It must be springtime! It’s that time of year where we start to see all of the cute shoes, accessories and other fun trends for the year out in full force! {Or maybe I just have a shopping itch that needs to be scratched. I’m not quite sure!} This week, I have fallen in love with an accessory line for brides that is affordable, glamorous and fun with hints of vintage fabulousness. If you’re on the hunt for accessories for your wedding day, you must check out Amanda Pearls’ Bridal Collection. Below are a few of my favorites but be sure to check out the web site for even more glamorous vintage inspired bridal accessories!

Amanda Pearl ~ Vintage Inspired Bridal Jewelry

Now, every girl has the right to change into more comfortable shoes at her reception. However, I have to admit that I’m not such a huge fan of flip-flops with a wedding dress, unless you’re on the beach. But I do understand that at some point those 4″ heels have to come off if you’re going to be able to get your groove on at your own reception. While out shopping for myself just the other day, I ran across these classy, fun, flat sandals at Macy’s. Not only are they cute, they’re comfy, too! {Somehow I resisted the urge to splurge and buy them for myself but they’ve been on my mind ever since} I think these are the perfect compromise for the bride who wants to change into a more comfortable shoe for the evening. The name of these shoes? Steve Madden “Bride”. Go get ‘em girls!

I’ve been running behind on these! Rachel & Tyson joined the 2 Chic Family almost 2 months ago and we are so excited to be working with them. Here’s there story!

Rachel and Tyson {who are incredibly adorable as you can see!} will be tying the knot on April 24th at one of the most gorgeous locations that I have ever had the pleasure of working at! Picture this: A hilltop estate overlooking green rolling hills, a lake view and a beautifully perfect oak tree as the ceremony backdrop accented by bright spring colors! {Just in case you’re having trouble picturing it, I added a few photos below!} It couldn’t be a more perfect setting for a fun, loving couple to share such a special day with friends and family. And we can’t wait to be a part of it!

Rachel and Tyson are a match made in heaven! The two of them just ran their first half marathon together recently and are truly teammates in every sense of the word. I love the way Rachel lights up when she talks about becoming Tyson’s wife and I adore her cute little countdown to wedding day on facebook! And, as always I feel blessed to be a part of it! Thank you Rachel & Tyson!

In honor of a pending visit this week, I wanted to show some love to my wonderful clients, Kami & Dan. I am so looking forward to spending some time with Kami firming up the details of their beautiful, intimate and ambient wedding at The Harvest Inn in St. Helena this September. Cake tasting, floral consultations, decor design, and finding the perfect person to officiate ~ so much to do together!

Kami & Dan live in the Los Angeles area, which some of you may know is my home turf! Therefore,  I was fortunate to be able to meet with Kami face to face for the first time during my visit to Los Angeles last November. As soon as we met,  I knew that we were going to get along just great and when I got the email from Kami on my way home {just a few hours later} that she wanted to work with me I was thrilled! She definitely has a true appreciation for all things pretty! I love to receive inspiration photos from my clients that we can use as a style guideline and turn into something unique and personalized to them. Kami has given me plenty to work with and I love it! She’s up for a few DIY personal touches and totally into some designer styled elements as well. Perfect!

Thank you so much for enlisting our services Kami & Dan! We can’t wait to see this beautiful wedding come to life! Here’s a photo of the two of them just after their engagement.

The Vendors Perspective, continued! This time by my wonderful and talented friend Jackie of Jacqueline Photography. The cool thing about Jackie’s post is that she tells it both from the perspective of a recent bride, and the perspective of a vendor {who has to set her camera down much too often to take care of a coordinators responsibilities}. I was a bridesmaid in Jackie’s wedding and helped as much as I could  ~ but from that position I wasn’t able to do much on the day of, unfortunately!  Jackie is one of many brides who, in hindsight, regrets not hiring a coordinator. And now, she’s a vendor who can truly appreciate what we do and how it allows her to do a better job of capturing your day! Check out her perspective below:

Before I got into the wedding industry, I was under the impression that wedding coordinators were for the brides with huge budgets and elaborate designs.  Being a bride myself {almost 2 years ago} I was the “do it yourself” bride and wanted to be in control of everything. Besides, I had seen so many ideas and have a ton of great friends in the industry! I kept telling myself I can totally pull this off myself!

Well, the day came and I felt like my wedding was the most unorganized wedding EVER.  Everyone was coming to me asking me questions about this, that and another and by that point I didn’t care anymore! I just wanted to focus on my soon-to-be husband, Scott.  With Aimee as one of my bridesmaids, there was only so much she could do, although in the grand scheme of things she really did help a lot. Looking back I wish I would have just bit the bullet and hired a coordinator {at least for the day of} so that I could have handed everything to them a few days before our wedding and been able to enjoy the day a little more.

Now being a wedding professional myself, I HEART wedding coordinators!  When I learn that one of my couples has a coordinator {and I’m talking about someone they hired, not one that is included with your venue}, I know that the wedding is going to flow smoothly and be pretty darn close to if not right on schedule.  In addition, I know that I will be photographing the gorgeous details that the coordinator pulled together that will reflect the couple’s personalities.

A lot of times the photographer has to play the role of coordinator, helping to dress the bride, find the bouquets, pin the boutonnieres, showing the bride and groom how to cut their cake, tracking down the toss bouquet and pulling a chair on the dance floor for the garter toss, just to name a few.  We don’t mind doing these tasks. However, we are forced to set our cameras down while doing these tasks and therefore we’re not taking pictures.

The truth is, hiring a coordinator can actually save you money on your wedding as well.  They work with many top professionals in the wedding industry and know which vendors to recommend to their brides based on their personalities and budget. A lot of times vendors will have special pricing for coordinators which saves you money, too.  Not every coordinator is the same though! You should choose one who you feel comfortable with, who you could see yourself being friends with. This way you will be able to express your vision to them easier and trust that they will make it happen!

Thanks Jackie! We HEART you, too! Check out Jackie’s amazing work!

We are very excited to announce our latest news: The launch of our Bridal Bliss Workshop, an educational, interactive lunch-and-learn workshop for brides!

Imagine all of the on-line research, wedding planning books, binders and tools all delivered to you in a simple format during an educational workshop where you’ll learn how to negotiate, organize, save time and money, choose the right vendors and pull it all together. The best part, this workshop will turn the planning process into a stress-free, fun process {rather than an overwhelming world of unknowns!}. This is your time to enjoy being engaged ~ Learn how you can make that possible, all while planning the wedding of your dreams! And, in Workshop II, 3 of the areas top designers will work with 20 brides only in an intimate session where we’ll work with you on bringing your wedding design dream to life! More information below and on our Bridal Bliss Web Page!

WORKSHOP I: Planning and Budgeting ~ Simplifying and Streamlining the Process {11:00 am ~ 2:00 pm ~lunch provided}

What You’ll Learn

• How to save money on nearly every line item in your budget sheet without compromising quality
• Brides’ biggest budgeting missteps: How to avoid them and maximize your bottom line
• Avoiding last minute unexpected costs. Contracts explained, pitfalls unveiled!
• How to cut down on the time {and running around} you’ll spend on planning
• Where you absolutely should NOT compromise when booking vendors {because it WILL compromise your entire wedding}
• Alternative techniques to negotiating with your vendors {What you should be asking for rather than a “discount”}: How using the right language can get you far
• What are the most important, valuable questions to ask each and every vendor?
• Helping your vendors help you. Become a decisive, educated and organized bride!
• Ensuring that your wedding day goes smooth ~ EVERY base you need to cover in advance
• How to build a realistic “Day Of” timeline that won’t have you stressed out and leaves you plenty of time to look beautiful!
• Much, much more!

What You’ll Receive

• Lunch provided by Sacramento’s Premier Wedding Caterers
• All of the tools necessary to start you on your path to planning your dream wedding, including Planning Checklists, Timelines and Vendor Questionnaires to guide you along the way
• Vendor Referrals to some of Sacramento’s greatest resources that you may not know about!
• A gift bag filled with coupons from local vendors valued at over $1,000!

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WORKSHOP II: Designing and Personalizing your Dream Wedding! {3:00-5:00, following Bridal Bliss Workshop}:

Three of the industry’s top designers will work with 20 brides only in an intimate class setting to create an inspiration board and refined design for your wedding that you can take with you! Want a polished, professionally designed look for your wedding? This workshop will allow you to work with our expert designers in a closed session where we will turn your vision into planned perfection! Act fast if you want to be a part of this one! Space is very limited!

What You’ll Learn

• Achieving a cohesive overall “Look and Feel” for your wedding: Pulling it all together
• How to infuse your personalities and interests into your wedding with class and elegance
• Color Selections, bringing your bridesmaid dresses, linens and flowers to a happy, unified place!
• Lighting, how to get a great deal on the least expensive way to dress up your event!
• How to incorporate a “theme” into your event ~ unexpected places to add personal touches
• How to design a floorplan that will ensure that your event “flows” nicely and looks fabulous ~ Placement is key!

What You’ll Receive

• Materials to help you define your inspiration (fabric swatches, photos, bling and more!}
• A take home inspiration board that we’ll assemble with you containing all of the elements of your beautifully refined, fully designed wedding!
• One on one advice from each of our 3 experts
• Additional coupons for lighting packages and more!
• A free gift from our designers for you to take home!

After reading a blog post by a photographer in Houston about why she recommends that her couples hire a wedding planner, I was inspired to gain that point of view myself from vendors in every category. We all know that I think a Wedding Planner is a must ~ but when I read this article from a different angle, it shed a whole new light on the subject that I think really states it best!  {I was also flattered to hear how much we are appreciated by vendors!} So, here we go! First up. Audrey Gardmeyer of Botanica Floral Designs tells it from her point of view:

I think that much too often these days the concept of hiring a wedding planner to help plan the biggest day of your life is overlooked.  Because we have instilled that D-I-Y is a good idea, more and more brides are taking on a task they just can’t handle.  I have worked many weddings with wedding planners, as well as weddings where the bride or a friend helps plan their wedding.  The results just aren’t the same.  Here are some of the specific reasons I, as a vendor, prefer to work with wedding planners:

•   The client’s overall look and decor is better designed.  A wedding planner is going to help their client make the right choices when it comes to linen options, china, draping and other key elements to making their wedding spectacular.  Specifically when it comes to flowers, I know that when I work with a wedding planner my flowers are going to be featured and complimented by the linen choices, “fitting in” with the grand scheme of things.

•   Better communication.  In the beginning stages if a bride has hired a “full-service” experience, the wedding planner is able to guide their client into editing and fine-tuning what exactly they are looking for prior to our initial consultation.  This helps direct the bride and start thinking of ideas prior to our meeting, as well as addresses budget and what is realistic for what they are looking for.

•   Organized experience.  Let’s face it, leading up to the wedding, it is chaotic for a bride, especially if you are the only one handling details.  As a vendor, it can be frustrating trying to get the delivery times, and other essential pieces of information from an unorganized client.  Things also run as planned and on time with a coordinator.  Parents don’t run behind schedule, brides are on time, and there is a much better organized show.  Especially with a dual-location set-up, an expected timeline is essential in making our delivery and service run smoothly.

Most brides think that they are saving on cost by not hiring a wedding planner, but in actuality, they save on cost and quality when they do hire one.  Your wedding planner is going to know the best quality vendors and who has the best price point.  The homework is already done.  Think of the time and effort you will save by not having to do the research yourself!  I know with my business that I am much more likely to extend discounts and incentives to clients working with planners because I know that the process is going to be much smoother and well-orchestrated. If you are considering hiring a planner to help with the biggest day of your life, I strongly suggest doing so.  In the end it will save time, money and stress!

{Thanks Audrey! We heart you!}

Finally, it’s here! Charity and Frank’s Wedding, which was planned by 2Chic Events & Design and filmed for WeTV’s show, Platinum Weddings will be airing on Sunday, April 18th at 6pm. We are so excited and hope that everyone will take a moment to watch this amazing wedding come to life for TV viewers to see!

Honestly, we’re more than a little excited about the airing of this show! I hope that each and every vendor who worked on this wedding enjoys even greater success than they have already achieved!

Cheers!