Simply Modern Weddings

Today was a wonderful day! First, I was able to meet with Jan and Chris for the first time. They both live in Massachusetts and hired SMW to help them with planning their fabulous wedding at St. Edwards and Rancho Las Lomas. It feels so great when I finally meet my couples in person, especially since we have been doing the planning via phone for the last 3 months. (in a way, it’s like meeting with old friends) I am so excited for their wedding day, they have done such a great job working to make the details really special for their guests. Wooohooo…4 more months!

After meeting with Jan and Chris, I jetted over to Crate and Barrel at SCP to see what goodies I could find at their blow-out sale. I was supposed to go with my friend this morning at 5:15am (to be in line when the doors opened at 6am) but I couldn’t do it. That was just way too early for me after partying all Christmas day! However, I still managed to find some wonderful items for amazing prices. The best thing is that I had my eye on some of these items for months. So I was able to stock up at great prices!

Below are some of my dinnerware/decor finds…

oooh I can’t wait to throw a dinner party!!!

Jenn…all I have to say is I Love You! The Jenn I am referring to is the founder of Hostess with the Mostess. If you follow my blog, you probably know that HWTM is one of my favorite sites. I just love all the entertaining ideas they have…it just makes me want to have a dinner party everyday!

Most people get intimidated by hosting a party because they think of all the work that goes into it, but it doesn’t have to be that way. This is why I like HWTM, they have the best ideas for decor and entertaining…without all the crazy muss or fuss. Really it’s about picking a theme and carrying it throughout your party. They have great tablescapes that can be easily created from items you can pick up at Target or cb2 to piece together the perfect party. Not to mention the recipes…yummy! I love all the recipe ideas; oh it is getting me hungry right now!

Here is a smart theme for your next holiday party from HWTM, inspired by peacock feathers. (you know I LOVE my aqua blue!)

LOVE the peacock accent in the napkin fold

Bar setup decor

and a little Ginger-Pear Martini…nice!!!

Since this is our first Christmas as a family, we decided to celebrate it by getting a Christmas tree. The last real tree I remember having was when I was 9 or 10 years old. Other than that, my husband and I grew up with fake trees. So we were very excited to finally have a real tree and decorate for the holidays.

On Saturday, we went to Pelzer Pines Christmas tree farm in Irvine. Here, you can actually pick out a tree and they will chop it down for you. It was soooo exciting!

Of course we spent over an hour roaming among the trees until we found the perfect one.

After taking it home and getting it prepped in the correct spot, we decided to start with our lights. I guess a box of 100 lights was not enough!

So, one quick trip to Target, solved that! As our pumkin spice candles burned, we continued our tree decorating with Christmas music playing joyfully in the background. Ooooh, I am so happy with how the colors came together!

Then, it came time for our beautiful star to be placed on top of the tree…and it fell over! (why would they sell such a heavy star?) Looks like it’s back to Target for us!

The lovely Kim Le with Kim Le Photography tagged me to dish about myself. Below are little interesting tid-bits to give to more insight of the girl behind “Simply Modern Weddings”. Sooooo, here goes:

4 of my favorite things-to-do:
1. Eat
2. Sleep
3. Spend time with family and friends
4. Plan weddings (of course!)

4 things you probably don’t know about me:
1. I was a child model (yeah, go ahead and laugh!)
2. I used to dance professional hula
3. I am obsessed with Bollywood movies, and as a result I can speak a little bit of Hindi
4. I had plans of going to law school after graduating college

4 of my favorite foods:
1. Shrimp/Lobster/Crab (all yum yum)
2. Crème Brulee
3. Gumbo
4. Fried Chicken (I am just a southern girl at heart)

4 of my favorite songs of all time:
1. “Kiss” by Prince
2. “Love and Happiness” by Al Green
3. “Somewhere over the Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
4. “Cruisin” Smokey Robinson

4 of my guiltiest pleasures:
1. Eating ice cream late at night
2. I love Red Lobster (don’t tease me!)
3. Working on my laptop until the wee hours of the night/morning
4. ANTM re-runs!!

4 of my favorite places I’ve traveled to (*sigh*):
1. Rome
2. Florence
3. Venice
4. Alabama…don’t laugh, but I spent every summer of my childhood there visiting family, so I am a southern girl!

4 favorite things I own:
1. My wedding ring
2. My late grandfather’s military tags
3. Nikon D40 camera that was a gift from my grandma
4. Macbook (best wedding present ever!)

Now I am tagging the following blogs…it’s your turn to dish!
Jasmine Star
Spiraled Stem
Charming Event
Amy Squires

Of course no post goes photo-less! So below is a photo I shot in Venice on my honeymoon.

Everyone in SoCal knows the ultimate rivalry is USC vs. UCLA!!! Being a Northern CA native, I knew nothing of this rivalry until I moved down here 3 years ago. Oooh but I learned very quickly!

Now, me personally…I don’t take sides, I LOVE both teams because they are much better than my college football team. LOL ! Typically when I watch games I always cheer for the local team, so when UCLA and USC team up I don’t cheer for anyone…I am just prepared for a great game.

So for the BIG game Saturday, we are heading over to our good friend Candice and Gentry’s to party. This should be very interesting since Candice went to USC and Gentry went to UCLA….so I am anticipating a lot of “smack talking”!!! (judging from the other guest’s evite responses) When I did their wedding back in September, they played the fight songs from both schools as their grand entrance music and the wedding guests went WILD!!! What a way to start a party!

For a little fun, below is Candice’s garter shot…how cute is this?

As Thanksgiving approaches, it is a wonderful time to be reminded of the great things in our lives. I am so very thankful for my family, good health, the great friends in my life, and last but not least for my couples…who make me realize everyday how thankful I am to have such a rewarding career!

As of tommorow, I will be out of town visiting family for the Thanksgiving holiday and will return Sunday evening (stuffed like a turkey, I’m sure). I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends, and don’t forget to give thanks to all the blessings in your lives!

To inspire your festivities, below is a cool table setup from Hostess with the Mostess!

Using specialty linens is a low cost way to add some real flair and color to your wedding décor. You can get so much more WOW by selecting a beautiful linen to complement your wedding flowers and colors. No longer do you have to stick with plain white or cream polyester “house linens”. There is so much more color selection, which will help you acheive your overall wedding vision. Also, there are so many various fabric options: satins, crushed satins, taffeta, pintucks, sheer overlays…I mean a girl could go crazy!

I do suggest talking with your wedding planner and florist about your linen and color ideas, so they may help you figure out what works best for you. They may even be able to rent the linens for you….which saves you time.

Below are some inspiring linen settings from the fabulous Fusion Linens and Wildflower Linens!

As a child, I was absolutely fascinated with Halloween. What other day lets you dress up and be just as crazy as you want to be? Okay, you can always let loose on just a regular day, but I always enjoyed showing my inner-crazy on Halloween. Although this year I plan to keep it pretty low-key, and go as V for Vendetta.

How cool would it be to design a Halloween themed wedding; not “scary” Halloween, but “chic” Halloween? Hmmm, I know many of you are wondering if this is even possible. Well, Jenn over at Hostess with the Mostess has shown that it is. Okay, so maybe I won’t get to plan a chic Halloween wedding, but she has seriously inspired me to throw a hip Halloween party next year!

Look at these amazing decor ideas she came up with! For how-to create these looks, head over to the Halloween section of the Hostess with the Mostess website!

Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Everyone knows that “going green” is huge these days. It’s everywhere from how you grocery shop, what car you drive….to YES, even planning your wedding! So, my buddy Michelle over at Charming Event tagged me to share with everyone how I have become more eco-friendly.

* A year ago, we sold our “gas-guzzling” Montero Sport and I got a Beetle. This not only means that I am driving in fashion…but I also am spending less time at the gas pump since my car is smaller and more “road friendly”.

* What to do with all those grocery bags once you are done shopping? Like Michelle, I use them for anything from garbage to lunch bags.

* We have been saving our clothes for Working Wardrobes, a local non-profit which helps people with getting back on their feet with career counseling and wardrobing. (they had a great “Cinderella For Life” program where you can donate your old bridesmaid dresses to girls in need, so they may use as a prom dress!)

Looking at this list makes me realize that I can be doing much more for the environment. So I want to see in what way others are helping to be more eco-friendly.

Ready? Okay…now it’s your turn!

I am tagging:

HyStudio
Jasmine Star Photography
Spiraled Stem Floral Design
OC’s Finest Weddings

Because I don’t like leaving a post “photo-less” here is a beautiful photo shot by HyStudio on a recent trip to the Smokey Mountains National Park. Look at how beautiful Mother Nature is!

Everyone knows that “going green” is huge these days. It’s everywhere from how you grocery shop, what car you drive….to YES, even planning your wedding! So, my buddy Michelle over at Charming Event tagged me to share with everyone how I have become more eco-friendly.

* A year ago, we sold our “gas-guzzling” Montero Sport and I got a Beetle. This not only means that I am driving in fashion…but I also am spending less time at the gas pump since my car is smaller and more “road friendly”.

* What to do with all those grocery bags once you are done shopping? Like Michelle, I use them for anything from garbage to lunch bags.

* We have been saving our clothes for Working Wardrobes, a local non-profit which helps people with getting back on their feet with career counseling and wardrobing. (they had a great “Cinderella For Life” program where you can donate your old bridesmaid dresses to girls in need, so they may use as a prom dress!)

Looking at this list makes me realize that I can be doing much more for the environment. So I want to see in what way others are helping to be more eco-friendly.

Ready? Okay…now it’s your turn!

I am tagging:

HyStudio
Jasmine Star Photography
Spiraled Stem Floral Design
OC’s Finest Weddings

Because I don’t like leaving a post “photo-less” here is a beautiful photo shot by HyStudio on a recent trip to the Smokey Mountains National Park. Look at how beautiful Mother Nature is!