Home Wedding Inspired by Books

In July I was honored to design and plan the wedding of Molly & Travis. The lovely Yorba Linda home of Molly's parents was the setting for this "book inspired wedding". The couple shared a love of literature. They knew they wanted their wedding to reflect a garden feel, and chose a color palette of lavender, purple and blue. Their love of books created a road block for them. Lightbulbs went off for me, and I came up with some fun ideas. With their blessing....the rest is history. Enjoy the images from CherieFoto. Many thanks to Jaclyn Breault the talented owner and designer of Heavenly Blooms. Her luscious floral designs, took this wedding over the top.

Wedding bouquets in blue, purple and lavendar.

Bamboo chairs add rustic charm to a garden wedding.

Vintage Bookshelf from Found Vintage Rentals filled with books. Bookmarks served as Escort Cards.

Flower girl carries the couple's favorite book, Moby Dick

Favors were small books with personally chosen verses from Molly & Travis' favorite books.

What a fun day. I loved how their garden wedding, with a touch of elegance finally came together. The best part...books were everywhere. When designing you own wedding, don't be afraid to take a risk and share your own personal interests with your guests. After all your wedding should reflect you and your style.

Vendor Love:

Photography: CherieFoto
Floral Designer: Jaclyn Breault of Heavenly Blooms
Catering: Colette's Catering
Rentals: Signature Party Rentals
Entertainment/Band: Essence Entertainment
Photo Booth: PhotoWorks Interactive
Custom Booklet Favors: Petalos Di Pauli
Bridal Gown: Mon Amie Bridal

Wedding Ceremony - Who Stands Where

Rachel & Jeremy's ceremony at Churon Winery. Photo: Dave White of Photo Catering

The Wedding Ceremony. It's the reason why your family and friends gather on your big day. So much attention and time are spent on making sure the reception is flawless. But what about the ceremony itself? Have you thought about how it will go smoothly? Who stands where? What is the processional order? How should your bridal party enter? Who is going to make sure it's flawless?

More than half of weddings in Southern California are not held at a religous site, such as a church or synagogue. Do you know if your venue manager is going to work out the logistics? A wedding rehearsal is the time and place to work out all the details.

I give all of my clients a ceremony diagram they can fill out long before the rehearsal. This takes all the stress out of deciding who will stand where, and the order in which they process and recess. By doing so, the rehearsal will only last one hour, and you and your loved ones can get to dinner. The best part is..everyone knows exactly what to do on the wedding day.

The reason I wrote this post is to save your sanity. At a recent wedding, there were 24 members of the bridal party, not including parents and the bride and groom. They did not decide the logistic prior to the wedding. Therefore the rehearsal was chaos. Many of the groomsmen didn't attend, many members were late, and no one knew who should stand where. I learned alot that day. I don't want you to go through the same experience. If you have a planner at your venue or church, provide them with the information they need to ensure your rehearsal is efficient and a success. Need some help? Check out this link http://weddings.about.com/od/yourweddingceremony/a/Processional.htm  to plan ahead.

Tips for a successful ceremony:

• Have a rehearsal.
• If your rehearsal is at 5pm, tell everyone it's at 4:30 pm. This ensures you start on time, and get to dinner on time.
• Decide prior to the rehearsal who will stand where, who will escort your grandmother and mother, etc.
• Have a plan for flower girls and ring bearers. If they have a meltdown on wedding day, plan for it. Seat their parents close to the front row. They may need to sit with them instead of standing front and center.
• Who will hold the rings?
• If possible, have your officiant attend the rehearsal to help facilitiate their way of doing things.
• Bring a stand in bouquet. Your maid of honor will need to know when to take it from you.

Practice makes perfect.You take so much time to plan all the perfect details of your dream day. Make sure that the reason your guest gather "to see your union" goes smoothly.

Erica O'Brien Cake Design

We all know that wedding cake is delicious. It's smells of butter and sugar and melts in your mouth. But did you know it can be a piece of art? Many thanks to Erica O'Brien for her talents and eye for detail. She created this artful cake for our Tuscany Wedding Shoot, at Serra Plaza in San Juan Capistrano. Don't you love the non-traditional shape and height? Erica definately thinks outside the box. This cake has elegance, modern styling, and a vintage feel. My favortie part is the lace feature. She actually replicated a piece of lace from a photo I sent her. Now that's what I call talent.

Images Courtesy of Chris Grffiths of Imagery Immaculate

Many thanks to Heather and Kimberly of Style Unveiled for showcasing Erica's talents, and recognizing all the vendors who contributed to our Dream of Tuscany.

Style Unveiled Features - Alexis & David

Style Unveiled featured another one our couples last week. We couldn't be more thrilled as this couple was definately one in a million. They are beautiful people inside and out. They welcomed us into their families and shared more than a wedding day with us. Thank you Style Unveiled for featuring them, and the creative partners who's talents made this day unforgettable. Want to see the full feature and see all the great things Alexis and David said about us? Visit the Style Unveiled Blog







Every and every vendor involved put their hearts and souls into this wedding. We all loved Alexis and David, and were so happy to give 150% to them. If you want the best team of vendors for your big day, look to these professionals:

Venue & Catering: Arbor Terrace at Grand Tradition in Fallbrook
Floral Design: Sussanna Davidson of French Buckets
Photography: Joel Maus of Studio EMP
Videography: Mike McCaleb of Mission Visual
Ceremony Musicians: Del Lago Trio
Band: Ramfunkshus
Bakery: Jay's Catering
Linens: BBJ Linen
Ice Bar: Ice Bulb (Isn't that a wicked ice bar?)
Beauty/Hair & Make-Up: Design Visage
Bridal Gown Designer: San Patrick
Bridal Gown Salon: Ferndale's Bridal
Tuxedos: Friar Tux

Home Weddings - The Basics



Our lovely couple Catherine & Salil shared their union with 85 of their closest friends in the home of Catherine's parents. She also planned from Boston with Wedding Jeannie handling the details here. What a perfect day!


Home Weddings are a beautiful celebration of love in a familiar place. There is a warmth in knowing that you can be married in the place that holds your most cherished memories. The elements of a home wedding are very complex. So before you start sending out the invitations...consider the challenges you will face. 

·    Parking: Can your neighborhood street accommodate the amount of parking spaces your guest list will require? Will your neighbors be willing to allow your guests to park in front of their homes? Consider a valet company that can secure a parking lot in your neighborhood and provide your guests with valet service. Transportation companies can also specify a designated pick up location and bring your guests to your front door, as well as pick them up at the end of the night.

·    Space: Is there enough space to accommodate all of your guests, a ceremony area, seating and food service?

·    Bathroom Facilities: Does the home have enough bathrooms for your guests? Do you want 100 or more people coming into your home to use them? If not, consider portable toilets. There are several reputable companies in the Southern California area that carry very clean and discreet looking units.

·    Weather: In Southern California we are lucky to have such fabulous weather. On occassion we do have rain, and a contingency plan may be in order. Is there enough room for a tent in case of rain? Tents start at $7,000 and can be up to $14,000 or more.

·    Noise Ordinances: Each city has regulations. Most municipalities require that you shut down amplified music at 10pm. It's imperative to know what time your music must be stopped. A neighbor could call police and shut down your party. Notify your neighbors!

·    Landscaping: Is the yard looking it's best? Guests will mingle around and have the opportunity to look at every nook and cranny. Since it will be featured in every photo, make sure it's all dressed up for the party.

·    Delivery Access: Will all of your vendors have clear access to the ceremony and reception area? Deliveries will begin as early as the day before the event. Make sure your driveway is clear and there is enough room to bring in all necessary items.

·    Access to Power and Water: Do you have enough electrical power to accommodate lighting and entertainment systems? Have an electrician come to the home and give you an accurrate assessment. You may need to install more lines or risk blowing the breaker. The power going out on your first dance, is not the memory you want.

These are only a few of the points to consider. Make sure you hire a wedding coordinator that is experienced in home weddings. It will be the difference between a successful event, and a possible disaster.

Wedding Coordinator vs Venue Coordinator




Why do you need a wedding coordinator if your venue already provides one? You deserve to know THE TRUTH.

Before you hire an independent coordinator like myself, or entrust your day to your "venue coordinator", I want you to know the difference between the two and what services they actually provide.

• WHO DOES THE "VENUE COORDINATOR" WORK FOR? They work for the venue. The venue is their fulll time employer and their loyalty is to them first and foremost.
  
  WHO DOES AN "INDEPENDENT WEDDING COORDINATOR" WORK FOR? YOU. My full time job is to design, plan and coordinate weddings. 
• WHAT SERVICES DOES THE "VENUE COORDINATOR" PROVIDE? They are responsible for ensuring you pay your deposit, choose your menu by a specified date, oversee your menu tasting, receive your guest count on the day required, and obtain your vendor insurance certificates. On wedding day, they arrive early to oversee their staff has set up your ceremony & reception areas as required, catering staff is handling food and beverage services, including meal service, bar and beverage service and wedding cake service. They will set up your personal items such as place cards, menu cards, favors etc.
  
  WHAT SERVICES DOES THE "INDEPENDENT WEDDING COORDINATOR PROVIDE? My basic "month of" package ensures overseeing every element of your wedding. I contact all of your vendors to go over their contracted services,ensure all of your final payments have been made, and required documentation and guest counts have been turned in to the venue coordinator. We work with the venue coordinator to ensure the ceremony and reception areas have been set up CORRECTLY, based on the layout provided. We greet all of your vendors and troubleshoot any problems they may have. All of your personal items are entrusted to us...we put out your place cards, menu cards, favors, etc. You simply give them to us at your rehearsal and we take the worry off of your hands. We are the first to arrive and last to leave in order to assure you, your family and your guests are taken care of.
• DOES THE "VENUE COORDINATOR" STAY THROUGHOUT MY ENTIRE EVENT? In most cases no. Once dinner has begun or the cake has been cut, they leave and turn your event over to your banquet captain.
  
  DOES THE "INDEPENDENT COORDINATOR" STAY THROUGHOUT MY ENTIRE EVENT? I do. It's part of my package. I'm the first one to arrive and the last one to leave. We literally pack up your personal items and wedding gifts and ensure they go home with a trusted friend or family member. We are there to handle any emergency, or crisis that happens, even after your venue coordinator's shift is over. If your bustle rips after dinner, I'm there to stitch it up.
• DOES THE 'VENUE COORDINATOR" MAKE A TIMELINE? Only as it relates to the responsibilities of the venue and catering staff.
  
  DOES THE "INDEPENDENT COORDINATOR" MAKE A TIMELINE? Do we ever. It's a detailed roadmap of your entire day. From the time your hair and make-up is being done, to the time your final song is played and your vendors are breaking down. It's all in there. Everyone knows their job. That timeline is sent to the venue coordinator, photographer, videographer and DJ/MC. We go over it with a fine tooth comb to make sure every person involved in your wedding knows their duties and are on time.

In no way am I discounting what a "venue coordinator" does. I love them, and work with them on a daily basis. You may find in your venue search, that a large number of venues now require you to have your own "independent" wedding coordinator. More and more venue coordinators are finally recoginizing what an independent planner does. We take great care of you and allow them to do their jobs more effectively. It's a win win situation for you.

Case in point...will your venue coordinator attend your final gown fitting to learn how your gown is bustled? No way! But I do. It's in my "month of" package.

This post is written for you THE BRIDE, as a public service announcement. I want you to make an informed decision.

There is high turnover rate of venue coordinators. Don't expect that the coordinator you originally met will be the one who is there on your wedding day. On a recent wedding in November, our venue coordinator changed three times before the wedding day. Thank goodness I was there with copies of everything to help the new venue coordinator who was there for five days prior to our client's wedding.

When you secure your venue, ask the questions I have posted here. Know what their services include. If you decide you want an Independent Coordinator, give me a call. I'm excited to work with you.

Kisses from The Wedding Jeannie Team

The Wedding Jeannie Team took some time out for photo booth fun. We wish you Happy Holidays and send kisses your way. Much love from Shanelle Doughlin (left), Jeannie Ward (center), and Veronica Medrano (right).

Green Wedding? Got Wine?

It's a known fact...I LOVE WINE. Wine snob? Absolutely not. I'm open to trying all types of wine, regardless of region, brand, or price. Wine should be appealing to your pallete..plain and simple. Wine plays a starring role at most weddings. When you sit down with your catering manager to develop your menu, wine pairing must be considered. Your catering manager will have many choices available to you.

What if your planning a GREEN WEDDING?  You may be able to purchase a gently worn gown, find eco-friendly stationery, give re-usable favors, and work with vendors who follow GREEN practices. All elements you can feel good about on your wedding day.

Wine should also play a part in your GREEN WEDDING plans. I decided to experiment...just for you! I was on a mission to find a great tasting and ECO FRIENDLY WINE. Oh the hard work. The things I do for the sake of research! But seriously I found THE ONE.

Introducing Flourish Vineyards. Flourish wines are all made from organically grown grapes, inspired by the desire to provide environmentally sustainable alternatives. Flourish offers choices in white and red to compliment any menu. Butterflies grace their labels. Another nod to their desire to honor the eco-system.

Take it from me, the wine is excellent. I enjoyed a wonderful Pinot Grigio with Penne and cream sauce, and a rich Cabernet Savignon with a warm beef stew. Flourish wines are consistenly rated 88 points and higher. Rest assured, I've done the research for you, and can confidently say that Florish wines are the perfect eco-friendly option for your wedding.

I raise a glass to you, your marriage and your GREEN WEDDING. Cheers!

Venue Spotlight - Serra Plaza

In  the business of weddings, you make amazing connections. True for me. I've been fortunate to become more than just colleagues with some of those people. Some have become my friends. They are people you love to work with again and again, cheer for, and admire, and who INSPIRE you. Mary Lallande, Venue Concierge of Jay's Catering, is one of those special people. She writes the Jay's Catering Blog, titled "Food For Thought".

Jay's and Mary have unveiled a new venue in San Juan Capistrano's historice district. Recently they hosted a brunch for wedding professionals to witness the beauty of this amazing place. It's called SERRA PLAZA. I'm quoting Mary's words in describing this South Orange County jewel.

"Stone pavers, loggias, arches, covered breezeways, bubbling fountains, old world doors, and large clay pots with an abundance of flowers welcome you to Serra Plaza. Located adjacent to the Historic Los Rios District and within walking distance of The Mission San Juan Capistrano, Serra Plaza truly has that old world charm with a pristine new feel. The amenities include; a plaza that can accommodate 450 guests, a gorgeous bridal suite, a private patio with an outdoor stone fireplace for cocktails or an intimate ceremony, and ample parking. You could even travel by train, as the station is within walking distance."

My VENUE SPOTLIGHT is a way to share with you the best venues Southern California has to offer. So it was obvious that I had to choose SERRA PLAZA, as the latest spotlight. So without further delay....here is my interview with Mary.

What is the history of your venue?  The plaza itself is new construction. However we are surrounded by the Historic downtown community of San Juan Capistrano and one of our anchor buildings is on the Historic registry.

How many guests can you accommodate?             Ceremony? 450               Reception? 375

Do you provide In-House Catering? We have a list of four preferred caterers to choose from.

Is parking provided on-site? 269 parking spaces included.

Do you book more than one event per day? Only one. How will that affect my event? You are not rushed because of another event and have complete privacy.

What is your favorite feature of your venue? I have two, the large angel fountain in the plaza and the French inspired bridal suite. Wait make that three. The old church pews we own.

Give us the top three reasons why couples should book your venue for their wedding/reception.

1.       Serra Plaza is a gorgeous Spanish styled plaza with a grand water fountain feature.

2.       Serra Plaza has a prime Orange County location with ample parking

3.       Serra Plaza is designed for grand entertaining with old world California style.

If you're recently engaged, and you can see yourself being married in this romantic place, call me. It would be my pleasure to introduce you to it.