Sparkler Send Offs--- NOT as good of an idea as ya think

Sparkler send offs look like such a great idea when you see the beautiful pictures that come out of them. But those photos you see are taken in the middle of what could be one of the hardest things to coordinate. If you think about sparklers… you need to hold them for at least 5-10 seconds to a lighter for them to light. Now imagine having to do this with 200+ people at a wedding… at the SAME TIME. It’d be a lot easier if they did not have to be lit all at once, but it’s tricky. You need them all lit at the same time to do the send off.

Now also keep in mind that the send offs are at the end of the night, so what has everyone been doing beforehand? DRINKING! So now try to get 200+ people that may have been drinking for the past 3 hours to all listen to you at once while holding sparklers, and trying to make sure they all are lit at once as well.

Another difficult factor is the weather. If it’s windy, there’s no way a sparkler send off would be easy as pie. You must then try and get the sparklers not only lit, but to stay lit. Um, it seems like an easy task but add in the fact that there may only be a few different lighters available.

Sparkler send offs seem like this great idea if you see them on Pinterest, but there is a lot that goes into them and I am not a huge fan because it is just ridiculous trying to get it all to work, and to work well. Hats off to you if you try to make it work and do it well!

Instead, why don't you get all of your guests to take a shot! Get your "I Do Wedding" shot glasses here, I Do Weddings Shot Glass for only $8.39! It would be a great cheers for the new Mr. and Mrs.!

Wedding Planning in the Future

I believe that planning a wedding in the future years to come will be a lot easier than it is now. Usually if you don’t have a planner for your wedding now, it seems to be a lot harder than to just pay the amounts of money planners ask of you. Since there is so much that goes into a wedding, it almost might be easier to fork out that money.

However, with times changing and technology evolving, I believe that there will be online people that will be able to plan your wedding for you without you even leaving your home. You would just have to choose your venue, cake, etc. on your own and give them the contact information for the people you chose to book with. You wouldn’t have to do anything but supply that, and email back and forth questions of preferences for your special day.

Everything else would be taken care of by someone else on the other end of an email. They would contact vendors, catering, and such without needing you, the bride. This could allow you to have such a more relaxed planning experience since all you would need to do is respond back to emails every now and then.

I think that there’s a lot evolving in this industry already as far as outlines online that can be filled out by the bride herself, but no true online planners that allow them to do their work all from home without much help from the bride. I believe this may be coming in the near future!

"Happiest Day of My Life" ..... yeah, right

“So, people talk about your wedding day as being “the happiest day of your life” … sometimes it doesn’t seem like it. Do these people realize that it takes almost a YEAR to plan this one special day?! Come on, how is that supposed to make me feel okay? I’m spending at least 365 days to plan this ONE day, what happens if it’s not exactly how I want it to be? What if things go wrong? What if EVERYTHING goes wrong? This is the definition of stress.

How am I supposed to enjoy planning this if I am not sure if it’s even going to go well? What happens if I forget a HUGE detail that ruins the whole day? It seems like the most stressful thing in the world, but I guess time will tell. Especially since it’s taking up a bunch of time to plan. I guess it’s one big waiting game.

Yes, there is a lot that goes into planning, but I should be enjoying this… and why am I not? What am I doing wrong? Did I make the wrong choice? How am I supposed to pick between navy blue and midnight blue? I GIVE UP!!!”

If you’re feeling this way, you are NOT alone. B-R-E-A-T-H-E. Everyone worries about these things, and it is totally normal. The only way to not feel this way is to remember that you are marrying the love of your life, and no matter what goes wrong, nothing is changing that. There should be some calming factor there for you!

Wedding Planning: Top 10 Do's and Don'ts

There are many different ways to look at wedding planning, and I think that analyzing the different do's and don'ts makes it a little easier on someone who's planning their special day on their own without a planner! Kaitlin Perata wrote a fantastic article, The Top 10 Do's and Don'ts of Wedding Planning and I fully agree with everything she says! 

She makes a great point, making sure to let people know not to hire their friends or family to be the photographer, and to not arrange your own flowers or bake your own cake. Most of these things brides wouldn’t even think twice about, and she goes into further detail about why you shouldn’t do these things.

Another good point she makes is to not wear brand new shoes on your wedding day! This is another minor detail that most of the time isn’t thought about, and can actually stress you out and make you crabby and uncomfortable the whole day. You’re going to be on your feet A LOT and wearing a new pair of shoes is not the right way to go about it!

I personally believe the best point she makes is to not feel obligated to choose your bridal party. Just because you were in someone else’s wedding, doesn’t mean they have to be in yours. This choice should be one of the easiest ones… it should be the most genuine people up there with you helping you make your day all the more special.

Kristin makes some great points that I think you could benefit from! Enjoy her blog and let me know what you think!

Interview with Bri Driggers, a Wedding Coordinator

Bri has been a Wedding Coordinator at Palace Events for 6 months now, and loves weddings! She has such a strong passion for every little detail that makes a brides day perfect and even better than expected. Here are some key points I took away from our interview: 

• What do you think is the most important part of planning a wedding and why?

"The most important part of planning a wedding would definitely have to be attention to detail. Having a coordinator isn’t always necessary but it’s nice because they put all the details together for you. On your big day, the last thing you want to worry about is some little detail that you didn’t think of months ago. Having a backup plan for weather and making sure all of your vendors are on the same page are just a couple details that a lot of people forget about."

• What do you think is the best way to organize planning a wedding and why?

"The best way to organize planning a wedding would probably be to have a coordinator do it for you honestly. The only way you’ll have a totally stress-free wedding day is if you have every detail worked out beforehand. There are also a lot of great wedding checklists on Pinterest and books you can buy to plan your own wedding! Organization is key, though. It is also important to get started early! I would say a year before the date you picked is a good time to already have a bit of a plan and start hiring vendors and scheduling everything, but it’s a constant process for that whole year. If you’re planning on being in charge of your own wedding and not hiring a coordinator, it’s important that you are constantly on top of your planning and working every possible detail out."

Lisa Vorce- The Legend

Lisa Vorce is a Celebrity Wedding Planner. She can create the perfect wedding day anywhere your heart desires. She loves to do this in new destinations and cultures. New design challenges “feed her soul.” She also loves her clients and will do anything for them. The way she creates a deep connection with them is by communication. She communicates with them on a deeper level so that she can design and produce events that are filled with their personalities.

She says that her job is never done until she creates a flawless event and hears “This is the best event we’ve ever been to!” from multiple guests. Lisa has created Lisa Vorce Co. and has a wonderfully talented team and select vendors. She says, “they are creative geniuses, and they are fearless” and would not do anything without them. They are a close-knit team.

Lisa has been in business for close to 18 years. Before becoming a celebrity wedding planner, she was working for Intel and IBM. She quickly realized sitting at a desk was not her calling. Shortly after, she began throwing parties for her husband’s uncle, a well-known talent agent, and fell in love with creating wonderful memories for people through events.

She rarely looks at what others are doing in this competitive industry, and believes that if you are passionate about what you do, success will follow. Reaching this level of success may be difficult to think about now, but making sure you remember to be passionate about creating your own perfect wedding day can make all the difference. You may even find a new talent and passion like Lisa Vorce did and continue to do it for others!

Here is the link to her website: Lisa Vorce