I got the music in me

Last week Friday, hubby and I saw my favorite musician, Diana Krall, in concert at the Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall. She certainly did not disappoint! A good friend of mind surprised me with an unbelievable Christmas gift that included two tix to her show...a million thanks, T!

Five days later, and hubby and I returned to the Neal Blaisdell Arena to see Journey. Wow. New lead singer, Arnel Pineda, sang his heart out and maintained this incredibly high energy level throughout the show.

Love me some good music...

Blog love

Received a little love from Karine France-Matsumoto, owner of Seasons Of Life Wedding and Event Planning. Karine blogged about one of my soon-to-be-released damask style invitation along with a few other designs inspired by my favorite new patterns. Karine's main web site is currently still in the works, but based on the cool things she's been blogging about, I'm sure it'll be worth the wait!

Thanks, Karine!

Game on!

What's more fun than brides battling head to head to win a bunch of awesome prizes??? Here's the 411 on BRIDE WARS presented by The Wedding Cafe:

SUNDAY, MARCH 29th - 12pm

Smashing fun begins at noon at the center stage at Ward Warehouse.

WHAT IS BRIDE WARS?

Brides battle for tons of amazing $250 gift certificates and more donated by Hawaii's elite wedding peeps.

HOW TO ENTER?
Brides must enter their name between 10am-12pm at The Wedding Cafe that morning to be eligible to win. BRIDES MUST BE PRESENT TO PLAY AND WIN.

HOW TO WIN?
We'll be hosting challenges such as a cake eating contest. Two brides battle it out to see who can eat the most wedding cake in 30 seconds. Whoever eats the most wins a $250 gift certificate for a wedding cake. Simple as that!

BRIDE WARS is open to ANY bride and is totally FREE! RSVPs NOT required. Come on down!

Are you a DIY-er?

DIY...if you don't know what this acronym stands for, chances are you don't do it. Or maybe you wish you could do it but don't know how. Or you could already be doing it but just never knew what it was called.

DIY = Do It Yourself

As in...DIY invitations or DIY flowers or DIY favors for your DIY wedding. It seems like with the right amount of creativity and TIME, you could virtually do anything and everything for your wedding by yourself (except maybe the officiating?).

Last night I participated in The Wedding Cafe's DIY workshop held at the Willows Restaurant for all the crafty brides. Err, correction...brides AND GROOMS. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many guys attended the workshop! I don't care what anyone says, REAL MEN aren't ashamed to use glue dots or learn how to apply Swarovski crystals.

We had a total of about 40 people in attendance, four crafting stations, and ten minute rotations at each station. By the end of the night, I really felt like we had all been through a weird, crafty version of speed dating! For my session, I decided to do things a little differently and instead of doing a single demo, I focused on the crafting tools and supplies that people might need for all their cool DIY projects. It definitely was a fun night!

Your Wedding Day

In October of last year, I was lucky enough to be part of an amazing photo shoot for YWD Magazine. Sandra Williams of Finishing Touch was tasked with designing the look, and what transpired was a beautifully eclectic, old Hawaii meets modern world, breathtakingly fresh design that we were all excited to be a part of.

Here's the line-up of wedding professionals that helped to transform her vision into reality:

Yvonne Design
cakelava
Emi Ink
Les Saisons
blufotografica


Drawing inspiration from the Capiz shell lotus-shaped chandelier and the vibrant yellow from the rattan chairs, I created a set of menus and place cards to complement the decor.

The layouts and editorials in YWD Magazine are just gorgeous and if you're a cakelava fan (aren't we all?) there's also a great one-page write-up about the superstar husband and wife team, Rick and Sasha Reichart. Pick up the latest issue of YWD at Barnes & Noble!

All photos provided by the talented Brad Uyehara of blufotografica.

Fashionista wedding style

What an event! Check out these gorgeous pics taken by Nick and Rachel from Blue Nalu Photography:

Dream Weddings

A few weeks ago, I whipped up these fantasy-inspired invitations for an upcoming "Dream Weddings" event hosted by Anne Namba and Hawaii Bride and Groom magazine. Along with bridal gowns and fashion for the mothers of the bride and groom by Anne Namba, the event will showcase these talented professionals:

Elite Catering

Yvonne Design

Mood

Emi Ink

Les Saisons

A Perfect Day

Cake Works

Alison Hayashi

Blue Nalu Photography

. . .

Sunday, March 15th

1:00pm - 4:00pm

324 Kamani Street

. . .

Reservations required (589-1135)

How could I say no?

Two days ago I announced the GROOM'S QUOTE OF THE WEEK...last night a lovely bride took the prize for QUESTION OF THE WEEK.

After a quick meeting to finalize the details for their invitation order, I wrapped up by asking the bride and groom if they had any questions. A few seconds of silence passed and then, "DO YOU WANT A COOKIE?" The bride whipped out a bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies that I simply could not refuse.

I always tell my clients that there are no silly questions. And, in my book, any question involving a baked good is something to be taken very seriously.

Best question ever.

When in the course of human events...

I had a fun meeting today. The bride and groom were warm and gracious, anxious to incorporate personal touches into their wedding stationery, and open to ideas and suggestions. But what I enjoyed most about the meeting was something the groom said. As we looked at font options together, the groom...let's call him "Jordan"...said that he didn't care for fonts that were hard to read. Like on the Declaration of Independence.

You gotta love comments that are random yet succinct...and inspire bursts of laughter.

Thanks, Jordan, for what I consider the GROOM'S QUOTE OF THE WEEK.

one day + one night

All we had was 24 hours. One day + one night to do whatever we wanted. So we ran away from home.

A good friend had gifted us with a 1-night stay at the Halekulani a few months ago as a thank you for helping out with her web site. It wasn't until this past weekend that hubby and I were able to schedule our R&R day, but it was most definitely worth the wait. From the spectactular Diamond Head/ocean view from our lanai to the late night drinks/dessert/jazz we enjoyed at Lewers Lounge, it was all good. Really good.

Pics from top to bottom: Diamond Head view, Halekulani coconut cake, feathery friend on our 15th floor balcony, cheese platter from Rum Fire @ Sheraton Waikiki