Well, I have to admit…this is the first time I actually cried while viewing sneak peek photos from one of our weddings! I have never seen a smile so bright on a bride and, well, it just hit a l’il soft spot in me. It totally made my day to see this sure sign of how happy they were on their wedding day! And, I thank Carmen Salazar for capturing the emotion so perfectly!

Amira and Jon {who were married on June 26th} hold a very special place in my heart. I worked closely with both of them during the planning process {although it all was planned in just 4 months!} and really and truly enjoyed the time we spent together. They even made me dinner one night, which I thought was incredibly sweet! They are two people that I hope to cross paths with often in my future! Below is a sneak peek photo of the happy couple with a lot more to follow!

Mmm, mmmm, mmmm! We sure are pleased with the results of our “Beach Chic” table photo shoot. This design, which was inspired by my trip to Mexico last December, centered around a very contemporary, clean look with a color palette of steel gray and white. Check out the photos, the story of how it came to life and the credits to the most amazing contributors below, including Kristy Huston, who captured the essence of the table perfectly!!

I started out by purchasing the centerpiece vase at a local outlet ~ It was a perfect fit with its rippled water-like finish to it. And then it was onto the flowers! Audrey from Botanica Floral Designs and I were on the same page when it came to the centerpiece construction. We wanted to do something that gave the look of coral, for which we chose white manzanita. We then added some elegance to it with white orchids and other very fresh feeling flowers, which reminded me of the crisp ocean air. 

Mimi & Co provided us with the custom linens and chair sashes, and I must say, they were delicious! Although I’m typically not a huge fan of pintuck linens, I loved the idea of incorporating that look in a cap on this table due to its’ strong resemblance to fishing net. Classic Party Rentals contributed the glassware, flatware and chivari chairs. And, Simply Elegant Rentals & Decor was sweet enough to loan me my favorite china, which we topped off with custom designed menus from Bella Vita Invitations.  Extra special thanks go to Kristy Huston for the amazing photography and Shannon Hall for letting us crash {one of my personal faves} Scott’s Seafood/LeRivage on the River, the perfect location to shoot this table!

Hope you enjoyed it!

We are beyond thrilled to share this with you ~ something that has been in the works for quite some time now! About 3 months ago, a  local videographer {whom I hadn’t met yet, but was extremely intrigued by after our connection on Twitter} posted this: “Any chic wedding planners out there  want a  promo video for their web site?”. I quickly responded with “I do, I do!” and so began the collaborative effort between Jessica Ringor of Lovespun Films and 2Chic Events & Design. Our goal: create a promo video that was not only outside of the box, but simply chic, fabulously unique and superbly styled. I think we hit the nail on the head, to say the least! We can’t even begin to thank Jessica enough for her creative talent ~ and we were also extremely blessed with the most amazing team of vendors whose contributions made this a success {see below}.

This video will now live on the 2Chic Welcome Page, along with credits to some of the most amazing vendors a planner could ever be blessed to be with working with! Mad love goes out to Beth Sogaard Catering, Botanica Floral Designs, Dreamnette Bridal, Image Provocateur, Jacqueline Photography,  Lovespun Films, Karmere Winery, Mimi & Company {ahh-mazing linens} and Simply Elegant Rentals &  Decor {China, Glassware, etc}. Aside from our amazing vendor team, we must also thank our adorable couple, Jessica & Nolan who helped make this video cute as a bug! We double filmed this video as a Save the Date as our thank you to them ~ see that video here!

I’ve determined that I just can’t hang on to this crazy cool creative material any longer! So, we’ve decided to leak a sneak peek photo to you, compliments of Jacqueline Photography. A few weeks ago, we got together with an incredible group of local professionals who helped us bring our vision of a vintage chic styled promotional video to life. And, even better ~ the amazing videographer behind the camera, Jessica of Lovespun Films, double filmed it as a Save the Date for the couple that blessed us with their incredible acting and modeling skills!

Jessica & Nolan will be married in 2011 and can I just say that they are smokin’ hot??!!! {do I even have to tell you that? Just look at them!} This shoot was styled by yours truly, and the entire shoot centered around the red convertible bug, which I had one heck of a time finding and an even harder time returning afterward {MUST HAVE RED CONVERTIBLE BUG!} More photos, video and vendor love coming soon!

I am so excited to share a few of the many amazing photos from Veronica and Dave’s May 22nd wedding ~ which was kicked off with an extremely personalized and sweet ceremony at Westminster Presbyterian, followed by a stunning reception at The Sutter Club in Sacramento. We truly had an amazing time working on this wedding! How could we not with such an amazing couple {seriously ~ we love, love, loved them!} and some of Sacramento’s best in place?

Matt Brys of Extreme Productions rocked it out that night providing DJ services, John Decker was behind the camera capturing the beauty of the event and Jensen Wedding Films got it all on film! With beautiful decor provided by Design with Florae, Mimi & Company, Invitations Ink and yours truly, 2Chic Events & Design you just couldn’t go wrong! Thanks to the entire team and my girls Becca & Michele for a seriously flawless event!

Meet Amira & Jon, {with photos compliments of the amazing Carmen Salazar} who will be getting married in just a few short weeks, on June 26th. Amira and I met about 4 months ago, at the very beginning of their wedding planning stages and we instantly clicked! Soon after, I met Jon and they shared with me their story of a forbidden office romance which I thought was incredibly sexy cool! They just couldn’t resist!

Amira & Jon are two of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of working with. And, of course, they are madly in love and totally excited for their wedding later this month, which is sure to be amazing! I cannot wait to see the incredible vision for their wedding come to life, especially knowing that it will be beautifully captured by Carmen Salazar who gave us this little sneak peek of the engagement session {below}. Holy hotness!

Today I wanted to share a little bit of advice regarding the toasts that will inevitably occur at your wedding. I’ve experienced a few weddings recently where the toasts were exceedingly long-winded {I cringe when someone pulls out 3 typed pages!} and a few where there were so many toasts that I watched several guests leave after #7, 8 or 9. And, many times I’ve seen the open microphone toast stall the night for 30+ minutes, not only throwing off the timeline for the entire evening, but also cutting into the dancing time, putting the photographer and videographer in a time crunch to get their shots of the important moments {because they ran out of paid time} and generally boring the crowd into sleepiness.

These are the types of things that can make or break a reception. It can be extremely hard to get your guests to bounce back and hit the dance floor after a heavy meal followed by sitting for up to an hour. The evening needs to continue to flow if you want guests to stick around and have fun. Here are my personal suggestions for toasts:

1. Keep the number of people toasting to less than 5. Preferably 3 ~ Father of the bride {or the person walking her down the aisle}, The Best Man and Maid of Honor.

2. Coach your “Toasters” ~ remind them that this is a time to toast to the celebration, not to tell stories about drunken evenings in Mexico, how you escaped {or didn’t escape} getting arrested together, how the groom had the coolest mullet in school, etc. It’s certainly OK to talk about how you know each other or met and share one or two heartfelt, BRIEF moments of significance. But again, this isn’t story time and 7 minutes feels like 30 when you’re in the crowd, seated after a heavy meal.

3. If you MUST have more than 5 toasts or feel like an open microphone is absolutely necessary, do it at the rehearsal dinner. During the rehearsal dinner there is no anticipation of the next activity to come ~ therefore, people are much more patient and receptive. It’s also a more intimate environment where the toasts can be appreciated so much more. Best of all, you’re not paying your vendors to wait through the toasts, potentially missing shots of your first dance, cake cutting or garter/bouquet toss.

Just my two cents! Cheers!

Well, We are super excited to say the least! We have been voted #1 Best Wedding Planner in Sacramento by our beloved clients and colleagues! It means so much to us to be voted #1. Much love to our clients and friends. Please feel free to stop in and check out our page on the A-List web site to see some fantastic reviews! Congratulations to all of the other wonderful wedding vendors who were voted #1 in their respective categories as well!

THANK YOU so much to everyone who voted for us! We love you, too!

Ummm, yes. I did drool on this photo when I saw it! Aaron Draper of Draper Studios has pretty much knocked my socks off with this one and I can hardly sleep waiting to see the rest! Rachel & Tyson’s wedding on April 24th was absolutely beautiful in every way, and they are a couple that I will never forget. The rainy weather broke just long enough to give them a beautiful day with periods of stunningly dramatic sky! They were wonderful to work with from beginning to end ~ the type of couple that I hate to say goodbye to so quickly. Although, we will surely keep in touch! Stand by for more photos next week!

Today, my inspiration comes from one of my favorite movies ~ Walk the Line. I’m a sucker for a turbulent love story ~ so of course I loved the movie! And, well…in real life, I cried when Johnny died. I loved him like I knew him. His music has been integrated into so many parts of my life, especially as a youngster growing up in the country. Yes, I was country when country wasn’t cool. What can I say?

My husband and I share some serious country roots and a deep-seated love for Johnny and June. We’ve even dressed as them for Halloween. But, surprisingly it was my husbands idea to incorporate this love into our {someday} vow renewals or the celebration of our 10th anniversary, where we will undoubtedly be going back to our roots. Will this work on the beach in Mexico? We shall see and I can’t wait!

The inspiration board below is based on one of my favorite icons, one of my favorite movies and my husband’s sweet thoughts of our pending celebrations. I would have loved to have seen June wearing yellow {although she looked good in just about anything}. I was also drawn to wildflowers, woodsy accents that remind me of Tennessee, vintage guitars, home made jams and pie ~ and one smokin’ hot cowboy! Enjoy y’all!

Sources: Once Wed, Not Martha, Night Owl Paper Goods