Color

Posted on March 28, 2012 by maxineg

I read an article about color and according to Leslie Harrington, executive director of the Color Association of the United States (CAUS), says color palettes are about evolution not revolution.

I started thinking about how much I know about color. The extent of my education was watching the colors of the “season” and then work with those colors with no real plan in mind. However, after reading the above article I realized that there is a lot of time and research that goes into selecting emerging color trends and that wedding planners can learn  a lot from these pros.

Here is what I discovered: As wedding planners we can benefit by following these groups and learning more about the color trends. For instance, color evokes emotions and enhance moods via linens, flowers, fashion and so on. With this knowledge we can suggest the trend colors to our clients, which in turn helps them select all the dresses and suites they need for their entourage. If a client wants to look sophisticated or trendy we can help them by knowing which colors can meet those requirements. We learn how to carry the clients color selection all throughout the event and not end up looking like a circus just rode into town.

After doing a bit more research I found that there are other groups that think about color all day long like CAUS – Color Marketing Group (CMG) and Pantone. Actually my color palette for my website comes from a Pantone pink palette. Who knew?

Here’s to your success!

 

Posted in Tips | 2 Comments

We just got engaged!!!

Posted on February 5, 2012 by maxineg

When someone says these four words it is usually accompanied with smiles from ear to ear, excitement in their voice (sometimes it comes out as a quiet scream) and a twinkle in their eyes. They can’t wait to tell their family and friends. They start looking for the best place to marry, they start thinking about the wedding attire, who will be the best man, who will be the best woman, theme colors, indoor wedding / outdoor wedding, shoes, bridesmaids, groomsmen, and the list goes on and on.

But wait! I know this is all so wonderful and mind blowing and you want to get started right away, but there is one very important thing that couples should do before they start making plans. They should sit down quietly and start asking each other questions about how they envision the wedding. This does two things; a) you find out what each other really wants and b) you will eliminate a lot of misunderstandings down the road. Once you have gone through this phase you will have a list of ideas you can work from and that will make it easy when it comes to decision time (there will be a lot of those). AND if you decide to have a wedding coordinator wouldn’t you want to attend that initial interview all prepared.

Yes, no matter how you slice and dice it weddings are stressful, but always keep in mind why you are doing what you are doing. Remember how you felt when you got engaged? Keep THAT feeling in mind.

Congratulations!

Posted in Engaged | 19 Comments

About California Special Occasions (CSO)

Posted on January 23, 2012 by maxineg

Happy 2012!

I want to introduce myself and tell you about my company - California Special Occasions (CSO). 

About Me

I was a programmer for IBM from 1980 to 1995. From 1995-1996 I worked for Franklin/Templeton in San Mateo, left there and landed a contract job at Applied Materials. After my contract was up Applied Materials hired me on as a full-time employee. While I was at Applied Materials I was asked to be a volunteer for the Events Committee. Of course being the new kid on the block I jumped at the chance to fit in. Little did I know this would be a monumental move on my part for my future. After being laid off from Applied Materials in 2001 and experiencing how Corporate America was changing, I decided to take a break and figure out my next steps for a career. One thing I knew for sure it would not include another corporate job.

I decided to ask myself questions that would unveil who I was and what I wanted to be. I began to think about what gave me energy and what can I do in life that did not feel like work. Remember the volunteer job I did for Applied Materials – you guessed it, the answers to my questions led me to pursue an event planning career. Right away I enrolled in a course for Event and Meeting Planning, joined the Association of Bridal Consultants, volunteered where ever I could, interviewed other event planners to understand the industry in-depth and worked as an intern whenever the chance availed itself.

About California Special Occasions

In 2003, I met the original owner of CSO, Jan K. Jan opened her doors in 2002 and after only one year decided to sell her business. Talk about the proverbial “being in the right place at the right time”, that was me. I did my due diligence and checked out the company, ran the numbers to compare between opening my own business from scratch or buying a business. As you can see I chose to buy a business. I have not looked back since and I am enjoying all the pros and cons of being an event planner and business owner. I now have three contractors working for me and doing what I love to do.

For those of you out there that are thinking about buying a business or opening your own, I have two pieces of advice for you – do your research and have enough income to last you for 2-3 years while you are building your business.

Cheers,

Maxine

Posted in About | 17 Comments