Escort Cards and Plated Meals for Weddings

Nothing says elegance quite like a formal, plated meal for a wedding reception.  Many couples opting for this often wish to offer a choice of entree to best cater to their guests' varied tastes and the best way to go about doing so, is to identify each guest's entree selection in advance.  For most seamless service on-site, many hotels and caterers will require some sort of indicator to cue their servers in to the guests' choices.

Here is an easy and effective way to do so: 

Banquet servers knew whether a guest had requested fish or beef by the color of the border on the escort card.  Escort cards by Emi Ink.  Photo by Visionari.

create color coded escort cards or place cards.  It serves as a quick way to inform the server of the guest's entree choice, and is equally decorative and functional, too.  Incorporate the wedding colors to make these cards coordinate with the rest of the stationery and the look of the wedding.

Here, the flower color identified the guests' choice in entree.  Escort cards by Something Blue.  Photo by Dylan Dawson Photography.

Happy Planning!
Mona
neu events
(formerly known as Weddings by Grace and Mona)

I'll Have a Cone, Please! (petal cones for your flower shower)

What could be more romantic than rose petals fluttering over you as you recess down the aisle or exit the church?  It certainly makes for a picture-perfect moment, and enhances the sentiments of joy and celebration.  Without a doubt, the flower shower serves as the perfect ending to a heartfelt and momentous wedding ceremony.

Photo by Visonari at the Halekulani Hau Terrace in Waikiki.

However, what the photos do not reveal is the logistics behind the creation of that picture-perfect moment.  Particularly for outdoor ceremonies, when the flower shower takes places immediately after the kiss and announcement of the newlyweds, how do the guests get the petals for tossing?  Do they hold a handful of petals throughout the entire ceremony until that moment that the couple passes?

Photo by L'amour Photography

We suggest providing guests with a cone or receptacle for the petals.  While purely functional, they can be made to coordinate with the colors and style of the wedding, and we like it best when they tie in with the "day-of" wedding stationery!  Often times, local stationers will string a ribbon through the cone, so that the guests may easily take one, or so that they can be hung from the ceremony chair.  

Photo by Visionari.

Here are a few examples of some custom designed cones.  Perhaps they will provide you with inspiration for cones of your own!

Happy Planning!

Mona

neu events

(formerly known as "Weddings by Grace and Mona")

Cones by Emi Emi Ink.  Photo by Visionari.

Cones by Something Blue.  Photo by L'amour Photography.

Cones by Emi Ink.  Photo by Kai Photo.

Petal cones by Emi Ink.  Photo by Eclat Photography.

The Knot's 2011 Cocktails and Connections Honolulu event - Part 2

Photos by Chrissy Lambert Photography

The Knot's Cocktails and Connections 2011 Honolulu event for wedding industry professionals featured such a plethora of creative contributions by so many of O'ahu's talented vendors, that one blog entry just would not adequately sum up the many facets of the event. Here's part 2 of my recap of the August 23, 2011 event held at the YWCA.

To create much of the ambiance, particularly after the sun had set, Eggshell Light Company "worked their magic" to highlight the different areas of the space and to create a festive and dramatic mood. The playful patterns projected onto the courtyard, against the walls, and into the swimming pool effectively yet subtly broke up the space without shining into guests' eyes. Even the layers of colors created by selecting different hues for the foreground and background created lots of visual interest, not often seen at weddings with hard-and-fast color palettes.

Entertainment for the evening consisted of a slam poetry performance by Kealoha of Slam Hawai'i, a flare bartending performance by Ryan Pierce of Lift Your Spiritz, on-site painting of the night's scene by Kimi Werner, a same day edit featuring guests in attendance, and a very special presentation from The Knot.

As a parting gift, guests chose a bottle of their favorite Waialua Soda flavor (root beer, pineapple vanilla cream, mango, Kona Red, or lilikoi). Each bottle sported a favor tag from Emi Ink to match the rest of the stationery items, and the gilded frame on the table from Scene Events instructed guests to help themselves. These bottles could then be tucked into a swag bag filled with goodies including delightful chocolate dipped sweets from Big Island Candies; a gift certificate for wine tasting for two and corkscrew from Oeno Winemaking; a water bottle from The Knot; and a chocolate bar with gift card entitling the bearer to 20% off spa services from The Spa at Trump.

Before bidding each other a fond aloha and goodnight, participating vendors gathered round for a group photo, waving "shaka" (or "hang loose") signs in the air. As with any event, it amazes me to see months of hard work pass by in just a few short hours, but the good times had by all make it always well worth the effort. A sincere and heartfelt mahalo goes out to all who contributed to making the event possible, and to those who took time out of their busy schedules to join us.

The Knot's 2011Cocktails and Connections Honolulu event

If you by chance happen to be reading this, then you are already familiar with The Knot and its tremendous presence in the wedding industry. Understandably, then, you can imagine what an honor it was for us to be asked to orchestrate their Cocktails and Connections event in Honolulu earlier this year (on August 23, 2011, to be exact). Our response was a hearty "yes" and we dove right in to the planning.

As with planning any event, one of the very first steps involves selecting the location. Darby Sherwood, Account Executive for The Knot, simply requested that the venue be one that was located in Honolulu, and rather new or unpublicized in wedding circles. After a couple of site visits and a bit of deliberation, the YWCA Laniakea emerged as the choice of locale.

The YWCA's stately architecture drew to mind images of grand European fine art museums and hence arose the museum theme for the event. To bring to life the theme, we enlisted the services of stationer, Stacey Shiroma Branch of Emi Ink, who created beautiful program with fold-out maps and admission tickets for guests upon arrival, and placards for the various "art" displayed throughout the venue. In fact, even the valet tickets were customized to match all of the stationery pieces in matching fonts and card stocks.

As far as "art" was concerned for the museum theme, human statues graced the hall, and were poised on custom-made all white platforms beneath the charmeuse draped arches along the hall. Christine Gardner and Nica Jacinto of Flaunt airbrushed the models in gold make up to match the wedding gowns, also painted in gold by Christine. The placards on the platforms describing each statue completed the look for the "Hall of Statues" created in the space that separated the pool from the Courtyard.

Other pieces of "art" included the floral displays by Spinning WEB Florist, placed purposefully in the middle of the Courtyard, as well as in the "Portrait Gallery," which by day, serves as the YWCA's Cafe Laniakea. Wendy of Spinning WEB added a Midas touch to many of the items, playing with the white and gold color scheme of the event, incorporating over-sized frames to further emphasize the fine art feel. We added stanchions from Accel Party Rentals and Designs as well, to rope off the floral portraits on the walls, as one would find in many major museums. To top it off, benches from Vignette in front of each of the floral designs allowed guests to pause and admire the artwork.

Inside the Portrait Gallery, The Spa at Trump set up a mini spa for guests to enjoy chair massages and Gemstone hand massages with oils from Dubai. Naomi Lee and Cari Nakanishi of Vignette delineated the space with panels of sheer fabric and softened the area with a plush all-white, faux fur area rug and satin covered benches. Guests knew exactly which services to choose from by viewing the spa menu, designed by Emi Ink and set in a gilded gold frame from Scene Events.



Mahalo to all the participating vendors who made The Knot's Cocktails and Connections 2011 Honolulu event possible:

A Cup of Tea
Accel Party & Design
Ben & Maila
Big Island Candies
cakelava
Casablanca Bridal and Formals
Chrissy Lambert Photography
Eggshells Light Company
Emi Ink
Flaunt
Ginniberries Catering
Hawai'i Slam
Kai Media
Kimi Werner
Les Saisons
Lift Your Spiritz Mobil Bartending Service
Market ADvantage
Oeno Winemaking
Prestige Valet Service
Randy Allen
Scene Events
Shakabooth
ShowTime DJs
Spinning WEB Florist
The Spa at Trump
Vignette
YWCA - Laniakea
Wahoo's Fish Tacos
Waialua Soda Works
Weddings by Grace and Mona

Featured Wedding #13: Stacey and Dan

Photos by Mark Nomura

What happens when a wedding vendor gets married? Why, the result is nothing short of fabulous! We had the distinct honor and pleasure of coordinating the wedding of wedding industry colleague, Stacey, aka "Emi," of the famed, Hawaii-based stationer and graphic designer, Emi Ink. In just a few days, Stacey and her hubby, Dan, will be celebrating their anniversary, and while their wedding took place almost four years ago, the details that Stacey planned for her wedding were so ahead of their time, that they'd be considered trendy today. I wanted to share some of the unique and original ideas that Stacey implemented into her own wedding.

With Stacey being the designer of fine stationery, I affectionately dubbed Stacey and Dan's wedding the "paper wedding." Ever considered incorporating a complete stationery suite for your wedding? Well Stacey and Dan had it all.

Naturally, one of the very first impressions that guests receive of a wedding is the invitation, which sets the tone for the celebration to come. Stacey designed an invitation nothing short of original, incorporating multiple layers of card stock, including a modern printed one, and chose to off-set it, lining the edges of each layer on the right for a chic and contemporary look. The six Swarovski crystals, also right-justified, added the perfect touch of elegance.

Upon arrival at one of my favorite venues, the Hau Terrace at the Halekulani, guests stopped by the reception table to drop off gifts. In lieu of the traditional envelope box to hold monetary gifts, Stacey's dad, an artist himself whose medium of choice is metal, lovingly welded individual pieces of washers and rings into a one-of-a-kind, fashionable and edgy, receptacle for Stacey and Dan's cards. To tie into the paper theme, Stacey added a cameo piece, matching the invitations, complete with another six Swarovski crystals and printed card stock. (Note the pretty paper flowers in the foreground, also created by Stacey.)

In order to ensure that special guests would enjoy VIP seating at the ceremony, Stacey designed pretty "reserved" cards, which we affixed to designated chairs. These, too, shared the same font and paper selections used in the invitations and the gift card receptacle cameo.

During the ceremony, guests followed along with Stacey and Dan's beautiful printed program, delicately adorned with more Swarovski crystals.


Proceeding the outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour on the terrace, guests then moved inside for the reception, where they were treated to more of Stacey's artistry.

Favor boxes, flowers, and printed "ribbon" made of paper...

Centerpiece vases made of paper...

Paper flowers at the base of the cake...



And place cards, too!

Congratulations, Stacey and Dan! Here's to many more years of blissful marriage, and continued success with Emi Ink!

Featured Wedding #9: Nancy and Lance

Nancy and Lance tied the knot on August 7, 2010, in the Sanctuary of Central Union Church, followed by a stunning reception in two ballrooms of the Sheraton Waikiki. After months of planning, Nancy and Lance had every detail thought of, and their personal touches marked on just about everything possible, making it truly, their once-in-a-lifetime event to remember.

The adorable ring bearer pillow, featured a mocha sash and tie in the same, luxurious shade as the bridesmaids' dresses.

Nancy, Lance, and their bridal party traveled in style, with not one, but two limousines: a Hummer and a Lincoln Navigator.

For their wedding cake, Nancy and Lance chose six-tiers of culinary artistry by Cake Works, and for their cake topper, Nancy chose a crystal-encrusted, monogrammed "O" for their last name.

Silver charger plates and full bloomed roses adorned each place setting, and guests received a four-piece box of delightful Godiva chocolates.

A hedge of flowers lined the edge of the head table, while the rest of the tables were topped with alternating floral arrangements of tall and low designs.

Orange up-lighting strategically placed set the two ballrooms aglow in a pretty shade of tangerine orange, and chocolate brown chiavari chairs to match the autumn colors of the wedding were brought in, replacing the hotel's existing chairs.

One of the most unique elements of Nancy and Lance's wedding was their live entertainment: traditional Okinawan dance performances, a nod to their shared cultures. The dancers' beautiful kimono even matched the color palette of the wedding!

Glass cylinders filled with floating candles in varying heights lined the dance floor, and the flickering light during the dancing portion of the reception made for a romantic evening.

Instead of tossing her bouquet of delicate gardenia blossoms, Nancy had floral designer, My Florist, design a bouquet of money, sure to get any single lady interested in catching these flowers!

The Sheraton even went so far as to display Nancy and Lance's engagement photo on the multi-screen reader board, positioned prominently at the top of the escalators.

Nancy and Lance "had it all" when it came to their wedding, with no expense spared from making it the gala affair Nancy had dreamed of, but what made the wedding a show-stopper is Nancy herself.

The statuesque bride radiated beauty in her stunning dress, and while she would have loved to walk down the aisle with her beloved father, who had passed away, she chose to process in solo, holding her head high with each step she took down the aisle. The serenity and beauty of the moment was enough to take anyone's breath away.

Following the ceremony, Nancy posed with her mother and sister, who had flown in from Okinawa to celebrate the occasion with her.

Congratulations, Nancy and Lance! It was my honor to have had been a part of your wedding. Thank you so much for your kindness and friendship.

photos by Eclat Photo