Good Night, Sleep Tight

I have been inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Hostess With The Mostess, and I can't wait to plan my next baby shower using this adorable "Bedtime Story" theme. I'm telling you, this idea is too cute! I wish I could take credit for coming up with this idea. Check out the tables which have been decorated to look like beds. That's simply a genius! The other suggested decorating idea of using framed pictures of sleeping babies brought Anne Geddes to mind. You know she takes the best pictures of all those precious babies posed in cute outfits and different props. Just think of what a wonderful conversation piece this idea would be in addition to serving as a unique decoration element.

Oh, and let's not forget to include your favorite bedtime story. Do you remember what it was? Mine was "The Little Engine That Could". I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...I knew I could, I knew I could, I knew I could...

Oops, sorry I digress, but you get the idea. So much can be done with this idea, and I can't wait to get started.

Love Is In The Details

Oprah has been quoted as saying "love is in the details", and I certainly agree. Wedding/Event Planning is all about details. Of course there are the details of coordinating logistics, programming, timelines, etc., but there are also the details of incorporating theme and style elements that make you say "why didn't I think of that?" I'm talking about the "WOW Factor", you know, the "little things" that people will be talking about long after the wedding or event is over. This type of detailing requires just a little imagination, a smidge of creativity, and the ability to "think outside of the box". Again, it's all about the little things, for example, consider Personalized Gift Wrap, which I found on NameMaker.com. Imagine walking into a birthday party and finding a very simple centerpiece consisting of varying sized boxes stacked in the center of the table, wrapped in pretty personalized paper with the guest of honor's name on it, and adorned with pretty ribbon and cute embellishments. Something so simple, yet the impact would be memorable.



Or imagine having your gift to the honoree standout from all the rest by wrapping it in Personalized Gift Wrap from you! How cute is that?

The idea here is to make a statement. It doesn't have to be bold and over the top, but it should be creative and well thought out. You know what they say…it's not the gift but the thought that counts!

YIKES!!!!!

I had a very traumatic experience this week, and this picture from Cats-Mania.com accurately depicts how I felt as a result of it. Wednesday marked my 7th year anniversary at my current place of employment. Every document, every spreadsheet, every report, every-single last thing I've typed and prepared over the last 7 years have been stored on an external drive. So imagine my horror on Monday, when I went to open up this drive to retrieve a document, and it was nowhere to be found! After picking up my heart which had fallen to the floor, I tried all I knew to do to locate/reinstall the drive. After racking my brain, I called our IT person in hopes of solving the problem. Long story short, he did all he knew to do, but after various attempts to retrieve my files nothing worked, and it did not look good when we left the building on Tuesday afternoon. He took the hard drive with him and said he wanted to try one other thing. I must say, I had given up hope, and went home devastated. I was a zombie. That evening, actually, in the wee hours of the morning, after waking up and not being able to go back to sleep because I was worried, I did the last thing I knew to do. I prayed and asked the Lord to help me. When I walked into the office on Wednesday morning, my assistant Deborah informed me that Troy, the IT person, had called to say he had good news. I am absolutely ecstatic to report that God, through Troy and Justin at IBS Communications, restored every-single last file. When I got the news, all I could do was cry, because I knew God heard me and answered my prayer immediately. He was just waiting for me to get to the office to give me the news. Thank you Troy, thank you Justin for all your hard work, persistence and commitment to retrieving and restoring my files. I was and still am elated and eternally grateful.

This also was a trying week for my sister Candie, who turned 39 on Thursday. She too experienced computer problems to devastating proportions. On her birthday, her computer, which she's only had for 6 months, decided to CRASH! Gone, Caput, Bye-Bye…you get the point. Fortunately, there's a happy ending to her story as well. Dell expressed a new hard drive to her, which she was able to get installed quickly, and she is now back up and running. She lost some of her more recent work, but through back and forth email communications, and back up files from her previous computer which crashed 7 months ago, she was not at as much of a loss as I would have been had it not been for a miracle. So the moral of my story….BACK IT UP and PRAY!

Cover Girl - At Last!

Can you believe it? Finally I'm a cover girl! Before it hits the newsstand, you get the opportunity to see my first magazine cover. LOL...I wish! This is such a cool favor idea. You can create a magazine cover featuring yourself or a loved one for a birthday party, wedding, retirement party, or any event celebrating life. It's perfect and easy to do. Simply go to YourCover.com, upload your picture, select your background color, layout, and insert your desired text, and Bamm...you're a cover girl (or person). Tyra Banks...watch out, here I come!

Whatcha Think?

Recently, I came across this cool website called PosePrints.com. This site allows you to create personalized stationary by designing a look-a-like image of yourself that can be printed on invitations, notecards, save-the-date announcements, thank you cards, etc. Of course I tried it, and Voila, here I am! So, how did I do? She is cute...just like me don't you think? Smooches!





Get Your Own Pose @ www.PosePrints.com

Yellowicious - What A Bright Idea! - Inspiration Board #1

This will be the first of many inspiration boards to come. I felt inspired to share my appreciation for the color yellow, not only because it's one of my favorite colors (purple is the other), but because it is such a cheerful color. Although yellow occasionally shows up as an accent color at weddings, or color splash throughout a wedding, these days yellow is not widely used as a predominant color when brides are selecting their color schemes. This is sad because I think yellow is perfect for an outdoor wedding or for a spring time wedding. Yellow just makes you happy, and no better time to communicate to the world your state of happiness than on your wedding day, and no better color than yellow. Give it a try.

The Wedding Day To-Do List Of A Wedding Planner

A Wedding Planner wears many hats, and I'll speak more about the roles of a wedding planner in a future post. Because I am a list maker (I write lists to direct me to my lists), I thought it would be interesting to create a to-do list for the wedding day, of some of the things a wedding planner actually does, to give a glimpse into all of the wedding day details that are involved in executing the big day. So if you think you don't need a wedding planner, tell me what you think after reading this list. Keep in mind that this list does not take into account any pre-wedding day planning or post wedding day services offered by wedding planners.

1. Make sure bride, groom, parents and entire wedding party are comfortable and have all of the attention and service they need while getting ready for the big day
2. Receive deliveries from vendors
3. Pick up any last minute items
4. Greet vendors and give direction
5. Distribute copies of the complete wedding day itinerary to all vendors
6. Oversee proper set-up and design of ceremony and reception
7. Accept and assist with the distribution and pinning of all corsages, boutonnieres, wedding flowers and flower-girl baskets
8. Ensure proper placement of place cards, wedding favors, ceremony programs, menu cards, disposable cameras, bubbles, unity candle, etc. – according to brides instructions
9. Make sure any guests with special needs have someone to help them without making them feel uncomfortable or like the center of attention
10. Greet guests and direct them to the ceremony
11. Make sure guests sign the guest book (at ceremony & at the reception)
12. Seat bride's family & friends on the left side, groom's family & friends on right side unless otherwise instructed
13. Calm down the flower girl and ring bearer in preparation for their walk down the aisle
14. Line up and cue the wedding party when it's time for them to walk down the aisle and make sure they look great, are smiling, paced perfectly, no hands in pockets, no chewing gum
15. Let the bride know when it’s time to walk down the aisle, make sure she is ready for her big moment. Make sure her dress and train are perfect and send her on her way down the aisle with her escort
16. Make sure all ceremony musicians have the correct musical selections for guest arrival, family seating and also the correct processional and recessional musical selections
17. Come to the rescue of the crying flower girl or ring bearer during the ceremony when Mom and/or Dad happen to be in the ceremony
18. Organize the receiving line and keep it moving
19. Direct guests to the cocktail reception
20. Assist the Photographer in gathering the wedding party and family members for pictures as needed
21. Make sure the bride, groom and entire wedding party get cocktails and hors d'oeuvres during your photography session
22. Make sure the entertainment has proper electricity, shaded seating, staging, etc.
23. Cue entertainment for guest arrival, ceremony and all scheduled special events
24. Make sure all finishing touches are complete and are just as the bride and groom wish before allowing guests to enter reception area
25. Make sure all candles are lit and remain lit throughout the entire reception
26. Answer guests' questions and concerns throughout the day
27. Bustle wedding gown at reception
28. Assist DJ /MC in guiding guests through the day and onto the next scheduled event making sure that no one misses these events
29. Organize the grand entrance and get everyone lined up outside the reception area in correct order
30. Cue the DJ for introductions and grand entrance of wedding party at the reception
31. Always let bride and groom know what's next so they are never caught off guard
32. See to it that parents and very special people are given special care and their every need is catered to
33. Make sure the dietary needs and requests of guests such as allergies, vegetarian and vegan requests are followed through accurately
34. Supervise and communication with the chef and catering staff to ensure superb and timely service
35. Make certain that everyone involved in toasts or special events during the day are cued and ready
36. Take an accurate head count of those at the reception
37. Be sure to have the bride's comfortable shoes ready for her to change into if she desires
38. Make certain that the bride and her shy groom do not get left out in the middle of the dance floor for an entire very long first dance…
39. Or, make sure that the bride and groom are the only two on the dance floor to show off those moves they learned in those dance lessons they took over the past year
40. Make sure the grandmothers of the couple get a great spot for the cake cutting and first dance, etc.
41. Come to the rescue with a damp cloth when the groom isn't as nice as he promised to be during the cake cutting
42. Be there by the couple's side, ready and available for any emergencies or unexpected occurrence
43. Guide them graciously through their day, keep things running on schedule
44. Distribute final balances and gratuities to vendors on behalf of the couple
45. Keep track of, organize and pack everything up for couple, at the end of the evening
46. Make sure centerpieces are given away according to couple's instructions
47. Collect disposable cameras, gifts, guest book, pen, toasting glasses, cake top, etc., and take everything to the couples honeymoon suite, designated room or designated car
48. Arrange getaway transportation, make sure it is present and on time
49. Know exactly when the bride needs a soft voice to calm her (one other than her family or close friends)
50. Be the one person to give her a little laughter when those people nearest and dearest to her are driving her nuts
51. Box or bag up additional wedding cake
52. Facilitate the send off of the bride and groom
53. Make sure the bride and groom receive a food basket from caterer to take to the hotel or honeymoon suite
54. Take care of all of the above details so the bride and groom won't have to
55. Make sure the couple has an Affair To Remember! (I threw this one in for good measure)….Smooches!

So, how's that for a to-do list?

Breathtaking

Beautiful centerpieces that make a statement but don't overwhelm the table are hard to come by. While browsing various websites for centerpiece inspiration, I came across James Abel Events and found this beautiful masterpiece. I just think it is breathtaking. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

What's Your Bridal Style?

During my first meeting with a bride who has signed on as a client, one of the many questions I ask her is to give me 3 adjectives to describe her dream wedding. Some of the responses I have gotten are: romantic, elegant, sophisticated, fun, festive…you get the idea.

The reason for asking this question is to get a feel for her bridal style, to be able to pull together the style elements for her wedding. Each bride has her own bridal style, but getting her to articulate what it is in a way that can be translated into her dream wedding, is not always an easy job. What I have found to be helpful in gathering this information is to provide her with the following style categories and associated descriptive words, which paint a picture that really gives a feel for her sense of style and the direction in which to proceed in planning her wedding. The following list is highlighted in the book "Whats Your Bridal Style? by authors Sharon Naylor and Casey Cooper.

Adventurous Bridal Style
Thrilling, Risky, Daring, Gutsy, Bold, Unabashed

Classic Bridal Style
Timeless, Definitive, Quintessential, Legendary

Contemporary Bridal Style
Trendy, Cutting Edge, Modern, In Vogue, Current

Elegant Bridal Style
Graceful, Classical Music, Chic, Classy

Fairy Tale Bridal Style
Enchanted, Magical, Imaginative, Princess Gown

Glamorous or Glam Bridal Style
Gorgeous, Sexy, Alluring, Feather Boa, Glittery, Extravagant

Romantic Bridal Style
Candlelight, Champagne, Violins, Lyrical, Fairy tale

Understated Bridal Style
Simple, Modest, Unpretentious, Low-key, Quiet

Another cool tool that I recently came across can be found at Kate Aspen's Website. You can take the Unveil Your Bridal Style Quiz and be directed from there to some really cute favors that match your style. I took the quiz and unveiled that I am an Elizabeth, which falls right in line with the above Classic Bridal Category.

Omazing

Oh my God! I'm so excited. Thanks to one of my dear friends (Louella Gray), I got the opportunity to see Oprah Winfrey live and in person. Oprah was the keynote speaker at the 20th Annual Whitesboro Reunion Festival on Saturday, August 30, 2008. Stedman Graham, Oprah's longtime beau, is a native of the small town, and on this day the town officially named August 30th as Stedman Graham Day.

In true Oprah fashion, she was soooo inspiring. She encouraged us to "vote" for ourselves, and exhorted us to dream about the impossible, to execute the impossible and recognize that with God all things are possible. She shared her daily morning prayer "to be used in service for that which is greater than herself". She made it clear that the key to her success has been hard work and keeping her hands stedfast in God's hand. She painted a very clear picture of her surrendering her desire to be apart of the Color Purple, and rejoicing when God moved after her surrender. In the words of Obama…."I get it".

On top of all this she donated $220,000 as the first installment of her $1 million dollar donation to the Concerned Citizens of Whitesboro scholarship fund. That was awesome. I'm not even from the town, and I was one of the first to get on my feet in applause to her generosity.

I have to tell you, this was a surreal experience for me, one I won't soon forget. Thank you Louella…Love Ya Girl!