Images courtesy of Elle G Photography

Members enjoyed a delightful meeting at the Loew’s Coronado Bay Resort.  Our President, Ann Strobel, was busy coordinating a wedding in Northern California so our very capable Krista Murphy, acted as our Hostess/Emcee.

Krista introduced our guests: Jen Ragusa, Pink Star Design, Betty representing Concepts and Brent, the other half of Studio Carre’ Photographie.

Our showcasers were Shannon and Brent of Studio Carre’ Photographie.  Shannon explained the importance of building a relationship with their clients, customized packages, creative shooting, whether it be an intimate beach or large wedding.  They keep current with the trends and styles.  Not only do they shoot weddings, but also corporate business to boudoir photography.  They are talented and easy to work with and we are so proud to have Studio Carre’ in Weddings of Distinction.

We did a trivia test on Coronado and drew names of our drawing winners, Carmin (for 2 bottles of wine) and Andrea who won gift certificates to Vigiluccis and Truluck’s La Jolla.  Paula of Rae Florae provided beautiful florals and Lisa from Elle G captured our event through her talented lens.

The Loews Coronado is a beautiful resort, it’s pet friendly, has three ceremony sites, beautiful ballrooms and gondelas for a relaxing, romantic getaway around the bay. “Gordie” offered a tour of the property at the end of the meeting.

Next month, our hostess will be Carlie McVay from the Hilton Del Mar.  We are planning a fabulous open vendor panel to discuss educating vendors to educate clients, being a team player and ways to overcome obstacles in selling.  The focus will be on solutions and everyone will walk away with new knowledge and skills to improve their business!

Your wedding day is something she doesn’t take lightly and will do everything in her power to capture every tear, every smile and every kind of happy, GUARANTEED!

www.ellegphotography.com ::  ellegphotography@me.com ::  858.274.3554

Once seen as just an option on the wedding/engagement must-do menu, engagement photographs are fast becoming an essential piece of the action. Brides and grooms like to use these photos in their save-the-dates, on their wedding websites, or for hometown-newspaper wedding announcements. In fact, engagement shots are so popular nowadays, many wedding photographers will include engagement shots in their wedding photography packages. The shots, often taken in natural settings like parks, beaches, or backyards– ah, the magic of natural lighting!– can be a great way to announce your upcoming wedding. Some couples like to get cute and don matching or coordinating outfits. As more candid, journalistic-style photography grows in popularity, some couples will have a photographer take action photos of them doing things they enjoy, like running side-by-side, walking on the beach, having coffee, or riding bicycles. Some hopeful and confident grooms are even clever enough to hire a photographer to shoot the proposal. (Fellas, just be pretty sure she’s gonna say “yes.”)

After the engagement session is over, you can put you pictures to many uses! Many couples decide to enlarge their favorite image into canvas and prominently display it in their home. Some couples decide to have a guest sign-in book, using all of the session images, at the wedding. You can also publish engagement photographs in your local newspaper, use them for save-the-date cards, magnets, table setting centerpieces, and wedding invitations.

Don’t forget to smile and more importantly HAVE FUN with it!

Our October luncheon meeting was little short of magnificent!  In the pleasant surroundings of the lovely Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club (858-756-1554; office@rsfgardenclub.org), we enjoyed a superb meal, attractively and cleverly presented, by Continental Catering.  Frankie Hartwell provided flowers from Hartworks Floral.  Photographer Kristina Chartier shot lots of photos. Andy Hagenah from DiscGoRound DJ & Video provided sound and mics.

A special bridal forum took place with five recent brides sharing their planning, shopping and event experiences very candidly. They fielded questions for nearly an hour from our moderator, DJ/Emcee Merrylin Brichmann from Artistic Productions and several of our members. A special shout out to the brides ~ Elaine, Sara, Kimberly, Tammy and Dawn for participating and really opening up with us. It was very insightful and informative!

A special thank you to Vice-President Ann Strobel from Ann’s Plans for organizing our special bridal forum and for all her hard work throughout the year planning all of the logistics and scheduling for our monthly luncheons. Ann ~ you’re an unsung hero for the group!

Everyone enjoyed networking and great food. It was super meeting the Board from The Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club and viewing their facility. We’ll see everyone on Nov. 23^rd as two of our members take great care of us. Haydee Alderete’s Concepts Event Design facility hosts our November luncheon. Authentic Flavors Catering tantalizes us with a pre-Thanksgiving lunch.

The Weddings of Distinction 2010 Board:

President, Bob Brichmann, DJ & Emcee from Artistic Productions; Vice-President, Ann Strobel, Coordinator from Ann’s Plans; Treasurer, Merrylin Brichmann, DJ & Emcee from Artistic Productions; Founding President, Susan Ashley from Romantic Honeymoons; Membership, Andrea Pena from The Prado at Balboa Park; Secretary, Diane Wilson from Silverwood Music Ensemble; Marketing, Lisa Gisczinski, Elle G Photography. Committee Members: Marketing, Shannon Henry, photographer from Studio Carre.

Weddings of Distinction is a non-profit networking group specializing in weddings and special events. They meet monthly at various San Diego County hotels, resorts and special event facilities. The group’s goal is building professional relationships and networking to give clients the best advice and services to choose from.

San Diego’s longest running wedding networking group ~ Weddings of Distinction, rocks the San Diego Hard Rock Hotel & Resort!

Our Weddings of Distinction crew paid a delightful visit to the rockin’ Hard Rock Hotel San Diego this past month for our monthly luncheon meeting. Hats off to our Hard Rock hostesses ~ Barbara Berning, Rebecca Zweig and Lisa Bennun, Director of Catering, for a spectacular presentation of their hotel, service and food. What a fantastic luncheon and a great venue for special events and weddings!

Special thanks to our two key showcasers on the day ~ Tiffany Arnaldo from Cali Cards and Shannon Henry from Studio Carre. Both gave excellent presentations of their services.

Congratulations to fellow member David Wasserman from Joes On The Nose Organic Espresso Catering on his newly found wedded bliss!

Loads of referrals were shared. Lots of networking was conducted. Raffle prizes were doled out. A good time was had by all. We’ll see you September 28^th at member property Hilton San Diego Del Mar!

The Weddings of Distinction 2010 Board:

President, Bob Brichmann, DJ & Emcee from Artistic Productions; Vice-President, Ann Strobel, Coordinator from Ann’s Plans; Treasurer, Merrylin Brichmann, DJ & Emcee from Artistic Productions; Founding President, Susan Ashley from Romantic Honeymoons,; Membership, Andrea Pena from The Prado at Balboa Park; Secretary, Diane Wilson from Silverwood Music Ensemble; Marketing, Lisa Gisczinski, Elle G Photography. Committee Members: Markeing, Shannon Henry, photographer from Studio Carre.

Weddings of Distinction is a non-profit networking group specializing in weddings and special event. They meet monthly at various San Diego County hotels, resorts and special event facilities. The group’s goal is building professional relationships and networking to give clients the best advice and services to choose from.

Troy and Jessica’s wedding was an explosion of color and vibrance that we have absolutely fallen in love with. The June nuptials were a bright and lively celebration with plenty of good food and good times to go around. Held outdoors at Orfilia Winery, in Escondido, the couple’s main goal for the big day was to throw a kick butt party with friends and family. Weddings of Distinction member, Lisa, of elle.g photography was on hand to capture every heartfelt moment, joyous laughter and wild dancing. Also in attendance from Weddings of Distinction was Continental Catering. They provided the scrumptious food, giving the guests energy enough to dance all night long.

Weddings of Distinction paid a visit to fellow group member The Prado at Balboa Park this June for their monthly luncheon and…in a word…WOW! Hats off to Catering Sales Manager Andrea Pena and her crew for greeting us in the Terrace Garden with champagne and sparkling cider and dazzling us with an incredible meal prepared by their fantastic new chefs. Seared scallops, a duet of steak and slipper lobster tail with a salad splash and a lemon cake dessert left no one wanting. Even our attending member caterers offered glowing praise.

To start our luncheon/meeting, Mary Noriega from Humphrey Florist was honored by the group in a touching farewell ceremony celebrating her 16 years of loyalty and support of Weddings of Distinction. An original group member, all of us will miss you Mary!

Showcasing members on the day were florist Lois Mathews and flamenco guitarist Anthony Garcia. Both gave impressive updates on their respective businesses and shown brightly with samples of their craft. A big thank you goes out to Lois for her beautiful centerpieces and to Anthony for entertaining us with his wonderful music as we did our meet & greet and during the luncheon.

Our beautiful day was embellished with loads of networking, sunshine, referrals shared and excellent camaraderie amongst San Diego wedding professionals. The Prado at Balboa Park provided quite the display and is an awesome venue option for wedding ceremonies and receptions, rehearsal dinners, corporate parties and family functions.

Board business was shared. New members officiant Patricia Coleman and invitation specialist Tiffany Lord Arnaldo with Cali Cards were welcomed into the group. Birthdays were acknowledged. Raffle prizes were awarded. A warm, beautiful day in Balboa Park was enjoyed by all!

The Weddings of Distinction 2010 Board:

President, Bob Brichmann, DJ & Emcee from Artistic Productions; Vice-President, Ann Strobel, Coordinator from Ann’s Plans; Treasurer, Merrylin Brichmann, DJ & Emcee from Artistic Productions; Founding President, Susan Ashley from Romantic Honeymoons; Membership, Andrea Pena from The Prado at Balboa Park; Secretary, Diane Wilson from Silverwood Music Ensemble; Marketing, Lisa Gisczinski, Elle G Photography. Committee Members: Shannon Henry, photographer from Studio Carre.

Weddings of Distinction is a non-profit networking group specializing in weddings and special events. They meet monthly at various San Diego County hotels, resorts and special event facilities. The group’s goal is building professional relationships and networking to give clients the best advice and services to choose from.

The Westin treated our members and guests to a fabulous luncheon meeting to close April. Kudos to Sheri Karpinski and her banquet staff for fantastic service and a delicious lunch. The Westin is a fabulous choice for your next business meeting, corporate holiday party or that perfect, rocking, urban wedding.

WoD drifted this month from its normal monthly meeting agenda. WoD staged an informative and highly group engaging forum focusing on marketing, creative advertising and, basically, ideas on what to do when the phone is not ringing as much as it should be. Keynote speakers were President Bob Brichmann & Treasurer Merrylin Brichmann, Artistic Productions, Vice-President Ann Strobel, Ann’s Plans, David Wasserman from Joes On The Nose, and photographer Kristina Chartier. Member participation was very spirited and creative advice was flying about the room. Everyone surely took home at least one good idea from this meeting to help themselves and their business.

Typical monthly Board business was shared. New member coordinator Krista Murphy from Definitive Events was welcomed into the group. Raffles prizes were awarded. New member brochures are ready to go to print. We’ll see you next month (5/25) at the Sheraton Carlsbad!

The Weddings of Distinction 2010 Board:

President, Bob Brichmann, DJ & Emcee from Artistic Productions; Vice-President, Ann Strobel, Coordinator from Ann’s Plans; Treasurer, Merrylin Brichmann, DJ & Emcee from Artistic Productions; Founding President, Susan Ashley from Romantic Honeymoons; Membership, Andrea Pena from The Prado at Balboa Park; Secretary, Diane Wilson from Silverwood Music Ensemble; Marketing, Lisa Gisczinski, elle.g photography.

Committee Members:
Shannon Henry, photographer from Studio Carre.

Weddings of Distinction is a non-profit networking group specializing in weddings and special events. They meet monthly at various San Diego County hotels, resorts and special event facilities. The group’s goal is building professional relationships and networking to give clients the best advice and services to choose from.

images courtesy of studio carre’

Weddings of Distinction staged its final meeting of the year on November 24th at Maderas (www.maderasgolf.com). WoD member Susan Khania was our host and introduced us to her assistant and GM Bill O’Brien. They treated members to a fantastic lunch and showed off their beautiful property. Maderas, while being known as a first class golf course, hosts corporate and family functions and weddings throughout the year. Maderas stands out for its beauty, staff service and delicious menu offerings.

Special guests included: Sara Sergeant, Catering Manager from the Sheraton Carlsbad (www.sheratoncarlsbad.com), Lindsey Campbell, Senior Sales Associate from Plush Lounge (www.loungefurniturerental.com), photographer Mike Blomgren, husband of WoD member Ellie Blomgren from A New Twist Hair & Make-up (www.anewtwist4u.com), and new little baby Kailyn Grace Murphy, daughter of WoD member Krista Murphy, Catering Manager from the Manchester Grand Hyatt (www.manchestergrand.hyatt.com).

The luncheon meeting took a different turn this month as we tested an open forum format for the first time. Led by moderators President Bob Brichmann from Artistic Productions (www.artistic-productions.com) and Vice-President Ann Strobel from Ann’s Plans (www.annsplans.com), the goal of the meeting was to share marketing advice amongst all members to benefit both personal and business growth.

Four panelists covered several areas of modern marketing significance and shared their expertise on subjects ranging from web site/SEO and social media, industry thank you gifting, email campaigns, networking and giving back to the community. Panelists shared what they have done and what works for them and how each member might consider doing the same or some similar action to benefit their businesses. A lengthy question & answer session ensued and many, many ideas were shared.

Special thanks to all members who participated but especially to our panelists: photographer Lisa Gisczinski from Elle G Photography (www.ellegphotography.com), flamenco guitarist Anthony Garcia (www.agarciaguitar.com), coordinator Cynthia Zatkin Blase from Cynthia Zatkin Events (www.czevents.com), and DJ/Emcee Merrylin Brichmann from Artistic Productions (www.artistic-productions.com).

In addition to the format test being well received by those in attendance, upcoming holiday party news was shared, raffle prizes were doled out courtesy of florist Lois Mathews and our host Susan Khania from Maderas, birthdays were acknowledged and much networking and referrals was shared by all.

The Weddings of Distinction 2009 Board:
President, Bob Brichmann, DJ & Emcee from Artistic Productions (www.artistic-productions.com)
Vice-President, Ann Strobel, Coordinator from Ann’s Plans (www.annsplans.com)
Treasurer, Merrylin Brichmann, DJ & Emcee from Artistic Productions (www.artistic-productions.com)
Founding President, Susan Ashley from Romantic Honeymoons, (www.romantichoneymoonsbysusan.com)
Membership, Carrie Esparza from San Diego Authentic Flavors Custom Catering (www.sdauthenticflavors.com)
Secretary, Andrea Pena from The Prado at Balboa Park (www.balboaparkweddings.com)

Committee Members:
Marketing: Lisa Gisczinski, photographer from Elle G Photography (www.ellegphotography.com); Shannon Henry, photographer from Studio Carre (www.studiocarre.com)

Weddings of Distinction is a non-profit networking group specializing in weddings and special events (www.sandiegoweddingsofdistinction.com). They meet monthly at various San Diego County hotels, resorts and special event facilities.

Mary and Patrick are a uniquely strong willed and determined couple. Mary was a dolphin trainer for Sea World for several years. She is the type of person that sets goals, and achieves them. Patrick is much the same, dedicating himself to run for San Diego City Council. This unique couple was married in early October at the Bahia Resort. The Bahia sits right on the waters edge of beautiful Mission Bay. Their intimate ceremony was on the sand and the wedding reception took place in the Del Mar Ballroom. Since Mary is a former animal trainer, it was a given that their dog Lily would be the ring bearer. Lily executed her part perfectly by running down the isle with a flower in her mouth! San Diego Weddings of Distinction members, Lisa of elle.g photography and Shannon from Studio Carre‘, captured the day’s precious moments perfectly and French Gourmet created the beautiful and delicious wedding cake.