Welcome

Hi, I'm Jennifer Johnson, OC's finest wedding planner! If you are reading this you probably have a fascinating interest in weddings like muah! I love everything about them...the bride & groom, the floral decor, the venues, the dancing, and mostly the pure happiness and joy that weddings bring! I still get goosebumps during ceremonies and I've been known to tear up on occasion. This is my absolute passion and I love every second of every brow-sweating, pulse-inducing, hurdle-jumping, feet-aching, eye-catching moment. I've been thrown alot of curveballs, but hey, I played softball for 14 years...I can handle anything! My husband calls me The Octa-Planner....need I say more? The satisfaction of seeing the day unfold and the love that consumes the air is why I love this profession!


Real Weddings: Melissa & David = True Love

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There was something about this couple.  An energy that is impossible to describe with words. The flicker in their eyes. The way they held hands as they walked to their car after our first consultation. I was captivated by their admiration for each other. It seemed to come too easily and from our first introduction, I knew I would have an absolute blast helping them plan the wedding of their dreams.  This was a couple that inspired my design senses. They wanted help creating a rich, warm and FUNtastic event that would stand the test of time and with this couple…..I knew that would be easy to do!  We had so much fun with all the details and our meetings were always filled with laughter and again….that sense of ease. I get giddy when I am priveledged to work with clients like this! 

With good taste and a keen sense of style, Melissa and David hammered away at selecting the most fabulous wedding professionals to create their once in a lifetime celebration.  There ARE key ingredients to wedding planning success…….AMAZING WEDDING PROFESSIONALS!!  The venue they chose to hold their reception have stellar views, ocean access,  impeccable ballrooms, and service like no other!  I LOVE the The Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach!  

Melissa & David also knew that they wanted to take care of their guests! With tasty food, a Photobooth, and late night snacks……all were impressed indeed!  There was a buzz throughout the ballroom and the Newlyweds were gleaming with excitement all evening!  I still have goosebumps from the emotions of the day. David, with his honest eyes and handsome smile and Melissa with her radiant beauty…….they were both overwhelmed with  happiness.

The images you are about to see are from the kind and talented Brandon Kidd of Brandon Kidd Photography. His work is so beautiful and emotional that they make you feel as if you were IN the photograph.   This was the first time working with Brandon and it seems I’ve found a pot of gold at the end of an incredible rainbow. Edgy, vibrant, and artistic.  The guests were thrilled when he pulled out a flatscreen and set up a slideshow of edited images during the reception. YES! He edited them that quick.  I loved every single image and you will too!  Sorry….I couldn’t pick just a few so I took all the images Brandon was willing to share! Us Planners LOVE photos at the end of our weddings! Instant gratification!

Speaking of images… We have an amazing clip to share with you from Weddings by SML! Steven Luxenburg of Weddings by SML put together this swanky and fun demo clip from Melissa & David’s big day. Turn up your volume because it will make your heart race! Thanks Steve! CHECK IT OUT by Clicking here!! 

Back to the pics…..here’s an amazing collage that brings it all together.

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After that splash of excitement, We MUST start with the shoes right?

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Check out her dress……

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I truly believe it was made just for her….

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David and Melissa were super smart and decided to see each other prior to their ceremony so they could take advantage of the sunlight and their rockstar photographer. I HIGHLY recommend this! md0017.jpg

 Of course, I know Brandon has an easy time with subjects like these. Hello Your Hotness!

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A fun twirl on the beach…….

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 The beautiful ladies….md006.jpg

Melissa is such a doll……..md005.jpg

And of course the Hunky Gents….. md007.jpg

All-together-now….

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Now this is what I call ART….

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The lucious flowers were designed by the one and only Allison of Flower Allie Weddings. md1.jpg

As usual Carina of Flawless Faces hit it out of the park with her skills. How gorgeous is Melissa’s makeup? Seriously, Wow!

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 A heartfelt wedding ceremony held at the St Denis Catholic Church in Diamond Bar. A tear jerker for sure! md008.JPG

 Then off to the reception! 

The festivites began at one of my favorite OC Venues….Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach. Good service, kind staff, and one heck of a chef! Yum!  Again, flowers were by Flower Allie Weddings.

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Table Linens & Chair covers were supplied by my favorite linen supplier Fusion Linens. Joe Paxton of Atmosphere Entertainment was not only their DJ, but he also provided the LED lighting that helped create the mood. What an impact!

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This elegant sign in photo guestbook was filled to the brim with meaningful messages from their friends & loved ones! Created with Engagement Images by Brandon Kidd Photography.

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The incredible cake creation by Rossmoor Pastries.

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 Red Carpet Photo brought in the crazy fun photobooth that captured some of my favoite images of the evening! What was fantastic was that they brought in props and their technicians even guided guests into creating clever poses. Loved it!

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 Of course, I had to get in on the fun! Please disregard the poor image quality….My scanner isn’t the best scanner for photos.

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Brianna has assisted me on a bazillion weddings and I don’t know what I’d do without her. We always have fun working together as you can see…….

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Thanks to Joe Paxton of AE, The dancefloor was packed ALL night!

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A Dance with Dad. 

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Did I mention how amazing Brandon Kidd of Brandon Kidd Photography is? Possibly my favorite image ALL time.

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Thank you Melissa and David for sharing this experience with ME. I had such an amazing time and I hope your wedding was everything you dreamed of and more!  You are a beautiful couple and your wedding was one that I will never forget! I know we’ll be in touch!! Cheers!

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And the awards go to…….

Photography:  Brandon Kidd Photograpy

Videography: Weddings By SML Steve Luxenburg

Ceremony: St Denis Catholic Church 

Reception Venue: Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach

Floral Decor: Flower Allie Weddings 

Linens & Chair Covers: Fusion Linens

Makeup: Carina Flawless Faces Inc

DJ & Lighting: Joe Paxton AE Entertainment 

PhotoBooth- Red Carpet Photo 

Cake: Rossmoor Pastries 

Stationary: Serendipity Designs Inc

Details….Jennifer + Neil

Here are a few detail shots from Jennifer & Neil’s Fabulous Wedding below at the Newport Beach Marriott.  These were taken by my assistant Brianna. While she’s usually helps on the day of, she could only come by for a couple hours to take a few sneak peeks of all the little details and paper goods created by Stacia of Serendipity Designs. My fun fabric guru Kelly took over as my Day of Assistant and did a spectacular job helping set up and creating a gorgeous wedding!  It’s all about Team Work!  Every detail was vibrant and I LOVED the Colors!!

Thank you Brianna for these pics!

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Hung by Flower Allie Weddings, we had gorgeous Pink Crystals and Green Orchids Floating from the Ceremony Atrium.

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Jennifer had her photo guestbook created by MyPubisher. This is a unique and inexpensive idea for a creative guestbook.

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Programs created by Serendipity Design

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The Vibrant Head Table!

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Real Weddings: Jennifer + Neil 8.09.08 Newport Beach Marriott

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They’re Married!   Jennifer and Neil were an absolute dream to work with!  I felt like I was planning my little sisters wedding! They had 2 back to back weddings. The first was on Friday that was a gorgeous Indian Ceremony (Jim Kennedy Blogged about this one as well).  They had hired me for the second wedding…..their 8/9/08 nuptuals at the stellar Newport Beach Marriott.  We had such a fun time planning Jenn & Neils big day. I am so sad it’s over!   This couple was meant for each other. True soulmates ALL the way.  So much emotion…such a warm couple…….This is why I love my job!

It was a gorgeous day & Jim Kennedy was there to capture all the gorgeous elements and emotional moments. He’s a rockstar and I LOVE working with him! It’s such a treat when my clients hire a dream team of vendors and Jennifer & Neil had ALL my favorites.

Carina of Flawless Faces started it off with perfection and gave Jennifer that stunning glow. She’s another one of my favorites to work with.  Flawless is right!  We <3 Carina!

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I love it when the bride and groom agree to do the pictures before the ceremony. I cannot tell you how much I encourage this.  The first sees are my favorite moments!

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The vibrant floral creations were by Allison of Flower Allie Weddings.  If you haven’t noticed we work together A LOT.  We collaborate extremely well and I love having her help me put mine and my clients vision to life. 

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Some FUN before the Ceremony

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 Ceremony Time!

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More Beautiful Pics!

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 Time to Party!

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First Dance

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Jenn’s Man of Honor. I love this guy! :)

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Jennifer & Neil, I hope you had the BEST day of your lives!  I feel so blessed to be apart of this amazing union and I feel lucky just to know you. I am sure we’ll stay friends for a very long time!  Have fun in Bora Bora!!

The Dream Team:

Venue: Marriott Newport Beach 

Makeup Artist: Carina Flawless Faces

Photographer: Jim Kennedy Photography

Floral Design: Flower Allie Weddings

Videography: Joe Today’s the Day Weddings

DJ:  Battleston Entertainment- Jeff

Linens & Chairs: Fusion Linens

Bakery/Cake: Rockwells Bakery

Happy Anniversary to US!

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Last week my husband and I celebrated our 3yr Anniversary!  We took a fabulous vacay to Playa Del Carmen Mexico and had a fabulous time! It seems like yesterday we were planning our own wedding! I cannot believe how much time flies and I’ve been married to the man of my dreams for 3 awesome years!

So to My Donny:  You mean the world to me. You’ve been my support system, my rock, and my best friend during the start up and the success of my dream job!  I love how much I laugh with you and I love the way you see the world!  I feel like the luckiest woman on the planet everyday.  Thank you for being YOU and loving me the way you do!  I cannot wait to see where the future takes us!

Here are a couple pics from our 2005 wedding celebration in Laguna Beach at Occassions Laguna.  Photos courtesy of Fina Photography.

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I love you Donny!! <3

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Real Weddings: Celeste + Chris = Puppy Love

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 I had such an amazing wedding last weekend at the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach. The bride and groom were fabulous to work with and I was so in love  with the special touches and details!  This was a DIY stationary bride & groom ALL the way!  Celeste & Chris are HB locals and they really brought their personalities and love for this Beach into every inch of their wedding.  From the custom Invitations, Programs, Save the Dates, Table Numbers and Escort Cards…..this was Sophisticated Seaside Design at it’s best! Great job!

The wedding was filled with all things love but one of my absolute favorite moments was when their adorable lab pup “MAX” brought the rings down the aisle. He was their ringbearer afterall and what a good one he was!  The timing had to be specific because the Hyatt is not too keen on dogs chilling on their lawns……so one of their friends had Max at the bridge behind their ceremony. Max could literally watch Mommy & Daddy saying their ‘I DO’s.’   Then came his moment.  “May I have the Rings?”  Father Brian asked.     This proud pup strolled up the bridge and down the aisle and greeted Mom and Dad with the rings.  Can I say that I was about to bawl seeing that!?  I love weddings to the core but  what I love even more are our furry friends….so this was a double bonus for me!

We had a fabulous team and the day was seamless!  I want to thank Alice Hu for the amazing images! We had a great time working with you!  Bella Blooms provided the  delicious floral decor and the service from the Hyatt Catering staff  impressed us all…..as usual.  I love working with the Hyatt because they truly care about their clients and will jump through hoops to make things happen! 

Celeste & Chris, I hope you had a great time! Thank you for letting me be apart of your very special day!

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How Cute is this guy? The Ribbon had their wedding rings attached and it was such a touching moment to see how excited he was to give them to his Mommy & Daddy!

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Here are some extra Detail Shots from Brianna (My fab assistant)

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Ceremony & Recepton: Hyatt Huntington Beach

Photography: Alice Hu Photography

Entertainment (DJ):  Mark Davies with Sterling DJ

Floral Decor: Bella Blooms

Cake: Tom Girl Bakery

Real Weddings: Katy & Kelsey=Home IS Where The Heart Is!

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Katy always wanted to get married in her backyard. It was a dream she had since she was a little girl who adored the movie “Father of the Bride”.  Who DOESN’T love that movie? The nuptuals were in Orange at the Presbyterian Church and the Reception followed in her GORGEOUS  Yorba Linda backyard that we transformed into a candlelit dream come true. Katy’s dad (a true green thumb) had spent the last 5 months landscaping what would be one of the most spectacular gardens in all of Yorba Linda.  While Katy would say that her dad is “Sooo Like Steve Martin” when he’d fuss about moving furniture, there was NO doubt that dad wanted his little girl to have the perfect wedding Day.  Side story: I caught Dad planting hydrangea just HOURS before he was supposed to be in the Limo.  A couple nudges from this planner and he was on his way but not without another walk around the property to make sure it was perfect.  Katy’s Mom was delighted to see all the elements come together and was so proud to give her daughter the wedding she always dreamed of.  I truly felt like I was living the movie of “The Father of the Bride” because the day was so emotionally thrilling!

 Saturday was simply beautiful!  Being a Yorba Linda resident myself, you couldn’t ask for a better place to get married than in your own home town….at the house you grew up in! The team of professionals made the day as magical as ever! John Partridge Photography captured all the beautiful elements of the day! Thanks for sharing John!  Jeremy & Sofia of TGIS catered the most delicious menu and fab service!  Paul of Couture Flowers designed amazing floral elements to set the mood while Joe Paxton of Atmosphere Entertainment  packed the dancefloor!

Katy and Kelsey are such a warm and loving couple and I know they will LOVE their new home together in Texas! Thank you for letting me help make your wedding dreams come true. Hope you are enjoying your honeymoon!!

Photos Courtesy of: John Partridge Photography

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Photos below courtesy of Brianna Dowdy

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Real Weddings: Min & Ed in Rancho Palos Verdes

Last weekend I had such a fabulous wedding that I couldn’t hold back from sharing some of the beautiful elements! These photos were taken by my stellar assistant Brianna. She recently bought a new camera and has been getting really good with it.   How lucky am I that she took some amazing snapshots of the reception details.  I will leave more to the imagination by sharing the pro pics that will be coming in the next few weeks from John & Joseph Photographers based in Seattle WA. Stay Tuned for some ravishing pics of the bride & groom! 

Saturday was super sunny and perfect weather for a wedding! Min and Ed are from New Jersey and had not only hired me for Wedding Coordination but to also assist them in creating a dynamic design for their Reception at the Norris Pavillion Theatre in the gorgeous hills of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.  Min and Ed were such a delight to work with and always came to California prepared! Min’s taste was right in line with mine so we made a great team! I had a lovely time hanging out with both of them!

The bride knew she wanted Baby’s Breath and LOTS of it! Thanks to Flower Allie Weddings, it really came together well and I am so thrilled with the results. Lighting was provided by David of Rainbow Lights & Sounds.  The delish catering was from The Kitchen of Exploring Foods and I was oober impressed with their service, style & yummy menu! Another impeccable vendor found!

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Real Weddings: Carrie & Derek = Magic In Malibu!

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Last week I was off to Malibu for a beach side ceremony and reception at the charming Malibu West Beach Club for Carrie & Derek.  This radiant and loving couple, both from Boston, wanted two very important things for their nuptuals……A central location for their families and an intimate wedding on the beach in California! Carrie’s brother lovingly officiated the ceremony and it really gave the ceremony an emotional touch.  Saturday, the weather was just right and the bride and groom were elated to have their family and friends travel as far as Boston & New Zealand. I gotta say, I thoroughly enjoyed all the accents in the air and there is something about that Kiwi Lingo! Love it! :)

I always have a great time working with the talented Trista Lerit of Trista Lerit Photography.  WOW! As you can see for yourself, her images are breathtaking and she really captures the essence of the day! Every chance I get to work with her, I am inspired!  Flower Allie Weddings provided the floral decor and together with the dazzling details, Carrie & Derek’s vision came to life. 

 We had a great team and I want to thank Monrose Catering for providing the tasty food and excellent service and DJ Eric of So Cal DJs for the fierce uplighting and keeping that dance floor packed!! The cake was a tasty treat by Sarah of For the Love of Sugar.

Carrie & Derek, I hope you are enjoying your honeymoon! Thank you for letting me help you create the wedding of your dreams! Cheers to many years of laughter, joy & happiness!

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Real Weddings: Leasa & Dane, Rancho Las Lomas…P1

T.G.F.B.- That stands for “Thank Goodness For Brianna”.  She’s a good friend of mine who happens to also be wonderful with photoshop (which I am not).   She helped me put a little collage together of last Saturday’s Wedding with Leasa & Dane. These images are from my whimpy ol’ canon camera that I took in a rush as we set up, but she spiced them up a bit. I wanted to share the beautiful floral design by the talented Marcia L. Johnson. The color was stunning! :)  Next week, you’ll get to see a more professional approach to the images of the day thanks to a slideshow from Michael of Memories by Michael.  I always have a great time working with him and this wedding was tons of fun! Yay! So Stay Tuned!

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Leasa & Dane (Rancho Las Lomas) Video Clip

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Click here for: Leasa & Dane’s Wedding Video Clip - Studio West Video 

This past Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day!  Leasa & Dane hired me for their fabulous Spring Wedding and we had a blast pulling together all the fun and beautiful details! The whole vibe of the day was awesome. (Yes I am using that word!) I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to see everyone around having FUN at all hours of the day and night.  Our team of vendors at this wedding were top notch and I will be posting some images soon from the talented Michael of Memories By Michael Photography. In the meantime, I thought I’d share a  tear jerker video clip from Dirk of Studio West Videography.  The Knot Best of Weddings 2008 selected Dirk as their best of Videographer in Orange County and I am so excited for his success and recognition. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, HIRE a videographer!! If not for you, but for your future kids, family or just to watch on a rainy day when you want to go back in time to the most memorable day of your life!   My husband & I watch ours ALL the time and we get all sappy together watching our pre-ceremony nerves, the watery eyes,  and the excitement in our parents voices…..My dad’s toast still has me on the floor laughing !   Best Money Spent I say…..

Anyway, stay tuned for more on this wedding!  The Ceremony was in Dana Point at the St Edwards Church which is perched atop a cliff with a panoramic view of the ocean. So Serene…So Magical!

The guests were then brought to Rancho las Lomas for an elegant Reception. Nestled in between trees and hugging the Silverado Canyon, this is one of Orange County’s most UNIQUE Wedding Locations. Check out this gorgeous Tiger! One of many animals that are on the property. This venue IS to die for!

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Overall, this was a seamlessly stunning wedding celebration and I was so thrilled to be apart of it! Hope you are enjoying your Honeymoon Leasa & Dane! (((HUGS)))

Cheers to the Newlyweds!  Stay tuned for more!