New News: Wedding Chicks Feature - Bridal Shower Ideas From Hall Weddings & Events

Photo: Bryan N. Miller Photography

In this profession, you get to collaborate with some amazing wedding vendors. Not only are they inspiring, but they are so much fun to work with. A few months ago, I met with Erin Hall from Hall Weddings and Events who invited me to participate in an upcoming photo shoot for a bridal shower. The theme - antique typewriter with the warmest fall colors combined with an array of aged decor. The outcome - being featured on the Wedding Chicks.

Photo: Bryan N. Miller Photography

You can view the feature here...

http://www.weddingchicks.com/wedding-chicks/featured-weddings-events/68648/san-diego-bridal-shower-from-hall-weddings-events/

Photo: Bryan N. Miller Photography

And don't forget to check out the other talented vendors who were involved...

Coordinator: Hall Weddings & Events

http://www.hall-events.com/Hall_Events.html

Photographer: Bryan N. Miller Photography

http://www.bmillerweddings.com

Flowers: The Vine's Leaf

http://thevinesleaf.com/

Cupcakes: Chew Chew Lew Cakery

http://chewchewlewcakery.blogspot.com/

Lettering: Sayeh Studios (yours truly!)

http://www.sayehstudios.com/

Hand Stamped Silverware: Anvil Designs

http://www.etsy.com/shop/anvildesigns

Venue: The Villa San Juan Capistrano

http://www.thevillasjc.com/index2.php

Jewelry: MDKM Artz

http://www.etsy.com/shop/mdkmartz

Rentals: Duane Spicer (Raphael's Party Rentals)

http://www.raphaels.com/ / duane@raphaels.com / 619.247.5315

Get*N*Spired: Top 10 Reasons To Hire A Wedding Coordinator

Courtesy of MSN

As the wedding season enters it's calm and newly engaged couples begin hunting for the best-of-the-best vendors for their wedding next year, I can't help but to notice that some hesitate when it comes to hiring a wedding coordinator / event planner. Whether it's a day of or someone who guides you through the entire process, this is the one vendor who is thought to be "unnecessary". But are they? Well, believe it or not, they are one of the most important vendors you could and should hire for your wedding day. Not only are they instrumental in the process we call wedding planning, but they lead the team of vendors in making your day transition into one of the most memorable days of your lives. Here are my top 10 reasons why you should hire a wedding coordinator / event planner. Some of these might be funny to read, but in all seriousness, this is serious business. Seriously.

Hit it Dave...

Courtesy of NY Daily News

10. Your mother, aunt, sister, cousin, best friend, etc. might offer to help during your wedding planning, but that doesn't mean they want to be working for free on your wedding day as a wedding coordinator.

9. Would you perform your own surgery? No. Then there is no reason to coordinate your wedding day.

8. If the florist's car broke down, you really don't want to drive across town in a tow truck wearing your wedding dress to rescue them.

7. If the bartender runs out of ice, are you really going to run to the local liquor store (in your wedding dress I might add) to buy ice? Though that would be a funny sight to see...

6. Your wedding day should be remembered as one of the most memorable and beautiful days of your lives. Not a day that you ran around in your wedding dress coordinating all aspects of the day.

5. DIY is a fantastic idea. DIY wedding coordinating is not.

4. "Here comes the brides...! Wait, where is the bride? Oh there she is, coordinating the table settings." This is not a scene your guests want to remember you by on your wedding day.

3. Picture this. A bride. Dressed in an elegant white gown. Flawless makeup. Whimsical hair. Yet, with a walkie-talkie in one hand and a binder in the other as she gets a status report from the vendors.

2. If the DJ needs help getting his extension cords and equipment down to the cocktail hour, are you planning to gracefully help carry them in your wedding dress? I hope not!

1. Save yourself the headaches, stress and time. Hire a professional and experienced wedding coordinator / event planner so you and your soon-to-be spouse can enjoy the biggest celebration honoring your lives together.

And if you're still not convinced, read this:

http://weddings.weddingchannel.com/wedding-planning-ideas/wedding-etiquette/articles/worst-things-that-could-happen-on-your-wedding-day.aspx?cm_ven=Responsys&cm_cat=EngagingNews&cm_ite=July%2027,%202010&MsdVisit=1

Get*N*Spired: Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!

After a long hiatus, I'm back!! Um, how about some excitement and cheers?!? Anyway, I've been very busy making great connections, working on some fantastic opportunities and getting involved in some amazing mock photo shoots with many talented vendors. Sorry, but I can't divulge any details yet.

So I thought I begin my new blog entry with one of my favorite subjects - shoes. Why? Well, it's one of those items we wear everyday. While they offer protection for our feet and allow us to perform certain activities without too much strain, they are also a must have fashion accessory. Just ask Carrie Bradshaw!

Dolce & Gabbana

As for weddings, though usually hidden under the dress, shoes have become a highly photographed item. Hence why more and more brides are showing off some fabulous and eye catching shoes that are not your typical white/off-white matchy-matchy shoes. While some incorporate theme colors such as this wedding (I just love this color!)...

Smith Gallery Photography

Others like their personalities reflected in their shoes...

The Punk Rock Ballerina Bride

Jimmy Choo

The Nature Loving Bride

Manolo Blahnik

The Comfy In My Cons Bride

Converse Chuck Taylor All Star

Yet other brides want a great pair of shoes that they can wear with every outfit reminding them that these are the shoes they wore on their wedding day...

Stuart Weitzman

Valentino

Alexander McQueen

And now I will end this blog entry with some wise words from my grandmother...

"There are 2 things in life you should always buy the best quality - skin care and shoes. Skin is irreplaceable and you need to always moisturize from your forehead all the way down to your neck. Never forget the neck or you will have lines going across like lines in a book. With shoes you should never buy anything cheap nor consider a pair that hurts your feet while you're trying it on. Because when you get older, bad quality shoes will end up causing problems in your back and knees. And that's a pain you don't want to deal with as you get older."

New News: LVL Weddings & Events (Special Offer)

I love sharing wedding goodies and deals. And this is one offer I couldn't resist. LVL Weddings & Events headed by Lindsay Longacre is offering special rates for October - December 2010. Knowing Lindsay, I think anyone who meets her will fall in love her charisma and sense of spirit. She is very hard working and motivated not to mention has a number of years of experience under her belt. For more information on this special deal or LVL Weddings & Events as well as Lindsay Longacre, check out the links below:

http://app.e2ma.net/app2/campaigns/archived/1406870/e7c8e7a52ee2d5e6a7b8839d495cab82/

http://lvlevents.com/

Get*N*Spired: Top 100 Wedding Blogs & Twitters of 2010 (BrideTide.com)

Some great wedding resources just a click away from the comforts of your home. Check out these top rated websites that offer a plethora of wedding goodies...

http://bridetide.blogspot.com/2010/01/top-100-wedding-blogs-and-twitters-to.html

Get*N*Spired: Table Cards...It's Only A Number

Featured On: Style Me Pretty

Photo By: Nicole Ladonne Photography

Event Planning & Design: Bliss Weddings & Events

Well, not quite. Table cards don't need to be a boring and simple number to distinguish the seating for your guests. They can be an artistic design or a funny feature or theme based. You can even go as far as to naming your tables according to your favorite cities or countries or your favorite artists. But why stop there? How about a visual table card - one that illustrates a painting or a character. Add a touch of a fancy frame or a sculptural stand and you got yourself a noteworthy table card.

Here are some inspirational designs that I came across recently. And if you need someone to create the writing and design the card, I know just the right person!!! ;o) Wink! Wink!

Sayeh Studios

Featured On: My Wedding Planning Tips

Photo By: Di Bezi Photography

Featured On: The Wedding Chicks

Photo By: Boutwell Studio

Featured On: My Wedding Planning Tips

Photo By: Gina Carter Photography

Table signs using Scrabble!

Featured On: Truly Engaging

Carved table number!

Featured On: Wedding Bee

For more information on the featured wedding websites and photographers, please click on the links to visit their websites.

New News: Style Me Pretty

What's better than dark chocolate and coffee? Being recognized and selected by the crew at Style Me Pretty to be part of their prestigious "Little Black Book"! I'm so thrilled and honored! And I have to thank Lindsay Longacre from LVL Weddings & Events for her support.

Featured Vendor: High Society Wedding & Event Planning

The wedding industry is full of very talented and hard working individuals. While some are dedicated to providing you with their awe-inspiring work, others make it their goal to bring your wedding day to life. Some vendors can even go as far as an encouraging conversation. That happened to me recently when I met with Brandi Smith from High Society Wedding and Event Planning.

We met for coffee (a plus!) at the Nordstrom (a bigger plus!) eBar so I can share with her my work and get to know this Brandi who I'm told is a great connection to make. I was more than surprised by her sweetness and charm. We chatted for about 3 hours on every topic from life, weddings, styles, etc. You can really tell that she is quite passionate about what she does for a living. Not to mention she is quite tuned-in with looking beyond the latest trends and themes. And why wouldn't she? Her years of experience is packed full of some great weddings. Brandi took the time to share with me some great brainstorming ideas for my line of work. Something I should note here is that she is also a singer! A woman of many talents...you have to love that!

We discussed in detail the importance of having a wedding coordinator / event planner. It's literally lifesaving when it comes to planning your wedding day. Which inspired me to write something about this particular topic (stay tuned!!!).

In the meantime, check out Brandi's portfolio on her website:

http://highsocietyeventplanning.com/

Featured Wedding: Blissful In Blue

It's been a busy couple of weeks (which is a great thing), hence why the lack of blogging. But I promise to share some great ideas, images, and info of wedding goodies very soon! In the meantime, here are some beautiful photos of a recent wedding I worked on to entice your eyes.

Melahat and Kwame's cultural wedding took place at a park setting venue called Lakeside Lagoon located in Irvine, CA. For their invitations they visualized a simple, clean and straight-to-the-point design. The wedding programs featured one of their fabulous engagement photos taken by Sargeant Photography as well as a personal message to their guests noted on the back side. The best was the favor/escort cards combo. As a gift to their guests, the bride and groom created CD's with their favorite musicians which were also used as the table names. I came up with the idea to combine the favors and escort cards by creating a price tag label with a barcode to be placed on each CD. Adding a personal touch with another one of their engagement photos and you have yourself a memorable favor!

Here are some of the photos of my work. And you can check out Sargeant Photography's blog for more photos on Melahat and Kwame's wedding:

http://sargeantphotography.blogspot.com/2010/06/melahat-kwame-irvine-lakeside-wedding.html

Get*N*Spired: Tree Wedding Favors

Image courtesy of The Wedding Chicks

More and more people are beginning to do their part in making a positive difference for our delicate environment. But for a wedding...? Now this is an idea that I had to share especially with all of you 'green' brides & grooms. Tree wedding favors (as featured on The Wedding Chicks)! What a perfect gift to share with your guests, especially those with a garden!

Tree Wedding Favors

And for more green ideas for you soon-to-be-wed couples, here is another website that's sure to spark some electric juices. Get it? Electric? Electric car? No? Oh....

http://www.greenbrideguide.com/

Bridal Shower Stationery Design: Party Like SATC

In honor of the four fashion icons we (ladies...and a few gentlemen) idolized I have created a fun bridal shower invitation that even Samantha would love!

Tweet Tweet Twitter

I am now an official Tweeter on Twitter...

http://twitter.com/SayehStudios

Join my page and follow my random posts about wedding designs, creativity and inspirations as well as the occasional "I love coffee" comments!

New News: The Wedding Chicks

I'm very happy to announce that I have officially joined the ranks of some talented wedding vendors who are featured on The Wedding Chicks! This website provides a juicy array of info for all of you brides and grooms looking for some great ideas as well as a listing of local and national wedding gurus. Of course I'm very excited to have received my official badge as a "Preferred Vendor 2010". Oh the little things in life that make me happy...including coffee and chocolate.

http://www.weddingchicks.com/vendor/47429/1469/

Featured Wedding: Antique Elegance

An oldie but a goody...! I just got my hands on some beautiful photos of a wedding I worked on last year. The theme was antique and elegant with an array of soft hues. The font that the bride and groom selected was classy and graceful. And San Diego based photographer Brant Bender was kind enough to share some photos with me.

For more information about Brant Bender Photography, please visit his website: http://www.brantbender.com/

Get*N*Spired: Rock 'n Roll Bride

From time to time I'm going to feature inspiring and creative ideas that I find on websites, blogs, magazines, and images that might spark some ideas for your wedding day. Today I like to feature one of my favorite wedding websites:

http://www.rocknrollbride.com/

Rock 'n Roll Bride is not your traditional wedding website. It's purely one of the most unique and illuminating websites for everything wedding, but with a cutting edge twist. I love to see photos from couples who think outside of the box for their big day. And Kat Williams, the brains behind it all, keeps a great flow of the latest and greatest.

So if you're getting married and want to add some spice to your wedding day, I highly recommend checking out Rock 'n Roll Bride.

And check out these photos from my dear friends Paul and Leanne from Sargeant Photography who were recently featured:

http://www.rocknrollbride.com/2010/03/homegrown-sunshine-state-flavour/

Wedding Stationery Design: Melahat & Kwame

Just finished up the last remaining touches for Melahat & Kwame's wedding next weekend. In addition to designing their invitations, I also created the programs and the very cool escort cards / favors combo. I'm really looking forward to sharing some of their wedding photos because not only are two of my dear friends photographing it but also because this is going to be a beautiful cultural celebration! Stay tuned...in the meantime, here is their engagement session photographed by Sargeant Photography:

http://sargeantphotography.blogspot.com/2010/03/melahat-kwami-engagement-session-long.html

Rumi Knows Best

Often I come across quotes that really inspire me. A couple of months ago while my husband and I were walking through a charming little town called Nevada City, we came across a gallery that had placed a stone in front of the doorway with a hand-painted quote that read:

Let the beauty of what you do be what you love. - Rumi

This 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic is one of my favorite historical figures. And those are great words to live by...

More Photos From Bridal Fair By-The-Sea

I just received an email from the ladies who set up the Bridal Fair By-The-Sea. They forwarded a link to some photos that were taken by Tara Sieling Photography documenting the entire show. Enjoy!

http://gallery.me.com/tarasieling#100364

The Tulip Logo

I've been receiving a lot of compliments about my tulip logo. Well, I can't take all the credit for this design because it is my wonderful and very talented father-in-law who is the original artist not to mention someone who I admire greatly.

Albert Koetsier is a renowned artist and photographer specializing in "x-rayography". Basically he x-rays flowers, plants, sea shells...you name it. The result: a stunning perspective to these items which we tend to see everyday but never think twice about. Anne Koetsier (my beautiful mother-in-law) is the artist behind all of the tinting and coloring you see in some of his work. You can see more on his website: Beyond Light.

So now you ask "what did I do to it"? I took it into Illustrator and played around with the pen tool and the result is what you see today. On a side note, these beautiful images created by Albert and Anne are available for your wedding stationaries! Just contact me for further details.

In the meantime, here is the famous piece that I used to trace my own logo...

Bridal Fair By-The-Sea

This past weekend I had the great pleasure to participate at a recent bridal show held at the new and improved Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa in Dana Point, CA. And what a beautiful venue it is! For the past month or so I was very busy creating and selecting some of my top designs for table, escort and place cards to be displayed at the show. The Bridal Fair By-The-Sea was a hit and I got the opportunity to make many connections with other talented vendors as well as several brides & grooms.

The best part: my wonderful, supportive and loving husband woke up at 5:30 am to help me set up, greet and mingle throughout the entire show!

Here are some photos...