Postage Increase Coming...

Susan and I have chatted about this topic on several occasions recently, with our couples invites going out right around the USPS's May 11th rate hike. You need to be aware of how this will affect your reply cards.

We think the blog from the Martha Stewart team does a great job answering all your questions. Check out their story.

I think that the Forever stamp is the way we will be going over the next couple of months....appropriately named for wedding replies, don't you think? :-)

As always happy to share our 3 cents, or in this case .42 or .44.

Love, the Bella Girls

The Golden State

We are so excited to announce and support the grand opening of The Golden State, co-owned by our past client James Starr. The Golden State is set to officially open for business on Thursday, March 5th. Be sure to check it out!

Golden State is located at - 426 N Fairfax Avenue, LA CA 90036 - 323-782-8331


Here is a little teaser pic from Mollie & Jim's wedding, it was such a great wedding with tons of details so stay tuned for a full blog with all the goodies. Here is one of our fav's by Michael with Evoke Photography.

The Special Event - San Diego

There was just so much to see and do while we were down in San Diego for the Special Event conference. This is the last post...and I hope you all find this as interesting as Susan and I did.

The break out sessions encompassed a little bit of everything, from wedding disasters and ideas for our emergency kits, everything about linens, to an etiquette discussion by Peggy Post of the Emily Post institute.

What a way to start the day with Masters of Disasters - Wedding Emergencies Solved. We can only hope that we never have to encounter any of the topics that we discussed! As usual we are always looking for new items to add to our emergency kits and boy did we get some out of the boxes suggestions. It is better to be prepared for the worst, and to never have to encounter it!

Susan and I are always referring to our Emily Post etiquette books, so we were really really looking forward to the session by Peggy Post. One thing I found myself writing over and over, Emily Post created her guide of etiquette as a code of behavior to assist us in social situations, with the hope that no one is embarrassed because of a faux pas. She never started with the idea to create a black and white rules. While we are fans of many of the modifications such as the creation of a RSVP card rather than the original formal reply that was hand written on personal letterhead.....we can only hope and pray that it never becomes acceptable to include gift registry information in your wedding invitations. gasp the horror! Ladies & gentleman, never never do this. (okay, I will get off my personal soap box)

When the Trade Show opened their doors on Wednesday morning, it was like a stampede to get in and check out all the new ideas, vendor exhibits, and of course taste all the fun samples.

One of the booths that Susan and I enjoyed the most, was that of La Tavola Linen, flowers are from Square Root Floral Design. We weren't able to attend the opening of the LA showroom, but hope to work with them in the near future! One thing we always ask clients to keep in mind, that while there is sometimes a shock value with the cost of linen rental, it is such a personal touch that allows you to emphasize the amazing floral display you have spent many months designing. A beautiful linen can take a simple single color flower arrangement and give it that wow factor that your guests will enjoy looking at through your reception. Think about it in terms of the total centerpiece cost, when you are budgeting for linens.

I know that there are many many more things I could write about from the Special Event show, but I must call it an end here.
All I can say is what a wonderful experience, I hope we are able to attend next year as well.

Signing off, The Bella Girls!

The Gallery of Ideas from the Special Event Luncheon

Susan and I are always excited when we get the opportunity to check out innovative and of over the top ideas for event design. The Gallery at the Wedding Luncheon was no exception.

I have to start with our fun pictures with our fabulous PR person Leila Khalil of Be Inspired PR. I don't think we were supposed to use the room designs as a backdrop for our pictures, but we decided to test our luck. (huge thanks to Trisha for her amazing photography)And now one that we could actually use for something besides Facebook :-)

The Gallery was amazing! An entire room dedicated to beautiful cakes...but we couldn't taste any of them. Doesn't everyone know that taste is just as important as the look, maybe even more so if you ask Susan??
The table and room designs were over the top! The attention to every detail created the huge WOW factor that they were striving for. We just wanted to sit down at a place setting and join the fun of the celebrations!

The room set up was jaw dropping, and gave us new ideas at every corner we turned. The focus on lounge ideas and decor outside of the traditional florals was great. (Check out all the custom colored floors by Barker Decor.)
And we had to include one shot of some of the models showcasing the latest in bridal designs! I don't think they ate the 3 course meal we had at the luncheon.
We are always excited when our couples come to us with a color palette or feeling that they are trying to create with their weddings and receptions, and events like this give us a huge mental filing cabinet of great ideas to pull from.
Many thanks to the 100's of people that were required to put together the luncheon and galleries!

Love, the Bella Girls

The Wedding Lunchen - Special Event San Diego

There was just so much that Susan and I were able to check out at the Special Event in San Diego. The amazing trade show, the fabulous break out speakers...and of course the Wedding Luncheon at the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego. Which is where I am going to start!

The Wedding Luncheon was an over the top display of all things black and white, with the key note speaker of Carley Roney from The Knot. The luncheon was a fabulous 3 course meal complimented with local California wines. Of course Susan and I were more excited about our lunch companions. Check us out with our fabulous PR person - Leila Khalil from Be Inspired PR, one of our favorite floral designers - Trisha from Hidden Gardens, and a well respected colleague - Carolyn Chen from The Special Day.

Check out some of the fabulous table designs, there were 16 completely different table set up's that showcased the beauty of the black and white design.

I could keep posting detail after detail, but I need to move on to the Gallery of ideas, and our fun pics with Leila coming up next.

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful sunny California weekend

Love, The Bella Girls