it was so much fun getting to know melanie and dean during their wedding planning process and i’m sad that it’s all over.  they are the cutest together! we loved that their wedding day was filled with reflections of who they are as individuals and as a couple! let’s see if you can guess the theme from the photos.

ummm… LOVED melanie’s WINE colored louboutins!

aren’t the flower girls the cutest??

shout out to melanie and dean who came up with all the details themselves.. the WINE corks, the stemless WINE glass favor, the WINE barrel and bottles for the candy display….

one of my favorite photos of the day is the one where melanie and dean are covered in money from their honeymoon dance (especially dean’s crown!). these two are so loved by their friends and family. this was one of the longest honeymoon dance we have came across!

and of course, melanie’s beloved boba bar! ten ren did a fantastic job! the drinks were SO delish!

melanie and dean, it was so great getting to know the two of you guys. congratulations again!

church: st. joachim catholic church
venue: doubletree santa ana
photographer: anha nguyen
florist: azar floral company
dj: eloise baraan
hair/makeup: kelly zhang team
lighting: tmmpro
cake: pacific bakery
pipe and drape: btb event productions
chiavari chairs/linens: elegant chiavari chairs
boba bar: ten ren (judy chu) 
photobooth: josh yu

only 10 days into the new year, and it’s already fantastic! big thanks to all of our brides and grooms…. past and present!

i remember writing this post for 2010… felt like it was yesterday. what can we say, 2011 just flew by and it was even more incredible than we thought it would be!

as the year winds down, we want to extend another heartfelt congratulations to all of our 2011 couples. hope you are all enjoying your first holiday season as husband and wife!

neomi + andy :: photo by erica rose photography

kathleen + jeff :: photo by andi pianalto

jackie + jake :: photo by lin and jirsa

angeline + michael :: photo by trista lerit

angela + scott :: photo by cly creation

tania + steven :: photo by stephen cheng

sarah lindsay + anthony :: photo by greg bumatay

mai + clinton :: photo by jim kennedy

sherry + lance :: photo by henry chen

tina +  miguel :: photo by herman au

melanie + dean :: photo by anha nguyen (full post coming soon!!)

claire + oliver :: photo by gwendolyn tundermann (full post coming soon!!)

annie + eugene :: photo by jason kim (full blog coming soon!!)

and last but not least, ME’s very own mel…

melissa + sam :: photo by henry chen (full post coming soon!!)

we are so excited for 2012! we have a long list of fantastic clients…. and we have even more amazing weddings coming your way!

happy new year to you and your loved ones!!

always,
melissa + elsa

merry christmas & happy holidays from ME Events!! this year we thought that we would share a fun and easy holiday favor idea for those of you who love diy gifts. you can use your own special recipe or the one listed below.

.:cookies in a jar:.

what you need to make a dozen jars:

• 12 quart sized mason jars
• note: these can be purchased at your local grocery store, target or even costco
• 12 tags
  note: this is where you can get creative with your own personal touch.  on the back of the tag, you will need to leave instructions with how to bake the cookies
• 9 yards of your favorite 3/8″ ribbon
  note: swap this out for another ribbon and it could be a baby shower favor, bridal shower favor or valentines day treat!
• 15.6 cups of rolled oats
• 6 cups of packed brown sugar (about 3 bags)
• 6 cups of white sugar
• 6 cups of chopped pecans (about 2 bags)
• 12 cups of semisweet chocolate chips (about 6 bags)
• 15.6 cups of all-purpose flour
• 12 teaspoons of baking powder
• 12 teaspoons of baking soda
• 3 teaspoons of salt

prep:
fill each jar with the following ingredients in the order listed below. be sure to pack each layer as you fill the jar with ingredients (you’ll need the space!)

1 1/3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

on the tag include the following instructions:
preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease cookie sheets. in a medium bowl, mix together 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. stir in the entire contents of the jar. you may need to use your hands to finish mixing. shape into walnut sized balls and place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. bake for 11 to 13 minutes. transfer from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. you should make about 3 dozen chocolate chip pecan cookies.

to decorate the jar:
simply tie on your personalized tags. with double sided tape, wrap your favorite ribbon on the lid.

ENJOY!

itzury was our first associate coordinator and having her on our team is probably one of the best decisions that we’ve made. she is always so excited and eager for our events, which, in turn, gets us even more excited as well. she always has a huge smile on her face and handles all situations smoothly and effectively. we are so lucky to have her on board!

one word comes to mind when i think about tina and miguel… passion…. and emotions. ok fine… two words come to mind. their wedding day was filled with so much love, especially what they have for each other. after 8 months of planning and traveling 9,000 from china, their wedding came together beautifully at the hyatt in huntington beach. the weather was a bit shotty the week leading up to the wedding… but on that saturday, the clouds cleared and the weather could not be more perfect as tina and miguel said their own vows to each other.

tina and miguel wanted to keep it traditional and not do the first look. i loved the look on miguel’s face when he saw his beautiful bride for the first time, walking down the aisle.

gorgeous day in southern california! i’m lucky to live here!

miguel’s brother recited a beautiful reading as tina and miguel released a pair of pure white doves into the sky as a symbol of their union.

tina and miguel love orchids so there were accents of orchids everywhere

they didn’t want a traditional tiered wedding cake and chose cupcakes instead. for their cakecutting, they cut into the giant cupcake in the middle of the display!

we had two father/daughter dances that night…. the traditional father/daughter dance with tina and her dad, followed by a heartwarming father/daughter dance with miguel and his daughter, amaia. look how absolutely adorable she is! you can tell just how close the two of them are. this was, by far, one of my favorite moments of the night… actually, one of my favorite moments EVER!

miguel surprised tina with a special rendition of howie day’s “collide.” love surprises like this!!

their favors were these nifty flashlights that tina’s company made. here is miguel demonstrating how to use them.

finally, look at how cool these kicks are?! custom made with their wedding date and their silhouettes!!

fabulous vendors:

venue: hyatt regency resort and spa, huntington beach
photographer: herman au photography
videographer: whsy
florist: jenny b floral design
dj/mc: wil an and ton choi
hair/makeup: joyce luck style
lighting: tmmpro
dancefloor: chiavari chair rentals
pipe and drape/linens/chairs: fusion linens
wedding day stationery: me events and design
dove release: white flite

kathy is another super valuable addition to the ME events team.  when she helps us set up for weddings, she does it so quickly and perfectly, that it even amazes us sometimes! she always asks the best questions, which sometimes, gets us thinking as well. this also shows how much she cares about the details of each of our clients’ weddings.

without further ado, please meet kathy and read about her 10 random facts!!

1. I’m a huge dog person; I even like the way they smell! Right now, I have a lab that I was training to be a guide dog, and another that came from the shelter.
2. I’m very particular about my bed; I don’t like people touching it and it really bothers me when the covers aren’t perfect.
3. My feet and hands decided to stop growing when I hit middle school. My shoe size is a four, and it’s impossible for me to find heels!
4. I’m pretty sure my knees can predict the weather; they hurt whenever it’s about the rain.
5. I can’t whistle or snap… or ride a bike.
6. I didn’t have my first peanut butter and jelly sandwich until I was about fifteen years old, and I thought it was disgusting. Plain jelly is way better.
7. I always get super emotional during dog movies (even Bolt), more so than ‘human-only’ movies.
8. My brother and sister are over a decade older than me. I guess you could say I was a surprise.
9. I can’t sleep unless I’ve showered and brushed my teeth. Even if I accidentally fall asleep I’ll automatically wake up around four in the morning just to get ready for bed again.
10. I think I’m the only person in the world who doesn’t like soda or coffee.

after months of planning, it is with much anticipation that i am able to blog about one of my favorite couples of the year!  sherry + lance truly held a special place in my heart not only because they are super sweet and fun, but also because i am lucky enough to know both of them personally.  from day one, i felt nothing but honored for the trust that they put into ME.  the planning of their wedding was done at a great distance since they were living in hong kong and shanghai at the time.  they moved there to take over a family business a couple of year ago and are definitely world travelers.

my friendship with sherry dates back to our college days when we were great party friends.  she was a ton of fun and always too kind and sweet.  now, so many years later, it is incredible to see the amazing woman that she has become.  beautiful inside and out, but even more amazingly, sherry was able to find her life partner and now husband lance.  it is not often that you get to meet a couple so unselfishly dedicated to one another.

speaking of the groom, lance is one of the most charming grooms we have had the pleasure to work with.  he seems to make friends wherever he goes, so it was no wonder their wedding was filled with so many adoring friends and family ready to celebrate with them.  and who can forget their thank you speech?  it was the perfect snap shot of what the day was about because they were so thankful and grateful to their parents, families and friends for sharing the day and making it all possible.

sherry + lance, congratulations on your new life together and on the new home!  i absolutely cannot wait for your next trip back in april!

now, time to share the photos and video captured by the talented henry chen of henry chen photography and tim kwon of lin & jirsa..

would have expected nothing less than fabulous accessories from sherry

and the beautiful bride

definitely an incredible couple

glowing with excitement!

the well traveled couple incorporated a little bit about their favorite activity.. traveling! tables named after their favorite destinations and luggage tag escort cards with travel sized hand sanitizers. absolutely adorable!

beautiful custom cake stand by sussanna davidson of french buckets and “postcard” menu cards

sherry + lance.. highlights trailer

huge thank you to the fabulous couple and amazing vendor team for making the day possible!

venue: laguna cliffs marriott resort and spa
photographer: henry chen photography
videographer: lin & jirsa
florist: french buckets
string trio: angelica strings
hair/makeup: chiali meng
lighting: tmmpro
pipe and drape/dancefloor/linens/chairs: fusion linens
photobooth: photo shenanigans
dj/mc: high flyin’ entertainment
cake: it’s all about the cake

as ME events continues to grow, we have brought on some amazing associate event coordinators to be part of our team. lauren has been an incredible addition. she has been eager to learn and has a proven track record of being 120% reliable. her attention to detail is unsurpassed and we know that we (and our clients) are in great hands when she is on site!

and as you know from the ABOUT ME section on our website, we like random facts (the more random, the better!)… so here are 10 random facts about lauren:

after a bit of delay, we are excited to finally share mai + clinton’s picture perfect wedding at the laguna cliffs marriott hotel in dana point, california.  mai + clinton’s big day was filled with lots of love and tons of smiles.  we are so thankful to have been a part of their big day!

after getting to know both mai + clinton for the past few months, we were not surprise at how calm and ready they were to tie the knot!  with such a fun loving and easy going bride; and a groom who is ready to proclaim his love and have a great time,  it’s no wonder the day was amazing.  the ceremony nearly had me in tears with a close personal friend officiating and mai’s surprise reading to her brand new husband.  to top it all off, their reception was filled with a ton of laughs not to be matched by the beautifully dramatic red rose centerpieces and complimentery amber uplighting.

congrats again to the fabulous couple.. we wish you two all the best!

  boys will be boys…

venue: laguna cliffs marriott
photographer: jim kennedy photography
videographer: premiere weddings 
florist: jenny b floral design
dj/lighting: huey le of platinum peaks
hair/makeup: angie pham
chairs & linens:  fusion linens
wedding day stationery: pretty in ink invites
cake: it’s all about the cake