74% said – Staying within their budget

75%  said – Minimal Stress

71%  said – Guests feel the wedding was a true reflection of the bride and groom

How do you make all of these things come true? Hire a wedding planner! Seriously! You may think that you can’t afford a wedding planner. In reality, the wedding planner will make staying within your budget much easier, take stress off you, and know how to make your dreams reality!

Anna's Amy Kushel gown modified to have straps and a sweetheart neckline. Also pictured, her shoes.

Anna was born and raised in New Zealand. James was born and raised in Northern California. Little did Anna and James know, thousands of miles away from both of them, New York City was waiting for both of them.

James describes what happened in 2004 – “On a hot August evening in New York City’s Chinatown, I approached seven flights of stairs that would forever change my life.  On crutches with torn Achilles, floor by floor, I sweated my way up the old pre-war building to find the smiley green-eyed Kiwi girl I’d make my wife. A sizzling New York City romance followed with long evenings of  drinking Gigondas at Balthazar, breakfast lattes at Café Gitane (on Mott Street), and cocktails at SOHO House.  Three months later, Anna relocated to west to live with me in San Francisco on the Pacific Ocean…”

We got engaged in the garden at the Louvre in Paris in September 2007, our first trip to Paris together. It was magical and overwhelming.  James surprised Anna with a few days in Paris before taking her to Provence to meet her family (who had traveled from New Zealand) to watch the NZ All-Blacks Rugby team play in the 2007 World Cup of Rugby in France.

After Anna stopped screaming and staring at her over the top diamond, we strolled across La Seine to Restaurant “Les Deux Magots” at 6 place Saint-Germain-des-Présmargot and to drink Billicart Salmon rose champagne (Anna’s favorite!) and devour Foie Gras and oysters.  The trip only got more perfect when on the train to Provence we were seated next to Anna’s idol, Gourmet Magazine’s Editor in Chief Ruth Reichl, who gave us fabulous advice on the best restaurants and cafes in Provence!

Our wedding was about bringing all the people we love together to spend meaningful time together on the little island where Anna was raised as a child, Waiheke Island.  Waiheke Island is a magical place, only a 30-minute ferry ride from Auckland, populated with just fewer than 8,000 permanent residents, and the home to more than 30 vineyards – Truly Wine Island!

Our ceremony took place on a cellar roof lawn at The Mudbrick Winery.  The Mudbrick Winery is one of those places you read about but never seem to actually visit in real life (think Wizard of Oz!).  The Mudbrick has it’s own heartbeat – and has the most warm and lovely fell surrounding it when you visit. The Mudbrick overlooks the Hauraki Gulf and Rangitoto (an active volcano), along with the Auckland city skyline in the distance.

The Mudbrick Restaurant and main dining room, where we hosted our reception, has a wonderful ambiance, and has been described as “one of the most romantic places on earth”.  The main dining room offers the most spectacular sea views throughout the wedding dinner overlooks Waiheke’s rolling vineyards and Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. The restaurant has French doors that completely peel back and a roof that opens to the stars.  We added only candlelight, white lilies, and white covered chairs to compliment the natural traditional beauty of the Mudbrick venue.

At the reception and dinner, we wanted to showcase the very best NZ and Waiheke Island ingredients and highlight produce from the winery’s vegetable garden.  We served the Mudbrick’s own award winning Rose, Chardonnay and Syrah, as well as a special wine from Anna’s family vineyard in honor of Anna’s late brother Kiet who had planted the grapes as a boy.

Anna’s aesthetic has always been “fresh, clean, and green” so there was no need to fight with the spectacular scenery offered by Waiheke.  Anna’s chose colors consistent with the very 60’s combination of Kelly green and bright white to compliment the special glacial turquoise NZ oceans of the Hauraki Gulf.

Anna on their photographer Lauri Levenfeld of Zoom Photography – “As well as being one of our closest friends, Lauri is a fantastic photographer of people and human emotion.  Her natural eye for capturing the most important moments in peoples’ lives is remarkable.”

Anna recently opened Marlowe, a restaurant in the stylish San Francisco Soma neighborhood were they also live.  After working in venture capital, James went on to work at a Moka5, a technology company in Menlo Park as a VP.

Congratulations Anna and James! Thank you for sharing your story with us!

Wedding Planning – November to December 2009, Part Two

Gregg and Valerie's "Save the Date"

For me, the hardest part had been finding a venue. The best resource that I have found out there to help answer questions is www.HereComesTheGuide.com. This site breaks down everything you will need in order to find the perfect place. Gregg and I originally wanted to get married somewhere in wine country but we slowly found out that everything seemed to be a la carte (you have to find your caterer, bartender, décor, ect). We both agreed that a Hotel would be a better choice for us. We really dedicated a month to finding a place. Making a list of things that you want to incorporate and also having an idea of how many people we wanted to invite. Since our wedding will be around 225 people and we both wanted an outdoor wedding. This helped in eliminating many places.

November 2009 we booked out location at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood Shores, California. Since we will also have many guests that are out-of-town both from overseas and the East Coast, this place is perfect for us!

I also found my dress in November! I was really shocked that only two months of being engaged I had found my dress, thee dress! I had gone with my mom and dad, I knew that I wanted to share this special moment with them both. My first experience in trying on the first wedding dress, I felt really silly, in the sense that I felt that this wasn’t real. It was really hard to picture myself in a wedding dress even though as a little girl I had always envisioned my wedding. After the first 5 or 6 dresses I started to really see that this was all real and I wasn’t dreaming this up in my head!

I probably tried about 30 different dresses. The Dress Consultant from the beginning told me that any dress I loved to leave in the dressing room and any dress that I liked or wasn’t thrilled about to give back to her. This was probably the best advice I got while trying on dresses: “Love” vs “Like”. Only the dresses I “loved” made the cut…it helped with eliminating dresses.

I ended up with 4 dressed out of the 30. I tried them on for a second time and the first dress that I had originally had tried on fit perfect. I felt like a princess. I remember stepping outside of the dressing room and my dad had a “wow” look on his face and my mom just cried! As my mom and the Dress Consultant placed a veil on me, I got chills and various waves of emotion came pouring in. I knew this dress was the one!

When I looked in the mirror I knew this dress was going to wow Gregg just like it wowed my dad. From this moment forward it all hit me that I was getting married to the love of my life!

Now having selected a venue and finding the perfect dress, we booked out officiate and our photographer.

Since Gregg and I both come from different backgrounds and different religions, to us, the officiate had to be someone that could blend both of our religious and cultural traditions into our ceremony. My Aunt had recommended the White Robed Monks, who also officiated her wedding to my uncle. Together, we and the officiate are building in creating a unique ceremony that will make our exchanging of the vows memorable.

Our photographer will be our friends Rebecca and her husband Gabriel Beszeda. We selected them not just because they are our friends but also because Gabriel is an amazing photographer. After seeing much of his work, we know that he will be able to capture our special day not just through the eyes of a photographer but through the eyes of friends and knowing us as a couple.

As it is now 2010, we have finished our gift registry and we are now working on our save the dates. We have also completed our Wedding Website through www.WeddingWindows.com.

Today, I looked on our “To-Do List” to see what is next: Finding a Florist, Cake Tasting, Finalizing the Menu, Finding Wedding Invitations, and Finalizing a Honeymoon Location. We have 216 days till our big day!

Here is a list of my favorite resources:

Wedding Wire (www.WeddingWire.com)

Here Comes The Guide (www.herecomestheguide.com)

Martha Stewart Weddings

Wedding Etiquette by Peggy Post (this will help answer any and all questions regarding the wedding and the proper way to address issues that arise. This has been a lifesaver for me!)

Next month – More of Valerie’s Wedding Planning Adventures…

Wedding Planning – November and December 2009

Gregg and Valerie

My fiancé Gregg and I met in a very cinematic way that still blows me away. I remember that day as if it was yesterday! From the very moment I met him, there was something special about him – I knew he was “the one”.

Fast-forwarding a few years later to September 30, 2009 after many shared moments of happiness, laughter, an argument here and there, smiles and vacations, Gregg made me the happiest girl in the world!

He proposed! In order to surprise me he knew he would have to do something very special and very unexpected. He had contacted my boss who agreed to be in on the surprise!

My boss had told me that a friend of hers would be in town from Italy for her birthday but unfortunately she could not make it out to meet her friend. She had asked me to deliver a nice bottle of champagne and pick up some flowers for her friend, who would be waiting at the Saint Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco in a limousine.

I completely fell for it.  I had no idea that Gregg would be the one waiting for me.

When I got there I was in utter confusion, my first words were, “Oh, hi there. What are you doing here?”.

Gregg smiled and grabbed me by the hands and told me to come with him as he led me to the waterfront over looking the Golden Gate Bridge.

I finally started to realize what was about to happen.  He got down on one knee, told me how much he love me, and asked me to marry him.  I gave him a huge hug and said yes!

After the proposal, we got back in the limo, opened up the bottle of champagne and made our way to Napa Valley for a wonderful afternoon of wine tasting.

We are getting married on August 28, 2010.

Like any Bride-to-Be, I wanted to start planning right away! After we announced your engagement to family and friends we started on the right track by beginning a list of important phone numbers from wedding party members to the florist and musicians.

I am grateful to have had friends that had experience planning their own weddings because I didn’t know where to start. Our good friend Joe and Sarah have been a big help so far. Sarah had passed down a Wedding Spreadsheet that has been passed down through many of the friends. This list was broken down to help with a “To-Do List” and establishing a budget and a timetable.

I have learned that in the beginning stages of planning always have a really good “To-Do List” for you and your fiance and anyone else that may be of help in the planning process. For me, I utilized the list in “Real Simple Weddings” and customized it to what was appropriate to us. Like the Wedding Spreadsheet that our friends gave us, I organized my “To-Do List” by Category and assigned tasks to my fiance and I, my Maid of Honor, Best Man and my mother and future mother in law. Along with assigning tasks I assigned a due date to each according to the time frames that everything should be completed. This list has been extremely helpful in getting everything done and keeping organized.

Tomorrow…Valerie’s favorite resources for wedding planning!

The Concept: Due to a slight obsession, {Unique Designs} wanted to create a Twilight wedding invitation, an idea which blossomed into a full concept design and shoot. The intent was not to replicate Bella & Edward’s wedding, which was actually an Anne of Green Gables dress and was filled with white flowers, but to make another wedding style based on the mood and concept of Twilight. To acknowledge Edward’s personality, we chose a dramatic look with bold flowers, strong reds, and splashes of black feathers. To incorporate Bella, we wanted to take a vintage twist which can be seen in the creams, vintage brooches, and antique lace.

And here the concept comes to life!

Twilight Bride and Groom

The beautiful cake!

Cake details

Details of the bouquet

Table Set-up

More gorgeous details!

The bride

A full length photograph of the beautiful dress

The invitation that started it all!

One of my favorites!

The Vendors:
Concept & Event Stationery | Unique Designs | www.daretobunique.com
Concept Designer: Flowers & Tablescape | Event Divas | www.theeventdivas.net
Cake | Posh Pastry | www.poshpastry.com
Hair | Stephanie & Lonie Carpenter from Mode Salon | www.amodesalon.com
Makeup | Sarah Hunter from Mode Salon | www.amodesalon.com
Accessories | Kari Roy | www.kariroy.net
Female Model | Chanel Bird | chanelb17@aol.com
Male Model | Bobby Swan
Wedding Dress | Solution’s Bridal | www.solutionsbridal.com
Tux | Tuxedo Junction | www.tuxedojunction.com
Linen Rentals | Celebration’s Catering | www.celebrations-everything.com
Concept by Unique Designs and Lindsy Tropf
Photography by James Pion of VIVO Capture Photography and J.P. Photo Concepts

Thanks for sharing!