Kristin, my beloved bossy intern, totally rocks! In fact, she rocks so much that I was HER assistant this weekend! I wanted to hear from Kristin how she felt being the one with all the answers... so without further ado, here's Kristin!
Holly and Jason’s Wedding was certainly a learning experience for me from the start. The first thing I learned was that I am a wedding planner because I am completely O.C.D. when it comes to details. Things that did not matter at all to the bride and groom drove me absolutely insane!
For instance, they did not have all of their guest’s last names for the seating chart. How was this possible?! But, we worked with it and made the seating chart as classy as possible even without some of the last names.
Then, at the rehearsal, I realized that some officiants would rather orchestrate the rehearsal all by themselves, as if a wedding planner was not even present. There were a couple of times that I wanted to remind him that he did not make the final call and we had the bride and groom’s best interest in mind and it would be done the way they wanted in the end. (It ended up being perfect, and he was very nice and professional!)
Setting up was a breeze. Joan from Prange’s Florist was wonderful. She had everything ready for the table centerpieces. The only major thing we had to do was to arrange and re-arrange (about 4 times) the dining room chairs. People kept coming in and moving them! Finally, we got smart and locked the doors :)
My wonderful helpers, Cara and Christina {and Melissa} did a beautiful job of decorating the ceremony site while I set up the special moment where the bride and groom first saw each other. That was the most exciting new thing I got to do as the lead consultant! I had the honor of putting on her veil, fixing her make-up, and slipping on her garter....just moments before she saw her groom!
In previous weddings, I was always the girl that stayed back with the bride during the processional. So, I was unsure of the timing of groomsmen and bridesmaids to make sure it was uniformed and spaced correctly. This time, I was able to be with the bride but also see the bridesmaids and groomsmen move into their appropriate places (thank you, Melissa for helping me!) It was interesting to see how much space needed to be between everyone for it to work out. Everything was perfect for the ceremony! It was wonderfully sweet, but still short enough so that nobody passed out of heat exhaustion...we were worried about the groomsmen in their full black tuxedos.
Moving onto the reception, I will just share a few things that I learned throughout the night in list form:
Setting up was a breeze. Joan from Prange’s Florist was wonderful. She had everything ready for the table centerpieces. The only major thing we had to do was to arrange and re-arrange (about 4 times) the dining room chairs. People kept coming in and moving them! Finally, we got smart and locked the doors :)
My wonderful helpers, Cara and Christina {and Melissa} did a beautiful job of decorating the ceremony site while I set up the special moment where the bride and groom first saw each other. That was the most exciting new thing I got to do as the lead consultant! I had the honor of putting on her veil, fixing her make-up, and slipping on her garter....just moments before she saw her groom!
In previous weddings, I was always the girl that stayed back with the bride during the processional. So, I was unsure of the timing of groomsmen and bridesmaids to make sure it was uniformed and spaced correctly. This time, I was able to be with the bride but also see the bridesmaids and groomsmen move into their appropriate places (thank you, Melissa for helping me!) It was interesting to see how much space needed to be between everyone for it to work out. Everything was perfect for the ceremony! It was wonderfully sweet, but still short enough so that nobody passed out of heat exhaustion...we were worried about the groomsmen in their full black tuxedos.
Moving onto the reception, I will just share a few things that I learned throughout the night in list form:
· Do not, under any circumstance, allow the photographers (or any other vendor) go through the buffet line before the guests...especially not to cut off the brides father!
· Cheesecake MELTS!!! If you are having cheesecake, have your cake-cutting early in the night.
·When you cut the cake early in the night...guests tend to leave earlier so everything else needs to be re-arranged properly.
·DJ’s can make or break the party...this one, unfortunately, was not too great. He was unable to play the music that the couple requested due to restraints from his company on lyrics. Be sure to check into these things before signing contracts! The original DJ had to cancel on the bride 2 weeks prior to the wedding, and instead of calling us and asking for a recommendation, she took her previous DJ’s suggestion blindly and without much thought...and it backfired!
·All brides need to have a list of things not to forget (or give one to the wedding coordinator) on the big day. Holly and Jason forgot the card box, but don’t worry, we were able to improvise!
·Everyone in the bridal party should bring a spare set of (more comfortable) shoes! One of the bridesmaids had to borrow my Sperry boat shoes at one point...they didn’t go with her dress very well!
·Lastly, you can’t control the weather...although it did not rain during the ceremony or even most of the reception, it started POURING when we were loading the cars, always have an umbrella...which will be in my wedding bag, for sure!
There was so much that I learned at previous events from the fabulous Melissa that I was able to use at this wedding. It was truly a blessing to work with Holly and Jason. They are a fantastic couple that have great family and friends and are just a joy to be around. I am excited to hear how their honeymoon in Jamaica goes!
Kristin, I just love you! You are so amazing, and so extremely talented! Congratulations on pulling off a difficult task, and handling it with grace and just plain ole' fantasticalness!
Do not, under any circumstance, allow the photographers (or any other vendor) go through the buffet line before the guests...especially not to cut off the brides father!
ReplyDeleteI don't quite agree with this one :) While the VIPs should definitely go first, the photographer and videographer should ideally eat at the same time as the bride and groom. Why? Well, during the time people are being fed isn't the best time for pictures. The guests are either hungry and anxiously awaiting the release of their table, or are impatiently standing in line. That doesn't exactly make for great candid moments :) And once they have their food, nobody really wants pictures of people chewing :)
What does make for great candid moments? After the bride and groom have finished their dinner, they usually go around the room and start greeting guests. Those are the great shots you want! All the hugs and smiles make for great candid pictures of the happy couple sharing time with their closest friends and family. However, if the photographers and videographers are busy franticly trying to eat because they had to wait for every guest to go through the line, some of those shots are going to be missed.
In a perfect world, the caterer would make up plates for the vendors (or would be asked to do so by the wedding planner :) ) before even bringing the food out for the guests. No wasted time, and no awkward cuts in line.
Warm Regards,
Matt Radlinski
The k Gallery