Sunday, April 17, 2011

RSVP @ Your Own Risk

Tina here

Wedding RSVP cards play an important role in planning for the big day.  It helps the bride and groom know who plans to attend their wedding, and how many guests in that family or party are to attend.  And not only that, but the response card may include what the guest has checked off as their choice of entrée.

But why is there such a lack of people who RSVP?  Whether it’d be for a birthday party, baby shower, and yes, even your weddings get ducked out by RSVP notices. People say it’s rude and inconsiderate to those planning the event. In some other cases, it might be that a guest(s) can’t commit to that day, or they’ve misplaced the invitation and RSVP card. Alright, understandable. And for some, it just may be the lack of knowledge of even knowing or understanding what RSVP stands for (like me, who did her own research as curiosity struck when I once received an invitation years ago).  So for your convenience, here’s a little schooling session for ya:

According to MyWeddingPlanningTips, RSVP stands for the French phrase “Répondez s’il vous plait”, meaning “respond if you please”.  Plain and simple, right?

Vivid BloomsAccording to About.com, response cards weren’t part of an invitation. Once an invitation was received, it was up to the receiver to jot their response on their own stationery of whether or not they’ll be able to attend and include a congratulatory note while they’re at it.  Back then, it was probably just a few cents for postage (today from USPS: First-class stamp = $0.44; Postcard Stamp = $0.28). 

It's ok, I'm not pointing any fingers.  But don't act like you never failed to send in a response card before it's due date, at least to one invite.  I’ll admit that I’ve been guilty for forgetting to RSVP in a timely manner.  But as I was prepping my wedding guest list a couple years ago, I totally understood why it was so essential to receive these RSVP cards.

Let’s face it, sometimes we all get lazy, but just think how much it’ll help the couple keep track of who is attending or not. Let’s do our part to make that easier for them as they plan for their special day.

And brides, don’t let this stress you out in any way. Keep it easy and minimal, and don’t forget to pre-stamp the response cards. Happy Planning~

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

FIRST BLOG EVER! Go Easy On Me...

Here I am.. a wedding planner who is engaged to be married and planning her own wedding.  WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!?!?  I'm guessing.. pretty high?  Haha!  Well, it's a first for me so I'm pretty juiced!  My fiance and I are banking on early June 2012 because, unfortunately, we're "at that age."  By that, I mean my original hopes were to get married in May 2012, but UNFORTUNATELY, everybody my age is itchin' to get married, too, and my wedding would be competing with three others already scheduled for that timeframe!  Whose fault is that?  My fiance's, of course.  Why?  I don't know, but I'm sure I'll find a reason.

So, 14 months away and we just confirmed our reception venue!  Actually, I wasn't even engaged 5 days before I dragged my fiance to 2 venue visits.  About 6 or 7 venues and 1 month later, here we are... $500 less in our pockets, and 3 Fridays softly held in June 2012 ;-)  After seeing some extremely fun and original galleries, film studios and outdoor tents, we decided to go with an old airplane hangar from WWII turned warehouse winery!

 















Tah-Dah!!  See it??


This photo was taken on my way into the city for work - right before hitting the Treasure Island tunnel.  The shadow of the head w/ the ears isn't me - it's our casual carpooler (name unknown).  But he appears to enjoy taking in the sites just as much as yours truly.


The winery, however, isn't what you think.  There is obviously no breathtaking patchwork vineyard, no picture perfect rolling hills, and no intimidating sommelier requesting you to sniff inside your glass causing you to fake like you know what you're sniffing for.  No-sir-ee, Bob.  Your view consists of the killer postcard-worthy San Francisco skyline and... the Bay Bridge eastern span construction.  Haha!  Not a pretty sight right now, but hopefully won't be such an eyesore by June 2012.


The winery interior is just as you would imagine of a 60+ warehouse - bare, rustic and romantic.  That's what drew us to the venue.  That, and tons o' parking.  But with such a vast blank canvas, the dude we met with (Nick) helped us visualize the reception of our dreams that wouldn't dent our wallets (too painfully, anyway).   With such a clean and simple venue, we knew it'd also benefit us in the decor department - not much would be needed because its beauty really speaks volumes:





We're going to try and keep it as simple as possible with what fundage we have left.  The only thing we DO know is we're going to make this night as F-U-N as humanly possible.  I won't divulge anything right now, but stay tuned as the planning continues.  Who knows how many posts I can make in the next 14 months?!?!?  We shall see.


Thanks for reading!  It's been a pleasure =P


Courtney... OUT!


P.S. For more information on the venues mentioned above (gallery | studio | tent), please ask!  They didn't fit our needs, but they just might fit yours =)

Monday, April 4, 2011

Twitter me blue

Yep-yep...I'm on the Twitter feed...doing my best to stay up to date.  Here we go Social Networking...make your move.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

"Cournel" Engagement



Tina here~

 

You want to see a charming definition of LOVE?   

Having known Courtney for almost a decade now and meeting Lionel a couple years ago, I can't express how happy I am that they have decided to take it to the next level. They get along so well together that it's inevitable they have a strong friendship and bond of love with each other.  

I know for Lionel (and like any other guy out there), this was a nerve-wrecking moment.  But he was also confident that it was time and he couldn't have been more right.  

 

A family photo shoot = the perfect proposal 


 


I advised him that if he ever got nervous at any moment before the proposal, to look into Skunk's eyes so his fears will calm its way back to normal. I mean. I guess you gotta know Skunk that way-he has that certain affect on people. :P

Congratulations to my dear friend and C&C “pea-partner” in crime Courtney & her new fiancé Lionel. Court, lesdodis!!  And thanks L, for letting me be a part of the behind the scene planning.  ;)   In Courtney's words: "God Speed!"

 

 

** Props to Letlove Photography for capturing such stunning photos of the newly engaged. With every photo shoot, you continue to climb your way up and show your top-notch skills.  I’m proud of you Let!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

A Sweet Baby Shower

…And we’re back!

From being on vacation mode, to jet-lag, to starting up 2 (so far) scheduled weddings for 2011, we clearly have minded our business away from our C&C blog. Forgiven?  Sweet!!

 

In the midst of my return from the Philippines in February, I came home just in time to help celebrate a friend’s baby shower.  It being her second child, second baby girl, Natalie was not planning on having this shower. But after some convincing from her Auntie Jen, I hopped on the baby wagon to help out.  We’re so glad we were able to throw Nat this baby shower, because she got all she needed to re-stock her newborn pantry with baby essentials, such as diapers, wipes, soft & cuddly blankeys, more diapers, shampoo, ointments, powder, bottles, gift cards to Target, and oh, have I mentioned…more diapers?!  Perfect for a baby sister who gets all of Audrey’s hand-me downs & more.  One day, Nat had shown me Audrey’s tubs of clothes all organized by age, and also let me gawk over Audrey’s closet.  Talk about a fashionista who still had tags on almost half of her clothes! It was incredible.  So Nat didn’t even register, instead we mentioned on the invite that the baby essentials such as the above would greatly be appreciated. 

 

While planning for the shower, I thought it’d be a great idea for C&C to add a special touch.  Why not a dessert/candy bar, right?  I thought to myself, “Well I can only bake so much.” I decided that I can handle the cupcakes and rice krispies myself.  But I decided to call on one of our Preferred Vendor for some help.  Doreen Torres of locally owned Sweet Little Cookie was so helpful in providing some of her own insights of her more popular cookies.  So I went with the delicious, “heaven in your mouth” Powdered Angels, and the “sweet as it sounds” Candy Cookie.  Perfect choices I have to agree!  What was so great was that she delivered these to my front door the morning of the shower. 

 



Some other cravings I had in this Sweet Tooth buffet were chocolate cupcakes with Cream Cheese icing, Hershey Kisses, Rice Krispies treats, pink swirl lollipops, and the famous Conti Polvoron straight from Manila, Philippines.  Everything was a hit and sure hit the sweet spot in everyone’s tummy!

 

As of now, my dear friend Natalie still has not popped out baby #2 yet. We patiently await the arrival of baby girl A, and pray for a beautiful & healthy delivery.

 

PS. Stay tuned for some exciting news!!  “Pea”, take it away. :)