We finally saw it all come together, a wonderful evening of romance, cocktails, dinner and merriment. These newly-weds came to us a little over a year ago to begin planning their wedding day, a fun couple with a feel for the modern. A Public Relations specialist and a VP of a prominent San Francisco investment firm planned an evening of cocktails, art, food and dancing, their guests would not soon forget.

With a spanish inspired evening ceremony at Mission Santa Clara, little to no decorations were needed at the centuries old mission. Hundreds of candles lit the alter, adding a glow of glorious light throughout. San Jose's Marichi Jalisco, a traditional Mexican Marichi band played during the processional and ceremony, even singing Ava Maria - amazing, like nothing we had seen before.

After a traditional Catholic ceremony, guests were invited to the San Jose Museum of Art for cocktails and a Mexican inspired menu. Red & Black was the color theme throughout, from the brides deep red rose bouquet to the arrangements of circular balls covered with deep red carnations, (Yes! Carnations). Guests were greeted by hanging cardboard monkey's, the museum's newest exhibit.

Intimate lounge areas were created throughout the Museum for guests to relax and spend time chatting. A three piece Bossa Nova band played during cocktails creating an atmosphere of posh sophistication with a hint of whimsy. Guests were treated to guided docent tours through the art galleries during cocktails. Creative lighting by North American Theatrical Lighting brought the entire Museum a glowing intimate feel, creating a warmth, not always easy to create in a space so vast.

The Dining room was a amazing...black linens with touches of red made the room dramatic. Red rose centerpieces in black containers surrounded by hundreds of votive candles made the room warm and inviting. Event Designer, Spiral Hand truly brought our clients vision to life.

Valli, Givenchy, Valentino & Chanel brought us the romance of the past, with an over-the-top, couture-like aesthetic. The designers Spring 2009 collection presented this month in Paris, showcased the classic, elegant designs in wedding and formal gowns.

Valli's ivory tufted blossom tulle wedding dress took us back to a era of whimsy and romance, keeping it understated and beautiful.

Our favorite, Givenchy's short white number that exposes that sexy back and legs, clean and modern for any occassion

And, of course Valentino and Chanel, classic and always a obvious choice in evening and wedding gowns.

LA Fashion week is in full swing - we'll bring you more for the runway soon.

With my daughter's 1st birthday approaching I thought I'd try my hand at baking some wonderfully fabulous cupcakes. As I was deciding what flavor and frosting to choose for the simple basic small individual cupcakes, I came across the Wilton® Giant Cupcake Cake Pan. It's awesome.

It's gigantic, it's enormous, 15½" x 8¼" x 3¾". I'm so excited to create a one of a kind masterpiece for my little girls 1st birthday. Wish me luck!

This photo booth is at Chicago's Novelty Golf

About 10 years ago a friend received a save the date in the form of a strip of photos of the nearlywed couple taken in an old fashioned photo booth. On the back, they asked their family & friends to reserve the date of their imminent nuptials in Louisiana with the last line reading, "Details of Merriment to Follow..." I thought to myself, "huh. that would make a great name for my event planning business." Fast forward 8 years, here we are, in our 7th year. Wow, how time flies when your having fun!

These days photo booths are very popular at parties, special events & weddings. What could be more fun then sharing a good time with friends in a photo booth. I loved those things growing up. Every year a couple of friends & I would go to the county fair and fight to get our bums on that tiny little seat. Great memories.

Today photo booths come in all shapes, sizes and colors. The photos aren't b&w anymore - they come in full color, glossy, matte, they can personalized with a name, logo or whatever you can think of. We like this model - this "funbooth" is a funky photo booth for hire in Sydney, Australia. Yup, Australia. Bummer! We love the upgrades. No struggling to share the small seat with your friends there is plenty of room for more then two.

You can visit them online at http://www.funbooth.com.au/

We've fallen in love!! A few weeks ago our wonderful friend Karla, The Card Lady brought us some lovely patisseries from San Francisco's Miette Patisserie & Confiserie. It's all Karla's fault that we have become full blown addicts of the most wonderful Parisian Macarons on the West Coast.

Miette Patisserie is a tiny cake boutique located in San Francisco's famous Ferry Building that carries the sweetest treats and Miette's Confiserie is the quintessential candy shop located in Hayes Valley that "blends penny candy simplicity with the bygone opulence of European sweet shops".

Cakes, cupcakes, tarts, cookies and other confections are all well executed at the Patisserie using fine local and organic ingredients. The Confiserie boasts sweets made by local artisans and they even carry organic cotton candy, Yummy!


And if you looking for a unique venue to host a child's party or even a ladies tea, look to the Confiserie. They can create magical children’s birthdays complete with ballerinas, pony rides, storytelling, magicians or whatever your little one imagines. In the evening-time the adults can socialize with cupcakes, cotton candy and champagne.

Voila! It's Rachelle's very own Inspiration Board and she shall call it "Teal and Chocolate". Rachelle loves teal for its contemporary and cool feel and when paired with the richness of brown hues, it has a certain...je ne sais quoi. Definitely shows off a bride's taste for style and class. And lets admit it, chocolate is a girl's best friend (besides diamonds of course, but if you are getting married then you've already got that covered!)

YIPEE is proud to bring you the Bigwig Lunch Time! A quarterly luncheon series that allows guests to have meaningful dialogue with young professionals and some of the most important business leaders in the SF Bay Area. You’ll hear influential, relevant and significant speakers discuss various topics crucial to business in the Silicon Valley and beyond.

Join us at our first luncheon of the year on Wednesday, July 23rd, 11:30am-1:30pm at the Crowne Plaza Cabana Hotel - 4290 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. Click here for directions. Tickets are $35 for all guests. Please register @ http://www.chambermv.org/ by July 15th.

Jose Antonio Vargas is a reporter for the Washington Post, where he covers the convergence of politics and the Internet. Previously, he wrote about video game culture and HIV/AIDS in Washington, and won a Pulitzer Prize as part of a team that covered the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech. He's also written for the Philadelphia Daily News, the San Francisco Chronicle and New York magazine, and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and C-SPAN's Washington Journal. He's a proud alumni of Mountain View High School ('00) and San Francisco State University ('04) and lives in Washington, D.C.

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We don't normally take vacations during the summer months because we're busy with wedding season. So, we dream...

We dream of a far off tropical island where palm trees sway to a cool breeze and clear white sands sparkle with the sun. Where all we need is a swimsuit, a towel and a good cocktail.

We've come across great tropical inspired wedding favors, the Palm Tree is on the top of our list of a great themed inspired event favor. You could incorporate the Palm Tree from the beginning of planning your event by adding a Palm Tree design to your invite or STD.

Below you can check out some of the Palm Tree favors we found!

This summer enjoy a unique cocktail while enjoying the summer weather and good friends. Here are some refreshingly new twists on some summer classics. For events, any of these would make a fabulous signature drink!

Cape Cod caviar, with cranberry juice (formed into beads with alginate), sparkling vodka, and lime juice, from Canard Inc. in New York

Spicy sangria, with white wine, tequila, sugar, jalapeños, plums, apples, peaches, and cilantro, from Canard Inc.

Blue bayou, with Alizé Bleu, lemonade, and blueberries, from Ginger Island Cuisine.

Ultimate popsicle, with Ultimat vodka, orange liqueur, and a popsicle garnish, from Wolfgang Puck Catering in Los Angeles.

Please join Shoreline Amphitheatre for & Global Gourmet Catering at an outdoor event "trends" luncheon catered by Global Gourmet Catering on the main stage of Shoreline Amphitheatre! Private tours of this unique, flexible mixed use venue in the heart of the Peninsula will take place following the luncheon.

Girls, can we ever have enough accessories? Of course not and I just purchased a fun new one. A wristlet from the ecoist Subway collection, made from recycled subway maps. How cool is that? All of their collections are made from recycled candy wrappers, coke or water bottle labels and even bar codes.

Ecoist goal is to merge design with social and enviromental consciousness. All their products are made from recycled, organic, or earth-friendly materials, and are manufactured through their network of fair trade partnerships around the world.

Doesn't everyone love a cupcake? We are excited about the new Sprinkles Cupcake Bar opening up at the Stanford Shopping Center this summer. Baked fresh everyday Sprinkles Cupcakes are made with the finest ingredients, sweet cream butter, bittersweet Belgium chocolate, Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, fresh bananas, carrots, strawberries and natural citrus zest. All topped with Sprinkles trademarked dots, chocolate sprinkles from France or seasonal sugar decorations.

For you nearly-weds out there, Sprinkles can create a tiered cupcake tower in just about any flavor for your wedding day. Check them out this summer at 393 Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto or online at sprinklescupcakes.com

Wedding Season is upon us and we're knee deep in shades of pink! We're loving the color combinations our brides are coming up with this year. Blush & Bashful are not the popular choices, all due respect to Shelby. You Steel Magnolias fans know what we're talking about!

Enjoy the weddings you are a part of, invited to or planning this summer. We know we will!

We've been quoted! The Knot and theknot.com asked our opinion of the perfect location to host a wedding. We had to tell them about Hacienda de la Flores in Moraga. Read the article below, we're #6.

1. Chapel of Love