Orange County Bride Magazine Blogs about our Open House Tonight!

Tonight is our Open House for some of the best event and wedding vendors in OC. It is called the Wedding Factory and it is at our offices in Newport Beach from 7-9pm. There will be desserts and drinks. Check out the blog below by OC Bride Mag. Also blogged about by the Wedding Chicks and Ceremony Magazine blog. This Open House is meant to be quaint so that each guest has the opportunity to talk in length with each vendor. Here is your chance to not be trampled on by thousands of other brides and meet each vendor with almost a "mini" consultation. Each vendor is giving amazing package discounts, I am personally giving a $500 discount off of any of my packages. 

http://ocbridemagazine.blogspot.com/

Intimate Backyard Wedding

Congrats Erika and Nikole and their recent wedding ceremony held in a beautiful backyard in Corona, Ca. I love backyard weddings! As I have blogged about before, backyard weddings are very intimate and are all about the couple! I really felt the love on this wedding, they adore each other. We drove around and pulled off of the side of the road to shoot the romantics, very fun and rustic. In today's economy especially, backyard weddings are becoming more popular. I have seen some awesome, classy, fun, intimate, detailed, backyard weddings. Saving money on the venue can result in affording a better photographer and better vendors all away around.  You are not limited on food and can pick your own caterer as well as have no time constraints with the church or wedding venue. When there are no time constraints you can spend more time shooting great romantics and go to multiple locations, even though we were behind on the scheduled timeline for this wedding, we still had plenty of extra time and we never felt rushed. More money can be spent on the details, and by hiring a full service wedding coordinator that also does design and florals can actually save you money. Regardless of the legalities around same sex weddings, Erika and Nikole did not let that stop them, they still went ahead with full wedding plans to celebrate their love. Beautiful Bride!

Backyard Wedding in Orange County

Congrats to Jessica and Jacob married on April 3rd, 2010 in Orange County. This great couple had a fun, simple, personal backyard wedding in Fullerton, California. I have noticed a rise in bookings of backyard weddings this year. I am guessing due to the economy, couples are deciding to do their weddings in theirs, their parents, or a friends backyard. I am starting to love them! I love daytime weddings anyway, especially in Spring, they are always less rushed and have a feeling of simplicity. Backyard weddings are also much more easy going then a typical or upscale wedding. I have done some really tastefully well done backyard weddings, they do not have to be cheesy or tacky. If they are planned right they can feel very customized and personal. What I love about this wedding is that is was not done at a huge home or an estate with an acre backyard, this wedding was done at a "normal" home with an above average size backyard. It was cute, detailed, fun, and easy going. We got to choose where to do the wedding  pictures, it was not about the venue we were at, and we could tell any story we wanted and choose anywhere to shoot. We did the bridal party and some romantics at a local park, then did some more romantics in downtown Fullerton, both meaningful places to the bride and groom. A Good Affair,  http://www.agoodaffair.com/ was the coordinator on this wedding and did a great job with the florals, design, details and making it about the couple and who they are. She chose more natural tones, and rustic organic decor for the details. The groom and bridal party also wore a natural khaki toned suit, instead of black to go with the daytime, Spring, earthy tones.  Colette's Catering catered the food, with my personal favorite the mash potato martini bar. Simply Sweet Cakes made the cutest cake detailed in mushrooms and the table pieces and bouquets had mushrooms in them as well. Old Fashion mason jars hung from the trees flickering with candles and the trees were lined with lights. Everything took place in the backyard with about 100 guests in attendance.  Consider a backyard wedding and getting a coordinator to help with the food, details, and moving guests around and over seeing the day of. Some coordinators do design, will help with decor, florals, and table settings, which can also cute down on budget.  If you do it right you can have a personalized custom wedding for less then a country club or hotel, which has little to do with the couple. The pictures below also show how cute and personal a backyard wedding can really be. The sign sat on the front porch inviting guests into their wedding. Other images below that may not be so self explanatory is some of the details. Jessica and Jacob lined the fences with photographs of their life together so far on clothes and twine. The florals were all wrapped with bark and twine for a more earthy feel. Ziggy the duck is their pet which they included in the reception. Along with the mushroom, there was also a "Happy Trails" theme that carried throughout. The "Happy Trail" favor was accompanied with a baggie of organic nuts. Just love the ideas here!

Wedding Coordination, Florist, and wedding design. Natalie has impeccable taste and will save you money with her team of vendors and  amazing design and floral skills.
http://www.agoodaffair.com/


Simple Sweet Cakery- Cakes By Brooke
http://www.simplysweetcakery.com/Simply_Sweet_Cakery/Welcome.html 

Colettes Catering:
http://www.colettesevents.com/