Ryan's Birthday

This past weekend I celebrated my partner Ryan’s birthday and wanted to do something that was tailored specifically for him, so we went up to Santa Barbara and did a cooking class all day. We started at the fisherman’s market, then went to the farmer’s market, then the cheese shop and it was SO enjoyable. We had a great chef leading the class, Chef Laurence. You never know what you sign up for but we ended up having an AMAZING time cooking and enjoying ourselves. I gutted and beheaded a fish (incredibly gross) which resulted in me not even eating it after it was cooked, but everything else was great--the risotto, crab legs, sides, pear tart--all things that Ryan wanted to learn to make. The trip to Santa Barbara was amazing. The following day we went to Disneyland and got a chance to do all of the things Ryan enjoys doing there-saw the private Walt Disney suite, went on all the rides, but most importantly, had a fun four days, which is what birthdays should be. They shouldn’t be one day but should rather be a series of days that you celebrate and so I detached from work and had a really great time with Ryan and a really great four days off. Beautiful weather with the person that you love on their birthday is the best way to celebrate.

New Season! My Fair Wedding: Unveiled

September 8th at 9:00pm ET/8:00pm CT...Saturday night...I hope you’re ready for My Fair Wedding: Unveiled because it’s going to be a crazy, insane journey to get my brides from the moment I meet them to down the aisle. The thing about this season which I really, really love is that you’re seeing the unveiled side of me, the unveiled side of the process, the madness behind the magic which literally is my every day life. Things don’t go perfectly when planning a wedding. It’s true, the first five seasons of My Fair Wedding were a lot of magic, fairy dust and dreams coming true; while the dreams are still coming true this season, there are a lot of bumpy parts of the road that we’ve got to get through to get to the other GREAT side. You’re going to see brides that don’t agree with me, brides and grooms that don’t agree with one another, momzillas that really are challenging to deal with, sisters that are really not supportive to the bride, family members that really are just disgruntled, even groomsmen who want to do things they just shouldn’t do. And when I say shouldn’t do, I mean really shouldn’t do. The reality is I’m having a BLAST doing this season and loving every minute of it because it’s REAL. I’m loving every moment of it because I’m still delivering the incredible over-the-top weddings and getting a chance to know the brides and grooms in a completely different light. So I suggest that you get ready, pop your popcorn, sit down, turn on the TV and watch My Fair Wedding: Unveiled on Saturday, September 8th at 9pm ET/8pm CT on Wetv because it’s going to be a wild ride!

What should I do next?

I always listen to my fans because they support and guide me so I have a question for them...what should I do next? Should I have a different line of products, write a new book, do a new TV show? I’m curious and want to hear from you what a great direction would be for me to go in towards something that would benefit you and that you could use from my brand? I’ve been focusing on weddings and I’d love to know if you think I should focus on celebrations? Such as moving into social occasions for fashion, products for celebrations that you could use when putting together an event/party that is not a wedding or wedding related. But I want to know; tell me what you’re looking for, tell me what you need and what you want me to do. Comment below as I’d love to get some direction because I’m ready for my next project :)

You Catch More Flies with Honey than Vinegar

I was just having a conversation with someone the other day and was asking them, “Why can’t people just smile?” Why can’t people just be nice?” I was working on a big celebrity wedding in which the bride was soooo miserable and so angry that I just wanted to go up to her and say, “Aren’t you exhausted from being so mean?”

You know, it’s funny if you stop and look around when you’re doing your day to day things in life, people don’t say hi, people don’t say thank you or please, and it’s really alarming because when those little words are said, you think you’re getting this massive gift from somebody, when at the end of the day it should be expected that you do receive that from everybody. I do it; I say hello, thank you, I appreciate things. That phrase, “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” it’s true. You also do it with a smile and by just being kind. Can you imagine if everybody was kind? Things would be so much easier and enjoyable. Let’s just try it. Wouldn’t that be novel?

My Family Just Left Town

I always used to look at people who were saying goodbye to others at the airport and crying and I never really understood what was going on until just a couple days ago when I dropped off my mom, dad and niece Mia, 11 years old. We all started to cry because we just didn’t want to say goodbye to one another. It was a really great experience having them here in LA for eight days. Eight solid, full days of spending time with each other. Never once did any of us get tired of the other. I was looking so forward to it and not forward to them leaving. I thought after eight days that would obviously be enough time but it wasn’t. Spending time in the pool for hours, having my mom, dad and niece come to set to watch AND work as they were on the show, going to Disneyland, going to the Magic Castle, going to see Cirque du Soleil, going to some great restaurants, driving around town, hanging out at the house, keeping it simple but keeping it fun; it was literally pure joy. A person once said to me, “What brings you joy in life?” The answer is being with my family. I don’t have to do big over the top things. In fact, when I get invited to go to a red carpet event or some sceney place in Los Angeles or New York, I don’t really want to go. I’d rather be home, keeping it simple because that’s what brings me joy.

Guest Blogger: My 11 year old niece, Mia

Interviewed by my assistant, Renee: Renee: Will you introduce yourself? Mia: My name is Mia Grall and I'm David's niece. R: Where are you from? M: Port Chester, New York R: Is this your first time in LA? M: Yeah. R: What do you think so far? M: It's really fun. R: When did you get here? M: I got here on August 1st at 10 o'clock in the morning. R: And what have you been doing? M: We went to Disneyland a couple of days ago and it was REALLY fun! We got to go in Walt Disney's apartment and before that we went to Beverly Hills, walked around and had brunch. Today and a couple of days ago we went to my uncle's show and his set and then today, he took me to a surprise which was trampolines! R: What's been you favorite thing you've done so far? M: Probably Disneyland because it was so different than Disney World. I've been to Disney World a lot and it was really fun R: What was your favorite part about it? M: Probably going on California Screaming, having a tour guide and going on the Hollywood Tower. R: What'd you think of the Cirque du Soleil show you went to on Sunday? M: It was really fun and so different from the other Cirque show I went to a couple of years ago. It was totally different from the city theme...it was like Hollywood 40 years ago. R: You went to the Magic Castle too, right? What'd you think of that? M: That was really fun because I got to do a magic trick. R: What was the magic trick you did? M: We lifted up a huge table with our hands. R: Do you want to come back to LA? M: Yeah definitely. R: Do you think you might want to be a wedding planner like your uncle when you grow up? M: Probably, yeah. R: Have you always wanted to do that or did you decide that on this trip? M: I've always wanted to be that since I started watching his shows. R: Do you miss your uncle now that he lives in LA? M: Yeah, I saw him a lot more when he lived in NY. R: Well you'll have to come visit again soon! M: Yeah, hopefully!

Separate but not Equal

What do you do when there are two separate ideas for a wedding and both of them are great? Bride has an idea, groom has an idea and you’re in love with both concepts but you know both won’t work together. Do you abandon one and focus on the other? Do you try really hard to see if they can infuse together (which you know they won’t), or do you ask them to come up with a completely new idea all together that’s separate from the original ones they have? A consistent statement I always make is that you have to stay true to the story of the bride and groom, and the true story of the bride and groom is who they are as a couple which then has to portray into the vision and the concept and the style of the wedding. So, because a bride wants one thing and the groom wants another, this really is who they are. You have to embrace the situation, yet guide them at the same time. My job is to make sure that it comes off well without embarrassing them or me while making sure the guests are comfortable. So step back and look at it completely differently. Look at why you’ve picked the two choices. Maybe one of the ideas is great for the rehearsal party. Maybe the other idea is great for the wedding, or maybe one of the ideas is great for cocktails and then you change the look into the celebration for the other idea. Don’t bail out right away. Like me, investigate the situation. Ask questions to the bride and groom. Or if you are the bride and groom, ask why you picked what you picked, then find a way to make it happen and make sure it makes sense.