by Vera Devera

Succulent Wall Gorgeous and Green Events

I was on my way to rendezvous with Guitar Fred, my fiance, when I walked by a cute store that beckoned to me with a wall of succulents. Yes, a wall. My jaw dropped and I wandered in and to the right, I saw a wall of jewel-toned vintage glass and plenty of fine white milk glass (which is what we’re using in our 10/10/10 wedding). I then realized that this was the new retail shop for Gorgeous and Green Events by Pilar Zuniga that I had heard about from fellow brides!

I have admired Pilar’s work from afar and I was excited to get up close and personal. Brides — if you’re looking to bring inspiration you see on Style Me Pretty or 100 Layer Cake to life, you must stop here. If you decide to DIY, you can purchase or rent pieces from Pilar. Or, just hire her! The following is my interview with Pilar.

Q. How did you get started?
A. I’ve always been crafty and creative and grew up doing floral design with my Aunt, but I really jumped in to wedding and event design with my own wedding. My husband and I wanted to plan a celebration that would be sustainable and not as polluting as most weddings and events. So, I did a lot of research and started to become my own green wedding expert. After helping a few friends, I decided to start a business.

Q. What do you love most about designing events? What inspires you?
A. I love being creative. A full day of work will go by and I won’t realize it, because I get to use my brain and make things with my hands, it’s what I love. I try to get inspired by the people I work with and their stories. Of course, I also get inspired by living things, plants, flowers, animals, the forest, etc. I also like most things vintage, so I’m partial to the 1940’s and 1960’s and everything kitchy about old eras, like Candy stores from Willy Wonka or Diamonds, Pearls and Silk and Black and White movies from Hollywood.

Gorgeous and Green Events Boutique

Q. Why should couples consider working with an event designer?
A. Because we usually have good ideas! And we can help you create the wedding of your dreams in your budget range. My area is green weddings and events, so I help make the event and decor sustainable as well as beautiful.

Q. What sets you apart?
A. First, the sustainability factor. I truly work to make all my floral designs and decor sustainable and eco-friendly, and I’ve learned a lot about being green so I can help folks stay green in other aspects of their event. Second, I try to work with just about every budget. I’m super transparent about costs and for folks on a budget, I try to work creatively and smart to help them get the look they are going for within the price range they can afford.

Q. What’s your favorite part of a wedding?
A. My favorite part of the wedding is the getting ready part. It’s so fun to watch people get their outfits on and get prepared for the big day. Everything starts to come together and there’s so much excitement in the air.

Q. What’s your favorite place to find unique or vintage pieces?
A. Well, I like visiting the Alameda Antiques fair, but prices can be a little high there. They do have some cool items. I also have some secret places around the Bay that I visit regularly to find vintage gems to stock in my store.

Q. What can’t you leave home without?
A. These days, my travel mug filled with tea. I need the caffeine in the morning and I have always love tea and the ceremony of making tea and sweetening it just right.

Q. Just for fun: what’s surprised you most about being married?
A. What’s surprised me most has been the level of support I’ve gotten from my husband, he truly is a life partner.

{All photos by Vera Devera with permission from Pilar}
Pilar Zuniga, Gorgeous and Green Events
A Certified Bay Area Green Business
510.599.3616
www.gorgeousandgreenevents.com

If you are looking for extraordinary centerpieces, expect the unexpected from Tina Vietmeier, founder of Urban FarmGirls.  I ran into Tina in 2009 at the Inner Sunset Farmer’s Market.  While one of her specialties is custom container gardens set in amazing handmade pots, I was drawn to one of Tina’s other top sellers—her sustainable wreaths.  Tina weaves together moss, succulents, air plants and more to create one-of-a-kind living wreaths.  I’m in love with the idea of keeping a wreath alive.  It’s so sad to see cut flowers droop, or be limited to dried flowers alone.  Why not place one of Tina’s wreaths on each table at your wedding, and fill the middle with pillar candles of varying heights?  When the festivities are over, these amazing centerpieces would make lovely gifts for the people who’ve helped you most.

Tina has worked with brides in the past to create custom centerpieces and decor for their big day.  She can even create unique bridal bouquets and boutonnieres with succulents and air plants.  Prices for the wreaths start at $45 for 8″ hearts, then go to $75 for 8″ rounds.  10″ rounds are $85, 12″ rounds $95. Larger sizes like 14, 16 or 18 ” wreaths start at $175 and can go up to $350.

Are you looking for a unique favor idea?  Try gifting your guests with a 3″ starter pot filled with a succulent starter plant. Urban FarmGirls has them in a wide variety of shapes, colors, and styles starting at $8.

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In the world of digital bliss, planning is very easily managed online. If it isn’t in your excel spreadsheet, or shared google docs, it might be your online calendar, or the latest mobile app. Whatever the case, increasingly daily tasks are completed online. Why not use those same principles when planning your wedding? When it comes to weddings, somehow it is easy to end up nowhere close to where you started out. With online wedding tools, life can get a little easier.

I’ve already covered Google’s free Wedding Docs, but there is so much more ground to cover when it comes to budget friendly and green eWedding options. Here’s a simple idea to keep things PRACTICAL, and more importantly BUDGET FRIENDLY – Integrate your Wedding Invitations and RSVP process online.

eCard RSVP Online

Wedshare.com is a great resource for online wedding invitations with a seamless integration into your wedding website.

Reasons why you should consider this option:

1) Save Money – Create beautiful designs that match your wedding website and send them instantly to all your wedding guests. When you add up the costs for the paper, custom design, envelope, postage, and reply cards, it will be a nice little bundle of savings.

2) Save Time – When you send the invitations out to your wedding guests, they can instantly reply with their response with just a click of the mouse. The wedding responses are populated into your wedding guest list hosted on your Wedshare wedding website. No need to create a manual wedding list because the process is complete for you.

3) Save Paper – This is obvious. No paper trail.

For those of you who still want paper invitations. I have an alternative option for you.

4) Zero-Carbon Wedding Stationery – You can still be GREEN! Wedshare.com partners with Wedvert.com to provide you with a “zero-carbon wedding stationery line. The paper used for the VERT line is made from of 100% PCW (Post Consumer Waste), and is FSC certified (Forest Stewardship Council). The paper is Processed Chlorine Free (PCF), made Carbon Neutral (CN), and can be recycled. Soy-based inks are used which are biodegradable and do not necessitate the use of toxic cleaners.”

And…you can still match your wedding invites to your wedding website design!

If you follow the philosophy, KISS, this is a great option. No need to make your wedding process more difficult, or more expensive than it needs to be. For the PRACTICAL and BUDGET wedding couples, this is for YOU.

By Elizabeth Zachry

Destination weddings have become increasingly popular.  If you are considering having a destination wedding but want to keep it relatively close, then Yosemite could be your answer.  When planning a Yosemite wedding you have the option of having your wedding ceremony and reception in the Yosemite Valley at one of the hotels, or just outside the park at the Tenaya Lodge.

Yosemite Valley

Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, the Ahwahnee, and the Wawona hotels are all located inside the Yosemite Valley, offering the unique wildlife and vistas offered in Yosemite.  Their locations are perfect for nearly any size wedding, and are capable of servicing anywhere from 25 to 200 guests.  Along with fantastic views and their unique location, all three hotels offer world class chef’s to prepare the food for your reception, with packages ranging from $39 per guest up to $165 per guest (varying depending on location, time of the week, and food packages).   You have the option of booking mid-week or on weekends year-round.

Tenaya

The Tenaya Lodge encompasses 35 acres of gorgeous property located two miles south of Yosemite.  Tenaya is positioned to offer you a beautiful wedding location, while also offering the unique amenities associated with Yosemite.  There are a variety of locations throughout the property that are ideally suited to host wedding ceremonies and receptions, and the lodge can accommodate as many as 800 guests and the wonderful chef at Tenaya works with couples to create a menu that fits their needs and style.  They are a fully certified green hotel, using organic and sustainable resources in addition to focusing on recycling and composting.  The recently renovated spa offers a great place to relax either before or after your wedding day.

In addition to all of these fantastic amenities, all locations provide you with help from an event coordinator.  The coordinator can help you plan activities for your guests, turning their trip into a vacation.  These activities include biking, rafting, hiking, a group moonlight tram, and anything else you can think of that the Yosemite Valley offers.

Contact information:

Janis Kunz – Group Services manager for DNC Parks and Resorts at Yosemite, Inc.  – jkunz@dncinc.com

http://www.yosemitepark.com/MeetingsEvents_Weddings.aspx

Kim DaSilva – Wedding and Special Events Manager Tenaya Lodge – kdasilva@dncinc.com

http://www.tenayalodge.com/Weddings.aspx

By Megan Peters

Okay, okay, I’m admitting it; I am definitely addicted to sugar. I love myself a piece of 7-layer cake, lemon pound cake, chocolate chip cookies, brownies you name it. I am the ultimate sugar-a-holic. I am telling you this because today I am trying my best to not eat any, and oh my am I freaking out. I’m not so sure I can handle it; it’s hitting me now. I’m craving it, I want it, just give me some already.

This is like a diary of a fat woman, I swear. Except you all get to actually read it.  Trust me I would not normally announce this to the world. This is not the first time I have tried this either. I am trying to make an effort by supporting my fiancé who is also not eating sugar till the wedding. By the way did I mention its super easy for him to just stop? Not fair. Anyhow, I can’t even concentrate long enough to think of a bright idea on what to write to you all. So I am telling you what I am going through and that is my fight with sugar. Anyone else going insane not eating something?

By the way, if you see a crazy woman in the grocery store buying a piece of cake at 3AM say “hello” it’s probably me.

Last weekend, I attended the Bridal Walk hosted by the Union Street Wedding Ring, a consortium of shops that caters to brides and their entourages and sells or provides pretty much anything you would need for your big day. I strolled down the 6-block stretch of Union Street on a sunny Sunday afternoon and visited the 20-odd shops that were prepared and excited to talk to me about my every bridal whim and need.

After arriving to a VIP reception with mimosas, munchies, and maids of honor at The Matrix on Fillmore Street, I started on my trek. These were some of the highlights I found…

David Clay Jewelers: Friendly, helpful salespeople and some unusual pieces. For instance, they’re one of the only jewelers in the city that carries Alex Sepkus’ line.

An Alex Sepkus wedding band

They suggested I try on some rose gold bands to go with my white gold engagement ring. I never would have thought of doing that, and it looks amazing. Sold!

Haute Bride: They have a small selection of dresses, but where this shop really shines is their accessories. Owner Lindsie Jones makes much of the jewelry herself. Whether you are looking for a veil or a feathered headpiece, some elbow-length gloves or  some major bling to spruce up a simple wedding dress, this is the place to go. Most of their pieces can be customized, so if you see something you love but wish it were rhinestones instead of pearls, they can make it for you.

Union Street Papery: This paper person’s wildest dream (yes, I actually still write down all of my appointments and notes in an actual date book with an actual pen) has a great variety of styles of invites and a range of prices from reasonable to astronomical. They carry more stationary designs than any other paper store that I’ve ever been to! The Papery is also celebrating their 25th anniversary in the Bay Area.

Union Street Papery

And, in the end, supporting local businesses and working with their proprietors – your neighbors – feels great.

As for the Union Street Wedding Ring, the proceeds from the ticket sales ($20 regular//$45 VIP, which includes gift bag) go to support a local charity, the Thrive House for Youth. Check out www.unionstreetweddingring.com for their next event, which will be sometime this summer.

By Elizabeth Zachry

Planning a wedding can be much tougher than it seems, and when you are looking for help you would probably like to turn to your best friend.  You should make Stephanie Anderson from One Fine Day Event Planning your new best friend.   She works closely with her brides to make their wedding special and unique by focusing on their visions and coordinating with the vendors to make sure the day goes without a hitch.

Focus Photo Tahoe

Stephanie started in event planning in college with an internship for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and assisted in coordinating their star-studded events.  After college, she worked in the hotel industry helping grow their wedding business.  Eventually, she decided to branch out on her own and formed One Fine Day Event Planning, based in both the San Francisco Bay Area and Lake Tahoe.  Aspiring event planners need to be able to multi-task (how many brides do you think can you juggle at once?), stay organized, and work on a number of different styles, and Stephanie possesses each of these qualities.  Her events are formed around the inspiration boards she and the brides create using ideas pulled from a variety of sources, with these boards focusing on what the bride wants incorporated into her special day.

Catherine Hall Studios

For Stephanie, the best part about her job is being able to work with every client on their vision, creating the look and feel of the wedding, and putting all the pieces together to make sure the wedding runs smoothly and is exactly what the couple wants.  One tip she has for brides is to determine first the number of guests, and then make an excel spreadsheet with your budget and estimate the number of dollars you intend to spend on each category (flowers, cake, venue, etc.).

Focus Photo Tahoe

One Fine Day is the perfect choice for every bride because packages are offered regardless of how much (or little) you already have planned.  If you have all your vendors, then Stephanie will be there to coordinate with each vendor and give them time lines for the wedding day and be their go-to person day of, taking the pressure off the bride.  For brides who are just starting the planning process, Stephanie is happy to help with vendor suggestions.  Packages of all types range from $1,500 to $7,000, and everything is customized around your needs.

If you are feeling overwhelmed or do not know where to start, you should give One Fine Day a call.

Stephanie Anderson

http://www.onefinedayevents.com/

Lake Tahoe: (530) 386-1609
San Francisco: (415) 350-9639

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Swiss Delices Fine Bakery and Pastry Shop is not your usual wedding cake baker. With a staff of 6 between both their Castro Valley and Hayward locations, they offer authentic European cakes made from all natural ingredients.

Christine Clement, the founder of Swiss Delices states emphatically, “All of our cakes and icings are made from scratch using real butter, eggs and other high-quality fresh ingredients. We use only organic flour and organic or pesticide free fruits. We do not use high fructose corn syrup or shortening.” Her strong belief in high quality ingredients reaches across all her baked goods. The cake fondants are flown in from Europe where they use glucose instead of high fructose corn syrup and all her chocolate cakes contain at least 55% cocoa beans. The chefs even use vanilla bean for flavoring instead of vanilla extract.

She also buys local as much as possible by utilizing farmer markets and recommending clients to use in season fresh fruit.
But, her most popular cakes may come as no surprise – Chocolate Mousse and Lemon White Chocolate Cakes. I tried both and they were delicious!

Working with customers everyday at her bakery, she is very much in tune with what clients requests. She offers cakes that can be customized with a different cake per tier. For example, if you order a 3 tier cake – the top layer could be chocolate mouse, the middle lemon white chocolate, and the bottom tier carrot cake. For the budget conscious customer needing to serve many guests, she makes secondary sheet cakes that feed many people at a much lower cost.

But, wedding cakes are just a small portion of her Swiss bakery business. She is very much a part of the Castro Valley community serving fresh baked morning pastries to clients, soup made from scratch, and hosts weekly Wednesday play dates for children. Even if you are not looking for a wedding cake, her bakery is worth checking out.

To make a cake tasting appointment, call Christine – (510) 393-3121

Swiss Delices Fine Bakery & Pastry
20669 Santa Maria Ave.
Castro Valley, CA 94546
(510) 881-8669

By Erin Frank

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know by now I have a sweet tooth.  Imagine my satisfaction when I came across a table brimming with mini pecan pies, sweet potato pies, pecan pralines, red velvet cupcakes and more at sfnoir’s Wine & Food Gala this weekend.  The creator of this sweet spread?  Yvonne Hines, a baker and Bay Area native who is whipping up delightful Southern-style cakes and cookies just the way she likes them.

Take her Pecan Pralines for example—the Southern candy confection made with butter, sugar, milk and pecans is her signature sweet.  My personal favorite is her “Old School” Butter Cookie, a retro style treat based on the cookie recipe used at her school cafeteria growing up.  Yvonne’s authentic flavors and family recipes add a touch of nostalgia to her desserts.

I’d never recommend something I didn’t try for myself, so of course I had to have one of each. And at an event where I was already stuffed to the gills and limiting the portions I ate of each dish, Yvonne’s desserts were the one thing I ate every crumb of.  Her pecan pie has just the right amount of sweet with an incredibly layered flavor.  Her Red Velvet cupcakes are moist little cakes with just a touch of frosting.  If you’re looking for a fun twist on traditional treats for a dessert bar at your wedding, Pralines by Yvonne might be just what you need.

Want a little of everything but can’t imagine not cutting the cake?  In addition to her pies and cookies Yvonne makes buttery pound cakes, carrot cake, German chocolate cake, and even something called “Mama’s 7-Up Cake.”  I’ll be heading to her bakery to try some of these for myself (in the name of research of course!).

I’m continually amazed at all this area has to offer, and I love meeting bakers and chefs who express themselves through something delicious.  Yvonne started her business baking for friends and family, then turned her passion into a profession.  As she says, “It has been a sweet journey.”  With a mouth full of butter cookie crumbs, I had to agree.

Pralines by Yvonne

5128 Third Street, San Francisco, CA  94124

www.pralinesbyyvonne.com

For more information on special orders for weddings contact Yvonne at pralines@mail.com.