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Monday, March 24, 2014

Wedding Emotions

What?  Sadness around weddings?

Don't be fooled!  Planning weddings are going to bring out numerous emotions.  Probably there are as many emotions as there are people involved in a wedding.  Family, friends and even co-workers can experience hidden emotions that they might not even be aware of or be willing to admit.  But be prepared for surprising emotions after the wedding as well.

Did you ever feel this way when a friend or family member was planning a wedding or after they got married?  Did you feel like either they or you must have left the planet for as often that you see your friend anymore?  

There is an adjustment period for everyone.  A newly married couple needs to focus on their new life together and they're probably going through tug of war just with their families' demands for time.  Holidays will never be the same again and that's just the beginning!  

Especially with family, there can be some jealousy or stubbornness rearing it's ugly head.  A couple might be really trying to cut the apron strings and develop their own set of traditions or ways of doing things, yet a parent might not be wanting to let go.  It's a form of... yes, it's real..grieving!  Unknowns, fear, sense of loss, time passing quickly and getting older.  They can all be scary.  

Newly married couples could feel that there must have been a big sales promotion running for guilt trips and their parents bought every cruise available!  Any relationship cannot be an island.  It's important to keep in contact with old friends, but just on a different level.  Remember them on their special days and holidays and chat with them occasionally to just let them know you still care about them and their lives.  Better yet, just call them out of the blue.

Couples can also feel abandoned by their friends.  Communication is the key.  There comes a time in your life when everyone realizes how important it is to keep old friendships alive that have meant a lot to you in the past.  This doesn't mean you are putting your marriage out of first place!

Wishing you the greatest of  days!


P.S.  We would love for you to leave a comment!  What would you like us to answer for you in our upcoming blog posts?  Feel free to contact us!  Serious inquiries and suggestions only, please.  No spam!


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Thursday, March 20, 2014

What Requires 16 Businesses and is 16 Hours Long?

I'm not even sure if it takes 16 or more businesses to build a house.  Well, maybe if you include all of the government agencies involved.  Most weddings take 16-20 vendors.

Couples going through the process of planning a wedding are often shocked at how many businesses they use to bring their wedding day to fruition and well beyond the wedding day.  Wedding checklists often don't list everyone that will end up being hired in one form or another.  There are so many varieties of just about every vendor category and every year we see different aspects added to weddings.  Couples are definitely in to making their day unique.

Yes, the average wedding takes 16-20 vendors.  Most people think of the venue, cake, photography, food, "the" dress or dresses, just off the top of their head.  Soon they find out that there are a lot of smaller choices to be made.  Often they are the things that take a lot of time leading up to a decision such as invitations.  Who knew they could all be so different?  I've never seen a couple not add on aspects to their wedding day beyond what they originally planned.

The people who don't think they need a DJ are often the most disappointed on their wedding day!  I-Pod weddings shouldn't even be compared to the services of a DJ.  They are the eyes and ears to your entire event.  An I-Pod cannot read a crowd to keep the party going or announce that someone left their lights on or is parked in a fire lane. 

Some of the more obscure vendor categories that people wouldn't have thought of several years ago are commonplace now.  For example, photo booths! And a photo booth is not a photo booth!  They vary quite a bit in the types of services they offer.  It goes beyond props and pics.

There are some categories of vendors that people wouldn't have even thought about such as a Ben and Jerry's ice cream truck or cart.  I can't even tell you what a hit this is on a hot summer day and it appeals to kids of all ages.  At one of the weddings I was hired for, can you guess who made their way to the cart more than any one else? Guys over 50!  Since when does this age and gender category have a good time at a wedding?  I heard a lot of "I tried that flavor in a cup, now I'll try it in a cone!"  There was a lot of foot traffic mostly from people saying, "I tried that flavor now I'm going to try this other flavor".

Weddings might begin with a ring purchase, but postage stamps, on site childcare, a dog-sitter can often be forgotten as services that are part of building a wedding.  

As far as time involved on a wedding day, 16 hours is not uncommon.  Depending up on how many attendants and couple have needing makeup and hair styling, you could very well start out at least by 8:00 AM and it's not long after that that the seating and tables are being put together and decorated.  Photographers document the whole process and the only thing they don't photograph are the guests eating their meals.  DJ's often are the last ones to leave a wedding....unless there's a wedding planner involved.  We're almost always the last to leave as we drive home at night often smelling like we've have alcoholic beverages when we haven't.  How does that happen?  It's because we have the wine soaked linens in the back of the car around midnight or 1:00 AM.

I'm attaching my notorious vendor wheel in which I have purposely left out some crucial vendors that every wedding needs.  Tell me if you can discover who is missing!  OKAY, you don't need Santa Claus, event surveys or incentives.  Hint:  Suffice it to say that a wedding as represented by this wheel would not be happening, and some guys might be a little embarrassed.  Rentals alone can sometimes be more than one vendor.






Wishing you the greatest of days!