m + j

One of my best friends since high school got married this past summer and I am so excited to finally be able to post about her beautiful wedding. Melissa and Jay are probably the sweetest and most  down to earth couple that you will ever meet. And their wedding reflected everything good and genuine about their relationship.

I had the pleasure of helping Melissa plan her big day during the year leading up to June 7, 2014. I was probably a little too psycho for Melissa, who was the most relaxed and calm bride EVER, but she indulged in my insanity and let me help her {okay maybe help is a too nice a word - take over is probably more fitting} and didn't laugh at me when I created a Pinterest board just for her wedding. 

I think I have looked through M + J's wedding photos about 10 times. Seriously. I'm obsessed. Their amazing photographer, Vivian Sachs, beautifully captured the romantic style of the venue, the breathtaking flowers, and THAT DRESS. Not to mention, the bride. Melissa was effortlessly stunning. She was one of those brides where you actually gasped when you saw her {or cried, sorry I couldn't help it}. Her dress was spectacular and she was spectacular in it.

I loved everything about this wedding. The venue - The Los Altos History Museum, was simple but with just enough rustic charm that did not require too much work in terms of decor. However, the extra items that were incorporated were all DIY, and they perfectly complemented the surrounding landscape and lighting of the venue without taking away from it's natural elegance. I was so honored to be a part of their special day and help them bring it to life; looking through these pictures {AGAIN} brings back such good memories and I'm so glad that they will always be able to cherish them. 

But, enough talking. Just see for yourself ...

had to include one of us =)

 the end ♥

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 m + j wedding inspiration

{colors: pink & gray}   {season: summer}   {setting: outdoor ~ rustic}

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 {Venue: Los Altos History Museum}{Photography: Vivian Sachs}{Florist: Jeannette's Flowers}
{Wedding Dress: Blue by Enzoani}{Makeup: High Maintenance}
{Bridesmaid Dress: Donna Morgan Sarah}

now presenting: kels and wedding bells!

Hi loves! It's been awhile but I hope you haven't forgotten about me =) November has been a busy month, but I have to say, it is exceeding my expectations this year. What I thought was going to be a low key 28th birthday turned out to be one of the best birthday weekends ever. My best friend, Jordan {of trendingcheaply -see, remember I told you before how amazing she is!!} and my super hunky boyfriend threw me a surprise party at Jack Rose Libation House, in Los Gatos. I was completely shocked and had such an amazing evening enjoying delicious cocktails and homemade brownies with an even more amazing group of people. I've never had a surprise party before, so this meant the world to me - to have all my closest friends and family there brought tears to my eyes {seriously, I cried}. 

at my surprise party with my beautiful mama and sister

I already knew that my birthday gift to myself this year was to give my blog a much needed facelift. After some research and lots of time spent on etsy, I discovered a shop that had just what I was looking for. I don't have much experience with HTML and CSS or all that jazz, (except, I have to admit that going through this process really gave me some myspace flashbacks) so the task seemed pretty daunting. But, I did it and I am so in love with the outcome. It is still a work in progress and I think it always will be because I am a perfectionist and I'm sure I will keep adding/editing/updating as time goes on, but for now, I'm really happy and I hope you enjoy my new and improved blog! There are some sections still under construction, but take a look around - I hope you like what you see :)

Now, let's also talk about the best birthday gift ever from my creative and thoughtful big sis. How cute are these?! 

Since I am still in the beginning stages, these cards, although simple, are perfect just so that I have a way of getting my information to the right people!

A close up of the pen, which is engraved with "Like a Boss". She knows me so well.

With my new collection, I knew my blog had to be just as fancy as my new business cards, pen and monogrammed card holder!

You have probably also noticed by now that I decided to change the name of my blog. I am still playing around with different names for my {fingers crossed}future company and if I want to use kels and wedding bells or kelly.elissa events. I love the ring to kels and wedding bells but I also think using my name is the smart thing to do and it also doesn't restrict my company name to just weddings. For now this will just be the name of my blog until I come to my final decision; I don't want to rush and really want to take my time to figure out what I like best. What are your thoughts? I would love to hear what you think so please leave a comment below on what name you like! I would also like to hear your feedback on my blog layout. Any advice or suggestions are greatly encouraged!

P.S. don't forget to subscribe to my blog via email so that you don't miss out on any future posts!

all gold everything

This post isn't about gold specifically, but I am currently (or maybe always) obsessed with gold. EVERYTHING. Especially as a color theme for an event. I just love the way it looks and that it can be paired with any color for even more fabulousness. Give me some gold glitter and I will go crazy....

In addition to loving everything gold, I love parties. Like, A LOT. Any type of party/event/meeting - I don't care. Count ME IN.  I also love planning and organizing anything {just ask my boyfriend}. Creating a spreadsheet  is one of my favorite things to do and I have learned that event planning truly is my calling and I am SO grateful to have found that calling.   

Now, what though? For the past few years I have struggled with turning this passion into an actual career. I have hit a lot of dead ends trying to find a corporate job as an event planner, because honestly, I just don't have the corporate experience that most companies are looking for. Helping family and friends with birthday parties, showers, bachelorettes, weddings, etc, unfortunately does not translate well onto a resume. If only my Instagram and Facebook albums could serve as my resume! 

I also never really thought I wanted to specialize in wedding planning - I didn't want to put myself into one category when I loved all events! But one beautiful day, I ended up helping two friends as their day of coordinator for their small, intimate wedding in San Jose. And, I loved it. I felt so comfortable in that role. I woke up the next day like, YES - I DID THAT. AND  IT WAS FUN. And, let's be honest, I love bossing people around and taking charge of situations {again, just ask my boyfriend}. It was then that I decided I wanted to explore this further and figure out if this was exactly what I wanted to do. 

 {the happy couple - Gaby & Eric - at their desert table - their color theme? GOLD}

LET'S REWIND .... About 6ish months before this happened, I met a Wedding Coordinator, which happened to be the sister of MY sister's close friend. I had been too shy and nervous at the time  to get her contact information even though when I find out she was a wedding planner, I wanted to talk to her more about her experiences. 

After helping G&E with their wedding, I realized I really did need to sync up with Christy and get some advice and guidance. Although I am really bad about meeting new people by myself, I got her contact information from my sister and shot her an email.

I {timidly} met with Christy in a local coffee shop, fresh new notebook and pen in hand, and we hit it off right away! I was comforted by her easy going manner and chatty personality. I had a feeling we already were on to something good.

I let her know I was eager to get some experience and find out just what was involved in being a wedding coordinator. She shared with me her own story of how she became a wedding coordinator and I was instantly inspired. We made arrangements for me to serve as her assistant coordinator for all her upcoming summer weddings. I was so stoked! {For the sake of not making this into a novel, I won't go into detail about each wedding I assisted her with, but will probably write separate blog entries about a few of them!}

By the way, Christy is an amazing Wedding Coordinator, with Allure Consulting, and I am so grateful that I began this journey with her. She has some serious experience up her sleeve, I mean she coordinated the weddings for BOTH founders of PINTEREST! Yes, Pinterest! I'll just let that soak in....

I learned so much in just the short time that we worked together. She was the best mentor I could ask for, and I also gained an amazing friend in the process! Unfortunately, she recently moved to Dallas, thus ending our wedding love affair, but I am happy to say that I feel confident in what I learned from her and know that she gifted me a a great foundation to start my own business. 

Here are some photos from the weddings I worked with Christy: 

 {my first wedding - Golden Gate Club, San Francisco}

 {lots of rustic charm at this Log Cabin wedding - Presidio, San Francisco}

{these cards took FOREVER to set up, but it's all about the details!}

 {simple, elegant wedding at Viansa Winery - Sonoma}

My next steps, aka get shit done!

1. Branding and finding the perfect LOGO!
2. Beautify the Blog 
3. Register for my wedding planning certification course 

follow my Pinterest board, {color themes} all gold everything

 xoxo

ALL the feels

WOW. I am so overwhelmed by the support from my friends and family as I start this blog and embark on this journey. I can't even explain how nervous I was and still am, to put myself out there like this but the feedback has been amazing. So if you are reading this, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! 
 

 
I forgot to mention this in my first post but none of this would have happened if I didn't have my BFF pushing me to start a blog. She is a blog vet and has been there for me every step of the way, providing me with guidance, ideas and inspiration, but mostly just kicking my butt into gear when the crazy took over and doubt kicked in. Everyone needs to check out her fashion and lifestyle blog, Trending Cheaply . She is a style guru and fashion goddess with a knack for finding great pieces on a budget, so seriously, go follow her! You won't regret it, I promise!!

 a peak at one of her latest posts about styling maxi's for fall <3

That's it for now. I just found out about a Planners Expo at the Mountain Winery tomorrow that I am going to attend (with my sidekick Jordan - if you haven't clicked the link yet here is your change again people), which I am SO excited about! It will be my first networking event of this kind so I will definitely be posting about my experience and share photos! 

Thanks again for taking time out of your day to read my posts and follow my journey. The support from my friends and family is EVERYTHING to me. 

Happy Monday loves!  

how do you work this thing??

I am officially a "blogger" now - go me! Welcome to 2014! 

I keep thinking that I sound/feel like my mother who always asks me  to enter her contacts whenever she gets a new phone because she can never seem to figure out how to save new contacts. I used to do it for her EVERY TIME, but really that's not how you learn right? I have always been a proponent of learning by doing, so here we go. I am attempting to dive into the "blog life", and as if that wasn't scary enough for a self conscious writer, I also have to figure out how to actually  make this thing look pretty!? If only I could put a bird on it ...

So, here I am. In the hopes of sharing my passion for event planning and my journey to becoming a full fledged wedding planner, I have decided to enter the blogisphere. I am putting my big girl pants on and making my dreams into a reality. I know that the time is now and that I can't keep putting this off or saying "what if" anymore. I need to take control of my life and future, because I can't keep waiting for someone to do it for me. That's just not how the world works unfortunately. So, to quote the awkwardly hilarious Kristin Wiig....

Anyway, this entry isn't really that exciting, I just wanted to get my "feet wet" with this blogging. I really just want this to be a space where I can share events that I am working on as well as my thoughts/ feelings/ experiences. I hope that it is somewhat interesting at times and if it isn't, I am sorry in advance! Please stay tuned for more updates and more about my journey thus far and how I came to this place of wanting to be a wedding coordinator! More to come, more to come! 

For now, here are some of my favorite photos from parties I have coordinated in the past! 

1920's themed 30th birthday party 

una fiesta mexicana

mother's day brunch 

HASTA LUEGO!