Category Archives: sassy saundra

let’s meet kerry, assistant event engineer

Here’s more of the team:

Please meet the lovely Kerry Devine. Kerry is a very persistent lady. She has been in contact with me applying for internships and other capacities (you’ll have to ask her what the “other” is) and then finally being accepted as an intern. Within one wedding, I could already see that she was going to be above average.

So after a year of being thrown into very diverse weddings and events, I’m pleased to announce that she has been promoted to assistant event engineer with the planning…forever events team. She will soon be directing her own weddings!

Kerry was the best business decision I’ve made in awhile. She always has a smile and spring to her step. She can pack 14 large bridesmaid’s totes up a flight of stairs (with a smile). She jumps in and never complains. I wish I had 10 of her. Anyway, here’s Kerry…. you’ll want to get to know her…

photo: third generation photography

what aspects of your job are your favorite?

KD: I love being a part of the behind the scenes events with the family of the bride and groom, as well as the couple and their attendants. The FUN stuff happens in the hallways waiting to walk down the aisle, dressing rooms getting ready, and trying to figure out how to bustle a dress. It is a joy to be a part of an important day in such an intimate fashion!

what’s the one piece of advice you would give a bride and groom?

KD: Enjoy your day! If something goes wrong (if it does we WILL handle it), don’t stress. What matters most is you are getting married!

what’s the biggest misconception about wedding planners?

KD: It’s HARD work and LONG hours! We LOVE it that’s why you see our smiles, but if we looked like we felt sometimes (imagine Cinderella pre fairy god mother) you wouldn’t hire us. But that’s why you do, so you can “be a guest at your own wedding!”  (CAN YOU SEE WHY I LOVE HER???)

if you weren’t a wedding planner, what other wedding vendor would you like to be and why?

KD: A photographer! All the photographers we have worked with continue to blow me away at the images they capture! Pictures are a way people relive memories, and photographers give them those moments.

what’s one of your favorite moments at one of our weddings?

KD: We did an outdoor wedding at the Roofless Church in New Harmony, Indiana and after being pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Parma the couple did the jig down the isle to a blue grass band! It was so cute and truly showed the surprised guests their personality!

what wedding trend would you like to see go away?

KD: Dollar dances. I had never heard of this until I moved here, but I’m not a fan. I have fallen in love with the “Rocky Top” at weddings!

what is your favorite, personal weakness?

KD: Candy! I love chewy candy, and I have a snack drawer in my desk. ha!

what’s the one piece of advice that you would give someone wanting to get into the wedding planning industry?

KD: Doing your little sister’s wedding is not the same as doing a clients wedding, so be organized, professional, be available,  and GET SOME COMFY SHOES!

Thanks Kerry! Love having you on the team!

let’s meet karen, associate event engineer

We’ve been so busy planning weddings and corporate events in 2010, we had to STOP and take a moment to introduce you to our team members.

Some of you brides know Karen Debes Gorman. She’s an associate event engineer with the planning…forever events team and has been a lead planner for many of our weddings. Honestly, she is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever known while always keeping a pleasant disposition and even keel. Being married for 13 years and chasing her two boys around is great hands-on experience for managing hyped up groomsmen! She’s been on the team for over six years and she is our “voice of reason”.

Let’s get to know her….

photo: third generation photography

what aspects of your job are your favorite?

KG: I love being one step ahead of the bride, groom and their family, and meeting their needs before they even know they have them. At one particular wedding reception, there was an absolute crush of people to the bar, the MOB (mother of bride) couldn’t get through, and I overheard her tell a guest, “I sure could use a glass of water”. While she was still trying to make her way through to the bar (and getting stopped by all the guests) I zipped around, got a glass of water for her, and had it in her hand within 30 seconds. The look of appreciation was priceless.

what’s the one piece of advice you would give a bride and groom?

KG: It’s no secret that on our team, I’m “Miss Practicality”. I’m all for glam, glitz and fabulousness on your wedding day. What I’m not for is coming home from a honeymoon up to your eyeballs in debt. So, my advice is, plan the best wedding you can within your budget…odds are, it will match your style and make you more comfortable all around.

what’s the biggest misconception about wedding planners?

KG: That people hire us for the Bride. The reality is, we’re way more valuable to the MOB the day of the wedding than the Bride.  How many MOB’s do you know that never sat down or talked to a guest at the reception because all she did was run the show? That doesn’t happen on my watch!

if you weren’t a wedding planner, what other wedding vendor would you like to be and why?

KG: Cake Designer. It enlists all the senses; it smells divine, it’s beautiful to look at (and the centerpiece of many receptions). It’s tastes wonderful. Ok, maybe not all the senses…I’ve never heard one make noise. But let’s face it,  It’s just plain yummyness.

what’s one of your favorite moments at one of our weddings?

KG: While standing in the back of church with the Bride and her father before her grand entrance, he was telling her all the dad stuff (you’re beautiful, my girl etc) then he said: “Got yourself some falsie lashes on today, eh?” Gotta love dads! 

what wedding trend would you like to see go away?

KG: Disposable cameras on the tables at receptions. What a waste of money, especially in the all-digital era (see…Miss Practicality speaking here)

what is your favorite, personal weakness?

KG: Diet Coke. Seriously. I drink too much of it, but I just love it.

what’s the one piece of advice that you would give someone wanting to get into the wedding planning industry?

KG: Embrace your Type A Personality….it’s very helpful in this business.

Thanks Karen! Love having you on the team!

i'm thankful

It has been a super duper crazy year! Mostly because of personal reasons….but wow, I realize how much I have to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day.

1. We have had the BEST team ever for planning…forever events. I cannot thank Karen or Kerry enough for all that they have done and worked this past year. My heart is swelling with pride, love and thankfulness.
2. I am thankful for my husband. The only person in this world that can make me laugh or cry, on a dime.
3. I am thankful for my wonderful son, who I am hoping am raising to be a man. It’s so hard. I demand a lot.
4. I am thankful for our wonderful wedding clients who trust us ….. you have no idea how much that means to me and my team. We take it personally.
5. I am thankful that my above said son doesn’t have another option to live at…. therefore, I demand a lot.
6. I am thankful for my Dad, who passed away 15 months ago. I feel him with me everyday. And treasure the moments we spent together.
7. I am thankful for my friends…. local and Internet, who’s lives I have touched and helped.
8. I am thankful for everyday that my lovely dog teaches me unconditional love.
9. I am thankful for daily walks that my son and loyal dog take. We talk and walk and laugh. And argue (that’s how we roll).
10. I am thankful for our country, we live in the best one in the world.
11. I am thankful for the corporate clients that we have that look out for me and our future events.
12. I am thankful for all the notes of gratitude that I have received from event industry professionals lives that I have touched.
13. I am thankful that it has taken me 15 long months to get to this place….a long journey, although it there may be more months to travel. Still, it is a much better place than a year + ago.

I’m back, watch out. And be grateful.

ps. I am grateful for pumpkin pie. Best invention ever.

prince william and kate’s wedding planner

 photo credit: telegraph.co.uk

You’ve heard the news…… Prince William popped the question to Kate Middleton. We’re so excited for these two kids and wish them all the happiness in the world. It’s a fairy tale for Kate, who isn’t royalty at all … she jetted off to University and landed a Prince!

Sooooo…. after much thought (the last 60 minutes), we’d like to submit an RFP to Kate, Prince William, and Prince Charles outlining how WE would produce and plan this royal wedding.

Here are a few of our thoughts.

1. Prince William, please get a new engagement ring for Kate, stat. Seriously. We know you love your mother. We love your mother. The whole world loves your mother. But that ring is tainted with misery, lies, infidelity, unhappiness. It’s sapphire and dated. We saw the same ring on QVC last week.
2. We promise that any guest arriving in a black Mercedes S-s80 will be asked to leave immediately.
3. We’ve already given photos of the Salahi’s to the British Secret Intelligence Service. Just in case they show up “claiming” they were invited, but cannot produce an invitation. It’s kinda how they roll.
4. We’ll help Prince Harry with any speeches that he may need to give. Lord knows he’s cute, but he needs a little help with public speaking.
5. We highly recommend that no marriage advice should be taken from Prince Charles. He doesn’t exactly have a great track record.
6. We’ll slip Camilla a Rohypnol. Hopefully this will loosen her up a bit and lose that sphincter muscle looking smile she puts on out in public.
7. We’ll accompany Kate to New York and Paris to find a gorgeous wedding dress that won’t hide her body or have a veil that can stretch out from Amsterdam to the southern tip of Italy.
8. We can help train the non-royal familia of Kate on how to fit in with the “other royals”. Including jetting out their pinkie out when they take a drink of anything (tea, water, beer out of a can …) and of course, the “righteous head bobbing motion” that is directed to the other commoners when in public.
9. We highly suggest hiring Black Eyed Peas as the wedding band. We know that the Queen Mother USED to secretly dances to My Humps in The Palace. (this just in….Fergie called and said she was busy, but suggested The Pussycat Dolls as an opening act).
10. We’ve heard of the wide-spread budget cuts across Britain, and you are in luck, because we are planners that can stick to a budget (forget #9 above). So with that in mind, let’s take this public affair down a notch or two and create a cozy and intimate day. Forget Westminster Abbey or St Paul’s Cathedral, let’s face it …. it’s not your style. Instead let’s rock out the day on the grounds of Buckingham Palace. We are confident that you will get a good deal on the venue rental fee.

Just picture it, Kate and William: a strategic tent with a clear mid roof, flowers, uplit dance floor, professional event lighting and draping of luscious fabrics, lounge furniture (we’ll throw in a few Louis Vuitton straight back pieces for Charles to sit in), suspended stage, gourmet food and half the police of England patrolling to keep the commoners and the crazy media out.
I bet we can cajole Sir Elton John to swing by to serenade Kate as she walks down the aisle. You know how much he loved William’s Mum. (We’ll make sure he leaves his “penis earring” at home).

And look, if you are really strapped for money (seriously the Brits aren’t interested in y’all spending tax payers moola on your nuptials) …. then we can turn this wedding into a reality TV show and I promise, you’ll have KILLER ratings AND a free wedding. You’ll make Trista and Ryan Sutter’s shin-dig look like a high school gym wedding.

Anyhoo…. Prince William and Kate … you got our digits. Call us!

PS: We are so confident that you will hire our team, that we have been preparing for your wedding. First, we eat a lot of french fries with vinegar. We drink tea, all the live long day. And, we have been watching re-runs of Real Housewives of Washington D.C. and Britain’s favorite (twice-divorced) housewife, Cat Ommanney. From her we have learned to integrate the word “bollocks” into our daily communication.

…BEST LOVE movies…(but just the last 30 minutes)

This weekend is Valentine’s weekend….lots of love in the air. Including on TV. Today I caught some of the best love movies…just the last 30 minutes. You know the BIG ending that no matter if you watched the whole movie or not, it can make you tear up or clap with happiness.

So here are my picks…

Dirty Dancing – “Nobody puts Baby in the corner”… the last 30 minutes Baby shows courage, stands up to her father and finally has the guts to do that running flying thing in the air for Johnny Castle (sigh, Patrick Swayze) to catch her. Didn’t your heart just jump a little with excitement?

An Officer and a Gentlemen – Even though the last 30 minutes of this film does show Sid Worley killing himself because of his lying, trashy girlfriend; it also includes an awesome kick-boxing fight between Mayo (sigh, Richard Gere) and Sgt. Foley. But the BEST part, is when Mayo struts into that paper factory and picks up the love of his life, Paula, (literally) while wearing his “dress whites” (double sigh). Heart is still skipping….

Maid in Manhatten – What is not to like? We have a Hispanic and sassy maid, Marisa Ventura, who has met the love of her life, Christopher Marshall (sigh, Ralph Fiennes) but they are from two very different worlds. With the help of Marisa’s cutie-pie son, they are reunited for a superior passionate kiss. Reaching for the tissues…

Sixteen Candles – A quirky movie that brings us back to the pains of high school friendships, relationships, partying and ignorant peer pressure. Quite a cult classic and a little drawn out, the last 30 minutes is eventful! Samantha Baker, the heroine finally gets her man, Jake Ryan (sigh, Michael Schoeffling) as she leaves her sister’s wedding. Extra points for the hideous bridesmaid dress she had to wear and the awesome sports car Jake was leaning against.

Pretty Woman – Is there any need to explain this one? Call girl (nice word for hooker) Vivian Ward, gets the whole “fairy tale” she always dreamed of when Edward Lewis (sigh, Richard Gere) climbed the fire escape (even though he is deathly afraid of heights). Extra points for Vivian who make us all aware that girls who get paid for sex still have dreams, morals and ideals for their lives.

I’m sure I have missed LOTS of great movies that all the action happens in the last 30 minutes…. what’s your favorite?