What's In Your Emergency Kit?

Despite all of the claims of producing a “perfect” wedding, the reality of the day is that there will be some snafus. Unforeseen situations will arise that you did not plan for, stuff will happen, and people will be people. How prepared are you? If you are lucky you will have a professional wedding planner on hand to run interference and you will not have to tend to the issues yourself. However, if you decide to go it alone, an emergency kit is a must. The wedding day emergency kit that I prepare for each client is filled with over a hundred items. Quite honestly unless you’ve planned hundreds of weddings, some of the things you’d find in the kit would have questioning why. As a planner it is my job to think outside of the box and to see the whole picture. So, here are just a few “out of the box” thinking items you might want to include in your kit.

Toothpicks – are perfect for stabilizing a bent boutonniere. Simply run the toothpick through the center of the flower into the stem in order to straighten it out again and keep it from drooping.

Rubber bands – waist band too tight? Rubber bands are perfect for fastening pants and covering the waist band with a vest or cummerbund.

Floral Tape – is definitely a must for missing or completely destroyed boutonnieres. Solution: remove a floral stem from an altar arrangement or one of the bridesmaids bouquets, cut the stem down to size and wrap floral tape around it…and voila you are back in business!

Panty Liners – work extremely well under the armpits of a very nervous groom :-)

Straws – reduces the need for constant lipstick touch-ups for bride and bridesmaids who need to drink water or their beverage of choice while waiting to take pictures and partake in other wedding day festivities.

Crochet Needle – an absolute MUST have for buttoning those tiny buttons on the back of the brides wedding gown!

Stain Remover – Those “Shout Wipe Pads” are the best thing created since sliced bread! Inevitably, the bride is going to get a mark or smudge or something on her gown between the time she puts it on and the time she heads to the ceremony…never fails, so stock up!

Again, these are just a few items you should consider having in your kit. It’s better to be prepared and not need them, than to need them and not be prepared.

I would love to hear from you. What potential wedding day disaster was averted because you or your coordinator was prepared with a well- stocked emergency kit?

More Thoughts On Creating Your Own Wedding WOW

In the previous post, I talked about envisioning your big day: the sights, the sounds, the experiences you want your guests to walk away with. Today, I want to talk about how incorporating a theme plays a huge role in creating your own wedding wow.

Choose an element (theme) and carry it throughout the wedding. Themes bring cohesiveness to your wedding. You want to have a rhyme and reason for the elements you include in your day. A theme can center around a color, a symbol, the story of how you met, a menu item, a season, a period in your life, etc. The ideas are endless. The point is to pick an element and build on it, and remember that less is best, subtlety is the goal. Avoid tipping the hodge podge scale, which brings me to my next tip:

Don’t try to have it all. I know, I know, it’s all so “pretty” and you think you must have it for your day. But this is where most brides make their mistake and find themselves feeling overwhelmed and scattered because they lose focus. That is why it is so important to start with a vision and to agree upon your priorities, so that as you begin to research the possibilities, you do so with your vision firmly in mind and you won’t be tempted by all of the pretty elements that will undoubtedly beckon your name.

Plan within you budget. Remember, it all adds up and it does so very quickly. Once your budget is set, commit to staying within those constraints. This will keep you from “just having to have this or having to have that”. And there you will have it…Wedding WOW…and peace of mind in the process!

Creating Your Own Wedding WOW!

One of the most exciting things about planning a wedding is coming up with a vision for the day. In today’s wonderful world of wedding planning there are as many ideas for doing so, as there are brides/couples. Each couple comes with their own style, experiences and story. Incorporating these elements is what creates a “Wedding WOW” experience. Consider this in creating your own.

Envision the whole picture. What is your vision for your day? With all of the wedding magazines, websites and television shows it’s easy to experience sensory overload and lose your focus. Before reaching for a bridal magazine, before surfing the web, before entertaining advice and input from well-meaning loved ones and friends, sit down with your honey and decide together what you want for your big day. What story do you want to tell? What is the experience you want your guests to walk away with? What are the sights, sounds and smells of the day? Once you have your vision firmly in place you will not fall victim to trying to have it all and driving yourself and everyone around you crazy. With a vision you can move out with confidence and a plan for your own wedding wow!

Create a wonderful experience for your guests. People are gonna talk…that’s a given. So “plan” to give them something to talk about! Sharing in your celebration, partaking in great food, experiencing good company, and having an opportunity to have a wonderful time, is the order of the day. Plan with these thoughts in mind!

Bridezillas - Not A Pretty Picture

I am so not a fan of the popular TV program “Bridezillas”. I think the whole idea of glorifying bad behavior is a bad idea.

From a coordinator’s standpoint, it only adds to the already intense pressure of planning a wedding, and having to do so for someone who is being difficult.

Here’s the thing, being a bride does not give license to being mean or rude. There’s nothing beautiful about that.

I am saddened by all of the professed Bridezilla’a out there. Sure, I understand you’ve been dreaming of this day for as long as you can remember. And I understand that you want what you want, but there are these things called manners, decorum and reality.

As a bride-to-be myself, I made up my mind from the onset to remain calm even in the midst of chaos. There’s always a solution, but if you are too emotional to listen to reason, you are not going to hear the logical next step.

Murphy’s Law in my opinion was born out of wedding/event planning. Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, but that does not mean you have to be a monster to get what you want.

If you do your homework up front, and by that I mean:
1. Establish a realistic budget
2. Take time to determine what matters most to you and your sweetie
3. Hire professional vendors
4. Hire a professional Wedding Planner (MOST IMPORTANT STEP)
5. Trust those you have brought on board to make your dream come true
6. Commit yourself to enjoying the process and the journey…

…then guess what, you will have a beautiful day, and your friends and family won’t run the other way when they see you coming.

Sure this is an emotional time, but do you really want the happiest day of your life to be scarred with bad feelings and hurt family and friends lying in the wake of your temper tantrums… I think not! Let’s stop celebrating bad behavior…it’s just not cute.

Recipe For An A+ Relationship

Recipe Overview: Recipe takes 2 individuals and turns them into 1 couple
Recipe Background: Gather ingredients over time, and practice cooking for twenty to fifty years.

Ingredients:
1 cup attraction
1 cup compatibility
2 nuts
1 quart honesty
1 pint each of faith, hope & love

Combine and mix vigorously
1 dash thoughtfulness
1 pinch ;-)
2 pints cooperation, combined with 2 pints compromise
2 quarts forgiveness
2 gallons sense of humor
Plus an endless supply of love and romance

Preparation
Combine all ingredients and stir like crazy. Leave medium lumps (if too smooth, days will be boring; but if lumps are too big, problems will be too big to swallow).

Heat with passion but never bring to a boil
Spice to your personal taste

And there you have a Recipe for and A+ Relationship!

Bon Appetite!!!!

What Do You Do When You Can't Go To Egypt?

Today on Oprah, she interviewed the cast of the new movie "The Secret Life of Bee's".
Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and Sophie Okonedo, are all stunningly beautiful, accomplished and successful in their careers. But just like the rest of us, life sometimes gets overwhelming and out of control for them too. Alicia and Queen Latifah both had an opportunity to go to Egypt. For Alicia it was about getting away from the busyness and craziness of her life to be refreshed and renewed. Oprah asked the ladies this question: "What do you do when you can't go to Egypt?" I love this question, because I can certainly relate to needing to be refreshed and renewed from the craziness of my own life. So, what do you do when you need to center yourself and recharge, and can't go to Egypt to do it? Well, we all need to find something to restart our batteries. Here is a small sampling of what I do:

Mornings are my most sacred time. It's the time before the rest of the world starts to vie for my attention. I use this time for daily devotions and prayer.

I'm very careful about letting other people plan my schedule for me. I fiercely guard my time and I am learning to say no to those things which don't line up with the goals I have for my life.

I don't allow other people to "should" on me. You know what I mean, you "should" do this or you "should" do that. I should do exactly the things that I have decided to do, with no input from others who mean well and a few who don't.

When my life gets completely out of control, I turn off all phones for a day. I know when the phone rings, it's someone needing something from me, which is okay most days, but at those times when I am completely spent and overwhelmed, I have to give myself time away from the phone and away from another request for my time and energy.

You get the idea. The lesson here is not just for celebrities, brides or the planners who love them. This lesson is for every human being who has a big life to learn how critical it is to our well being to be able to stop, recharge and reconnect to that which gives us strength and power to do all that we do and maintain our sanity in the process.