Tahoe Unveiled | Catherine Hall is a Keynote Speaker

One of the highlights of Tahoe Unveiled's, A Day in the Mountains, is a fabulous presentation by Catherine Hall, a photographer recognized worldwide for her artistic brilliance! Today, Catherine has written noted her upcoming presentation on her blog. You can view a clip below, or go to her site to read the entire article.

In conjunction with One Fine Day, an event planning company, Tahoe Unveiled is hosting a weekend of "splendor, luxury, and education" at the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn. The occasion--called A Day in the Mountains--offers brides and grooms the opportunity to enjoy a weekend getaway and develop relationships with some of Lake Tahoe's finest photographers, florists, planners, and venue coordinators. I'm pleased and honored to be a keynote speaker for this event, at which I will deliver a talk about how to craft utterly elegant, wholly exquisite pictures of your wedding day.

I invite you to read a description of my talk for A Day in the Mountains: "Did you know that it's a bride's loss to select a standard hotel room for her bridal chamber? Has anybody warned you against sitting in front of a window during your reception? Have you heard about the critical Golden Hour yet? Are you curious to learn how you can look, well, absolutely stunning in your pictures? In her discussion, Catherine reveals an elite photographer's tricks of the trade, which will enable you to make the right decisions before your special day.....read more

In the Press | One Fine Day Featured on Bridal Guide

One Fine Day is featured on Bridal Guide's site! As I am very aware of how awful wedding fairs can be, I decided to produce, design, and coordinate a spin on a wedding fair called Tahoe Unveiled, A Day in the Mountains with Tahoe's finest vendors. Every detail has been designed to create an enjoyable experience for brides, friends, and moms to soak up the romantic side of wedding planning. Bridal Guide featured my tips on how to prepare and enjoy yourself at Tahoe Unveiled and similar events.You can view part of the article below, or go to Bridal Guide's site for the full article.

To reserve and purchase tickets for Tahoe Unveiled, click here.

Bridal Guide Feature

Thinking of attending a bridal event or expo in your area? Have you already attended a bunch and feel more overwhelmed than ever? Relax and take a deep breath, then take in a few tips from Stephanie Anderson of One Fine Day, an event planning company based in northern California.

1. Know Your Budget. “Determine what your top three priorities are,” Anderson suggests. “For instance, you may have your heart set on a specific venue, amazing photography or an awesome band.” Depending on the cost of your must-haves, break down what you’ll have left to spend on, say, flowers and food.

2. Come Prepared. Before the event, determine what your wedding style is, i.e. modern, shabby chic, vintage, rustic elegance, etc. Create an inspiration file that features your favorite colors, flowers, foods, and more. “When you are meeting with vendors, it’s great to have a picture that you can point to,” Anderson says. This way, you’ll be able to tackle what you’re looking for without sifting through what you’re not.

3. Get Chatting. Talk up the wedding vendors to see if you really click, because after you’ve chosen them, you’ll be dealing with them for the better part of a year. “Ask them who they are, how did they get into the business and what their basic philosophy is,” Anderson advises. “It helps in developing a level of understanding for both the bride and the vendor.” Plus, a good relationship can pave the way for constructive negotiating on prices and services.

4. Have fun!

Yikes, Planning a Wedding Is Tough!

Did you know that 43 businesses are involved in the average American Wedding. Forty Three businesses! These are the "post-booking businesses," so your florist, rental company, photographer, permit company, etc, etc. Can you imagine the amount of businesses you need to contact before you get to your final 43? To help narrow down your "pre-43 biz contacts" here are a few tips:

1. Make a budget - first and foremost, this is drastically important. Create a spreadsheet and allocate funds to each category. Even if you are unaware of what a photographer costs, guesstimate. You don't want to realize you spent 90% of your money before even booking your catering company. Google has a great tool for free -

2. Hire a wedding coordinator - many think they can do it all....but after reaching maybe half of your 'final 43' you will realize, planning a wedding for 50, 100, 200, or even 300 or so people is overwhelming. Wedding coordinators spend their days negotiating, advising, and taking care of the many unromantic details involved with creating an organized and lovely celebration. Wedding Coordinators also know the top 50 vendors in their area - so they can assist in vastly reducing the amount of companies you need to contact. Better yet, they can even do it for you!

3. Determine the style of your wedding - Would you like a backyard soiree or a formal ballroom celebration? Would you like your photographer to take mostly candid photos, or do you love the creative posed shots? Would you like elegant, tall centerpieces, or simple wildflowers in mason jars? Think about who you are as a couple and how you would like your event to reflect your personalities. Then, list off each category (photographer, florist, venue, food, etc) and make a few bullet points of the style you are aiming for. This will help tremendously when deciding between vendors and when reducing your list of companies to contact. It will also help your vendors determine how they can taylor their services to your ideal wedding.

4. Ask for help - don't be afraid to ask your coordinator for advice. We are professionals in guiding you to your happy day. Whether it be to review your budget and perhaps give a reality check on the likelihood of staying within it, or to review a few contracts, or even to advise on which accessory will compliment your theme.

5. Outsource - with a full time job, a social life, and the fear of turnig into bridezilla looming over your head, you have to face the facts and realize that you can't do it all. Consider your time and how much it is worth? Do you really want to spend hours trying to create a pretty invitation out of scrap paper, or would it be worth while to spend the money on a professional invitation company that has oodles of experience in designing and producing pretty invitations?