Colors

Primary colors:

Champagne                   Purple 

Venue

Both ceremony and reception will be at the Wente Vineyards in Livermore, CA.  The ceremony will be outside in the garden in front of one of the stucco buildings.  The reception will be indoors in the event center.

Photo Gustavo Fernandez Photography

Photo Gustavo Fernandez Photography

Photo Chyna Darner Photography

Photo Chyna Darner Photography

Photo Chyna Darner Photography

Ceremony

We are having an interfaith ceremony - Jewish format with some traditional Christian elements mixed in.  The ceremony will be led by our wonderful cantor Linda.  I love idea of a solo guitarist for the ceremony music and we have found someone that can play Spanish (seems like a good fit for the venue) with a bit of contemporary.  

Some song ideas:

•  Can't Help Falling in Love - maybe processional
•  Canon in D - Bridal
•  Wonderful World
•  Spanish song ideas? 
•  Simon Tov - Recessional because it is fun, traditional (Jewish), but will need to be recorded since it doesn't really work on the guitar 

Clearly, my ideas for music are all over the place.  We are meeting with our guitarist in August to get suggestions and work out the details.  He will play through the cocktail hour as well.

Flowers

I love love love these flowers!  Ours will be similar. 

Here is another example with some purple accents for my bouquet.  Photo borrowed from Jacklyn Le - our florist.

We will also have these hanging vases with green, white, and small purple flowers and chocolate brown ribbon.  Photo borrowed from Jacklyn Le and knottie wedding yukiloo.

Ours will probably be more similar in color to this one. (Photo borrowed from knottie CaliCayman) 

Attire

The Girls

Wtoo 336 - in Cognac (chocolate) with a mojito (lime green) accent. 

Here are some finished bridesmaids looks that I love:

My girls will carry green and white flowers tied with brown ribbon.

The Guys

I would like the groomsmen to wear black tuxes with a fun, striped tie in chartreuse greens and browns.  Something like this:

Steve will wear a classic black tux with white vest and tie.  Probably something like this:

Reception

The reception will be held in the event center at Wente (photo above).

Tables and Linens

I would like to use similar linens for our reception as this picture:

Our centerpeices will be floral with square vases and votives.

At each place setting, we want to have a menu card and a single orchid like this:

But with Green Dendrobium orchids on chocolate table cloths and probably green or white napkins:

Candy Buffet 

We have decided to do a candy buffet because they are super-cute and we are only having wedding cake for dessert.  Plus they make great favors.  My creative friend/pseudo in-law relative will be helping to put it together for me.  Thanks Em! 

Here are some of my favorite ideas:

I ordered wooden letters similar to the ones on the cake table (see below).  They say "Love is sweet".  Hopefully we will be able to use them and the orchids for the candy buffet as well. 

Menu 

If I ever get around to designing our menu cards, I will post them here.  Until then, here is our menu:

Cocktail Hour:

Apple, Onion Confit and Brie Cheese Flatbread

Grilled Filet of Beef Skewer with Spicy Dipping Sauce

Roasted New Potato with House Smoked Salmon, Creme Fraiche and Chives

Local Artisan and Imported Cheeses with Fruit, Assorted Crackers and Sliced Sourdough Baguettes

Salad Course: 

Butter Lettuce Salad with Oranges, Feta and Cilantro Vinaigrette

Fresh Baked Country Bread

Choice of Main Course:

Grilled Marinated Chicken Breast with Potato Gratin, Fall Vegetables and Herb-Cabernet
Reduction

Oven Roasted Halibut with Yukon Gold Potato Puree, Chard and Citrus Sauce

Stuffed Portobello Mushroom with Baby Spinach, Leeks, Eggplant and Shafts Blue Cheese
Herb Butter, Wrapped with Puff Pastry

Children's Meal - Chicken Strips and Fries with Small Side Salad

It's all about the cake!

For the cake design, I like square tiers with a brown ribbon accent.  Here are some examples:

Our cake is provided by Wente and will be 3 tiers.  We finally decided on two flavors for the tiers:

Chocolate with a mocha mousse filling

Butter almond cake with creme brulee filling and fresh rasberries.

HMMMMM

Cake and wine tasting at Wente with Steve's parents - July 26, 2008 

Cake Table

I bought "I DO" wooden letters for the cake table from wholesalelettering.com.  They just came in and look great (minus the fact that they aren't painted yet!).  I will post a picture soon.  I'm thinking we will have a brown or green table cloth for the cake tables and I will paint the letters white.  The florist will be using purple and green petals and LOTS of votives.  Here are some ideas for the "I DO" letters:

DIY Paper

This is an example of our table number cards that I made.  All of our paper will reflect the same design and style.  I can't decide between the classic table numbers and using cities that we have visited together.  Some contenders are:  Bangkok, Chang Mai, Koh Samui, Angkor Wat (as shown above!), Istanbul, Cappadocia, Cabo San Lucas, Monteverde, and Tamarindo.   If we use these names instead of numbers, we would put a photo of us in each of those places on the back of the table card.

To Do Next:  Design matching menus, place cards, escort cards, and programs!!

Idea for Escort Cards:  If we use the city names above, I had an idea to use Moo Cards as escort cards with a different photo of Steve and I at each of the places we have visited.  So, for instance, for the 10 guests seated at "Angkor Wat" they would receive an escort card with a different photo from Angkor Wat.  It would add variety and hopefully be a nice conversation peice.

Moo Cards - www.moo.com

Parties and Celebrations

Bridal Shower - July 19, 2008 

 Vegas with Selvi (bridesmaid) - August 1-3, 2008

Bachelorette Party  August 9, 2008

Honeymoon

We are going to Indonesia for our honeymoon!  Steve and I spent 1 month in Southeast Asia (Thailand and Cambodia) three years ago and have wanted to go back so we are really excited!  We will spend most of the time in Bali with a couple days diving in the Gili Islands.  We leave on Thursday night October 23 (Friday morning, actually at 1:20 am), arrive in Singapore and will stay 2 nights there.  Then we head to Bali and the Gili Islands until November 14th.  3 weeks!  Can't wait. 

 Singapore October 25-27

Pan Pacific Singapore

In Singapore, we plan to take the night safari, visit the orchid gardens, and eat and shop in Little India and Chinatown.   

Indonesia October 27-November 14

In Bali, we are staying in three locations:  Seminyak, Ubud, and Sanur but we haven't booked any accommodations yet.

Then we will head to the Gili Islands in Lombok for some diving!

Vendors

Here are the vendors that we have booked so far:

Reception/Ceremony/Catering/Cake - Wente Vineyards - www.wentevineyards.com

Photographer - Chyna Darner - www.cfoto.com

Florist - Jacklyn Le - www.lebouquetier.com

Dress Designer - I love my dress but don't want to post anything about the designer or style just in case Steve is looking!

Bridal accessories - Veilshop.com - I ordered my headpeice from this online store.  You can configure your headpiece exactly the way you want it and they are way cheaper than the bridal salons.  My came really quickly and it is gorgeous!

Dress Alterations - Kirsten Tucker

DJ - Peter Haley from the Spinheads - www.thespinheads.com 

Bridal Salon - I ordered my dress and the bridesmaids dresses through Pearls Place and saved a bundle.  They have been great to work with so far and my dress is scheduled to come in mid-September!!

Orchids - I found a place online that sells 100 loose orchids for $20!!  So we are going to use these for the reception decor (loose flowers on the tables).  http://www.wholesale-tropical-flowers.com/index.html

Wooden Letters - http://www.wholesalelettering.com/ - They were great to work with.  Easy online ordering, cheapest prices that I could find, and tons of options - sizes, thickness, and fonts.

Ceremony Music - Music to Go!  San Francisco Conservatory of Music - So far so good.  They have assigned us with a solo guitarist who specializes in Spanish and Classical. 

Officiant - Cantor Linda Hirschhorn

Still to come:  Videographer