Romanza Events

F.A.B.A.I.C. Instructors Coming to Orange County

2008-02-23T22:27:00.000-08:00

This year the Face & Body Art International Convention will be held May 21-26 in Orlando, FL.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend and really wish I could go (I'll gladly accept any sponsorships or barters)!

BUT, some of the world's best instructors will be taking it "On the Road" after the F.A.B.A.I.C. convention.

I have the great honor of being the point person and event planner for their stay in Orange County. I was thrilled when I was able to convince Marcela Murad, the producer of F.A.B.A.I.C. to come to OC, and to allow me to coordinate the location, set-up, A/V, food etc.

So we are excited to have the following international instructors visiting:

Lynne Jamieson (Australia)

Jinny (Canada)

Marcela Murad (USA)

Special guests: Fairy Emilie and Kelly Virgona (Australia)

Event Info:

June 4th - 5th, 2008 - Orange County, California

Best Western Laguna El Toro Inn

23702 Rockfield Blvd.

Lake Forest, California 92630-2878

(949) 458-1900

Mention F.A.B.A.I.C. or Romanza Events for the group rate discount on rooms

(Do not call Best Western's central, toll-free number or you will not get the discounted rate)

Free Shuttle service to John Wayne Airport during the week, call the hotel for the schedule.

Doors will open at 5:00pm on the first day, followed by a pizza party and a jam session. Jinny and Lynne will do a hands-on body painting jam while Emile and Marcela help with the ones that want to face paint.

World Face and Body Art Alliance certifications will be conducted at this time.
Jam session ends at 10:00pm.

The following day will start at 9:00am and go until 5:00pm with hands-on classes and demos by all of the instructors. Lunch is included.

Jam only $ 50.00

Class Only $ 175.00

Both $ 200.00

To register, go to the F.A.B.A.I.C. registration page (this does not include your hotel portion).

We hope to see you there, and be sure to find me at the event and say Hey!

Photos from the Photo Shoot

2008-02-06T22:33:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Stephanie Warner of All About You Photography & Design, she provided the images from our photo shoot for the TeaTime Magazine feature. There were so many to choose from, it was so hard to decide!

So here are my favorites, located in my photo gallery. I also included "behind the scenes" photos of us setting up the shoot. Talk about having a hard time trying to get cute for the head shot, after sweating it up from the set up! I could have seriously used a hair & makeup stylist. But when you are on a budget, cute gets crossed off real quick.

Click here to view the photos.

Thank you to so many of you who have left congratulatory comments or emails regarding the feature! I've heard that you can find TeaTime Magazine at Borders or Barnes & Noble, possibly WalMart but it is all hit or miss depending on their distribution and supply. So the best way is to call Hoffman Media at (888) 411-8995 and then press 1 to go to Customer Service to purchase a copy of the March/April 2008 issue. Do it soon, because once it becomes a "back issue" the price increases!

Okay.

Sigh.

*tapping fingers*

..........just waiting for Oprah's peeps to call.........

*tapping fingers*

Or Martha.

What's up with Blogger?

2008-02-01T10:35:00.000-08:00

All my cool, custom headers that I spent so much time to create are just GONE.

I've searched the Blogger Google Groups to try to get the low-down on the problem which apparently has affected many other Bloggers, and no one can seem to get the peeps at Blogger to fix it.

So I'm back to this boring template until later when I can find time to do it all over. Again.

TeaTime Magazine Feature

2008-01-31T22:31:00.000-08:00

So I was checking my email and Donna from Party Wishes sent an email congratulating me on the TeaTime Magazine feature. I email her back that I haven't even seen it yet! So I run out to my mailbox and THERE IT WAS!

I guess all the subscribers are getting the issue first before it hits the stands. So many friends have asked where they can get a copy, and honestly I don't know since I am a subscriber. I guess you will have to call TeaTime Magazine and ask for the distribution, or purchase one copy over the phone.

Now that the magazine is out, I will provide a link to the photo shoot so you can see all the photos that Stephanie took. But I have to get them from her on a CD, there were so many.

A big thank you to Stacey Norwood, the associate editor that helped me through the whole process. She is just the sweetest person. And I appreciate all my family, friends, blog friends, party planning friends and group board friends who have been a great support and encouragement!

Thank you for fulfilling a dream come true!

Risa, The ParTea Planner

Face Painting as a Fundraiser

2007-11-16T00:17:00.000-08:00

Last night I was able to provide face painting for my daughter's preschool fundraiser.

They had a Fall Carnival & Silent Auction (it was belated due to the So Cal fires and the date got pushed back), so myself and Rebecca, my fellow face painting and party planner friend came to help out. We had a great time and I think we were able to contribute to the fundraising efforts as the room was filled the entire time with children and parents who were waiting in line.

Fund Raiser TIPS:

I highly recommend face painting as a fund raiser for your school or other event. Not only does it give the event an element of partyness (is that a word?...well it is now) with kids and adults walking around with color on their faces, but it is also a form of entertainment.

Don't feel like you have to be a Picasso in order to face paint. If you decide to give it a try, here are some tips:

DO NOT use acrylic or tempura paints to face paint with. Even though it may say non-toxic it is not wise or safe for use on the facial area and could cause a reaction. PLEASE only use products that are made just for face painting. There are so many wonderful face painting makeup products, that there is no reason to be using acrylics. I use Snazaroo & Paradise face paints which is one of the most popular brand of face paints on the market. You can purchase Snaz products at their website (they have a discount for non-profit orgs) or from Silly Farm which is where I get most of my FP supplies. The best brushes to try are a Round #5 and #3 that you can buy at Michaels or Silly Farm. I like the Loew-Cornell brand, they have a yellow handle or the American Painter they have a metallic mauve handle.
Search online or Google the most popular face paint designs. It does not have to be complete, full face designs but you can do a mask, one eye or half face. Cheek art can actually take longer to paint than a quick butterfly, mask or muzzle.
Check out step-by-step how to's face paint designs on You Tube . Silly Farm also has videos to watch of popular designs.
No matter the results or outcome of your design, children really don't care, they just absolutely LOVE having paint on their face!
But if you don't want to attempt the whole face painting thing, just hire a face painter - it will be worth it for your fund raiser! If you are in the Orange County area and need a face painter, go to ColorfulFaceArt.com and we would love to provide you with face painting services!

Freakin' Faces of Halloween

2007-10-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

I've been practicing face painting on my kids and the neighbor kids.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving Party

2007-10-29T12:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we had our annual block Pumpkin Carving Party. This is a party that I've coordinated since we all moved here six years ago - wow, time has flown by! I tried to find photos from the first couple of years, but unfortunately that was back when I didn't take many photos. Now I'm bummed.

To view all the photos from this event click here.

Photos from the past:

2003 (pre-third child days)

2005

2006

2007

This party is a highlight of my year. I guess because it kinda officially kicks off the holidays. Next thing you know it is Thanksgiving, then Christmas.

I wasn't even sure we were going to be able to go forward with the party due to the So Cal fires which made the air quality here in Orange County unbearable. Kids were home from school on Thurs. & Friday. But Saturday, thank goodness came some drizzling and a breeze which brought back our beautiful weather and were able to come outside again.

How To:

If you would like to plan a Pumpkin Carving Party here are some party tips:

Send out an Evite to your friends, family or neighbors letting them know the date and time. We also have a Chili Cook-Off and have a couple of pots of chili, hot dogs, pizza, salad and desserts. You can set-up in Evite which food assignments you need for your potluck. Also assign someone to bring paper goods such as napkins, bowls, plates, plasticware.
Everyone is BYOBeverages and a snack to share during the carving time.
Everyone needs to bring their table, chairs, table cover or newspapers, pumpkin carving tools, garbage bags, hand or diaper wipes, tea light candle and of course, their pumpkins. And their camera!
Ask everyone to wear colors such as black, orange or Halloween theme T-shirts.
We've done activities such as Halloween tattoos, crafts from Oriental Trading, cookie decorating, bounce the eyeball game etc. I was going to try to do face painting this year, but time got away.
For a yummy "Screamcicle" drink, last year I filled a large pickle jar with a quart of softened vanilla ice cream and a 2liter bottle of orange soda (or was it two bottles?). Stir until the ice cream is mixed. Yummy!
Gotta have music! To set the party atmosphere, play Halloween CD's. One of my favorite ones is Kid's Halloween Costume Party CD.
For the past two years, (this is in lieu of an apple dunking game), I've done a donut eating contest which has become a huge hit with the kids. Simply tie a small rope across two poles or trees. Cut curly ribbon to hang from the rope. Then tie on powdered "Ghostly Donuts" to the ribbon thru the hole, at different heights. The kids have to have their hands behind their backs to eat the donut. It is sooooo funny! They love it!

Then at the end of the party, we line up the carved pumpkins and had out small labels that I've printed on Avery 8167 size, that say Most Unique, Most Scary, Most Funny, Most Creative and everyone can put their stickers on the pumpkins as sort of a contest. Everyone wins!

It's a great party.....

Isabelle's First Birthday Party

2007-10-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

It was a lot of fun planning Isabelle's First Birthday Party. I've done First Birthday Parties before....my own kids.

The mom wanted a party that was cute and elegant. So to come up with new ideas for this party was a fun challenge. What I mean by challenge is how to make a cute, "elegant" party for wee little ones - mostly two years and under. Snacks for little hands were provided, and sippy cups were at each setting. I fluffed up the Birthday Girl's high chair with pink organza and marabou trim around the tray. Initially, I wanted to have a lady come out and do child's hand impressions in clay, but it would have gotten rather pricey. So I came up with the idea to have them have painted hand and foot on canvas boards as an activity and take home favor. It was so much fun painting their chubby little hands and feet! Then I sprayed it with a paint sealer.

The take home goodie bags consisted of a custom photo cookie that I did the photo graphic and had made by Schmerty's Gourmet Cookies. They are wonderful at this bakery and very quick with shipping! Then I made "The Best Homemade Play Dough" in pink and green colors presented in a jar with a personalized label and a copy of the play dough recipe.

I decided to use my new thrift find that I painted, add a foam ball covered in silk flowers and ribbon. I think it was either a votive holder or my friend thinks it is a wine bottle holder. Then made paper cones from 12x12" scrapbook paper.

Here is the before and after:
Click here to view photos from this event.

Here is the recipe for the play dough:

The Best (and Baby Safe) Homemade Play Dough Recipe

4 cups flour
4 cups water
1 cup salt
1/2 cup cream of tartar (approx. a 2.5 oz. size)
4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Variation: Add one package of unsweetened powdered Kool-Aid while mixing. This will give it a nice smell and will add a slight color to it.

Mix all ingredients in a large sauce pan. Heat and stir over low to medium heat, use a whisk to get out flour lumps. Continue to stir – consistency will first look like cake batter, then lumpy then clumpy. Stir until it becomes dough, completely formed and no longer sticky. Allow to cool slightly, knead a little bit to form a big ball before storing in an air tight container or zippy bag.

Happy Birthday Pamina!

2007-09-29T23:09:00.000-07:00

I was contacted just a few days ago to put together a Birthday Dinner Party, so I procured the caterer, rentals, linens, music entertainment and the flowers. Pamina loves pink and orange, so I made the floral design in those colors. Since the dinner and dessert was to be outside, even though there were heaters, I brought orange fleece blankets for warmth and cuddling.

Click here to view the photos.

My Friday

2007-09-18T01:10:00.000-07:00

My friend Kelly is a fellow wedding and event planner in Florida (we've never met, just know each from an industry "members only" message board). ANYHOO, this girl is a nut. A couple of weeks ago she created a montage of what kind of day she had as a wedding planner. This is her montage:

You can read about the details on the post on her blog. Stuff about creating a new DVD cover for a client, getting a tour of a gorgeous new venue, loving her Starbucks, shopping for a client, updating menus and budgets yadda, yadda. She looks so glam - hair styled and sporting Nicole Richie sunglasses. So "J-Lo". So wedding planner-ish.

And then there's MY kind of day as an event planner. Here's my montage:

(To view up close click on the montage. Hopefully I don't have any chin hairs showing.)

Left to RIGHT, Top to Bottom:

1. Went to the flower market to get flowers for Mariela's Birthday Party.

2. This is what greeted me at the entrance. I love gerber daisy's. They are just. Happy.

3. She's my intern. Don't mention anything about her height, she's a little self-conscience about it.

4. Stopped at McDee's before going to the flower market. So there Starbucks. Don't see a drive-thru at your place! Now I will have money left over to buy that McGriddle, and not spend it all on a Venti.

5. Yup. That's me. In my usual state of glamourousness - a baseball hat and no makeup. Didn't take a shower either, cuz flowers don't care.

6. I'm glad to see my lil' intern is very Green, and drives her electric car to work.

7. I wonder if David Tutera has ever had a power lunch at Funtown Hot Dogs?

8. All the flowers I purchased unloaded and in buckets on my front porch. Some one's gotta be the white trash on our street....

It was a great day.

Seriously, it was fun. I took Raina with me and we had a great time, she really likes to help me. And the flower market is literally across the freeway from Lego Land, and we have passes. So we went for a couple of hours which was also a lot of fun since we usually have "the boys" - dad and two brothers there, and they don't like to go on the kiddie rides. And it is so worth going there just for the Granny Fries. Omigawd. They are the best. They fry diced green apples, coated in sugary cinnamon, accompanied with a vanilla cream to dip them in. HEAVEN.

But I had to drive home like a maniac to pick up my son from school in time. Of course I hit traffic on the freeway. Took some side streets, hit every flippin' red light. When I got there to the school, they had him waiting in the office. The office ladies already know I'm NOT one of the totally-have-it-together-moms like all the rest of 'em.

But that's okay. They didn't get to see really happy gerbers....

Happy Birthday Mariela!

2007-09-17T01:36:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend I did a birthday party for Mariela who is my good friend. When we started planning her party about a month ago, she gave me a budget to work with for the decor. But then her dear husband secretly "slipped" me some more funds so I could go all out for her. She loves pink -like myself- which made it easy to do. However, since there were going to be gentlemen friends there, I toned it down just a wee bit and the flowers were more mauve in color than pink. But the guys don't seem to mind - I don't even think they notice!

I put together the floral arrangements, the tables (we used what tables we own - 54" rounds and 6' banquets), the poles with the willow with cymbidium orchids, hanging crystals and candles, the candy table (remember the glass vases post?) etc. I didn't get pictures of it, but I also provided pink fleece blankets for the ladies shoulders and laps. They were a big hit. Also in the corner of the backyard, I set-up one of those portable round patio fire things and the guys were hanging out around the fire, smoking cigars and drinking port. It was THE BEST port wine I have ever had!

Shown is the set-up during the daytime, then photos of it during the nighttime with the candles glowing. It was so difficult to capture how purty it was with the candles......the photos don't do it justice.

Come back in a couple days and I will have a link for the photo gallery. I will also post "a day in the life of an event planner" which is kinda silly....

UPDATE: Click here to view photos from the party.

Taking care of business (cards)

2007-08-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

I was running out of business cards - they are so four years ago, and designed some new cards. My old cards were not reflective of me at all. At them time I had them "professional" and safe, they were black and gold with a photo. *yawn* borrrrringggg.

Now that I am -ahem- older and don't give a hoot, I decided to design cards that were more me and my fave colors. I made four differnt cards and one postcard. Here they are:

For weddings:

For children's parties:

For social events/tea parties

For showers:

Tie One On

2007-08-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

I have to order some red bow ties for a birthday party I am doing on Saturday, and thought I would share the info of Solid Color Neckties. I used to buy from them when they were just on eBay, but now they have a great website. I like to have all my staff/servers wearing ties when we do tea parties or other events, and will try to match the color of the event. For $3.75 each you can go all out! Okay, so they aren't silk Italian ties, but they are great quality and look so cool!

One of my staff with their tie.

Here are some other ideas on how you can "tie one on":

~ Is there a wedding in your future? The ties are great gifts for all the groomsmen and the fathers of the wedding party too. They can even do little boys ties to match (so cute!). They also have women's scarves to match.

~If you are going to be hosting a dinner or cocktail party at your home and will be having catering or bartender staff - get them matching ties to "tie in" the colors of your theme.

~ Or if you are hosting a bridal or baby shower dress up the hubbies or other fellas to be the "servers" and have them wear ties to match the shower colors. Don't want men folk around the shower? Pay some teen gals to come assist and do the same. Just have them wear black pants, white collar button shirt and then provide a tie. But have hubby pre-tie it for them, then they can just slip it around their collar and tighten.

~Useful for prom, to have the fella's tie match her prom dress.

~ Cool idea for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. As soon as an invited young gentleman has RSVP'd to attend the Bar or Bat Mitzvah, mail him off a tie in the event color and include a note from the guest of honor saying something like "Green Tie Required."

You get the idea....

If you have any other ideas on how to "tie one on", feel free to leave a comment!

Nothin' but net

2007-08-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

This net is a great idea if you are having a wedding - it can be used for a huppa or for a sweetheart table, or for just an intimate dinner area in your backyard!

Children also love to be enveloped by a "canopy" (I was having a tough time keeping my kids out of it when setting this up!) and this could also be big enough to fit a lager table for approx. 12 children for their birthday party. I also purchased one in hot pink for a girl's party or bacholerette party. You can find them from this eBay seller, they are simply bed canopies and come in different colors and sizes. For this purpose I got the queen/king size.

Then to do-it-yourself, you will need four 8' pipe, cross bars and bases (you can rent pipe & base from party rental company or make your own out of PVC pipe and market umbrella bases). The corners of the net already have a metal ring so all you have to do is secure them to the poles.

If you can attach a cross bar over and across the top, you can hang a chandelier or I call them "candle-iers" in the center of the canopy by putting a heavy gauge wire or zippy cable tie through the canopy net holes and attach onto the cross bar. Then use a sturdy ribbon (one with wired edges will work) to secure the chandelier to the wire or zippy tie. This is so you don't rip the net. You could also use paper lanterns or tissue paper pom-poms to hang from the top. Go wild!

(To view a close-up of the faux cupcakes I made, click here.)

Talented photographers!

2007-08-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

I adore Michael and Emi, photographers of Evoke Photography. Here is a link to view some images of Danika & James' wedding on their blog, that we did together at the beginning of the summer. I think they got some amazing images, and I love the one of them near the fountain.

Thanks Michael & Emi!

Does this make my GLASS look big?

2007-08-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

The other day I was at Marshalls (cuz we all know about my shopping/hoarding issues - that's a whole seperate blog) and came across these beauties. So I bought 'em all. They'll be perfect for a candy table or to use as centerpiece vases.

Wedding ceremony and thimbles

2007-07-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

The tip of my finger is still numb.

On Saturday I conducted a ceremony only. Very sweet couple and so were their friends and family.

The set-up was very simple, and they had everything under control. So to be useful, I offered to help them with pinning on the corsages and boutonnières. About 19 of them.

I have put on a few hundred corsages and boutonnières in my career, with speed and accuracy and absolutely NO PIN showing. Yes, I pride myself in fixing the one who has a "bout" totally askew and pin sticking out from a fellow buddy who attempted to pin it on him, or a grandmother who's corsage is limping to the side because there was nothing to anchor it to on her flimsy georgette fabric dress.

But these were silk flowers. They were pretty cymbidium orchid silk flowers fashioned into corsages and bouts. Translate: very hard, thick plastic "stems". So I am pushing, and pushing and pushing pins into these suckers with as much grace as I could muster considering the hardness of the stem. I seriously could have used a thimble.

The tip of my right index finger was pretty sore after all that, and seriously - it is still numb on the tip!

It was a fairly warm, muggy (for OC) July day, and I thought this was a clever idea the bride did for fans. The ceremony program was printed on the outside of a folded two page program, then the wooden stick was glued to the inside. So this version may be a lot less expensive than having ceremony fans printed.

Here is how you can D.I.Y. your own fan programs:

Purchase program card stock, either printed from the dealer, or blank and print at home. Another option, print and then fold a piece of 8.5" x 11" card stock in half. Use a bone folder or a ruler to press the edge down.

Purchase the wooden sticks, which need to be longer and bigger than traditional tongue depressors.

Place double-stick tape to the program edges, hot glue gun the sticks to the inside and press. Add a ribbon in your color(s).

This idea can also be used for menu cards if you are having a daytime outdoor event or meal.

With this ring, I thee Red...

2007-07-14T13:51:00.000-07:00

The bride, Leslie, loves RED. She wanted bold and red for the reception! I thought the area looked great with all the drape. It's amazing how draping can cover a multitude of sins - the interior of the room is a church sanctuary.

To view all the photos, click here.

Elevator Man & 37 (Erika's Bridal Shower)

2007-07-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

I helped with a bridal shower last weekend (just trying to get caught up from last week). I did the floral and linen decor for a caterer that I work with occasionally. Totally a very last-minute gig, not my best floral work with such short notice, but the host specifically wanted gerbera daisies. And then she put out photos of the Guest of Honor, so we had to elevate the centerpieces so you could see them. That's the thing with event planning - have to be flexible and resourceful.

The shower cake had a heart on it with "Elevator Man & 37" piped on the frosting. The host of the bridal shower told me the story of how they met less than a year ago. At the time, the bride-to-be was working in a hi-rise in downtown L.A. and the groom-to-be is an elevator engineer who was working on the hi-rise's elevators. They noticed each other as she would come and go from her office on the 37th floor, but never spoke. So whenever she would enter the building, his buddies would radio to him that "37" is in the building and he would position himself to be in the area to see her. And she was referring to him as "Elevator Man" to her friends at work, since they did not know each other's names. After a while she kind of gave up, thinking maybe he must be married since he was not saying anything to her....

Finally, as she went into the elevator one day he followed her in. They finally talked! After work that day, they met over coffee. The rest, they say is history.

I thought it was a really cute story, could be a Lifetime movie or something.....

To view all the photos of this event, visit my gallery.

A Special Day Princess Tea Party for Regina

2007-07-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the honor of donating my services for a tea party, for a very special girl, Regina. The Fox Family (their daughter goes to school with Regina) contacted me last week so that they may graciously give a gift certificate to her to enjoy this tea party before she begins chemotherapy today. You can read Regina's story and her fight with brain cancer on her mom's blog.

To view all the photos from this very special event click here.

A Tea Party Fit for a Princess

2007-07-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I set-up a tea table, catered and served a tea party for a little girl turning three. I was sourced by a children's party production company to provide tea services for this event. They provided the Princess appearance, the dress-up and the entertainment. This was a last-minute booking, so we had to scramble to make it happen, and we did.

We had a great time. And the birthday girl was the cutest lil' thing I have ever seen, so full of personality! During the storybook time she kept jiggling her head so she could feel her clip-on earrings dangle. She was just adorable.

I have to say my "Strawberry Creamy-Dreamy" sandwiches were a hit with the girls! I had fun making them, and not only were they cute but very yummy too. Unfortunately I didn't have time to take a good shot of it, so I just cropped this from another pic. I don't think I will make the Mini Mac 'n Cheese bites again they were too much work and didn't turn out the way I made them in the past.

To view all the photos visit my gallery. Professional images will be available in a few weeks.

Also, the Client was so hospitable because as we were setting up the party, she brought us teacups full of Chai tea, sweetened and with milk. I literally gulped mine it was so delicious. I had never had Chai taste so good! I kept asking the other girls if they wanted theirs, so I could finish it off! I'm still thinking about that cuppa and would love more!! Starbucks cannot compare to what she made!

Today I am really tired and need to catch up on everything I am supposed to be doing!

Happy 4th of July and I hope you had a fun and memorable holiday!

Even at a Season Finale Baseball Party....

2007-06-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

.....I have to make a (cup)cake riser.

I am the Team Mom for my son's team.

To view all the cute photos from our baseball party,
click here.

Fountain of Couth

2007-04-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

Perusing my Lillian Vernon catalog the other day, I came across this cool fountain sprayer thingy for just $40 bucks. I just thought it would be cool for a pool-side event, reception or reahearsal dinner. The hotels have them, now you can too!

(I know couth means manners, but it was all I could think of for the title...)

Get your own mini me for a cake topper

2007-04-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

So darn cute!

Go to Nicole W Clark or to her etsy shop to check them out!

Our Easter 2007

2007-04-08T23:47:00.000-07:00

I bought this dress at a thrift store when I was still pregnant with her. I loved the delicate pink and green flowers in the pattern, and especially the collar. Back then I thought This is going to hang in her closet FOREVER before she will get to wear it someday.

Well, that day was today. And all day I had an almost sad, melancholy mood and I knew it was because I can't believe she is already big enough to wear a dress I got almost three years ago. Can I get a remote like the one Adam Sandler had in Click and just put my life on Pause for a while?

Here is the tea table I threw together. I wasn't planning on doing a tea, but since dearest hubby was glued to watching The Masters golf all afternoon and me and kids were on our own, I decided to have them help me have an Easter tea. I put a link to view all the detailed photos and menu at the end.

My tee shirt and jeans kinda gal.....
New tights.....already torn.
New shoes.....already scuffed.

I actually have caught number two son's cold and feel very yucky right now, so I won't type out our entire day's activities or the tea party details. If you would like to view the photos from our Easter and the tea party, click here. If you click on Start Slideshow, it will have music and comments on the top left side. Thanks for visiting.

I need to get another kleenex and blow my nose.

Top This

2007-03-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, where was this really cute cake topper when I got married in 1994? I totally would have used this topper, if my DH would have let me!

So, maybe not for your wedding cake, it would be darling for a bridal shower cake topper....

My Cupcake Cuddler

2007-03-10T18:40:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it just doesn't stop. It's like a 80's song that is looping in the background of my head.

Creative epiphanies.

It's sometimes annoying and I wish I could turn it off, like the 80's song. So many times throughout my day I will be doing one thing, and I'll have a creative thought and then I'm off doing the new thing to see how it'll turn out. I swear I have Adult ADD.

I have a bridal shower tea party coming up on April 15th, and the bride-to-be wants some "suthern" touches to it and wants a red velvet cake. So instead of the traditional sheet cake, I suggested red velvet cupcakes. But I wanted to dress them up a bit. Just ribbon wasn't enough.

Side note - whenever I hear of red velvet cake, Steel Magnolia's "Nothin' like a good piece of ass" quote from Drum Eatenton always comes to mind. Greatest movie with the greatest memorable quotes, ever!

So the other day, there is a stack of paper doilies on the counter and I had a creative epiphany to make them into a cupcake cuddler.

I took a 6.5" doily, put a water bottle on top of it, and wrapped the doily up and around it. Then I laid the bottle and doily on it's side, then tied the ribbon around it. Done!

Of course I eventually HAD to eat the cupcake (from Trader Joes - so good, a dense very-vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting....mmmm....all 20 fat grams of mmmm!) so it was so easy to just pull the ribbon and eat it off the doily. Pretty and functional!

Can't wait to make them for our red velvet cupcake tier and see what the ladies think of them!

Smells Like Spring

2007-02-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

Driving up the main street to our home, there have been some beautiful plum trees that are really starting to bloom. For a couple of weeks I have admired them passing by, but today I actually stopped to take their picture. I am really trying to slow down to enjoy the little things that makes my heart sing.

The perfumed fragrance hit me before I even got close enough to take a picture. I'm glad I pulled over. Seeing it was pretty enough, but to inhale it made it extraordinary....

...and of course it IS my favorite color - pink!

Beau-tea-ful Photos

2007-02-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

Received the link to view the beautiful professional photos from Bob Ortiz of the Assoc. of Bridal Consultants Fashion Show and Tea Party from last week.

Bob, you are so very kind for participating and you continue to show off your great talent.

Click here to view his slide show of the event.

Don't Let This Happen to You

2007-02-19T14:26:00.000-08:00

If you are a bride, don't let this happen to you:

http://www.brideasylum.com

Hire a Wedding Consultant!!

Be sure to click on the Deleted scenes.

Tea-lightful Valentine's Day

2007-02-15T23:16:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the mood strikes to do a last-minute tea. In this case, since I had some leftover sandwiches, scones & sweets from the Assoc. of Bridal Consultant's Tea Party & Fashion Show I decided to not let it go to waste on just a solo tea.

So I threw together this little tea table on my "porch" (we don't really have porches in So Cal - my dream house will have a wrap-around porch). I called some of my neighbor girlfriends to come join me, and luckily they were available!

Along with the leftovers, I served hot Cream Earl Grey tea, sparkling pink lemonade, chicken salad sandwiches, fruit with pink whip cream, and pink cupcakes -"jolla" a Valentine's Day Tea!

We sat and chatted for quite a while. That's what I love about having tea - it forces you to slow down and enjoy good conversation and good friends. Sometimes the last-minute-don't-fuss get together's are the best!

Click here to view the photo gallery.

T Cups & A Lines

2007-02-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

The "Fashion Show & Tea Party" for the Association of Bridal Consultant's (known as ABC) Orange County Chapter held at the salon I Do Bridal Couture & Formal Wear was a success.

It was a lot of work, and due to a limited budget, I was not able to have any servers/helpers, soI was definitely popping the Advil Geltabs! I'm getting too old for this kind of physical work. Anyone know of a reliable starving college student looking for some part-time work? *wink*

A couple of emails of thanks from the steering committee:

Hi Risa,
I can't thank you enough for all of your hard work on the beautiful tea on Tuesday. You really did over do yourself. Everything was just perfect. All the gals were so impressed with the great tables and food you presented. I am so appreciative.
Thank you again, Melody

Thank you Risa, for putting on an amazing tea party! It was so fun for the coordinators, and we appreciate all of the work and time you put into creating a stylish affair.
Cheers To You, Marla

Thanks for having me be a part of it!

We are waiting for the professional photos from Bob Ortiz but in the meantime, Click here to view a few of the photos I took.

A Mary Poppins Birthday Tea Party

2006-12-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

This was a special birthday party for Lauren, a four year old little girl. Generally, I don't plan children's parties, but when the mother contacted me via email from their home in London requesting assistance because she wanted to have a Mary Poppins theme party at their home here in OC - instantly I had creative visions and agreed to plan the event.

Since Mary Poppins was during the Edwardian era, that is the inspiration I took ideas from - so I hired a professional silhouette cutter, a Barber shop quartet, set-up a ice cream parlour to make it feel like a Farrell's. The "domesticates" (the ladies who served the tea and food) were dressed in ruffled aprons and mop hats, and the vendors were donned in striped vests, skim hats and sleeve garters.

There was a special appearance made by Bert and of course, Mary Poppins. As she arrived, the quartet was singing "It's a Jolly Holiday with Mary". After she was introduced to our little guest of honor, she presented her a sparkly tiara on a satin pink pillow and a birthday girl sash (items that I provided to give to Lauren).

In the front courtyard the guests enjoyed stuffing and dressing teddy bears (the original teddy bear was introduced in 1908 during this era), some decorated a kite craft, a balloon twister fashioned carousel horses that the children had tied around their waists, a face painter created little works of art on their faces and hands, and the silhouette cutter was lightning quick with his scissors.

Then the guests were invited to the back yard to lovely tables set and ready for tea! The two children's tables had centerpieces made of carousel horses that I had made from a nice lady who creates all sizes of stuffed carousel horses. They were made into the same colors of the horses in the movie. But I had them sitting on mirrored turntables, so they were all rotating 'round and 'round (the pictures of them don't do justice!). Hanging from the patio cover were lace parasols (like the one Mary had in the Jolly Holiday sequence) that I ordered, and they were so cute with the ribbons flowing in the wind.

After enjoying the tea menu, the guests were invited to return to the front courtyard and were greeted with a "sweet shoppe" full of candies. Bert & Mary assisted with a couple of games I thought up - one was a tea bag toss, and the other was a spoonful of sugar relay game where the children had to fill up large teacups with sugar.

For the event finale, the guest of honor was presented with a beautiful cake made as a merry-go-round accompanied with cupcakes made by Wonderland Bakery. The guests were given take home party bags filled with gifts consisting of Mary Poppins dolls, a Mary Poppins double-decker bus, a candy tin shaped like the bank where Mr. Banks worked, the Mary Poppins CD of music, and the Mary Poppins DVD movie.

Professional photos were taken by

Kathleen Clark of KCP Studios.

Floral arrangements were provided by

Fantasy Floral Designs.

Click here to view the photo gallery.

Holiday Party for Iteration2

2006-12-04T23:55:00.000-08:00

It was a great start to the holiday season with coordinating the corporate holiday party for Iteration2.

The event was held at the beautiful Madison Restaurant in Long Beach. The guests were greeted with champagne, and the live music of Anthony Jasso and band.

After filling up on sushi and an elaborate buffet of holiday entree foods, they enjoyed a decadent chocolate and caramel fountain station for dessert.

The guests got to take home the beautiful gold & glittered stars that were at each setting.

Click here to view the photo gallery.

Sherry's Bridal Shower Tea Party

2006-11-05T14:39:00.000-08:00

I was contacted by Amy, who wanted to plan an impromptu bridal shower tea party for her friend, but we didn't have much time. Sherry, the bride-to-be was getting married in three weeks!

The lucky couple had a whole six week engagement. They had met in a singles church group function, fell in love and knew that they both had found "the one".

This love story hits close to my heart, as the same thing happened to me and my husband. We met at church, and from our first date to our wedding date was nine months - we had a three month engagement. Twelve years later we still can't believe how fast our courtship was, but it's still stronger than ever!

So I felt very privileged to be a party of Sherry's shower, and you could feel the love amongst her friends and family during the special event. While Sherry finished opening the gifts, the groom-to-be arrived towards the end of the event and while waiting he hung out in the kitchen with me and the servers, and I enjoyed talking with him and hearing their love story.

I created the floral centerpieces for the guest tables and the buffet arrangement.

Click here to view the photo gallery.

Maggie's Baby Shower

2006-11-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

This baby shower tea party was such an honor to design, plan and coordinate. I had coordinated the wedding of Katy & Justin, back in 2005 at the Surf and Sand and the mother of the bride - Kathy - fell in love with me. For this special occasion, Kathy contacted me to assist her with planning a baby shower for her other daughter, Maggie the mom-to-be, expecting a baby boy.

Kathy has a darling cottage in our quaint beach town of San Clemente. They wanted the event colors to be robin's egg blue, sage green and chocolate brown. I took inspiration from the client's home decor which was filled with antiques, tapestries and other shabby-chic items. So for the table overlays, I cut fabric off the bolt in patterns of tapestries and jacquards.

I created all the floral centerpieces for the guest tables and for the buffet.

It is just beyond special for me to be a part of my client's special events, to see families celebrate the joys of life. First with Katy's wedding then with Maggie's baby shower. That's what makes this profession so rewarding for me!

Click here to view the photo gallery.

St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation Luncheon

2006-09-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

Event Description:

The St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation contacted me to cater a luncheon for their Cancer Research Center meeting. The attendees arrived at the host's home with a gorgeous backyard lawn with a breathtaking view of Laguna Beach, and played rounds of boce and croquet. Per the client's request, I did not take photos of the guests. I made all the centerpieces and buffet floral arrangements. And check out my new silver tea service set. It's gorgeous!

Click here to view the photo gallery.

My Best Friend's Wedding

2006-09-02T22:04:00.000-07:00

Background first...

The Bride, Kelly, is one of my best friends.
She is also a fellow wedding planner (ExpandedEvents.com) and we've known each other for years. That's one of the weird/wonderful things about this unique business is that although another wedding planner may be "competition" we are also all good friends due to the bond we all share with this crazy industry. We help each other out when we are in a bind, if we need an assistant, when we need a sounding board, we commiserate when we need to vent when we have a Bridezilla client, or when we are just feeling burnt out. Kelly and I have been through a lot together...loss, business success, the joys (and challenges) of motherhood are just a few things.

Wedding Details:

"Today I marry my Love"
Signs made by the Groom that he tied to a tree the morning of their wedding day.

Morgan and Kelly decided to have an intimate backyard ceremony and reception. Quoted from their program that was tucked into the jacquard linen napkin "when we were putting together our guest list we decided that we would only invite those people who we intend to know us for the rest of our lives...that is a select, short list." The two long banquet-style tables were set with beautiful, grand centerpieces in black magic roses and cream roses, deep red spray roses, aged sage hydrangea, dark burgundy dahlias, bells of ireland, coffeeberries and dripping with amaranthas.

At each place setting, there was a rock with the guest's name carved on the top. Not only was it used as a name place marker, but also as a commemorative piece for the newlywed's fountain. During the ceremony, the couple revealed to the guests that on the back of each rock was also a carved word that was unique to that friend or family member. The couple requested that the word that was on their rock remain in their prayers for their marriage. This portion of the ceremony was named Rocks of the Foundation.

Kelly made tri-frames that showcased photos which represented their friends and family members who are with them in spirit. In the beginning of the honored seating, there was a lighting of the candles that were inside the tri-frames. As the evening grew darker, and the photos illuminated, it was a nice touch to see them glow and flicker. The casual and free-spirited evening was filled with delicious food, drinks, touching moments (not a dry eye during the preface of the father/daughter dance), lots of laughter and triple chocolate cupcakes (instead of traditional wedding cake). So yummy!

It was an honor to be a part of their wedding, and I feel blessed to be able to help out the little bit that I did, but to also be a guest from a "select, short list".

(love ya long time Kel)

Click here to view photo gallery.

Sizzlin' Summer's Night Baby Shower

2006-07-22T22:43:00.000-07:00

Event Description:

HOT! HOT! HOT!

The vivid colors of the linens and flowers HOT!

The wasabi at the sushi bar HOT!

And the heat...it was 98° degrees! HOT!

Uncommon for southern California, it was also muggy-humid. We were waiting for the temp to go down after the sun went down, but it never happened - it was still sizzlin'. But it was a blast. I don't know which was better - the food or the live music.

But before I get into that, here are the details: The event was for my VIP client, Maribeth & Mike and they wanted to host a baby shower for one of their employees. The colors were inspired from the color of the ribbon Maribeth selected for the invitations - fuchsia, lime, orange & yellow. Each invitation also had a fuchsia wooden "M" tied to the front in honor of the forthcoming baby whose name will be Maysen.

The drinks offered when the guests arrived were frosty piña coladas, an orange creamsicle punch (my fave punch for summertime!), Maribeth's secret killer spirited lemonade, bottled beers and old fashioned bottled sodas. The amazing food was catered by 24 Carrots Catering. The menu included a station with a sushi chef, a chef exhibition risotto station, a display appetizer station and tray-passed appetizers. And for dessert, we had to have ice cream for a summer soiree! We scooped up three awesome gourmet flavors of freshly made mango sherbert, watermelon sherbert and chocolate macadamia nut ice cream! And on display was yummy sugar cookes with swirled frosting in our event colors, with a sweets tree made up of chocolate-dipped marshmallows and strawberries made by Wonderland Bakery. That was a popular station!

And the highlight of the evening was the live music I booked with Anthony Jasso. Wow, what talent - he was a hit with the hosts and guests. His musical range was everything from Marvin Gaye to the Gypsy Kings. To check out his music visit his website.

I created and made the floral arrangements and centerpieces, made the pillows and procured the other props and rentals. Maribeth is always great about letting me have full event design freedom! It was memorable and fun event. Towards the end, a huge gust of wind came through and knocked over the table behind the risotto station and the orange umbrella floral arrangement and martini glasses were knocked over and broken. Always get rental damage insurance! It was a good thing we got it!

The take home favors inclued a custom made fortune cookie, rice candy (one of my childhood favorites - you know, how cool when the wrapper melts in your mouth) and other goodies enclosed in chinese take-out boxes. Some guests had stayed and were hanging out in the inner courtyward smoking cigars and sipping cognac. The host’s have a beautiful view and with the funky weather, we were entertained with a gorgeous sunset. Then when it got dark there was lightning in the horizon (luckily no rain). Another successful event in honor of baby Maysen...

Click here to view the photo gallery.

Michelle & Michael's Wedding

2006-07-09T23:04:00.000-07:00

It was a very special wedding filled with deep appreciation and love for family, friends, faith and their church family. Both the fathers of the Bride & Groom are ministers, and they both officiated the ceremony. The wedding turned out beautifully, even though we only had an hour and a half turn-around time for set-up! This is a very popular venue for weddings, in the summer they do a lot during the weekends. So the wedding prior to ours was to end at 3:30 and our ceremony began at 5:00, expecting 340 guests! That's a lot of tables to set up.

The colors were gold and "peony" with black as an accent (in the wrought iron accessories). Hardest shade of pink I have EVER tried to match in finding fabric, ribbon etc. The MOB and Bride gave me full creative freedom, which was fun and I enjoyed designing their elements.

I made the aisle demi-banner signs, directional banners, the cake plateau riser, the pillows for the lounge area, the cookie buffet, the "T" stands draped with fabric, and the centerpieces where I procured the wrought iron stands and fashioned the design, and the florist did the flowers for them.

In addition to some of their friends who helped out, I had an amazing crew (thank you Barbara, Jennifer, Kim, and Lloyd!), they worked tirelessly in the heat and never complained, I was so proud of all of them. After the venue staff changed the white linens, we put down gold organza overlays, set-up the wrought iron centerpiece stands (which I own), place votives, menu cards and matches for the wedding wish lighting. Then we set-up the sign in table, cake table with my "T" stands draped in fabric, lounge area and ceremony area.

The MOB also like my idea of having an Espresso/Coffee Cart with Smoothies idea. There was no alcoholic beverages offered, so this seemed like a fun way to have cooling smoothies on a hot day, then coffee drinks with the cookie buffet for dessert. It was a HUGE hit! There was a constant line of guests waiting to have a drink made. The two servers worked their tushies off!

"Blessed Are The Cookie Makers" The cookie buffet was a very personal way to include the friends and family of the bridal couple. They asked of them to make their favorite cookie recipe and provide for the wedding dessert. When they passed off all the many tupperware containers of cookies to me the day before the wedding, half of my van was packed with cookies! But you could just feel the love that those delegated bakers put into making them by the carefully packed layers of cookies. Right before the DJ announced that it was officially open, the Bride presented each of the bakers a wrapped pink spatula with a tag "Blessed are the cookie makers" (a term I came up with) ;).

Overall it was a great and successful event, even though there were some audio/DJ snafus, which I was not pleased with at all. I loved the client, the colors, the creative process and seeing everything come together. I just wished I would've had more time to "fluff" with the set-up but you do what you can with what you are given. We set-up the cookie buffet in less than 10 minutes in the dark!

Click here to view the photo gallery.

Flora's Bridal Shower

2006-06-07T22:55:00.000-07:00

This bridal shower tea party in honor of Flora, the bride-to-be, and it was a really fun and colorful event. It was hosted by Dacy (her sister) in her backyard.

I provided all the catering, china & teacups, linens etc. I loved the colors of orange and raspberry for the decor. I was lucky enough to find orange roses for the buffet table! The bridesmaids made the centerpieces and put the paper lanterns inside the market umbrellas.

Scout -the host's Golden Retriever- looked very pretty in her ribbon necklace, and was very gracious in greeting each of the guests (I have a huge affinity for Goldens, we used to have two of them and I miss them!) So I fell in love with Scout! The guests were offered mimosas or champagne upon arrival in cute pink & orange glasses, and then invited to the back yard were the tea tables were set.

The buffet menu consisted of finger tea sandwiches of almond chicken salad, smoked salmon & cream cheese, sliced turkey & cranberry spread and cucumber, watercress & cream cheese. The scones were cream flavor and cranberry flavor accompanied with lemon curd, chantilly cream and fruit preserves. The decadent sweets were fruit tartlets, éclairs, brownie ganache bars and pecan bars. The tea flavors were Cream Earl Grey and decaf Springberry. The bridesmaids brought cute frosted cupcakes topped with pink sugar sprinkles.

After a couple of shower games and the bride-to-be opening gifts, the host handed out for take home favors. They were darling bath products tied in strips of calico fabric made into ribbon with a tag that read "From flora's shower to yours. Thank you for coming to our tea party!". I LOVE stuff like that! And she also gave out silk tea sachets that read on the cool pyramid shaped box FLORA - what a coincidence. Tea parties are the coolest type of party for bridal showers, but that's my opinion!

Click here to view the photo gallery.

Faye & Simon's Coed Baby Shower

2006-05-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

I loved planning this baby shower for my VIP client, Maribeth. I loved the colors, the menu, the decor etc.

The guests were greeted with a lush display of fromage and fresh fruit. A fromage specialist was there to discuss the cheese varieties imported from all over the world. We had stations consisting of a salad station with three different salads, a station of mashed potatoes with a selection of toppings.

For beverages, we had a table with Italian sodas consisting of club soda and Torani flavored syrups. The caterer had and a cart of coffee drinks consisting of lattes, mochas and espressos. And of course, the host always has free-flowing champagne!

Desserts were decadent pastries and jars of cookies accompanied with ice cold shots of milk.

The guests signed fabric squares to be later made into a quilt. A harpist played beautifully in the background.

At the end of the event, the guys enjoyed cigar favors in the inner courtyard. The take-home favors were yummy handmade sea salt caramels made from The Little Flower Candy Co. They were the best caramels I have ever tasted!

I created all the floral centerpieces and the arrangements for the food stations.

Click here to view the photo gallery.