A Divine Occasion: a divine-occasion

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Sunday, June 24, 2012

Jeri and Eric's Wedding: Part 2

Presenting...Part 2 of Jeri and Eric's wedding! Planning two weddings at the same location for two sisters, all within a six-month time period was an incredible challenge, but we managed to pull it off with style! Speaking of style, Jeri really had a strong sense of style and wanted her wedding to be very romantic, but with 1920's glamour. She did not want anything too girlie, but strong with a touch of elegance. She wanted soft, flowering fabric and crystal to create a romantic, glowing effect. Jeri and Eric also wanted long tables to create more of a family style atmosphere. With her parents large yard, that was easy to create.

We focused on all shades of white and cream with candles, fabric and crystal and transformed the back yard into a dreamy, romantic atmosphere. We used bold tones with gold, silver and bronze and softened the look with pearls and lace. Bronze table cloths from Wildflower Linen, with an elegant lace cap allowed the lush cream and white flowers with pearls to pop! This, combined with amazing lighting from BIG Production made the backyard spectacular! Building the ceremony under a large Ficus tree with a fabric arch and crystal chandelier balls made for a dramatic setting for the ceremony and the wedding cake display during the reception.

The ceremony and reception turned out to be gorgeous and emotional! Eric's swim coach, Kris Kubik, was ordained especially for the ceremony and he took a moment to honor Eric's father, who passed away a year ago from cancer. It was a very meaningful end to a beautiful new beginning!

Wedding Planner: a Divine-Occasion
Photographer: Cean One Photography
Videographer: Mission Visual
Catering: Choura Events
Bakery: Great Dane Baking
Bar Service: La Bodega
Florist: Bliss Floral
Rentals: ANZA Party Rentals, AFR, United Site Services, BIG Production
Linens: Wildflower Linen
Stationary: Delights and Invites
Calligrapher: Gigi Moss
Entertainment: Wayne Foster Music and Entertainment
Hair and Makeup: Karen Allen Salon and Spa
Transportation: Sunset Parking Service, Gemstar Limo

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Jeri and Eric's Wedding: Part 1

Jeri and Eric met on the swim team at Auburn University when they were both freshman, where they developed a close friendship and four years later began dating. Eric is a 2008 Olympian and cancer survivor. During the summer of 2008, he achieved his dream of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team. On June 19, 2008, just one week before the trials, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Eric was able to delay surgery to compete in the Olympic Games where he swam a personal best time in the 200 meter breaststroke.

Currently, Eric trains under Dave Salo with the pro team at the University of Southern California. He spends his extra time working as a LIVESTRONG Envoy for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and enjoying his new life with Jeri. He is an advocate for cancer awareness and travels the country giving motivational speeches to swimmers, students, business professionals, and fundraisers.

Because we did Jeri's sister, Casey and brother-in-law Brando's wedding (as seen previously on our blog), Jeri and Eric wanted something completely different since several guests would attend both weddings. Two weddings for two sisters within six months was a challenge, but we pulled it off! It was so interesting to finish Casey and Brando's wedding and then go straight into planning Jeri and Eric's wedding. Even though it was the same venue, it was a completely different look.

Stay tuned next week for Part 2 of Jeri and Eric's wedding with more beautiful photos by Cean One Photography!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Caroline and Elias Part 2: The Ceremony

Caroline was such a relaxed and tasteful bride! She was so open to every creative idea we proposed, it was like planning our own dream wedding! The tone was set with acrylic invites by Lil K Design and Caroline's wish that everything be very vibrant and colorful. She wanted to be the only person wearing white for her special day. Caroline and Elias also knew immediately that they wanted the Montage in Laguna. The ocean front and prestigious venue was a perfect match for their guests coming from all over the world to celebrate with them. Jaime and Olivia from the Montage were amazing to work with! Their professionalism made my job easy.

Melissa from Flowers by Cina, once again, blew me away with her completely innovative outside the box floral design. I knew Melissa would be a perfect match for Caroline and Elias, because she does events on such a grand scale with Disney and we needed creativity with no drama! She knocked it out of the park by incorporating all those vibrant colors into a completely elegant look.

Duke Photography and his staff were also fantastic. They were there from the beginning to end and made the entire process seamless. We had a red carpet step and repeat wall upon arrival for all guests to stop and take photos like they were walking the red carpet to a major event. From the moment they got out of their car they were pampered with a breathtaking view, passed Bellinis, Cosmos, Lemon Drops and warm sunshine.

Caroline and Elias' ceremony was so beautiful. They selected the amazing Rev. Clint Huft to officiate their wedding. He tied many traditions into the ceremony and I loved how they had their wedding party participate with a reading from Antoine de Saint-Exupery "The Little Prince, " Plus a reading by Judith Viorst: "Infatuation is when you think he's as sexy as Robert Redford, as smart as Henry Kissinger, as noble as Ralph Nader, as funny as Woody Allen, and as athletic as Jimmy Conners. Love is when you realize that he's as sexy as Woody Allen, as smart as Jimmy Connors, as funny as Ralph Nader, as athletic as Henry Kissinger and nothing like Robert Redford — but you'll take him anyway."

Music was also very important to Caroline and Elias. They had a solo guitarist for the ceremony and cocktail hour on the lawn overlooking the ocean. He played contemporary, classical and jazz. The passed appetizers after the ceremony were tasty and beautiful and consisted of Tuna Tartar, Thai Spring Rolls, Lamb Kebabs, Mini Beef Sliders, Bruschetta, Goat Cheese Tuile and Fingerling Twice-Baked Potatoes....this all before an amazing 4-course served dinner!

Wedding Planner: a Divine-Occasion
Florist: Flowers by Cina
Photographer: Duke Photography
Venue: Montage Laguna Beach
Stationary: Li-K Designs
Catering: The Montage and In-n-Out Burger
Cake: The Montage
Linens: Wildflower Linen and Fusion Linen
Videography: Elysium Productions
Decor: Barker Decor Service, Inc. and Dazian Rentals
Beautician: Andrea Buhler Hair and Make-up
Cake Stand: EventLuxe Acrylic Cake Stands
Entertainment (DJ): Invisible Touch
Lighting: Five Star Audio Visual
Officiant: Rev. Clint Hufft
Photobooth: Elegant Fondue and Photobooths
Rehearsal Dinner Venue/Catering: Choura Special Events Catering
Rental Supplies: AFR Event Furnishings and Baker Party Rentals
Seamstress: A Stitch in Time

Monday, January 2, 2012

Happy New Year!

Photo by Duke Images

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Sara and Chad's St. Regis Wedding

After meeting Sara for the first time, Chad immediately called his mother and told her he had met his wife. Sara and Chad began dating two weeks later and they were engaged within seven months!

Sara and Chad are so much fun to be around and are always the life of the party! Chad graduated from The Second City, the prestigious training ground for the best in comedy like Bill Murray, Gilda Radner and Tina Fey. And Sara is a professional dancer who has danced and performed for Di sney in Tokyo.

Sara loves to travel and Chad wanted to incorporate that into their engagement, so he arranged the proposal to happen as a "Half Birthday Trip Around the World." He took Sara to 17 countries through gifts, activities, restaurants and chocolates by Vosges Chocolatier. Chad asked Sara to marry him at El Matador beach in Malibu at sunset, where he had arranged for a hidden photographer to capture the moment and a limo to take them to Spago for dinner. They ended their trip around the world back home on the rooftop of Chad's Hollywood apartment by sending fire lanterns into the night sky.

Sara and Chad's wedding at The St. Regis was absolutely stunning! Beautiful white feathers were incorporated into several design elements leading up to White Flite's spectacular release of doves at the ceremony! Flowers by Cina designed Sara's bouquet with gorgeous feather accents and even the cake by Rockwell Cafe and Bakery was personally designed to go with the theme, with just touches of feather accents and two layers with the rosette design of Sara's dress.