Two of the Bay Area’s top Wedding Planners, Jubilee Lau and Jean Marks, launch a new concept in wedding education, Wedding 360, LLC. They will produce 2 major educational SF Bay Area events in 2010. For more information, please visit their website at www.wedding360llc.com
p.s. Congratulations, Jean & Jubilee!!
It was such a treat working with May & Davis and their wedding coordinator, Amy Tam. The wedding was located at San Jose Museum of Art. The couple incorporated some Thai wedding ritual to reflect the groom’s culture, and the guests pull water over May & Davis’ hands to give their blessing to the newly wed.
May & Davis were one happy couple, and their smile always brighten up our days. Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day!!
Dianna & Andrew had such a fairy tale wedding at a beautiful winery, Casa Real. The wedding was sweet and romantic, and it was such a treat working with our dear wedding planner, Jean Marks, and designer, Gloria Wong, to plan & design the wedding elements. Enjoy the amazing pictures captured by Geoff White Photographers.
Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day!!
We are so honored that Chau & Jeffrey’s wedding at Bently Reserve was featured in The Knot!! It was truly a pleasure teaming up with Gloria Wong Design, Angie Silvy Photography and I Dream Of Cake to create this chic butterfly wedding.
Wil and I had our tasting at Citronelle at the Carmel Valley Ranch yesterday and it was an amazing experience. Last time we had a mini-lunch in the relaxing lounge area by the fireplace and we really liked the salad and the petite baquette, and this time we had a 4+ course meal and OMG! the food was soooo delicious! Now I am very very much looking forward to our big day coz we have so many foodies coming and they won’t be disappointed for sure!
From room design to tasting, food presentation to service, everything was beyond 5 stars! First of all, the room is contemporary and spacious with a nice view of the nature. Our waiters were very friendly, attentive and knowledgeable, gave us detailed descriptions on every dish, which is a great assurance as I want my guests to have the best dining experience! Last but not least, the food was excellent and was a work of art! Every single one was executed so well that we just started stuffing things into our mouths and totally forgot to take pictures! hahaha… and we were not even hungry! We actually did our cake tasting at Layers right before the dinner and hahaha I hope they didn’t think we were such a pig! =P At first, we didn’t plan to add dessert to our menu as we already have a wedding cake plus a dessert table, which will be designed by L’ Atelier Vi. We even planned to take the desserts to go since we were really full after the 3rd course!! but we got busted by Chef Anthony Keene, who came out to say Hi and insisted we should try the “Kit Kat” chocolate bar and the Napoleon cream brulee. And I bet it was his trick to get us hooked coz after the first bite, we were determine to add these to our menu as well. Citronelle is really the best of the best!
BTW, do you know that President Obama recently took his wife for a special dinner at Citronelle in Washington DC?
~Hors d’oeuvres~
Wild Mushroom Bouchee
Shrimp Cocktail
Charred Yellowfin Tuna, Jasmine Rice Cake, Mango
Crab Cigar
Charred Beef Tri-Tip Miniature Sandwich
~Starters~
Tuna
olives, chorizo, crispy potato
Sea Scallop
duck foie gras, carrot ginger sauce
~Entrees~
Pacific Salmon
dungeness crab risotto vanilla bean
Sea Bass
paella style
Roasted Filet Mignon “Au Poivre”
potato gratin, shallot confit, peppercorn sauce
~ Dessert ~
About a month ago, I had a chance to attend the Professional BusinessWomen of California (PBWC) 20th anniversary conference, with featured speakers included Meg Whitman and Congresswoman Jackie Speier. It’s really a pleasure to meet and be inspired by female role models. One of the sessions I attended was about turning your passion into business and this is one of the most frequently asked questions I got from friends and clients. I, honestly, do not think I am the best example. But if I have to give you one tip and one only, it would be “help and you will be helped.”
When we first started, we were lucky to have Lisi Su, a renowned designer, as our mentor. She graduated from Lyon Formafleur (France) and was the Chairman of World Flower Council Asia Pacific Mini Summit 2006, the honored advisor of Evergreen Elderly Centre Trust of Australia, the art consultant of British Vacation Village Development Co.,Ltd, and the list goes on and on. We never thought she would give us a chance as we were a newbie in the floral design industry. Yet, she gave us advices, shared tips and encouraged us to explore the unknown.
The hand holding experience is invaluable. In return, we learned to help others to get into the wedding industry. In 2007, one of our interns started her own company and it is a thrill to us!! I still remembered we brought her to the flower mart in San Francisco, showed her how to make her first bouquet and the smile she wore on her face when she saw the final product. And we shared our experience, struggles, design and tips, hoping she would have an easy start. You probably think this is crazy to share business information, but it is way more silly not to share. Creativity can only be grown if we exchange ideas. We can only be better if we learn from others’ mistakes and successes.
So for those who are interested in finding out more about the wedding/ floral industry, check out the workshop by Nancy Liu Chin, who is the most sought after wedding designer in the Bay Area. Don’t let a great opportunity pass you by.
“Helping others reach their business goals through coaching, mentoring, and sharing my secrets is a dream that I’ve had for a long time. What I hope to accomplish is to entry level wedding floral designers grasp solid business ideas along with exceptional floral skills. ”
Nancy Liu Chin
Wedding Floral Academy: Design & Business Development Workshops
Date: November 7 -10, 2009
Location: San Francisco, California
Space is limited.
Investment: $1250 for 3 day course.
Including materials, lunch, snacks, takeaway binders, & tote.
Details:
{ Design Modern Classic Table top Arrangements }
{ Design Hand tied Bouquets, Flower Girl Accessories, Groom’s Boutonnieres }
{ Learn Nancy’s inside Floral tips and tricks }
{ Develop a Proposal }
{ Learn the benefits of Marketing – Website, Sponsoring Events, Advertising}
{ Discuss the importance of Branding}
{ Find out how to get your work Published }
{ Learn how to Create Meaningful Websites and Blogs }
{ Learn tips on Building a Strong Portfolio by taking your own photos}
{ Create a Picture Perfect Wedding – More than just Flower Design }
{ Visit San Francisco Flower Market to see what is available}
My name is Vi and just wants to drop a note to let you know that I’ll be co-authoring this lovely blog with the talented Mints Design team! This is nothing like the work of Mints, however, I do hope that you like these fresh cut hydrangea from my garden 
XoXo,
Vi
I am so pleased to welcome Venus of L’ Atelier Vi to the Mints’ Blog! Venus is an aspiring fashion designer; an amateur baker; cooking enthusiast and snobbish foodie. I am one of the lucky people who had tried her sweet and dessert and oh boy! they were helllllla delicious. Venus likes all things French-inspired, likes to collect tea cups, vintage trims & notions, dessert books, and above all likes to shop! And that’s why we invite her to write for us. Enjoy and Welcome Venus!
all images by L’ Aterlier Vi
This year Charlyn Koo didn’t attend National Stationery Show as my life has been a little bit frantic with two businesses, many on-going projects, and a wedding to plan, and though I stand by my decision that I should only attend the show if I could give it my best, I do miss new York and being a part of the creative circle. We debut our first collection last year and we met many talented designers, such as Elum Designs and Red Cap Cards and our personalized collection is now available exclusively at Neiman Marcus. As a newbie in the industry, we did a pretty good job and I was really looking forward to launch more designs but oh well…
This is our idea board and work for last year show and the good news is we have already started our new inspiration boards with many new products coming in 2010! New york, we will be back soon. =)
I came across these wedding photos by Jose Villa featured on Design*sponge this morning and completely fell in love! I love how they accented the chairs with ribbons, the cute illustrations on the stationery and the cozy benches with cushions.
Bride & Groom: Alissa and Ryan at shop horne
Venue: San Ysidro Ranch
Event Design: oh, how charming!
Photography: Jose Villa
Flowers: Mindy Rice Floral Design
More details at Design*sponge
