Andrea and Pedro – an Elegant Country Club Wedding

When Andrea and Pedro first approached my wedding planning company, A Day Like No Other, they had pretty much settled on their venue but were seeking help with everything else – and it was fortunate that they had not yet booked that venue… Being very familiar with it, it was obvious to me that this would by far not offer sufficient room and function spaces for the 180-people event that the couple was envisioning. So – we started over! Again, fortunately, Andrea and Pedro quickly found their perfect venue among the alternatives that I proposed: Silver Creek Valley Country Club in San Jose, an elegant property with a golf course amid green rolling hills, a ceremony area with a waterfall as a backdrop, and a clubhouse with a beautiful patio for cocktails and a huge ballroom with picture windows for dinner and dancing (plus a super supportive venue manager!!).

Our planning took close to a year, and finally, finally – the Big Day arrived.

For the bride, it started with hair and makeup services by Wowpretty Salon

… and getting ready with her bridesmaids.

Andrea had chosen an elegant strapless, formfitting lace wedding dress…

… and glittery bridal shoes fit for a princess!

Photographer Frank J. Lee captured every moment from start to finish.

What’s missing? Her bridal bouquet, a very feminine, handtied summer bouquet with English Garden Roses in soft hues of ivory, pink and rust (all wedding flowers by Marie Krick of Laurel & Vine).

Ready for her pre-ceremony photos! Following time-honored tradition, Andrea had decided to let her groom first see her at the ceremony. Groom Pedro had meanwhile also gotten dressed up with the help of his groomsmen…

Ready for many photos on the beautiful grounds of the property.

Soon, their guests began arriving by shuttle (by Corinthian Ground Transportation), and many work teams – the A Day Like No Other team Haneen and Diane, the venue crew, the florist, the DJ (Henry Kim of Big Fun Disc Jockeys) – were busy putting the finishing touches on the ceremony setup.

Under a gilded circular arch in front of palm trees and a waterfall, a friend of the couple’s officiated their wedding ceremony.

Here comes the bride:

“You may now kiss the bride!”

Just married!

While guests were treated to cocktails and delicious hors d’oeuvres, photographer Frank took official wedding photos …

… and bridal party photos…

… and then, he took the newlyweds around the property for many more photos. And how do you get around in a golf club? That’s the fun part – in a golf cart, of course!

Again, frantic activity was happening behind the scenes – the photo booth (by Night Owl Photo Booth) had to be set up in time and the dining room had to be prepared for dinner. The couple had chosen metallic gold accents (gold Chiavari chairs and chargers) and pink napkins to go with their pink and rust centerpieces.

Grand Entrance!!

After a delicious dinner (inhouse catering at the venue), the newlyweds shared their much-anticipated choreographed First Dance.

DJ Henry Kim had learned a Spanish-language script for bilingual announcements just for Andrea and Pedro!

He kept the party going with Father-Daughter Dance, Mother-Son Dance, the traditional Money Dance…

… and the wild “hora loca” with dance lights and glowsticks!

What a party!! The couple’s festive Send-off happened in the same spirit of joy and exuberance:

Wishing you a lifetime of happiness together, Andrea and Pedro!

Stacey and Michael – at Last…!

… at Thomas Fogarty Winery in Woodside! The two had been together a full seven years, were parents to three cats (the youngest kitten having been adopted two weeks before their wedding!) – so all their friends agreed: it was about time! Stacey and Michael are super busy young professionals, so when they decided in Spring to “make it official” in October of 2018, they were looking for help. A lot of help! My company, A Day Like No Other, was entrusted with all the preparations, and off we went…

The two had chosen their venue, a spectacular winery overlooking all of Silicon Valley with endless views, and a day that turned out to be proverbial “Bay Area Golden October:” sunny, with blue skies, and warm. Just perfect.

The bride arrived at the venue in full hair and makeup (by A-List Makeup) and all she needed to do was get into her gorgeous wedding dress with the help of her bridesmaids…

… pick up her vibrant, Fall-colored, richly textured bridal bouquet (from Laurel & Vine)…

… and here she is, ready for her First Look:

Groom Michael and his groomsmen were meanwhile also getting ready…

… donned their boutonnieres, and the Best Man took care of the rings.

With that, Bride and Groom were ready for their official First Look:

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Time for many, many photos with bridesmaids and groomsmen (by Sandra Fazzino Photography) and video (by Sway Media) while the teams of Thomas Fogarty Winery, Laurel & Vine Florals, and Toast Catering were busy with preparations. DJ Justin of JustIntertainment set up their sound systems while my assistant Trisha and I set up decorations and made sure that all went smoothly and on time.

Very soon, the first guests were arriving – they were greeted by a vintage baby-blue typewriter to leave their messages and well-wishes for the couple.

In addition to the (already quirky) typewriter in lieu of a conventional guestbook, we had provided a map for all guests to mark from where they had traveled to be with Stacey and Michael on their special day…

… and here they see the first of many kittens that would pop up throughout that whole wedding celebration in honor of the couple’s beloved felines!

Time for the ceremony which was officiated by a longtime friend of the couple, aided by more friends who read passages from Antoine de St. Exupery’s “Le Petit Prince” during the ceremony.

You may now kiss the bride! And here they are, just married… and so happy!

For the couple, it meant… more photos! And for their guests, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on the open deck, with gorgeous views.

For “escort cards,” the couple had come up with yet another quirky and unexpected idea: custom cookies decorated in the “College colors” of each particular guest! A smart idea as most of their guests were their friends from college…

Dining tables in the beautiful open “Pavilion” were adorned with centerpieces matching the bride’s bouquet, and the table numbers were another loving nod to the couple’s cat babies.

The couple’s Sweetheart Table got, of course, a little extra-special treatment!

Time for the Grand Entrance of the newlyweds!

… and for speeches…

… and then, for dessert! Another quirky choice: delicious, fragrant mini donuts (by Harvey’s Donuts) – everyone decided to “re-start the diet tomorrow!”

The couple “wowed” everyone with their elaborate First Dance …

… which opened the dance floor to everyone and to an epic dance party!

Everyone – young and old – had a great time, and then we gave the newlyweds a Grand Send-Off in style, with glowsticks:

Dance on, Stacey and Michael … for a lifetime of happiness!