Happy Halloween!

I just looooove babies little ones in Halloween costumes! I told The Husband when we have babies every day is going to be Halloween! One day his child will be a pumpkin, the next day a giraffe, the day after that a bear, and the day after that an dragon. And that will just be the boy. My imaginary girl will be a ballerina, then a fairy, then a bumble bee, and so on.

The Husband and I are off to Napa Valley today to spend a rainy fall weekend drinking wine, visiting wineries, and then sitting in front of a fireplace drinking wine. Happy Halloween!

Derek & Angela's Wedding on The Queen Mary

Last Saturday I had the honor of coordinating Derek and Angela's wedding aboard the history Queen Mary ship in Long Beach. The Queen Mary was converted into a hotel in 1972 after operating since 1926 as a luxury transatlantic super liner and then a troop transport ship during World War II.

Their ceremony was held in the ship's chapel and the reception held in the gorgeous art deco Queen's Salon--it was so beautiful! Angela carried a travel theme throughout the evening by giving silver luggage tags in the shape of a ship as favors and having the escort cards displayed on vintage travel trunks covered with stickers from hotels around the world. I was so happy to see that both Derek and Angela let go and really had a ball on their wedding day! So many times couples get caught up being hosts all evening that they run out of time and don't really get to get down and dance and party! I couldn't stop smiling as I watched them boogie the night away.

They flew the next day to a honeymoon in Italy.

Congratulations, Derek and Angela! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your special day!

Amber Events Presents: Making the Magic

Michelle, my Vibiana bride, was sweet enough to give me permission to bring in a camera of my own on her wedding day to film what takes place behind the scenes in order to create a seamless wedding. My brother-in-law Dan Anderson makes promotional videos and was kind enough to come in to do this for me. You can see a higher resolution of this video if you have a Quick Time player here. I am so excited about this video! Enjoy!

A Wedding at Shutters On The Beach

Last Saturday I worked a wedding at Shutters On the Beach in Santa Monica with one of my mentors, Carol Rosen of Party Designs By Carol. I've always admired the hotel from the bikepath and the venue was as lovely as I expected, but it was also much tougher to work than I expected. The hotel is laid out in such a crazy way that there is no direct way to get from point A to B--to get from the Grand Salon to the lobby you seriously had to go up the elevator, across the pool deck, and then down the elevator on the other side. Herding guests through a maze like that consumes time, energy, and patience. The poor ceremony musicians were initially directed by the doorman to the Grand Salon when they should have been directed up to the pool terrace for the ceremony. I thought the poor Cellist was about to blow steam out his ears after he lugged his Cello down to the ballroom only to find out that he needed to be up on the roof.

The ceremony was held at sunset overlooking the Pacific and a 10 piece orchestra gave me Goosebumps. It was the prettiest ceremony music I have heard to date. The reception was equally fabulous with custom linens from Wildflower Linens, floral arrangements flown in from Hawaii, lead crystal stemware, and the killer 13 piece Entourage band of de Bois Entertainment bringing the house down. One of the highlights of the evening were the Bon Bon Girls passing out favors such as candy cigars, chocolates, and glow in the dark necklaces. I think every guest in there got their picture taken with the sassy cigar girls in their fishnet stockings and satin tuxedo jackets!

Below are pictures taken from the hotel website as I did not snap any pictures that day other than the hemming job I did on an usher's dress--it was either this or her cutting off 5" of her silk gown!

Think twice about a wedding by a swimming pool

I'm crying I'm laughing so hard!

Worst Best Man Ever @ Yahoo! Video