Simply Modern Weddings

It’s about time for a giveaway around here! In honor of all things sweet for Valentine’s Day, we are giving away yummy Pinko Cookies!

Pinko is a fabulous cookie company created by Jennifer Kobata from a family recipe that goes back over 20 years. These toffee and pecan bites of heaven are packaged in adorable little takeout boxes. So they look chic and taste great! One of my favorite things about them, is every cookie release benefits a different charity or cause. A portion of the Valentine’s release will go towards helping Mrs. Kim’s 4th grade class purchase art supplies.

They are only released during special times of the year, like Valentine’s and Christmas. The trick is, you shouldn’t wait to order these babies…once they become available to order, you have to snatch them up before it’s too late. For the special Valentine’s release, you must place your order by February 8th. BUT, the winner of this contest will receive 2 large boxes of Pinko cookies to enjoy…1 for you, and 1 for your sweetie!

To enter the contest, all you have to do is leave a comment with your sweetest pick-up line! This contest will run for one week, so be sure to enter by 7pm PST on February 6th. Good Luck!

Here are some photos from Pinko’s glam shoot with the wonderful Mel Barlow!

You may have heard me blog about one of my favorite florists, Christine from The Spiraled Stem, and her eco-friendly wedding flowers. Well, she has just launched the Green Event Studio, which is Southern CA’s first resource center for green weddings and events.

I have a few brides that have already hired Christine to do their wedding flowers, but I encourage everyone interested in green weddings to attend Green Event Studio’s Grand Opening this Sunday, February 3rd from 10am-2pm. (leaving plenty of time to get home for the Superbowl kickoff!) Have a little bit of Sunday brunch while learning more about creating an eco-friendly wedding! RSVP by Wednesday, January 30th to christine@thespiraledstem.com.

The Green Event Studio is located at 3930 E Miraloma Avenue, Suite H – Anaheim CA 92806

To give you an idea of how amazing her work is, below are some beautiful bouquets created by the wonderful Christine at The Spiraled Stem

You may have heard me blog about one of my favorite florists, Christine from The Spiraled Stem, and her eco-friendly wedding flowers. Well, she has just launched the Green Event Studio, which is Southern CA’s first resource center for green weddings and events.

I have a few brides that have already hired Christine to do their wedding flowers, but I encourage everyone interested in green weddings to attend Green Event Studio’s Grand Opening this Sunday, February 3rd from 10am-2pm. (leaving plenty of time to get home for the Superbowl kickoff!) Have a little bit of Sunday brunch while learning more about creating an eco-friendly wedding! RSVP by Wednesday, January 30th to christine@thespiraledstem.com.

The Green Event Studio is located at 3930 E Miraloma Avenue, Suite H – Anaheim CA 92806

To give you an idea of how amazing her work is, below are some beautiful bouquets created by the wonderful Christine at The Spiraled Stem

If you are like me…there is nothing like relaxing after a long day with a yummy glass of wine. So why not share your love of wine with your wedding guests?

The most common way of doing this is by pairing a really great wine with your wedding dinner. When it’s time for your menu tasting with your caterer, this would be a great time to ask about tasting various wines that would work best with your meal.

Here are some creative ways of sharing your love of wine:
- Serving wine from your birth years
- Wine that originates from the town/country your family comes from
- Have a wine served that is from the location you plan to take your honeymoon

The great thing about serving wines with dinner, is that it can also lower the costs at the bar. This is because many of your guests will be enjoying the fabulous wine that you have selected for them vs. getting up for a drink at the bar.

Below are some photos we took at a winery in the Chianti region of Tuscany that my husband and I visited on our honeymoon. Cheers!

DRESS!!! What can we agree are the two dilemmas of bridesmaid gown shopping? #1. Finding the perfect dress that fits everyone’s personal style and shape. #2. Finding a dress that your girls will actually want to wear again.

twobirds was created by Ariane Goldman, who was frustrated by the money many of us put into bridesmaid dresses that are never worn again. (think 27 Dresses movie!) Her dresses are made of a jersey/spandex blend, come in 10 different colors, 2 lengths, and can be worn over 10 different ways…what’s not to love?! I really want to buy one for myself, as it looks like the perfect cocktail party dress…now my dilemma is which color to buy!

Not only do they have these amazing dresses, twobirds also carries other great accessories for the bridal party. There are silk ties and pocket squares for the groomsman and silk cotton wraps that would make great gifts for the bridesmaids!

Ariane’s concept with twobirds is to “marry a bride’s vision with her bridesmaid’s happiness”. Of course any bridesmaid will be happy knowing that they are not only looking great at your wedding…but she can look good again and again with her fabulous “non-typical” bridesmaid dress!

Monique Lhullier is truly in touch with trends and styles for the modern bride. I have long been a fan of her designs, even my first wedding gown shopping trip was at her trunk show held at Mon Amie Bridal Salon in Costa Mesa. She truly has something for all styles, whether you are looking for a sweet lace gown, an elegant ballgown, or a sexy sheath. Not to mention she has a huge celebrity following, because of her amazing evening gowns!

Recently, ML has collaborated with Royal Doulton (a leader of fine china for almost 200 years) to bring us beautiful and sophisticated dinnerware, stemware, giftware, and flatware inspired by her top-selling gowns. The collection is currently available online at Bloomingdales and will be available in select Bloomingdales stores on January 15th. These are some amazing pieces that you can register for, or add to your own collection!

Below are some of my favorite pieces from Monique Lhuillier for Royal Doulton

Femme Fatale Dinnerware collection (hot name!!!)

Étoile Glassware Collection (love the martini glass)

Atelier Blanc Collection (soft & modern)

I am amazed that it took me so long to catch onto Etsy’s fabulousness! So now that I am officially addicted, I’d thought that I could share the addiction with you. (hey, it’s only right…)

Etsy is a wonderful site which allows people to buy and sell handcrafted goods. I know normally when one thinks of “handcrafted”, the thought of that scarf or quilt an aunt made for you one Christmas goes racing through your mind. Ohhhh noooo my friend! You can find so many things on Etsy from handbags, art, jewelry, to wedding invitations!

There are so many sellers on Etsy with cool goodies. Here are some of my many favorites!

I gave super cute letterpressed desk calendars for Christmas gifts (seller ilee)

Oh course I needed a cute laptop bag for my Macbook (seller janinekingdesigns)

Oooh, a toss pillow for your sofa (seller joom)

Or how about super cool letterpressed invitations!!!! (seller invitedink)

Trust me…once you start on Etsy, you will get HOOKED!!!

Of course I am always on the hunt for something fun and new! So you can imagine my delight when I ran across these Yum Box Bridal Shower Invites by Jill Smith Designs at Plum Party.

It’s definitely not your average bridal shower invite. With it’s pink box, cute ring design, and fun candy inside…it will get your guests excited for what other goodies will be in store at the bridal shower. You know what they say; the invitation sets the tone for your whole party! Plus, who doesn’t love a boxed invite?

No bridal party plans in your future? Jill Smith has similar invites for baby showers, holiday parties, and other parties that you may want to throw!

Every year it’s the same thing…make New Year’s resolutions, then forget about them 3 weeks later. For 2008, I am determined to really stick to my resolutions! Maybe resolution is not the correct word choice, how about 2008 goals? Putting the goals in my blog will be a constant reminder to me, as well as holding me accountable to them. Okay, here goes:

1. Get more use out my Nikon by taking photography & photoshop at my local college

2. Work on designing my wedding album within the next 2 months

3. Completely redesign my website

4. Start taking a dance class again, so I can get a weekly workout

So that’s it! Whew, I feel much better now that I wrote them down and I know that everyone can see what I have vowed to do this year.

AND now for your viewing pleasure, here is a sneak peak of what I have been working on for Simply Modern Weddings! Can you guess what it is? More to come…

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!