planning….forever events blog

let’s compare reception timelines…

Last week I was able to visit Kelly McWiliams in Cape Coral, Florida. She is an unbelievably talented Destination Wedding Planner and I was lucky to spend some time with her discussing the differences between Florida and Indiana weddings.

When creating your reception timeline … be sure to not get boxed in go with the usual flow. Look at your guests, your venue, the time of day of your ceremony and what fits you best. Below is what Kelly and I compared to what “usually” happens at our respective receptions.

Indiana: (typical 250 person reception)

Florida: (typical 120 person or less, destination reception)

Other Major differences:

Interesting, isn’t it?

Tags: reception, wedding planner

so, what’s with the blog?

This afternoon I had the pleasure of having lunch with Amanda Monarch Woods (previous bride), her fabulous mother, Rachel Monarch and the soon-to-be-wed sister, Amy Monarch.

I have to tell you, I triple heart the Monarch family. What is not to love? They are Type A personalities (check), lots of fun (check), very direct and blunt (check) and always want to throw a great party (check!).

Amanda politely asked me, “What’s up with the blog?” Seriously, thank you for the gentle reminder, as I have been quite delinquent. As our team has grown this year, I’m hoping to have more blog posts done by not just “my voice”.

Now Amanda and Brian are no strangers to our blog, you see when you have a super cool personality, you get talked about. Like when they decided to meet before the wedding, we used their pretty faces, or when we talked about being a “wedding risk taker“,  and finally, my personal fave….. how to make a grand entrance into your wedding reception, OH YES!

Today, though, also just happens to be Amanda and Brian’s 2nd wedding anniversary. And for that reason, I’d like to play a little homage to their wedding and see if we can get Amanda to cook more than just spaghetti for her anniversary dinner…

Enjoy….

photo credit: walker studio
flowers by: Simply Fresh Floral

Tags: blog, brides, flowers, media

having a backup (heat) plan

We all know that for outdoor weddings, it is critical to have a backup rain plan.

But have you considered the other weather elements? Like oppressive, humid, glaring, blazing heat from the sun?

This year we have had an tremendous shift of venues for wedding selections. More people are choosing personal residences or outdoor venues for their wedding ceremony (and/or receptions).

It’s a fab idea, as bride and groom’s are looking for something different for their special day. The concern is mostly with the potential of rain, but you have to remember other weather elements. In southern Indiana, the humidity factor is a huge concern as it is oppressive to a woman in a beautiful, layered wedding dress and men in full tuxedos. This can lead to crabby attitudes, sweaty faces, heat exhaustion and fainting.

Keep these points in mind, when planning your outdoor extravaganza:

1. Your elderly guests need to have shade and comfort.
2. Outdoor musicians will not play in direct sunlight. It’s not the uncomfortably factor (although that should be a concern, imagine YOU trying to play a violin dripping of sweat and exhaustion for an hour), musicians WILL NOT expose their high dollar instruments to direct sunlight. It ruins them.
3. Should you proceed with the outdoor, sunny plan; then make sure you are choosing garments to wear that will allow some coolness factor. This includes your wedding dress, groom/groomsmen attire, bridesmaids and parent attire.
4. Prepare for helping the guests cool off: A shaded location to wait until the last minute to be seated for the ceremony, fans (electric and handheld), cool non-alcoholic drinks to refresh themsevles.
5. Choose a short vow ceremony. Short…. very short.
6. Have an inside backup plan to move the ceremony. You don’t want to think about this now, but once you step outside in full dress, you may change your mind.
7. Do NOT choose a month that an outdoor wedding will almost 98% sure to be miserable. In this area, August is the worth month of the year with high humidity and heat.
8. Encourage more casual dress for guests; open collar shirts and sundresses for the girls.

Tags: ceremony, guests

happy mother’s day

I found this video and laughed so hard. It is absolutely hysterical and worth 3:12 of your life.

… and I see a little of myself in this skit.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Tags: humor

we’re back!

You missed us, I know you did.  Here’s a secret. We have missed YOU too.

While we’ve been absent to the blog, we birthed something new … a brand new website and look for planning…forever events.

We hope you take a moment to take a peak at it. This website would not be possible without our fabulous clients and even more fantastic photographers who were generous enough to share their photos with us.

Couple points of interest:

1. Every event in our galleries are events we have produced through event planning and design/decor with floral.
2. Notice a link on the right hand side: love stories… This link will feature recent weddings from start to finish. Clients if you would like to have your weddings featured there (and we would too), then please encourage your photographers to share their photos of your event.

Thank you all, it’s been a labor of love, but we think it’s pretty great. If you like it, please leave a comment!

Tags: brides, decor, flowers, groom, wedding

wish upon a wedding

Pleased to let our readers be aware of a new non-profit organization that will be helping people who are terminally ill. I’m so pleased to announce/promote:

Wish Upon A Wedding was founded in San Francisco, CA, in January of 2010, by a group of wedding and business entrepreneurs and is America’s FIRST nonprofit wedding wish granting organization, producing weddings and civil union ceremonies at destinations across the United States for individuals facing terminal illness, regardless of sexual orientation.

Chapters:

Wish Upon A Wedding is now boasting twenty chapters nationwide, headed by some of the industry’s most renowned leaders with plans to expand to over 40 chapters worldwide.

Presidents:

Sasha Souza, National President & SF Bay Area President

Kevin Covey, LA/Orange County

Stella Inserra, New York

Ivy Robinson, The Carolinas

Eliana Baucicault, Atlanta

Mary Alice Sublett, Tennessee

Mark Kingsdorf, Philadelphia

Heather Hamilton Sims, Houston

Shelby Tuck Horton, DC

Elisa Delgardio, Orlando

Ali Phillips, Chicago

Daniela Isabella Ferdico Fagét, Seattle

Forming Additional Chapters:

Other chapters opening soon include Boston, Colorado, Arizona, Portland, Miami, St. Louis, Ohio and Nevada.  We are also planning to open to chapters in other areas depending on need including international chapters.  If you wish to start a chapter, please fill out the online form for consideration.

Who Is Behind Wish Upon A Wedding?

Many influential people in the industry are beginning to endorse Wish Upon A Wedding & you can find those endorsements on the website.  There are also amazing people sitting on the Boards and Advisory Panel throughout the US such as Dana Larue Stiebel “Broke-Ass Bride” {LA Chapter PR Chair}, Leila Khalil {National PR Advisor}, Beth Helmstetter {National Outreach Director} just to name a few.  They would love to have you join as well either as a board member or wish granter!

How We Grant Wishes:

To qualify for Wishes, applicants must be unmarried legal citizens of the United States, over the age of 18, who have been diagnosed with less than three years to live.  Couples can be granted wishes either in the chapter where they live or in a chapter of their choosing as long as they are able to make the trip.

Couples can simply apply online to request one of three wedding types:

URGENT (Up to 10 guests, in hospital or at bedside);

BOUTIQUE (up to 25 guests, in home town of applicant);

ROMANTIC (Up to 50 guests, at any WUW destination)

How Can You Grant Wishes?

As the organization is building, Wish Granters are needed in all locations. Please apply online today to start helping Wedding Wishes come true. In two weeks, Wish Upon A Wedding will be granting the very first wish.  To read more about that wish and the couple please visit the website.

Please use this info on your own blog and during the course of this week…if you have the time and the room on your blog this week.

It will help build a network of very important people in this industry whose main goal is to help these very deserving couples.  After all, if you are in the business of creating lifetime memories, we are now asking you to help us create memories for those who are left behind because these couples do not have a lifetime together.

Tags: wedding