Platinum Lining Events

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Most of the time, the weather is that one thing on wedding day we can not predict in advance during your wedding planning. However, you can plan for it. Always keep a “B” plan in your wedding planning and budget in case of weather problems. Always ask your venue what they offer in case of extreme heat or rain.

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Pictures by: Dana Grant Photography

I have yet to plan a wedding, in my 12 years, that hasn’t had personilized touches specific to my bride and groom.

Tip #1: Write Your Own Vows - Nothing says “This is Our Wedding” like writing your own vows, it’s touching, your guests will love it and it will be a memory you and your Fiancé will always cherish. Isn’t that what all this is about anyway?? After the wedding your can frame each of your vows to have forever!

Tip #2: Do Something Different -Throw out the rules that most couples follow for their wedding and do something different.  How about have your Cocktail Hour before the ceremony? Or at the Reception have different shape guest tables. Don’t have a head table, let your bridal party sit with their families and you and your new husband do the same. Don’t do the normal cake cutting ceremony, have a self serve dessert table, sky’s the limit when you let your imagination go wild and think outside of the box. Trust me your guest have been to more than one wedding and would welcome something different.

Tip #3: Family Traditions/New or Old - Create your own family crest and incorporate it throughout your wedding. Include your family customs or traditions. Create an original signature drink.

Tip #4: Personalized Wedding Favors that give back -

Tip #5: Custom Invitations/Stationary -

Tip # 6: Have a Focal Point - Monogram in lights, Sweetheart Table, Cake or Dessert Table, Colored Dance Floor, Photo Booth, Wall Graffiti!! Tip #7: Surprise Your Guests -  Have In n Out, Hot Dog on a Stick or Krispy Kream truck show up for a late night snack. Hire a band instead of a DJ for the whole night. Don’t just end the night, have a Grand Exit!

LaDawn Williams is the Executive Director and Certified Wedding Planner and Designer of Platinum Lining Events, an event planning and design company located in Southern California. She is also an award winning Wedding Planner, 5 Star Rated with Wedding Wire and a Certified Wedding Consultant from the American Academy of Wedding Professionals. I am a Member of the Association of Bridal Consultants and have earned the designation of Professional Bridal Consultant^TM. Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved.  We love to share, and ask that if you would like to use the content on our blog or newsletters, please provide the appropriate credit to Platinum Lining Events.

Tags: Design & Decor, Inspiration, Real Weddings, Wedding Articles, Wedding Tips by ssopkin
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There is so much Royal Wedding Buzz! I can’t help but join in on the conversation. Many soon to be brides will be watching to see what Kate Middleton will be wearing, including if she will wear a Veil or Not!

Today’s modern bride is making her own rules, Kate included!! Brides are no longer going with tradition, instead they want every aspect to be personalized with their own style. We all know that Kate is going to become the next trend setter in the Wedding Industry for years to come.

Today’s Modern Bride is wanting something pretty in her hair, but not necessarily a veil.

My sister’s prediction is that Kate will wear a Traditional Long Veil in honor of Princess Diana! I don’t think she will.  What is your prediction? Whether or not Kate decides to do the veil or not one thing is for sure she will be the most beautiful Bride!

If you can’t see The Royal Wedding Live, be sure to TIVO/DVR it, you won’t want to miss this history making wedding event.

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Creating a Signature Cocktail for your wedding reception is a great way to make a splash and personalize your wedding. The Bar tab for your wedding could become quite costly, however choosing to create a signature drink along with serving champagne, beer and wine can cut down on your beverage budget tremendously.

Here’s a few great ways to make the most out of your Signature Cocktail…

Try to match your signature drink with your wedding theme. For a summer-themed wedding, for example, you may want to go with a mojito or a fruity drink like a mango martini.

You can also match colors from your wedding to infuse your signature drink, like a blue martini for example. Experiment with different combinations of ingredients to come up with the right shade.

Test Drive your cocktails, like your wedding cake make sure your signature drink is something you and your guest will enjoy. For a fun night invite a few friends over for an informal “Cocktail Party” and have your guest help you choose one drink by the end of the night.

Once you have your drink picked out you can also create a unique name for your cocktail using a combination of your names or just a fun name that works with your theme.

For the reception have printed signs in frames placed on the bar announcing your signature drink(s) so your guests are aware of what you created.

Always have non-alcoholic versions of your alcoholic cocktails readily available for your guests.  It usually just entails eliminating the alcoholic portion of the drink, and adding in a bit more of the mixers

It is also OK to have more than one signature drink, such as a martini bar or a drink inspired by the bride and one inspired by the groom.

Work with your caterer, wedding planner or wait staff to come up with ideas.

Whether it’s a blue martini to match your color scheme or a “Just Hitched” Hurricane, choosing a signature drink is fun and timeless.

This is my new favorite drink!

Nuvo - A combination of French Sparkling Wine infused with Vodka

Have it alone over ice!

You and your guests are sure to love this drink and it comes it such a pretty bottle!

Be creative and Enjoy! Please drink responsibly

Eventfully,

LaDawn

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Flowers make a very powerful statement starting from the bridal bouquet, down the aisle and on to the centerpieces, they tell the story from beginning, middle and end of your wedding day. That’s why flowers can be a very big part of a wedding couple’s budget. Below is the average cost of wedding flowers.

Most wedding coordinators and bridal planning guides suggest that couples set aside between eight and ten percent of their total wedding budget to cover floral expenses. Depending on a couple’s budget, this may mean wedding flowers cost between $400 to $5,000 and up, but the costs for specific types of flowers can vary widely based on several different factors.

Costs for Specific Wedding Flowers

General figures for wedding flower expenses, on average, include:

Bride’s bouquet: $50-200

Bridesmaids’ bouquets (each): $20-50

Corsages and boutonnieres (each): $8-30

Head wreaths and floral hair pins (each): $15-40

Toss bouquet for the reception: $20-50

Church altar flowers (each arrangement): $50-75 or higher

Pew flowers (each): $10-40

Reception centerpieces (each arrangement): $40-150

Flower girl bouquet or petals: $20-35

Floral cake topper: $30-100

(courtesy of lovetoknow.com)

Here are a few tips on how to choose the perfect flower vendor and flowers for your big day.

• Word of mouth is always best and of course any recommendations from your wedding planner they usually work very close with premier florists
• Make sure they are willing to work with you and your budget
• Make sure they listen to your ideas and they don’t tell you no!
• They should be flexible and show you flower options that fit in your budget
• Ask how many weddings they do in a weekend
• You should meet the actual designer not just the salesperson

Remember, choosing the right flowers for your wedding day is very important but it also should be

fun and enjoyable. You should leave your meeting looking forward to seeing your flowers on that

special day.

Eventfully,

LaDawn

Tags: Wedding Articles by LaDawn
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Oprah Winfrey always says “Your house should rise up and greet you.” I feel this way every time I come home, especially after a long day at work. I love my home and my husband and I bought it 12 years ago and it was a diamond in the ruff. It was in a great neighborhood, all of the surrounding homes were beautifully landscaped and pristine and then the Realtor drove into the driveway of the ugliest house on the block! And we bought it!! Since then we have spent the last 12 years remodeling and creating a home that would rise up and great us every time we walked in the door. It reflects our personal style.

When planning your wedding look for unique venues and decor ideas where you can be creative and also be true to you and your grooms style and personality. Pick the most unlikely place, a diamond in the ruff look at things differently when you are out shopping and don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do, break the mold. Who knows maybe you will set the next big trend that brides after you will try to mimic.

Your Wedding Decor should make a statement about who you are and rise up a greet you and your guests! So what are you doing to add a personal touch to your wedding?  Whatever you do, don’t forget to have a theme even if it’s just the color pallet you choose. Have Fun with it and think outside of the box.

Here are two of Platinum Lining Event Brides that thought outside of the box:

One of my Brides got married at a Lavender Farm and actually played Frisbee in her wedding dress!!!!!

One of my other brides had Hot Dog on a Stick as a Mid-Night Snack for her guests!

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SUMMER, is my favorite time of the year. The part I love the most about summer is the warm summer nights having dinner outside and really enjoying time with the people I love the most, my husband, dogs and family. My dogs love me during the summer because I actually take them for walks after I get home from work and they love our summer strolls.

Living in California is an added bonus in my opinion you can go to the Mountains, the beach or the dessert the choice is yours, there is so much to do. This summer my husband and I decided we are going to try a different restaurant or entertainment place once a week and just date our city, get out there and try something new. This is a stretch for me I am a creature of habit, dinner and movie, what else is there to do after 11 years of marriage! We have discovered that there is a lot to do. I’m excited about this new adventure. We are starting this Friday and we are going to Pala Casino with another couple (I’ve never been there before). I will let you know how it goes.

So what are you doing this summer? Whatever you do, don’t forget to I have fun and celebrate being engaged!!

Here are some Summer Date Ideas from Platinum Lining Events:

Baseball Games – Most guys out there just LOVE summer for one reason… BASEBALL! Surprise your honey with tickets to see his favorite team play baseball. What a fun idea for a date… just watch out for those foul balls.

Wine Tasting -Did you know California has some of the Best wines in the nation. Take a weekend trip to Temecula, Santa Barbara or even head up North to Napa or San Francisco.

Picnic in the Park with a Twist - The Great Park in Irvine offers a great place to relax and have a picnic with your man and then hop in the largest tethered Helium Balloon that over looks the entire park. It is environmentally safe, non-polluting, virtually silent and FREE.

Head to the Beach – Southern California has some of the most beautiful beaches, when is the last time you went? Try a new beach this time like: Trestles Beach just three miles south of San Clemente or Crystal Covelocated between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach, surfs up!

Send Us Your Story

We’d love to hear about the exciting things you and your groom have done together this summer? Take a Break from your wedding planning.

We would love to post your romantic dates on our blog. Take a few pictures, send us your story, and we’ll feature your date on our blog. Send your submissions directly to info@platinumlining.com

Eventfully,
LaDawn Williams Bailey

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Kristina-Nicole made Platinum Lining Events the most amazing give-aways for us to use at the Ontario Marriott Bridal Show sponsored by the California Wedding Association. The brides loved the presentation and each one was filled with a pedicure set to help our brides relax after walking on their feet all day.  At Platinum Lining Events we always say “The most Relaxed Bride is the Bride that hires a Wedding Planner.”  Kristina-Nicole took our brand a recreated it in this nice compact pillow style favor box. These are also great to use as wedding favors and she can create a custom design for you.

In addition to our great favors for our brides, Platinum Lining Events also showcased some of our decor at the bridal show. Platinum Lining Events provided all the linens and even decorated our booth with a canopy style structure, great for ceremony’s, sweetheart tables, cake tables and more.

Platinum Lining Events specializes in Full Service and Short Term coordination for weddings and events, we do all event decor and design, fabulous vendor referrals and custom and semi- custom Invitation designs.

Our next bridal show is July 25, 2010 at the beautiful Double Tree Claremont. Come check us out!

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Robin and Ken hired me/Platinum Lining Events over a year ago. When they hired me they were living in Riverside, two months into the planning and a month worth of searching for venues, they relocated to Canada! They were looking for a venue where their entire family could stay and they could make a weekend out of it, was eco-friendly, had an outdoor ceremony site, used California grown products. That placed turned out to be Highland Springs Resort in Cherry Valley.

Then my bride and groom were off for their new adventure in Canada and they left me with these words “We can’t do this from Toronto without stressing, so we need someone local to be our representative.” Their priorities were, fun, great food and drink, family, naturally beautiful, local small business vendors, no fluff!

I assembled my dream team, it was important that I chose vendors that honored her eco-chicness, were local and could help me pull this off with her being in another country. Skype and email became our direct link to each other. Ricardo from Irises Designs created a design session via Skype with her center piece, linens, willow tied napkins, it was fun! She booked Signature Limo’s for transportation on the rehearsal night. The amazing Desi Baytan Photography was the photographer and he got some amazing shots (see below). The chef at HSR created an amazing menu and their guest got to choose between Duck Confit, Vegetarian Paella or grilled stripped Bass.

The beautiful ceremony took place in the lavender field at HSR and Irises Designs created beautiful May Poles and the wind was blowing just perfect. The vows took place just under the beautiful olive trees and the bride and groom wrote their own vows that touched everyone!

The wine was flowing, the music went until after midnight and Robin and Ken didn’t compromise even from Canada and they got everything they set out to experience at their wedding. I am so excited to have been a part of this beautiful, eco-chic wedding!

Check out more pictures on our Facebook Page.

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