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)

What Happens When You Hire a Wedding Coordinator? Part 2.

In Part 1 of this series, I wrote that you can expect to almost feel like you've never been listened to so much in your life!  It's like a fun interview and the result is going to be a day that you've always dreamed of.

Not every Wedding Coordinator is going to have the exact same process when working for a client.  Just as a bride has her own unique style, so do Coordinators or any wedding vendor for that matter. Part 2 will begin to help you become laser-focused on what is most important to you.

I like to have a bride and groom both write down separately what they most want to remember about their wedding as well as their reception and also how they want their guests to remember both events.  They really are in many ways two separate events.  I like to have the bride and groom both write down what they consider the five most important things to them for their wedding and reception.  This is what I call my "5 + 5 = 6" equation.  From each list for each "event" I ask them to compile a joint list.  Every bride and groom has a list of things that are "must haves".   A bride and groom might think that everybody wants a particular aspect of a wedding, but in reality, people have very different priorities.  They are not alone.  I continue to find it amusing that vendors of any type of category will think that they are automatically what a bride and groom will book first.  What's most important to one couple will not be important at all to another couple.

After a list has been compiled from the "5 + 5 = 6" equation, it's time to talk budget.  This list is a road map to what the budget should be focused on.  If money is tight, I can suggest ways that they might be able to have some aspect of their wedding do double duty.  I love it when there is a  problem to getting some element into a wedding due to budget constraints or limitations at a particular venue.  The reason I love it so much is because that lets creativity come out of its cage and explore the whole world.  There are a million ways to solve problems and they often end up adding a lot of special meaning and wonderful moments that would have otherwise never even existed.  It's not surprising at all that they haven't cost any money or perhaps very little money.

So in summary to Part 2, the framework is set up to creating the big day.  The dreams and reality are just beginning to emerge!  Next thing you know, tasks are going to be checked off of the lists right and left.  The fun is just beginning!

As always, wishing you the greatest of days!


Greatest of Days
http://greatestofdays.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkKIjSu9dbA
http://www.facebook.com/greatestofdays

What Happens When You Hire a Wedding Coordinator? Part 1.

A wedding Coordinator basically starts out by getting to know what you envision for your wedding after they have determined if they will be available for your wedding day.  You can expect questions that will help them determine what you like, dislike, how you met and get a glimpse of what has brought you to the point where you want to spend the rest of your lives together.  Before you know it, you will have found words or your coordinator has found words to describe exactly what you want your wedding day to be like.   Everything from the look, the feel, the sounds and even the tastes will be put together like a puzzle.

They'll likely want to know what your family backgrounds are such as your parents' marital status or family dynamics are so that awkward moments can be avoided later.  It's always better that finding out this type of information right away long before a seating chart is discussed.

A Wedding Coordinator, like most wedding vendors wants to do the best job possible and establish the parameters of what can be a 6 -16 month relationship in developing the most celebrated day in your adult life.  What a good Wedding Coordinator should do is listen and listen some more.  You should feel like you have found a new friend who is really going to have your back.  From that, you will be pleasantly surprised at how much you wedding day is "so you".

My clients are always surprised at the number of emails that will go back and forth even for a Day-of Coordination.  Speaking of that, you should expect to have quick responses to your questions and not feel that any question is a stupid question.  We realize that you probably have not planned a wedding before and even if you have helped someone plan theirs, it's so different when it is your own.

To sum it up, just be prepared to talk about the most anticipated celebration in your life and what it looks like in your mind's eye.  You'll know everything is going well when you end up having  many laughs and probably even develop some inside jokes along the way!  A Wedding Coordinator will spend more time with you than any other vendor for your wedding.  Here's a little secret or why you might think you're seeing your Wedding Coordinator tear up a little bit!  What?  Really? After your wedding, your Wedding Coordinator is probably going to really miss you and will be absolutely thrilled to hear how you're doing and hear about the latest adventures in your life.  We're professionals, but we are people first and develop a warm spot in our hearts for our clients.

As Always, wishing you the greatest of days!


Greatest of Days, Wedding and Event Planning, Designing and Officiating


Next, we'll talk about the unknown ways a Wedding Coordinator can help you!

Wedding Favors. Are You Doing Your Guest a Favor?

All you have to do is clean-up duties for a few weddings and you will see that there are favors left behind on the tables or left in what might have seemed like an ideal place for everyone to know that these were for guests to take home.  If someone has put a lot of time into them, they will think of all the hours that have kind of gone down the tube! There's always ribbon that is abandoned that was wrapped around a box or some object with or without a personalized message on it.  Also if favors are too much geared to female guests or male guests, a good number of favors will be left behind.

What favors seem to be used or make it home with their guests?  I would say that in general they would fall into these categories.

1.  Something with a little bit of practicality.
2.  Food, if you have something that is prepared to avoid common food allergies and is so noted.
3.  Something that has universal appeal.  Take into account age and gender of your guests.
4.  An object that has the bride and groom pictured in it.  Perhaps they can use the frame for something else later.

Don't count on personalized napkins to be a favor!  Who wants to take home a dirty napkin? No one that I know of!  I'm not saying don't use personalized napkins.  I think they add a nice touch.  It might help people remember your anniversary date if nothing else!

If you have a centerpiece that is a live fish that someone will win at a particular table, that can get interesting.  It's good if you're certain that one out of every 8 guests seated at a table is really going to want to go home with a fish.  Please remember that if you do this, that you provide food and instructions on how to take care of the fish.  If someone doesn't win the fish you want to still make sure that they have something to enjoy as a favor to take home.  There are many creative ways to determine who wins the fish!  It's also okay if someone doesn't want that little fishy and hands it off to someone who does.

Some people set up a candy buffet with containers for people to fill with candy and take home as a favor.  I would suggest that you have some that are set up for diabetics!  This will make them feel like they have taken into consideration rather than just another painful reminder that they can't enjoy candy or sweets anymore.

As always, wishing you the greatest of days!

Janis Flagg, Owner

Greatest of Days

Event Planning and Design

Wedding Officiating

http://www.greatestofdays.com/

27111 167th PL SE, STE 105-242

Covington WA   98042

206-604-1908

"Creating Memories to Bring a Smile to Your Face for Years to Come!" 

http://www.greatestofdaysweddingsandevents.blogspot.com

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

Six Reasons Your Clients Might Not Take a Vendor's Advice on Hiring a Wedding Coordinator.

We've all been there when we have a client who says they have a friend who is caterer or a DJ, their brother has his own band, or someone they know will be really good at taking their pictures.  With Day-of Coordinations this is more typical.  You get what you get when it comes to the bride's mixture of vendors.  Nothing is likely to change even though you see the recipe for a disaster and warnings often fall on deaf ears.  (Put this in your contract!)

I cringe when I know there isn't going to be a professional DJ to work with as well as other professionals.  I hear from the professionals all the time that they have told their client that they need a wedding coordinator.  When I recently asked a very talented DJ how often they had a wedding where there was a professional Wedding Coordinator, he said it was about 1 in 10.  He said that usually a mother will take care of all the planning.  These wedding professionals love having a professional Wedding Coordinator as much as we love working with other professionals.  It helps all of us do our jobs the way we prefer to do them and stay within our areas of expertise.  We all want to make each other look good!

So, this is what I get from all of this.  Wedding Coordinators must find ways to help these vendors who know what they're talking about, change their client's mindset to ever be comfortable enough to hire a wedding coordinator.  I see that this task is one that Wedding Coordinators must take on to help other vendors who want to refer us.

I would love it if anyone would add to my list of ideas to help vendors promote a Wedding Coordinator or a list of reasons you believe a wedding coordinator is such a hard concept to "sell".

Possible myths they will run into:

1.  Wedding Coordinators are only for "rich" people.

2.  Wedding Coordinators are snobs!

3.  Wedding Coordinators are just like the ones you see in the movies.

4.  Wedding Coordinators take over your whole wedding.

5.  The person at the venue is taking care of everything.  

6.  You can find all of your vendors at a show.  (Maybe if all vendors participated in every show and you really got to know them in that type of environment.)  What if a bride hates crowds?  

Possible answers to those myths and misconceptions:

1.  Wedding Coordinators save by way of passing on discounts to clients that the vendors give to them knowing that their job is going to be easier than if they didn't have a coordinator.  Coordinators save vendors time!

2.  Most Wedding Coordinators do what they do because they love to help people.

3.  Being a Wedding Coordinator is a lot of really hard work.  There's nothing glamorous about finding out that the city employee didn't open up the restrooms, graffiti appeared overnight, you're going over the floor with a lint roller to pick up confetti or glitter so that the client gets their deposit back.  Like in the movies?  Hardly!

4.  A good Wedding Coordinator will listen above all else to what a bride envisions no matter how hard it is for her to convey her dream wedding.  Wedding Coordinators are thrilled when they hear the words, "This is just the way I saw it in my mind, but I just didn't know how to make it happen!"

5.  People at a venue even like it when a professional Wedding Coordinator is onsite so they can take care of their staff and venue responsibilities.  The venue contact person cannot read a client or be counted to catch the bride's glance in their direction every time she needs something.  If brides only knew how busy these venue coordinators and their staff were for an event, they would understand.

6.  A Wedding Coordinator spends a lot of time getting to know vendors and the quality of their work.  The same is true for studying venues.  We want to know what will match the bride's style, personality and budget.

Most Wedding Coordinators give at least some amount of time in the form of a free consultation.

I never have a consultation without hearing a bride, groom or their family members say, "I never would have thought about that!"  What pains me the most, is knowing that I could be helping people have a much less painful, less time-consuming role in planning their wedding and not be completely tired out on their wedding day, along with their family and friends!

As always, wishing you the greatest of days!

If I Could Change Something About My Wedding, it Would Be...

I would like to hear from recent or not so recent brides what you wish you would have done differently.  Perhaps change the menu, hire a wedding professional instead of having a friend perform a task or even change the time of year you got married.  Anything!

Let's hear it for the brides!

Janis Flagg, Owner

Greatest of Days

Event & Wedding
Planning and Design
Wedding Officiating
www.greatestofdays.com

www.facebook.com/greatestofdays.com

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

If you know someone who is planning a wedding, give them the gift of information by telling them about Bridal 4-1-1 Wedding Workshops beginning in March 2011.

Creating Memories to Bring a Smile to Your Face for Years to Come!

Why You Should Not Plan Your Wedding Online!

What??  Well, not entirely, that is!  If you are interested in truly getting the best deals, the best information and have your questions answered in real time by someone who isn't anonymous or unknown to you, you must meet vendors face to face!  It's hard as millennials to get comfortable with this concept.  This is uncomfortable for a lot of individuals, but particularly in this age group.

It feels like I am online almost constantly, but as a Wedding Coordinator, I know all too well that you cannot get the very best information for planning a wedding online.  You will only get the best prices and advice by talking to people who are in the business and have relationships with real people who specialize in their particular area pertaining to weddings.

It's easy to sit at the computer, and it's actually a ton of fun to see all that is available out there to customize a wedding.  However, planning a wedding isn't all about what it will look like or just picking vendors without really getting to know them.  How do you know what questions to ask a vendor?  How do you know if you are seeing the warning signs or not?  How do you know if you are even going to like them?  Do you really want to get advice from other brides on how to plan a wedding versus people who know what the realities are to every detail of a wedding?  Do you know what you should ask before signing any contracts with a particular venue or vendor.  Do you know why things costs what they do for your wedding, i.e. catering vs. a nice dinner out or why you might not be saving money getting your wine or champagne at the big box stores?  Do you know why you're going to pay more for a particular type of flower at certain times of the year?  Do you know what the laws are in your particular state as compared to advice you get online?  How will you know if you have all the bases covered without getting an education first on the essentials of planning a wedding spoken from proven professionals?

What you don't know can hurt you!  As a bride, you would have no way of knowing how many venues and vendors are hoping for Wedding Coordinators to conduct workshops to teach brides about the wedding industry.  It's a concept that would prove to help brides and also make wedding vendors and venues be able to serve their clients much more efficiently which saves money for everyone in the long run.  So why mention all of this?  If this was not true, you would not be hearing more about venues requiring that a bride hire an independent Wedding Consultant in order to book a wedding at their venue.

For the benefit of all brides out there planning weddings, you must look for opportunities to learn in real live situations, workshops and stop limiting your advice only to websites, forums and yes....blogs!  You have to get out in the real world to save yourself a lot of time and money. Hey, wouldn't it be cool to have a shorter engagement?  Now that can save you a LOT of money!  One example of how you can do that is to go to www.bridal4-1-1workshops.com and take a look at what you're not taking advantage of.  For every 10 hours  (maybe more) you spend on the computer filtering through information about planning your wedding, you could find more information from a workshop or a Wedding Coordinator in just 2 hours.

So it depends on how much you trust information online to be reliable as compared to a professional who makes it their livelihood and truly has a passion for what they do.  If they didn't have passion for what they do and the greatest desire to help brides, they would probably choose another line of work.  Their jobs require long hours before and after the wedding, weekends away from home and family, and a phenomenal amount of time marketing for the number of clients they might receive.

I absolutely love being online and I wouldn't have a business without it, but brides and wedding vendors alike, we have to get out in the real world to really know what is going on in the world of weddings.  No matter what we would prefer, there is no substitute.

Wishing you the greatest of days!


Janis Flagg, Event and Wedding Coordinator


Creating memories to bring a smile to your face for years to come!


http://www.bridal4-1-1workshops.com/
http://www.greatestofdays.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkKIjSu9dbA

Bridal 4-1-1 Workshops Preview

Every Wedding Professional Should Put Themselves in a Bride's Pair of Shoes

There are experiences that we all have that we look forward to with excitement and a fair amount of trembling.  The key is to not worry and do your best to live in the moment.  This is how I felt when another wedding coordinator and myself were given the opportunity today to speak on a radio show about our upcoming Bridal 4-1-1 Workshops.  The hosts made us feel very comfortable and at ease.  The thought occurred to me that I felt somewhat like a bride with the radio hosts being like a wedding coordinator.  I was excited for the opportunity and had a little bit of fear, but I knew I was in good hands with the fun and experienced co-hosts of the radio show.  They told us what to expect to set our minds at ease.  If you want to hear the interview about the www.bridal4-1-1workshops.com go to http://www.chatwithwomen.com/podcast/?p=2173 to listen to the first segment which is our interview.  Stay tuned since there will be more!

I am glad for those little experiences that make me feel like I am doing something so different that I am really stretching my comfort zone.  Sometimes, extremely uncomfortable!  It's not pleasant at some point beforehand, but there's nothing like the feeling of making it through an experience and even having had a good time and smiling when thinking back on it.

Yes, it's good to place ourselves in someone else's shoes now and then even if the brand on one shoe is "Fear" and the other is "Wonderful Memories".

I have to give a tip of the hat to Rochelle and Pam at @chatwithwomen.com

As Always,

Wishing you the greatest of days!


Greatest of Days
Wedding Planning, Design and Officiating


Creating Memories to Bring A Smile to Your Face for Years to Come!


http://www.greatestofdays.com

Brides! Wedding Planning the Easy Way!

Knowledge is power with any endeavor but especially a new one.  When a bride plans her wedding, she is very much a project manager.  If that was her title at work, there's no doubt that it would come with a fair amount of stress.  So what would make planning a wedding so much more difficult?

It can be a number of things.  Here are just a few that make planning a wedding more stressful and completely different.

1.  A wedding is an emotionally-charged event.
2.  Relatives and friends alike come out of nowhere to offer "help".  Great at work, but planning a wedding, maybe not.
3.  Planning a wedding just doesn't fall into the category of something you do every day.  There is not a one-size-fits-all book to match your style!
4.  You aren't getting a salary.  Instead, you feel like money is falling through your hands like sand.
5.  Fifty years from now it just might make a difference as a fond memory or not!  At work it probably won't be remembered one way or another in 50 years.

So what do you do when you don't have time to read every book or magazine that is out there?  How do you learn what goes when interviewing vendors so that your vision is clear, you know what you will get for your money and why things cost as much as they do?  If you are a DIY bride, you're probably exactly that because you are low on money and are prepared to tackle some of the things that need to be accomplished. You might be thinking, "If only I had someone  help to tell me how it is done."

Here is a website for a workshop to help DIY brides.  http://www.bridal4-1-1workshops.com/. Please respond soon to get into these workshops.

Workshops don't cost as much as buying books upon books and tons of magazines.  At workshops, consider it an experience where you can ask questions of experts without waiting for the 2nd edition to be published!  Every workshop is like meeting an author.  At most workshops, the vendors have been selected because of their respect among peers.

As always..Wishing You the Greatest of Days

Janis Flagg,
Greatest of Days,
Wedding and Event Planning, Design and Officiating

http://www.greatestofdays.com/

bridal4-1-1Workshops.com

Mothers of Brides! Do You Wish You Had Your Own Maid of Honor?

As a Wedding Coordinator, I know how much work goes into a wedding, and I become very close not only to the bride but to her family as well.  I recently had a mother of a bride say that regardless of whether the bride and groom felt a need for a Wedding Coordinator, they were going to have one because it was going to be her gift to them.  Mom knows that she doesn’t want to take all the time to coordinate everything but still wants to be involved.  She also wants to enjoy her daughter’s wedding day and not have tasks to take care of or delegate that inevitably result in missing some of those once-in-a-lifetime moments.  I told this particular mother, from the bottom of my heart, that I wish more people saw things that way.  Most Wedding Coordinators feel like they are in a helping profession.  That’s exactly what they want to do.  Help people.  Forget the Hollywood or “reality” show images!

A Wedding Coordinator takes care of much more than logistics.  I have said that we are part real estate agent, counselor, researcher, reference desk librarian, firefighter, mediator, confidante, designer, bearer of bad news, custodian, magician, fashion consultant, liaison, catcher of tears (a made-up term), troubleshooter, owner of broad shoulders and we must be sensitive and have thick skin all at the same time.  Whenever they come up with a title for someone who can spin on a dime, and deal with disasters without anyone even knowing they happened, that will be added.  

It is our job to listen and listen again.  It requires listening to a person’s vision when they don’t know how to express it but be able to make it all become reality.   A bride wants her wedding a certain way and rarely does it match what everyone else is telling her so we listen to what is bothering her and offer solutions before it escalates into a family feud.

It really is the bride’s day, but there often needs to be a little dose of reality tossed in here, there and everywhere.  It can be much easier for a Wedding Coordinator to deliver that dose rather than “Maaaauuuum!”  You know, that voice that comes with the rolling of eyes!  It is a stressful time for the bride and the mother even if it is one of the most joyous of celebrations.  One scenario could be that a daughter thinks that no expenses should be spared because it is her wedding day.  That’s fine if that is what the parents want and can afford.  The other scenario is when a parent makes it absolutely clear that they are paying for the wedding and they most certainly will have it their way or no way at all.  Do you feel the tension?  That is the road to Nowhere or Unpleasant Drive. That is precisely why I not only offer a free consultation to the bride and groom but also to whomever is paying for the wedding.  Again, it’s all about listening, not just to words but the underlying emotions. 

Financially, often a Wedding Coordinator will save a client as much money as their fee.  They can pass along discounts from quality vendors who want their repeat business.  We also know what mistakes or assumptions can be very costly and how to avoid them.  Having a Wedding Coordinator for the rehearsal and the wedding day is all gravy by that point.  Everyone puts a different price on reduced stress and time saved, but that is definitely a part of the equation.  The more you use a Wedding Coordinator, the more you save.  The earlier the better.

This I find to be a very sad statistic.  The two most common times a bride and her family state that they wish they had hired a Wedding Coordinator, are right before the wedding and right after the wedding.  

As always..wishing you the greatest of days!

Janis Flagg, Owner

Greatest of Days

Event Planning and Design

Wedding Officiating

http://www.greatestofdays.com/

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

If you know someone who is planning a wedding, give
them the gift of information by telling them about
Bridal 4-1-1 Wedding Workshops beginning in March 2011.
Creating Memories to Bring a Smile to Your Face for Years to Come!

http://www.bridal4-1-1workshops.com/

http://www.fostergolflinks.com/sites/courses/view.asp?id=305&page=7050
Trendy Events, Home of Betta Mansions
1903 Market Street,
Tacoma, WA 98042

Bride and Groom, First in Line Please!

What line?  At your wedding if you are having a buffet style reception, please allow yourselves to go through the line first.  You are going to need nourishment to get you through the reception and it is especially important if you will be consuming any alcohol.  As an Wedding Coordinator, I always make sure that the bride and groom either go through the line first, or tell me what they want and I can bring to them a plate of food where they are seated.  I would suggest that your bridal party or those at the head table go next and/or your immediate family members.  Their day for them, as for yourself, has been one of increased adrenaline and you really want them to be feeling their best for the all the festivities.  Low-blood sugar tempers can be avoided!

Another thing about you going through the line first, is that you can catch a quiet moment or two to yourselves while everyone else is going through the buffet line.  It's nice to have had as many of your pictures taken as possible earlier so that your guests do not have to wait a long time to eat.  If you don't want pictures taken before your wedding, it's nice to have something for the rest of your guests to do and have a selection of appetizers to tide them over until the reception.   There are so many options to keep your guests entertained, but that is another blog post unto itself!  You can consider a cocktail hour if you need a transition time if the wedding has just taken place in the same room that the reception will be held in.  It depends on what your venue has available for space and services.

As always..wishing you the greatest of days!


Check out my new website at http://greatestofdays.com/

Simple and Sentimental Solutions to Wedding Problems

I had a bride who wanted an outdoor ceremony and she did get just that and the weather was beautiful.  This bride hired me very late in the game and I needed to find out as much as possible about her dream wedding and do it very quickly.  I soon learned that they wanted a program placed on all of the chairs.  Are you thinking the same thing that I thought at that moment?  Outdoor wedding, programs on chairs.  Hmmmm.  I saw programs flying all over the place with any gust of wind.

Since I knew that this bride was very much into doing what was "green" for her wedding, I suggested that they put nature into the wedding ceremony to solve the potential problem.  I explained to them some of the ways a rock ceremony can be a part of a wedding.  I was also thinking that rocks could hold those programs securely in the chairs!  This bride was very creative and turned it into a very sentimental part of their ceremony.  Her family had property on a beautiful lake with a type of stones on its shore that were flat.  This lake had special meaning for many family members as you can only imagine all the good times they had together, probably tossing these types of stones into the lake as kids.

After the ceremony, all of the guests who had been instructed to hold the rock and make a good wish for the bride and groom and place the rocks into a special box.  I love the picture of the bride and groom walking through a meadow with the groom carrying the box filled with good wishes.

Greatest of Days
Event & Wedding
Planning and Design
Wedding Officiating

27111 167th PL SE, STE 105-242
Covington WA   98042
Cell:  206-604-1908
http://www.greatestofdays.com/

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

If you know someone who is planning a wedding, give
them the gift of information by telling them about
Bridal 4-1-1 Wedding Workshops beginning in March 2011.
Creating Memories to Bring a Smile to Your Face for Years to Come!

http://www.bridal4-1-1workshops.com/

http://www.fostergolflinks.com/sites/courses/view.asp?id=305&page=7050
Trendy Events, Home of Betta Mansions
1903 Market Street,
Tacoma, WA 98042

Wedding Planners Cost Too Much!

Let's dispel some myths here since we're getting into the season where everyone seems to have gotten engaged or is getting engaged.


In two hours of time your assignment is to get 3 of each category of photographers, DJ's, cake designers and floral designers whose work you are familiar with, who you really like as a person because they have your style down to a "T".  On your mark, get set...stop!!  I can hear you say, "How in the world am I supposed to do that in two hours?  That's 12 people and how would I know all of that information about them?"  


This is how it happens.  I would say that most wedding coordinators could do just that after they had a 1-hour consultation with you.  They would also have enough information at that point to suggest other vendors and a selection of venues in a very short period of time.  


There's another exercise to do now.  Let's say that you didn't use the above system to plan your wedding and did all of that research whenever you had some extra time during the evenings and weekends and when you could sneak in a few minutes at work.  You realize after you count the hours during the week or month that you have just taken on a part-time job..planning your wedding.  You may have even had to take a day off, that you really wanted to spend on your honeymoon, but instead you spent that day trying to find just the perfect invitations and still didn't find what you liked.  You feel like you see less of your fiance' than ever.


That is the kind of scenario that really makes me sad.  I catch myself hearing a couple's stories who might be half-way through planning their wedding and it makes me cringe.  I can't help it.  I think to myself or out loud, "I sure wish I'd been able to speak with them sooner!  I could have saved them so much time and money."  


I know what you're probably thinking.  How in the world can a Wedding Planner save you money?  Aren't they only for rich people? They act like snobs in the movies!  Not for me.  No way!  


Reality differs from Hollywood once again.  Wedding Planners can pass on to you the discounts that vendors give to them because they have that "know, like and trust" relationship already established.  Sometimes the discounts are 20% and they add up fast in a good direction! 


Another reality strikes again and you find that you saved or almost saved as much in those discounts to pay for your Wedding Planner.  It doesn't stop there. The rest is gravy.  You also know that you have a liaison with vendors, your venue and sometimes even your family and friends if problems come up.  You also know that your Wedding Planner is going to have her eyes on you and your guests on your wedding day to make sure they are comfortable and not working on your wedding day.  This scenario is especially true with a full planning package where everything has been designed from the beginning to fit together like pieces of a puzzle.


Let's see, where would you rather be 6 months from now.  Still trying on shoes for your wedding or walking on a beach in sandals?

Janis Flagg, Owner

Greatest of Days
Event & Wedding
Planning and Design
Wedding Officiating

27111 167th PL SE, STE 105-242
Covington WA   98042
Cell:  206-604-1908
http://www.greatestofdays.com/
http://www.greatestofdaysweddingsandevents.blogspot.com

If you are a wedding vendor, join the South King County Event and Wedding Vendors through http://www.meetup.com/
A very special guest will be speaking on January 27, 2011.

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

If you know someone who is planning a wedding, give
them the gift of information by telling them about
Bridal 4-1-1 Wedding Workshops beginning in March 2011.
Creating Memories to Bring a Smile to Your Face for Years to Come!

http://www.bridal4-1-1workshops.com/

http://www.fostergolflinks.com/sites/courses/view.asp?id=305&page=7050
Trendy Events and Home of Betta Mansions
1903 Market Street,
Tacoma, WA 98042

What Does A Wedding Planner Do?

This "Vendor Wheel" isn't meant to frighten anyone, but is illustrates just how many aspects there can be to planning a wedding and even after the wedding.  If you have the help of a Wedding Coordinator who can pass on discounts they receive from many vendors, many times those discounts are equal to or more than what you originally pay for a Coordinator.

There is at least one possible vendor missing here.  Can you guess one?

copyright 2011, Greatest of Days.  You may use this by mentioning this business.

As always, wishing you the greatest of days!

Janis Flagg

Greatest of Days
Event & Wedding
Planning and Design
Wedding Officiating

27111 167th PL SE, STE 105-242
Covington WA   98042
Cell:  206-604-1908
http://www.greatestofdays.com/
http://www.greatestofdaysweddingsandevents.blogspot.com

If you are a wedding vendor, join the South King County Event and Wedding Vendors through http://www.meetup.com/
A very special guest will be speaking on January 27, 2011.

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

If you know someone who is planning a wedding, give
them the gift of information by telling them about
Bridal 4-1-1 Wedding Workshops beginning in March 2011.
Creating Memories to Bring a Smile to Your Face for Years to Come!

http://www.bridal4-1-1workshops.com/
http://www.fostergolflinks.com/sites/courses/view.asp?id=305&page=7050
Betta Mansions
1903 Market Street, 
Tacoma, WA 98042

Wedding Planning and Help for the Mother of the Bride.

Hello to Moms and Brides!

If we are married, we all remember when we were planning our weddings and maybe it felt like Moms did some crazy things.  I often hear from those who are of the age to have children getting married now, that their mothers did everything and they didn't really have any say in what their wedding was like.  That wasn't always the case, but it can have some rather unpleasant results when it's the next generation's turn to get married.  Can you guess what happens sometimes?  Yes, you got it!  The very same thing, intentional or not, pops up out of nowhere all over again, only this time with a lot more struggle.

First of all, I think that the mother-daughter relationship can be one of the most complicated relationships.  Even when they have a wonderful relationship, it can be one of those things that cannot be put into words.  With that said, we tend to only hear about how horrible the mothers of the brides are.  No one is all good or all bad.  Is it just easy to give the mother of the bride a little more bad press because they'll do anything for their kids?  That's not to say there are some really obnoxious mothers out there.  I have a few memories of my own mother being less than kind and words that still sting when I think of them.  We've all heard of the generation gap, but wouldn't it be nice if there was a nice bridge or better yet, a path created through a beautiful meadow of flowers between Mom and daughter?  I think there is!  There's no excuse for rude behavior on either one's part, but it just might happen.

When a parent is primarily paying for a wedding, after I've spoken with the bride and groom, I will offer an additional hour of complimentary consultation with the whomever that parent(s) might be.  If they are primarily paying for a wedding, remember that even a modestly-priced wedding can cost more than one or more of their first cars they bought.  This is a very emotional time for mothers and brides, but if they have the tools to get through the wedding planning process together it can be a completely different experience for all involved.  During these consultations I can help each "side" understand where the other is coming from and relay that from a neutral stand point.  One thing that Wedding Coordinators over the age of 45..ahemm.. benefit from is that we have seen and experienced things through multiple generations.  With this comes wisdom, if we have studied all the nuances of each generation and are open-minded.  We all base our adult lives on what experiences have shaped us and that is going to be different for everyone.

In a nut shell, it helps so much if I can relay to the bride that Mom and Dad may not have every dime in the world even though she might be the princess and has almost always gotten everything she wanted.  On the other hand, if a parent has the purse strings, it is not their wedding and those strings should not strangle and dictate what the wedding is like and end up being a wedding day that the bride and groom really won't hold as a day of pleasant memories.

I would suggest a an investment worth it's weight in gold.  Check out http://www.bridal4-1-1workshops.com/

As always....

Wishing you the greatest of days...and happy planning!

Janis Flagg, Owner

Greatest of Days
Event & Wedding
Planning and Design
Wedding Officiating

27111 167th PL SE, STE 105-242
Covington WA   98042
206-604-1908
http://www.greatestofdays.com/
http://www.greatestofdaysweddingsandevents.blogspot.com

If you are a wedding vendor, join the South King County Event and Wedding Vendors through http://www.meetup.com/
A very special guest will be speaking on January 27, 2011.

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

If you know someone who is planning a wedding, give
them the gift of information by telling them about
Bridal 4-1-1 Wedding Workshops beginning in March 2011.
Creating Memories to Bring a Smile to Your Face for Years to Come!

http://www.bridal4-1-1workshops.com/
http://www.fostergolflinks.com/sites/courses/view.asp?id=305&page=7050
Betta Mansions
1903 Market Street,
Tacoma, WA 98042