Kristy Meinhardt Weddings & Special Events

How Pinterest Inspires Me

I don’t know what the folks over in the Pinterest promotions department are doing, but whatever it is…it’s working!  It seems that the site has exploded just in the last month and having mentioned that I’m a Pinterest addict on FaceBook multiple times, I have received many questions from family and friends over the past few weeks.  What is it?  Why should I join?  How do I join?  I requested an invite, but I haven’t heard back.  Etc, etc.

As with countless other Pinterest-ites, Pinterest gives me inspiration in so many ways every single day.  So much so that I want to devote this entire post to the subject in the hope that many of you will join me in this pinning obsession.  And, if interested, you can follow me HERE.  If you need an invite, please just message me at kristy@meinhardtevents.com with your name and email and I’ll gladly send one to you.

Obviously, I love weddings and events so many of my pins are pictures of real weddings, kids parties, styled shoots, DIY projects, invitations, etc.  On Pinterest you can pin any picture that can be found on the web and if you add a pin from an online source, you can get to the source’s website or blog post just by clicking that picture.  Since I spend a good amount of time researching wedding and event blogs every day, this makes the site an excellent way for me to share the ideas I come across with brides, brides-to-be, others planning parties and event enthusiasts such as myself.

Once something has been pinned, it comes up in your newsfeed for the people who are following you.  But it also sometimes comes up on the site’s boards for everyone to see under different categories like architecture, DIY and crafts, food and drink, home décor, kids, weddings and events, to name just a few of my favorites.  I’m not even sure how this happens, but it does.  And it’s great!

To date, my biggest pin has been this one from Preston Bailey’s BRIDE IDEAS blog.

I don’t even really know what it is that I like about this photo.  The little miniature cakes are just so pretty and delicate, I guess.  I remember when I first saw it, I turned to my friend Courtney and said…”This is gorgeous, and it needs to be pinned!”  That was 12 weeks ago.  The picture (and link to Preston’s blog) has been repined 192 times now and liked by 20.  Almost all of those users, I don’t know and a few have even begun following me just because of that photo.  From a business perspective, that’s huge and I can’t wait to pin photos from weddings that I’ve personally worked on. 

But Pinterest isn’t just about weddings.  It’s so much more than that actually!  Here are a couple more examples of how I’ve used the site…

I came across this picture and pinned it to show my hair stylist Natalia how I wanted my hair cut.  (As a side note, Natalia is also on Pinterest and uses the site to pin ideas for cuts and colors to use in her new role as an Aveda Color Purefessional.)

http://www.themommytherapy.com/2011/09/oh-pinterest-dont-stop-or-do-im-not.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheMommyTherapy+%28The+Mommy+Therapy%29

For Valentine’s Day this year, I made these little edible buttons from square pretzels, Hershey’s Hugs and Valentine’s Day M&Ms.  Cute and super easy to make too!

http://griffithsrated.blogspot.com/2012/02/valentine-prezel-buttons.html

My in-laws were in town over the holidays last year, so I had a brunch on Christmas morning and made these egg cups with cheese, turkey bacon and spinach.  Again, they were simple enough for me to make (which, if you know me, is a task!) and easy to eat while opening presents.

http://www.brittanybohnet.com

(This site has since been removed, so the link is no longer available.)

My friends also know that I’m a bit of an exercise enthusiast.  However, my routine is heavy in cardio and severely lacking in strength training (probably because I despise strength training!).  I found this little regimen and decided to give it a try at the beginning of the year.  It only takes about 20 minutes to do three sets, so it’s easy for me to work into my day and I feel like I’m starting to see a difference.

http://iowagirleats.com/2011/11/11/friday-favorites-11/

I also draw inspiration by what my friends post.  Many of my friends from high school and college are teachers and it’s so great to see them sharing ideas for their classrooms and lesson plans.  (That’s also good for me to start looking at since my D will be entering school before we know it!) 

My good friend Jen is a competitive power lifter and she posts so many inspiring before and after photos, workout plans and inspiration.   I love that Pinterest also allows me to get a glimpse into her world, especially since we no longer live in the same city and I miss her terribly. 

I also have many photographer friends who post examples of their work, ideas for photo shoots and ways to display photography in your home.  Like this…

http://tatertotsandjello.com/2012/01/19-ways-to-display-photographs-in-your-home.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FOivM+%28Tatertots+and+Jello%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Well, I hope I have been able to convince you to join the Pinterest ranks with me!  Again, I can be found on Pinterest HERE and if you need an invite or have any questions at all, please holler!  Happy pinning, everyone!        

Wedding Card & Keepsake Boxes

Before I get into today’s post, I want to share a few exciting things that I’ve been working on.  First, I finally got off my bootie and finished a FaceBook page for KMW!  You can now become a fan of Kristy Meinhardt Weddings (and I hope that you will!) by clicking HERE! 

In other exciting news, I started 2012 off with a bang professionally by meeting one of my mentors and inspirations, Preston Bailey, at a book signing during the Wedding Faire Santa Clara.  Unfortunately, I could not attend any of the workshops for professionals that weekend so I did not hear Preston speak, but he did sign my copy of his latest book Flowers and I got this lovely picture to mark the occasion!  This is me, in total awe…

Napa Valley Linens

I mentioned last week that I’m getting ready for my very first bridal faire.  That’s right, Kristy Meinhardt Weddings will be at the Modern Bridal Faire at the Pleasanton Hilton on January 15!  This certainly isn’t my first bridal faire, but it’s my first with KMW and for that, I’m super excited!

Happy 2012!

Around this time of year four years ago, a friend of mine published a list of 100 goals she wanted to accomplish and then she blogged as each one was checked off her list.  I thought the idea was good, so I set up a blog (separate from this blog, obviously) and began writing a list of my own.  I actually only got to 25 goals, but I felt that was a good start. Some were big dreams like getting married and starting a family, while others were smaller like baking cookies for David once a month. (He really loves cookies!) But then, after getting it all down in writing, I did nothing.  I just got carried away with the day-to-day of life to even look at the list ever again.

Heirloom Jewelry

It’s hard to believe we’re in November!  I hope everyone had a great October and an excellent Halloween!  I’ll admit, Halloween has never been one of my favorite holidays.  However, it’s amazing how things change once you have a child.  Dani and I had the best time walking around our neighborhood for her very first attempt at trick or treating.  She loved it, even if we did skip most of the houses.  She was just happy to be outside, I think!  And her ladybug costume was ADORABLE…thanks Grandma Carol!

On to today’s blog post.  This is one that I’ve had on my mind for some time now and is somewhat personal.  Starts a little sad, but it gets happier and I promise there’s a point.

I'm Official!

While I’ve been absent from here for too long again (and again, I apologize!), things are starting to move behind the scenes and this is one development…my official business license! 

Something Blue

Last month, I attended a wonderful new event called Something Blue at Opa! Restaurant in Los Gatos, hosted by Karla Randolph of The Card Lady and Stephania Panayotopoulos of For My Sweet P.   Going in, I thought it would be a typical mixer of wedding professionals and vendors but I was pleasantly surprised to see that attendees consisted of both the pros, along with brides and their girlfriends.  The event featured three fashion shows of local swimwear and lingerie boutiques and a vendor showcase with everything from jewelry, to invites, to a delicious candy bar and local mobile bar service (which served the yummiest blue mojitos!).

Best week EVER!

First, I apologize for my absence.  I haven’t been missing really, just working hard behind the scenes getting things together.  One thing that I’ve been spending most of my time on is my workspace.  Until last week, here is where I was writing you from…

K&L - Elliston Vineyards, Sunol, CA

K&L’s wedding has the distinction of being my very last wedding as a venue coordinator at Elliston.  It’s hopefully not my last wedding there ever, since it’s such a beautiful venue with great staff and a great feel to it.  (I’m not biased at all!)  I was with this couple from the moment they first toured the venue and I did their planning and two menu tastings (they’re both self-confessed foodies), so there wasn’t any way I wouldn’t see this wedding through to the end!

It amazes me how I discover something special and unique with each wedding that I work on.  This wedding was no different.  K recently graduated from a master’s program in music.  She loves the movie The Princess Bride and used that to set the theme of her wedding.  L is an engineer at Facebook.  They are both very witty, smart, fun and completely perfect for each other.  The wedding details most important to them were the food, wine and of course the music.

The importance of pictures

Everyone in the wedding industry works on photos.  At the end of the day, it's all we have to show of our work after all.  So I was proudly showing my husband my very first blog post on Friday night and he thought it was great, except that it needs pictures.  Duh!  (And darn it, I hate when he's right!)

So here's a shot of us at the sweetheart table at our reception.  Notice there are no chocolate pintuck linens in sight, yet it was still a beautiful day.

The photo is by Pascale Wowak, who is our amazing friend and photographer.  Her work can be followed at www.pascalewowakphotoblog.com.  My profile picture was also shot by Pascale on my wedding day.