My new website - Credit where credit is (over) due!

I've gotten some ribbing recently about A) being lax about blog posting and B) forgetting to include photo credits on my website. Guilty on both counts. I figure perhaps blogging about it would be a good first step.

The new web site has been up and running for a few months now, and is in my estimation totally awesome. No.... more than that.... It's supersonic jetpack, fresh-coffee, frisbee-dog, free-beer and a live surf-band kind of awesome, and I have two people to thank. Profusely. In no particular order:

Evan Lange, my long-suffering web designer who would dutifully meet with me, talk to me, listen to my ideas and try to get to commit to some kind of plan. I would, and we would agree on what I had to do to be ready for the next stages. Then some time would pass, and I would have some other ideas, and he would dutifully meet with me, talk with me, listen to my ideas and and try to get me to commit to some kind of plan. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I think Evan, in his wisdom realized that the main obstacle was my particular kind of perfectionism that won't let me commit to anything because it's never quite right. His solution? He listened carefully and made it perfect. Several times. Thank you Evan.

The other indispensable partner in all this is Rhee Bevere, whose amazingly great photographs became the backbone of the whole project and serve as the real stars of the site. I've been very fortunate to work with Rhee a lot over the past few seasons, so there were tons of great shots from which to choose. Being the wonderfully great friend and generous person that she is, she pored over thousands of images to sort out which would work the best.

I may be biased by her kindness and her friendship, but she remains at the top of my list of favorite photographers. And I'm not just saying that because I owe her a long-overdue lunch and photo credits.

Thank you Rhee.

Wedding University

I get to work alongside a lot of couples who are knee-deep in work, school, setting up a shared household and oh yeah... planning their wedding and reception for 150 guests. And guess what? Almost without exception, everyone seems to regard the planning part as the most taxing - even the weird ones who really enjoy it.

Sure it can be fun, (and actually, most really do think it is!) but there are still a lot of decisions to be made, budgets to be kept, vendors to meet and hire, more decisions to be made... One of the most common comments I hear from my couples is that they feel that they don't even know the questions to ask to help them make all those decisions. Fortunately, most do a fantastic job of things, and manage to give themselves and their guests a great time, and manage to have fun doing it, but wouldn't it be great to have a way to shorten the process and smooth out that learning curve?

Enter Certified Wedding Consultants Jubilee Lau and Jean Marks. You can hire them to steer you through all of this, but if that is not in the cards, you can attend Wedding University and have the benefit of their expertise and experience along with that of some of the top wedding vendors in the industry (including yours truly) who will give you some practical guidance and great advice on every aspect of your wedding regardless of budget.

There will be lots of examples of decor, food and wine tastings, GREAT odds at winning a killer 3 night Honeymoon at one of 3 Four Seasons properties, and a gift-bag that promises to be an embarrassment of riches. But the real value of Wedding University is an opportunity to learn from some of the best in the industry so you can tackle your own wedding with savvy and confidence and yes... have a great time doing it!

For my part, I have been concentrating on the role of Master of Ceremonies: how an MC really ties the whole thing together without being loud, pushy or cheesy, and how, with a little bit of inside information you can find the perfect MC and DJ that perfectly fits your vision. My goal is not to tell you what to do and when, but give you some thoughts about a lot of the moving parts of a wedding reception and how you will know when you have found someone you can feel really good about putting intov such a visible and influential role. Presenting with me will be a great DJ and good friend of mine, Carl Mindling.

I am proud and humbled to have been asked to present along with some of the best in our area, and I am expecting GREAT THINGS. Take a look at this roster! Whether you are planning an all-out spectacular wedding, or something simpler, there will be lots of useful, practical advice that will make a good wedding the best wedding EVER!

Jubilee Lau Events
Jean Marks Weddings
Geoff White Photography
Kevin Chin Photography
Savadelis Films
A Different Kind of DJ – Ron Grandia
Nancy Liu Chin Design
Wildflower Linen
Four Season Catering Team
Gabrielle’s Bridal Salon
Peter Rudolfi
Cynthia Glinka, Dance Instructor
Carl Mindling
Chewing The Cud
Sash and Sugar
Hartman Studios
Enhanced Lighting
Eli Thomas for Men
Get Your Do Up

The Details:
When: February 8, 2009 from 11:00am – 5:00pm
Where: Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley, 2050 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, CA 94303
Cost: $40 for two people or $25 for one person

Spaces are limited to 150 students, so RSVP today to save your spot:
Cassie Conching 650/470-2894
Jubilee Lau 408/235-8889
jubilee@jubileelauevents.com

For more information, click here or visit The Wedding University’s blog.

Meet Django the Wonder Mutt

So he's not DJ-Related, but he's what's happening at Casa Grandia. Django fell into our lap on Saturday, and we are in love with the nervous, stinky little Rock-Star.

Our neighbor heard we were kinda sorta maybe considering a dog someday, and spotted the little nut who was the Santa Photo Spokesmodel for the Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority at Pet Food Express in Campbell. She came back and told us about him, and next thing we know we find ourselves at a pet-care chain huddled over a shivering, licking little ball of energy. He hopped right up on my son's lap and made himself at home. I rolled my eyes, sighed loudly and started the paperwork. What else could I do?

We had to wait until the next day to actually take delivery, and I admit I was counting the hours until we could go get him, and in less than 12 hours, I went from confirmed non dog-owner to someone shopping for canine-sized sweaters.

Best of the Bay?

A couple of weeks ago a friend emailed to tell me that I had been nominated for SFGate's BEST OF THE BAY list, to which I replied. "Neat. What's for lunch? It's your turn to buy."

Now, it's not that I wasn't thrilled by the news, in fact, I was quite pleasantly surprised to hear that somebody noticed. (I got an email from SFGate the day before) it's just that I know how these things tend to go.

By choice, I work with only 30-35 couples per year - It's the only way I can afford to give each couple the time and attention it takes to do what I do for them. The larger operations will probably break the 1000-event mark. Knowing this, it would be foolish to entertain the idea that I'd hold my own in this arena, thus the prospect of lunch had a much more immediate appeal. Nobody really notices these things, right? I decided to ignore it.

But something interesting happened this week: I started getting dribs and drabs of email from people who DID notice, which got me to actually take a closer look this morning. I was second in the standings! (cartoon head-shaking sound) Sitting right under Fog City Entertainment, one of the better Multi-ops, in my opinion.

This got me curious, and caused me to do something I thought I'd never do: I sent out one of those pathetic "vote for me" emails. In my defense, I tried to be good about it. It was a very restrained note to a pretty limited list of people - only those who are in my new Gmail account, and only past clients and professional connections that know my work - but immediately, I felt a huge jolt of regret and fear that I had just annoyed some of of my favorite people.

I got over it though, once the congratulatory emails started to pour in. The vote tally shot up like a rocket, and I got some very kind, enthusiastic and thoughtful reviews. I am so grateful!


It's a neat feeling to have surged ahead, though I realize that this is probably a short-lived spike and others will soon mobilize their friends, clients and colleagues to vote. In any case, I have "won" with all the people that matter. Thanks again!


"You like me! You really like me!"

Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen

I'm not really all that into my birthday, in fact, I am quite happy to receive a few cards (containing checks or cash) and quietly call it a day. It's not an age thing - I still race around the grocery store on the back of the cart like it's a scooter (Watch those blind corners, Safeway shoppers!) so until that changes, I remain forever young. I just don't like being the center of the hubbub. (I'd rather MC somebody else's) But this year, it seemed the planets were aligning and fates were conspiring to make March 12 a great day.

A few weeks prior I received a fancy envelope from the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay, one of my favorite wedding venues. I am cordially invited to attend the 2008/2008 Preferred Vendor Orientation Program. Woohoo!

Now I'm a preferred vendor at a lot of places - and plenty of them are venues that make me proud, but being recognized by the folks at "THE" Ritz Carlton for the past few years is something that I regard as a high personal achievement and a sign that I must be doing something right. These Ladies and Gentlemen are dead-serious about the business of wrapping their guests in "a warm, relaxed yet refined ambience" and they expect their vendor teams to seamlessly blend with Ritz staff to achieve this end.

Furthermore, at the risk of sounding a bit geeky, the news that I would be spending a day in a room full of wedding professionals who were hand-picked by the crackerjack team of event specialists at the Ritz actually cost me some sleep. I was that excited. You don't get the nod from Ritz by accident, and I was thrilled to be surrounded by all those amazingly-great wedding vendors who are super passionate about their respective professions and their clients.

Left to right around table: Debra Hertzog and Sunni Oza of the Ritz-Carlton, Lisa Leigh, Jean Marks, Michelle Walker, John Woods and Ron Grandia.

But it gets better, as a few well-timed emails landed me a spot in "the J-Car "- I carpooled to the Ritz with wedding coordinators extraordinare Jean Marks and Jubilee Lau. Then, just to make the alliteration complete, was joined by the Nationally-recognized videographer Jewel Savadelis. I'm surrounded by heavy hitters, and I'm not even there yet!

Eager student that I am, I sat right up front and was joined shortly by Armando, the hair and makeup rockstar of Get Your Do Up seen here improving my look just by being with me

If I was impressed by the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Ritz-Carlton before, I was doubly so by the time I left. Their Service Values, shared by everyone from Doorman to General Manager, the underlying credo that underpins their unmatched levels of customer service and genuine care for their guests, is literally carried by each member of the staff in the form of a four-fold credo card that is always on their person. Not that they ever have to pull out their personal careworn cards, because every employee knows the thing by heart. (Just ask!)

I've always been a bit awed by the Ritz organization and their seemingly innate ability to make people feel great. Seeing first-hand the hows and whys of what makes them the gold-standard of guest-comfort was a master- class on how I can continually improve my own service to my clients and their guests.

Just call me Reverend.

This weekend I performed a wedding. No, I don't mean that I MC'd and DJ'd a wedding reception (Well, I did that too) But I actually pronounced a couple husband and wife. Holy cats was that FUN!


Here's a picture I took of Rob and Megan right before I used my awesome powers to make the wedding legal.

Megan and Rob invited 80 or so of their closest family and best friends to come celebrate their wedding at the Macallum House in downtown Mendocino. Gusty winds moved the ceremony from a cypress lined bluff to the Mac House lawn at the last minute, but that was of little consequence - it was a lovely spot to be married. Megan and Rob are a great couple who are so in love. I could not have been more proud to be the person to have the honor of actually performing the ceremony - it was funny how it came to be.

Great clients beget great clients. A few months ago I got a call from Sam Roza, a groom for whom I worked several years earlier when he married his lovely wife (and energetic dancer) Dana. When Sam called, he was sitting with his boss, Megan who was planning a wedding in Mendocino. Now I appreciate referrals, but when you tell your boss who to trust with her fairytale Mendocino wedding, and then sit her down and make the call right there, that's beyond the call of duty!

I was only kidding. When I met Megan, she had already found most of her vendors with the exception of a DJ and an officiant - I joked that she could use me in a pinch as I have my ordination from the Universal Life Church, and had ALMOST married a couple a few years back when the officiant was a no-show. We both had a good chuckle and we moved on to talking about the timeline and such.

A few days later Megan called back and asked if I would seriously consider performing the ceremony and come a day early to be part of the rehearsal. I said yes before she could come to her senses. I had no idea how challenging performing a ceremony could be, and I wanted things to be just right for them. There was a lot of customizing to do: She had a gaggle of bridesmaids (or Sista's as we called them) and he had two Best Men- Joshua and Jason, his two boys 8 and 14 who also "gave away" the bride. Megans Stepfather and Brother provided the music for the ceremony and her father was given the honor of offering up the prayers throughout the ceremony. Once we figured how to make all that flow seamlessly, my biggest task was not to get choked up myself during the sand ceremony.

It's hard to not be in a celebratory mood when you're in a postcard-perfect place like Mendocino. Everyone was in great spirits enjoying the location, the great food and wine, great music and perfect evening. The party lasted into the night - even after the last dance, folks hung around the bar and out on the porch of the Macallum House and then headed out onto the streets of Mendocino for more late night fun. There were a lot of sunglasses worn to breakfast the next morning.

Robot Bride in Full Effect.

Anybody want to do something like this for their first dance? I just might host your wedding for free just so I can post the video. Hi-freaking-larious, and very well done.