Photo Montage/Slideshows

Thinking about doing a photo slideshow at your wedding reception, but you are not "techy" enough? Look no further. ScanDigital can do all the work for you for a small fee. Here is how it works:

You mail them your loose photos, slides or negatives. They scan it, edit your custom selections and then burn the slideshow onto a DVD. When that's done, they will mail everything back to you. It's that simple! Now you can show off your own slideshow during your reception.

Smitten Invitations is giving away an iPod Shuffle!

Simply take a quick look around the Smitten Invitations website and then answer the short Smitten Survey to win! Contest ends August 1st at midnight, winner to be announced on Monday. Odds of winning are still pretty high, so hurry... take a moment to try your luck!

From "I Will" to "I Do"

Anne Chertoff, Senior Editor of Brides.com and the owner of the From "I Will" to "I Do" blog, did a wonderful write-up of Events by Evonne and our blog today. You can read our online interview here.

Mahalo for the post, Anne!

Got light?

Besides flowers and linens, lighting also plays an important part of your decor. It can totally transform a regular ballroom into a swanky nightclub, and it definitely sets the mood for the entire wedding/event. But make sure the colors that you plan on using complement those of your florals and your linens. It's always a good idea to check with the floral/linen designers as well as the lighting company first.

Here are the different types of lighting option you can choose from...

Ambient or Diffused Light
- this is the main light in the room, usually coming from either natural or artificial sources
- this light should soften and flatter

B, Fairy or Twinkle Lights
- these are strings of tiny lights like Christmas lights
- when used behind fabrics or in trees, they add a magical touch
- an inexpensive lighting method is to drop strings of these lights from the ceiling

Gobos
- these are stencils that go over lights to project patterns (such as stars, musical notes, or even the couple's names and monograms etc.) onto walls, draped fabrics or dance floors

Pin Spots
- these are narrow beams that are directed at centerpieces, the wedding cake or other items that you wish to highlight
- they look especially dramatic when the rest of the room is relatively dark
- they are usually hung from the ceiling and used in pairs

Up-lights, Down-lights or Light-cans
- they are used to project beams of light upward from underneath a table, or up from the base of an urn or tree, or down onto an altar or mantle
- they create a mystical glow

Washes
- these are colored lights projected over large areas such as the dance floors or bars

"Centerpiece & Place Setting of the Week"

It's been a while since I last blogged about centerpieces and place settings, but I recently came across these photos taken by the talented Jennifer Skog at The City Club of San Francisco.

The brown table runners work very well with the purple, pink and red flowers and table linens. The taller centerpieces with all the candles create a dramatic feel and set the head table apart from the rest of the guest tables. However, with outdoor weddings, you might want to reconsider the tall glass vases, but the long and thin glasses for the votive candles will work perfectly and will stay lit the entire evening.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Skog

We are listed in the Elizabeth Anne Designs Library!

Events by Evonne is honored to be listed in the Elizabeth Anne Designs Library. Here is what Rebekah Anne and Ami Elizabeth, owners and editors of the EAD blog and the EAD Library, have to say:

"We are incredibly excited to announce our new project, the Elizabeth Anne Designs Library. After months of development and research, we have launched a new resource for brides on Tuesday, July 22. The library is filled with hundreds of useful links, from photographers to shops to stationers to planners. Our goal is a simple, comprehensive list of vendors. The Library will help every bride, no matter her location, find the vendors and inspiration she needs for a beautiful event."

Rebekah and Ami have graciously asked me to assist them in creating a guide for the Hawai`i vendors. Much mahalo ladies for the add, for your daily inspirations and for the opportunity to work with both of you.

The Melting Pot

My college friend, Karen, was in town visiting this past week with her hubby Sanjay. They were the ones who got married in Bali 4 months ago and here was my blog post about their wedding. She brought all of her wedding photos and albums to show me. It was so fun reminiscing the wedding week with her while our boys were bonding over a glass of wine and the New York sirloin steaks on our Weber grill in the backyard!

But the night before, we had dinner together in Lahaina and then we went to the new Melting Pot for dessert. Since I am allergic to cheese, there goes the cheese fondue for me! We were pretty stuffed from dinner so we just ordered the small portion of the chocolate fondue. They brought us all the dippers - bananas, strawberries, pineapples, pound cake, marshmellows, rice crispies... It was really good! I actually have 2 fondue pots at home that I should be using, but it was still fun trying out the new place.

The one here on Mau`i actually has a private room that can accommodate up to 30 guests. I think it will make a fun "girls' night out" during your wedding week.

Personal wedding websites

Personalized wedding websites are getting more and more popular these days. When I planned my own wedding 4 years ago, there were only a few companies who offered that service.... but now, there are close to 20 of them!

These websites are extremely helpful to guests especially if you are having a destination wedding. You can post all of the information on there from the story of how you guys met to all the events that are happening on your wedding week and wedding day. You can also use the site to track your online RSVPs, assign seats and tables at the reception, as well as track all of your wedding gifts as they arrive. It's an amazing tool and will definitely get you very organized.

Photo Credit: The Wedding Tracker

If you don't have one yet and are thinking about it, check out some of these providers:

Engage Page
eWedding
Happy Moments
Nearlyweds
The Wedding Tracker
Wedding Org
WedOrama
WedQuarters
WedShare
Wed Page Designs
Wedding Pearl
Wedding Window

I am sure you will find one that will suit your needs! Have fun browsing!

Swish Designs

A good friend of mine, Donna, just started her own design company in the San Francisco bay area last December. After many years of toying around with the idea of creating a place where she can display her custom monograms, wedding/party invitations and birth announcements, Swish Designs was born!

If you are looking for some stylish wedding/rehearsal dinner invitations, thank-you notes, save-the-date cards, and monograms for your favor tags, place cards...etc., please visit her website above and she can create something nice, elegant and even fun for you! Donna is very sweet and easy to work with, and she has amazing ideas that will sure "wow" your guests.

Congratulations my friend and wish you much success!

Bella Figura

Oh boy... I am going to blog about my favorite letterpress invitations again! =) A few days ago, I received an email from Debbie Urbanski, the owner of Bella Figura, announcing a few of their promotions. Here they are:

• Plant a tree. Cool the globe. Better yet, plant 50 trees ($50), help slow global warming even more, and save 15% off your custom printing order. 100% of your donation goes directly to American Forests, who plants native trees in rural and urban ecosystem restoration projects across the United States and around the world. Offer good through August 31, 2008.
• Free upgrade to a larger invitation size (F-8 or 7.25” square) throughout 2008 (through December 31, 2008)
• Sample packs: 5 designs, $10 (through July 31, 2008), 100% of cost to the environment. Purchase a sample pack and you’ll receive 5 sample invitations curated by their favorite style-setters, editors and friends; their ink swatch book; paper samples; and envelope lining colors if you select them, all packaged in a keepsake Bella Figura box. The cost: through July 31, 2008, $10 (includes shipping). Post July 31, 2008: $25. 100% of cost is donated toward an environmental nonprofit. Remember their samples are usually $7 per invitation – this is a great deal for a great cause! Browse and buy now.
  

Bella Figura is one of the greenest letterpress shops in the country. They are 100% wind-powered and carbon neutral, and they donate 1% of sales to environmental causes via 1% for the Planet. You can read more about their environmental commitment here. Thanks so much for the email, Debbie!

Photo Credit: Bella Figura

Bridal Jewelry Rental

Yes, that's right... now you can be like a movie star, walking down the red carpet with thousands of dollars worth of diamonds on you but without actually spending the thousands of dollars!

I just came across this company - Adorn Brides, where you can spend just a few hundred dollars to rent these exceptional pieces for your special day:
This is the "Stevenson" necklace. It's 5/8 inches long, marquis shaped droplet patterns of diamonds topped by clusters of four small round diamonds and separated by baguette diamonds. Retail value: $26,000. Rental price: $960.

This is the "Spencer" necklace. This diamond drop necklace features clusters of round bezeled diamonds in an intricate lace pattern. At its center, the width of the necklace measures 3/4 inches. Retail value: $9,800. Rental price: $360.

This is the "Windsor" earrings. These stunning large round solitaire diamond studs are secured in 4 prong settings. The large stones are full of fire and sparkle. Retail value: $19,370. Rental price: $620.


This is the "Thurley" earrings. These princess cut diamond earrings have a total carat weight of 2.05 and each stone in a 4-prong setting. Retail value: $18,530. Rental price: $650.

Here is how it works from their website:

You enter your wedding date, then select the type of bridal jewelry you are seeking (bracelet, necklace, earrings) and find a style that suits your wedding style best.

Once your bridal jewelry order has been placed, a nonrefundable deposit of 25% of the total lease price will be charged to your credit card. Your wedding jewelry package will be shipped directly to you, arriving two days prior to the wedding event date. An amount equal to approximately 5% of the retail value of the jewelry will be reserved on your credit card during this time as a temporary security deposit.

After the wedding, simply pack up the bridal jewelry in the enclosed pre-addressed packaging. Just take the jewelry to your local UPS Store or UPS drop box the first business day after the wedding event to send it back. When they receive the bridal jewelry, they will remove the security deposit reserve from your credit card account. How easy is that?

The Blurb Book

A good friend of mine, Tara, showed me pictures of the "Blurb Book" that she created with all of her wedding planning ideas! I thought it was such a wonderful thing to do and wanted to share with all of you.

It's very similar to the coffee table book that you can create from all these other photo websites, but what's cool about the Blurb Book is that it can "slurp" all of your photos from most major photo storing sites such as Picassa or Flickr, and it can also "slurp" your entire blog if it's hosted on Blogger, Live Journal, Typepad or WordPress. You can also share the book with family and friends by linking it to social networking sites like Facebook and Digg.

The possibility is just endless... with such great ideas you have for your wedding, why not share it with the people you love? And when your wedding is over, you can make a Blurb Book of all the wedding photos for yourself, your wedding party, your parents...

Photo Credit: Tara D.

Melissa's Smitten

The talented Melissa Bumstead of Smitten Invitations had a wonderful write-up of one of my recent weddings on her blog - "Melissa's Smitten"! Thank you so much, Melissa!

Based in Los Angeles, California, Smitten Invitations is committed to delighting engaged couples. Founded in 2002 by Melissa and her husband Chad, they provide fine wedding stationery, stress-free shopping and attentive customer service. When you make a purchase from them, they will donate 10% of their profits to non-profit organizations such as Hope Gardens, S.O.S. of Malibu and World Vision. If you are looking for invitations and stationery products, please be sure to check out Smitten Invitations!

Photo Credit: Element Studios

Collage by: Smitten Invitations

Ceremony chairs and setup

It's always nice to see unconventional designs when it comes to ceremony and reception decor...

Beautiful and cushy benches can certainly substitute for individual chivari chairs:

Photo Credit: Aaron Delesie

The Wedding Planning Gurus

I was extremely excited to receive a phone call this morning from Ralph Mucci, the Executive Producer and Show Host of The Wedding Planning Audiocast. I have been invited to do an interview with them for the "Wedding Planning Gurus" segment, giving advice on wedding planning as well as on destination weddings here in Hawai`i.

I am very honored to be listed amongst all of these great planners from all over the country such as Mindy Weiss, Marcy Blum, Michelle Rago, Sasha Souza, Linda Kessler, David Tutera and Colin Cowie too! I really look forward to chatting with you all online. My interview will be in 2 weeks and I will keep you all posted on the release date of the audiocast.

Now I can use one of the PR photos that I took the other day for their website too! Again, much mahalo to all of you for your generous support!

Photo Credit: The Flirty Guide Blog

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend!

This post is in honor of one of my hubby's very good friends, Gabe, who just proposed to his girlfriend, Athena, while on an Alaskan cruise! Congratulations guys! We can't wait to be at your wedding next year... and we certainly can't wait to go back to the Bay Area to visit! =)

Even though my hubby wasn't the first of all of his friends to get married, he certainly isn't the last either. So for those friends who are just thinking about proposing or ring shopping, they would call up my hubby for advice on diamonds. I totally enjoy listening in on their conversations, and I have to say I am pretty impressed with my other half. He would explain in detail not just 4 but the 5 C's to them:

Carat; Clarity; Color; Cut; and COST!

Photo Credit: Jessica Claire

{I love this picture taken by Jessica Claire. It's actually not so much the rings, but I just love the Tiffany blue boxes and the white ribbon! It's so classic!}

Photo Credits: Cartier, Chanel, and Harry Winston

Now you are wondering how and where my hubby got all that knowledge from. No, no, no... it's definitely not from me! After we got engaged back in 2004, we spent about 3 months looking for my perfect diamond and setting. My hubby knew better not to choose a ring without me as I am very picky about EVERYTHING, especially something that I am going to wear for the rest of my life! He wouldn't dare propose with just any ring! =)

We had gone in to many different jewelry stores, and we learned so much every time we walked out. This was back when we were still living in San Francisco. The very first store we went to was Derco at the Gift Center. I knew what kind of setting I wanted, and the lady just brought out trays after trays of wedding sets for me to look at. Honestly after 15 minutes, they all started looking the same to me and that was JUST for the setting.

Then we sat at another counter to look at all the different loose diamonds. The staff handed my hubby and I the loupe to check out the inclusions, and we looked at each other like - what are we supposed to look for? I couldn't find anything, so was that a flawless diamond? After 2 hours of non-stop staring at all the blings, we were totally "blinged-out" and decided it was time to go.

We were so incredibly overwhelmed after that first weekend, but we got home and read up more about diamonds and how to choose a diamond. After weeks and weeks and weeks of looking at them, we were getting really good at picking the nice ones! And we learned about all the other things as well from the different certifications like GIA, EGL, IGI... to the proportions of the table, the crown, the pavilion and the girdle! It was quite an education.

I am not going to go into details of the 4C's here because you can find that on a lot of the websites out there, but for those of you who are just in the process of ring shopping, take your time and really educate yourself. Even though they always say diamonds are a girl's best friend, it truly is an investment and you want to make sure that the diamond or the ring setting that you are getting is the best value. Ask lots of questions at the store and don't be pressured by the sales staff just because they want to close on a deal.

Or... you can always call my hubby for advice and emotional support too! He is very good at it now! =)

Smile!

So here are 2 photos out of 18 from the photo shoot yesterday that Mike Sidney took - Thanks again, Mike! I am having a difficult time deciding which one I want to use. There are so many good ones... I even created a poll amongst my friends to help me choose! =) I will let you all know which one I end up with! Stay-tuned...

Photo Credit: Mike Sidney

Events by Evonne PR photo shoot

I had a great time this afternoon at the Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens in Wailuku, doing a PR photo shoot with the talented Mike Sidney. I will be featured on this one wedding blog under their "Meet the Planners" series, and I have to submit my professional photo with my entry.

Stay-tuned... I will let you all know when it's up. And thank you so much, Mike, for taking time today on the shoot. I can't wait to see all the wonderful pictures you've taken.

And this was where we took the photos... What a beautiful garden!

Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens

Wedding items by Mindy Weiss

When I was at the mall yesterday with my hubby, I went in to this card shop (used to be a Papyrus, but now it's an independent store) because I wanted to check out some cute cards.

As soon as I walked in to the store, they had a whole shelf of wedding items by Mindy Weiss, who is one of my favorite celebrity event planners and designers - file organizers, file folders, luggage tags, post-in notes, response card organizer, passport holder and many, many more... They sure are handy for all brides-to-be!

If you don't find them at a wedding supply store near you, there is always Mindy's online store. Have fun browsing and shopping! =)

Dressing up the chairs!

I am constantly thinking of creative ways to tie the chair sashes at my events. It makes such a big difference when you try to tie in the colors of the chair sashes with the rest of the linens and decor. Sometimes, you can even use an accent color to complement your main color...

Photo Credit: Pacific Event Group, Inc.

Photo Credit: Sieber Studio

Photo Credit: Wedding Themes

Photo Credit: Element Studios