Happy Valentine’s Day! We want to celebrate by hearing your love story. Are you recently engaged? Are you celebrating an anniversary? Tell us what you love about the one you love! Post your LOVE STORY in the comments below.
Our favorite engagement photos from Pinterest
Nothing says I love you like making something by hand. Cards, crafts, and handmade treats for all your favorite people on Valentine’s Day.
Cards - By far the most timeless expression of adoration, handwritten love notes are the simplest and sweetest way to declare your love. For a crafty twist on a lasting classic, make a card with string details, a folded accordion envelope with pockets full of surprises, or a simple lace doily love note.
photos courtesy Martha Stewart
Crafts - Heart-shaped doilies, easy handmade heart-shaped soap, or seed packets & mini-pots all make for creative and sweet ways to say, “I love you.”
photos courtesy Martha Stewart
Treats - The best part of Valentine’s Day is the sweet chocolate treats. Knock the socks off your Valentine by making one of these decadent desserts: Heart-shaped truffle cake, cream-filled cookies, or chocolate espresso cake.
photos courtesy Martha Stewart
Happy Valentine’s Day from Glow Event Design!
Whether you have a weekend, a day or an evening, make the most of your time with your Valentine.
Enjoy a farm to table dinner at BarnDiva in Healdsburg
Unforgettable dinner at Barndiva
Barndiva is a celebration of all things local. They source from farmers, ranchers and small batch purveyors to offer a unique and incredible dining experience, perfect to share with the one you love.
Sip a Love On cocktail at B Restaurant and Bar
Love cocktails at B Bar
This Love Day signature cocktail features Hanger One Buddha Hand Vodka, fresh raspberries, pineapple juice and prosecco. The B Bar will have cards and crayons so you can create personalized Valentines. An old-school lovers jam mix will be playing all night long.
Delight in Afternoon Tea at The Palace Hotel
High tea at the Palace Hotel
This elegant tradition has been hosted here since the early 1900s. Enjoy tea, sandwiches and scones on fine china with silver service, Saturdays between 1-2:30pm.
Support Slow Food SF at Food From the Heart
Wine tasting & apps at Food from the Heart
Starting February 8th, you can enjoy hors d’oeuvres and wine at Slow Food San Francisco’s Food From the Heart event – at the SF Ferry Building. The Ferry Building will be candlelit and feature tango dancing and live classical music, as you stroll with your sweetie.
Escape to Carmel Valley Ranch
Relax in Carmel
Just a 2.5 hour scenic drive from San Francisco, this gorgeous 500 acre property features lavender fields, vineyards, an award winning spa, golf course, and amazing restaurants. Their February Romance Package includes: accommodations, spa packages and a Signature Bee Experience.
Happy Valentine’s Day from Glow Event Design!
Call your loved ones
1.) Share the news
Before you take to social media to share your exciting news with the world, pick up the phone and call the important people in your life. Don’t leave anyone important out; they want to hear from you directly, not through Facebook.
pamper yourself
2.) Get a manicure
More people than you ever imagined will be looking at your hands. This is a really good time to make sure your nails look nice.
be with the one you love
3.) Savor the moment
It’s easy to get carried away with planning details and stress about family dynamics, location and budget. Instead, take a breath. Savor the moment. Remember to enjoy being engaged by having a date night, day dreaming, and getting together with friends for an engagement party.
take care of the ring
4.) Get the ring sized, appraised & insured
If your fiancé has not already insured your ring, don’t delay. You’ll also want to get the ring appraised, and sized if needed.
check your calendars
5.) Think about the date
Friends and family will immediately start asking you for a wedding date. While it’s tough to give a specific weekend right away, be prepared to at least share what month or season you have in mind.
Get the help you'll need
6.) Hire a planner
You may be super organized and you might think you can handle the planning process by yourself. Even if that’s the case, a wedding planner’s expertise can save you time and money. A planner will keep you on schedule, on budget, and refer you to the best venues and vendors. Should you need help with décor, an event designer will help you define the vision for your wedding and create the little details that make it special.
inspiration from:www.sbchic.com
7.) Gather inspiration
Talk with your fiancé to decide what style of wedding best fits the two of you. Do you want a small and intimate event? Or perhaps a large black tie affaire? Start gathering ideas from magazines or blogs and collect them on a Pinterest Board.
set aside resources
8.) Set a budget & start saving
The average engagement lasts about 14 months. Set a spending budget and use this time to save for your Big Day. Make sure to talk about finances with your fiancé, parents, and anyone else who might be contributing to the event to be sure you’re all on the same page.
place cards by Martha Stewart
9.) Start a Guest List
Before you can decide on a venue, you’ll need to have a rough idea of how many people will attend. Start a guest list and don’t forget to ask your parents for their invite list, too.
engagement photo from Pinterest
10.) Schedule an engagement session
Capture the moment! It’s a beautiful and exciting time, so plan to take some photos in a location that is special to you and your fiancé. Photos from your Engagement Session make great Save the Date cards; it’s nice to have them handy for when you’re ready to make the announcement.
“Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!” is what Dom Pérignon famously said when he first tasted champagne. Whether this is actually true seems besides the point as it is a perfect description of the champagne experience. (Some attribute the quote to an advertisement in the late 19th century).
As New Year’s Eve grows nearer, it’s hard not to think of Dom Pérignon and his contributions to creating our favorite beverage. Oddly enough, some people drink sparkling wine only at a New Year’s Eve party, and begrudgingly. So, here is some information to help you better enjoy the signature drink of the season, plus a recommended drinking list.
1.) Sparkling wine is a style, not a variety. It is produced all over the world with different varietals (often Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier) and techniques. Well known sparkling wines include Champagne (from France), Prosecco (from Italy), and Cava (from Spain).
2.) All those classifications can be confusing. Sparkling wines are categorized as Extra Brut, Brut, Extra dry, Sec and Demi-sec. This depends on their sugar levels.
3.) There is a sparkling wine for nearly every food. Often, sparkling wine is thought of paired with wedding cake, but in actuality sparkling wine goes well with savory foods. Sparkling wine pairs beautifully with anything salty. Think caviar, oysters, proscuitto, or mussels & frites.
For your New Year’s Eve party, try these appetizers, paired with your favorite sparkling wine:
Smoked Trout & Caper cream cheese toasts
Glazed Beet & Burrata toasts
Upside down Mushroom tartlets
Potato Pancakes with Gravlax and Dill
Beef and Asparagus Negimaki
Twice-Cooked Potatoes with Caviar
Recommended Drinking List – Favorite Sparkling Wines
La Marca Prosecco, $16
Ruggeri, Extra Dry Prosecco, $19
Adami, NV Prosecco, $19
Iron Horse, Brut LD, $85
J, Vintage Brut, $90
Schramsberg, Blanc de Noirs, $39
Veuve Clicquot, Yellow Label, $49
Argyle, Brut, $27
Laurent Perrier, Brut, $44
Wishing you a happy and healthy 2013 from Glow Event Design!
New Year’s Eve is such a fabulous time of year. We get to reflect on the past year and look forward to the next, celebrate our triumphs and hatch even bigger dreams… It’s a perfect time to bring together the people that you love. Crack open some champagne, watch some fireworks, and stay up until the ball drops. Here are our favorite ideas for a unique and memorable New Year’s Eve party:
The perfect New Year’s Eve party is six easy steps away.
Step 1: Super cute invites. We love Minted for creative and fun invites. Best part is you can get them as magnets, so no one will forget the date! If you’re short on time, send by email via Paperless Post.
New Year's Eve Party Invites: by Minted (left) & Paperless Post (right)
Step 2: Really great food. Whether you call a caterer, pick up food from your favorite restaurant, invite your guests to bring something, or prepare it all yourself, really great food is essential for a successful party. We love stationed and passed appetizers to encourage mingling!
Step 3: Call a mobile bartending service. This way, you can relax and enjoy the party, knowing everyone is taken care of. We like Best Beverage and Tonic Beverage Catering.
Step 4: Make a plan for the kids. Bring in a babysitter and dedicate a space where the kids can make a craft, watch a movie, or be entertained by a Balloon Artist or Magician.
Step 5: Set the scene. A little decor goes a long way. Hang twinkly lights, light candles, or decorate with tinsel. If you’re unsure, just go with sparkle.
Inspiration collected on Pinterest
Step 6: Make it memorable. One way to achieve this by creating a signature cocktail, like Blood Orange Champagne Cocktail, Frizzante Mojitos or Pear & Cranberry Bellinis.
Delicious NYE cocktails by Martha Stewart
Or you might want to play a New Year’s Resolution game, where guests fill in the blank of a suggested resolution, and then everyone takes turns guessing who wrote it. Whatever you do, we wish you a happy and healthy 2013!
Happy New Year from Glow Event Design!
Perhaps you’ve finished all your holiday shopping and you’re about to have some time off to spend with family and friends. Make some hot apple cider and try these Last Minute Ideas for Holiday Cheer.
The best decorations are handmade. Get in the spirit and warm up the house by making a fun Christmas decoration. Cut out some paper snowflakes, string some cranberries or craft a wreath.
Paper snowflake and handmade wreath decorations, courtesy of Martha Stewart
Make something fun with your kids. These are the moments that they will remember best. So take some time to make an ornament, cotton ball snowman, gummy garden, or gingerbread house.
Create a Giving Jar. The holidays are a time to give and receive gifts, but it can also be a good opportunity to give back to the community. Select a local charity that provides for families in need and create a display. Visiting relatives, neighbors and friends can contribute to a Giving Jar and you can take the donation to the charity on their behalf.
Great idea from: www.jamieschultzphotography.com, www.happiebyabbie.blogspot.com
Seasons Greetings from Glow Event Design!
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, begins tonight. At Glow Event Design, we love a party so much that we wish every celebration lasted 8 days. Here are some wonderful ways to enjoy the holiday.
Hanukkah treats – We found these on Pinterest. Look at these fantastic cupcakes, truffles and cookies.
The yummiest looking treats on Pinterest right now
Unique variations on classic items – During our latest shopping excursion to Bloomindales we found some fun ideas for Hanukkah including a Silver Tree Menorah, beautiful blue candles, gift cards with pop-up silver stars, and gelt in sparkly packages shaped like dreidels!
Shopping at Bloomingdales for Hanukkah
Hanukkah craft ideas – We love these easy and stunning Hanukkah craft ideas from Martha Stewart. Make match boxes to give as gifts (perfect for the Festival of Lights), a Manzanita Branch Menorah, Star Punched Paper Hurricanes for the table, or make Gelt Wrappers out of crepe paper, ribbon or small glass canisters. Nothing is quite as special as when it is handmade.
Fantastic craft ideas from Martha Stewart
Happy Hanukkah from Glow Event Design!
At Glow Event Design, we know the best places to find creative personalized cards for the holidays. You might even use your wedding or engagement photos (as you’ll see in some of the examples below). Your holiday card could also double as a Save the Date if you are currently planning your wedding. Our favorite sources offer personal and unique designs to make your holiday card special.
Minted has hundreds of designs, created by artists all over the world, so you can find something perfect for you. They offer fun shapes and fantastic paper quality, and you get to support individual artists. Minted is also a great source for Save the Date cards, Wedding Invitations, and Baby Shower invites.
We love the endless options for holiday cards at Minted.
Pear Tree Greetings
Are you looking for something truly unique? Pear Tree Greetings is the place for you. Their photo collages can tell the story of your year. The unique and fun shapes (like mittens, stockings, candies, & christmas lights!) make for a memorable and save-able card. And the various fold options make your holiday card stand out from there rest. In addition to photo cards and photo magnets, Pear Tree Greetings also makes gift tags and personalized stickers. Check out their Quick Christmas Cards (for procrastinators) if you need it done in a flash. Their $50 off promotion runs through 12/14/2012.
Check out the snow globe cut-out! Too cute. There's more, including stockings and string lights.
Smitten on Paper is a boutique company that assigns you your very own designer and they carefully assemble everything by hand. While Smitten on Paper, doesn’t have hundreds of selections, what they offer is truly custom and exquisite. And it comes with lots of personal attention and exceptional quality. Smitten on Paper’s 20% Off Holiday Promo lasts until Nov 30, 2012.
Fall in Stationary Love
Holiday cards are a wonderful way to celebrate the past year and the season with everyone you love, regardless of how far away they are. Happy Holidays from the Glow Event Design team!
Need help putting together your Halloween party’s playlist? We’ve compiled a list of trick-or-treat themed tracks that your guests will love. Check out this mix of new hits and old favorites… “The Creep” by The Loney Island, featuring Nicki Minaj … Continue reading