Ceremony Magazine Event

Ceremony Magazine had an event on Tuesday at the Richard Nixon Library. The theme was Catch the Wave. Food, drinks, and great entertainment were all a part of my evening. I LOVE the event industry! There were beautiful tablescapes and gorgeous florals. The catering was delicious (ChileCo, The Golden Trufle, Huntington Catering Co, Hyatt Regency Cateres, and Jay’s Catering).

The Cake Studio had a stunning blue cake with ‘waves’. I was going to take pictures but got very busy mingling with other event professionals. By the time I made my way back to the cake it was being served. I guess I can talk a lot :). The cake was delicious! It had almost a coffee flavor. Wayne Foster Music and Entertainment were the stars of the show. Wayne Foster was on piano. I snapped these two shots. I had a fabulous time!

Beverly Hills Baby!

Last night I went to the Wedding Salon Bridal Show at the Beverly Hills Hotel. There was quite a crowed but worth the wait. I went with my pal Bree. We got in and were greeted by Bling H2O. Celebrity planner Mindy Weiss was there for an exclusive signing of her new book, The Wedding Book. She was so friendly and outgoing. I got a hard cover signed for my collection. Mindy coordinated the weddings of Seal and Heidi Klum, and Trista and Ryan from the Bachelor, just to name a few.

Amy Sparks was there with her team of makeup artist. They provided trial runs of makeup for brides. Amy works on the set of The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Bree got her makeup airbrushed on by Amy. It look beautiful.

There were some incredible cakes there from Sweet Pea Cakes and Gary Hansen (Tori Spelling’s favorite cake maker). One of my favorite vendors was Foto Cabina. This is a photo booth you can rent for your reception. What a great way to entertain your guest!

Mindy Weiss and me.
Beautiful designs!

This one was done by Kevin Lee's LA Preimer.

The cake coordinated well with the table above!

Amy can you come to my home every morning and do my makeup?

Random Things

Last night I went to dinner with the girls. My best bud Stefanie and pal Stacy. We went to the California Pizza Kitchen. It was a ton of fun!

The other pictures are from a design show I went to. I learned some fun tricks for fresh and artificial flowers. I am getting so excited for the holidays! I love putting out my decorations. I usually get the bug really early like Halloween but the week before Christmas I am ready to take it all down.


The instructor was great!

Mariners Church

This was one of the most beautiful churches I have been to. Mariners church is located in Irvine, California. They have a wonderful cafe and bookstore. Jene and Tom were such a pleasure to work with. Here are a few pictures from Memories by Michael. Michael Erdkamp is an amazing photographer! I have had the opportunity to work with him a few times. (the pic above is one I took after set up)

Got Flies?

Along with the summer heat in sunny California comes the beloved black bugs. I absolutely can’t stand these things. To solve the problem my clever mom bought two little Venus Flytrap plants.

I had never seen one of these before, except in cartoons (don‘t laugh). Compared to the cartoons they are actually very small plants. This was a great purchase because now the boys spend hours catching the flies and ‘feeding’ them to the plant. They are really good at it. So it was well worth the money ($10). It provides entertainment for the boys and solves the fly issue.

Laguna Beach Wedding

I just got these great pictures! It was a beautiful April day in Laguna Beach for a beautiful bride and groom. I met this couple several months before their wedding and the bride loved the idea of using ostrich feathers and red roses. After the set up me and my crew sat at a near by restaurant and had dinner and were able to watch the bride and groom arrive. Thanks to Soria Weddings for the amazing photography.

Santa Monica Pier

Every Sunday at Santa Monica Pier, volunteers of Veterans for Peace put out this memorial for the military killed in Iraq. It is called Arlington West Santa Monica. Each white cross represents one killed. Each red cross stands for ten killed.I had the opportunity to visit in February 2005 and I was amazed at the growing number of cross from then to now. I stood in silence looking over the sand and thought about the cost of freedom.
While I was watching, wives of fallen men from The American Widow Project sat in the sand and grieved over their husbands. I am so thankful for the sacrifice of the men and women in the military. Here are some pictures I took...

This one I took in 2005. There were not even half as many crosses.