Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Beauty & The Beast Inspired Styled Shoot


Last month a Fantastic Team and I got together and designed a styled shoot modeled after one of our most favorite Disney Princesses, Belle and her Beast. 



We dip-dyed the Photographer, Raelynn Elizabeth Photography's original wedding gown a beautiful Ombre Gold, to bring Belle's Classic Yellow dress into the modern world. 


For the Tablescape, I used my royal blue linen swagged up over a creamy yellow one, to tie into Belles blue Country dress. You'll see on the ground the Candleabra's that were prolific in the original film, as well as my nods to Lumiere and Cogsworth, as well as the enchanted rose. 


What princess wouldn't want a pair of sparkly gold heels to go with her fabulous dress?


Lumiere tucked to one side of the stack of Belle's books from the library, while Cogsworth is standing guard on the other side. 




We used the very iconic single rose as part of our decor, but only one had the magical dust twinkling off of it... 





I pulled a large gilt framed painting off my own wall, and attached the Seating chart made by Boxed Wedding Invitations, as well as moss to give off this fantastic look. 







Of course, Mrs. Potts and Chip had to make an appearance! While Mrs. Potts was relatively easy, I had to give Chip his iconic missing, well, chip. Yes, the broken piece was done on purpose! We even had Chips siblings in the drawer, all whole and healthy... 



I just knew when I bought this chest that it would be perfect for a cake table...


Here's our nod to the Gaston's of the world. If you look closely, you'll see where we acknowledged the bar scene of the film. There's the Spittoon, the antlers from the wall, even a softer version of Gaston's armchair. And on the benchseat, you'll find the Beast's Magic Mirror that he sent Belle home with so that she might always be able to see him...








Credits to my entire team.
Planner/Event Stylist: Sylver Weddings & Events | Wedding photographer: Raelyn Elizabeth Photography | Florist: Flowers by Alicia | Wedding venue: Pala Mesa Resort | Baker: Charly’s Cakes | Stationery designer: Boxed Wedding Invitations | Belle model: KaitLynn Markley | Prince model: Fabian Lopez | Hair and make-up artist: Domenica Beauty | Jewelry: Keep Collective | Custom signs: Foswick Collectibles


We were featured in:


HUFFINGTON POST

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/beauty-and-the-beast-wedding-shoot_us_58c6c2e1e4b0ed71826e3d41


GLAMOUR
http://www.glamour.com/story/beauty-and-the-beast-wedding

THE KNOT
https://www.theknot.com/content/beauty-and-the-beast-wedding-photo-shoot

POPSUGAR
https://www.popsugar.com/love/Beauty-Beast-Modern-Styled-Wedding-43276454?stream_view=1#photo-43276585

POPSUGAR CELEBRITY
https://www.facebook.com/PopSugarCelebrity/videos/901621133207692/?hc_ref=SEARCH

SOFEMININE ENTERTAINMENT
http://www.sofeminine.co.uk/news-celebrities/beauty-and-the-beast-disney-wedding-shoot-s2181840.html#d1060958-p1

And Coming soon to publications:

SAN DIEGO STYLE WEDDINGS

HOUSE BEAUTIFUL
COUNTRY LIVING
WOMAN'S DAY
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
THE DAILY MAIL
LA REPUBBLICA
ZANKYOU WEDDINGS
MOSAIC BRIDE

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Wedding Day Diets

You’re a size 14. You want to be a size 8 before your wedding. Now comes all the crazy dieting, starving yourself, frantic workouts. You drop the pounds like butter off a hot knife, but then it all comes back, or you just can’t make that stubborn last 10 pounds go anywhere, no matter what you do.

Sound Familiar?

Well, that’s because most of the diets available today are NOT designed for what you want. There are the fad diets that do work, but require massive changes to your lifestyle, like Atkin’s and South Beach, which inevitably cause you to fail, over and over again, because you are denying yourself the things you crave. You cut out sugars, carbs, grains, breads, etc. Then because you CAN’T have these things, that’s all you find yourself wanting. Your diet requires you to do 30 minute workouts 3-4 times a week, but with all the wedding planning going on plus having to maintain your usual daily activities, like keeping your job to PAY for that wedding, and cleaning the house, especially during the Holidays when you are surrounded by friends and family, and allll those delicious pies and sweets, those Diets just won’t do.

Sylver Weddings CEO, Stacy Everett, has studied several different diets, has tried many of them personally, like the Atkins Diet, and knows the pros and cons of each. She’s gone a step further and developed her own diet based on this study of hers, and can shed a full dress size in 2 weeks. She’s looking trimmer and fitter by the day, and has even begun a Food Diary on our Facebook Page to help other’s learn by seeing exactly what she’s eating, right down to the ingredients.

What she learned is that you gain weight for basically two reasons. Your body thinks it’s starving, or your Blood sugar is spiking crazily. Both throw your system into a Fat Storage Mode, making every bite you eat another fat roll somewhere. Your body has this great set of tools to help you find that perfect balance, no matter what your activity level is. The Main one is called HUNGER. When your body is low on energy, it gets hungry, when it has enough in it’s system to get you through for a bit, it’s no longer hungry. Simple, right? Most people don’t eat when they are hungry, and don’t stop when they are no longer hungry. We are driven by schedules and price points.

So lets make a schedule then. But before we do, I want you to understand a little more. Starvation makes your body store everything you eat as fat because it doesn’t know if you’ll get another meal, or when. This dates back to our hunter/gatherer stage in evolution. We built up stores of fat to survive the long winters when food was scarce. How do you combat that? By eating 3 balanced meals a day at regular intervals, and not stuffing yourself, and 2-3 small snacks between meals to see you through until the next regular meal. Most important is something we all learned in Elementary School. EAT BREAKFAST. When you skip this all important meal, your body is immediately thrown into starvation mode for the entire day. So even if you eat well the rest of the day, you’re just storing it as fat.  

Blood sugar spiking up high during a typical meal then dropping down super low between causes fat storage.  This part is caused by the types of food we eat and the portions of each. We tend to gravitate to sugary foods, or carb laden foods, both spike your blood sugar. That’s why Atkins works, it cuts that away, and encourages you to eat as much as you want. You’re not starving, and you’re not spiking blood sugar. BUT, you crave those things. So you fail. So choose better when you plate up. Choose more healthy options, like the lean meats and cheeses, veggies, and more water, and have fewer of the sweets and carb laden grains, like fruits and starchy foods such as Potatoes and pasta. Your snacks should be some fruit or veggie and some protein. An apple and Brie Cheese, or Celery and Peanut Butter. This combo will also increase your energy level, allowing you to be more active. 

The 3rd thing to remember is simply to stay active. You don’t have to actually exercise, but you do need to keep your body moving all day. If you sit at a desk all day at work, you can fidget, rock, or a great option is to replace your chair with a large exercise ball. It requires you to constantly balance yourself, which keeps your body moving.

OK, I promised you a schedule. So in case you need something more concrete than the basics above, you can refer to this schedule. Of course, you can move the times up or down based on your everyday schedule, but this is what our CEO uses.

7:00 am – Eat Breakfast
8:00 am – Yoga
10:00 am – Snack
1:00 pm – Lunch
4:00 pm – Snack
7:00 pm – Dinner
10:00 pm – Snack

Meals should be approximately  1/3 protein, 1/3 veggie, 1/6 fruit, 1/6 grain. Snacks should be approximately ½ fruit or Veggie and ½ Protein.
If you need some menu idea’s, be sure to friend us on Facebook, and watch for Stacy’s Food Diary Posts. Make sure to like or comment on them regularly to make sure they appear in your news feed though!

** The above diet/comments has not been approved by the FDA or any other source, it is simply what Sylver Weddings CEO has found to be true for her. Before starting any diet, we recommend you check with your Doctor or other health care professional.**

Monday, September 19, 2011

Glitter & Bling

As a Coordinator, I've seen a LOT of FIUY when a Bride tries to DIY. That's why I usually recommend that brides leave the decorating to professional's, but I just HAD to try my hand at Koyal Wholesales Diamond Rhinestone Ribbon Rolls.  With the supplies Koyal Wholesale carries, any bride who has the talent to DIY, can pull off a stunning decor with the smallest effort. And for bride's who don't have the ability to pull off an entire DIY Wedding, you can easily take one small element to give your ceremony or reception a personal touch. 
When these came in for us to review, we had all sorts of idea's on how to use them, but we had to choose only one, so we went with the one that is gaining in popularity with so many brides. The CANDY BUFFET. Of course, since this was just for a review, We didn't go out and buy a bunch of candy to fill the jars, even though we REALLY wanted to. 


We started by cutting the ribbon into the length's and widths needed to fit our Containers, then used tiny glue dots to secure it, but still allow us to remove the Wrap later and re-use the glass. We found the Black Ribbon the easiest to work with, as it was more supple, being that it was made of a soft nylon type of fabric, whereas the Gold and Silver were made with a sturdier fabric we were unable to identify. 
The stiffer fabric of the Gold and Silver however came in handy when we created the short "candle-holder's" to strategically place amongst the Candy Jars. Please note that we did use real candles for this review, as we had them on hand, but we suggest instead opting for the much safer electric or battery operated candles, which flicker just like the real thing. By making some of the holder's out of the ribbon, instead of wrapping it around glass, we found the light flickers through more enjoyably. We also found as we began to attach the ribbon to the glass, that if we were short, it was easy to cut a section from our surplus ends and pieces, and fit it into the gap, with no noticeable lines, much different from using everyday cloth ribbon, where you'd have to cut a whole new piece... 




In the end, we had to give this Diamond Rhinestone Ribbon Roll from Koyal Wholesale a 2 Thumbs up for ease of use, range of use, and overall Fun to use!






Bon Apetit! 












Would you like us to review a product of your's? Simply ship us the product(s) you'd like for us to review; along with where to link the item back to when we review it; to:
C/O Sylver Weddings Review Board
40791 Acacia Ave
Hemet, CA 92544


And if you'd like to Hire Sylver Weddings for your Wedding, Give us a Call at:
(951) 282-7863
or email us at:
sylverweddings@gmail.com

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

A Coordinator's Job

I seem to be getting lots of inquiries lately from people who are unsure of what exactly a Coordinator or Planner even DOES. I mean, they know we Coordinate and Plan, but what exactly does that entail? And how do we come up with these astronomical prices that we charge? Well, I can't answer for ALL Coordinators or Planner's, but there IS an answer. And here it is.

Question#1: What Exactly does a Coordinator's Job Entail?

Answer: A LOT.
Well, that's pretty vague still huh? I'm not going to list every single little thing here that we do, I'd run out of bandwidth I'm pretty sure. So lets break it down into more general duties.

First, to decide what a Coordinator is going to do for you, you must decide how much help you want. Most Coordinators have a range of packages designed to fit your needs. They are generally:

  • Day of Coordination
  • Month Of Coordination
  • Event Design
  • Full Planning
With the Exception of Event Design, all of these will include someone being on-site the day of the wedding and at the rehearsal to make sure that the Timeline is followed, that the Vendor's all have what they need to do their job, and stepping in as needed to get the stuff set-up and ready for your wedding. 

As I'm sure your able to figure out, Day of Coordination is just that, the Coordinator really only works with you for about a week beforehand, you've done all the planning and research, contracting, etc. You usually hire her about 2-6 months before the wedding date, to ensure she's available for your wedding, although if you have a popular date (think 11-11-11, 9-10-11) or the Coordinator you want is REALLY good, you may want to hire her earlier, to get your date. She will start working on your wedding a week or two before your wedding, although the good ones usually start about a month before so as to not be rushed that last week. She will spend time on the phone with your chosen vendors, making sure she understands the contracts you have with them, finding out what they need to have ready before they get to the Venue to be able to do their job more effectively, as well as what time they plan to arrive, and how much time they need to be ready. Your Coordinator will take all this information and compile it into a Timeline. She will have it down to the minute who needs to be doing what at what time. She will have copies available for the vendor's, and all need to know Bridal Party Members. She will have copies of all the contracts, and be able to step in and be the deciding factor if there is a disagreement between anyone. 

Month Of Coordination is the same as Day Of Coordination, but it includes more services. Usually More time is involved, with the Coordinator coming on Board a couple months before the Wedding. She will typically do Contract Reviews for you, and help you hire on the last few vendor's you may need for your event to be a success, and make suggestions on some of the Event Design that you have done. Different Coordinators will include different services from here on out, depending on what she Specializes in. 

Event Design is a Catch all phrase and can be either more expensive or less than Day Of or Month Of, depending on what it may entail for you. You can hire a Planner to simply design your event with some input from you, then you can take that design and go hire the appropriate vendor's and be done. Or perhaps you and your spouse are REALLLLY busy and just don't have the time to research vendor's to find those in your budget range and location who also meet the requirements you have for your design. You should hire an Event Designer at least a year in advance, so that she has the time to do her job with plenty of time to spare for you to hire the appropriate vendor's. 

Full Planning. Pretty Explanatory. It encompasses all of the above. You will have someone on-site the day of the wedding and at the rehearsal, she will design your event, do the research for 2-3 vendor's for each category for you to interview and choose from that fit your budget and needs. She will review all contracts, before you sign them to make sure they protect you. She will design your entire event, including all the extra parties like the Bachelor/Bachelorette parties, the Honeymoon, the Bridal Shower, Engagement Party, etc (Planning these may have an additional charge, as most fee's for full planning only include the time spent for the wedding planning - 90% or better of today's brides are either not having these extra parties or are planning them on their own, so Coordinator's have stopped including the time usually spent on these parties in their quotes) Your Coordinator will create the timeline, stay on top of your budget, making sure you don't overspend, she will oversee your guestlist, and keep you on track, or you can always choose a Platinum Full Planning Package (Many Coordinators have 2 Planning options, the general one as above, or a Platinum version, where you sit back and just give your planner general direction and she handles the rest) Platinum Versions (Sylver Weddings Platinum Version is the Diamond Package, so don't expect it to always be called a Platinum Package!) usually take the Full Planning Package up a notch or ten to leave the Bride and Groom completely stress free. The Coordinator does everything, with the bride and groom doing the bare minimum. Signing Checks and Contracts, doing the Dress and Tux fittings, etc. 

Question #2: Why do Coordinator's/Planner's charge so much?

Answer: Time and work spent, plus Business Expenses

Let me elaborate. Lets JUST take the Day Of Package. Your average Coordinator's contract says 10 hours for the Wedding, plus 2 more for the rehearsal. There's 12 hours. Add in the Time spent on the phone with Vendor's, the time spent creating the timeline and getting it perfected, add another average of 8 hours to that, for 20 hours. Plus about 3-5 hours in consultations with you, for about 25 hours. I'm going to use my standard pricing, assuming the wedding DOESN'T need an assistant (meaning less than 100 guests). Now, I'm an experienced Professional, and expect to be paid more for my work than an inexperienced Entry Level Planner you may find on Craigslist advertising for 1/4 of what I charge. Remember, you get what you pay for. Now my Pricing for a wedding such as this would average about $500. That's about $20/hour. Now, I personally usually end up staying longer and doing more work than my contract specifies I do, so I'm a little bit of an anomaly, and I usually work for about $15/hr or sometimes less. 

Now lets just take that $20/hr and look at how it's spent. Yeah, I know most brides don't care, but I don't want you to think that I'm living high on the hog on your wedding. I'm not. And this is why when you feel your Wedding Coordinator has done a great job, you should tip her, even though she owns her own company. 
  • Business License
  • Insurance
  • Continuing Education
  • Association Dues
  • Cost of accepting your payment (Bank fee's, Paypal Fee's, Credit Card Processor Fee's, etc)
There's more, but Again, I am TRYING to keep this Blog short enough to read it in a single day!! ;-) So after all of that, I'm going to actually make only about $7/hr. Now think about how hard I worked for your wedding, or will be working, if you haven't hired me yet. I'm making less money than the servers who are paid hourly by their employer, and you will end up tipping them something.  

And if you think I have it tough, try being any one of your vendor's who have to lug around heavy equipment, while dressed in tuxes.... 

The Moral of this story? BE KIND TO YOUR VENDOR'S, and don't expect us to work for you for free. 

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Why you Hire your Wedding Officiant

So we were recently contacted via TEXT message regarding availability for an October Date. We have several October Bookings, but this date was amazingly free.

Wait, perhaps I should put in the background information to this story first. If you haven't been to our website, go check it out, www.sylverweddings.com. You might notice something on the first page. Yup, that's a Photograph of ME. CEO, Primary Wedding Planner and Officiant. I DO look like a woman, right? I'm not so homely that you mistake me for a man??? Oh Good. For a minute there I was worried. Now, the name, LIZA. That IS a woman's name, right? Has anyone ever come across a MALE Liza? Are you sure? OK. Again, I was starting to worry that maybe I was missing some vital piece of information.

Stacy Everett
With my Family


Officiating a wedding in Hesperia
 Presenting a Couple with the Keepsake Certificate



You see, just a couple of days ago we got this TEXT. After inquiring about her date, this bride asked us if the officiant was a man. Ummm, the only man who works for this company doesn't get a paycheck. My husband. He gets press-ganged into service. :) And he's no Officiant. He's MUSCLE.

Just because it's Funny


So when I respond, I get a message back saying that it's because her family is super-religious and won't be used to seeing a female priest. I've done Full out Catholic Ceremony Replica's (since it's only a Catholic ceremony in reality if it's done by the family Priest in a Catholic Church, not on the beach or other venue, otherwise, these ceremonies are legal according to the state) and have had NO issue with the VERY Religious parents of the bride and groom. In fact, many of those same parents have referred me to their friends.

So I started wondering. What prompts YOU to hire whomever you hired? I asked this on our Facebook Fan Page, and the highest percentage of answers was that people chose their officiant based more on the options that Officiant included in their packages, like how long they would stay for the ceremony, and how long the ceremony would be... Interesting...

Leave us a Comment and tell us what YOU think...

Monday, March 21, 2011

How to Get Married in 10 Easy Steps

There's been a lot of Buzz in the Wedding Vendor Forums lately about what's the biggest mistakes Couples Make when planning their wedding. This got me thinking. It's Certainly something I know even Couples themselves are worried about. "Will we choose the right DJ?", "What if we don't have enough Money?", "How do we even start?". 


Almost every Vendor who tossed in their two cents mentioned Budget in some way, although most were discussing their part of the budget. As a Wedding Planner, I see all the parts of the budget. And all the ups and downs a couple goes through trying to have the perfect balance of Service to Money Spent. 


Often, the reason behind the wedding becomes Lost in Translation. I've had brides who wanted the sun and moon, but didn't have the budget, or more aptly, didn't KNOW what the budget should be. But thats OK. It's my job as your planner to go over those things with you. All you really need to know is that you love him/her, and How much you can afford all together. The rest of it we'll figure out together. 


And so Here's a little thing I call "How to Get Married in 10 Easy Steps" for those who have just gotten engaged and are asking that All Important Question I mentioned earlier, "How do we start planning our wedding?" When you get to step #5, give me a Call, and the rest will flow smoothly!

1. Boy asks Girl to Marry him 


2. Girl says yes 


3. Boy and Girl tell everyone 


4. Boy and Girl sit down and take a hard look at what they have to spend, talk to parents, family, etc, and decide what they have available as a total figure. 


5. Boy and Girl talk to planner. 


6. Boy and Girl Decide what is important to them to have in their wedding. 


7. Boy and Girl Hire Professional's. 


8. Boy and Girl pay professionals. 


9. Boy and Girl Get Married. 


10. Boy and Girl Live Happily ever After.



Now give me a call to get your wedding plans rolling!   951-282-7863
I travel throughout Southern California, and have Destination Wedding Options available as well. 

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Maya & Jesse

Maya and Jesse have been together for some time. They Finally decided to get married. So they started planning. Maya scoured wedding websites, Magazines, even the dreaded Craigslist looking for reputable vendors she and Jesse could afford.

What did they find? Well, a lot of flakes from Craigslist who couldn't even make the initial meeting. A wonderful Photographer by the name of Deserie Marchbanks of Photo's 2 B Desired. Stacy Everett of Sylver Weddings and Wedgewood Indian Hills Banquet Center. These 3 wonderful Vendors brought everything together. Wedgewood had all encompassing Packages, and provided Invitations, Wonderful Food, Cake, decor, and Waitstaff.

               





So. How did it all turn out you ask? Well. I've always thought Pictures say a thousand words. Don't you?