Miss Snapdragon, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 30, Production Assistant for a Media FirmFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Education AdministratorWedding Date: June, 2009Blogging Since: November 14, 2008Venue: The Hyatt LodgeAbout Me: Vintage and crafting obsessed. Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I am a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. A Texan transplanted to the snowy Midwest, I can't wait to marry my one and only. Is it June yet? ... What about now?
Something that is super important (in my mind anyway) is that brides should be relaxed on their wedding day. On the day you leave singledom behind… I don’t think that’s too much to ask! For this reason, I am planning out a few things to help me keep my sanity on what might be a cray-zee, busy day…
Mrs. Avocado, SeattleAge and Occupation: 23, StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, ConsultantEngagement Date: July 27, 2008Wedding Date: October, 2008Blogging Since: June 30, 2008Venue: LDS Seattle Temple & Hotel 1000About Me: Somehow this little farm girl found herself a genuine Pole to fall in love and eventually move away to Poland with. I am an LDS bride attempting to plan a private religious ceremony, ring ceremony, seated reception for 100, and an open house while coordinating for guests flying in from across the United States and as far away as Poland. I try to avoid fads, excess waste, and saturated fat. I strongly endorse photography, DDR, calorie counting, rss feeds, cooking, and utilizing your resources.
Like many brides, I had unattainable goals when it came to wedding planning. Not just goals that were unattainable financially, but things I wanted to make happen that I simply didn’t have time for. One of those things was a personalized music mix for the entire time we spent at Hotel 1000. All of the sudden it was 2 days before the wedding and the…
Mrs. Cream Puff, San Francisco Bay AreaAge and Occupation: 25, IllustratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Merchandise PlannerEngagement Date: May 27, 2007Wedding Date: August, 2008Blogging Since: February 7, 2008Venue: Ceremony at Crissy Field and Reception at the Green RoomAbout Me: I never dreamed about my wedding as a little girl because I was too busy playing in the mud or pretending to be Martha Stewart–but now that it's here, I'm having a fabulous time DIYing everything in sight! We’re planning a very fun multicultural wedding (I'm Jewish and Mr. Cream Puff is Chinese), filled with as many personal details as I can muster.
It would be foolish to expect your wedding to be 100% perfect, and I’m no fool. I expected that a few things would go wrong. Little things. You know, the groomsmen are a little bit late, the frosting on the cake is off-white instead of white, things like that. I truly didn’t think anything big would go wrong. In a way, I think we expected that…
Mrs. Cookie, DenverAge and Occupation: 25, Nonprofit Fundraiser/Theatre DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Financial AnalystEngagement Date: September 2007Wedding Date: September 2008Blogging Since: May 8, 2008Venue: Ten Mile StationAbout Me: With a degree in Theatre I never realized that planning a wedding was a lot like Theatre Management, until I started planning my own. I am a coffee addict, especially Starbucks' Grande Mochas, yummy! I love to cook (especially chocolate chip cookies for my honey), travel to exotic places, and be creative. As a couple, Mr. Cookie and I are extremely practical, down to earth, and children at heart. We live in a cozy abode with our adorable Pomeranian, and love to play board games and watch movies into the evening.
When we first starting planning the wedding, I thought the one place we could save money on was not hiring a day-of-coordinator (DOC). Since I plan fundraising events and have stage managed in the past, I felt pretty confident in my ability to put our little shindig together. Then when our venue said they would have a coordinator on hand to help…
Miss Champagne, DC/Vail/ColoradoAge and Occupation: 26, Eye DoctorFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 13, 2006Wedding Date: February 2009Blogging Since: July 30, 2008Venue: Small church ceremony with mountain-view log cabin receptionAbout Me: I'm a small town mountain girl with a city heart. Found my way to the east coast, and Mr. Champagne kept me here so we're planning a wedding from afar in my hometown Vail, Colorado. I'm secretly obsessed with reality TV, Wii games where I can shoot a gun, country music, and Caesar: Dog Whisperer. I also spend time pretending to golf, backseat driving, having one way conversations with our MinPin Maxwell, loving champagne, and wedding perfecting… I mean, planning. I use way too many repeated symbols and letters when I write, and I'll love Mr. Champagne endlessly…
When we first started the planning process, our first check mark on “the big list” was to find someone who could just help us out. Planning from over a thousand miles away can be difficult alone, but we knew if we had someone to ease the load it would make a huge difference. Brides usually seek the help of family friends or their dear…
Mrs. Avocado, SeattleAge and Occupation: 23, StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, ConsultantEngagement Date: July 27, 2008Wedding Date: October, 2008Blogging Since: June 30, 2008Venue: LDS Seattle Temple & Hotel 1000About Me: Somehow this little farm girl found herself a genuine Pole to fall in love and eventually move away to Poland with. I am an LDS bride attempting to plan a private religious ceremony, ring ceremony, seated reception for 100, and an open house while coordinating for guests flying in from across the United States and as far away as Poland. I try to avoid fads, excess waste, and saturated fat. I strongly endorse photography, DDR, calorie counting, rss feeds, cooking, and utilizing your resources.
I emailed all of the Seattle Day of Coordinators (also known as DOC’s) that I could find contact information for, and then did research on all of them. After creating a tentative budget and setting my priorities, I realized that we couldn’t afford to spend $1000 on a DOC. I had resolved that I would have to figure out everything by myself and probably have to fix…
Mrs. Sundae, Chicago/Lake Geneva, WIAge and Occupation: 28, Knowledge ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Investment AdvisorEngagement Date: July 20, 2007Wedding Date: September 2008Blogging Since: February 5, 2008Venue: The Abbey ResortAbout Me: It’s hard to believe that by the time Mr. Sundae and I get married we will have been together for almost ten years. When we first met in college we split dollar pitchers and now we share the mortgage payments. Despite our love for the city we are looking forward to tying the knot in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Well, I’ve done it. I’ve admitted wedding planning defeat. (Yes, I am being a little dramatic) I sent the most pathetic email to our day of coordinator yesterday, swallowing my pride and confessing that I can’t make it through the next two months without her help. It takes a lot for me to admit I can’t handle something myself but with the last few weeks of…
Mrs. Peony, New YorkAge and Occupation: 27, Marketing CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, QA EngineerEngagement Date: June 28, 2007Wedding Date: April 18, 2008Venue: The FountainheadBlogging Since: August 7, 2007About Me: Both Mr. Peony and I are huge computer nerds, and our conversations usually consist of the latest gadgets, programming languages, and video games. At the same time, I can also be very girly with an obsession with handbags, makeup, and high heels. And art! I've studied studio art extensively, almost majored in art history, and freelance as a web and graphics designer. Mr. Peony and I are having a ball of a time planning a wedding for 250(!) guests, doing our best to infuse our personalities (geeky chic) with the wishes of our very traditional Asian parents.
I think it’s about time I come out of the woodwork and post some vendor reviews, don’t you think?
Hiring Christine Viola of Exquisite Affairs Productions was one of the best decisions I made. Being such an anally retentive control freak, it usually takes a force of nature for me to trust someone enough to completely hand over the reigns…Christine was that force, and much…
Mrs. Jasmine, Chicago/LAAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 24, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 20, 2007Venue: Hotel on the westside of Los AngelesAbout Me: I'm a happy-go-lucky, imaginative spirit trapped in the body of a lawyer. I love reading, shopping, dining out, and exploring my beloved adopted city of Chicago with my fiance. We're planning the wedding of our dreams in my hometown of Los Angeles and we're excited to incorporate our cherished Indian/Pakistani customs and traditions.
with my beloved wedding coordinator, angel swanson
While I’m waiting for our professional pictures to come back, I thought I’d start on some vendor reviews. I chose almost all my vendors based on vendor reviews I found online, so hopefully my comments will be just as helpful to other Los Angeles/Orange County brides-to-be.
Mrs. Canary, New YorkAge and Occupation: 24, MarketingFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Journalist/EditorEngagement Date: February 16, 2007Wedding Date: July, 2008Blogging Since: October 19, 2007Venue: Pier Sixty, Chelsea PiersAbout Me: I'm a born and raised New Yorker who loves all things crafty and artsy, food (cheese and dessert!), magazines, and shoes. I'm a power shopper always on the lookout for good deals or great quality-- sometimes I'm lucky and I find both! I love to dance and "shake what my momma gave me" but can also really enjoy a quiet night in with Mr. Canary and a good episode of Seinfeld or curl up with a good book.
I realized after all this time, I had forgotten to post on one of the most important aspects of my wedding… my day-of-coordinator. Early on in the process, I was freaking out about all that I would probably have to do on the day of the wedding– namely feeling overwhelmed with the obligation to entertain our guests, particularly family we haven’t seen in a long time…
Mrs. Sundae, Chicago/Lake Geneva, WIAge and Occupation: 28, Knowledge ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Investment AdvisorEngagement Date: July 20, 2007Wedding Date: September 2008Blogging Since: February 5, 2008Venue: The Abbey ResortAbout Me: It’s hard to believe that by the time Mr. Sundae and I get married we will have been together for almost ten years. When we first met in college we split dollar pitchers and now we share the mortgage payments. Despite our love for the city we are looking forward to tying the knot in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
That was my attitude towards wedding planning before we got engaged. It’s just planning a big party, right? I would tell friends that I love to plan, used to work in event planning, I am organized, I can handle it all on my own. Who needs a wedding coordinator? They would smile and nod, no doubt thinking to themselves that I am a huge moron.
Mrs. Pearl, Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, High school history teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 37, Software engineerEngagement Date: No official date, we just decided :-)Wedding Date: July 2007Venue: St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Church, Ritz Carlton Huntington HotelAbout Me: Mr. Pearl and I have been together for about four and a half years now. We've been "engaged" since 2004 and were originally supposed to get married in June 2006, but postponed the wedding to July 2007. I love shopping for housewares and office supplies, music, reading chick lit, football, and the diverse world of Los Angeles dining.
During that post-wedding letdown period (where you realize that you’re not wedding planning anymore and miss the more fun components of planning the event), many women think about starting up wedding-related businesses. Sometimes it’s a fleet of fancy and the person gives up on the idea when they realize they don’t really like it. I have always loved planning events and did as much during…
Mrs. Jasmine, Chicago/LAAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 24, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 20, 2007Venue: Hotel on the westside of Los AngelesAbout Me: I'm a happy-go-lucky, imaginative spirit trapped in the body of a lawyer. I love reading, shopping, dining out, and exploring my beloved adopted city of Chicago with my fiance. We're planning the wedding of our dreams in my hometown of Los Angeles and we're excited to incorporate our cherished Indian/Pakistani customs and traditions.
My sincere hope in sharing my unfortunate wedding planner experience is that it will help you ladies avoid the same pitfalls. All brides deserve a planner/coordinator who will be a wonderful help, rather than a hindrance. Below are some of the hard-earned tips I learned along the way!
(1) Do your research: This is probably the most important tip I can share. Do as…
Mrs. Jasmine, Chicago/LAAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 24, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 20, 2007Venue: Hotel on the westside of Los AngelesAbout Me: I'm a happy-go-lucky, imaginative spirit trapped in the body of a lawyer. I love reading, shopping, dining out, and exploring my beloved adopted city of Chicago with my fiance. We're planning the wedding of our dreams in my hometown of Los Angeles and we're excited to incorporate our cherished Indian/Pakistani customs and traditions.
I was very disturbed by the possible deceitfulness that I’d uncovered, so I did what I always do in situations that leave me unsettled: I called my mom. My mom was already troubled that after weeks of supposed research, Planner X had only found three available venues. This new turn of events made her even more unhappy. Even though I’m a lawyer, I’m shy…
Mrs. Jasmine, Chicago/LAAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 24, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 20, 2007Venue: Hotel on the westside of Los AngelesAbout Me: I'm a happy-go-lucky, imaginative spirit trapped in the body of a lawyer. I love reading, shopping, dining out, and exploring my beloved adopted city of Chicago with my fiance. We're planning the wedding of our dreams in my hometown of Los Angeles and we're excited to incorporate our cherished Indian/Pakistani customs and traditions.
Soon after Mr. Jasmine and I were engaged, I realized that planning our Los Angeles wedding from Chicago would be no easy feat. Both of us have jobs that keep us fairly busy and my parents (who live in Los Angeles) are wedding planning novices who had no idea where to start. We decided our best bet would be to hire a wedding planner.
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