My Splendid $10,000 Wedding by Vera Devera | budget wedding

Va de Vie Events has a fresh face!

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 19:33:00 +0000

We're excited to share that Va de Vie Events has a fresh face and if you have friends or family who are recently engaged or planning a party, please don't hesitate to send them our way. Several of you have referred new clients to us and we truly appreciate it. More importantly, Brittany and I hope you are doing fabulously (many of you have grown your family by one)! Share pics if you like (if we're not already friends on Facebook or Instagram). We're so happy to have been a part of your journey in your marriage or a milestone birthday/celebration.

And there have been many anniversaries this month (Natalie+Jose, Narine+Raffi, Dan+Joyce, Angelica +Daniel, Heather+Blair, Dayna+Jamaal, Kirsten+Mo, Ian+Sarah, Erin+Matt, Lauren+Chris, Rachelle+Francisco) -- congrats on years 1-2-3!

Jess + Josh Wed

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 22:50:00 +0000

We're swooning over the precious details that Jessica, a graphic designer, put together for her wedding to Josh at the Golden Gate Officer's Club in the Presidio. Brittany and I loved bringing it all together with Miraglia Catering, Kelly Boitano Photography, One True Love Vintage Rentals, Night Owl Photo Booth and Pinkie's Bakery. Dress by Sarah Seven.

Pretty in Pink Feature on Green Wedding Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 20:44:00 +0000

Today, Va de Vie Events is featured on Green Wedding Shoes for Katie + Peter's "Pretty in Pink" glitter-glam, woodland themed wedding at the Axis Cafe in San Francisco. We had coordinated a friend of Katie's wedding (Britta + Kyle, see ) and we were honored when Katie reached out to us to do hers.

Katie is an artist and sculptor so she was up for the challenge of handcrafting the beautiful details of her wedding -- and her mom is equally as talented. On the day of the wedding, Axis Cafe's modern barn and patio were dripping with beautiful pink details; nearly 1,000 handmade pieces made this wedding extraordinary thanks to Katie and her mom's diligent work throughout the year (and I made the terrariums!).

Check out the rest of the gallery at: http://greenweddingshoes.com/pretty-in-pink-wedding-katie-peter/

All photos: (c) 2012 Michele Beckwith Photography

Featured on Style Me Pretty!

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 18:25:00 +0000

Va de Vie Events was so thrilled to be part of Megan and Amit's journey to the altar. The bride and groom had a wonderful sense of style (helps that the bride is a fashion blogger and marketer) and pulled in a great team of vendors that I love like, like @Onelove Photography, Chestnut & Vine Floral Design, @Beauty Bug Makeup (@kansinee), @Event Magic, @Big Fun DJs, @Torino Cakes, Green Cheeze Photobooths and my lovely associate @Brittany Piehl. Cheers to Megan and Amit!!

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2012/09/05/berkeley-wedding-at-hotel-shattuck-plaza-from-onelove-photography/

Megan and Amit used Etsy for a lot of their pretty details and we had fun putting them all together:

Dessert bar; vessels provided by Va de Vie Events; cupcakes by Torino Baking

Custom kippah

Don't you love the bowtie napkins?

Wedding tunnel! They are such a lovely couple!

Hot Spot: Palace of Fine Arts

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 22:55:00 +0000

Congrats to my most recent clients! Leah and Josh got married Memorial Day weekend at an intimate ceremony held at Fay Park and celebrated their marriage with an intimate group of friends and family at the San Francisco Art Institute.

The day was perfect despite a disaster that happened one hour before the ceremony: the photographers' cameras (two D-800s), laptops and peripheral equipment were stolen with less than 60 minutes to get new equipment! I was quick to dial pro shop, Calumet, in Potrero Hill and my day-of assistant drove one of the two photographers there so they could purchase new equipment -- and got back just in time. Leah and Josh got hitched without even knowing about the mishap (and how much of a nail biter the whole incident was) until two days later. Whew!

The photo below is from their "Trash the Dress" session a week later with Sierra Blanco Photography. Here's to Leah and Josh!

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

On a recent Saturday, newlyweds Joshua and Leah S. seemed oblivious to the world as their big day was documented amid the Palace's grandeur.

Inspiration: Larger than life chalkboard program

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:50:00 +0000

Photo by Dana Tanamachi

Isn't this amazing?!?!? DANA TANAMACHI is a graphic designer and custom chalk letterer based in Brooklyn, NY. See more of her beautiful work here.

Easy Cinco de Mayo Centerpiece

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:09:00 +0000

Last summer, my friend (and 2010 bride-client), Sugi hosted a fiesta themed housewarming. I was happy to help create the centerpieces for her tables -- all you need is to buy cacti, succulents or flowers and plant them in large and small cans from the "ethnic" aisle of your local grocery store.

More ideas on our Pinterest board, "Fiesta"!

Oinks & Hops: A Teal & Green Ombre Beer Tasting & Whole Hog Roast

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:24:00 +0000

I turned 34 last Wednesday and wanted to throw a party that reflected the things I love: (1) the colors teal and green, (2) pork and bacon and (3) beer!

When I looked at other "beer tasting" parties for inspiration, everything I saw was masculine. I thought, hey girls like beer too! So that's why I decided to do a beer tasting with a feminine touch -- i.e. lots of pretty paper, flowers and teal and green. In addition, I love pork! My friend has a caja china -- which is one way to roast a pig above ground. We placed 80 pounds of pasture raised pork from Marin Sun Farms inside the wooden caja and put hot coals on top -- the radiant heat from the coals slow roasted the meat over four hours.

Putting Pork + beer together, I came up with a clever name for my party theme: Oinks and Hops! I asked guests to bring a 6-pack of beer (assigned by first name) of varieties ranging from lager, stout, wheat beer, amber ale, and more to share and taste.

Alison of Two for Two Cakes baked my desserts and I styled the spread. My cake was a chocolate Guinness stout cake with cream cheese frosting and a chevron pattern topped with a mini bunting banner from Etsy shop, Potter and Butler. I happen to have a "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster in our living room and love the saying so much that I had Lush Prints make a custom rubber stamp with the saying, "Keep Calm and Eat Bacon," which I used to decorate craft paper favor boxes for mini chocolate donuts. Alison also made "Oinks" -- usually called Twinks -- that were made of Devil's foodcake with maple buttercream and candied bacon. And continuing the beer theme, we had mini root beer float cupcakes -- vanilla bean cake with a sarsaparilla extract.

Some of the stands were metal fruit baskets (with honeycomb die cut) that I turned upside down to place the cupcakes on top of. Porcelain pigs with mini cards denoted the flavors. For weeks, I toiled over making tissue paper fringe -- which I strung together with fishing line. I hung them from a curtain and tied glitter glass numbers, "3" and "4" to the middle. The backdrop for my desserts was comprised of the fringe curtain, honeycomb paper flowers and white tissue paper poms tied with teal fringe and gold foil centers.

Outside we strung bistro lights and decorated the tables with teal-green ombre linens. I tied green-blue striped napkins with twine and paper hearts for the lime green cutlery. For the buffet, I potted succulents in bargain bin silver pails from Target and I wrote the names of the dishes on chalkboard garden markers with a wet erase chalk pen. Green paper lanterns covered some of the bistro light bulbs and a fringe garland hung above paper mache "CHEERS". I also set out a mini bucket of paper mustaches on straws -- for guests who wanted to have a little fun drinking their root beer.

At the end of the night, my friends lit sparklers and dainty candles and brought my cute chevron cake out to me. One of my favorite photos of the night is of me blowing out the candles, hands clasped as I made a wish.

Being surrounded by my wonderful friends and eating and drinking a delicious spread was the best ever!

Vendors:

Event coordination and design: Va de Vie Events/self; www.vadevie-events.com
Cake: Two for Two Cakes, www.twofortwocakes.com
Stamp: Lush Prints, http://www.etsy.com/shop/LushPrints
Banner: http://www.etsy.com/shop/PotterandButler
Invitation: Paperless Post, www.paperlesspost.com
Blank coasters: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BellisMarket
Paper mustache straw kit: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSweetPaperie

Mustache straws

Beer tasting!

Menu window

Solar lantern

Oink!

Devil's foodcake twink with maple buttercream & candied bacon by Two for Two Cakes

Easy, DIY vertical succulent garden

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 21:04:00 +0000

If you're planning a wedding with succulents, I'm sure you've seen lots of inspiration for vertical succulent gardens. I'm hosting my own birthday party in a couple of weeks and that has motivated me to get our backyard in shape.

First thing on my list: salvage a pallet and turn it into a kickass garden. And that's just what I did!

Materials:

1 salvaged pallet (i.e., rescue an abandoned pallet off the street, usually outside a warehouse or store)
Burlap
Upholstery staple gun
3 cubic feet of soil
Compost
Lots of plants

You can follow the tutorial at Life on the Balcony, or you can do what works best for you. I basically stapled the burlap to the back (at least 100 staples) and around the sides and bottom of the pallet. Then with the pallet laying flat on the ground, I worked from the bottom up filling the pallet with soil-compost. The first row was comprised of sedum (best to buy a flat of ground cover sedum at Home Depot for $14), the next row was heirloom Bull's Blood beets with coleus and lamb's ear, followed by a row of petunias and more coleus and ecchevaria. I topped off the vertical garden with more beets, oregano, thyme and other varieties of petunias.

This is a great backdrop not only in your backyard, but I can see it used as an escort card display, especially for a garden wedding. The cards can be "sown" into the soil with wooden seedling markers Or it can be a cool architectural feature as part of the setting the scene for your succulent-themed wedding.

My fringe obsession

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 07:33:00 +0000

Since throwing the Old School Party last month, I've been obsessed with fringe, especially since I made this fringe garland!

Now, I'm in the throes of planning my birthday bash and I've been collecting a ton of ideas for using crepe paper (not tissue paper streamers or sheets) to decorate our backyard.

The giant fringe pinata idea (from Jorday Ferney's Oh Lovely Day) can be used for your e-session as well -- especially if you're planning to use the photos for your save-the-dates. Otherwise, it's perfect for a birthday celebration.

via Oh Happy Day: DIY Monogrammed Fringe by Michaela of Blissful Fete

If you're not up for DIY, then you can purchase these Wish Cupcake Toppers for $12 on Etsy:

See more at my Pinterest board, Pretty Paper Lust: http://pinterest.com/10kbride/pretty-paper-lust/

Work in progress: vintage LP record cake stands

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:16:00 +0000

I'm planning a surprise party with a vintage college prep theme at the end of the month and the birthday boy digs his hi-fi collection. I couldn't think of a better way than these vintage LP cake stands to display the awesome dessert bar that Two for Two Cakes is creating!

Materials include: LPs of various sizes ($0.50-$2.00 at Half Price Books), super glue and candlestick holders (I got mine for an additional 40% off at the Salvation Army) to serve as the base. I spent less than $10 for 4 cake stands.

And below is the inspiration (Oh Happy Day). I did go to TAP Plastics as their tutorial suggested and considered using their plastic cake stands but the records I bought were thicker than those made in the 1960s-70s so I didn't think I needed the extra support from a plastic round.

via Oh Happy Day

DIY Classes for the DIY Bride

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:18:00 +0000

I am a big fan of Workshop SF because they help you tap into your inner-craft-child!

This past Tuesday, I took Sewing 101 at Workshop SF. For a DIY-liter like me, I needed to refresh my skills on how to sew by hand and machine. Carmen, the teacher, is also a visual manager for Anthropologie on 4th and Market and teaches this class in her spare time. After 3 hours on the Janome, I now feel more comfortable with sewing by machine (it's easier than I expected) and I can't wait to start making my own pillows and baby shower gifts. In fact, I went out and bought a Brother (35 stitch) on HSN the next day for $99!

My PBR Beer Koozy - Project #1 at Workshop SF

If you're planning on making table runners, napkins, etc for your own wedding and are a novice, then don't hesitate to take this class. It's one of their more popular ones and fills up quickly. The price can't be beat at $38.

A DIY project that requires sewing skills! via Project Wedding

More classes that are geared towards the DIY bride are being taught by one of my go-to wedding floral designers: Pilar Zuniga of Gorgeous and Green. Plus, she's just launched her online store, so if you can't get to her brick and mortar retail location on San Pablo Ave in Berkeley, you can satisfy your fix for terrarium or other locally-made prettiness.

Sunday March 18th: Fun with airplants 6-8pm
People love airplants. We love airplants. If you love airplants, come hang out with us and make fun stuff with them. We will provide lots of cool branches, wire, secret cool stuff and tools, and we'll show you how to carefully design with them. $50 donation at the door, $45 donation pre-paid to cover the cost of airplants and materials. We will have some snacks and drinks as well. We will have this listed on the web store. Space is limited. Check the online store.

Sunday April 22nd: After hours flower arranging 6-8pm
Featuring locally, sustainably and/or organically grown flowers, greens and branches. We'll show you some techniques to creating arrangements without floral foam, and you can walk away with your creation! Some snacks and drink will be provided. $75 donation at the door or $65 pre-paid, 12 person maximum, so book early. Check the online store.

Sunday May 20th: Bouquet Making: for the DIY bride, groom, family or friends! 5-7pm.
We do a lot of weddings. We would love to decorate your wedding. But for some, budget is a challenge, so come to our DIY event to learn some basics on making a hand-tied bouquet (we never use floral foam, terrible for us and the environment, yuck ), and not only will you walk away with skills and a lovely bouquet, but you will also get a special coupon to use with us if you need to order bulk flowers for your wedding! $85 donation at the door or $75 prepaid. Space is limited. Check the online store.

Free Wedding Photography Contest: Danielle Capito

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:58:00 +0000

Hey everyone: Photographer, Danielle Capito, whose work has been featured on Style Me Pretty is giving away a free wedding photography package. The deadline to enter is this Sunday -- hurry and enter now by emailing Danielle your answers to the questions below! Good luck!!

Entries must be received by February 5, 2012 and final decision will be made by February 8. This free package includes an engagement session and DVD of images, 8 hours of wedding day coverage by 2 photographers, and a flash drive of all edited wedding images.

Must include in email:

Information about your wedding day, from the venue, to the decor, to your inspiration, your vendors, and just your overall vision for the day! Feel free to include any pictures, Pinterest boards, etc. that really show your vision for the wedding!
A picture (or two) of you and your fiance
The story about how you and your fiance met
Why you want to win!
Feel free to include any other information, images, collages, story boards, videos, etc. that could help you win!
Email all the above to daniellecapitophotography@gmail.com

Engaged, now what?

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:54:00 +0000

Happy New Year!!

If you're recently engaged, you're probably wondering now what?

Here are some quick tips to get you on your merry way:

First, congrats! Bask in the afterglow of your engagement.
Spread the word -- tell your parents, besties, update your status on Facebook. But, surprisingly -- you don't have to pick your wedding party just yet -- until after steps #3-5. You can definitely start thinking about who you want in your wedding party. But, having a huge wedding party may not make sense for a wedding where you can only afford (or want) 50-100 people.
Set your budget. Broaching the subject of who foots the bill may be tricky, especially if you're not comfortable asking your family or other relatives for financial help. Or perhaps you and your fiance prefer to fund your wedding. Take stock of what you can reasonably afford without going into outrageous debt. The venue and catering will be 40-60% of your budget.
Based on your budget, set your estimated headcount and start looking for a venue according to your priorities (location, outdoor/indoors, BYO catering or in-house, etc). If you want to get married in 2012, you might find it challenging to book popular venues especially during peak season. Be open!
Hire a wedding coordinator (partial or full).A wedding coordinator can point you in the right direction for securing vendors and/or a venue. They can also offer advice on etiquette, related tasks, and your budget. Believe me -- from firsthand experience -- you will definitely want someone else to handle the details of the day so you can actually enjoy your wedding!
Prioritize line items for each vendor/expense. Consider whether you care more about the food, photos, music, etc and budget accordingly.
Open a Pinterest account unless you already have one. This is my favorite way to curate your wedding wishes and dreams. You can organize your vision by genre (rustic, modern, vintage), colors or elements (sparkly, chevron, faux bois) and easily share it with prospective or current vendors as well as families and friends. Caution: you will get addicted to pinning!
Finally, breathe and enjoy a little "me" time every day. It's easy to get caught up in the details -- and sometimes, the drama -- of planning. Don't forget to do what you need to do to get back to center. Cook, do yoga, meditate, write in your journal...

Video: Alice & Arvi at Cornerstone Gardens, Sonoma

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:02:00 +0000

I was honored to coordinate Alice and Arvi's colorful wedding at Cornerstone Gardens, a unique wine-country venue that features outdoor art installations like a carpet of "daisy" pinwheels and a rustic modern barn. Alice and I used to be co-workers at a San Francisco branding agency and both she and Arvi are art directors -- so they of course had great eyes for design and did the graphics themselves. Citrus colors like lime and tangerine punctuated the neutral tones of the linens (ivory and charcoal gray). Their seating assignments were handwritten on window panes and Katharina Stuart added a rustic touch with branches softened with romantic blossoms.

Capturing the fun day on film was Seaglass Cinema -- Kevin Yau and Anna Wu. There were some surprises -- like the groomsmen sporting super hero tees underneath their tuxes and a bi-plane soaring overhead as Alice and Arvi kissed for the first time as husband and wife. Enjoy!

Alice and Arvi | 10.02.2011 from Seaglass Cinema on Vimeo.

Venue: Cornerstone Gardens, Sonoma, CA
Coordinator: Va de Vie Events, Vera DeVera
Hair: Sylvie Simon
Makeup: Julie Dy
Florist: Katharina Stuart
Catering: Alex's Catering, Tom Pezzutto
Dress: Jasmine
DJ: Manny Perez via DJ Sir Edgar
Photographer: Matthias Giezendanner
Cake: Bonjour Patisserie
Video: Seaglass Cinema, Anna Wu, Kevin Yau
Editing: Kevin Yau
Music: By My Side, David Choi

As seen on: Ruffled!

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:32:00 +0000

If you didn't see the great news already, Va de Vie Events was featured in Ruffled's Real Wedding post about Britta and Kyle's whimsical and colorful outdoor wedding at Flora Grubb Gardens.

Britta and Kyle had been together for 10 years before tying the knot; these Midwest “kids” met in Arizona, moved to Costa Rica for a bit of adventure and recently settled in Oakland, CA last year after getting engaged.

Details of the wedding included colors of jadite, saffron and coral popped with accents of charcoal. We did a lot of hands on work, including hand-dying muslin ribbons in those colors to hang above her head table, to creating invitations with designer Lilli Keinaenen, mason jar escort cards, and more. Pilar Zuniga created a whimsical bouquet that was literally buttoned up with vintage buttons and fashioned handmade flower boxes.

Here are some photos that aren't in the Ruffled gallery -- it's great inspiration for an intimate outdoor wedding!

Ceremony at Flora Grubb Gardens, Stephen Hughes Photography (2011)


Centerpieces by Gorgeous and Green, pink ombre cake by Two for Two Cakes, Stephen Hughes Photography (c) 2011

Are you the now or later type?

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:08:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving! We already put up our tree -- mostly because I needed a bit of holiday cheer. And many retailers have of course been ramping up for Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year. As a budget bride, I'm sure you'll be fighting the crowds -- at the mall -- or crashing servers with online shopping.

For a store that doesn't have many sales, this is one to surely hit up: Anthropologie! You can take an additional 25% off now or if you're willing to get up early and shop at 6am at your local store, then you will be rewarded with an additional 50% off. Good luck and best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Round up of my fave DIY ceremony "arches"

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:01:00 +0000

I adore wedding altars that are handcrafted and whimsical and here are some I recently pinned to my Pinterest board. Yes, some of these can be made on a budget, but don't forget to be creative when it comes to the materials. For example the ribbons can be more affordable if made from muslin, versus silk. Fabric bunting is cute, but depending on the pattern, the cost may add up, especially if you'd got a lot of ground to cover. Sign up JoAnn Fabric's enewsletter or shop at your local fabric discouners. And tissue paper flowers can be time-consuming to make.

As with any DIY project, plan ahead and set aside enough time to complete it -- at least 2-3 weeks before the big day.

Source: 100layercake.com via Vera on Pinterest

Source: ohhellofriendblog.com via Vera on Pinterest

Source: greenweddingshoes.com via Vera on Pinterest

Source: 1000handmade.com via Vera on Pinterest

Real Wedding: Britta & Kyle at Flora Grubb Gardens

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 01:00:00 +0000

I am excited to share Britta and Kyle's wedding with you. This awesome couple hired me to help them from A to Z and put together their intimate wedding celebration on a budget. Since they had just moved to the Bay Area from South America, they needed help finding a venue that was untraditional and unique -- Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco was one of three venues I presented and they went with it! It totally reflected their style and playfulness. :)

And I enjoyed working with my dream team of wedding vendors -- like Stephen Hughes (Photography), Alison Okabayashi of Two for Two Cakes (who did my own), Pilar Zuniga of Gorgeous and Green Events, Tiffany Wu of Devoted Catering, Robin White aka DJ Kuya for sound equipment, Brett Smith (DJ), Henry Perez of Event Magic for lighting, Gwen Alaura of Classic Party Rentals, Jaimee and Sterling Nuzum of Green Cheeze Photobooths, invitation design by Lilli Keinaenen, Vanessa Beckrum on makeup and Jenna Bates on hair, Dyer Limo, and of course, my rock star, assistant, Brittany Piehl.

We are in the process of submitting to blogs, so we can't share more, but we'll share the good news when it comes!

How to Hire the Right Wedding Vendor for You

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:40:00 +0000

Recently, a local news reporter approached me for advice on red flags when hiring wedding vendors -- a viewer had called in with a complaint against a vendor and they were investigating the story. While the story didn't pan out after all, the timing for sharing these nuggets of advice couldn't be better. Most couples are hiring their 2012 wedding vendors at this time of year, especially for summer and fall weddings.

Here's my list of ways to prevent getting burned by a wedding vendor. (And feel free to share any wedding vendor nightmares or happy tales!)

1) Review the terms and conditions. Look out especially for: cancellation, fee schedule, deposit requirements, force majeure, and refund policy! What happens in case of an "act of God" like a flood, or other natural or manmade disaster (e.g., union strike or fire) that can affect being able to get married in the venue and on the date of your wedding?

a) Related to this, what is their backup plan in case they can't host your wedding (if a venue) or get sick, etc?
b) If the force majeure is missing, ask for it. You can view a sample contract here.

2) Beware: a venue's wedding coordinator is NOT the same as a wedding planner. Don't expect the venue coordinator to put together a detailed timeline, list of items or confirm details with other vendors (unless stated otherwise in the contract).

3) Follow your intuition and trust your instinct. Personality is very important. Finding a wedding vendor is like online dating. You can check out their profile and gallery of photos, but until you meet in person (or on the phone if you are planning a destination wedding), you won't know if "sparks will fly"! You want to make sure you and your prospective vendor have an excellent rapport. Brides and grooms often build an intimate relationship with their vendors and you want to make sure your vendors are not only professional, but courteous, responsive and detail-oriented. If they don't demonstrate such qualities in your initial meetings/calls, then that is a red flag. Move on!!!

a) Related to this, are they genuinely interested in working with you? Do they listen to you or are they somewhat jaded with a "been there, done that" attitude? If you find a wedding vendor who feels like a friend who looks out for your best interest (and let's you call the shots), then you've hit the jackpot.

4) Consider purchasing wedding insurance. Wedding insurance can cover potential problems lost deposits, vendor no-shows, cancellations, inclement weather, military deployment, health emergencies and more. (from Wedsafe.com)

If you're worried about recovering your deposits if a vendor goes bankrupt or doesn't deliver as promised
If you're concerned that extreme weather or an unexpected illness or injury could force you to postpone
If the bride or groom is in the military and approved leave could be cancelled

5) Maintain a copy of your communication with the vendor (like emails, estimates or change orders). Follow up on your voicemails with an email to recap your message. Document your communication with the vendor so that it can serve as a back up in case the day-of comes and something isn't the way you agreed it to be. For example, I had a bride order "ivory" roses and on the day-of, the florist brought orange "creamsicle" roses that she called "creme de la creme." Had I not had the bride's contract, I wouldn't have been able to demand the floral designer to replace all the orange roses in the bouquets -- 2 hours before the ceremony -- with ivory roses!

6) Do your homework: ask for referrals, check out online reviews -- not only on Yelp, but Wedding Wire and other wedding review sites. Ask your wedding planner if they've worked with them before and what they may know about the vendor.

7) When you talk with the venue coordinator or vendor are they vague? Can they explain their pricing structure, how they will staff your wedding, etc? These details are critical to the success of your wedding day. If they don't have these within a reasonable amount of time, this is a red flag.

8) Always secure a contract or letter of agreement with vendors -- even friends. If they don't have a formal contract, this is a huge no-no! Why would you want to give money to someone you can't hold accountable with a contract? And what if a vendor is a friend doing a favor? You should still put your terms into an agreement -- that way, both parties -- you and your friend -- are aligned on expectations and you can avoid resentment or not having an important detail taken care of.

Happy Halloween: Cute & Easy DIY Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:04:00 +0000

Last night, we hosted a pre-Halloween/housewarming party that sported a macabre vibe. It was SUPER FUN!

Guests enjoyed the DIY terror-rarium bar where they got to make their own mason jar terror-rariums with dinosaurs.

There was plenty to eat, including "mummy" dip. I took 2 long logs of herbed chevre (Trader Joe's) and shaped it into a mummy body. Then I used Trader Joe's whipped cream and put it in a pastry bag with a leaf tip and zigzagged the whip cream across the chevre to simulate ribbons of cloth. I added googly eyes to add a touch of cuteness. The extra large sushi platter the mummy is resting on is from CB2.

My friends, Brittany and Danikka, provided the dipped pretzels and cupcakes for our candy bar:

Cupcake by Danikka, photo by britt.piehl

Lurking around the house were mummified vases. They were so easy and cheap to make: wrap mason jars or any other vase in cheesecloth and secure with hot glue. Add googly eyes with hot glue and add flowers of your choice. I even did it with mini pumpkins.

And the most terrifying of all were the "Holy Bat Wings" -- tasty baked sesame chicken wings dyed black care of my friend, Dan. Rounding out the festive menu was a spicy pumpkin chowder my husband made.

Some good things to come!

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:33:00 +0000

Wow, it's been waaaay too long yet again since I've posted. But since August, I've coordinated 5 weddings -- from Kohl Mansion to a private estate in Napa, and then Sebastiani Winery and Cornerstone Sonoma. The brides and grooms were wonderful to work with and the details for each of them were unique and dripping with "wow" factor. I can't wait to share in the next few weeks.

And in the midst of coordinating these weddings, my husband and I moved to a new nest, Pt. Richmond, a quaint bayside town whose most famous lady is Rosie the Riveter.

I've been busy fixing up the place and last night I bought a couple of beat up dining room chairs for $20 each. I'm reupholstering them with this beautiful yellow and gray Waverly fabric from Jo Ann Fabrics (the one on the left is one of my favorite linens you can rent at a high end rental company). Hurry on in -- right now, Jo Ann Fabric is having their Moonlight Madness sale -- all their fabric is 50% off, which means I got 2 yards of this for $44 versus $88!

I don't remember how to sew, but there are lots of cool things you can do, like:

Make a table runner for a candy buffet or escort card display.

Alice and Arvi's Wedding @ Cornerstone; photo by Vera Devera

or craft a ringbearer pillow

or create bunting as a decorative element for a whimsical wedding:

Jane & Ted's Wedding @ San Francisco Zoo; photo by Kevin Chin

Scenes from weddings past

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 04:31:00 +0000

Boy, has it been a crazy busy season this year!! I just wrapped up one of the most unique weddings ever -- at a bowling alley -- with Stephen Hughes and I've got some breathing room until two weddings during Labor Day weekend. In the meantime, the fabulous photographers I've gotten to work with in the past few weeks have turned around their photos rather swiftly.

Check out scenes from recent weddings ...and definitely peek at this awesome slideshow by Joel Flory of Helen + Emilio's pre-reception festivities!

Anand & Shreya - Terra San Francisco | Euan Art Photography

Erin & Sky - Piedmont Community Center, Piedmont | Beth Hurley Photography

Kathleen & Scott - UC Berkeley Botanical Garden | e&b photography

Natalie & Brent's Vow Renewals - Garden Pavilion, Sonoma | Halberg Photographer s

Jiwon & James' Wedding | Preservation Park, Oakland | Erika Jackson Photography

Why Even Budget Brides Should Hire a DJ

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 01:35:00 +0000

Wedding Noveau, a print/online magazine that celebrates multi-ethnic weddings is featuring our wedding today: "Gorgeous Bay Area Wedding for $10,000!"

Feature on Wedding Noveau.com

We are super excited and honored...and the first bits of Wedding Noveau's coverage of our "budget savvy" wedding concerns the music -- it was a huge part of our wedding (food being the other half the equation). For our ceremony, a friend played the classical guitar while another friend sang "Ave Maria." Later on, our friend, Quinn, raised the roof with his band during cocktail hour/dinner and we had an iPod for the dancing portion of the evening.

So, you're going to think I (Ms. Budget Bride) am off my rocker when you hear me say this: say no, to the iPod!Well, at least a 100% iPod wedding. :)

Let me share my personal experience and you might better understand. Our coordinator flaked on our wedding day, leaving us on the lurch. While we had a friend step in to help coordinate the day (bless her heart!!), we didn't have another person solely dedicated to managing our playlists and coordinating announcements. For example, a friend who had volunteered to emcee followed my timeline to the "T" and announced the father-daughter dance, but didn't realize that he should have checked with my dad first to make sure he was ready! And my poor friend who was stepping in to coordinate was dealing with some other emergency related to the kitchen -- so she wasn't there to help our emcee manage the playlist (totally understandable). As it turns out, my father was in the bathroom changing out of his tux and when I got onto stage (our dance floor), I was standing in front of 95 people, awkwardly waiting for my father in silence. When we realized he was unavailable, I walked over to our iPod and switched to the first song of open dancing -- ironically, it was Billy Idol's "Dancing with Myself." Some of my good friends jumped onstage to mitigate the awkwardness of the situation and to my relief, everyone else followed suit.

Nonetheless, I was mortified.

Granted, most people who choose to go the "budget" route and have an iPod wedding do have someone in point to manage the playlist. But many don't realize all the factors that should be considered with this scenario.

Here are my top reasons why I strongly advocate at least hiring a DJ (or live trio/band/sound tech) for part, if not for all of your wedding, instead of going 100% DIY (aka iPod)**:

iPods don't come automatically loaded. You have to create discrete playlists (Ceremony Procession 1, Bride's Entrance, Dinner Music 1/2, First Dance, etc). And if you don't already have a vast music library, then you will be spending a lot of time researching, purchasing and organizing music in a logical manner. Maybe you love music and you don't find this challenging and in fact, relish this -- that's totally cool! But for some couples, they don't know what the best songs are for X, Y, Z. And then they may push that to the back burner until it's close to the wedding day!
iPods cannot read the mood of the guests. Typically, DJs have hundreds of songs on their laptop/music library that they can quickly pull up and cue to address the energy (of lack thereof) of the audience. If they notice no one's dancing to a slow song, they have the ability to use their sound board to fade out and introduce a new one. This smooth transition is difficult when you just have an iPod hooked up to a speaker and have to not only use your thumb to turn down the volume, but then search for the next best song without an awkward pause!
iPods can't talk to your guests. You still need to ensure you have someone to "emcee" -- to cue and direct activities so that guests have a sense of what's coming next and continue to feel festive or entertained.
iPods don't set themselves up. Although renting sound equipment may be cheaper than hiring a DJ, who's going to pick it up/return it, set it up, conduct sound check and troubleshoot if the system malfunctions? And if you put a friend or family member in charge of all of the above, it may take away from them relaxing and having fun at your wedding.
You will feel less stressed knowing you, your husband, your friends or family won't have to deal with coordinating sound. If you hire someone to at least manage the music [having friends as emcees is cool in my book, more personal in most cases] DIY, then you have one less thing to worry about since a professional handling it instead of you!

Now, I'm not saying that all DJs are great and know their stuff. Believe me, I've worked with some pretty lousy DJs -- who are rude, too cheesy or just don't have the people skills to read the audience or tone down.

That said, it's very important in the interview process that you listen to your intuition and know that you jive with the DJ (or band) personality and music-wise. Does the DJ spin their own music or do they prefer to play straight from a playlist? Does the band own their own amps, and necessary cords, and mics? Are they professional, charismatic? Are they okay if you choose to have a family or friend emcee and they just manage the music, transitions and equipment?

Fortunately, our sound equipment (Fender) was built in at the venue and we didn't have to rent any mics and our friend (an A/V professional) loaned us his projector and laptop for our slideshow and knew how to hook it up to the sound system. And a majority of our music was live. But if I had a chance to do it all over again (hindsight is 20/20!), I would hire a DJ or even just a sound tech for the 2 hours of dance time that we did have -- to manage our music and ensure transitions from major announcements throughout the night were as smooth as could be.

At the end of the day, having a budget wedding is not solely about price, but knowing your priorities and how to manage your expectations accordingly.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! Thanks!

**Unless your friend/point person who is managing the sound is a professional/hobby club DJ, or member of a band, adept with or owner of the equipment you're using.

From Here to Eternity: Sneak Peek!

noreply@blogger.com (Vera D.) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:07:00 +0000

I'm super excited to share with you a sneak peek of a collaborative styled shoot ("From Here to Eternity") that I worked on with Anna Wu (Photography) and Ellen Kim of Gingerleaf Floral! Read more about our work at Anna's blog here. Part Two will share our inspiration to creation and then Part Three will show you how to accomplish the look on two different budgets. Enjoy!

Styled Shoot Highlights | 03.13.11 from Seaglass Cinema on Vimeo.