My Splendid $10,000 Wedding by Vera Devera | budget wedding: December 2011

About Us

I'm a happy-go-lucky do-gooder and owner of Va de Vie Events. Through this blog, I hope to share inspiration, budget ideas and DIY tips on how to pull off a budget wedding. {Savvy shopping, a bit of craftiness, and flexibility is what it takes!} I would love to hear from real brides, vendors, photographers, and more with their budget savvy tips or real weddings. Please email me at vera at vadevie-events.com.

You can also check out my underground dining adventures on Canvas Underground, by clicking here.

NOTE: In accordance with new FTC regulations, vendors I spotlight on my blog have not sponsored me or their post in any way -- it's strictly editorial and because I admire their work. I also credit photography as best I can and will gladly take it down if necessary. Thank you.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Video: Alice & Arvi at Cornerstone Gardens, Sonoma

Filed under real wedding, seaglass cinema, Sonoma, wine country wedding

I was honored to coordinate Alice and Arvi's colorful wedding at Cornerstone Gardens, a unique wine-country venue that features outdoor art installations like a carpet of "daisy" pinwheels and a rustic modern barn. Alice and I used to be co-workers at a San Francisco branding agency and both she and Arvi are art directors -- so they of course had great eyes for design and did the graphics themselves. Citrus colors like lime and tangerine punctuated the neutral tones of the linens (ivory and charcoal gray). Their seating assignments were handwritten on window panes and Katharina Stuart added a rustic touch with branches softened with romantic blossoms.

Capturing the fun day on film was Seaglass Cinema -- Kevin Yau and Anna Wu. There were some surprises -- like the groomsmen sporting super hero tees underneath their tuxes and a bi-plane soaring overhead as Alice and Arvi kissed for the first time as husband and wife. Enjoy!

Alice and Arvi | 10.02.2011 from Seaglass Cinema on Vimeo.

Venue: Cornerstone Gardens, Sonoma, CA
Coordinator: Va de Vie Events, Vera DeVera
Hair: Sylvie Simon
Makeup: Julie Dy
Florist: Katharina Stuart
Catering: Alex's Catering, Tom Pezzutto
Dress: Jasmine
DJ: Manny Perez via DJ Sir Edgar
Photographer: Matthias Giezendanner
Cake: Bonjour Patisserie
Video: Seaglass Cinema, Anna Wu, Kevin Yau
Editing: Kevin Yau
Music: By My Side, David Choi

Friday, December 2, 2011

As seen on: Ruffled!

Filed under Devoted Catering, Gorgeous and Green Events, real wedding, ruffled blog, Stephen Hughes, Stephen Loewinsohn

If you didn't see the great news already, Va de Vie Events was featured in Ruffled's Real Wedding post about Britta and Kyle's whimsical and colorful outdoor wedding at Flora Grubb Gardens.

Britta and Kyle had been together for 10 years before tying the knot; these Midwest “kids” met in Arizona, moved to Costa Rica for a bit of adventure and recently settled in Oakland, CA last year after getting engaged.

Details of the wedding included colors of jadite, saffron and coral popped with accents of charcoal. We did a lot of hands on work, including hand-dying muslin ribbons in those colors to hang above her head table, to creating invitations with designer Lilli Keinaenen, mason jar escort cards, and more. Pilar Zuniga created a whimsical bouquet that was literally buttoned up with vintage buttons and fashioned handmade flower boxes.

Here are some photos that aren't in the Ruffled gallery -- it's great inspiration for an intimate outdoor wedding!