My Lifeboat
May 15th, 2008 @ 3:24 pm by Mrs. Canary
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 or people attending from overseas and my desire to cut loose and have a blast. I suggested to Mr. Canary that we hire a day-of-coordinator to help alleviate these fears, but he thought it was a frivolous expense. Just ask one of the bridesmaids to do it. No way! I wanted my bridesmaids to enjoy the wedding as much as I would and not have the stress and pressure of coordinating and navigating the guests.
I suggested we meet with a few coordinators and get quotes before we made a decision on whether or not to hire one. Mr. Canary reluctantly agreed and I started my search. As usual, the main constraint was budget. Since we had not originally considered hiring a coordinator, it was last on our list and thus, we had a very small budget.
How Hard Can It Be?
March 26th, 2008 @ 6:18 pm by Mrs. Sundae
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.
I’ve said this before, but it’s really shocking how clueless I was about so many wedding related things! Not until I was months into this journey did I realize that I am so organized and particular, I am going to need help. It seems counter intuitive, but being overly organized and picky means that I do really care about how the place cards are set out. It matters to me that the cake table is set up the way I want it to look. And I also don’t want to be worrying about all of this the day we get married. I want to focus on the day and try to remember each moment, because I’ve heard so many people say that it goes by in a blink.
On The Biz(ish)
October 9th, 2007 @ 2:42 pm by Mrs. Pearl
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 my college career. It seemed pretty natural that after planning the wedding, I’d look into planning other people’s special events. Over the last couple of months of marital bliss, I’ve not taken the time to pursue this career path because I’ve been busy with life in general.
On Thursday night, after I came home from Back To School Night, I was de-stressing and watching TV when my phone rang. It was a woman, Em, who was getting married on October 6.
A Tale of Two Planners: Part Three
September 26th, 2007 @ 9:29 am by Mrs. Jasmine
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 much research as you can on any planner/coordinator. Do a Google search of the planner’s name and event company. Check sites such as The Knot, Wedding Channel, Project Wedding, etc. for reviews and experiences from other brides. Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if any complaints have been lodged against the planner you are considering. Also, if you already secured a venue and/or other vendors and you’re searching for a day-of coordinator, ask them who they’ve enjoyed working with in the past. Catering managers, photographers, makeup artists, and florists are often great, untapped resources for information on the better coordinators to work with.
A Tale of Two Planners: Part Two
September 24th, 2007 @ 10:24 am by Mrs. Jasmine
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 and non-confrontational by nature. My mom, on the other hand, can argue with the best of them and won’t back down. Basically, she’s the most sweet-natured, lovable bad-ass you will ever meet. So when my mom insisted on calling Planner X to find out what was going on, I let her. 
Later that day, my mom called back to say she had spoken with Planner X. Planner X insisted it was all a misunderstanding– she said that all three venues must have mistakenly told her they were unavailable– a claim we found highly dubious. Then, Planner X told my mom that I should just leave the phone calls to her. Essentially, Planner X was telling me to stay out of it! Needless to say, my mom was not satisfied with this response and asked Planner X to release us from the contract with a return of our deposit. Planner X agreed and we parted ways.
A Tale of Two Planners: Part One
September 21st, 2007 @ 4:45 pm by Mrs. Jasmine
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.
I emailed and called a slew of planners in Los Angeles– trying to find the best balance of personal chemistry, passion for weddings, creativity, and organizational skill. It was particularly important to me to find someone who was very well-versed in the specific cultural components of a South Asian wedding. After having my parents interview my favorite planners, we decided on Planner X. She was South Asian and thus had personal knowledge of what goes into an Indian wedding. I felt very confident that Planner X would be able to help us craft something really wonderful.
