Thursday, November 18, 2010

A Lovely Evening with Lovely Women

Our annual WOW holiday party at Lawry’s restaurant in Beverly hills. 

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IMG_8586Lisa Kasberg takes time to remind all of us how “WOW”nderful each lady of WOW is.  I think she just likes to make us cry at every meeting.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

A Steampunk Wedding Anyone?

THE COUPLE: Stacy and Eric
THE LOCATION:
Lawry's in Beverly Hills, CA
THE DATE: April, 2010
WOW VENDORS:
Floral Fields and Beau Ideal Beauty

What is STEAMPUNK?

Well, it’s basically the Victorian Era re-imagined with science fiction. According to Wikipedia, Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction, frequently featuring elements of fantasy. The term denotes works set in a world where steam power is still widely used, usually the 19th century. It encompasses fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H.G Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date.

Steampunk - Stacy1Steampunk - LONG4 Steampunk - LONG6
When Stacy and Eric first met with Debbie Fields to discuss their unique wedding theme, they had no idea quite how it was going to end up. They were all confident that it would turn out stunningly, as Debbie and her team always fulfills the clients vision, but the challenge was how to incorporate fresh flowers with unusual props, antiques, trinkets, dusty old jars and strange gadgets. It took nine months of creative brainstorming to design the Steampunk theme this bride and groom were dreaming of; the most imaginative and impressive Steampunk wedding ever!!!

Steampunk - Stacy3

Steampunk - LONG7 Steampunk - LONG8

The designers of Floral Fields, armed with that definition, spent days working with clockwork gears, light bulbs, vintage books, dusty jars, watches, eyeglasses, lock holes, magnifiers, vintage typewriters, old wine bottles and tons of flowers to create unique and insanely intricate centerpieces (each very different). The bouquets and boutonnieres were embellished with typewriter keys, watch parts, and gears to match.

Steampunk - Stacy13

TESTIMONIAL FROM STACY AND ERIC:

“I can't say enough wonderful things about Debbie and the team at Floral Fields. We had a specifically themed (Steampunk) wedding, and the one thing that I was never sure about was how the heck we would decorate the tables. My husband and I spent months collecting props off of eBay, antique typewriters and light bulbs and hardcover books, and we ended up just dumping them all in Debbie's lap the week or so before the wedding. And she came back with centerpieces that just floored me. First of all, she had worked in all of our props in creative ways that I hadn't even considered, having flowers flow out of typewriters, and nestled in among tiny jars full of gel and LED lights. She even brought some of her own props from home and from family members and generously allowed us to use them. And the actual ceremony space was just stunning, draped all over with candles and greenery. She went way beyond anything that I could have ever imagined, and helped to make an amazing wedding for us. People just couldn't stop talking about how incredible the decor was. Thank you, Debbie”

A NOTE ABOUT HAIR AND MAKEUP FROM KATHLEEN HAGAN:

In designing the hair and make-up with Stacy, Kathleen Hagan decided to do her make-up more towards the natural Victorian ideal instead of the more dramatic Punk look since she is a person who rarely wears a lot of make-up, also reasoning that since it was an early day wedding, a delicate make-up was more appropriate.
Stacy had amazing, beautiful curly hair naturally, so Kathleen just wanted to enhance it. She first put in Argan Oil to give it shine and as a heat protectant, then wrapped all her hair in tiny sections on a 1/4 inch curling iron. It looked like her natural curl, but perfected and shiny. She then loosely pulled it up and pinned it and left some tendrils falling out, opting for a casual, romantic look.
The tiny top hat was the challenge! It took quite a bit of pins, of all shapes and sizes to get it to stay at the perfect sassy angle. Once secured, Stacy did quite a bit of shaking and bending her head to make sure it wouldn't budge. With the top hat firmly in place, they realized that to attempt to take it off would most definitely ruin the perfection of the carefully curled tiny sections of hair, so Stacey opted to keep it on the entire day since the top hat was an integral part of her attire and should stay on throughout the event.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

A Very Worthy Cause!

NCL Juniors of Ventura County Spanish Nights Gala Event




The NCL Juniors ladies hold a charity auction every year to benefit the Children's Cancer & Blood Diseases Program, a joint venture between The Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Ventura County Medical Center. Children with cancer and other diseases that lived in Ventura county would have to spend everyday traveling from Ventura to Los Angeles for treatment...which meant they had no life.


This hospital was created so all these kids could be close to home and their family and friends. Hearing the people get up and talk about how their child was diagnosed with cancer and after a year of driving non-stop, they lost their children to this disease made me really want to help.








One guy told us that when their child was at UCLA for treatment, Leonardo DiCaprio stopped by to visit the kids...the kids had not clue who that was. But when thier cousins and friends stopped by, they lit up. These kids need to be by near home and the ones they love.....


The medical community is watching the success of this program with great interest, as it is the first of its kind. The project partners a hands-on county hospital with an academic hospital that is on the cutting edge of research, in order to train doctors and nurses of two institutions to work seamlessly for the medical needs of their community.























The NCL Juniors of Ventura County is committed to raising money to support and enhance the vital program. More specifically, they have financed the construction of a child-friendly infusion room, play room, and resource library for patients and their families. It is also their goal to raise community awareness and participation, and through this year's event, they hope they can unite the efforts of the past with the efforts of the present to bring about further change for the future.


As a result of this evening, they raised more than $90,000 for their worthy cause: the Children's Cancer & Blood Diseases Program, a joint venture between The Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Ventura County Medical Center.


Congratulations to them and to our WOW members, Gabrielle Moes (Seasons Catering) and Kimberlee Miller (Kimberlee Miller Photography) who helped make the evening such a success. All of the pictures in this feature were taken by Kimberlee Miller.

If you would like to donate to The National Charity League Juniors of Ventura County, you can visit their website here.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Our very own Lori Vreeke, an "Ultimate Cake Off" TV star!




Lori was part of a team that won the Ultimate Cake Off
TV competition recently. They had to create a special cake for the
75th anniversary of the Griffith Observatory....and what a cake it was!



  










CONGRATULATIONS LORI!
www.PastriesByVreeke.com


Wednesday, January 20, 2010

WOW teams up with two beautiful Country Clubs for some dazzling Bridal Fairs...


Wood Ranch Golf Club
Wednesday, February 24, 2010





Meet with Wood Ranch’s exclusive list of approved vendors, experience a romantic horse drawn carriage ride to the ceremony site, and sample Wood Ranch’s chef’s cuisine.

And there will be prizes worth thousands of dollars given out throughout the evening!


Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Time: 5:00 - 8:00PM
Location: Wood Ranch Golf Club
301 Wood Ranch Parkway
Simi Valley, CA 93065
Contact: Please RSVP to Jennifer @ 805.527.9663
Wood Ranch Golf Club website: http://www.woodranchgc.com
Fee: Free to upcoming brides, please RSVP




MountainGate Country Club
Tuesday, March 9, 2010




The stunning views of MountainGate Country Club and the amazing talent of WOW vendors come together for an extraordinary Bridal Fair and you are all invited! Sample the chef's special delights and witness a mock wedding on the green!

And there will be prizes worth thousands of dollars given out throughout the evening!


Date: Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Time: 6:30pm - 9:00pm
Location:MountainGate Country Club
12445 MountainGate Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Contact: Bridget @ 310.476.6215
MountainGate Country Club website: http://www.mtngatecc.com
Fee: Free to upcoming brides through a WOW member.




Winners of the Bride's Choice Awards for Excellence!




We are excited to announce that the following WOW vendors have been chosen to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2010. This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism.



The Bride’s Choice Awards™ are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds (brides and grooms) through extensive surveys and reviews, which means their past clients have spoken on our behalf and selected them to receive this honor.


CONGRATULATIONS WOW VENDORS!

BEST IN PHOTOGRAPHY:

Kimberlee Miller Photography:
www.KimberleeMiller.com

BEST IN PASTRIES:
Lori Vreeke Pastries:
www.PastriesByVreeke.com

BEST IN FLOWERS:
Debbie Fields ~ Floral Fields:
www.FloralFields.net

BEST IN CONSULTANTS:
Chantelle O'Callaghan:
www.ChantelleLouiseWeddings.com

BEST IN CEREMONY MUSIC:
Lori Andrews, harpist:
www.JazHarpRecords.com



WeddingWire would like to commend you for your excellent service and dedication to the wedding industry.


Best,
The WeddingWire Team