Happy 15th Birthday to Martha Stewart Weddings!

The one and only wedding magazine that I subscribe to is the fabulous Martha Stewart Weddings. It comes out five times a year and when I rush out to my mailbox to find it waiting for me I am giddy with excitement. I wait to crack open those beautifully filled pages until I find a nice quiet corner with my favorite pen and then go to town - my imagination runs wild with ideas, insights and inspiration.

So happy, happy birthday to Martha, Darcy and team! The magazine you produce is a stunning work of art that has inspired brides to dream big, tackle fantastic DIY projects, and be a great resource on all things wedding.

The winter issue is out on newsstands now - take a peek - you won't be disappointed!

















Photo from Martha Stewart Weddings.com

Baby Shower for the Mommy to "Bee"

I am beginning to think this event planning thing runs in the family. My family threw me a fantastic baby shower with a yellow, white and black bumble bee theme. I thought I would post a few photos from the event, as the ideas that my family carried out with the bee theme are easy to do and turned out fabulous. My mom, step-mom and sister created a beautiful event. I plan on stealing a few of these ideas myself for my next baby shower client. Take a look!













These great bottles were used as bud vases all around the garden, as well as hung from low branches in trees.



















The rentals were provided by Classic Party Rentals. One of the favors was a white fan (cause it was about 102 degrees!) as well as a bee shaped cookie cutter. Here the napkin is tied around the fan with ribbon. The bee cookie cutter is also tied on to create the final touch. The jar of honey at the top of the plate was another fun favor.













Here is a close up of the honey favor. My step-mom made these by finding cute jars, going to Costco for large amounts of honey, decanting them, creating labels and then topping them off with a bee pattern fabric and ribbon.













These cookies are my favorite, especially around the holidays - they make a great Christmas cookie. My mom used the bee cookie cutter to make these Pepparkakor cookies - a mix of ginger and molasses snap cookies. They were sweet treats for the guests on the way home. The cellophane bag is tied together with a yellow ribbon and a then a sugared bee decoration was glued onto the knot of the ribbon.



















The cake was designed by my sister, with help from Kathy's Kreative Kakes in Burlingame. The bakery also used similar sugared bee decorations for the cake.
























Paper parasols - black, yellow and different black and white patterns were scattered in the tree branches as well as throughout the garden to add splashes of color. Market umbrellas had streams of yellow ribbon threaded through their underneath spokes and each chair back had knots of yellow tulle to contrast with the black and white gingham tablecloths.

Photo source: From Trisha Dean's personal collection

Vintage Engagement Photo Sessions

Hello! Apologies for the lack of posting, we are expecting Baby Dean to arrive January 1st and baby world is trying to take over my wedding world! So, moving back into wedding world...I have a great post for you about a fantastic photographer.

My sister down in San Diego found Sarah Yates to shoot her wedding, pregnancy photos and now Baby Addison's photos. Sarah is one of my favorite photographers and I check out her great blog from time to time at www.sarahyatesblog.com.

Not only are her photos incredible, she is fantastic at capturing one of the trends I am noticing with engagement photos. Couples are choosing to get all dolled up and create vintage photo shoots - transporting themselves to another era and looking fabulous. Take a peek at Ben and Lacey and Sara and Nick. Ben and Lacey bring me back to the days of Gatsby while Sara and Nick channel the infamous Brad and Angelina "W" magazine photo shoot.

What a great way to have some fun with standard shots for your engagement! Enjoy!












Photo source: Sarah Yates Photography

Venue Higlight - The Harvest Inn

The Harvest Inn in St. Helena is one of the most beautiful wedding venues. Now, I may be a bit biased because 5 years ago tomorrow, at about this time, I was walking down the vineyard rows with my new husband taking in the Inn's romantic vibe and watching my guests clink wine glasses under the setting sun. So in honor of my anniversary, I am going to brag about how fabulous The Harvest Inn is for a wedding. My top five reasons for getting hitched there...

5) You "own" the venue for the entire day, no other weddings will be performed on site that day. And since it is an Inn, your guests can stay - no need to drive after the big event!

4) The stunning brickwork, lush landscaping and Tudor-like guest cottages make the Inn feel a little bit magical.

3) The service is amazing. Let's just say I had a snafu with my dress on the big day and their staff and my coordinator came together for the big rescue. I may have had to wear a white sheet if it weren't for them. (People, wedding planners/coordinators are a must have on your wedding day - another subject for another post).

2) The access to different locations throughout the wedding. This keeps your guests exploring and enjoying new locations throughout the night. The manor lawn, the library room, the patio over looking the vineyards, the fountain and bridge...I could go on and on.

1) You can get married literally in a vineyard. The patio opens up onto Whitehall Lane's impeccably kept vines. It was the only true vineyard backdrop I found on my search for a wine country wedding without the pain of getting married at an actual winery. The rules at winery can sometimes be tough for a bride to deal with.

I found these great photos over at Project Wedding of Marisa and Mike who also got married at The Harvest Inn. They show great area shots of the venue with the vineyard. You can also check out the galleries on Trisha Dean Events for another Harvest Inn Wedding.













The patio overlooking the vineyards for the ceremony.



















Transformed for the reception.

Photo source: Richard Wood Photographics

Beautiful Bridal Hair Pieces

Recently a few brides have come to me in search of the great bridal hairpiece, straying from the traditional veil or adding to it with a headband, beaded hair vine, silk flower or fresh flowers. When it comes to fresh flowers, only a few types hold up to the heat, hugging, dancing and movement of an entire wedding day. But I will leave that topic to another post. I want to talk about the silk, beaded or feathered kind. Chatting with some of my vendors, I found that bridal hair jewelry tends to get incredibly pricey, very quickly. Then I stumbled upon a great site for inexpensive bridal hairpieces - AND the best part is - for the budget bride, some hairpieces you can rent! Tigerlilly Jewelry has designed adorable silk flowers, sparkling beaded vines, headbands and more to perfect any wedding ensemble. Pictured below was one of my favorites, the Lulu Comb. Take a peek for yourself!

















Photo source: www.tigerlillyjewelry.com

Remembering Loved Ones at Your Wedding

When planning the wedding, one thing I have found is brides and grooms wanting to honor special family members that have passed on within their ceremony. Finding ways to acknowledge these people have included such things as a heartfelt note within the couple's program, a special red rose placed within the bride's bouquet which was her grandmother's favorite, or taking a piece of fabric from the wedding dress of the loved one and sewing it into the slip of the new bride's dress. All of these meaningful touches make the ceremony personal and special.

In working with a bride we stumbled upon another amazing way to remember her fiancé’s father and her grandfather. With personalized memory candles we were able to add ambiance to the ceremony and create a special moment where the bride and groom acknowledged and lit the candles.

These candles are quite easy to find though a quick internet search, and since then I have seen vases with floating candles that are just as beautiful. Just wanted to drop a quick note for all those couples out there planning!













Photo by XSiGHT Photography

Wine Country Hot Spots

I was up in the wine country this last weekend, meeting with a bride and her mom, getting all ready for the big day this upcoming weekend and was reminded that I should post about two of my favorite hot spots in the Napa Valley.

The first is Domaine Carneros. The breathtaking chateau is just off the Carneros Highway (12/121) four miles southwest of the city of Napa and 5 miles southeast of the city of Sonoma.



Grab a table under one of their market umbrellas and overlook the rolling hills of vines. Order the champagne sampler and you will not be disappointed. Throw in the sparkling cheese plate and you have yourself a slice of heaven.

The Pinot Noirs are also amazing, incredibly fruity and full of flavor. They also recently started making a Chardonnay which is very refreshing on a hot summer day. My favorite above all though is the Brut Rosé. A perfectly pink champagne that makes me want to throw a fabulously pink and girly party.


Make sure to bring your camera, the views are great for photo ops.

The second winery high on my list is Silenus Vintners. While driving through wine country along Highway 29, Silenus is near the town of Yountville. I completely agree with the June 2008 edition of Wine Spectator which claims that this "hidden gem" is worth the side trip.



The best part about the winery is that it is a collection of artisan winemakers, so you get to try and compare so many different wines! Silenus currently pours eighteen of the Valley’s most sought after wines. One of my favorites is Due Vigne di Famiglia, especially the 2005 Dolcetto, a big, flavorful red wine.

As soon as I sip this dark rich wine, I have thoughts of a huge outdoor Italian themed winery wedding, with piazza lights, a cocktail hour with an live accordion player, guests playing bocce during the reception, and vintage Chianti bottles with straw baskets covered in melted candle wax on tables flickering under the stars.


I have many more favorite places in Napa, that I am sure I will post about in the future, but these two top my list consistently in terms of friendly service and great wines.

Enjoy!

Photo source: Sunset.com, Domainecarneros.com, Silenus.com, Duevigne.com

Welcome!

Hello world! I am proud to announce that in May 2008, Trisha Dean Events was born. Upon graduation from the Wedding Planner Certification Program at Cal State East Bay, I decided to launch my event business with a focus on weddings and special events.

As I continue to work on the final touches of the new website, I wanted to launch a blog to share all things fabulous that can help plan your wedding, your best friend's baby shower, or just share with you a little something exciting that makes your day. Please feel free to comment and I look forward to many more posts.

Check out the new site at www.trishadeanevents.com. There are five great weddings to look at in the Galleries section.

Enjoy!