Why Hire A Wedding Planner?

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A wise woman once told me, “At your wedding you are the guest of honor, not the host” and that is exactly what I tell all my clients. Everyone is there for YOU and you are meant to enjoy every moment and not worry about what’s going on behind the scenes and how to assist your guests.

There seems to be a big misunderstanding that hiring a wedding planner will cost you a fortune. When in reality, a planner can save you a great deal of money in the long run. I know what you’re thinking...this girl must be crazy - but hear me out. Because we work daily with vendors in the area and have established relationships, we’re often able to get discounts on their services. We also know exactly which ones are reputable and able to fit well within your wedding budget. Most wedding planners also have a few different packages available for their clients. With this, you and your fiancé can pick and choose which services best apply to what you’re looking for, and what you’re able to afford. 

Planning a weddings takes time. In the United States the average time for an engagement is 15 months. Most venues book up around a year in advance (especially late spring-November if you live in an area with cold winter months.) If both you and your fiancé work full time jobs, planning a wedding can be challenging and eat into a huge chunk of your nights and weekends. Having someone handle these tasks for you can be a huge lifesaver. 

To Minimize Stress and Maximize Smiles. Chances are this is one of the biggest days of your life thus far and you deserve to enjoy every second of it. There are plenty of engaged couples out there who want to plan out their wedding all on their own, and that is perfectly fine! But, when it comes down to the actual day of, who wouldn’t want someone to come in and assure everything goes smoothly, allowing you to relax and live in the moment? Finding yourself a wedding planner to come in with a timeline for the day, confirm times with all of your vendors, and run the show behind the scenes is exactly what you need in this case. Like I mentioned earlier, you are the guest of honor, not the host. 

Style and Etiquette. There always seems to be questions when it comes to wedding etiquette. Not only will the planner be able to inform you on the correct way to handle things, but they’ll also be able to share a great amount of intel from working in the industry. Whether it’s the current fashion trends, how to work with a small budget and still have a beautiful wedding, advise and assistance with decor, or how to host 500+ people, a coordinator is who you need to turn to. 

We’re Fun. You’ll be spending a lot of time talking with your wedding coordinator, so it’s important to find one you click well with. Through this whole process I’ve become pretty good friends with several clients. Instead of leaving a million tasks for your maid of honor or your mother (both who likely have things to do of their own) you can leave those details in our hands. 

xx

kell  

Spring Weddings

 Ruffled Blog

 Brides.com

 Wedding Chicks

Style Me Pretty

Tulle And Chantilly

Tulle And Chantilly

Now that winter is almost at it’s tail end it’s time to start diving into some spring wedding tips and tricks. Prepare yourself for pastels and fresh flowers. As much as I LOVE outdoor wedding ceremonies, make sure you have a back up plan that involves indoors or a well secured tent/canopy. Whether we like it or not, spring weather can be very unpredictable hence the saying April showers bring May flowers. Incase it does downpour on your big day, don’t get discouraged. As long as you have a back up plan (which your wedding planner should assist with) you’ll be just fine. PLUS - I’ve seen some really cool wedding photos taken out in the rain for couples who are daring enough to go out for a few shots with their umbrellas. 

There are so many fun spring decor options to jazz up your ceremony and reception sites. A fun and simple DIY is to spray paint some wine bottles (I love gold and shimmery gold but you could also opt for a more pastel color for the spring) and stick some flowers in them. You could then place these at the entry table or as centerpieces. A fun DIY youtube tutorial will be coming soon on this, I promise! Stay tuned, loveys :)

xx,

kell

Cake Cake Cake Cake Cake….

Made From Scratch

Kivalo Photography

Erin Schrad Photography

Kerri Lynne Photography

Erica Obrien Cake Design

Hey Loveys! 

This post is all about wedding cake (obviously) and what types of questions you should be asking your baker. The average cake consists of three tiers and typically will serve anywhere from 125-150 people. Around six months out from your wedding is when you should be determining the style cake you want and start scheduling tastings. By the time four months prior hits you and your fiancé need to make sure you’ve selected and ordered this delicious wedding dessert. 

Note: It is now becoming more popular to serve cupcakes for couples who are not a huge fan of cake or have a lower budget. Great alternative :)

Questions You Should Be Asking:

> What size will be needed for (enter guest count)

> Will there be additional charges for delivery and set up?

> Does the cost include stands, columns or cake supporters?

> Will there be a cake cutting charge if the reception site doesn’t provide one? 

> What deposit is required and when is the final payment due?

> Will it be delivered in layers and then assembled onsite, or will it be delivered ready to go? Are there extra charges for assembly?

xx,

kell

How To Handle Controlling Parents

Totally get it, parents can complicate things when it comes to planning a wedding. I’ve had clients come to me specifically because their mother tries to control every aspect and put an opinion into everything, therefore, they need a middle man to control the situation. This becomes even more difficult to deal with when the parents happen to be funding the wedding. Although it is a big deal to see their child tie the knot, it’s YOUR wedding day and YOUR vision is what matters most. It’s my job to remind the parents of this. One thing I suggest to clients is to think about what is most important to you when envision your big day. You could even make a list - most important to least important - and stick true to the things you know mean the most to you, and let your parents feel needed by allowing them to help with the other things lower down on the list. 

Other complicated situations can arise when dividing up the budget between divorced parents. If one set isn’t as financially stable, often times the more capable parent may agree to pay a greater share. Other times it may just be up to the bride and groom to dig into their savings to help assist with the overall cost. BE SURE to tell both sets of parents at the same time with equal enthusiasm! This is so important. By no means do you want to start the process of planning off on the wrong foot by making one parent feel belittled. 

Overall, try not to upset them. This is a big day for them as well. But on the same token, this is likely the biggest day of your life thus far and your wants need to be the first priority. Don’t lose sight of that.

xx

kell  

Everything Etsy

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I could go on and on about my love for Etsy but I’ll keep this one short and sweet. This is the perfect site to explore around on when you want to add your own flare to your big day. Not to mention, a cheaper alternative in most cases when it comes to decor. From save the dates, to customized wedding invitations, guest books, cake toppers, centerpieces, this website/app really does have it all. How cute is that table number? All you’d need to buy separately are a few frames to go with it and you’d be all set. 

I linked all of the above photos to their Etsy pages below the picture. Off to the side on the page you will be able to find similar options, or feel free to to browse the hundreds of pages under each category. Warning: it gets’s quite addictive so approach with caution ;)

PS. A future post is coming about Etsy engagement rings, I promise! 

xx

kell

The Dress

Eloise Dress

http://www.annacampbell.com.au/dresses/forever-entwined/eloise

Hayley Paige Collection 

http://www.jlmcouture.com/Hayley-Paige

Olga Bardina

Sophia Tolli Collection

http://moncheribridals.com/collections/wedding-dresses/sophia-tolli/

Once determining the official budget, the dress needs to be one of the first things a bride needs to think about. A good wedding planner should know the local bridal shops and when the best times to shop there are. Talk with them about this. (A lot of bridal stores have sales with their after-season discounted dresses. If you’re on a tight budget, knowing this will come in handy big time). Buy a few bridal magazines, binge on Pinterest for a few hours, and determine the style(s) you love the most before stepping foot in the shop and this will save you loads of time. 

A few tips when purchasing the dress:

• ALWAYS order too big opposed to too small if it comes down to it. The dress can always be altered. DO NOT rely on losing a certain amount of weight in order to squeeze into your dream dress. 
• Unless you’re leaving the store with the dress in hand that day, do not pay full price. Put down the smallest retainer/deposit acceptable (usually this is 50%)
• Once you’ve found the dress for you be sure to leave the store with a copy of all the details promised (style, dress size, color, amount deposed, promised due date, alterations needed, etc.)
• Know what works best with both your complexion and coloring. Redheads and blondes with fair skin tend to look best in silk whites or white with an undertone of coral. Those with a darker complexion typically look best in a bright white.

xx

kell  

Welcome To The Blog

Hey everyone! Welcome to the blog :) 

First of all, Happy New Year! I cant tell you how excited I am for this. I’ve been working on both the website and the blog months now and it’s a great feeling to finally be able release it to the public. My website will provide an outline for my wedding planning business and the package deals I provide. Here, you’ll find a deeper look at my life and what all goes on behind the scenes. 

This blog will showcase some of my wonderful clients, their love stories and how together we created their dream wedding. It will also have DIY tutorials for wedding decor, make-up and skin care tutorials for the bride to be, dating and relationship advise, as well as tips and tricks I’ve learned throughout this whole process. 

I will be posting something new every Wednesday. So if you’re anything like me you may want to go grab a glass of wine, a notepad to jot a few tips down, sit back, relax, and stay awhile. I can’t wait to share this experience with all of you. Cheers!

xx

kell