This all began out of desperation and overwhelm. When I became engaged in late-1998, there were very few do-it-yourself wedding resources that were sophisticated and fun and whimsical and unique. Most ideas floating around at the time usually involved something wrapped in tulle. Decidedly not a tulle-loving girl, I (with my non-tulle-loving guy) decided that the only way we could have The Best Wedding Ever would be to have one wedding that totally reflected who we were. The only way we could do that was to go DIY. And, so, we did! Hooray! Ah, but there were some snags along the way. I wasn’t very adept at this crafting thing, let alone wedding planning. I made lots of mistakes, wasted a lot of time/money/supplies, and became totally overwhelmed by the whole process. I began reaching out to other brides online and we began sharing ideas and support. These women saved my wedding and my sanity! Soon I was sharing all of my templates and, as word got around, I would spend hours every week emailing people all over the globe with my creations and advice. And that’s how DIY Bride began. Nearly 10 years later (how is that even possible?!), I’m still helping out cool couples and loving it. It’s been a kick watching DIY Bride evolve and grow.

E-Mail: khris@diybride.com    Phone: 408 693-5316

Newlywed advice from the field:  As Jacqueline and Judah, one of our MOMENTS couples, get ready to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary, they share their own wisdom and insights about planning for their wedding and their most treasured wedding day memories

An industry veteran with over 30 years of fine jewelry experience, David Dell’Aglio has been with Samuels since 2007 when the parent company, Gitanjali Gems, purchased the Rogers Jewelers chain. Mr. Dell’Aglio was with Rogers for over seven years and had worked for three other jewelry store chains in the Midwest, most notably Sterling Inc. (owner of Kay Jewelers), where he held various merchandising positions.

Beginning his career right after college, he worked his way up from a customer service representative for Pulsar Time Inc., where he learned the true meaning of customer service.  David feels fortunate to be able to share in many of his customers’ most memorable moments.  During his 30 year career in the jewelry industry, David has traveled the world in search of diamonds and gemstones and has collaborated with the best manufacturers and jewelry designers of our time.

Kim Rix is an experienced event planner with over ten years in the event business, specializing in luxury events.  She is a highly sought after expert, specializing in organizing intimate social events for entertaining clients.  Kim’s success has been featured in both Professional Advisor magazine and The Business Magazine, on more than one occasion.  With over 350 social events and parties under her belt, she has built up the strongest relationships with exclusive event and first-class suppliers across London and the Home Counties.  Kim has recently expanded into offering wedding planning and coordination services.

Darren Matsumoto is the director of catering and convention services at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe New Mexico.  He is responsible for working with catering and convention clients including weddings, meeting and group events, holiday gatherings, and more.   Darren began with the Hyatt Regency Tamaya in November 2010.

Originally from Honolulu, HI, Darren has been with Hyatt for 14 years and began his career as a Corporate Management Trainee at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa.  He has held the positions of Assistant Restaurant Manager, Restaurant Manager, Catering Manager, Group Sales Manager, and Associate Director of Catering & Convention Services at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki and most recently at the Grand Hyatt Seattle.  He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in English from Boston College in Boston, MA in 1996.

Phone: 505 771-6020

With over twenty-one years in the Los Angeles hospitality industry, Bruce is an expert in everything from corporate board meetings to lavish social events. Always wearing a smile, he can put any meeting planner at ease. Bruce’s hobbies are traveling, cooking, movies, and reading.  Honesty and hardworking people inspire Bruce.

E-Mail: bhochberger@etchotels.com    Phone: 310 587-1726

For the past six years, Karina Sminoff has made her mark on primetime television, as one of the professional dancers on ABC’s top rated program, Dancing with the Stars. She came to the series during season three with a plethora of accomplishments including five U.S. National Championships, the U.S. Open, the Asian Open and the U.K. Open. Smirnoff was even ranked number two in the world. In June 2009 she made her Broadway Debut in the show Burn the Floor which opened to rave reviews and sold out performances.

Smirnoff’s skills are not merely physical. She studied diligently at Fordham University in New York and earned two degrees – a B.A. in Economics and in Information Systems Programming.

In December 2010, she released her first fitness DVD, Shape up with Karina Smirnoff. The dance inspired DVD focuses on toning, strengthening & muscle confusion; all with the goal of achieving a dancer’s body.In 2011 Karina plans to open her first dance studio in Los Angeles, which will incorporate competitive and social classes, as well as a scholarship program directly related to her charity Dance Intervention – A division of Alternative Intervention Models.

E-Mail: karina@karinasmirnoffdance.com    Phone: 818 232-7224

The best professionals often come from a background of irony. A successful young Ford Model, Rose Cole was literally pulled into the nutrition arena as a means to save her own hide after being diagnosed with whole body psoriasis. When Cole found a way to cure her condition naturally, she turned it into a wildly successful e-marketing business. From there, she was invited to co-author a book with Deepak Chopra, titled “Audacious Aging.” It wasn’t long before Cole realized her unique gift was something larger and she began to mentor women helping to connect their work to their ultimate purpose.

Rose’s High Priestess training attunes a person’s vibrancy and physical frequency to meet pure potential, something she has done for more than 4500 women throughout the world.

Rose’s career catapulted when Ford Models signed her. She landed a gig on the box of Special K cereal and a role in a network TV movie. Though the modeling jobs were now paying the bills, she began to turn her attention to what was healing her and she returned to school, first in San Diego and then at the University of Illinois’ nutrition program.

Rose became a Certified Natural Health Professional, a Certified Nutrition Consultant, and certified in blood nutrition at the Institute of Human Individuality. In 2006, she established Wellness with Rose and the High Priestess programs were birthed in 2010. She also created www.RoseCole.com, a resource of thousands of free videos, articles, and audio downloads on holistic living. She created a very unique virtual business model which allows her to share her knowledge with more people than she could personally see in a day. Rose also writes books, develops products and speaks on her approach to a life of vitality and connected purpose.

E-Mail: rose@rosecole.com    Phone: (888) 898-WELL

Kim Rix is an experienced event planner with over ten years in the event business, specializing in luxury events.  She is a highly sought after expert, specializing in organizing intimate social events for entertaining clients.  Kim’s success has been featured in both Professional Advisor magazine and The Business Magazine, on more than one occasion.  With over 350 social events and parties under her belt, she has built up the strongest relationships with exclusive event and first-class suppliers across London and the Home Counties.  Kim has recently expanded into offering wedding planning and coordination services.

Kirstie Kelly has always believed in the possibilities of fashion.  For decades, the designs of Kirstie Kelly have been world renowned in defining a style of both profound and original creations.  The constant, quiet details of a Kirstie Kelly design give rise to the discriminate mind of the designer’s commitment to elegant fashion.

Having spent her youth between varied European nations and the United States, Kirstie Kelly’s personal evolution led to the creation of designs that are both borderless and transcendental.  This exposure to the world’s most fashionable cultures heightened Kelly’s professional commitment to an atelier that embraces the romance of old world craftsmanship while keeping in harmony with the contemporary rhythm of today’s modern society.  A graduate of the Otis College of Art and Design, Kirstie Kelly’s designs reunite the timeless companions of both profound originality and grace.

Today’s collections by Kirstie Kelly breathe an authentic spirit into the life of couture design.  The ease of her creations are understatedly classic yet are designed with deliberate femininity.  She uses only the finest fabrics and couture factories from around the world.  The result, in turn, is simply a legacy of unparalleled style.

Kirstie Kelly Couture Showroom:  131 South Barrington Place Studio 100, Los Angeles, CA 90049  Map It

Website:  www.kirstiekelly.com

E-Mail: info@kirstiekelly.com    Phone: 310-471-5711

BJ Dyer and partner Guenther Vogt are owners of Bouquets, an award-winning Denver floral retailer and event decor company.  Bouquets was included by Bon Appetit Magazine among their choice of America’s top ten florists. Brides voted BJ as “Best of Weddings” in The Knot Magazine.  Bouquets provides decor for showpiece galas, society weddings, debutante balls, including the world premiere gala for Disney’s The Little Mermaid.

The company was inducted into the Small Business Administration Hall of Fame.  BJ and Guenther have been featured on covers of Floral Management Magazine.  BJ has had work published as featured designer in Florists’ Review Magazine.  Bouquets was runner up twice for WFFSA “Retail Florist of the Year.”  BJ is currently on the board of directors of the American Institute of Floral Designers, has served as president of Teleflora’s Rocky Mountain Unit, and was a founding board member of Colorado Retail Florists Association.  Bouquets won the 9th and 15th Annual SAF Marketer of the Year.  BJ presents regularly to Garden Club of America chapters throughout the country, and has addressed sold-out audiences from Maryland to Hawaii.  BJ recently represented the U.S. as a floral designer, presenting on stage at China’s international floral expo held in Zhengzhou.

Website:  www.bouquetsonline.com

E-Mail: bouquets3@earthlink.net

Sheree Bochenek is the creative director at Après Party and Tent Rental in Edina, Minnesota and provides expert consulting services for weddings, corporate and social events.  She is an accomplished
International Award Winner of ISES, NACE and is the recipient of many local recognition awards.  Sheree is a national trend expert in event design and has been quoted and featured in both local and national magazines.  She was a featured speaker at NACE and The American Rental Show.   She is currently the “go to person” at Après Party and Tent Rental as the fabric, linen and accessories buyer.

With twelve years of experience in the event industry, specializing in textiles, linen design, accessories, tabletop, trends, marketing, advertising and customer service, Sheree provides superior customer service and extensive knowledge to her clients.

Après Party and Tent Rental:  7625 Cahill Road, Edina, MN 55439   Map It

Website:  www.apresparty.com

E-Mail: sbochenek@apresparty.com    Phone: 952-942-3399

Born in Singapore, Judith received her degree in Hotel Management from the prestigious Hotel Ecole Lausanne, the world’s first university for hotel management leaders.  Judith started her professional career at the Four Seasons Hotel Regent in Singapore, a five-star hotel, as a Catering Coordinator.  Judith has been with the Luxe Hotel Collection since 1991, managing events at Luxe Hotel Sunset Boulevard and Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive, where she has gained extensive knowledge of the wedding industry, specializing in the Kosher market.

Luxe Hotel Sunset Boulevard, a chic boutique Bel Air Brentwood hotel offers stylish and supremely comfortable personalized care and service in a modern California environment. It is ideal for small or large wedding ceremonies up to 300 guests, engagement parties, rehearsal dinners, post-wedding brunches and elegant Los Angeles wedding receptions.

Luxe Hotel Suset Boulevard:  11461 Sunset Blvd., LA, CA 90049  Map It

Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive:  360 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210  Map It

Website:  www.luxehotelsunsetblvd.com

Website:  www.luxehotelrodeodrive.com

E-Mail: judith@luxehotels.com    Phone: 1-800-468-3541

Website:  http://momentsbywayne.com

E-Mail: wayne@momentsbywayne.com    Phone: 818-715-9063

Adrienne Meredith is the founder, owner and publisher of LuxuriousWedding.com, an international online wedding magazine targeted to the Luxury Bride.  Adrienne started her company in 2003, capitalizing on the wide reach of the Internet by assembling unique resources from all over the world, provided by professionals who push the limits and look at events from a different point of view. Image intensive, developed in the style of a high-end coffee table book, LuxuriousWedding.com tells a story of each resource through images. “Luxury is a state of mind, and not just for weddings,” says Adrienne.  The collection of products and services featured in LuxuriousWedding.com exudes extreme refinement, mixed with edgy and creative influences. It appeals to anyone who appreciates quality, style, creativity and a sense of being pampered.

Website:  www.luxuriouswedding.com

E-Mail: info@luxuriouswedding.com

I was born with a piece of Harrods stainless steel flatware in my mouth, and I scratched and clawed my way out of upper middle class Jewish suburbia of North London, England, to become the feared yet loved pariah that I am today. I produce award-winning event videos and travel the country educating my audience. It is not true that I performed covert operations for the MI6, and I think Phil Collins was a brilliant artist until he went solo”.

“I now play drums in a Steely Dan tribute band. I was the original drummer of Toyah. We were really big in England. I raise prize-winning terriers. I wrote, produced, shot and edited a documentary entitled “ProgFilm” which took me two years and led me all over the world, which I did for no money, financed by a lot of awesome brides and bar mitzvah moms. I pay my bills on time. I don’t perspire. I think smooth jazz is dishonest but sometimes necessary. I once hid from my parents in a pillar of the Acropolis”.

”I am a semi-accomplished speaker, a master collector, and an obsessed facebook junkie. I once spoke to an audience of 3000 and could not sleep the night before. I own many of Burt Bacharach’s instrumental recordings and periodically annoy the family by playing them at a high volume. I am awed by contemporary art, an investor in the hearts and minds of my clients, a rabblerousing innovator, and an inspiration for freedom fighters everywhere. Children and animals trust me”.

”But I have never directed a feature, although I will”.!-david robin.

Awards & Accolades
*Founder, and Past-President of the American Videographers Association.
*Winner of 27 Creative Excellence Awards from the Wedding & Event Videographers
Association. (More than any other Event Filmmaker in the world)
*Recipient of the Bob LeBar Vision Award.
*Inducted into the WEVA Hall of Fame 2001.
*Named one of the “Top 25 Hottest & Most Influential Event Filmmakers in the World” by
*Event DV Magazine for the fifth year in a row.
*Featured on TNT’s “Wedding Day”. A Mark Burnett Production.

Website:  www.davidrobinfilms.com

Blog:  www.blog.davidrobinfilms.com

Video:  www.vimeo.com/user639009

David Robin Films:  16656 Ventura Blvd. Suite 202, Encino, CA 91436  Map It

E-Mail: David@DavidRobinFilms.com    Phone: 818-501-7368

A passion for the music is why Scott Soluk has been a disc jockey from the time he was sixteen years old. A wide range of experience including, nightclubs, college and professional radio, private and corporate events, gives him a comprehensive and well rounded background he brings to every event.

There is more to being a disc jockey than pushing buttons. Scott helps create an outline for the event, keeps the party on schedule, effortlessly handles unexpected and last minute adjustments, and works with all other vendors for a seamless and enjoyable event. The client can concentrate on spending time with their guests and enjoy the party.

Scott uses music to compliment an environment, to create a mood and atmosphere. What that atmosphere is depends on several factors, including the client needs, the type of event, the location, and the guests.
There is also a human element, an intangible feeling, a sense about an event and the guests that comes with experience. This along with a personal connection to the job and client helps Scott guide the party along.

What’s the message? Scott wants to educate his clients so they can make an informed decision. He wants them to understand the difference between a disc jockey with experience, passion, and knowledge, and a
button pusher.

E-Mail: scottsolukmusic@hotmail.com    Phone: 818-850-1492

John Ferdenzi has been in event production and design since 1989.  He was an in-house designer for Paramount Pictures Special Events Department, crafting his abilities and skills in event production design and management for 12 years.  Upon his departure from Paramount, John formed his own successful design consulting company, John Ben Ventures, creating event designs for Disney Studios, Culver City Studios and Universal Studios.  As a continued preferred event designer for Paramount, he successfully created event designs for their international film and television marketing divisions, creating and designing extravagant events for “War of the Worlds”, “Sponge Bob Square Pants”, “Dream Girls”, HBO’s “The Come Back”, “Bang You’re Dead”, “Recount”, and Showtime’s “Weeds”.

Through his entrepreneurial expansion, John became an independent event consultant for Classic Party Rentals.  While at Classic, he resurrected their lighting department and became the lighting designer for Classic’s Los Angeles Market, all the while maintaining his event rental sales accounts.  Five years into his successful run with Classic, Town & Country Event Rentals invited him to join their amazing team of event directors, and as of August 2009, John has been a valued and extremely happy Event Director for Town & Country Event Rentals.

Website:  www.tacer.biz

Town & Country Event Rentals:  7700 Airport Business Park Way, Van Nuys, CA 91406 Map It

E-Mail: johnf@tacer.biz    Phone: 818-908-4211

Mood, light, form, honesty, fantasy, play, beauty.  These are the elements that Shannon sees, mixes, matches and balances at “the decisive moment” when he clicks his camera.  For over twenty years, this has been him, his drive, inspiration, passion and who he is as a photographer.
Shannon has photographed many people, places and things through the years from magazine and CD covers, rock stars and movie stars, diamond rings and door knobs, to babies and Bar Mitzvahs and then some, as everything is a timeless image to him. Shannon’s true passion comes alive when he is working with everyday people, those Brides and Grooms that have planned and planned sometimes for over a year to create their exceptional moments; His true passion comes alive when he is the one to capture the unique images for their  lifetime.

website:  http://www.shannonsphotography.com

E-Mail: sptfoto@earthlink.net    Phone: 818-843-8533

Website:  http://momentsbywayne.com

E-Mail: wayne@momentsbywayne.com    Phone: 818-715-9063