Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
The Rest
Here is the last half of the article from Monday...
Timeline and Details
Your wedding day is one big orchestrated event and it needs to be planned out. A wedding planner is able to put together a comprehensive timeline for all other vendors. Timelines are essential for the day to run smoothly. This timeline is massive and will include every single detail of your wedding. All of your vendors will know what is happening and when. She will be the go to person for your wedding and she will get each vendor ready for each event happening. When everything is in place for let’s say the cake cutting (DJ cued, photographer cued and catering staff cued), she will come to the bride and groom and let them know it is time. If there was no planner, the DJ will ask the bride and groom to do the cake, the photographer may have to shuffle the bride and groom around to make sure they have a shot and hopefully the catering staff is ready to cut after the bride and groom have. I hear from a lot of photographers that they end up being the coordinator at a wedding if there is not one, how are they supposed to do their job if they are doing the job of another? A wedding planner will take care of ALL the details for your wedding day. She knows what the order of your processional is, where your favor is placed, where the table names go and what your centerpieces look like, among many other details. She will make sure it is executed how you want it to be. If she wasn’t there, who would do it? Family? They should be spending this day with you; helping you get ready and taking pictures, not worrying about favor placement or if your cake got there on time. The venue? The venue is worried about other things besides the all little details (they do worry about certain details but not ALL of them) and many places will not do set up for you. A friend? Don’t you want them to be able to enjoy the day with you and be a guest at your wedding? A wedding planner will make sure your timeline and details are taken care of.
Wedding Day
After all of the hard work planning, you should be able to relax on your wedding day. You, your fiancé and your families should have nothing to do except enjoy themselves. Most brides have been dreaming, fantasizing, planning and preparing for this day since they were 14 – you want to make sure it is everything you want it to be. I am sure that includes spending time with your family; not having them setup your wedding. Your wedding planner will be able to accomplish this. You have given your planner all the details for your wedding day and all she has to do is execute. She will take care of the setup and tear down of your wedding. At my company, we do anything that needs to be done. Even though we plan as much as we can, sometimes there are small things that come up during the day – unexpected issues. A professional planner is able to address the issues and come up with a workable solution for all involved. She is able to do this because of her experience and her knowledge of the industry. But your wedding planner will make sure you never have to deal with or see them. A friend or family may not be able to accomplish the same thing – which may in turn cause stress for those helping and yourself. If you hire a wedding planner, you may never even know anything out of the ordinary happened. And that is the sign that you are a genius at wedding planning – you hired someone to take care of everything so you can fully enjoy your day.
I hope this gives you insight in why planner cost what they do and why you should have one. I would be happy to address any further questions or concerns you may have!
Danielle
Picture courtsey of Becky Young Photography
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
The Half
So last week I mentioned that I was featured on the Budget Bride blog for 5280 magazine. She asked me to write a post and I did, I really did and it was super long. She obviously couldn't use it all, so I wanted to post it here. Happy Reading!
I once heard that the two biggest purchases you make in life are a house and a car. A close third is your wedding. Usually when you are buying a house, you enlist the help of a real estate agent to help you find your house and guide you through the process of buying, which can be very confusing to the typical buyer. When you buy a car, you speak with a sales representative. They are to give you details regarding the car, as well as other cars, and they help you put together a deal. When you are doing either of these for the first time, there is a lot you may not know or understand and you are spending a good chunk of change – so it can be very over- whelming, so you hire someone to walk you through it (not for the car, just the house J).
Now, let’s put this perspective of your wedding day. Your wedding day will probably be the biggest party you will every throw. There are so many particulars that need to be taken care of. If you haven’t done it (or even if you have), there are details and questions you may not know the answer to or even know where to start looking. You are spending quite a bit of money, why would you risk not having a professional help you through the process? You wouldn’t do it with a house or car, why do it with your wedding day? A planner will be able to help you through the planning process and answer questions that will, undoubtedly, come up along the way.
Wedding planners usually charge a flat fee for their packages and they will offer a few different levels of service. You need to determine what you need in a planner – a full package, partial and day of. The full package encompasses the whole planning process from start to finish, the partial usually comes in in the middle of planning, and the day of (should really be last-2-months-before-you-get-married package) helps to tie up loose ends.
The fee for each package will be determined by what level of service you are looking for. Each planner will charge a different rate – some high, some middle and some low. So how do you pick?
There are three reasons why wedding planners charge what they do. Here they are:
Expertise and Experience
A wedding planner is an expert in weddings. She has done more weddings than the bride and groom have, hopefully, and she knows the ins and outs of planning one. It takes a lot of time to plan a wedding (some estimates are 250 hours), and if you have a full time job on top of that, you will be running around like crazy. This is her job – to plan your wedding and help you in any way possible. She can assist you with your budget and tell you where you need to cut things. She is up to date on costs/going rates and can tell if you if you may be overpaying a vendor. She can help your narrow down the style you want for your wedding; she sees the whole picture. She will be able to make sure the planning process is smooth and stress free. Your planner is there for YOU. She does not have allegiance to anyone except for the bride and groom – she are always on your side. Finally, she has connections with awesome vendors. She is able to help you weed through all of the vendors out there and tell you the ones that will match your style best (and your budget). She will save you time (and time is money right?) by doing all the research for you and presenting you with the best options.
Reason 2 and 3 coming later this week...
I once heard that the two biggest purchases you make in life are a house and a car. A close third is your wedding. Usually when you are buying a house, you enlist the help of a real estate agent to help you find your house and guide you through the process of buying, which can be very confusing to the typical buyer. When you buy a car, you speak with a sales representative. They are to give you details regarding the car, as well as other cars, and they help you put together a deal. When you are doing either of these for the first time, there is a lot you may not know or understand and you are spending a good chunk of change – so it can be very over- whelming, so you hire someone to walk you through it (not for the car, just the house J).
Now, let’s put this perspective of your wedding day. Your wedding day will probably be the biggest party you will every throw. There are so many particulars that need to be taken care of. If you haven’t done it (or even if you have), there are details and questions you may not know the answer to or even know where to start looking. You are spending quite a bit of money, why would you risk not having a professional help you through the process? You wouldn’t do it with a house or car, why do it with your wedding day? A planner will be able to help you through the planning process and answer questions that will, undoubtedly, come up along the way.
Wedding planners usually charge a flat fee for their packages and they will offer a few different levels of service. You need to determine what you need in a planner – a full package, partial and day of. The full package encompasses the whole planning process from start to finish, the partial usually comes in in the middle of planning, and the day of (should really be last-2-months-before-you-get-married package) helps to tie up loose ends.
The fee for each package will be determined by what level of service you are looking for. Each planner will charge a different rate – some high, some middle and some low. So how do you pick?
There are three reasons why wedding planners charge what they do. Here they are:
Expertise and Experience
A wedding planner is an expert in weddings. She has done more weddings than the bride and groom have, hopefully, and she knows the ins and outs of planning one. It takes a lot of time to plan a wedding (some estimates are 250 hours), and if you have a full time job on top of that, you will be running around like crazy. This is her job – to plan your wedding and help you in any way possible. She can assist you with your budget and tell you where you need to cut things. She is up to date on costs/going rates and can tell if you if you may be overpaying a vendor. She can help your narrow down the style you want for your wedding; she sees the whole picture. She will be able to make sure the planning process is smooth and stress free. Your planner is there for YOU. She does not have allegiance to anyone except for the bride and groom – she are always on your side. Finally, she has connections with awesome vendors. She is able to help you weed through all of the vendors out there and tell you the ones that will match your style best (and your budget). She will save you time (and time is money right?) by doing all the research for you and presenting you with the best options.
Reason 2 and 3 coming later this week...
Danielle
Picture provided by Dana Romanoff
Friday, March 19, 2010
Where in the World is Something Classic Events?
Anywho, we have been featured quite a few places on the web lately and I wanted to share some of them with you. So here are the links:
Melissa Beck Photography This is a wedding we did together last year in Colorado Springs.
Budget Bride The bride is a blogger for 5280 magazine in Denver. She contacted me about writing a blog post about why wedding planners are worth what they charge. Check it out!
An Interview on COUTUREcolorado If you are unfamiliar with COUTUREcolorado, it " is your guide to plan your one of a kind Colorado wedding. There are daily posts that will inspire you. From real weddings to cool new products from the latest fashion trends to THE LIST, you will find COUTUREcolorado as an invaluable resource in planning your wedding." We are also proud members of THE LIST. THE LIST "is a hand picked selection of the top wedding professionals in Colorado. Each wedding professional is creative, highly skilled, and provide excellent customer service."
Becky Young Photography A writeup about the giveaway I had and her experience with a wedding planners.
Amanda Forbes Photography A writeup
Ardent Photography This is an interview they did with me and it was featured on their blog.
The Knot Katy's blog is featured for the Knottie of the week and she was also part of the The Knot TV Live this week. If you missed it today, it will be available tomorrow. Their wedding will also be featured in The Knot magazine this Fall. We are/were thrilled to be a part of their wedding.
The Knot Real Colorado Wedding Budgets We were part of an article on theknot.com (it was also featured in the Colorado Edition of their magazine!). Our associate, Maryann, was the day of coordinator for Sarah and John's wedding last year.
And of course, last but certainly not least Style Me Pretty. We were featured for Ali and Ian's wedding at Devil's Thumb Ranch. There are two parts to their feature - Part I and Part II.
As you can tell, we have been busy! I hope I didn't forget anyone. We are so honored to be mentioned included on all of these great blogs! Thanks to everyone who made that possible.
Danielle
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
mmmm....Cake
Beside what you are wearing, people will be talking about your wedding cake. If it is tall and regal or fun and whimsical, people will definitely talk about it. Your wedding cake can add to the decor and the feeling of your wedding.
When it comes to the cake, there are definitely some tradition and rituals that take place. Your wedding cake is a symbol of fertility and prosperity {and no, I'm not making this up} and should be treated as such. It should be a magnificent display piece and be elaborate in design. When cutting the cake, the groom should put his hands over the brides {on the cutting knife} and the first piece should be cut from the bottom layer. Traditionally, the bride should eat the first piece, otherwise she will end up childless and barren {I hope not, eek!}. After the first bite is eaten by the bride and groom, the cake is cut for the guests to eat. Also, traditionally the top layer is saved and eaten a year later on the 1st anniversary. But now, almost every bakery will make you a new cake with your wedding cake flavor for your anniversary {be sure to ask!!} - I think I would take a fresh cake over a one year old frozen one!
When it comes to the cake, there are definitely some tradition and rituals that take place. Your wedding cake is a symbol of fertility and prosperity {and no, I'm not making this up} and should be treated as such. It should be a magnificent display piece and be elaborate in design. When cutting the cake, the groom should put his hands over the brides {on the cutting knife} and the first piece should be cut from the bottom layer. Traditionally, the bride should eat the first piece, otherwise she will end up childless and barren {I hope not, eek!}. After the first bite is eaten by the bride and groom, the cake is cut for the guests to eat. Also, traditionally the top layer is saved and eaten a year later on the 1st anniversary. But now, almost every bakery will make you a new cake with your wedding cake flavor for your anniversary {be sure to ask!!} - I think I would take a fresh cake over a one year old frozen one!
The costs of a wedding cake can vary quite a bit. There was a great post written by a local baker, click here to see it. Here are some specifics that might influence cost:
- Fondant or buttercream
- Ingredients
- Flavors
- Fruit fillings
- Labor involved
- Number of servings needed
Make sure to keep this in mind when ordering a cake. A sculpted cake with fondant is going to cost more than a simple tiered cake. You should order your cake anywhere from 3-6 months before your wedding. I say this is the best part of planning - you get to taste a bunch of cake!! A couple of tips - make sure you have a contract with the place you choose (size, flavors, design, cancellation policy, etc) and also inquire about a delivery/setup fee. To find out more tips or for recommendation, be sure to ask your wedding planner.
Interesting Fact Break: from here
"The world’s largest wedding cake is by Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, measuring 17-ft tall and weighing 15,032 pounds. It is a seven-tiered vanilla-flavored cake decorated with bows and hearts. Ingredients include 10,000 pounds of cake batter and 4,810 pounds of creamy vanilla-almond frosting. The weight of the cake was more than five Volkswagen Beetles when compared. This cake can feed up to 59,000 people."
There are a ton of different bakeries and pastry shops in Denver, so check around and find someone that can design the kind of cake you want and has the flavors you want too {or is willing to make it for you}. If you ever need assistance in the cake department, call me, I am always open to going to cake tasting sessions! :) And because a post isn't a post without pictures, here are some awesome cakes!
PS. While I was researching information for this post, I saw one that mentioned the largest wedding attendance...it was...30,000 guests!! Can you imagine?? Oh my!
{That details is amazing!!}
Thanks to Intricate Icings and Revert Photo for the images; and Kelley Kakes for the article. Anyone have anything else to add to the post? Comment below! We love comments!
Danielle
Colorado Wedding Planner
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