Ocean Pearl Weddings Inspiration Board ~ Orange Sunset

A wedding inspiration board i put together using some our favorite vendors, and most of these photos our from our own weddings!

Distinctive Wedding Receptions

After meeting with almost 50 couples for 2010 weddings, I am finding that brides and grooms want their wedding day to be more of an EXPERIENCE then a memory. I have researched and found five fun and different activities that will prove to be a hit with your guests during your wedding reception. My only suggestion would be to refrain from using all of them in one night – it still needs to feel like a wedding, not a circus.

Photo booths

Photo booths have always been a hit at special events, but more companies are identifying the specific factors that make them more popular for weddings. Mobile Photo Booth of San Diego not only allows room at the bottom of the photo strip for a custom message, text or initial; they also print two strips. Your guests get to take home a classic memory, and you get one in your photo booth guest book. Weddings can be such a busy night, this is a creative way to recall all the fun your guests had days later.

Fire pits

If a summer wedding is in the mix, why not end the evening out on the patio roasting marshmallows? This is a great idea when having an outdoor reception, or when you have a venue with an outdoor patio or terrace without an overhang. Ocean Pearl Weddings at Sheraton Carlsbad offers a fun late night break of marshmallows, Hersey’s chocolate and graham crackers complete with a little roasting hibachi and wire skewers. Take it further and have lounge furniture scattered around several portable fire pits on your patio. There are not too many rental companies at this time that rent these out, however Platinum Pros located in North San Diego County has several chic fire pit and lounge options. You can also purchase outdoor fire pits at places like Home Depot starting at $50. Anytime you make a purchase like this for a wedding, remember you can re-sell on craigslist!


Cigar Rolling


This is another finishing touch you can add towards the end of the evening if your venue has an outdoor patio or terrace. A cigar caterer can offer a master cigar roller to join your event providing intimate touch on the fine art of rolling and smoking a cigar. Custom cigar bands can also be added with the bride and grooms name, date, or maybe a special quote. This would also be a good time to bring back the classic custom match boxes, or maybe an updated look with

Magician

Kevin Viner, Magician & Mentalist, points out that when people plan their weddings they often put the least thought into their cocktail hour. “Along with fostering conversation and introducing your guests to one another, a close-up magician can provide something for your guests to enjoy while you are busy taking pictures with the photographer.” While performing sleight-of-hand magic and interacting your friends and family, a magician helps you create a more enjoyable atmosphere for your guests. Magic can help create introductions between guests who may be meeting each other for the first time.

Wii

I noticed a lot of corporate holiday parties offered a variety of video games like Rock band, Guitar hero, and various Wii Sports games the past couple of holiday seasons. It must have made a lasting impression, because has come up with several brides and grooms this year who all remember it being such a hit with their co-workers. This is another activity that allows introductions between guests and offers opportunities to connect and create an experience. Everyone usually knows someone with a Wii and games, so you don’t have to break the bank either. You may only need some simple audio visual rentals to project onto a big screen. If you have a ballroom with white walls, leave out the screen all together!

Meet Our Chef's

Chef Steven Patrick

Executive Chef, Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa

Chef Steven Patrick is Executive Chef for Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa. He is responsible for all food and kitchen operations of the resort. Chef Patrick is an accomplished chef, author and restaurateur, who began his culinary training at the young age of eight helping in his grandmothers’ kitchen at the restaurants his parents owned in Southern California. His passion for fresh, natural ingredients later flourished as he cultivated organic farming.
Chef Patrick brings his love for locally produced products and fresh, vineyard inspired flavors to all the food at the Sheraton. He can sometimes be seen at the grill on the Terrace of the resort preparing food for client banquet events and resort occasions – as even with his multi-level responsibilities -- he still loves to cook and talk food with guests.

Chef Patrick has an extensive background in wine country resorts and restaurants and has cooked in the finest resort dining rooms including the five-star restaurant El Bizcocho at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, the popular Italian BONO restaurant opened by the late Sonny Bono in Palm Springs, Temecula Creek Inn and The Vineyard Terrace at the Callaway Winery in Temecula. He is also author of The Fire Magic BBQ Cookbook, a popular 75-page cookbook filled with innovative grilling recipes.

Reed Anderson

Executive Sous Chef, Twenty/20 Grill & Wine Bar

Chef Reed Anderson is a native of Virginia and was inspired at an early age by the southern cooking of his grandmother. His first restaurant job was at age 13, and as he continued on he soon was a Graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. After several internships with noted East Coast chefs, Chef Reed moved to San Francisco, where he worked under celebrated chefs Jody Denton of the popular Lulu restaurant and Hubert Keller at the award winning Fleur de Lys.

Chef Reed then returned to his roots and moved to Charlottesville, VA to lead the team at the newly opened Blue Light Grill & Raw Bar. From there he seized every opportunity to travel to other parts of the world, experiencing the foods of his visits and landing in Sienna, Italy where he spent a year cooking in three well-respected restaurants.

Chef Reed is a member of the Slow Food movement, an organization dedicated to protecting the heritage of food, tradition and culture by opposing food processes that are harmful to humans, animals or the environment. He has brought his passion to Twenty/0 and is incorporating his Swedish heritage, southern roots and love of local and organic products found in San Diego's North County. He is also a crowd pleaser as he cooks at the Twenty/20 Thursday Tapas nights on the restaurant’s patio, as well as the Raw Bar at Tastes of San Sebastian nights during the winter months.

Ocean Pearl Weddings
Twenty/20 Grill & Wine Bar
Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa

Twenty/10 Wedding Trends

www.oceanpearlweddings.com


Monochromatic Colors

The past couple of years we have seen a lot of white with colored accents. This year, forget the white. Choose two or three main colors (or even one) and use all types of tints, tones and shades of each color ~ monochromatic colors. Use big, bright tones. Spring will see a lot or oranges and pinks, while fall will have more reds, teals, and blues. Amidst all the bright colors in 2010, you will also see a lot of grey – again in all types of tints and shades. Grey has been extremely popular on the runways, and will definitely be making way through wedding color palettes.

Simple Florals
The day of tall, extravagant, jewel draped floral arrangements with random fruits and feathers peeping about are out this New Year. A variety of simple, monochromatic color flower arrangements in creative containers are in. Try different height square glass vases, surrounded by matching square glass votive candle holders. Or white flowers in fun colorful vases. You can make these simple colors pop by drowning them with water in tall (or short) glass containers. Tulips and orchids both look large and bold when displayed in a water filled vase.

Mini Artisan Desserts

Cupcakes have been slowly replacing more and more tiered cakes at weddings. In 2010 try French inspired mini artisan desserts, decorated with colored icings, sugar flowers, and shaved chocolate chunks. These petite, creative sweets offer a fresh look for guests and are a fun photo instead of the traditional cake feeding shot. Use a large, tiered tower for display or set out small towers at each individual table at the end of dinner. Create an artisan cream  puff “croche en bouche”, using a cake base tower covered with colorful iced puff pastries. Darin Fong Photography

Textured Cakes
For those still dreaming of the traditional wedding cake, 2010 brings a new “feel”. No more flat, unappetizing fondant. Try textured butter cream or whipped cream peaks. Top your icing off with edibles, like covering every angle large shaved white chocolate slices. For a spring wedding try a clean line of fresh, round cherries across the top of every tier. Fall weddings, try placing pomegranate seeds in a damask design. It’s not only pleasing to the eye, but offers a fresh new taste. If you can’t live without the smooth fondant lines of un-edible “frosting”, then at least make sure it is in color. Try the same color but each tier in different tints and shades.

Destination – Home
Though 2010 forecasts our economy as looking brighter, asking guests to all partake in a destination wedding will still be a long shot. A traditional backyard wedding gives you the freedom to have every detail the way you dreamed, and does not limit your food and beverage choices. If planning every, single, minor detail scares you, (which it should unless you hire a wedding planner), try a hotel or resort destination within driving distance. If you live in Los Angeles, plan a wedding in San Diego, and vice versa. It is far enough to be considered a vacation, but close enough to drive down for a weekend of wedding planning and meeting with vendors. Your guests will enjoy “getting away” without airfare and multiple hotel nights.

Lighting

Draping a ballroom in satin is not only old news, but costs an arm and a leg. Find a wedding venue with simple, light walls that can easily reflect color. This way any color scheme will do, and it’s easy to personalize your wedding. Single can lights with colored gels can usually be rented anywhere from $20 - $30 each, and if you want a lot of them you can usually negotiate a discounted lighting package. A little can go a surprisingly long way when it comes to lighting. Have different colors splashed on your long, white head table, providing a fun and bright focal point in your ballroom. Darin Fong Photography

Specialty Cocktails

Weddings are all about being personalized in 2010. Meet with your bar provider’s Mixologist to create a custom cocktail using both the bride and grooms favorites. The bride loves lemon drops, and the groom loves to be creative in the kitchen: try a lemon basil martini with specialty vodka and fresh herbs. Have a love for hot food and smooth drinks? Hot and Dirty Martini with hot sauce and olive juice. Or have coinciding drinks, each symbolizing the bride a groom. Lovebliss Lemonade of Chambord and vodka in martini glasses for the ladies, and tray passed Shandy’s in pilsner glasses for the guys (lager and top with ginger ale).

Fresh and New Cuisine

Every wedding has done a cheese and vegetable platter. BORING! Be different! Food and creative chefs are so popular right now, take advantage! Have tray passed appetizers of new, fun food. Instead of traditional coined smoked salmon, have fresh seared white fish on a wonton crisp with crème frâiche and herbs. No chewy beef skewers; mini romesco beef tostadas with savoy cabbage and cotija cheese. Can’t live without the cheese and vegetables – try small. tray passed portions. Bite size French brie puffs pastries and a raspberry chipotle dipping sauce. Have fresh vegetable sticks in small glass cups with dip pooled in the bottom, so people take a cup and have several sticks to enjoy why mingling.

Theme

Having a subtle theme throughout your wedding is important to carry out through every aspect of your evening. Im not referring to a Luau or Western theme. If the groom is a musician, or the couple met at a concert, have minor references to musical influences like favorite lyrics quoted on the guest book, menu cars, and wedding favors. Musical notes can decorate the cake or ceremony pamphlet. If you are having a coastal wedding and love the beach, or maybe got engaged on a beach, try staying with a coastal color palate like blues, oranges, and beige. Have beach sand incorporated into your centerpieces, and serve local fish and seafood in your menu. The theme should be important to both bride and groom and your life together. Photo by http://www.willcoxphotography.com/ 

Basic Traditions
A lot of the 2010 wedding trends above tend to go against what we feel is “traditional” wedding style. Stay true to the basics: Have bridesmaids and grooms men, and put them all up on diplay during the reception at a head table. Designate ushers for show guests to there seats, and later seat guests of honor such as mothers and grandmothers. Write your own vows. Have an intimate and casual rehearsal dinner after your ceremony rehearsal two days before your wedding. Spend the day before (and night before) your wedding apart – with your bridal party. Guys, go golfing. Ladies, hit up the spa for last minute relaxation. Enjoy bachelor and bachelorette parties the night before the wedding, your last true night of being “single”. Have a ceremony program listing everyone involved in your wedding, and thanking those who made it possible. Be sure to visit each table during dinner and thank your guests for celebrating with you. It really does make a lasting impression. Make sure to have not only a first dance, but a father/daughter dance and mother/son dance. Have a traditional toast given by the best man, not an open mic night from all the college buddies. Offer a morning after brunch for out of town guests. Take pride in your wedding, your love, and your new life together.