I want to become a society lady Rockin' a new rock?!

One of our newest Grey Collective Members is Pink Cloud 9–a brilliant little company that focuses on offering planning resources for brides with very flexible, customizable budget options! One of our all time favorite Grey Weddings (shot by Ashley Rose Photography) was planned with the help of the Pink Cloud team:

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I love how Pink Cloud 9 shares their company vision:

Pink Cloud 9 is the new weddings division of Pink Cloud, Inc. that exclusively focuses on serving the needs of the do-it-yourself wedding couple. We provide easy and affordable access to expert advice through our TalkTime™ chat service and also offer the option to hire our wedding day coordinators to execute the couple’s wedding plans for less than $1,000. Our headquarters are located in Los Angeles with a team of coordinators situated in all of Southern and Baja California, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. Please visit Pink Cloud 9 for more information.

What’s even better, is that Pink Cloud 9 is offering a FREE Pinterest consultation to help you focus and build on your design ideas using their TalkTime™ chat service to any bride that signs up in the next 7 days! Just use the discount code PC9LGLW to get started!

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We are so excited to finally announce the launch of The Grey Collective this week, which is not only a listing of RAD wedding vendors and photographers to make your planning a little more simple. It’s ALSO a weekly delivery of exclusive deals and steals sent to your inbox!

We’ll be releasing our lineup soon, but first, we’ve got a major bribe. We’re giving away a KitchenAid Mixer to one lucky reader. To enter to win, all you have to do to become a society member of our Collective. You’ll receive weekly inspiration, ideas, and exclusive deals from our Collective members. Come back all week to check out all the great stuff we’ve got in store and be sure to check in on Friday to find out who the winner of our KitchenAid mixer is!!!

 

Want a brand new shiny mixer just in time for Christmas baking? Like what Grey Likes, join our Collective Society, and/or leave a comment. You can also share this on Facebook! All week long we’ll be featuring great inspiration from our Collective members…you are going to LOVE it.

My darlings! Happiest of happy Fridays to you all! Today, we’re sending you off to the weekend with two great things. First, a photo shoot put together by the ladies of Details Details at their recent Coordinator Confab. This color palette that is so refreshing, inventive and inspiring, that I can hardly stand it. Second, we’ve got some exciting news. Jeannie, from Details Details (literally one of the most premiere wedding event and planning companies in our industry) is hosting another workshop for aspiring wedding planners on January 30 & 31!

I get lots of emails from gals who are interested in the wedding planning career path, and there is nothing like gaining firsthand knowledge and wisdom from someone who is so experienced in the industry! Enjoy a few of the gorgeous photos from their last workshop and read a bit more about what’s up at the Coordinator Confab. (And I’ll be making a guest appearance on day two!).

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Coordinator Confab is an interactive 2-day seminar designed to educate aspiring and Novice Wedding Planners, Coordinators, and Designers. This seminar is also ideal for those serious Wedding Planners who have creative design capabilities but have not received hands on comprehensive training in relation to event execution.

Our seminar will cover the fundamentals of Wedding Day Coordination as well detailed instruction on how to properly execute a wedding from beginning to end, including understanding BEO’s, reviewing vendor contracts, and properly drafting an extensive minute- by- minute timeline. We believe that extensive timeline preparation and communication with all vendors prior to the event date is the key ingredient to executing a flawless event. In addition, we will run through the specifics on conducting a rehearsal, orchestrating the entire wedding day, how to train your own wedding day assistants, and many tips in between. Do you know how to tie a bow tie or handle a French bustle with confidence?

The information will be presented in a fast-paced, fun, classroom atmosphere where attendees will have the opportunity to learn invaluable information about branding, marketing and legal issues from Southern California’s top industry professionals whose expertise has been sought out both locally and internationally.

The wedding business is an extremely competitive industry, and it is very common to seek the advice of seasoned planners and be turned down simply because one is looked upon as the “competition”. Some then turn to enrolling in online wedding planning courses or join local associations that may only leave them with outdated materials and books that they never look at again.

Details Details is an event planning company who has a successful track record and reputation in the industry, and is willing to share our “secrets to success”. This seminar we will open the doors of communication between the Novice Wedding Coordinator and the Details Details Event Planning Team, giving everyone the chance to learn from real people and conquer the key essentials of wedding coordination.

You can see more from this shoot, which was originally featured on Wedding Chicks!

If you are an obsessive pinner like I am, then I know you spend endless hours pouring over inspiration images all day. Many of the products, designs and ideas come from a variety of sources: everything from handmade Etsy crafts to exquisite designer textiles. Gals with design in mind have a tough time when it comes to registries…it’s so hard to limit your selections to one or two major chains. I mean, if I were to make a dream list of things I might want for my own wedding, it might include experiences like a road trip safari, a hand gilded zig zag tray, a Moroccan wedding blanket (vis SF Girl by Bay) and a bauble or two for the honeymoon.

deposit a gift: unique registries
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What’s a girl to do when she’s not satisfied with status quo? The solution is Deposit a Gift, which is a service that allows your guests to discreetly give you cash gifts, so you can spend their token of congratulations on creative, memorable items that you’ll adore, rather than a bajillion toasters and white plates that you’ll wear out. And, if you are the type of couple that already has everything for your home, I love that Deposit a Gift allows you the freedom to splurge a bit more on wedding details, like perhaps individual margarita shots with mini tacos (via Peak of Chic), a canoe of drinks, or custom printed handkerchief invites and bellybands:

Additionally, Deposit a Gift can help you throw a shower (!!!) like this brunch inspired one that was recently featured over on Hostess with the Mostess with party design and styling by Frilly Milly Events and photography by Lauren Blair Photography.

brunch shower ideas
mini quiche and mini bacon

If you love the idea as much as I do, you can create your registry here. Your guests will love the convenience and you will benefit from the flexibility! Plus, they’ll get to see what they are helping you purchase, like this couple, who put together an entire registry to help them revamp their first home! (How adorbs, right?). With Deposit a Gift you can register for anything, from honeymoons to home down payments, hobbies and crafts, to even date nights and charity! Want more ideas? Check out what these happy couples did.

I’ll let you get back to pinning, which now, may be a bit more like shopping than you ever had thought possible.

*Deposit a Gift is a sponsor of Grey Likes Weddings. We’re talking about them because we genuinely love what they’ve got going on!

We’ve got so many more lovely images to share with you from our Shoot This Not That Workshop. First up, I thought I’d share with you images of The Collection Event Studio. We spent some time shooting their space before breakfast, and couldn’t stop ourselves from oohing and ahhing over all their thoughtful details. They hosted our class time and it was the perfect space to talk weddings!

(Beautiful images courtesy of Kelly Hornberger, Lori Paladino, Deborah Zoe and Marin Kristine).

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collection_event_studio sonoma wedding vendors

Meet Emily and Shaunna, two of the lovely Collection Event Studio ladies.

collection_event_studio sonoma wedding vendors

collection_event_studio sonoma wedding vendors

Megan from Mae Mae Paperie designed some fun tags for our “I Like What Grey Likes” pencils.

collection_event_studio sonoma wedding vendors

In response to our class time, I wanted to share with you what one of our attendees, Lori Paladino, had to say about the experience:

I had seen my work published, so I thought I had that figured out!  I just knew I was often too busy to submit. To be honest, when I signed up I thought, “Well, this will be a fun day to be creative and capture a few pointers.”

But WOW, I feel like I gained a whole new level of insight and the bar has been raised – yet again! I am officially humbled! I had no idea that I would walk away with so much great information. I pretty much hate and am embarrassed by all my detail shots right now, but seriously, I love it. That of course is the real gift; having done this for long enough, there are times that it is easy to become complacent. It’s wonderful and humbling and so good to continue to be challenged–even better when the challenge comes with extra insights as well. Who doesn’t want to be well equipped to face the next challenge?!!

We’ve got some plans in the works for another workshop pretty soon, so keep your ear to the ground. Announcement coming soon!

Check back in later today for more inspiration from our shoot, plus some great shots of our wine dinner!