Monday, January 30, 2012

What We've Been Up To!

Hi Friends,

Sorry about our MIA Blogging, we've been rather busy around here! :) This past week, we have officially moved out of our Henderson location and into our new Cypress studio and we couldn't be happier! The amount of space we now have is incredible! We love how organized our new place is starting to become and we can't wait for our friends and clients, past and present to see it.

Our client offices are now separate from Jess, Fiona and Zoe's working offices. Below is a sneak peek of Jess' office as hers is the first to be completely finished. :) Yes, you should know, Ian's talents far surpass the wedding day and the design bench, he's a rather talented interior designer as well. :)

We'll show a couple more sneak peeks as we get finished- but to see the entire new space, you have to come in person. :)




Xo- Zoë

Friday, January 20, 2012

Zoe's Favorite Reveal

Yesterday we featured Ian's favorite reveal. I thought it would be fun to share mine. And as I too have countless favorite reveals, in honor of my 5 year wedding anniversary today, I thought it might be fun to share my own. :)

I think my wedding planning experience was just as most brides, but the funny thing was, when it came to the decor and design of the wedding, I did what any smart daughter of an amazing designer would do, and left it completely up to my Dad. (for those of who don't know, Ian is my father - yeah, I know, I'm really lucky). ;)


I gave him very little direction. We picked a color scheme, I said no carnations or baby's breath, that I wanted the ceremony to look like it was a different location from the reception, that I didn't want anything TOO over the top, give him literally, maybe one picture and the rest is history. My one Bridezilla moment and I don't even think it could be categorized as one, involved my wedding bouquet. I was SUPER picky about it not being too big. So much so, two weeks before, my Dad had me come to the studio on a Saturday to see a bouquet with similar product (peonies and roses) so he could get an exact size of what I was envisioning. :) Mine was peonies, roses and lily of the valley. Man, it was beautiful! Other than that, I didn't know what flowers were being used everywhere, or what linens, I didn't see a sample, I didn't have a clue about what my wedding was actually going to look like.

The weekend was amazing, the wedding day, far more than I could have ever imagined. Seeing the ceremony for the first time, O-M-G - just beautiful! The ceremony decor, made me want to just pull up a table and have dinner in the center of the aisle. lol. The reception - just spectacular. The way he transformed the Yacht Club, it was simply perfect. The layout he designed when we got married was one that was never done before, and it's funny when we have Brides come in getting married at the same location and using the same layout - it makes me smile.


But my Dad did what he does with every Bride. He exceeded my expectations and created the most spectacular, unbelievable setting for our perfect day!

In addition to the amazing crew at Botanica (that at one point made my dad leave the wedding and told him it was time to take off his florist hat and put on his Dad hat) and of course my Dad. I was so lucky to have SO many amazing vendors involved that created this perfect day! And without writing a lengthy list, you know who you are, and to this day, you will always have a special place in my heart for what you created and did to make my husband and I's day so perfect. Thank you.

Sorry for this novel length blog post and my overuse of the word amazing and perfect - but I just had to share. :) Five years later, my heart is so full of unforgettable memories. And as current brides, the best piece of advice I can say, is pick amazing vendors. THEY will be the people that can make your day so unforgettable. Wedding vendors are almost like unsung heroes. They work so hard to make sure everything is perfect. And sometimes it's not, but great vendors will make sure it is perfect regardless of the blood, sweat and tears required to create that perfection. They care about you and your happiness and being a part of your most important today.

 Oh and one more thing! You MUST hire a videographer!! I can still remember the day, and I love looking at my pictures, but reliving the day through my wedding film is honestly, just priceless. No, I don't watch it every day, but I certainly do every year (and about 50 times right after I received it). :)

Thank you for allowing me to share and I hope to the Bride who's wedding day is almost here, that you day is as unforgettable as mine was.

XO - Zoë

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Ian's Favorite Part of the Wedding Day

When I asked Ian to share with us one of his favorite wedding reception reveals (i.e. the moment when we show the bride their reception room for the first time, prior to their guests arriving) he said that he had too many favorites to just pick one.

After him mentioning that the reveal was his favorite part of the wedding day, I asked him to elaborate and share why this is the most memorable part for him and this is what he had to say:

"With most clients I've spent months, weeks and sometimes years helping them design their perfect day. Consultations are of course, filled with talking about flowers, colors, layouts, etc. but a lot of times, they are filled with so much more - emotion, stories, laughter and yes, sometimes, even tears (happy tears that is).


When designing a wedding, I can always envision exactly how everything will come together - something I know at times, can be difficult for a bride. Even after seeing a sample tablescape complete with linens, chairs, chargers, etc.  the individual sample doesn't even compare to a room filled with flowers and romantic candlelight. 


After all of the blood, sweat and tears that each and every Bride puts into their wedding day, along with their vendors, a completely finished reception room, is such a beautiful site. The entire day is spent transforming a space from a standard hotel ballroom into not just a beautiful ballroom, but THEIR wedding.


Watching a Bride walk into that room for the first time is what still brings me completely joy and happiness, even after being a part of thousands of weddings. It's the moment that makes me feel truly blessed to know that I absolutely love what I do. It's a priceless moment seeing the huge smile on a bride's face. Having her say, "OH MY GOODNESS, this is far more amazing than I ever thought it would be." I always say to clients, we want to not only meet, but exceed your expectations - we want your wedding to be far more fabulous than you ever imaged. And on the day, when it is, it's the most amazing experience imaginable".


Below is one of Ian's favorite 'reveal' pictures from a past bride and groom. Such a fun photo. :)


FYI for Brides- ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS make it a priority in your wedding day timeline, to leave even just 5 minutes prior to your guests arrival into the reception room, for you and your groom  to see the room complete so you can see the fruits of your labors! :)

XO - Zoë

Photo Courtesy of Jeff Kathrein of K and K Photography

Monday, January 16, 2012

About to Reveal...




We love nothing more than a maginficient reveal! Whether unveiling the beauty of the wedding to a bride and groom or releasing our new programs and products, we can’t wait for you to share in our big reveal. 


Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks. As construction slowly finishes at our new studio and we see the light at the end of the tunnel - we can't wait to reveal the big transformation in addition to some other fun and exciting new things.


In the meantime, we hope you enjoy our blog posts this week, where we share stories on some of our favorite wedding reveals! :)


Xo - Zoë

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Style Me Pretty Wedding Feature!


We're excited to share that our 2011 March wedding of Jaclyn and Ean is featured on the Style Me Pretty National Blog.

We had so much fun working with Jaclyn and her mom, Linda, on the design of the wedding. We took the inspiration from decor in the home as the color palette and design for this wedding. A combination of white, ivory and champagne flowers from roses, to hydrangeas and the ever-so sophisticated phalenopsis orchids. The waterfront residence made a picture perfect backdrop for this stunning affair.

We had so much fun with this wedding, not only working with such a wonderful family, but also with all of the amazing vendors that helped create this beautiful day!

Click HERE to see the feature!



Ean and Jaclyn, thank you for allowing us to be a part of your big day!

Xo- Zoë

Monday, January 9, 2012

What We've Been Up to!

My apologies on my blogging hiatus! The end of the year brought a fabulous holiday season, mixed with a fun vacation abroad, which led to my blogging MIA.

There is nothing more fabulous than being in Europe. No offense America, but the fashion overseas just doesn't even compare to ours here, we were in hog heaven! It was amazing to see the color trends popular in the UK. We hope to share them soon.

In the meantime, we hope everyone had a fabulous New Year! We ended our 2011 with a gorgeous wedding at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort. It was a sophisticated, eclectic affair. The tables had collections in mercury glass and vintage glass. We even organized mixed china - each table had a variety of four different yet coordinating china patterns. We can't wait to share pictures soon!

And to more exciting things... our new studio! We have a crew still working away like little worker bees, helping us get our studio in perfect condition. This week they are finishing painting all areas of the new studio, along with adding new flooring in the client offices, as well as our new working offices in the back. We can HARDLY WAIT to move in! Below is a snippet of the new studio, a picture of our new shelving that just arrived for our hard goods - glassware, vases, containers, etc. will be arranged in a library-like fashion - to have complete organization, allowing us to fully see our inventory. We're waiting to share the new pictures once we're in a prettier state. ;)

We couldn't be more thrilled, we're almost tripling our size at the new building and can't wait for everyone to see it! Stay tuned as we continue progress in the next coming weeks along with our big move in, which will be right around the corner!

xo- Zoë