Mrs. Lamb, NorfolkAge and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: January 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera HouseAbout Me: I’m a Homeland Security Consultant with a tendency towards pulling office pranks, taking lunch breaks, and drinking Wawa shakes. I’m also an English major with a serious obsession with alliteration and rhymes. While I’m not keeping America safe, I’m training for half marathons and the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Or moving for the third time this year. Or baking. Or wedding crafting. Or crying about wedding planning. All the while, I’m getting myself into Lucille Ball-esque scrapes and making Jim Carey-esque faces. Our big fat Czech/Baptist/Jewish/Italian wedding is a combination of vintage eclectic, DIY, and little spoonful of sugar from our Event Coordinator. It’s going to be a Norfolk flavored wedding with the verve of an only-daughter-blow-out bash!
We hired an event designer/wedding planner for oru wedding. I feel like I just confessed to a horrible crime. I’m a bee! I DIY! I believe in the philosophy of a practical wedding! And I hired a wedding coordinator. The. FULL. package. Not that I feel like I should defend that decision, but I wanted to explain the process of making the decision and working with a coordinator.
I have always loved weddings and originally thought I would have a huge role in planning my wedding. My parents liked the idea of day-of coordinating and it seemed to be a good match at first. However, upon further consideration, I evaluated several factors:
Up until 5 months before the wedding, I was planning an out of town wedding (vendor complications resulted in our ultimate decision to wed in Norfolk). I couldn’t make it to all the vendor appointments out-of-state and I wanted a representative who could act as my proxy.
As a people pleaser, I wanted someone in my corner. My bridesmaids were wonderful and affirming, but since they were all from out of town, they weren’t able to be present all of the time when I needed back up.
Mrs. Turtle, Central CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 21, Art Student/TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, English StudentEngagement Date: August 16, 2008Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Mr. Turtle's Grandparents' backyard, Arroyo Grande, CAAbout Me: I am a California girl who loves the beach and the mountains, but is quite satisfied living right in the middle where I can enjoy the best of both worlds. I am happiest when traveling to faraway places, wandering through museums, watching old movies, or baking up a storm. Mr. Turtle and I are high school sweethearts and fellow book nerds who both drive Mini Coopers and are most likely to be found browsing in antique stores. We're having so much fun planning our European garden wedding with a vintage twist and can't wait to share more of life's adventures together!
I just realized that I have yet to tell you about our amaaazing wedding coordinator, Danae Grace!
Back in the day, Danae and I went to high school together. I remember sitting next to her in U.S. history class my sophomore year, and talking way more about our latest boy drama than history…
Awkwaaard Turtle alert! This is me and Danae on the last day of my sophomore year of high school!
We always clicked really well, but she graduated a year before me, and we kind of lost contact after high school. Well, fast forward about five years… Mr. Turtle and I are engaged, and we attend our first bridal show together over on the Central Coast, and we run into Danae! Read more…
Mrs. Starfish, Boston/NewportAge and Occupation: 25, Operations AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, SalesEngagement Date: October 8, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: The Atlantic Beach ClubAbout Me: I'm a perfectionist who is a planner at heart. I don't do well with surprises. I love planning, crafting, Newport RI, family and friends, and most importantly, Mr. Starfish---all of which will be big components in our October wedding in our favorite little city by the sea.
We recently learned that our wedding coordinator is no longer with our venue. She decided to make a career change, so we were moved to another coordinator at the Atlantic Beach Club named Elaine.
We were a little bummed about this at first because we really liked Jessica, our original coordinator. But after our first meeting with Elaine, we were super excited to work with her. She gave us so many great tips and has been with our venue for over a decade.
It was really refreshing because she gave us real advice. She knows we are on a budget and she was telling us ways to cut back without losing impact. One of her recommendations was to look at Shaw’s for a cake. We were originally looking into Costco, as we love the flavor of their cakes, but I was surprised to get this kind of recommendation from someone in the wedding industry. Typically it seems like all of the recommendations are to other vendor’s colleagues and friends on preferred vendor lists. Read more…
Ms. Stripes, Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 29, Costume Designer/StylistFiancee's Age and Occupation: 29, ChefEngagement Date: June 23, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heritage Square MuseumAbout Me: I’m a type A creative with a messy streak, a loud mouth, and an uncanny knack for combining clashing patterns. I can usually be found with my nose in a book, my feet (or at least my toes) on the ground, my head in the clouds, and my arm around the prettiest girl you ever saw- aka
Fiancee Stripes. Together we’re planning a FUN vintage/modern French carnival wedding extravaganza and rockin’ dance party on a dime. (Say that three times fast!) Good coffee, long lists, Uniball pens, and my iPhone keep me sane, and making art, making trouble, and making out keep me happy! I love urban adventures, bike rides that end with afternoon drinks, breakfast for dinner, beautiful light, photography, travel, my furry family, and of course, my beautiful fiancee! I’m super excited to be here and can’t wait to share all our adventures as we craft a joyful, budget-friendly, design-savvy and all-around AWESOME wedding!
I have a recurring nightmare where I’m crawling around on the ground in the dark, in my wedding dress, and picking up flower petals in an attempt to return our venue to its original state and ensure that we get our deposit back. Drunkenly crawling.
Well it’s not really a nightmare (yet) but I think about it. A lot. During the day. Along with the myriad other organizational tasks that have to be taken care to pull off this whole wedding shindig. It makes my head hurt and I’d prefer to think about bridal accessories, paper cranes and any task I can DIY now. Instant gratification, ya know?
I think when you’re a DIY bride* it is hard to let go of the fantasy (nightmare) that you can really do everything yourself. Read more…
Mrs. Hot Wings, Chicago/San DiegoAge and Occupation: 28, ProfessorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, InstructorEngagement Date: December 20, 2008Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Ocean View Villas/Jasmine Seafood RestaurantAbout Me: I am a psychology grad student living in Chicago and planning my wedding to a fellow psych grad student. I am a Sunny So-Cal bred gal who trudged across the country to follow her love of psychology and ended up finding a partner in the process. I am overly passionate about anything I involve myself with. I am an activist, a foodie, a reality TV watching junkie, an over-analyzer, a photography obsesser, and am utterly cheesy to the core. This is a story of what happens when a boy and a girl meet, fall in love over academic dorkiness, and a shared love for life. We (mostly I) are planning our semi-destination wedding in my hometown of San Diego. We are excited to bring our families and friends together from across our lifespans to celebrate our future in a grand 400+ person culturally blended affair!
Mrs. Scissors, LaGrange, GAAge and Occupation: 25, Photography & Graphic DesignFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Engineering Grad StudentEngagement Date: January 1, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Ceremony - First United Methodist Church; Reception - My parents' house!About Me: I’m a six-foot-three bride with a fifty-foot personality! I love great art, fabulous design, intense color, tons of music, indie photography, watching movies on repeat, and being really awesome. This super-tall, Southern, loud, quirky, neurotic artist is marrying a German, quiet, silly, super-amazing roboticist in an eclectic, funky, fun, snazzy, technicolored June wedding. Anything is game for this shindig, for it is all about us! We’re bringing giant paper cranes, six-foot-tall portraits, fortune cookies, a photo booth, a club-circuit DJ, handcuffs, and possibly a kidnapping to this small Southern town. Watch out, y’all, and try to keep up!
This video doesn’t really have anything to do with this post, except sometimes I feel like the universe mocks me in such a fashion. You know, with the pointing, the “trololololol”-ing, and creepy ’70s atmosphere.
I was actually going to post a video that made sense – Confessions Pt. 1 by Usher. OK, so it really only makes sense in the fact that the song has “confessions” in it. I didn’t go floosie around on my love or anything. Work with me here, peeps. OK, I really need to move along to the actual confessions. I’m stalling.
I drank orange juice straight from the carton today.
Crap. Yes, I’m stalling. There is no way to go about this easily, so, ugh, here goes…
Mrs. Cheeseburger, Baltimore, MD/State College, PAAge and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentEngagement Date: June 28, 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Catholic Church Ceremony & Hotel ReceptionAbout Me: I'm a passionate girl from Pittsburgh, currently living in Baltimore for school, who loves Penn State, seeing movies, football, thunderstorms, black and white photos, Christmas, good beer, my amazing friends and family, and of course, my mister! We met, fell in love, got engaged, and will be married at our alma mater (go lions!) in a traditional Catholic ceremony followed by a hotel reception with lots of DIY details. It means so much to have our families and friends meet at our favorite place on earth to celebrate our love for one another - I truly couldn't ask for anything more!
If you’ve read Weddingbee for any amount of time, you’ve probably seen lots of posts on Day of Coordinators (DOCs), and bees debating why and why not to get one. I’ve read a lot of them (go here to read about DOCs and find links to bee posts, and here to check out some real bee DOC budgets), and, though it took me a while, I finally have a stance on the matter myself. Read more…
Mrs. Cowboy Boot, Santa FeAge and Occupation: 25, Magazine EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Artist and Whitewater Rafting GuideEngagement Date: April 28th, 2008Wedding Date: October 2009Venue: Devil's Thumb Ranch, ColoradoAbout Me: I grew up in Los Angeles and have since lived in San Diego, Boston, Italy, Hawaii, New York City, and Santa Fe. I speak Italian and love pasta. My real passion is the outdoors, though. When I'm not at work, I'm snowboarding, hiking with my two dogs, mountain biking, surfing, cross-country-skiing, or boating New Mexico's rivers. Despite my boyish love for adventure, I'm a girly-girl at heart and am overly-excited to pull off the romantic, vintage-inspired, country wedding of my dreams.
I am interrupting my final wedding recap to talk about an issue that is really crucial when it comes to weddings: DOCs (day-of-coordinators). I, like many brides, thought I could go without. But as the weeks neared our wedding date and I started to visualize a timeline for the few days before the wedding, I couldn’t figure out when I would have time to set up all of the our DIY projects in our reception barn pre-wedding.
I had two trains of thought: 1) a stressed out bride, racing the clock, delegating projects, and ultimately, barely taking a breath before walking down the aisle, or 2) going hiking with friends, enjoying our rehearsal dinner, waking up rested the morning of the wedding, and possibly having a chance to go for a run or do yoga in the hours leading up to the ceremony.
Needless to say, option 2 seemed much more appealing. Our wedding salesperson at Devil’s Thumb Ranch had two recommendations for day-of-coordinators and one, she said, was fairly new to the business. Her name was Danielle Odil of Something Classic Events. We talked a few times for a few months before the wedding and, eventually, I caved. But not without combing through her set package and customizing it to my needs (including slicing the price tag to my budget). To see what I did to her package, head here. Read more…
Mrs. Pug, New York City/Half Moon Bay, CAAge and Occupation: 33, LawyerFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, dittoEngagement Date: July 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon BayAbout Me: The Mr. and I are two 30-somethings who enjoy tasty sweets of all kinds, our neighborhood wine store, and cuddling with our pug. NYC is where we live and the city we love, but we’re doing the deed out in Northern California. We are trying to keep the affair small, intimate, and manageable. Our motto is: the less people, the better! (I’m kidding.)
My last two posts described what would turn out to be a 72-hour flirtation with the idea of hiring a DOC. I went from not even considering a DOC to exuberantly calling a dozen DOCs. Even though we had a venue coordinator, I didn’t think the venue staff would provide everything that a DOC would and I didn’t want to bother the venue coordinator with tasks that she may find inappropriate or overstepping bounds.
From all my conversations with the DOCs, these are the general services that they provide:
Meeting anywhere from 1 month to 3 months out to discuss overall vision of wedding
Unlimited emails and phone calls until wedding day (I didn’t call any DOCs who indicated on their website that there was a limit to email and phone contact)
Collection of vendor contracts and confirming schedule with vendors, making sure they are paid/tipped, etc.
Collect and set up escort cards, menus, programs, any other DIY or decor
Mrs. Pug, New York City/Half Moon Bay, CAAge and Occupation: 33, LawyerFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, dittoEngagement Date: July 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon BayAbout Me: The Mr. and I are two 30-somethings who enjoy tasty sweets of all kinds, our neighborhood wine store, and cuddling with our pug. NYC is where we live and the city we love, but we’re doing the deed out in Northern California. We are trying to keep the affair small, intimate, and manageable. Our motto is: the less people, the better! (I’m kidding.)
So, if you remember, I was looking for a DOC. What should I ask of prospective DOCs?
I spoke to a dozen DOCs (including Little Blue Box Weddings, J&J Elegant Affairs, Sara Gorski Events, and others) and with each conversation I started becoming more comfortable asking questions. The following is a representation of the atmosphere I tried to create in each of these conversations:
Mrs. Pug, New York City/Half Moon Bay, CAAge and Occupation: 33, LawyerFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, dittoEngagement Date: July 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon BayAbout Me: The Mr. and I are two 30-somethings who enjoy tasty sweets of all kinds, our neighborhood wine store, and cuddling with our pug. NYC is where we live and the city we love, but we’re doing the deed out in Northern California. We are trying to keep the affair small, intimate, and manageable. Our motto is: the less people, the better! (I’m kidding.)
I never considered hiring a day-of-coordinator (DOC) during the first year of wedding planning. After all, we were only having 60 people, all in one location, no formal ceremony, no bridal party procession, no grand entrance into reception, no first dance, no father-daughter dance… you name it, we weren’t having it.
Then I read a veritable cornucopia of posts regarding the absolute necessity of having a DOC. Bride after bride after bride said that it was the best decision they had made. Oh crap, have I misled myself? Would I regret having to make any of my family members work? Would they not enjoy themselves? Now in a tizzy, I decided to call around and see exactly what this DOC thing was about and whether it was necessary for our relatively small wedding.
Mrs. Cola, Mountain View, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Product Communications and PromotionsFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Managing Partner and Senior DesignerEngagement Date: March 5, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: The Mountain Terrace, Woodside, CAAbout Me: I’m a Washington State native, enjoying life in Silicon Valley California with my fiancé, our three kitties and one leopard gecko. I like reading wedding blogs, Photoshopping wedding design mock ups, making lists, and planning, planning, planning! I’m a bit of an anomaly, on one side I’m a very girlie girl, I collect shoes, I lay out my outfits 4-6 weeks in advance, and I’d never leave the house without my hair curled and makeup on. But on the other side, I’m a total tomboy, I love to go camping and hiking, play drinking games (hey, I’m Irish!) and most of my closest friends are guys. My fiancé and I are planning a DIY-focused wedding with a balance between easygoing (what he wants) and chic and stylish (what I want), and are tying it all together with elements in lavender, sage, butter cream and chocolate.
No, not that type of Doc, I’m talking about our wonderful and talented Day Of Coordinator, Sara Gorski!
For the longest time I didn’t think we needed a DOC, until I started really diving into the wedding planning. Everywhere I read, the #1 thing that brides said they wished they’d had was a DOC (if they didn’t have one), and the #1 thing brides said they liked best about their wedding was having a DOC (if they had one), so they didn’t have to worry about everything. And so, I started thinking that just sounded too good to pass up, and a DOC was quickly added to the budget. Read more…
Mrs. Cloud, RichmondAge and Occupation: 25, Sales RepFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Customer Service Manager/DJEngagement Date: February 14, 2008Wedding Date: November 2009Venue: Cathedral of the Sacred Heart & The Jefferson HotelAbout Me: Mr. Cloud and I are Yankees planning a Southern wedding to show our families from Boston and New York our fabulous city. We are complete opposites, resulting in a wedding to include bridesmaids in pearls and groomsmen in Adidas shell toes. I’m a sorority girl at heart with strong addictions to my blackberry, cherry Chapstick, Coach purses, the Boston Red Sox and our fur baby, Bella. I can’t wait to the throw the party of our lives and of course, marry my best friend!
When this whole wedding planning shenanigans started, Mama Cloud and I decided that we were going to go it alone—just me and her on a big fat planning adventure. I like to think I’m pretty resourceful and persuasive when I want to be, and Mama Cloud is the most downright organized person I’ve ever encountered. I figured between the two of us we would have this wedding locked down and ready to go in no time. Trouble is, like mother like daughter; we are also both very emotional and very excited ladies. Emotional as in the tears come quick when we get upset, and excited like we have so many ideas and want to start making things happen quickly before thinking it all through (OK, I’m way worse than she is at both of these, but that is not the point…). It wasn’t far into our twenty one month journey (I’m sorry but I still cannot believe it was TWENTY ONE months, it seems like an eternity!) it was obvious that we were going to need some help, if not only just on the big day.
Enter Windy Jennings of Weddings By Windy (aka lifesaver and wedding goddess extraordinaire!). I really cannot say enough about this woman. If I were to write a review on her with a rating system it would be an A with so many plus signs afterward you would think she was paying me to say it (which of course she’s not, I just love her that much). She not only made me love her but also made me realize the value and importance of having a planner or coordinator for your wedding. We used Windy for her “partial coordination” package even though we set out looking for just day of services. I didn’t even know there was a middle level between DOCs and the whole shebang, but it turns out a lot of coordinators offer personalized packages to handle whatever small or large tasks you need help with. Read more…
Mrs. Stiletto, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 26, Non-Profit/FundraisingFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Engineer and PhotographerEngagement Date: March 2, 2008Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: The 19th Century ClubAbout Me: My fiance and I love living in the city of Chicago with our cats Basil and Linus, and vow to never move to the suburbs if we can possibly avoid it! We’ve poured ourselves into planning a wedding that reflects our personal style - modern and high contrast with a vintage twist. Blogging keeps me creative, baking keeps me happy, and grande nonfat no foam sugar free vanilla lattes keep me sane.
I’m pretty sure the day after the wedding, I wanted to email each and every one of our vendors and gush about how fabulous they were! True story. However, Mr. S urged me to hold off until after the honeymoon. While we were away, we stayed off of Facebook and made ourselves invisible on Google Chat. I did sneak in a little Weddingbee (shh…), but Mr. S sneaked in a few work emails, so I guess we’re even.
On our first night officially in town, we released the gushing emails onto our vendors - I think Mr. S was just as excited as I was to share lovely words with the individuals who helped make our day so special!
I shared a little while back about why we chose to hire a day of coordinator (DOC). I wanted to know that the little details were taken care of, and while I thought our DJ was a fabulous and great guy, I didn’t want to have to talk to him or anyone else about the timeline on that day. I was there to celebrate and have fun, darn it! Read more…
Mrs. Lamb, NorfolkAge and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: January 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera HouseAbout Me: I’m a Homeland Security Consultant with a tendency towards pulling office pranks, taking lunch breaks, and drinking Wawa shakes. I’m also an English major with a serious obsession with alliteration and rhymes. While I’m not keeping America safe, I’m training for half marathons and the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Or moving for the third time this year. Or baking. Or wedding crafting. Or crying about wedding planning. All the while, I’m getting myself into Lucille Ball-esque scrapes and making Jim Carey-esque faces. Our big fat Czech/Baptist/Jewish/Italian wedding is a combination of vintage eclectic, DIY, and little spoonful of sugar from our Event Coordinator. It’s going to be a Norfolk flavored wedding with the verve of an only-daughter-blow-out bash!
Well, hopefully my coordinator isn’t going to run off with my groom… but I’m very excited that we decided to hire an event designer/wedding coordinator!
Early in the process, we knew that we at least wanted “day of” coordinating services. My parents did not want to be worrying about the processional, paying the DJ, or putting out favors while their guests were left to fend for themselves. Deciding on the right company and the right package was much harder than I thought, though.
I began my search with these considerations in mind: Read more…
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