Category Archives: Clients in the news

7×7 features Yael Designs and Choco Studio

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We’re excited to report that 7×7 magazine featured both Yael Designs and Choco Studio in their online Wedding Resource Guide!

We adored seeing the black and white diamond ring from Yael’s Leone Collection in the article about Local Wedding Ring Designers!

7x7 Engagement Ring Feature on Yael

Not only were we drooling over all the gorgeous unique wedding rings from 7×7’s Wedding Resource, we were swooning over the Real Weddings article on the sweet and intimate wedding of Michelle & Sergio, personal friends of I Do PR, photographed by Choco Studio!

7x7 features Choco Studio Engagement Session

As with any Real Wedding feature, we always want to send love to the other wedding vendors:

Rings: Yael Designs; Makeup: Jessicka Maduro, Allure Salon & Spa; Hair: Su Young Kim, Panache2 Hairdressing; Stylist: Nicole Lieberman, NBL Styling; Empress Yacht: Event coordinator, Deborah Birmingham; Dinner: Event coordinator, Pamela McGee of Boulevard.

 

Bridal Guide features Choco Studio and Yael Designs

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Bridal Guide November/December 2011 cover

The November/December issue of Bridal Guide is our all time favorite because we had not one, but two of our clients featured inside!

For the issue’s real wedding, the Bridal Guide editor chose a stunning Dawn Ranch summer wedding of Stephanie + Tom shot by wedding photographers Choco Studio! Check out all the DIY wedding decor made by the bride in this 4-page spread (yes, I know!!):

Dawn Ranch wedding by Choco Studio

 

Enjoy more images from the wedding on the original Choco Studio blog post about the Dawn Ranch wedding!

As with all photographer placements, other wedding vendors from the day also got credit including reception venue Dawn Ranch Lodge, DJ Patrick Numair, florals by Lila B, wedding coordinator Erica Becks, cocktail hour band Russian River Ramblers, bridal jewelry by Yael Designs and lighting by The Lux Productions.

Wedding band by Yael Designs featured

Another thing that we were swooning over was the gorgeous eternity bands that Bridal Guide featured in their All That Glitters feature in the same issue, including our very own San Francisco-based Yael Designs’ diamond band from their Affinity Collection! I love how the Yael ring is right below Tiffany’s – it’s always great to be in good company 🙂

 

Wedding PR: Working All the Angles

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PR for wedding photographers does not mean mindlessly submitting every real wedding to the top bridal magazines and blogs. Here we go into a strategy of how to get press by being smart, timely and creative.

Be smart

What every editor wants is a unique story that will entertain and educate her readers, while beating out the competitive media. Keeping that in mind, it is important to think like they think and recognize unique story opportunities that are going to grab readers’ attention. In PR biz, we call this “the angle,” which means the unique twist that gives a story its spark.

Be timely

Editors live by their calendars as they look – often months ahead – for stories about the upcoming holidays or seasons. In September, when the first day of Fall officially opens the floodgate of autumn-themed weddings, we worked with the editor of Get Married on this apple orchard wedding of Whitney + Mike photographed by Choco Studio.

Check out the beautiful fall lighting of this wedding, which ran on the magazine’s home page:

Choco Studio wedding in Get Married

Get Married features fall wedding photographed by Choco Studio

Be creative (and pay attention)

While a calendar is pretty easy to follow, creativity can go a long way when it comes to pitching to editors. When reading through a questionnaire a recent bride filled out about her wedding, I was struck by a story I haven’t heard before: the bride’s inspiration book, where she kept a photo of a berry cake from Martha Stewart magazine, was stolen from her car! She was so in love with the cake though that she worked with her cake maker, Not Just Cheesecakes, to find and recreate the berry cake.

As soon as I read the story, I knew Martha Stewart Weddings editor would loooove to hear it too and feature photographs of the happy couple and the cake taken by Choco Studio! Pay attention to your clients as they may have the unique angle you’re looking for.

Martha Stewart Weddings features Choco Studio

Martha Stewart Weddings features Choco Studio

If you want to stand out from the crowd when pitching your wedding portfolio to bridal editors, don’t forget to think like an editor, keep in mind the calendar and recognize unique stories they won’t find anywhere else.

Vintage Engagement Rings in C Weddings

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C Magazine is one of the premier glossies in our sunny state of California, covering food, fashion, architecture and style. It’s more well known in southern California, but is making its way up north to our parts. Last year, they began publishing a biannual C Weddings issue so we got to work with them on a neat vintage jewelry story.

Imagine my excitement when the editors selected one of my personal favorite rings from Yael Designs’ Leone Collection.

C weddings jewelry

 

While the black and white diamond ring was not originally conceived as an engagement ring, it sure works for a woman with a unique sense of style. Here is the ring up close:

Yael Designs vintage engagement ring

 

Wedding PR 101: The In Person Meeting

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Harper's Bazaar office
Visiting Harper’s Bazaar office

While it’s hard for Bay Area wedding business owners to personally meet with bridal magazine editors, most of whom have offices in New York, it is absolutely essential to a successful relationship.

I have been working with the editors of Bridal Guide magazine for a while, but when I got a chance to finally meet with them in person in their New York office, it gave our relationship a huge boost. In the industry these meetings are known as “deskside”, but despite their impersonal name they are a great chance to showcase your offering to the editor and see their reaction.

Meeting in person makes all the difference in collaborating, networking, selling or pretty much any business activity. And it’s certainly a huge part of successful public relations strategy as you become more than just a voice on the phone, but a reliable and friendly resource.

Since our New York meeting, I have been working closely with the editors there on a few features for several of my clients, which I’ll be publishing throughout the year. But here are two recent stories featuring Yael Designs bridal jewelry:

Retro Chic jewelry story in the Summer 2011 issue of Bridal Guide featured aquamarine cocktail ring and black diamond stud earrings:

Bridal Guide jewelry

The Fall 2011 issue of Bridal Guide featured Yael Designs pearl drop earrings in its Pearl Chic story (see top right):

Bridal Guide Pearl Chic

I’m excited to be a resource to the Bridal Guide editors and am looking forward to our continued relationship. Stay tuned for more features 🙂

Great Advice from Bride about Planning a Destination Wedding

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Recently, Destination I Do magazine featured a destination wedding of Vika + Igor, photographed by none other than the talented Choco Studio. The wedding took place in Riviera Maya, Mexico last year.

Barcelo Maya Resort Wedding

The bride gave a lot of great tips on how she was able to pull off a wedding of her dreams. Here are some of my faves:

Riviera Maya weddingTip #1 – use a travel consultant to make travel easier for guests

The couple hired a travel consultant who got the couple and their guests a group rate. Guests emailed their travel confirmations to the consultant who then created an itinerary of arrivals for Vika. This way the couple knew about the safe arrival of their guests without having to organize dozens of flights themselves.

Tip #2 – hire a wedding coordinator

The bride said she helped by staying on top of things, getting local wedding favors and keeping all the information the couple needed organized.

Tip #3 – incorporate travel into the wedding experience

Vika sent guests pre-travel packets with customized luggage tags, brochures and a wedding itinerary. Once everyone arrived, they received an “out of town bag” with personal labels and the couple’s wedding logo. The bags included a hangover kit, first aid kit and beach kit.

 Riviera Maya wedding

You can see more photos and read the rest of the bride’s tips on Destination I Do.

 

Choco Studio in San Francisco Brides

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I’m so excited to see one of my favorite real weddings photographed by San Francisco Wedding Photographers Choco Studio featured in San Francisco Brides!

The wedding of Laura and David at Radonich Ranch, a 100-year-old family owned fruit cannery in Santa Cruz county, featured beautiful pink and red details with the groom’s adorable seer-sucker suit and an absolutely sensational strawberry cake. You can see more photos from the wedding on Choco Studio blog.

 

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Radonich Ranch
Hair & Makeup: Tera Hardwick of Faust Salon
DJ/Band: All Occasions
Florals: Suzie’s Flowers
Catering: Vignette Events
Wedding Dress: Priscilla of Boston

The hunt for InStyle

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As one of the country’s most respected jewellery editors and book authors, InStyle contributing editor Marion Fasel has been on my mind for a while. Back in January, we met in her very well decorate office in New York where we talked about the recent Oscars, changes in fashion journalism and, of course, jewelry.

I have been following Marion’s work for a while to learn what style of jewelry she likes and gravitates to. Understanding the journalist’s interests, passions and writing style is a hugely important part of successful PR. In fashion journalism, where personal taste is the name of the game, understanding the journalist is doubly important.

So when I saw the latest custom chandelier earrings Yael Designs created, I just knew that she would like them… And she did! The earrings soon appeared on the “We’re Obsessed!” section of InStyle magazine.

 

Yael Designs champagne earrings on InStyle

Feature on Martha Stewart Weddings

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Back in January, we met with several editors in New York for deskside meetings to show a new collection Yael Designs was releasing with Ashley Morgan Designs. It was great to finally meet Sherri Caudell Brennan, the jewelry editor at Martha Stewart Weddings, in person – we’ve worked together for 2 years just over email.

After the official release of the collection, here’s a great story Sherri wrote about the new collection on Martha Stewart Weddings.

Fashion: Bridal Jewelry from the Leone Collection

Posted by Sherri Caudell Brennan

Ashley Morgan and Yael Designs have teamed up to create the Leone Collection, a group of stunning wedding bands, engagement rings, and day-of jewelry.

I love the blackened gold on some of the earrings and the raven-colored diamonds in the engagement rings and wedding bands. The pearl pieces have a wonderful Old World charm to them, perfect for your walk down the aisle. See some of my favorite picks below.