Kaylen Turns One!

I've mentioned before that I could not believe my daughter, Kaylen is already one.  Planning her birthday was very emotional for me.... but boy am I glad it's done with!  There were so many things I wanted to do that it kind of started to get out of hand.  Being very money conscious, I always think I can make it cheaper than I can buy it.  So I was up until 3am gluing and cutting and putting all the little details together.

Anyway, here are some great shots that my dear friend, Erin from Erin J. Saldana Photography took.

The banner was made by my talented sister, Tina who came all the way from Hawaii for Kaylen's birthday.  She did a great job handwriting all the letters.

For the centerpiece, we used a lot of cute flowers like hydrangeas, tulips, and daisies.  I surrounded the main centerpiece with little "cupcake" hydrangea in a pink sparkling votive, topped with a cherry on top.

 Photo table of Kaylen's 1st year... She's grown so fast... :*(

 The cupcake cake was from Lido Bakery in Manhattan Beach.  I showed Ernesto, the owner, the invitation I used for her party and he came up with this.  It was perfect and it tasted so yummy!

We also had lots of cupcakes and cake pops.

 

I individually packed organic snacks for babies under one.  There were organic strawberry puffs and organic cheese poofs.

  

This was one of those things that I thought would be easy to make but it turned out to be quite the opposite.  I was at GAP kids and they had all kinds of cute wands and I thought it'll be perfect as favors if I made little cupcake wands .  Let's just say this was one of the reasons why I was up until 3am the night before...

 

For the adults, I gave manju snacks to honor Kaylen's Japanese heritage.  Manju is a Japanese snack usually eaten at celebratory times.  It's a steamed bun filled with red bean and it comes in white and pink.

My little cupcake...

Kaylen's 2nd outfit, a Japanese kimono.

To honor Kaylen's Korean heritage, we incorporated a portion of the traditional Dol where she dresses in the traditional Hanbok dress and chooses an item that signifies her future.  We laid out several choices for her to choose from:  a bundle of yarn (for long life), a golf ball (athlete/golfer), money (wealth), book (become a scholar), and rice (to have an abundant life).  Can you believe she reached for the golfball?! 

For entertainment, we had a pupper show from Swazzle.  It was really cute and Kaylen was so into it.

Happy Birthday, Kaylen!

She was so happy to have her first taste of real sugar...  My mom made special cupcake with half the sugar of a normal cupcake. 

Her smile says it all, she enjoyed her cupcake!

My sweet baby girl Kaylen,
You have grown so much this past year and Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you.  You amaze us everyday with the things that you say and do.  I promise I will always be there for you and love you more than anything in this world.  I love you so much!!

xoxo,
Mommy

Venue:  Miyako Hybrid Hotel
Cake:  Lido Bakery

Flowers:  Flawless Flowers by Falynn

Photographer:  Erin J. Saldana Photography
Puppet Show:  Swazzle
Cake Pops:  My friend Kathy is starting her own business making cupcakes and cake pops.  Please PM me if you are interested!

Winter Wonderland Wedding

Kristy Van Doren and Roy Batson were married at the Pacific Palms Resort in City of Industry, California.  It was an all day affair for all of their family and friends with music and dancing going well over midnight.

The bride, Kristy had several ideas of how she wanted her wedding to look and feel.  Her color palette was red, white, and black for the ceremony but wanted a "winter wonderland" feeling for the reception.  Kristy & Roy wanted all their guests to have music & food at almost every area of their wedding.  It was such a fun day working with such an awesome couple!

Here are some pictures of the evening by  Joe Latter.

 

The bride had to wear VANS!  Of course it was custom made with lace and sparkle to match her dress.

 

The First Look...

The Ceremony at the Gazebo was beautifully decorated with white roses and a touch of red roses.  Lots of crystals and lots of feathers.

 

The cocktail hour was filled with a lot of the Bride & Groom's touch.  Every glass served had their initials and you have to have an ice statue with their names!

Their Winter Wonderland Reception.  The Bride wanted a wintery, blue feel for the reception room.  The blue uplights definitely gave it that touch.

The Reception was followed by the After Party.  The Pavilion was quickly converted into a fun atmosphere with different hats and boa for fun!

 

Congratulations to Kristy & Roy!  It was definitely a fun evening and I wish them all the best in the future!

Thanks to all those who made the night run so smoothly!

Venue:  Pacific Palms Resort

Photographer:  Joe Latter Photographer

Flowers:  Robinson's Flowers

Uplighting:  TMMPro - Jack Hou

Kiss me, I'm Irish.

Being that St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner got us thinking of the couples that incorporate St Patrick's as their wedding theme.  Not only is St. Patrick's Day is a great time to celebrate Celtic heritage and have a great time with family and friends, but what a wonderful time to celebrate a wedding! Here are a few inspiration pictures of weddings that have incorporated GREEN.

http://www.polyvore.com

Wedding favors


Don't forget another great touch to an "Irish Theme Wedding" would be having your rehearsal dinner at a local Irish Pub.
Orange County Area:
Branagan's Irish Pub
213 N. Harbor Blvd.
Fullerton, Ca 92831
714-447-3544




Los Angeles Area:
Molly Malone's Irish Pub
575 South Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036-3128
(323) 935-1577

Inspiration Board - Our Little Cupcake is Turning One

I can not believe how time flew by... My daughter, Kaylen is turning 1 next month!  I was warned about this and was told by everyone to enjoy every minute because before you know it, they'll be all grown up.  I know she's only turning 1 but seriously, I get so emotional thinking about how quickly this day came.  I still remember clear as day coming home from the hospital with her.  Oh, it's so bittersweet planning her birthday!! But nonetheless, it's a party and I am going full blown party planning mode.  :)
So naturally, we have to have a theme for her party.  I did a lot of research online and decided to go with cupcakes because just like cupcakes, my daughter is so sweet and you just want to eat her!  No, not literally... ;) So here's a little inspirational board for "Our Little Cupcake" birthday theme!