After the media panel we went right into our breakout sessions. My first one was with Diann Valentine…

second one was with Ellen Black of Lehr and Black. Loved that session, of course.

Last one was with Jasmine Star, Harmony Walton and Lara Casey. I really enjoyed their session and Jasmine is so super fun to listen to. Really inspiring.

After the sessions we were free for lunch and the remainder of the afternoon, to get ready for the Gala that night. The gala, was put on by the fabulous Mindy Weiss. Mark’s Garden did all the beautiful flowers and Lehr and Black did the paper products, which were again, fabulous. Before the doors were opened to the gala, we were treated to a cocktail hour, with some really cool furniture. The extra long couch (20 feet I think?) was my favorite.

Once they opened the doors to the gala, it was amazing. We were greeted by amazing amounts of red flowers and lighting, and a full 20 piece band was pretty much right in the middle of a song when the doors opened, as if they had been playing for a while. Needless to say, it was a killer entrance. You can get somewhat of the idea from the picture below…

The tables alternated between fully mirrored, and mirrored tops with fabric draping. The chairs were all silver, and super comfy, unlike the beautiful but totally uncomfortable chiavari chairs.

The band was so amazing, and played throughout the entire dinner. It was really cool, because they would play music you could dance to in between each course of dinner, then while we were eating they would play cocktail type music. Also what was cool, was as each course was served the lighting would change. I really liked that effect.

I loved, loved the fringe that hung above the band. That had to have been of my favorite details. After dinner, and a heck of a lot of dancing, the after party was opened. Another amazing room filled with incredibly posh details and a DJ who could really rock (DJ Nahchey of Dash Entertainment)

It was such a pleasure to finally get to meet Eliana of Elly B Events. We had been e-mail pals for some time so it was so fun to finally get to meet in person!

Last but not least, the video from Engage! 11 Day Two and Three: Engage 11: Grand Del Mar // Wrap Film from Cloud Nine Creative.

All in all, Engage! 11 was an amazing experience. Huge thank you to Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce, as well as the team at The Gran Del Mar, for putting on such a wonderful and inspiring event. I definitely hope to attend Engage again in the future!

All photos by Mel & Co.

Photo by Mel and Co.

The party was held outside on the lawn, and they had two different bands. Both of them were amazing, but I did have a favorite. More on that in a minute. The stunning decor was by Eddie of Tic-Tock Couture Floral. When I met Eddie earlier in the day, he said what he was doing for the decor was going to be different, so I was excited to see what he put together. I’ve always been a huge fan of his work, and the welcome party definitely didn’t disappoint!

Pictures by Jessica Claire.

I loved Eddie’s use of wicker and completely rustic elements infused with modern elements like orchids and succulents. Pictures below by me. =)

Besides awesome decor, there was so much food! Lining the entire perimeter of the party was food.Two food trucks, cotton candy, kettle corn, donuts, won-ton type things and the list goes on and on.

Photo by Mel and Co.

It was so great to schmooze with everyone in attendance and really get to know people the first day there.

Clockwise from top left are Beth Helmstetter and Marilyn Oliveira editor of Inside Weddings, Margot Hallac of Atelier Isabey and me, Lara Casey and David Beahm, and Candice Coppola of Jubilee Event having fun in the photo booth. All photos by Mel and Co.

Now, onto the bands of the evening. Like I said, both were great but one in particular blew my mind. They are called MASS Ensemble out of Los Angeles, and they were amazing. They played so many different instruments, but my favorite was the Earth Harp. I had never seen anything like it in my life…

Pictures by Jessica Claire.

The strings were 170 feet long, and went from the instrument to the hotel building. The sound it made was so incredible too. I love this picture of Michelle Rago by Mel and Co. Shows how amazing the strings were.

Some other fun pictures from the evening, all by Jessica Claire. The first one is part of the MASS Ensemble band, second one is the amazing Sylvia Weinstock leaning about the Earth harp and the third one is the other band rocking the night away.

Last but certainly not least, is the recap video of day one from Cloud Nine Creative:  Engage Recap: Day 1

Another aspect to help make each bridesmaid unique, is giving them different bouquets. It could be all the same color with different types of flowers, or different styles of bouquets within your selected color scheme.

Image 1 – Carla Ten Eyck, 2 – Sweet Monday Photography, 3 – The Nichols, 4 – Jen Curtis Photography,  5 – Olivia Leigh Photographie, 6 – Ben Chrisman Photography, 7 – JL Designs, 8 – Hollye Schumacher Photography, 9 – Jose Villa

Kicking off the series is the fabulous Nico Cervantes of Nico Designs. I had the pleasure of meeting Nico a few months ago and continue to be absolutely amazed at his talent. He definitely has a knack for style and color, as well as keeping ahead of the trends in the industry. He’s been featured recently on Wedding Chicks and Style Me Pretty, and is definitely one to keep an eye on! Be sure to follow him on twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Below is some of his recent work that I’m completely head over heels for.

Photography by Mi Belle Photography, as seen on Wedding Chicks

Photography by Tim Halberg, Coordination by Joy de Vivre, as seen on Wedding Chicks

Photography by Jessica Lewis Photography

Photography by Jasmine Star

Photography by Tim Halberg, as seen on Wedding Chicks

Photography by Viera Photographics, as seen on Style Me Pretty

I absolutely love what Amy did at the Art of Weddings Event. Check out the full post on her blog here.

A few more images of the beautiful floral designs created by Amy Osaba.

Image Credits – 1. Kiss the Groom, 2. Martha Stewart, 3. Kiss the Groom, 4. Kiss the Groom, 5. Inspired by This, 6-7. Oh, How Charming, 8-13. Keys Creek Lavender Farm

Image Credits:

1-2 Jasmine Star for JL Designs, 3 My Sweet and Saucy Blog, 4 Lollipop Events and Design via Once Wed, 5-6 Brandon Kidd via Once Wed, 7 Once Wed, 8-9 Shyla Photography, 10 Erin Hearts Court via Once Wed, 11 Lollipop Events and Design via Once Wed, 12 Succulent Love, 13-14 JL Designs, 15 Jasmine Star

top 3 images by Jessica Claire

Image Credits:

1 Nicolette Camille via Once Wed, 2 Saipua photo by James Ryang, 3 SMP,  4 Studio Choo, 5 Nicolette Camille via Once Wed, 6 Steep Street via Once Wed, 7 Erin Hearts Court via Once Wed, 8 Jessamyn Harris, 9 Katie Anderson Photography