Most wedding planners (including myself) are asked this question: What’s the difference between a full service wedding consultant and a day-of-coordinator?

 If you’re a busy Bride and want help with pretty much everything-from setting a budget, finding reliable vendors, ordering your custom linens and stationary, assistance with design ideas to match your style and personality, finding the perfect cake, favors, songs and attendant gifts, keep you on track with your custom wedding planning checklist, updating the budget, assistance with seating arrangements and transportation –than this is considered full-service planning. You’ll need to hire a wedding planner 6-12 months in advance. I will work with you from the very beginning, all the way up to the big day, finalizing last-minute details and troubleshooting unexpected problems. With unlimited contact, you keep relaxed, informed and stay focused on what really matters. You’re Getting Married!

 If you’d like to handle most things yourself, but want someone to step in when the date draws close, than this is considered a day-of service. In this situation, I will come onboard a few weeks early to meet with you and go over any concerns you may have, or give you additional recommendations for vendors you have not yet contacted. . Next, I will help you create an itinerary for the day and become the point person for your vendors. At the ceremony rehearsal, I will be on hand to direct the wedding party on where and when to make their entrance, where to stand and how to make the best impression for photographs. For the wedding day, myself and my assistant will make sure your ceremony and reception sites are set up to your exact specifications and assist vendors to be ready to make your day run smoothly. You choose how many hours we remain to direct the reception based on your needs or the requirements of the venue.

Again you get to enjoy the biggest day of your life!

Share the moments with your family and friends, and let them be the guests at your wedding, not the hired hands.

 Sharon Cole of A Dream Wedding by Sharon

Let’s make your Cakes and cupcakes as personal as your wedding gown.  Your guests will love to walk into the reception area and say, “Wow! That is so THEM!” when they see that you chose a.) a vintage-chic design with one shock of feathers; b.) hand-modeled chocolate toppers in the shapes of your two pets; or c.) mini cannolis & cupcakes with black & white edible photos of you two on your trip to Italy last year.  Options are endless!

Your cake stands out as one of the only other art pieces that guests will regularly photograph, aside from you two as a couple.  Prior to meeting with your cake designer, think about the following so that we may help you come up with a design/plan that represents you:

1. What brought you together as a couple?  What are you “into” as a couple?  (video games, Disneyland, sports, travel, mid-century furniture?)  How can you get us to know you quickly?
2. Is your ring or dress a family heirloom or special design that could be replicated in sugar or butter cream?
3. Do you have a color scheme that you’d like us to follow in a pattern or in sugar flowers?  Do you prefer understated or bold?  (If you choose black or dark colors, you may need to wrap your cake in fondant prior to using so much food coloring.)
4. What is a budget window that works for you?  Cakes range from $6-15/person from top bakeries, and cupcakes may help with a tight budget.  Remember: This is the biggest day of your life and probably the only time you’ll ever order a 3’ high cake, so let’s make it special.
5. What time of day is your wedding, and where would you like it displayed?  Frosting is perishable and does not survive long in direct sunlight or high heat, so utilize the well-covered trellised patios or the beautiful inner ballroom at La Jolla Women’s Club for your cake display.
6. Think about alternative fun for the display of your cake & cupcakes.  Vintage books, tea trays, pedestals, towers, old ladders, vases, and wooden boxes all make really cool display pieces.

FLAVOR: Guests love cake…especially guests who may not know many people at your wedding.  Cake is the bonding moment they all wait for.  Giving them a special flavor combination will make their day!  Don’t be afraid to choose what you like, it’s your big day.  When you set up a cake tasting, let us know if you are into nuts (peanut butter mousse, hazelnut butter cream, pistachio), chocolate (rich, light, white), tropical fruits (passion fruit, guava, banana, key lime, coconut), berries, etc.

We wish you an amazing experience as you plan, share, remember, love, and enjoy this most memorable day of your lives together!

1 )While choosing floral for your wedding, we suggest you pick 1 primary color and 2 complimentary colors.
Thus giving a designer ample working space to create a beautiful design.

2) In this economy, we highly recommend you set a budget for floral, just as you set a budget for your bridal gown. It gives a florist option as to what can be incorporated in your wedding to achieve the look your going for

3) Pick Flowers that are in season and can help you get the opulence that your looking for.

4) Flowers always make a statement at weddings. Having tall and short Centerpieces enhance a room tremendously.

5) Just because your wedding is in the fall you don’t have to use Red and orange. It is very important that your wedding reflects your personality, be it a Disco Themed Party or a Classic White wedding.

Uplights and What They Add To Your Lighting Design
There are quite a few different lighting elements that can come together to create a lighting design  that will be perfect for your event. If you’re having a wedding, corporate, or special event we recommend that your lighting package in the very least include Uplighting. Any lighting designer worth their weight in gold will recommend Uplights to be the base of a lighting design.
Uplights will be able to help transform your event into whatever theme you choose. We had a couple who wanted a Winter Wonderland theme. We met with them at our showroom and were able to come up with the perfect color for them. The lights came together with the florals and linens and put the finishing touch on their Winter Wonderland wedding. The feel of the room was definitely a Winter Wonderland feel.  It’s amazing how Uplights not only transform the look of a room, but can also help create the mood and feel that your guests will experience.
There are two different types of Uplights, traditional Par Cans which do the warm colors like amber, gold and orange, and there are LED Uplights which can be digitally programmed to produce any color. With the advance of LED technology LED Uplights can also produce very nice amber colors, something that wasn’t easy to produce in the past.
It’s very important to place the lights on an area that will allow the lights to show beautifully, whether it’s on a wall, or on architectural elements such as columns and arches. Our lighting technicians have been trained to know where to strategically place the Uplights, making sure that the lighting will make your event something you and your guests will talk about for years to come.