Real Couples // New Year's Eve Family Wedding: Matt + Ashley
/Family is extremely important to us as a couple and we wanted to find different ways to honor family members who have passed. While having a memorial table is a fantastic and obvious way to honor lost loved ones, I wanted to take it a step further. Matt's grandfather was an artist and while going through some of his work, we came across a sketch of a dancing man and woman. I loved the sketch as soon as I saw it and knew we had to integrate it into the wedding somehow. We ended up using a modified version of the sketch on the invitations and cannot be more pleased with the way they turned out. Our amazing florist Nancy Liu Chin came up with the idea of integrating butterflies into the overall decor and we ran with it. There were touches of butterflies everywhere — the escort cards, in certain bridesmaid's bouquets, the seating chart, signage and even on menus. They added a fun, romantic and whimsical element to the wedding.
Read MoreWoke Wednesday // Meet San Francisco Planner Chanda Daniels of A Monique Affair
/Liz: Can you tell us a bit about your background? What was growing up like for you?
Chanda: I grew up being raised by my grandmother, "Granny," who had the house where all the kids went to get a hot meal! She was always cooking and entertaining. She was always at home, her number was everyone's "emergency" number, and she influenced me to graduate from high school. But little did she know, she was planting the seed for me to become an event planner…
Liz: Your grandma sounds wonderful. How was she planting the seed?
Chanda: I wanted to be like her. She found joy in making dinner and setting a fancy table with Sunday china and having everyone over. She didn't like being in the spotlight, but she loved how everyone felt after they left...I didn't know that then, but that's what I loved and love to this day!
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