Susie & Cal Tie The Knot (Part 1)

Working with Susie was like a dream, every planner has an ideal bride that he/she would love to work with and Susie was just that, a dream come true. She's the most caring, thoughtful, responsible, crafty, generous & warm hearted bride I've ever encountered. period. thus, I must admit this wedding was my favorite wedding of the year. I mean, who would ever think to prepare snacks/brunch for the vendors on the day of HER wedding?! I joked around with her asking if she really was the bride. ;) Her words & actions are so considerate and thoughtful that I learned so much by watching her interact with guests, family members and throughout the planning process. As I was listening to all the toasts during the evening, I kept tearing up because of the genuine love & support they had for one another. SO thankful to be a friend of Susie now and here's a glimpse of her beauty & grace captured by the talented Sandra Pan. Part 2 is coming up soon and I'll be sure to list the dream team who worked on this wedding together. They tied the knot back in August at the Rancho Del Cielo in Malibu and we were SO lucky to have the perfect weather with breathtaking views that day!

Take a peek at our 'make your own ice cream sandwich' station with the Diddy Riese cookies, yum!

This last photo is probably one of my fav!

Here's an email I received five in the morning the next day..Yeap, this is Susie.. Who can't resist her? ;)

"Hi Esther and Kristine!
I am having trouble sleeping thinking about how perfect the wedding turned out to be! I had no doubt that you ladies would do a wonderful job, but everything really exceeded my already high expectations! Kristine, the flowers were absolutely amazing. You transformed the ceremony area and the reception area was so beautiful. Esther, your little touches did not go unnoticed and you were the perfect team leader. My parents were beyond thrilled with the outcome, as were cal and I. Thank you again and I really hope we keep in touch.

Jason from Cloud 9 just sent over their wedding highlight and it's a MUST WATCH!! Watching this video makes me love my job even more!

Susie + Cal Highlight from Jason Kim on Vimeo.

How to make a custom backdrop, the easy & simple way

How do you create a simple backdrop that's easy, light (not to mention, cheap) to transport in your car without too much of a hassle?
If the space or venue you're using won't allow any kind of hanging or taping, what's the best way to solve this matter? Today, I want to show you the easy & simple way to make a backdrop. You can easily create this look without having to do too much work. Plus, you can also reuse this backdrop and just change the color of the fabric for any events/parties you may have in the future. :)

Before I share some tips with you, I wanted to show you a before & after picture of our veggie/fruit bar. Having a backdrop makes quite a difference, don't you think?
BEFORE

AFTER Including a backdrop definitely pulls the look all together and makes such a difference in photos!!

Just wanted to share a few pictures I took w/ my iPhone while getting ready for the shoot

Here's how it looked before we began our table..

laid out some few props to evenly position the dessert stands...

finishing up on all the tags..

I also purchased a green damask pattern fabric to give a bit of contrast to our table

Here's what you'll need
Any type of iron, Fabric ($20), Spray glue ($7.99), foam board ($20)= Total: less than $50 bucks
This simple project can be done in less than 20 min!

1) Buy a foam board that's big enough to cover a 6ft table. The biggest one I found was a 5 ft wide at Michael's so as you can see, I had to connect one more ft with a duck tape (tip: you can always make the backdrop bigger than the table)

2) Purchase a fabric of your choice (best to buy a thicker fabric to reduce any wrinkles) and iron the fabric before you spray glue it to the foam board.

3) Carefully spray glue the fabric and press it real hard as you go down so you don't get any air bubbles. (tip: If you do get air bubbles, just simply peel off the fabric and work on it again. Make sure to spread newspaper before you spray glue the fabric!)

4) After you're done gluing the entire fabric, you want to iron it out AGAIN to make the backdrop smoother. Any kind of wrinkles may show up on the pictures so make sure you don't have any air bubbles!

Hope you enjoyed our little DIY post and have a healthy Thanksgiving with your loved ones! Be sure to check back as we have a few more weddings to post before the year ends!

Try a fruit and veggie bar instead! Featured on Amy Atlas

With the rise in popularity of dessert stations and candy bars at children's parties, Kristine & I recently came up with a fun dessert/snack station concept, by substituting typical desserts with fruits and vegetables as a healthier alternative for snacks.
You can see the feature on Amy Atlas' blog! This table caused a phenomenal sensation in the blog world right now! :)

As a mom, I am always conscious of what my son eats on a daily basis (and particularly at parties when kids get out of control and load up on sweets!), so I thought it would be great to present fruits & veggies in a stylish and fun way that would appeal to both the parents and children.

Kristine did an amazing job and really went above and beyond by purchasing all the ingredients herself, and also created the most beautiful arrangements made ONLY of veggies. She created a garland out of brussel sprouts to lay in front of the display, and put together gorgeous artichoke and purple cabbage arrangements to adorn the table. Wiley Valentine created fabulous tags that were clean & modern, which dressed up our fruits and vegetables beautifully. To bring all the elements together, I created a backdrop out of artichoke green fabric, purchased all the containers and vessels for the snacks, and also prepared a custom made linen for the display table.

Floral Design & Food Styling : Kristine Shin Designs
Photography: Serena Grace
Stationery Design: Wiley Valentine
Concept Design & Styling: Esther Kim of My Bride Story











This garland made of all brussel sprouts was Kristine's labor of love! took her 10 hrs to make this baby!







Our menu consisted of the following:
Veggies: Carrots, celery and bell peppers were cut into sticks, and served with four different kinds of dressing for guests to dip the veggies in.

Fruits:
Caprese Salad - Grape tomatoes & mozzarella cheese balls topped with a balsamic vinaigrette, w/ basil leaves as garnish
Watermelon Salad - Watermelon cut into square cubes, with a small round hole carved on top, which was filled with a combination of diced grapes and apple & dressed with a yogurt dressing
Yogurt Parfait - Plain yogurt shots topped with raspberries, blueberries & granola
Pumpkin Latte Shots (w/ a dollop of non-fat whipped cream)

Our adorable Sunday School kids, Aiden & Eva can pass for abercrombie & fitch models, right? :)


While no one can deny how tasty cupcakes and whoopie pies are, I am sure that parents who are health conscious and always looking for ways to feed their children a healthy diet will find our table inspiring, especially as the holiday season is rapidly approaching!
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alright, folks! hope you enjoyed reading all the juicy details about our fruit/veggie table. While Serena Grace was photographing our little project, we actually had another special event going on in the same room.(What's the point of having the fruit/veggie station if no one can eat them? :)

Our church pastor asked me a few months ago to help plan a 'confirmation celebration party' for the youth group kids who completed the confirmation class. We wanted the party to feel like a real celebration because this was a very important moment for our young people. They publicly made a decision of their own and claimed their faith (that was first introduced to them by their parents as children) in front of their parents and family.

We rented an art studio at the Brea Community Center and of course, Kristine create simple white arrangements for the tables and Signature Party Rentals generously sponsored the rental items including white chiavari chairs, linens & chargers. Each table had the kids' name on it to make the space more intimate.

We also created a fun DIY photobooth for the parents & kids to take family photos to treasure this important day in their lives. This party would not have been the same if it wasn’t for Chef Julie's scrumptious hors d'oevures and I cannot stop raving about how tasty the food was. The moment I laid my eyes on her blog, she completely sold me and I knew I had to have her on board for this event. (HEAD OVER TO HER BLOG NOW IF YOU'RE HUNGRY LIKE ME!!)

The program consisted of a short message from the pastor & a video message by the parents (edited by my husband) and we also gifted them with personalized Bibles.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Kids having too much fun w/ the props!

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Here's a very rare picture of the 'Kim' family!

It was such a blessing time to be serving our church in this way. I have to thank our Pastor Iron for giving me complete freedom to do my own thing! ;) Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

P.S We've been getting overwhelming responses from this table so check back next Monday, I'll reveal all the behind the scenes of our mini shoot we pulled together in one week and show you step by step on how to make a custom backdrop and tell you how you can create this look! Yes... you can thank us! ;)

Meet our coordinators!

I have waited almost two years to write this special blog post. It's somewhat easy to find interns and assistants (I receive inquires from interns as often as I receive inquires from brides to be!), but it's not easy to entrust our clients' most special day to another individual completely, nor is it easy to train and develop one's talent. I'll be completely honest. When it comes to weddings, I'm a bit of a control freak, and it took me two years to finally figure out how to let go. I've had numerous girls assisting me but these two definitely stand out in their work ethics, attitude and passion. However, as I observed how they not only had interest in the industry, but also in growing MBS TOGETHER, I was inspired to grow together with them.

Christine & Leena have been working with me as my assistant for the past year and a half and now, they're fully ready to take on weddings of their own. As we move into the year of 2011, the two ladies are handling most of MBS' month-of coordinations (Simple Story), while I am focusing mainly on full planning services (Elaborate and Exquisite), with a few exceptions.
I am incredibly thankful that MBS is slowly transiting from a wedding design & coordination company of Me, Myself & Esther, to a team of three planners/coordinators who are ready to take on this wedding industry! They have already booked some amazing weddings next year and I'm SO excited for them!

There were two main reasons for my decision to welcome these exciting changes:

1) I realized that strictly coordinating an event did not meet my personal desire to exercise my creativity. I found that my work is best when I am given the opportunity to be personally involved in choosing vendors and developing ideas, and the end result is an amazing collaboration between the clients and myself. Bottom line, I like getting to know my couples on a deeper level. Really.

2) Now that Grant is a toddler and requires more attention & care (who knew playing with a toddler can be so exhausting?), I decided to only manage 18-20 weddings which excite, challenge and move me, and hope to still manage to have playdates with other moms & babies! ;) or who knows I might pop out another one next yr! lol

Christine and Leena are extremely talented and incredibly smart, and are very passionate about their work. Bottom line, they're lovely, down to earth ladies and I really hope that future clients of MBS will have a chance to work with them! After much careful planning and thought, I now fully endorse them in the year of 2011 as the new faces of MBS.


Please visit our website and check out their bio!

Are you misleading your potential clients?

A few months ago, I received a call from a vendor who wanted to know if I receive some type of commission for posting a 'vendor spotlight,' because they wanted me to feature their work on the blog. I have said this thousands of times before, and also emphasize this on my contracts, but I will say it again. I NEVER receive any type of commission by referring vendors NOR do I receive a commission for doing a vendor spotlight. In keeping up with this ethic, I have also turned down several vendors who approached me to ask if I'd be willing to advertise their services on the blog for a monthly fee. The reason why I am against the whole idea is because my intention of starting up this blog was not to make more money off of advertising. I feel that personal blogs, like wedding planners' blogs, should not be collecting fees when clients are paying for services anyway. Also, I feel that ads are a bit distracting on a blog.

If you've been a faithful follower of my blog, you'll notice that I stopped doing 'vendor spotlights' and postings on wedding related images (unless they're our clients' weddings) because of several reasons.
1) I realized I could be potentially misleading my clients that these types of features were 'my' work. How often people just scan through blogs and DON'T read the posts carefully!
2) I'd rather have loyal readers, stay relevant and practical than posting inspirational images everyday. (plus, I have no time to browse the web these days! ;)
3) If you wholeheartedly respect fellow designers out there, it's really unfair to them who have spent a lot of time & money purchasing products, collaborating with other vendors, only to have someone copy and paste it as their own. I, too, have made the same mistake by posting other people's work when I first started this blog and after doing a few shoots myself this year, I realized these styled shoots & personalized weddings take up so much energy, resources, originality and sometimes pulling all nighters. There's no way I can now dare to copy & paste the designer and the photographer's hard work.

To the bloggers who call themselves event designers/stylists/coordinators/vendors:
1) Before you just copy & paste someone's beautiful work, please do a bit of research to find out who the designer is, and also who all the vendors involved with the photos were, instead of just linking to the photographer's website. This isn't just talking about using images to create inspiration boards, but blogging a entire post on other weddings/shoots and writing about it as if you were somehow involved?! SO not ethical!
2) Please ask yourself deep inside your heart if you may be potentially misleading clients by posting someone's work.
3) If you're thinking of using other florists/planners/designers/photographers' work, please state it CLEARLY. This will help readers make a better evaluation of the information they are taking in from your blog.

To the brides who are surfing the web to find inspirations:
1) Please note where the blogger got the photos from.
2) If you want to see the vendors' portfolio, make sure you visit their website, read their list of services, bio, etc. before you send an e-mail. You have NO idea how many times people thought I was a photographer, baker, venue concierge, florist, etc... Really

With all this said, let's create an environment of honest work ethics in the blogsphere, and not mislead our potential clients.
Any piece of honest advice or real experience you'd like to share? Please leave a comment or two!

Happy Halloween!

Mommy was too cheap to get me a Halloween costume so she got creative!

By day.. I was a teddy bear.
HOW TO GET THIS LOOK:
a hand-me-down PJ and mommy glued leftover pom poms from my birthday party.

By night.. I was a lil ROCKSTAR!

Do you notice my cool chains & plugs? :)

Mommy told me I'd look cool if I wore her shades so I did.
HOW TO GET THIS LOOK
a girl's tights ($2.99), converse ($24 @ Target), Kenneth Cole baby jacket (gift from a friend) and some gel or moose for the mohawk hairstyle. ;)

G-night, readers! I'm all pooped out from partying too much! - Grant