Winter Wonderland

In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight.
Walking in a winter wonderland.

'Walking in a winter wonderland' is defiantly how I felt setting up for this wedding yesterday, Dec. 27 at the Balboa Beach Club in Newport. It looked like 'snow was glistening' off of every frosted flower and table top. Flocked branches and white Manzania trees filled the reception and ceremony room. The bride and groom even had fake snow come down in the ceremony room after their vows were said and as they continued to exit. What a wonderful surprise for the guest and an incredible feeling. Christmas time really does allow you to be as creative as possible with all these amazing possibilities!! Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Cook! Check out these snap shots to get more christmas wedding ideas.

My family in the industry

It seems like there are more and more of my family members getting into the wedding industry. I was the first one to join by getting into photography, but now we have a second photographer, wedding planner & florist, and Mikasa Linens (company that provides Linens & Chair covers for events) which happens to be my mother. So I have a great well rounded sense of what goes into a wedding.

Today my aunt (a wedding co-ordinator & florist) asked me to assist her on a 233 person wedding party set up. I was more than happy to help her out, anything that keeps me in the loop of Weddings and Portraiture. The bride did not have a very big budget, sticking with polyester chair covers and table linens. BUT. My aunt working her magic, transformed the whole room making it look like it was worth 3X what the bride had paid by adding little extras like chair cover sashes, draping fabric over key tables only (Cake & Sweetheart) more small arrangements rather than fewer larger ones, and all the xmas decorations that were provided by the venue really helped pull the room together. The Long Beach location added to the ambiance with Christmas reefs, and 6-7 Christmas trees fully decorated throughout.

The smell of roses, pine, and eucalyptus filled the air! some of my favorite cents (I am a total nature lover).

I use to think that December weddings, being so close to the holidays, would take attention away from the couple. I have completely changed my mind. I feel like it really brought people together, and people who during any other time of the year would not have been able to make it.

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Angel!! (real last name, how perfect is that)

Sorry, no pics this time... and I have no idea what happened to the ones on my last post.

This story gives new meaning to 'trash the dress'

This story gives new meaning to 'trash the dress'. When I got this story in an email today I thought it was going to be all about tears and crushed brides. This tuned out to be a really inspirational story, because when you think you are ruined and nothing else could go wrong you need to be proactive and positive. Margaret's Cleaners just saved this bridal boutique's reputation and business from elements that were out of their control, and not to mention over two dozen brides from not having their 'perfect dress' for their 'perfect day' with little to no time to find a replacement. I could not imagine being these brave women, glad to hear this happy ending.Watch TV Clip at margarets.com

(PDF of Press Release)

San Diego, CA — November 24, 2009 — A high-end wedding salon’s roof collapsed following a fire hydrant accident on November 19th. Water, asphalt and roofing gravel damaged over 120 designer bridal gowns. Nearly every dress in the salon was affected, including two dozen gowns already sold and waiting for brides to pick up. A news interview on KGTV Channel 10 showed the damage to the boutique and included an interview with Chuck Horst, President of Margaret's Cleaners, regarding the restoration process required for the gowns. There's a link to the video above, or visitwww.margarets.com.

All the gowns were soaked and many were in seriously distressed condition. Getting the gowns flushed out quickly and stabilized was critical to preventing permanent damage and the disappointment of many brides. Time was of the essence.

Margaret's Cleaners' new plant in San Diego had just come on line with its advanced bridal service facilities, including large treatment showers, water purifiers and jacuzzi soaking tubs for handling this type of problem. Once all the debris was removed and the stabilization process completed, more conventional cleaning and finishing techniques were performed..

Chuck said at this point it's quite likely that all the gowns will be restored to showroom condition, no brides will be disappointed and the salon's display gowns will be returned to them ready for the coming bridal season.

More about Margaret’s Cleaners: Established in 1953, Margaret’s has locations in La Jolla, San Diego, Del Mar and Newport Beach. Margaret’s is the premier dry cleaner in Southern California and offers commercial and residential delivery throughout San Diego and Orange Counties, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas. While being the service provider for over 90 garment retailers, Margaret’s is one of the top couture cleaners in the nation and the nation’s first Five Star Certified Couture Cleaner™. They specialize in bridal gown services, including restoration, preservation and gown storage. Margaret’s is a founding partner of TheCoutureCleaner based in Las Vegas. They are a family-owned business with seven family members participating in daily operations. Seventy trained technicians and service staff take pride in exceeding customer’s expectations on a daily basis.