Event Design: Chic Butter Yellow & Pink Baby Shower

One of our in-laws was hosting a baby shower for her daughter-in-law Margie. She called me asking for my help with the decor. I was delighted to help out! We didn't have much time so I quickly got started. I found these gorgeous butter yellow and soft pink linens from La Tavola that I knew I had to use. We also brought in white chivari chairs that paired nicely with the rest of the décor and added chicness to the event. I went to the wholesale flower mart and put together the centerpieces myself in vintage milk glass vases that I had from a past event. The flowers were a mix of hydrangeas, dusty miller, pink peonies, butter yellow garden roses, and white David Austin roses that smelled divine! I’m kind of obsessed with this combination of flowers.
 
For the favors, we filled these adorable boxes that I found on etsy with Jordon almonds and placed them on each person’s place setting. As a little activity, guests got to guess the birth date, length, and weight of the baby and write their predictions on a little onsie. They were then displayed on a cork board with mini clothespins. Margie’s friends also purchased a bunch of onsies and bibs for people to decorate with puff paint.

The dessert table was a hit, yum! I punched out pink, yellow, and grey circles and attached them to a really thin string and hung them behind the dessert table to create a backdrop. I also added a onsie banner to the front of the table. The cake was a 2 tier bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes (LOVE that place). The macaroons and shot glasses were provided by Sweet Tooth Confections. I displayed all the desserts on white footed platters and added little labels. Congrats Margie, I wish you a quick and easy delivery. I can’t wait to meet her!

Fun Fact: Margie was on the US Water Polo team and participated in the Athens Olympics along with other national competitions. How cool is that!?

Event Design, Paper Goods, and Florals: Simple Little Details / Linens: La Tavola / Desserts: Sweet Tooth Confections and Nothing Bundt Cakes / Rentals: A Party Place / Photography: Simple Little Details

Event Coordination: Two-Day Chinese Persian Wedding

Catherine and Arian hired me to do the coordination for their 2-day wedding. Catherine is Chinese and Arian is Persian and both of these cultures have so many traditions, so instead of blending them all in one day, they decided to have a 2-day wedding to respect both families. Having a 2-day wedding can be difficult, especially when you are working on a budget. My role was to really help with all the logistics and provide guidance on how to allocate budget. With a 2-day wedding, you need to be smart about what areas you are going to invest in to make the greatest overall impact for the wedding.

On Saturday, they had their ceremony at the First United Methodist Church in Palo Alto. Can I just say WOW! This church is gorgeous. From the extremely high ceilings to the stained glass windows, I highly recommend it for future brides. In order to be more cost efficient, Cat hired me to do the décor at the church instead of going through a wedding florist. I aligned the aisle with tall cylinder vases that had dendrobium orchids submerged with a floating candle. I also used high and low cylinder vases up at the alter which created a beautiful backdrop for the ceremony. All these vases were then used the next day for the Persian Reception on half of the dining tables as centerpieces. Re-using your ceremony decor for your reception is very cost effective and I always recommend it to my brides.

Saturday night was the Traditional Chinese tea ceremony and dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant had standard white linens and banquet chairs that weren’t very attractive. We were able to allocate a little bit of budget to bring in mohaganny chivari chairs and linens to spruce it up a bit. It was important to Cat's family to keep the Chinese traditions, so we kept the color palate red and gold. This was my first time being part of a Chinese tea ceremony and it was amazing to experience all the traditions and see how much respect is given towards the parents and family.

The next day was the Persian ceremony and Reception that took place at the University Club of Palo Alto. The Persian Ceremony, which they call “Aghd”, was absolutely gorgeous. There was a spread of different items such as sugar, nuts, mirrors and candles which all have a deep symbolic meaning. For the reception, we brought in gold Chivari chairs, blush linens, and gold chargers. We had rose gold uplights and a pattern on the dance floor to warm up the room. Half the centerpieces were the cylinder vases that we re-used from the ceremony and the other half were provided by a florist. The dance floor was packed the entire night reminding me very much of my Armenian culture. It was one huge party!

Cat and Arian, thank you for hiring me to be part of your special day (or in this case weekend!). It was a pleasure to have been part of a wedding filled with different cultures and traditions, I learned a lot. I acknowledge how much love and respect you have for your religion, culture, family, and friends. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness!

Shout-out to Jaime and Chase for the amazing photos. These two are such a pleasure to work with. If you are looking for fun wedding photographers that really care about their clients and do amazing work then please check out Jaime and Chase!

Coordination: Simple Little Details / Ceremony: First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto / Chinese Banquet: Dynasty Chinese Seafood Restaurant / Persian Reception: University Club of Palo Alto / Linens: AGS Linens / Rentals: Lush Rentals / Lighting: AEC Tri-Valley / Florals: Simple Little Details and Avenue Florist / Photography: Jaime + Chase