Project Wedding Blog

This just in: We just posted this DIY project, Nautical Centerpieces, in our Guide section. Besides the eye-catching color combination, I think the idea of colored flags instead of table numbers is fabulous!

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One Lovely Day is thrilled to welcome expert event designer, Joyce Scardina Becker of San Francisco-based Events of Distinction and the California State East Bay Wedding Planner Certificate Program, with some great advice about making your guests feel truly welcomed and escort card etiquette.

Your guests should feel welcome at your wedding reception, and they should be able to find their way around with ease.  Utilizing escort cards is a great way to help guests navigate through the reception, and they also provide a wonderful opportunity to showcase the theme of your wedding.

Photo by Kevin Chin Photography

Escort cards are typically displayed at the cocktail reception (often alongside the guest book) and inform your guests where they will be sitting during the meal.  These differ from place cards in that escort cards direct your guests to the table where they will be sitting, while place cards designate the exact place setting where the guest is to be seated during the meal.  Usually, escort cards are arranged on a beautifully decorated table in alphabetical order to allow guests to quickly locate their names.

Photo by Carol Irvine Photography

Whatever style escort card you choose, always try to incorporate the elements of your wedding motif and a personal touch to make your guests feel appreciated and welcome.

Photo by Sherman Chu

A celebrated events expert with over 25 years of event management experience, Joyce Scardina Becker is the President of Events of Distinction in San Francisco, where she has excelled as a premier wedding planner and designer since 1995.  She is the author of Countdown to Your Perfect Wedding, an indispensable “how-to” book for brides and grooms everywhere, published by St. Martin’s Press. The Founding Director of the Wedding Planner Certificate Program at California State University East Bay, Joyce has been honored with three Gala Awards from the Special Events Magazine and Five Esprit Awards and a WESTIE Award from the International Special Events Society. For more information visit her website at www.eventsofdistinction.com.

Tags: Escort Cards.

One Love Photo captures another wedding to remember — I am obsessed with these live centerpieces! Aren’t they hip, sexy and romantic?

I am also loving the festive sparklers as a fun element to the wedding and a brilliant photo op as well.

See more from this fabulous wedding at One Love Photo!

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One Lovely Day is thrilled to welcome couture event designer, Kelly Oshiro of Santa Barbara Chic, with a guest post about the ins and outs of hosting an “off premise” wedding reception.

My name is Kelly Oshiro and I’m an event design and wedding planner based in Santa Barbara. Some of my favorite locations to work in are “off premise.” Off premise locations are basically the antithesis of a hotel—there is no catering on-site, and, depending on the location, there may be no power, water, or bathrooms!

Image Courtesy: Santa Ynez Vacation Rentals

I always strongly encourage any couple who chooses this type of location to hire a wedding planner.  I recommend this not just because it’s my business, but because these locations require event production skills that no person innately has. The most important thing to understand about these types of locations is that they are very labor intensive and can quickly become quite pricey. However, they also tend to be the most beautiful sites with estates, ranches, and farms falling into this category.

Image Courtesy: Kelly Oshiro Events

With this in mind, I’ve compiled a list of the questions you should ask when looking at these type of locations, as well as a general range of the costs involved in getting your fantasy location ready for your wedding.

Image Courtesy: Harper Smith Photography

1. Is there power on-site?

If there is not, you will need to bring in a generator and lights. Depending on what you’re doing and where you live, I would anticipate the cost for a generator rental to be around $1,000 -$1,500.  The cost for lighting is variable since it depends entirely on how complicated, and therefore labor intensive, you want it to be.

2. Are there bathrooms?

If not, very nice VIP portapotty’s can be rented that have hand washing sinks inside the unit and bear no resemblance to their music festival cousins. A single standalone unit runs about $250 or so. These types of units generally have water and lights already inside the unit, so they can be placed anywhere. There’s also the trailer type of bathroom. These have stalls in the unit and look like an ordinary bathroom. These require water and power to make them work. Also- don’t forget to light the way to the bathrooms!

Image Courtesy: Harper Smith Photography

3. Are their tables, chairs, linens, and china?

This is where most off-premise locations vary a bit. Some do provide tables and chairs, while other provide nothing. If they do have some items, ask for an itemized list so you can figure out what else you’ll need to rent. If they provide chairs, make sure to take a look at them; they may be too big or unattractive for your taste. The cost for renting these items depends greatly on your guest count and whether or not you want upgraded chairs, linens, glasswear, china, etc.  For best cost estimates, get a quote from a good local rental company.

Image Courtesy: Harper Smith Photography

4. Is there a kitchen on site?

Again, off premise locations will vary as to what they have. Some will have a full kitchen ready to use, others may only have a warming kitchen, while still others have nothing at all. In the case that nothing is there, generally a kitchen tent, 10’ x 20’ will need to be brought in, along with ovens, tables, and so on. Your caterer will handle exactly what they need and they will also handle the general rental order as well (assuming you don’t have a wedding planner). The cost for bringing in a kitchen ranges from $1,000-$2,500 depending on what type of meal you’re serving (plated versus buffet, for instance).

5. When can rentals be delivered?

Ideally, you want everything delivered the Friday before the event, and picked up on the following Monday. Time and day of deliveries and pick ups may result in extra costs. Also, it’s much easier to handle the installation 24 hours before the wedding, versus 5 hours before. Stuff breaks, accidents happened, and all those little problems that pop up during production are no big deal when you have the time to deal with them.

6. How does trash need to be disposed of?

Some locations have a dumpster on site, others will ask you to take it off site at the end of the event. Some caterers will remove the trash for you and others won’t. If not, call your local trash company and arrange for a dumpster to be delivered. The cost is nominal, usually a few hundred dollars.

7. Is there parking on site?

Again, these locations vary a bit. Some will have parking only for vendors, others will require valet, but most often, these sites have no parking at all. In this scenario, guests will need to be shuttled from their hotels or from a central meeting point. This can become logistically complicated, so I always recommend booking hotel blocks at a couple of hotels at different price points so you’ll have a good idea where your guests are staying. An invitation insert, wedding website, and a welcome bag with the transportation information also helps this go smoothly. Transportation generally costs about $800 per bus (seating about 40), so budget accordingly.

Hopefully these questions will help you pick the perfect site for your wedding and help you budget accordingly!

Tags: estate wedding, farm wedding, off premise reception, ranch wedding, wedding budget.

Beautiful!  Event planners Details Details put together this stunning outdoor affair, which was all about the beach and aqua as the color inspiration. Among the sweet elements; starfish napkin treatments, guests all received custom note cards as favors, there was a surprise mini wedding cake for the groom’s son (who loves chocolate!). Other highlights: the champagne ice bar, the sushi station and shell chandeliers!

Credits: Floral arrangements by Fiori Fresco/ Photos by Joe Photo

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Add a little pizazz to those passed hors d’oeurves at your reception by meeting with your caterer and creating an eye pleasing presentation.  Below, some delicious eye candy to get your creative juices flowing, bon appetit!

Sliders with tomato powder stenciled monogram

Caviar shooters

Caviar topped with tiny blinis on top of laser engraved wooden spoons

Cured salmon, "shots" of peas with yogurt sorbet, and smoked fish cakes displayed on glass pedestals

Mango shrimp lollipops

Petite pizzas in custom packaging

Chilled soup trio, served in demitasse cups with garnishes such as mini croutons and microgreens

Short rib with mashed potatoes

Tags: hors d'oeurves.

Event Design and Description by Lollipop Events and Designs, Photography by Cary Pennington

Sunny days under the palms transform your party into a modern deco event! Bright colors of yellow, black, and white give your table a contemporary look that could work for any event, from a cocktail party to wedding reception! This bold table combines the glamorous illusions of mirrors, to the enchanting touch of the daisy flower balls, for an stimulating effect!

Table:

Start by simply throwing a standard white table cloth onto your table. Then, to add the bold stripes of this contemporary look, find a table runner that is brilliant with colors! We used black and white for this look, but get creative and use the colors that inspire you! To add the bright sunny Palm Springs feel to our décor, we added a small table runner made out of wrapping paper on top of the striped table runner, to give a pop and layering affect to this modern look. To line the paper, we glued on black velvet ribbon to finish off the look, giving it the appearance of a fabric table runner. Use any color of ribbon or size to create a different effect on the table.

Centerpieces:

Can you see me? Mirrors are the inspiration! From the mirror candlestick holders to the placemats, your guests will see themselves from every angle! Simply get three mirror candlesticks, one higher than the other two for a main centerpiece. To play with the illusions of the mirrors, top off the candlesticks with a ball of dainty daisies, incorporating the colors of yellow and white!

On each side of the mirror candlesticks add a playful modern ceramic animal, giving the table a bold geometric pattern look. From a horse to a geometric shape, be creative with this simplified ceramic form, to create look you want for your fete!

Next, add four square small black vases, two on each side of the ceramic shape, to integrate the bold modern look, while tying together the black stripes of the table runner. Simply add white roses into the vases, arranging the roses so that the buds are perfectly above the rim of the square vase, giving it a full bodied affect.

Table Settings:

Sophistication, elegance and glamour were the inspiration for this table setting! The mirror placemats are the epitome of elegance! You can find simple circle or square mirrors at your local craft store. We then placed classic patterned platinum-lined china onto the mirror to transform this table setting from ordinary to extraordinary! If you don’t have this china, simply use all-white fine dinnerware to give your table the same look.

For the napkins, simply find a pattern that offsets the bold strips of the black and white table runner to mix & match the patterns. We then used the same wrapping paper and velvet ribbon of the small table runner to make stylish bellybands, linking together the sunny bold yellow color of the deco look with the glitzy facade of the mirrors. You can place the napkins in any position you’d like! Play with them to see what fits your table! We positioned ours hanging down, springing color onto the white table cloth. To finish this table off, put your baking apron on! We had cupcakes made with yellow and black dots to add a sweet taste to our modern look!

Paper Candy:

For this super stylish table featuring bold colors, patterns and centerpieces we wanted to remind the guests the goal of the night… to have fun! We played with them a bit by making them find their own dinner! Menu items were hid in the word jumble for the hungry guests to find. Little yellow golf pencils could not have matched more perfectly! Please see our paper candy section to purchase semi-custom menus similar to these.

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I was reminded this weekend at a baby shower how lovely and simple these hanging bursts of color are!  Martha Stewart really does know a good thing or two.  This is from 2006, but a great idea doesn’t go out of style.  These pom poms are so easy to make, and truly customizable for any wedding, bridal shower, or even for decorating your own home!

Martha Stewart tutorial

Tags: decorations, DIY.

In honor of earth day, I invited the talented ladies behind Lollipop Event and Designs to share this gorgeous green wedding concept that is as environmentally friendly as it is beautiful. This eco-chic table combines style with panache so that you can party while still keeping the planet earth in mind.

Table:

We created this table by using recycled Kraft paper as our table runner. We cut the edges of the paper with scrap booking scissors that had a decorative scalloped edge to give the runner a customized and textured feel. We then used a hole-puncher and punched holes about 1-½ “ inches apart. You can play around and punch them at any length apart to create different looks for your table. Next, we strung thin ribbon throughout each of the hole-punches to give the recycled runner an extra punch of color!

Centerpieces:

Small terracotta pots are widely available at any craft store or local gardening supply. We spray-painted ours white but you can spray paint them any color to change the overall look of the table. Next, we potted seasonal flowers in the pots and for a final touch we inserted garden herb markers into the pots, which doubled as the seating cards. These pots can make either a great personalized favor for your guests or an eco-statement, as you can re-use them as table cards for numerous parties to come!

To add drama to the table, we created a diorama within a large cylinder vase. Any large clear cylinder vase will create the same effect. We found sticks in our backyards and stuck them within the vase and added a butterfly to complete the garden effect! Last, we topped the vase with a moss ball that can be re-used time and time again.

Table Settings:

For the linen napkins we went to our local fabric store and found a small piece of leftover scrap fabric. No sewing was required for these napkins! We just measured and cut them with sewing scissors to the desired size.

Layer your plates with plain white plates from your kitchen cupboard with decorative plates found from your grandma’s china cabinet or your local thrift store. We also pulled vintage silverware out from the attic! Place the napkin and silverware on the plates in fun and interesting ways. We layered our plates on top of one of another, sandwiched the napkin in between at an angle and then put the vintage silverware on top. Play around, there are no rules!

Each guest also received an eco-friendly reusable water bottle that added to the décor of the table. These are favors that your guests will use time and time again. They are now widely available with numerous patterns, so have fun and match them to your event style.

Paper Candy:

We strategically placed standing garden/bistro style menus at each place setting. These were printed on recycled paper. Please see our paper candy section to purchase semi-custom menus similar to these.

Appetizer

Winter Organic Salad with Pears, Pine Nuts and Ricotta Salata from Organic Authority

Ingredients:

For Vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar

1 shallot minced

1 tablespoon of mustard

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For Salad:

4 cups of mesculin greens or your favorite greens, washed and dried

2 firm ripe pears

½ cup pine nuts toasted

3 – 4 oz of ricotta salata

Directions: Whisk together vinegar, shallot, mustard and lemon juice in a small bowl. Slowly add oil in a steady stream while constantly whisking until vinaigrette is emulsified and all oil has been added. Salt and pepper to taste. Halve pears lengthwise, remove core with a melon baller and cut into thin slices. Place lettuce in a salad bowl; thinly shave ricotta salata with a vegetable peeler into salad bowl. Add nuts and pears and gently toss with dressing. Serve immediately. Serves 4

Dessert:

Fresh Organic Lemon Verbena and Lavender Ice Cream from Organic Authority

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated organic sugar

1 cup of fresh organic lemon verbena leaves packed (if you can’t find fresh lemon verbena, use the zest of 2 lemons)

1/2-cup fresh organic lavender

2 cups whole organic milk
2 cups heavy organic cream

8 egg organic yolks

Sprigs of fresh organic lavender and lemon verbena for garnish. Yield: 1 quart

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, lemon verbena leaves, lavender, milk and cream. Bring to a boil and steep for 20 minutes covered. Strain. In another bowl whisk together egg yolks and sugar.

Whisk one cup of hot cream into egg mixture. Slowly whisk in new mixture to sauce pan with remaining milk. Stir constantly over low heat until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Immediately remove from heat and cool in an ice water bath or refrigerator until completely cool. Strain. Add the mixture to the electric ice cream maker. Process according to the manufacturers’ directions

Drink

Peach-Mint Green Tea from Better Homes & Gardens

Ingredients:

2 cups of cold water
5 green tea bags
1 12-ounce can peach nectar
1/2-cup fresh mint leaves, slightly crushed
3 tablespoons sugar
Ice cubes

Directions: Bring water just to boiling in a large saucepan. Remove from heat; add tea bags. Steep, covered, for 5 minutes. Remove and discard bags. Stir in nectar, mint, and sugar. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours. Strain tea mixture; serve over ice. Makes 5 servings.

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