December is a holiday-filled month. A classic winter wedding taking place in December can easily turn into a tightrope walk for many brides: How do you embrace the season and your favorite holiday without looking like your wedding is one big Christmas celebration? Cancel Santa’s invitation — we’ve got a few tips on how to pull it off, plus just a few pictures from a couple who got it right! Adding just a touch of Christmas to your big day will put your guests in a festive holiday mood without guests wondering when the gift exchange starts.

Tips for Making Spirits Bright on Your Wedding Day:

• Don’t shy away from Christmas’ iconic red and green. It’s all about how you use them! Choose one as your primary and use the other as an accent only. An even division of the colors can quickly border on Christmas overkill. Our bride put the emphasis on red, and chose a deep, subdued tone, rather than Santa’s jolly bright red.
• Use the greenery of the season. Sprays of pine needles, pine cones, holly, mistletoe and branches can accent red hypericum berries, amaryllis blossoms, white roses and more in your floral arrangements.
• Keep your bridesmaids warm. Faux-fur wraps make great gifts for bridesmaids and result in elegant photos. Consider chocolate brown wraps for your bridesmaids and a snowy white one for yourself.
• Serve up some seasonal flavor! Our bride and groom plated up prime rib with a sprig of rosemary. Favors were individually-packaged squares of peppermint bark—dark and white chocolate with crushed peppermint.
• Save any holiday music for the dinner hour. Dinner is the appropriate time for a few of your favorite holiday tunes if you’re eager to include them. Keep the tempo slow and find the orchestral versions when possible. Think a violin rendition of Silent Night rather than the lyrics to Jingle Bells.
• The dazzle is in the details. Think of little ways to charm or amuse your guests with a nod to the holiday. Aim for something more subtle than a giant Christmas tree. Our couple set a tiny bell at each place setting that people could ring  to get the couple to kiss, creating the tinkling of silver bells instead of the clang of silverware against glasses.

Congrats to newlyweds Brian and Jen Kasbek, and thanks for letting us have a look at a lovely understated wedding that celebrates the Christmas season!

You’ve finally found “the One,” and as soon as you’re engaged you have to set out in search of your next true love—that one store you want to register at. Of course, you can register at two, or even three stores, but guests can get overwhelmed if you try anything beyond that. But what if that perfect silverware is at one store, the dishes at another, the sheets at a third, the appliances at a fourth…and so on? And why do you have to limit yourself, when any other kind of shopping means the whole world is your oyster?

A new service called RegistryStop couldn’t agree more. RegistryStop.com is a registry service that allows you to base your registry on the products—not the stores—you want. RegistryStop’s CEO, Craig Kerstiens, just got married just a few weeks ago (congrats, Craig!). During the process of registering, Craig was frustrated with his limited choices. We’ve all been here: Craig and his fiance, wanted Riedel wine glasses. They were carried at all three of the stores they registered at, but they had to choose just one to list the glasses at in order to avoid receiving multiple sets. Craig wanted his guests to have the ability to buy the glasses at the cheapest price, regardless of the store. Very considerate in these lean times! Unfortunately that just wasn’t possible.

Enter RegistryStop. Craig’s changed from a guy frustrated with an overly complicated wedding process to part of a team that makes registering better. Their mobile app lets you scan products from any store to your online registry, and you can add additional products via the web as well. Plus, RegistryStop helps your guests find the best prices, which means less cost for them and more gifts for you!

By Erin Frank

Alterations are tricky. I’ve heard horror stories of brides whose dresses were ruined by sloppy, irreversible alterations, the results of which are generally revealed only right before the wedding (i.e. when it’s too late to do anything other than wear it unhappily or drop a ton of cash on a new dress at the last minute). I’ve also heard from brides who were hustled out of the bridal salon by a harried seamstress without a final fitting, only to find their last-minute fixes were never made and the bridal shop closed.

Tips for “Smooth Alterations”:

Shop early for the following and bring them to each fitting: Shoes, veil, jewelry (especially a necklace, as this might affect the neckline of the finished dress), and any slimming or enhancing undergarments you plan to wear.

Ensure deadlines are appropriate. Deadlines and multiple fittings are key to getting a dress altered well and on time. Take your dress in for alterations no later than 6 or 8 weeks before the wedding to allow enough time to get the job done.

Don’t diet yourself out of your dress size. You’re doing yourself and your seamstress a disservice by creating a last minute crisis situation when that dress is falling off of your newly bony frame.

Ask the right questions. There are no “dumb” questions when it comes to your wedding day. Make sure you understand exactly what work will be done when, when your final fitting is, when you can pick up your dress, and whether or not the alterations shop will press your dress for you before pick-up. Always try the dress on one last time to confirm that final changes or repairs were indeed made as you requested.

For my October wedding last year, I took my dress to SF’s Novella Bridal (www.novellabridal.com). I loved the results. I had ordered a dress with a tight fit that accommodated my disproportionately large lower half, which meant there was a lot to take in on the top. Knowing this, I wanted to go somewhere with great word of mouth that was friendly to dresses bought from other bridal salons (I had recently moved to SF and bought my dress before leaving New York). I enjoyed their professionalism, the timing, and the amazing finished dress.

Where do you think is the best place for bridal alterations in the Bay Area? Have you had a wedding dress mishap thanks to a careless seamstress? Share your experiences in the comments below!

When I got married I never even entertained the idea of making my own wedding cake—namely because I thought it would be impossible. But there’s a craft tool for everything these days, including one that makes professional-looking cake decorations a snap for even the most novice of bakers. The Cricut Cake is a machine specifically designed for decorating cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and more. It cuts perfect, and at times intricate, shapes out of sheets of frosting you run through the machine. Choose a shape, a size, and press “cut.” Then top your basic, plain cake with it for instant color and style. You can make stylish swirls, colorful monograms with your initials as a couple—the possibilities are pretty much endless. Use it for your wedding cake, then to bake birthday cakes and cupcakes in the years to come.

Have any brides had experience with the Cricut Cake? We’d love to hear if it worked for you, so please leave a comment!

Photo by Michael Venera

Across the bridge from San Francisco lies Cavallo Point, an unforgettable wedding venue that may not even be on your radar. Located in Horseshoe Cove and originally inhabited by the coastal Miwok tribes, this site used to be Fort Baker, which was established long before there was a Golden Gate Bridge. Once an active military base, the fort became part of the National Park system when it was no longer needed by the military. Now its historic buildings, and a few new ones, make up Cavallo Point—The Lodge at The Golden Gate.

Cavallo Point Lodge covers 14,000 square feet of indoor venue space and 12,500 feet of  outdoor space with views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay. It offers several different venues for weddings, brunches, rehearsal dinners, and more, plus on-site catering by Chef Joseph Humphrey. Typical receptions include trays of passed canapés, an artisan cheese station, drinks, an amuse bouche, a 2-course plated meal, and a wedding cake. Plus, you can opt for features like an iced shellfish or petit four station for your guests along with house-made chocolate favors. An $8,000 facility fee rents space for the ceremony and reception for 6 hours, basics like chairs/tables/linens, a dance floor, setup and breakdown, a dressing room for the bride, and a suite for the bride and groom on their wedding night.

Beyond the beauty of their surroundings, your guests will love the lodging on site and all the activities Cavallo Point has to offer. Guests can take hikes and historical walks around the property, attend a private or group yoga class, take cooking school classes on site, kayak under the Golden Gate Bridge, try their hand at sailing and yachting, and turn your wedding weekend into a wine country exploration of nearby Napa and Sonoma Valleys. They’ll love this quiet, romantic getaway, and so will you.

Cavallo Point
The Lodge at Golden Gate
601 Murray Circle
Fort Baker
Sausalito, CA 94965
415-339-4700
groups@cavallopoint.com
www.cavallopoint.com

Bay Area brides are well aware of one thing: Weather cannot be trusted. One day the sky could be sunny and clear, the next day rain is sheeting down, running in rivulets around you and ruining your carefully constructed open-air wedding. The best defense against unexpected downpours is preparation and a good attitude. Here are a few tips for taking a rain day in stride rather than letting it stop your wedding in its tracks.

1) Consider a back-up location

A small deposit at a local restaurant or other indoor space could give you some much-needed piece of mind. Get all hands on deck to grab flowers and decor if you decide to relocate due to rain. If you’re determined to have the ceremony outside, I encourage you to consider an indoor reception venue. When selecting the venue, imagine where and how you’d hold the ceremony there if the weather forces you indoors ahead of schedule. If needed, guests can always be seated at dinner tables as they watch you exchange vows.

2) Tent it up

Tents offer both shade for warm days and shelter from mild rains. Side flaps can be ordered for the tent to keep out heavier rains on windy days, but be sure to take them down if the day turns out to be warm—you don’t want your guests sweating from heat trapped in the tent.  Special Events offers tents for ceremonies and receptions of any size: www.bayareatents.com.

3) Discuss rain locations with your photographer

Photography packages often include a pre-wedding meeting on-site to discuss the logistics of the wedding day. Take advantage of this time to scour your wedding and reception sites for great indoor places to take photos. Ask your photographer to bring appropriate lighting. Planning alternate locations will save your photographer added time scrambling for good inside shots at the last minute. Finally, if you’ve got your heart set on that perfect picture with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, schedule a second shoot for a later date. It gives you a great excuse to wear your dress again, the groom can wear a black suit if his tux was rented, and you’ll get gorgeous photos and have the photographer all to yourselves.

4) Umbrella elegant

Pretty parasols can offer protection for your guests, but the paper variety can leave them with a soggy mess on their hands. Brides looking to splurge can buy a lovely waterproof polyester parasol from Bella Umbrella, or event rent them for a reasonable fee at www.bellaumbrella.com. They also make great gifts for bridesmaids. If you want to shelter the majority of your guests, buy in bulk—you should be able to get prices down to about $2 per umbrella.

5) When life hands you lemons, make lemonade

When it comes down to a rainy wedding day, it’s all about how you handle it. The bridal party, and the bride in particular, sets the tone for the day. If you’re crying because you feel your wedding day is ruined by rain, not only are you missing special moments from a once-in-a-lifetime event, but you’re turning your guests’ joy into concern and disappointment. If it rains, take it in stride. You’re prepared, you have a back up plan, and your positive energy will spread through the room like sunshine.

Photo by Juni via Wikicommons.

By Erin Frank

With pumpkin season in full swing, I wanted to share a delicious recipe for DIY pumpkin butter. This recipe by Virginia Jane’s Flavorful Edibles is very easy to prepare in large batches, and pumpkin butter makes the perfect homemade favor for a Fall-themed wedding. If you’ve never had pumpkin butter, it’s a tasty treat that’s great with oatmeal, on toast, with either peanut butter or jam, and more. Enjoy!

Combine pumpkin, sugar, apple cider and spices in a large pot, heavy-bottomed if possible. Turn heat to medium and stir until sugar dissolves and spices blend. Increase heat and cook until mixture comes to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 30 minutes continuing to stir until thickened. Transfer to clean containers and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

You can safely double or triple this recipe without damaging the flavor. For a bargain on jars in bulk, Fillmore Container has terrific prices on all different sizes of jars. The Container Store also has an excellent selection of hermetic jars. Finish this simple gift with some cloth around the top and a rubber band, closed in by ribbon. Ribbon and cloth won’t be affected by refrigeration. The whole ensemble can be ready to go on the big day!

You may want to make a simple tag with ingredients and suggestions for how your guests can enjoy it, be sure to include an expiration date. It’s very important that the finished butter be refrigerated; it cannot be kept on a pantry shelf. Even if you are familiar with home canning, still follow this guideline; the acidity level of pumpkin is too low for safe home preservation. The pumpkin butter will stay safe to eat for 6 months in refrigeration from the day it was made.

By Erin Frank

If you’re planning to give a thank you gift to your bridesmaids, think about selecting some great jewelry. Not only can they wear it on your wedding day, but if you play your cards right, and get pieces with character, they’ll end up wearing them for years to come.

We here at Bay Area Bride Guide love shopping local. I just spotted this gorgeous handmade sterling silver jewelry by San Francisco-based Kendra Renee. I love the mix of hard metal with a sense of romance. It’s perfect for a wedding and bridesmaids with a little edge. Find more pieces at Kendra’s Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/KendraRenee.

“Be prepared” may be the scout motto, but it’s great advice for a bridal party as well. Maids of Honor and Mothers of the Bride (or any well prepared family member or friend) can save everyone a lot of grief by packing a well-stocked emergency kit. At a recent wedding I was blown away by the level of preparedness shown by the photographer. Check out the amazing emergency kit pictured here! Here are just a few of the items they pack for every event:

Allergy Medicine
Tide Pens and Shout Wipes
Hair Spray
Antacids
Ibuprofen/Aspirin
Contact Lens Case and Solution
Mole Skin
Hairbands / Bobby Pins
Eye Drops
Floral Pins
Safety Pins
Lighter
Nail Glue / Nail Clippers and File
Sharpie
Tweezers
And, of course, booze! Miniature bottles of alcohol can work wonders to calm an overwrought bride or groom.

Obviously, these folks are prepared for a multiple weddings per month. A tackle box full of items doesn’t make much sense for your one day occasion.

Here’s what to pack for your one-time only event:

Band Aids
Safety Pins
Concealer — go one further and bring tiny pots of the bride’s makeup with you
Bobby Pins
Listerine Spray
Emery Board
Hairspray
Fashion Tape
Small Folding Scissors
Aspirin
Pepto Bismol Tablets — they handle both heartburn and nausea
White Chalk — for covering up small stains on a bride’s dress
Q-tips — if you or your bridesmaids will be handling your own makeup
And last, but not least, tissues for the inevitable tears of joy.

With just a little bit of planning ahead everyone will enjoy a less stressful wedding day. Be prepared—your bride will thank you!

By Erin Frank

I like a little wedding with my honeymoon. When you pair a destination wedding with your happily-ever-after there are a huge number of benefits. For one thing, you can leave it to the professionals. You know you’re getting a dedicated staff that specializes in handling events like yours and is familiar with what the venue can offer you. On-location lodging for you and your guests means you won’t have to worry about transportation to and from ceremony and reception venues. Throw in perks like swim-up bars and lounging on the beach, and your guests are guaranteed to have a good time with minimal planning on your part. Plus, you won’t have anyone asking if they can crash on your couch right before your big day.

During a recent stay at Azul Sensatori Hotel by Karisma in Cancun, Mexico, I found myself wondering what it would have been like if I had scrapped my DIY-intensive San Francisco wedding last year (and I do mean intense! It’s a lot of work when you handle everything from decorations to food to flowers), and gone instead for a relaxing beachside ceremony with my favorite family and friends. Here’s what I would have enjoyed:

An on-site wedding coordinator, a wedding guest concierge to get my guests settled in without my help, a personal attendant to the bride—what a dream!—and a groom’s room stocked with food and beverages before the wedding, to keep the guys out of my hair.  I think I would have opted for the Gold Wedding Package, which includes everything a couple could ask for. We’re talking a bouquet and boutonniere, a manicure and hairstyle for the bride, a haircut for the groom, a sunset dinner cruise, a professional wedding photographer (complete with negatives and a wedding album), a Mexican wedding certificate translated to English, and a whole lot more, all for $3,500. Thinking about what it costs to hire a photographer alone, I’m kicking myself for not discovering this sooner.

A beachside venue really takes your wedding to a new level. Have your ceremony on the beach or on a rooftop overlooking the water. Drink champagne while you check-in, schedule candlelight oceanfront dinners and seaside massages, and let your guests do the same! Encourage them to come to the resort early and clear out after the wedding so your honeymoon can be blissfully family-free. During their stay, your guests will enjoy the beach, pools, bars, a spa, and 6 gourmet-inclusive restaurants including Le Chique, a swanky adults-only restaurant with a creative eight-course “Author’s Dinner” where every taste and texture will take you by surprise. After the wedding, soothe away any stressors your personal assistant couldn’t take care of with soaks in the your Jacuzzi bathtub or piña coladas by the pool. Forget getting up early to head to the airport. Instead enjoy breakfast in bed to kick off your honeymoon. Relax—you’re already there!

So, you tell me, is your 1-year anniversary too soon for a destination vow renewal ceremony?

Azul Sensatori Hotel by Karisma

Cancun, Mexico

www.karismahotels.com