earthy, boho berkeley wedding

My last wedding of 2018! Ah, what a way to round out the year with the beautiful wedding of Kelsey and Boone. This wedding couple was so special to me because I’ve had the opportunity to work with Kelsey’s mom, Eileen, for about two years nows. Eileen owns and runs the stunning Lost + Found Vintage Rentals out of her home in San Jose, so with the both of us being Bay Area natives it’s been so fun working together on events and photo shoots! Kelsey and I also went to the same high school, one year apart — so this wedding was full of so many little small world connections! Brian of Rustic Atlas took these gorgeous photos of their wedding at the Piedmont Community Center. Even though it was October, the weather was near-perfect!

I loved how tucked away their venue was. The ceremony made you feel like you were in a secluded enchanted forest and then transitioned into the perfect, intimate courtyard experience for dinner and cocktails. Kelsey’s family DIY’d the entire wedding, from start to finish; chalk-full of all of Eileen’s vintage inventory. I think my favorite moment was watching her dad put her shoes on for her before the ceremony started. That, and of course the surprise FLASH mob dance the bridal party had choreographed! This wedding was nothing but J O Y.

a modern princess wedding at the SF palace hotel

Nicki and Greg’s wedding took place on September 1st, 2018 at the glorious Palace Hotel in SF. This wedding was EVERYTHING. The perfect mix of utter elegance, class, and a pinch of modern sprinkled in. Huge shout out to Greg Petersen for capturing these epic photos.

My favorite part? The fact that Nicki and Greg decided to eat dinner on their own in private while guests attended cocktail hour. They got all their portraits taken care of prior to the ceremony (thanks for first look) and opted to take the time for an intimate moment between the two of them before the party started. So special!

destination wedding in white sands national monument

Back in September I met Tiago and Ines virtually. Them in the UK, me in the US. Since then, we had been planning their destination wedding remotely which took place last weekend of March in New Mexico at the GLORIOUS White Sand National Monumnent. 

This experience was unforgettable for me and to see all the planned pieces come together is something I will always cherish. What a milestone as Naseem Events creeps into season 3. From booking their accommodations (check out this casita, yo!), designing their tablescape post-wedding, booking vendors, and coordinating all the details in between -- this was such a valuable experience for me and I have now checked off remote wedding planning off the list! Huge thank you to Golden Days Photo for capturing these images. 

outdoor spanish-inspired villa wedding under 13K!

Overjoyed to be blogging this wedding from back in June 2017. I was waiting because the lovely Grey Likes Weddings just featured it yesterday (you can see the live publication here). 

Rebekah’s wish was to have her wedding at a private estate, and I was able to secure a gorgeous venue in Bonny Doon, CA. Rebekah and Adam both work full time jobs and had no desire for the nitty-gritty planning, so they brought me on as both their planner and creative director for all the design elements of their wedding. This is obviously a planner’s dream! They did, however, have a pretty tight budget (13k), but together with the other incredibly gifted vendors they achieved exactly that. BONNY DOON GARDEN CO. designed the loosely flowing greenery of the tablescapes, the bride’s sweet bouquet of anemones, and the pop of color on the arch which brought a simple but elegant vibe to this lovely wedding. And my bestie, Amanda Az was there to photograph all the special moments of Rebekah and Adam’s big day (one of my favorite parts of the day!). 

Some of my favorite tips and takeaways when planning on a budget:

  • This was quite the challenge as you come to learn that nice weddings are never inexpensive. I was beaming when I showed them our final budget checklist, coming in right at their mark.  My hope is for all new brides who see this stunning wedding is that they can remain hopeful in knowing that you don’t have to break the bank for the wedding of your dreams.
  • Hiring a planner who has connections is key — and knowing where to spend and what to splurge on, vs. what to forego.
  • We opted for a buffet dinner for guests, but were able to splurge a bit on gorgeous chargers to adorn the tables, along with thank you tags I personally designed, attached to a greenery sprig.
  • I wanted to include simple yet special elements to the wedding details, which included personalized honey pots and succulents for guests to take home as favors. Huge shout out to Andrea of Wilde Script for making my other vision come to life in her design of some gorgeous signage to accent the entire venue. I think one of my favorite touches were the seaglass blush escort cards!

indigo xx succulent dreams [[styled shoot inspiration]]

This week I had the honor of being published on the highly coveted White Magazine for a styled shoot I had been dreaming up all summer long. SO exciting! Before jumping to the gallery, I wanted to share the inspiration for what led to my initial vision for this shoot. This is hopefully right up your alley if you're all about organic, boho style and your spirit animal is a succulent ;)

The initial inspiration for this photo shoot came to me in a very simple form; texture.

I had just finished taking a Ginny Au styling course and felt led to start creating a mood board based off of particular textures that spoke to me. I ended up with a palate whose end result birthed in the shoot below. I wanted to showcase a “bohemian meets Anthropologie” aesthetic, if you will. There are so many couples who fit this look/demographic and I wanted to create a set of vignettes to cater to this particular vibe. Enter DIG Gardens in beautiful Santa Cruz. This space brought my vision to life the moment I stepped in. Every where you turn, there’s something to marvel at. 

The vessels I picked out were all from DIG and each unique in their own way. Even in constructing the dessert table vignette, I wanted to showcase multiple tables of different sizes and shapes. I think there’s something so enamoring about aesthetics you don’t see every day. We’re so used to seeing one cake on one table at weddings, so this look was so fun for my team to put together. 

The table set up was personally my favorite part of this shoot because of all the elements I was able to incorporate. We used DIG Garden’s beautiful farm table and chairs, and topped the table with Rachel Wadlow’s beautiful hand-dyed indigo napkins, a gorgeous set of mismatched Anthropologie plates I picked out, and natural wood cut flatware. Angie of Bobo Design Studio came alongside my vision and created these stunning vellum menus and laser cut name cards for each seat.

 

CREDITS

kathy & phil's wedding, conservatory of flowers SF

A month ago I got to watch Kathy and Phil tie the knot in front of their family and friends at the GORGEOUS Conservatory of Flowers in SF. This wedding was super special to me since Kathy hired me on as her planner back in the fall so we had naturally grown super close during the course of the months leading up to the wedding. 

One thing I loved was that Kathy did not care at ALL about taking creative control over the decor/ design of the wedding; that's why she hired me! (#plannergoals). So I took the liberty of helping shape the aesthetic of the wedding from A to Z. Kathy and Phil are not traditional in the slightest so we dreamed up ideas that were special to them as a couple. For instance, I suggested a message in a bottle idea for them instead of a regular guest book for guests to leave them. I also helped Kathy create little disposable utensil packets (we skipped traditional plateware altogether and saved a TON), for their guests to pick up at the food trucks as they licked their fingers clean of the gourmet goodness. The lovely Keegan of Petal Atelier adorned the long dinner tables with different sized floral arrangements for a simple and clean look. With the stunning backdrop of the conservatory at our fingertips, there was so much natural beauty to play with. 

A highlight for me was the ice cream taco cart we had for dessert. I can't suggest this idea more in lieu of a traditional cake.

Guests were able to wander the conservatory during cocktail hour, wine in hand. One fun project I took on was co-designing all of Kathy's signage for the wedding. She told me straight ahead that was not a fan of calligraphy (to each their own!) and so I worked with Nicole of Penny Lane Papery to make my modern, minimal signage vision come to life.

Best part was guests were able to enjoy the light show that takes place at night on the actual conservatory walls -- peep the photo below to see just how beautiful that was! 

Huge thank you to my friend and amazing photographer, Yasmin Roohi, for capturing these images.

white hot engagement party

Get ready to swoon. I had the pleasure of planning Natasha and Enrique's engagement party which took place last weekend at her parents' home in the gorgeous hills of San Carlos. Natasha and her sister Negisa have both been dear to my heart since we were teenagers, so when Natasha got engaged to Enrique I was ecstatic that her sister called me to help them plan their party! Natasha lives in Chicago so her sister and I tag teamed in dreaming up a white hot engagement party fit for their classy fam. 

It wasn't hard at all to beautify this home -- you can see from the photos just how gorgeous their family's home truly is. That spiral staircase for one. That VIEW. Anyways, Natasha is all about simplicity -- and I totally believe in "less is more," so we went with a fun backdrop for the bar, paired with classic vignettes around the deck. I decided to go with various white florals (added textures), accented with greenery and silver linens. I did the floral design personally and Rose Xpress Florals executed my vision perfectly!

Major props to my friend Yasmin Roohi Photo for capturing these stunning photos; it's always magic working together on projects! 

forest fête amidst redwoods and succulents

This late spring wedding celebrating the union of Nadia and Eddie was so special to me. This was Nadia's second wedding so the highlight for me was seeing her joy with her two daughters and how close the family of four had become. Not to mention her DRESS. She got it from Anthropologie and totally redid everything herself. Even the color lining to make it more bridal. She had a vision in mind and brought it to life perfectly.

Nadia and Eddie got married at Walden West in the hills of Saratoga. Total cabin in the woods vibes (not the horror movie lol). The couple absolutely loves the outdoors and hiking, so everything was centered around wood textures and greenery. You might know by now how much I love details, so it was a treat for me to work with Nadia on brainstorming how to make her venue pop -- from those gorgeous oak crossback chairs, to the table numbers named after trees, to the lawn games during cocktail hour. Her daughter is such an artist and created the corn hole and ring toss games all on her own. I loved how much the colors popped with the venue. Other notable mention are those centerpieces created entirely from scratch by Nadia's florist Marci Hayden of RockStone Gardens. Succulents galore! 

It was such a special evening. Something else that was a treat for me was getting to meet and work with Sunshine Shannon Photography  -- who is Nadia's coined "second daughter" :) How gorgeous are the photos she captured?! Enjoy. 

dana & jake's wedding 4/1/17

It's only the start of this wedding season and I already have a favorite that is so near to my heart. Dana and Jake are super special to me because they were my first official wedding where I had all the creative control from start to finish. I not only designed and styled this wedding but also helped them book a few of the vendors they were looking for. It's so awesome to have a team of creatives I am comfortable working with and believe in, so I was ecstatic to work with my friend Keegan of Petal Atelier on so much of the design elements of this wedding. It's not every day you'll find a florist who will deconstruct a MOH bouquet that isn't being used and create a breathtaking floral display on a naked cake (see below for more!). 

For this wedding, I started with really getting to know my clients and what they wanted. As Oakland natives, Dana works as a school teacher and Jake dabbles in graphic design. They decided to have their wedding at the Oakland Museum of CA. Perfect fit, right? Jake designed their invite suite too and with the usage of lines, I decided to go with a geometric theme for the wedding. I didn't want this to be too over the top so I just added subtle touches to the details here and there. My favorite piece was the hexagon ceremony backdrop I found on Instagram after hours of digging! (Courtesy of Petite Pomme Design). I also decided on doing cement hexagon tiles for each escort card (doubled as a favor for guests too!). The lovely Joy + Confetti  did all the calligraphy on those! 

The wedding was so special, especially because you could just see the couples' love for one another. High school sweethearts, Dana's class and simplicity exudes elegance, and Jake has such a genuine and down to earth spirit.  I loved working with these two and creating some magic!

All photos courtesy of Manali Anne Photography.  See full vendor list under the gallery.

Vendor Team:

Planning/Styling: Naseem Events

Floral Design: Petal Atelier

Photography: Manali Anne Photography

Calligraphy: Joy + Confetti

Hexagon Hoop Backdrop: Petite Pomme Design

Cake: JustBakeCause

 

la la land-inspired proposal shoot

As soon as i saw "La La Land" I felt inspired. The whole film brought on so many emotions for a wedding creative; after all, one of the most iconic songs from the film was called, "Here's to the ones who dream." 

The vision for this styled shoot was heavily inspired by the film. The goal was to recreate an evening that transported the couple back to the film for her surprise proposal dinner. The groom had planned a proposal dinner for the two of them outside under the stars. We had the record playing on vinyl, bistro lights at sunset, and cocktails named after songs from the film.

The aesthetic goal in my design was to remain reminiscent of celestial skies and the playful improvisational vibes of jazz music. 

The most exciting part about this shoot was that Fire & Brilliance (ring company) was so ecstatic about this idea that they designed a new, custom ring inspired by the film as well to feature in the shoot wth us. Photos captured by my lovely friend, Yasmin Roohi Photography. 

Full vendor team below <3 

Full vendor team:

Styling/ Design/ Planning: Naseem Events

Photography: Yasmin Roohi

Florals: Blair Dugan Floral Design

Cake: JustBakeCause

Farm table:  Lost and Found Vintage Rentals

Ghost chairs and plate chargers: The Chiavari Guys

Table Linens: Party Crush Studio

Calligraphy: Inkcitra

Makeup/Hair: JirehArtistry

Models: Lucy and Sam

Ring: Fire and Brilliance

Ring Box: Mrs. Box  

muted baroque x classic romantic styled shoot

Crisp winter air. The perfect sunset. This shoot was an absolute dream. The vision was to create a modern baroque aesthetic with whimsical elements of a romantic wedding reception. Often times when we think "baroque," the words "gaudy" and "luxurious" come to mind. But I wanted to stay true to my personal style which is much more modern so I came up with a muted baroque aesthetic, if you will. You can see that present in the dessert options, created by the ever-talented La Vie Douce Designs, and the intricate wedding gown by Ju.Lee Collection. I absolutely loved how different the dress was from what we're used to seeing; the details are so beautiful.

I think the small details go a long way in setting yourself apart as a stylist / designer. I went with the vintage handkerchiefs instead of napkins to add some character & I loved that we were able to give so much life to the tabletop with something as simple as a blush pink. And those FLOWERS - Petal Atelier worked her magic as usual! 

One of my favorite elements that really inspired me from the beginning of the planning process was finding the vintage scale from the lovely Lost & Found Vintage's collection. We had this displayed on a side table during the reception as as symbol of the couple's love outweighing anything that life might throw at them. I chose to have the ring weighed down on the scale by rice, which has symbolized prosperity in weddings from the beginning of time.

It was so ethereal shooting at the SSS Ranch in Calistoga in the crisp winter air. The sun came out at the very end, making for some gorgeous candid moments for the couple on the Persian rug in the grass. Huge shout out to Michelle Chang for these amazing photos. See full vendor team below the gallery. 

Vendor Team

Planning/ Design: Naseem Events

Photography: Michelle Chang Photography

MUAH: Bun Bun Bridal Lab

Cake and desserts: La Vie Douce Design

Wedding dress: Ju.Lee Collection

Florals: Petal Atelier

Rentals: Lost and Found Vintage Rental

Calligraphy: Shasta Bell Calligraphy

Venue: Triple S Ranch

Ring: Susie Saltzman

Linens: The Linen Bar

Videography: Carisma Films

Ring box: Secret Keeper Box

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

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

wedding adventures

My holiday weekend was a whirlwind of events. Starting off where I left off in my last post, I was in the airport on Thanksgiving night about to board a flight for Michigan, to join my extended family for my cousin's wedding. I'm back home now and finally adjusted from the jet lag and ready to tell-all!

This past weekend was seriously one of the best times of my life. It's so funny how the little things end up mattering the most. Of course a wedding is nothing little -- but simply the notion of being amidst your entire extended family for three full days was something else. I tend to forget how priceless moments like that are. It was so fun because the entire wedding party, the aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents; ALL of them, were in the same hotel. So the night before the wedding we had a huge suite where we had a little soiree for all the guests. It was perfect because so many family members from the bride and groom's side were meeting for the first time so it was a good mini ice breaker for everyone.

The funnest part for me was being able to take the elevator up and down at any hour and visit my uncle, visit my cousins, and just simply have all of us able to hang out all together for 3 full days. It's almost like when you go on a huge trip with a bunch of your family or close friends; you're together in a tight space for the full duration of the trip that once you get home you're stuck feeling a little lonely from missing them.

The wedding itself was breath taking to say the least. My cousin and aunt are masterminds at DIY and party planning and they executed one of the most creative and beautiful wedding ceremonies I have ever seen. It took place at the Detroit Institute of the Arts which is a museum, and so the wedding itself was amidst one of the exhibit halls.. It was almost like a rustic dungeon type of feel; very enchanting. I loved it.

This also marked the first time that I was a bridesmaid maid of honor! It was so fun and such a legit honor to be a part of my cousin's wedding. She and her husband only had 4 people in their bridal party; their brothers and their 2 cousins (me!) So it was truly an honor to be included above all their close friends and colleagues... I saw how much family means to them. Some of the highlights included helping my cousin as she was getting ready in the morning, taking photographs of her (which turned out amazing if I do say so myself), and catching the bouquet! It was such a touching moment for both me and for the bride. She said she felt like I was going to get it and inside of course I wanted it too! It seriously came right to me. It was so sweet seeing how happy our grandparents and moms were too. Such a memorable moment for me <3

Other than that, my biggest take away is just sitting back and reflecting on how important and irreplaceable family is. No matter what. It's funny because my older cousin (the bride), and I have never been "the best of friends." She's 4 years older than me and her brother & I are the same age so it's always been us two who usually hang out more. But over this past weekend I saw how untouchable the bond is between cousins. Especially for us because I only have 4 first cousins, and the other two live in Iran. So these two are literally like my siblings. Being able to take part in her wedding and on her side for the entire thing was such an honor to me.

Included are some of my photographs for your viewing pleasure. Truly an amazing weekend spent with my family. I will never forget it!!