The image above are not mine; although, you can click on each photo and find the origin of the link

**Cmon ladies now let's get in formation** 

If there's anything that keeps the event industry going and on its' toes continuously is a rebel. A rebel breaks all those silly table rules. What does Cady Haron says, "It's just plastic".

Or wood; but you get the picture. You do what you want with them! Heck, some tables aren't event tables at all; they are benches or maybe pallets! 

Mixing of table sizes is not a new practice but it's also not as widely used as it should be. Mixing up table sizes can give you options that you may not have thought of before. For example, if I have a room that is much longer than it is wider so naturally I'll be able to fit more people if I use rectangular tables BUT my vision is picturing rounds. Okay, using mostly rounds but also throwing in the rectangles where you can will allow you to fit all your guests and still gives you the main look of rounds. 

Maybe you have more space than you need; you can also fill the void with different table shapes and sizes. Because, let's say you use 60" round tables. They still look good with 6 chairs around it, you can then use more tables and "act" like the room is more filled than it really is. 

Not to mention, mixing of types of chairs. This one may need more work than mixing up the table arrangements, but work with your event planner on that one and you could get some really cool and funky looks which would really set your room apart from other events. 

Mainly, DON'T BE SCARED! and always, always, play around with your options. Give yourself time to move tables around and have multiple versions of your floorpan so you can go back to your thought process on each. 

​See below some of my favorite seating plans. Here are some recent ones I did in one the event spaces I manage. 
1. Comedy Evening - stage with low-boy seating, 4 chairs at each, rows of chairs behind the cocktail seats, and then rounds behind those with the bar and food at the back of the room.
2. Songwriter's Evening - rows of chairs in two formations at the front of the stage, high-cocktail tables with high barstools, rectangular tables with indoor and outdoor options with the bar in the back of the room, food outside in a tent

Both the above have a mix of multiple types of seating and were able to fit a range of guests. For events that also have another entertainment element thrown in, take that into consideration as well when you are planning your seating.  ​

A precursor, if you will; I'll try to be as sympathetic to your feelings as I can but sometimes, my emotions (in which I can't be the only one who has been feeling this way) aren't always politically right or emotionally sensitive to every demographic so just bear with me. But that's just it, I'm not here to be political or share my thesis as a medical doctor. I'm here to provide an experience for you and your loved ones to be together and celebrate moments. Except, what do you do when your job is basically on probation?

When it began, no one knew what to do. Even now, no one knows what to do, we're all just trying to understand it and trying to live within the confines of it. Even now, writing this blog is difficult, because it's not over. Half of the country thinks we need to completely isolate ourselves for a month to be sure this virus is dead. But there are those that are essential that still have to work. Okay, well who is considered essential? Half the country wants to be sure we still have an economy to come back to and not every business is out of work because no one COULD work. It's a vicious cycle. How do we break it?

I'll start by saying we all have our opinions on this global pandemic; how it initially effected you, how it effects you now, and who it has effected around you. Our opinions, I'm sure, have changed because of what we've each been through from March to now. But to narrow this down for you, I'll share my experience and only my experience because well, that's all I got.. I'll share the experience and the roller coaster I've been through from the eyes of an event coordinator from a venue stand point. I'm not apart of any event venue though, I'm the event coordinator for a golf course in one of the busiest counties in TN. And if you've been sort of following along, TN has been pretty relentless through the entirety of this past season; one girls opinion; again. 

​To some of you, I'm going to sound whiney, spoiled, and down right ignorant. Look, I'm taking that risk with you because like I said; we all are shaped by the experiences we've encountered so please hear me when I say, I am only human. I am TRYING my hardest to understand all sides. I mean people are DYING from this virus, so how can you say it's not serious? How can you say it doesn't effect you because in one way or another, it does. I'm here to share with you that I'm not okay. I'm not okay because for the past 27 years, I've lived my life with very low anxiety, low depression, high self-actualization, and high spirits. I'm not saying I'm perfect because Lord know I am very very light years away from that, but I do tend to try to stay on the positive side of things. That's just a personal choice I wake up trying to do everyday. I'm here to express to you, I have not lived that way since March and it's been very difficult. It's been very difficult to understand these feelings that I've basically not ever taken the time to meet. I'm also angry that I have these feelings and that I'm having a hard time dealing with them because I feel weak. I feel weak because there are people who feel this everyday all the time. Ugh, I am weak. I'm taking a very large risk just putting this out into the world but honestly, it needs to be said if not only for my sake but hopefully helps you feel some sort of comfort.

​Anyway, I'm sharing the emotions and feelings an event coordinator has had in the past 4 months, shout out if you feel the same (EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW THERE ARE LARGER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT, IT'S OKAY TO WORRY ABOUT THESE TOO!). 

March: ​high spirits, high expectations, relatively low stress. I remember specifically when in March it really started to take a downward spiral. For me, it was in the middle of March. We had a rehearsal dinner the weekend before and then a large member event the weekend we all started worrying about it. It was the first time we'd ever done an event like this and was expecting a good turn out. Only about 50% of the expected turnout, showed up. Two weeks later, I was working from home. 

April: loads of reschedules, continuous feeling of out of control uncertainty from getting all the events from April rescheduled and then May events starting to reschedule. Still, relatively okay. I was working from home so I was with my dogs, working outside, getting some sun. When I quit work for the day, I was already home so that was plus. I started yard work. Started dinner. I was in a stress from work things but overall, I was still happy. I was honestly so happy because I was working from home, I felt I was getting more accomplished weird enough to say. But then this is when some of the anxiety started to build because I didn't have all my work materials with me and the future was still pretty uncertain. I was trying to keep it a level head though. Keep believing we were going to be okay and resume normal life in June. Your event from April is now September, okay I can handle that. Your event which was in May, rescheduled for October. Your event from June, rescheduled to November. Now, think about doing this 15x a day for a month. Now, effectively, we have no events in April and May and pretty much into June. Do I still have a job?

May:  I return to work feeling scared. Nervous. Is it safe? Should I even be out? Can we even have events right now? What is the government telling us? Can I even start to plan events for the future? Do I have all the reschedules on the calendar right? What if I miss/missed something? You want to reschedule, for when? Oh wait, never mind, you're going to keep your event and just do a smaller reception. Okay, I think we can do that? Can we do that? Do we have to make them sign a waiver? How many in a room? How many to a table? 6 feet apart?! What if they get sick here? What if they were already sick here and they did not know it and they pass it to the employees or our members? WHY DO YOU EVEN NEED TO HAVE THIS EVENT RIGHT NOW OR THIS GOLF TOURNAMENT, PEOPLE ARE DYING!!!!!!!
Wash your damn hands people. 

Half way through May: You know what, the government is lying to us. Half these people that are diagnosed with COVID are fine. I heard on the news that the hospitals are declaring people are dying from COVID when they really aren't to get more money. Can that really be true? There's no way they are doing that. Why is this becoming political?! No way. So wait, are these numbers real or are they inflated? We need to give people something to look forward to! Let's plan an event. Just keep it at 50% and spread out the tables. We can do it with the guidelines in place and those who are comfortable, come. Those that aren't comfortable, don't come. We're all adults, we can make our own informed opinions and decisions, right? yeah, let's do it!! 

June: Oh, we're good. We're back to work. Feeling good. Getting events again. We're up to 75% capacity, now we can definitely do it. I think people feel comfortable now. Let's start doing things again and planning for the future! Yeah! Planning, planning, planning; Nice! This feels great! I'm so excited! I mean people are still getting it, but the cases each day are going down now..right...? Oh, it's not? Shit. Okay. We'll let's continue to try, I guess?

End of June: More cancellations. More reschedules. I can't control my calendar anymore. I can't keep up. I can't get a grip on what's even happening. It's all too fast. It's all too sudden. I can't do this all over again. I just did this 2 months ago in April. I'm exhausted. Your reschedule from April to October, now moved to April 2021. Your event which was in May, rescheduled for October, is now rescheduled to June of 2021. Your event from June, rescheduled to September, just needs to cancel now. Well, okay. I can't say no. It's the right thing to do to refund you. I mean you did not know this was going to happen, we didn't either. Can we stay afloat? Do I still have a job? 

July: No one is listening to the CDC, the government, scientists, the freaking doctors. Everyone is on their own doing whatever. No, never mind. Mask mandate, everywhere! You can't go into a building without a mask now. Okay, I mean if it helps, right? But wait, what if I'm eating or drinking, I can't wear a mask if I'm eating and drinking. Oh no, you're fine. You don't have to wear a mask if you're eating or drinking. Okay, we'll that's basically all my events. So we can have events, but they have to wear a mask, but they can take the mask off if they are eating or drinking...at this dinner...event...but they still have to have a mask. I'm confused. I sound like an idiot to my clients. How do we even enforce this? How do we regulate this? Okay, we've got to cancel our internal events because there's no way our members will be able to have fun doing this. Okay, member events cancelled. But...we still have outside functions? Is that contradicting? I guess not. I have no idea. I have to put my mask back on now.
Three coworkers tested positive. I'm still here. I'm scared. What if I get it and send to my husband. We're both out of work for at least 2 weeks and that's just the minimum of what could happen. What if one of us or both of us have underlying health conditions we did not know about. We could lose our incomes. What do we do then, oh no. I'm anxious. I'm pissed. I'm upset that all these people still feel like they need to have functions even though they could be potentially spreading to others. That's so selfish right? But wait, we need events, I need a job. I need income. We need something for people to be happy about. I don't know. I'm mixed up. I hate this. 

Now:  Every day is different. I can't rely on myself anymore. I can't rely on my mental stability like I once did. Will today be a good day or will I become overwhelmed with fear? Will I be overwhelmed with confusion and feeling of uncertainty. Today is a good day. I am alive! I am well! I have a job, I have hope, I have love. What is today? 

I do this to share my thoughts. I do this because I don't know the next move is like I once did. I do this because you need to know you're not alone in these feelings. I do this to share with you why I sound like I'm going crazy some days, haha. Why I sound like I'm unhappy or not myself.  The way I've lived for the past 4 months is not normal. It's not anything that even an event coordinator is necessarily equipped to handle but we do and we try our best.

Please, be kind. Please understand that we're just has confused. Our business the way we once were able to run it, can't be run that way anymore. We are having to reconsider and reconfigure our every move. "You can't touch that utensil", It's so strange. Please bare with us because what we do today, may change tomorrow. What we told you today or yesterday, may change. We do not like doing that, believe me. It's hard on us too. At one time, we had to cut staff because we had no events, now we have to add staff because of all the protocols in place. How do we get more staff to come back to work, now they are making more from unemployment and don't want to come back. If they do, how do we pay them? We haven't been able to have an event in months! The way that we once ran like a well oiled machines like clockwork, we cannot anymore. Everything is being rethought, everything has to change and we must adapt and we must adapt quickly because tomorrow will be different than today. 

​Man, COVID is a real "c" word. 

Also, I saw this video below and thought, "omg yes, absolutely perfect!"  PLEASE WATCH ! 

This particular event I hold near and dear to my heart. Sara and I have been friends since my sophomore year of college. We become super close junior year and ended up living together with two other of our closest friends my senior year. So when it came to her baby shower, I wanted to do as much as I could to help make this day beautiful for her!

Similar to Mrs. Sara's wedding; the rain would not stop this baby shower from happening! In a very special location, Sara and 30 of her closest family and friends shared the rainy day at her grandmother's house on her patio to come together to shower (no pun intended) her with love. Sara was 30 weeks pregnant (absolutely stunning might I add) at the time and was expecting her sweet baby girl, Sutton Grace, very soon!

For the rest of the shower, we did food items like some great finger foods and dips along with cake pops, fruit and vegetable platters, and complete with a "Mom"-osa bar. We did several games like, "When will be Sutton's birthday", "What did the Dad say?" and the most laughable - baby bottle chug race!

We also set up a little backdrop with the ballroom arch and some flower decor. The tables were covered with white linen, a cheesecloth garland (one of my personal favorite decor pieces), with some inexpensive vases and fake pink and white flowers.
Here's a little decor tip for you; even though the flowers are fake, still put water in the vases; it makes it seem a bit more real (at least) from a distance.

Lastly, we finalized the touches with some little frames with cute quotes and a photo of the Mom-To-Be and ultrasound photos. 
The day finished with Sara opening all of cute and precious gifts for baby and the parents! We had such a blast and I am so happy to be able to be apart of it! 

For reference, here is a brief timeline of events for the mid-day shower!

You might be in a situation where your venue provides your bar. You don't have to do the leg work of getting bartenders, bringing the beer, wine, liquor, cups, glasses, etc. That's awesome! You can, obviously, cut down on bar costs if you have a venue that allows you to do all of that but honestly, it's SO much less work when the venue takes care of it or if you even hire out the bar service from a third-party. In this case, there are basically two most popular bar services; packages and consumption.

Bar packages, this is where you'd find the venue gives you the option of different bar packages and a price per head you are paying. You can get house wine, domestic beers, and well liquors for $20.00 per head. You give the amount of people coming and boom, there's your price. It's definitely more of a fixed cost. You know what you are paying out of the gate. Some of the downfalls of this is, you may be paying for some people who either A) don't drink, or B) won't drink that much. If you have 100 people, and you know that your entire mom's side of the family isn't going to drink, say 30 people, doesn't matter; you still have to pay that package price. Because, what if they do decide to drink that night or have a glass of wine or two. The venue does not know who belongs to which family nor do they really care to know. They just know that's how many people are showing up and that's how much alcohol they need to have ready. 

In the flip side, you could have those 30 people not drinking but then you'd got your wedding party that drinks enough for all of them and plus some, you could end up on the better side had you had to pay it per drink. This same situation, you could find yourself mopping the floor with some liquored up guests. It could be a gamble! 

"Ahhhh! Scary!"
This is the reaction I get A LOT with consumption bars! But, guys, it does not have to be. As long as the venue/bar is willing to work with you and your needs, which let's be honest; they should be. Consumption bars are essentially, bars that are paid based upon what is consumed. Whatever is ordered, that goes on your bill at the end of the night. HOWEVER, this can work to your advantage as well because well, you are actually paying for what is drunk vs packages where you don't really know the real number and the bartenders are not keeping up. 

Here are ways I try to show that you can control costs with a consumption bar:

• Price per drink - you can limit the total price per drink that is allowed on your bill. Beers and house wines typically are under $10.00/drink, depending where you are.  Most well liquors are under $10.00, most call liquors are under $14.00. I am in Nashville so that is where my numbers come from. If you are wanting to avoid those higher end whiskey, vodka, and scotch beverages that can get up past $15.00+ a drink, limit the price per drink allowed. Anything beyond that, you can have the guests pay for it. But also, if they are trying to get those drinks, c'mon guys, play fair. 
• Beer and wine ONLY - Only offer beer and wine! This is absolutely fine, do not let others tell you otherwise. Having a fully hosted (paying for everyones drinks) bar with no restrictions is very 2010. Luckily, many of learned from their mistakes in 2010 and found that no one actually wants to have very sloppy people at their wedding at the end of the night. This is very much becoming the new normal and is absolutely acceptable. You are still offering beer and wine at your expense and you guests should be very appreciative. 
• Speciality cocktails- If you can't get yourself only to offer beer and wine, another way to incorporate is speciality drinks. This is what I did at my wedding. I understand that there may be some of my guests that don't drink beer, maybe wine gives them headaches. We found two cocktails that we both enjoyed and provided those for the evening. You could also only offer during cocktail hour. This can sometimes be difficult though because some guests will want to enjoy these cocktails for the duration of the evening after having them for cocktail hour so be mindful of that. 
• Total overall spend - Limiting the total overall spend. This is another great way to control cost. Let the coordinator/manager know that you only want to spend X amount on the bar. That amount can be based on the number of guests you have or just whatever you have in your budget! However, be mindful of any taxes and service charges that the venue will add, you may want to back out of the total overall cost to include those in it. 
• Combination - my favorite is a combination of these options above. You can control your spend at the bar by only providing beer, wine, and the two speciality cocktails all evening but once you hit your own all spend, its cash bar! Another way of a combination of these, would be to allow any beverages that's under $10.00 and then when your bar hits, say $2,500.00 stop the hosted bar. Another great way! 

One thing is for sure though, always talk with your venue representation about your options. It may surprise you! Don't feel like you are trapped in a consumption bar. Always ask how you two can work together to find a compromise that will be mutually beneficial for both parties. Keep in mind logistics as well. 

In the meantime, NO SHOTS! 

Let's talk assigned tables! Oh my gosh, as if there wasn't enough for you to do right now and then add in assigned seats. No way! I hate to break it to you, but they are totally necessary! There are times like for large scale conferences and such that it may not be feasible; however, I am here to tell you it doesn't have to be all awful. If assigned seats aren't really your thing try assigned tables. The difference and why they are even important, I will tell you now. 

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Assigned seats, oh gosh. WHY world WHY! Well, there are a few reasons. I feel the biggest one is that people don't want to feel that they've sat in someone else's (unwritten/unassigned) seat. As the bride or the host, you're like "just sit, it doesn't matter". But it does to an extent. People sometimes feel there's these underlying rule about seats and chairs and who should sit next to who or where to sit at a table. It's such a small thing but it is decisions that we make everyday. Including on one of the most biggest days of your life, your wedding day. Or maybe, the biggest corporate deal you've ever had to make. Seating matters! 

I tell you this because I have definitely learned the hard way.

When I was planning my wedding, the absolute last thing I wanted to do was assign seats to the rehearsal dinner. I had a million other things on my mind, like the wedding and details for the wedding; that I just said, "you know what, whatever". I was putting 6 round tables out in the room with 8 chairs, sit where you want. Except, that wasn't very smart. I was part of a 5 person immediate family. Devon, had his moms side with a sister, his dad's side with 3 siblings; I mean it was a nightmare when it came down to it. People kept coming up to me, THE BRIDE, asking where they should sit. Honestly, I just about had it. My mind was just in a daze from the slideshow and surprise groom's cake I had accidentally left at the venue 20 miles down the road; please please don't ask me where to sit. I literally ran off into another room and cried. Full disclosure, I have not told anyone this because I was really embarrassed. I was embarrassed I left the slideshow, the cake, and now I didn't do seating arrangements. I felt so unprepared. Me, who does this sort of thing for a living. I was deflated. I almost didn't even tell my (now) husband how embarrassed I was and that I stormed off crying. But, here I am living to tell the tale. Yes, coordinators do make mistakes too and that is the best way they learn and learn what NOT to do for your upcoming event! 

Assigned tables are beautiful. If you're in a situation where you have to do assigned seats, do assigned tables. This will give your guests the option of which seat but they know what table to sit at. You can also group people in together that you know jive well. It honestly makes so much sense. It does take some time but it doesn't take as much time as assigning seats! Assigned tables work well with buffets and plated dinners where everyone gets the same entree. If your guest have the option of entrees and they choose beforehand; unfortunately, you will have to do assigned seats so keep that in mind when choosing your food selection as well. 

Check out some amazing ways you can incorporate a seating chart into your event for your assigned tables. I do not own these photos but if you link on them, you can find the links to the articles they come from or maybe even where to purchase. 

Oh the dreaded Non-RSVP'er. When you're having a plated dinner this one can be tricky. You did not make them a name card, you don't have their entree selection, and the kitchen doesn't know what to make! They are literally the worst! But this is a great time to have your coordinator in place to let the venue and/or the caterer know what's up. You will most likely already know that they didn't RSVP because, well, they don't have a seat. First, alert your vendors and be sure they can accommodate to the extra person(s). In reality, I always like to try and have the host add a couple additional meal just in case this happens if they have it in their budget. Of course, buffets are nice to have in place for times like these even if some guests do tent to over serve themselves; at least there's not the problem of literally no plate in front of them. 

When making your seating arrangement, do your best in not filling the tables all the way. If you have a 60" round table that can seat 6-8; try not to seat all of them 8 guests. That way if you do have one or two that showed up unexpectantly, there will at least be space at a table for them. 

All in all, you will be glad you did them once it's go time instead of pulling out your hair :)

This is filled with love notes, flowers, red and pink decorations, gifts, and mostly FOOD! A steak is very popular on this date along with desserts and for good reason. Check out the way we prepared for our Valentine's Day 2020 at the golf course's clubhouse!

We brought Valentine's Day to life with white table cloths, red napkins, a full table set-up. A great way to help celebrate is with a special menu. You'll find a speciality made menu in the black menu backs with paired wines for each entree selection. With each table, there was placed a "thank you for celebrating with us" tent card on the table with the reservation couple's name! This was a great personal touch and our member's loved the detail put into planning their dinner. The tables were also decorated with pink and red rose petals in the center. 

For the finishing touch, a beautiful harp player was dedicated to the night in the side corner of the room to fill it with graceful and delicate music. It was truly a lovely evening! 

If audio visual, also known as AV, is a main element of your event. It can definitely make or break your event. Even, if it's not the "main focus" but is a large component, it could be major when it's not working properly. I'm not going to tell you as a planner/coordinator, or even as the host that you need to understand all of AV and have all the different types of AV equipment but what I will tell you is you NEED to know AV vendors and know great AV vendors. Be sure that they know exactly what you are requesting and that they have the right equipment for it. Be sure, they arrive early enough to do a couple of run-throughs with your presentation as well.

Now, as a venue representative; I know a very tiny bit about HDMI inputs, microphones, wireless microphones, etc. I have the basic knowledge. See below other items that you should know to be sure the AV elements of the dinner go smoothly:

​1. The functionality of your presentation. The format the presentation is in.
2. How you are going to project the presentation, is it through HDMI, apple play, bluetooth, projector?
3. Where is the projector? How does it mounted, is it mounted?
4. Order of events, how are you going about your presentation? Do you need the microphone right off the bat or do you only need it later?
6. Is sound important? 
5. Does the presentation of sound and how do you want that sound to be played? 

These are just the most 5 basic AV/presentation questions that you will need to get you started when you request Audio Visual from your venue and/or vendor. 

Have fun! 

First, just to celebrate with your fiancé! This is a beautiful time and the only time it will be like this. The rest of your life, you will be married, which is great too! But the engagement period is none like any other. It is such a fun limbo phase! Once you've taken the time to admire your engagement and celebrate with family and friends; if you want to and when you are ready to start planning, I recommend talking with your fiancé about your ideas for the wedding.
​

• Do you want to have a large wedding, small wedding, destination wedding, elopement, etc?
• Figure out who or how you plan on paying for the wedding. The traditional way of how weddings have been organized in the past aren't really industry standards anymore. There's a really good article from WeddingWire.com about what's going on with weddings in today's society. This is from that article:

• Draft up a guest list. It does not by any means have to be your final list but something to go off of. This will be the first thing venues will ask. If you want to include your immediate, extended family, friends, and plus one's; get the input of your parents as well. They typically have the correct names, phone numbers, and possibly addresses of extended family IF you are wanting them to be included. Don't forget plus one's if you're giving them. Remember to include those in the wedding party as well as yourself and fiancé in the list. 

After you discuss those three items, the next best course of action would be:

• Venue Research
• Date Options
• Photographer

This question is a very loaded question. It's practically impossible to answer! But the answer I can give you is, however much you want it to cost! It all depends on what type of wedding you plan on having. A 50 person wedding can cost the same for a 200 person wedding, it just depends on how you throw it! In the same way, a 50 person wedding can also be extremely less expensive than a 200 person wedding. This is where a wedding planner and/or coordinator can assist in what your needs and wants are. Each wedding is vastly different from one another and it's difficult to cookie cutter an exact number of "how much does a wedding cost". In the same regard how a venue can also differ from one another since some venues only offer a space and others are more semi inclusive or even "all inclusive".

My short answer is yes.

These two vendors play very different roles. One captures still images of your day. You can hang these photos on your walls, in your office, send thank you cards with these. Videography provides you that moment in time and brings you through the whole day. Especially for the bride and groom when you literally have every minute dedicated to something and it flies by so fast. The videographer will help let you see from others eyes and recapture the day.

In the Nashville market, you can typically find a good videographer between $2,000-$4,000. However, I can definitely understand if the funds just are not there. If you have time to save up a bit more or sell something, I would say do it so you can get that videographer. If not, you obviously will want photos to hang and show so the photographer is a must.  

Again, my short answer is yes. Is it required? Sometimes.

​Some venues do require you to provide your own insurance, some don't. Just check with them. Additionally, some venues require your VENDORS to have a certain amount of liability insurance as well. Check with them before hiring. However, that is somewhat of a different type of insurance. Wedding insurance, like wedsafe.com, typically covers postponements, sickness, someone being injured, deployment due to venue construction, damage to gifts, a vendor not showing up that you paid a deposit for, etc. The one thing about these policies are most of the time they can be pretty customizable as well. And they are not usually too too expensive, I think the most expensive policy I've seen so far is about $300.00. I know $300.00 for one day can seem extreme but what would really be extreme is if you had to reschedule and you lost all that money from vendor contracts and they couldn't reschedule. 

Not at all. It's becoming increasingly more popular for honeymoons to not come directly after the wedding. Some choose to wait until the Monday after a Saturday wedding, while others may even wait 8-12 months after! There are so many different reasons for why some couples may choose or need to delay their honeymoon. One thing I would like to say though is for sure take one. Don't feel like just because it's been a 6 months to a year since the wedding doesn't mean you can't take a honeymoon or anymore. Keep that flame alive and still go! 

Absolutely not! It's a cute thing to have, of course, but it's not totally necessary. If you have family members with children or best friends with children that have been a strong part of your relationship, you can definitely have one. We even had two flower girls. However, if you are not really kid people or don't have anyone that is really young enough to be a "flower girl" or "ring bearer", you definitely do not have to. Also, most people won't even notice anyway. If you ready are hung up on the idea of some flower petals being thrown down the aisle, some couples have even opted into having a flower grandmother or flower "boy/man".  Just some fun ideas to keep it light!

You do not. Engagement photos are not a "new" thing but they have definitely become increasingly popular over the last decade or two. Mainly due to social media factors. Engagement photos provide an opportunity for a couple to have a photoshoot with the two of you in a way that you may have not done before. This also gives the couple options for photos for other activities like wedding showers, save the dates, invitations, etc. to use during those and for those things. However, it is by no means mandatory or required. If you have photos of the two of you otherwise, you can definitely still use those or just snag a few at a park. I will say though, it is no substitute for professional photos if you can afford them. 

Yes and no. Yes, wedding favors still exist. Are they necessary? In my opinion, no. In my experience wedding favors have ranged anywhere from fancy coasters, a nice little coozie for your beer with the couple and their wedding date on it, little plastic cups, etc. All of which, typically have the couple's name, the date, and/or a photo of them. Let's be honest, it's a nice gift but the guests will usually toss it between 1-12 months after the wedding. Because who really wants 15 coozies with other peoples dates and names on them? If you have found that you just really want to provide your guests with a wedding favor, my advice, is find one that that is relatively functional and maybe something that doesn't have to have your event all over it. 

Wedding favors can sometimes be very expensive, upwards off $500-$1000! I say, use your money wisely elsewhere. Your guests will enjoy their night/your wedding with or without a favor and more times than not, they won't even notice. 

"This is a blurry question. The second part of this question I like to ask is, but can you really do it all yourself? My answer every time is, please get a coordinator. It will save you so much stress and unneeded anxiety to hire even just a month-of coordinator. However, be sure that you read reviews and talk with previous clients of their's before hiring because hiring a bad coordinator can sometimes feel like you are doing double the work. 

I will share the difference between a planner and coordinator in a different post but in simple; a planner plans and a coordinator, coordinates. If you have your own visual and can do most of the grunt work in the beginning, a coordinator is probably your best bet.

"But I can't afford a coordinator!" Look, that's okay. Find your local college, even hiring an aspiring event professional will help instead of you having to do everything the week of/day of your wedding. 

I planned my own wedding but when it came down to finalizing payments, paperwork, getting all those small details right in each room of the venue, linens, plates, vendors showing up on time; I did not want to be worrying (aka working) on my wedding day! I would had given my right arm to my wedding coordinator if I could. 

so the answer is, absolutely YES!

This particular group I had the honor of helping coordinate had a unique situation. A few years back, they had a grand Christmas party for the company. They really did deck everything out with rented linens, silverware, glassware, etc. See, this was not only a Christmas party but it was also a celebration of the owner's wife for they knew she did not have much time left. So they really dedicated the evening to her. 

The next time they were to have an event at the venue was 3 years later, this is the one I got to help with (which is why I now know the story of the previous event). They did not need all the bells and whistles like the last event but they did want to make it special still. We pulled elements that were similar but also used what we had in our inventory as well. ​

This was for a small group, under 20 people. The room was fairly large for 20 people, but we found the best way to take up as much space possible. We did a big square table in the middle of the room! **Also peek the beautiful Christmas Tree**

We used elements like gold chargers, a very large table runner, white pyramid napkin folds, gold silverware, and preset waters. The biggest kicker on this table was the runner. Standard table runners are wide enough to take up 1/3 of the width and long enough to run off the table about 6-10 inches on each end. The longest typical standard table runner dimension is 108 inches long, which is about 9 ft. Well, this table was made with 3.5 ft x 3.5 tables. This table took 8 of those tables to make one long table for 17 guests. The dimensions being 14 ft long, 7 ft wide; a very awkward size table for a normal table runner.

What we were able to do was partner with our local party rental company and rented two 90x152 of these beautiful vintage gold lux linens and great the "runner" look. It was a challenge getting the middle situated right but with a lot of playing around with it, experimenting with different ways to fold it, and a lot of time allotted to do just that, we did it! 

The other items we rented like chargers and silverware can be found below too. You'll also notice how different the linen may look in the photo than in "real life". If you ever get the chance to go to the warehouse or rent a piece prior to the event, I always would just so you really know how it looks in real life. Another way to get a feel is to ask the sales rep to tell you more or ask what they think about it. You could also ask them to snap a photo of it with their phone or camera in real light. All good ways!