Wish for a Better Guest Book
Posted by Denise on Oct 18, 2007. Filed under DIY Wedding Ideas, Real Weddings, Receptions, Stuff We Love, Trend Watch, Wedding Ideas
I’ve attended two weddings this year where the bride and groom decided to move away from the traditional guest book and mix it up a bit with a Wish Tree. The Wish Tree is a Dutch wedding custom where guests are given a piece of paper, either shaped like a leaf or made of card stock. The guests write their wishes to the bride and groom and then hang it on the tree. This creates a gorgeous centerpiece and the tree is placed at the entrance to the reception to wow your guests right when they walk in. 
I got to assist in assembling a Wish Tree when I worked with Maxine Andrew of Instead of You at an event in September. I loved being a part of putting this together and seeing how it looked all aglow with the crystals sparkling and the heartfelt wishes hanging from each branch. 
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After the wedding you can create a scrapbook with the wish cards. You could even find pictures of the guests who wrote each one and place it next to their wish.
Helpful hint: give yourself plenty of time to assemble the Wish Tree. It must be done onsite and can’t be moved once it’s assembled. The one in these photos took about two hours to complete from wrapping the crystal garland inside each hurricane to laying out the wish cards for the guests to hang. It takes some time, but the wow factor is huge.
— Denise Martinez, Director of Vendor Sales
A Vice Presidential Rehearsal Dinner
Posted by Lisa on Oct 17, 2007. Filed under Locations, Real Weddings, Rehearsal Dinner, Restaurants
What kind of setting is fit for the rehearsal dinner of Sarah Gore, daughter of Vice President Al Gore? Truly, only a restaurant created by a princess will suffice. Crustacean Beverly Hills was the dramatic location of Sarah Gore’s 75-guest rehearsal dinner celebration July 14, complete with a 6-course tasting menu. 
The restaurant is both European-modern and Asian-exotic, with an 80-foot glass-topped indoor stream filled with koi snaking from the cocktail lounge to the dining room. The decor is inspired by the vice king of Vietnam’s French Colonial Hanoi estate (exective chef Helene An’s father’s home). With that kind of pedigree (not to mention the seriously sumptuous food), I dare you to not imagine you’re a princess yourself when you visit! 
Anything Can Happen in California
Posted by Lisa on Oct 15, 2007. Filed under Locations, Off Beat, Receptions
When planning your event, don’t forget that you really can make anything happen in California. Wanna get married on set at Paramount Studios? Go for it! Say “I do” in the morning and go skiing in the 
afternoon on Mammoth Mountain? Sure! Whether it’s a sporty celebration at Dodger Stadium or a super-chic 40s-style do at the classic Los Angeles Union Station, it’s no wonder so many of us are itching to hold more than one big event in our lifetimes—there are just too many interesting backdrops in this great state! After working here for over four years, I’ve already got my 10-year vow renewal planned out from beginning to end.
I’ll probably wait a few years to tell my husband about my ideas, though…