Ohh…I just LOVE these!! Thank you to our wonderful clients from 2009 that took the time to go out and review our services – helping us to become one of the most recognized (and loved) wedding planners in Sacramento! Reading these reviews always warms my heart! We love each and every one of our clients and are always thrilled to hear how the experience of working with us was for them.

See more reviews of 2Chic Events and Design on Project Wedding.

See more reviews of 2Chic Events and Design on Project Wedding.

See more reviews of 2Chic Events and Design on Project Wedding.

Last month, we attended an exquisite evening at Arden Hills Resort Club and Spa, for the incredible Beyond Platinum showcase! Some of the top wedding service providers in the area gathered together to showcase their amazing products, services and skills! Talk about Glamorous! We were very lucky to attend this event and see the latest trends is dresses, floral design, table settings and overall decor. I must have taken a million pictures – below are a few that will give you an idea of just how amazing it was. Featured in these photos: Mimi & Co, Botanica Floral Designs, Ambience Floral Designs, Bella Bloom, Miosa Couture, Party Concierge and probably a few more that I failed to mention..

Five Ways to Save Money

• Pare your guest list. It’s the best way to trim costs across the board. If you’re having a $100-a-head reception and you invite 25 fewer guests, you’ll instantly save $2,500. For help deciding who should stay and who should go, follow Marino’s rule of thumb: “Invite only the people you think you will know and be friends with in five years.”
• Take the show on the road. You’re from a big urban metropolis; your fiance is from a small city or town. As long as it doesn’t unduly inconvenience any one side of the family, consider having the wedding in the smaller city. Weddings in Portland, Oregon, for example, average about $25,000 — about half the price of a San Francisco shindig.
• Hire a planner. Here’s a case where it might pay to spend a tad more money. A well-connected insider can often get discounts by negotiating with vendors. At the very least, the cash you save may well pay for her fee. Just be up-front about how much you can afford before enlisting a planner.
• Trim a bit here, a bit there. A little scrimping across the board can add up to big savings overall. Besides, your guests likely won’t notice — or care — if you skip the printed programs, shorten the cocktail hour by 15 minutes, or forgo elaborate altar decorations.
• Seek out unexpected sources. If you are very close to family members outside your immediate family, you may be able to ask for their help. Your grandmother, for instance, might be willing to pay for your wedding cake or your gown in lieu of a wedding gift. “Don’t put anyone on the spot,” says Marino, “but do get creative.”

From Martha Stewart Weddings

2009 was the year to do something different with your place card displays! Each and every client of mine who chose assigned seating was looking to do something unique to direct their guests to their tables. From peaches picked off of a tree to a crystal wall with place cards attached and an old re-purposed shutter, we created some really cool displays! My favorite? The old shutter, which was pretty much junk when I picked it up at an antique store. After some restoration, paint and sprucing up with a crystal doorknob and floral embellishments, it was definitely chic and unique! The best part? I am now using it for Christmas cards..super fun!

While passing through Los Angeles on our recent trip to Mexico, I (of course!) picked up a bridal magazine that I had yet to come across here locally ~ and I found it to contain some of the most stylish and impressive wedding designs and ideas I’ve seen in a long time! Below is a Vintage Brooch Bouquet that I fell in love with! I mean…seriously?! This is off the hook! Not only does it stand out as a unique bridal bouquet, but you can truly save it forever! Or, what I thought might be fun is to pass the brooches on as gifts to mothers, grandmothers, sisters ~ or even your bridesmaids after the wedding. What better way to share a piece of your wedding day and and have it remembered forever as you pass these brooches down through generations. Love, love, love this!!!! I can’t wait to encounter a bride bold enough to hold this while walking down the aisle. Check out more photos of these amazing bouquets on Fantasy Floral Designs’ web site! I’ll share more amazing inspirations from the magazine soon!

Ahhh~mazing Brooch Bouquet!

A bevy of vintage brooches compose a startlingly beautiful bouquet that is utterly unique to the bride who holds it.Amanda Heer of Fantasy Floral Designs will take the miniature metal components of your choice and fashion a one-of-a-kind design for your wedding day. You can provide the necessary elements, or commission Ms. Heer to select them for you; either way, your exquisite bouquet will be completely beyond compare. Pricing starts at $300 and varies upon design; fantasyfloraldesigns.com, 949.240.3571.

Have you ever wanted to be in the pages of a magazine?

Well, then you need to enter our cover model contest!

Each issue, hundreds of local area brides enter to be one of our three cover model finalists.

Are you interested in entering? If so, click here to download our entry form — hurry, we need to have all entries need to be in by February 1, 2010!

If you’re going to enter…one word of advice, show us your personality on the answers to the questions — we love working with brides who have a lot of spunk, personality, humor and who are just darned cool girls. Be sure that your answers really reflect who you are! Oh, and don’t forget to include photos that really show your personality coming through as well!

Also, be sure to read all of the rules to make sure that you’re eligible to enter.

For more about Real Weddings Magazine, log on tohttp://www.realweddingsmag.com/.

Winter 2010 Cover of Real Weddings Magazine featuring cover model winner Kimmi Armstrong. Photo by Jodi Yorston Photography, dress from The Bridal Box, flowers by Botanica Floral Designs, hair and make-up by Image Provocateur/VIP-CAT Academy.

As you may know, 2Chic Events & Design was a featured Wedding Planner on an episode of the WEtv show Platinum Weddings, which will air this spring! Recently, I came a across a blog post by a local magazine publisher highlighting this amazing wedding. I thought I would share not only the blog post (which compared this wedding to the styling seen in Grace Ormonde – the biggest compliment EVER) but also the email that I subsequently received from the magazine editor after I commented on her blog, thanking her for posting our wedding!

Hi Aimee,
My name is Haley Myers and I am editor of Our Wedding magazine. You commented on my blog post about the Sigrist wedding, which looks just breathtaking. I think this is the first time I’ve seen your work, but honestly, I am so blown away, and so so glad to have discovered someone of your caliber in the Sacramento area.

Here is the blog post!

So…Sacramento, moving up in the world, eh? Another“Platinum Weddings” episode was recently filmed in our humble town at Arden Hills. The couple? Frank and Charity Sigrist. The photographer? Christopher Kight. The wedding planner? Aimee Wendell of 2Chic Events and Design. The result? AMAZING. Incredible. Grace Ormonde incredible. I am wowed. Thanks to Frank for contacting me. This is also on my list for considerations for real weddings in our next issue! For more info and some more glimpses into this spectacular Sacramento wedding, look at Audrey of Botanica Floral Design’s blog. Ah-ah-mazing.

http://www.sacmag.com/media/Our-Wedding/Sacramento-Wedding-Blog/December-2009/Sacramento-Sees-Another-Platinum-Wedding/

During our recent trip to Mexico, we discovered oh so many reasons why it is beneficial to plan a destination wedding! Aside from the knock-your-socks off scenic backdrops that many locations offer, here are some other reasons to plan your wedding (or let us do it!) away from home!

1. Avoiding “Local Stress” ~ Guests coming into town, their accommodations, family being involved, overwhelming yourself with entertaining out of town guests while prepping for your big day and the million questions that everyone will undoubtedly be calling you with because you live here! ~

2. Cost Savings ~ Did you know that with the right connections, you can get flowers for 50% less than what you would pay in the US in many destinations, such as Mexico? Another plus: some hotels will waive your site fees when you meet their room block minimums. Negotiating power is tremendous as well and in the slow seasons you can get amazing deals! ~

3. Multi-Day celebrations with your closest friends and family made easy ~ It’s easy to plan the entertainment for your friends and family in a destination locale – with so much to do, and hotels at the ready to assist – you can create an “experience” for your guests beginning upon their arrival and ending with a brunch before your honeymoon departure. From a spa days to scuba diving and historical tours, it’s all easily attainable! ~

4. Wedding to honeymoon transition ~ You may want to switch hotels to escape to your own private romantic location, but your wedding destination spot will likely be a great honeymoon spot as well! ~

5. Weather ~ The weather in most destination spots during March or November is much better that what we typically experience here in the US! This opens you up to more possibilities for your wedding date. It also allows you and your guests to enjoy the outdoor activities that everyone loves while taking in the incredible scenery. ~

While perusing the web today, I was surprised to find 2Chic featured in a few places that I didn’t even know about! This past summer, we planned Sarah and Heath’s mid-town Sacramento wedding, followed by their Wilton reception, on Heath’s parents ranch. This wedding was definitely one of our favorites of the year! Today I realized that we had been featured on Real Weddings Magazines on-line gallery! Sarah and Heath were such a pleasure to work with! I’m thrilled to see their story featured on-line! Take a peek to read more about their wedding and to see the Real Weddings feature ~ amazing photography by Jacqueline Photography!

This week, I have the pleasure of familiarizing myself with one of the most sought after destination wedding spots. Mexico! Thanks to the Association for Wedding Professionals, along with Love Mexico, 100+ wedding planners and travel agents are here this week to tour the local hotels and resorts to find the best wedding locations for our destination clients! From the Riviera Maya, to Tulum and Cancun, we are visiting some of the hottest properties and meeting with local resources that can help us make your destination wedding a success! I am totally impressed with what we’ve seen and how much the hotels and vendors here in Mexico “get it”! I’m posting a few photos but will have lots more to share once I am back in the states on Tuesday so keep an eye out! Adios for now!

Boutique Hotel in Tulum

Riviera Maya Hotel