Nayun & Paul Tie The Knot

Working with Nayun was a breeze. Whenever we had our design meetings, she never once said 'no'. Everything was 'okay' & 'sounds good' so I had to really make sure if she was LOVING all my ideas. (I have no idea how my awesome brides find me. I am so thankful for their genuine love, support and for completely trusting my input.)
During our initial consultation, Nayun told me that she wanted to incorporate their love for music into the wedding, I was thrilled. But when she told me that they both wanted to sing together the "Juno" song during the reception I was beyond excited!
Personally I feel that when you have a “theme” or “concept” it doesn’t necessarily have to be incorporated into ALL the details. Unless you can pull it off really well, incorporating your theme/concept into all the wedding details can turn out to be a little corny and cheesy. For Nayun’s wedding we did not want that to happen with such a classic venue as Casa Del Mar. Instead, we wanted to have simple and clean floral arrangements for the ceremony and reception. We also created a very personalized timeline/schedule where the guests were able to clearly see and experience a “music” inspired wedding.
For example, instead of the traditional processional music, I had my friend, who is an extremely talented singer, come to the wedding and sing “How Beautiful” by Twyla Paris as the bride walked into the room and as the unity candle was lit during the ceremony. With confidence I can say that it adds an extra something and grabs your guest’s attention. It makes a huge difference when the bride walks down the aisle with live music.

Anyways, here are some fabulous photos taken by Taek Photography. Enjoy!




Usually, our staff arrive at the bridal suite 30 minutes prior to the photographer and videographer. This allows us to unwrap the bride's dress (always use a nice hanger for photos), lay out the jewelry, and tidy up the room.

Love this shot of Nayun!



When the guests first arrived, they were asked to sign their names on vinyl records. Instead of numbering their tables they used the titles of their favorite songs. The guest names & table names were printed onto the CD and they were also used as favors for guests to take home. I brought some of my hubby’s CDs and cases and used them as props for the display table along with a recycled vintage typewriter with a sign that was printed on music sheet. The sign read “Nayun and Paul’s Music of Love” I found an etsy seller who was selling downloadable music sheets; you can print out as many as you want! Nayun used the music sheets to make petal cones, wrapped some of the votives, made some signs, and confetti that was used for the guest sign in table, ceremony, and reception.


Nayun bought some old records for less than $3 at a record store in Pasadena and also purchased a record player on Ebay. We also used Paul’s personal guitar as a prop on the table, he later used that same guitar to sing “ Anyone Else but You” with Nayun during the reception. The sign in table was a small project that Nayun and I had lots of fun with. We bounced ideas off each other for months, but it wasn’t until 2 weeks before the wedding when everything started falling into place.

I'm not sure if you can see it in this picture but I love the crescent style chair set-up we had. It makes the ceremony much more personable and cozy. The unity candles were actually from one of my previous wedding that I used and Kristine added some rose petals around it.

All the floral arrangements were done by Kristine Shin, I LOVE working with this talented woman. We have a couple more weddings lined up and words can’t explain how thrilled I am to be working with one of the most humble, detail oriented and not to mention the most genuine person around. When you have a florist who understands your vision it makes a planner’s life so much easier! Sometimes I think that she gets annoyed because I’m always bothering her. :) Hi Kristine! You know I love you!



Kristine purchased 4 apothecary jars and inserted phalaenopsis orchids with moss inside the jars. For our low centerpieces Kristine filled a box with white tulips, hydrangeas, roses and ranunculus. We carefully positioned the jars on brown wooden boxes and placed them in four corners (but two of them more closer to the center so it looks like we have 4 arrangements in different heights) then we placed all the other submerged vases with cymbidium orchids and floating candles along the aisle and reused them as reception centerpieces.



Loving the chandeliers at Casa Del Mar!!!

Now the reception, I could not recommend a better DJ/MC/”Frank Sinatra” wedding singer than Ken from Adagio Weddings. Seriously though, you can’t tell if he is really singing or if recorded music is playing. He is that GOOD! Since he gets booked fast, I immediately told Nayun to contact him right away. Thank God he was available because he really sets the tone for the reception and the guests LOVED him!

It was so so sweet & cute to witness them singing together..



I really think Casa Del Mar should pay Taek for these awesome photos!! :)


Here's a sweet email I received the day after the wedding.
"It was a pleasure working with such a talented wedding coordinator. All the wedding preparations were full of joy and unforgettable experiences and memories. Moreover, I am so happy with the results that we came up with on the day of the wedding. Honestly, it went way beyond my expectations. Esther, you had so many great ideas and inspiration and you did a great job putting together and executing all the things we talked about. I am sure your business will grow continuously in the future! Thanks again!"
P.S We've been brewing up a lot of creative ideas for our 2010 weddings. I can already tell that MBS will once again raise the standard with so many great venues & great photographers. Yikees!