If your groom needs to express himself on the wedding day, consider something completely out of the ordinary - a custom bout from Rosenow Floral.
Archive for the ‘planning’ Category
The New Boutonnieres
Monday, October 12th, 2009Hidden Costs in Your Wedding Budget
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
There are so many details that go into your wedding budget. Here are a few details that often get missed by brides and grooms:
Music Related - Aside from the cost of booking your band, they often require hot meals and a changing room. If you have a ten piece band with a few sound technicians, you could be providing hot meals for up to 12 band members plus a hotel room or two. You many need to add on travel charges and possible overnight accommodations if you are getting married in the mountains. Your band or string quartet will also require shade if your event is outside. This could be a simple pop-up shade tent or a more elaborate set up, depending on your band and venue.
Gown Alterations - This can be as simple as a $100 hem or up to $500+, depending on what you need. Ask what the store charges for every alteration before you purchase the gown. Consider a less expensive seamstress instead of using the bridal store for alterations. If you use a private seamstress, ask if they steam the gown after alterations and if they store it for you until the wedding.
Welcome Bag Delivery - Many hotels don’t mention this when you block rooms. Be sure to ask what they charge. Some hotels charge $7 or more per bag to deliver to each guest room. Other hotels will simply pass them out to your guests at check-in.
Debbie Orwat
Colorado Wedding Planner
Give a Proper Wedding Toast
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
5 steps to a successful wedding toast
1. Welcome guests, thank the bride and groom and their parents for the incredible wedding.
2. Tell a short, preferably funny, story such as how they met, how you know them, their engagement story or a funny childhood story about either the bride or groom.
3. Include an inspirational quote about love or marriage
4. Ask guests to raise their glasses for the actual toast. Surprisingly, this often is forgotten.
5. Remember that this is not the moment to mention previous girlfriends/boyfriends of the bride or groom.
Debbie Orwat,
Denver Wedding Planner
Important Wedding Planning Tips
Monday, September 28th, 2009
Our Weekend of Weddings
Friday, September 25th, 2009
Della Terra Mountain Chateau
Della Terra Mountain Chateau
Vail wedding at Donovan Pavilion
It isn’t often that we book weddings with only two weeks notice however both of our brides for this weekend contracted with us in the past few weeks. Debbie will coordinate the details for Sarah and Greg at the Donovan Pavilion on Friday. Gabby wrapped up the final planning and will work with Kristen to coordinate Shurie and Anthony’s gorgeous wedding at Della Terra Mountain Chateau in Estes Park on Saturday. We are thrilled to pull together the final details for both of these wonderful couples.
Debbie & Gabby
Colorado Wedding Planners
Choosing Lodging for Your Wedding Guests
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
5 Questions to Ask When Choosing Lodging Options for Wedding Guests
Do you offer shuttle service?
Some hotels will offer complimentary or low cost shuttle service to your wedding for guests staying at the hotel.
What is your policy for guest welcome bags?
Many hotel properties charge for this. Some will give your welcome bags as a complimentary service when guests check-in but most will charge you to deliver to guest rooms.
What is the fee structure and policy for reserving a block of rooms?
Some hotels will allow a complimentary block while others require your credit card and a guaranteed minimum number of rooms.
What restaurants and amenities are available for guests?
It is very helpful to have a few restaurants in the hotel or within walking distance. It is also helpful if the hotel can accommodate roll-away beds, portable cribs or a complimentary breakfast for your guests.
Do you offer a complimentary suite if we book a certain number of hotel nights?
Many properties will comp a room or two if your guests book a certain number of lodging nights.
Debbie Orwat
Denver Wedding Planner
Colorado Engagement Photos - Sarah & Chris
Friday, September 11th, 2009
We are so privileged to have Sarah and Chris as clients. Sarah is a dream to work with. She has been planning her wedding since she was a little girl and knows exactly what she wants. While we are still planning many of the details, we are positive it is going to be an incredible wedding next June. Thanks to the ultra talented Paige Elizabeth for sharing their stunning engagement photos.
Debbie Orwat
Biggest Wedding Regrets
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
Last week, MSN published an article about the biggest wedding regrets. Here is a quick recap:
- I wouldn’t have done DIY invites
- I would have hired a professional wedding day coordinator
- I wouldn’t have jumped so quickly to choose my bridal party
- I would have had more food
- I wouldn’t have had messy food (chocolate fountain) with six flower girls
You can read the full article here. Many of these could have been avoided by hiring a professional wedding planner. We are trained to foresee, predict and come up with solutions to potential problems.
Debbie Orwat
Colorado Wedding Planner
Weddings and Tents at Private Estates
Friday, September 4th, 2009
We LOVE weddings that take place at a private home or mansion. The bride and groom typically have full control over many of the details and can create whatever type of event they desire. If you are planning an event at a private home, be sure to hire an experienced event planner to assist with the logistics and details. Here are a few details that we take charge of and assist with:
Rentals - Not only will you have a tent, you also need tables, chairs, linens, flatware, china, glassware, etc. And on top of those things, your caterer may also need convection ovens, heating racks, prep tables, trash cans and possibly a tent of their own for prep. You may opt to have a floor in your tent, fabric draping, special lighting and a stage for the band.
Portable Restrooms - Even if the home has a few restrooms, it is always good to have a back-up just in case there are plumbing issues. You can rent luxury trailer port-o-lets that come with sinks and mirrors.
Parking - Most homes cannot accommodate 75+ vehicles. Arrange for shuttles, rent a nearby parking lot, provide valet services or ensure neighboring estates can accommodate overflow parking.
Lighting and Power - Not only will you need lighting for your tent, you will also need lighting for the caterer, walkways, and restroom area. You can count on having a generator for the caterer, band and lighting. Be sure to check with those vendors for power requirements. A DJ may not require much but a large band will need a lot of dedicated power.
Debbie Orwat
Colorado Wedding Planner
Denver Wedding Sale!
Monday, August 31st, 2009
Book any partial or full service wedding planning package with Shelby and get this incredible package deal:
$250 discount on your planning package with Save the Date Events
FREE rental of Mile Hi Station in Denver! This is over a $2000k discount. You have to pay for bar service but the venue rental is free! Have you seen this venue? It’s incredible.
50% discount on professional photography from Jason G Photography or from Revert Imaging (your choice!) Both of these incredible photography companies are talented, professional and FUN
25% discount on your wedding cake from Intricate Icings. Intricate Icings is an upscale boutique cake designer creating some of the best cakes in Colorado
50% discount on flowers from Bella Fiori. Bella Fiori is a full-service floral design studio providing exquisite arrangements for any wedding
What’s the catch? Your wedding has to take place between now and November 25, 2009 on a Sunday-Thursday (depending on availability of the venue). Is it too fast? That’s why you have a fantastic planner to guide you through the process and coordinate a flawless wedding day.
We only have one package to give away. Call today to schedule your consultation so that we can get started!
Shelby Crandall
Denver Wedding Planner
Post Wedding Blues
Friday, August 28th, 2009
For months, wedding planning nearly consumed you. After you have returned from the honeymoon, you may also experience confusing feelings of depression even though life with your new spouse seems to be going well. Welcome to the post-wedding blues. While this doesn’t affect every bride, you may be surprised to learn that post-wedding blues are common for brides and even for mothers of the bride, especially if the mother was heavily involved in planning the wedding.
Here are a few tips to get you past the post-wedding blues:
1. Realize you’ve been through an intense period where the focus has been on romance. You are now in normal life mode, but that doesn’t mean romance has to end. Plan a romantic evening with your new spouse, perhaps for your first month anniversary. A nice dinner, along with a good bottle of wine or champagne, candles and your favorite music complete the mood. Thaw your wedding cake top to enjoy that evening. Or, arrange a weekend getaway.
2. Throw a post-wedding BBQ or cocktail party for immediate family members and close friends when your wedding pictures and video are ready. Show the video and hand out photos from the wedding. Relive some of those fabulous memories of the wedding day.
3. Scrapbook your wedding memories. Now that you have so much time on your hands, create a scrapbook of your wedding including pictures, an invitation, your place cards, table cards and other sentimental details from the planning process and wedding day.
Debbie Orwat
Denver Wedding Planner
Who Attends the Wedding Ceremony Rehearsal
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
1. Bride & Groom: You get to practice the processional, learn when to hand off the bouquet, kiss your groom and practice the recessional.
2. Parents & Grandparents: Your parents and grandparents will need to practice their entrance for the ceremony, lighting the unity candle (if applicable), and learn where they will sit.
3. Wedding Party: Your wedding party consists of maid/matron of honor(s), bridesmaids, best man, groomsmen, flower girls, and ring bearers. They will also need to practice walking down the aisle (together or separately), the recessional, where to stand, and how the ceremony will flow.
4. Officiant: The person who will marry you should attend the rehearsal if possible. They will need to know how they are walking to the alter/chuppah and with whom (groom, groom and best man, groomsmen). They typically will do a quick run-through of the ceremony and discuss who will hold the rings.
5. Singers & Musicians: While it would be nice to have them at the rehearsal, they typically are not there unless you pay them for their time.
6. Readers: They will need to get comfortable with the microphone and sound system as well as know where to sit to easily make their way to the front to read the scripture or reading.
7. Ushers: They usually greet your guests, hand out programs, and seat guests. While this doesn’t require much direction, it’s nice for them to attend the rehearsal so that they know exactly where to be, what to do and the tasks you’ve chosen for them.
Debbie Orwat
Colorado Wedding Planner
Advice for New Wedding Planners
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
I often received emails from novice wedding planners asking for advice and tips. While we do offer hourly career counseling for novice planners, I wanted to share some tips and advice.
- Treat your vendors well when you are coordinating a wedding. If you have professional vendors, they do not need to be micromanaged. Check with your photographer and caterer when making your time lines to ensure they have enough time to do their job. Then let them do what they do best.
- Learn to say no. There will be clients who are just not the best fit for you. You can recommend other planners and save yourself a year of stress. Aletha from Pearls Events wrote an excellent blog post about this topic here.
- Be yourself. Brides are hiring you for who you are. Whether you have a quirky personality or superstar design skills, show it off. It is always better to be a first rate version of yourself instead of a second rate version of someone else.
- Integrity is essential in this business. This seems like a simple concept but I am amazed at how often I hear about other business owners not delivering what they promised, not showing up to meetings or just being “flaky” with their clients. If you know you can’t deliver something, don’t promise it to your clients.
- You cannot be a professional planner if you have only planned your own wedding. Take classes from ABC, work for a caterer, do an internship with an event planner, go to network events, read wedding blogs, meet with vendors, follow wedding planners on twitter, go to conferences, create your business plan. These are all things that will help you learn more about the industry and help grow your expertise and business skills so that you can be a professional planner.
- Charge what you are worth. Take time to figure out how much money you want to make per hour then multiply it times 3. That is a very rough estimate of what your clients need to pay you. You will pay almost 30% for taxes alone plus all your business expenses before you can pay yourself. For example, if you charge $500 for wedding day coordination that includes the final walk-through, rehearsal and 10 hours on the wedding day plus a few meetings with your bride, creating time lines and confirming vendors, you end up with around $25 or so per hour before taxes/expenses. Take your taxes and business expenses from that and you make about $8-$9 hour. AND that does not include paying an assistant. Isn’t all your hard work worth more than that? I sure hope so, even as a novice.
Debbie Orwat
Denver Wedding Planner
Real Wedding Denver - Grant Humphrey’s Mansion
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
We had the most wonderful time working with Jess and Mike for their June 27th wedding at Grant Humphreys Mansion in Denver. Danielle and Debbie assisted Jess with the final planning and event design then Danielle coordinated a fabulous wedding evening for Jess and Mike. Guests enjoyed a gorgeous outdoor wedding ceremony on the lawn followed by cocktail hour, a plated dinner by Footers Catering then an evening of dancing with great music by Line Level Showtek. Thanks to Intricate Icings for the fabulous cakes. The wedding flowers were created by a family friend.
Debbie & Danielle
Denver Wedding Planners
Real Reasons to Hire an Experienced Wedding Consultant
Monday, July 13th, 2009
Finding the perfect venue - Experienced coordinators have worked at MANY venues. We can tell you what will fit your budget, guest count and your style. Instead of spending 20 hours searching for and visiting countless venues, we can talk to you for 15 minutes then give you the top ten venues in Colorado that will work best for you. We can also schedule and tour venues with you. When we tour venues with clients, we help you envision what the space could look like, discuss possible décor elements, consider color schemes that fit with the venue and also determine logistical considerations that could affect the flow of the wedding.
Experience with vendors –We have worked with countless vendors in every category. We have worked with all the major caterers in town and can tell the pros and cons of working with each one, what they specialize in, what their pricing is like and also what inclusions they have. We have had cake from every single bakery and cake designer in town. We can tell you who the best fit is for your style.
Contracts and banquet event orders –Between all the charges, legal talk and details, you may feel like you are reading something written in another language. Experienced coordinators read contracts and event orders on a weekly basis. We can decipher what is included, what isn’t and what is missing. We know which company tacks on multiple extra service charges and which companies are missing key clauses in their client contracts. If you have a hired a vendor we haven’t worked with, we know what questions to ask to make sure the contract and event order is in the best interest of our clients.
Budget – Can brides create a rough budget from an online template? Absolutely. The downside is that it won’t reflect the Colorado wedding market, work with your guest count or take into consideration the style of wedding you want. Coordinators take time to know you, learn what you want, determine what you have already spent and establish what style you want for your wedding. With that knowledge plus our experience in the Colorado wedding market, we give you a real custom budget. For example, if cake and desserts are really important to you, we may budget $1000-$2000. If you want a small cake and a few sheet cakes, $500 might be plenty (those numbers could vary greatly depending on your guest count).
Resources – After years of experience, we can find practically anything you want for your big day. Whether you want a secret mountain venue that isn’t advertised or a band that can play polkas AND top 40, we know where to find it.
Want to hear more reasons? Give us a call!
Debbie Orwat
Denver Wedding Planner
Wedding Week Check List
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
Break in your shoes - The last thing you want on your wedding day is blisters and sore feet. Wear your wedding shoes around the house with a pair of socks on. Scuff the bottoms on concrete or loose rocks so they aren’t slippery.
Clean your engagement ring - You can clean your ring at home or take it to a professional to have it polished before the wedding. Your new wedding band will be full of sparkle and you don’t want your engagement ring to be dull when photographed next to it.
Pack for your wedding night - Don’t forget a change of clothes and shoes to wear to brunch the next morning.
Pack for your honeymoon - You don’t want to be doing this at the last minute. If you can’t find the time to pack before the wedding, make a list during the week so that you don’t forget anything important like your passport or medications.
Misc tasks - Schedule the pet sitter and house sitter, leave your honeymoon itinerary with a relative or friend, confirm travel arrangements, hold your mail, write final checks and make gratuity envelopes for your wedding vendors.
Marriage License - If you haven’t picked it up yet, now is the time. You can find out how to get your Colorado Marriage License here.
Relax - Take time to pamper yourself with a massage, mani and pedi. Also, take a minute to breathe and enjoy the week!
Debbie Orwat
Colorado Marriage License Price Increase
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
Starting on July 1, 2009, the cost of a marriage license in Colorado increases to $30. The current price is $10. Need to know how to get a license? Read our blog post here about it.
Fun Wedding Statistics
Friday, June 19th, 2009
Every year an average of 2.4 million weddings are performed in the U.S
Today’s median age for first-time brides is 27 years. For grooms, it’s 29 years old.
The median age for remarriage is 34 for brides and 37 for grooms
Each weekend an average of 44,230 weddings take place
23 million bridesmaids and groomsmen attend brides and grooms each year
The average number of wedding guests is 165
88 percent of Americans marry at least once in their lifetime
The average amount spent on a wedding gift is in the $70-$100 range
The average amount spent on wedding bands for the couple is $1,575
The average amount spent on a bridal gown is $1,075
David’s Bridal accounts for 20% of all bridal-gown sales
Random Jobs of Wedding Planners
Friday, June 5th, 2009
Aside from standard wedding planning tasks, time lines, budgets and other details we coordinate as Colorado wedding planners, here are some of the random tasks we have done in the past month to help our clients enjoy their wedding weekend:
- Called guests who were lost on their way to the rehearsal dinner and gave them complete directions. The bride and groom were able to enjoy the dinner instead of spending 20 minutes on the phone.
- Created custom wedding favors for our June 6th clients. We couldn’t find exactly what they wanted so we created them ourselves.
- Run wedding day interference between the bride and her mom. Emotions can run high, especially on the wedding day. We were able to diffuse the situation so that mom and bride could enjoy the day.
- During a last minute rain storm, we handed out dozens of white umbrellas so that guests could stay outside for the ceremony.
- Ordered and stored custom made floral vases, guest books and wedding programs for destination wedding clients. When you have a wedding in a destination location, it is helpful to have a “drop zone” for shipping and holding wedding items until the wedding weekend. This is a complimentary service we provide for our destination brides and grooms.
- Assisted the rehearsal dinner site with changing all barware to more appropriate glassware. This is a small detail but we knew the bride and groom would not be happy with the original plasticware. The site changed to all glassware before the bride and groom arrived.
- At the last minute, a venue decided we couldn’t hang candles from the ceiling even though they previously approved it. Thanks to Twitter, we knew the one florist in this mountain town who graciously sold us all of her LED battery tea light candles. We were able to get these to the florist in time to have hanging glass vases with candles. The bride never noticed the difference.
These are just a few of the many unusual tasks we have done in the past few weeks to ensure our clients have a perfect Colorado wedding weekend.
Debbie Orwat
Wedding Planner in Colorado
Save the Date Events
Colorado Destination Wedding at Devil’s Thumb Ranch
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
We are so excited to post about Iris and Jeff’s wedding last Saturday at Devil’s Thumb Ranch. We started working with Iris and Jeff last fall. They live in Texas and wanted a destination wedding in Colorado. Devil’s Thumb Ranch was the perfect venue to give their guests a true Colorado experience and allow them to pamper their friends and family at a fabulous Colorado mountain resort. We decided early on to have a cherry blossom theme wedding then opted to add a bit of lavender into the style since Iris loves the smell of fresh lavender. We carried out the design through custom designed stationery, a fabulous cake and their seating cards. Our original plan for an outdoor ceremony was foiled due to rain so we created a stunning intimate ceremony space inside. Guests tossed fresh lavender as the bride and groom recessed down the aisle. It was the best smelling ceremony site! Guests dined on gourmet food stations including fabulous seafood, prime rib, assorted salads, and a custom martini bar. DJ Erik kept the dance floor packed all night with the latest dance music. The fabulous flowers and hanging candles were created by the very talented Alicia Schwede and her team at Bella Fiori Events. And special thanks to Michelle and Zack from Revert Photo for taking amazing photos and sending them to me in record time.
After almost daily contact for the past eight months, we miss Iris and Jeff already! We truly wish you the best of luck. Thank you for being such incredible clients and friends.
We can’t say enough good things about the fabulous vendors from this wedding: Intricate Icings Cake Design, Bella Fiori Event Florist, Revert Imaging Photography, A Great Time DJs , Nobility Strings and Forever More Custom Stationery.
Debbie Orwat, Colorado Wedding Planner
Save the Date Events
Save the Date Events
