Downey Street Events

Sunday Round-Up 1.15.12

2012-01-15T16:25:00.000-08:00

Where I wish I was now that it is getting cold....Photo of Capay Valley by Molly Watson

We're back! Here are some link for your Sunday night....

New hemlines for bridal dresses this year......

Great tutorial for DIY lace garlands....

Amazing new boutique wedding venue in Winters, CA....

I love, love, love this cake!....

Loving these new Martha Stewart Avery Labels....

Sweet article for cookbook collectors....

Recipes for a food-lovers cleanse...

48 hours in South Beach (I'm planning a trip there in April!).....

REALLY good reasons for not blogging in a month.....

2011-12-27T13:42:00.000-08:00

Really good reasons for not blogging lately....

Vacations to Argentina - post coming soon with some photos!
Brand new babies - congratulations to Lauren and Joe on their little guy, Jack, photos coming soon!
Christmas cards!
End of the year business!
2012 brides!

Good reasons but not excuses! Can't wait to start 2012 with some of our great news, beautiful weddings, and more. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to our readers!

Cheers,

Emily - Lauren - Cassandra

Monday Inspiration 11.21.11

2011-11-21T14:25:00.001-08:00

How gorgeous is this paper flower?

I love this modern take on craft items....and I adore the idea of using something in your wedding that you can keep afterwards as a reminder. A mix of real florals and gorgeous paper flowers like this one would be amazing and fun! Thanks to my cousin and gossip blogger Nicole for the link.

Sunday Round-Up 11.20.11

2011-11-20T16:56:00.001-08:00

I'm in love with this cake - halfbaked.com

Some link fun to end your weekend!

Vintage inspired table decor for the holidays...

Amazing SF BBQ hole in the wall that delivers...

Adorable West Elm Christmas Decorations...

25% of all wine at Noe Valley Whole Foods (between the hours of 7-10am and 8-10pm on November 22nd & 23rd)...

These adorable fabric cocktail napkins would make a great hostess gift...

Check out the Pinterest Board we are working on for our latest design board (will be posted on the blog this week!!)...

Awesome DIY paper lantern tutorial...

Rice Krispy Treat cake pops with candy cane handles - such a cute project with kids....

Jessica & Sam - Featured in the San Francisco Chronicle!

2011-11-14T20:27:00.001-08:00

We were so thrilled to see our clients, Jessica and Sam, featured in the San Francisco Chronicle. Their wedding was gorgeous, with so many fun details.

Jessica and Sam live in London, Sam was born in Sri Lanka, and together the two have traveled all over the world. Their escort cards were a gorgeous map, with luggage tags for each guest corresponding with some of their trips.

Their favors were gorgeous little boxes of Sri Lankan wedding cake - very fun and special.

We can't wait to see the rest of the photos from the wedding, but this one pretty much sums it up: a gorgeous couple surrounded by family and friends!

We were so happy to be a part of Jessica and Sam's special day. Thanks to the Chronicle for the great feature. Make sure you check out the article, it has lots of cute details about the couple.

Monday Inspiration 11.14.11

2011-11-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

I am loving these beautiful cakes from Sweet and Saucy Shop! It was hard to pick just a few to share - I want to do a wedding for each one of these cakes!

Fun, clean, and modern - this one caught my eye immediately. Great for a party or a wedding!

I love this one - frosting carnations, so delicate and lovely.

Gorgeous orange mini cakes...

Seriously? How gorgeous is this freaking cake!!!!!

Love this setup of frosted cakes with huge, gorgeous pink dahlias. These are my favorite flowers.

And finally - my favorite. This cake is genius. I might have to do a design board for it, just because.

Hope you enjoyed this eye candy!

Sunday Round-Up 11.13.11

2011-11-13T17:24:00.001-08:00

Gorgeous fall table setting from Martha Stewart as featured in the San Francisco Chronicle

Some links for your Sunday night!

Martha Stewart shows you how to dress up your dinnerware - I swear if I could spend all day designing and setting gorgeous tables, I would...

8 ways to beat the winter blues...

I'm making this right now and it smells amazing! Moroccan slow cooked lamb stew from Bon Appetit...

Some amazing honeymoon suites - I'd like to be in any of these places right now....

We love any alternative to table number stands - this succulent idea is a fabulous option....

Great visual list for your wedding emergency kit (we carry all of this and more with us for every event!)...

Ha! I love this little pinterest quote - just goes to show that every girl loves to dream about weddings, coupled or not, including me (though I must add that I hope I am pretty close to being engaged - no pressure Gerry!)...

The chalkboard labels on the mason jars in this Style Me Pretty wedding are SUCH a rad idea....

Hope your weekends was as nice and relaxing as mine!

Teresa & Doug on Style Me Pretty

2011-11-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

We were so thrilled to be featured this week on Style Me Pretty for Teresa and Doug's gorgeous wedding at Nestldown! Anna Kuperberg did an amazing job photographing all of the fun details that we came up with, and the flowers by Natalie Bowen Designs really stand out. I absolutely adored working with Teresa and Doug - it seems like just yesterday we started planning. Thanks to all the vendors for helping to make it perfect, and to Style Me Pretty for the post!

You can check out the post here!

Also, see this wedding featured on our website!

Thanks to all of our amazing vendors.....

Wedding Photography: Anna Kuperberg
Event Design + Coordination: Emily de Ayora of Downey Street Events
Venue: Nestldown
Floral Design: Natalie Bowen Designs
Hair Stylist: Jar Von Samuel of Oxen Rose Salon
Make-up Artist: Meaganne McCandess
Catering: Thomas John Events + Back-A-Yard
Wedding Cake: Satura Cakes
Chris The Rebel
Lighting: Bloomsters
Calligraphy: Pretty Pen Jen
Paper Goods: Ellie Snow of Mint
Wedding Dress: Junko Yoshioka
Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Groom’s Suit: Indochino
Groom’s Shirt: Proper Cloth
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Custom made in Hong Kong
Rentals:Classic Party Rentals + La Tavola Linen
Vintage Test Tubes + Test Tube Holders: eBay
Tapioca Wood Flowers Hanging from Arbor: Save On Crafts
Hanging Glass Bulbs: CB2 + Crate and Barrel

Sunday Round-Up 11.6.11

2011-11-06T22:02:00.000-08:00

Photo by Flory Photo

Some links for your Sunday night enjoyment.....

Steve Jobs, in his sister's words.....

A hot chocolate bar would be brilliant at a fall or winter wedding.....

75 wedding tips - some really good ones!

A good list of wine country wedding venues....

A Downey Street Events wedding featured in the San Francisco Chronicle!

Super fun pattern board from Amy Atlas...

Great printable personalized water bottle labels, perfect for out of town bags...

25 creative programs from MSW....

Christmas Card Round-Up

2011-11-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's the time of year when I start looking for the perfect holiday card. We at Downey Street Events send them out to all of our business friends, but I also like to send a personal card to my non-wedding industry friends and family, and I always have fun picking out the perfect card. I usually buy something in-person, and write a little message especially to each person. This year I'd like to get something personalized from me and Gerry that I can add a little message to - so I am looking online, and came across some great options.

Tinyprints.com has some fabulous options. I think this is the card I have decided on.....so cute and colorful, I just love it!

But I love this whimsical one too....

And this one - for a softer, more romantic and vintage look....

Minted also has some fantastic options!

I love this one - super simple, but really nice.

Another one that I love....

Ok - maybe I changed my mind. We all know that I can't resist anything San Francisco....so maybe this will be our card this year!

Tons of great options out there! I can't wait to order and start writing.....

Monday Inspiration 10.31.11

2011-10-31T18:19:00.000-07:00

I found some awesome, reasonably priced, vintagey halloween items on Etsy while browsing today - perfect for spooky or gothic events!

These tags would be great as escort cards, place cards, or signs on a candy bar...

A fabulous pre-made scrapbook - would be great for a guest book, or for memories of a Halloween wedding or party...

Great prints of vintage slides - awesome to decorate favors, escort cards, or place cards!

An adorable pumpkin print - super cute graphic to use on signage....

A great skeleton plate - awesome on a dessert buffet covered with goodies.

Etsy is such a fabulous place to find special items for every kind of event - Halloween is no exception!

I hope that everyone has a happy, spooky, and safe Halloween. Over here Lucy the cat is the only one in costume....which is pretty easy because she's already a spooky looking black cat.

Happy Halloween!

Sunday Round-Up 10.30.11

2011-10-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous boutonniere from our recent wedding at Dawn Ranch - Photo by Annie McElwain Photography

Some links for your Sunday afternoon....

Fun sketch to dress article from New York Fashion Week...

Great round-up of affordable art from the folks at Daily Candy...

Great Q&A on wedding gifts...

These amazing earrings would be gorgeous with the right wedding dress...

I am definitely going to have a mimosa bar at the next brunch party I plan! Brilliant....

Baked pumpkin spice donut holes - yum, yum, yum....

LOVE this repurposing of a wedding invitation into a gorgeous first Christmas gift for a bride and groom...

Insanely gorgeous dress!

Inspiration: Design Board for Michelle Armas Painting (Part 1)

2011-10-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

Monday's inspiration post got me thinking about how we choose color paletts and design inspiration for weddings. Most of the time, brides come to us with a few of their favorite colors, and some links to weddings that they have seen around the web on different blogs or in magazines. It works well for us to get an idea as to what they like, and then expand on it with our design process. The greatest challenge is coming up with a way to incorporate all of the different colors, patterns, and thematic elements that our brides fall in love with, but that don't "go together" or match in a way that is obvious and easy. The paintings in Monday's post, by Michelle Armas, inspired me in the same way that the collages our brides bring to us inspire me - mixes of colors that, while they aren't exactly in the same palette, can work together in a way that is interesting and beautiful....if you come up with the right way to show them off. I decided to do a design board for each of the three paintings to show you how we might see these colors and transform them into a beautiful wedding.

The first board I chose to work on is based on the following painting, which was my favorite from Monday's post:

And here is the board I came up with:

Breaking it down into pieces....

The first thing I thought of when I looked at this painting was the photo of the bouquet to the far left. I have had this photo saved from a blog post on Ruffled for well over a year, and it has always stuck in my head as one of my favorite bouquets. This painting so reminded me of the bouquet, and I used it as a jumping off point for the board. The bright yellow flowers, pale greyish-blue succulents, and soft pink roses really highlight the best of the colors in the board.

The aqua Loubitons to the right of the bouquet were a no brainer - we love gorgeous shoes around here. I wanted to keep the wedding modern, and I think that simple, lovely buds in clean white vases really lend to that theme. The pool picture to the far right struck me as a sort of modern, interesting venue for a wedding or photo session. I love the idea of a simple white dress with the aquamarine and gold necklace, and the white and yellow bouquet against the blue door (and the wedding dress with sleeves - I love sleeves!) also seemed just right for this board. What a gorgeous shot of that bride (and I love the dark blue ribbon detail around the base of the bouquet).

The yellow chairs in the grapevines is such a cute shot - modern enough that you could hang it in a frame in your house, and it isn't obviously a wedding picture to people walking through, but will always remind you of that day when you look at it. Again, simple single-flower arrangements in white vases, maybe with a little ribbon detail, would work so well for this theme because you could incorporate flowers in some of the awesome colors from the painting (plus this photo used some of my favorite linens from La Tavola, in orange and blue). I think the yellow and white cake is b-a-n-a-n-a-s -- so gorgeous, modern, and really great to look at. With all of the bright colors of the board and painting, I liked the softer gray dresses for the bridesmaids, set off by yellow flowers. The little printed aqua parasols would be gorgeous in cocktails from the bar....and that polka dot jcrew wedding dress is totally fun.

I had to feature some stationary from Ellie at Hello Ten Fold, and a dahlia (my favorite flower). I finished the board with four awesome printed linens, the first three from La Tavola and the last from Classic Party Rentals...and some gorgeous blooms for the ceremony site.

Just goes to show that almost anything can inspire a great-looking wedding....from a single linen or flower to your favorite piece of art. Check back soon for design boards based on the other paintings in our Monday Inspiration post!

Design Board Photo Credits, starting from top left:

Bouquet by Kellie Kano / Shoes by Karen Hill / Floral by Emily Steffen / Pool by Stephanie Williams / Necklace from Becky Kelso / Door by Lily Glass Photography / Yellow Chairs by Jodi Yorston / Orange Flowers by He & She Photography / Cake by FS Photography / Bridal Party by Ooh La La Photography / Aqua Parasols by Jules Bianchi Photography / Dress from J. Crew / Invitation from Hello Ten Fold / Dahlia by Stephanie Williams / Blue, Yellow, and Aqua linens from La Tavola / Orange linen from Classic Party Rentals / Blossoms by Karen Hill.

Meet Cassandra!

2011-10-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

This blog has been a long time coming! Cassandra O'Gara joined Downey Street Events as our third musketeer in March after working in the publishing and event industries, and since then she has been busy planning and coordinating numerous weddings for our clients around the bay area. We wanted to wait until our new website launched before formally introducing her to everyone - and unfortunately that took a little longer than expected. However our new website is launched featuring all three of us, so it is time to introduce you to the newest member of our team....via some fun interview questions, and photos from her own wedding!

Q: What is your favorite part of being a wedding planner?

A: I get to do something creative every day, work side by side with an incredibly talented team of photographers, florists, chefs, etc., and support brides full of great ideas. When all of these pieces come together, we produce gorgeous, flawlessly executed, never-to-be-repeated celebrations! On top of all this, I have the honor of getting to know my clients, their friends and their families. Having this personal relationship with them makes their weddings even more special to me.

Q: What are your top three favorite venues for events around the bay area?

A: Annadel Estate Winery, The Fairmont Penthouse, and The Flood Mansion.

Q: What is your favorite restaurant in San Francisco?

A: This is a tough one! It is probably a toss up between Delfina and Cotogna.

Q: What do you like to do on a typical Friday night?

A: Conduct a wedding rehearsal of course :)

Q: Best thing about living in the bay area?

A: The people! Everyday I meet someone I want learn something from. People here are ambitious, open-minded, health-focused, and engaged in their communities.

Q: Where did you go on your honeymoon?

A: Italy. We happily ate and drank our way through Venice, Tuscany and Florence. I learned to drive a stick shift on the road to Siena in a Fiat Panda, climbed hundreds of stairs to the top of bell towers, took cooking classes in Chianti, and am now on a quest to find good gelato in San Francisco. Next trip - Paris or Buenos Aires?

Q: Tell us about your favorite parts of your own wedding.

A: My shoes! I wore (my something) blue Christian Louboutins. I loved my sister's maid of honor toast - she had everyone laughing and crying. Our get-away car was a darling Mercedes-Benz convertible from the 70's - one that has been in my husband's family since his grandmother drove it off the lot. And my flowers from Natasha at Waterlily Pond were GORGEOUS!!

Q: What is the best part of a wedding for you?

A: When the bride and groom kiss and are presented as husband and wife. I tear up every time!

You can check out more photos from Cassandra's awesome wedding, which was featured in 7x7, here.

Thanks Cassandra - and welcome to Downey Street Events, just a few months late! We are thrilled to be working with you, and know that our clients are lucky to have you and your fabulous taste in their corner.

Read more about Cassandra on our website!

All photographs by Gertrude & Mabel.

Monday Inspiration 10.24.11

2011-10-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

These gorgeous prints by Michelle Armas caught our eye.....

Love the colors in this one....

Oh, and this one...

Not to mention this one....

Gorgeous work! And not bad for wedding inspiration either....I can see a color scheme coming out of any of these gorgeous prints.

Sunday Round-Up 10.23.11

2011-10-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite photos (and weddings!) of all time, taken 2 years ago today - happy anniversary A&M!
Photo by Leo Patrone.

Some link love for your Sunday night!

Great post on what NOT to do as a wedding guest.

We get a ton of resumes every year. It is nice to be reminded that we are living our dream jobs, even on bad days.

Amazing evidence that tablets are the new media paradigm (we LOVE our ipads!).

I love this wedding cake.

Adorable autumn-inspired treats for fall weddings!

Check out this gorgeous booth at Urban Unveiled, by our lovely friends at Belathee Photography.

I love Nancy Silverton's masterclass on making perfect salads from the LA Times.

30% off Friends and Family sale at Kate Spade! So much gorgeous stuff for fall and winter.

Save On Crafts - Rustic Wedding

2011-10-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

Save On Crafts is one of our favorite sites for wedding supplies. They have a huge variety of crafty items for almost any project you can come up with for your event. Recently they are featuring some awesome products for those of you planning a rustic wedding.

First up - awesome little burlap bags. These would be great for favors, or at a candy bar for takeaway goodies.

They also have these awesome milk bottles. Perfect for centerpieces, or to hold flowers at interesting spots around a wedding (guest book table, dessert buffet, etc.).

Awesome wooden containers, also great for holding flowers, menus, programs, ribbon wands, even candy!

Great wooden cake stand! I think it looks awesome topped with a clean, modern cake.

Bunches of grapevine - large scale and great for decorating bare tables.

"Vintage" trays with wooden handles - great for stacking up with pashminas, favors, or programs.

Vintage script paper lanterns!

This awesome wooden glass-topped dispensary would be great for escort cards!

Another great wooden carrier for florals....bouquets would look cute in this!

I could go on - definitely head over there and pick up some reasonably priced items to round out your decor!

Monday Inspiration 10.17.11

2011-10-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

Love-love-loving the new stationary by one of our favorite designers, Ellie at Hello Ten Fold!

Adorable note cards....I love writing notes to friends and family, and stash cute cards like these for when the urge to correspond or let someone know that I am thinking of them hits.

A great, simple party invitation:

Awesome beer and wine labels!

And a custom wedding invitation that she did for one of our events earlier this year (see the gallery here),

now listed in her shop!

Ellie also did the custom designs for our wedding at Cornerstone in May.....

We think that one of the most important design aspects of a wedding is having a beautiful, cohesive set of paper goods throughout your event - invitations, escort cards, table numbers (if using paper), signage, favors, etc.

Thanks for the lovely work Ellie!

Sunday Round-Up 10.16.11

2011-10-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

iphone shot of the gorgeous flowers at our Westin St. Francis wedding yesterday!

Some of our favorite links from around the web this week....

More top brunch spots in the bay area....brunch is one of our favorite meals around here, just can't get enough!

An updated guide for what to buy organic.

Totally unique pumpkin desserts for fall.

Lanterns have been a big part of wedding decor for awhile....but glitter lanterns...

Considering Lauren and Joe named one of their cats after a cheese (Bayley Hazen Blue) it probably comes as no surprise that she would happily hang some of these amazing photos from the iconic Murray's Cheese Shop in her kitchen.

For you crafty types, an amazing felted wool quilted throw project....great to curl up with as winter draws near.

Thinking about making this recipe for Ginger and Cilantro Baked Tilapia for dinner one night this week.

Did we mention that we launched our new website this week????

On Finding A Wedding Venue (Part One)

2011-10-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

The Bentley Reserve set up for a ceremony, before the room flip for the reception. Photo by Sherman Chu.

Tips for Finding A Wedding Venue

As the holidays get closer there are more and more engagements occurring – and more and more future brides and grooms looking for venues in the Bay Area. Finding the right venue is often one of the first and most difficult parts of planning a wedding. This is part 1 of a multi-part post offering tips on finding the perfect venue.

The Bentley Reserve after the room flip, set for a reception. Photo by Sherman Chu.

Our first tip: Prioritize “must haves” and be flexible.

This may sound obvious, but many times we see couples with a strict list of “must-haves” throw the list out the window once they fall in love with a specific venue. Try to focus on one or two absolutes (outdoor ceremony, allows music until midnight, in a specific city) and then keep an open mind.

On the other hand, be realistic about the physical limitations of the venue.

Some questions to consider as you visit venues and set priorities:

Occupancy – Consider the maximum occupancy, and then when you are at the property think to yourself “what is the ideal size wedding for this space?” Often the listed max and what will be most comfortable for guests are two different numbers
Location – Do you have a lot of out of town guests coming from airports? If so you may want to consider something more central. Are you hoping guests will make a weekend out of the wedding and planning multiple events for guests (wedding, brunch, drinks, etc)? If s,o a more remote location or a venue where most guests can stay onsite may be perfect.
End Time of Wedding – Most venues in the Bay Area have a hard end time (usually 10:00 pm or 11:00 pm) due to noise ordinances. This is especially true in wine country and at any private estates. Some venues like the deYoung museum and many hotels will let you go until 1:00 am or 2:00 am – but this is the exception. Even though ending on the early side may seem like a bummer, most brides and grooms are exhausted by 11:00 pm. And its nice to end the night on a high note. If an otherwise perfect venue won’t budge on the end time, consider planning an after party at a nearby spot or a large hotel suite.
Duration of Wedding -- Most venue site fees include a set amount of time (typically 5-6 hours total) for the wedding. A typical wedding schedule might look something like this:

4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Ceremony 4:30 pm – 5:45 pm Cocktail hour / photos
5:45 pm – 7:30 pm Dinner / Toasts
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Dessert / First Dance / Dancing

If you feel you need extra time, be sure to ask the venue how much it costs to add time to

the contract. Also, remember that on average your vendors will need at least 2 hours for set up

and 1 hour for breakdown.

Layout – How will the flow of the evening feel? If you are having your ceremony and reception in one venue you will essentially need 3 spaces: (1) a ceremony space, (2) a cocktail hour space, and (3) a space for dinner and dancing. Many venues use the same space for two of the above (this is called a room “flip”) where, for example, during cocktail hour the catering staff removes all ceremony chairs and “resets” the area for dinner or dancing. This can work well but requires a catering staff experienced with the venue and will also drive up catering labor costs. Consider whether guests can easily flow from one space to the other. Also consider the location of the bathrooms and catering kitchen. Both should be close by but discreetly out of plain view.
What is the Plan B for bad weather? Imagine the venue in stifling heat, pouring rain, and strong winds. No matter what date you select, if your event is outdoors you need a rain plan. If the venue answers “no problem, you can just rent a tent” please know that the kind of tent that keeps out wetness and heavy rain requires built in heaters, lighting, flooring, subflooring, etc. and can cost $5,000 to $30,000. In addition, because tents require permits and advance measuring it is best to order them very far in advance. Yes, a tent can save a rained out wedding at the last minute but it is stressful, very expensive, and not 100% water free. Also, remember to ask if the venue provides umbrellas and space heaters in bad weather Generally you want one umbrella or heater per table depending on the weather.
Sometimes Rustic = More Expensive. We love a good farm / ranch / barn wedding, and often these venues seem like a great deal. In the last few years the demand for this type of venue has brought many unconventional sites into the wedding industry. But many times the infrastructure of a ranch is not the same infrastructure needed for a 100 plus person event. Worse still, some of these sites began capitalizing on the business without getting proper event permits from the counties in which they are located. Make sure if you fall in love with a rustic venue you ask whether they hold permits to have events, how many events they have hosted, whether they carry event insurance, and what the infrastructure of the venue is like. How many bathrooms are there? Do they provide the dance floor? How much power can they provide for the lighting, sound, and catering? Are outlets accessible? Do they provide any of the rentals (ie tables, chairs, linens, etc)? Do they have golf carts or cars to cart around folks with difficulty walking? Will the scenery change by the time of your wedding due to harvest? Do the caterers have to dispose of trash and recycling at the end of an event? Is the venue accessible to large rental delivery trucks and wedding shuttle buses? Is there enough lighting? Most of the above problems can be easily addressed through rentals, but the cost of specialty lighting, a generator, port-a-potties, smaller shuttles to navigate the roads, etc can easily add up to tens of thousands of dollars.

On that note, stay tuned for part 2 next week where we discuss the costs (both anticipated and hidden) of various wedding venues!

Indian Summer and a Wedding at the Aquarium

2011-10-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

Right now it is almost 80 degrees in San Francisco - beautiful sunny weather, perfect for our two weddings this weekend (fingers crossed it stays this way!). For the first time in awhile both of our weddings are in San Francisco: one with the ceremony at St. Ignatius and the reception in a gorgeous room at the Westin St. Francis, and another with the whole shebang at a very fun venue, the Aquarium of the Bay down on Pier 39. Lots of great details for these weddings, including an awesome escort card display made out of a map and luggage tags, and a ton of quirky personal touches for the Aquarium wedding, where the bride and groom are both scientists and a ton of fun. I thought I would share some of the design board that Cassandra put together for the Aquarium wedding. We do a lot of classic, beautiful events around here, which we love, but every once in awhile we get the chance to work on something more playful which is great fun too!

Cassandra took inspiration from Garabaldi fish (bright orange, native to CA, loves kelp beds, and all over the aquarium)...and the resident school of fish in the aquarium. Bright colors with a classic black and white, very geometric, base. They are doing some amazing personalized paper goods as well - which is going to MAKE the wedding!

Since the bride and groom are both getting PHDs, Cassandra played up the school thing without making it too home-spun. She also incorporated games and trivia (they wanted the wedding to be interactive), and their shared love of books of all kinds.

Cassandra also made some great style and floral recommendations to go with the colors and theme!

I can't wait to see how it all comes together this weekend. The photographer is Joel Flory of Flory Photo, one of our favorite vendors to work with (he shot the very first wedding I ever planned!). We will post some pictures in the coming months!

Credits for the design board:

Ellinor & Tim on 100 Layer Cake

2011-10-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

This summer we had a slew of beautiful weddings and stylish clients featured on some fantastic wedding blogs around the web. One of my favorites was Ellinor and Tim, who were married at Cornerstone Sonoma this past May. We had a blast working with them. They have great taste and really focused on their guests, serving amazing food and hiring a ridiculously fun band. We had a great time helping them create this wedding, and were thrilled to see it featured on 100 Layer Cake, which is one of our favorite wedding blogs.

Tim and Ellinor on 100 Layer Cake!

You can check out the post here!

Also, you can browse through other lovely pictures from their wedding day on our website, here!

Thanks to all of the vendors for their amazing work on this wedding!

Photography: Annie McElwain
Event design & coordination: Emily de Ayora, Downey Street Events
Venue: CornerStone Sonoma
Floral design: Baylor Chapman, Lila B. Designs
Hair & Makeup: The Dream Team, Toni Marion & Chris MacDonald
Caterer: Living Room Events
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals Napa
Invitations and Paper Goods: Ellie Snow
Band: Quinn DeVeaux and the Blue Beat Review
Lighting: Illusions Lighting Designs
Ceremony musician: Harpist Sally Fletcher
Bride’s gown: Reverie by Melissa Sweet
Bridal jewelry: Earrings from Giraux, pearl bracelet from Divine Jewel
Groom’s attire: suit and shoes – Prada, tie – Ralph Lauren, shirt – made by Andres Gorges

Introducing the new www.downeystreetevents.com!

2011-10-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

It is with MUCH excitement that we introduce our newly designed website and blog! We have been working on this project with our amazing designer, Lauren O'Neill, and her devleoper, Mark Luetke, for the past several months and we are so thrilled with how the project turned out.

Some of our favorite features:

We absolutely love the main page above, and also the gorgeously designed page showcasing all of our galleries of weddings.....

We also love the galleries themselves. You can slide right through the pictures easily, and everything works just as well on ipads and phones as it does on computers, which was important to us.

Lastly, we can't get over how great the review and press pages look. You can expland and close the reviews, and when you click on any of our blog and magazine features, you see a fill page screen-shot of the featured blog - gorgeous!!

Really you should just go check out the entire thing for yourself......we hope that you will enjoy seeing photos of our work and look forward to meeting new brides and connecting with clients and vendors through the new site!

Special thanks to the following photographers for allowing us to use their photos on the website:

Flory Photo
Annie McElwain Photography
Belathee Photography
Anna Kuperberg
Sasha Gulish
Molly Watson
Leo Patrone
A Bryan Photo
JL Photografia
Kate Harrison
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Sherman Chu

Monday Inspiration 10.10.11

2011-10-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

It is gray and dreary in downtown San Francisco this morning, though thankfully we had fantastic weather for our two weddings this weekend. I'm ready for more of that gorgeous bay area indian summer.....preferably spent somewhere lovely, like the Carneros Inn in the Napa Valley. With a glass of wine. Or two.

And a few shots from one of our favorite weddings there.....

Photos from:

www.carnerosinn.com

www.wayfaring.info

www.halbergphotographers.com

Sunday Round-Up 10.9.11

2011-10-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

The view from our ceremony at Vine Hill House on Saturday.

Some of our favorite wedding (and non-wedding) stuff from around the web this week!

One of my favorite design boards ever from Snippet & Ink.....feels warm and gorgeous for a fall
wedding!

Florist Natalie (Bowen) Brookshire, who we love working with, featured on Martha Stewart Wedding Blog for her own gorgeous wedding earlier this year!

25 one-bite appetizer recipes from Bon Appetit - good inspiration for passed hor d'oeuvres!

Newly released book of interviews with Jackie O.!

Hand-crafted mason jar pendant chandelier.....how cool would this be at a rustic wedding?

I usually hate the idea of altering beautiful wood floors, but this is pretty awesome.

Gorgeous flower cupcakes from pinterest.

The hottest brunch spots in San Francisco!

Now off to relax after two big weddings last night. Have a lovely and relaxing Sunday!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

2011-05-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

After a blogging hiatus, we are back with some fun news and a lot of updates!

First of all, stay tuned in the next two months for our website and blog facelift! We are working with a group of incredibly talented designers and developers on our new materials, and can't wait to share them with our clients in the coming weeks.

Secondly, we have a slew of amazing weddings in the works for 2011. I am really looking forward to sharing them here on the blog. We are having a lot of fun planning gorgeous (and as always, perfectly executed!) weddings for our fabulous couples, and it is always so gratifying to see how things turn out and share them here.

Thirdly - and the news I am most excited about - we have welcomed a third planner to our team. Cassandra O'Gara comes to Downey Street Events with tons of experience in the sales and advertising world (for some amazing publications!), as well as hundreds of weddings under her belt as the event coordinator at one of the best catering companies in San Francisco. I am really looking forward to formally introducing her in an upcoming post! Brides are already enjoying her knack for details and sense of style.

Thanks for hanging in there with us as we change things up on the blog and website. I know that 2011 is going to be an amazing wedding season and I'm really looking forward to revving up the old blog and sharing some of our favorite ideas, weddings, inspiration, and tips in our beautiful new virtual home!

Cheers,
Emily

Featured on Ruffled Blog - Mike and Tamar!

2010-01-04T10:34:00.000-08:00

I was so thrilled to see the wedding of our clients, Tamar and Mike, featured in two posts on the gorgeous vintage-inspired wedding blog Ruffled Blog! Mike and Tamar were SUCH a fun couple to work with - they had a real vision for their wedding and it was one of the brightest and most festive events I have ever had the pleasure of working on. Plus they are a great couple, so it is awesome to see their inspiration featured on such a cool blog! Thanks to Ruffled Blog for the great posts!

Read all about Tamar and Mike's wedding here and here!

- Emily and Lauren

DSE's Tamale Weekend

2010-01-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

It has been a little quiet around here, as Lauren and I spent some much needed time enjoying the holidays with our families, and preparing for what is shaping up to be a VERY busy and exciting 2010 for Downey Street Events! However just before Christmas, we found some time to participate in what is shaping up to be one of my absolute favorite holiday traditions - tamale day!

Growing up in a Mexican-American family, it is tradition for the women to get together around the holidays and put together dozens of tamales for eating and gift-giving. I always do this with my family the weekend before Christmas, but last year Lauren and I decided that it would be fun to do a friends tamale day as well. A tradition was born, and we ramped up for another great day of cooking this year. Lauren's husband, Joe, is a great sport (and a great cook) and helped us put together 150 tamales for enjoying in 2010.

It all starts with the ingredients - masa, purchased freshly ground from La Palma Mexicatessan here in San Francisco. We bought ours sin preparar, which means we added lard, salt, and baking soda ourselves so that it would be just the right consistency. Also, pasilla chiles for our red pork tamales; ojas (cornhusks) for wrapping the tamales, and 14 pounds of pork, shredded by the ever so patient and awesome Joe.

This year, in addition to the green chile cheese and red pork tamales that we normally make, we decided to try a green chile pork version as well, using a sauce made of tomatillos, jalapenos, garlic, and other yummy things.

One of the most annoying parts of tamale making is the red chile sauce. You seed the chiles, hydrate them, blend them, and then they have to be put through a food mill before being fried with garlic and olive oil. Lauren and Joe definitely took on the two most labor-intensive jobs of the day, with Lauren running the chile through the food mill, while Joe worked on shredding the pork.

Meanwhile I put the chiles through the blender and mixed the masa until it floated in a glass of water - the sign of light and fluffy tamales!

We made A LOT of sauce. A scary amount of sauce. I still have a huge container of the red chile in my freezer. They were delicious though!

After hours spent prepping all of the materials, we set them out for efficient tamale making. To the left is the pork with the red chile, masa in the middle, and the green chile pork to the right. You can see some finished tamales there in the back, along with cups of extra sauce to spoon over the meat before closing the tamales so that they are super flavorful and delicious. Also, cheese for the green chile cheese version, and one of the most important ingredients (at least for those putting together tamales) - cerveza.

It didn't take long until we were putting these things together like pros. Joe, of course, was very serious about the whole thing.

Lauren, not so much, but she did make sure that all of the ingredients tasted delicious before putting the tamales together...

...and after making the majority of the tamales, she painstakingly organized them into freezer-safe packages for storing, including one-of-a-kind artwork that makes me smile every time I take some out of the freezer for dinner.

It was a fabulous day and I can't wait to do it again next year! Until then, Happy New Year and we are looking forward to bringing you a ton of fun projects, weddings, ideas, and resources in 2010!

much love,

Emily and Lauren (and Joe!)

Featured on Snippet & Ink!

2009-12-13T23:48:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to see the wedding of Ashley and Michael, two of the greatest people in San Francisco, featured on the amazing wedding blog Snippet & Ink! This wedding was so much fun to work on. We had a great time turning Ashley and Michael's vision into reality, and working with the amazing staff at Spruce restaurant. Many thanks to Natalie Bowen for the gorgeous flowers, and to Leo Patrone for taking the amazing pictures that made it all come to life!

Click here to see the gorgeous photos as featured on the blog....

And here to read the amazingly generous review posted by the bride and groom on Project Wedding.

Such a great experience! Thanks to Snippet & Ink!

- Emily and Lauren

Sneak Peek - Before and After at Nestldown

2009-11-15T13:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Lauren and I worked a gorgeous wedding at Nestldown in the Los Altos hills. I thought that the before and after pictures of the Barn (the reception space) were really lovely. It is a beautiful space as is - all wood with a gorgeous fireplace. But with some chiavaries, gauzy linens, gorgeous flowers, and special touches by the bride and her mother...it was truly transformed.

Before:

After:

Such a lovely wedding - and a great way to end the 2009 wedding season. We are working on blogging about some of the other great events we did this fall, as well as a lot of other fun topics (including some DIY projects)....so stay tuned!

Best,

Lauren and Emily

Flowers: Amy Burke Designs / Venue: Nestldown / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Menus & Favors: Bride and her mother / Photographs on this page: Downey Street Events

The night before a wedding....

2009-11-13T23:15:00.000-08:00

ππ

It is 11:00 pm on the night before our last wedding of the season. Lauren has spent all week running back and forth between the GORGEOUS venue (Nestldown in Los Gatos), the bride's home, and our various fantastic vendors for this event. Meanwhile I (Emily) have been sorting our gear for the big day. DSE had 5 events in a three-week span in October, so there wasn't a lot of time to get re-organized as we moved from one crazy fun party to another.

I think the behind-the-scenes prep work that goes into coordinating these lovely weddings and parties is what most surprises people who don't know the business. Seeing all of our coordinated bins, our kits (floral, bridal suite, sewing, tools, first aid, snacks for vendors, the bride's favorite treats, and every conceivable item one might need in any imaginable situation or emergency during a wedding), our minute-by-minute timelines, contact lists, perfect directions, table and rehearsal schematics....it is kind of overwhelming. Most people don't realize the organizational back story behind each and every one of these celebrations.

And that is the point. We want weddings and other events to run smoothly and seamlessly. We want to have whatever the guests need before they know they need it (if anyone saw the last scene in 30 rock this week, you will know what I mean!). One of my greatest goals at a wedding is to always succeed in providing people with anything they might ask for - be it dental floss, shout wipes, an iron, or note cards for toast writing. Providing for people, and ultimately contributing to the success of these most exciting days, is one of the best parts of this job.

So when it is late and I'm here sorting straight pins and lint rollers into their respective bins, I always remind myself of how much fun it is going to be to see it all come together tomorrow. It makes the job totally worth it.

Can't wait to share pictures from tomorrow's Nestldown wedding with you.

Best,

Emily

Heather & Seth - October 2009

2009-11-13T14:33:00.000-08:00

P
P
Heather and Seth will always have a special place in our minds as stand-out clients.

Their wedding was so enjoyable for us because they didn't sweat the small stuff. They wanted a wedding that their parents would enjoy, that their friends would have a blast at, and that would be ultimately memorable. But their wants and desires were based on the needs of those they loved.

They knew their parents valued good food and wine, and they chose vendors that would match those "likes."

Watermelon Martini and personalized cocktail napkins -------Tenderloin of Beef Rosette
Menus and personalized packets of wildflower seedsThey knew their friends would enjoy beer more than wine, so we served beer - and lots of it. Living in Berkeley and following the local sensibility, they wanted their day to have a sustainable, eco-friendly feel to it. So a ceremony under the redwoods at the lovely Piedmont Community Center, seasonal cocktails, and seed packet favors combined to contribute to many moments of celebration over the course of the evening.

Escort cards in grass

The key though was that Heather and Seth are truly in love, and were so happy to see each other, spend time together, and to get married! Genuinely happy about spending their lives together, without letting the many details of the wedding day drag them down.

Thank you to Heather and Seth for letting us be a part of this day - it was truly special.

Photography: Annie McElwain Photography / Catering: Barbara Llewellyn Catering / Favors and Decor: Downey Street Events / Coordination: Lauren Geissler Giometti of Downey Street Events

Welcome to Downey Street...

2009-11-13T08:22:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Downey Street Events blog! We are excited to bring you photos of our latest work, information on some of our favorite vendors in the San Francisco area, and some tips and tricks for planning your own events!

Stay tuned for new photos - we were so lucky to spend the past few months working with a fabulous group of brides and grooms (and their vendors), and can't wait to show you their amazing Fall 2009 weddings!

cheers,

Lauren and Emily