La Divina Events

Catherine & Adam in San Jose - May 23, 2008

2008-05-24T12:41:00.000-07:00

It was a glorious wedding day for Catherine and Adam and their 75 guests. This was a wedding that I had planned from start-to-finish and in record time. They only had a two month engagement! The ceremony was held at St. Athanasius Catholic Chapel followed by a plated dinner at Mama Mia's Ristorante Italiano in Morgan Hill. Guests dined on their choice of Osso bucco, Chicken Piccata or Grilled Salmon Genovese. Appetizers include Brushcetta, Caprice and Smoke Salmon Wraps.

Here are some photos that I took of the day....

They had a traditional, Tridentine Mass (said mostly in Latin) accompanied by a string trio,

which played Classical and Baroque selections throughout the ceremony.

Notice all of the hats? Women still cover their head with a hat, scarf or veil in their church.

The cocktail hour on the patio at Mama Mia's in Morgan Hill.

Mr. and Mrs.!

The bride with her older brothers who were also groomsmen.

Each bridesmaid chose her own tea length gown in Champagne from David's Bridal.

Their gorgeous three-tier cake had a lemon chiffon layer

for the bride and a chocolate raspberry one for the groom. Two porcelin love doves topped the cake and the baker fashioned the gumpaste roses to match those on the figurine.

This traditional couple chose to keep the top-layer for their first anniversary.

Grand Entrance into their first dance...

Cutting the Cake

Close-up of the bride's cascade bouquet which had her favorite flowers, peach carnations,

as well as white roses, dendrobium orchids and sweet smelling gardenias.

The ring pillow made of peach carnations and was carried on a silver tray

and a kissing ball/pomander of peach carnations was held by the flower girl.

Bridesmaids carried small, hand tied nosegays of peach carnations and white roses.

The head table, with a fresh garland and the bride's bouquet.

Guest Table Set-Up

Congratulations Catherine and Adam! We did it!

Julie & Jay in Kauai - May 18, 2008

2008-05-24T12:16:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of doing Day of Coordination, or more aptly, Wedding Weekend Coordination for Julie and Jay and their 32 guests at the Kauai Coast Resort in Kapa'a. I was glad to be there! Here are some photos I snapped from the big day!

The bride with her bridesmaids and their hot pink parasols.

Part of the beachside ceremony set-up

The bridesmaids carrying the bouquets that I helped whip together at the last minute. Long story short, the ones that the bride had ordered from the local florist were not only the wrong color (coral instead of fuschia!), they were wilted too. So in record time I put together five hotpink bouquets made of roses and peruvian lilies. They doubled as the centerpieces on the reception tables. They turned out perfectly and no one was the wiser that a professional florist hadn't made them!

The Kiss!

At last, Mr. & Mrs.!

Guest Signature Photo Mat and Escort Card Table Set-Up

Gorgeous three-tier cake with fresh orchids. One of the layers had lilikoi (passion fruit) chiffon filling! YUMMY!

Table Set-up. We repurposed the bridesmaid bouquets as the part of the centerpieces on each table. You'd never know it by looking, but the submerged orchids are actually faux! Great idea for all you budget brides out there....get the look you want for le$$!

A close-up of the last-minute bridesmaid bouquets that I had whipped together!

The Happy Bride & Groom

It was a long, hot day of work for me and my feet, but it was so worth it! Congrats Jay and Julie!

Vintage Inspiration: Jacqueline Bouvier to John F. Kennedy - September 12, 1953

2008-05-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

I love getting design ideas and inspiration from many sources...nature, art, architecture and historical events and vintage photos. How about this for inspiration? An American Classic...

Jacqueline Bouvier married John Fitzgerald Kennedy on September 12, 1953. She was 24, he 36. The ceremony was held at St. Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island. The bride wore an ivory silk taffeta gown created by Anne Lowe, an African-American designer from Alabama. Jackie's wedding dress was a ball gown of ivory silk taffeta with a huge round skirt. It featured a portrait neckline and a bouffant skirt, decorated with tiny flowers. The wedding dress required 50 yards of ivory silk taffeta and to Anne Lowe two months to make.

The full bouffant skirt had interwoven tucking bands and tiny wax flowers. Her grandmother’s heirloom rose point lace veil was attached to her hair with orange blossoms amid a tiara of lace. Her jewelry was simple… and expensive: a perfect strand of pearls from her family, a diamond leaf pin from her new in-laws, and a diamond bracelet given to her by the groom the evening before the wedding. Her engagement ring, from Van Cleef & Arpels, was comprised of a 2.88 carat diamond and a 2.84 carat emerald with tapered baguettes.

Jackie's 10 bridesmaids wore pink silk faille gowns with Tudor caps. Lee Bouvier Canfield (sister) was the matron-of-honor and the flower girl was Janet Auchincloss. Other bridal attendants were Nancy Tuckerman, Martha Bartlett, Shirley Oakes, Aileen Travers, Sylvia Whitehouse, Ethel Skakel Kennedy, Jean Kennedy and Helen Spaulding.

Jackie Kennedy's bridal spray of 1953 was a bouquet of white and pink spray orchids with gardenias. The church was decorated with pink gladioli and white chrysanthemums. The Kennedy newly weds departed after a wedding lunch reception under a shower of paper-rose petals.

The 750 guest headcount at the ceremony mushroomed to a mindboggling 1200 at the reception, held at her stepfather’s waterside estate, Hammersmith Farm. The receiving line alone lasted over two hours.

They spent the night at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, then honeymooned for two weeks in Acapulco, Mexico, where the future President of the United States caught a ten foot sailfish that later decorated a wall in the White House.

Here's a replica of the bracelet the bride wore on her wedding day. JFK and Jackie designed this bracelet together before their wedding in 1953. Jackie contributed the pearls and diamonds, while John added the two nautical ropes, representing his family's love of the sea:

Get your own HERE to wear on your Big Day for $85.00.

Or go with this wedding band inspired by this timeless couple's love and style, available from The Harris Brothers.

A modern take on Jackie's wedding day style:

Paula Varsalona Style No. 6973

Melissa Sweet Style No. Cloud

St. Pucchi Style No. 9286

James Clifford Collection Style No. J2670

Rina di Montella Bridal Style No. RB1707
Vineyard Collection Style No. Maeve

Jasmine Collection Style No. C979

Inspired bouquets:

Our web site is live!

2008-04-19T01:57:00.000-07:00

It's just a simple site to start...but here it is!

Click on the logo:

Let me know what you think!

Table Setting Mock-Ups

2008-04-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

The Price-Cool Wedding will be outdoors and have a tented reception. It will be in late September and the main color will be burgundy. Here are some table mock-up designs that I have come up with for the bride and groom. They will have 16 round tables for guests and one, smaller sweet-heart table, for which I am recommending a reverse scheme for the linens that they use on the guest tables. The mock-ups show a round table set with white plates and napkins on top. The square in the middle are a topper (basically an open napkin) or can be a table runner, and a floral centerpiece will be placed on top of it.

WHITE + BURGUNDY

CHOCOLATE + BURGUNDY

PUMPKIN + BURGUNDY

BURGUNDY + CHOCOLATE + PUMPKIN

Inspiration Boards for the Price-Cool Wedding

2008-03-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

Reyna and Jay will be married in late September and want to use burgandy as their main color and also want to have a mexican/latin inspired reception with a mariachi band and grilled to order mexican food. Here are a few inspiration boards I have come up with to get their theme going:

ROSA MEXICANA

VIVA MEXICO!

SPICY FIESTA

DES COLORES

TERRACOTTA

INDIAN SUMMER

FRESCA FRUTTA

We'll see which direction they choose...

One step closer to being "official"...

2008-03-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

I finally got my domain name! The site won't be fully launched until April, but here's the link:
www.ladivinaevents.com

Life is Sweet! Let them Eat Cake!

2008-03-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

One of the latest trends in weddings as well as in general entertaining is petite gateau or little cakes. Better known as CUPCAKES! With this new resurgence in popularity we are seeing the move towards elaborate cake stands and unique decorations. For the budget-concious bride, cupcakes are a great way to save money (no cake-cutting fee) and still have the traditional cake cutting (into a smaller cake just for the bride and groom). For others, they continue this concept, but skip the cake altogether (or add to it) and have a dessert buffet complete with individual servings of creme brulee, cheesecake, and minitarts. So if you have your heart set on coconut creme pie, but your groom loves chocolate eclaires....you can have both and more, all in miniature! These are also great for showers, birthday parties and general celebrations! You may choose to display them on their own table, or use them on each guest's table as a centerpiece, or with the little flag like this one, you can use them at the table settings to display a place card:

Here's one done with Macaroon Cookies:

(A New) Something Blue

2008-02-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

A new twist to old tradition...how about something like this for the bridal "something blue"?

Sottero & Midgely:

Maggie Sottero:

Alfred Angelo:

And for more traditional brides who want to wear an all white or ivory gown, how about dyeing your crinoline blue or wearing blue shoes? Traditional meets modern fun!

Two more subtle ways to add Something Blue to your Big Day:

Even if blue is not one of your wedding colors, you can find a way to incorporate this tradition!

For more ideas, check out the Blue Bio on The Knot.

Blue Wedding Inspiration/Mood Boards

2008-01-16T18:59:00.001-08:00

I am working with a bride who will have a short engagement. She knows that she wants light blue and pastels for her early Spring Wedding. So, in order to get the ball rolling, I came up with these mood boards to give us some direction.

Bright & Bohemian

Country Charm

Rustic Elegance

Blue Hydrangeas

Ater she saw them she discovered that she's really drawn to the pale blue + peach + white and wants some Victorian touches, so this is the direction we'll head:

Thinking out the box: Office Holiday Party

2007-12-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

I had the priviledge of putting together a holiday party for Locus Technologies over the weekend. A company with offices throughout California and beyond, over the years they have done everything from hotel banquets in San Francisco to restaurant luncheons. But this year they wanted to do something "out of the box" and host a fun, casual celebration that would encourage bonding between the different departments and teams in the company. The demographic is execs in their mid-40's to late 50's who have families and then a bunch of young, 20-something engineers and environmentalists and the goal was to get them mingling and interacting in a way they don't normally get to at the office. For many, it was their first time meeting face to face, since they mostly work via email and phone interoffice.

I worked with one of the wives of a founding member to put a fun, festive party together at their home. We rearranged her furniture, decorated the home and did all of the catering. We used the homeowners linens and crystal platters (many had never been used in their 10 years of marriage) and holiday decor. There's nothing better than shopping in your own closet or cupboard. All told, the party, including my fee and all of the food, drinks and decor was $1500 for 35 guests.

Here are some photos and tips from this event:

A professional harpist played holiday favorites as guests arrived and mingled...it was a festive touch and one that most of them won't soon forget. Ater he left, holidays favorites were played on the sound system. (The harpist was a big SPLURGE! But was only $350!)

Also, Santa made an appearance (one of the execs in a great Santa costume) to hand out gifts to the children.

The food was plentiful but easy to eat while standing and chatting ("heavy hors d'ouvres")

Champagne and fruit nectars where flowing (or a combo of the two for new twist on a Bellini). We added cranberries to the champagne glasses for a little holiday fun! The candles are actually electric and LED powered.

The company sponsored a "Dessert Competition" and there were 6 entries (perfect way to have enough dessert for everyone and it's free to the hostess!). We cleared the hors d'ouvres buffet and put out the yummy desserts. The winner: An old fashioned English trifle.

The company saved a ton of money by self-catering (with my help) at the home of one of the founders and hosting it on a Saturday afternoon (employees weren't on the clock).

The Entry Way

This is a cream upholstered bench. The burgandy throw and pillows were in the homeowners Master Bedroom, so we put them here to make it more festive!

We rearranged the furniture in the front room to accomodate the harpist and facilitate conversation and visiting.

We relocated the chairs from the dining room and breakfast nook to the family room.

We also had a chocolate fountain with all kinds of yummy dippers like strawberries, pound cake and pinneapple.

According to the employees, this was the best holiday event the company has ever had and everyone felt comfortable and at ease and mixed and mingled for five hours! My feet were tired but I am thrilled!

Say Anything

2007-12-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

Take personalization to the next level with these fun, totally customizable appliques from Wonderful Graffiti Wedding. The only limit is your imagination! And since they are totally removeable, no worries about persnickity decor rules. Doors, mirrors, windows, floors, vases, glassware and of course, walls...

And some more...

Other retailers:

Expressive Walls

Quote the Walls

Wall Words
Wonderful Graffiti

Words for your Walls

Celebrate the holidays in COLOR!

2007-11-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

Holiday decorating doesn't have to be the standard red and green or gold and silver...picking a "traditional" color and one or two unexpected shades can lead to wonderful and awe inspiring results!

Crimson Red + Wedgewood Blue + Chocolate Brown

Chartreuse Green + Peacock Blue

Brilliant Gold + Royale Purple

Sage Green + Chocolate Brown

For these and more ideas, check out Hostess with the Mostess

Nobody beats the artistry and palettes of Mother Nature!

2007-11-17T17:09:00.000-08:00

Whenever I am choosing colors to design with, I always look to Mother Nature for inspiration. A wedding or party is a perfect place to express yourself in color. My favorite combinations are not necessarily expected...but in today's modern times a Holiday Party doesn't have to be Red, Green and Gold anymore than a wedding has to be white and pink! (Although both are classic and beautiful in their own right...)

Here's some photos that led to me choosing the eye popping combination of Pale Blue and Orange:

I also love to look to paper, interior decor design, textiles and visual art for color inspiration:

You can see how this easily translates into a wedding or special event:

The color wheel is always a great place to look when considering colors:

Edible decor...two purpose, one element!

2007-11-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

When planning an event, I always aim to find elements that are a perfect marriage of form and function....such as these wonderful centerpieces made with fruit. Beautiful to look at and tasty to eat!

Fruit Topiaries...

Chocolate Covered Strawberries are at hit at any party!

Each table can have it's own color based upon the fruit used in the decor.

Or combine colors for more flair and drama. Mother Nature is never wrong!

Inspiration comes from many places...

2007-11-14T11:02:00.000-08:00

Today it's these cute little Twelve Days of Christmas cocktail plates from Delight.com:

The bright colors, fun shapes and bold graphics would help to create a fun and festive Holiday Cocktail Party! I love that the colors are the typical ones you see for Christmas decor....these take me back to the feeling of anticipation I had when I was a child, but in a grown-up way!

Divarific Idea of the Day!

2007-11-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

I love combing the internet and magazines for great buys and creative decor and will post them here daily.

Up for consideration today....

Solutions Cataglog 9' Beaded Lit Garland:

They come in red, gold or clear. Obviously intended for Holiday Decorating, I think they could easily translate into beautiful wedding decor as well. And right now they are Buy 1 Get 1 Free from Solutions Catalog.

Welcome to La Divina Event Planning's Blog!

2007-11-13T09:11:00.000-08:00

After wishin' and hopin' and dreamin' I am finally taking the next step and launching my own event planning business....La Divina Event Planning. I plan to cater to folks who want to throw a fabulous party on a dime, be it a wedding, holiday party, baby shower or milestone birthday.

I have a knack for creating fabulous events on a limited budget and have been doing it for years for family and friends and now want to make my services availble to others in the Silicon Valley who want to plan a divarific event without the drama! Be on the lookout for our website...coming soon!