In love with Bake It Pretty - BB Jean Events, Bellingham WA Wedding planner

You know when you find those websites that just make you happy to the core?! I found one of those today. You see, it's Monday so I like to go over to Bakerella to see what crazy cute thing she's baked up this week. It's a favorite fun site of mine and provides some inspiration for

the occasional party I get to throw that doesn't involve veils, first dances or champagne...ok maybe there's champage but definitely not the other two.

Bakerella had a post today about Bake it Pretty...my new internet BFF for sweet special occasion exploits. The little gems on this site turn a simple box of cake mix and tub of frosting into something your friends and kiddos will swoon over. All things cute, fun, exciting . . . for baking.

Like this:

When I was a little girl, I was all about the cupcakes topped with the plastic ballerinas...and these look exactly like the ones I remembered from 20+ years ago...ah the memories!

Or how about these awesome cupcake wrappers?! These are just two of the DOZENS of regular and mini cupcake wrappers they have. DOZENS PEOPLE!!! There's no excuse not to make any occasion cute!

And they have fancy schmany baking cups. Like these pretty floral numbers below. How pretty at a wedding or baby shower. For those that are still on the fence about cupcakes being appropriate at weddings, these just might change your mind.

I remember birthday party loot bags as a kid too. Although the ones that stick out were the plastic bags with the pink background and the clown face on them. . .I never did care much for clowns. But these bags, are fun and vintagey and all kinds of awesome!

The site has even more on it! Party goods, more toppers, more wrappers, ribbon, string, boxes, favor bags, candy, candy molds, fondant, straws, party hats, and I'm finishing this post so I can go back to gazing at all the fun...and maybe buy a few things for my next little gathering!

So giddy I can hardly stand it! - BB Jean Events, Bellingham WA Wedding Planner

We will soon have a new website!! How cool is that?! I'm in process of finalizing what will be on there for now. We expanded our company last January and our 2010 weddings will add a few more sections of info...but since those weddings are only just beginning and since this site is just about ready to go, those new sections will be on hold for just a bit.

I hope our remodeled home on the world wide web will be appreciated by others as it is by us! I hope it lets our potential clients know that we love what we do, and we're capable, and we're enthusiastic. I hope it lets them know that we know that they have a personality and a vision and that we will respectfully bring that to life. I hope...I can contain my excitement enough to finalize the last little bits of this site to get it online!

Happy Friday :)
-B

Engagements: Annie & Jake - BB Jean Events, Bellingham WA Wedding Planner

Once upon a time, I wanted to be a high school music teacher. I loved music. Still do, but this story isn't about me. It's about Jake and Annie. When I first met Annie, I learned that she was finishing a degree in piano performance. When I first met Jake, we had a "Hey! I know you!!" moment where we learned we were both in the music program at Western at the same time (see?! There was purpose to my intro ;). He stuck it out and became a high school music teacher, but not before finding Annie. Now they're gearing up for an elegant and sunny (right weather?! You hear me?!) June wedding at Lairmont Manor in Bellingham, WA laced with beautiful live music performed by some of their close friends. It should be a lovely afternoon and I can't wait to see how it turns out!

They had their engagement shots a few months ago in Fairhaven. Fairhaven is all kinds of cute and I love it when my clients shoot sessions there. These were taken by Jen of Jen Martin Studios whom I'm looking forward to working with again!

Engagements: Cat & Todd - BB Jean Events, Bellingham, WA Wedding Planner

How to describe Cat & Todd . . .well, they met on a commercial fishing vessel, she's a fesity blonde from California that does roller derby, he's a guy that likes to cook, make mead, and adores the feisty roller derby blonde from California, and together they're a breath of fresh air because with them came ideas for one of those most outside the box weddings we'll be putting together and I'm super excited for their date to arrive! All kinds of fun and mayhem and great times will be had at their ocean themed wedding. And by ocean, they meant that there would be plenty of anchors and octopi used, maybe some quirky vintage details, maybe flower girls dressed as sea princesses, maybe a killer band at cocktail hour and plenty of fantastic food... But alas, the big day is still two months away - two months exactly until the summer solstice when these two get hitched and for now, you'll have to be satisfied with their incredible engagement pictures by Kaylee at Kaylee Eylander Photography. Their shoot took them from 20th Century Bowling in Downtown Bellingham, WA to the railroad tracks and then to the waterfront...

Everyday Beauty: Pangea Organics-BB Jean Events, Bellingham WA Wedding Planner

Every once in a blue moon, I do a Bridal Beauty post with some great find that brides can use to get gussied up for their wedding. This post is taking advantage of the "life" category that we sometimes fill on Fete. Those everyday habits, items and prettys that make day-to-day living a little more fun. These items in particular I love, love, love!!
A few weeks ago, I had a day off to spend in Seattle with my best friend. These are rare days for me because I work during the week, have events on the weekend, a husband to see and all of those other life responsibilities that keep "fun" off the forefront. We scurried around University Village (which by the way, could be it's own blog post! Anthropologie, Crate and Barrel, Sephora, H&M, Williams Sonoma ALL IN ONE PLACE!! Why had no ever told me before?!?!??) and made a final stop at Sephora to stock up on some necessities. We don't have a Sephora in Bellingham. It makes me sad.

Anyway, Sephora skincare expert Ruby introduced me to Pangea Organics: a line of organic, all natural beauty care that more then lives up to it's name. Now, I'm all about being as eco-friendly as possible. We buy local and organic, we no longer use plastic wrap or paper towels, our TP is 100% recycled with 80% post consumer and wrapped in biodegradeable packaging. HOWEVER, I'm at times wary of organic beauty and bath products because a few that I've tried just. don't. work. I'm all about saving the planet, but if I wash my face only to have make-up still caked on what's the point?!

These products, I'm oh so happy to report, work. They work well in fact. They work so well, that I would buy them even if they weren't organic simply because they feel and smell fantastic and make my skin look great. Now the glass bottles along with the glue/plastic free recylcled uncoated boxes these goods come in in addition to the wild harvested herbs and organic ingredients inside each cute little container...well that's the cherry on top for me.

Pangea Organics offers a large line of body care products from face wash to hand soap offering a really great way to green up your day-to-day routines. Currently, they're offering 25% off ALL OF THEIR PRODUCTS in honor of earth day! Yay!! And they offer free shipping on orders over $50 so if you go crazy and say, convert all of your skincare products in one purchase, you'll save about $35 on the products and get it sent your way for free. Try it out, you'll love it!

Wedding Planners rock! But that's not why you should hire us first... BB Jean Events, Bellingham Wedding Planner

... or maybe it is :) Every year I get a mixed variety of clients-which is fun. I like variety. But inevitably there are always 1 or two that hire us at the last minute because they didn't realize they would need a wedding coordinator until the inevitable happened-they couldn't figure out who was going to handle set up, vendor schedules, timelines, final decor pieces ...and heaven knows they weren't going to trust the groomsmen or their 14 year old cousin to handle those details for them.

I sometimes call my work with late bookings damage control-I'm often fixing issues that have come up, having to re-coordinate with vendors what is going on, working under some looming deadlines to make changes happen, and calming down an overly stressed bride who is about to fall to pieces from trying to figure it out on her own. Not my favorite way to work. I like happy brides. Hiring a wedding planner sooner solves that.

The average wedding isn't what it used to be and there are a lot of details to cover in a finite amount of time. If you're engaged, you most likely haven't done any of this before, and that's ok. It's why I'm here. But if you're worried about financially affording a wedding planner, let me provide a bit of insight (insight at least with how we roll over here at BB Jean).

First, our prices don't go down because you've waited to hire us. In fact, sometimes last minute bookings can be significantly more because we have to get a lot of things taken care of in a very short amount of time. There are also situations where clients have booked vendors that were too expensive, beyond their budget or just down right not working for them. This can cause a lot of headaches and financial issues that could have been solved had we been brought in from the beginning. Coming in at the beginning makes us happier campers and you a much more relaxed person. Helping you pick the right vendors for your style, budget and wedding are one of the biggest reasons couples should bring us on-and more times then not, it's a decision that can pay you back.

When it comes to what your wedding looks like, well, sky's the limit. You can literally do whatever you want-which can be tons of fun when you two get started, until you get to that one thing that you would love to have, but just don't know how to coordinate. Another little perk we offer our clients-your wish is our command and we do whatever it takes to make it work. We also have an eye for making sure your wedding looks cohesive and the overall look is on par with what you want. You're shelling out oodles of money for your wedding photography, how about we make sure what's in the pictures looks stellar? What's that? You want a rad wedding with incredible pictures? Fuinny, I want you to have that too! And I would love to help you get it!

Getting to Know: Josh Durias Photography-BB Jean Events Bellingham Wedding Planning

I can't believe how fast winter flew by and how quickly spring arrived! Finally getting around to updating my poor blog has been made a priority and I'm glad to get back into the swing of things with a new vendor spotlight! And on top of that, weddings are starting oh so soon and this summer has been keeping BB Jean busy with some incredible themes and ideas that we're so excited to work on (swing dancing, octopi, paella, oh my!). So while I keep you in suspense for what I'm sure will be some awesome wedding photos from the summer to come, I'd like to introduce you to Josh Durias Photography:

Bellingham is full of some pretty awesome wedding photographers, and I had the pleasure of getting to know another one! Josh of Josh Durias Photography is a fun guy in his second season of shooting weddings and is quickly gaining a following partly due to his clean, fresh style of capturing images, and partly due to his fun personality that brings out the best in his clients.

Why did you start Josh Durias Photography?

Story telling has always been a major part of my family. Growing up, every holiday, birthday or weekend (practically), we'd have people over to our home to share a meal. While the kids ran around the house, the parents would sit around and tell stories-that ranged from reminiscing about old times in the Phillippines to the funny things their kids are doing. Stories were always at the center of our relationships.
I think that with story-telling as a starting point, stepping into the 'business' of photography was natural. To have the job that entails getting to know people and tell their stories visually is perfect.

Why do you love shooting weddings?

Besides the fact that weddings as an event are mostly aesthetically awesome. Being married and having two kids, shooting weddings are a great reminder of how things started for my own family.

What are your favorite types of clients?

Happy ones :)

What do you wish people knew about wedding phtoography, but don't?

I think that people need to know that when hiring a photographer, they are not only getting photos, they're getting the photographer. I think that it is important to find someone that as reliable as they are comfortable to be around. The best compliment I was given was when I had a couple tell me that they "felt like I was on the guest list of the wedding".

For more information, give Josh a call at 360-961-7217 or visit his website!