After she gave us tons of tips for our recent column on holiday video, Ashley Chiles of Ladyflash Productions was nice enough to share even more great advice, this time on weddings. She’s joined here by wedding photographer Ashley Garmon. Together, these two pros have seen plenty of Austin weddings. They know what works and what doesn’t. Here is their advice on making your ceremony and celebration memorable. Plus, you can enjoy their words, and their work, in this video.
— Start planning early, Chiles says. Six months to a year in advance is ideal. “Find your most stylish, savvy, resourceful friends who’ve been married and ask for all of their wedding tips,” she says.
— Chiles recommends working with a wedding coordinator, ideally for more than just “day of” assistance. “They are one of the best investments you can make,” she says. “I cannot tell you how many times I have seen things fall apart during clients’ events because they simply could not anticipate unforeseen details nor be in charge of coordinating multiple people to be in multiple locations and all show up on time.” Consultants can help with managing details, timelines and vendors, in addition to the design aspects of the wedding, she says.
— Be realistic about how much wedding you can afford with your budget, Chiles says. If a professional with whom you want to work is out of your budget, ask her to refer you to her assistants or to a less-expensive, up-and-coming vendor. As you’d expect, Chiles is passionate about making photography and video priorities in your budget. “It does not make sense to spend loads of time and money creating a beautiful and memorable wedding, only to have a less-than-fabulous record of it,” she says.
— “Don’t have an outdoor wedding basically between May 10 and October 10 in Texas,” Chiles says. “It is just too hot! It absolutely kills your guests and vendors, and does not make for good photos and video, as you and your groom will be sweating, sticky, and miserable. If you want the outdoor option, choosing a location with both outdoor/indoor areas for your party is key.” Garmon adds: “Always have a rain plan. Pay for the tent reservation. It is not an option to do otherwise!”
— In choosing vendors, look for people whose work you love and whose personalities mesh with yours, Chiles and Garmon recommend. Do you feel comfortable with them? Could you imagine spending several hours with them? “Ask your coordinator, your venue staff, your friends and other vendors for referrals and recommendations,” Chiles says.
— Make sure you understand your contracts with the venue and vendors, Chiles says, “With photos and video, make sure you are clear on whether you will be purchasing the copyright to original photos on disc or unedited videotapes,” she says.
— “Invest in lighting at your wedding,” Garmon says. “You spend thousands of dollars on flowers and linens, not to mention all of the time that it takes making these decisions. It’s a shame if they aren’t showcased at the wedding. Or worse, if no one can see them.” Get recommendations from your wedding coordinator and the pros handling your photo and video on lighting that will create the right ambiance at your wedding as well as look great on camera, Chiles says.
— “Limit the length of your ceremony and discuss the wording of your ceremony with your officiant,” Chile says. “I have seen some officiants ramble on endlessly and repetitively with guests literally falling asleep. I have also seen officiants make bizarre and very non-PC references.”
— Overbearing family member? Give her a task like putting together gift bags for out-of-town guests to make her feel useful, Garmon says. “Oh, and do not put yourself in charge of doing these things,” she adds. “You won’t have time and it will stress you out in the end.”
— “Do not get drunk at your rehearsal dinner and go to sleep early the night before the wedding,” Garmon says. “Being puffy and hungover is not the best way to start your wedding day. You’ll also probably be much more nervous and perhaps grumpy.”
— Don’t have your bridesmaid luncheon on the day of the wedding. “It’s just too much to try to pull off. This is a lovely tradition that is better held the day before the wedding,” Garmon says.
— “Don’t get a massage on your wedding day,” Garmon says. “This will dehydrate you and also might also make you a bit puffy.”
— Scenes of the bride getting ready are a staple of wedding photographs and videos. So, if possible, choose a pretty room for getting dressed, Garmon says. And pay attention to other details: Hang your dress on a wood or satin hanger, and have your bridesmaids dressed before you put on your dress. “Your photos and videos will look so much better!” Garmon says.
— “Don’t have your hair done in some crazy updo that doesn’t suit you,” Garmon says. “This just looks odd. You should look like yourself on your wedding day, just the prettiest, best version of you. That being said, if you are tragically having an outdoor wedding in the summertime, do not wear your hair down. You will look a mess by the end of the reception. It’s not pretty.”
— “If you can, try to convince your fiance to get a manicure,” Garmon says. “Gnarly fingernails are distracting in the photographs, particularly your ring shots.”
— “Bring a copy of the invitation to the wedding or mail it to your photographer ahead of time,” Garmon says. “It really adds to the story to have a photo of the invitation.”
— Finally, “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” Garmon says. “Take a deep breath and remember that this is supposed to be fun.”
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/consumer/entries/2007/12/13/working_not_ready_wedding_tips.html
Saturday, December 29, 2007
You're the Wedding Planner. Now What Do You Do?
George Mason University students waited expectantly as the guest lecturer plugged in her curling iron. The topic on the syllabus: updos.
The stylist attached a mop of shiny fake curls to sophomore Brittney Tobin's long blond hair, swept it up onto her head and pinned on a bridal veil. "Is there a veil on my head?" Tobin squeaked, wide-eyed, fluttering a hand in front of her face.
"It's every girl's dream to have a class about weddings," Tobin said later. "It's a dream!"
Sure, a dream. Until the bride freaks out, the best man gets plastered or the altar boy topples over in the middle of the ceremony. And everyone expects you to fix it.
If there's one thing assistant professor Maggie Daniels wants students to know in her semester-long class on wedding planning -- apparently the first in the country at a four-year college -- it's that this is not just fluff.
Daniels teaches crisis management and event planning for what has become an enormous business, estimated at anywhere from $80 billion to $161 billion a year nationally. Spending on weddings has nearly doubled in the past 15 years. In just four years, almost every expense increased more than 20 percent as people added days of events, gifts for all the guests, elaborate lighting and all sorts of other extras promoted by magazines, TV shows and the rest of the marital-industrial complex. More than a third of couples outspend their wedding budgets.
With that booming industry comes demand for wedding planners who know their peau de soie from their charmeuse, who can coordinate timing and such details as flowers, music and hors d'oeuvres, who can whip recalcitrant groomsmen into shape.
And who can, when the inevitable crisis hits, take the bullet.
"A wedding planner has to be a superhero," Tobin said. "People think of their wedding as the perfect fairy tale. If it's not, someone's going to get the blame. It's probably going to be you."
It wasn't easy to convince college administrators that this was a legitimate course of study, Daniels said. "I fought for this tooth and nail." She produced the event-planning and cultural research to back it up. Once approved, she needed 10 students to enroll. Seventy signed up.
This semester, 100 students are taking it. They're a mix of dreamy fiancees, people looking for a fun elective, tourism-and-events-management majors rounding out their degree and hard-core future wedding consultants.
"What happens very frequently is students come into class doe-eyed," Daniels said. "Part of my objective is to make them understand it can be enjoyable, but the bottom line is, if you want to make a living at this, it is a hard job, a very, very hard job. Your weekends are taken away from you. You're dealing with a lot of different emotions," and it's difficult to launch a lucrative business.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/02/AR2007120202098.html?hpid=sec-metro
The stylist attached a mop of shiny fake curls to sophomore Brittney Tobin's long blond hair, swept it up onto her head and pinned on a bridal veil. "Is there a veil on my head?" Tobin squeaked, wide-eyed, fluttering a hand in front of her face.
"It's every girl's dream to have a class about weddings," Tobin said later. "It's a dream!"
Sure, a dream. Until the bride freaks out, the best man gets plastered or the altar boy topples over in the middle of the ceremony. And everyone expects you to fix it.
If there's one thing assistant professor Maggie Daniels wants students to know in her semester-long class on wedding planning -- apparently the first in the country at a four-year college -- it's that this is not just fluff.
Daniels teaches crisis management and event planning for what has become an enormous business, estimated at anywhere from $80 billion to $161 billion a year nationally. Spending on weddings has nearly doubled in the past 15 years. In just four years, almost every expense increased more than 20 percent as people added days of events, gifts for all the guests, elaborate lighting and all sorts of other extras promoted by magazines, TV shows and the rest of the marital-industrial complex. More than a third of couples outspend their wedding budgets.
With that booming industry comes demand for wedding planners who know their peau de soie from their charmeuse, who can coordinate timing and such details as flowers, music and hors d'oeuvres, who can whip recalcitrant groomsmen into shape.
And who can, when the inevitable crisis hits, take the bullet.
"A wedding planner has to be a superhero," Tobin said. "People think of their wedding as the perfect fairy tale. If it's not, someone's going to get the blame. It's probably going to be you."
It wasn't easy to convince college administrators that this was a legitimate course of study, Daniels said. "I fought for this tooth and nail." She produced the event-planning and cultural research to back it up. Once approved, she needed 10 students to enroll. Seventy signed up.
This semester, 100 students are taking it. They're a mix of dreamy fiancees, people looking for a fun elective, tourism-and-events-management majors rounding out their degree and hard-core future wedding consultants.
"What happens very frequently is students come into class doe-eyed," Daniels said. "Part of my objective is to make them understand it can be enjoyable, but the bottom line is, if you want to make a living at this, it is a hard job, a very, very hard job. Your weekends are taken away from you. You're dealing with a lot of different emotions," and it's difficult to launch a lucrative business.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/02/AR2007120202098.html?hpid=sec-metro
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Being an Educated Bride is Being a Savvy Bride
Cincinnati, OH (PRWEB) November 27, 2007 -- Bridal season, the time when couples across the tri-State get engaged, is drawing near. This January, bridal shows will draw thousands of newly-engaged couples.
"Ironically, more clients book wedding planners after bridal shows because they leave them so overwhelmed," said Kathy Piech-Lukas, president of Your Dream Day. "It's important to know how to use all of the wedding planning tools out there and understand exactly how they work."
Going to a bridal show is the most efficient way to taste cakes from 10 different bakeries in one hour
When going to a bridal show, Piech-Lukas suggests wearing an outfit that has pockets. This way, the vendor's contact information doesn't get lost in the mass pile of literature. Go into the bridal show with a shopping list of what needs to be booked for the wedding. Determine which wedding vendors and categories need to be booked beforehand and only visit those vendors. Bridal shows are a great way to sample multiple wedding cakes in one location.
Bridal shows and wedding magazines, such as The Knot Ohio, Southwest Ohio Weddings and Cincinnati Weddings, are a great way to get decorating ideas, create wedding planning timelines and manage a wedding budget. Featured weddings in all of these magazines showcase some of the best work across the state and give brides great decorating ideas. Your Dream Day offers a complimentary copy of each of these magazines with a free meet-and-greet consultation.
Piech-Lukas also advises brides to do their own research for wedding vendors and not to rely solely on a list from another vendor or an ad from a magazine. "Planning a wedding is an emotional time and an emotional purchase. For wedding vendors, it's a business and their livelihood."
Wedding vendors pay to be in print publications and listed on websites like The Knot, Cincinnati Weddings, Southwest Ohio Weddings, Perfect Wedding Guide, Bride and Groom Planner and the Wedding Day Planner. Although it may initially be by invitation only, vendors may pay hundreds of dollars, sometimes thousands, to exhibit at smaller bridal shows at reception halls, be on exclusive referral lists, or participate in a networking group for wedding vendors. Publications given to brides by reception halls, which have colorful advertisements, are also typically paid placements.
Non-biased surveys, like The Knot Best of Weddings, are the best resource for good wedding vendors. The Knot conducted a massive survey of 25,000 recent brides and grooms - the first of its kind - to capture detailed feedback on every wedding business that couples hired for their wedding celebration. Newlyweds were asked to rate their vendors on multiple criteria, from creativity to professionalism, and to comment on their experiences. The resulting ratings - and detailed feedback - were aggregated by the editors of The Knot to create this one-of-a-kind publication highlighting the best wedding resources in each region according to local brides. The survey was administered by Harris Interactive. The Bride and Groom Planner also conducts a survey of its members at www.myweddingsurvey.com. All vendors, regardless of whether they advertise at the Bride and Groom Planner, are reviewed on the website. Cincinnati Magazine also conducts a "Best of City" survey which has awarded select wedding vendors, like Fabulous Bridal, the coveted award.
Your Dream Day, which is a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants, the International Special Events Society, and the only wedding coordinating company that is a member of the Better Business Bureau, was named a pick in The Knot Best of Weddings 2007 and believes that these survey resources and referrals from your wedding planner, friends and family members are your best bet. Your Dream Day is located in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio and also designs events throughout Ohio and the United States.
"Bridal consultants like Your Dream Day prescreen all 800+ vendors offering wedding services in the tri-State and does not accept kickbacks from any vendor we refer. The Association of Bridal Consultants strongly frowns on its consultants accepting kickbacks. Referrals are made solely on budget, personality, and style fit for our clients. We want our clients to get the best bang for their buck and demonstrate why it's a necessity, rather than a luxury, to have a wedding planner on a couple's team of vendors. If we don't demonstrate cost savings and time efficiency to our clients, we're not doing our job."
Upcoming Bridal Shows in the tri-State include:
Wendy's Bridal Show, January 5-6, 2008, Cincinnati Convention Center, 10 to 5 p.m., $10 per person.
Dayton Bridal Expo, January 5-6, 2008, Dayton Convention Center, $8 per person.
Cincinnati Wedding Showcase, January 12-13, 2008, 11 to 5 p.m., Sharonville Convention Center. $10 per person.
Dayton Hara Bridal Gala, January 19 & 20, 2008; 11 to 5 p.m. Hara Arena, Dayton.
Dayton Bridal Expo, January 27, 2008, Dayton Marriott, 12 to 5 p.m., $8 per person
BridalRama Winter Showcase, February 9 & 10, 2008, Cincinnati Convention Center. $10 at the door.
Wedding 101, taught by members of the Association of Bridal Consultants. December 7, 2007 and March 2, 2008. $25 per person. Pre-registration required.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/11/prweb571215.htm
"Ironically, more clients book wedding planners after bridal shows because they leave them so overwhelmed," said Kathy Piech-Lukas, president of Your Dream Day. "It's important to know how to use all of the wedding planning tools out there and understand exactly how they work."
Going to a bridal show is the most efficient way to taste cakes from 10 different bakeries in one hour
When going to a bridal show, Piech-Lukas suggests wearing an outfit that has pockets. This way, the vendor's contact information doesn't get lost in the mass pile of literature. Go into the bridal show with a shopping list of what needs to be booked for the wedding. Determine which wedding vendors and categories need to be booked beforehand and only visit those vendors. Bridal shows are a great way to sample multiple wedding cakes in one location.
Bridal shows and wedding magazines, such as The Knot Ohio, Southwest Ohio Weddings and Cincinnati Weddings, are a great way to get decorating ideas, create wedding planning timelines and manage a wedding budget. Featured weddings in all of these magazines showcase some of the best work across the state and give brides great decorating ideas. Your Dream Day offers a complimentary copy of each of these magazines with a free meet-and-greet consultation.
Piech-Lukas also advises brides to do their own research for wedding vendors and not to rely solely on a list from another vendor or an ad from a magazine. "Planning a wedding is an emotional time and an emotional purchase. For wedding vendors, it's a business and their livelihood."
Wedding vendors pay to be in print publications and listed on websites like The Knot, Cincinnati Weddings, Southwest Ohio Weddings, Perfect Wedding Guide, Bride and Groom Planner and the Wedding Day Planner. Although it may initially be by invitation only, vendors may pay hundreds of dollars, sometimes thousands, to exhibit at smaller bridal shows at reception halls, be on exclusive referral lists, or participate in a networking group for wedding vendors. Publications given to brides by reception halls, which have colorful advertisements, are also typically paid placements.
Non-biased surveys, like The Knot Best of Weddings, are the best resource for good wedding vendors. The Knot conducted a massive survey of 25,000 recent brides and grooms - the first of its kind - to capture detailed feedback on every wedding business that couples hired for their wedding celebration. Newlyweds were asked to rate their vendors on multiple criteria, from creativity to professionalism, and to comment on their experiences. The resulting ratings - and detailed feedback - were aggregated by the editors of The Knot to create this one-of-a-kind publication highlighting the best wedding resources in each region according to local brides. The survey was administered by Harris Interactive. The Bride and Groom Planner also conducts a survey of its members at www.myweddingsurvey.com. All vendors, regardless of whether they advertise at the Bride and Groom Planner, are reviewed on the website. Cincinnati Magazine also conducts a "Best of City" survey which has awarded select wedding vendors, like Fabulous Bridal, the coveted award.
Your Dream Day, which is a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants, the International Special Events Society, and the only wedding coordinating company that is a member of the Better Business Bureau, was named a pick in The Knot Best of Weddings 2007 and believes that these survey resources and referrals from your wedding planner, friends and family members are your best bet. Your Dream Day is located in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio and also designs events throughout Ohio and the United States.
"Bridal consultants like Your Dream Day prescreen all 800+ vendors offering wedding services in the tri-State and does not accept kickbacks from any vendor we refer. The Association of Bridal Consultants strongly frowns on its consultants accepting kickbacks. Referrals are made solely on budget, personality, and style fit for our clients. We want our clients to get the best bang for their buck and demonstrate why it's a necessity, rather than a luxury, to have a wedding planner on a couple's team of vendors. If we don't demonstrate cost savings and time efficiency to our clients, we're not doing our job."
Upcoming Bridal Shows in the tri-State include:
Wendy's Bridal Show, January 5-6, 2008, Cincinnati Convention Center, 10 to 5 p.m., $10 per person.
Dayton Bridal Expo, January 5-6, 2008, Dayton Convention Center, $8 per person.
Cincinnati Wedding Showcase, January 12-13, 2008, 11 to 5 p.m., Sharonville Convention Center. $10 per person.
Dayton Hara Bridal Gala, January 19 & 20, 2008; 11 to 5 p.m. Hara Arena, Dayton.
Dayton Bridal Expo, January 27, 2008, Dayton Marriott, 12 to 5 p.m., $8 per person
BridalRama Winter Showcase, February 9 & 10, 2008, Cincinnati Convention Center. $10 at the door.
Wedding 101, taught by members of the Association of Bridal Consultants. December 7, 2007 and March 2, 2008. $25 per person. Pre-registration required.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/11/prweb571215.htm
Destination weddings ask guests for more commitment
It wasn't long ago that attending a friend's wedding meant spending a Saturday night eating prime rib and dancing to cover versions of “Louie Louie” and “Brown Eyed Girl.”
Now, it might involve three days in Mexico or a long weekend in Maine. There could be scuba diving, cruises, square dancing or a marshmallow roast at a national park.
With a growing number of couples opting to exchange vows far from where they and most of their guests live, saying “yes” to an invite has taken on a whole new meaning.
“Destination weddings” can be fun. And time-consuming. And terribly expensive. Those most likely to be invited to a lot of weddings - people in their 20s, say - also tend to have the least seniority at work and the least disposable income.
Some guests, of course, are happy to pack their bags.
“I love the opportunity to travel and go somewhere I wouldn't have gone, or just to have an excuse to go somewhere that I like,” says Tamar Kummel, a massage therapist from New York City. She plans to attend a friend's wedding in California and another on Cape Cod later this year.
“If you didn't have this invitation, you'd never go,” she says.
But there's a downside. Kummel's boyfriend, Sean Harris, who works at an investment banking company, has a limited number of vacation days and sees a three-day wedding extravaganza as a drain on his time.
“He finds it really inconsiderate of people,” Kummel says.
What's a modern wedding guest to do? A primer:
-- Do you have to attend?
“People who are having a destination wedding absolutely expect certain people can't attend the wedding for financial or schedule reasons,” says Carley Roney, co-founder of the wedding planning Web site TheKnot.com. But she advises against mentioning your finances when you decline. “It's such a guilt-tripping kind of thing,” she says. “Come up with a very appropriate reason, even if it has to be a white lie.”
Joanna Hanak of Broomfield, Colo., knew that some invited guests wouldn't attend her wedding last fall in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. “We told people that we didn't expect them to come, but wanted them to know they were welcome,” she says.
Hopefully, guests will get plenty of warning.
“Couples should give their guests at least three or four months to plan by sending out detailed Save-the-Date cards,” says Lei Lydle, founder of the Atlanta-based WeddingBasics.com, which publishes bridal Web sites in several U.S. cities.
That's especially important if the wedding falls on a holiday weekend, when travel can be difficult and expensive.
-- Must you stay where the bride and groom suggest?
The couple will likely offer information on a range of accommodations, and they may have blocked rooms at several locations.
“In a situation where the bride and groom have not been so thoughtful,” says etiquette expert Samantha von Sperling, founder and director of Polished Social Image Consultants in New York, “go online and book your own accommodations and then you can call them and say, ‘I'm sorry but I couldn't afford the place you picked, so I've found something else just down the road. But I promise I'll be there and be on time.'"
-- Do you have to attend every planned event?
Destination weddings often involve a raft of events, including a cocktail party to welcome guests and a brunch the morning after the ceremony. If three solid days of bonding with relatives, co-workers or strangers doesn't appeal to you, Roney says it's fine to opt out of a few daytime events. But if you're skipping something, let someone in the bridal party know so that no one waits or searches for you.
-- What if you've got kids?
If children are invited (with destination weddings, they often are), your hosts may have some childcare planned. Ask whether kids are welcome at all the weekend's events, then ask if baby-sitting is available during any that are grown-ups only. If nothing has been arranged, you might contact the hotel where the wedding is happening or where you're staying and inquire about baby-sitting services.
Some guests, like New Yorkers Michele Clarke-Ceres and her husband, Rudy Ceres, see destination weddings as an opportunity for a private getaway sans kids.
“We take advantage of taking time away to just spend time alone,” she says.
-- Do you have to bring a gift?
“You can definitely scale back,” says Roney. “But unless they specifically say, 'the present is your presence,' you should buy a gift, even if it's a $30 something off their registry. People who are in that age range where they are going to a wedding every weekend can chip in with a group of people and do a group gift.”
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=61551§ion=Features
Now, it might involve three days in Mexico or a long weekend in Maine. There could be scuba diving, cruises, square dancing or a marshmallow roast at a national park.
With a growing number of couples opting to exchange vows far from where they and most of their guests live, saying “yes” to an invite has taken on a whole new meaning.
“Destination weddings” can be fun. And time-consuming. And terribly expensive. Those most likely to be invited to a lot of weddings - people in their 20s, say - also tend to have the least seniority at work and the least disposable income.
Some guests, of course, are happy to pack their bags.
“I love the opportunity to travel and go somewhere I wouldn't have gone, or just to have an excuse to go somewhere that I like,” says Tamar Kummel, a massage therapist from New York City. She plans to attend a friend's wedding in California and another on Cape Cod later this year.
“If you didn't have this invitation, you'd never go,” she says.
But there's a downside. Kummel's boyfriend, Sean Harris, who works at an investment banking company, has a limited number of vacation days and sees a three-day wedding extravaganza as a drain on his time.
“He finds it really inconsiderate of people,” Kummel says.
What's a modern wedding guest to do? A primer:
-- Do you have to attend?
“People who are having a destination wedding absolutely expect certain people can't attend the wedding for financial or schedule reasons,” says Carley Roney, co-founder of the wedding planning Web site TheKnot.com. But she advises against mentioning your finances when you decline. “It's such a guilt-tripping kind of thing,” she says. “Come up with a very appropriate reason, even if it has to be a white lie.”
Joanna Hanak of Broomfield, Colo., knew that some invited guests wouldn't attend her wedding last fall in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. “We told people that we didn't expect them to come, but wanted them to know they were welcome,” she says.
Hopefully, guests will get plenty of warning.
“Couples should give their guests at least three or four months to plan by sending out detailed Save-the-Date cards,” says Lei Lydle, founder of the Atlanta-based WeddingBasics.com, which publishes bridal Web sites in several U.S. cities.
That's especially important if the wedding falls on a holiday weekend, when travel can be difficult and expensive.
-- Must you stay where the bride and groom suggest?
The couple will likely offer information on a range of accommodations, and they may have blocked rooms at several locations.
“In a situation where the bride and groom have not been so thoughtful,” says etiquette expert Samantha von Sperling, founder and director of Polished Social Image Consultants in New York, “go online and book your own accommodations and then you can call them and say, ‘I'm sorry but I couldn't afford the place you picked, so I've found something else just down the road. But I promise I'll be there and be on time.'"
-- Do you have to attend every planned event?
Destination weddings often involve a raft of events, including a cocktail party to welcome guests and a brunch the morning after the ceremony. If three solid days of bonding with relatives, co-workers or strangers doesn't appeal to you, Roney says it's fine to opt out of a few daytime events. But if you're skipping something, let someone in the bridal party know so that no one waits or searches for you.
-- What if you've got kids?
If children are invited (with destination weddings, they often are), your hosts may have some childcare planned. Ask whether kids are welcome at all the weekend's events, then ask if baby-sitting is available during any that are grown-ups only. If nothing has been arranged, you might contact the hotel where the wedding is happening or where you're staying and inquire about baby-sitting services.
Some guests, like New Yorkers Michele Clarke-Ceres and her husband, Rudy Ceres, see destination weddings as an opportunity for a private getaway sans kids.
“We take advantage of taking time away to just spend time alone,” she says.
-- Do you have to bring a gift?
“You can definitely scale back,” says Roney. “But unless they specifically say, 'the present is your presence,' you should buy a gift, even if it's a $30 something off their registry. People who are in that age range where they are going to a wedding every weekend can chip in with a group of people and do a group gift.”
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=61551§ion=Features
'Wedding planner to the stars' focuses on details, details and also details
Jackie and Adam Sandler. Shaunie and Shaquille O'Neal. Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale. Heidi Klum and Seal. Jami Gertz and Tony Ressler. Janice and Billy Crystal. When these high-profile pairs have a star-studded soirée to host -- anything from a wedding to a bridal shower, a bar mitzvah to a birthday or business bash -- they all leave the preparations to one party planner: Mindy Weiss, owner of the Beverly Hills-based Mindy Weiss Party Consultants. But if you think her job is just about selecting flowers and ordering cakes, you're sorely mistaken.
"I have several roles," said Weiss, 48. "I become a decorator, a mom, a best friend, a sister, a therapist. I wear so many different hats.... When they hire me, they're hiring the 10 other people I can be to help them."
That 10-for-the-price-of-one mentality might be why Brad Delson, lead guitarist for multiplatinum rap-metal group, Linkin Park, and his wife, Elisa, turned to Weiss to help them plan their September 2003 wedding. Despite the low-key nature of their nuptials, held at the Skirball Cultural Center, it stands out in Weiss' mind because, like her, the Delsons are proud, practicing Jews.
Although Weiss said her clients run the spiritual and religious gamut, she admitted to feeling especially at ease when it comes to planning Jewish weddings, which comprise about 50 percent of her party-planning business.
"There's some comfort in Jewish weddings," she explained, "because I'm familiar with them. It's a little easier for me."
Still, with Weiss masterminding more than 120 events annually -- weddings make up the bread and butter of her business -- she does plan plenty of non-Jewish affairs, the sum total of which have established her as one of the most famous party planners in the United States and garnered her a sort of stardom that nearly rivals that of her clients.
She has her own publicist, she's a regular on the talk-show circuit -- "Dr. Phil," "The Today Show" -- and she is the go-to wedding planner for beautiful spreads in glossy magazines like In Style, Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple and, of course, all the bridal rags. Not to mention that in 2003, ABC turned to her to plan the $3.8 million televised wedding of Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter (the famed couple from the 2002 reality show, "The Bachelorette"), an epic event that courted an estimated 17 million viewers. Last week, Weiss celebrated the grand reopening of Owen's Market, a 50-year-old Beverly Hills-adjacent fixture on Pico Boulevard she bought, renovated and reintroduced as a specialty food market.
During the peak wedding season, Weiss and her team of eight employees plan and pull off about three weddings a weekend.
During the stressful, prewedding planning stages, especially important to Weiss is her relationships with her clients. "We really become like a family," she said. "They're calling us every day; we know a lot of their personal business. There are a lot of sensitive things: prenups, who they're inviting, how they feel about Aunt Shirley. You learn a lot about a family."
Details, Details, Details
Weiss grew up in Cheviot Hills. The middle of three sisters, she recalls a childhood filled with intricate celebrations planned by her mother, Marian Hersh.
"In my house, every occasion was decorated and celebrated," she said. "They were so creative and elaborate. Of course, we didn't realize it then. We just knew we always had really fun parties ... Chanukah in the house was amazing."
Not to mention her bat mitzvah: "[It] was ridiculous," Weiss said. "The theme was, 'From Lollipops to Roses.' My mother planned everything. She made me sing my candlelighting ceremony; it was to the theme of 'Fiddler on the Roof,' and she made the songs up, all of them."
Still, Weiss never dreamed that she would turn her innate sense for unique get-togethers, something she considers to be "in her blood," into a career designing parties for the rich and famous. "I was planning on going into radio, television, film -- doing something creative behind the scenes," she said.
But after graduating from Cal State Northridge in 1981 and marrying her first husband, Joey, that same year, Weiss landed a job at William Ernest Brown, an upscale stationary store in Beverly Hills. There, Weiss met her best friend, Janis Gurnick, and, after three years, they left to start their own invitation business. It was a choice familiar to many working women at the time: "We both got pregnant and decided to work from home," she said.
The two women were happily selling custom invitations until one day around 1992, when a client came in and asked Weiss to plan a party. "I insisted I wasn't a party planner," she said, though she eventually agreed to do it. "From that one party with 260 guests, I got 10 calls to do more events. I thought, 'Hmm ... maybe this is a good place for me to be.'"
As it turns out, one of those calls came from Brooke Shields, who was planning her 1997 nuptials to Andre Agassi (the two divorced in 1999). Weiss took the job, landed in her first tabloid spread and hasn't looked back since. She's now a regular in the pages of Us Weekly, OK!, In Touch and all the other gossip glossies.
When Weiss is not busy working, she says she's most likely found spending time with her brood -- her two sons from her first marriage, Jordan, 23, and Jesse, 16, as well as her second husband, realtor Robert David, and their son, Alex, 9. They gather together for Shabbat dinner every Friday night; Sundays are "family days," when they dine with her sisters and their families. "My favorite thing is to spend time with my family," she said. "That's my number one priority."
Ever the professional, though, Weiss did take on the Herculean task of planning two bar mitzvahs for her older sons and foresees one more on the horizon.
"I drive my kids nuts with their parties," she laughed. "It's details, details, details."
And yet, it's those "details, details, details" that make a wedding -- or any event for that matter -- planned by Weiss special.
"They don't want their wedding to look like another wedding," she said of her clients. "We're always trying to find ways to make it unique. It's hard when brides and grooms are on the circuit -- they're sometimes going to 10 weddings a year."
But, according to Weiss, there are endless ways to personalize a wedding, and one of her favorites is through special foods and recipes. "It's nice to add something from the family," she said. At one wedding reception, she served matzah ball soup as a first course. "We put little recipe cards above the serving plate," she recalled. "The bride, that's what she remembered growing up. It was her way of pulling her grandmother in."
Which is fitting, Weiss said, because a harkening back to heritage is something she has seen more and more of lately with her rock star clients, especially the Jewish ones. She notes, for example, the renewed popularity among Jewish couples of the bride circling the groom seven times.
"A lot of them are being considerate to the guests and doing programs that explain all the Jewish traditions: what the chuppah is, why we drink from the same glass of wine, why we break the glass. I think that's really nice," she said.
Still, the most pronounced wedding trend Weiss observes has nothing to do with cakes or colors -- it's the involvement of that formerly silent partner: the groom. "I'm not doing one wedding where the groom is not involved," she said. "I used to meet them at the wedding. A lot of brides and grooms today are older. They're getting married in their 30s -- some of them are paying for it -- and they both want to be involved."
As for her professional advice for couples undertaking the endeavor as a team, Weiss cautions them to remember that "the key word is compromise. It's a big lesson in the relationship."
Then again, having a top-notch wedding planner like Weiss, who has more than 15 years' experience under her belt, does help to smooth out any kinks.
"It's not only about the wedding," Weiss said of her role. "It's my responsibility to try as hard as I can to make planning the wedding a great experience."
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=18648
"I have several roles," said Weiss, 48. "I become a decorator, a mom, a best friend, a sister, a therapist. I wear so many different hats.... When they hire me, they're hiring the 10 other people I can be to help them."
That 10-for-the-price-of-one mentality might be why Brad Delson, lead guitarist for multiplatinum rap-metal group, Linkin Park, and his wife, Elisa, turned to Weiss to help them plan their September 2003 wedding. Despite the low-key nature of their nuptials, held at the Skirball Cultural Center, it stands out in Weiss' mind because, like her, the Delsons are proud, practicing Jews.
Although Weiss said her clients run the spiritual and religious gamut, she admitted to feeling especially at ease when it comes to planning Jewish weddings, which comprise about 50 percent of her party-planning business.
"There's some comfort in Jewish weddings," she explained, "because I'm familiar with them. It's a little easier for me."
Still, with Weiss masterminding more than 120 events annually -- weddings make up the bread and butter of her business -- she does plan plenty of non-Jewish affairs, the sum total of which have established her as one of the most famous party planners in the United States and garnered her a sort of stardom that nearly rivals that of her clients.
She has her own publicist, she's a regular on the talk-show circuit -- "Dr. Phil," "The Today Show" -- and she is the go-to wedding planner for beautiful spreads in glossy magazines like In Style, Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple and, of course, all the bridal rags. Not to mention that in 2003, ABC turned to her to plan the $3.8 million televised wedding of Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter (the famed couple from the 2002 reality show, "The Bachelorette"), an epic event that courted an estimated 17 million viewers. Last week, Weiss celebrated the grand reopening of Owen's Market, a 50-year-old Beverly Hills-adjacent fixture on Pico Boulevard she bought, renovated and reintroduced as a specialty food market.
During the peak wedding season, Weiss and her team of eight employees plan and pull off about three weddings a weekend.
During the stressful, prewedding planning stages, especially important to Weiss is her relationships with her clients. "We really become like a family," she said. "They're calling us every day; we know a lot of their personal business. There are a lot of sensitive things: prenups, who they're inviting, how they feel about Aunt Shirley. You learn a lot about a family."
Details, Details, Details
Weiss grew up in Cheviot Hills. The middle of three sisters, she recalls a childhood filled with intricate celebrations planned by her mother, Marian Hersh.
"In my house, every occasion was decorated and celebrated," she said. "They were so creative and elaborate. Of course, we didn't realize it then. We just knew we always had really fun parties ... Chanukah in the house was amazing."
Not to mention her bat mitzvah: "[It] was ridiculous," Weiss said. "The theme was, 'From Lollipops to Roses.' My mother planned everything. She made me sing my candlelighting ceremony; it was to the theme of 'Fiddler on the Roof,' and she made the songs up, all of them."
Still, Weiss never dreamed that she would turn her innate sense for unique get-togethers, something she considers to be "in her blood," into a career designing parties for the rich and famous. "I was planning on going into radio, television, film -- doing something creative behind the scenes," she said.
But after graduating from Cal State Northridge in 1981 and marrying her first husband, Joey, that same year, Weiss landed a job at William Ernest Brown, an upscale stationary store in Beverly Hills. There, Weiss met her best friend, Janis Gurnick, and, after three years, they left to start their own invitation business. It was a choice familiar to many working women at the time: "We both got pregnant and decided to work from home," she said.
The two women were happily selling custom invitations until one day around 1992, when a client came in and asked Weiss to plan a party. "I insisted I wasn't a party planner," she said, though she eventually agreed to do it. "From that one party with 260 guests, I got 10 calls to do more events. I thought, 'Hmm ... maybe this is a good place for me to be.'"
As it turns out, one of those calls came from Brooke Shields, who was planning her 1997 nuptials to Andre Agassi (the two divorced in 1999). Weiss took the job, landed in her first tabloid spread and hasn't looked back since. She's now a regular in the pages of Us Weekly, OK!, In Touch and all the other gossip glossies.
When Weiss is not busy working, she says she's most likely found spending time with her brood -- her two sons from her first marriage, Jordan, 23, and Jesse, 16, as well as her second husband, realtor Robert David, and their son, Alex, 9. They gather together for Shabbat dinner every Friday night; Sundays are "family days," when they dine with her sisters and their families. "My favorite thing is to spend time with my family," she said. "That's my number one priority."
Ever the professional, though, Weiss did take on the Herculean task of planning two bar mitzvahs for her older sons and foresees one more on the horizon.
"I drive my kids nuts with their parties," she laughed. "It's details, details, details."
And yet, it's those "details, details, details" that make a wedding -- or any event for that matter -- planned by Weiss special.
"They don't want their wedding to look like another wedding," she said of her clients. "We're always trying to find ways to make it unique. It's hard when brides and grooms are on the circuit -- they're sometimes going to 10 weddings a year."
But, according to Weiss, there are endless ways to personalize a wedding, and one of her favorites is through special foods and recipes. "It's nice to add something from the family," she said. At one wedding reception, she served matzah ball soup as a first course. "We put little recipe cards above the serving plate," she recalled. "The bride, that's what she remembered growing up. It was her way of pulling her grandmother in."
Which is fitting, Weiss said, because a harkening back to heritage is something she has seen more and more of lately with her rock star clients, especially the Jewish ones. She notes, for example, the renewed popularity among Jewish couples of the bride circling the groom seven times.
"A lot of them are being considerate to the guests and doing programs that explain all the Jewish traditions: what the chuppah is, why we drink from the same glass of wine, why we break the glass. I think that's really nice," she said.
Still, the most pronounced wedding trend Weiss observes has nothing to do with cakes or colors -- it's the involvement of that formerly silent partner: the groom. "I'm not doing one wedding where the groom is not involved," she said. "I used to meet them at the wedding. A lot of brides and grooms today are older. They're getting married in their 30s -- some of them are paying for it -- and they both want to be involved."
As for her professional advice for couples undertaking the endeavor as a team, Weiss cautions them to remember that "the key word is compromise. It's a big lesson in the relationship."
Then again, having a top-notch wedding planner like Weiss, who has more than 15 years' experience under her belt, does help to smooth out any kinks.
"It's not only about the wedding," Weiss said of her role. "It's my responsibility to try as hard as I can to make planning the wedding a great experience."
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=18648
You're the Wedding Planner. Now What Do You Do?
After months of working with a difficult and exacting bride, you open the cake box shortly before the reception. The bakery, which is closed, sent a cake for someone named David, in honor of his bar mitzvah. At GMU, Would-Be Consultants Learn Tricks, and Trials, of the Trade
By Susan Kinzie
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 3, 2007; Page B01
George Mason University students waited expectantly as the guest lecturer plugged in her curling iron. The topic on the syllabus: updos.
The stylist attached a mop of shiny fake curls to sophomore Brittney Tobin's long blond hair, swept it up onto her head and pinned on a bridal veil. "Is there a veil on my head?" Tobin squeaked, wide-eyed, fluttering a hand in front of her face.
"It's every girl's dream to have a class about weddings," Tobin said later. "It's a dream!"
Sure, a dream. Until the bride freaks out, the best man gets plastered or the altar boy topples over in the middle of the ceremony. And everyone expects you to fix it.
If there's one thing assistant professor Maggie Daniels wants students to know in her semester-long class on wedding planning -- apparently the first in the country at a four-year college -- it's that this is not just fluff.
Daniels teaches crisis management and event planning for what has become an enormous business, estimated at anywhere from $80 billion to $161 billion a year nationally. Spending on weddings has nearly doubled in the past 15 years. In just four years, almost every expense increased more than 20 percent as people added days of events, gifts for all the guests, elaborate lighting and all sorts of other extras promoted by magazines, TV shows and the rest of the marital-industrial complex. More than a third of couples outspend their wedding budgets.
With that booming industry comes demand for wedding planners who know their peau de soie from their charmeuse, who can coordinate timing and such details as flowers, music and hors d'oeuvres, who can whip recalcitrant groomsmen into shape.
And who can, when the inevitable crisis hits, take the bullet.
"A wedding planner has to be a superhero," Tobin said. "People think of their wedding as the perfect fairy tale. If it's not, someone's going to get the blame. It's probably going to be you."
It wasn't easy to convince college administrators that this was a legitimate course of study, Daniels said. "I fought for this tooth and nail." She produced the event-planning and cultural research to back it up. Once approved, she needed 10 students to enroll. Seventy signed up.
This semester, 100 students are taking it. They're a mix of dreamy fiancees, people looking for a fun elective, tourism-and-events-management majors rounding out their degree and hard-core future wedding consultants.
"What happens very frequently is students come into class doe-eyed," Daniels said. "Part of my objective is to make them understand it can be enjoyable, but the bottom line is, if you want to make a living at this, it is a hard job, a very, very hard job. Your weekends are taken away from you. You're dealing with a lot of different emotions," and it's difficult to launch a lucrative business.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/02/AR2007120202098.html?hpid=sec-metro
By Susan Kinzie
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 3, 2007; Page B01
George Mason University students waited expectantly as the guest lecturer plugged in her curling iron. The topic on the syllabus: updos.
The stylist attached a mop of shiny fake curls to sophomore Brittney Tobin's long blond hair, swept it up onto her head and pinned on a bridal veil. "Is there a veil on my head?" Tobin squeaked, wide-eyed, fluttering a hand in front of her face.
"It's every girl's dream to have a class about weddings," Tobin said later. "It's a dream!"
Sure, a dream. Until the bride freaks out, the best man gets plastered or the altar boy topples over in the middle of the ceremony. And everyone expects you to fix it.
If there's one thing assistant professor Maggie Daniels wants students to know in her semester-long class on wedding planning -- apparently the first in the country at a four-year college -- it's that this is not just fluff.
Daniels teaches crisis management and event planning for what has become an enormous business, estimated at anywhere from $80 billion to $161 billion a year nationally. Spending on weddings has nearly doubled in the past 15 years. In just four years, almost every expense increased more than 20 percent as people added days of events, gifts for all the guests, elaborate lighting and all sorts of other extras promoted by magazines, TV shows and the rest of the marital-industrial complex. More than a third of couples outspend their wedding budgets.
With that booming industry comes demand for wedding planners who know their peau de soie from their charmeuse, who can coordinate timing and such details as flowers, music and hors d'oeuvres, who can whip recalcitrant groomsmen into shape.
And who can, when the inevitable crisis hits, take the bullet.
"A wedding planner has to be a superhero," Tobin said. "People think of their wedding as the perfect fairy tale. If it's not, someone's going to get the blame. It's probably going to be you."
It wasn't easy to convince college administrators that this was a legitimate course of study, Daniels said. "I fought for this tooth and nail." She produced the event-planning and cultural research to back it up. Once approved, she needed 10 students to enroll. Seventy signed up.
This semester, 100 students are taking it. They're a mix of dreamy fiancees, people looking for a fun elective, tourism-and-events-management majors rounding out their degree and hard-core future wedding consultants.
"What happens very frequently is students come into class doe-eyed," Daniels said. "Part of my objective is to make them understand it can be enjoyable, but the bottom line is, if you want to make a living at this, it is a hard job, a very, very hard job. Your weekends are taken away from you. You're dealing with a lot of different emotions," and it's difficult to launch a lucrative business.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/02/AR2007120202098.html?hpid=sec-metro
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Our Town: TRPA's public relations chief a chocoholic music lover
Julie Regan married the same man three times, she tells people. Regan and husband Kevin Regan, an artist, eloped in 1993, moving from Delaware to Lake Tahoe to tie the knot.
The couple was married at Regan Beach (apropos, no?) on Valentine's Day. She said she wore hiking boots to hike over a snowbank and slipped into her heels before the ceremony.
In June of that year, they had a large wedding at her parents' farm in Delaware, then an Irish Catholic wedding in November to satisfy her husband's parents.
Regan, who is the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's communications and legislative affairs chief, now manages communication, public education, media outreach, customer service and legislative affairs for the environmental organization. She's worked at the agency for four years but has worked in the communications industry for 20 years.
In her spare time, Regan cross-country skis, bikes and kickboxes. She also recently earned her green belt in tae kwon do.
Her husband, along with her best friend of 12 years, Kathy Strain, tried to guess Regan's answers to a series of questions. Let's see how well they did:
What's your favorite food?
Julie: "Anything chocolate would be my favorite food. I do enjoy excellent gourmet meals, but anything chocolate would have to be favorite."
Kevin: "Julie's favorite food. Um, let's see ... We lived in Key West and had a lot of fresh fish - so sushi. We'd go out in our boat and dive down and get lobsters and fresh oysters."
Kathy: "You know, she makes a killer homemade mac and cheese. But I think that's one of Kevin's favorites. I'd have to say sushi, because that's what we usually have when we meet for lunch."
http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20071221/NEWS/807773438
The couple was married at Regan Beach (apropos, no?) on Valentine's Day. She said she wore hiking boots to hike over a snowbank and slipped into her heels before the ceremony.
In June of that year, they had a large wedding at her parents' farm in Delaware, then an Irish Catholic wedding in November to satisfy her husband's parents.
Regan, who is the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's communications and legislative affairs chief, now manages communication, public education, media outreach, customer service and legislative affairs for the environmental organization. She's worked at the agency for four years but has worked in the communications industry for 20 years.
In her spare time, Regan cross-country skis, bikes and kickboxes. She also recently earned her green belt in tae kwon do.
Her husband, along with her best friend of 12 years, Kathy Strain, tried to guess Regan's answers to a series of questions. Let's see how well they did:
What's your favorite food?
Julie: "Anything chocolate would be my favorite food. I do enjoy excellent gourmet meals, but anything chocolate would have to be favorite."
Kevin: "Julie's favorite food. Um, let's see ... We lived in Key West and had a lot of fresh fish - so sushi. We'd go out in our boat and dive down and get lobsters and fresh oysters."
Kathy: "You know, she makes a killer homemade mac and cheese. But I think that's one of Kevin's favorites. I'd have to say sushi, because that's what we usually have when we meet for lunch."
http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20071221/NEWS/807773438
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