One of my favorite parts about working with Jen & Chris was the fact that they are just wonderful people. You know, the kind of people who you can just tell are kind hearted the minute you meet them? When we met oh so long ago on that rainy day at Starbucks, we were both a bit nervous but also excited to see what could come of our partnership. One of the first things Jen said to me was “I hate details.” Well, ladies and gents, I knew I was going to love working with her right away. Because as you know, the details are pretty much my favorite part.
As with all clients, I had Jen and Chris fill out my wedding questionnaire. This gives me a bit of insight in to personalities, family traditions, how the two met, and their overall story. I treat each wedding as though I am creating a “brand” for my couples – something that will have their guests saying “that was so them”. But I also think it’s nice for the couple to go through the questionnaire together, and take a step back from planning to remember what the big day is really all about, and that is their love story. Based on preferences and her overall style, Jen and I worked together to secure the A team of vendors for her big day, including the amazingly talented Jihan Cerda who took all of the gorgeous images, and Yasmin Zialcita Ali of Floral Theory who created all of the pretty blooms.
I loved working with Jen because she really trusted me to take her pictures, inspirations, and ideas, and go with it to bring her vision to life. But I also loved working with these two because their families may have been the nicest people ever. I immediately felt connected to them, and felt so honored to be helping them pull together this momentous occasion. Words just can’t even express how wonderful they were.
From Jen, the lovely bride: I started out the wedding process completely overwhelmed, wanting to have our wedding in May which gave us only 6 months to put together a 110-person wedding/reception for mostly out-of-town guests. Before I met Jacin, many people warned me that this was not enough time; but the first time I met her she assured me she didn’t think it would be a problem. She gave me a small list of things I needed to get done in the first couple of weeks, including finding my dress and finding a date and venue. She took care of everything else.
I didn’t meet my florist until the day of the wedding. Jacin and I had talked about peonies and she had given me a couple of pictures and illustrations. I told her I just wanted our wedding to be pretty and she made the decisions for me. The flowers were beautiful!
My husband, fiance at the time, thought the ballroom felt dated and old; but because I liked the space and had heard good things about it, I finally talked him into it. When he walked into the room on the day of our reception he couldn’t believe his eyes. Jacin had transformed the area into a cool, hip, beautiful space. I’m not sure how many people came up to me and said that it was the most beautiful and elegant wedding/reception they have ever been to in their life.
My favorite part of the process was just knowing that Jacin had my back. I had so many people come up to me the week of the wedding and comment on how calm I seemed and I owe it all to her. I know most brides say there’s something that they wish they would have done differently but Chris and I can’t think of anything we wish we’d have changed- it was perfect!
From Chris, the handsome groom: As the groom, I didn’t understand at all the need for a wedding planner. When my fiancee/wife brought up the idea, I just rolled my eyes and chalked it up to another wedding expense. Boy was I wrong. We started the process without Jacin, and it was a nightmare of disagreements and confusion. Jacin came in and completely took all the planning pressure off my wife, and even made the planning stage enjoyable.
When talking to my married buddies, they all lamented about their crazy brides and the stress of putting together the wedding. It was the exact opposite with Jacin’s help. She was completely organized, understood exactly what we wanted from the wedding and the reception, and found ways for us to lower our expenses. My wife looked forward to every meeting with Jacin and the pressure immediately disappeared.
On the day of the wedding, Jacin was a superstar. She also has enough “northeast” in her to keep in check my buddies that may have been over served and decided to take over the reception. We all have those friends. She kept the entire reception moving and was even helpful enough to rescue us from extended conversations with “long-lost Aunt Betty” that were monopolizing our time. You do not want to do a wedding day without Jacin there to steer you through it. I didn’t understand her service when we started this wedding, and now I can’t imagine it without her. For your sanity, your future wife’s happiness, I cannot imagine money better spent on a wedding.
And a real wedding feature wouldn’t be complete without some of the detail shots, right? Jen & Chris’ married last name is Hall, so I trekked up to wine country and picked up a Hall wine crate for them to use as their card holder. It was a fun surprise for Chris’ family to see! I also custom designed all of the paper, from programs to table numbers (which we tied in a pretty kelly green accent) to placecards to the seating chart.
Bert Blank from DJ By the Bay worked to add all of the uplighting, something Jen really wanted, to add a romantic ambiance. I always got so excited when Jen got excited about a certain detail, because she was such a laid back bride and I kept reminding her that if she wanted the custom linens (which she ended up getting) or certain components, she should do it! It was so fun to see her happy; my favorite part of the day was revealing the ballroom, though, because she started to cry (in a good way!) She said “I didn’t even cry at my ceremony!” It was so special to share the reveal with Jen & Chris and see their reactions, knowing that they were so pleased with the final result.
Of course an LLD event wouldn’t be complete without Fleur de Sel caramels from The Caramel Jar (and the bride and guests loved them!)
And one of Jen’s “something borrowed”? Our cake serving set that Pat and I used for our very own wedding :)
All in all, I’ve learned along the way that although I may have my own personal style, when it comes to my clients’ weddings, my job is to translate their personalities and style in to their big day. It was so fun to work with Jen and Chris to help them bring their vision of an elegant and timeless San Francisco wedding together. It was an honor to work with these two amazing people, and I’m so happy to share it all with you today.
Vendors
Planning, Design & Styling: Lovely Little Details
Photography: Jihan Cerda Photography
Florist: Floral Theory
DJ/Uplighting: Bert Blank, DJ By the Bay
Cupcakes: That Takes the Cake
Venue: Marine’s Memorial Club, San Francisco
Church: St. Dominic’s Church, San Francisco
Wedding Gown: David’s Bridal
Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Hair: Blo Salon
Makeup: Raina Rombeiro
{wore orange and grey stripes, found a thanksgiving card i loved, got a gel manicure, saw pumpkins at the grocery store, found the most fabulous teal suede manolos, bought some unique flowers at the farmers market and declared fall officially here, did a little sunday funday cheering on my JETS, drove a new car home from the dealer with only 6 miles on it, wore a new pair of red pants}
