Monthly Archives: December 2008

Christmas at the Millennium Biltmore

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The Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles has to be one of my most favorite sites for a wedding of all time. Its architecture is just gorgeous and ornate and hails back to a time when we paid attention to details on walls, doorways, arches and other things that just blend into the woodwork for us now. I’ve done a few weddings at the Biltmore, and also have attended a few non-wedding events there — mostly journalism conferences. The place never diminishes for me, though — I love it being in the middle of downtown, which I love to visit, and the hotel itself is just so ethereal. It truly feels like a hotel you would think you’d find in Italy or some Old World-type of locale.

It so happened that I was just across the street from the Biltmore recently, to go ice skating at Pershing Square, a real treat for us Southern Californians who barely see rain, much less temperatures cold enough to create a pond you can skate on. And it also happened that we needed to get cash, off we went across the street to the Biltmore to use the ATM. Yeah, I know. It was just an excuse.

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Vases and candles at Costco

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I was at Costco the other day for a few things when I spotted these vases. My husband sighed in disbelief that I was about to take pictures of Costco products, but you would think he would be used to me whipping out my camera for any little thing by now.

These are exactly the types of vases that are in style for weddings now. Tall, clear glass, plus I believe they come with tealight holders, so you could actually put whatever you want on the bottom, and light a candle midway through. Technically, I think these were labeled hurricane vases.

Anyway, these vases were amazing, but I probably wouldn’t recommend them for guest table arrangements, since they’re kind of pricey. How pricey you might ask?

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Where to get engaged in L.A.

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Photo by Flickr's Rubyran

It’s now that time of year — engagement season! I think, personally, I’ve not known a lot of people who got engaged during the holidays. I think I know one. Anyway, but apparently, this is the time of year for getting down on one knee for several reasons: It’s Christmas and everyone is together. Guys want to give their girls that ultimate gift. And something about an end-of-year deadline (I understand about deadlines).

I highly doubt a lot of guys are surfing the web, looking for ideas on how to propose to their girlfriends. If you are….I feel either one of two ways. A) Good for you and b) how is it that you’re going to ask this woman to spend the rest of your life with you and you don’t know how you’re going to propose to her??! Heheh. That said, if you’re still at a loss, I have a few ideas for you. Strangely enough, they all kind of involve being outdoors, so make sure you both wear a nice warm jacket, but maybe not some gloves, for some warm hand holding. Awww…

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Centerpiece trends

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I’ve never been into trends — I mostly like what I like — but its a good gauge for where you should go. I was browing TheKnot.com’s flowers section recently and found this article about what’s hot for centerpieces.

A lot of it is what I expected, but I was sort of disappointed when they didn’t provide pictures. C’mon guys! Anyway, you know I’ll hook it up, thanks to a little bit of surfing on Flickr.

By the way, this arrangement above, from Whittier’s Friendly Hills Country Club, fits the article because it keeps the view.

It’s hard to have a conversation with the person across the table when there’s a big centerpiece blocking your view. To mitigate this, designers are making increased use of glass and Lucite containers, which add height to the table, but don’t entirely restrict sight lines. Consider using short square and tall rectangular glass vases spaced evenly apart down a banquet table. The look is spatially interesting and still functional.

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