My 3rd Wedding Anniversary!

Photo Credit: Sanford Barr

My hubby and I are celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary on Monday, June 2nd. We will be going off-island tonight for a much needed 3-day/3-night mini vacation. I won't have my laptop with me, and the cell phone signal at the resort is pretty much non-existent. Maybe that's what I need, some R&R, so I can get totally recharged before all the summer weddings are here. Whew...

I will have a full report of our trip when I return on Tuesday, June 3rd. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Sarafina and Paul's Scouting Trip

Photo Credit: Honua Kai Lani

I had a great time today showing the Sugarman Estate to Sarafina and Paul from Southern California. They are such a sweet couple and I can't wait to work on the decor with Sarafina. There is this specific tent that she loves and it will look absolutely amazing under the stars at this location. We will be talking about flowers and linens tomorrow. YAY!

Featured Wedding - Beth and Alex

CHAIRS: Pacific Isle Rentals. FLORALS: Dellables. LINENS: Pacific Event Group, Inc. PHOTOS: John Henry Photography and Events by Evonne, LLC. LIGHTING: AV Services.

It was an absolute beautiful day today and everything was perfect... from the weather to the flowers to the matching linens to the wedding favors... Beth chose cymbidium green, lavender and ivory as her colors. I love all the open leis that were hanging from the ceremony chuppah, and the cute little lahala wedding favor boxes went so well with the green linens.

Guests had a choice of Filet Mignon, Island Fish or Chicken, with the 3-tier wedding cake as dessert. However, the bride and groom loved the bread pudding at the Seawatch and we ordered 2 just for them! Everyone had such a blast and they were on the dance floor for most of the evening.

Congratulations, Beth and Alex! Wish you both a lifetime of love and happiness!

Here are the rest of their non-professional pictures and professional pictures!

"Centerpiece & Place Setting of the Week"

Photo Credit: Wildflower Linen

The deep purple with rhinestones chair covers create an elegant look, and the sheer silver overlay on top of the rich purple linen set a romantic tone to the overall decor. The lovely glass centerpieces in 3 different heights are filled with purple, pink and lavender hue which complement the place setting very well.... absolutely gorgeous!

"A Wedding to Remember"

When my dad sent me an email earlier today with a subject of "A Wedding to Remember", I thought it would be some platinum wedding somewhere in New York, or Paris. But instead it was photos and description of this lovely Chinese couple taking wedding photos right outside of this church on the day of the Sichuan earthquake. Who would have known?!?!

Please see my translation below...

"5月12日，我陪朋友去彭州白鹿書院教堂拍攝外景婚紗，下午兩點開始拍攝，剛剛拍攝了幾張甜蜜的照片之後，劫難降臨。"

"On May 12th, I accompanied my friends to the hundred-year-old church at White-Deer College to take some outdoor wedding photos. A few minutes after they started the photo session at 2:00 pm, disaster struck."

"大量的石塊從教堂上面飛落，大地開始搖晃，這時候我們才意識到是地震發生了！因為已經無路可逃，所有人抱頭撲倒在空地上。"

"Debris from the church were falling and the ground started shaking. At that point, we just realized that it was an earthquake. Since there was nowhere to go, we braced ourselves and laid on the ground!"

"這座竣工整整百年的教堂頃刻之間化為了一片廢墟……"

"The church that had stood there for over a hundred years now became a pile of rubble in just a few minutes..."

"我們互相攙扶著環顧四周，幾乎不敢相信眼前的一切……"

"After the quake, we helped each other up and looked around our surroundings. We couldn't believe what we saw..."

This was a "before" and "after" shot of the 100-year-old church!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Having lived in "Earthquake Country" (both Northern and Southern California) myself for the past 18 years, I know what it's like when the big one hits. It's something you can never predict and you just have to be prepared for it.

Official figures state that 60,560 people are confirmed dead, including 55,239 in Sichuan province; 352,290 are injured and 26,221 missing. The earthquake left about 4.8 million people homeless. My thoughts and prayers are with those victims and their families.

Oh... my love for letterpress! =)

Photo Credit: Dauphine Press

Those of you who know me well know that I have been obsessed with letterpress invitations and stationery products for quite some time now. They are expensive to print, but yet they also look so elegant with the thick, heavy cardstock and the deep impression of the text and images. Just running my fingers through them gives me goosebumps! =)

If you are interested in them, you can check out the following stationers who offer letterpress printing:

• A Day in May
• Bella Figura
• Black Pearl Press
• Carrot & Stick Press
• Cheree Berry
• Delphine
• Egg Press
• Elizabeth Hubbell Studio
• Elum
• Ephemera Letterpress
• Good on Paper Design
• Hammerpress
• Ilee
• Louella Press
• Lucky Paperie
• Marsville Press
• Moontree Arts
• Mr. Boddington
• Oblation Papers
• Oslo Press
• Palindrome Press
• Papercup Design
• Paper Monkey Press
• Parklife Press
• Peculiar Pair Press
• Sesame Letterpress
• Smudge Ink
• Speak’s Letterpress
• Wiley Valentine

Here is a cool video of the 2 co-founders of Hello Lucky on their company as well as the letterpress technique and process...


Hello! Lucky from bliss productions on Vimeo.

Dining Canopies

Photo Credit: Michael Andrews

For those of my brides who are not doing the tent, these dining canopies are usually what they have in mind. I have to say... they are absolutely beautiful and dreamy-looking; however, I will only recommend them if the wedding is going to be (1) on the sunny side of the island, and (2) during our dry season, which is April through October. These canopies are definitely not waterproof!

There is so much you can do with these canopies - you can have colored fabrics to match your decor; you can add leis and crystals hanging from the top of the bamboo; you can have floral arrangements on each pole; you can hang cute little lanterns or fairy twinkle lights under each canopy... Again, the possibilities are endless. If you can dream it, we can probably do it! =)

Dessert Buffet... YUM!

Photo Credit: Dessert Comes First

Photo Credit: ME! (I took this from my friend's wedding in Bali)

For those of you who are not crazy about the traditional wedding cake (which is more for a photo opp than anything), a great alternative is the Dessert Buffet - or a chocolate buffet like the first photo above. That way you can give your guests choices on what kind of dessert they want since not everyone likes cakes, plus everyone will have a chance to get up and mingle over scrumptious desserts!

A few of my brides are actually doing the dessert buffet. Hmmm... that is dangerous! I better stay away from the buffet table! =)

Photo Booth

The latest trend in wedding reception is the photo booth. It creates a lot of entertainment and energy for the guests during the reception and it's just plain fun. You can have a photo contest, or use them as wedding favors or create a nice guest book at the end of the evening. Honestly, even the most camera shy person would love the photo booth.

From the Red Cheese Photo Booth in San Francisco, to the Blue Cheese Photo Booth on Oahu... you can possibly find a booth rental near your wedding location. Have fun and say CHEESE! =)

"Centerpiece & Place Setting of the Week"

Photo Credit: Colin Cowie

This week I have selected photos from Colin Cowie's niece's wedding. Usually, if there is a choice between white/off-white linens and colored linens, most brides would go for colored linens, hands down. But having vibrant colors of florals, table runners and napkins set on top of off-white linens with ivory chivari chair cushions can create a fine balance and nice contrast as well... absolutely stunning.

Eco Friendly Weddings

Here at Events by Evonne, we are very conscious about our environment and we hope that every wedding and events that we put together, we are being earth friendly. Here are some ideas that couples can adopt to make a difference:

1. Hold the ceremony and the reception at the same site to minimize driving. Or provide group transportation and encourage carpooling.
2. Plan your menu around local, organic and seasonal products.
3. Provide pitchers of water versus bottled water.
4. Donate leftover food to a shelter or food bank.
5. Choose a resort that gives you the option of not changing the sheets and towels daily.
6. Send electronic Save-the-Date cards.
7. If you'd prefer printed invites, opt for recyclable or handmade papers and use vegetable- or soy-based inks.
8. Use response postcards to eliminate an envelope.
9. Request that guests RSVP electronically.
10. Request e-contracts from your vendors.
11. Use a wedding website or blog to share event details, such as the itinerary, rehearsal dinner details and registry information as opposed to invitation inserts.
12. Make sure you use resources from your location. Anything you have to fly in is not really green. Local organic products are our best bet.
13. Take advantage of seasonal, indigenous plant life in decorations and bouquets.
14. Use natural materials, such as palm leaves, in lieu of ribbons and other synthetic materials.
15. Donate leftover flowers or centerpieces to churches or hospitals.
16. Take advantage of the beauty of the great outdoors and utilize it as much as you can as part of your decor.
17. Among the most popular green wedding favors are seeds, tree seedlings and other plantable products.
18. Send your guests off with a locally-produced treat such as chocolates.
19. Thank your bridal party with personalized reusable totes.
20. Make a donation to a nonprofit organization in honor of your guests. You can also register with many of these organizations in lieu of the traditional gift registry.
21. For your honeymoon, opt for ecotourism, travel that respects - and even benefits - the locals. Trips can range from relaxing to adventurous, and what better way to start you new adventure together?
    

Source: Destination I do

Jenna Bush Wedding

Photo Credit: Shealah Craighead - The White House

Jenna Bush, daughter of President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush, exchanged wedding vows with Henry Hager in an outdoor ceremony at the Bush family's Prairie Chapel Ranch near Crawford, Texas today. Rev. Kirbyjohn Caldwell performed the ceremony. Jenna's twin sister Barbara, was the maid of honor.

The bride wore a lovely beaded, embroidered Oscar de la Renta organza gown. It was simple yet elegant, and she looked absolutely beautiful. I love the silver chivari chairs... White House spokeswoman Sally McDonough said the colors – from the dresses to the décor – were selected to mirror the "very natural" colors of the central Texas landscape: the blues of the lake where Bush fishes for bass, the greens of Mrs. Bush's prized buffalo grass (native grass that she restored to the property) and the lavender, yellow and blue of the wildflowers.

My own wedding is featured on Project Wedding!

Even though my hubby and I will be celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary on June 2nd this year, it's so nice to see our wedding being featured on Project Wedding (the "MrsBabySalute" one) after all these years!

Thanks, Margaret and Joe!

The Special Event 2009

My good friend Debbie of Pacific Event Group just emailed me the link to The Special Event 2009, which will be held from January 27 through January 30, 2009 at the San Diego Convention Center. It's the world's largest trade show and convention for all event and wedding professionals. Since we are both in the wedding and event industry, we'd love to attend and it's going to be so much fun.

I can't even begin to imagine what it will be like going to this event with her and our other good friend Della of Dellables. We will be so excited that I don't think we can sleep at night 'cuz we'll be talking about flowers and linens and decor all day/night long! We will definitely be in 7th heaven!

Hmmm... we still have 8-1/2 months to think about it!

Inspiration #3

Photo Credit: Martha Stewart Weddings

I have always liked Martha Stewart. She can do everything from cooking, to baking, to gardening, designing, entertaining... Throughout the years from watching her TV show, I have learned so many creative tips and ideas. It's just unbelievable. And every time when I stop by a bookstore, I just have to check out her Martha Stewart Weddings and Martha Stewart Living magazines. Is there anything that she can't do? Or will she ever run out of ideas?

Thanks, Martha... for giving me my daily dose of inspiration!

RSVP cards

Photo Credit: A Papier

A lot of my late summer/early Fall clients are mailing out their invitations now, and a great way of keeping track of the RSVP cards is to number them on the back. If you don't want guests to see the numbers, you can use the invisible ink pen (which comes with the black light and is availabe on Amazon.com).

Now when you receive your RSVP cards back with no names on them or illegible handwriting, you can figure out who those guests are! Pretty simple, huh?

Events by Evonne on Twitter!

A little over a month ago, a good friend of mine (you know who you are) introduced me to Twitter. Then I realized that a lot of my other friends are on there as well. So now we are all "twittering"!

Honestly, I still have no clue what it is about Twitter that makes it so popular and appealing. You are only allowed 140 characters (including spaces) for each post. OK, I know it's in real time and all, but hey, so is this blog! Won't you want to read a longer post with nice pictures than just a blurb?

If you are interested in following my occasional entry on Twitter, this is my homepage.

Tent decor

Photo Credit: The Wedding Travelers

Photo Credit: Variations, Inc.

These last couple of weeks, I have been working with a few brides and my designer on the tent decor. It's such a fun thing to do when it's an outdoor wedding (which is literally 100% of all the weddings that I plan), and I am just as excited as my brides are when we discuss in details the colors and the draping/fabrics!

There are so many options you can do and so many different colors, types of fabrics and lighting to choose from. The possibilities are just endless and they all look so dreamy. Ahhh...

"Centerpiece & Place Setting of the Week"

I realized that it's almost impossible and unfair to talk about centerpieces without mentioning the place settings as well.

This week I have selected the very spring-looking orange and blue color combination. As you can see, the centerpieces are very simple blooms, but what I like about the entire place setting is that every guest chair also has matching blooms on them. The dark espresso brown napkins really stand out and give that extra splash of color, and the lovely sheer orange overlay just compliments the light blue linen underneath it.