NACE and The Expert Planners that make up The Venue Vixens share the stage!

Join The Venue Vixens as we add expert traditional wedding tid-bits between the fashion show and event! January 28th, 2014, Sac Grand Ballroom. Brides, Grooms and Wedding Vendors are invited!

2014 Bridal Gown Trends

When Tuesday, January 28, 2014 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM Tickets   $40.00 Member Ticket ($25.00 Late fee) $40.00 Colleague/Guest of Member Ticket ($25.00 Late fee) $40.00 First Time Guest Ticket ($25.00 Late fee) $65.00 Second Time Guest ($25.00 Late fee) Register before Friday, Jan 24, 2014 to avoid late fees. Directions Sacramento Grand Ballroom 629 J Street Sacramento, CA 95814       Join Sacramento NACE as we explore the latest in bridal fashion brought to us by two of our newest members, Enchanted Bridal Shoppe and Sparkle Bridal Couture!

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Marriage of Metals with Real Weddings Magazine

Thanks Real Weddings Magazine for blogging about our Marriage of Metal shoot!

http://www.realweddingsmag.com/marriage-of-metal-a-decor-inspiration-story-the-sweets-from-pretty-sweet/

Hello dear Real Weddings Readers! Have you seen the newest issue of Real Weddings Magazine? In it, we have an amazing decor inspiration story called, “Marriage of Metal.”

For this feature, we teamed with an extremely talented group of professionals inspired to, well, mix some metals. Katie Edwards from Ambience Floral Design, on the inspiration:

“I’ve always loved metals, all metals. I’m not a ‘gold’ girl or a ‘silver’ girl—copper is actually my favorite metal. A popular wedding trend over the past several years has been a lot of crystal sparkle, which is gorgeous. But it’s always good to have a fresh approach, and metals can offer a whole different kind of shine and sparkle—metals have beautiful depth, richness and warmth. Metal is so versatile: matte, shiny, rough, smooth, bright, dull….the combinations are endless.”

In the feature in the magazine, we promised you more photos―photos where you can get up close and personal…to really see more of the detail and all of the hard work that these dedicated wedding pros devoted to making this idea come to life―and we’re ready to fulfill that promise! We simply cannot thank the contributors to this feature enough for all of their amazing work―we think that you’ll agree, the results were pretty darned cool!

For this installment of our blog series, “Marriage of Metal,” we decided to focus on the sweet stuff…that’s right, dear readers, all of the yummy goodness that not only looks good but also tastes great. For this feature, Musarrat Afshan from Pretty Sweet produced these spectacular sweets, which we think you’ll agree, truly are works of art! So without further ado, we present “Marriage of Metal: A Decor Inspiration Story {The Sweets from Pretty Sweet}:

Tune back in to our next blog post to meet our real bride model, Vanessa, and to see more from our “Marriage of Metal: A Decor Inspiration Story!”

Thank you to all of the vendors who contributed to this piece:

Real Bride Model:  Vanessa Sevart

Photographed on location:

M!X Downtown

916-442-8855  |  mixdowntown.net

Photographer

Lily Rose Photography

916-204-3708  |  lilyrosephotography.com

Design, Styling, Décor and Floral Design

Ambience Floral Design

916-786-6851  |  ambiencefloral.com

Design, Styling, Décor and Coordination

Catrina Maria Designs

916-276-5080  |  catrinamaria.com

Bridal Gown

Always Elegant Bridal & Tuxedo

530-755-4282  |  alwayselegantbridal.net

Accessories

Macy’s

Arden Fair Mall | 916-925-2845

Country Club Plaza | 916-485-3885

Downtown Plaza | 916-444-3333

Sunrise Mall | 916-962-3333

Westfield Galleria at Roseville | 916-771-3333

macys.com

Hair and Makeup

Special Event Hair and Makeup

Lea Buehler

916-705-5827  |  specialeventhairandmakeup.com

Cakes and Desserts

Pretty Sweet

916-952-3043  |  prettysweet.co

Paperie

Angela Dal Bon Custom Invitations and Announcements

916-759-4428  |  sacramentoinvitations.org

Décor Rentals

Dogwood Party Rentals

916-505-4250  |  dogwoodpartyrentals.com

Celebrations! Party Rentals and Tents

916-773-2133  |  celebrationspartyrentals.com

Linens

Mimi & Co.

916-525-1235  |  mimiandcompany.com

“Marriage of Metal: A Decor Inspiration Story” produced by Katie Edwards {Ambience Floral Design}, Catrina Arcularius {Catrina Maria Designs}, and Caitlin Herrera and Wendy Sipple from Real Weddings Magazine.

Photos by Lily

 

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DIY Projects: Paper Lanterns

So, you just got engaged and you’re already stressing out over your budget? First of all, congratulations on your upcoming nuptials! To help keep costs as low as possible while you plan the decor for the most memorable day of your life, be sure to take some awesome do-it-yourself (DIY) projects into consideration. No matter what the theme of your wedding, paper lanterns make a gorgeous, almost ethereal addition to your ceremony or reception space.

On Saturday, June 9th, 2012, the Catrina Maria Designs team had the opportunity to work at The Firehouse in Old Town Sacramento for Terrance and Tameka Tutt’s wedding. Their wedding colors were a sunshine yellow and charcoal gray, mixing the best hues of both light and dark elements. Combined with awesome music from Bryan Greenwalt with Music and More Entertainment and beautiful floral arrangements by Cheryl with Accents by Sage, the simple, yet very elegant, paper lanterns lit up the tree-shaded ceremony and reception spaces. There are several ways to spruce up plain lanterns, but the CMD team chose to decorate these cream-colored orbs with some theme-appropriate strands of fabric, ribbon, and pearls. To achieve a flowy, blow-in-the-wind look, we simply tied these decorative pieces to the bar that holds the lanterns together. As is evident by the photos below, this elementary twist on DIY paper lanterns assisted in making this outdoor ceremony and reception space exquisite.

Photos Courtesy Of: Ashley Douglas 

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Happy 1st Anniversary to Joanna and Matt!

One year ago tomorrow, Joanna Nelle married the love of her life, Matt Aguiar in a beautiful outdoorsy ceremony. On behalf of the entire Catrina Maria Designs team, we would like to wish you both a very happy first Wedding Anniversary! Here’s a look back at the matrimonial celebration:

The beautiful bride and her handsome groom looked dazzling and full of life at their outdoorsy wedding, tinted with varying shades of blue and flecks of yellow.

The happy newlyweds brought the post-ceremony party to life!

 

Happy Anniversary, Joanna and Matt! May your marriage be filled with as much happiness, love, and FUN as possible!

Photos Courtesy Of: Carrie Richards Photography

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Happy 1st Anniversary to Marianna and Darwin!

One year ago today, high school sweethearts Marianna and Darwin exchanged their lifelong vows in a gorgeous ceremony at River Highlands Ranch in Smartville, CA. On behalf of the entire Catrina Maria Designs team, we would like to wish you both a very happy first wedding anniversary! Here’s a look back at the matrimonial celebration:

The gorgeous bride and her handsome husband walking down the aisle, tinted with sunshine.

The look in their eyes says it all…it’s true love!

 

Happy Anniversary, Marianna and Darwin! May your marriage be filled with happiness, passion, and honest love for all eternity.

 

Photos Courtesy Of: The Memory Journalists

 

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A bit about balloons…

Memorial Day weekend was absolutely incredible for the Catrina Maria Designs team. With the help of some other AMAZING vendors, we executed two gorgeous back-to-back weddings. Kelsey and Lyle Chan’s wedding at Sacramento’s Crocker Art Museum on Saturday brought to life the enchanting love story of Disney-Pixar’s “Up,” while Rena and Ian Concepcion’s Sunday wedding at the Grand Island Mansion put a lavish spin on the typical backyard matrimony, combining the lush outdoors with Middle Eastern flavor. Overall, the weekend was sensational – except for one teeny, tiny blip on the radar: the balloons!

Don’t take this the wrong way – the Chan’s wedding would not have had the same effect without all of the balloons, and we wouldn’t take back any of it! But, as the saying goes, hindsight is twenty-twenty; looking back, we would have taken an entirely different approach to our balloon blowing escapades. Because the Crocker does not allow helium balloons inside the Museum, the Catrina Maria Designs team delved into the wonderful world of 200+ balloons versus oxygen tanks – as well as our own personal C02 (a.k.a. our breath)!

As we were blowing up balloons, for some reason, the oxygen tank nozzle began to freeze, and the balloons kept popping (from being too cold, I’m assuming). We were forced to call in for an emergency delivery of a secondary tank. Meanwhile, we did what we had to do and started blowing up the balloons – manually (in this business, the show MUST go on)!

Needless to say, we were a bit light-headed by the time the second tank arrived. Although this tank did not freeze as much as the first, it still caused our hard-earned balloons to pop at an alarming rate. Also, by mid-setup, the vast majority of the balloons started to shrink and get that “wrinkly” look to them – we were NOT happy. Despite the little setback, the entire ceremony and reception went off without a hitch (and without any balloons shrinking or popping!), and made a beautiful addition to the other decor.

The Catrina Maria Designs team plans on staying away from balloons for some time; however, if at any time in the future we, or YOU, need non-helium balloons, we strongly suggest utilizing an electric balloon blower! These machines come with multiple facets to make balloon blowing teamwork more efficient, and they never have to be refilled. If you are fortunate enough to be able to utilize helium, here are some helpful hints to help your balloons avoid the wrinkly deflation process:

• Do a test-run. Just as you would stretch and gradually work your way up to your full performance potential on a 5k, your balloons should be tested for endurance before they’re filled with helium. Fill the balloon with air before filling them with helium, so as not to waste the gas, as well as to determine the stamina of its elasticity.
• Store the balloons in a trash bag. Latex and mylar are sensitive; therefore, balloons are easily withered, dirtied, and torn. By storing the balloons in a trash bag before and after inflation, you help keep your balloons spry.
• Use a coat. Using Hi-Float coats the outside of the latex or mylar, and Super Hi-Float coats the inside of balloon. These chemicals help to keep the surfaces of the balloons from oxidizing, and can extend the life of your balloons by several days, perhaps even weeks.
• Maintain temperature equilibrium. If you’re planning on taking your balloons to the snow (for some odd reason), consider storing them in the fridge beforehand. Likewise, if you’re planning on having an outside party at the beach, leave them outside for a few hours beforehand.

Photos Courtesy Of: Ashley Douglas

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Implementing Antiques into Your Wedding

We’ve all heard the popular wedding rhyme “something borrowed, something blue, something old, and something new.” Why not implement all four traditions into one beautiful piece? Antiques offer a lovely touch of “organized chaos” to a wedding, as well as bringing an amazing past into the present. For example, an old dresser works great as a dessert station, a large picture frame is an amazing prop for guest photos, and a cozy chair can tie a reception area together quite nicely. In the Sacramento area, Rent-Antiques.com offers some incredible aged pieces of furniture and trinkets to help you create the rustic, old-fashioned-yet-still-hip feel to your wedding. I strongly encourage you to take care of your “something” list by taking a look at some of their amazing decor! Here’s a sneak peak:

Photo Courtesy Of: Rent-Antiques.com

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Some Simple Secrets to a Happy Marriage

So, you just married the love of your life, and you’re already to pull your hair out of your head – sound all too familiar? Studies show that the first years of marriage are the most difficult; and national statistics indicate that most divorces occur within the first five years of marriage. When University of Oklahoma researchers studied newlyweds, they found that “expressions of love and affection between a wife and husband drop by half in the first two years of marriage,” and researchers find that most couples “experience a significant drop in happiness about 18 months after the wedding.” However, despite all of these depressing facts, you and your lover don’t have to go through any heartache if you implement these simple secrets into your marriage:

• Love yourself first. You will never be able to love anyone else with your whole heart unless you love yourself first and foremost. When you love yourself, you treat yourself with respect, and you don’t let others bring you down. In short, when you’re your number one, your heart is open and ready to accept and love others fully.
• Don’t lower your standards, but change your expectations. Things will never be perfect, because no human can ever be perfect. Don’t expect your mate to be doting, romantic, and kind all of the time. Enjoy when they DO treat you like a King or Queen, and don’t chastise them when they don’t.
• Remember that your partner’s not a mind reader. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Nobody can read minds, so don’t expect your husband or wife to be clairvoyant about your wants or needs. Express yourself clearly and honestly.
• Be all ears. Your mother gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason – to listen more than you speak. Sometimes your mate doesn’t need a lecture or any advice; instead, all they may need is an open-minded and patient listener to tell their problems and worries to.
• Friends first, lovers second. Would you make your best friend sleep on the couch? Would you yell at your best friend over forgetting the fortune cookies when he/she brings home Chinese takeout for dinner? It’s oxymoronic, but we often treat those we love and care about most better than those we hardly know or hardly see. Treat your mate with the utmost level of respect – be a friend first, lover second.
• Don’t let the kids control your marriage. Remember to make alone time, away from the children, at least once a week for you and your significant other. The formula is simple: happy parents = happy children.
• Take turns doing chores. Break the barriers between traditional male and female roles in the household. Do laundry together, have your wife mow the lawn, let your husband cook dinner and get the kids ready for bed. If you take turns at chores, you’ll appreciate each other more.
• Be honest about finances. Honesty is the basis for any relationship, but fiscal fidelity is one of the most important types of openness in a marriage. Managing your finances together helps you both understand your monetary standings and budget limitations. Don’t hide anything – it all comes out in the wash!

Photo Courtesy Of: GodlyWoman.com
Statistics Courtesy Of:  Reader’s Digest

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Maid or Matron of Honor Duties

In a platonic relationship, one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon you is the role of Maid or Matron of Honor. Although this title can be a privilege and confirmation of your best-friendship to the bride, this job is a full-time gig – so you better be prepared! Even if there is an actual wedding planner on the job, don’t get your hopes up – your involvement with the wedding will still be extensive. There is a long list of duties that are associated with the Maid of Honor role, but here are some helpful reminders to assist you in your long and crazy journey:

• Make Her Smile: You’ll be the one she turns to when her pre-wedding spray tan makes her look like a creamsicle. It’s your job to console her; bring over a bottle of wine, Dirty Dancing, and some smut magazines to help her feel better.
• Be All Ears: Your darling mother gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason – to listen more often than you speak. You may have gone through this process before, especially if you’re a Matron of honor; however, this is not YOUR day. When the bride speaks, it’s your job to hear her out, no matter how ridiculous she may be acting!
• Coordinate with Fellow Bridesmaids: You are bridesmaid numero uno. It is your job to keep the others in the loop…and keep them at bay when necessary!
• Help Make Big Wedding Decisions: If your schedule allows you enough free time, help the bride-to-be with all of her major decisions. Some of these decisions include:
  • Dress
  • Hair Style
  • Makeup Style
  • Invitations
  • Venue
  • Cake
  • Catering
  • Flowers
  • Linens
  • DJ
• Be Involved with Parties: Do not feel obligated to plan every party, but you should offer your assistance with as many of them as you can. As the Maid or Matron of honor, you usually know the bride better than anyone else, and therefore will be able to throw her a bash that she (and everyone else) will remember for many years to come. As a side-note, some things that you should plan on delegating or personally taking care of are small duties such as keeping a list of the presents and who they’re from. This may seem simple, but it is extremely helpful to the bride! Some parties that you will be involved with are:
  • Engagement Party
  • Bachelorette Party
  • Bridal Shower
• Toast at the Wedding: It can be long and drawn out or short and sweet, but the Maid or Matron of Honor’s speech is highly anticipated by not only the guests, but the bride as well. Be sure that your toast is heartfelt and sincere – and not too overly-embarrassing!
• Organize Gifts: After the reception, the newlyweds will be in their honeymoon mindset – and rightly so! As a final parting duty, you should take on the responsibility of collecting the couple’s gifts and dropping them off at their home, or other desired location.

The aforementioned list becomes even more detailed if the bride does not have a wedding planner. Nudge her in the the direction of hiring a coordinator, and make everyone’s lives a lot easier! Best of luck.

Photo Courtesy Of: DexKnows.com

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Picking the Perfect Wedding Date

The annual “wedding season” is fast approaching – do you have your date set?! Perhaps you do, but if you and your mate are confused about selecting the ideal day for your upcoming nuptials, read on! Here are some tips to help you select the perfect date:

Photo Courtesy Of: TeamWedding.com

• Symbolic Date: Your parents’ anniversary, the first day you met, the day he proposed, a dating anniversary, or some other memorable day in your couple history or individual histories all serve as significant and fitting dates for your wedding. Not to mention, it’s totally romantic!
• Favorite Wedding Planner: Because you’re planning on getting married, you’ve probably recorded or rented The Wedding Planner, Bride Wars, Bridesmaids, and every other typical wedding movie known to man. From these films or from following wedding trends, you know how important it is to have an amazing wedding planner for your special once-in-a-lifetime wedding day. Your favorite wedding planner’s availability may play a role in the date that you can choose. Be sure to match your wedding date desires with your planner’s weekend openings.
• Holidays: Some holidays may be a no-go because of familial obligations, but if you’re determined to have a cupid pinata or Christmas tree at your wedding, a holiday wedding date may be for you. Although it is technically “your day,” depending on the holiday celebration, it may be acceptable to provide guests with some festive entertainment in combination with the wedding ceremony and reception. For example, if you love the Fourth of July, provide barbecued food for your wedding’s dinner and incorporate fireworks into your reception for great fun for all attendees!
• Pricing: Traditionally, the most popular wedding months are May through August; thus, prices for planners, venues, flowers, etc. will most likely be higher during these months. If you and your lover are looking to save some money, try holding your wedding date in some of the lower-key months in Fall and Winter.
• Season: If you’ve always dreamed of having your wedding in Lake Tahoe with the snowflakes falling down on your nose, low lighting, and a hot chocolate being served, Winter is your ideal wedding date season! Match your wedding date and individual personalities with the season that you’d like to celebrate your marriage in. As a small reminder, too hot or too cold is uncomfortable for you and your guests – be sure to make accommodations!
• Special Accommodations: There are some guests that you just can’t celebrate without. If your great-aunt Myrtle is having hip surgery or your crazy cousin Gertrude is travelling to Croatia to inoculate newborn babies and they just have to be there to witness your nuptials, be sure to coordinate with them before choosing your wedding date. As a warning, if you offer this accommodation to one person, others may jump on the bandwagon too!

SPECIAL NOTE:

• Tax Weekend: One of the most stressful times of year for everyone is April 15th – that being said, DO NOT schedule your wedding on that date unless you’re prepared to deal with some grumpy guests!

Your wedding date will be a day that you and your partner remember forever. You will have champagne glasses, photo albums, and future anniversary gifts engraved with that special date – choose wisely, and best of luck!

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