roya's pretty in pink bridal shower

Planning and styling this bridal shower was so special to me as the bride is a dear friend. Roya's mom was the main powerhouse behind this shower. When she first met with me she told me her goal was to throw a pink-filled, joyful bridal shower fit for a princess. She had already booked the venue, Faz Restaurant's Tea Room in Sunnyvale to pay homage to their Persian roots. After hearing her vision, I got my creative juices flowing and the rest is history!

Indoor venues can sometimes present a challenge aesthetically so my goal was to create a focal point to really steal the show. Thanks to Lynn Jones at Jones & Posy, we were able to conceptualize and create a stunning paper flower backdrop (all handmade by Lynn!). This mix of vibrant hues contrasted against the white draping made for a perfect backdrop not only for photos but for our dessert bar. 

Guests were treated to a gourmet Persian buffet of kabob and saffron-spiced rice, along with traditional pastries and a mix of cake pops, candy, and of course -- a wedding cake fit for a princess. 

See all the vendors below the gallery -- each of whom contributed their phenomenal talents to make this day possible. Special thanks to Sunshine Shannon Photography for these gorgeous images.

Vendor Team:
Event Planning/Design:   Naseem Events

Photography: Sunshine Shannon Photography

Floral Design: Petal Atelier

Venue and Catering: Faz Sunnyvale
Paper flowers: Jones & Posy
Cake Pops: Just Bakecause
Cake: C'est Si Bon
Calligraphy: Britni Chon (little things everywhere)

 

botanical bliss // greenhouse styled shoot

There's something so calming about greenhouses. I always thought a wedding held within one would be so beautiful because the couple is coming together and growing into the next season of their lives, surrounded by botanical life which is constantly growing as well. It truly is love personified. And that's where this vision stemmed from - the venue! 

My vision with this styled shoot was creating an absolutely ethereal moment for the couple. I wanted to go with more neutral, earthy colors (deep reds, grey, lavender) that were more on the muted side so the true beauty of the venue itself (all that plant life!) could speak for itself. I didn't want to limit the scope of the concept by categorizing it under a specific season, but the colors and dress are definitely geared more towards the winter aesthetic. 

 I wanted to include some unique details, and one of my favorites was serving coffee in these vintage Turkish coffee cups and saucers that belonged to my great grandmother. That, paired with the romantic calligraphy decor incorporated really brought the entire look together. The entire day was simply magical. 

These stunning photos, both film and digital, are courtesy of my talented friend Yasmin Roohi Photography -- See our full vendor list under the gallery! 

Full vendor team: 
Styling/ Design/ Planning: Naseem Events
Photography: Yasmin Roohi Photography
Venue: Shelldance Orchid Gardens
Florals & Wreath: Petal Atelier
Rentals & linens: Chairs & Cups
Calligraphy: Danika.Ink
Makeup: Neda Abootorabi
Cake: JustBakeCause
Wedding dress, veil, accessories: Dean & Willow
Models: Sohrab Fatemi and Jessica Johnson 
Men's Suit and Shoes: Tuxedo Wearhouse
Hair: Nicole Jamora (One of a Kind Beauty)
Turkish Coffee Cups and Saucers: Naseem Events (personal collection) 

 

elegant, outdoor winery wedding

On the blog this morning is one of my favorite weddings from this season. I had the honor of helping Shauna and John with their wedding this past September at one of my all-time favorite venues: the lovely Regale Winery in Los Gatos. The wedding was held the last week of September, yet the weather was well into the high 80's all the way through the ceremony and early evening cocktail hour. It was such a gorgeous day. The photos speak for themselves so I'll keep this short and sweet. Thanks to the talented Courtney of Photoflood Studio for capturing these images. See full vendor list below the photos! 

Photography: Photo Flood Studio

Florals: Petal Atelier

Venue: Regale Winery

Catering: Cafe Primavera

Planner: Naseem Events

styled shoot basics // my top 3 tips

Hello lovely readers! I'm so pleased to share part 2 of a recent styled shoot I put together with an amazing team of vendors who all came together to make my vision a reality last month. (See below the photos for the full list of creatives!). For this shoot, the vision was more girly/classic and romantic; more focus on pinks and gold, + tulle as you can see in the bride's gorgeous two-piece skirt & crop top. We had such a fun time shooting this; so much laughter and also so many things to learn.

That being said, I wanted to share the wealth! One of the biggest takeaways for me from planning this shoot was not to underestimate the amount of work that goes into one of these. From start to finish as a planner your role is Indian Chief/ Ringleader. I'd love to share the three tips I think are the most beneficial when planning a shoot (good for those who might not even know where to start!) --

1) Build your vendor team: this is one of my favorite parts of being in the creative world because there is such a big network of talented folks to collaborate with. I absolutely love building relationships and getting to know new people so this kind of came as second nature. If you're having trouble nailing down lets say a florist or something, one thing I found that helped (might just be my creeper social media stalking abilities, but hey who's labeling it) -- is that I would search via hashtags for the right vendor. I.e. "#bayareaflorist" or something along those lines and then see who had an aesthetic that really resonated with me and my personal brand.

2) Nail down the venue: this is HUGE. I honestly think this is the hardest part of planning a styled shoot. Big lesson for me was to do my research ahead of time. For example, we had scoped out a certain park in the North Bay and come to find two weeks before the shoot it's strictly open to residents of that city. Always do your homework about the permits needed and whatnot.

3) Finally, the biggest piece of wisdom - be prepared for rejection and take it with a grain of salt. Whether it's a vendor who can't work with you on this shoot or a blog who declined you from publishing the shoot, I think it's super important to remember that we're all hustling; and that will often times include rejection or maybe things not always turning out your way. What grows your character is how you respond to that sudden left turn. I never really understood the weight that the world "hustle" really carries but I can confidently say as a business owner who is only six months in, I am dailyyy pushing myself above and beyond what I'm used to in order to make my business successful. And sometimes that might even mean you don't have the support you expected but a wise friend once told me that it's not others' support that will matter in the long run or bring in the big bucks ;) You have to hustle because YOU believe in your craft and you visualize that long term goal coming to fruition. 

Ok that's all from me! Enjoy xx

beatrice & mike's wedding

The photos from Bea and Mike's June wedding are here! I'm so stoked to share these photos (how perfect is Lucille Lawrence's work?!) because this wedding was so memorable for me and truly a day I will never forget. I had the privilege of working with Bea to coordinate all the logistics for her wedding about two months out. I love thinking back to our text sesh's debating about the final details and to finally see everything come together the day-of. It was so special to me to be able to spend the morning with her & the bridal party. I delivered them some much needed grub before the festivities began; her favorite, In N Out. Being a part of the whole getting ready process (that's me steaming her veil below, hehe) was unforgettable. The wedding itself was a dream. Rancho Yerba Buena is off the beaten path and boasts such stunning views, not only lush greens but a very whimsical back drop. We were treated to seeing all the horses come out right at sunset, which made for some perfect golden hour photos. The little things really added to the wedding too; from their band playing some bomb covers with a live saxophonist and all, to the homemade cake baked by Bea's close friend -- you could really feel the love. Not to mention that posh poolside cocktail hour, am I right?!

 Bea and Mike had been together for almost a decade so this was really a celebration in the making. What I love most about them is their swag; how cute are their matching Lover Jackets that they put on when it got chilly? Smiling so hard as I relive that day with these gorgeous photos! #bealikemike

Photography: Lucille Lawrence

Florals: Wild North Flowers

Venue: Rancho Yerba Buena

Catering: Karen Bevels

 

 

the art of calligraphy

Calligraphy and pretty hand writing have always been big in my book. When I was in 5th grade, we had a mandatory calligraphy course (private school times lol) and since then I think the passion for it just remained in me. I didn't keep up with practicing the art, unfortunately, until early this year. I took a refresher course at Paper Source back in January and it slowly came back to me.

I was lucky enough to do all the calligraphy for my friend Lindsay's wedding back in May. How soothing are these earthy tones? She added such a special touch to the wedding by writing personalized notes to each wedding guest in their escort cards as they walked into the reception. Can you imagine how long that must have taken? It was so worth it though, just seeing all the guests' faces as they opened their notes and read the memories to themselves; unforgettable. 

In addition, Lindsay opted to number her tables as names of pasta instead of actual numbers. I loved that her and Mike decided to do this, as cooking pasta together was one of their most frequent date night activities. This added such a unique touch to the wedding; something you really don't see much of! For me it was hilarious too because I had no idea that there were so many different names for pasta, haha! :) Doing the art work for this wedding made me realize how much I love it and that I want to keep it up. For anyone who is interested, I offer an a la carte option for calligraphy in all my wedding packages. Thanks for reading! 

Florals: Second Street Flowers

Photography: Foot Candles Photography