Event Designers: Weddings by Tara Guerard

How beautiful is the new book from Tara Guerard so aptly titled, "Weddings".   Our Southern friend, Tara and company(Kate and Cash) were recently in our neck of the woods.  They brought their signature classic style,  laughter and a bit of Southern charm to San Francisco.  If you were one of the many attendees at Wedding360, we heard that you received your own copy.  Now, that's cool.  We love and admire Tara's no nonsense approach to designing elegant weddings.  In the book, you will find many wonderful recipes.  We can't wait to try the Ginger Peach Almond Wedding Pie(just makes our mouth watering!).

To order your book, you can visit amazon.com.

{Event Designers: Catching up with Jubilee Lau}

A wedding has an energy all its own. Often on the actual wedding day, you might not realize that wedding vendors might be meeting each other for the very first time. However, when you hire vendors who work together often, there's a great thing called - chemistry that occurs. An undeniable chemistry happens when you get like minds together. There is a certain synergy that occurs when you get a team of vendors who work well together.

Ultimately, strong vendor partnerships play key roles in creating a harmonious environment.

When we asked Nancy Liu Chin to interview Bay Area wedding expert, Jubilee Lau of JLE, Nancy was quite eager and excited as she and Jubilee have partnered on many elaborate events throughout their careers including the upcoming Wedding 360(formerly, The Wedding University). Wedding 360 was co-founded by Jubilee Lau and Jean Marks and will take place in January 2010 at Four Seasons Silicon Valley. Nancy is thrilled to be returning as a wedding "professor". Nancy credits her own success to having great partners like that of both Jubilee and Jean.

Let's listen in on their conversation.

NLC: So Jubilee, what is something about wedding planning that most people don't realize?

JL: There is such a heavy focus on beautiful wedding designs, which is of course very important, but many people don't realize the importance of having all the nuts and bolts in place behind the scenes in order to create a a great wedding experience. I am referring to the logistics, which is not considered a 'fun' part of the planning, but certainly plays a major role in bringing all the different vendors and elements together seamlessly. Without the proper nuts and bolts in places, even the most beautiful weddings can fall apart.

NLC: In this economy what is one thing most couples should not cut???? Do you have a cost saving tip?

JL: This may sound self serving, but I honestly believe planners are all the more IMPORTANT in this economy. A well experienced, knowledgeable, and well connected planner can help couples evaluate their options wisely, including how to best allocate the money that they have to spend. Not only can a planner help couples connect with dependable vendors that matches their budget, style, and personalities, but a planner can also help prevent couples from making costly mistakes throughout the planning process.
NLC: Amen to that!

NLC: So, if you had to plan a wedding in 24 hours, where would you start?
JL: I would try to gather as much info as possible from a brief conversation in terms of the couple's style, priorities and budget. From that, I would help them secure a location and put together a time line right away to determine the ceremony/reception start time so they can call all their guests. Then, I would help them to secure all the key vendors while they shop for their attire, jewelry, and accessories.

NLC: Tell me one thing that your best friend doesn't know about you.
JL: That is hard! I think my best friend knows everything about me…..Okay, here's an attempt. I don't think she knows that I once tried to apply to be on the show Fear Factor
NLC: (I gasp in shock!)

NLC: And what are you known for in the industry?
JL: I'm known for being calm, under any circumstances, especially on a wedding day!

NLC: You truly are. And let's also add knowledgeable. Must makes you a perfect person for starting something like Wedding 360. As a co-founder, can you tell me how it came about?

JL: The Wedding University concept came from a passion of mine--to educate, inspire, and empower brides and grooms to make wise decisions for their wedding. I realized that not everyone will have a planner, and studied a great deal on how they obtain information during their wedding planning process. Many admitted feeling overwhelmed with the overload of info that they obtain from the internet, magazines, and particularly bridal fairs because so much of the focus is on selling. Therefore, I partnered up with another planner Jean Marks who shared the same passion as I, and we decided to produce an event that was strictly focused on wedding planning education.

We hand picked top experts in their fields to be the 'professors', and teamed up with the Four Seasons Silicon Valley to create an elegant afternoon to pamper 150 attendees that were brides, grooms, bridesmaids, and mother of brides. At the end of the afternoon, one lucky bride won a three night stay at the Four Seasons Bora Bora!

The event was a huge success based on the student evaluations that were filled out. The students enjoyed the pampering of exceptional food and service, but more importantly they were able to take away a lot of valuable knowledge and information regarding all aspects of wedding planning. They felt empowered to make the right decisions for themselves as they continue their journey towards the wedding day. After the success of TWU, Jean and I decided to pursue this passion of ours and after 6 months we now have a new name and identity--Wedding 360.

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Jubilee Lau, the Founder and primary Wedding Planner of Jubilee Lau Events, established the company in 2002 as a pursuit to follow her dream. Upon receiving her degree in Mass Communications at U.C. Berkeley, she began her career in the corporate world planning community events, holiday parties, and executive meetings. She loved utilizing her remarkable organizational skills to plan and produce extraordinary events. After several years of planning corporate events, Jubilee ventured off to explore the wedding industry where she became professionally trained and certified by the Association of Bridal Consultants and June Wedding, Inc. She was elected President of June Wedding, Inc. Northern California Chapter in 2005 and through this role, enjoyed the opportunity to give back to the industry by planning magnificent networking events for event professionals.

With her cheerful and calm personality, Jubilee has helped hundreds of couples journey through the fun process of designing, personalizing, and planning for their big day. A detail oriented person by nature and years of event planning experience under her belt, no stones are left unturned when Jubilee takes the lead on a wedding. She works with couples closely throughout their engagement period to ensure that their planning process is smooth, fun, and manageable. Clients love working with Jubilee because she sincerely cares about them. She listens carefully to understand her clients' desires and utilizes her vast resources and exceptional coordination skills to help bring their visions to life.

Photography by Gertrude and Mabel. Floral design by Nancy Liu Chin Designs. Wedding Planning by Jubilee Lau Events.

{Event Designers: Gloria Wong}

Nothing gives us more pleasure than finding wonderful vendors especially event designers since this seems to be one of the newer categories within the wedding realm. In the past, it seemed as if only celebrities or society clients could afford an event designer but unlucky for us they are now becoming more main stream.

One of our favorites is Gloria Wong of Gloria Wong Designs formerly of Sash & Sugar. This past week, Gloria launched her new website which is filled with a very comoplete gallery of real weddings that have a very sophisticated look.

Gloria's concepts start with developing a relationship with her clients and asking plenty of insightful questions. It's this attention to the particulars that make Gloria a very talented event designer. We can't wait to hear what you think of her work. We think it's exceptional.

Photography by Andrew Weeks

{Event Designers: All in the Details}

We’ve been HUGE admirers of Jeannie Savage’s Details Details Event Design Company for many years. The design team at Details Details has established a solid reputation for being true innovators of original, fresh, and creative wedding designs. One of the company’s specialties is crafting and creating weddings for destination brides, planning from afar.

Details Details offers full service event coordination and production and from what we’ve seen, the details are indeed perfectly executed and meticulously thoughtful. Whether it’s a ballroom fantasy or a modern American outdoor wedding, Jeannie and her dynamic team seem to know just the right thing to do. They take the development of a concept or vision to a new level of FABULOUSNESS.

One of the things we’ve always loved is their interpretation of colors and textural elements. This soft white and light aqua wedding is one of our favorite designs. We love how it’s soft, feminine, relaxed and sweet yet there’s a level of sophistication to it. They truly are all about those small but significant details and - it shows. Details Details have gained a national reputation for producing elegant, unforgettable events in Southern California and beyond. We hope you like them as much as we do.