Easy Mother’s Day Entertaining With Williams Sonoma & Coquette Events

This past weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to teach a class on easy entertaining for Mother’s Day at the Williams Sonoma in Palo Alto.   In planning for this class, we knew that we wanted to offer the attendees planning tips that were easy to follow, a menu that allowed for the host to spend as much time as possible with guests and last minute décor ideas that were easy to pull off!

We covered the following five tips for easy entertaining:

• Start with menu planning.
• Will the food be plated, family style or self serve?
• What dishware pieces will be used to serve the food?
• What pieces will your guests use to eat the food?
• What will you use for décor?

It was wonderful to interact with the attendees directly.  In the class, we showed how to pull together some easy décor touches using grocery store flowers and flower wraps.

We are happy to share the printable flower wraps with you HERE (click to open the PDF – print, cut and tape!)

We look forward to more events with Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn to come!

Taking a little break from wedding season to share a fun carnival themed birthday party at The Upper Crust, New York. It was a colorful party that included whimsical animal centerpieces, a personalized concession stand and lots of kid friendly entertainment. Enjoy!

In Chinese culture, a baby’s first month (or fourth month in this case!) birthday is a cause for a celebration.   Proud parents introduce their latest addition to friends and family by holding a Red Egg and Ginger Party.  The symbolism behind the name is that eggs have long been a symbol of life changes and their round shape symbolizes harmony and happiness in life.  Ginger is known to add a spicy touch and offer benefits to the new mother and to establish balance in the yin (cold) and yang (warm).

For Kayla’s Red Egg and Ginger Party, her parents wanted to put a nontraditional spin on the classic event by hosting a party that was fun for both kids and adults alike!  The event sparkled with details like the custom made rhinestone letters and fun signage to label the food options.  With thoughtfully sweet treats like homemade cookies, cake pops and root beer floats the younger guests had plenty of sweets to enjoy while the adults sipped champagne and drank craft beer.

Guests came dressed to the nines with “Glam-Ma”, who is always the most fabulously dressed at the party attending in a custom designed Qi Pao from Shanghai.  While baby Kayla donned an adorable cream tulle dress and a ribbon tied by mom who is well known for her superior bow tying abilities!

Event Planning & Stickers: Coquette Events
Photography by Greg Ma
Flowers: Huckleberry Karen
Invitations:  Anders Ruff
Cake Pops: Whimsical Dream Events
Cookies: Made with love by Kayla’s Auntie
Glitter Letters & Sparkle Sticks: Twisted Twig

A San Francisco native, founder and owner of Coquette Events, Andrea Lee thought her passion was in retail until she experienced firsthand what it was like to be a wedding planner.  Her coolness under pressure, attention to detail and ability to handle others emotions left her no choice but to dive right into the industry.  Andrea is thrilled to be a part of the Blu Bungalow collection of vendors.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m a San Francisco native but I spent much of the last seven years living in Manhattan.  Before moving to New York, I graduated from Cal and then went on to FIDM. I have a background in fashion merchandising, having worked for Ralph Lauren. Most recently, I was planning corporate events for HSBC before deciding to start Coquette Events.

I’ve been married to my amazing husband for the past two and a half years and we recently welcomed daughter Kayla who is seven months old.  Some lesser known facts about me are that I love the color red, I love to eat spicy food and I am an expert at tying pretty bows!

How did you get into the wedding industry?

At the time, my full time job had a lot of event management and organizing functions which gave me a lot of insight and experience planning large scale functions.  In 2009 I took on the HUGE task of planning my own wedding and it was at that point that I realized my passion for the wedding industry and wanted nothing more than to continue working with couples on one of the most special days of their life!

Coquette Events recently joined Blu Bungalow as one of their event planners, how has your experience been so far?

Blu Bungalow provides Coquette Events with a great sense of community and has allowed me to work with many talented vendors that I hadn’t worked with in the past.  The Blu Bungalow space is beautiful and provides for the perfect atmosphere for meeting with my clients (of course they enjoy the freely flowing bubbly!).

As a member of Blu Bungalow, I’ve also had many opportunities to attend industry events and network with others.  Hazel, the owner of Blu Bungalow is also a great resource!

How can Coquette Event brides utilize Blu Bungalow?

The Blu Bungalow space itself is a great resource for brides.  There they can meet with their vendors, review portfolios, have their hair and makeup trial or even host their own bridal shower!

The Blu Bungalow space hosts workshops.  What types of workshops are you planning to offer down the line?

People love to drink at weddings and I’ll be helping couples to create the perfect signature drink at my Signature Cocktails Workshop.  There will be lots of fun details and information on how to dress up your drink and of course sampling drinks in the class is a must!

I’m busy preparing for an engagement shoot with one of my fun loving couples and feeling so inspired. To my delight, they have decided to make the most of their time with our skilled photographer, Jamie Grenough, and we will be styling a full on photoshoot. I’m thrilled to be working with charming pieces from One True Love Vintage Rentals and the talented Maria Chang to bring this rustic love story to life! I can’t give it all away now, but here is the inspiration board… playful, sweet and just a little bit sultry. Can’t wait to share more!