Northern California Wedding Planner | Chico Backyard Wedding - Becca & Blake

Have you ever met two people that are so pure and beautiful, inside and out? This intimate backyard wedding of 7 people was simple, elegant, and meaningful. This my friends, is why wedding planning is such a beautiful career. 

North Bloom impressed us again with stunning arrangements throughout the entire venue. Becca's gorgeous bouquet complimented her contagious smile, and simple dress from Lulus.com. 

Katelyn Owens Photography captured these blooms perfectly (as always) and created memories for Becca and Blake that will last forever. From photographing very personal moments, to happy moments, we were in awe. 

Here are some of our favorites from Becca and Blake's intimate backyard wedding!

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We've said this before, but we are so honored to have been a part of Becca and Blake's wedding day, especially with all of our amazing friendors!

Photographer: Katelyn Owens Photography // Florals: North Bloom // Coordination: The 530 Bride // Rentals & Decorations: We Do Designs

Northern California Wedding Planner | TJ Farms Wedding - Dara & Nick

One of the best perks of the "job" is getting to step into such a special world with each couple and learn about their love story.  We meet family members, wedding party and close friends of the couple who are all there to support two people on their big day.  With Nick and Dara we shared morning phone sessions, emails, site visits & text messages throughout the months of planning their TJ Farms wedding.  

We were so excited that Dara and Nick were working with Matthew Lim Photography as we had been following his work on Instagram and loved his eye for detail.  Their engagement session photos literally made us a little misty eyed because he just really "got" them and brought their love story to the photo so perfectly.

One of our fav's from Nick and Dara's engagement session, captured by Matthew Lim Photography

One of our fav's from Nick and Dara's engagement session, captured by Matthew Lim Photography

Dara and Nick chose Hotel Diamond for getting ready before their ceremony, and we love all of the beautiful shots of the details.  Her dress, those shoes and hey we'd say Nick cleaned up pretty nice! These quiet moments leading up to the first look are just what the couple needs to gather their thoughts and prepare for the big day.

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If you're on the fence about doing a first look, we think these next few images are a perfect example of the beauty of having these few extra shots before the ceremony!  The lighting and architectural details of Hotel Diamond set the scene for Dara and Nick's first look.

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To say that Dara and Nick's guests came to party in an understatement! These folks danced, they laughed and they celebrated with the newlyweds all night long!

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We are so thankful to have been a part of this day and that we had such a fabulous team of event partners to support Dara and Nick, each element came together seamlessly thanks to their hard work!

Photographer: Matthew Lim Photography // Wedding Venue: TJ Farms // Catering: Panighetti's Eatery //Hair & Make-up: Salon Diamond // Florist: Cambray Rose //Cake: Mims Bakery //DJ: Netsound Pro // Rentals: WeDo Designs and Party Dogs // Planning & Design: The 530 Bride // Videography: Jordan & Trevor Clavery of World CTZN // Transportation: Bus Man Holiday Tour
 

Northern California Wedding Planner | We Just Plan Weddings

Plain and simple.  We are wedding planners because thats our jam! We have a fabulous list of reputable and professional vendors for all of your wedding needs, and we are always happy to share our recommendations.  Why a blog post on the topic? Well, because the only one-stop shops that I like are when I am grocery shopping!  We want our couples and our vendor teams to know that we won't try to step in to be a florist, a photographer, a hair or make-up stylist, etc. This not only ensures that our wedding clients get the planning experience they expect instead of being preoccupied with services that are not our specialty.  

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We know that hiring professionals for these services is so important, and we respect the craft of each aspect of the wedding team.  Budgets are a real thing, and understandably couples have to prioritize how they allocate their spending.  That being said, having a wedding planner who knows the local market enough to try to help match up with professional service providers who are within budget saves time and money in the long run.  

Please take our advice and use extreme caution when having a friend of a friend provide any type of service for your wedding.  If unavoidable make sure to have a written agreement of some kind that clearly states the expectation and terms of any service or product being supplied.  The same advice goes for someone who is just starting out or building their portfolio.  Everyone starts somewhere so you could end up getting a great value but you take a bigger risk in this case. 

If you are still looking to complete your wedding plans and need assistance, please feel free to send us a message and schedule a free consultation.  You can ask us anything! Meet us in person at the upcoming bridal shows! 

~ Happy Planning ~

Northern California Wedding Planner | How to Plan Your Bar Menu

We have all been a wedding guest at some point or another right? In between snacking during cocktail hour and grabbing a slice of cake most guests wouldn't think about the logistics that went into ordering wine and beer for the open bar they are enjoying.  That's the art behind a well planned event, you aren't running out of ice or cups and you certainly aren't out of the white zin that everyone is loving! 

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Planning your bar menu is more than just what you will serve, but also about the quantities of each that you will order.  How do you figure out how much red, how much white or how many kegs? Here are the tips we share with our clients and hope you find helpful:

1.  Consider the setting
Many venues have specific rules about hard alcohol or prohibit serving hard alcohol all together, double check your contract before stocking the bar of course! For a summer outdoor wedding you may want to pair more of the chilled and sparkling wines, or plan a few refreshing signature drinks in lieu of a full wine or cocktail menu.  Not only will it keep your guests cooler but it will also keep your bar costs down because you are only buying mixers/ingredients for two signature drinks for example vs a full bar or extensive wine list.  Make sure to plan on getting plenty of ice to keep the kegs and drinks nice and cold! Non-alcoholic beverage station with water, iced teas, lemonade etc will also give your guests more options and keep them hydrated.

2. You know your guests
While your caterer or bar service provider may know a lot about hosting events, you know your group better than anyone.  If these folks are beer drinkers you have to take that into consideration when deciding on how many kegs or cases of beer you will need and how many bottles of wine you will need.  

3. Size Matters
If you are trying to get an accurate estimate on how many servings are in a keg or wine bottle etc you should make sure that you know what cups you will be using to serve the guests.  For example, if you bought personalized 16oz cups off of Etsy, you are using a cup that is considered oversized. 

http://www.dummies.com/food-drink/drinks/beer/buying-beer-in-kegs/

http://www.dummies.com/food-drink/drinks/beer/buying-beer-in-kegs/

4.  Budget
Hosting a wedding or any large event is expensive, plan smart and focus on the essentials.  Here are a few helpful calculators to ensure that you don't overshoot and purchase more alcohol than you need.  If your venue or caterer is providing the alcohol, you will need to set a budget with them to determine the amount that you will be comfortable with hosting.  For example if the country club has a $1200 bar minimum you would have a hosted bar up until that dollar amount, after that it would be become a "no-host bar" and guests would pay for their drinks.  Many couples opt for no-host cocktails which means that your guests can get beer and wine but would pay for their own cocktails.  Make sure to ask about corkage fees as well, these add up!

If you are providing your own alcohol, you can look for deals from Bevmo or World Market for deals or even your local grocery store may offer specials.  Costco often has great pricing for large magnum bottles as well.   How much alcohol do you need? Here is a handy (free) calculator:

http://www.thealcoholcalculator.com/

http://www.thealcoholcalculator.com/

We strongly advise asking for help from your vendor team so that you aren't stressing over how many bottles and servings you need the week of your wedding! Have questions? We are happy to help just shoot us a message on our contact page. 
 

 ~ Happy Planning!

Northern California Wedding Planner | For the Guys

When planning the master timeline, there is a lot of emphasis on the bride and her bridal party as we need to ensure we have a smooth hair and make-up timeline, everyone is where they are supposed to be and that no time is wasted between stepping into her gown to walking down the aisle.  What about the guys you ask? This one is for them!

Photos courtesy of Diane Nicole Photography

Photos courtesy of Diane Nicole Photography

As a wedding planner, some of the questions that I ask when building the details for the timeline include:

1) Will you see each other before the ceremony? Meaning where will both parties be and do we need to make sure we have a buffer just in case?

2) Where will the grooms party stay the night before? Often the bridal party or the bride and a close friend or sister will stay together the night before but the groom may stay at home or have friends over.  *We typically get a blank stare at this point because these are details couple's haven't talked over yet! 

3) What will the groom and groomsmen be doing before the ceremony, when will they be getting dressed and where will they take their formal portraits.  Guys have had appointments at the barbers, bowled or even played a round of golf which made for some cool photos beforehand.
Some venues have separate bridal and grooms lounges so it makes it nice for getting ready but if your venue doesn't have this available make sure to consider travel times and your photography timeline so that you can ensure the groom will have time for portraits. 

Photos courtesy of Diane Nicole Photography

Photos courtesy of Diane Nicole Photography

We love seeing the guys incorporate their style and personality into their attire and into the wedding itself.  These shots from Juan and Lindsey's Wedding in Live Oak photographed by Diane Nicole Photography are a perfect example of having fun! 

~ Happy Planning~

2.20.16 Cassie + Jaime | Lakeside Pavilion Wedding

Cassie & Jaime's day was filled with so much love and appreciation for their families support, it was beautiful to see how influential their parents were in their lives.  These two chose details that were classy and meaningful to them such as the hanging banners and Mexican wedding cookies, and they weren't afraid to have fun!  

Be Authentic Photography captured so many beautiful moments from their day, here are some of the highlights. Be sure to check out their full blog post here! 

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It was an honor being a part of Cassie & Jaime's wedding day, and a big thanks to all of the vendors who made it so special for them!

Venue: Lakeside Pavilion // Photographer: Be Authentic Photography // Caterer: Special Times Catering // Florist: Cambray Rose // Rentals: Party Dogs // Specialty Linens: WeDo Designs // Coordination: The 530 Bride 

Connect with The 530 Bride on Instagram, here's our latest post: 

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Terri + Albert | Rustic TJ Farms Wedding

This family does everything together, like plan three weddings in one year!

We instantly fell in love with Terri and her contagious smile, she laughs and she enjoys life period.  The love that she has found with Albert is simply fate, and being a part of their day was refreshing and fun! 

Thank you to Trevor & Jordan Clavorie who shot this wedding, the photos captured their joy and love on this special day! 

Photo by @TreClav

Photo by @TreClav

Florals by Expressions M & T

Florals by Expressions M & T

Terri & Albert Wedding Rings
Florals by Expressions M & T 

Florals by Expressions M & T 

That's right, all three of these lovely sisters said I Do' in the same year! Photo by @TreClav

That's right, all three of these lovely sisters said I Do' in the same year! Photo by @TreClav

Terri & Albert Wedding Party
Photography by @TreClav 

Photography by @TreClav 

Photo by @TreClav, Custom Arch by WeDo Designs 

Photo by @TreClav, Custom Arch by WeDo Designs