Engaged! A Wedding Vendor Collective

So many times, while working at a wedding with other vendors I think to myself, I really like this person (florist, photographer, musician, caterer) I wish we could work together again.  As a professional wedding planner, I do keep a preferred vendor list that I use to guide couples toward vendors that I trust, enjoy working with, and believe bring the level of quality and professionalism that my clients are expecting.  That said, it is very rare that a couple chooses every one of my favorite vendors for their wedding.  Hence, the birth of “Engaged! A Wedding Vendor Collective.”

Our branding expert and accomplished violinist, Nate Lewis hatched a brilliant plan for a few vendors to get together and put on an event showcasing our specific wedding related specialties.  The incredibly generous and talented, Joelle Cruz, publisher and Creative Director of Made In Palo Alto a quarterly magazine who also happens to own and operate BRIM a hat gallery in the Town & Country Village offered his very hip space.

Colson Griffith Photography is our resident creative force and documenter of our collaborative efforts.  He captured the images you see in this post and appears here in a rare sighting on the other side of his camera.  Colson is a blast to work with as well as an accomplished storyteller.  Our event on April 30, 2011 will also serve to celebrate his one-year anniversary in the full time wedding photography business.  Congratulations, Colson!

Indelisa Montoro of Royal Bloom is our florist extraordinaire. Indy brings a vintage feel to her floral art using all sorts of treasures she has collected along the way.  Her boutique in the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park is filled with fabulous finds including a bin of vintage mismatched silver flatware that I spent last Thursday afternoon polishing to be used on our reception table display at the event.  Royal Bloom was the backdrop for the photos and video in this post.  A gorgeous space that inspired each of us.

Dzung Duong of Honeysuckle Catering is wowing us with her confections.  She created three mini cakes for our inspiration gathering that were adorable to look at and divine to taste.  Dzung is a You Tube celebrity with over 10,000 views of her how-to cooking and baking videos.  She brings a stylish, tasty, whimsical spin to our “Engaged!” event. She is also the first to suggest that we change the name for our next vendor collective as many of her facebook friends were elated to see here post ENGAGED on her status page.  It was intended to invite people to our event not announce a major life change!  Further complicated by the fact that Nate Lewis is also promoting our event and is Dzung’s boyfriend.  Woops!

It’s Your Day, weddings & events is my business and I’ll be bringing an eye for detail and table design to the event.  The girl with the clipboard will be in full effect on April 30.  I have to admit, as much as I adore weddings and working with fantastic couples this event has been really fun to plan.  There is no client to speak of so each of us has the opportunity to try something we’ve been wanting to that hasn’t been chosen by a couple…yet.  Be watching for the newest wedding trends as decided by us at

Engaged! A Wedding Vendor Collective

on April 30, 2011

from 2:00 – 7:00 pm

at BRIM in Town and Country Village

Palo Alto, CA.