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

Exciting! My business is now being featured on Bridal Tweet!

My business is now featured on Bridal Tweet because this week I invited the most people to their site.  It has over 10,000 members and it is a great forum for wedding professionals and brides alike!

Their site is http://www.bridaltweet.com/

Hey, I am having one of those....

Greatest of Days!!

So You Just Got Engaged! Feels A Little Surreal?

There's no feeling like it in the world when you realize you are referring to your boyfriend as your fiance'!  It takes a while for it to sink in and every time someone says, "Congratulations!" it hits you!  I'm getting married!!  That is followed by everyone wanting to see your ring, and then question is when is the date?  It's all very exciting and almost surreal.  That smile will not leave your face except for when you experience those tears of joy and those fleeting moments of butterflies in your stomach.

When it comes time to begin preparing to make your wedding and marriage a reality, your feelings will more than likely be all over the place.  Don't be surprised if it seems like there are a few people in your life who seem to be on an emotional roller coaster!  A lot of this is because people tend to not know how to express their emotions.  You might feel better thinking about a quote from Aristotle.  To paraphrase it, "Seldom does anyone get angry at the right person, at the right time, at the right place and to the right extent".  There's always a story behind the story or an emotion behind the emotion.

It helps if you and your fiance' have set some priorities on what you really want for your wedding and have determined what your budget is.   Determine what you have time for and to become educated about those people who will be providing services for your wedding.  So many times people think that they can save money by doing a lot themselves.  This could be true, but it is a risky assumption if not false sometimes.  You really need to take the time to talk to professionals who live, eat and breathe the very thing that you have never planned before.  It's such an important day.  A good vendor will suggest ideas that can save you money, make something have a dual purpose, or tell you the good news along with the bad.  For instance, some flowers are only available at particular times of the year and you might find yourself paying a premium price for others if they are in high demand.  The date you choose might not coincide with availability of product.  It's best to keep an open mind.

Do-it-yourself projects can be fun, but the more you have closer to your wedding day, expect that stress will take on a bigger role than you imagined.  It's crunch time and think about how many things you want to have on your to-do list during that last week or two.

See some opportunities below to help you or your friends who will be getting engaged over the holidays.  Hmm..it might be a really nice engagement present if someone pays for you to take a wedding planning workshop, or you might just want your bridal party to join you in taking the classes.  That much less you have to explain!  I can't help but think that you will have a much smoother road planning your wedding than you would otherwise.  What a beautiful picture that is in my mind.  Less stress = more good memories!

Pricing on the workshops below is $10.00 per class until January 30, 2011 and will then go up to $15.00 per class.

Wishing you the greatest of days during your  engagement!  Enjoy!!

Janis Flagg, Owner

Greatest of Days

Event & Wedding 

Planning and Design

Wedding Officiating

www.greatestofdays.com

27111 167th PL SE, STE 105-242

Covington WA   98042

Phone:   206-604-1908

www.facebook.com/greatestofdays.com

 www.greatestofdaysweddingsandevents.blogspot.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

Betta Mansions1903 Market Street, 
Tacoma, WA 98042
www.bettamansions.com

Music for Your Wedding Should be Music for Everyone's Ears!

"Yea!  I can save a lot of money on my wedding.  Our best friend is going to use his Ipod for our wedding music!  Whew, that's one thing out of the way!"  Not so fast! 

I would say it can be one thing out of the way, but more than likely it will be the one thing that could get in the way of you having a wedding with the very best of memories.  Here are some of the wonderful things that I love about working with a professional DJ.  They recognize that you will have people of all ages attending your wedding and reception.  I'm sure that in your mind you visualize ALL of your guests having a wonderful time.  A professional, experienced DJ will read the crowd, know just how much to speak, when to speak, be your liaison with your guests and help keep your wedding on schedule.

It's probably safe to assume that Grandma and Grandpa Smith are not going to be having a great time listening or even dancing to anything on the Top 10 chart!  No matter what their age, they are still in their hearts younger than their number of years add up to and they cherish the best times in their lives...when they were your age.  A good DJ will know how to bring that back out of them and they can feel young once again.  Your reward will be seeing the smile on their faces and what is so pure as a hug from Grandma!  A possible side effect might include one of the biggest laughs of the night at your reception as that generation cuts loose to everyone's surprise!

Getting down to brass tacks!  You're saying, "I don't have the budget for a DJ!  I would suggest that you interview several DJ's and you might be surprised at their options.  Sometimes they will have systems set up for you without a DJ being present that will be a wonderful compromise to having an IPod wedding without the glitches.  There really are a lot of options from DJ's that you might not have even thought of that will end up being the icing on your cake rather than melted butter cream all over the place.  Well, you catch my drift!

More on DJ's in future posts.

As always..wishing you the greatest of days!

Janis Flagg, Owner

Greatest of Days

Event & Wedding 

Planning and Design

Wedding Officiating

www.greatestofdays.com

27111 167th PL SE, STE 105-242

Covington WA   98042

Phone:  (253) 630-1754  Cell:  206-604-1908

www.facebook.com/greatestofdays.com

 www.greatestofdaysweddingsandevents.blogspot.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/

Attention: Wedding Vendors

I frequently will have vendors come up to me and say "I really wanted a client of mine to call you.  They really needed someone to help them with their wedding, but they just didn't get it!"

What can we do as Wedding Coordinators to help vendors create a compelling message for their client's benefit?  Would vendors appreciate something that would make this easier for them in the form of a handout, a video?  An invitation for a free consultation?  I'm all ears!

Wishing you the greatest of days!

Janis Flagg, Owner

Greatest of Days

Event & Wedding 

Planning and Design

Wedding Officiating

www.greatestofdays.com

27111 167th PL SE, STE 105-242

Covington WA   98042

 Cell:  206-604-1908

www.facebook.com/greatestofdays.com

 www.greatestofdaysweddingsandevents.blogspot.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

Betta Mansions1903 Market Street, 
Tacoma, WA 98042
www.bettamansions.com

Decorating Tips for Weddings

Here are some of my favorite and simple decorating tips for weddings.

Wedding Decorating Tip # 1. Most venues will not allow the use of tape, tacks, or nails when decorating an event. Look for steel surfaces and use strong magnets. Just remember!! 1) Use something to act as a barrier between the magnet and the surface, i.e., leaf from silk flowers. It's common courtesy to go out of your way not to cause any damage to the venue. 2) Keep magnets out of the reach of children!!

Wedding Decorating Tip #2: Have the bridal and attendants' bouquets do double duty! With either vases or special bouquet holders that attach to a table, you can add a splash of color where ever you might need it. Maybe the guestbook table, cake table or head table. Let your creativity go crazy!

 Wedding Decorating Tip #3: Develop a theme and design for your wedding. This will reduce your costs on decorating as long as you don’t buy everything that has a seashell on it (for example) and have to start your own surplus store. Stick to your design!

Wedding Decorating Tip #4: Not everything has to be "matchy-matchy". Use a variety of tones of the same color. Light will change how a color looks anyway. Think of the walls in your house, same color, totally different look with lighting. In design, wedding colors tend to run in same hues for a year, two or more. Some just stay around longer than others. Sometimes the colors stay the same but the names change!

Wedding Decorating Tip #5 Flower petals, real or artificial--BEWARE. The real ones can stain floors, concrete or just about any kind of surface. Step on those and you have a real mess and possibly a charge from the venue. The artificial petals can be very slippery on many surfaces. I would pick up either one of these off the floor or other surface almost immediately after a ceremony. Check with your venue!

Wedding Decorating Tip #6: Don’t assume that you can just put a sign or other decoration into the ground at a venue or public park. Why do many places not allow this? Three words! Outdoor sprinkler systems! That can be one very expensive decoration and miserable experience after you have paid to repair the sprinkler system.

Wedding Decorating Tip #7: Aisle Runners. I have a love hate relationship with them. They will seldom work as you would want them to.  A Wedding Coordinator can tell you where you can get them made from real fabric for just a few dollars more or make your own from your choice of heavier fabric.  If you want to really have a great one-of-a-kind runner, spend more money and get a custom aisle runner that is made of upholstery grade fabric, check this out!  http://www.originalrunners.com/index.htm

Wedding Decorating Tip #8: If you can decorate the venue the evening before a wedding, everything will go more smoothly. Some venues will let you get in the evening before if they don't have another event taking place. Always ask what their policy is about getting in early to decorate.

Janis Flagg, Owner

Greatest of Days

Event & Wedding 

Planning and Design

Wedding Officiating

www.greatestofdays.com

27111 167th PL SE, STE 105-242

Covington WA   98042

Phone:  (253) 630-1754  Cell:  206-604-1908

www.facebook.com/greatestofdays.com

 www.greatestofdaysweddingsandevents.blogspot.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

Betta Mansions1903 Market Street, 
Tacoma, WA 98042
www.bettamansions.com