Tales of a Wedding Planner

Summer

2011-08-07T15:16:00.003-05:00

How is it already August? I am in pure denial of how quickly this season is flying by. Summer is always my busy time - between my "real job" being in the hospitality industry and continuing to coordinate weddings, it just always happens that June - September go so quickly that I'm left wondering HOW that happened!

I had decided that for 2011 I was not going to take on any weddings for May. Our calendars were already pretty full with other commitments so I took the plunge and regretfully turned away numerous brides for that month. But I think I managed to make up for it in June, July and August. Busy, busy, busy! So many neat weddings this summer too. I really do have a bunch of creative gals on my client list this year. In fact, one bride is such a creative and amazingly talented graphic designer, that I can't wait to connect with her and use her as a vendor. It's true - you just never know who you are going to meet doing this job. I love that part!

The summer has been full of a lot of variety. Outdoor weddings, cocktail hour cruises, backyard ceremonies, traditional and non-traditional elements, black and white classic elegance and over the top color! I really do like when it gets mixed up like this - it's so much more fun to see new things every weekend. I remember a few years ago when brown and pink were THE color scheme for weddings and I literally had SIX brown and pink weddings in a row. I never wanted to see another brown dress or pink sash for as long as I lived. :) However, now that I've had a break from it, I'd love to see it come back. Just once.

Three more weddings this month and then a slight break in September with only two. I took another break from weddings in October because I have so much going on. That will be a tough one, because October is one of my favorite wedding months. But I will be busy watching one of my best friends get married along with a whole slew of other fun things.

I will also be busy with planning two weddings for 2012 and I can't wait! Although I tell myself I never want to do full planning full time, I often times get so wrapped up into it that I think "well, maybe..." So, we'll see what the next year brings for these weddings. Both brides (and their moms!) are just such great people and very eager for someone else to take over the planning process.

I guess this has turned into the one post of the Summer. I'll see if I can get another one up before August is over. :) For now though, I am off to the races to button up details for an August 27 wedding. I see an afternoon and evening full of timeline creating, vendor confirming, and too many emails to count.

Spring is in the Air

2011-04-17T21:02:00.003-05:00

No, the Wisconsin weather is certainly not forecasting Spring of any sort this year (it snowed yesterday!), but weddings are in full swing and my desk is swimming with folders of summer weddings that are coming up in just a few short months.

Today was that day that I can practically predict every year. A light bulb moment occurs that there are ONLY 60 days until the summer weddings officially begin and oh my gosh, I have so much to do, and oh my gosh, I haven't emailed my June brides yet, and oh my gosh, where is that July bride's folder and so forth. So, I took that annual walk into my office, sat down at my desk, looked at the mess, and promptly walked away. :) It will be there tomorrow too.

I did a wedding recently that may have been one of the boldest and brightest that I have ever done. I'm typically the wedding planner that loooooves subdued colors, black & white classic elegance, an array of tans/ecru/khaki with a punch of color and not usually the one that loves big bright colors that much. But...this bride did BRIGHT SO RIGHT! I have to upload pictures yet, but when I do you'll most likely agree that the only way to bring together mango, pink, golden/orange tones and an accent of charcoal is the way she did it. It screamed Spring which is what I liked about it, but it also was just so full of fun and had a "let's party" vibe to it.

I opted to not take on any weddings this May, which is unfortunate since it's such a great month to do weddings in. However, May has become a busy month now with very few weekends available to fill with weddings. Last year, I managed to still take on two weddings during May - I promptly came home from that last May wedding and marked my calendar as "busy" for May 2011. I'm good at balancing, but not that good.

Congrats to the Spring Brides!

It's All in the Details

2010-12-14T22:03:00.003-06:00

Event planners have a lot of pet peeves. A LOT. We're perfectionists to a certain degree so when we walk into a venue we are automatically "on" and evaluating everything. Even when it's not our event. So, when you are setting up your own event or helping out a friend or relative, keep in mind that you are bringing their vision to life and every little detail matters.

1. Table numbers should face the entrance of the room. If one is to the left of the centerpiece, then they all should be.

2. Favors should not just be thrown on a table in a heap. Take the time to arrange them nicely. Or if they are at each place setting, be sure they are all placed the same way.

3. Chair covers and ties only look nice when they are put on the right way, hugging the chair with no metal legs showing and with the ties all tied nicely. There is no room for sloppy in this area as often times these details *make* the room.

4. Escort Cards (place cards) - It's amazing how many people don't alphabetize these. Be sure the table that these are placed on is in an area that is suitable to the number of people that will be gathered around it looking for their name. There is nothing worse than a cramped place card table 10 minutes before dinner is supposed to start.

5. Lighting of candles. If a wedding is using a lot of the small votive candles, do not light them too early. These candles do not last very long and often times they are lit so early that they are extinguishing themselves just as salads are placed in front of guests. There went that vision!

6. Coat closet. It's something that everyone forgets about and while it's not typically a coordinator's job to oversee it, I always make sure that I take a peek in there during the winter months to ensure that there are enough hangers and no trip hazards. It is amazing how often a coat closet will have a couple dozen hangers for a group of 150. Notify someone at the venue and they'll be sure to thank you for bringing this to their attention!

A wedding photography giveaway

2010-10-30T10:15:00.002-05:00

Vendors in the industry are always letting us wedding planners know about their latest & greatest things they have going on. This one is too good to pass up for all you bride-to-be's out there!

Andy Stenz Photography and Jamie M Swanson Photography, both Wisconsin photographers, have teamed up once again for their spirited annual contest. You can check out the details here to enter! I'd be tickled if a reader of my blog won it. Good luck!

http://andystenz.com/weddings/2011-free-wedding-photography-giveaway/10/2010/

What Makes a Great Wedding?

2010-10-24T20:09:00.003-05:00

Someone asked me this question over the weekend and I must have really raised an eyebrow or something, because the person went on to say she really just wanted to have the BEST wedding possible and how do you go about getting it?

I'm honest with my clients. Probably a little too honest sometimes. Those former clients reading this are most likely nodding their heads up and down feverishly. :)

A great wedding is what YOU make it. It's not about how much money you spend, it's not about your location, it's not about having 400 of your "closest" friends in attendance. It's simply about designing your wedding to be a reflection of who both of you individually, and together as a couple, are.

Don't try to copy someone's dream wedding you witnessed. Take the pieces from it that you liked and make them your own.

I also always try to really dig deep with my clients - are we talking about the actual wedding or the reception? More often than not the wedding part of the day gets lost in all the planning. Why not put just as much effort into making that part of your day just as beautiful, just as meaningful, just as dreamy as the reception part? After all, it's the wedding ceremony part of your day that is the reason behind the big party anyway.

So, yes. When my clients drag out their five inch wedding binder that they've been putting together since high school, I gently close it and say "Let's talk about YOU before we even open up this book."

I'm excited right along with them, but I just want to try to draw out some other elements that may not have been considered yet.

So, what makes a great wedding? Every single thing that you, the couple, has put into it. It's as simple as that.

New website!

2010-10-16T12:54:00.003-05:00

It's time to unveil the fresh new design of the Dreams & Designs website. Since there's no sound on this blog, go ahead and do your own drumroll...I'll wait. {{{{drumroll, please!!}}}}

I present you with www.dreams-designs.com . All of the same information you expect from Dreams & Designs, but with a new and improved look. It is tailored much better to my own personal self and what I believe the company represents. The old website was soooo 2005. :)

A huge thank you to Keara Harris Designs who put it together. I highly recommend their work - quick, efficient, works well through email and needs minimal direction. Which, when you're technologically and website challenged as I am, is so important.

Thank you all!

Special Savings

2009-11-28T21:05:00.003-06:00

If you are getting married anytime between January 2010 and March 2010, you are in for a great post holiday gift from Dreams & Designs!

Please contact me to talk about your wedding day setup and coordination needs and inquire about $50 off services.

*This special does not apply to weddings already booked. This special is subject to change and is based on availability.

Winter Weddings 2010

2009-11-28T11:34:00.002-06:00

Surprisingly, winter weddings for 2010 are not nearly as busy as 2009. Which makes me sad...I love winter weddings! Probably more so than your typical planner. There's just something about the sunshine on the snow as a backdrop, the early evening dusk and the faux furs that so many brides wear now. There's an element of class that I can never quite explain to people. Of course, the weather is always unpredictable, but here in WI, when isn't it?!

I'm hoping some last minute planning needs has my email inbox filling up because right now I just don't have my winter fill!

Stay tuned for a FUN and unique wedding that I'm setting up a week from today. It is sure to raise some eyebrows...in a good way! The reception is being held at Cuvee, located in the Historic Third Ward of Milwaukee. It is a fabulous space with some quirky areas to work with, but this bride has it all figured out. I can't wait to see it all come together!

I hope everyone is enjoying an extended holiday weekend and giving Thanks for all that you are fortunate to have. It has been quite a year for Dreams & Designs and I'm excited to see what the upcoming year has in store.

Finally. A Post.

2009-10-04T12:11:00.004-05:00

MIA. Again. Don't ask, I'm not sure where the time goes or why on earth I can't manage to post to my blog, but can spend endless hours doing nothing on Facebook. Yes, I'm that girl. I'll admit it.

It's October. Which means, it is high season for Weddings in Wisconsin. So many people are surprised that this is the second most popular month to get married in Wisconsin (behind June), but it all makes sense. The colors are in the process of changing, the weather is (supposed to be) nice, you're pretty much guaranteed to not sweat in your gown at 100 degrees nor are you most likely not going to get caught in a blizzard. But yet every year, those last minute inquiries come in for Day of Coordination a month before October and brides are SO surprised that someone else is getting married on THEIR wedding day and that I'm already booked. If you want a coordinator for October, I would suggest jumping on it a year in advance.

Two weekends ago, I had the great pleasure of doing a wedding at the Delafield Hotel. It really is a gorgeous location, overlooking much of the quaint town. Waukesha Floral outdid themselves with this event also. It was a magical blend of white flowers that towered over half the tables. So pretty. The only sore spot was that the venue booked back to back events so there was literally an hour or so to get this room broken down and set up for the wedding. It always makes me nervous, but it always gets done.

This coming weekend is going to be FAB.U.LOUS. Amanda & Charley are getting hitched. They are one of the most awesome couples ever. I have helped them for the past year or more (I can't believe it's been that long!) and I honestly can't even believe that it's already here. They will be saying their vows in their backyard overlooking Lake Michigan on a deck that Charley built. Then they will be off to the Villa Filomena downtown Milwaukee for a unique reception with stations and an array of seating arrangements. Think cocktail reception and not sit down dinner. Saz's will be catering so its guaranteed to be good. I'm in the middle of finalizing all of their details today and hope to have every single vendor confirmed by tomorrow. This is always crunch time. But with amazing vendors on board for this event, there's not much to have to worry about. Such a nice feeling!

Stay tuned for a recap of this wedding for sure! I promise!

Oh, one more thing. A wedding that I did was featured on Style Me Pretty. Check it out. I did all of their setup and I must say that Jeremy Lawson captured it perfectly!

And one other thing! Profile Magazine is talking with me to do a feature editorial on Dreams & Designs. So much fun!

New Logo

2009-04-19T22:16:00.003-05:00

Yes, I've been MIA.....again. But I have good explanations. An explanation that came in a 5lb package with 10 perfect fingers and 10 perfect toes. Forgive me now?

For now....Dreams & Designs is revamping it's image. More hip, more edgy, more something. A new logo was the start and thanks to Keara Harris Designs, I had a tough time choosing with all the awesome designs she came up with. But this one was the winner. I'm in the process of editing my contracts, info sheets, collateral right now and eventually the website will get a major facelift. A facelift that has been needed for a very long time now. But I'm trying to find the most economical way to have it done and would like to give the job to someone local as well.

It's late and for the first time, I'm typing a blog post with an infant in my arms, so you'll have to be patient and wait for the next post in the days to come. It's the tipoff to wedding season afterall so there is plenty to write about!

My Little Secret

2008-12-21T13:44:00.002-06:00

Not that I don't have enough going on in my life right now, but I do have a tiny little secret that I'm ready to reveal. I've only tossed this around with my mother, and whimsically at best.

I'm thinking......of.......writing a book. With a lot of help of course. Because, well, I don't write. I love to write (ask every single teacher I have ever had) and used to be really good at it, but now? Eh...not so much. I'm 31 and gave up on my writing dreams and ambitions a good 13 years ago.

However, I have stories. LOTS of great stories. Wedding stories of course! And who doesn't like to read about weddings? Especially the nitty gritty behind the scenes tales. Everyone loves a good train wreck.

Now, I fully realize that the plethora of wedding books and guides are out there for the masses to consume. So, I need an angle that's different. I think I might have it, but I can't blow that little secret here of course.

My other dilemma is that it's probably not the smartest career move to be telling tales of weddings past when I'm still fully engaged in my business. As I've said before, I've had some crazies where the stories are miles long, but for the most part I've had the BEST brides ever. I mean that. To this day some of them have turned into true friendships for which I am going to be forever grateful. However, even the best of the best have some stories involved! Actually, my friend Stacey who started out as one of my Fall 2007 brides probably has some of the best stories ever of her wedding planning days and the big day itself. But what if you weren't my friend and you found a story in a book that was clearly about your wedding day (names withheld of course)? How would you feel? Maybe I have too much compassion in me or something, but it's the only thing holding me back. I don't want to hurt feelings. The business side of it is obvious too....who wants to hire the wedding planner that writes a book about you?

So, weigh in. What do you think? Perhaps I start tackling this monster project and just see where it goes. It's not like a book can be written in a short amount of time. It will be a long process at best and due to the angle I think I want to aim for, it may take even longer.

Dreams. Ambitions. Goals. I'm surprised sometimes that my DNA doesn't just explode from some of my attempts.

Economic Crisis or Coincidence?

2008-12-13T14:25:00.002-06:00

Alright my fellow Wedding Planners...have you been hit by the economic crunch?

I have.

But perhaps not in the way you would think. Inquiries are still coming in and I suspect that they will be heavy as usual as Christmas and New Year's and Valentine's proposals come in flurries over the next few months. Brides and grooms alike are still booking services for as far out as 2011!

However, I'm not getting paid. No, I haven't become a non-profit Wedding Planner or anything like that. I have had a very relaxed payment process with my clients. Half down is required to reserve their date and choice of services. The other half is due on or before the wedding date. I would say 90% of my clients choose to pay the day of. Until recently. The wedding date comes and goes and I get no payment. Which means I show up, do all of the required work, and leave without receiving the other half of the payment. Now, sometimes the check shows up in my mailbox immediately following because they either forgot the day of (understandably) or things were just too crazy busy to collect the payment. Other times once a week rolls by I send an invoice and typically I am paid right away.

Not these days. Right now I have 4 clients with outstanding balances for weddings I have already serviced. One of which is almost $500. All in all this Wedding Planner is missing out on $1000 worth of payments right now. That is not a comfortable place to be and a place that I have never been before. I have offered payment plans, made collection calls, sent multiple invoices that now include late fees...you name it.

So, coincidence with the economy or just pure dumb luck? Either way, my contracts now require that second half of the payment due within 3 business days of the event. It's not something I ever wanted to do, but unfortunately, that is what it has come to. I've talked to other wedding vendors and I know of 2 photographers and 3 DJ's that are waiting on much more money than I am. So, I am not alone, but it is just sad.

Brides & Grooms...if you know you aren't going to be able to pay your wedding vendors on the day of your wedding, please let us know. I'm sure most of us will be willing to work out a payment plan so that you can have the day you dreamed of. But trying to scam us, not returning our calls, and lying to us is not the way to get it done. It will more than likely end up in a collections or a small claims suit. That's not the type of reminder you want for your special day!

With that, I'm off to send more invoices and pray to the Wedding Vendor Gods.

I Moved

2008-11-18T22:40:00.002-06:00

Just to another home, but moving is tough! I bought a house in the perfect neighborhood. The house is far from perfect, but slowly but surely I intend to make it my own little world of home perfection. I guess I should get unpacked and organized first.

My wedding business is officed out of my home. It just doesn't pay for me to have overhead by leasing out an actual off-site office and this decision to be home-based has never affected my business. So, it remains. However....I almost feel like I moved two different things. My home and my work. My work is still boxed up though. I did manage to con my brother into putting together my desk for me and arranging it exactly where I wanted it in my office. That part is done! My part though? The part that includes unpacking multiple wedding client folders, calendars, binders, etc? That's not exactly even started. I keep justifying it by saying "I don't have any more weddings this month so nothing is too pertinent." Wrong. It's ALL pertinent! Now! I've given myself a deadline of Sunday night to at least get organized in this new fancy office of mine. And by organized, let me just clarify that to me that means unpacked and a desk in order. I'll cut myself some slack for getting pictures hung. :)

Here's to a brand new office that is HUGE and has convinced me already that I will be the Wedding Planner Extraordinaire. All due to the office of course.

A Comedy of...Errors?

2008-11-09T07:53:00.002-06:00

Or something like that. More like mishaps I suppose. Yesterday's wedding started out just like any other. A bride and a groom both getting ready with their respective parties, photographers taking pre-pictures, guests beginning to arrive, a Mother of the Groom suddenly ripping her dress so badly at home it needs major repair....you know, just another wedding day!

That's right, only a half hour before the ceremony was to begin there was a frantic, crying Mother of the Groom trying to figure out what to do with her dress. All we knew at the church was she was going to be late. And in terms of the ceremony, that meant starting a half hour late. Surprisingly, no one freaked out too badly....except the Priest. When I knocked on his door to inform him of the delay, his reply was: "Hmmm....well, I need to be at the nursing home at 2 so I don't know how this is going to work." To which my reply was: "We're going to start at 1:30 instead of 1, that's how this is going to work. We're not having a wedding without his mom."

He agreed (of course! There's NO other option) and then made his way to the altar to make the announcement to the guests that there had been a wardrobe malfunction. No really, people. We're serious. Laughter followed by groans followed by a mass exodus so people could smoke outside, let their kids run around, and just stretch their legs for a half hour.

Mom did show up dress in tact and looked gorgeous. We started the ceremony, everyone is down the aisle and it's Bride's turn! My favorite time of any ceremony of course. I fluff her dress, position her flowers, give her and Dad a pep talk and they're off! It was a windy aisle in order to get to the main aisle and as she walked down the second part of the aisle, she stopped. STOPPED! What?!?! I look on and I see she is looking at her train. I make a mad dash over to her and sure enough, her train has gotten stuck (and slightly ripped) on part of the wall. I get her unhooked, fluff her dress again and this time she made it all the way to her waiting groom.

I couldn't stay for the ceremony as I had lots of work to do over at the reception site. Let me just say this....I have done many events at this venue, which will remain unnamed. It never fails that it is just shy of a disaster. Staff arrives late, they never have all of the information, they book back to back events leaving no time at all for setup, etc. Below is the list of what I got to deal with yesterday:

1. No chairs at the tables upon arrival
2. An event going on in part of the ballroom so all of the tables were smooshed into one area for the time being.
3. Event next door didn't get over until 30 minutes prior to the start of this wedding
4. Once the staff arrived, they were under direction to set each table for 10 guests. NO! Each table was to be set for the exact number of guests that the Bride had arranged for. I didn't get my way on this and each table ended up being 10-tops. Whatever.
5. Awkwardly shaped oval tables with 10 guests just don't make sense. Can we say elbow to elbow?!?!
6. Even though I arrived 3 hours before the start of the reception, I literally had about 90 minutes to get everything done due to them not being set up yet.
7. As guests arrived, setup by the staff was still being completed. WRONG! Guests should NEVER see this. It's like the cardinal rule of banquets.
8. The event taking place prior to the wedding included a lot of kids. Who thought it was fun to play with the placecard table I painstakingly set up. I say painstakingly, because I took a lot of time creating a very unique design with the cards...all 250 of them.
9. Let's not forget about the four sets of people that walked into the ballroom while I was setting up and wanted answers about the venue. After explaining that I am the Wedding Planner and not a representative of the venue, they want to talk to me even more. Which florist do I like best? How would I set this room for only 100 guests? Buffet or sitdown or stations? And on and on. I politely excused myself from each group after a couple questions, but one group (with an entourage of 8 women along) said "Oh, we'll just follow you around while you do your thing. We really need help with this wedding." Ummm.....then ask me for my card and pay for my services. I'm on a job here, people! I'm happy to help, I give out referrals ALL the time and never charge for it, but this was crazy. Indeed, they followed me from table to table as I completed my setup. Apparently, I need to get better at acting frustrated because they clearly didn't get the hint.

So, that's about it. It of course ended up fine. It always does. But it was touch and go there for a while. I also plan on meeting with the Events Manager at this venue to let him know that this is just plain old bad business practice to continue holding events like this.

But the happy couple is on their way to warmer lands tomorrow for a nice relaxing honeymoon with all wedding details and planning out of their mind forever. Such a great feeling!

Congrats Stephanie & Jason. You guys were awesome!

MIA

2008-11-06T19:47:00.002-06:00

Most definitely it has been too long! I have no excuses, but I do have explanations. Unfortunately, they are not for the public blogging world to know about. Sorry everyone! Rest assured though that I am alive and well and still very much a Wedding Planner. I did take the month of October off though, which had been arranged since last Fall. See how the life of a Wedding Planner works?....you have to take time off a year in advance. Crazy.

November is here though and that means it's time for winter wedding season. It always amazes me every year how more and more couples are choosing winter in Wisconsin for their season of marriage. It's beautiful though, well most times anyway. The beautiful photo ops with snow falling in the background is reason enough! Oh, and the once in a lifetime chance to buy a faux fur wrap of course. :)

Saturday's wedding has Stephanie & Jason tieing the knot in a full Catholic Mass followed by a reception for well over 200 guests. She's put a lot of work into the details of her wedding so it will be fun to bring it all together. She's also the bride that says "Danica, just do what you need to do, I don't care." Ahhhh....a dream. She's detailed in her notes, but is open to working with what we're given once we're on location. Let's face it, vendors often arrive on site and have to make some quick changes in order to pull off the look and feel of what the bride desires. But it always works and that's the fun part.

Now, for the weather on Saturday. Stephanie is convinced it's going to rain. It rains for all her special occasions. In fact, Wisconsin had very bad rainstorms with flooding and all for her 30th birthday. So, she's prepared for rain and I gave her the idea of using large umbrellas for some very memorable pictures. But....my trusty weatherman Mark Baden says it's probably snow we're getting this weekend. I'm not sure I'm ready to be tromping around in snow this weekend, but no matter what it will be a great day for this couple.

When Hiring a Day of Wedding Coordinator

2008-07-20T18:08:00.002-05:00

A lot of brides are finding it necessary to hire a Day of Coordinator (DOC) for their wedding day. And rightfully so. I get a ton of last-minute inquiries, requests, and downright begging from brides every month. It's due to the fact that most ladies don't realize how much goes into setting up for that day and once they are in the throws of putting together their timelines and To-Do lists they wonder who in the world is going to do all of this and do it on time and do it well. Mom can't do it...she'll be too busy. A bridesmaid or two?...no, they'll be getting hair done and hanging out with the bride. An aunt or cousin?...maybe, but will they really do it how you envision? That's where the frantic email or phone call comes in to me.

But there are also tips in hiring someone like me to do this for you. I am your go-to gal that day for your set-up of both ceremony and reception sites. And more than likely your go-to gal for YOU that day as well. But I'm a one-woman show in most cases and sometimes brides forget that I can't be in two places at once. I can't be sitting in a room with them helping her dress, take care of any mending or re-pinning of hair-do's, or removing stains at the same time I'm supposed to be downstairs scattering rose petals, tieing chair ties, lighting candles, etc.

For those of you that still have time before your wedding, here are some real things to take into consideration when you have a DOC:

1. DO have a timeline of the day for your DOC
2. DON'T call your DOC at 7am the day of the wedding to ask if she knows where your shoes are. She doesn't know. She's more than likely never seen your shoes and certainly has no idea where they would be.
3. DO inform all your vendors that you have a DOC that day that will be following up on set-up, etc.
4. DON'T tell all your vendors that you have a WEDDING PLANNER that took care of everything. They are two different things and unless you hired a WEDDING PLANNER to plan your event, odds are your DOC is going to know only the details you shared with her. And as many questions as DOC's ask of you prior to the day, there are still likely things we don't know. But if you tell your vendors that we know EVERYTHING, we look like asses when we don't. Please share.
5. DO give your DOC a detailed To-Do list for setup of each venue. Your DOC didn't plan your wedding, you did. We need as much detail as possible to make it what you envisioned for months. Simply telling your DOC that everything is in the boxes is probably not enough.
6. DON'T assume your DOC is going to make financial decisions for you. It is not your DOC's responsibility to pay vendors their final payment, tell the caterer it's ok to make 20 more meals b/c extra people showed up, etc. When we ask for a day-of contact for financial purposes, this is why.
7. DO make sure you like your DOC, trust your DOC, get along with your DOC. If you don't it's not an ideal match for your perfect day.
8. DON'T question your DOC time and time again. If you ask us a question we are going to give you an honest answer based on our experience. We're not kidding. You hired your DOC for a reason, let her do her job.
9. DO let yourself relax and have fun. Again, you hired a DOC for a reason. If you can't relax and let it go, you shouldn't have hired one. You're just making unnecessary work for yourself.
10. DON'T tell your friends & family that your DOC is a "friend" or "cousin of a friend" that is just helping you out...unless you've informed your DOC of this first. We'll put on a show if we know about it, but if we don't and someone asks who we are, we're probably going to tell them that we are your DOC for the day.

Rain? Who Cares!

2008-07-20T17:43:00.003-05:00

Yes, I realize it's easy for me to say who cares about rain on their wedding day, but really....it doesn't matter. I promise you. And if you need any justification on that you can ask Sarah, my bride from yesterday.

A lot of time, detail, sweat, and even some tears went into the planning of their perfect wedding day. Perfect meaning outside. Without rain. Well, Mother Nature doesn't check with brides before making the plan for the day. She certainly didn't check with Sarah yesterday. But it was still a beautiful day.

The couple was married at the gorgeous Villa Terrace. Inside. Which is still beautiful and quaint and rich in history. The room lined with white chairs, the aisle flanked by brown chair ties with gorgeous cabbage roses in the bows thanks to my partner in crime, florist Carrie of Petals, made the room gorgeous. It didn't need much, it's the perfect setting for an indoor ceremony.

Bishop Craig Bergland performed the ceremony and working with him is always a treat. My time was way too short with him yesterday though so we promised to catch up over coffee after the summer wedding madness calms down (Is there such a thing?!?). He is the type of person that you just instantly feel connected to and every couple that meets him always sends me a special "thank you" for referring them to Craig. He's really just that cool.

Unfortunately, I had to rush back to the reception venue, Joey Buona's, to finish setting up as soon as Sarah and her Dad were down the aisle. And by rush, I mean, I'm still thankful I didn't end up with a ticket from the Milwaukee PD. But there was SO much left to do. The venue had said vendors could arrive anytime after 9am to begin setting up. That wasn't true the day of. It was more like Noon. Which meant I had less than 2 hours before the ceremony began and then another 90 minutes once I got back there and before guests started arriving. Luckily, it was done in time and it was so pretty. Carrie's (and her amazing staff!) work was breathtaking; half of the centerpieces were tall trumpet vases filled with even taller branches and then the heads of several roses were attached to the branches, as if suspended. The other centerpieces were cylinder glass vases wrapped in metal branches with a large pillar candle inside on top of a bed of pink roses. The staff at Joey's commented it was one of the prettiest set-ups they had seen.

But there was a lot of work to be done. It was assigned seating, and not just by table. By actual seat. So, each seat had to be adorned with a small picture frame with the guest's name on it. Guests viewed a large seating chart upon arrival to find out which table they were sitting at and then once at the table found their seat by the identifying frame. That is a lot of frames to set out when you're talking about 19 tables! And it took a long time. Then there were menu cards....at each place setting....to be slipped into the pocket of the napkin. Guess what? Joey's doesn't do fancy napkin holds. They do the standard tented napkin. After letting them know that I had specific instructions that these menu cards be placed in the pocket of the napkin and that the bride had discussed this with the event coordinator at the venue, they bent over backwards to learn how to fold those napkins. Almost 200 of them. In less than an hour. I can't say enough about Joey Buona's staff. They are first class and always have been. They never complain. And seriously...I know they didn't want to be doing that yesterday. I've been in their shoes. But they did it. Graciously. I am sending them a very nice thank you note tomorrow. I know a lot of venues that would have told me to screw off. And that's saying it lightly.

Another highlight of the day was I got to see my favorite DJ's, Craig & Amber of All-Star Music! They are some of my most favorite people and they had a baby boy a few months ago who I got to oooh and ahhh over in pictures. I can't say enough good about these two. They have built this company to be one of the most reputable DJ systems in the Milwaukee area. They listen to their clients, do what they ask, and have fun doing it.

Once the wedding party arrived they gathered downstairs to be lined up for the grand entrance and up the stairs they went dancing to music, taking their places at the head table, and a room full of standing ovation as the new Mr. & Mrs. was announced and proceeded to the dance floor for their First Dance. I watched their dance and then made my own exit. It was a very long day, but it was also a rewarding day once I stood there and looked at how awesome that room glowed in candlelight. I'm sure everyone had a blast that night and I know they ate well with Joey's food!

I know I'm behind on pictures. Apparently uploading pictures is a huge task for me, so I promise to have a post just for wedding pictures soon.

A Day of Love

2008-07-15T15:47:00.002-05:00

That's exactly what Saturday was. Filled with love. Between everyone involved. I know, it sounds sappy beyond belief, but it really was just this joyous day. Now don't get me wrong, that's what most wedding days are supposed to be, but this one? This one was different.

Maggie & Piero have been my email companions for months and months now. That's how they booked me, that's how I helped them with some of their details, that's how we finalized details of their day. I got to meet them about a month before the wedding and it was just awesome. They are one of the coolest, most laid back, most genuine couples I have ever met.

Both are from Wisconsin, but they live in upstate New York these days. And Piero's family is Italian. And I don't mean Italian like a lot of people claim to be. I mean, they are the real deal! Trust me, I heard the language being spoke and everything and it literally gave me goose bumps. And Maggie's family? A dream. Really. That is the only way to describe her parents, her sisters, her brother, her adorable nephew. They were just good, good people. The type of people that you want to surround yourself with on a continuous basis.

Maggie & Piero were married at the beautiful and well appointed Gesu Parish on the Marquette University campus. Gesu may be a bit strict on their wedding policies, but it's all for good reason. The outcome is always a gorgeous venue with an even more gorgeous wedding commitment. Maggie & Piero's was no different.

The minute I saw Maggie pull up to Gesu that afternoon, I got tears in my eyes. She wasn't even dressed yet! I nearly lost it when I opened the dressing room door and there she was...a vision of herself in golden ivory tones. Certainly a sight to be seen. But she threatened me with bodily harm if I cried, so I held it in and moved forward with letting them all know that it was almost wedding time!

Frogman Productions captured everything on video that day and you can view a clip of it on their blog. It is perfection and captures the personalities of Piero & Maggie to a 't'. Heather Cook Elliott was the photographer on the scene and as always she was so great to work with. She runs around like it's nobody's business and gets the best shots. I can't wait to see their pictures! With a half-naked ring-bearer toddler running around at the reception there is sure to be some fun blackmail pictures for the future for this little one. :)

Mike & Scott at the Renaissance Place made everything so easy for me. They took care of nearly all the set up and since they are the masters of pulling off flawless events, I knew we were all in capable hands. It was gorgeous. The centerpieces were varying sizes, heights, arrangements...proving yet again people that NOTHING HAS TO BE MATCHY MATCHY! It was by far one of my most favorite table displays. Linens draped in chocolate brown with gold napkins hanging over the place settings, elegant menu cards delicately placed on top, votives scattered about. It oozed romance.

Piero & Maggie took dance lessons and choreographed a dance for their first dance as husband and wife. It was spectacular. If you are familiar with Bob Marley it was his song "Mellow Moods," one of my favorites of his. Imagine just the coolest dance filled with smiles, emotions, and just pure love. They pulled it off so well!

Magge Speaks (the band, not Maggie the bride) was the entertainment and those guys were easy to work with, nicer than nice, and did a phenomenal job from the little I saw. They were already on my vendor list as a band that I recommend, but they are now getting stars or something placed next to them!

Oh, and no cake. Another tradition bucked! You go guys! They instead opted for a dessert station. Yum! I highly doubt any of the guests missed a cake after that.

One of my last duties that evening was to take care of putting out their favors. These were not just any favors. These were homemade tall bottles of Piero's family recipe of dipping oil. Each guest was going to take home a fancy bottle with a personalized label and a green mesh bag to put it in. Genius! And I must say, the table display creation ended up looking pretty darn good. How could you not take one?!? :)

I'll post pictures later!

Maggie & Piero...I know you are enjoying Barbados (because they emailed to say thank you cuz that's just the kind of couple they are) this week, but I have no doubt in my mind that you will continue to enjoy every single day of your lives together. Thank you for being the sweetest couple and THANK YOU for realizing that your goal that day was to marry your best friend. You had the perfect wedding day because you had perfect focus through the entire planning process and most importantly on that day. I think you should start a class on how to be the perfect bride & groom. Love you!

New Booking

2008-07-11T18:25:00.002-05:00

Cool Bride Booked! Cool Bride Booked!

I had a blast with this couple the other night. They are just fun and laid back and while they swear they don't know what they are doing with wedding planning, I assured them they really know more than they think they do.

Their engagement story is too cute also! It may have been the only sappy part of the evening. Mandy had just recently purchased a brand new car that she was still ooohing and awwwing over. She pulled into their driveway one day after work and out comes Charley with a dog leash from what she could see. She sighed, thinking 'who's dog are we watching this time!?!' As she's bending down to pet the dog there is a sign that says My Name Is (this is where I forget the puppy's name) and goes on to say that he would love to be part of the family, but simply can't do so until he has a mommy and a daddy in a stable home. Then Charley is down on one knee with ring in hand. The most gorgeous sapphire nad diamond ring I have ever seen! Mandy now has a new car, new puppy, and new bling bling to look at all at once. The couple obviously told the story much more eloquently (and correctly!) than I did, but you get the idea. Poor pup needed a home with both a mommy & a daddy! How precious is that?

Fast forward and they are now planning a Fall 2009 home-on-the-lake-wedding. The same home where Charley's parents were married. How cool is that?

I'm looking forward to working with this fun couple! Their ideas are unique, fresh, and will certainly capture the attention of their guests as the best wedding ever. I'm convinced of that already.

A lot of work goes into home weddings though. Everything needs to be rented, including restrooms. And the cost goes up considerably due to all the rentals so much of the time you end up cutting corners elsewhere. I'm sending them a budget tool tonight that they may or may not use, but most people find it helpful. It's a bit anal (this is me we're talking about...Miss Organization), but it keeps me on track when I'm the one responsible for handling a couple's budget. Which I'm not for this one, but I'll be ready to give plenty of guidance.

Two more weddings for the month and then a weekend off! August only has two weddings total, however, every weekend is already booked with concerts, concerts, and more concerts! Anyone who knows me well knows that my summers revolve around work, weddings, and music. And I couldn't be happier. :)

Cool Brides, Please Apply

2008-07-07T22:22:00.003-05:00

I'm meeting with the coolest bride tomorrow night. And her equally cool fiance.

Ok, I really don't know that they're the coolest couple ever. But so far through cyber-space and multiple email exchanges...they are. When you're exchanging 'Whoo Hoo's' and giddy chats over email, let me tell ya, it's bound to be true love between a bride and her planner.

I mean, the girl wants to meet over drinks for our first consultation. Cool? I need not say more.
They are getting married next Fall and from the sounds of it, they need help with full planning. Which I loooooove to do and don't have one lined up for Fall anymore so it's perfect timing. It also sounds like a very unique intimate wedding with it taking place at his parent's home on the Lake, I believe.

More details to come of course. For now, I am just counting down the hours until I meet A & C!

Back from Hawaii

2008-07-02T00:04:00.002-05:00

I am dead tired and have way too much to do.

All I have to say is Hawaii was amazing, beautiful, gorgeous, RELAXING, not as expensive as everyone said it would be, and just an all-around perfect vacation with one of my best friends.

Life didn't get better last week.

Now it's back to reality. And weddings.

K-Town

2008-06-22T08:29:00.002-05:00

It's been about 9 months since I did a wedding in Kenosha. Yesterday was the day of one of my former bride's (Hi Kelly!) friends. I love referrals because I loved working with Kelly last year. She was easily one of my favorite brides. So when her friend Monica asked me if I would be able to DOC her wedding day this year, it was a no brainer. Any friend of Kelly's is going to be nice and sweet as well, I just knew it. I was so right. Monica is one of those girls that you meet and just want to be friends with right away. Her smile is so sincere it's almost sick. She has this attitude that I can't even put into words. She's cheerful, real, classy, and immediately knew the real purpose of the day of her wedding. She was never caught up in the hoopla of it all.

Monica & Andrew were married in the same small Catholic church in Kansasville that Kelly & Pete were wed in the previous Fall. The church is just quaint and exactly out of a storybook when a country church is described. I really do love it. As I ventured downstairs to see my bride for the first time, it was all I could do not to cry right there. There are just some brides that I get this feeling with. I think it's the ones that I know are 100% in this whole wedding thing for the right reason. So, I promised her I wouldn't cry but she looked spectacular. Her dress was perfect for her and just gorgeous. The girls were all pretty in pink. And then her dad came down to see her for the first time. Oh boy. There was not a dry eye in the place. The first time a dad sees his little girl in white is always a moment to cherish, but this one....well, this one had even more meaning. Just a few weeks ago Monica's dad had a heart attack. One that very well could have killed him, but something pulled him through and he was there for his little girl's special day. I can't wait to see the pictures captured of this moment. Dad broke down and hugged Monica like I've never seen a father hug his daughter. I'm getting all emotional just thinking about it again. Oh, and then to lighten the mood a little, Dad cut his finger somehow and we had to bandage him up just minutes before walking down the aisle.

With personal reflections shared between Monica & Andrew, it made the ceremony even more special.

Oh, and did I mention Kelly is now a new Mom?!?!? And I got to see her and her 4-day old baby who she bravely brought to the ceremony. No way was she missing her friend getting married. I thought that was incredibly sweet.

The reception was held at the Italian American Club in Kenosha. It's a very unique venue and lots of great history behind the building. I'll admit....they probably need to tear down the wallpaper and the plastic vertical blinds and perhaps restore those items to it's natural more historic state, but overall it's a great place.

There was a bit of a snafu with table numbers (A groom and his guys shouldn't be allowed to place table numbers the morning of the wedding! ha, ha) and the seating chart, but it was rectified pretty quickly. The cake was almost 5 feet tall and made by a friend's step-mother. It was definitely a WOW moment! So many personal touches went into this reception. The DJ was a friend of the family, and from what I could tell, was doing a very nice job. The couple is leaving on Monday for Paris for their honeymoon (a HUGE surprise for the bride!) so the groom's cake was a stack of suitcases that we surrounded with Paris cards and a small statue of the Eiffel Tower. They also used a very cute suitcase for their card box. Innovative, meaningful and cost effective!

I know this couple had a great time last night. They were already dancing up a storm just being introduced into the reception! It was so much fun to work with Monica. It was quite an honor yesterday to have so many people coming up to me asking me if I was the Wedding Planner and when I would say "yes" they would say how much they have heard about me, how Monica would talk about me, and I even received a few hugs! That's when you head home, tired feet and all, and know that those are the reasons you keep doing weddings weekend after weekend.

A Grand Event

2008-06-22T08:18:00.003-05:00

I did a wedding a few weekends ago at The Grand Geneva in Lake Geneva, WI. If you're not familiar with this venue, it is the former Playboy Club from way back in the day. It is 'Grand' for sure, and although the remnants of Playboy are long gone and no longer linger bunny tails or the famous backward bend when they deliver your drink, the Grand Geneva still lives up to its reputation.

It's one of those places where everyone is on their best behavior. Where even the "kids" that are bellman, golf assistants, catering crew are acknowledging you by name or Miss or Sir. I like that. While I'm not a stuffy, formal gal in my regular day to day life, I still like the allure and the sanctity of knowing that there are still places like this that exist. A place where you can go and KNOW without a doubt that you will be taken care of and respected no matter what. Pretty neat.

Sabrina & Lee come very different places. As in countries apart. Sabrina is from the IL parts and Lee is from Wales. As in the country. And guess what? He's staying here...because he met Sabrina. In a bar. I will argue to my death to those that say you can't find love in a bar. Yes you can!

These two individuals experienced a ceremony that perfectly combined his Scottish heritage (kilts and all and let me tell you....those guys looked amazing!) with American traditional elements. Did you know that in Wales they pin boutonnieres upside down? They think us Americans pinning them flower side up is a bit out there. :) I have to admit, I liked the look of an upside down boutonniere. Sabrina & Lee performed a sand ceremony in lieu of the Unity Candle and they also did a rock ceremony, another piece of Wales brought into the day. Their favors consisted of a Celtic tradition of each guest receiving a wooden loving spoon. And since Lee is a huge Rugby fan and player his groom's cake was of a Wales Rugby team. Very cool indeed.

It was fun to be around the Wales accents, the sharply dressed men from Wales (seriously, they know their shoe fashion!), and witnessing the coming together of traditions and cultures.

Cheers to Sabrina & Lee! And Cheers to the Grand Geneva staff for pulling off yet another event flawlessly. And a special thank you to their bell staff, who without, I would have been lugging way too many things long distances around that resort.

Weather

2008-06-22T08:11:00.003-05:00

I'm on a significantly long (AKA: Boring) layover and decided to amuse myself and my readers with some much overdue blogging. I'm on my way to Hawaii so while this may be a wedding blog, I'm fairly certain you will all get a sneak peek of my paradise island vacation when I return.

If you're in WI, or just about anywhere in the States I suppose....you know that our weather has been less summer-like than usual. While the first day of summer was only yesterday, typically we still get a good amount of sun and warmth in the month of June. Not this year. We have been declared a state with multiple disaster areas, homes lost, farm crops under water, rivers literally washed away one day and then rising too high the next. Torrential rain showers clouded our days for weeks on end. I wish I was kidding. It's sad actually. People may read this and think it's only rain! But it's not....it's more than that. What this weather has done to our state, and my city, in particular is just unbelievable. What it is doing to the already deflated local economy is only making it worse.

What does this have to do with weddings? Well, by some act of God or whatever you may believe in, the weddings this month that I have done have all managed to be held under clear skies. At least for the ceremony moment. It was almost eerie the last few weekends how the ceremonies all went off without any weather alerts, no tornado sirens blaring, blue partly cloudy skies, temps in the 70's. And then....for each wedding the clouds started rolling in. Storms made their ugly head. But not until the most important, the most beautiful part of these couples days took place. Crazy. But it makes me think that sometimes someone greater really is shining down on happy moments.

Here's to better weather the rest of the summer!

Men

2008-05-20T22:58:00.002-05:00

That grabbed your attention, right? Sorry...nothing juicy in this post, just a bit of a rant and maybe some advice to any brides and grooms to be out there.

Tuxes. No, you don't need them. They are not necessary. Miss Manners is not going to appear and banish you to wedding etiquette hell. Slowly but surely tuxes are fading out and I, for one, could not be happier with that.

Most men aren't accustomed to wearing a tux on a regular basis. Therefore, it's not comfortable. It doesn't fit right. It's not "fitted" to you; don't even let the tux shop say that it is. It's made of material that typically doesn't breathe very well, especially in summer heat.

I love the options of wearing a nice suit. A suit you've invested in, had tailored, and looks sharp!

I love the option of those outdoor, backyard, or casual weddings with a nice pair of pants and a nice button-up shirt with tie.

I love the option of a short-sleeved shirt paired with pants for a beach wedding.

But most of all I love the fact that there are all these options!

Take a suit for example. You can still formalize it if need be with a pocket square and a nice shirt with cuff links and a silk tie. The male attendants can also be in nice suits with coordinating colors. And when a bridal party has their groomsmen in black suits....guess what? You can usually let them wear their own black suit or choose one of their own to purchase.

I love that a suit means being able to bring color in with the shirt or tie. I love that it means being able to do a possible stripe or checked pattern on the shirt, bringing some texture and additional style elements to the wedding party.

Now, I understand that there are going to be weddings out there that are just too formal for any of these options or couples that have envisioned tuxes and aren't going to budge on it. That's fine! My only point is to let everyone know that you don't need to do tuxes just because that's what has always been done.

Give your men a break. Show him some options. I guarantee he'll be eternally grateful to know there's more than just the black tux out there for him on his special day.

Wedding Season

2008-05-18T15:19:00.002-05:00

Well, it's here. May typically kicks off what I refer to as Wedding Season. Obviously, I do weddings year-round, but it never feels quite like the season for marital bliss until May hits for some reason.

Yesterday marked the big kick-off day! Rose & Sam united at Schlitz Audubon Center in the afternoon. Under a sky of blue and a full sun beating down. Just hours before they were calling for showers, but we lucked out! Thank goodness, because the thought of me running around in the rain dragging over a 100 chairs from the grass to the pavilion was not something I even wanted to think about.

Rose & Sam live in Virginia because she's a Navy nurse. Within a year they will be moving to Italy for her next Navy assignment. ITALY!!! How fun. They were going to announce this big news at the reception. I bet it was a hit. Don't worry, they told their parents first so they wouldn't freak out right then and there.

Back to the ceremony. I didn't get to stay for the entire ceremony because I had to race to Joey Buona's to do their entire set up for the reception. But one thing that stood out about their ceremony was they did a wine ceremony in lieu of a unity candle. I wish I could tell you the words that went along with it, but it's a very sweet inclusion in the ceremony and definitely something that most guests have not seen. And yes....you get to drink some wine during the ceremony!

Another unique element was during the honoring of the parents (roses to both mothers and the groom's father and the presentation of a yellow rose on the chair that would have been the bride's father, who passed away) the string trio played Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. I love when a traditional piece of the ceremony is coupled with a song that is current and modern. If you are not familiar with this song or this band, for that matter, I highly encourage you to check them out. They are one of my favorites and have been ever since they first released a CD a few years back. Heck, even my mom has purchased their CD's!

The reception had a ton of set up. And the Joey's staff did not help with anything. Not saying they had to or anything, but it was definitely my show and my show alone. With 2 hours to set everything up I knew I'd have to be in high gear. 90 minutes later, very sore feet, and a tad outta breath I was done. Rose really created every single thing for this reception, right down to the hydrangea centerpieces. Menu cards, table numbers, placecards, wishing tree, you name it she did it. And it was well worth it. The end result was beautiful; a mixture of creams, whites, bronze, and chocolate brown. It all came together beautifully. Everything was topped off with votive candles glowing and a million rose petals. She had endless bags of rose petals and I covered every square inch that I could find. It was a romantic setting that's for sure.

Rose even ran upstairs in between the ceremony and reception while they were out taking pictures to check it out. She was thrilled!

I didn't take many May weddings this year and I didn't take a single Memorial Day weekend wedding due to last year's debacle with 3 weddings in 3 days and me being one tired and sick Wedding Planner after it was all said and done. So, my next wedding is not until June 14, however it is a Month of Coordination so the work for that has already began.

Helllllo Wedding Season. May you be kind and fulfilling to me this year.

Milwaukee & Door County

2008-04-24T11:13:00.003-05:00

Apparently they are a match made in heaven. At least for me, that is.

This year I have received several inquiries for Door County weddings from brides that live in Milwaukee (and Chicago, but are from Milwaukee and family still lives here). It's no secret that most Door County weddings are destination weddings; meaning that the couple lives elsewhere and nearly all the guests will travel to be a part of their big day. It's also no secret that most destination weddings utilize the assistance and talents of an event planner. It's just easier that way.

While Door County does have a resident wedding planner, I'm finding more of these Milwaukee/Chicago area brides are interested in using a Milwaukee planner. Why? Well, it means less trips to Door County to meet with someone. And with gas prices the way they are that's a big deal. It's also helpful that I'm a Door County native. I KNOW Door County. I don't need to be up there 24/7 to locate my vendors and plan these weddings. Practically everything is done through email anyway, especially in the off-season when Door County vendors are typically "wintering" somewhere warm and doing business from their laptop only if needed. The couples love the convenience of meeting with me in their own stomping grounds and still getting Door County wedding business taken care of.

I'm meeting with my next potential Milwaukee/Door County couple in a few weeks. They already sound very sweet and nice and they were referred to me by a Milwaukee photographer (Hi Molly!) who apparently will be making the trip to the Door for their wedding day as well.

I have a feeling my mom is liking the sounds of all these Door County weddings as well. It means she'll see more of me! Hi Mom!

I met her!

2008-04-20T09:02:00.004-05:00

((((sigh)))) I knew it would be incredible and it was. I know that many of my readers also read With This Ring, a blog written by a bride in the planning stages of her Fall wedding. Go check it out if you haven't already! It's a fun read and Darci has amazing design ideas along with just about one of the best creative flairs for writing I've ever read.

If you haven't guessed already, I got to meet Darci yesterday. In person. With her fiance and her family! And they are all just the best. Ok, so I only spent 90 minutes with them, but I'm a pretty good judge and they all were just so friendly and nice. And Darci....well, I love her.

You see, way back when Darci inquired with me about Day of Coordination wedding services. I had the date open, I liked our email exchanges, etc....and she booked! But Darci lives out of town and scheduling a consultation meeting just wasn't an option in the small window of time we had. So, she booked with not having met me and vice versa obviously. It's something I rarely do since I feel it is important to meet with the couple first to determine their needs, get to know each other, and most importantly make sure that our personalities are a match. However, with out of town brides sometimes this just isn't possible.

Darci & Brad are getting married at The Abbey Resort in Fontana, WI. There have been some changes in the resort's events department with coordinators leaving, not having a coordinator, a new one hired that hasn't started yet....see where I'm going with this? Darci needed some solid answers, needed to feel like someone was on top of everything, that all wedding bells were in a row so to speak. So, she scheduled a meeting with a catering manager there and asked if I would be able to join this meeting just to have someone else there to ask questions and get answers if need be.

I won't bore you with the details of the meeting since they only make sense if you know this wedding, but I will say that it was an interesting meeting to say the least. I will also say that I am 100% certain that if Darci and I lived in the same city, we'd be best friends. We shared numerous glances, raised eyebrows, and then a near childlike laughing fit at one point. Slightly unprofessional? Some would say yes. But Darci and I were on the same page with this meeting and trust me, all of the above were warranted.

The end result is Darci got the meeting she wanted and felt so much better after it. We were able to view the linens (and received proof that just because the name of a linen is 'olive' doesn't mean it's not the color you've been picturing forever!), start a rough timeline of the day, make some food & beverage decisions, and really map out the details that may have been lost in translation over the last few months. It was a success and we all have plenty of notes to back that up. Oh, and we were able to see what the table runners that her mother is sewing (she's a saint, I tell ya) will look like on that olive linen. AMAZING.

The other end result and the icing on the cake (for me at least) is that I got to meet Darci! I'm still a bit tickled about it all. I get excited to meet all my brides obviously, but I've been reading Darci's blog for a long time now so I already felt this strange connection courtesy of the Internet. There's a little piece of me that is now complete. :)

P.S.---Wanna know why else Darci rocks? She brought me a copy of The Knot 2008 Best of Weddings issue. The one that my award is listed in. I was touched more than I'm sure I verbalized to her. I just thought it was the sweetest thing ever. See?...Darci's that kind of person.

It's Official!

2008-04-17T16:56:00.002-05:00

Something bulky came in the mail yesterday. But I was too busy, too tired, too unmotivated to open it. Well, I wish I wouldn't have waited an entire 24 hours to find out what was in that package with the obscure return address printed on it!

It was the plaque for my 2008 The Knot Best of Weddings Pick award! It's very nice, I must say. They also sent a window cling to display proudly in the window of my home office for all my neighbors to view. hee, hee

Of course it also was accompanied by a nice congratulatory letter filled with ways to not only market my business, but also The Knot and everything Knot related. I'll do my best dear Knot, I'll do my best.

I honestly forgot all about this, so I haven't been checking the magazine stands, but it appears that the The Knot Best of Weddings 2008 issue is out. I believe it has a red cover with a square stacked wedding cake (this is mentioned solely for the purpose of those family members reading this that are wondering how to get their hands on it). I have no idea what my listing looks like in it. I suppose I'll venture down to CVS shortly and buy every issue they have. :)

I also had an email today from a press-related source to see if I would be interested in an interview. Hmmmm..... I'm press leery. I've been in Sales & Marketing for high-profile companies for a long time now. I KNOW how things can get twisted once written and how the things you really want them to print somehow just don't end up in the article. So, we shall see if I partake in any of that.

For now....I have full usage of this lovely logo to do whatever I please with. Which would include being put on my website that I still haven't figured out how to revamp or who to have do it or any of that fun stuff.

Oh, and for those that are wondering how this award was won....."The Knot Best of Weddings is an ongoing survey of local brides and is available by invitation to registered members on TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com." So without further adieu......THANK YOU BRIDES! As always, you rock my little wedding world. You ARE Dreams & Designs. :)

March

2008-03-30T08:46:00.002-05:00

It would seem as though nothing happened in my world of wedding planning in the month of March according to this blog. My apologies, dear reader....this little wedding planner has been busy, busy, busy.

I finally bit the bullet and had some headshots taken in February by the oh so fabulous Molly of Mthree Studio. As much as I don't like pictures of myself, she definitely brought out the good side of me. Now if only I could figure out how to add them to my blog layout in some sort of fashion. My website needs a serious facelift, but it has not shifted to the top of my priority list as of yet. However, when it does....people will now see me! It's proven time and time again that people like to know who they're buying from. In my case of event planning, many times I don't get to meet my brides before they book due to their location. So, I hope this will at least personalize it a little more for them. Although I can tell you right now, I'm bringing the funny in these headshots....no stuffy business portrait for this gal!

One other note about Mthree....she also did a sibling shoot for my brother, sister, and I. It turned out fabulous! Molly is super creative and it came through in the pictures. Winter pictures none the less!! In the freezing cold! With a snowstorm brewing! Serious fun though and the coolest pictures I've seen in a long time.

I'm planning a Door County wedding! The first battle is finding a unique location. Preferably a waterfront house that can hold a tent on the property. While there are many out there, there are even more that hear WEDDING and tell me no right away. C'mon people!....the couple is super sweet, beyond mature, and it's a small wedding. Cut me some slack! I'm convinced we'll find something in the next few weeks though. Once the venue and date are chosen, everything else will fall into place. So for any of my Door County readers, if you know of anyone that rents their homes out and fits the above description, let me know!

Although we aren't in the heavy midst of wedding season quite yet, as a planner, I'm in the thick of it already. Lots of appointments happening soon to gear up for those May/June weddings. I have so many out of town brides this year so being able to finally meet them is quite exciting!

On a final note....drumroll please......apparently I have been selected as a WI Best of Wedding Picks for The Knot magazine, a national wedding planning magazine. Each year their readers vote on the "Best of the Best" in their local area. I received a call from The Knot last week to gather more info and congratulate me. No word yet on when the issue will be on the newsstands, but I'll be sure to let everyone know! It's pretty exciting!

Now if the weather could just warm up enough so I could prance around in my beloved flip-flops, all would be right with the world. :)

Til next time............

Things I like

2008-02-25T18:10:00.002-06:00

There are always new trends in the wedding industry. Some I like, some I don't. Some I would never even call trends, I would just call fabulous ideas that more should take advantage of. Below is a list of my current favorite things going on in weddings these days.

1. Secret Vows. It's mentioned below, but the full explanation of it is that along with exchanging formal vows with your officiant presiding, you also take a few moments of quiet time together (with music playing, perhaps after your unity candle lighting) to share your own personal vows only to each other. Marriage is between two people and I thought my couple a few weekends ago perfected this amazingly well. Beautiful. I hope it catches on!

2. The Walk Down the Aisle. Alone. (((Gasp!))) What?? Grandmothers everywhere are clutching their hearts in despair. How could she? Let's face it, today's modern bride may be a bit older, may be on her second marriage, and may very well be Miss Independent. The walk down the aisle alone is one that is breath-taking and poignant. I applaud those of you doing this for whatever reason it might be.

3. No More Boutonnieres! Guys don't typically like flowers. So why are we forcing them to wear one on the wedding day? Buck tradition and go for a coordinating pocket square instead. If you want a class act of pictures, you've got it with that! Mission accomplished. Oh, and your dads, groom, and groomsmen will kiss the ground you walk on for not flowering them. Did I mention the cost savings as well?

4. Seeing Dad for the First Time. We all know how special that first glimpse of the groom seeing the bride is, whether it's down the aisle or a meeting place beforehand. But how many daddy's girls are actually setting aside a special place and time for a father/daughter first glimpse? Not many, I know. That's why when I get to help set the stage for this first meeting, it takes my breath away every.single.time. With the photographer's assistance, those pictures are something to be cherished for a lifetime.

5. What Aisle Runner? Ladies, it's not necessary. Why do so many brides feel that they MUST lay down a piece of plastic or cheap fabric to walk on? And please do not subject the ushers or groomsmen to pulling it down the aisle prior to the bridal party entrance. Want to know why?...imagine the runner getting stuck on itself and now you have an usher or two on the floor trying to unroll it that way. If you must do a runner, go for something unique. Go for a sturdier fabric. Colored fabric! Have the aisle runner laid prior to the ceremony and ribbon off the entrance and seat guests from the side aisle if your venue allows. It's a dramatic entrance this way and much less worrisome.

6. Who Needs a Bridal Party? I am really loving this idea more and more. I love that couples are not finding it necessary to line up 6 women and 6 men in two lines and stand there during your ceremony. I love that I've seen couples get married without a bridal party. I love that I've seen couples get married with their bridal party standing in a semi-circle around them. I love that more and more couples are going with a Maid of Honor and a Best Man and that's it. I love that couples may have all male attendants or all female attendants because those are the important people in their lives.

7. Let Them Not Eat Cake. If you don't like cake, like so many of my clients say is true, don't get one. Save on your budget. Your favorite dessert is pecan pie? Serve that! Love ice cream? Do a sundae bar! Getting married somewhere known for their homegrown apples and cherries? I think cobblers are in order! A special dessert from your heritage? Put some meaning into what you're serving!

8. Keeping Things Moving. So many times couples forget when they are supposed to be introduced, when toasts are to be made, when the first dance is, when the cake-cutting takes place, etc. So I share with you my wise timeline for keeping things going, not losing your guests to lulls in the evenings, and most of all making sure these moments aren't forgotten if that's what you want. Be introduced as husband and wife as soon as your guests are seated for dinner. Proceed directly to your cake for the cake-cutting. Then proceed to the dance floor for your First Dance together. Take your places at your table while the servers serve the first course. While the first course is being eaten get all the toasts done right after another. This means by the time your second course comes out, you're done! You're free to eat, to converse with each other, to relax! Trust me, it works.

An American Club Wedding

2008-02-25T17:59:00.002-06:00

I am way late on posting my experience as a Day of Coordinator at the American Club for Jess & Dan's wedding. Busy, busy as always and blogging has been put to the wayside. It was a beautiful wedding ceremony in every sense of the word. I honestly can't describe it to it's full justice. Imagine tall glass vases of varying heights and shapes with a single white rose in it. Now imagine this in mass quantity as a backdrop to your makeshift altar in the ballroom and also flanking the entrance to the aisle. I took pictures, but unfortunately it was too dark so I can't even post them without them looking very understated.

Oh, and the candles. Candlelight in the form of pillars and votives everywhere! It really was breathtaking and it was yet another example of how simple floral with simple vases can be the most elegant, glamorous look of all. I'm not kidding when I say this wedding could have been photographed as a celebrity wedding. It was that classy.

And to all brides who are contemplating An American Club wedding in Kohler, WI....contemplate no further. Seriously, they are fabulous. You have a team of people dedicated to YOU and your family that day taking care of you, changing last minute set-ups, perfecting the lighting, etc. They care and they care a lot. It shows in their "can do" attitude no matter how large the request.

So why was I there? If the American Club is so great, why would anyone need a professional Coordinator the day of? Because you have to keep in mind that although the venue is fabulous, you have also hired multiple vendors to bring everything together for the big day. Take for instance the florist. He had a HUGE job and there was just no way he had time to run to different guest rooms to pin the boutonnieres on the men or to track down the grandma's to pin their corsages. That's what I'm there for. I also am almost always the only person with the master plan for that day. I was the only one that knew there would be "secret vows" exchanged after the lighting of the unity candle and made the logistical arrangements for it. I was the only one that knew that the 2 horse figurines needed to be set at the Father of the Bride's table as an inside joke from the groom. I'm the one with the final play list for the DJ. I'm it. I have more information than everyone else that day. It was a stress-free day for me and with the ceremony and reception back to back, it was a quick day as well. But it was perfect. And it was perfect for the couple.

Secret Vows

2008-02-15T20:13:00.002-06:00

I know I've said it many times, but I just LOVE when I walk away from a wedding with an amazing new twist on things. Glorious "outside of the box" thinking. Different, non-traditional, unique! Call it what you may, but it's what EXCITES me!

At the rehearsal tonight for Jess & Dan, I learned that they are going to do private vows in addition to what the officiant will perform. They will still be in the ceremony room, surrounded by their bridal party with their friends and family sitting before them, but they will take their place at the altar with their unity candle blazing before them to exchange some words that will only be heard between the two of them, things that they are promising each other for life, things that no one else needs to hear....because guess what? This marriage is for them, for Jess & Dan and that's it.

Logistically they asked me how they should work this into the ceremony and after trying a couple things I think we finally came up with the perfect way. I will cry tomorrow, I'm certain. And you can bet that I'm stealing this idea for other couples that may want to incorporate something just as private and sacred into their ceremony as well. I'm in love. I'm in love with new ideas. I'm in love with couples that come up with these ideas and share them with me.

Tomorrow is going to be beautiful. I just know it.

Winter Weddings

2008-02-13T08:13:00.002-06:00

Dear Mother Nature,

Please get your act together. Winter brides in Milwaukee do not need any more of your games. They have dealt with enough stress and frustration during the planning process the least you can do is provide them with a day that is free of a snowstorm.

Kindly,
The Wedding Planner

Seriously though, for my dear readers who are not familiar with what is happening in this fine city I will let you know that as of 7pm last night we have now received over 73" of the pretty white stuff. SNOW! Lots of it. So it is neither pretty nor white anymore. It is ugly and slushy and well, I along with 99.9% of the city's population are just over it already.

Please don't get me wrong. I am all for winter weddings, in fact I think they are ten times more beautiful in essence than summer weddings. I'm the Wedding Planner that tells brides to do what they want, go for a white wedding, bring out the tents & heaters, buy a fabulous faux fur shawl, DO IT! But right now...I'll be honest and say that I am really hoping the snow doesn't fall on Saturday for my next wedding. Or at least not so much of it that I worry if vendors will be on time and whether or not we need to push the timeline back.

So again, my beloved Mother Nature.....KNOCK IT OFF!

Back to your regularly scheduled wedding blogging...

2008-01-22T18:14:00.000-06:00

They lost. My team lost. That would be the Packers, for all of you that have no clue as to what I'm dishing about. I'm happy to report that I stayed toasty warm during the -29 degree weather at the Frozen Tundra. I'm no fool...lots of light layers, hand warmers, feet warmers and I was set. Sadly, it was not enough and I will not be watching MY team in the Super Bowl.

It's probably for the best. I have weddings to start preparing for. I don't want my brides thinking they are backseat to a football game. :)

My next wedding is February 16 and it's at the most distinguished resort in WI and one of the most nationally acclaimed as well. The American Club. I can't wait. I've attended events here, mostly corporate and only one wedding. They do an amazing job so it will be great to see the behind the scenes action that takes place. Although, I must say, they are not fond of wedding planners at all. I've already talked to the contact there and while she's nice enough, I know she was bristling at the thought of me "Just being there to ensure all goes as planned." You see, this is the AMERICAN CLUB. They don't believe they need anyone watching over them, and for the most part, they're right. So what I tried to convey to her was that there are multiple vendors that make the day go off smoothly and I need to make certain that all vendors are doing what they need to be doing, not just the American Club.

It will be interesting to say the least, but I have strong faith that all will go well.

Nothing To Do With Weddings

2008-01-20T09:26:00.000-06:00

I'm just excited so I felt the need to blog about it. I'm headed to Lambeau in just under an hour. Hopefully to watch my beloved Packers clinch the NFC Championship and head to Arizona for the Super Bowl! I was at this exact game last time we were in this position (Yikes! Over 10 years ago already) and the excitement is something to be in awe over, that's for sure.

However, they don't call it the Frozen Tundra for nothing! I'm too scared to check the actual temp and wind chill right now, but I know the sun shining in my office window now is just a bad tease.

GO PACK!

Home Sweet Home

2008-01-12T22:14:00.000-06:00

A bride who I talked with several months ago about assisting with her wedding contacted me last week. Turns out they scrapped their local wedding plans and are headed to Door County for a destination wedding! They want a calm planning process since a big to-do is not their thing and they are also planning from Chicago.

Door County is home to me. MY home! Where I know all things Door County and where I can plan one kick-ass wedding. I'll hopefully be meeting with the couple at the begining of February to discuss how I can help them, but details are already swirling through my mind.

And since my wedding was too big to get married at my favorite spot in Door County, I am forever hoping that the perfect bride and groom comes along that I can pitch the idea to. Who knows...maybe this is it!

Goodbye 2008

2008-01-12T22:08:00.000-06:00

2009 Brides are already booking. This nearly gives me a panic attack. It means that 2008 will be over and done before I know it. 2009 Brides have venues booked, churches booked, photographers booked and now me. They're booking me. I just can't believe I'm writing '09 on things already. Somebody pinch me.

Somebody also tell me to remember my New Year's goal of S L O W I N G D O W N !

Well, this was a first....

2008-01-06T11:01:00.001-06:00

"Good Morning, this is Danica"

"Hi Danica, this is Betty (not her real name obviously). I've heard fabulous things about you and was wondering if you have some time to talk about hiring you for Day of Coordination."

"Absolutely. Thank you for the kind words. When is your wedding?"

"Well, that's the thing, we don't have a date yet, but it will definitely be in 2009. We just want to make sure we get you booked so we don't have to worry about anything."

"Well, I certainly appreciate that. Thank you! However, without having a wedding date it is hard for me to commit."

"We kind of figured that would be the case. We're actually willing to pay you triple what you normally charge in order to keep the summer open for 2009 until we have a date narrowed down."

"That's very generous of you, but unfortunately, I just can't do that. In fact, I already have 2 summer weddings booked for 2009 so it would be next to impossible for me to hold that many weekends. I also would never feel right or ethical about someone paying me more for services than what I actually charge."

"Really? We have a very high budget wedding and there are other vendors that have accepted more money than they charge in order to hold the date. Is there any way we can work with you on this? We really, really want you."

"Betty, I'm flattered, really I am. But I have to be completely honest with you. I practice a very ethical business here and if you have vendors that have actually accepted more money than typical...I would be very hesitant about working with them. I'm sorry this probably isn't going to work for you, but please do give me a call once you determine your date."

"Um, ok. I'm shocked actually. I guess we'll have to get a date SOON. I'm not doing this wedding without you."

"Thank you again. Let me know if you need any help with anything else. Have a great day!"

WHAT!?!? This is why the name of this blog is Tales of a Wedding Planner. You really just never know what you're going to get.

Best New Year's Eve Wedding Ever

2008-01-01T19:43:00.000-06:00

If I go into too much detail about this wedding, this post is likely to turn into a novel or at least a short story.

It was Kristi & TJ's day last night. With a candlelight ceremony that began at 5:30pm and close to 200 guests literally ready to break down the ceremony site doors...it was off to a festive start.

Here are the highlights of the evening and you'll soon see why their marriage union was so beautiful.

1. Classy bride. In a gold and deep ivory toned gown and a killer all-teeth smile, she stole the show without even trying. Did I mention she's the sweetest gal ever? And all of her family and friends seem to think so too.

2. Bringing Dad down to the ballroom for a private first glimpse of his daughter was one of the best things I've ever done as a Coordinator. It was magical, teary-eyed, and a very touching moment.

3. The bridal party went to Flannery's to have drinks, relax and have pics done. Cool? Yes.

4. Bride's uncle, a judge in New London, officiated the ceremony with humor, spirituality, religion, and so much love and pizazz.

5. Bride's cousin performed some vocal pieces, including a solo of "Ordinary Miracle" before the processional even began! Cool? Yes, again.

6. Bride's brother performed some vocal pieces and gave me the chills. Can we say "Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts? (((Sigh)))

7. Newlyweds walked out to "Accidentally In Love" performed by the two soloists. Does it get any cooler than that??

8. Lillys make the room smell amazing and the guests commented on it it forever

9. Battery-powered mini-light strands are the best invention ever.

10. Milwaukee Athletic Club now has their cake contract through The Cake Lady. Sweet!

11. The couple put together a very fun, touching, and beautiful DVD show

12. They also had a DVD video countdown to midnight. Cool again? You betcha!

13. Having all of your toasts done before salads even comes out is the smartest thing to do. I wish more of my brides listened to me when it comes to this.

14. A close friend of the couple played piano through the ceremony

15. Including all of these loved ones in your wedding day is what makes your wedding unique. Kristi & TJ pulled it off flawlessly.

Congratulations to both of you and Happy New Year to all of my readers!

Goodbye 2007

2007-12-31T08:26:00.001-06:00

It's the last day of the year. The first thing that pops into my head on this day every year is "Happy Birthday Little Sister!" The second thing is usually, "I wish I didn't have to work holidays."

It's the end of another great wedding year for me. As I sit here looking at all of the folders for all of my clients over this year, I realize that I have once again, done more weddings this year than the previous. It's a good thing! But it's also something that I think I may be changing in 2008.

My only resolution this year is to slow down. To spend more time with family and friends rather than strangers. A lot of this will directly apply to weddings. My event planning business is a side business....I truly, truly do it because I love it. It has nothing to do with money (hence, my low rates). However, 2008 needs to be different. I've made a vow to myself to not take as many weddings, no matter how much I want to say yes. I'm not getting younger and before you know it, my 30's will be over. Supposedly these are some of the best years of my life. I'd rather enjoy them healthfully and not in an aftermath of sickness because I don't know how to slow down.

I also have to giggle myself because as one pile of client folders is rather large for 2007, the pile that is already neatly displayed on my desk in it's file for 2008 is growing rather large as well. 15 weddings already booked for 2008. That's half of what I normally do and most Day of Coordination requests come within 3-4 months of the wedding. That leaves a lot of time for 2008 inquiries to be booked. Slowing down also means planning more strategically around the weddings I do take. I've already put big black X's through holiday weekends....no more. Long holiday weekends are meant to be shared with family, laying on beaches, driving up to Door County to see mom, etc. Want to know how many times I went "home" in 2007? Three times. Want to know why? Because I had weddings.

As hard as this is going to be more for me, I'm determined to try. Trying gets me points right? Wish me luck!

Happy New Year to all of you. Feel free to share your resolutions here as well. Brides, what do you resolve to do for your 2008 planning? Vendors, any business-related resolutions for you as well?

Have a safe, happy and celebratory begining to 2008!

One more thing...

2007-12-31T08:15:00.001-06:00

After re-reading my less than exciting posts just now (I'm SICK people!) I realized I forgot to include the best detail of Tanya & Steve's wedding.

In Jewish wedding custom, the bride walks out alone and meets her parents halfway down the aisle. This meant that Tanya and I had some time alone behind closed doors as we waited for her parents to complete their long walk.

I smiled at her, grabbed her arms, told her this was it...it's time to get married. Her response? "Holy shit, Holy shit, Holy shit Danica" I mean, ooops, I shouldn't be saying that here. Holy shit."

Ok, so maybe you had to be there, but it was priceless and pretty much adorable. I swear, there are no better memories for me than when I have alone time with brides just before they walk down the aisle.

Shalom!

2007-12-30T16:59:00.000-06:00

Or something like that. I'm not Jewish, but every time I get to do a Jewish wedding, I am reminded how much fun they have at both the ceremony and of course, the reception. In Jewish history, it is practically an obligation to have a huge party after a couple weds and boy...do they ever!

Tanya & Steve got married last night in Fox Point. They got married where they both have attended synagogue forever. Where they both celebrated their Bat & Bar Mitzvahs. Where their families are no strangers to the congregation. It really was something. I had a blast with Tanya during the planning stages and she could run circles around Martha Stewart, let me tell ya.

We had several snafus with the florist, who shall remain nameless. I will just say that I will never be working with her again and I'm still shaking my head at what on earth she was thinking with the chuppah floral in all it's bright pink and fern greenery glory while the bouquets were a blend of ivory and burgundy roses. Huh? The bride thought the same thing. Luckily, Unnamed Florist redeemed herself at the reception with gorgeous branch centerpieces that were nearly as tall as me! What the bride doesn't' know about the reception is that I went around plucking more of that ugly green fern stuff away from it all. Shhhh...she doesn't need to know it was there in the first place.

Brynwood Country Club pulls off great events, mainly due to their diligent and happy staff. With an event coordinator and a banquet captain waiting on you hand and foot you can't really go wrong.

All in all...it was beautiful. Tanya glowed. Seriously, she did. And her dress? Oh.My.God. I can't even put it into words actually. I didn't even have time to take pictures so I'm hoping my friends at Expressive Photography will send me a few.

One more wedding to go tomorrow. Then a nap.

Bringing a Little Piece of Japan to WI

2007-12-30T16:47:00.000-06:00

I apologize...I have been overrun with weddings since 12/21 and when you couple that with the holidays, traveling, and then an upper respiratory infection...well, it causes great excuses for not blogging. Through SICK and thin though, I'm pulling through and doing weddings all weekend with a final holiday curtain call New Year's Eve with yet another wedding. January? I'm hibernating.

The military couple stationed in Japan had their Burlington, WI wedding on 12/21 and it was so perfect. Really. Ok, besides the Priest not being there for rehearsal and then wondering why no one left him notes about the ceremony details. But other than that it was perfect. I'm begining to think that full planning is easier than Day of Coordination. Simply, because I own it. I OWN their wedding. I KNOW exactly what needs to be done, who needs to be where, who doesn't need to be anywhere, etc. Why? Because I created it all. And executing something that you create is just easy. Well, for me at least.

I have to say this couple was so much more into their marriage than the actual wedding and that of course assisted me in making my job easier. It always does. Sadly, this is most often not the case. There's just too many brides out there that are way more into the color of the flowers, how a bow is tied, does Grandma coordinate, oh my gosh...I can't believe my bridesmaid has pink nails; you get the picture. I hate to say it, but I see a lot more of that than I do of Wow, I can't believe I'm marrying him today, I'm so excited for the ceremony, my family and friends are all here for US. But this couple?....they did it and they did it right.

They included Japanese scrolls that were framed for half of their centerpieces which guests loved. Whenever you tie in anything personal that is a bit different, your guests will go crazy with it. They also included all Japanese items in the bathroom baskets which was a ton of fun to pour through! Their black/white/green motif was pulled off beatuifully if I do say so myself. Even if it meant hours of cutting and gluing green ribbon around 300 votive holders during Packer games the past few weeks.

The end result was a very happy couple who was able to celebrate their life together despite the foggy conditions of a winter wonderland.

Pictures soon to come.

A First Date

2007-12-14T07:23:00.000-06:00

Remember the feeling you get in your stomach for a first date with someone? That feeling of excitement coupled with nerves. The "what if's" that run through your mind? --- What if we don't get along? What if he/she isn't what I expected? What if I like him, but he doesn't like me?

I have a date tonight. A first date! With my couple from Japan, that is. :)

They flew into Wisconsin on Tuesday and have been running around like mad trying to pay their vendors, shop for last-minute items, meet with the Priest, get a marriage license, etc.

But tonight...I get to meet them! And they get to meet me! It is going to be fabulous, I already know this. I feel like I know them already, especially the bride. The emails have been countless for the past 15 months as I attempted to plan their wedding with only suggestions, their likes, their dislikes, and that's about it. I'm nervous! I hope they like everything I've come up with.

I'll be sure to report back on my First Date. Wish me luck!

I've Said it Before...

2007-12-03T21:17:00.000-06:00

...and I'll say it again. I love my Brides. MY brides. I claim them, love them, and am always sad when I have to give them up.

Another wonderful bride tonight. A fun and chatty consultation meeting. A wedding date that I was not going to take because June is so busy already. However, she was a referral from one of my September 2007 brides and I just cannot turn down referrals if at all possible. When I do, I feel terrible and literally lose sleep over it. So, I said Yes to this June 28, 2008 bride. So glad I did! She's a sweetheart and not wedding-obsessed and just FUN!

People are always asking me how my brides are and how I can possibly stand working with brides all the time. I really think they question my honesty when I almost always tell them that I have the best brides ever. Hands down, the BEST. Sure, I've had a Bridezilla or two, but with as many weddings as I've done, that's really not that bad. Maybe I attract the sane ones, maybe I'm just smarter than the other Planners and know how to weed out the crazies before they sign on my dotted line. Maybe someone up there is watching out for me. Whatever it is, it seems to be working. The day it stops working is the day Dreams & Designs closes shop.

Self-Promotion Post at its Best

2007-12-02T12:44:00.000-06:00

One of my loyal readers emailed earlier in the week to say she missed my posts (awww!) and also to lead me in the direction of one of her website's newest articles. In a nutshell, it goes through why a bride and groom should consider hiring a Planner.

Their Top 3 reasons included:

1. To Get a Break
2. To Save Money
3. To Avoid Family Conflict

I can attest to the fact that these really are the top 3 reasons. Those that don't hire a Planner usually reflect back on these exact things after the wedding and wish they had done so. Keep in mind, that although a Planner is an amazing tool to utilize during the entire planning process, I realize it is not in everyone's budget or even in their overall scheme of what they want. However, a Day of Coordinator is in almost everyone's budget. Especially if you find a Coordinator that will work with your budget and your needs.

To elaborate on the above points, Getting a Break is essential in planning any event. Do you really want to have to be the go-to person for every single detail, idea, decision, etc.? Probably not. Especially the day of the wedding. There is no more awful feeling on the day of your wedding than vendors tapping you on your shoulder to ask your opinion on something or to let you know that something is wrong. You, your family, your friends should not have to deal with any of this on your Big Day. For that reason alone, invest in a Coordinator!

Most brides don't realize that if they hire a professional wedding specialist, they will end up saving money. Usually a lot of money. Yes, you are going to have to pay your Planner, however, in the weddings I've done full planning for the bride has ended up saving at least double what she paid me for my services. The reason is due to the fact that I have long-standing relationships with other wedding vendors. Good wedding vendors. Wedding vendors that aren't going to screw me or the bride over. Wedding vendors that value the referrals I send their way and are willing to negotiate with me on pricing for my bride. I also utilize reputable Internet sites that most aren't aware of that give great deals and discounts. I'm able to buy many items wholesale which means my bride just got those deals. So, think of hiring a Planner as an initial investment to save money in the end.

Want or need someone to run interference during the planning process or even on the day of the wedding? That's what your planner is for. You will always have a professional and unbiased approach by a Planner. I'm not going to agree with your mother just because she's mom. I'm not going to go along with Aunt Betty's crazy cake idea just because she swears it will be beautiful. I'm there for the couple, for their wants and needs. I'm there to explain benefits and downfalls to the family so their daughter is not labeled the "Bad Bride."

There are other great reasons to hire a Planner of course. However, I truly believe these are the top reasons. These reasons alone will let you be the Bride on your wedding day and that is it.

I'm Back

2007-12-01T12:01:00.000-06:00

It's a been a month. I realize this. However, it's been a BUSY month with things other than weddings. Gasp! Can you believe it? I had the month of November off from all things weddings, well almost. My December weddings are all crammed into a matter of two weekends and all right before and right after the holidays. Not sure what I was thinking except that all my brides for those weddings are so darn nice that there is no way I could say 'no' without feeling bad about it.

Winter is here. As I look at my window right now the start of the blizzard is upon us and it's coming down forcefully. The selfish side of me is so happy that I didn't take a wedding for this weekend, the nice side of me feels so bad for all those women in their dresses today...but they'll get FABULOUS winter pictures if they can bare the cold for just a few minutes of their photographer's time. Winter pics are my favorite by far. There is just something magical about them. Almost mystical.

I'm in the final stages of getting everything done for my 12/21 couple that I'm doing full planning for. I cannot wait to meet them! I'm nearly giddy already. You see, this is the couple that is stationed in the Navy in Japan....so all I have had with them is emails. A lot of emails. And that's it. Funny though how I have managed to get to know them, their styles, their personalities through a bunch of words. The next few weeks will be filled with my last-minute running around picking up some picture frames for some of their centerpieces, givin them their final checklist, finalizing church music, making sure the vendors are paid, prepping the decor that is taking up the back half of my living room, making list after list after list for myself and whatever else gets tossed my way. Yup, I'm going to be busy this month. Throw the holidays in there and 3 other weddings and I expect January will be here way quicker than I would like.

Oh, and if anyone you know is getting married 4.19.08 and is looking for a Day of Coordinator, I have an opening. Kind of. My bride that hired me for that day no longer needs my services and I really like her so I'd love to be able to fill the date and give her the deposit back. I've tried to talk with her mother to let her know that even though their venue promises them that they can do all the set-up on the wedding day, that's not the only reason I'm there. What about making sure all the vendors show up on time and are doing their job? What about keeping everyone to the timeline? What about ensuring that all of their decor is set up correctly? Venues and vendors may promise you that they'll do everything, but will they do it to your satisfaction? Too many times I've walked into a venue and table numbers are sitting on the tables facing away from the entrance, in different spots on all the tables, tipped over. It's the details. I do details. It's why people hire me. And at the end of the day it's a small $350 price to pay to know that you had a go-to person to take care of anything and everything that happens pre-ceremony to the time your guests sit down for dinner. On the other hand....$350 is money saved if you trust your vendors completely and don't need me.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Why It's All Worth It

2007-11-02T07:50:00.000-05:00

It is because of notes like the one I'll share at the end, that working every weekend, meeting with brides several nights out of the week, putting in anywhere from 10-30 hours/week on wedding stuff is all worth it.

Some people don't understand why I have my wedding planning business. I mean, I have a fabulous "real" career that I worked my ass off to get to, I make decent money, I'd have my weekends free...why do I do this? Because I love it. Even on those Saturday mornings when I roll out of bed and think "Another wedding ((Sigh))," I still love it when I get there and am thrown into the thick of it. And I love that I can be an affordable option for a couple. If I didn't do this on the side, I'd have to raise my prices. I like that almost everyone's budget can squeeze in a Coordinator with my pricing. That's why I started this....I knew how badly everyone should at least have a Day of Coordinator, but I didn't like the prices I saw out there for it. The light bulb went off and I thought "I can do this for people!"

Of course loving it is also the reason I refuse to make this company bigger than what it is. Well, that and the fact that I have no desire to walk in my parents footsteps of self-employment for the rest of my life. Having a great year and then a not so great year, always high-priced crappy insurance, paying and dealing with multiple employees...yeah, not so much fun to me. So I will keep it small in order to love it big.

I'll keep the note anonymous, but this is the portion I'm going to brag on a little. She is the most awesome, amazing, coolest damn girl ever. She's the kind of gal you KNOW you could just be friends with after a beer together. It's notes like these that make it all worthwhile and that make it even more fun. It's also women like this, the ones that take the extra time to actually write a thank you, that make it special.

I couldn't do this without the brides (and grooms!) that I have. I always wonder if someone is watching over me and only letting the "good" brides through.

And the letter.........that brought tears on way too early this morning:

I just want you to know that I appreciate you so much, and that I THANK YOU for everything that you did for (Name Withheld) and I on our wedding day- For the rest of my life, you will be in my memory as letting me swear in church and keeping me calm before I had to take on those stairs!! I am so glad that you were there with me at such a happy time, and good lord, helping me find some lip gloss!! what the heck was I thinking not having julie come to the church I will never know, I didn't want to inconvenience her! Knowing that I could count on you meant a lot to me, and I never would have been able to have the day that I did without you! It was a calm stress free day, and I know I owe a lot of that to you.. I have stood up in a couple weddings, and been the one to set things up and all the while knowing I have to get ready too, so having you there and having the time to hang out and enjoy everyone and everything meant a lot to me~

Sorry this took so long to get to you- I am so excited that you are going to be working with (Name Withheld) for her wedding next August- I can't wait to see you in action again! I told (Name Withheld) she would regret NOT having you, and I am glad that you were available- some things are just meant to be I think...

Well take care Danica, I am going to keep up with you via your blog.. I hope you enjoy your much deserved time off, and THANK YOU again. I love that you will be one of my most favortist memories from our day!

People Want Me To Be Helpful

2007-10-25T15:43:00.000-05:00

I received a few emails from readers that weren't too thrilled with my blog entry about BROWN. One even went on to say I should prepare to lose business if I'm going to start telling everyone what I hate about weddings. Um...probably not. And for the record, I never said I hated brown weddings. I'm just sick of them right now. If you planned weddings and attended up to two weddings per weekend year-round, you just might tire of some trends also. Walk in my shoes before you pass judgement please.

Another reader said she (or is it a he? I probably shouldn't assume things) would appreciate some helpful blogging once in a while instead of my "typical recaps of weddings." It's funny how this is MY blog that I write in MY spare time, yet I'm supposed to do for others first. However, I will. I'm on wedding hiatus until December 21 so expect to see some wedding-related tips, advice, possible guest bloggers, any maybe other helpful little items from yours truly.

Today's helpfulness will be about saving money. We all want to save money on wedding-planning no matter what our financial state or background is. Hopefully this will assist those of you that are in planning mode.

1. Your guest list will determine your budget in most cases. 100 guests is more cost-friendly than 350 guests. The more guests you have, the more you will spend on invitations, postage, meals, favors, cake, centerpieces, linens, rentals, and on and on and on.

2. Research your vendors. If this means calling 15 different florists to gather quotes and get a feel for what they do, then that's how you're going to save money. No, you will not save time doing this. Saving money on anything usually means adding more time to your wedding planning.

3. It's perfectly fine to have one DJ at your wedding. While two DJ's is great and can make things flow even smoother, it is certainly not necessary. One outstanding DJ will make your reception the party you envisioned.

4. Sheet cakes are less expensive, as we all know. However, numerous bakers are catching on to this new trend of having a small display cake and two or more sheet cakes to cut from in the back. You can still order a smaller display cake from the baker of your choice, but you can also order a much more reasonable sheet cake or two from your local bakery or grocery store. Even Sam's makes sheet cakes that are to die for. As long as the taste is there....no one else will know their cake was cut in the back from a sheet cake.

5. DIY. Do.It.Yourself. The more you can do yourself (invitations, addressing envelopes, non-floral centerpieces, searching out Ebay for deals, etc.) the more cost effective it will be. Again, this means having the time in your life to do these things. There are also several DIY projects that may mean being crafty; be sure you have that crafty gene before attempting to bring together all the pieces of your decor vision.

6. Hire a wedding planner. I know, I know....I have to say this, right? No, I don't. I only say it because I've seen it work for couples. I've seen the money I've saved couples. Wedding Planners have relationships with numerous vendors and can often negotiate a much better price than the couple can. Planners are also able to cut time in half because we KNOW the good, bad, and ugly out there where vendors are concerned. We KNOW which vendors are going to be a good fit for our couple based on what their needs are. We KNOW which vendors have the personality to get along well with a couple that may have a difficult personality or a challenging timeline to pull off. All in all...the money you invest in a Wedding Planner will almost always end up saving you at least double the cost of that Planner.

7. Skip the chair covers. Rent chairs instead. Usually an actual chair rental will be less expensive than renting covers and ties. You can rent white wooden chairs, an array of colors of chivari chairs, black or natural colored wooden chairs, etc. They can make even more of an impact on the room than chair covers.

8. Skip the stretch limo, stretch hummer, trolley, 32-passenger bus, or whatever other transportation you're seeking for the bridal party. Instead, rent a few classy cars (Cadillac, the new fancy schmancy Chrysler's that are out there, Mustang, etc.) and designate a couple drivers either in the bridal party or even uncles or cousins that would have fun chauffeuring everyone from church to picture site to reception site.

9. Re-use what you can from your ceremony site at your reception site. There are so many brides that are in awe when I suggest that they take their Unity Candle arrangement and move it to the center of their head table. Move your pew buckets to the placecard or guest book table. Move the altar floral arrangements to flank the head table at the reception.

10. Do what you can afford. Really examine whether it is so important to you to have a big fancy party that you are willing to go thousands of dollars into debt on a credit card for it. Determine your budget early and stick with it. Splurge on a few things that are the most important to you and then go from there. If a cake isn't important to you, do something different. I know brides that have done ice cream sundaes, caramel apple pie, and dessert buffets.

So....there you have it. Some actual honest to goodness wedding tips to help you save money. Even if you do just a couple of these, it has the potential to shave hundreds of dollars off your wedding expenditures. Just remember....pay for the marriage, not for the wedding party. If you think of it that way, it will keep you much more honest on what you're spending and what you're not.

No More Brown Please

2007-10-22T12:01:00.000-05:00

I love the color brown. Even when it wasn't popular, I always liked it. If my staple of basic black suddenly didn't exist anymore, brown it would be!

However....in the last 8 weekends, I believe only two of those weddings were accented by a color other than brown. Wait...I think it might have only been one wedding! I tried and tried two years ago to throw brown down the throats of so many brides lost in their pursuit of finding the perfect color palette for their big day. Nobody listened to me then. But now?....brown is everywhere.

I'll be honest....I'm looking forward to my nice Fall break that includes no weddings. No weddings means I don't have to see another brown dress for quite some time. :)

When you see weddings every single weekend, you tend to get sick and tired of the same things all the time. Granted, only the vendors are the ones that see the same thing every weekend; your guests, more than likely, don't attend a wedding every weekend. That's why I still encourage brides to do candy buffets, late night pizza/snacks, and other unique elements on their wedding day. Some brides tell me they hear that everyone does those things, but I always have to remind them that their guests are not traveling the Internet looking for wedding ideas, their guests are not a part of the bride-to-be message board craze, their guests are not reading issue after issue of wedding magazines.

It'll be fun to see what color makes a big hit in 2008. I have a lot of black/white weddings lined up so far for 2008 and for some reason, I never get tired of those.

I Hate This

2007-10-21T19:06:00.001-05:00

I need a picture. Of myself. A nice one. Not a drunk one. Not a family one. Not a lounging in my Packer sweats one. An honest to God professional quality, professionally attired, professional looking photo of ME.

My website has been sans the obligatory owner photo since it went up over two years ago. Or has it been longer? I don't even know anymore, that's how long it's been.

I'm pretty sure the pictures you see here wouldn't cut it (Wherever those pictures ended up since Blogger is being oh-so-not-picture-friendly today). Bonjour Badger has inspired me...she's going through the same thing for her upcoming website.

I keep thinking I'll do the photo once I've lost more weight. Or maybe once I find the person to take the photo. Or once I acquire the perfect black outfit to wear (those of you that know me can stop laughing now...just because my closet is full of black clothes does not simply mean that the perfect "website photo of me outfit" is in there!). Or once I find out just how much money I'm going to have to drop to get a decent picture taken. Or this or that. I'm full of excuses.

Someone pass me a black outfit, a credit card, a location, and I guess a photographer. I really need to get this show on the road.

Happiness in K-Town

2007-10-20T20:21:00.000-05:00

That's Kenosha for all you non-Milwaukee area readers. Today's wedded bliss took place about 50 miles South of Milwaukee. Which meant on the road at 10:30am with my trusty Mapquest in hand. Thankfully I found UW-Parkside without any problems and navigated my way through the small campus to find Wyllie Hall.

I had a good hour to do some set-up at the reception site first and then had to bust over to the church, about 15 miles away to do the ceremony set-up. The day was surprisingly flawless for the most part, considering there was a lot to do at both sites. The church, although it didn't appear as a lot on paper turned out to be a little time-consuming and with early arriving guests; it was pedal to the floor, that's for sure. But of course it all came together and was done in time to open the doors.

Stacey was so beautiful. Her dress rocked, her hair was sassy and fun, and she was so collected. I had no idea how Stacey was going to handle her wedding day. While it is one of the most precious days of any woman's life, there are sometimes circumstances that can make it a bit sad as well. Stacey's Dad passed away unexpectedly not too long ago so there was no Daddy to walk her down the aisle. Big Brother filled the role very nicely I must say, even getting a big brother/little sister jab in at the last second. :) But Stacey didn't shed a tear as she waited to walk down the aisle and I'm so glad because I knew if she did, the emotional side of me would melt along with her. I have a feeling Dad was walking beside her anyway.

Once Stacey was down the aisle, I zipped back over to UWP to continue with set-up. Thankfully, the person in charge put her staff to work helping me also. There was just so much to do and of course not enough time. Stacey put a ton of work into several projects. She made so many things herself including silver branch centerpieces that also had an electric tealight in them so they glowed, mint boxes on each table, head table decor, you name it...Stacey did it! So, it was a day of running around and praying that guests didn't come early. My prayer request must have gone through on that one, because we had no early guests!

A wedding day is hardly ever complete without a couple snafus though. The worst was that something broke. This is the first time that I've ever had something actually shatter just minutes before the reception is to begin. Stacey had a candelabra in the center of the head table that had glass votive jars in it. It fell. The entire thing came sliding off the front of the head table when I adjusted the monogram in front. Lovely. I found a broom in the blink of an eye and substituted the glass votive holders with tea lights. Sorry Stacey! The 'I DO' letters for the cake table were great and once again, made by the bride; however it clashed with the linen that was on the cake table. So...I reinvented the use of a chair cover to fluff it up a bit and display the letters on this accent piece of fabric instead. Not the best looking, but it got the job done and she still had her letters! A few guests didn't RSVP, but they seemed to have solved the seating arrangement themselves by the time I found out so that was good. A bartender failed to show up, so the Manager had to bartend and direct waitstaff, but she pulled it off. Just little stuff here and there, but as always....it comes together in the end.

UW-Parkside's hall is very nice once it's all done up. Chair covers and lit lanterns hanging from the ceiling certainly put the class into the place. The room transformation was quite unbelievable actually. It's a great setting for those looking for something unique and very affordable. The light (and the hot sun today! Yikes!) that streams through the picture windows is a beautiful backdrop. It's a tri-level area so upstairs is dinner, then down a few stairs is where the cocktail hour and later the dancing is held (oh, and the yummy candy buffet that I'm hoping was created to Stacey's liking!), and then a few steps below that is an area with games, pool, etc. The lower area probably doesn't get used that much for weddings, but it's nice to have there if you have a bunch of kids or teens attending.

Oh....and my new camera is great! Unfortunately, the mass amounts of light coming through made for some difficult picture taking on my part, but you get the idea. It was nearly a 10 hour day, but well worth it. Stacey & Jeff were so happy and gracious and I hope they're dancing up a storm right now!

Ok....blogger is unable to upload pictures at the moment. You've got to be kidding me! I'll come back and edit with pictures later I guess.

(Edit: Well, Blogger let me put pictures in now, but not where I want them, so I apologize for the mess at the top of the page.)

Corinne's Day

2007-10-14T16:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Corinne's Day. Wedding Day that is. Oh, and it was Dan's too, but we all know this is mostly about the bride anyway. :)

I have a huge regret about yesterday though. I did not get to spend any time with her at all. Not that I'm hanging onto my brides every weekend because there obviously is just not time for that, but I usually get to spend some time with them while they get ready, while they wait for the ceremony to begin, and my favorite part...waiting with them once their bridesmaids have left to go down the aisle and helping with last minute veil & train adjustments and passing them off to Dad or whoever is walking them down the aisle. I got none of that yesterday!

St. John's Cathedral in downtown Milwaukee was the gorgeous backdrop to this marriage. It is one of the few church's where I have encountered a cool church coordinator. However, as cool as he is (and he is FABULOUS! He even danced with me in the church. Um, long story) it's his show and that's the way he likes it. He insisted on calling me Nice Lady because he said he never gets to work with nice wedding planners. Aww! But it made my time at the church just very laid back. I assisted the florist and pinned all the corsages and boutonnieres so that the florist could take her daughter to a Halloween party. So, yes, I did have some kind of role. But the part I missed the most was being able to usher Corinne into the church foyer, place her flowers in her hands, drape her arm through her Dad's, straighten her train/veil and whisper "Congrats, have fun!" as she took off down the aisle. I was actually sad as I left the church to bolt over to the War Memorial.

But...I had to slap the sadness out of me once I got to the reception venue. The reception started at 5pm with cocktail hour in the main room so everything had to be set up in 90 minutes. Of course I get there and there are no linens on the tables, the tables are set up incorrectly, the cocktail area looks atrocious, etc. This is what happens when there are 16 yr old boys setting the room up with no War Memorial Salesperson supervision. On top of all that, I have all the vendors there early (yippee!) with nothing to do, but wait and get antsy. Fast forward and of course it all gets set up while I run around feeling like I am now part of the catering staff in order to get this all done in time.

Corinne & Dan used a green and brown motif to lay the designwork of the room. They intertwined alternating centerpieces with a lot of candlelight all set on beautiful table runners. Their guest book table was hands down the best one I've ever put together. It displayed engagement pictures of the couple in the center of the table with the guest book directly at the front edge of the table (with very classy pens in a tray---very cool idea!). Flanking this was wedding pictures of both the bride and groom's parents and grandparents. All with varying sizes of candles in between. Beautiful and so well done.

I bought a new digital camera today. My uploaded pictures of this wedding are not even close to being something that I can post here. Apparently, my camera had been dying for a while, but I now have proof that it went to photo hell yesterday. Too bad because the shots would have been great! So...this new camera should yield pics from now on!

One more wedding next weekend for the Fall and then I have a nice long break until Dec 21st. I plan it this way every year just so that I can enjoy my favorite time of year and not get so wrapped up into wedding work that I miss the fun of the holidays and everything else that goes on at this time of year.

Stacey is up next and I can't wait to meet with her tomorrow night to go over her final details! I haven't seen her in a long time so it'll be fun to see what ideas made it to the final stages and what's in store for me on Saturday.

A-List I am Not

2007-10-14T16:34:00.000-05:00

Whatever. I knew that the WISN's 2007 A-List would have the same winner in the Wedding Planner category as last year and the year before that and the year before.... :)

But hey! I came in 4th place! Not too shabby for my first year being nominated. And...that 4th place ranking came in without a mass email to my client list urging them to vote, vote, vote. Trust me, I wanted to, but at the end of the day I figured it wasn't a very "nicey nice" thing to do. So, 4 out of the over 13 companies that were nominated isn't too shabby I guess.

Maybe next year will be the year of Dreams & Designs.

So, to all those who voted and said the kindest things ever....I thank you. To the person(s) that nominated my business, thank you also. I guess by now you want to remain anonymous, but I sure am curious!

Bride Blog

2007-10-12T11:26:00.001-05:00

One of my "new" brides, Darci, has a blog. It's a fabulous blog and I'm already checking it constantly for her new updates. She's a fun writer so it's an easy read and well, it's all about wedding planning so it's obvious in my inner circle of things I tend to love. Better yet, it's about HER wedding planning.

Darci gets married next September and just recently hired me to be her Day of Coordinator. I simply call it fate now that I've gotten to know her through blogs and emails. It was the only date I had available for next September and I actually was going to mark "Don't Book" in my calendar for that date, but when Darci emailed, something inside of me said "Take this bride." So I did. I gave up my only free weekend in September 2008 so that I can head to Fontana to the Abbey Resort to help this lovely lady perfect her day.

Her blog is great and details the steps of her planning, the things she's considering, some vendors she's hired, some minor freak-out moments (Darci...there will be more to come and they are completely normal!), and just an overall account of what she's doing. It keeps her family and friends up to date and I imagine it's a great reference place to go to and keep track of the many ideas and pictures a bride-to-be accumulates during the planning process.

As a wedding planner, it's so great to go into this blog and see the vision unfold! No guessing what she's thinking or what she might mean by "green"...it's all right there. Can I mandate that all my brides blog about their wedding planning? Probably not, but that sure would be nice. hint, hint. :)

So, check out her blog if you wish. Have fun planning along with Darci!

Nothing to do with Weddings

2007-10-11T16:35:00.000-05:00

Or at least not really.

I haven't had a wedding-related appointment all week. I don't remember the last time this happened. Months and months and months I bet. I've done wedding work, but even that has been limited. That's usually what Fall is like for me. Things start to wind down for a few months and I plan to thoroughly enjoy it this year!

This means I'll actually get my ass back into the gym on a regular basis. In fact, as soon as I'm done writing this and finishing up some work stuff....I'm off to the gym. I'm one of those people that actually enjoys the gym. Actually, no, that's not right. I bitch about it before going, but once I get there, I have this huge weight taken off my shoulders. I feel this sense of relief as I do my cardio routine and head to the weights. It's calming for me. And best of all, it gets me in shape. Somehow, in the last year, I managed to go down quite a few dress sizes...however, with a new job in the last 9 weeks, I'm pretty damn certain that either I gained everything back or the body-shifting movements have really played a cruel trick on me. I'm 30 now you know and what they say is true. Things change. Things move. Weird.

So...off to the gym it is! And I will like it and I will be more religious about getting back into my gymrat routine.

See? Now I have to....because everyone now knows about it.

Organization = Perfection

2007-10-08T19:29:00.000-05:00

I'm nearly giddy over my upcoming Saturday bride. She's organized and detailed and I am sitting here at my desk just smiling at it all.

With all my brides that I'm doing Day of Coordination for, I ask for some basics. That includes a timeline of the day, floor plan of the reception site, vendor contact info including times they are to arrive and a To-Do List for me for set-up. Some brides are great and get me everything I request in order to fully complete the vision that they have more than likely spent over a year planning. Other brides just have me wing it, which can be scary and freeing all at the same time. Then there's brides who are somewhere in the middle that provide me with a little of this and a little of that. Then there are brides like Corinne. Brides that I want to be my bride every weekend. Brides that ALL brides should model themselves after.

I opened my email tonight to find an email from Corinne verifying all the vendor info and then attaching the floorplan, timeline and best of all.....actual diagrams done in power point of how each table is to be set up. No, I'm not kidding. And if you're laughing right now it is only because you are NOT a Wedding Planner! I always tell my brides to be as detailed as possible with their set-up/To-Do List for me; remember, THEY have planned it all and it is now up to ME to execute it and make it come together. So, the more details I have the better. Corinne may have set the bar. I have diagrams for guest tables, cocktail tables, guest book table, cake table...you name it. All neatly labeled with enough direction. Seriously, if I get hit by a Mack Truck tomorrow and one of my assistants or friends/family has to do this wedding on Saturday....it will be perfect. Because it's idiot-proof. And I like idiot-proof.

Oh, and I found out one of my blog readers is getting married at Corinne's venue on Saturday and she wants to stop by to see what it looks like all set up. I guess this blogging thing is actually helping people! Kinda cool.

I am going to have a great week with NO stress over this wedding. Thanks Corinne!

It's Over

2007-10-08T09:14:00.000-05:00

The Wedding Weekend is officially over. I think I'm too tired to even post anything about yesterday's wedding, but I'll give it a try.

First, let me say that I did have to miss my friend's reception last night. I kind of figured I would and had given her a head's up, but I was still bummed about it. I could have gone very late, but my other friends were all gone by then. The upside to this meant that I got to watch the Packer game, loss and all. :(

Sunday's wedding was a blistering nearly 90 degrees. Not exactly what you would think an October weekend would be like. To top it off, the ceremony was held outdoors at the Botanical Gardens. Hot weather at the Gardens = bees. Lots of bees. Keep in mind that the Garden doesn't do anything about bees so guests had to swat at themselves through the entire ceremony and cocktail hour. Overall though, it was a beautiful ceremony.

I had to keep laughing at the groom through the day though because he just couldn't relax or get the nerves out of him. So, he kept finding projects to do with the setup. It was cute, and hey...it helped speed up the process so whatever works! There was less than 90 minutes to do complete setup of everything. The Gardens has Sunday brunch and this week it, of course, ran over the 3pm mark. Mind you, we had a 5:30 ceremony with everything immediately following. Time crunch? Just a bit. Thank goodness Bartolotta's staff is over accommodating and helped me set up a ton of stuff. They were great! This meant that everything went off without a hitch (or at least that's what it looked like to everyone else). :)

The bride was beautiful. Just a touch of makeup, hair pulled back, a long flowing veil, and this amazing lace sheath gown with just a little sweep train. It was pretty much perfection. She glowed and was so calm....I loved it!

One unique element that seems to be gaining popularity was the groom's attendants included two females. Both sisters, I believe. I love this concept. I love that they strayed away from all females on one side and all males on the other. It looked cool and I heard a couple guests comment how nice that was. Now, the next thing that I hope comes around to buck tradition is no silly lineup at all....just a nice arc of attendants in the background.

At any rate, this wedding came together beautifully. They had fabulous vendors (ahem, I may have had something to do with that) including my favorite florist, Petals, my all-time FAVE band, the 5 Card Studs, Brookfield Wedding Cakes, Expressive Photography, and of course Bartolotta's. You put all those people together and you're nearly guaranteed a flawless event. Which I, of course, am all about.

Corinne's wedding is on Saturday. More great vendors at the War Memorial and a bride who just may be the sweetest, kindest, most gentle gal ever. Can't wait!

One Down....

2007-10-07T11:54:00.001-05:00

Saturday's wedding is over. Is it bad that it makes me completely too happy?

Everything was fine. Except for Mom. Mom of the Bride that is. I'm sure she's a nice lady in "real life", however, on her daughter's wedding day, this was not the case. She barked orders at everyone, wouldn't let me do anything at all (what a waste of their money to pay me to do nothing), and told every single vendor how they should be doing their job. This included taking the camera out of the photographer's hands to look through it at the shot he was getting ready to take and telling him "that'll do." Seriously. Like I said, all around a nice woman....but there was no doubt that she either was over the top control-freak or thought this was her day.

My bride was beautiful. I know I say that all the time, but she was downright model-like. Her dress was just classic with a touch of sexiness to it. I gasped when I saw her and that doesn't happen to me much anymore. I wish she could have calmed down a little too, but she was adamant about knowing what was going on, what the vendors were doing, the timeline, etc. By the time they got to the reception she was finally at ease.

This couple has a baby daughter and she nearly stole the show! A young family member pulled her down the aisle in this old-fashioned wagon. It was the best baby/child entrance I've ever seen. So precious.

The Marriott Milwaukee West pulled off yet another flawless event. I'm not a huge fan of hotel wedding receptions, but I really do like this one. The ballroom is gorgeous, their staff is fabulous, you get white glove service. Ok, maybe I'm a little bias since I worked for Marriott for nearly 12 years, but these people have their shit together and that's what I like.

Once again, no pictures. Not because I forgot my camera...because I had it! But the batteries were dead. I swear, my mother passed on her bad luck with cameras to me.

Now I'm off to the next wedding. I pray it all goes well. It's an outdoor ceremony in this horrible heat and all of us vendors have two hours tops to get everything done at the ceremony site and the cocktail hour/reception rooms. I think I'll be ditching the high heels today.

Catholics Need Not Apply

2007-10-04T21:16:00.001-05:00

Let me say right now...I'm Catholic. Therefore, I can say all of this.

Tonight was Rehearsal #1 for the weekend. In a Catholic church, which to me, the Wedding Planner, means sitting there for a good 90 minutes while the church coordinator goes through everything. I must say, the guy tonight was nice and didn't act like a total snot towards me when I introduced myself, but the intro was about as much as he wanted to talk about. From there, I was told exactly what my role would be on Saturday. Nothing. Except clean up. They love wedding planners only because it means they get to tell us to clean up. When I told him I would be leaving immediately after Tricia gets down the aisle to head to the reception site, he was almost in panic mode. I informed him the family was in charge of clean up. Ha!

From there...rehearsal was typical. But I felt bad for nearly everyone since not too many were Catholic and had no idea what they were in for. The Coordinator made them practice standing, sitting, bowing, the sign of peace, what to do during communion, what to do when the readers were doing their thing, and on and on. I swear, it's the only religion that ends up taking this long to figure out a wedding rehearsal. And go figure...yet another Priest that refuses to pronounce the first kiss. It's all just odd, this Catholic marriage thing. Although, not ALL of them are like this, most are.

I'm Catholic. Born & raised and very grateful for that upbringing. I wouldn't change it for anything despite the drama surrounding our particular religion these days. But seriously...do weddings really have to be so strict and long and full of readings that no one understands? Give me a Lutheran wedding any day. Now those people know how to do this the right way!

3 Wedding Weekend

2007-10-04T07:29:00.000-05:00

I might die. Well, probably not, but come midnight on Sunday I am going to pass out. I have three weddings this weekend and the festivities start tonight. My Saturday wedding is having their rehearsal tonight, so there's that. Then it's the wedding on Saturday. Then there's a wedding on Sunday. And then whenever I'm finished with my Sunday wedding, I'll be hightailing it over to Lakefront Brewery to attend the reception of a friend, who was married in Tahoe earlier this summer. Fun? Yes! Exhausting? Hell yes! I also fear that I won't be able to make it to my friend's reception because I have this sneaky suspicion that I will be "stuck" at the Sunday wedding all night.

I was crazy enough to do this to myself this weekend, so I really have no right to complain about it. My Saturday couple just had a baby a few months ago and asked me to do Month of Coordination, which entails creating and keeping up with the ever-changing timeline, being the main point of contact for ALL their vendors, and basically just being their go-to person the month before. With a new baby, she knew she'd have her hands full. But my hands are so full it's not even funny.

Enter Sunday Wedding couple. I was completely on board to do Day of Coordination for them, but then we met and as we talked and talked, they realized they may not have the time or ability to do everything that has to be done the month before. They live on the East Coast and planning from afar is manageable, but it can get a little frustrating the closer you get to the date. So....I said yes. Because I liked them. Because I felt bad for them. Because I thought I could totally handle TWO month of coordinations one day apart. Um, yeah. I've handled it, it's what I do. But this past month has been controlled chaos.

I can't say either couple has been high-maintenance, there has just been a lot of details for each wedding. One wedding has fabulous vendors but they're so busy contact with them has been difficult. The other wedding has so-so vendors so working with them has been an ongoing challenge.

I never thought I'd ever say this....but I can't wait for Monday to get here just so the weekend is over. And I sure do hope I don't have to miss Laura & Mark's reception on Sunday night!

Wish me luck. Or sanity. I probably need the sanity more.

Help Krista Help Amelia

2007-10-04T06:43:00.000-05:00

This is more important than any wedding post that will ever be on here. That's right. Krista is running a marathon in honor and support of Amelia, a little girl with leukemia who is fighting to live. But Krista's not just running a marathon, she's collecting money also. Money that will help this little girl. You can visit Krista's blog for the entire story (and it's a tear-jerker, let me warn you) and you can also visit here for Team In Training's website to donate, donate, donate!! Skip your Starbucks this week and donate that $5 to Amelia. Please!

I Was Tagged

2007-10-01T18:30:00.000-05:00

Aw man Molly! I swear, I learn something new about blogging every day. Molly tagged me and well, see below.

THE RULES:
1. Post these rules before you give you the facts.
2. List eight (8) random facts about yourself.
3. At the end of your post, choose (tag) someone and list their name (linking to their page).
4. Leave them a comment on their blog letting them know they’ve been tagged!

8 Random Facts about Danica:

1. I was in a commercial for the restaurant I worked at in high school. The commercial that I (and other girls) were promised would only air on the local access channel. It aired on ESPN in our market along with the major news channels. We were given shit for that my entire Senior year.

2. I can still do the splits.

3. I get antsy very easily. Meaning, I very seldom even sit through commercials of my favorite tv shows. I get up and do something else.

4. I love football. I always thought I'd be the first female NFL referee. To this day, my Dad says I should have gone after that. He's probably right.

5. My siblings are my best friends. I mean, I have a couple "real" best friends, but my brother and sister and I have a pact: We will always be there for each other even if others aren't.

6. I miss both of my Grandmas. A lot. A whole lot.

7. I went to Ireland with my mom. That's right, with my MOM. And damn it, we had a blast! I think Italy is next.

8. I love my SUV. Sometimes I justify having it to others by blaming it on my business and that I need it. But really? I don't care what people say about it, I love it and will probably always own one. Wedding business or not.

These people have been tagged: Ginesa, Jess, Tracey

Almost Perfect

2007-10-01T18:11:00.000-05:00

Liz & Matt got married on Saturday. They had to get married at their church using the required Wedding Coordinator who they had to PAY additional for. That's right...they HAD to use her and they HAD to pay extra. Apparently, it was not a good situation with little miss church wedding coordinator either. The couple had made the decision not to have me there and to instead put all my efforts into picking up their wedding day items and setting up their reception at The Miller Room. Very smart on their part, but I sure did feel bad for everyone when they told me how horrible this girl was to work with before the ceremony.

Setting up at The Miller Room or The Harbor Lights Room is always a challenge. Mainly, because you are not allowed in until 3pm and even then the crew is just starting to put out the tables, chairs and linen everything. I use that time to unload my truck and haul it all into the room. These venues also do not allow you to drop anything off prior to 3pm so I make sure I wear sensible shoes on these days because there is A LOT of walking and lifting going on! Despite all this, it really is one of my favorite venues to work with. The staff is always great and by this time, we know each other so well and work in tandem to pull it all off flawlessly. Their staff truly lets me make judgement calls if need be which is rare, but very nice and helpful. They know that I know the couple and their vision better than they do and they trust that I'll make the right decisions.

It really was a perfect day for the most part. With only 2 hours to set everything up and the vendors included a 15-piece jazz band that meant a ton of people running around, at 5:30 we opened the doors and the guests were greeted with a room that was FULL of candlelight. It simply glowed and I must say...I did one hell of a gorgeous job. Their vision was candles, candles, a little floral here and there, and more candles. I must have set up more than 500 candles total and while it sounds like overkill, it truly was spectacular.

They did food stations for their dinner, which is such a great concept that no one ever does. I love it. It gives wedding guests something different than the same sit-down dinner that every other wedding does. It provides the opportunity for more guest interaction and mingling. It looks classy and high-end while still being affordable. Nice job Liz & Matt! The other unique concept to this wedding? A cigar bar. They did it themselves with a beautiful humidor, top notch cigars, cutters, matches, modern ashtrays, etc. All just set up nicely on a cabaret table for guests to enjoy and help themselves to. It was a hit!

Did I mentioned they looked gorgeous? They did. Her dress was to die for. Her chocolate brown color complimented the few floral centerpieces she had and by sheer coincidence went so well with the recently renovated Miller Room. Another unique twist? She had a male attendant alongside her two bridesmaids and he had two female attendants alongside his best man. This couple bucked tradition on so many things and it was such a fabulous event that I'm sure their guests will be talking about for months to come.

Oh, and one of these days I'm going to actually remember my camera so I can share pictures! I was so bummed I didn't have it for this one. I'm hoping Front Room, their photographers, will let me steal some pics from them.

My Favorite Bride of the Week

2007-09-23T10:25:00.001-05:00

Well, ok...she's my only bride of the week, but she really did rock.

Yesterday was Saturday. Saturdays mean weddings to me. This Saturday was Jim & Jenn. I knew Jenn was going to be a dream to work with the minute we sat down at Starbucks 9 months ago for our initial meeting. The girl is just laid back, cool, calm, collected, and WAY more into her marriage than she was the wedding itself. Exactly what it's supposed to be about.

Her big day was yesterday and she did so much work herself that turned out so beautiful. I'll be honest with you, not every bride can pull off doing things herself. You have to be organized, dedicated to the projects, and have a bit of a creative/crafty side if you want it all to turn out. Jenn hit it right on. With a color palate of pinks and green, everything complimented each other to true perfection.

I think one of the highlights for me was walking into the bride's room at the church before the ceremony was supposed to start, ushering her bridesmaids out to take their places and standing behind Jenn as she looked in the mirror to take one final glimpse of her single self. She looked at me in the mirror and said "Holy shit Danica, I'm getting married today!" and then displayed the biggest smile ever. You sure are hon, you sure are.

While there was a pesky church coordinator (who also doubled as the soloist) who was training a new church coordinator, all was well. I think I was only snipped at twice. Not too bad.

Once Jenn & Jim were hitched, I took everything from the church to the reception venue, Sheraton 4 Points - Milwaukee Airport (soon to be the Wyndham). This is where everything gets sticky. As great as Jenn is, she just didn't have time the final week to to get me the things I needed, including a floor plan with table assignments, a revised To-Do List for set-up, etc. But I had complete faith in myself that I could pull this off and that Jenn would be fine with however it turned out. She had even indicated on her first To-Do List to use my judgement on a few things so I figured we were on the same page.

However, the info that the Sheraton had and the info that I had were very different. My head table indicated two tiers of 6, their's indicated two tiers; 1 of 4, 1 of 8. Uh-oh. While I showed the Sheraton the notes provided by our client, they refused to change anything because Jenn had signed off on their copy. I totally understand this because at the end of the day the set-up falls on the Sheraton, not me. Signatures are signatures. While I tried to fight for my bride, it was a losing battle. On top of all this, I get to witness a manager downright belittle an employee for not setting up a few tables correctly. Granted, he was right and I was the one that pointed it out to him, but I never expected him to call his set-up guy an IDIOT over it. Good lord. I had some choice words with this manager and plan on writing a letter to the General Manager of that hotel, someone that I happen to know very well. This is why you should always be on your best behavior in front of strangers...you never know who's watching and what they know.

The rest of set-up went well, Le Cakery did an amazing job and were so detailed with their beautiful cake set-up. Very impressive. I finally got to meet Eric, the owner of DJ's Unlimited and catch up with him. I had to make a few executive decisions on my portion of set-up including not using the rose petals around the centerpieces because they would have just been overkill and taken away from her beautiful tables. There weren't enough lotto scratch-off favors for every seat because the Sheraton had to overset since they weren't provided with how many people would be at each table...again, I improvised. All in all, it was a great day and though I have to detail out some things for Jenn in an email today as a follow-up, I think she was pleased. I know both Mom's were and that's usually the hard part!

Oh, there were also floral snafu's, namely that the lovely florist refused to drop anything off at the Sheraton, meaning I had to transport everything, which is not a big deal at all...it's just strange. The other part was that she completely mixed up the colors of the flowers. They looked amazing and no one would ever know except for Jenn and I, but it was a big mistake. Did I mention the boutineers and corsages ALL had brown edges on some of the petals? I was plucking petals like mad in order to make them look good. Really a shame and definitely something I need to let the bride know about since it's probably worth looking into receiving some type of compensation for.

Bring on Liz's wedding next! :)

New Way of Doing Business?

2007-09-21T11:34:00.000-05:00

I was reminded of this little story of mine today by a gal who despises text messaging.

Please tell me it isn't so. Has business etiquette gone the way of texting? If so, I may have to opt out of this immediately. A few weeks ago I had a bride text message me her question. It had something to do with which hotels I would recommend for her to block for her guests. I thought it was a bit odd to text me instead of emailing me, but ok. I'm her hired Coordinator and pride myself on the communication and the timely responses I give my clients. So, I text her back. Then she texts back asking me what the typical procedure is for blocking rooms, etc. I text back my answers. She texts back "Thank You" and I am relieved that this is all the texting that will take place.

But it's not.

A couple days later she texts me another request for assistance with something. I text back letting her know that email or phone may be easier to discuss this. She texts back saying texting is the best way to get ahold of her and apologizes for it. So, I now have a texting relationship with my bride who is not getting married for a few more months. I have a texting plan so I don't think it's going to kill my budget or anything, but for some reason I have this feeling of disdain over it all. However...my brides get pretty much whatever they want from me so I guess I'll just change my title to Texting Wedding Coordinator.

She has a great sense of humor and KNOWS I'm not thrilled with this whole text thing, so if she is reading this I'm sure she's laughing her ass off right now and can't believe she made it into the pages of my blog. Hi L!

My Brides Have My Back

2007-09-17T21:21:00.000-05:00

I'll have to be as material-sensitive with this one as I can. Sometimes I wish I had started this blog as an anonymous blogger so that I could spew ALL the trials and tribulations and, well...let's face it...the wacky parts of this job that no one would EVER believe! But, I just felt that the personal connection would be lost if I did it that way so this is what you get. A censored blog. A blog that protects the identity of nearly all vendors, brides, grooms, mothers, and everyone else that could possibly be involved.

However...3 of my brides totally had my back this past month and I find it rather humorous to tell the short end of the story.

I was contacted a few months ago by yet another bride planning from afar looking for full-service wedding planning. We hit it off in the first few email exchanges and finally met one-on-one to discuss her visions, needs, etc. We definitely hit it off, although I left the meeting thinking that if I "won" the job, I may have just gotten in a bit too deep. But I passed it off thinking that even if it was a bit deep, I didn't have any full plannings booked yet for 2009 so I could always just do the one if it got to be too much.

A few days later a few of my brides contacted me "warning me" that they had been contacted by this bride with some very detailed, almost off the wall detailed questions about how I planned their weddings. Several brides ask for references and I readily give them a very long list of brides who have previously agreed to be contacted so this wasn't the strange part. In fact, I highly encourage any bride out there to get references on any vendor, but especially a wedding planner who you are entrusting the entire day to. I let my past brides know that yes, I was aware she may be contacting them and thank you. Well, two of them went as far as to forward me the laundry list of questions that were being asked and I must say....it was a bit overboard. Some were personal questions, some questioned my abilities outright, one bride was asked if she was a reference because she was a personal friend or did she really not have a relationship with me besides vendor/bride. WHAT?!?!?

I'm all about detailed information gathering and definitely on board with the bride doing whatever she wants in order to feel that her bases are covered. However, sometimes these are red flags for a planner. It's no secret that Dreams & Designs is a business I do on the side and always will. I knew right away that I would not have the time and attention needed to bring this bride's dream to reality. Well, I would because I make the time when I take things on like this, but I wouldn't have enjoyed it 100% and my stead-fast rule is that if my gut isn't jiving with something...it's a no go. Simple as that.

I'm confident that bride will find the "Perfect Planner" to assist in creating her dream wedding and that's what it's all about at the end of the day. But thank you former brides for watching out for me! You truly do rock my wedding world. :)

Who Are These People?

2007-09-17T20:47:00.000-05:00

I don't check my sitemeter very often, but I can now see how this can become addictive. For those that are not familiar with this whole blogging thing, and trust me I'm not far behind you, the sitemeter tracks the number of hits your blog gets along with information regarding the city/state of each hit, or my favorite..the google results.

But seriously...who are these people reading my blog? I have several "regular" readers from areas around the world where I know I have no personal connection. I just find it nearly fascinating that strangers feel the urge to read about my wedding planning highs and lows. It may confirm my theory that EVERYONE is obsessed with weddings to some extent.

The googles are the best. People end up reading my blog from a google search that I'm sure never had any intention of landing them in some Wisconsin woman's wedding planning blog. For instance....someone once googled 'Danica Bridezilla' which I know was in an effort to find the TV show episode featuring someone with my name. But whoever you are dear reader, you have now become a loyal reader of this blog. There's also an awful lot of people out there googling Milwaukee Weddings and for some reason....they end up linking up here. In all seriousness, this blog has become quite the marketing tool. The funniest google search yet though may be the one titled 'Hate Aunts Uncles' which brought up my post about Guest List Woes. Odd? I think so.

Mishaps Happen

2007-09-16T10:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the day of mishaps. Note, I did not say disasters. They are very different in the wedding world. Disasters constitute me sprinting around like a madwoman cussing under my breath while mishaps are just that; they're easily rectified and I remain sane saving face for the bride. It's what I do.

Yesterday was a day I was not prepared for at all. My sweet, sweet bride had not had communication with me for the past 2 weeks meaning I had no timeline, no To-Do List, no Vendor Contact info, nothing. When we finally connected on Thursday night, I had to feverishly write down things she was saying as she drove. Ultimately, she gave me free reign to do whatever I wanted with the set-up. GASP! What?!? YOU planned this entire thing and now I just have to "hope" that I create it the way you envisioned with no direction at all? Ok, then. :)

After a very LONG drive to Racine (I-43 was closed, detours, all that fun stuff that would only happen when you have to be someplace on time) I arrived to the church ON TIME and before the bridal party. The florists were finishing set-up and it was beautiful. Then....the Church Coordinator appeared. It was clear I was on her turf and taking over her job. I introduced myself and assured her that I was just there to make sure the vendors were in place and that the bride and mom (LOVE her mom!) were taken care of. She then started to point her finger to direct me to do things. I can't even recall what those things were, but I basically just appeased her. The bride and her gals arrived and I met them at the limo bus to let them know how we were going to get the bride into the church without being seen. Ms. Church Lady comes running out as we're halfway up the walk and scoots in front of us to lead us "in the right direction." Good lord. I won't go on anymore about her, but it's amazing how nearly every church coordinator is the same. They hate me, they hate all people like me. And by that I mean, people that are professional Wedding Coordinators. Maybe it was their dream and the church part is all they ever got? I don't know...but my smile is forced with damn near all of them.

Ok, one more church lady story. As I'm hanging outside with the bride and her dad waiting for the big entrance, church lady is YELLING at us to come up the stairs. Um, no. You're supposed to close the doors after the flower girl goes down so no one sees dear bride therefore having the dramatic door-opening entrance like we talked about! Bride is getting flustered. I tell church lady of the plan and she tsks me. That's right...she TSKD me! Bride rolls her eyes and says fine and we walk into the entrance area. As I prepare her train and veil, church lady GRABS the train out of my hand and says "I'll do it, that's what I'm here for." Whoa lady...get a grip. (((Sigh)))

Fast forward to the reception set-up. I arrive at the venue which shall remain nameless; you'll see why later. The room is nearly all set with tables and linen, centerpieces are awesome, the cake is funky and cool, the staff is fun and friendly...but wait---something is definitely not right. I look at my scribbled notes and say "Guys, there are supposed be table runners on these tables." They give me a puzzled look as we review the BEO (Banquet Event Order for all you non-hospitality people, it details the event). The BEO says nothing about table runners. No, they dropped them off Thursday I say. A mad search ensues of every crevice in that place and sure enough...runners are found. This means that the catering staff had to remove 4 place settings and all centerpieces including scattered petals from ALL the tables in order to lay the runners down. A pain in the ass? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely. Much to my amazement, the staff did a great job and never once uttered a bad word about it. This put them behind at least 45 minutes, but they did it with professional grace which was awesome. However, THIS IS WHY PEOPLE HIRE ME. Had I not been there, that bride would have walked into a room without runners and the room would not have been what she had imagined. And trust me, they changed the entire look of the room.

As for all the other set-up, it ended up being fun to have complete control over what to do. There was a large box of stuff and I was able to use my creativity to create what I think ended up looking pretty darn nice. And mom thought so too. As I was finishing up Mom & Dad arrived so I was able to go through the set-up with Mom and make sure she approved. She did and I got a hug as well. Hugs are my way of knowing that all is well and everyone is thrilled. Great, time for me to go then.

Enter mishap #52 of the day (that's right, I didn't even bore you with the others). As I'm walking down the hallway to leave I see a mouse run right past my feet. A mouse! In the reception venue! With 30 minutes to go until ALL the guests arrive. I watch the little mouse for a while to see where he's going to go. He's freaked and scurries up the wall to the ceiling. Oh, little mouse please stay there I think. I RUN back to the catering kitchen and say "Can someone catch a mouse? NOW!?!?" Two female servers grab a napkin and a basket while I hear the Banquet Manager say "Shit, again?" Great. The gals and I spend 20 minutes chasing Edna (yup, we named her) around and finally one of the servers cornered her and got her in the napkin. She took her outside to a field far away and let her go. I only hope there were no further surprise rodent appearances in the evening.

While it was a short day, it felt much longer given the circumstances. I was glad it was over and I'm sure they all had a good time. To think that they'll never know there were no runners, there was a mouse hoping to party it up with them, and so many other things that I had to take care of in order for everything to look good. Just another day I guess.

WISN A-List. Me? Really?

2007-09-05T20:44:00.000-05:00

After a very long day of work yesterday, I came home to an email from WISN. I almost deleted it thinking it was spam of some sort, then it clicked that this was Milwaukee's WISN, the tv station. I opened it and lo and behold I have been chosen to be listed on the annual WISN A-List of Milwaukee in the Wedding Planners section.

Someone, or a few someones, nominated Dreams & Designs I guess. I'm hoping to find out who this was and can only imagine it was one of my brides. If the mystery nominator is reading...Thank You! I owe you something. Something big.

I'll just cut to the chase. Here's the link to vote for my business. They make it a little work as you have to vote and then they will send you a link via email to confirm your vote. I believe you also have to write a brief little note about why Dreams & Designs is the best. This is the part I have a problem with if you've never actually used my services....but, I'll turn the other cheek as long as the comments are nice. I'm sure they're all very accurate. :) Oh, and you can remain anonymous with the comment, which is a nice feature for at least my family members that I'm sure will vote just because, well, they're family. I think they have to.

So now my dear blog readers, your assistance please with this delicate question. In Milwaukee, the A-List is a big deal. BIG. I'm not sure why it has risen to the heights of almighty glory that it has, but it's something that businesses define themselves with the entire year if selected as the "best of the best" in Miltown. Do I do the same as so many of my favorite businesses have done and send an email to my past clients to have them vote? Or do I let word of mouth work it's magic and let the votes come in as they will? Who am I kidding anyway?....maybe there will be no votes and this is all for naught. Let's face it, Dynamic Events will probably just win again anyway. ((((Sigh))))

For the record...the pictures on that listing for my business are not what I would have chosen, but apparently WISN does all of that. Oh well.

As lame as this all is, I'll admit, I'm kind of excited!

Whirlwind

2007-08-23T20:25:00.001-05:00

That's what my life has been lately....a literal whirlwind.

I'll have to keep this short and sweet, but much to my surprise, I've had a couple email requests wondering why I haven't been blogging.

1. I have a new job. Yes, a REAL job. I have one of those. I'm not JUST a wedding planner. :) Trust me, wedding planning in Milwaukee doesn't exactly pay the bills nor do I want it to actually. I have left my world of Marriott hotels where I grew up the past 11 1/2 years and have gone back to my roots of restaurants. I am doing Sales & Marketing for a new upscale fine dining restaurant in downtown Milwaukee. You figure it out from there! My first week has been full of training and I mean intense training. Even though my job entails 85% outside sales and marketing, I still have to learn everything about the restaurant just as any other manager would. I'm overwhelmed and exahusted, that's for sure. But it's sure to be fun once these 4-6 weeks are done!

2. This is the busiest wedding weekend I have all year. I just got back from a rehearsal, then 2 weddings this weekend, one of which is in Madison. I have never even had the pleasure to meet my Madison bride since our schedules were both crazy and we just couldn't make a time work. But we have a pretty solid email and phone relationship so I am just chomping at the bit to see her on Saturday!

3. Summer is almost over so I start cramming everything into a few weeks. Dave Matthews concert this Sunday (hello! I have to be at work at 8am on Monday!), a trip to Denver in a couple weeks, another concert, a rafting/canoe trip. The list goes on and on.

I'm not complaining, I swear. But by the end of September I plan on taking a very LONG nap at some point!

Hang in there with me until life calms down a little. I promise to keep updating on my weddings!

Football vs. Weddings

2007-08-10T06:30:00.000-05:00

When you live in Wisconsin, home of the Packers, football has a lot to do with weddings around here. Especially if you plan to get married in Green Bay. But even if you're planning to get married elsewhere in the state, there are a lot of couples who choose not to have Fall weddings because of the Packer schedule. The schedule doesn't come out until April and that's usually a little too late to pick a Fall date so couples opt for the ever popular summer season instead.

It's true....there have been polls and studies done in Wisconsin to practically prove that wedding guests have chosen the Packers over a couple's wedding day, especially if there was travel involved to/from the wedding that would result in missing the game on Sunday. Crazy, but true. I would think if the same polls were taken for the Badgers, we would see the same results.

We're football crazy in this state and it dominates a lot of people's Fall & Winter plans. I'll admit it....while it doesn't dominate my overall plans, it is a huge consideration. I don't take on any Sunday weddings during football season. I love football Sundays and it's yet another reason why doing this wedding planning gig on the side will remain a side business. If it wasn't, I would HAVE to take any and all wedding inquiries that come in. This Fall, I did break my "rule" and took a wedding on a Sunday in October, but the game is a night game and this couple's day, as long as everything goes as planned, will be done in the late afternoon. Yes, I checked the schedule before even meeting with them.

Saturdays in the Fall are a little harder to say "no" to. It means missing the Badger games most Saturdays, but I leave enough weekends open to enjoy the games when I can and hang onto at least a bit of sanity so that weddings do not take over every single piece of social time I may have.

I guess I'm one of those crazed football fans after all. I also know I'm not alone on this since I know of other vendors that plan out their Fall wedding schedules carefully too!

With that said....the first NFL Preseason game was on last night and the Packers play on Saturday evening. This wedding planner doesn't have a wedding to do this weekend so bring on the football!

Every Saturday is Wedding Day To Me

2007-08-04T19:20:00.000-05:00

Another Saturday, another wedding. Such is the course of life when you're a wedding planner. Someone asked me today how I can possibly enjoy working every single weekend. I laughed and said "I don't!" Yup, I'm about as honest as they come. But it's true...no one actually LIKES to work every weekend! Again, just another reason I will always continue to do this on the side.

Today's wedding was so great. It was almost a wedding planner's dream. For some reason, today was just easy. I like easy days, especially when I had to drive 4 hours round trip for this one. When I first met with this couple way back in Fall of 2006, the bride was adament about hiring me for at least Month of Coordination, if not for even more. The groom, however, is in the wedding industry and promised his blushing bride up and down that he could take care of everything and that they only needed me for Day of Coordination. Fine by me! I like DOC just as much as MOC and ultimately, I like whatever the couple likes. :)

Fast forward to the tension filled week. I'm sure the poor bride was wishing I was the one doing all the final follow-ups and making changes this week and not her. The next little informative piece is exactly why, should you choose to not hire a professional Coordinator, that you MUST confirm every single detail with every single vendor.

12:46pm, I'm at the church getting things ready and reviewing everything with the Priest and the organist. Ring, ring. Uh-oh. When my phone rings on wedding days...it's usually not a good sign, let's just put it that way. Sure enough, the Maid of Honor is on the other end saying the limo hasn't shown up at the hotel to pick up the guys and start the shuttles back and forth from resort to church. Grrrreat. As we're discussing our options, lo and behold limo company calls and says they are lost, but now on their way. LOST!?!? It may be my biggest vendor pet peeve. If you are in charge of professional transportation, you damn well better make sure you have accurate directions. However, let this be a piece of advice for all you soon-to-be-marrieds out there. Be sure to give your drivers directions! Yes, it should be up to them, but had I been in charge of final confirmations for vendors, that is one thing I ensure that the drivers have. All is well that ends well though. We made some transportation changes so that the ceremony would start on time and hey...they stil got married! :)

The Heidel House was in full swing (I can't believe I only had to change ONE thing with their set-up!) and all the other vendors showed up EARLY (even though I had to deal with the snobbiest and meanest florists ever)! Seriously, it was a dream come true. Well, besides the rain that forced cocktail hour into an already very cramped dinner tent. But again...they're married! Who cares!

**Note to anyone considering the Carriage Tent at The Heidel House though...it does not seat 159 people comfortably. At all. I'm sure the bride will have something to say about this later if she noticed. Walking between tables/chairs without guests at them was difficult...I can't imagine how they're doing right now.

And now----this wedding planner has the next 2 weekends off!

You Want Me To What?!?!

2007-07-29T10:28:00.000-05:00

A note from a friend earlier this week prompted this post. She's helping with a wedding and the couple has asked her to do some decorating that involves a ladder being placed in an area that I can only imagine is viewed as far from safe as possible. She said "What would you do?"

My response was....Don't do it. If asked to do any decorating as extensive as that, I write it in my contracts that I don't do that. More times than not, the venue won't let me get on a ladder anyway. If something happens to me while I'm in their venue, chances are they're going to end up at fault. I know, our justice is system is screwy, but it is what it is.

Here's a fun list of things I've been asked to do. I may, or may not have done some or all of these. You be the judge!

Babysit the Kid's Room during dinner/reception
Help the Bride go to the bathroom
Given a picture of someone who is not allowed in and kick them out or call police if they show up
Return all rented items the following week when I was hired only for the Day
Run honeymoon errands at Wal-Mart, complete with list and the promise to "reimburse" me
Take potted plants from ceremony back to the couple's home and put them back in the soil of their flower beds
Help Grandma eat
Be the MC for the evening
The ladder and decorating thing
Putting over $2,000 in last-minute chair cover rentals on my credit card
Acting as the Banquet Manager and dismissing tables for the buffet at dinner
Cleaning cobwebs out of the windows of the reception site
Rolling out tables and setting them up by myself
Serving food because not enough wait staff showed up
Bartending several times
Picking people up from the airport the day before wedding. Again, I was hired for Day of.
Planning the entire wedding when I was hired for Day of.
Ensure that the Maid of Honor does not do anything "crazy"
Keeping parents away from each other
Chasing a mother around b/c she's not allowed to see or talk to the bride b/c they haven't spoken in over five years

Married Off

2007-07-29T10:16:00.000-05:00

Another bride has come and gone. It's sappy, but I always have this bittersweet feeling when one of my brides goes down the aisle. It means my work was a success and they're on their way to being happily married, but it also means I say goodbye to yet another friend. Sure, there are a few brides who I have remained friends with over the years and keep in touch with, but the majority are promises made to catch up for drinks or go gah-gah over their wedding pictures that never happens. Life gets busy and to be honest, it all comes down to the fact that I was a vendor, hired to perform a job for their wedding day.

I wish I had pictures to show of this wedding, but my camera decided to die right before I started snapping pictures. Wonderful Beth Engel, their photographer, will forward me some pics I'm sure. This wedding was full of great vendors. Their flowers were amazing. I can't even put into words just how amazing. Keep in mind that I see A LOT of weddings, so it takes a lot to blow me away anymore (which is kind of sad actually!). I got all teary-eyed when the florist assistant handed the bride her bouquet. I've never seen anything like it before. And when I walked into the Wisconsin Club, my jaw dropped. The florist assistant actually ran over to me to ask me if everything was ok. "YES! It's perfect!" And then I proceeded to dumbly gush, and I mean GUSH, over the centerpieces. I had also taken their floral pew cones from the church and decided to hang them on the balcony outside and it turned the balcony into this romantic little nook immediately!

The only downside to this wedding was that I really didn't have much to do. She had such great vendors and when you're at the Wisconsin Club, they have their own coordinator, who is great. And to be frank, well, they don't want another coordinator around there. At all. They're super nice about it, but it's made pretty clear. So, after I decorated the balcony, straightened some things up, made sure that all tables had what they needed, and all vendors had shown up, it was my time to exit.

Oh, and did I mention how beautiful the bride looked? This bride had lost 50 lbs on Weight Watchers and holy cow! What a hottie! The best part though was that Julie Carrington from On Location Makeup took such good care of her and made her look herself, just enhanced. This woman does amazing work and is too sweet to boot!

Another wedding, another bride. Time to batter up for my August 4th bride now!

Love 'em OR Leave 'em?

2007-07-25T18:31:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is the question surrounding so many of my brides right now. The dreaded guest list and every single family member's supposed need to chime in with who should be on it. I have a bride getting married this weekend who literally has no aunts and uncles from one side of the family attending the wedding because children were not invited. The only reason children were not invited to this particular wedding was because there would have been over 100 of them and they simply would not have fit into the Wisconsin Club where they had reserved and fallen in love with as their reception venue. Alas....the wedding will go on and she is at the point of planning where all she can do is throw her hands in the air and move forward with their special day. But this family is supposedly not attending out of spite. Babysitters were not the problem, nor was money or anything else that they can think of .

It did get me thinking though....why is this so often the culprit of family feuds, arguements between the couple, and just plain old stress for the bride? WHY!?! I was telling my sales team today at work that I am so fortunate that for my own wedding, even though my parents paid for quite a bit of it, they completely understood when we firmly told both sets of parents that no one was going to be invited unless the bride or groom (you know...the people this day is actually about!) knew them. That meant some random friends of parents were thrown off the list. The best part....they were OK with it! My parents realized this day was not about them, not about showing off to their friends and business associates and clients. This was about the uniting of two people. I seriously loved my mom through the planning process and this was a big reason why.

My sales manager is going through Guest List Hell right now. They are still a good 17 months away from the Big Day, but already the drama has ensued about who to invite, the pros/cons of a child-less wedding reception and on and on. I feel bad for her. It's hard for me to fully understand since I'm kind of a tough cookie and my response was "You and Kris are paying for the majority of this wedding. YOU invite who YOU want to invite." I don't think I'm a very nice person sometimes; perhaps wedding drama has hardened me. So be it.

So the question remains...do you love 'em.......or leave 'em of the guest list? To each their own of course. If it's a budget thing, just keep in mind that your guest list will directly correlate with the amount of money your wedding costs. If it's a space thing and you think you'll be ok if you invite 400 people to your 200 person maximum capacity venue, think again. And if it's a kid thing....well, I better not go there. :)
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Oh, and for those of you that are wondering about the WI Bridezilla I was trying to track down. Thanks to Sara and Molly and their handy detective work, I found her! But don't get too excited because after an email and a MySpace message that nicely invited her to be interviewed for this blog, I haven't heard back. Bummer to say the least.

WI Bridezilla

2007-07-17T16:58:00.000-05:00

I'll admit it....I'm addicted to wedding "reality" shows on tv. If I really wanted to, I could even deduct part of my cable as a business expense since I truly do gather ideas from the shows. But let's face it...I'm too lazy to make more tax work for myself. And I'm pretty damn sure that I get more laughs out of it than I do ideas.

The other night I got sucked into Bridezillas on the WE network. A show that really should just be laid to rest. It's not even that good and it's either going to make normal brides even more nervous about becoming a Bridezilla or make already Bridezillas even more of one. In addition...I confess...I yell at my tv during this show. I just can't help it.

But....the other night's episode definitely took the cake. All because the bride was from Wisconsin! What?!!? You mean there's really girls like that on our turf? I'm proud to say I've had only one true Bridezilla. I always joke around saying I get one a year and that's been about par for the course. I'm just thanking my lucky stars it wasn't this one (Maria) from Franksville, WI. Where the heck is that anyway? So, if anyone knows this lovely bride, please tell her I'd love to talk to her, interview her, and find out just how much of that show is real and just how much of it is acting.

I can't help but watch that show and think that these brides are acting. It's all just a bit too out there to actually be real. Or is it? You be the judge. Watch an episode or two if you can stomach it and let me know if you think there's some dramafied bad acting going on. I wrote the show an email asking them that and they politely declined to comment in an email back. Huh. Interesting.

Seriously though....it's entertaining, especially coupled with a great bottle of wine. Now if I can just get my hands on Miss WI Bridezilla I will feel truly accomplished in my feat.

Oh, and turns out Franksville is in the extended neck of the woods of Milwaukee.

The OC

2007-07-15T12:22:00.001-05:00

Being a Milwaukeean for a number of years now, I always thought the "OC" referred to Oak Creek. Apparently if you head further West, there's another "OC." OconomowoC, as the t-shirts all appear. I've been to downtown OC once. My outing there included a bar or two and that was about it.

This time would be different! I had come into a free stay at the Olympia Resort and my girlfriend and I decided we needed some girl-time away. It was only 25 minutes away, but at least it was away. We're both busy and trying to save money so a full vacation was just out of the question right now. We packed up our things, made sure we had enough Smirnoff Raw Tea to last our 2 night stay, and headed West on Thursday afternoon. I'm pretty certain we didn't stop talking the whole way there. We pull up and right away I see a wedding tent. A perfectly pitched white tent with french windows sitting on the side lawn area. Ahhhh!!!...a wedding while we're here! My immediate thought is to go in and take a peak, but I drive forward resisting the urge to see the wedding plan unfold.

If you've never been to the Olympia Resort, well, it's...um....it's old. And outdated. They must have recently updated the public area furniture because it's all leather and very inviting. But then it sits among the brass railings that are everywhere and the green and pink motif that surrounds it. Whatever, we think....there's a pool and drinks and girl-chat! Who cares! We proceed to check in with the Front Office Manager, who somehow we have been able to sweet-talk into a balcony room with free spa access. We've also somehow been able to make this nice young man quite nervous with us. It was one of the cutest things I've seen in a while. Once in our room we both dive into it checking it out. Being that I'm still a hotel girl that works in the industry and Michelle used to...this is just normal. Friends that travel with hotel people don't understand it, but we literally check everything. For dirt, for hair, for scratches, for missing items...you name it, we check it. It's funny to others, but not to us.

Our room left little to be desired. Again, it's old and comes complete with matching grandma's house draperies and bedspread. There is a full imprint of an iron on the carpet, and the balcony is crawling with bugs and webs that could have easily been wiped down on a regular cleaning basis. But we have a view of the pool and the lake that is beyond that. The pool! We decide to have a drink and head to the pool. We only laid out there for 2 hours and boy, did we get sun! After showering and changing and making more fun of this resort, we go downtown and find an Irish Pub to eat and have some beers. A friend that lives in the area meets us out and suddenly the night in the Downtown OC is getting out of hand. I'm pretty sure we made it into almost every bar that the area offers. We finally decide to head back to the Resort with a Taco Bell run included. I believe the last time I had Taco Bell was in college. That's why girl trips are so damn fun!

The next day we sleep in, eat a free breakfast at their restaurant, and head to the pool. Today we clocked 4 hours at the pool and you could tell. I'm lucky I brown up pretty well, but poor Michelle forgot sunblock on the back of her legs. Once inside, we watch Oprah like gal pals do, showered and got ready for dinner. We decided to go to Delafield and check out the Delafield Brewhaus. I had been there a few years ago and remembered it to be good. A 35 minute wait for a table meant drinkies at the bar. Vodka drinkies. Yikes. It was great though, we had drinks and ate an amazing fish fry and then decided to head back to the resort to check out the bar they had, Club Indigo. I think this will say it all:

We sipped more Vodka drinks in order to deal with the freaky blue images on the walls. There was a DJ, there were very young "kids", there was a darling bartender, and then there was John, the 40-year old man who apparently was only interested in going home with us. Weird, but so much better when he shoved his drink away and stomped out. Victory! The evening ended with a 1:30am bedtime and the getaway ended about 8 hours later when we packed up our things and headed back to Shorewood, back home. Hugs and promises to do this again and our girl time was over. It was so great though and reminded me that I need to take time to do this more often. So, I'm already trying to figure out what little off the beaten path town we're going to visit next! The only requirements are an outdoor pool and drinks of course!

Oh Canada!

2007-07-15T12:03:00.000-05:00

I met with the nicest couple a few weeks ago. They are planning an August 2008 wedding and needed help. Well, I shouldn't say they needed help, they were demanding help. The bride is an event planner for a very prestigious venue in Milwaukee and when they got engaged, she was absolutely certain that she did not want to plan their entire wedding. I'm pretty sure that most of my full-plan weddings that I've done have been for brides that are in the event planning or fundraising industries. When they do this for a living, it no longer seems attractive or fun to do it for yourself. In fact, they view it as another job. And I totally get it!

So, we meet and we talk and we go through preliminary plans. We part ways, them loaded with Dreams & Designs information and myself happy to have met another FUN couple!

Fast forward a week or so. They have decided to look into getting married in Canada! Quebec City to be exact. The best part is that they still want me to be their planner. How cool is that? Their initial vision is a small, intimate family affair in Canada. Ceremony and reception in the same location with adventure outings for the guests! I'm in love with them all over again. I love seeing couples do different things and of course I love to be involved to shape their unique idea into their own.

So......the bride and I are currently researching Quebec City and all that it has to offer to make sure that this is doable. She has all the faith in the world in me, it appears I'm the skittish one and being extra cautious as I go into this. Committing to plan a wedding is a feat in itself; committing to plan a wedding in another country is above and beyond that. I'm in for a challenging and fun planning process and I can't wait!

Destination weddings are great. I think they're great for so many reasons. Everyone does them differently. Some go alone, some invite only immediate family, others invite their entire guest list! I've been to more than a few and have been fortunate enough to assist in planning a couple as well. There's almost always extreme beauty involved in destination weddings, whether it's open sky as far as you can see or mountains in the backdrop or a body of water that you swear is only made for postcards. Beautiful doesn't even justify it most times.

Looks like you'll all be along on my Canadian Experience if this ends up being a solid decision.

Another Engagement!

2007-07-12T12:38:00.000-05:00

As a planner and a just-turned 30 female...I've seen my fair share of engagements over the past 10 years. But there is still just something that excites me when someone new announces they're getting married. I love it! I think I love seeing how happy they are. My Sales Manager just got engaged and I'm surprised I've allowed myself 3 whole blog posts before reporting on it. (Hi Andi!)

Their engagement story is cute, one that is going to be loads of fun to tell over and over and over again. I think they basked in the glow of newly engaged coupledom for all of 1.3 days. Then the plans started. When your boss is a wedding planner on the side and your other co-worker is literally obsessed with weddings (Hi Jaime!)...it was just the next natural course of direction. A crisp December 2008 wedding it is! That's the problem with getting engaged mid-summer....you either plan it quick or you take your time. They opted for the latter. Wedding talk is amiss in our office and it's quite fun. The places they can go, the times they can choose, they style of their day, the centerpiece options and on and on.

But suddenly, the "Yay! I'm engaged!" phase is literally phased out. Now it's work to go look at all these places. It's crazy how every bride/couple goes from Cloud 9 to a negative 5 on the Richter Scale of Happiness. All because of planning. Weddings are great, don't get me wrong. But every bride knows exactly what I'm talking about. Chin up everyone! The worst part is in the begining...it's when almost all of the choices need to be made, compromises are a plenty, and you grab hold of your wallet with dear life and pray for the best. Once the foundation is laid, the rest somehow magically falls into place.

I'm hoping this all rings true for Andi & Kris. It's a tough part of the engagement and the whole time you're answering questions from friends and family about when it will be, where it will be, I can help by ______, are you excited, etc. And then, you're unlucky enough to have a boss that plans weddings on a regular basis! It's tough for me to talk weddings with friends and family when I do this all the time. I KNOW what I like, KNOW what I don't. But they're my opinions and while I've seen plenty of things to back up most any advice I'd impart on anyone, it's still not my place. Well, unless I really have to. :) I do have to catch myself though from being overly involved and giving too many opinions and suggestions. The bottom line is that everyone's taste is different...that's what makes every single wedding so unique. So, I'll chirp in when I feel the need and offer advice on the good, the bad, the ugly when it comes to vendors and be honest with what takes time (Andi, you're still NOT putting centerpieces together yourself on the day of your wedding!) and where you can cut corners. But other than that....I'm just going to enjoy yet another engagement in my office!

The Top 14

2007-07-10T19:54:00.001-05:00

My brides are always asking me what my best advice is and what tips could I give them. The truth is that every bride, every groom, every wedding, every marriage is so different that it's hard for my advice and my tips to canvass everyone in the same manner. But I'll take a shot at it here. No worries...there will be plenty more tips to come, but I'll start with these. :)

Danica's Wedding Tips

Plan for the marriage, not for the wedding

It's YOUR day! If parents are paying, yes, they get a say in how money is spent, but if you don't like it....don't take their money. It's YOUR day!

No, you do not need to invite someone to your wedding just because you were invited to their wedding five years ago.

Face it...most grooms don't care about wedding planning. Please don't force them to be involved in every single detail. Let them decide what they want to be involved with. You'll get much more out of them this way.

If your venue only holds 200 people max, please don't invite 300 people and then just hope that 100 RSVP 'no'.

Treat people kindly when planning. This may be your special day, but kindness doesn't simply go out the window just because you are a bride.

If you've hired reputable vendors, let them do their jobs. Micro-managing vendors is not a good start to a great wedding reception.

Negotiate with vendors. The worst they can say is 'no'.

If you can't handle the planning, don't want to plan, don't have time to plan...hire someone to do it for you or enlist a trusted and organized friend/family to assist.

Please try to be a happy bride on your Big Day!

Remember that all that matters is that the couple and the officiant show up that day. The rest of the details, while nice, simply won't matter in 50 years.

Stay organized with your planning and get as much done ahead of time as possible.

Trust your gut on every aspect of your planning, but don't over analyze the shade of purple a million times.

Not everyone is going to be interested in hearing about your wedding. Try to schedule a girl's night out every once in a while and don't talk wedding!

Disappointment

2007-07-09T08:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was one of those days that you wish would just go away so the next day can get here and be a brand new start. I was supposed to do the Danskin Triathlon yesterday morning. Something I had been training for since April and something I had committed to doing with one of my best friends. It didn't happen. Friday night I sat in a little room with a Doctor that told me I had a Lumbar Sprain in my lower back and that I was to become intimately acquainted with rest over the next 3 days.

I'm pretty sure I thought he was kidding at first. And then it was all I could do to sit there, listen to his doctorly orders, and not have the welled tears in my eyes just start spilling out. I saved that for the second I got in my truck. I don't deal with disappointment well and unlike others, disappointing myself is probably the hardest thing for me to face. But I moved on through the weekend, survived, started a blog!, and will do the next Tri that comes around.

Disappointment is funny. I'm not sure why, but I've never been disappointed in losing a piece of wedding business. I've lost business due to price, location, just not jiving with the bride, not being able to accommodate their needs....almost everything. Yet I've never felt disappointed. I think it's because I know, deep down, that losing a piece of business is sometimes the best thing that can happen to you.

I can say for certain that there have been pieces of business that I wish I had lost! For instance, the times I've been hired (come to find out) to be the personal gopher of the day. I had a wedding where everything was established in previous meetings of what I was to decorate, set-up, oversee, etc. Then 2 days before the wedding, I was being told that I would be running errands, delivering rentals back to the store the day after, babysitting! The list goes on. I'm not good at saying "no". I'm a people pleaser by nature. But that crossed the line and I was very proud of myself for professionally saying "no." Which is not easy to do when dealing with a bride 2 days before the wedding. I felt horrible, but at the same time I'm running a business. No where in my information does it say that I provide babysitting services or that I will run your personal errands. I didn't have a very happy bride and it was definitely handed to me the day of the wedding. But I walked out of that experience laughing for the most part. And saddened by how unhappy this person must be in life in order to treat me the way I was treated that day....all out of sheer madness for not taking her list to Wal-Mart and not watching her nieces and nephews during the dance. For as long as I've been doing this....I still will never understand an angry bride on her wedding day!

While disappointment has it's time and place, it certainly has no place in my business world. Live it, love it, laugh at it....that should be my business mantra.

Finally

2007-07-07T16:20:00.000-05:00

This is it. The long-awaited blog. The long-awaited wedding planning blog. Well, at least for me. I'm not exepecting anyone to read this actually and will be happy knowing that perhaps just my mother will get a kick out of it and feel just a little more connected to her wedding planning daughter. (If she had it her way, she'd come down every weekend to be my "assistant".)

I've been encouraged to start this by multiple people, even my brides! I make no promises of how updated it will be, but I'm going to try my best. I enjoy being busy, but that's the main reason why I have always feared starting a blog. Keeping up with it may prove to be a challenge.

The focus will be on all things wedding, but again, no promises! More than likely other aspects of life will probably get thrown in here too. Such as my crazy "real" career as the Director of Sales & Marketing for one of the busiest hotels downtown Milwaukee. Yes, I'm proud!

The history behind the wedding planning gig goes a little something like this though. I started working in a bridal salon many moons ago and fell in love with the industry right away. After realizing the lack of career direction and salary it would ultimately provide, I went back to the hotel roots and have been there ever since. I've never been obsessed with weddings, I just like the details and planning and execution of any event really. I've always been the planner....family or friends having a party? They would call me. Need help setting up a wedding? They would call me. After doing lots of "favors" for friends and friends of friends, my smartest friend of them all as well as my family suggested I do this planning thing for real. "Like charge for it and everything", I said? Yup. So I did. And it has been a crazy ride, a proud accomplishment, and a full on whirlwind ever since.

So....welcome to my blog. I'll update on the weddings I'm planning, the couples I meet and work with, the challenges of it all, the high points, and of course.....the weddings themselves!