You’re engaged, now what?

Hello!

I am beyond excited to report that we have over 1500 entries after just one week!  I couldn’t help myself over the weekend, and started reading some of the entries, and I’m thrilled. A little tip as I’ve been reading the entries thus far.  Do tell your story in detail and make it compelling, I love a good love story, and so will everyone who will be voting for you.

It’s Monday, and we are all back at work and busy with our upcoming projects.  Really loving the way our client’s Valentine’s Day birthday dinner is shaping up.   Today, I thought I would give some tips to all of you who are knee deep in trying to figure out your wedding plans.  You just got engaged, now what?  There are obviously a million details to think about but I am going to start you off with the basics.

Where do I start when hired?  The first thing I have my clients work on is organizing their guest list.  After all, if you don’t know how many guests you are inviting, you will probably have a hard time figuring out an appropriate budget and you really can’t be looking at locations yet, lest the places may be too large and cavernous for your needs, or potentially too small.  Once you’ve gotten your guest list down on paper, so to speak, you can rest assured no matter how much people love you, not everyone will be able to attend, so this is not your final number but certainly a good place to start.  Starting to collect everyone’s address will be another task you may want to take on sooner rather than later.

Now that you have a guest list together, the next task at hand is budget.  You may need to discuss this with both of your families, as well as amongst each other, if you are planning to contribute.  Having a budget means you have a guideline.  This will help you keep your costs in line.  Clearly, a guideline is important, if you commit to a photographer that is too high, you may not be able to have the cake you are dreaming of.  Imagine the travesty!  There are many applications online that can assist you in putting a budget together.

Once you have your guest list and a budget you are ready to start some serious planning.  You are ready to look at locations.  When scouting locations, again, be sure the space is neither too cavernous, nor too small for your wedding, as neither is appealing.  It’s also important to get a thorough cost estimate from the locations you are considering, as to avoid any costly mistakes with your budget.

Gotta run… I have locations to scout and budgets to review.  Have a great week everyone.

Yifat

PS – My friend stopped by at the Crate and Barrel store in Beverly Hills over the weekend and took this photo… I can’t say I wasn’t a little giddy.

trWeekend Digs

This is my weekend house in Marrakech.  Not really, but I’m working on it.  I’ll let you know when it’s ready.

Dreaming Thumbprints…

Stef and I are off to  Hawaii for a site inspection tomorrow… terrible job we have, right?  Anyhow, I just saw this unbelievably beautiful idea on photographer Jonas Peterson’s website.  Jonas is Swedish born and resides in Brisbane, Australia.  We came across his work when our sweet client from Dallas sent us a link.  His photos show an interesting perspective.  I consider myself a bit of a photography snob, and I rather love his work.  I can’t believe it’s all digital, some of it really looks like film.   

Back to this groovy idea below… I’m going to dream about thumbprint trees tonight.  Maybe I will make one for my family.  More to come from later in the week from the aloha state as we are sure to uncover some greatness out there.  Mahalo and good night.

 

A Wedding from Within

Some of you may have met Amy Cain during her time at YOA.  Recently, Amy married her now husband Osamu and Stefanie and I were so honored to be invited (seriously, the guest list was tight).   Anyhow, it was kind of amusing to attend a wedding as a guest, I kind of didn’t  know what to do with myself.   Amy was a stellar event producer during her tenure at YOA and did a tremendous job on her own nuptials, as to be expected.   Here are a couple of shots taken by the ever talented Gia Canali.  Amy’s bouquet was all Peonies (really, why bother getting married in May if you’re not going to have peonies??).  The florist, GD Designers, used a coral colored Peony, which could just be my favorite flower on the planet,  I want to live in it.   The lovely young couple was  married in front of a wall of succulents so the ceremony took place in a circle of succulents,  simply beautiful.

Osamu is moving to Northern California so he may complete his medical residency at Stanford (not such a dummy), and sadly for us he is taking the delightful Amy with him (also not a dummy).  Amy was a great asset to YOA, there was really very little that Amy couldn’t do.  She revamped our website, designed the new office addition, had a great eye and intuitively knew what I would like/dislike aesthetically, and of course produced some great weddings and events.  She will be missed.  BUT, thanks to the wonderful world of technology, Amy will be working on some projects remotely.

Best wishes to Amy and Osamu.

Get Encausted

We just love these encaustic photo panels by Gia Canali, one of our fave photographers.  As a lover of all things old, I love Gia’s work because it has a soulful, vintage quality — and these encaustic photo panels look like an antique print on wood.  Gia has perfected the process and each print is artfully painted with wax, then mounted onto a  custom wood-framed box.  The wax adds an ethereal antique texture to the photograph…. simply stunning.  I may have to dig up a wedding photo and get myself ‘encausted’.  Happy Thursday.

Veggies on a Sunny Afternoon

Had the best time at my friend Jenni Kayne’s house on Saturday.  I met Jenni when I did her wedding almost four years ago.  Jenni has the most exquisite taste on the planet, no joke, so working on her wedding was sheer joy.

Anyway, Jenni and Richard’s new house is not to be believed, just sublime.  Every piece of art, furniture, and detail were unreal.  Jenni hosted an event for The Garden School Foundation, an incredible foundation that raises money to provide kids and their families with fresh fruits and vegetables that the kids actually grow.  It was a family event so I took my three year old son, Levi, who didn’t want to have his face painted, but enjoyed ravishing a slice of pizza from Nancy Silverton’s Pizzeria Mozza, one of my favorite places to eat in this town for sure.  On our way out I snapped this photo of the sweet tables arranged by interior designer Nathan Turner.  I love the burlap table cloths and the red folding chairs together.  Great centerpiece of seasonal vegetables on a tiered galvanized aluminum tray.

Amazing artwork

I went to my friend Lara’s birthday dinner on Saturday night. Other than the incredible, homemade moles she and her mom made, I saw this piece of art by Chris Roberts Antieu she had hanging on her kitchen wall. I simply love it. I think I need one.