Friday Favorite Finds - Save the Veil: When the Wind Blows..Your Veil Won't!

Southern California Wedding Planner, Jill Watson

Introduces Extraordinary New Product...Veil Weights!

After coordinating many weddings where windy conditions caused her bride’s veils to blow every which

way, disrupting the ceremony & photos, Jill decided that there was a need to find a way to keep those

veils down and under control. So, she created these beautiful pieces of magnetic jewelry that can be easily

attached to a brides veil...“so when the wind blows...your veil won’t.”

These beautiful veil weights are made of genuine mother of pearl and Swarovski crystals and contain two

small hidden magnets. The veil weights are not permanent; they’re very easy to put on and take off and

allow your veil to have movement while keeping it from blowing out of control!

Veil Weights jewelry are something every bride should have on her wedding day if her wedding is at the

beach, on a cliff by the ocean, on an island, a yacht, in the desert, in wine country or anywhere the wind

may be blowing. Wedding planners should have them for their bride’s emergency kits. Photographers,

videographers, bridal salons, seamstresses and make-up artists would benefit from carrying Save the Veil.

Save the Veil is a great product for the bride who has always wanted a beautiful veil, but thought she could

not have one because of windy conditions blowing the veil out of control on her wedding day. The problem

is now solved!

When the wedding day is over, brides can use Save the Veil as magnets to hang up their beautiful wedding

photos. They become a keepsake of your fabulous wedding day!

Lizzy & James - An Intimate Wedding at Home

A family friend of mine was planning to have her daughter's wedding in her backyard for 280 people.  She had 6 months to put everything together for Lizzy and James, including the renovation of the backyard.  Thankfully she had many loving and creative friends and family members that came together to create a magical, meaningful and intimate wedding.  The wedding took place on a very hot sunny day in San Dimas, California.  

This wedding was especially significant to me because the home was a block from where I grew up and the ceremony was at St. Dorothy’s Catholic Church where I attended grammar school.  I accepted the coordination job 30 days before the wedding day and what I received was priceless!   It was an experience full of so many lovely people.  With so many family and friends pitching in to help, what resulted was a day full of vintage spirit with modern day flair.

The night before the wedding, fifteen of the family's friends worked together to create the centerpieces for the tables.  These centerpieces were made using the soil from the family's yard.

The caterer, another member of the family, created a lovely meal and such a beautiful cake!

The couple sipped their champagne from their custom-made silver champagne flutes that were adorned with the Irish symbol of the Claddagh, which symbolizes the qualities of love (the heart), friendship (the hands), and loyalty (the crown).

Guests spent the evening under the stars, with extra lighting provided by strands of twinkle lights and Chinese lanterns.  

So much was done to the home to prepare for so many guests.  A plateau was built against their hill to allow for mingling room, an area was leveled out to hold a dance floor, and amphitheater style seating was created and decorated with beautiful pillows for guests to relax under the stars.  They also created beautiful alcoves of lounge furniture throughout the backyard.

It was a beautiful day full of people caring about each other.  Special thanks to Classic Party Rentals and Witon Photography (the only non-family vendors!) for creating and capturing all of the special moments of the day. 


Much Gratitude,
Mary

A Beautiful & Memorable Terranea Wedding!

This weekend at the beautiful Terranea Resort was Sara & Jonathan's wedding.  It was such an amazing day filled with love, laughter, kind words, and a team of amazing vendors that worked incredibly hard to make the day special.  The bride and groom were two of the loveliest people we have ever had the pleasure of sharing a wedding journey with!  

Here are some photos from the unforgettable day!

If you've never been to Terranea, we would suggest visiting soon.  The views from the cliffs are breathtaking and the perfect backdrop for gorgeous and romantic memories.  The staff is absolutely incredible and delightful to work with.

Sara and Jonathan picked a color scheme of pearl and ivory with accents of light blue, blush pink and slate grey.  The bridesmaids were in stunning slate grey dresses and the groomsmen in handsome grey suits.  Special thanks to Stormi Yates of Stormi Beauty and Joe Alvarez for the bridal party's amazing hair and make-up.

The ceremony took place at the the Catalina Point with 360 degree views of the ocean.  At the end of the aisle is a gazebo which was draped with sheer fabric to compliment the movement of the ocean.  The flowers by Amy Marella of The Hidden Garden Floral Design were a combination of roses and hydrangeas in white, ivory, green, blush pink and light blue.  Rose petals were scattered along the aisle and under the gazebo.  The ceremony site was spectacular!

The violinist from Elegant Music played a solo of Bittersweet Symphony.  It added such a dramatic element as the bride walked down the aisle with her father.

Sara and Jonathan met at one of Marianne Williamson's Tuesday night Seminars.  Marianne is a spiritual activist, author, lecturer and founder of The Peace Alliance.  She has published ten books, including four New York Times #1 Best Sellers.  It meant so much to Sara and Jonathan to have her officiate their ceremony and Marianne felt honored to be a part of their wedding.  A large portion of their ceremony included words from her book called Illuminata:  A Return to Prayer.

The talented trio of the Mark Castrillon Band entertained guests during the cocktail reception and throughout dinner service.  Sara and Jonathan had seen them play the night of their engagement and were thrilled to have them play at their wedding.  They were amazing!!!  Everyone loved their music and we can't wait to see them play again!

The decor in the Catalina Ballroom stayed true to the bride and groom's color scheme with silver linens and chairs, a combination of centerpieces incorporating light blue hydrangea, cafe au laits, dusty miller, eucalyptus, sahara roses, vendella roses, lavender and juniper berries.  Thanks to Fabian Gracian of Event Designs by Fabian for the white dance floor with the couple's monogram and for perfectly lighting the room with accents of blue and amber.  

The cake was done by Vanilla Bake Shop and was not only a work of art, but it was delicious too!

DJ Jon Brown of Unite Entertainment rocked the party and had all of the guests dancing the entire night...and after a bit of persuasion from Sara and her bridesmaids, agreed to share some of his own breakdancing skills!  It was such a fun and memorable night for all!  Guests had a great time dancing and enjoyed the photo booth that was provided by our amazing photographer, Jen O'Sullivan.

Special thanks to my unbelievably supportive and energetic team including Mary Dann, Melissa Churlonis, Sarah Porcaro, Sarah Barret, Janel Gonzalez and Leanne Lagace!  The night would not have been as incredible as it was without you.

We wish Sara and Jonathan all the best and we are so happy we could be a part of their special day!


Much gratitude!
Mary