To start the celebratory week, we have arranged for all of the guests to enjoy a lazy float down the Truckee river with the bride and groom. Guests met in a parking lot where we arranged for buses to drive them to the starting point. Sunscreen was lathered, liability forms signed, and cold beverages ready to be cracked open. After the 2 1/2 hour long float, guests enjoyed lunch and cocktails on the River Ranch’s patio.
Day 2 of the Wedding Festivities ~ River Rafting
July 22, 2010
Day 1 of the Wedding Festivities ~ Gift Bags
July 21, 2010
As guests rolled in and checked into their hotel rooms, they were greeted with a lovely gift bag. This was not your generic gift bag – it was a beautiful bag complete with Tahoe House Bakery goodies (grill seasoning, fruit preserves & crackers), a lovely letter explaining all of the various activities, and a card made by One Fine Day that noted the various things to see and do in Tahoe. Four hours and 115 miles later, all bags have been delivered to 110 very excited guests!
Breakdown of a Week-Long Wedding Celebration
July 21, 2010
This weekend we are preparing for a very exciting and complex wedding. The daily
Catherine Hall Studios
events have been geared towards entertaining their guests while providing a hassle free vacation. All ages have been invited and every detail has been thought of and seen to. When I first met with Angela and Jeremy, the bride and groom, they requested a non-traditional celebration – no first dances, no formal traditions, and absolutely no fuss. This morphed into a week-long celebration of pure Tahoe fun blended with bikinis, Vera Wang dresses, sumptuous food, and lakefront vows. Follow us for the next few days as we document the daily events and trials & tribulations of planning a flawless celebration for Angela and Jeremy’s wedding!
One Fine Day Inspiration Board | Rustic Elegance with Whimsical Accents Part II
July 14, 2010
A few days ago we posted a couple inspiration boards for a client getting married at The Cornerstone Gardens. They are seeking a rustic elegant wedding with various whimsical and unexpected accents. The colors are fresh yellows, greens, and creams; the style is Pottery Barn meets Martha Stewart! Take a look at our inspirational collages:
The bride loves the idea of using mason jars for the rustic side of her wedding, but used in a more creative fashion. She would also like various unexpected accents, hence the book covers with love-words on the book bind and the newspaper flowers. The final style accent in this collage is “romance” – which is where we find the oversized hurricane vases, floating candles, and petals blanketing a path. The remaining images here represent rustic signage to direct the guests, lounge furniture for the cocktail party, and a signature cocktail.
Since the wedding will take place in 3 locations at the Cornerstone Gardens, it is important to direct the guests – what better way than simple wooden signs with white paint? We have toyed with the idea of using benches for the ceremony and then re-purposing them as lounge furniture during dancing in the Barn – the image above shows the benches but dressed with pillows to incorporate color!
As I mentioned in the previous collage, the bride loves mason jars – so I pulled a few examples of using them as vases and water glasses – but adding a simple tag to dress up the look. The remaining images in this inspiration board reflect the look and feel of the wedding – utilizing wooden farm tables with a table runner, jam as favors, simple table number tags, and a monogrammed sweetheart table. The possibilities are always endless. We shall have to wait and see how all of these details will be refined!
One Fine Day Inspiration Board | Rustic Elegance with Whimsical Accents
July 12, 2010
I created these inspiration boards for a client seeking rustic elegance with touches of whimsical, unique, and unexpected notions. The wedding is slated for The Cornerstone Gardens in Napa Valley, CA. The venue is a designers dream with three incredible locations for the wedding: the vineyard lawn for the ceremony, the wedding garden featuring an open tent for dinner, and the garden barn for dancing! There are so many creative avenues – I love it! Take a look at some of our ideas:
The bride’s ideal colors are fresh yellows and greens. She would like the flowers to look complete and polished, but freshly picked from the garden. Both the bride and groom’s style is fun, crafty, and creative hence the incorporation of unique elements including: colorful buttons for decor, a hallway table as an accent piece, a selection of colorful beverages in a galvanized tub, and croquet to keep the guests entertained.
There are oodles of ways to display your escort cards. The bride requested some form of hanging with clothespins. I took this and ran with it. Here we have flower seed packets, antique postcards, gift bags and escort cards as one, and a few more fun styles. In addition, I threw in the seating board, as the colors and style fit perfectly with the couple’s wedding features.
Stay tuned for more of their inspiration boards!
Lake Tahoe Wedding Planner | Squaw Valley Wedding
July 8, 2010
Here’s a little sneak peak of Sam and Tim’s wedding at the Resort at Squaw Creek. I love the pops of color in the meadow – can’t wait to see all of the wedding images from Annie X!
Lake Tahoe Wedding Planner | Real Wedding at the Ritz-Carlton Highlands
July 6, 2010
We just received these images of our Memorial Day wedding from Stout Photography! Rose and Dan’s wedding took place a day after a late Spring snow fall – the weather thankfully cleared and the sun came out just in time for their outdoor ceremony at the new Ritz-Carlton Highlands. It was beautiful! Rose and Dan are quite possibly the most laid back bride and groom I have ever met. They took the planning stumbles (of which were many) with ease and were as sweet as pie! Rose’s family is Italian, so there were a few “Italian” flares including the God Father music playing in the background for speeches, the ladies lunch on the wedding day – mom’s home made spaghetti and meatballs (yum), and a traditional dance called Tarantella!
The ceremony took place on the fireside terrace with the String Beings providing the perfect elegant music in the background. Although a brief service, each moment was romantic and memorable. Rose’s father pulled me aside after the service to tell me how excited he is for his daughter, but nervous about letting her go – you can see how serious he was in the image above (love this)! He is a true Italian father: proud, protective, and very charismatic!
Rose and Dan were not fussy about the details, so we created a clean, simple, and elegant look. Pewter chivari chairs, muted tones for the flowers, and small accents completed the look. Since the venue required an entree count and a form of entree symbols at each place setting, Dan’s step mom offered to create a unique symbol on each escort card that would serve the purpose while adding to the decor. She added red gems for the beef eaters, gold gems for the vegetarians, and silver gems for the chicken eaters. The colors complimented the escort cards while blending perfectly with the wedding style.
I really enjoyed planning all of the details with Rose and Dan. They always incorporated a little humor into the emails, phone calls, and meetings … even when we discovered that we had to find a new venue within 2 months before the wedding! They are a beautiful couple and such genuine people. I wish them the best of luck with everything!
Photography | Stout Photography
Flowers | Martha Bernyk
Venue | The Ritz Carlton Highlands
Musicians | The String Beings
DJ | We Ain’t Saints
Engagement Pics | Truckee, CA
June 24, 2010
Nothing like big smiles and a little snow for an engagement shoot! Sam and Tim spent their engagement session with the very talented Annie X in downtown Truckee, CA. Annie is fabulous at finding fun locations for creative shots. It helps when the town comes with a fake, old-fashioned gas station! This weekend, the two will tie the knot in Squaw Valley! Enjoy their engagement photos below and stay tuned to see the wedding photos shortly!
