Sacramento Wedding Planner Archives

A Year in Review 2018 – Inspirations by Gina

January 2, 2019 by import Leave a Comment

We can’t believe how 2018 has flown by! Where on earth did the time go? We went through ups and downs and had major growing pains. There were certainly challenges throughout the year as we began to shift our focus from just wedding planning and coordination to full service event planning and design. It was rough at times but we stayed true to our core mission and values and all the hard work has paid off tremendously for our team here at Inspirations by Gina.

Here are some of our highlights for 2018:

SF City Hall Elopement Intimate Wedding Planner Floral Designer

Photo Credit: Christine Glebov Photography

What an amazing and action-packed year it has been for us! We had an opportunity to provide personal flowers for a number of San Francisco City Hall weddings and coordinate weddings and events in the San Francisco Bay area. We were also no stranger to travel this year, jet setting to South and Central America, coordinating and designing a wedding in Anderson Valley (near Mendocino) and traveling to New York for design meetings for events in 2018 and 2019.

Photo Credit: Molly Gilholm Photography

It was an honor to make a number of TV appearances on Good Day Sacramento, first appearing in the summer to discuss wedding planning and wildfires and the second appearance this past month to talk about Kwanzaa and weddings. In addition to the TV appearances, we were very estatic to have one our weddings featured in the spring on Park Winters blog! All the media love has been a huge blessing and we are humbled that our work has been recognized regionally and not everyone has this opportunity to be featured.

Our industry peers recognized us by nominating us for various awards such as the Sacramento A List “Best Wedding Planner” category in which we made the top 10 planners in the Sacramento, The Rising Tide “20 on the Rise Award” and “Intrigue Floral Design Awards 2019”. We thank you and are humbled that our peers felt we deserved this type of validation.

Photo Credit: Meagan Lucy Photographers

December was an amazing month in which we designed a huge holiday window display at Sparkle Bridal Couture with the holiday theme being Kwanzaa. We are truly humbled and blessed to witness such positive reactions to our window display and it has helped our community here in Sacramento have discussions about what the principles of Kwanzaa are and how we can live these principles each and every day.

Floral and event design was a huge part of our success in 2018 and we cannot wait for what 2019 has in store for us.

We would like to thank all our clients, creative partners, venues and media outlets for such a fabulous 2018. We certainly could NOT have done it without you and here at Inspirations by Gina, we would like to say “Here is a toast to you because you are fabulous”!!

Love is Love – An LGBT Wedding in the Woods

February 15, 2018 by import Leave a Comment

An LGBT Wedding at UC Davis Arboretum

We have had the opportunity to plan and design a number of LGBT weddings over the last couples years. Last October, Inspirations by Gina was contacted by Angela who was looking for someone to create florals and decor for her wedding to Cassie. Yay! We were so excited because our philosophy is that Love is Love and we do not discriminate against anyone who finds love. Angela met with us and we immediately clicked on the design and what she was envisioning for her wedding day. The UC Davis Arboretum is such a serene and special place that we wanted to capture the organic elements in our design for Angela and Cassie.

We decided that we would use lots of greenery such as sword ferns along with a single echeveria succulent, seeded eucalyptus to represent the woods in Angela’s bouquet. The pop of colors of cream roses and purple burgundy florals tied into the design of Angela’s gown and her desire to bring in the color burgundy for the wedding.

Credit: Oh Snap Photography

We continued with the design of the woods throughout the reception decor and the centerpieces for the guest tables were wooden boxes filled with florals, pots and succulents. We decorated the simple wedding cake with cream roses to compliment the rest of the design throughout the reception.

Angela was overcome with so much emotion when we presented her with her bouquet! Also, when Angela and Cassie arrived at the D Street Steakhouse, they were both blown away when they saw not only the florals but the reception decor. This is why we do what we do because we love it when our clients are happy with what we create for their special day.

For more info on Angela and Cassie’s wedding day, check out their wedding on Equally Wed:

Here’s a toast to both Angela and Cassie: Cheers and we wish you much love and happiness!

Vendor Credits

Photography: Oh Snap! Photography
Ceremony Venue: UC Davis Arboretum
Reception Venue: D Street Steakhouse
Cassie’s Florals: Bloom and Vine
Officiant: Tan Wedding & Events
Angela’s Bouquet and Reception Decor: Inspirations by Gina
Entertainment: Steve Millington
Dress: Haute House Couture
Vest & Tie: Elegant Designs Bridal
Suit & Shoes: Express

How to Pick the Perfect Wedding Venue

February 13, 2017 by import Leave a Comment

SIX TIPS ON HOW TO PICK THE PERFECT WEDDING VENUE

Now that you have your ring and you have told the world through Facebook, Snap Chat and Instagram that you are now engaged. You ask yourself, “What’s next???” You need to know how to pick the perfect wedding venue.

Your selection of the perfect wedding venue is one of the most important decisions you will make on your journey to I do. The venue will pretty much dictate what time of year you get married, your dress, your budget, decor and what type of vendors you need to hire. You might feel overwhelmed because there are so many venues to choose from.

First and foremost you will need to take the following into consideration:

How large or small a wedding do you plan to have? Do you want to have a destination wedding? You need to know that not every venue can accommodate large weddings; whereas some venues have a minimum guest count. If you are looking to have a small destination wedding, it might not be the right fit.
The wedding season is year round here in Sacramento , but the most popular months to get married are September and October. Hot weather can put a damper on your July or August wedding,
Holiday weekend weddings are very popular; however, venues that might not be open or will charge a premium for you to hold your wedding during a holiday. You also might have your heart set on vendors that are not available.
When you first start out planning your wedding, you probably do not have a budget in mind. Sit down with your fiance and have a realistic conversation about money. You don’t want to overspend on your dream venue and cannot afford to feed your guests!
A licensed and certified wedding planner offers valuable insights on venues that fit your budget.
Are you a DIY bride? A venue resource book like Here Comes the Guide can help you find the perfect venue.

How to Hire the Right Wedding Professional

November 14, 2016 by import Leave a Comment

We are back from the annual Association of Bridal Consultants conference which was held in Dallas this year and we are so inspired by all the things that we learned! So many topics and so little time to catch up on all of it. It made us think about when couples are looking to hire wedding professionals for their big day, how on earth do they choose the right one? There are so many on the internet, where does one start and what questions does one ask?

You want to make sure that you hire the right person and the process can be quite stressful. How do you find the right person for you? Who do you trust? Where do you go for advice?

It is not like you plan a wedding each and every day. Remember to breath, be patient and trust your instincts. It is about chemistry.

When hiring a wedding professional, you should look at the following:

Do Your Homework – Make sure you do a little bit of background homework before talking on the phone or meeting with a wedding professional. Make sure you have all your ideas collected in one spot, whether it is a binder or a Pinterest page.
Go through the internet, attend wedding shows or talk to friends or family that have recently been married. Look into what wedding professionals are charging for your area. Sometimes when a wedding professional is charging an amount that is too good to be true, it might not be true. You get what you pay for. Write down what you like and what you don’t like.
Always meet with the person you are thinking about hiring – We all have busy lives and there are times when it is isn’t convenient to meet with a wedding professional. It’s great to talk to someone on the phone or email, but an in person meeting, Skype or Google Hangout is the best way to interview a potential wedding professional. This gives you the chance to fully experience who they are as professionals.
Ask a lot of questions! Just don’t ask what the price is. There is more to your wedding than the price. Give the wedding professional the chance to explain what they charge and why they charge what they charge. There is no such thing as a stupid question. Get clear and concise answers to your questions. If you don’t understand something, speak up!
Make sure there is a contract – there have been many times in which we have seen wedding professionals NOT have a contract. Do you really want to work with someone who doesn’t take their business seriously? If a wedding professional has a problem you asking questions, you need to find someone else. You want someone to be professional, patient and understanding.
Listen to what the wedding professional says and does – Look at body language. Are they confident and comfortable? Or they too cocky? Do they appear nervous or their eyes dart around? If your gut tells you something is amiss, thank the wedding professional and move on. There are too many out there for you to settle with one you won’t be happy with.
It’s great to get questions off the internet to ask the wedding professional, but don’t let those questions be the deciding factor. Those questions are a benchmark to help you but don’t let them be the end all be all. The person you hiring you have to actually like and you develop a relationship over time.
Don’t price shop too much – We all love a great deal, but are you going to hire someone because they are a whole lot cheaper? Cheaper doesn’t necessarily mean better. Just because one professional might charge more than another professional doesn’t mean one is better than the other.

If you do your homework, you will find the right person to do the job. It takes time, thought and patience just like finding the correct mate!

Five Tips for Designing a Vintage Tuscany Themed Wedding

October 24, 2016 by import Leave a Comment

Have you ever dreamed of having a Tuscan themed wedding in the Tuscany countryside but don’t have the resources to travel all the way to Italy? Well, you don’t have to travel half way around the world to make your dream wedding a reality. Here in California there are so many great wineries complete with rolling hills and sunset views that you can have your wedding at and the great thing is you do not need a passport!

The following are six tips to help you get started in creating a Tuscan vintage themed wedding:

For us here at Inspirations by Gina when we think of the word vintage it makes us think of soft lace, beautiful details and rustic abandonment. Also, we envision Tuscany with rolling hills, wine barrels, Italian cypresses and sunflowers. When creating your Tuscan vintage theme, make sure that you mix earthy rough elements with softer fabrics and vintage pieces so that your wedding doesn’t look like a bad garage sale.
Pick venue a that has an Old World vibe to it; it can be a winery, a hotel that is near a vineyard or even a private estate.
Don’t overdo it with florals. Remember to have balance and that your venue’s landscape will probably speak for itself in terms of beauty so why over compensate?
When you are figuring out how to decorate for your wedding, you don’t need a whole lot to get the look you want. Every detail doesn’t have to match exactly; it’s called mismatch perfection! You want to pair your décor with the surroundings. Try pairing your tables with flowy fabrics and mix them with materials such as rustic wood, metal and/or brick to have contrast and texture. Too much of a good thing makes everything look overdone and harsh.
Pick a range of colors and don’t feel like you have to choose a maximum of three colors. Look at what the venue offers both interior and exterior, you will be surprised by what inspires you. Don’t be afraid to experiment. You will know what is right when you see it.

Photo Credit: Cameron Ingalls Photography

winery wedding tuscan wedding lavender themed wedding

Photo Credit: Cameron Ingalls Photography

winery wedding lavender themed wedding herbs and lavender

Photo Credit: Cameron Ingalls Photography

Rentals by Botanica Events and All About Events, Venue Villa San Juliette Winery, Floral Design by Noonan’s Wine Country Designs, Photo by Cameron Ingalls Photography

Awesome Alternate Names for Your Wedding Party

October 17, 2016 by import Leave a Comment

The last two months we are proud to have had some very unique and fun weddings with some awesome couples. A trend that we noticed with a great deal of the weddings this year is the rising popularity of gender-neutral wedding parties and weddings without wedding parties (Gina had this for her own wedding this year). More and more couples are using terms beyond “bridesmaids” and “groomsmen” to refer to the people that are loving and supporting them throughout the wedding process and the actual wedding day. We have heard

Here are a few creative names that we have heard this year:

Bromaid
Man of Honor
Maid of Honor being called a “Bridesmaid” instead of a Maid of Honor
Brother of Honor
Best Sister
Wedding Entourage
Wedding Posse
Best Brother
Wedding Crew
Woman of Honor
Partners in Crime

There are a bunch of reasons why you might want to rethink the term “Bridal Party”. It sounds so archaic and outdated and here are other reasons why you might not want to use the term:

You are two grooms who don’t identify with the term “bridal” anything.
You don’t want to listen to your parents and want to be an off-beat bride/groom.
Your besties/crew are a mixed gender and you don’t have the traditional evenly split, brides side and groom’s side.
Nobody likes to use the term “Maid/Matron of Honor or Bridesmaid”.
You want to reduce the stress of your crew fighting over who will be “Maid of Honor”.
You might want to be looking for ways to personalize your wedding and want to throw tradition out the door.

Whatever your reasons are for using alternate names for your wedding party, rest assured that it is okay! The possibilities are endless!

What other names have you thought for your most favorite peeps in the world?

Most Effective Ways to Repurpose Mason Jars

August 29, 2016 by import Leave a Comment

We are sure have seen a lot of mason jars at weddings over the past couple of years and wonder what on earth do people do with the mason jars after an event? The latest trend is to repurpose mason jars into such items as lighting or salad containers.

Whether you love or hate mason jars, they are here to stay! Here is some inspiration to get you started on repurposing your mason jars.

Bohemian Inspired Outdoor Lighting

Photo Credit: LITDecor on Etsy

Salad in a Jar

Photo Credit: The Kitchn

Mason Jar Herb Garden

Photo Credit: Free People Blog

Wagon Wheel Chandelier

Photo Credit: HGTV

What No One Tells You About Flowers

August 9, 2016 by import Leave a Comment

In part five of our series “When a Wedding Planner Gets Engaged”, I want to talk about what no one tells you about flowers. A lot of couples I work with love flowers, but really don’t know what goes into the cost of flowers and find out that they are pretty expensive! This can potentially blow your budget wide open!

While planning my own wedding, it was clear that I really wanted to have nice centerpieces and an awesome bouquet because I LOVE flowers and they are so much part of what I do as a planner/designer. Even though I am in the industry, I was still amazed at how much flowers could cost even with flowers are in season.

Photo Credit: Dee and Kris Photography

We all love flowers but no one really likes to talk about how much they cost. I am sure you got sticker shock when you met with the florist and then they gave you a breakdown of how much it will cost to make the wedding look beautiful. The following breakdown is based on averages. The actual costs can fluctuate depending on where you live, what time of year and what type of flowers you are having.

CEREMONY

$300 – One Bride’s Bouquet
$20 – Groom’s Boutonniere
$750 – Bridesmaid bouquets (six at $125 each)
$25 – Fresh flowers for bridesmaid hairstyles
$80 – Groomsmen boutonnieres (four at $20 each)
$40 – Father and grandfather boutonnieres (two at $20 each)
$90 – Mother and grandmother corsages (two at $45 each)
$50 – Ring bearer’s basket
$40 – Flower girl’s basket of petals
$300 – Ceremony arrangements (two displays at the altar)

COCKTAIL HOUR

$275 – Escort-card table arrangements

RECEPTION

$1,500 – Dinner table arrangements (ten at $150 each)

$220 – Floating candle arrangements (fifty-five at $4 each)

DESIGN

$600 – Floral design fee

THE GRAND TOTAL: $4,265

(excludes setup, breakdown fees and taxes)

As you can see the grand total is over $4,000! Why are flowers so much? Flowers are tied to the market rate. It is very similar to when you go to a restaurant and see lobster on the menu and it says “Market Rate”. Flowers are based on petroleum prices; so when petroleum goes up, so does the price of flowers because farm tractors, farm equipment, greenhouses and the transportation and delivery of the flowers to market all involve petroleum. Florists are not trying to gouge you with the design fee. The design fee is a fee in which you pay for the florist’s expertise and experience. It’s not a good idea to try and “haggle” or “negotiate” this fee because the person who is designing your flowers brings a great deal of experience to the plate in order for your wedding to look beautiful. As I said, this is an average cost. Prices differ based on many variables.

The last thing I would like to cover is that make sure that you are clear on what type of design you would like. If you are wanting a rustic theme, let your florist know. Have open communication and if there is something that you don’t like or not sure about, ask! The florist is there to help you and wants to do everything humanly possible to make you happy with their work. There is no such thing as a stupid question!!!

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