DJ's. They Only Play Music, Right? Wrong!

This is an introduction at the beginning of each topic in this series.  Look below for the new entry in this series.

We all want to save money whenever we can, but if we end up paying more in the long run or creating a bad experience, what are we really saving?

Everything boils down to what you don't know can hurt you.  Here are just a few things you should know about various aspects of your wedding if you don't use professionals.  This is just the tip of the iceberg!  If you hear yourself say any of these statements, you might want to really stop and take the time to consider the costs in time and money.  Stop and be honest with yourself first to make sure that you aren’t making a decision you will regret weeks or years later.  

“I can do that!”  

“I have a friend who does that!”  

“That looks easy enough to do!”  

“I don’t think that will matter”. 

“I don’t have the money for that”.

“I think that _____ would enjoy doing that!”

I will be the first to tell you that a good DJ does so many things for a wedding reception that go unnoticed.  If you don't have a good DJ you might very well be looking back on your whole wedding reception in a completely different light.  I will go so far as to say that they can make or break your reception. 

Here are some things you need to consider before you go with someone other than a professional DJ.

A good DJ will read the crowd.  He/She (I'll refer from hereon out as he) will be able see the signs before things could become stagnant or read the crowd to know when the timing is perfect for just the right element you've wanted in your reception.

A good DJ will not just play music that he happens to have and thinks will work with just a few that you might want.  He will talk with you extensively about what you like and how you want your reception to feel and will help you think about how you want to look back on your wedding day.

A good DJ will know when to speak and when not to speak.  He's not there to take over the show, but to give it the flavor you want. He will also make sure that you hear the announcements that need to be made.  (Not like a non-professional that I witnessed who did not even turn the music down when he made the announcements about cake cutting and toasts and was no where in sight when people needed to talk to him!)  What do you think happened?  I'll let you guess.  

If you don't have a Wedding Coordinator, your DJ is likely to be the one that keeps everything on schedule.  A Wedding Coordinator will be able to match you with a DJ that fits your personality, style and budget and will work closely with your DJ to make sure that things go off without a hitch.

Wishing you the greatest of days!

Greatest of Days

DIY Doubts? Tips on Picking a Photographer.

This is an introduction at the beginning of each topic in this series.  Look below for the new entry in this series.

We all want to save money whenever we can, but if we end up paying more in the long run or creating a bad experience, what are we really saving?

Everything boils down to what you don't know can hurt you.  Here are just a few things you should know about various aspects of your wedding if you don't use professionals.  This is just the tip of the iceberg!  If you hear yourself say any of these statements, you might want to really stop and take the time to consider the costs in time and money.  Stop and be honest with yourself first to make sure that you aren’t making a decision you will regret weeks or years later.  

“I can do that!”  

“I have a friend who does that!”  

“That looks easy enough to do!”  

“I don’t think that will matter”. 

“I don’t have the money for that”.

“I think that _____ would enjoy doing that!”

Photography:  Tip of the Iceberg Tips!


Along with your marriage certificate, photos are the longest lasting tangible item you will have to look back on after your wedding day. 


My number one rule is this.  If your photographer does not make you smile when you are discussing all the details of what you want for photographs of your wedding, ask yourself if this person is going to make you smile and relaxed on your wedding day.  Your personalities have to click.


You want someone who belongs to professional organizations and knows all the latest technology and techniques as well as being familiar with the style of photography you like. 


A professional will guide you through the pros and cons of your venue and know what type of lighting is needed. 


A professional will also be alert to the lighting at a particular time of day to get the exceptional shots.  A professional can often create spectacular shots even at an (I hate to say it...) ugly venue.

DIY Weddings. A Little Advice on Invitations!

This is an introduction at the beginning of each topic in this series.  Look below for the new entry in this series.

We all want to save money whenever we can, but if we end up paying more in the long run or creating a bad experience, what are we really saving?

Everything boils down to what you don't know can hurt you.  Here are just a few things you should know about various aspects of your wedding if you don't use professionals.  This is just the tip of the iceberg!  If you hear yourself say any of these statements, you might want to really stop and take the time to consider the costs in time and money.  Stop and be honest with yourself first to make sure that you aren’t making a decision you will regret weeks or years later.  

“I can do that!”  

“I have a friend who does that!”  

“That looks easy enough to do!”  

“I don’t think that will matter”. 

“I don’t have the money for that”.

“I think that _____ would enjoy doing that!”

Invitations:  

1.  If  you want to create and send your own invitations, you should really try making your Save the Date announcements first.  If this seems overwhelming, you owe it to your self to contact a local vendor who creates invitations and favors.  Invitations will be a much more time-consuming and more expensive project especially if you have to buy all the supplies to create them.

2.  If you hire a professional you will only pay for what you need and not have to buy a whole box of invitations or envelopes if you make a mistake on just a few invitations.  

3.  Another thing to consider is quality control and not just for typos.  Sometimes quality control doesn't go over well with your friends and feels like criticism.  Make sure that your friends really enjoy doing this type of project if they are helping you with this project.

4.  A professional will show you many ways to give your invitations the look and feel that you like that you probably never even thought of.

As always, wishing you the greatest of days!

Janis Flagg

http://www.greatestofdays.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkKIjSu9dbA

DIY Weddings! Decisions, Decisions!

This is an introduction to a series of blog entries you will be able to read that will serve as a reality check to make sure that your DIY decisions are really going to save you money or not.  We'll cover one type of vendor at a time.  Also, there will be some alerts on having friends or family take on specific roles that professionals usually do at a wedding.  This isn't to say that they wouldn't have spectacular talent or  that there aren't some things that you've always dreamed of doing on your own for your wedding.  I just want you to look out for your own best interests.  This is not a day you can do over!  Perfection is a lofty goal and perfection is different things to different people and most would admit it is rarely achieved 100% of the time. That is life!  Relax and enjoy!  

Many people will tell you that they can perform particular tasks for your wedding.  You might be surprised at how you can make things so much less stressful by hiring a person who does this for a living and don’t assume anything on their prices.  Most professionals will find something you will be pleased with that will fit your budget.  Here's a tip!  Remember these people have to make a living and showing respect for their profession will make you a lot more points than starting out with trying to get their price down before you even talk to them.  The perfect vendor is not always someone with a storefront.  It might be someone you would never ever know about!  A Wedding Coordinator can give you a selection of vendors to choose from including those you would never know about!  

We all want to save money whenever we can, but if we end up paying more in the long run or creating a bad experience, what are we really saving?  Everything boils down to what you don't know can hurt you. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what you should know about various aspects of your wedding if you don't use professionals. You might want to really stop and take the time to consider the costs in time and money.  Stop... and be honest with yourself first to make sure that you are not making a decision you will regret years later if you hear yourself making any of the following statements.

“I can do that!”  

“I have a friend who does that!”  

“That looks easy enough to do!”  

“I don’t think that will matter”. 

“I don’t have the money for that”.

“I think that _____ would enjoy doing that!”

"My brother has a band".

I look forward to helping you make a decision regarding the option of DIY or non-professionals for your wedding.  We'll talk about invitations, photography, music, flowers, wedding gowns, food, selecting a venue, decor, favors, wedding coordinators, alcohol, bar tending, officiants, cakes and who knows what all else!!  Stay tuned!

You may use this material as long as you include credit and a link to this Greatest of Days Blog and the Greatest of Days website.

Wishing you the greatest of days!

Janis Flagg

Sentimental Touches to Dual-Purpose Items at Your Wedding or Other Event

You are multi-tasking all the time so why not save some money and have elements of your wedding do the same.

Here are just a few easy ideas that I've suggested to or learned from brides.


1.  For an outdoor ceremony and you want to have programs set on each of the chairs for your guests, hold them down with rocks and make a rock ceremony a part of your wedding.  Here's a hint!! Don't use boulders! Just use stones big enough to hold down the program.  Remember that whatever they are collected in should be strong enough and you don't want to have to pack out a container when filled with the stones to weigh a ton!

2.  Trying to get that aisle runner to stay in place?  Use flowering potted plants that you can give away later as favors.  This goes great with a green theme, but will work for almost any wedding theme.

3.  At the head table during your reception, have your bouquet and bridesmaid bouquets serve as table decorations.

4.  Arrange ahead of time to have your floral arrangements taken to an assisted living facility, homeless shelter or perhaps a shelter for battered women and their families.

5.  Do something that will become a gift that keeps on giving.

The following is something I did at my father-in-law's memorial.  (love and miss you, xoxo Dad!)  We of course wanted to reflect his personality and make a tribute to him.  He loved children, volunteered for the fire department, was a teacher and was known for his big bear hugs.  When we were trying to come up with a simple but touching element to encapsulate all of these things that we loved about Dad, I said to everyone just give me 10 minutes in a store, I'll walk a few aisles and an idea will come to me.

The result was having a variety of sizes of teddy bears on each table at the memorials service.  We attached little notes to the bears stating "In honor of Dad who was known for his big bear hugs and his love of children, these bears are going to be donated to the fire department to give to children in times of crisis".  We saved a certain number of these bears back for his children and grandchildren which are still being displayed in various places in each of their houses or cars.  It was a healing moment to deliver those bears to the fire department.  The smiles began with the extremely grateful fire department personnel, and it was so nice to imagine tears being dried up on those Teddy bears when a child most needed something to hug.  We did something else customized for my own Dad's memorial to reflect our love for him that would be comforting to his family.

Consider making your event or wedding one that is filled with love that will spread around your community or the world!

Wishing you the greatest of days!

Janis Flagg

Greatest of Days

Event and Wedding Planning and Design

27111 167th Pl. SE, Suite 105-242

Covington, WA   98042

206-604-1908

http://www.greatestofdays.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkKIjSu9dbA

Featured in: Not My Mother's Wedding, blog for Mothers of the Bride

Founder of South King County Event and Wedding Vendors

The 7th largest Wedding Vendors networking group in the world through Meetup.com.

Gas Prices and Planning Weddings

I think we would all agree that gas prices are insane when all of the statistics seem to show that the prices should be going down!  Well...even if it is an oil well, it is a deep subject.  At any rate, they have a tremendous effect on the wedding planning process and the type of wedding day that is the result especially for brides who are planning their own weddings as compared to hiring a Wedding Coordinator.  You might think, "What?!  That's crazy! I'm planning my whole wedding online!"

The truth is, you're going to need vendors who you speak with in person and you're going to want to know their personality and how they interact with you as if they were really there on your wedding day.  You don't want your vendors to fall into the category of being close to that of an uninvited guest!  Until weddings just become virtual events with no one ever showing up except to view your wedding on a screen and there is no celebration afterwards, you will have to meet your vendors in person eventually.  Or you should!  I have a theory that I extend as a guideline to brides.  That is, if a photographer makes you feel uneasy and doesn't make you smile while you are just having a consultation with them, you're shouldn't hire them for your wedding!  In all fairness, this goes for ALL of your vendors!  Why?  Communication and interpretation is key to a trouble-free wedding.  Just as much as you want to get to know your vendors, they can only do their best job by really getting to know you!

Wouldn't it be nice if all of your vendors knew your personality, style and budget or could look at your face and within a split second have the perfect idea for your wedding pop in their head!  Those light bulb moments become the ingredient that make you wedding unique!  You're thinking that no one know my personality, style and budget!  Repeat that again!  No one knows my personality, style and budget!  Well, guess what?  That is in a nutshell what a Wedding Coordinator does!  Your Wedding Coordinator gets to know you with the focused intent from the first minute they speak to you.  The whole time he/she is having a conversation with you, the foremost thought in their mind is "who will they want to get to know, like, trust and who will best match their personality, style and budget?"  That's it!  You just can't get all of that without meeting in person.

Back to gas prices.  Yes!  Gas prices.  When you have someone who is doing multiple layers of screening for you and knows countless vendors, as a Wedding Coordinator does, and can pass on discounts or great prices to you that you wouldn't get normally, you win! You have just saved a lot of money and time and stress!  Ask anyone who has hired a Wedding Coordinator..not just a friend or relative, but ask someone who has hired someone who does this for a living!  I would suggest you consult with at least two Wedding Coordinators before you hire one.  More than any vendor, you need to be comfortable with them and just plain like them!  Take into account that they will save you money and the more you use the skills of a Wedding Coordinator, the more you save.  Let them help you!  I know you will be pleasantly surprised!  Best of all, your wedding is more likely to be what you expected it to be on price and quality.

Wishing you the greatest of days!

Greatest of Days

Event and Wedding Planning and Design

27111 167th Pl. SE, Suite 105-242

Covington, WA   98042

206-604-1908

http://www.greatestofdays.com/

www.greatestofdaysweddingsandevents.blogspot.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkKIjSu9dbA

If you are a wedding vendor and would like to boost your wedding business,

here is a link to valuable answers on how to do just that.  

http://tinyurl.com/3dfgdsz

Featured in: http://notmymotherswedding.com/

, blog for Mothers of the Bride

Founder of South King County Event and Wedding Vendors

The 7th largest Wedding Vendors networking group in the world through Meetup.com.

What Happens When You Hire a Wedding Coordinator? Part 4.

Okay, you've got the dress and the venue and you should continue from there with bridesmaids dresses and bring in the guys so you can determine what style and colors of tuxedos or suits and so forth will go well with what the bridesmaids are wearing, etc.

Not every wedding is going to be planned in the same way as no two weddings are alike.  Okay, I have to inject my biased, and possibly unpopular opinion.  I personally hate checklists just for the sake of having a checklist.  I find it overwhelming to see 500 things to do.  I think they are useless until I have really gotten into my client's head.  I feel that a wedding should be planned only to the degree you need it to be.  Sometimes those checklists make you spend more money because they will give you a sense that "have" to do this or that!  I would say, let's make your own schedule, not a checklist.  Checklists do not a wedding make!  There are so many styles of planning that can be used.  You have to use what works for you!  Those checklists would lead you to think that you can't even plan a wedding in less than a year!  Give me three months and I will more than likely be able to have a wedding planned.  Not suggesting that I want to plan all of the summer's weddings in just the three months prior!  That's is scary!  My point is that I can surely shorten your engagement time by months!

From here on out it is the time for the "make it your day" fun stuff but it's also serious stuff!  Everything from "this day forward" is pretty much going to have your name written all over it and will make your day most memorable.  It's where you get to show your style as well as your love and respect for your guests.  This is when you are able to tell your story through words, pictures, music and objects.

At this point in time, I would say a Wedding Coordinator really pays off for you financially and for your peace of mind!  Your Coordinator is willing to go with you to all of your vendor appointments after searching for a variety that will match your budget, personality and style.  Your Coordinator by now has spent hours listening to what you want and you benefit from their thousands of hours of networking, marketing and education that they have invested in trying to learn as much as possible about each and every type of vendor you might be looking for.  This is something that other vendors for your wedding do not have to do to the same extent.  They will place their concentration on their own particular field and trends.  We have to know as much as possible about each type of vendor!  It's impossible to know everything, but we will match your vision with the right person for you!

Save the Dates and invitations are really your guests first clue as to what your wedding is going to be like.  I suggest that you incorporate your wedding colors into your invitations because often your guests will take that as guideline of what color of clothing they will want to wear to your wedding.  If you are planning on having an outdoor wedding be sure you include something that clues them in and helps them prepare for the elements.  If you are registered somewhere for gifts, do not include those cards in your invitations.  There are more subtle and discreet ways of giving them this information.  It's much more palatable in writing.

Whether its the photography style you like, the food and beverage that you think you and your guests will like, you are beginning to make your own unique wedding.  You can say it with flowers, music, favors, programs, your colors, your theme, decorations, guest book (not always a book), your cake (or other dessert), down to your mode of transportation to and from your wedding.  There are hundreds of choices to be made.  If you are guided through them gently with a Wedding Coordinator, it won't be nearly as overwhelming or costly!  Yes through getting you in touch with quality vendors who have good prices or offer discounts unavailable except through a planner, you will save a lot of money!

In summary, you're setting the tone for your wedding and beginning to plan your wedding in a way that feels most comfortable for you!

Wishing you the greatest of days!

Janis Flagg

Greatest of Days

Event and Wedding Planning and Design

27111 167th Pl. SE, Suite 105-242

Covington, WA   98042

206-604-1908

http://greatestofdays.com/

www.greatestofdaysweddingsandevents.blogspot.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkKIjSu9dbA

Featured in: Not My Mother's Wedding, blog for Mothers of the Bride

Founder of South King County Event and Wedding Vendors

The 7th largest Wedding Vendors networking group in the world through Meetup.com.

What Happens When You Hire a Wedding Coordinator? Part 3.

Okay!  Let's create a wedding!!  By this point in time you have determined what is most important to you and your fiance'.  Also at this point in time, you will run into the biggest "What comes first, the chicken or the egg?"  I would say that usually it is the dress and venue or the venue and the dress.  

With full planning, your Wedding Coordinator will meet with you on all of the various types appointments that you will have during the planning process.  Their job is to ask the questions you don't know to ask and do their best to make sure that your interests are addressed.

If you already know that you're getting married in your grandmother's rose garden, you don't have to worry about the location.  You will soon find out that not having a venue, where they are not used to having events, comes with its own bundle of challenges.  Without going into all the details, I have counted 39 questions that I have in my head when I visit a venue!  You might think that that is overboard, but that is really just covering the basics.  If you have your heart set on a venue you might actually want to set your wedding date according to that.  It just depends on how long you want to wait for your wedding.  Your Wedding Coordinator will be able to suggest others venues, some of which you have never heard of, that might just make you forget all about the venue that you had your heart set on!  Your coordinator can help you get through many disappointments or incorrect assumptions, but don't worry.  If he/she knows your vision of your wedding, there are ways to make it happen no matter what!

You must also have some kind of a "guestimate" of the number or people who will likely come to your wedding.  Your Coordinator will discuss with you what the challenges might be with setting a particular wedding date such as seasons, holidays, weekends or weekdays, evening or daytime hours for a wedding.

On average, right up there with finding a venue is finding the dress!  With some designers it can take many months to get the dress you chose delivered to you and you still need to leave time for alterations if necessary and then the final fitting.  At any rate even if you get a dress that is delivered in a very short time, you will need a fitting or two as your wedding date gets closer.  This isn't the time to put extra pressure on yourself to lose that 50 pounds you have been going to lose for a few years now!  The important thing, if you can do it, is to be healthy and fit so that you stay well.  There are many ways to take a lot of the frustration out of the process of finding the right dress and there are options other than finding a dress at a bridal shop.  Don't be surprised if your Coordinator tries to get you to steer clear of some types of bridal stores.  We care again about your style, personality, budget and your priorities for quality.

With all appointments it's great if you know what you want, but having an open mind is almost just as important.  Sometimes, just like shopping for your regular wardrobe, it helps to know what looks best for your coloring and your body type.  However, you might miss out on that perfect dress if you are zeroed in on one particular type of dress.  You should allow yourself to think outside the box, be more daring and have fun.  If you have heard that a bride has found her dress when she cries tears of joy, I think that it is quite true.  Another sign is if she takes much longer to get back to the dressing room, does many more turns in the mirror and the repeats with a couple more poses or angles!  I love the look on the bride's face when she finds that dress!

So in summary, venue and dress or dress and venue?  There are no rules set in stone, but this falls within the average.  Stay tuned for Customizing Your Wedding and Dual-Purposing to Save Money!

As always, wishing you the greatest of days!

http://www.greatestofdays.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkKIjSu9dbA

Featured in: Not My Mother's Wedding, blog for Mothers of the Bride

Founder of South King County Event and Wedding Vendors

The 7th largest Wedding Vendors networking group in the world through Meetup.com.

I dare you to leave a comment and say hello!   8)