AshleyBlog

I had the distinct pleasure of working with this wonderful couple, Stephanie and Lonnie, on their absolutely beautiful January wedding.  This couple was so much fun and it was great to not only work so closely with Stephanie, but also with Lonnie, who unlike most grooms was very hands on in the planning process of the wedding.  With that said, Lonnie made sure that the menu selected for their guests to enjoy was top notch, filled with several courses and many yummy items…

Stephanie & Lonnie’s wedding ceremony was at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and their reception was held at the Richard Nixon Library.  Our Lady of Guadalupe was a very special church for the couple as Stephanie grew up attending this church and knew that the day she was to get married it would be in this church with its gorgeous sanctuary and super long aisle.  And, the couple was also very traditional in not seeing each other before the ceremony.  It brought everyone to tears watching a tearful groom watch his gorgeous bride walk down the aisle.  How in love they are!?!?!

After their early afternoon ceremony, guests ventured over to the Richard Nixon Library to enjoy cocktails, appetizer tasting stations, and cocktails galore by none other than White House Catering.  It was like a mini-meal for all the guests to enjoy as they toured the museums and enjoyed sauntering through the Rose Garden at dusk.

Stephanie and Lonnie also made great use of their cocktail hour, by taking several pictures with family, friends, and pretty much the majority of their guests.  Simon’s Photography did a great job making sure all elements and pictures were taken smoothly and efficiently, plus videography too!

Prior to the doors opening to the East Room for the reception, I snuck Lonnie & Stephanie into their reception to see how absolutely stunning the East Room was in all its glory.  Stephanie seriously was brought to tears at how perfect the room appeared.  It brought a huge smile to Lonnie’s face, and mine!

Stephanie had a keen eye for great décor and selected a color palette full of warm burgundy, oranges, creams, and yellow florals designed by M’s Flowers (great job M’s!). 

And the lighting in the room by FBN Corp really added to creating the warm atmosphere. 

Plus, you add the “homey” feel Stephanie created by adding their heritage to the mantels…  They framed their grandparents and parents wedding photos to honor them for their love and commitments to their marriages.  Great touch, you two!

Guests wined and dined all evening while enjoying tunes from the sweet and talented Jeff from Moondance Mobile DJ’s.  And when guests thought the evening’s cuisine was over, Stephanie and Lonnie surprised their guests with a yummy tasty wedding cake by Beverly’s Best, a decadent dessert station, and a “taste of Paris,” a Crepe Station.  Truly a Sweet way to end a fantastic wedding.  Absolutely Divine!

It was simply a lovely, wonderful wedding.  Oh, I don’t want to forget to thank all the other wonderful vendors who made Stephanie & Lonnie’s wedding so lovely:  Uniglobe Limousines, Donna from Our Lady of Guadalupe, Grace & Brenda for the gorgeous makeup and hair style for Steph, and of course Matt Oden for the live piano music during cocktail hour.  Always great Matt, thanks!

Thank you Lonnie & Stephanie for giving me the opportunity to be a part of it.  Many blessings to both of you!

Truly amazing, wonderful and great were Michelle & Nehemiah to work with!  They were truly easy going, and yet still on task with all of the planning.  And, they brought such joy to each other, as was evidenced the day of the wedding despite the torrential down-pour of rain that occurred the entire week surrounding their wedding day. It truly was a wedding that occurred in a cloud with a silver lining!  Simply beautiful it was!

Although it broke my heart for Michelle that we couldn’t have their ceremony in the Rose Garden at the lovely Nixon Library, keeping everyone warm, happy and dry was more important.  And to be honest, the Ceremony was absolutely lovely, as evidenced by the pictures below.  It isn’t easy turning a completely white room into a scene for a lovely wedding, but Robinsons Flowers did a fantastic job on creating the moment and ambiance in the room.  Wouldn’t you agree!?!?!  Plus, Michelle has great taste too!

After the ceremony, guests wined and dined in the foyer while we finished up taking some great pictures of the couple.  I LOVED the details that Michelle put into the wedding from their menus and table numbers, to their personalized guest book and lovely escort cards, to the mantels in the East Room with different decorations.  Their color palette with the hues of purples was gorgeous!

Then, on into the magnificent East Room for dinner, dancing and lots of fun.  The wonderful gourmet food was catered by none other than White House Catering, with music and Lighting by the fantastic Carcano DJ.  One of the elements that Michelle and Nehemiah included was a personal slide show.  To be honest, I am usually not a big fan of these, especially if they are long.  But honestly, Michelle and Nehemiah made it their own.  I was crying as I was laughing so hard at their “reenactment of the First Time They Met.”  My stomach hurt so bad from it!  It gave me an even better glimpse into their charisma and deep love for each other.  Now I have to say, they made me a fan of slide shows!

I also thought their Sweetheart Table was elegant and beautiful.  Great job again Robinsons Flowers!

And the yummy cake by Torrance Bakery.

Oh, and I don’t want to forget to mention a few other great vendors I worked with:  Jason Tran Photography… they were on-point, kind and worked hard at making sure that they were able to get some great photos of the couple;  Arthur To, a dear friend of the Bride & Groom, did the videography and was sweet and also on top of everything; Flawless Faces provided Michelle’s stunning Makeup.  Great job to all of you and thanks for making Michelle & Nehemiah’s day so wonderful!

Not to Michelle and Nehemiah, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity to come alongside you two and be a part of your special day.  It was a wedding that will always have a special place in my heart!  God bless you two with a deep, loving and wonderful marriage!

When my friends and family ask me, “Ash, hat has been one of your most favorite weddings this year”, it is often difficult for me to respond with just one wedding.  But Brooke & Jawad’s wedding DEFINITELY made it in my top 3 favorite weddings of 2009, for many, many reasons that I’ll get into shortly…

First, Brooke and Jawad are truly wonderful, sweet and enduring people.  That came across the minute I met them and as I left that first meeting I secretly hoped and prayed I’d have the opportunity to work with them on planning their lovely wedding.  I have been truly blessed to work with such nice people, but there are usually only a handful that I get to say that they have become friends.  Well, this has become true in my relationship with Brooke and I am excited to spend more time with the two of them over the years to come.

Secondly, it makes planning a wedding a whole lot easier (and honestly more enjoyable and less stressful) on me when my clients choose my favorite vendors to work with.  As in this case, Brooke & Jawad selected the gorgeous Nixon Library for their reception.  And of course the East Room is dressed to the “nine” in December.  Truly amazing as you’ll see in the pictures below.  They also selected Carcano DJ (who doesn’t love Mike & Stef!?!?!).  Their expertise in music selections and lighting for the East Room made the party a truly festive occasion.  White House Catering, who ALWAYS does a fantastic job with not only great food, but also fantastic service.  Lake Forest Limos, who provided the transportation for all the Bridal Party the day of the wedding. And last but not least, Magnolia Designs for the flowers.  As you can tell by all the florals, not only does Brooke has superb taste, but you couple that with Michele from Magnolia Designs skills and eye for style, and you have a perfect floral combination.  The wedding florals were truly stunning and lovely!

Thirdly, when I get to work with some absolutely amazing new vendors!  Elysium Productions, their videographer was not just fantastic, but extremely creative and what I loved most about them is that they blended in.  You didn’t even know they were around as they never were obnoxiously in your face or that of the guests.  Layla Belly Dancers, came and performed later in the evening, right before the Bride and Groom were going to depart, and boy oh boy, did they have the crowd going crazy!  Truly a group of very talented young women.  Seaside Strings, who provided the background music for the cocktail hour.  Such a delight!  Shadi Shayeh and his wonderful live band who got the crowd jumping and dancing the night away.  A Cake Design Studio, who made the delicious cake!  St. Johns Lutheran Church in downtown Orange, was the perfect start for their lovely holiday wedding, fit with a gorgeous Christmas Tree and other holiday decor which tied all into Brooke’s elegant color palette.  And honestly I couldn’t forget the very talented and sweet Frank Salas, from Frank Salas Photography.  Frank was so on cue and captured some very artistic images, as you can see from the ones in my blog.   He’s definitely not a photographer to miss out on meeting!

Fourth, Brooke put a ton of attention to detail and made little things like keeping her wedding stationary consistent from the simple and elegant invitations to her ceremony programs and place cards all in the same palette.  Truly divine!

Lastly, they created a party even they enjoyed as guests!  In my opinion, Brooke and Jawad used their time best the day of the wedding.  They didn’t waste any daylight time, and captured all their formal portraits before the ceremony, when daylight hours are great for photography.  They didn’t race over to the church to get married, but arrived in plenty of time to freshen up and start their ceremony on time.  Then afterwards, they took a few photos and headed back over to the Nixon Library for a few remaining shots, but then enjoyed cocktail hour and socializing with their guests and bridal party.  Simply put, they enjoyed their own party!!!!

Brooke and Jawad, thank you so very much for blessing me with the opportunity to work with the two of you.  It was such a blessing and I look forward to many more wonderful “parties” together through the years!

Michelle and Brad were a terrifically wonderful couple to work with and I had so much fun sharing with them in their special day!  I met Brad & Michelle back in November and shortly thereafter they hired me to step in and assist them in the final planning stages for their January Wedding.  I was impressed with Michelle’s confidence in knowing exactly what she wanted and her ability to line up such great vendors, a few of which I had worked with several times in the past (a few of my favs…)

Michelle and Brad selected St. Martin Catholic Church for their traditional and lovely ceremony.  Connie, the church coordinator, impressed me from the beginning with her charisma and ability to handle a large bridal party, while at the same time not taking seriously two hours for a rehearsal (some church coordinators take that long)…  The day of the wedding she also promptly started the ceremony, which was awesome too!  I appreciate a vendor who respects timelines and other logistics.  It would be a pleasure to assist in another wedding at St. Martins.  The ceremony was led by Brad’s uncle, Bill Spies, whose warmth and gracious character made the ceremony smooth and perfect.  And, on top of that you add the Brandenburg Consort violinists, and you had an absolutely wonderful wedding!

After the ceremony, guests headed over to the lovely Richard Nixon Library for cocktail hour and the reception.  It happened to be one of the most beautiful days I have ever seen in January.  The sun was out and the air was crisp.  It was truly a perfect wedding day!  As guests wined and dined on the always tasty and yummy cuisine by Jason’s Catered Events, Brad & Michelle were able to have a smaller cocktail party of their own downstairs in the Bridal Suite at the Nixon Library.  Because they had taken pretty much all of their photos ahead of time, and because their photographer seriously ROCKED, thanks to Steve from Lifetime Images, it was a relaxing and lovely cocktail hour.

Guests selected their escort “cards,” and took them to their tables to “light their way” as the East Room doors opened for dinner and dancing.  Music filled the air by Karl at Music Unlimited and the aura in the East Room was absolutely stunning, once again!  Lighting by FBN Corp and floral design by Flower Allie assisted in creating the perfect wedding atmosphere.  Great job you guys!

I also LOVED Michelle and Brad’s cake by Beverly’s Best.  Very elegant and chic!

Reusing flowers is also so key!  The mantels adorned candles and the aisle arrangements from the church…

And, the magnificent Kings Table, for Brad and Michelle to dine on cuisine with their entire Bridal Party, was absolutely stunning!  Again, the large arrangements were the altar arrangements from the ceremony, and the other florals were all the girls bouquets in trimmed vases.  Simply Divine!!!!

Thank you Brad & Michelle for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your special day.  It was such a honor and I wish you two the very, very best!  Many happy years to both of you!

Nobue & Dennis were truly in a class of their own.  Such loving, caring people who fell in love with their perfect mate.  I mean honestly, too cute for words… 

Nobue and Dennis were married in the Rose Garden at the Nixon Library, on a nearly perfect day in January.  Their ceremony was truly unique to them, combining their Japanese and Philippino cultures, and religions.  It was a joy watching the two of them in their ceremony respecting and loving each other, especially by writing their own vows, which didn’t leave a dry eye in the audience.

After their ceremony while the Bride and Groom were finishing up their pictures and videography, with the amazing Distinct Light Photography company (truly a great crew and I LOVED how their video turned out), guests sampled yummy hors d’ oeuvres from none other than White House Catering, picked up their placecards at this unique table setting…

Went to the bar to order the bride and groom’s signature drinks, and laugh at their hysterical and comical pictures of them looking like cast members from Star Wars and Body builders…

Mingled and enjoyed conversation starters selected by the Bride and Groom…

Oh, and I want to pause a moment for you to notice the lovely florals by Focal Point Flowers and mention Marlou Colina, who not only did the Bride’s hair and makeup, but he also did the flowers.  And, weren’t they beautiful!?!?!  Just what Nobue wanted… a great combination of soft florals, with a Japanese flair. 

Now back to the reception… As the doors opened, guests were greeted with champagne, ambient music and lighting by the wonderful GEO Mobile DJ, and of course who could forget the live music by Oya, a fantastic vocalist!  Wow, did she have a voice and was such a pleasure to work with…  Nobue and Dennis chose such great vendors to come alongside them and make their day a dream come true…

And again, details, details, details.. things I love… from the darling favor bags with candy…

To their sweetheart table.. dreamy!

To their yummy and elegant wedding cake… 

And of course, the gorgeous East Room to tie it all together!

It was a wonderful, lovely wedding.  Oh, and I need to mention that I am usually not a big fan of slideshows, but Dennis and Nobue created theirs with a twist.  It had the traditional pics of them with family and friends, but then they threw in a short movie clip of how the two of them “met”… it had me laughing and crying so hard!  Can I just say… I LOVED IT!!!!

Thanks Dennis and Nobue for letting me shar in your special day… Many, many blessings to you both!

What better way to start off the new year than with four weddings and a few awards…  So I thought I’d start this year’s blog out by doing a little bragging, if you don’t mind for a minute…

We are thrilled to announce that Agape Planning has been selected as…

(1)  The Bride’s Choice Award Winner for 2010, our second year in a row!!!!  Crazy!!!  The Bride’s Choice Awards recongnizes and honors vendors from the Weddingwire network that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. This year’s receipients represent the top three percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which is over 100,000 vendors from across the US.  That means AGAPE PLANNING IS ONE OF THE BEST WEDDING PLANNERS!  YEAH!!!

(2)  A Winner in The Knot Best of Weddings 2010, a special section in The Knot Orange County Magazine and TheKnot.com Weddings.  Agape Planning was voted and rated by local brides as one of the best Wedding Coordination Companies in Orange County.  WOW, such an honor!!

We’d like to say a HUGE thank you to all all our Brides who voted and nominated us….  Here’s to a Fantastic 2010!!!

Nina and Doi were truly a wonderful couple to work with.  They were one of my “long distance” clients as they were planning their wedding here in the OC all the way from Conneticut.  I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting these two face to face until July when they were in town to finalize all their vendors and for us to do their walkthrough.  I thoroughly enjoyed spending the afternoon with them visiting their two venues, going over all the specifics, as well as getting to know them a bit better. 

Well, on to their beautiful Winter Wonderland Wedding…  They selected the very quaint, rustic, and quiet hidden gem known as the Aliso Creek Inn and Golf Course for their ceremony.  If it didn’t happen to rain that day, their ceremony would have been outside overlooking the majestic laguna mountains and golf course.  Because of the weather, we moved the ceremony inside to their smaller ballroom for an intimate afternoon ceremony.  I know it wasn’t what Nina had hoped for to have it indoors, but I think she’d agree that it was still lovely, personal and perfect.  Michele from Magnolia Designs did all the gorgeous florals which truly transformed both of the venues into a winter wonderland fit for a queen and king.

Reverend Michael did a fantastic job of integrating both Nina and Doi’s wishes for their ceremony and guests enjoyed watching the two glow the first time they saw each other as Nina walked down the aisle to the live tunes from Richard at Ambience Music Company.

I loved working with Yun from Cloud 9 Photography too.  She and her team did a great job of capturing the truly lovely Nina and handsome Doi, plus their fun bridal party in some great moments through the whole day.  I especially loved this one of Nina below.  You’d never know she was absolutely freezing in the wind that afternoon!  Oh, and who could forget the dynamic duo of Tiffany Monday and Makeup by Berit who truly made Nina feel and look like the queen she deserved to be for a day!

After the lovely ceremony, guests slowly made their way over to the Pacific Hills Banquet Center to be wined and dined for an evening of bliss.  This venue was wonderful and Tamin was such a pleasure to work with too.  I loved that Tamin went above and beyond the call of duty by assisting in placing all the ceremony florals we transferred into great places around the head table, including giving us candles and extra lovely tables to place the gorgeous manzanita trees on from the ceremony. 

After dinner, Nina and Doi greeted all of their guests at their tables with a toast, a very typical chinese tradition.  And to add another tradition to my “wedding list” the groom and his brothers honored their father by toasting to him… very sweet!

As guests danced the night away to the tunes of the great Essential Mobile Music company, I smiled as I watched Nina and Doi grinning from ear to ear.  It truly was a winter wonderland wedding!  Thanks Nina & Doi for letting me be a part of it!

For more wonderful pics from this couple’s wedding, check out their photographer’s website at:

http://www.lovecloud9.com/clients/ndtran/show/

Awesome, wonderful, beautiful… What else can I say about my lovely Bride Jamie!?!?!  And Steve is a pretty swell guy too…  It was truly a splendid wedding and here’s the scoop on Jamie and Steve…

I had the opportunity to work side by side with Jamie and Steve as they planned their wedding somewhat long distance from San Diego.  It was a true pleasure to see Jamie, and her sweet mom Kathy, remember to put the details in place the day of the wedding.  Every recommendation I gave them, or that they found online, for keeping their color palette of burgundy, gold and ivory consistent through the entire wedding was perfect.  I loved their attention to detail, even down to the consistent “scroll” type pattern that Jamie carried over from the invitations to Send Off Brunch notes we handed out at the end of the reception…

The Richard Nixon Library set the perfect tone for their lovely ceremony and reception… The ceremony in the gorgeous Rose Garden and their reception in the stunning East Room… Absolutely divine it was and we could not have asked for better weather on this November day…  Alan Landes, their officiant, led the ceremony with love and warmth… and the sunlight was perfect, and none other than the amazing Jen of PhotoJenic, captured the entire day from start to finish…

Before guests headed into the lovely East Room for the reception, they were greeted with the tasty cuisine of White House Catering, one of my favs.  Guests raved about how yummy the Hors d’ Oeuvres were and how the presentation of the food was spectacular.  Nothing but the best for Jamie and Steve!  And, who could forget the beautiful Centerpieces and arch in the garden, all created by Michelle of Magnolia Designs (another one of my favs)…  I loved the creativity of having tall and short arrangements in the grand East Room.  It really was eye catching…  And the soft amber lighting and tunes, from Fly By Night completed the mood for this festive occasion…

Jamie and Steve selected a yummy Cake from Klaus over at Heidelburg Pastry.. it was a great way to end the night on a sweet note!

oh, and I forgot to mention how I loved the simple and sweet decor on the Escort Card table.  Jamie combined their engagement picture along with Steve’s Parent’s Wedding Picture and Jamie’s Parent’s Wedding Picture.  It was truly sweet and a way for them to honor them…

It was an evening to remember!  Thanks Jamie & Steve for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your special day!  Many blessings to you both!

So I am seriously a slacker and am just getting around to blogging about this fantastic couple’s wedding from last month.  So hard to believe 2009 is almost gone…  Wow…

Anyway, back to Sal and Sherry’s lovely Black Tie wedding… a truly glorious affair…  Sal and Sherry were such a delight to work with.  I honestly enjoyed their working with the two of them and making sure that all their plans came together on their special day.  It wasn’t a difficult task, because they really did have wonderful vendors to work with and they chose my favorite venue for their ceremony and reception, the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace. 

Their lovely ceremony took place in the Rose Garden, where the girls wore ravishing black gowns, held red roses and then of course, Sherry was dressed like a royal princess in her stunning white wedding gown.  Sal didn’t look too bad either in his dashing tux and huge grin on his face.  We couldn’t have planned for better weather either for their November wedding.  The sunset that reflected upon Nixon’s birthhouse, which sat in the background of their ceremony, was simply breathtaking.  Thanks to Signature Party Rentals for the garden white folding chairs for completing their lovely ceremony scene.  A truly glorious, romantic ceremony it was!

After the ceremony, guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d’ oeuvres by the fantastic White House Catering, heard the tunes of a live violinist (a close friend of the family), and toured the Library.  Sal and Sherry were even able to enjoy the cocktail hour as they chose to have all their pictures taken before the ceremony and Sir Harrison Photography did an excellent job making sure to capture them in the best light…  Great job Sir!

As we opened the doors to the East Room for their reception, Sal and Sherry along with their parents, greeted all their guests in the more common Receiving Line.  Then, Sal decided to surprise Sherry with a song dedication, in which he sang a song he wrote for her.  There wasn’t a dry eye left in the room, including mine. 

Nicole Posca did a fantastic job on the florals, combining a few different arrangements that were very eye-catching… all in the black and white, with a splash of red color scheme.  Larsen Lighting also provided great ambient lighting and the stage for a new favorite band of mine… All Star Trio…  They were absolutely a blast and kept the dance floor hopping all night!  Everyone truly had a great time dancing the night away and enjoyed celebrating the Newlyweds…

And of course, who could forget the amazing cupcakes and display done by a close family friend, Cindy.  It was a unique and yummy display… Great job, Cindy!

Thanks Sal & Sherry for letting me be a part of your special day.  Truly an honor!

Where do I even start when it comes to Mary Grace & Jared’s wedding?  I seriously had so much fun working with these two wonderful people on their special day.  Not only because they were very sweet, but also because they truly, truly loved each other and that came through in every aspect of their lovely wedding.

Grace and Jared were married at the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace and their ceremony could not have happened on a more beautiful day in the Rose Garden.  I mean seriously, in November, there were crystal clear skys, and only a bit of a chill in the evening air.  Guests were in awe of the gorgeous red roses in bloom naturally in the garden, but also the stunning arrangements by California Bride.  Nancy did such a great job combining the deep red roses with lime green orchids.  But then Grace also has immaculately fashioned taste too! 

We started their ceremony on time, and as Grace strolled down the aisle, if you were looking close enough, you could see Jared take a deep breath as he “awed” his lovely bride.  Brian from the Clergy Network, did a great job keeping the ceremony running smoothly and the sweet tunes of Fiddlestix filled the air.  After their lovely 4 o’clock ceremony, guests ventured around the Library touring the museums, viewing the grounds at dusk, and eating the wonderful fare provided by none other than Jason’s Catered Events (they ALWAYS do such an amazing job!). 

The day was “captured” by two amazing companies… John from Harvard Photography was on hand, and cue, for that matter.  He was very sweet and has a very artistic eye, as you can tell from the many wonderful photos he took of Grace & Jared’s wedding.  Joe, from Today’s the Day Weddings, was also behind the scenes capturing every moment of the ceremony and reception for Grace & Jared to reminisce later in their fun wedding. 

I absolutely loved all the details that Grace put into making her wedding fun and enjoyable for all their guests, ranging from a few toddlers running around, to the grandparent’s who danced the night away with the Bride and Groom.  The Cheesy Photobooth was such a hit as well as the lotion favors…

Their Bridal Party even got into the crazy atmosphere by doing some fun things from special dances to the grand entrance.  And then, Grace and Jared surprised everyone with there traditionally choreographed first dance with a “twist” towards the end.  Everyone was on their feet cheering on this dance-crazed couple….  Music Works DJ’s keep the party alive and well as the night wore on and dancing shoes came off… 

Thanks to Grace & Jared for letting me be a part of your special day.  Much love and blessings to you both!