Eight Reasons to Hire a Wedding Planner (from eleGALA.com)

Here is an article that a dear friend sent me. I absolutely love it and think that you all may find it very interesting. This article is on eleGALA.com. Enjoy!

Eight Reasons to Hire a Wedding Planner

An etiquette and protocol expert explains why hiring a wedding planner will help you avoid some dreadful mishaps…

Article contributed by Luxurious Wedding Etiquette & Protocol Expert, Claudia Lutman

Congratulations! You are engaged and you are elated. Your wedding day is going to be the most important day of your life and you envision everything is going to be perfect.
You want to be involved. You have planned parties that have wowed your friends. You want to take a hands-on approach to the planning of your wedding and the prospect excites you.
Yes, the thought of planning a wedding is very exhilarating. But in reality, it is like solving a Rubik’s Cube. Getting all the pieces to work together and fit together precisely to complete the design is the objective.
It may look like a seamless process but it is not easy. A wedding requires Synergy – the interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.
Much like a movie, a wedding has to be produced, scripted, edited, and directed. As a visual feast for the eyes, a wedding has to have a flow and a tempo. It needs to be as pleasing for your guests as it is for you.
As the star of your movie, can you envision yourself being the central character, producer, editor, director, and run interference for all minor details on your wedding day?
If you are having more than 25 guests, the idea of working with a wedding planner should appeal to you. As the creative director for the most important day of your life, your wedding planner will help you avoid some dreadful mishaps that could ruin your day.

Reason # 1:

A Theme Is More Than A Hodgepodge of Great Ideas
Your ideas are fabulous. But they are only the foundation of your theme. Remember: They are only ideas and pictures ripped out of magazines. Brides have ended up blowing their budget on one item to the detriment of the whole wedding. This is where your wedding planner becomes your magician. Knowing all the tricks and resources, your wedding planner can create a theme that runs through the whole event. They see the whole picture. If budget is a constraint, they will advise you how to economize and still achieve a similar look.

Reason #2:

Is Your Budget A Guideline Or A Blueprint For Bankruptcy?

A budget is an essential part of your wedding planning. Even a million-dollar wedding has a budget. A budget will give you perspective and it will center you. It will be a great comfort to you when you want to know where you stand financially. Expenses tend to mount up quickly, and your budget will always give your a realistic assessment. I have witnessed brides being so out of control that they end up randomly buying items that have no rhyme or reason. That money could have been spent elsewhere to make the wedding a better experience for the guests. Being realistic about your budget is essential. Don’t fool yourself with a figure knowing you can go over it. You will only be hurting your chances of selecting the best possible vendors. Your wedding planner is your accountant and will believe the budget you give them. They honestly try to work within your parameters. Therefore, decide on a realistic figure so your wedding planner can recommend the vendors who will deliver the best work within your budget.

Reason #3:

The Venue Event Manager
When the event manager from your venue tells you they can do your wedding planning, they are not lying. They will do everything under the sun to oversee everything they are responsible for; however, they are not responsible for 90 percent of the details that go into your wedding. Some brides are shocked when things go wrong. They thought their venue person would be on top of things. Not necessarily. If they have several events that day, they can’t be held responsible for letting you know your flowers haven’t arrived or your best man is held up in traffic. Imagine walking into a bald room instead of the floral intensive ballroom you paid for. Your wedding planner is your overseer. Their job is to make sure everything arrives on time and complete. If you have 15 tables, 13 centerpieces just won’t do. They will get the florist to fix it. If the videographer does not show up, they should be able to find a replacement for you. Things happen, but it is your wedding planner’s job to see that things are fixed and end up perfect. Your wedding planner is your fairy godmother.

Reason #4

Timelines And Other Annoying Details
Checklists. Do we know anyone who likes them? And timelines. “Who has time to think of these boring things? I’m getting married!” I recall one bride saying. Actually, you might not be getting married after all if the minister does not show up. Timelines are critical. Timelines are necessary. And timelines keep your wedding planner sane. They thrive on them. You, however, should never be subjected to them. These are the things a bubbling bride should be kept far away from. They will certainly kill the excitement.

Reason #5

Synergy Applies To Vendors Too
There are vendors who work so well together you almost get double your monies worth. Having a vendor with an attitude can affect everyone. Your wedding planner knows these things and will steer you in the right direction. By involving your wedding planner in the selection of vendors from the invitations on, you will be guided down the path of success. After all, synergy is what we are striving for!

Reason #6

What Are The Rules?
Brides need a go-to person for etiquette, wedding-related questions, and to keep the planning timeline moving forward. All brides need a liaison to help keep emotions and relationships from straining during planning. Your wedding planner is a combination of Martha Stewart and Emily Post. Do you really have the time and inclination to research, answer, and solve the problem yourself?

Reason #7

Overtime Charges Accrue Faster Than Champagne Pours
One hour of overtime with a location site or photographer can cost you plenty! Everyone is on the clock and so is your wedding planner. The difference is your wedding planner is on your clock. They keep everything in motion so extra costs are avoided. In the end, your wedding planner is the most cost effective choice you can make.

Reason #8

Frazzled Is Not Fabulous
Wedding planning and the events that lead up to your day will be stressful. You should have one job only. Keeping yourself relaxed and living in the moment. You need time to take in and enjoy this special day. Be with your loved ones. Be happy. Be kind. And mostly, be assured that your wedding is going to be the most fabulous day of your life.
Yes, all weddings have glitches. And yours will, too. But your wedding planner will make sure you never have to deal with or see them. 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 started out with great ideas, hired a wedding planner to bring them to life, and sat back like a pampered princess on your wedding day accepting all the accolades that you deserve.

Luxurious Wedding Etiquette Expert, Claudia Lutman, is an Elegala.com guest contributor. She always been interested in etiquette. As a child, she monitored the correct behavior of her family and friends, oftentimes to their chagrin. In her teens, she began collecting books on etiquette, which are proudly displayed in her “etiquette library” in her office. Claudia has found her niche investigating the origins of wedding etiquette protocol and then applying a modern-day viewpoint to the classic etiquette standards. According to Claudia, “Today’s bride faces many conventional and unorthodox challenges when planning a wedding that are not clearly defined within the classic etiquette standards.” Claudia Lutman transitioned from a Corporate Meeting and Event Planner for a Fortune 500 company to the head of Claudia Lutman Events, where Claudia saw the need to integrate proper etiquette and protocol into planning a wedding. Claudia Lutman’s advice appears in numerous wedding publications and she is a member of the International Special Events Society and the Association of Bridal Consultants.

What To Do When The Bride's Bustle Breaks

It would be absolutely wonderful if things went according to plan on your wedding day, and for some it truly is flawless. But more often than not, things don't go so smoothly, which makes it almost imperative to have a wedding day emergency kit nearby. Wedding coordinators have seen it all and usually have a few tricks up their sleeves to remedy whatever hiccup might happen on your big day.

I have had two different brides whose bustles broke on their wedding gown during the reception. It is a hard thing to watch happen. Most wedding gowns are heavy, and re-bustling them can be nearly impossible. Many brides use safety pins, which can hold well, but if you don't use just the right pins the dress can fall shortly after the dress is fixed. Other brides just throw their gown over their arm and continue to try to dance. This may be fine as a last resort, but who really wants to hold her dress all night? Others just let it fall where it may and risk the gown getting filthy as well as torn from people stepping or dancing on it.

While safety pins used to be my first choice for a quick fix, I have now found an even better option that I thought I would share. Ready for it?? Here it comes.

Dental floss. Yep, that's right. Dental floss. I learned a great trick from a friend this weekend and thought many of you may benefit from this little gem. Don't get me wrong, the best solution to this whole mess would be to have more than one bustle in the gown. When getting the gown altered you should wear shoes appropriate for both walking down the aisle and partying! If you lose a little weight before your wedding then get the dress altered or buy higher heels. With that said, if the bustle breaks on your wedding day then sew the bustle back in with dental floss and a sewing needle. Definitely use good judgment when looking at the fabric and try to sew exactly where the existing bustle was (it is usually in a place where the fabric is a little thicker). A caveat: this may not work for everyone's gown.

Dental floss is thick with a very strong hold. Some seamstresses may tell you that they have used dental floss in sewing gowns. Dancers will tell you that they have used dental floss to sew their point shoes because of it's strength. In looking this up, I found the following quote, "Glide floss is Teflon-coated. True to its name, it glided through the fabric, and the repair is very strong"- just what you need for a wedding gown fix!!

Hopefully your wedding day will run smoothly and be picture-perfect, but just in case there is a small hiccup with the wedding gown then I suggest that you make sure to keep Glide dental floss in your emergency kit!

Warm regards,

Emily Petersen

Lu Anne and OP's Wedding

Lu Anne and OP came to us just a few weeks before their event. OP would soon be the Captain of the USS Enterprise. They wanted to plan a party to celebrate with all of their friends the Change of Command. The plan was to throw a party after the Change of Command and in the middle of the party...surprise guests...they're getting married! It was so FUN!!! It worked out perfectly! I worked with some amazing vendors that night, and we all had a blast. Lu Anne wrote me a sweet review on WeddingWire. I was so touched by her review, but really loved this part of it...

"The very best part was when my now husband and I met in front of the Chaplin , we joined hands and looked out at the crowd....he looked at me and said "This is the coolest thing I've ever seen." Pretty high praise from a Navy captain who just hours before had taken command of a nuclear aircraft carrier in front of an audience of approx 1500 people....." SO COOL!!

Thank you Lu Anne and OP for letting us be a part of such a special day! Thank you also to East Beach Catering, Distinctive Event Rental, Char's Floral Design, Pike Media Resource, Patti Cakes, Calypso Nuts, and my wonderful assistant, Sara Beth!

Here are a few pics:

More from Joey and Jenny's Wedding

Here are a few more pics from Joey and Jenny's wedding at the Military Aviation Museum. Pics were taking by Julie Morgan. Thanks, Julie!

Matt and Allison's Wedding

I am just now getting a chance to sit down a post a few pictures from Matt and Allison's wedding. It was absolutely wonderful. We enjoyed being a part of their big day. Here they are:

Emily Petersen

Escort cards that double as favors

Trying to find ways to save money while not compromising on the beauty and feel of your wedding day? A great way to to do this is to have your escort cards double as favors. Think about ways to incorporate your style, theme, and colors into your favors and have them double as the seating cards.

I had one bride and groom choose a plane-shaped luggage tag. They placed each guest's name inside the tag. It was their escort card and favor. He flies in the Navy, and they had their ceremony and reception at the Military Aviation Museum. It was so perfect...so fitting for them.

I have another bride who is getting married next March, and she LOVES the spring! One of her colors is pink. She likes the idea of giving her guests a flower and thus is looking at escort cards that the guests can plant later and watch grow into cherry blossoms. Click here to see the escort cards/favors.

There are plenty of ways to make your budget stretch. Planners are perfect for knowing all the little ways to add to the look of your wedding without adding to the cost. Don't settle for less than what you've always dreamed of; have a planner guide you through all of these decisions!

Emily Petersen

Jenny and Joey April 17,2010

Jenny and Joey were such a FUN couple! Joey is a navy jet pilot, which made the Aviation Museum such a perfect location for their ceremony and reception. Joey's grandfather flew the Corsair so next to it we had a picture of his grandfather flying the plane. It was such a beautiful touch in memory of him. Chris Bickford Photography is the talent behind these amazing photos, Helga Macko did an amazing job on the floral arrangements, Catering Concepts was so great to work with, Creative Cakes and Desserts created the perfect sleek design in keeping with the couples theme, and Pike Media Resource created the amazing ambience for dinner and a lively light show as the evening picked up. It couldn't have been a more perfect evening!

Jenny and Joey, we wish you all the best! Thank you for letting us share in one of the most important days of your lives!!

Red wine and the bridal gown..oops!

I was chatting with a dear colleague today, Missy, and I shared with her an "Oh my goodness" moment from this past weekend's wedding. She encouraged me to share the story in hopes that if anyone is ever faced with the same predicament that it may save you and your bride from tears!

We had a wedding this past weekend in a beautiful venue with amazing vendors, and a fun bride and groom. It truly was a wonderful evening! (We wish you all the best, Matt and Allison!) During the evening a guest came over to hug the bride with red wine in her hand (please guests...this is really a no no).. Well, you guessed it...red wine down the back of the bride’s gown..."OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!!" One of my assistants for the evening is also a colleague (Professional Bridal Consultant), and dear friend, Julie Morgan. She and I grabbed our emergency kits and went to work. The bride’s gown looked great when we were done so I thought I would share the tricks.

We started with a cloth and dabbed the excess red wine out of the gown. We then dipped the cloth into a glass of white wine. This got quite a bit of the red stain out. Then we dipped the cloth into club soda and got almost all of it out. Of course we only dabbed, rubbing could spread the stain as well as drive it deeper into the gown. We then applied baby powder (talcum not cornstarch) this masked any faint stain that was left. When we were done you could not tell that there had been an almost catastrophe with the dreaded red wine. Don't get me wrong I love red wine, just not around a bride in a gorgeous gown!!! My suggestion: Keep talcum powder in your emergency kit.

If you have any other "save the day" tips I would LOVE to hear them! Feel free to post them =)

Warm regards,

Emily Petersen, PBC

Emily Weddings, Inc.

A couples love story told in the favors

So I have a dear friend who is getting married this summer in Florida. She and her fiance are both chefs. I just love their theme and I wanted to share it with all of you! Early on in their relationship they had a discussion on what spice best described them. The bride chose red pepper and the groom chose cumin. This is a part of their love story and they have decided to share it with the guests at their wedding. For their favors they are mixing up a spice rub that will have the predominate flavors of red pepper and cumin. SO FUN! In carrying this theme throughout their wedding they have chosen to have the flowers contain fresh herbs. The fragrance will be breathtaking. Their wedding is tailored to who they are as a couple and because of all of these personal touches their wedding will be unforgettable! Make sure that your love story and your theme carries throughout your entire wedding and it will be a day to remember.

Quick wedding tip: If your reception or event is outdoors then you might get those pesky flies bothering you and the food. Flies hate the smell of bay leaves. Make sure to place beautiful displays of bay leaves around each table and near the food and they should leave you alone!

An Ode to Valentine's Day

This is my favorite love poem of all time...enjoy it on this wonderful Valentine's Day.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Notes on "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways"

This is poem number XLIII (43) of Sonnets from the Portuguese, written by Elizabeth Barrett for Robert Browning in the 1840s, during their courtship. It is the most famous of the Sonnets from the Portuguese, and one of the best known love poems in the English language. It hardly seems to require explanation, except to remind those who don't know that "my old griefs" refers to the sorrows of her long period of invalidism and perhaps to mourning for her drowned brother.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) is now best remembered for her "Sonnets from the Portuguese," a cycle of sonnets written during her courtship with Robert Browning. In fact however, she was an accomplished poet before she met Browning. Most of her poems were not about romantic love. They were topical poems about political issues such as child labor, slavery and the Italian national cause. Elizabeth Barrett was a "hopeless" invalid and recluse, six years older than Robert Browning. They were happily married and had a son. The fame of the poets, and the fairy-tale story of the girl who was thought to be doomed to be an old maid, rescued from a loveless existence and brought back to life and the world by a gallant suitor, kindled the imagination of the public.

This info is from another Association of Bridal Consultants member ("The I-Do View"). As many of my couples are planning their wedding the question of an open bar always comes up. This is great information to help couples determine what type of bar they should opt for at their wedding.

Open Bar vs. Consumption – Who wins?

In these uncertain times, it is more important than ever to spend your wedding dollars wisely. When trying to decide between a flat rate per guest for 4 hours of open bar or being billed by the drink, consider:

1. Your guest list (Will there be an even mix of drinkers and non drinkers? Will there be any children? )
2. Your comfort level with not knowing the bill until the end of the night
3. People consume an average of 3-4 drinks at a four hour reception

If you have a group of heavy drinkers who will consume more than 4 drinks at the reception, and you don’t want any surprises – the flat rate open bar is probably best for you. However, if you are like many of my clients, you have a diverse mix of people coming to your wedding. Some wedding guests may have 6-8 drinks that night, but others may have none. When I first started planning weddings, the catering manager at a very high end venue told me when clients choose a flat rate open bar, “Nine times out of ten, the house wins.” Over the years, most catering managers I have surveyed have agreed with that statement.

With that in mind, you will probably save money on the bar with consumption billing. If your venue does not offer a consumption bar option, there are still ways to reduce the bar bill. One easy way is to skip the champagne for the toasts. In my experience, many people take a sip of champagne from their glass for the toast and then go back to drinking their beverage of choice. By offering champagne as an option at the bar, those who want champagne can still have it and those who don’t raise the glass they already have in hand. Be sure to tell your venue how many guests under age 21 will be attending the reception.

Another way to control bar costs is to offer a limited selection. Some brides choose to serve beer, wine and a signature cocktail vs. a full assortment of top shelf liquor. Many of my clients choose to close the bar during dinner – especially if wine is offered with the meal. You may also want to consider closing the bar thirty minutes before the end of the reception. If you choose to do this, it is not wise to make an announcement that the bar is closing because the “last call” drink orders will defeat the purpose.

Finally, consider the music. When French researcher Nicolas Guéguen, Ph.D. secretly monitored 40 customers at two bars, he found that cranking up the volume on Top 40 songs led to more and faster guzzling of drinks. One reason may have been that the bar patrons could not engage in conversation because of the noise and instead focused on their drinks. Some previous studies have also found that faster music results in faster drinking. Dr. Guéguen’s advice: consider lower volumes and slower music during cocktail hour if you want guests to sip and not gulp!

A hot trend in 2010.

Here is a beautiful bouquet incorporating peacock feathers from flickr.com. One of the hottest trends in 2010 is using the colors and textures of the peacock feather. It is both elegant and fun. I LOVE how it is used simply in this bouquet and yet still makes a statement. What are some of the fun things you are incorporating in your 2010 wedding?

Here We Go

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by Emily Weddings' blog.

So this whole blogging thing is new to me, but I am very excited about it. My desire is to keep you up-to-date with the latest wedding trends and happenings. I look forward to posting pictures of our current weddings as well as some of the amazing details that our brides are choosing to incorporate in their weddings. 2010 has already started out with a bang and looks like it is going to be an exciting year. I hope each of you enjoys the journey with us! Here we go...