Orange County Beach Wedding Venue:
The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Wendy

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Of all of the coastal locations in Orange County, The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel is one of our favorites. You are literally right on top of the ocean. All of the outdoor ceremony locations offer unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean. Each of the ballrooms is elegantly designed to make your guests experience the luxury this location has to offer!

What your guests will love:
Everything is about creating an experience at The Ritz-Carlton. From the moment they are greeted at the porte-cochere, to the gorgeous views at the ceremony, the delicious culinary creations and the extraordinary service. They will feel attended to throughout the celebration.

What you will love:
There are spaces for each size of wedding. From the intimate affairs on the Plaza Ballroom to the grand soirees in the Grand Ballroom. The Ritz-Carlton even has a more private ceremony lawn and ballroom that does not share any walls with guest rooms. And you will love the experience you have with the staff. Their catering team is outstanding.

What I love:
I love watching people experience luxury in a gorgeous setting. I also like that all of the ceremony locations have an amazing view and three out of the four reception locations also have an ocean view. There is an in-house pastry chef that makes amazing cakes and I’ve seen some innovative dishes from their Executive Chef. Their team is also very responsive and goes that extra mile to make sure each wedding is special for every client.

Things you will need to take into consideration:
The sun can be very bright coming off of the ocean around sunset, so it might be good to have a basket of sunglasses available to your guests. It gets very breezy in the afternoons as well. (Think pashminas for your guests during the ceremony!) You will need to allow a little extra time during the summer months for valet. It can take a few extra moments for your guests to arrive and get to your ceremony location.

The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel recommends using a wedding planner to ensure get the attention you need during the planning process and that your day runs smoothly. We’ve worked at every ceremony and reception location at The Ritz (even back in the days when everything was burgundy and gold!) It would be our pleasure to ensure your wedding dreams come to life at this exquisite location!

Be Chic!
-Wendy

Wendy Dahl is Chief Inspiration Officer at Chic Productions, an exclusive wedding planning firm based in Southern California. If you are planning a wedding rich with luxurious details, timeless traditions, and captivating culture, contact us today partner with you bring to life your unique style! We connect with clients from all over the world at www.ChicProductions.com.

Photo Credit: Jim Kennedy Photographers

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Wedding Gown Trends from 2011 Fall Fashion Week : Monique Lhuillier

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Wendy
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It is Fall Fashion Week in NYC! You know what that means…new wedding gowns! One of our favorite designers, Monique Lhuillier, just released her Spring 2012 collection. (Click on her name above to take a peek at her gorgeous designs!)

I had the privilege of seeing Monique at the Engage 2010 conference and enjoyed learning about how she started. After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, she started her own bridal company in 1996. (She was actually shopping for her own wedding dress and felt the need to make wedding dresses more fashionable.) It was fascinating to hear how she made her samples and sold them to stores before even producing any more than just a sample!

This gown is one of my favorites. It is called “Eternity” and has an embellished tulle corset with pearl princepessa satin hand bustled trumpet skirt. It shows off your curves and still has a full skirt (because when else in your life will you wear a full skirt?)

What you we love about her gowns: She is chic and very feminine and uses fabric from French and Italian mills. Her favorite fabrics are silk chiffons, silk satins and silk charmeuses.

You can find her gowns at stores across the country like Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

More to come from Fall Fashion Week!

Be Chic!
-Wendy

Wendy Dahl is Chief Inspiration Officer at Chic Productions, an exclusive wedding planning firm based in Southern California. If you are planning a wedding rich with luxurious details, timeless traditions, and captivating culture, contact us today partner with you bring to life your unique style! We connect with clients from all over the world at www.ChicProductions.com.

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Wedding Design: 2012 Spring Color Forecast

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Wendy
pantone-spring-2012

Click Me To Make Me Big!

Want to see the fresh new colors for next year? Pantone just released the latest palette in their Spring 2012 Color Report. Over the next few months you will see these colors pop up all over the place. (Click through to see what top designers have to say about the new colors!)

I always love the names they come up with too! No, you are not having an orange and pink wedding, it is Tangerine Tango and Cabaret!

I want you to notice something interesting about the way they have the colors grouped in the image. Solar Power with Bellflower, Cabaret with Sodalite Blue and so on. You can pair up the colors they way they have combined them or mix it up and create your own combination.

I’m definitely excited to start incorporating these new colors into the Spring weddings we are working on!

Be Chic!
-Wendy

Wendy Dahl is Chief Inspiration Officer at Chic Productions, an exclusive wedding planning firm based in Southern California. If you are planning a wedding rich with luxurious details, timeless traditions, and captivating culture, contact us today partner with you bring to life your unique style! We connect with clients from all over the world at www.ChicProductions.com.

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Wedding Generalists – A New Breed Of Wedding Pros

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Wendy

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Would you hire a chef to take your wedding pictures? It sounds like a stretch doesn’t it? Scenarios like this are rampant right now in the wedding industry. Officiants have become wedding coordinators, lighting companies are offering sweets stations, and the crossover list goes on.

It seems that so many people are “generalizing” their businesses by trying to do everything. Let’s call them “Wedding Generalists.” Fine if it is a production company that has staff specializing in each discipline that all work under one roof, but insane otherwise.

I’m making a bold point here by giving you free and valuable advice that will save you a TON of headaches: You need to work with specialists in the wedding industry. To do otherwise, is to put yourself at risk.

Let’s put this into the everyday setting. You go to a manicurist to do paint repair on your car, a dog groomer to get a hair cut. Think about it…would you? At least you can hire someone to fix your bad paint job and your hair will grow back. But with weddings, there are no do-overs.

You have one shot at your wedding day. You need professionals with specific skills that can perform their role with precision who have taken the time to master their craft. An assembled team of specialists who perform their specific tasks and work together to create one of the most important days of your life.

Plan smart. Hire people that specialize in what they do and have a proven track record of doing it well. There are too many horror stories of “I would have done it differently had I known” from brides that risked it. Don’t be one of them.

Be Chic!
-Wendy

Wendy Dahl is Chief Inspiration Officer at Chic Productions, an exclusive wedding planning firm based in Southern California. If you are planning a wedding rich with luxurious details, timeless traditions, and captivating culture, contact us today partner with you bring to life your unique style! We connect with clients from all over the world at www.ChicProductions.com.

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Cinema Inspired Ceremony Music

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Wendy

cinema1 You become a sponge for all things wedding once you get engaged. It is as if your perspective shifts from the real world to wedding world. Imagine working with weddings for over a decade. Oh yes, I notice all sorts of things every single day!

I hear songs all of the time that would be amazing for a wedding ceremony. I’d like to list a few for you in this post that are from movies. These are from film scores, as songs from soundtracks often become popular. Film score music is almost like “forgotten” music because these songs don’t get played on the radio, yet they evoke emotion during certain scenes in movies. Most of the time you don’t even notice they are there because you are engrossed in the feeling of the movie. But imagine the movie without them.

Then there are people like me that wait until the movie credits and write down the song titles or hunt down the music when I get home to make sure I don’t forget it. I want to feel that emotion again. I want to relive it.

Now imagine how it would be to your guests to feel that way. To hear a familiar song, yet one that is not in their perfect recollection, which made them feel a certain way. Or even how it would make you feel to be watching one of your favorite movies and remember how you glided down the aisle to a sweet melody.

Yes, film score music should be used more often. It is a great alternative to the same old classical line up of songs that are played over and over. Here is a list to get you started:

Main Title from The Notebook, Aaron Zigman

Somewhere in Time Theme, John Barry & Roger Williams

Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso, Ennio Morricone

Maestro from The Holiday, Hans Zimmer

Liz On Top Of The World from Pride and Prejudice, Dario Marianelli

Storybook Love from The Princess Bride, Mark Knopfler

There are dozens more out there, so if you have a favorite, just add it below (as I am sure someone else will be looking for guidance in the future.)

Be Chic!
-Wendy

Wendy Dahl is Chief Inspiration Officer at Chic Productions, an exclusive wedding planning firm based in Southern California. If you are planning a wedding rich with luxurious details, timeless traditions, and captivating culture, contact us today partner with you bring to life your unique style! We connect with clients from all over the world at www.ChicProductions.com.

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Orange County Beach Wedding Venue: The Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Wendy

vanderhulst-olchin Perched above Dana Point Harbor, the Laguna Cliffs Marriott offers a serene setting for couples in search of a location overlooking the Pacific.  It was renovated in 2010 and is a gorgeous setting for weddings!  There are three outdoor venues all with ocean views to complete your perfect day!

What your guests will love:
The resort has a comfortable, upscale “ocean grandeur” vibe to it.  There is a lot to do around the area including golf, tennis, fishing, whale watching, boating, and sailing.  Or your guests could relax and enjoy the amenities of the resort while taking in the spectacular scenery.  The OverVue Lounge gives you a panoramic view of the ocean while you tickle your taste buds with their delicious offerings and turns into a hot spot at night.

What you will love:
The resort staff is wonderful, from the first moment you arrive through the planning process and on the wedding day.  The view is magical from above the Pacific Ocean, and feels more private than a hotel down on the water.  The food is full of flavor and is presented elegantly.  At the present time, gold Chiavari chairs are included in their wedding packages…BONUS!

What I love:
The hotel logistics are great for weddings.  Each of the three outdoor ceremony spaces give you a different feeling, yet all have a spectacular view.  Two of the ceremony locations have the option to hold your cocktail reception right next to it to lengthen the “ocean view” time.  The ballroom was re-done in soft, neutral tones giving you the ability to transform it easily and the updated chandeliers look great!  The “hotel standards” are quite nice.  White wood folding chairs for ceremony and gold Chiavari chairs for the reception.

Things you will need to take into consideration:
As with all ocean front locations, it can be quite breezy in the afternoons.  If you use a wireless microphone during your ceremony there will be a lot of interference from radios on the boats coming into the harbor below.  Should you want to take photos from the shoreline, give yourself about 30 minutes for the short golf cart ride and time on the sand. (The view from there is lovely too!)

The Laguna Cliffs Marriott recommends using a wedding planner to make everything run smoothly during the planning process and on the wedding day.  We’ve been creating memorable weddings since 2004 at this lovely venue and would be delighted to partner with you too!

Be Chic!
-Wendy

Wendy Dahl is Chief Inspiration Officer at Chic Productions, an exclusive wedding planning firm based in Southern California.  If you are planning a wedding rich with luxurious details, timeless traditions, and captivating culture, contact us today partner with you bring to life your unique style!  We connect with clients from all over the world at www.ChicProductions.com.

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11 Questions That Determine What Equipment Is Included With Your Wedding Package

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Wendy
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Most venues offer standard equipment to use at wedding celebrations I call “Hotel Standards.” The trick is to know exactly what is available so you can determine how much customization you need to do. Not sure what to ask your venue coordinator? Here is a quick list to get you started:

1. What size and shape tables do you have in your inventory?
2. What chair options do you offer for both the ceremony and reception?
3. Do you offer charger plates for the dinner reception?
4. What does the glassware look like that we can use?
5. What colors and types of linens are available at no charge for each of our event locations?
6. Do you provide votive candles for the tables? If so, how many? What is the maximum number of candles that can be placed on a dining table?
7. What kind of dance floor is included?
8. Do you offer risers/ staging for our ceremony/ cake table/ head or sweetheart table? If so, what color skirting is included?
9. Do you have umbrellas and space heaters available?
10. What A/V equipment is included for each of the event locations we have?
11. Is there any lounge furniture available at the hotel we can use for our event(s)?

Once you have the answers to these questions, then you know what you need to start searching for to create the customized look you want to create.

Don’t want to be bothered with all of the fine print?  A wedding planner can manage these details while you work on the fun stuff…like the perfect dress!

Be Chic!
-Wendy

Wendy Dahl is Chief Inspiration Officer at Chic Productions, an exclusive wedding planning firm based in Southern California. If you are planning a wedding rich with luxurious details, timeless traditions, and captivating culture, contact us today partner with you bring to life your unique style! We connect with clients from all over the world at www.ChicProductions.com.

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Mocktails: Mock Cocktails For Non-Alcoholic Bars

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Wendy
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Introducing…. the Mocktail Bar!  Just what is a mocktail bar?  You serve all of the fun and flirty drinks people are accustomed to drinking, just with no alcohol!  Sure they have the same look, and the same sexy glass, but they don’t get your guests trashed.  (Trust me, we wedding planners appreciate when the guests are not getting sick on us because they have consumed too much alcohol and not enough food.)

Some ideas of when to have a Mocktail Bar:

  • If you have a morning ceremony followed immediately by a cocktail reception.
  • If you have a pre-ceremony reception.  (Some Officiants won’t even perform the ceremony if they smell alcohol on you!)
  • If your wedding falls in the warm summer months and your guests will need extra hydration without the alcohol.
  • Serve them with your late night snacks.
  • For your younger guests…those tweens and teens REALLY appreciate being able to drink something more “grown up” than a Shirley Temple.

Curious about some of the cool drinks you can serve?  Here are some great links to get you Mocktail Bar started!

Mojitos

Strawberry Mint Soda

Mock Champagne

Pina Colada

Mint Julep

Raspberry Fizzler

Can you have both an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic bar? Absolutely!  That is one of those “best-case scenarios” because both those who drink and those who don’t get to sip on something splendid!

Be Chic!
-Wendy

Photo Credit: Bhagwaticookingclasses.com

Wendy Dahl is Chief Inspiration Officer at Chic Productions, an exclusive wedding planning firm based in Southern California.  If you are planning a wedding rich with luxurious details, timeless traditions, and captivating culture, contact us today partner with you bring to life your unique style!  We connect with clients from all over the world at www.ChicProductions.com.

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Wedding Design Inspiration Board – Crystal Trees

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Wendy

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I adore crystal trees!  There are so many good things about them, I thought I should do a blog post about it.  So pull up a chair and read about my 4 reasons why a bride who likes to bring on the bling should use them at her wedding!

1. It is a statement piece.  For so long we saw wall-to-wall flowers that when your eye gazed over the room, you would see lovely flowers, but it all blended together as “flowers.”  When you see something reflect light back at you, that cascades from the top to the bottom of the tree…it makes you stop.  And look.

2. It is versatile.  As you can see by these images, it is used as a focal point at a place card table, a guest wishes table, a centerpiece, and at a beverage display.  It twinkles at you.  It whispers…look at me!

3.  It is customizable.  You can get different shaped branches and paint them in different colors.  To create an entrance, you could get two giant trees and hang very long strands of crystals over them.  You could also change the colors of the crystals and add a few blooms here and there to bring in some color.

4.  It is a rental.  I know, you are thinking…rental? Yes! A florist that has created a crystal tree before most likely still has it in their inventory.  What does that mean to you? If you like what they have, then you save money, big time.  The price will go up if you want customization (I know…you hear that all the time!)

So there you have it! Four good reasons (and four different ways) to use a crystal tree at your wedding!

Photo Credit:
1-TheKnot.com
2-HereComesTheGuide.com
3-KJSWeddings.com
4-WeddingDisk.com

Be Chic!
-Wendy

Wendy Dahl is Chief Inspiration Officer at Chic Productions, an exclusive wedding planning firm based in Southern California.  If you are planning a wedding rich with luxurious details, timeless traditions, and captivating culture, contact us today partner with you bring to life your unique style!  We connect with clients from all over the world at www.ChicProductions.com.
 

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Wedding Moments Set To Music

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Wendy
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I had a friend once tell me that I’d make a great lady DJ. I suppose he could be right because I truly love music and sometimes find myself thinking of the perfect song for the perfect moment. Well, that and I love dancing…which is why you might find me moving to the beat just a little bit during a wedding reception.

Each song throughout the wedding becomes a part of a “wedding soundtrack” similar to one you would find in a movie soundtrack or film score. Every melody is used to suggest a particular emotion and message at different occasions. I’ve often thought it would be a great gift to give couples the musical soundtrack from their wedding…or at least the list of songs so they can download it down the road. (Hint to all of you amazing wedding DJs out there!)

No, I am not saying that I’ll DJ your wedding (even though I’ve coached many club mixing DJs on how to be the Master of Ceremonies and help couples choose music for different moments during their wedding.) But I will tell you that I’ve been doing weddings for so long, when I hear music throughout the day, I think of how it can be used in a wedding.

While listening to one of my favorite radio stations (BPM on XM/ Sirius Radio) I’ll hear the perfect song for a grand entrance or while watching a movie I’ll discover a magical piece ideal for a more contemporary wedding ceremony. I’ve been keeping track of these songs in my head for some time now and share them with clients from time to time. I thought it would be fun to post some here too.

But before I do, I’d like to get you thinking about the music you choose differently. Imagine yourself as if you were creating a theatrical performance, only instead of an audience merely observing, they are EXPERIENCING. How can you create that experience that makes them feel exactly the way you want them to feel? What song would make one particular moment evoke more emotion?

In my opinion, there should be some type of music in the background throughout the entire celebration (with the exception of the ceremony in most cases.) Think of it from the guest’s perspective…when they first arrive, what do they experience simply from the music you have chosen? Walk through the entire day with that in your mind paying particular attention to significant moments that most couples overlook…like the grand entrance into the ballroom or the melodies in the air as you cut your cake.

Yes, you can definitely trust a good wedding musician to fill in the blanks if you don’t want to, but wouldn’t it be more meaningful and more “YOU” if you spent the time to choose the songs yourself?

I’m kicking off a weekly post on some ideas I’ve thought of for wedding music. (Chime in if you like!) Let’s have some fun with this!

Club-Like Grand Entrance Song Ideas This Week:
I’m In Love/ Alex Gaudino
What A Feeling/ Alex Gaudino ft. Kelly Rowland (fade into the chorus)
Hello/ Martin Solveig & Dragonette
Feel So Close/ Calvin Harris (the song starts at about 1:10 in the video AND there is an instrumental version available on iTunes.)

Photo Credit: Jim Kennedy Photographers

Be Chic!
-Wendy

Wendy Dahl is Chief Inspiration Officer at Chic Productions, an exclusive wedding planning firm based in Southern California. If you are planning a wedding rich with luxurious details, timeless traditions, and captivating culture, contact us today partner with you bring to life your unique style! We connect with clients from all over the world at www.ChicProductions.com.

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