Tasting... on behalf of the couple!

The couple I mentioned on this post took my suggestion and decided to go with Cicada for their wedding!

Since they live in NY and couldn't find the time to come to LA for tasting, I was asked to do the tasting for them! Lucky me. 

I took my fiance as my lucky guest, and we were stuffed. From appetizer to main course, along with wine pairing, they took care of us really good. A day later, writing this, I'm still FULL.

Solo Wedding Coordination DEBUT!

It's been too long since I last updated the blog. But I'm back!! And this year, I finally started coordinating weddings on my own! Not as an assistant. I'm the MAIN person.

First one is my dear friend Tomomi & Shawn's intimate wedding at a private estate in Malibu in October.

(All photography: Fondly Forever Photography)

It was such a beautiful and heart-warming wedding. I was reminded why people do weddings, and why I LOVE weddings so much.

Tips I learned from Gianna regarding having a wedding at a private estate helped a lot on this wedding. There are a couple things I wish I did differently (like, almost forgetting to give the bride the bouquet before she walked down the aisle), but I think it went fairly well for doing it for the first time. Most of all, I learned so much from this experience. I was very happy to be a part of their special day.

Venue scouting for next year's wedding!

I'll be coordinating a wedding next year for a new couple. The gloom and I went to the same high school in Japan. Fast forward 16 years, I'll be coordinating his wedding in LA. Life certainly has interesting twist.

The couple used to live in LA and now lives in NY. Since most of their friends are in LA and it's easier for their family to travel to LA from Japan and Hong Kong, they decided to have a wedding in LA.

Yesterday, we went to a couple places for a location scout.
They are looking for a vintage feel venue, and they decided to check out the Mission Inn in Riverside.

It was my first time visiting this hotel also. And man, oh man, this hotel looks like a castle!!

My favorite part was their beautiful chapel.

But this hotel wasn't quite "it" for them. Personally, it looked a little Disneyland-ish. But they do everything in-house, so if someone wants to have a destination wedding and not think about details, they're a perfect venue.

We checked out a couple other places. One of which was my ultimate favorite wedding venue in Los Angeles, Cicada. It definitely has a vintage feel they want and it's drop dead gorgeous. We shall see what they decide!

Bel Air Bay Club Wedding

Last Sat, I worked at a gorgeous wedding at Bel Air Bay Club for Gianna.

(wedding design by Gianna and Company)

The florist Lisa from Ixora did an amazing job with the flowers.

Especially, the reception site was breathtaking.

(wedding design by Gianna and Company)

And... we had two new interns at this wedding.

And I was actually giving them tips and directions!!!

They reminded me the first wedding I worked at two years ago.

That was actually at BABC too! I've come a long way. haha.

Always a pleasure working for Gianna. She's a wonderful teacher.

I know I've said this many times, but

finding/contacting her was the best decision I've ever made!

Wine Study Event

I helped my friend throw a wine study event at her house the other day.

I didn't do much, as she got it all covered to the details. Just a few advice here and there.

It was an intimate and relaxed tasting/study event.

We got to taste many different wines which we've never heard of with variety of cheeses.

Blind tasting prep by our instructor.

The instructor poured us wines little by little, and we wrote down what we thought of the wine on the tasting note. Aroma, clarity, color, acidity, etc... Wine is so... deep!!!

The reveal. They were all tasty and surprisingly affordable!

And we had a kick-off party afterwards. Potluck style.
Fun times!