More details please!!!!!

We were so excited to share our big news this week that we didn't get into the details! We thought we should tell you a little more about Coastside's new direction. In addition to the fabulous weddings we plan and coordinate, we are excited to expand our services to all events from anniversary parties, baby showers to corporate retreats. We are still available for daily concierge services, from errand running, modified house sitting and personal assistance to thank you cards. We give you only the best and most trusted customer service.

The newest addition (and our big excitment!!!) is the Couture House, our Wedding Lounge and Library. Beginning in January, Engaged Couples (or Bride's and their families) can book a two hour appointment, where while sipping champagne they can find all the Sites, Vendors and Services that fit with their budget and style. They will have a personal Event Concierge at their disposal throughout the appointment while sampling cake, looking through photo albums and listing to band demos. By the end of the appointment they will leave with a personalized budget breakdown, to do timeline/checklist and scheduled appointments with the vendors they chose in their Couture Bag.

Sound interesting? Call us for pricing information, to buy Gift Certificates (great Christmas Present for those Engaged Couples) and to make your appointment today- 831-600-8206.

Big News!!!!

Hi All,

I am super excited to share this big fun news!!!

Coastside Concierge has partnered with Couture Celebrations to bring you, Coastside Couture!

A bit of background:

In 2004 when I started Coastside Weddings and Events, I was thrown together in the weirdest way with fellow event planner Heidi Hughett of Couture Celebrations. We bonded, needless to say and have been friends ever since. Heidi has been a competitor, yet a dear friend and since we met we have relied on each other on numerous accounts over the past five years.

Fast forward to about nine months ago when Heidi and I helped to found the Monterey Bay Wedding and Event Professionals Board. With all of our trips to the board meetings we realized that us coming together to combine forces made so much sense!

So I am very happy, pleased and extremely proud to announce the merging and coming together of Coastside Couture! www.coastsidecouture.com

Heidi and I  have always regarded ourselves as friends and colleges. We have always said that there was plenty of room for competition, but we were both so busy that we needed the ability to take on more. This just seemed like the perfect fit for both of our businesses.

For the past four plus years we have worked separately, referring business we couldn’t take towards each other. In this business where it seems like there is a new event planning company popping up every month or so, we have stuck it out, supporting each other’s businesses.

Coastside Couture is excited to add to our services, The Couture House.
We have been  looking for a way to offer more than your typical event planning and concierge services. We are filling this need by offering The Couture House. The Couture House is a boutique for planning resources where with the guidance of a personal Event Concierge you can plan your event in style. This by appointment only event library, is an opportunity for our smaller budget clients to get the guidance they need. We are thrilled to extend this opportunity to the Monterey Bay Area, displaying the finest local wedding and event professionals. We know all the best local resources and we love sharing them with all of our clients.

Please stay tuned for our new updates and our new website and blog.
We are so excited to share everything with all of you. Let us know when you are nearby as we would love for you to see the amazing Couture House and get a chance to be a part of the new, exciting things going on with us!


Thanks for all of your support!



Karissa

Karissa and Heidi at the Alexis Bridal show Feb. 2009

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since my last post I have had my 2nd anniversary, planned two beautiful weddings, the 20th anniversary gala of the '89' earthquake, the launch of the MBWEP party (so much fun!).  I turned 33 (I can't believe it) and went camping with my Dad and Brother in Big Sur. Not to forget that I am planning some BIG changes to Coastside Concierge and have been working night and day (in my dreams too) on that! Needless to say, I have been a busy girl.

It's a nice quiet Thanksgiving morning at my house and I started thinking that this would be a good time to blog.Yes, I guess in a way this is a blog about what I am thankful for but it's also to give you more insight in my life and so you understand how lucky I know I am.

If you would have asked me 10 years ago what I wanted to do with my life, I can almost bet you that I never would have thought I'd own my own fairly successful business.  10 years ago I had just met this guy named Lyle, I was starting to study under a Master Sommelier to become a Sommelier myself. I was running a lovely restaurant in Pismo and having a lot of fun.

Flash forward 10 years and here I am, married to that guy Lyle, owing my own business, not a Sommelier but a wine drinker ;-) and running my own business. It's been tough but I have never been happier!

I am so blessed to have so many people who are good to me and give me so much support. My Family, Friends and Client's are amazing! Thank you!

With that being said, I can say that I am thankful for following my dreams and making them a reality. I am so thankful for my Husband who has supported me and encouraged me to have my own business. I am thankful to my Parents (all four of them)  for their wisdom, experience, hard work ethic, patience, funny stories and support. I am so thankful for my little Brother who picks up the phone night or day and continues to tell me how great I am,  moitvate me and make me laugh. My entire family has always made me feel like I can do anything!

My Friends, I am am so thankful for! Each of you mean so much to me. Your love, support, hugs and girls nights are always just what I need.

And last but certinaly not least, my Clients. Thank you for your trust and support. I am honored to work with each of you. No matter what it is I do for you, planning your special event, taking care of your business or home, I love that you trust me to do it. I am so thankful that you have spread the word about Coastside. Thank you!

So now I better go for a run (thankful I can run) with my puppies (super thankful for them) so I can feel good about eating lots of amazing food (thankful)  that my Mother-in-Law (thankful for my in-laws, love them) is preparing.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope you all have a wonderful day and realize how lucky we all are!

Time flys when your having fun!

Two years ago, 10/6/07, I married my best friend Lyle.

In celebration of our two years years of being married, I thought it would only be appropriate to share some of the memories of our special day in Big Sur, CA.

We were lucky that we were surrounded by so many family and friends and the love that surrounded us that day will be remembered and felt for a lifetime.

Thank you Lyle for being my rock, giving me your heart and supporting me through everything. Thank you for your love, your thoughtful advice and keeping me laughing at and with you.

I am so honored to be your wife. I love you more each day. Happy Anniversary!





* All photos are property of Karissa Paxton and were taken by Craig W. Smith. If you would like to use any of these images please contact me directly. Thank you!

Dress making 101 continued

Emily and I drove down to Marina to add the finishing touches and finalize all the little details. Check out her smile when she gets her first look at the almost finished dress.

The layers of ruffles that were to start at her mid-thigh all the way down to the end of the train, had to be hand stitched together before they could be attached to the silk overlay of the dress. I would have lost my mind. And yes, I did ask "can't you just buy that somewhere?"

The amount of time that was put into placing the lace correctly over the ruffles was amazing but it was so worth it!















The very talented Miguel Angel who designed this dress really put lots of thought into how he wanted to create it. Here he is talking about the lace placement on the back of the dress and if black lace should be attached to the straps for a more dramatic black effect.
In the end we decided on no lace for the straps and added a thin black silk band around her waist really showing how tiny she is. It brought the dress together so well.

I was so honored to have Emily ask me along to her fittings and design meetings. She really has such a great sense of fashion and taste for vintage. Congratulations to Emily and Jeremy, they had a fantastic wedding this past Sat. 10/3/09 in Half Moon Bay.  I can't wait to share their wedding photos soon!

Just me.....

This is me, the ultimate party girl, about 20 years ago at a wedding.
I guess we all knew me being a party planner would be inevitable. The funny thing is that every time I do a wedding,I look and feel like this after (when I get home).

In my mind, I am always going to be that girl, having fun, entertaining people and making things happen! Enjoy!

Coastside Love for Thursday

I LOVE Thursdays! There are so many reasons why, I mean come on tomorrow is Friday right?

For a Wedding Planner/Concierge a weekend can be super busy with an event or it can actually be a weekend off (I know some of you event people are envious since we are in the season right now).

Today was an incredibility great Thursday as I had a walk through at the amazing Cypress Meadows in Moss Beach with one of my Oct. Brides and the lovely and talented Joy Portelli from Event Savvy

When we arrived at Cypress Meadows, the fog was just misting back towards the beautiful cypress trees that line the back of the property and edge the breathtaking Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. The sun was flirting with the hills in front and the wind was just so slight. It was a perfect day on the Coastside.

Meeting with Sharon from Cypress Meadows is always a treat, she is warm and sweet and always ready with a hug. Joy from Event Savvy is literally such a "joy" to work with and just wraps you in with she talks about her splendid food and inspiring ideas for the menu and advice for the timing of the reception.

It's always such a nice feeling to work with true professionals, knowing that we look out for one another to ensure that each event will go smooth and be over and beyond our Client's expectations. This is what the Hospitality business is all about, working together to make dreams become a reality and supporting each other throughout.

I love what I do and I am blessed to be surrounded by talented, kind and wonderful professionals. I am so lucky to be able to work with people I consider my friends as well!

When visiting Half Moon Bay please take the time to drive North about seven minutes to the darling town of Moss Beach (very special to me, because my Husband grew up there and my In-Laws still live there). Visit Cypress Meadows and Cypress Flower Farm , there is the coolest garden and gift shop. Check it out, I promise you will love it. Tell Sharon I sent you and you might even get rewarded with one of her warm hugs!

Coastside Concierge gets lessons in dress making 101

Last week I was asked by my beautiful Bride Emily if I could accompany her to her dress fitting.
Emily is one of those Brides who us planners LOVE to have, she has so many great ideas and is super creative but also asks for my opinion and appreciates my advice.
I was very excited to go with her as I have had a few past Brides who have had their dresses made but haven't gotten to be a part of the process. We went to try on the "mock" of her dress.
Emily and Jeremy are planning a 20/30ies inspired wedding. I can't wait to share the pictures of all the amazing things they have picked up from various thrift stores and see the wedding come to life. This is going to be a fantastic wedding!

The life of an Entrepreneur (the real deal)

After a restless night of not a lot of sleep and lots of worry I thought I'd share my feelings of working for myself. Now please keep in mind that yes, I have been a small business owner since 2004 but I have only recently left my "cush" full time job a bit over a year ago.

After working solely for myself, I now understand why people have always said how much they respect entrepreneurs. I get it!

Being a small business owner is the hardest thing I ever ever done in my short 32 years.

I'd also like to say that I do love what I do, I have always loved helping people and parties so I do have a fierce passion to keep my business going strong.

My Mother is also a small business owner (with a store front, that crazy lady!) and for years I just couldn't understand why we didn't get to see each other as much as I would have liked or that she just couldn't get away from the business. Mom, I know you love me more than the amazing store but I understand why you had to be there too! It just took me jumping into this whole crazy world of working for myself to truly get it.

Working for yourself is hard, it's scary and you learn how to live without really knowing when the next paycheck is coming. You can budget all you want for it, but life happens, things change and people flake.

On the positive side; I love being able to work where I want, in whatever clothes I want and with who I want. I am super lucky that my Clients are amazing and have respect and appreciation for what I do.

I have been teased my whole life about how optimistic, happy and cheerful I am and now I thank my lucky stars that I can find humor and the positive in everything. My mantra for the past year has been: "will it really matter in another year?" Typically the answer is no and quickly that follows a lot of laughter.

I am blessed to have a wonderful Husband, family and amazing friends who are there to cheer me on, listen to me, pick me up, dust me off, pour me a glass of wine and keep me on track. I couldn't have done all of this without them.

In short, being an Entrepreneur is all about not taking things too personally and rolling with the punches, loving what you do and showing it everyday (even when the punches can hurt a bit) ;-)

A Productive Day For Sure!!

I love days like today, getting to really get down and dirty helping people find more time in their day!

I'd like to quickly touch on something that came up this morning while returning some gifts to a large baby box store for a Client who just recently had an adorable baby boy.

My Client handed me a bag and said that she had received some gifts that she needed to return but didn't have the receipts. What's a new Mother to do right, ask the wonderful people who gave her the gifts for a receipt?

So I head out to the store to return the items and immediately get shut down by the Lady working at the counter, it went something like this:

Me: "Hi there I need to return these items"

Lady: "Do you have a receipt?"

Me: "No they were gifts"

Lady: "We don't accept returns without a receipt"

Me: "Well they were gifts, what am I supposed to do ask the people who gave the gifts for a receipt?"

Lady: "Um well I guess, we don't take returns without a receipt, we give gift receipts with every purchase"

Me: "Yes, I understand that but this doesn't make any sense, I can't just ask for the receipt"

Lady: "Well do you have a registry, if they were bought off the registry, we can take them back"

Me: "Yes but they were not off the registry that is why I am bringing them back, I didn't need them"

Lady: " Let me look up the registry"

Me: "Ok, but..?"

Lady: "I can't find you under a registry, so I can't do anything for you"

Me: "Ok, well I need to speak to the Manager then"

Lady: "Sure" (snotty voice)

wait, wait, wait......

Finally I walk over to the baby area and ask for the Manager. A guy comes out and we chat for a second, I explain the situation, he looks over the items and immediately says, "this is no problem, we will take it all back and give you store credit if that is ok with you"

Me: " Of course it is, I very much appreciate your help today"

I then get ushered over to the same lady where the Manager tells her to take everything back and assures me that she will take good care of me.

She does.

My Client is happy, I am happy and the Lady at the counter, well I am sure she is happy too.

Two lessons learned today:

1. Always give gift receipts when giving a gift, it is just the easy and right thing to do. It will save the gift receiver (or their Concierge) time and hassle.

2. Don't settle because you don't want to make a scene, just ask someone else. What is it going to hurt if two people tell you no? The odds are that you will get a yes from someone eventually ;-)

Enjoy your evening!

My first Blog, well hot damn!

I have been talking about this for a while now, this blogging thing, you know "everyone is doing it".
Here I am should have been in bed an hour ago but I am a small business owner (of two amazing businesses) so I am up working on billing, my marketing and well thought I better get my blog going.

This is exciting stuff, I mean I have high expectations for this blog, who knows, I could get a book deal, people following me, or even a movie out of this right? ;-)

First order of business is to explain my intentions for this blog. So here goes:

1. First and foremost to help busy people find more time in their day to deal with whatever it is that is holding them up by utilizing services like mine Coastsideconcierge.com or Coastsideweddingsandevents.com so that they can enjoy this amazing thing called life and spend time doing whatever it is that they love most.

2. Connecting people and businesses by connecting them to whatever it is they may be looking for or needing.

3. Get more exposure for my businesses by making sure I am on the cutting edge of both the event planning business and for the Concierge services on the Central Coast of California.

4. Hello book deal? That was a joke, well kind of.

So I promise to do my best to keep up my blog, make it interesting and try not to misspell words too often (thank God for spell check).
I appreciate anyone who wants to read this and keep up with the fun that is me, Karissa!