Planning an event. Sounds simple enough; I mean, get some people together, have some food, some music, drinks~easy cheesey. And it can be easy. We'll use a wedding as an example, and you can just follow these simple steps (in no particul...ar order):
Choose a date and time, find a place, determine a budget and a theme if desired, make a guest list, gather addresses, mail invitations or call invitees, choose a menu and beverages, and if you're cooking go shopping for food, decide on decorations, decide on music and/or entertainment, contact venue to confirm set up and final details, order floral pieces, order cake, decide on attire, follow up with guests who have not yet responded, shop for something to wear and a gift, coordinate details with family members and others who will be attending from out of town...ok, that's a good start for the bridal shower...
Are you ready to think about the details for the other showers, the rehearsal, the wedding, the reception, etc...?
It needs to be clearly understood: "Planning a wedding" is NEVER just "planning a wedding." Realistically, when you decide to get married with all of the requisite "fluff," you are actually planning one idea~the celebration of the actual marriage~but that idea happens in multiple celebratory steps, all of which require separate, yet coordinated~and compatible~planning.
I figured it out the other day~when my daughter got married, I planned no less that six different-but-connected events (showers, the engagement party, etc...). This meant that, once they were officially engaged, there were multiple meetings with the bride and groom (who lived on the other side of the state) to discuss and decide upon the details for their day, and scheduling excursions to visit venues. There were shopping trips for patterns and fabrics and dresses and tuxedoes; appointments for fittings and florists and photographers. There was listening to music and choosing a DJ, organizing the dinner and food (we catered the reception), baking for the dessert bar, and at one point my counter became a "to scale model" of the coffee bar. For each "event day", I developed and sent out timelines, itineraries and regular updates to all parties concerned, made phone calls and put out little brush fires along the way. I actually had several fairly large side projects to complete well before the rehearsal, and many family members arriving from out of town. This is the short list, and many of these tasks had to be accomplished for each separate "wedding event," and in case you are wondering, results were as follows: The wedding, which was scheduled to begin at 2 pm, BEGAN at 2 pm. At the reception, which was set "buffet style," dinner also started on time and ALL of our guests were eating within 20 minutes, the coffee and dessert bar were opened right on schedule, and we actually were able to start dancing 45 minutes early.
There were glitches, I assure you, but because we had our plans firmly in place, we were able to compensate with very few wrinkles, and the day was everything that we dreamed it might be.
I share this story because, while planning an event is a huge undertaking~several, in fact~with the right, well...PLANS, your beautiful day is right within reach.
This is what we do, and we'd love to do it for you. Contact Jennifer Holly Events, and let's schedule an appointment. The more we know about the wedding you've always wanted, the more opportunities we'll have to make your dreams come true!
Choose a date and time, find a place, determine a budget and a theme if desired, make a guest list, gather addresses, mail invitations or call invitees, choose a menu and beverages, and if you're cooking go shopping for food, decide on decorations, decide on music and/or entertainment, contact venue to confirm set up and final details, order floral pieces, order cake, decide on attire, follow up with guests who have not yet responded, shop for something to wear and a gift, coordinate details with family members and others who will be attending from out of town...ok, that's a good start for the bridal shower...
Are you ready to think about the details for the other showers, the rehearsal, the wedding, the reception, etc...?
It needs to be clearly understood: "Planning a wedding" is NEVER just "planning a wedding." Realistically, when you decide to get married with all of the requisite "fluff," you are actually planning one idea~the celebration of the actual marriage~but that idea happens in multiple celebratory steps, all of which require separate, yet coordinated~and compatible~planning.
I figured it out the other day~when my daughter got married, I planned no less that six different-but-connected events (showers, the engagement party, etc...). This meant that, once they were officially engaged, there were multiple meetings with the bride and groom (who lived on the other side of the state) to discuss and decide upon the details for their day, and scheduling excursions to visit venues. There were shopping trips for patterns and fabrics and dresses and tuxedoes; appointments for fittings and florists and photographers. There was listening to music and choosing a DJ, organizing the dinner and food (we catered the reception), baking for the dessert bar, and at one point my counter became a "to scale model" of the coffee bar. For each "event day", I developed and sent out timelines, itineraries and regular updates to all parties concerned, made phone calls and put out little brush fires along the way. I actually had several fairly large side projects to complete well before the rehearsal, and many family members arriving from out of town. This is the short list, and many of these tasks had to be accomplished for each separate "wedding event," and in case you are wondering, results were as follows: The wedding, which was scheduled to begin at 2 pm, BEGAN at 2 pm. At the reception, which was set "buffet style," dinner also started on time and ALL of our guests were eating within 20 minutes, the coffee and dessert bar were opened right on schedule, and we actually were able to start dancing 45 minutes early.
There were glitches, I assure you, but because we had our plans firmly in place, we were able to compensate with very few wrinkles, and the day was everything that we dreamed it might be.
I share this story because, while planning an event is a huge undertaking~several, in fact~with the right, well...PLANS, your beautiful day is right within reach.
This is what we do, and we'd love to do it for you. Contact Jennifer Holly Events, and let's schedule an appointment. The more we know about the wedding you've always wanted, the more opportunities we'll have to make your dreams come true!
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