Part 2: A Night at Bella Collina in San Clemente, CA with Jay's Catering

It's 5:30 PM on Wednesday night and it's showtime at Bella Collina, one of the newest venues in Orange County located in the heart of San Clemente, CA! The guests that filtered in were event industry professionals from all over the OC. And we love a great party!

Welcome to a night at Bella Collina with Jay's Catering.


Jay's catering served a scrumptious Bruschetta Bar which was decorated by French Buckets:




I was very excited to see this eco-detail. Thank you Jay's for using sustainable products like these 100% compostable plates and forks!


Fusions Linens provided all the linens for the evening. Lace overlays with satin tablecloths underneath create a beautiful combination.


Here are some snaps of floral arrangements by French Buckets:




Bella Collina's ceremony area is landscaped right onto their property with a magnificent view as the backdrop. The detail of the aisle and each of its rows are stunning.


The circular altar area provides the perfect platform for any ceremony. Here's the Chuppah decor that you saw Sussanna designing in the previous post. It takes your breath away, doesn't it? Great job Sussanna!


Fusion Linen provided these chairs and chair covers. I am a huge fan of chair covers because they add an element of elegance to the ceremony.


Reception floral decor by Elegant by Design with linen/chairs provided by Fusion:


You might notice that each guest table has a different lace overlay. I love details like this!


All catering was provided by Jay's. And of course, the food was delicious! They also served a signature lemon martini for the night which was highly favored by the guests of the evening.




And you know I can't leave an event without showing off the dessert table.








Thank you to Mary Lallande from Jay's Catering for coordinating a beautiful evening!

For a gallery of professional shots of the evening, go to Bobby Brown Photography. His photos are SO beautiful. And he has a comprehensive list of the sponsoring vendors at the end of his post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Part 1: A Night at Bella Collina in San Clemente, CA with Jay's Catering

If you've been following my blog, you'll know by now that I tend to post the 'behind-the-scene' stuff. And you wanna know why? Because there is SO much intense work required to pull together these gorgeous events and no one knows how hard the work is until you've actually done it. As a designer, I will tell you that I sweat hard for every penny I earn all for the sake of one beautiful night.

So, here it is folks: A night at Bella Collina Golf Resort in San Clement, CA. Before I go further, I have to give a huge credit to Mary Lallande from Jay's Catering who organized this party! She put in some serious hours to pull this event together. Thank you Mary!

The event last Wednesday night was scheduled to begin at 5:30 PM but set-up started very early. I came by at noon to help out my awesome friend and stellar designer, Sussanna of French Buckets. Although many of her floral arrangements were worked on and completed the day before, there was still much so be done on-site with some elements that could not be created prior to the event. See this? This entire car was packed with flowers and materials just for that type of decor (the type that can only be assembled on-site)!


Here's Sussanna dec'n out the wrought iron tree with real branches.


You'll notice that most floral designers are pretty buff because of the heavy odd items we need to carry:


And apparently we get some fun perks like driving around club carts. We threw fabric rolls in this one to drape the chuppah in the ceremony area.


One thing I tell people all the time is that designing is a dangerous job. Just check out Sussanna! She's risking her life on a ladder all in the name of design. (FYI: Sussanna works magic with fabric. You will see later how stunning this chuppah came out. I can honestly say it was the most beautiful chuppah decor I have ever seen first hand.)


Oh, I can't forget to mention the amazing view that Bella Collina has to offer! Although my photo is of poor quality, the beauty of the landscape is hard to argue.


Fusion Linens, one of my favorites, was there too.


They had gorgeous linens and chiavari chairs for us that night.


Part 2 is up next with the beautiful event details.

Part 3: Behind-the-Scenes with All Made Up Team-Vivian Tran and D Park Photography

Whew! Part 3 is finally here! D. Park Photography took some serious time into further editing their images. But here they are.

David and Drexelle from D. Park Photography:


Drexelle from D. Park Photography:






A close-up of the beautiful make-up work on Drexelle from Vivian of All Made Up Team:


Vivian from All Made Up Team:






And me! Here's a close-up of my eye makeup that Vivian did.




I swear, we had SO much fun!

A huge thank you to D. Park Photography and All Made Up Team!!!

Sell Your Wedding Dress or Bridesmaid Dress through The Wedding Pantry

Hey ladies! The Wedding Pantry in Tustin, CA is providing an awesome opportunity for you to sell that wedding dress or bridesmaid dress that's been hanging in your closet and you just don't know what to do with. Here's the link with all the details. Just be sure to bring it in to The Wedding Pantry on Saturday September 25, 2010 and/or Sunday September 26, 2010. And they will take care of the rest!

Host Your Holiday Event at the Mission San Juan Capistrano

Ok, I promise, Part 3 with All Made Up Team and D Park Photography is coming. But as we enter the holiday season (already?! I know), I find myself prepping for Christmas events and photoshoots. If you are in search of a beautiful venue rich in history for your holiday event, check out the Mission San Juan Capistrano.



The ambiance created by the location alone is worth the booking.

Happy holiday planning!

Part 2: Behind-the-Scenes with All Made Up Team-Vivian Tran and D Park Photography

Alright folks, as promised, here are the photos from our photoshoot.

Remember the 'before' photo?


Well, here are the amazing 'after' photos (These particular shots are images taken by Vivian Tran herself):




In a word: AMAZING!

Before this shoot, I didn't truly understand the importance of hiring a professional make-up and hair stylist for an event. But Vivian has made me a believer! And this is the first time I truly felt that my make-up artist understood how to apply make-up for MY face, not just her own.

To find out a bit more of Vivian's experience and background, check out her interview with D. Park Photography here. Brides, keep in mind that Vivian has 13 artists on the All Made Up Team that are highly skilled in make-up artistry and hair. But if you want the best of the best, be sure to ask for Vivian herself. Just look at me! Her works speaks for itself!

Psst! There's a Part 3 coming next with David and Drexelle from D. Park Photography so be sure to check back in a few more days!

Part 1: Behind-the-Scenes with All Made Up Team-Vivian Tran and D Park Photography

Photoshoots, photoshoots, photoshoots! I love 'em! But have you ever wondered about all the work that goes into one? Whenever we flip through magazines, we get to enjoy the end product at a quick glance and move on to the next page. But there is SO much that goes on to get these beautiful photos. And all those gorgeous models don't get beautiful by themselves.

I had an amazing privilege to take part in a photoshoot with All Made Up Team and D. Park Photography. Just to play on the amount of time it takes to even be camera ready, I'm gonna wait a few more days to reveal the gorgeous head shots. And just so you know, Vivian Tran of All Made Up Team does her own before/after photos! However, here are some great pics of what happens to behind-the-scenes.

Here's what I look like right after Vivian contours my face:


That's the fabulous Vivian Tran of All Made Up Team. And bride's listen up: VIVIAN REALLY IS FABULOUS! Just wait a few more days and you'll see what I'm talking about!


Just a moment in beautifying the make-up:


And just in case you're wondering, that is a Venti size cup o' joe. My mornings are never complete without massive amounts of caffeine.


Here's Angelina. She did an amazing job on my hair and labored over giving me the big, fat, beautiful hair I've always dreamed of.



After this experience, I have found a new love affair with fake eyelashes. Oh, how I love thee.


This is the closest sneak-peak you're gonna get for the finished product. But I'll tell ya: I hadn't felt this pretty since my first pregnancy which was almost 5 years ago!


Stay tuned!

Of course, David and Drexelle of D. Park Photography are to thank for all these fun photos!