After 10 months of planning, it was the most amazing feeling last weekend to bring everything together for Sharon and Lawrence's wedding of 120 guests. It really reminded me why I love what I do. Not only have Sharon and Lawrence been the absolute DREAM couple to work with, but their families and guests were equally as nice and appreciative throughout the day. I also had a wonderful team of vendors that just worked incredibly well together. We worked hard, yet we had so much fun along the way! The weather was perfect, even with that surprising July shower in the middle of the day which we saw as luck for the wedding....
The morning started off in a blissful, serene setting at the Four Seasons Hotel in Palo Alto, with only Sharon and her identical twin sister Patty in a suite getting their makeup and hair done by Irmina, an associate of Taylor Pham's. When I arrived midway into their beauty session, I ofcourse had to make sure that food was brought in for Sharon and Patty. Protein and a bit of carb is always needed for a bride to make it through the first part of the day!
After Patty and her mom helped Sharon into her gorgeous Pronovias wedding dress, they were whisked downstairs for some fun photo opps around the modern and chic hotel lobby with their fabulous photographer Augie Chang and his lovely assistant Veronica.
A stretch limo awaited outside the hotel when it was time to head over to the Stanford Memorial Church for the ceremony. A graduate from Stanford, the campus was of special significance to the groom Lawrence, so they chose to exchange their vows inside the iconic church there.
It was a short, but sweet ceremony. After the ceremony, Augie took the couple around the Stanford campus for more photos while guests eagerly headed to the Four Seasons for cocktails and hors d'oeurves.
We completely transformed the ballroom to create the elegant and romantic style that Sharon envisioned. Our set up had begun Friday afternoon, with John Woods of Enhanced Lighting and his crew on site to begin the installation of drapery and lighting. John built an awe-inspiring backdrop for our escort card table, with hanging bubble bowls in front of a champagne taffeta fabric. Between the bubble bowls were orchids by the talented Nancy Liu Chin, and 320" of orchid garlands swagged at the top to finish it off. Everyone was ooohing and aaahhing about this wall the entire night!
Inside the ballroom, Nancy had alternating tall and low centerpieces. The tall centerpieces were gold manzanitas blooming with orchids, inspired by Sharon's love for cherry blossoms. The tablescapes included gold beaded chargers, the 'magnificence gold' glassware from Classic Party Rentals, camelot vanilla linens, and cherry blossom menu cards by Hello Lucky.
As beautiful as all the flowers and tablescapes were, it would NOT have been complete without John Woods working his magic with all the ambiant lighting in the room. From uplighting to pinspotting to the cherry blossom gobo projection on the dance floor, John once again took us from 'beautiful' to a whole new level of 'enchanting'. Lighting is what makes your guests' jaws drop when they walk into a room.
The icing on the cake was the icicle lighting that hung above the dance floor. John and his crew always manage to exceed our expectations! When I first described to him my vision of using the christmas icicle lights for this event, he only asked me two questions and that was all the direction that he needed to made it come alive.....even beyond what we had all imagined. Thank you John!!!!!
After a sumptuous four course dinner by the Four Seasons, Sharon and Lawrence led their guests to the dance floor for the rest of the evening. At the end of the night, they could not have been more gracious and appreciative to Amanda and I......we just had to hug them and tell them that we love them too!
Here are a couple more 'sneak preview' images by Augie. I love his fresh, modern approach to photography while still keeping the timeless essence that is so important for weddings!
The last photo above was one of our 'team photos'. From left to right--me, Augie Chang, John Woods, Carl Mindling, and Amanda Chan (my Production Lead).
Thank you to the amazing team of Event Professionals that worked so hard!
Ceremony Venue--
Stanford Memorial ChurchReception Venue--
Four Seasons Silicon Valley (superb food and service--hospitality at its very best all the way!!)
Floral Designer--
Nancy Liu ChinLighting and Draping--
Enhanced LightingMusic--
Carl MindlingMakeup/Hair--
Irmina of Faces by TaylorPhotography--
Augie ChangVideography--
Royal WeddingsLimousine--
Pure Luxury TransportationCake--
Four Seasons Silicon ValleyPaper Goods--
Hello LuckyFavors (cherry blossom coasters)--
BeaucoupRentals--
Classic Party Rentals
I met Meggy and Chris over a year ago, when we started planning their vintage inspired wedding. After my first in-depth meeting with them where I asked lots and lots of questions to determine their wedding style, I knew in my heart that the beautiful Kohl Mansion would be THE perfect venue for their wedding. Specifically, I knew the library inside the mansion would win their hearts over. Indeed, the minute they walked into the mansion, they were in love....
Check out their cute engagement photos too, also by Tara!
