Wacky Wedding Planner

Napa Valley Destination Weddings

This photo really moved me this morning.  The weather is crummy, it's snowing again for about the ninety-ninth time in three days, temperatures are dropping and the wind is picking up.  But when I saw this photo I was instantly in a better mood.  

Gene Higa, one of the top ten wedding photographers in the world took this photo in Napa Valley three years ago at the latest possible moment before nightfall. I love everything about this photo and I love Gene for letting me share it with you.

 look forward to working with you, hopefully in Napa Valley. Thank you!

Wedding Photography

My photographer friend, Laurie Schneider of Laurie Schneider Photography and I recently spent a snowy morning together looking for examples of european architecture in downtown St. Paul for a project I'm working on for my new studio.

It was a great opportunity for me to see exactly how Laurie works picking out and highlighting the smallest details from massive structures that takes up entire city blocks.  I realized while watching her work that this is also her approach when photographing weddings.  She will focus on details often missed by other photographers and highlight these details in such a way that couples are honored she noticed.

Checkout some of these details on her blog.  Thanks Laurie for spending time with me and sharing your talents with my readers.

 

Wedding Inspiration & Designs

The week of November 1 I will be traveling to Costa Rica for site inspections and to participate in a tabletop design photo shoot. I was immediately interested but worried about the logistics of decor and accessories being available, however after having about ten days to mull it over, tear through wedding magazines, books and online images I did agree.

Of course the tabletop design has to be wedding related and pertinent to weddings in Costa Rica. I did not want the obvious or "Clichéd" themes of shells, sand, flip flops etc so started researching Costa Rica and its culture.  Several broad ideas came to mind such as Rain Forest, Eco-System and native birds such as the Macaw.  My initial choice was then narrowed to the macaw and creating a table full of lush vibrant colors such as ocean blue, red and lime green seemed fairly simple.

While it is easy to see ideas in your mind, creating the idea in living color with texture and dimension is much more difficult.  I worked several days on pulling the Macaw theme together but it always boiled down to the one final element that said "Macaw" and unfortunately that meant a fake bird.  While the table linens, base plates, napkins, candles and other details were great together, adding the fake bird made everything look like a circus. Here's a photo of my initial inspiration.

Frustrated, I was ready to give up but as luck would have it, I came across a story in the travel section of our Sunday paper about sea glass.  That sparked new interest and design ideas and after additional research, shopping trips and consultations with my graphic designer, I think I'm ready to head to Costa Rica. Getting there is going to be interesting, especially since I'll be bringing an entire suitcase filled with colored glass, decor, centerpieces, linens and votives but I'm hoping my frequent flyer status on Northwest will get them to look the other way when it comes to an over-sized luggage.

So the moral of the story for anyone who may have hit a design block, stop looking at wedding inspiration boards, wedding blogs and wedding books.  Inspiration may hit where you least expect it.  Here is my inspiration found by reading the news.  Good luck and let me know if Fete Perfection can help you get over your design block.

. Photo courtesy of Sea Glass Blog - thank you.

Sherwood Forest and VADA Photography

My team from Fete Perfection and I were fortunate to be able to plan and coordinate another beautiful wedding at Sherwood Forest in Nisswa, MN.  Sherwood is the fine-dining restaurant owned by Grand View Lodge.  It's close to one hundred years old and so stunning with all its rough-hewn-peeled-log architecture and hand-laid two-story fireplace.

This was a great wedding in that the brides mother had fabulous instincts and design ideas that pulled together beautifully.  We brought linens from Linen Effects with us along with over 600 white chargers and red salad/dessert plates from Aarcee Classic Events. We used granny smith apples and lots of wrought iron and candlelight to pull everything together to complete the look of timeless elegance.

The couple was very adventurous and had all sorts of plans to depart the reception which, unfortunately, dampened the day but not their spirts.  They left in a small float plane immediately following their afternoon reception and flew off into the wild blue yonder.

The best part however was working with  one of my favorite photographer Biff Ulm of Vada Photography.  Biff has an eye for capturing details, emotion and personalities like no other. Click here to see the sneak peak of photos posted on Biff's blog.

We so enjoyed every element of Carolyn and Jeremy's wedding, thank you to the family for giving up the opportunity to be a part of such a special day.

Fun Bio of Fun Photographers

One of my favorite Florida planners, Kelly McWilliams of Weddings by Socialites posted this adorable video by two of her favorite photographers in the world, Ashely and Sam. When I coordinate my next Florida wedding, I'll have to give them a call they certainly deserve credit for creativity...I can only imagine the joy they spread for couples on their wedding day. Enjoy!