No wedding is absolutely perfect. When we asked newlyweds and… the less newly wed to share their biggest wedding day woes with us, a few common threads started to emerge. Here’s what we learned:

1. Get It On Film
So many brides told us they wished they’d sprung for a videographer, or given their wedding photographer more specific directions. Your wedding will be RIFE with special moments – make sure you capture as many as possible!

“My husband and I really regret not recording the speeches. They were so loving and beautiful, we were moved to tears again and again! It’s one of the best memories I have of that day and I wish we had a better record of all the kind things our family and friends had to say. A few gave us their typed notes but most strayed and added in some great anecdotes. Nothing about hair/makeup/venue or cakes mattered to me once I realized there were so many people there who loved us so much!” – Isabella

2. Beauty Accidents Happen
Wind, rain, and acts of God can seriously undo your updo. When you’re contemplating your wedding hairstyle, consider the locale, temp, and time of year. ALSO – the week of/day of your wedding is not an awesome time to try exciting new beauty treatments for the first time.

“My biggest mistake? Thinking my hair would actually cooperate and not require 3.5 hours to do so, effectively ruining photo happy time.” – Christen

“My wedding was on the beach. It was gorgeous but there were strong winds so my Kardashian curls turned to a frizzy, curl-less disaster AND my veil flew out. Luckily the ceremony was over when it happened…. But you can see my hair get progressively worse in the pix!” – Jessica

3. Budget Your Time
Three words, ladies. HAIR AND MAKEUP. Too many wedding timelines get derailed when brides don’t budget enough time for wedding prep. Don’t let the primping get the best of your special day!

“I honestly think the one and only thing I would change would be starting hair/make-up for the ladies earlier, so we could have done more bride+bridesmaids photos. That said, I love the few we did get, and that is the *ONLY* thing I would change!” – Sean

4. Don’t Succumb To Peer Pressure
So many brides felt their wedding suffered because they’d been duped into letting friends or friends of friends handle important wedding services. “Friendors” can be fab…but they can also be a big flop.

“I’d have written contracts for services provided. Just because they’re your friends doesn’t mean you don’t need one. I’m still waiting for the dvd of our ceremony 13 mos later with no way of getting my money or the video footage.” – Jennifer

So there you have it brides – wedding wisdom from real brides who have been to the altar and back (and lived to tell about it). If you’ve recently wed, tell us – what would you have tweaked about your wedding?

-courtesy OneWed.com

photos courtesy of studiocarre.com

Members had a great time at the University Club atop the Symphony Towers last month.  Ed Westfield told us about the awesome renovations recently completed…they love to book weddings and were very excited to host WoD and share the beautiful new changes!

Our guest was Darrin Dietz, representing AFR and our Showcaser was Paula of Rae Florae, who is celebrating five successful years and growing to six assistants/designers. What’s big in florals?  Succulents, painted and lots of greens.  Her designs are simplicity created and expressed in a new way.  Her expertise is reflected in her level of detail and excellent service!  And, she’s really, really sweet!

We did a little ice-breaker game ~ “two truths and a lie” and tried to guess who did what.  It was hilarious ~ we have some very creative people in our group and learned lots about each other!

Kimmy from Sensation Show Band told us about her new band, 80’s Beta Max.  Kimmy will be playing at the Del Mar Powerhouse concert in the park on 9/18.  A bunch of us rocked out at Viejas with her too ~ it was a disco inferno! Her bands are jamming!

Lunch was delicious, champagne flowed and raffle prizes were drawn.  Everyone was very busy networking, excited about the busy summer months and our meeting next month at Loew’s Coronado!

Weddings of Distinction is proud to announce that Kristina Chartier Photography and Cali Cards were featured on the California Wedding Wave blog for a 1920′s inspired photoshoot.  It’s amazing what can happen when you get San Diego’s finest wedding professionals together.

Our July meeting at The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Old Town was quite an experience.  Our lunch began with three different drink samples as we chatted away.  Nothing like a Whiskey Sour, Manhattan or Margarita to get your meeting started!   We got a tour of the hotel where we learned that the bottom floor of the building was built in 1829, when the land was still part of Mexico!  Our pleasant guide presented colorful details of the Cosmopolitan’s long history, including the life of the owner with his family, the stages of the building’s use—from stagecoach stop to restaurant, some shady business transactions, and a “haunted” room.  Our  treat continued with lunch on the outdoor patio, with live piano music in the air.  We were served some very creative and tasty dishes, in several courses, and were continually attended to by our host and the waiters.  Thank you Cosmopolitan Hotel, you out did yourself!

Maurice Wright of Betwixt Studio was our showcaser.

Photos by Kristina Chartier Photography

images courtesy of kristina chartier photography

Jenny and Drew’s wedding took place at the beautiful Scripps Seaside Forum in La Jolla. Although the wedding was around the 4th of July, they stayed with a neutral palette of white with hints of green and yellow with linens provided by Concepts Party Design. They also included their super well behaved dog Sadie who got to take place in the photos taken by Kristina! After indulging in Guiseppe’s food and gelato, everyone got cozy, enjoyed the ice luge for shots, and took in (an almost personalized!) fireworks show.

photos courtesy of abi photography

June’s meeting took place at the oh so sweet, Sweet Cheeks Baking Co.! This month was a change from our normal daytime format and we were able to network and socialize more informally. We got to indulge in some yummy paella that David from San Diego Paella provided for our dinner. And of course to top it off….a smorgasbord of yummy treats personally made by Elaine and Donna that included mini tarts, cookies , and mini cupcakes. Delish!

We were privileged to meet at The Abbey, a truly unique venue–there’s nothing else like it!–located in downtown San Diego.  Also unique was our delicious luncheon, with very creative dishes, such as cold melon soup with a creamy dollop, and Portabello mushroom/leek loaf.

Our hosts, Kristi and Jill, pleasantly interacted with us throughout our time together; they ate with us and participated in our open discussion. Host Kristi shared with us concerning the Abbey.  Built in 1910, it served as a church building for fifty years, then as restaurant for 25 years, then for 25 years as it present venue.  As the Hornblower’s “land” location, it hosts weddings, proms, dinners, and many other events.  The Abbey can customize any food item.

The Hornblower provides full service event planners for its seven different-sized boats as well as for the Abbey.  The boats also give harbor tours.

President Ann opened the meeting by introducing an open forum, which addressed good business practices, emphasizing the importance of our being “vendors of distinction.”  As we dined, our industrious board members gave a well-organized, helpful presentation, along with a printed outline.

Strongly stressed was the value of high integrity, in such matters as timely response to clients, consistency, sincerity, and compassion toward often-stressed brides.  We were advised to pay attention to our branding–identifying our own specific type of client–and also to consider using free service of interns for assistance in our business activities.

Next month we’ll be meeting at the studio of Hartworks Floral Design and dining on delicious San Diego Paella!

images courtesy of Studio Carré Photographie

Ross + Katie were married at the beautiful Ponte Estate Winery in Temecula. Originally from the east coast, they wanted to wine and dine their families and friends and show them a unique southern California winery experience. Their wedding was photographed by Weddings of Distinction member Studio Carré Photographie, and officiated by Patricia Coleman. With LOVE as their theme, each colorful detail and special moments were a highlighted and everyone danced the night away!

Photos courtesy of ABI Photo

The networking at our April meeting was impressive.  We were hosted by the Mission Valley Marriott with our Event Manager Kim Tourtellott.   We welcomed our guest Johann Cazorla, intern for Carmin Design Events.  We enjoyed learning about the Mission Valley Marriott and its variety of ballrooms and events.

Our first showcaser Tiffany from CaliCards started her business in 2005.  Her invitations are all custom, one of a kind, unique and fabulous.  Her prices include packaging and addressing. Her philosophy is to be creative and make the invitation a glorious window to each event.

Our second showcaser was Diane from Silverwood.  We were greeted to the sounds of Silverwood during our mingling time.  Delightful and catchy tunes from Diane, Gary’s son Joel and Jason Coleman, vocalist.  Extremely talented and devoted to their craft, it’s always a joy to listen to their music and variety of songs.

After a delicious lunch, our President, Ann from Ann’s Plans, discussed next month’s Open Forum topic “Presenting Yourself as a Vendor of Distinction”.  Our new brochures were passed out ~ thank you Lola, Shannon and Tiffany.  The brochures are dynamite, classy and fabulous!   Raffle prizes were given away to Merrylin, Elaine and Susan.

We were reminded of the Celebration of Life for Peggi Walker at the Bali Hai that evening.  An evening of food, dance and song ~ Kimmy, from Sensation Show Band, will be rockin’ the attendees and creating a festive, joyous atmosphere. Many WoD members are involved in this event, donating food to décor.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, May 24 at The Abbey.  We appreciate the Marriott for their food, service and hospitality.  We thank Paula Rae for the centerpieces and décor and Dennis Way for taking our photos.

After the hotel tour, we left happy, anticipating the start of another wonderful month of referring our WOD members!

The guests were transported to the ceremony in an Old Town Trolley where they arrived to Paul’s friends band, Science Fiction, playing their soothing jazz & contemporary music. The aisles were adorned with burlap runners, black wooden boxes of potted succulents and yellow billy balls and staggered vases of candles & dried black beans. Cocktail hour immediately followed the ceremony where a cigar bar enticed the men!

The reception was held inside the Museum in the Axline Court, where an amazing clerestory lantern lit up the ceiling with strips of light while bringing in the natural moonlight from the open spaces. The guests enjoyed a dessert bar filled with cupcakes in 4 flavors, “presidential pralines” (yes, the actual ones given during the Clinton Administration thanks to Sweet Cheeks Baker, Donna who was their pastry chef!),  See’s chocolates, coconut macaroons and of course for the bride’s family, a plethora of Italian cookies. Fellow San Diego Weddings of Distinction members Concepts Event Design provided the decor. You can view more images from Andrea and Paul’s Museum of Contemporary Art wedding by visiting Betwixt Studio’s blog.