Beautiful wedding and a crazy day!

{ October 16, 2010 @ 5:57 pm } · { Vendors }
{ Comments (1) }

So I am blogging from my Blackberry waiting for everyone to arrive from the ceremony and it seems like all kinds of craziness has happened today.

I will certainly have to finish this blog on a real computer soon as there is so much to tell.

I can at least say the things I know for sure about wedding day, wedding planning, and vendors.
One-a well prepared planner always knows the LOCAL number to 911. Don’t even ask…just know that if there is ever another emergency at one of my client’s weddings, I know who to call and it aint Ghostbusters.
Two-Trio Blanchette provided beautiful music for us today. Make an effort to book those ladies for your next affair.
Three-Mt. Pleasant winery was nice as usual…way too crowded though. Who plays football/kickball next to a wedding ceremony!?!? If you are interested in booking a venue that is not private, remember you run the risk of nosey and loud patrons intruding on your time.
Four-the Stegton hall in St. Charles is not on my list of preferred vendors. First a minor room mixup, the staff is really nice but the owner is fussy. We will see how the rest of the night goes…
Five-THE COUPLE HIRED A PLANNER FOR A REASON! You (other vendors) are a vendor contracted to provide 1 component of an overall event that I have been hired to manage and tie together. Now I am the nicest most accomodating planner ever (as told my countless vendors who otherwise hate planners) but please let me do my job and I will graciously step aside for you to do yours! Don’t tell me, “I have a plan”. No dangit- I MADE the plan! With the couple!!!

Anywho…my fingers r getting blackberry cramp so ill finish later; all good things hopefully!

2 blogs in 1! Clinton wedding and Wedding menus

{ August 13, 2010 @ 10:21 am } · { Uncategorized }
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It’s your lucky day; 2 blogs in one!

Sorry I am 2 weeks late but I loved hearing about Chelsea Clinton’s wedding so blog #1 is about her nuptials.  Blog #2 is a spin off and I want to hear your comments about wedding dinner menus.

Congratulations to the beautiful bride Chelsea Clinton and her handsome groom Mark Mezvinsky.  And another congrats to the other bride who was also married in Rhinebeck and got more than she hoped for when the first family also booked a wedding in the same area.  And of course I remember the couple’s name (Emn Haddad-Friedman and Alex Bero) as I felt so terrible for her.  Each bride deserves to have a beautiful wedding day without the stress of the secret service stopping your guests from reaching your event.

Here is my rant on the issue.  Some bloggers, “journalists”, and comments posted about the Haddad-Bero wedding said that she was being selfish and a bridezilla.  Can someone please tell me why, when every other woman gets “her special day”, does Emn get called a bridezilla for RESPONDING to inquiries about her jitters once she found out about the Clinton wedding?  I don’t think she went seeking media attention?!?!  Correct me if I am wrong.  And so what if she did?!  It was her day too.

I felt her pain when she said that her hard-working single mother was paying for her wedding and it would be a mess if her plans were messed up because of secret service, excessive traffic, and nosey locals.  IMO-the Clinton’s have so much more money they can afford to change details so as not to infringe; it would have been a very thoughtful and generous (albeit not mandatory) thing to do.

As a penniless bride myself, I would be devastated if a celebrity wedding was on the same day in the same small vicinity.  Wedding day is crazy enough without having to worry about if and how your guests will arrive to celebrate with you.  I think Emn Haddad-Friedman and Alex Bero were justified in their worries.  I also feel that they handled the situation with class and grace.  How becoming of a bride!

Another tiny issue that bothers me is the only follow-up I heard about the Emn Haddad-Friedman and Alex Bero wedding was in the nydailynews.com that the wedding did in fact go off without a hitch.  Something about swashbucklers though…gotta love the desire to be unique at your wedding!  I didn’t expect this smaller, less famous wedding to get all the hoopla of the Clinton wedding but follow-ups are nice.  Maybe it’s just me…

Final thoughts: When faced with wedding day woes, keep your composure as it will usually work itself out (get a planner and your odds increase greatly!).  If things do go awry, guests are missing, dress is ripped, whatever…at the end of the day, you will still have married your prince charming!  Your guests will always smile when they remember your wedding mishap and how you handled it with poise instead of like this infamous bridezilla.

Bride who threw vases and food at staff!

Visit:  http://www.dddetails.com and see how we can help save your day!  New website coming soon.

Score: David’s Bridal-1, Bride-1

{ July 23, 2010 @ 2:16 pm } · { Broken rules, I recommend this vendor, Shoes, Vendors, Weddings }
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I think I can declare this a win-win situation.  Let me explain…

My mother was so ready to find my gown and since David’s was having their annual $99 sale, we booked an appointment, grabbed my 2 MOH and aunt, and we went shopping.  I went straight from work and somehow I forgot to grab my super high-heeled, sexy, sex-and-the-city, hot-pink heels as well as my planning binder.  Yes, even wedding planners space out at times!

Gotta love the shoes… (as I repeat to myself: I CAN walk on grass, I  CAN walk on grass…)

Anyhow – We picked out several gowns in the store, about a dozen, including the 3 I had my eyes on from the online shopping I did.  I tried one 1 that my aunt liked first.  My wiiiide hips were too much but the gown was beautiful.  I grabbed a random, very plain veil to see how the look would come together and everyone loved it…big mistake.  it was $79!!!  FOR A PIECE OF TULLE!!!!  Insanity.

The second gown I tried was one with color and lots of pickups.  Liked it.  The 3rd gown was a very plain and simple cuff style gown that we all loved because it was me-plain!  I prefer the word classic but whatever.  We were ready to purchase but I convinced everyone to chill and let me try on a few more since I never plan on doing this again.  I’m sooooo glad we did because the 4th gown was THE ONE.  I will not be showing in online anywhere until after the wedding but it is perfect.  The saying is true: when it’s the one, you will just know!  Wait, was that saying about the gown or the husband?  Who cares.

At the end of the night (3 hours later!), my mom bought the gown, overpriced veil (that was conveniently discontinued), a different more classic pair of shoes, and the huge fru-fru slip.  Almost $800 later, we left for dinner.

Now for the wedding planner’s comments: I usually tell clients do NOT go to David’s first and do NOT let them talk you into buying up the store.  Well damn if I didn’t do just that!

In the end, I am happy; The saleslady was really nice and not pushy and I loved what I got.  Thus the win-win score.  Next time however I will NOT buy the veil; I am fairly crafty and could have EASILY made it myself for about $70 cheaper.  Same with the shoes.  They are cute but, I already have a pair that I LOVE!

Regrets:

  1. Not going to some fancy bridal salon and sipping champagne while I try on gowns waaaay out of my budget.  Hey, how many times in life will you get to play dress up in designer gowns!?!?
  2. Not talking to my favorite seamstress about her price for the same gown.
  3. Booking the last time slot of the day.
  4. Not sticking to my “rules”!

Tips:

  1. Remember your shoes or at least a pair of high heels.
  2. Don’t succumb to the pressure (or let your mother fall either).
  3. NEVER TRAVEL TO BRIDAL APPOINTMENTS WITHOUT YOUR BINDER!  The picture above of me with my 2 MOH holding the purses

    The 2nd best dress-classic!

    is only because I didn’t have my color swatches.  We ended up buying 8 swatches!

St. Louis Wedding Contest

{ July 14, 2010 @ 1:51 pm } · { Events, Vendors, Weddings }
{ Tags: , , } · { Comments (2) }

I am looking for partners to produce a contest for a couple to have their wedding for $2500 or free if possible.  I am looking to do something like the Today show on NBC where the community selects a couple and all of their wedding components.  This is a huge marketing opportunity for the vendors as your name will be on all media and promotions.

Please contact me if you are interested.  I am looking for newbies to the business as well as seasoned professionals, however, all vendors MUST have references.  You will be donating your services in exchange for advertising with the event.  You will be expected to help market this; the more people we promote this to, the better.

The wedding will take place late summer 2011 for about 80-100 guests so you have a full year of marketing!  This will take limited effort (from the vendors) and is an awesome opportunity.

The couple will only be responsible for: their rings, guest favors, bridal party gifts, the cost of the food ONLY (the caterer will be donating time just like all the other vendors), and the amounts listed below next to each vendor not to exceed $2500.  The wedding will take place on a Sunday or Friday in an effort to reduce the expense to the venue.  The goal is that the vendors will donate their time only and not be out a huge expense for materials.  If I find a corporate sponsor for this event, the costs to the couple will be reduced first, then the cost to the vendors.

DO NOT APPLY FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DO THE WORK NECESSARY!!!

I am in need of:
website designer ($50)
photographers ($50 for the CD of pics and the rights)
videographers ($50 for the DVD)
musicians
deejays
officiants
linen company ($25 for delivery)
stationery designers ($50 for materials)
cake bakers ($50 for materials)
caterers ($ TBD)
ceremony locations
dress makers or dress shops or anyone willing to donate a dress
men’s suit shops
jewelery designer
makeup artist
hair stylist
event decorators
and any other wedding vendor which I may have forgotten!

(The wedding planner is booked!!!)

email me at details@dddetails.com for more info.  Please pass this along!

Wedding Planner Getting Married!!!

{ July 14, 2010 @ 3:24 am } · { Uncategorized }
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So today and over the last 48 hours, I finally got a chance to experience the emotional rollercoaster that a bride experiences. I did the very thing I tell my clients NOT to do: set your date before you find a venue. Rule #1 of wedding planning: YOU HAVE NO DATE WITHOUT A VENUE! UGH!

As much as I love the Sheldon Concert Hall, they really irked me when they (and I believe intentionally) told me my date was available then once we toured it, fell in love, and were ready to sign, they all of a sudden had been booked on MY date since March. I really believe they did this to get me hooked, then I would just pick another date. No way – I am a 9-10-11 bride and thats final! So the Sheldon lost my business and my confidence as a planner/vendor referral.

Anyway, we settled on the Polish Heritage Center since they are huge, inexpensive, and have an open catering and liquor policy. I will keep you posted on the quality of this venue.

I will be compiling all these lessons learned into a book (big dreaming again) that talks about how a planner does her own events. After my first mistake, I am not sure how this will go! Stay tuned!

Lessons Learned: 1-Remember the big picture – you are marrying the one you love; no other details really matter though they are important and that can and will be solved! 2-hire a planner from day one!!! 3-(TRUTH) the venue is NOT working for you; their “planners” and event managers are there for the venue and to get $$$$$$.

Welcome to Blogging

{ July 9, 2010 @ 4:29 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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Hello fans of Details, Details, Details! Please stay tuned for a weekly (hopefully!) blog all about weddings and events. Karen, that’s me, the owner and Senior Event Planner, will be talking about event and wedding trends, fun facts, tips, my experiences, showcasing some vendors, and much more. Stay tuned! Also follow us on Twitter @DDDetails Our website is getting a makeover from Patrick at http://www.milestonepro.com so a new look is coming soon.

Hello world!

{ July 9, 2010 @ 3:44 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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