Saturday, December 19, 2009

Celebrate LOVE

One of my brides is flying out photographer Jose Villa next year for her wedding. After being introduced to Jose's work, I have been obsessed with his blog. When I saw his most recent post about his photo shoot with a couple who's been married for 65 years, I just had to email him for permission to repost these images on my blog. Images like these warm my heart, and this is why I love what I do! I often remind my brides in the midst of all the wedding planning madness, don't forget to take time to plan out your marriage too. As beautiful as any wedding can get, flowers will die, candles will melt... but your marriage is the only thing from your wedding that will truly last forever. Let's celebrate LOVE, shall we? All images by Jose Villa.







Monday, December 14, 2009

iheart Bib Necklace

Bib necklaces are all the rage in fashion right now, and I love them! I have always loved using big dramatic pieces in event design, so why not wear big dramatic accessory on your wedding day? Pairing an elegant bib necklace with a simple wedding dress is a total do! If you are still shopping for a wedding dress, consider getting a simple (and inexpensive) dress and splurge on a great bib necklace. Your bib necklace will give you an embellished neckline and makes you look like a million bucks on your wedding day!




+



=

One beautiful and stylish bride!


Glass pearl ribbon bib necklace by Oscar De La Renta.
Short white silk faille wedding dress from Oscar De La Renta Spring 2010 Collection.

Monday, December 7, 2009

So Long, InStyle Weddings




If you haven't heard, Time Inc. has decided to close InStyle Weddings magazine, and its final issue will hit newsstands on Christmas Day. The closing of InStyle Weddings followed just a month after the closing announcement of both Modern Bride and Elegant Bride. I find it sad and hard to believe that so many wedding magazines are closing because the wedding industry is still growing as a whole despite of the economic downturn; but on the other hand, I have to agree that there are also many great wedding websites available such as Style Me Pretty, 100 Layer Cake...etc., which its make very convenient for modern-day brides to use and to help style their weddings. Wedding planning and styling have come a long way, I can't even imagine what my job would entail without email, blogs and websites? InStyle Weddings, you will be missed, especially your annual celebrity weddings issue!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Steal the look of President Obama's first State Dinner

I was surfing all over the web the day after President Obama hosted his first state dinner, looking for images of the decor. I was eager to learn about the linens, flowers, lighting and design details and be inspired because a party at the White House has got to be super fabulous, right? Besides all stories I read about alleged party crashers, the decor did not disappoint. It excites me to learn that this is one of the few state dinners hosted outdoors, underneath a tent. About 75% of our events are hosted outdoors so I know there will be tons of ideas for me to steal from this beautiful White House party.

A beautiful tented dinner event on the South Lawn of the White House. Guest count for this event = 350.


A clear top tent adorned with upright chandeliers reflects a romantic glow, creating a dreamy and whimsical feel.



A closer look at the dramatic overhang. When designing a wedding or any space, try to include big dramatic pieces (i.e: giant chandelier, fabric with bold patterns.. etc.). This will give you the biggest bang for your buck in terms of overall event aesthetics.


I love the choice of this Apple Green linen. I think it's so fresh and young, a total representation of who the Obamas are. Matching chair pads are a must when you are using a colored linen. Your chair pad shams should always match the linen used on the table.


This state dinner is in honor of the Indian Prime Minister. I love the touches of gold used throughout the place setting - so appropriate for this first class event! 

Another example of what big dramatic pieces can add to a space. These large fall colored arrangement is so big that they almost feel like a "tree". What a great way to bring in the outdoors! 

Friday, November 20, 2009

Highlight Video from Junko & Oscar's wedding

Josh Fair of Fisheye Studio sent us this sweet highlight video from Junko and Oscar's wedding. Isn't this video the cutest? Loving all the footage captured on the North Shore! Thank you for doing such a great job capturing the essence of Junko and Oscar's wedding Josh!


oscar + junko // a two day adventure from Fisheye Studio on Vimeo.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

don't TRASH THE DRESS

To be honest, I still don't know how I feel about the popular "Trash The Dress" day after photo shoot. I must say that some of the TTD photos I've seen are pretty unique, but a wedding dress is probably the prettiest dress a girl will ever purchase in her life time, and I know many of my brides paid well over $5000 for their wedding dress. Why trash it so easily? And that is why I am so excited when I came across this website called "Don't Trash The Dress", a new project started by the amazing Michelle Scotti of I Do Believe Photography. Here's how it works...



This is about making a special trade...


A fabulous, non-trashing bridal photo session by I Do Believe Photography in exchange for the donation of your wedding dress to Brides Against Breast Cancer.


What You Receive: 1-2 hour photo session at the Oahu location(s) of your choice. Your print ready digital images on DVD with unlimited personal reproduction license. A password protected online photo gallery. 


What You Give in Return: I Do Believe Photography will collect your wedding dress at the conclusion of the photo session. It will then be donated to Brides Against Breast Cancer, giving your dress a new life as a bride’s “dream gown” while the proceeds from the sale of this treasured possession help grant wishes and memory making events for women and men who are losing their battle with breast cancer. 


This fabulous offer will be available from October 1, 2009 until October 31, 2010. Contact I Do Believe Photography for a booking! 


It humbles me to see such talented individuals giving back to their community. Thank you Michelle for being a true trend setter in the wedding industry. May you be blessed for many years to come! 

Monday, November 9, 2009

Tis the Season for Website Update

I love this time of year, a slower wedding season which means time to actually work on our marketing. I am happy to announce our website has been updated. We've added new weddings to our portfolio, new testimonials from our friends, colleagues and past clients, new bios for Tristin and I, and new articles have been added to our "Press" section of those published weddings and design editorials. I hope you will enjoy looking through all the beautiful details of the new weddings that have been added.

Speaking of this season, there are only 3 weddings left in 2009 :( I still can't believe this year is almost over. This has been an amazing year in spite of the economic downturn. I wake up every morning feeling so grateful to be able to do what I love and am passionate about and to have the opportunity to call my clients friends. So please don't forget to slow down this season (even if you are planning a wedding) and count your blessings! xoxo ~ Sandra

Friday, October 30, 2009

Junko & Oscar

I was recently asked by Pacific Weddings to be a guest blogger on their blog Love Notes, and I am re-posting the blog here, along with a really sweet email from Junko after the wedding :) This wedding has so many beautiful details, so I promise there will be a "Part Two" to this blog when more images from the wedding become available, stay tuned!

I have been anticipating Junko and Oscarʼs wedding for quite some time, because I knew it would be one of our most beautiful weddings in 2009. Junko first contacted me back in late 2008, and I felt an instant connection with her. We both love fashion and bold, dramatic patterns, and we’re big fans of the t.v. show The Hills. I have to admit, I love working with brides who crave a beautiful wedding—from her gown and hair accessories to her table linens and flowers—everything had to be absolutely chic. The bride compiled meticulous inspiration boards to plan the day. This can be a great tool to give your vendors, particularly when you’re planning a destination wedding. Junko was unafraid to use a beautiful espresso brown and white floral silhouette linen to give her table that “wow” factor. A Capri blue table runner and matching napkins balanced the patterned table linen. Pink dahlias, English garden roses, hydrangea and ranunculus adorned the tables, with seven crystal chandeliers overhead casting a soft, romantic glow at night. Guests enjoyed an action station menu featuring fresh local seafood. After a few champagne and sake toasts, the night ended with a surprise salsa performance by the newlyweds, who met at a New York salsa dance class 7 years ago!

"Sandra, I really want to take this opportunity to thank you for everything you've done for us to make our wedding so fabulous and so perfect! I don't know what I would have done without all your help. Oscar and I feel so blessed to have you as our coordinator. I know you've done and seen so many fabulous weddings in the past but to us, this was absolutely the best wedding we could have ever imagined to have! I just can't tell you enough how much we LOVED everything from the beginning to the end. Although I had a certain vision in my head of how our wedding was going to look like, what I saw that day was nothing close to what I had ever imagined. It was above and beyond our expectation!!! One word to describe... FABULOUS! Thank you for being the person we could really trust, and knowing that you had our best interests to make this wedding come true definitely put us at ease. Sandra, we just can't thank you enough for all the things you've done for us for the last year and a half! Last but not least, please send my warm Mahalo to your assistant Tristin. She was so sweet and easy going just like you! She really calmed me down when I was walking down to Lanikuhonua from Ihilani. She told me she's also getting married next year! I will be looking forward to hearing all about it because I know it will be fabulous! Tell her I said Congratulations! I'm sorry my email got so long again, but I just needed to tell you how much we appreciated all your help with our wedding!" ~ Junko & Oscar

Friday, October 23, 2009

A Jason Magbanua Production

What an honor and delight to have the opportunity to work with world renowned wedding cinematographer Jason Magbanua! For those of you who still think wedding video is cheesy, wait until you see this Same Day Edit done by Jason. This SDE is so captivating and inspiring, unlike anything I've ever seen before. After you see this video, you will agree with me that the best moments in a wedding are those unrehearsed and most candid moments. Thank you to my couple Grace and Laurent for flying Jason out from the Philippines to capture their beautiful and definitely FUN wedding at St. Augustine Church and Lanikuhonua. Professional photos from this wedding taken by the talented Frank Amodo to come soon!

Grace and Laurent from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Hawaii Bride and Groom Fall Winter 09 issue



The new Hawaii Bride and Groom magazine is now available at your local bookstore. My favorite piece in this issue is the feature on "Pretty Hair Pieces". All the featured hair pieces are available for purchase here on Oahu. My favorite piece is from Christine Gardner's line Attached - the jewel encrusted hippie style headband. I always envy girls with long wavy hair who can rock these headbands :) This headband hand crafted by Christine is the perfect accessory for a barefoot beach wedding - a style that feels relaxed and refined at the same time. Did I mention you can now read the magazine entirely free online? Click here.

Headband by Christine Gardner
Model: Clea Saldania-Rountree
Photo: Stefanie & Ana Riedel

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Something Blue for your wedding?

I attended The Bridal Salon in Los Angeles last month and was introduced to the perfect signature cocktail for a wedding - I call this cocktail "Something Blue". (Warning: the drink is super delicious and dangerous at the same time. Who knew HPNOTIQ has a 17% Alc./Vol.?!)

Make this the ultimate BLUE experience for your guests:
Serve "Something Blue" on a blue lit up bar
1 part HPNOTIQ + 1 part Champagne, and voila!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Aloha Seattle!


I usually don't do this on my blog (because I think it's super cheesy), but I do want to give a shout out to my old assistant / on-site coordinator Rebecca Bradley. Rebecca worked with Finishing Touch for about 3 years (from Winter 2005 to Summer of 2008) and have since then moved back to her hometown of Seattle. Have you ever met someone you just know that he/she was born to do something? That's how felt when I first met Rebecca. I knew from the very beginning that she will make a great wedding planner, and I am so happy and proud to announce that she had started her own wedding design and coordination business, New Creations Wedding Design & Coordination. Her website is still a work in progress, but I am sure it will be fully fabulous very soon. If you are reading this from Seattle or knows someone who is getting married there, call Rebecca. Tell her you read about her business here and send her my aloha... she will LOVE it!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Jessica & Michael

Jessica and Michael's wedding was held at the beautiful, newly-renovated Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Better known as the "Pink Palace", the Royal had gotten a face lift earlier this year and no details were left out during the design and renovation process. Every single piece of furniture was carefully selected; from the rustic chandelier to the abstract paintings on the wall, everything was so tastefully put together. I was in love with the dramatic Hawaiian print wallpaper the moment I saw it inside Jess' bridal suite. The hotel has the perfect balance in vintage and contemporary design. Visionari did an amazing job capturing all the great architectural details of the hotel and of course, all the emotions of Jess and Michael's wedding day. Congratulations to the Chongs! I had so much fun planning and designing your wedding, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your special day! To view a slideshow of all of their wedding images, click here.

Don't you just LOVE the wallpaper?

Design details of the wedding

Check out the amazing architectural details of the hotel!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Elegant B & W Affair at the Ko'olau Country Club

If you follow my blog, you may notice alot of my weddings take place at private estates; so I am often thrilled when I get the rare opportunity to work inside a ballroom. Working indoors provides a more controlled environment so we can go crazy on the candles and play with the height of the centerpieces. Plus, who doesn't love a good air-conditioned ballroom when it's almost 95 degree outside, right? :) Rachel and Nick of Blue Nalu Photography was so gracious with helping us photograph the details of this wedding Yvonne and I did at the Ko'olau Country Club Glass Ballroom. Half of this ballroom is surrounded by glass windows (hence the name!), allowing the guests to enjoy the majestic view of the Ko'olau mountains. We also experimented with lighting for this event. Due to the amount of glass windows in the ballroom, I had no idea how the lighting will look at night, but they actually looked pretty amazing. Lighting is a fantastic way to dress up your event and to give it that "wow" factor. Thank you to Serena and Denny for allowing us to be a part of your wedding! Photos by Blue Nalu Photography (amazing husband and wife team, nicest and the most genuine couple you will ever meet!), floral and lighting by Yvonne Design, linens by Les Saisons.

Overall ballroom set up

Table top design 1: White Phalaenopsis orchids and Hydrangeas arranged on white satin linen with black ribbon applique

Spider mums always make a dramatic statement as napkin embellishment

Table top design 2: Submerged white Phalaenopsis orchid in glass orbs arranged on tuxedo black satin linen

More beautiful details on the head table

This is NOT a professional photo. I want to see how the lighting will look on my point & shoot camera at night, not bad, huh? :)

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

New Spotlight Bride

I am in the midst of a very busy wedding-filled August, but I thought I would mention that I finally updated the "Spotlight Bride" section on my website. I know, I know... this is the one section that rarely gets updated, so sorry! This time we are featuring our beautiful bride Miki who got married last October. Visit our website, click on "Spotlight Bride" on our home page, and begin to read about Miki's thoughts and tips from a bride's perspective. I hope you will enjoy this "bride-to-bride" moment as much as I do!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Perfect Pre-Wedding Pampering: Luxz

Last week, I had the opportunity to get pampered by Roxanne at Luxz. Luxz is a private, boutique style studio that specializes in the most innovative non surgical professional skin care procedures. I was able to experience the DiamondSkin Microdermabrasion and Intraceutical Oxygen Treatment. I was amazed by how smooth my skin feels, and my face literally glows after the treatment - talk about instant results!

Alot of brides often consider getting a traditional facial before the wedding. This is something I usually do not encourage because we all react to chemicals differently, and the last thing you want is to have an allergic reaction to your facial. However, Luxz using all natural "ingredients" and their procedures are hypoallergenic; hence, making it the perfect pampering activity before the wedding! Oh, did I mention she offers mobile services too?!

Another interesting fact: Roxanne is personally trained by Samantha MarQuard of Intraceuticals who has worked with Michele Peck, Madonna’s personal facialist. Madonna, who we all know has amazing skin and does not look her age at all :)

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

New Issue of Pacific Weddings on Newsstands


The much anticipated Summer/Fall issue of the always-stylish Pacific Weddings is on newsstands now. The beautiful wedding images of our couple Miki and Joel grace the pages of this issue. This issue is full of creative and timeless ideas to make your wedding fabulous! I especially love the editorial feature on "Peonies". Go pick up your copy today! I heart PW :)

Miki & Joel
"To Hawaii With Love"
A seaside soiree on the shores of Oahu

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Beautiful Outdoor Soiree

One of the many special things about Hawaii is its beautiful weather all year round. Alot of brides ask me if there's a time they should avoid getting married in Hawaii due to rain, and my answer is often "no", besides Winter months are a little riskier than Spring and Summer months. We coordinate weddings all year round, and a majority of them take place outdoors. We do get tropical passing showers, but they are usually harmless rain that will pass in 5 to 10 minutes. We are also able to tell from the forecast when there's going to be a downpour, and that's when your wedding planner will come in and introduce her rain plan :) Since Summer is in full swing, I thought these ideas about tents, and the many possibilities of how to make them your own would be appropriate. Tents have come a long way... there are so much we can do these days to make your outdoor reception fabulous, elegant and refined! Say bye-bye to backyard weddings, hello to beautiful outdoor soiree!


BELOW (Christina & Brian): Custom canopies are really making waves these past few years. We don't call them "custom" for no reason. They can be built in different sizes or shapes, any stained wood color and any fabric / color of your choice. They are a bit pricier than the other tent options mentioned in this blog, but they are worth every penny!
BELOW (Miki & Joel): To create a simple and understated beach chic ambiance, go with natural color bamboo and white sheer fabric canopies. *General disclaimer: custom canopies provide great sun coverage, but definitely not rain :)

BELOW (Erin & Mat): Solid top tent is probably the least expensive tent available for rent. They provide great sun and rain coverage. This photo shows a solid top tent lined with a white tent liner completed with uplighting. Tent liner is a great way to hide the metal poles that are visible from underneath the tent, and they also make your event look 110% more elegant!

BELOW (Jennifer & Michael): Gobo projection can be used in many different ways at an event, the most common we've seen is on the dance floor. Projecting a pattern on the outside of a solid top tent is another way to dress up that plain white vinyl sheet :)

BELOW (Christina & Steve): Clear top tent is another beautiful option for outdoor weddings. They do not provide very good sun coverage, but the fact that your guests can look up and see the stars at night is well worth it. We did a light swagging of white fabric under this tent. The fabric really helped to create a softer look for the reception.

BELOW: Another photo showcasing what fabric can do to soften up the look of a metal framed tent.

BELOW (Miki & Joel): Hanging dramatic light fixtures under your tent is also a great way to make a stunning statement.

BELOW (Miki & Joel): These Capiz shells chandeliers emit a nice glow at night.

BELOW (Renee & Adam): Looking for an affordable way to dress up your tent? Try hanging paper lanterns sporadically throughout your tent. These lanterns are affordable, and they come in any colors you can imagine.

BELOW (Amy & Jeff): If you want to create a more contemporary look, try grouping your lanterns and hang them over each individual guest table - sort of like hanging your lanterns in the shape of a bunch of grapes. This group of lanterns will feel like a custom chandelier piece you will see hanging over a dining table at someone's home!

BELOW: I also love the use of market umbrellas to provide coverage for an outdoor reception. The simplicity of this set up feels rustic, intimate, charming and simply lovely - everything a wedding should be all about.