If you’re currently planning your Michigan wedding, you may be wondering if and why you would need a wedding planner and what the difference is between all of the different levels of planning and types of coordination out there! Hopefully I can clear this all up for you with our new blog series, “The 5 W’s of Professional Wedding Planning.”
First, let’s clear up a few myths on WHO hires a wedding planner—Hiring a wedding planner does not mean you are disorganized, it doesn’t mean that you are uncreative, or that you don’t know what you want. It also doesn’t mean that you need to have an outrageous wedding budget, or that you will lose control of your wedding. Most of our brides are extremely organized and have a very clear vision of what they want for their wedding day. It always surprises me how many people ask me , “are your clients like those crazy brides on tv?” It makes me laugh, because season after season the brides we work with continue to be some of the most fun and kind ladies out there!
Stay tuned as we cover WHO hires a wedding planner, WHAT a wedding planner or coordinator can and can’t help you with, WHERE you will and won’t find help planning your wedding, WHEN to reach out for help, and WHY a professional wedding planner will make your wedding a day you can enjoy!
Posts in This Blog Series:
- WHAT Does a Professional Wedding Planner Do?
- WHO hires a wedding planner?
- WHEN should I Reach out For Help?
- WHY you should hire a professional
- WHERE you will and won’t find help
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Our new design studio is finally finished, so I thought I’d share some of my excitement by showing a sneak peek of the space and our open house on Monday! I wanted this space to be not only a comfortable place to create amazing weddings for the Stella Event Design team, but also a place where brides feel comfortable and inspired as we plan!
I absolutely love how our comfy consultation area turned out! And our sitting area filled with bridal magazines, books galore, linen swatches and custom invitations will be an amazing resource for southwest michigan brides! Below, my personal work space, filled with pink loveliness! I am so excited to plan some amazing 2010 weddings here!
A huge thank you to everyone who came to visit our new space and celebrate! It was a wonderful night of catching up with friends, family and vendors who have helped to make these last 2 years at Stella Event Design possible! The Design Studio has open office hours this week from 10-5:00 if you’d like to stop by to chat, read magazines and check out the new space, and will normally be by appointment! And lastly, a few pictures of our open house, visitors and sweets table!
Snapshots provided by Stella Event Design
Monday marks the 2 year birthday of Stella Event Design! It has been an amazing 2 years, and to celebrate we are opening our new design studio, with a fun open house from 6-9 on Monday, and we’ll be doing several giveaways next week, so stay tuned!
If you’d like to join us at our Open House on Monday, October 26th from 6-9 you can find us at 314 State Street (upstairs) in downtown St. Joseph. The entrance is between La Dee Da Children’s Boutique and Beachside Cafe. There will be wine, delicious treats from our beach-inspired sweets table, and time to mingle and celebrate our new space! We would be thrilled to meet some of our blog readers in person, so I hope you’ll join us! We’ll also be giving away an awesome Wedding Day Emergency Kit to one lucky bride who stops by to celebrate with us on Monday! There is no purchase necessary, no pressure, just wedding fans having fun in our new space!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
There aren’t any big things I would change about my wedding, but there are a few small ones…
When it came to picking my own wedding music 2+ years ago, it took me a fraction of a second to identify my ceremony music, and months and months to find that ‘perfect’ first dance song. My husband and I were living in different areas, so one night we sat on the phone, on our respective computers, and sent each other a list of songs. For each song, we would go online (to Rhapsody.com, to be exact) and would listen to the others choices. They were songs we googled, songs from “best first dance” lists, songs friends suggested…
In the end, we chose “You and Me” by Kenny Chesney, and the thing I regret about that, is the fact that I had to sit and think about that just now as I typed it. It wasn’t one of our personal favorites, or something that narrated a moment in our relationship. I’m one of those people who listens to every word of a song, so I focused on the story of the song, the lyrics, which is perfect to narrate a first dance. I would be perfect as one of those radio hosts who hears a listeners story and then perfectly correlates it to a heartfelt song. However, if I could go back and re-do it, I’d choose a song that held some sort of personal connection to us, regardless of the lyrics, or even the genre. If I could do it again I would choose a Bon Jovi song, for the multiple concerts we went to when we were dating or the love song that came out when we first started dating (It was ‘True’ by Ryan Cabrera, if anyone even remembers him anymore!) or a song from the Jack Johnson cd we listened to together while working on our respective class projects. I remember our first dance like yesterday…but the song, not so much!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Today I was dreaming about a steamy cup of cocoa to go with this chilly weather and I immediately started thinking about all of the fun ways I would garnish it for a party, and you could do the same for your wedding! Start with some delicious gourmet hot chocolate, and then provide as many delicious garnishes as you please!
Tasty Topping Options:
- Peppermint sticks
- Cinnamon sticks
- Homemade marshmallows
- Ginger snap cookies
- Chocolate chips (or mint chocolate chips, even better!)
- Marshmallow fluff
- Rock candy sticks
- Homemade biscotti
- Chocolate dipped spoons
- Whipped Cream
- Nutmeg, cinnamon and other spices to dust on top
- Candy crumbles: toffee crunch, peppermints, candy bars
- For the adults: Peppermint schnapps, Kahlua or Baileys
I think a fabulous assortment of cookies would be the perfect accompaniment to this table, and you could even create some “take home” mugs for guests to enjoy later. Include a keepsake mug, hot cocoa mix and a chocolate spoon, and wrap it beautifully. Your guests can enjoy hot cocoa at your reception, or opt to take a mug to go!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
We’ve all seen a response card. We get them, jot our name at the top (hopefully legibly), check “Yes, I will attend” or “Unable to attend,” and pop it in the mail to the couple. BUT, what if there was something about that little card that caught you off guard and made you stop for a second. What if your guests took your response card out of your invitation and could instantly tell that this was sure to be a fun wedding?
If you’re a fun-loving couple, throwing a fun-loving wedding, don’t be shy to let that shine through! Spicing up your response cards can entail something as small as using some fun verbage like the wording used by one of our 2009 couples:
_____Gleefully accepts
_____Regretfully declines
OR step it up another notch with this fun one I found online…
Or if you want to get really creative, you can have your guest fill out a MadLibs inspired response card:
So have fun with it! If your invitations are fun and funky, keep it going with your response cards and give your guests a sneak peek into the fun they’ll have at your wedding celebration!
In August, we coordinated the lovely wedding of Katy+Ken, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame. The ceremony was held at the beautiful basilica at Notre Dame, and if you’ve never seen it before, the basilica (and the whole campus) is absolutely beautiful. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I think rainy wedding days can be just as good as the bright and sunny days—I think umbrellas can add a really fun accessory to pictures, especially if you’ve got some big ones to cover your group. Ben and Dan had it covered with some great umbrellas to keep the bridal party dry and happy!
The reception was held at the Heritage Center in St. Joseph, and one of my favorite parts of the night was the couples creative changes to the traditional bouquet+garter toss. Katy threw her bouquet off of the balcony, which is always fun, and Ken switched things up by serenading Katy in lieu of a garter toss, and he did a fantastic job singing along with the Matt Reed Band (who were rocking the whole night, they were amazing!)
Photos by Ben Pancoast Photography
MORE MICHIGAN WEDDINGS BY STELLA EVENT DESIGN:
- Megan+Greg at Mill Creek Barns in Watervliet, Southwest Michigan
- Lisa+Bart at the Blue Dress Barn in Millburg, Southwest Michigan
- Yana+Brannon at Shadowland Pavilion and The Heritage Center in St. Joseph, Michigan
- Kate+Mitch at Shadowland Pavilion and The Heritage Center in St. Joseph, Michigan
- Stefanie+Jim at Santaniello’s and Weko Beach in Bridgman, Michigan
A blog is a lot like a marriage (stick with me for a minute)….it takes daily attention to keep it fresh, it requires a long-term commitment, and it’s extremely fulfilling when you get it right! While I love my blog (and readers) dearly, the busy wedding season has caused me to be a very bad blog-spouse the last few months. Sure, it’s gotten some good updates over the months, but I know deep down that it hasn’t gotten the attention it truly deserves (and that I love to give it!)
I know many people say that if you haven’t been a faithful blogger, you shouldn’t mention it to your readers, but instead, just start writing again. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is brilliant insight, and makes a lot of sense. However, I’m a big believer in putting something out there, so that you can be accountable. So, my lovely blog readers—I’m making an on-the-record commitment to blogging every single day (Monday-Friday) for a month, starting on Monday! We’ve wrapped up our 2009 wedding season, and I’m looking forward to looking back on what we loved for 2009, and to discussing what we’re looking forward to in 2010! We’ll share new trends, show our favorite ideas from 2009, introduce you to fabulous local vendors, and keep you up-to-date on all things wedding in Southwest Michigan!
As always, I would love to hear from all of you, and you are always welcome to email in with your questions on planning, etiquette or weddings in general to jessica@stellaeventdesign.com! Next week we’ll be talking about beautiful table coverings, sharing pictures from a stunning August wedding at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame (a must-see if you’ve never seen this amazing location), and we’ll be announcing some fun upcoming events & giveaways to celebrate our 2 year birthday as a business!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
I don’t know if anyone has ever been as excited about 400 square feet as I am about our very first studio space!
The doors to our new office will officially open on Monday, October 26th! We’re kicking things off with an open house from 6-9 on Monday and we’d love for all of our blog readers, local brides and vendors to stop by. You can chat with us, check out linen swatches, bridal magazines & books galore, and we’ll have a fun beach-inspired display set up with some tasty treats! We’d love for you to help us celebrate our very first space!
The office will normally be By Appointment, but we’ll have open office hours from 10-6:00 Tuesday-Friday opening week, when you are also welcome to stop by!
MAP IT:: 314 State Stree (suite 1A), St. Joseph, MI 49085. Entrance is between La Dee Da Childrens Boutique and Beachside Appetite and the studio is upstairs!
