food of the week. With ingredients as simple as flour, baking powder and little milk, who could imagine that there countless ways to make them "wrong". Whether you use heavy cream or milk, salt or sugar, a fresh baked biscuit is certain to be a crowd pleaser if styled correctly.

Here is some eye candy that proves how this classic treat can be the sweetest addition to any affair, once you get your recipe perfected, that is...

Biscuits can be classic...or cutesy!

Real Weddings: Spring City Charm

"Just Married". 

More from Maria and Fred's wedding, planned by Jubilee Lau Events and captured by Sarah Peet.

One of the things I love about Sarah is her easy going spirit. She interacts comfortably and openly with the brides and grooms that she photographs. Like the final set of photos from Maria and Fred's wedding, their responses are definitely sincere and genuine. We are so glad that Sarah was able to share this wedding with the Brown Bag. Enjoy!

Real Weddings: Spring City Charm

More from Maria and Fred's wedding by Sarah Peet.

Real Weddings: Spring City Charm

Planning a wedding for some takes years while others seem to pull them off flawlessly within two weeks. This was one of the fastest planned weddings I've ever worked on and yet it went so smoothly thanks to a great and organized planner, Jubilee Lau. You can read more about how Jubilee helped this couple from Mexico plan their destination wedding in 14 days at Jubilee's blog.

Maria and Fred wanted an understated classic wedding in deep burgundy, pale pinks, mauve pinks with white accents. The ceremony took place at the mezzanine of San Francisco's City Hall followed up with a cable car ride throughout the city then a sit down dinner at the Palace Hotel in the French Parlor. The images from Sarah Peet reflect a happy and gracious couple. Flowers designed by Gabriella Reid for Nancy Liu Chin Designs included spring flowers like lisianthus, ranunculus, cymbidium orchids, imported roses, dahlias, and other beautiful flowers.

Floral Tips: One Arrangement, Four Ways!

Sometimes, it really isn't the flowers that can change the look but the linens, lighting, decor, and possibly - the "container".

To begin, we choose to do a classic, garden arrangement of seasonal flowers like hydrangea, lisianthus, godetia, stock, peonies, imported roses, garden roses, with textural foliage. We stuck with a neutral palette of salmon pinks, coral pinks, green, soft whites, peach pinks, and strawberry. We kept the shape simple - round, dome shape.

Next we photographed the same arrangement in 4 different containers.

Each one was distinctively different in width, height and overall style.

The Four Choices were:

Contemporary, Taupe Ceramic

Sexy, Glamorous, Black Wallpaper Printed Glass

Vintage, Old World Chocolate Urn

Updated Classic Glass Compote

You can see that by changing one element which in this case was simply the container, the arrangement took on a slight and subtle variation.

The first arrangement in the Taupe container feels more neutral, clean, and would work with chocolate, taupe, cream, grey linens in a contemporary room.
We could even imagine this on a square table with modern square white plates. This arrangement could also work in modern restaurants or loft style art galleries.


The next arrangement is slightly bit taller now in this 9 inch cylinderical container. The wallpaper design on the container makes it a bit more dramatic and moody. You can see how this would work in a ballroom with dark, dramatic linens. For a splash of contrast, you could add dramatic hot pink linens. Pin spots on this arrangement sounds like a must have. Perhaps you might want menus with black velvet trim and black chiavari chairs and cushion. So many choices. Oh my!

The last two with their footed shape and rounded style are by far more classic in shape. I can see the antique urn for outdoor weddings with soft kiwi or peach linens in a vineyard. On a round table with those kiwi or peach linens, I can see natural chiavari chairs and dark chargers with tinted copper glassware that you can find at Classic Party Rentals.

It can also work in a mansion like Kohl Mansion in Burlingame with their dark wooden walls and high beamed ceiling. Can you see a mocha chocolate linen with this arrangement?

Lastly, the footed compote glass feels very lady like and possibly more dainty. Of course, I can see this arrangement for a wonderful summer wedding with silk shantung coral or blush pink linens from La Tavalo Linens. Glass Ball chargers from Classic Party Rentals on the tables, white Chiavari chairs with contrasting pink cushions would be divine.

Real Weddings: Naturally Refined

Many months ago, I posted images from Noriko and John's wedding at B. R. Cohn and I've been meaning to show you more of the details.

When John and Noriko came to see Karin and I last fall, I was thrilled with the idea of their intimate, vineyard wedding. Noriko the bride was quite open to many ideas and wanted me to have fun with their project which I did. Both John and Noriko are very warm people who naturally fell receptive to man of our ideas. Neither Noriko or John had a must have list of flowers so while I was shopping at the floral market, I picked up flowers, plants and foliages that felt right for their mood. It was a dream project.




The lovely couple with the vineyard background. Colors were mainly, grass green, soft whites, earth neutrals, and fall browns.


There's John with this simple boutonniere made with mini calla lily and "mikado" foliage.

Guests sat on natural Chiavari chairs. The back row had kiwi green satin and organza ribbon tied to them.

Real Brides: How to trim your wedding budget?

Our poll may be over but we had such great responses including a wonderful story by a recent bride, Annie Packman. Annie has been so kind and generous to share her real experiences about how she had to trim back her wedding budget. Annie continues to write a blog, MarryYouMe.blogspot.com, and is currently doing event planning. Annie lives in Bend, Oregon with her husband Brandon and their, guinea pig Murphy. Here is their story.


How I Trimmed My Wedding Budget
I m sure that we're all aware of the economy not being so -ahem- robust these days, and no one knows this better than a bride attempting to plan her wedding right now. But what do you do when you are in the midst of planning, or even almost done with your planning, and something happens forcing you to cut back on your wedding?

It does happen, and I know - it happened to me a year ago. Last May, my fiancee and I had just returned from a trip down to our destination wedding location of Carmel, California to have our final vendor meetings and tastings. I was a little shocked on the plane ride home that all the decisions about the wedding were now made with three months to go! Or so I thought...

My parents appeared unannounced on our door step in Seattle about two weeks later, having to break the terrible news to us that our wedding might have to be cancelled due to personal financial reasons and health problems. My first concern was of course for my parents, and then I was crushed and kept thinking in my head "but everything is planned!" After one or two miserable days, my fiancee and I were determined to still have the wedding as planned, even though that meant having only 1/3 of our original budget to work with. I snapped into action:

• I called all of my vendors to re-negotiate our contracts, had all our deposits re-applied, and only lost the deposit for the band.
• We moved our ceremony location from the church where my grandparents were married to our reception location, La Playa Hotel, which was hard, but I wouldn't have any other way given the chance now. We saved about $1000 doing this.
• I got a great deal on a wonderful DJ, who three months out didn't have a wedding that day and passed the savings on to us.
• We already had purchased our decorations of faux magnolia garlands and wreaths, which went much further in decorating our smaller reception room.
• I kept the same flowers (peach Juliet garden roses, blue and cream hydrangeas, and freesia) but they cost much less since we were using less (no church and less reception tables).
• For the centerpieces, to keep with the vintage chic theme I was going for and save on vessel rental, I used antique silver pieces pooled together from my mom, aunt, and my personal collections.
• Instead of having the florist make the cocktail hour centerpieces, I ordered only one curly willow branch and one blue hydrangea from her and paired these with a cylinder vase and limes bought at the store. This saved me $75!
• We did have to give up the dream of having silver chiavari chairs, but the venue's chairs fit in perfectly with our colors - they were a mint green! People even asked if we rented them to match!
• I bought the programs and menu cards from Paper Source and had them printed at a print shop, then assembled them myself, saving over $50.
• I had to re-order my invitations from Invitation Consultants, since they were already printed with the old information. We used the old invitations as bar menus, table numbers, and seating chart.
• We bought our own wine from a local Carmel Valley winery and got a good case discount, and two days before the wedding went to Safeway and bought Chandon champagne at over 50% off! Even with the $18 corkage fee, we saved money over buying the cheapest bottles from the venue, and I negotiated to not have sales tax, service fee or gratuity added to the corkage charges!
• The hotel was charging $20 a gallon for juice, punch or lemonade. I ordered lemonade, but went to the Farmer's Market and bought organic strawberries and mint, sliced those up and delivered them to the hotel the day of the wedding, and they added them to the ice water (which was free). It was the hit of cocktail hour, and guests kept asking our servers for it during lunch! I saved $40 doing this.
• I found my dress in Arizona while visiting my aunt, and didn't have to pay sales tax since I paid with an out-of-state check. This saved me almost $200 over buying it in Washington.
• Instead of Brandon, his groomsmen, the ushers and the dads all purchasing suits (he was adament about not wearing a tux), we found destination style rental suits by After Six at The Tux Shop, and were given the "cruise package" pricing which was for a week and a half and was cheaper than a two day tux rental! We saved $600 on Brandon's suit this way.
• I still had my hair done by a hair stylist who came to the house, but I did my own makeup and lashes, saving about $150.
• Instead of a vintage Rolls Royce for our getaway, we had a groomsman with a nice black Chrysler 300 chauffeur us away. It sort of looks like a Bentley, it was black, and it saved us $800!

Ask Nancy: Favorite Wedding

Dear Nancy, I am really loving your new segment "ask Nancy"! So many questions...what is your all time favorite wedding...? Thanks, Kelly
Many stand out in my mind. What makes a wedding a favorite has to do with the location, the couple, the project itself, the team of vendors, the day of installation, the story and of course, the images. Since I've done close to 300 weddings, I don't think it's possibly to pick just one - it's like asking a shoe addict to wear one pair of shoes for the rest of her/his life.

Impossible.
I'll start with Nishka & Carl. It's a favorite because I love the color combination - aqua + poppy. Of course, without a great and trusting bride, it wouldn't have been so memorable.


Nishka came to me with many ideas and truly got me quite involved with the design, invitations, place card, and even the floor setup. Both of us decided that we would keep the ceremony simple. Large Balls of Red flowers lined the aisle. The backdrop was breathtaking.


Lisa Lefkowitz, what I can say, her images are stunning. The image on the right has got to be one of my favorites. It captures the essence of the bride! The color of her sari, the wide smile, the contrasting burgundy peonies bouquet - sigh!


Instead of having all the bridesmaids wear the same outfit, I love how Nishka told them to wear whatever they wanted in aqua or poppy. It really works!


Our groom is a real cutie!


The flower choices were terrific. We used peonies, mini callas, cymbidium orchids, dahlias, carnations, gerbera daisies and many more. So absolutely fun. I located a set of matching glass vases. It took the bride quite a bit of convincing to let me use them. I'm so glad we did.




What I remember about the day was how easy the set up was. Our team was laughing, laid back, and enjoying the warm atmosphere. That's rare for anyone in the wedding business. Perhaps it was infectious - you can tell that the couple's friends had a great time just like we did.


When the bride is relaxed, you know it's a good day. Just about the calmest bride I've ever known and one that was remarkable upbeat and trusting. Nishka and Carl planned this wedding from the East Coast. They hired me without meeting me. What can I say - I really am one lucky floral designer.

Acqua Hotel in Mill Valley never looked so good. The modern lobby served as a cocktail area for guests.I take no credit for the cones on the left. We just provided some red petals. The contrast of the petals with the aqua cones is vibrant. Have to thank my assistant, Nancy #2...we had such a great time at this wedding, we went out for a delicious Italian meal after the setup which I still remember!