Remember this is your wedding!

I was given the link to a good article in the NY Times, entitled Taming the Runaway Wedding Planner. I enjoyed reading the article and found a few points for those of you who may be looking to hire a wedding planner.

• My fav quote was "...find a planner who wants to put together your wedding, not theirs". My number one responsibility as an event planner is to plan the event my client is requesting. I'm not planning my wedding or my party, I'm planning the wedding my client has been dreaming about since they were a little girl. If I am not fond of the color palette, so what? Like I always say remember this is your wedding.
• "Good planners should pay for themselves." With the average cost of a wedding being almost $28,000, a great deal of care should go into selecting vendors and making arrangements. That includes wedding planners. When you are investing that much money into an event it is imperative to have someone there to ensure that your $28,000 is spent with vendors that are trustworthy and professional. At the end of your wedding reception when you're on your way to your honeymoon reflecting on your beautiful nuptials, you should feel that hiring your wedding planner was the best money you've ever spent.
• "We just didn't connect with our planner on any level". Planning a wedding takes a lot of long hours and a lot of those hours will be spent working with your planner. You don't want to work with someone that you can not get along with. You want your wedding to be a pleasurable experience and so should the planning process (which is the reason you hired the planner anyway). I know you want to know how many weddings they've done or how many vendors they are connected to, but most importantly you need to know that you can work together.

Choose your wedding planner wisely and make sure they are capable of making your day exactly as you've envisioned it!

Neicy & Troy

Time is going by so fast! It seems like just yesterday I was discussing Neicy's vision for her wedding over a Starbuck's Caramel Machiatto. Neicy has been a pleasure to get to know and I can't wait to get her and Troy down the aisle. I have spent so much time with Neicy and it's great to work side by side with a bride who is so detailed. Troy has left the wedding planning to us, but he did show up to the most important meeting...the cake tasting. Their wedding is set for August 11th, less than 2 months away! I hope they are ready. Posted are engagement photos taken by Amanda Pryde.

Can You Dig It?

This week so far has been a really busy one for me and also an exciting one! My husband and I are the coordinators for our annual Vacation Bible School at church (University Church of Christ). I have been having a great time hosting games like Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Jeopardy and teaching classes. The joy of it all is seeing how much the kids enjoy it. We will conclude our week of VBS events with a fabulous picnic on Saturday. So if you're in the University area this week stop by from 7:00-9:00 for some great fun!!

Daughterzilla!! Poor Anita!

All I can say is OMG! If you saw Bridezilla last night then you'd know exactly what I'm talking about. Just in case you missed it, Anita's ( who is supposed to be the Bridezilla) daughter and sister practically cause this poor woman to have a break down. Not only did they break her down to tears, her groom stands her up at the altar. Yes, this actually happened in real life. I was watching thinking this is awful and it actually happened to someone. If you are a current bride, do not and I repeat do not allow family members, friends, or anyone for that matter ruin the event you've been planning. Remember, the day is about you and your groom... and that's it!

Trash your dress?

Trash the dress? Have you heard about it? Well if you haven't, take a look at the site. I believe you will be truly impressed. This phenomomen is definitely one of the newest wedding trends out being recently featured on Good Morning America, NPR and the New York Times . I know this may not be everyone's thing, but if you're not thinking about saving your wedding gown for your daughter, why not get some great photos out of it. I'm curious to know what the ladies think about this in The Carolinas. Would you do it?

If only I could have a wedding do-over!

Well you know there are no do-overs on your wedding day, so that's why couples spend so much time planning and obsessing over every detail. I got married five years ago and I can honestly say I was a nonchalant bride. Not really concerned about the details of my flowers, what the food tastes like (because how bad could it be) or how good the photographer was. I just wanted to get married. Now fast forward five years... boy do I know better! I wish I would've known "better" back then!

If I could do it again:

Redo #1: I would've given more input on the design of my bridal bouquet. It was a silk bouquet (due to our budget) but that wasn't the problem, it was all white. It just blended right into my stark white gown. I look back at my photos now and I can't even see it. Your bridal bouquet is what you'll see on all of you pictures. It's attached to you for the entire day. Spend time on making sure it is as beautiful as you will be.

Redo #2: It is imperative that you hire a DJ/musician that can actually play the music you request. Sounds pretty simple right? Well my DJ played everything on our do not play list. We asked for no rap and as soon as the dancing began he played a rap song. My coordinator had to tell him more than once to change the music selection. What a nightmare that was! Well he did get our first dance song right.

Redo #3: Our biggest mistake of our entire event was our photographer. If anyone tells you that your photographer doesn't matter, ignore them. I didn't think it would matter. Our photographer had a portfolio and her pictures looked nice, but I was in such a rush I only interviewed one photographer. Big mistake. Had I checked around I would've realized her pictures were less than desirable. Your pictures stay with your forever and years down the road you want to be able to relive every moment through your photos. Choose wisely.

On a side note, our wedding cake was beautiful, I had a cooperative wedding party and my wedding coordinator was great. Having Ms. Leola there to coordinate and decorate my event was the best decision we made. Our wedding wasn't a disaster, but because I plan events now there are few things that just make me cringe when I think about it. Remember take your time and plan your event. Trust me you'll be happy that you obsessed over all of the little details.

Your Love Story

Instead of chocolates as a wedding favor why not give your guests a copy of your own personal love story. I have found the cutest way to share your love story with your guests at your wedding. After 20 years of being a journalist writing in newspapers and magazines, Ellen Braustein writes about ordinary people and their extraordinary love stories. Her company is called Courtship Stories based in Redlands, California. Ellen interviews each couple to learn about how they fell in love from how they met, to how he popped the question. After it's all said and done the finished product is made into your own booklet for you to share with your guests. Take a look at her gallery for all of the details and samples of her beautiful work.

The Luke Pier Foundation

On yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure to meet the wonderful Pier Family, whose son Luke suffers from Marfan Syndrome, a disorder of connective tissue that can effect the cardiovascular system, skeletal system and the ocular system. It is very important that people with Marfan Syndrome get treatment, if not, heart problems can cause sudden death.

I along with a number of other Charlotte event professionals will be assisting the Luke Pier Foundation with a major fundraising campaign to raise funds for a much needed surgery for Luke Pier. Luke is a handsome 13 year old with a beautiful smile and a great love for playing baseball and we must help him!!!

In October, The Luke Pier Softball Challenge will be the first event of the year. The fundraising goal for this event is $25,000. So, if you are a athlete, wannabe athlete or just want to support a worthy cause please assist us with our fundraising efforts for Luke. If you are interested in putting a team together to play in the softball game or if you'd like to provide a donation, please feel free to contact me via email at info@sjbweddingsandevents. Please keep checking back for more details about the Softball Challenge.

Bridezilla Anyone?

Yes, Bridezilla, the hit TV show on the WE Channel is back again! I can't say I'm that excited to see it but, I just have to watch it. I find it so unbelievable that people act so awful toward the people that they consider to be important to them. Because think about it, they treat their friends, which are often their bridesmaids, their family, and their future husbands like trash.

It's very important to remember that although your wedding is the most important day of your life, it doesn't give you the right to treat your friends and family with anything less than respect. There is one thing that I've noticed from watching the shows, the brides never have a planner which is probably the reason why they are so ridiculously stressed out.

If you're getting married and you feel that Bridezilla is about to bite you on your neck, here are a couple of things to think about. It may help!

1) Get organized. Whether you enlist the help of a professional to help you with your day or you get your aunt to assist you, you have to have it together. Planning your wedding takes a lot of time and if you're organized it makes your life a lot easier.

2) Understand that although this is probably going to be the most memorable day of your life, this is the beginning of your life as a married couple. Make your wedding day beautiful and memorable, but remember it's just the event before the BIG EVENT, your marriage! Remember, he wants to enjoy the day also. It is his day too!

(One last one, I said a few although I could probably make a list of 20 things! )

3) A lot of times your friends come from near and far and they spend a lot of money to stand next to you while you say "I do". Make them feel appreciated. Believe me, this may be the last time for awhile that you'll get together with all of your close girlfriends again. (I haven't been in the same room with all of mine since my wedding 5 years ago.)

Enjoy planning your wedding! Remember your wedding only lasts for one day, try to make it a beautiful memory for everyone!!