By Lauren and Haney

Admittedly, finding fantastic wedding vendors and artists can be extremely difficult.  It’s challenging to find talent that matches your tastes and individuals with whom you can develop a solid working relationship, but once you do find them, you have found gold.  We are thrilled to share with you a sneak preview of our vendors and artists. Check it out!

Especially Yours Chair Covers
Working with Especially Yours has been seamless from step one.  The team reaches out, follows up, and provides thoughtful recommendations.  Beyond this, of course, their product line is diverse with chair covers, banquet chairs, and linens.  Learn more at http://www.eychaircovers.com/

Tamra Davis, makeup artist
Tamra is the makeup artist for our big day.  Her artistry background gives her the visual eye to apply colors and makeup accents just right.  She is going to assist the bridesmaids and bride with their makeup the day of the wedding, and we can’t wait to work with her.

Kimbrough Salas Music
We have really enjoyed corresponding with our wedding DJ, Kimbrough from Kimbrough Salas Music.  Awedding DJ’s personality makes a difference on how the reception plays out, and he is key to the event. Music can make or break a night, and we are confident that Kimbrough will do a fantastic job keeping the party flow!  Plus we are excited that his team also offers lighting selections; they really offer the full electronics package from lighting, music and microphones.

Kim’s Nail Care
Kim’s Nails in downtown Palo Alto was recommended to us as a fantastic spot to go, and the ladies in the wedding are excited for manicures and pedicures. Kim’s Nails gives $5.00 off to a wedding and event group. That’s a good deal!

If you’re not sure about your vendors or artists, we recommend starting with the talented teams above. We will post more wedding information, photos, and specifics after our big day! Be on the lookout.

Also, if you contact any of the above vendors, make sure to mention the Bay Area Bride Guide!  Thanks.

Woodland Inspired Cake by Indie Cakes

Nature loving couples don’t have to stray too far from the hustle and bustle of the city to get married underneath the redwood groves! This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of coordinating a beautiful DIY wedding at Stern Grove. The Trocadero House at Stern Grove is such a lovely rustic setting for a reception. However, it only holds 140 people and since the couple had 200 guests, we had to be a little creative in using the many spaces Stern Grove has to offer.

Trocadero House at Stern Grove

The ceremony took place under the canopy of redwood trees in the grove just below the Trocadero. We set up chairs on a diagonal facing the pond so that the lone redwood in the corner served as an “altar.” Cocktail hour took place on the porch at the House and then a mariachi band, Trio Sol de Americas led guests to the East Meadow for the reception, where 20 8-foot banquets were set up. Cat Head’s BBQ served up authentic and fresh southern food with flair.

Trio Sol de America - Mariachi Band

Indie Cakes made delicious and beautiful woodland-inspired cakes — carrot cake for the wedding cake and chocolate with fresh peach and buttercream filling for the groom’s cake. They sat upon log-cakestands the groom had made.

Gorgeous and Green produced bold red and orange bouquets of dahlias, calla lilies and accents of ecchevaria. Very lush!

The bride and groom had enlisted family members for major DIY work: nearly a hundred mason jars served as lanterns or vases for wildflowers. Another family member handpainted greetings on river rocks in different languages and glued magnets to the backs. Twigs became flag poles for the table numbers.

DIY vintage table runner, twig table number

It was such a lovely affair and down-to-earth, plus the couple saved a lot of money on the venue!

{All photos above by Vera Devera, but the pro pics were taken by Michele Beckwith!}

By Elizabeth Zachry

What does every bride want from her wedding venue?  I am going to venture a guess and say: great views, tasty food, a helpful coordinator, plenty of space, and the flexibility to add your own personal touches.  One venue that fulfills all of these requirements is  Garré Winery, located in Livermore, California. The scenic beauty of a vineyard combined with its convenient  location make this an ideal Bay Area wedding venue!

As a wedding venue, Garré Winery is completely flexible, and offers a number of options to brides, allowing for multiple sizes and locations, personalized decorations, and a variety of food choices. 

For a large and lively wedding (up to 300 guests), you can choose to have your ceremony and reception in the middle of the vineyards at the Pavilion.  With Garré, you know your ceremony will be wonderful and gorgeous.  Every detail is taken care of, from the 19^th century lamp posts lining the aisle for the ceremony, and the picturesque views, your ceremony will be perfect.  When it comes to the reception, you can work with Lani to customize the decorations in the pavilion tent to fit your color scheme and decorating style.  One of the best features of having your reception at Garré (aside from the views) is their food and wine.  Everything on the menu is fantastic, so you will have a touch time narrowing down your choices!

If you are planning a smaller or more intimate wedding, the Martinelli Event Center is your perfect location.  Here, you have views of the Livermore Valley and its numerous vineyards, and the option of an indoor or outdoor reception.  Your decorating options are unlimited, and range from stringing lights around the courtyard, or strategically placing candles around the venue, which lends itself to a very romantic atmosphere.  The Martinelli Event Center offers the same great food choices as the pavilion along with the Garré award winning wines.

The best part about both venues is that they are essentially a blank canvas, and you can work with their event coordinator, Lani Allen, to decorate and set-up either venue to fit your dream wedding.  In addition, Lani is available to help you from the day you book, and will also coordinate with all of your other vendors (flowers, cake, etc) to help relieve stress on your wedding day.

Here is all the information you need to get you started on your way to the perfect vineyard wedding:

Lani Allen – lani@garrewinery.com

Website – http://www.garrewinery.com

Phone – 925-371-8200

I am a huge fan of the cupcake. So small yet with such big taste. I was excited when I went to write today’s post and saw that my lovely co-blogger Erin was also in a cupcake mood this week. Cupcakes have been seen all over the wedding magazines and blogs as an additional dessert option, or sometimes even completely stealing the scene from the wedding cake. As a guest at a wedding I love to be able to try different flavors of yummy cake and frosting, especially if they are mini cupcakes. And isn’t it amazing how much less guilty you feel when eating 5 tiny cupcakes versus 2 regular sized ones?!

I wanted to share with you a sweet find – it is a dainty and  fabulous way to dress up your cupcakes. Bella Cupcake Couture makes gorgeous patterned cupcake wrappers to create an elegant twist on the standard boring translucent wrapper.

I love this quote on the Bella Cupcake Couture site from creator and owner Carrie:

Carrie wanted something fashionable for the bottom portion of her cupcakes and always said ,“Why should the frosting have all the limelight?”

Well said Carrie! And she does an amazing job designing what the bottoms should look like!

How lovely is the black and white Lu Lu pattern?!

Pretty calligraphy on these customizable Lu Lu Black and White wrappers

One more pretty picture that will have you wishing for some sugar…

Photo by Red Box Pictures

I wanted to leave you with a little planning tip. Sometimes it can be hard to figure out how many cupcakes you should be ordering when they are the main dessert, or when they are in addition to the cake. It can also be tricky when you factor in mini and regular sized cupcakes. As with liquor, a good rule of thumb with desserts — you never want to run out! When I have a bride that is doing a full dessert bar, or a cake, cupcakes and some other sweets, I make sure that there is at least 1 cupcake per guest. I tend to order lighter on the other sweets because cupcakes are typically the big hit. If they are mini cupcakes, I tend to order 2-3 per guest. Both ways, it balances out the people that only have cake, that ones that only have cupcakes and the ones that want to try the different cupcake flavors.

Check out Bella Cupcake Couture’s fabulous blog too and see all sorts of fun and pretty cupcakes all dressed up and ready to go!

By Erin Frank

If you’re a Bay Area bride looking for the next undiscovered local goodie for your wedding, there’s no better place to uncover hidden gems than at the SF Underground Farmers Market hosted by ForageSF, a group interested in wild foods in our community. The Underground Market is a venue where you can taste and purchase food—cakes, cookies, ice creams, salsas, and more—that are produced in backyards and home kitchens in the area.  To sell treats at a traditional farmers market, you need to produce your wares in a commercial kitchen. The home cook doesn’t often have the cash or inclination to put up the money for a commercial kitchen.  The underground farmers market is all about giving you a taste of these truly home-baked or home-made foods.

My latest market find was chocolaty cupcakes topped with bing cherries made by Sugartit Kitchens. Sugartit Kitchens is based in Oakland, and is the creation of chefs Angie Serna and Amie Bailey, who occasionally join forces with other independent and like-minded food professionals and dilettantes. From cupcakes to pickles to special events, their focus is on creating great flavors with seasonal and local ingredients, garnished with a wink and a smile. You can find them on Facebook, Twitter (@sugartitkitchen) and by email at sugartitkitchens@gmail.com. Custom orders welcome.

Reach out to Sugartit Kitchens for more information, and keep an eye on the SF Underground Farmers Market website for details on the timing and location of the next market. Who knows what you might find next?!

By Lauren and Haney

A wedding can bring together family and friends, and it can highlight the beautiful talents of those you love.  We are fortunate to have the bride’s mother, Joyce, who is a talented designer, as our flower artist, and her aunt Deseree, who is a cake and events extraordinaire in Hong Kong, on our team.  Both are helping with the big day, and both are self-taught designers.  They are naturally creative, and you would not guess from their backgrounds that they have taught themselves how to build masterpieces.

Joyce, the mother of the bride, is designing the floral arrangements for the wedding reception.  She has worked with our theme colors, cardinal red, plum and lime green, to build the flower arrangements.  Here is a sneak preview of the wedding flowers in the photo.  The arrangements are designed with a unique combination of flowers, structure, and texture.

Deseree, the aunt of the bride, is designing the cake.  After the wedding, we will post photos of the final cake design, but you can see from her cake designs below that she is incredibly creative and talented.  Deseree lives in Hong Kong, where she is featured on cooking-themed TV stations like TVB, one of the biggest TV stations in Hong Kong, and in newspapers like the Apple Daily.  Deseree is truly a party queen, and her cake designs and creative themes are the gem of any party.

Both women are exceptionally talented, and we can’t wait to see the final wedding floral and cake designs. Continue to stay tuned, and we will post floral and cake photos of our wedding in the coming weeks!

Melangerie NYC Orange Dirty Laundry Guest Book

I was surfing Etsy using the “Suggested Shops” feature and I stumbled across Melangeric NYC. They make beautiful family genealogy charts for weddings (starting at $500!) but on the more affordable side are “Dirty Laundry” party kits. Basically, you get a package of twine, notecards and a detergent bottle with instructions for filling out the cards (shaped like pieces of clothing) with a funny story, little known fact or favorite memory. I asked my fiance, Guitar Fred, if he thought it’d be a clever idea for a guest book and he said he didn’t mind. I think it’d be fun too but wonder if it’s too casual for the occasion. Nonetheless, I wanted to share it with you all in case you’d like to use it at a bridal shower.

Melangerie NYC ORANGE Dirty Laundry Guest Book Kit

Melangerie NYC Orange Dirty Laundry - Instructions

By Elizabeth Zachry

I was on the hunt for the perfect person to do my friend’s make-up for her wedding.  As the wedding day got closer she got more and more stressed, so I decided to kick it into gear and conduct some pre-screenings.  By the time I met Nikol Elaine, my friend had already found someone to do her wedding day make-up, but I may have just found someone to someday do mine!

Typically when I think of make-up artists I tend to think: caked on make-up, overdone, and unrealistic. Nikol Elaine is the antithesis of those stereo-types, which was obvious when I met her.  Nikol’s own make-up looked perfect (and natural), and her huge smile and bubbly personality made me feel like I was meeting up with an old friend.  (Yes, I admit it, I will judge a make-up artist at first site, and if I feel like her make-up is too thick and un-natural, then I automatically assume that she will not understand the look I want.)

Nikol began her career with MAC Cosmetics, and has been a make-up artist for over seven years.  Her passion for her work, combined with her love of meeting new people makes make-up artistry an ideal career path for her.  She loves sharing her passion with all of her clients while getting to know them.  With each wedding, Nikol gets excited because she has the chance to be a part of someone’s special day.

Make-up is not permanent, but can reflect a variety of styles.  Overall, her wedding make-up style reflects a “less is more” attitude, and after being a part of the wedding industry since 2004, she has helped more brides bring out their natural beauty than she can count!

I asked Nikol for a few tips for all of you brides out there, and here they are:

1) When planning your bridal make-up, go soft and do not overdo it.  You want to make sure that the person in your photos still looks like you.

2) When doing your own make-up, clean your brushes!  One of the best ways to do this is soak them in brush cleanser for up to an hour followed up by rinsing them under water.  Afterward, wash them once with shampoo.

Nikol is willing to travel throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, and her reasonable rates begin at $75 for bridesmaids.  If you want a trial, Nikol is happy to schedule one with you, but it is entirely up to the bride.  It is hard to imagine someone not being comfortable around Nikol, so if you are still looking for a perfect-fit make-up artist, give her a call!

Nikol Elaine Makeup Artistry

707-953-6236

Nikol.elaine@gmail.com

www.nikolelaine.com

When I have the rare opportunity to be a guest at a wedding, especially a fun destination wedding, I squeal with joy when I check into my hotel room and there is a lovely welcome tote for me! With my type A personality, I scan the wedding weekend agenda and check out the deets on what fun ideas the bride and groom have suggested for me during my non-wedding activity downtime. Wedding guest welcome totes or what are also known as Out of Town (OOT) bags, are a fabulous way to connect with your guests on a personal level before the wedding festivities even begin. As a couple, you are sharing why you chose this great spot to be married in and letting them know that you care about their whole guest experience, not just during the wedding.

A fabulous pre-made tote from Kate Parker Weddings

As a planner, when working with a bride and groom who will be expecting the majority of their guests to be coming from out of town, I usually suggest a wedding guest welcome tote. Kate Parker Weddings has pre-made ones you can order and be sent directly to guest’s hotel rooms, or ask if your wedding planner can create and deliver these for you. This is a great way for your guests, who have taken the time to travel to your wedding, to become familiar with their new surroundings.

Here are my thoughts on what should be included in a wedding guest welcome tote and below I share some fun sample ideas for specific destinations.

A good welcome tote will have:

• Thank you: a quick note of thanks for coming to your big wedding weekend away
• Water: hydration is key after a great wedding
• Advil/Tylenol: just in case the morning after is a little foggy
• Snacks: a carb-o-licious one, a fruity one, and a sweet one
• Mints: gum looks horrible in wedding photos — mints are a great way to avoid this
• Wedding Weekend Agenda: let them know where to be when
• Map of Wedding Festivities: directions are always appreciated
• Local Area Map and Info: Label your fav spots and important finds, like the only gas station in town

Wedding day picture agenda from Leslie Hamer

Some fun extras would be:

• Travel candle: Paddywax makes the best by far
• Sunscreen
• Lip balm: especially when guests are flying in to a new location
• Lotion
• Dental floss

The best piece of advice I can share is to have fun with it. My husband loves those crazy plastic dental picks (I personally think they are super silly) but if we were to put those in our welcome totes for guests, everyone would “get” it because our friends know how much he loves them. The more personal the totes are, the more fun they become.

Best. Candles. Ever.

Fun love bird tote.

And you don’t have to stick everything in a tote. If costs start to get to high, the best place to shop is Target, Cost Plus, Costo, and Ikea. You can find the best items in bulk at these places. You can also get paper kraft bags with handles and rubber stamp your initials and your wedding date. Or find some great baskets! The possiblities are endless.

Here are some ideas and images to include as special extras for popular destinations:

The San Fran Tote:

• A small loaf of sourdough bread
• Ghiradelli chocolate
• Tickets to the Exploratorium
• Map of bart and muni buses with a $10 fare pass
• Magnent of the golden gate as a memoir
• Pashmina for when the fog rolls in

Boudin Sourdough, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Exploratorium Tickets, Red Pashmina from Pashminagifts.co.uk

The Wine Country Tote:

• A bottle opener
• 2 wine glasses and a bottle of wine from the area
• Picnic essentials such as a cheese knife and board
• Winery map
• Tasting note book
• Wine Tote

Built NY Wine Tote, Corkscrews.com, Williams Sonoma Wine Glasses, Cheeseboard and Knife from Lefsetime.com

The Beach Tote:

• Beach ball
• Sunscreen for sure
• Visor
• Beach towels: can be personalized with the couple’s name and date — such a great idea!
• Flip flops
• Sand bucket and toys: you can use the bucket as the “tote”!

Sand Pail from Polyvore.com, Alba Sun Products, Jcrew Beaded Flip Flops, Beach Towel from unitexonline.com

Again, these are fun ways to help your guests get acclimated to their new area and have a blast at your wedding celebration! Are you doing out of town bags for your guests? What great finds are you putting in them? Do share!

Thank you everyone for entering our contest!  We appreciate all of your comments and hopefully you will continue to leave us feedback on the site and tell us what you want to hear more of.

Congratulations Jaime!  We will be sending you an email asking for your address so we can mail your gift certificate for a one night stay and dinner for two at the El Dorado Hotel and Kitchen.

If you have any questions, or just want to say hi, please send us an email at info@bayareabrideguide.com.

Have a great week!