It's Your Day!

Yes, there are a lot of wedding professionals.  I am one of them. We are here to help you.  We don't want you to make costly or potentially embarassing mistakes on your big day.  We want to guide you.  We want your dreams to come true.  That being said, brides and grooms need to remember that it is YOUR day.  No one knows you better than you!  Make choices that are good for both of you, that represent who you are - not what someone might expect a wedding to be.  Listen to the advice of professionals and others, but always let your hearts guide you.  When you are trying to make a decision about some aspect of your wedding, close your eyes and try to imagine that detail in a photograph that you will look at 10 years from now.  How do you feel? Do you still love that detail?  If so, stick with it.  If not, change it!

Fear No Flower!!

I used to be afraid of flowers - afraid of them dying on my watch to be more specific.  That is until one fine day last fall, when I got over my fear (mostly).  The truth is, as beautiful as flowers are, they aren't as delicate as one might think - thank goodness because sometimes I feel like I have hands about as gentle as a gorilla!  Myself, my assistant and the florist: Accents by Sage, were staying in a hotel room together the night before a wedding.  As it was a destination wedding, boutineres, bouquets and kissing balls were assembled on sight.  This was a project that went on until the wee hours of the morning (3am), but was well worth it! Cheryl of Accents guided me through assembling a kissing ball!  And now I'm not nearly as fearful of flowers!!

Spicy Breath Mints & Bruises

I usually participate in 2 wedding shows per year.  This photo is from the Premier Wedding Show at Arden Hills.  By the time brides arrive, they see 2 wedding planners (myself & my assistant, Nicole) very put together - prim and proper even! What they didn't see was the 3 hours before the show began.  We had to unload and carry everything in that we used for decor; we then had to assemble everything,  from the chuppah to the decor.  This involved a lot of  climbing on a ladder, crawling around on the floor and lifting - all while in full makeup and trying not to sweat!
  The silver structure holding those beautiful flowers is something I dreamed up and my wonderful hubby brought to life - not without some complaing though!  Finally, it was time for the brides to arrive.  Nicole & I had changed clothes, touched up our makeup and were ready to go! But wait - how about making sure our breath is fresh?!?!?!  I grab my handy tool box, pull out some new mints and pop 2 in my mouth.  Fire.  Way too much pepermint going on here! As a result, Nicole spoke to our first few brides alone while I choked those mints down.  I'm sure I had super-fresh breath though!  We met so many amazing, creative brides at the show, it really was a lot of fun.  Two days after the show, I noticed that my legs were hurting; I looked down and couldn't believe how many bruises I had! Wedding planning is dangerous work - but it's the best!

Destination Wedding

 I had the privelage of planning and coordinating Dan & Elisa's renewal of vows which took place in September.  It was a full production and it was so beautiful!  The wedding and reception took place at Monterey Museum of Art at La Mirada in Monterey, California.  What started out as a cloudy day turned into an amazingly beautiful, sunny day.  Cheryl Sage of Accents by Sage, created spectacular flowers for both the ceremony and reception.  By the time Elisa walked down the aisle, there were only puffy white clouds in the sky.  The 175 guests in attendance enjoyed the delicious dinner created by A Taste of Elegance Catering & Events.  Annie, from A Taste of Elegance, was so helpful in the planning and execution of the wedding.  The catering staff and the staff from the venue were all super-professional and friendly.  It takes a great team to pull off a wedding with as many details as Dan & Elisa's.  After dinner, guests were  all invited out on the dance floor.

 Usually it takes a while for people to warm up and get their dancing shoes on - not this time. Elisa's son is a professional DJ, and along with two of his professional dj friends they had the crowd partying the whole time!  Almost every guest hit the dance floor as soon as the music started and they danced until the wedding was over.  It was a fun fabulous day.

Lesson #1: Makeup, Lockpicking & Hot Wiring (yes, that's right)

I am always prepared. On the day of a wedding I am up way earlier than I need to be, my hair and makeup are done, my car is packed. This changed after a wedding one hot summer day in 2008. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, everything was going as planned per my 4 page detailed timeline. This wedding didn't start until 5pm and we were running right on schedule. The ceremony and reception site were about 1/2 mile from each other and the reception site was open to the public until 5pm - which meant that myself and my assistant were on foot between the two sites during setup because driving a car would mean that I would have to be extra careful watching out for pedestrians!!
As the clock neared 3pm I anxiously waited for my rental trucks to arrive. At one minute after their scheduled delivery time, I began calling the after hours emergency line to find out where my trucks were. While waiting for a call back, I begin jogging around the venue searching for these trucks - this is not a small venue by the way (but what planner doesn't like to burn a few extra calories?). My phone rings, the after hours manager tells me that his drivers have arrived - dispatch has talked to them via radio about 20 minutes ago. They do not have cell phones. It is now 3:20 pm. 200 guests are due to arrive at 4:30pm. We finally find the trucks, they are 1/4 mile away from the ceremony site, parked down a side street that is blocked of and they are locked with no drivers in sight. I know they are locked because I tried to get into the cabs of each truck. Planners this is why I think we should all unite and get a lock-picking conference planned! Had I been able to get into the cab I would have needed to hot-wire the vehicle - planners, again I say a class would be great! Since I couldn't do this, I started yanking on the padlocks on the backs of the trucks. As luck would have it (at 3:45pm) the 3rd lock was not closed all they way. I and my assistant along with the florist and her assistant got 200 chairs off-loaded in increments of 25 (this is all that would fit in my SUV at one time) and driven over to the ceremony location. We would jump out of the car and then throw the chairs onto the lawn and drive back for more (7 times more to be exact). Thanks to the great bar staff that was setting up for post ceremony cocktails outside we had all 200 chairs setup by 425pm. It was 92 degrees that Saturday afternoon and I was literally drenched in sweat. My makeup had run completely off of my face. I no longer put my makeup on until after setup is complete. I actually build 10 minutes into every timeline for my makeup and hair. Planners what do you do for your hair and makeup?