love letters :: what our 2011 brides are saying about stella

As a small business owner, it’s always unnerving to bring on additional help, and hope that they will be as dedicated and passionate about your business as you are. Especially when you’re involved with planning one of the most important days in someones life! After having planners Brittany Johnson and Mary Beth on staff at Stella Event Design for almost 3 years now, I still can’t get over how lucky I was to find 2 women who are so talented, dedicated and incredible to work with. They are absolutely amazing at what they do and I can’t thank them enough for being so fabulous!

And our brides agree too…here are 2 sweet love letters from 2011 brides who worked with Brittany and Mary Beth:

Brittany Johnson from Stella Event Design was my knight in shining armor. Only instead of a knight she was the perfect wedding planner, and instead of shining armor she was armed with a plethora of fabulous ideas and infinite patience! Our intimate beach wedding was put together in a little less than four months with the help of the talented Brittany and her team at Stella Event Design. She was able to offer me plenty of suggestions and options to keep us within our budget and still make it look like we spent a million bucks on the wedding of our dreams.

Not only was Brittany there for me every step (and email) of the way, but she was genuinely excited about our upcoming wedding and you could tell that she cared just as much for our small affair as she did her 300+ wedding the weekend before. We were never put aside or treated any differently even though we weren’t a large event; she made us feel like we were the only wedding she had under her belt. And that really says a lot, because Brittany and Stella Event Design are constantly busy planning gorgeous affairs! :)

She even helped me with ideas for our small dinner reception as well and I feel like I made a true friend who I hope to keep in touch with for months and years to come. I would recommend Stella Event Design and especially Brittany Johnson to anyone who wants a person who genuinely cares about your special day and will make you feel like you are the only client in the world that matters. Our day wouldn’t have been what it was without her help! Thank you so much, Brittany! I’ll always recommend you whenever I have a chance! :)   

-Mandy W. (2011 bride)

 

Our planner was Mary Beth, who was AMAZING!! Mary Beth is extremely sweet, kind, and made us feel at ease. Each meeting we had with her was wonderful, and she executed our vision to perfection. Our day ran as scheduled and without flaw because of her, and there is no way we could have had such a beautiful, stress-free wedding without all of her help. From schlepping loads of decorations, cupcakes, etc to the barn and spending hours setting everything up exactly as we discussed (and even better!) to making sure our other vendors were right on point, Mary Beth and her assistant Lexie were the best! Stella Events is the best, and we would definitely say this service was money well spent!!!

-Jill H. (2011 bride)

 

hiring :: 2012 event planning internships

logoblog0000 copyIt’s that time of year again—wedding season is around the corner and Stella Event Design is accepting applications for interns (Event Assistants) to assist us during our 2012 wedding season.

Who We’re Looking For :: We are seeking junior & senior level students pursuing a degree in a related field (hospitality & tourism, public relations, communications, etc.), who are excited about learning the ins-and-outs of event planning. Weddings can be a stressful and emotionally charged time for a bride & groom and their families—the ideal candidate is hard-working, friendly, calm under pressure, and a great communicator! Most of our events are located in the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor/Harbor Country area, which is approximately 45 minutes from Kalamazoo, 70 minutes from Grand Rapids, and 45 minutes from South Bend. You must be able to travel to Southwest Michigan for events on weekends.

What You’ll Do :: Event Assistants will assist with all day-of wedding tasks including: setting up decor at ceremony and reception sites, assisting vendors with deliveries (ie. cake, flowers, linens, rentals), assisting with ceremony management, assisting vendors as needed throughout the day, ensuring time lines are being followed, trouble shooting problems that arise, communicating with vendors & bridal parties, ensuring accuracy of layouts, and much more.  Event Assistants are always working alongside an experienced Event Planner or Coordinator who is there to direct & teach you! Some assistants will also have the opportunity to work in our office on a weekly basis. You will have the opportunity to assist us with various projects including: assisting with the design and execution of photo shoots, collaborating on design projects, contacting vendors, sitting in on client meetings, learning to create timelines, room layouts and other logistical pieces, and a variety of other tasks that go into the planning of our events. We highly recommend office hours to those who are available, and desire a well-rounded learning experience!

What You’ll Get :: This is an unpaid internship and must apply towards college credit. You will walk away from this internship with hands-on experience in event planning & execution unlike anything you can learn in a classroom. This internship puts you in the action, working with real clients, professional vendors and beautiful locations throughout West Michigan.

When You’ll Work :: Weddings are scheduled primarily on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Interns will be scheduled to work for a 10-12 week period (approximately May 15-August 15 or August 1-October 15) and will be scheduled to assist with weddings most weekends.  We know summers include family obligations and the occasional vacations, so we are happy to take schedules into consideration if given proper notice at start of season.

How to Apply :: If you’re interested in joining the Stella Event Design Team for our 2012 season, please email your cover letter and resume (.pdf format, please) to intern@stellaeventdesign.com. We will be accepting applications through February and will be conducting interviews in February and March! If you have additional questions, please email intern@stellaeventdesign.com (no phone calls, please).

behind the scenes :: wish upon a wedding michigan

Every once in a while, we love to give everyone a “behind the scenes” look at what we’re up to at Stella Event Design. Aside from being in full swing of planning a whole season full of fabulous 2012 events, we have also had the pleasure of assisting with Wish Upon A Wedding, a non-profit that has given us the perfect opportunity to give back. Wish Upon A Wedding is the worlds first non-profit organization dedicated to providing weddings to individuals facing terminal illness and other life altering circumstances, regardless of sexual orientation. The goal of the organization is to pull together wedding vendors to help grant weddings to couples facing terminal illness, who wouldn’t otherwise have the time or opportunity to do so, because of long-term illness, treatments and hospital time. We get to work together to help them have this one very important day that they deserve.

I (Jessica) have had the pleasure of serving on the founding board for the Michigan Chapter and assisting as PR & Media chair for the last year or so.  The last two weeks, leading up to the launch of our chapter, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with newspapers, radio stations and even got to make my first on-camera appearance (nerve-wracking!) on Fox 17, to share the news about Wish Upon a Wedding and the launch of the Michigan chapter. Last week we got to see everything come to fruition as the Launch Party took place at The Crofoot in Detroit, and we officially launched the Michigan chapter.

Wish Upon A Wedding Michigan Board Members

The launch party took place on Tuesday, so Brittany, Kayla and myself hit the road to Pontiac and took part in a very exciting night that was filled with amazing event professionals, a gorgeous venue, incredible band, lots of information about the organization and getting people involved, and lots of Pure Michigan inspired goodness! We were so thrilled to get to be a part of such an amazing organization and such an exciting night. Now that the Michigan chapter has launched, we will officially begin taking applications and start to grant wishes.

Jessica, Kayla & Brittany at the launch party

You can find more info on the organization at www.wishuponawedding.org, including ways you can be involved, how businesses can sign up to become wish granters and you can watch videos of some of the wishes that have already been granted around the country (grab some tissues, you’ll need them!)

See more photos of the launch party here! All photos are courtesy of JLB Wedding who was the official photographer of the night and did a fantastic job!

 

ask the planners :: answers to your wedding planning questions

Starting soon, we’ll be featuring our very first video blog series (yes, you get to see our smiling faces) called “Ask the Planners,” which will feature us answering wedding-related questions from brides, grooms, family or friends! This time of year with lots of you newly engaged, it’s the perfect time for us to help out by answering some of your burning questions— from budget issues, to DIY projects, etiquette concerns, vendor issues, design questions, and more!
So SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS on our Facebook page, and each week we’ll answer them here via video blog. Your location doesn’t matter and you can ask anything—no question is too big or too small. We can’t wait to hear from you!

SUBMIT A QUESTION

newly engaged? let us show you around!

This time of year (engagement season!) we get all sorts of new readers—so first, we want to say CONGRATULATIONS to all of you newly engaged brides who are visiting the blog! Secondly, if you’re new to the Stella Blog, we want to give you a quick overview of everything the blog has to offer…we’ve got lots of great resources and inspiration!

On the blog you can….

tuesday etsy love :: eco-friendly rustic chic linen & lace favor bags

Check out these adorable linen & lace bags from WeddingForYou on Etsy! These would be absolutely adorable as favor bags for a rustic chic barn wedding, somewhere like the Blue Dress Barn or Millcreek (or any where, of course!). You could fill them with absolutely anything…homemade candies, local chocolates, your favorite coffee beans.

Make your bags eco friendly by encouraging guests to reuse them. Add a little tag suggesting that guests recycle them by filling them with their favorite potpourri–they can leave them in their car, or pop them in a drawer and refill them whenever they like–they would make the perfect sachet! These would also be great to set out at on a candy buffet table, so guests can scoop themselves a bag to-go!

January 12, 2012 - 3:01 pm Jackie - These are great little bags! Perfect for gifts and holding jewelry or being small travel bags :) You should definitely suggest them to this list of Chic Eco Friendly Finds > http://www.skinnyscoop.com/list/betty_sand/my-eco-friendly-finds

2011 year in review

We don’t normally post on weekends, but because today is New Years Day, and a great time to reflect on the year, we’re making an exception!

2011 has been a fabulous year at Stella Event Design! Here are just a few things that made 2011 one of our best years yet:

  • We were thrilled to help plan, design and coordinate 33 Michigan weddings for amazing couples from all over the country. Thank you to each and every bride+groom that let us be a part of their special day!
  • Planning the 2nd Annual Lake Shore Wedding Walk–the areas most unique bridal event–was a ton of fun and continues to get better and better each year! Thank you to all the venues & vendors who support this event, and all the brides & grooms who stopped by to visit!
  • We designed a beach-inspired photo shoot for InFrame Bride Magazine that took us up onto a dune (literally!) You can check it out on the blog this week!
  • Jessica got the opportunity to assist an amazing non-profit organization—Wish Upon a Wedding–as PR & Media chair for the new Michigan chapter, which is officially launching on January 17, 2012!
  • We had 2 events featured on WeddingChicks.com: Brittany’s ‘Garden tea party inspired’ photo shoot with Bradley James Photography and Katie+Jack’s fuschia+turquoise wedding designed by Jessica at Millcreek Barns
  • We contributed to the April 2011 issue of BRIDES Magazine’s “Party in the USA” feature, talking about what makes Midwest weddings (and especially those on the Michigan shore) so special! (p. 268)
  • We had another amazing group of interns this summer & fall…a huge thank you to Kayla, Blair, Lexie and Stephanie for helping to make our busiest season yet run so smoothly!

A huge thank you to all of the venues and vendors that made our jobs a lot easier! We have amazing local wedding vendors in Southwest Michigan and we can’t say how much we appreciate all of our favorite vendors that bend over backwards to make our couples’ days amazing! We’ve got tons of great stuff coming up for 2012, so keep checking back (or subscribe above) and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for exclusive planning tips, giveaways and photo galleries!

WHERE you will and won’t find help::the 5 W’s of wedding planning

Myth::Your reception hall “coordinator” will help you plan your wedding

Truth:: I often hear brides say that they “don’t need an outside planner” because their venue has an on-site coordinator, and unfortunately, some brides find out too late that this is just not the case. The on-site coordinator is there to manage the services being provided by the reception hall, and the services they will provide are very different from those that a professional wedding planner will provide.  A good on-site coordinator will assist you with items setting up your tables and chairs, place settings and linens (if provided by the venue) and opening the building for vendor deliveries (depending on your venue). Don’t get me wrong—they are super helpful, but as part of the venue, they are there to help with very specific tasks.

Unlike an actual wedding planner or day-of coordinator, your on-site venue coordinator will not call your vendors to verify anything the week before the wedding, find you vendors that meet your budget (though they may give you a pre-made list), call your bakery with your final numbers, or help you to trouble shoot difficult issues with vendors on your wedding day.  Don’t get me wrong, on-site coordinators are great, but it’s important to understand what they will and won’t do for you, so you can be properly prepared for your big day!

More Posts in This Blog Series:

real wedding::an anthropologie-inspired wedding at the veranda at the whitcomb

Back in June, this happy couple said “I Do” in beautiful Southwest Michigan.  Their intimate church ceremony was followed by an anthropologie-inspired reception at The Veranda @ The Whitcomb, where guests enjoyed a delicious meal form CK Catering and a band that kept them dancing all night long. One of my favorite things about this wedding was how unique everything was. Each and every one of the guest tables was completely different.

Anthropologie inspired wedding MichiganWe used a huge collection of milk glass, vintage bottles and silver pieces to create an eclectic mix of centerpieces. A huge thanks to Crystal Springs Florist for pulling it all together! Another detail we just loved was the cake topper! The bride and groom both love owls and their cake topper was two owls in a nest – so cute! The burlap runners added a nice touch of texture to the tables while still keeping the tables bright and clean looking–simplicity was definitely the key to this one!  A huge thanks to the girls at 430 Studios  for capturing the beautiful details of the day.

tuesday etsy love :: ‘something old & something new’ eco-friendly jewelry

Something Old & Something New‘ creates eco-friendly repurposed jewelry made from old clothes. Old clothes! I can think of a million ways to use these pretty little trinkets–you could wear it on your wedding day, gift it to bridesmaids to wear, buy it for yourself because it’s Tuesday, and yesterday was Monday (you deserve it.) I love that these pieces are both vintage and modern at the same time. I think the earrings below would be a stunning “something blue” for a vintage-inspired wedding, and the little monogram necklaces have ‘bridesmaid’ written all over them.
something borrowed something new upcycled jewelryvintage upcycled wedding jewelryThe pink embroidered necklace is one of my favorites–I’m pretty sure I have to own it very, very soon–and honestly, if I hadn’t seen it, I would never have even known how much I wanted a piece of embroidered jewelry!

Check out more of the handmade goodies from “Something Old & Something New

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