What is a Wedding Planner: The Details Part Three

Now Excepting Candidates for FREE Wedding Planninsg Services.  Please call or email: 512.657.7209 or thefairytaleeffect@gmail.com

Today we're going to continue our look at planning services provided by your wedding planner.  

1)     Delivery of Welcome Baskets

When there are many out of town guest, its nice for them to receive a little welcome gift waiting for them in their hotel rooms.  Seeing as a lot of the guests will be arriving when the bride and the families are their busiest, its logical for the wedding planner to deliver these to the hotels.  I will deliver to up to three hotels.  For an additional fee, your wedding planner can assemble the welcome baskets for you as long as you provide what all the basket entails.  

2)    Complete Planning of the Subsequent Parties

Your wedding planner can also plan the other parties associated with your wedding.  This includes engagement parties, bridal showers, and the rehearsal dinner.  A planner would do the same services that she would preform for a wedding; assistants with hiring vendors, assistants with rentals, creating a party agenda, and executing that agenda, set-up and clean-up. 

3)     Arrangement of Group Transportation

Not one of my favorite add-on services, but it is popular. Group transportation is needed particularly when their are a lot of out of town guests and when the wedding venue is in a more remote location.  Your wedding planner can arrange all of the group transportation for you, making sure to find a company that meets all your requirements and is in your price range.

4)     Wedding Gown Shopping

Your wedding planner can help you find that perfect dress.  I have a little bit of an insight on this particular add-on, seeing as I got my start in the wedding industry as a wedding gown consultant for David's Bridal.  For three separate bridal gown boutiques, your wedding planner will schedule shopping appointments, help you select your gowns to try on, help you get dressed in your gowns (if you would like), teach you the proper way to wear the gown (yes there is a proper way), and help to pick out accessories to complement the look you are trying to achieve.

5)     Assembling Wedding Items

There is a lot of assembly required to pull off a wedding.  If you need someone to put together your send-off items, your guest favors, your invitations, your welcome baskets, your programs, or anything else, your wedding planner can accomplish this task.  She can also address your invitations for you.

The Fairytale Effect can add any of these services to your wedding planning package and if you have something specific in mind that isn't listed, just ask....we can probably do it for you!  

What is a Wedding Planner: The Details Part Two

 Now accepting candidates for free wedding planning services.  Please call or email: 512.657.7209, thefairytaleeffect@gmail.com

 A wedding planner might be a little bit more involved in the planning process depending on the bride.  There are many different reasons why a bride would hire a planner for more detailed services, but there are two main reasons that I've come across; 1) the bride is from out of town and she is doing the planning remotely and 2) the bride is too busy to do the planning on her own.  Either way, all of the final decisions are made by the bride, the planner is just executing and adding to the bride's vision of her wedding day.
  Below you will find some of the other services a wedding planner can provide followed by a brief description of those services:

1)    Vendor Meetings

For this service, your wedding planner will  act as your secretary and will book your vendor meetings.  I include meetings with three of the same vendor, so if you were to hire me for your photographer meetings I would book three photographers for us to meet with.  Once at the meeting I would take notes, offer feedback, and negotiate pricing.  After the meeting I would type and send you the notes.  Once we've met with all the photographers, I would type up and give you a comparison of all three and then I would tell the vendors of your selection so that you would not have to have an awkward conversation with those that you did not select.
I offer a different option for my brides, as well.  Its kind of an in-between option in which I do all the leg work for the bride.  I research all vendors in a particular category to find which vendors meet the bride's specific needs and I then call to make sure that they are available for the wedding date.  After that, I present the bride with my research (along with reviews of wedding professionals that have used this particular vendor) and from there the bride will tell me which vendors she would like to meet.  I would setup the appointments, but I would not attend the meetings.  Afterwards, I would let the vendor know of the bride's decision.


2)     Additional Consultant Meetings

Some examples of these meetings would be to order rentals, visit venues, work on the budget, arrange transportation, attend a tasting, or to attend another vendor's meeting.

3)     Budget Tracking

This is a continuous budget that begins when the planner is hired.  The budgeted amount is determined by what a bride is willing to spend extra on and what a bride is wanting to save on.  Once the vendor is hired the planner will adjust the entire budget to reflect the costs.  If more is spent than what is budgeted, costs will be taken from another vendor to offset the amount.

4)     Returning of Rentals

This a popular add on service.  After the wedding is complete, there are many items that need to be returned.  First there is the obvious; the items from the rental company (which includes tables, linens, place settings, etc), but there are also less obvious rentals such as the cake stand and (even though is not a rental) the left over alcohol.  Instead of finding a friend or family member to do this, your wedding planner can do this for you.

5)     Maintenance of RSVPs

This is nice little add-on.  Instead of having RSVPs sent to the bride (or family) they can be sent to the wedding planner.  She will then keep track of all the RSVPs on a spreadsheet, update the bride with the guest count and then before the head count is due she will call non-responsive guests (if provided with the guest list and contact information).

Stay tuned for details of services provided by a wedding planner.

What is a Wedding Planner: The Details Part One

Now Taking Candidates for Free Wedding Planning Services.
Call 512.657.7209 or email austinbudgetweddingplanner@gmail.com

 

After you hire a wedding planner, the planning begins.  How involved your wedding planner is in planning is dependent upon you, the services you've decided to purchase, and how much of the wedding you've already planned.  No matter what, all Fairytale brides do receive a little bit of help with the planning that is remaining after we've been hired.  Each bride receives a personalized preferred vendors list with suggestions on what particular vendors they should hire.  When going through the initial consultation, the planner will ask preferences on different vendors; do you like rich or light and fluffy cakes, what type photography style do you prefer?  The way you answer these questions along with your budget are how your preferred vendors are determined.  This information is golden!  Because of a wedding planner's experience with multiple vendors, she will be able to provide with you a perfect match effortlessly, saving you time and money.
  Another tool all Fairytale brides receive is a personalized checklist.  This helps to keep the bride on task and get all the planning details taken care of in a timely manner.  Depending on how much help is needed, the bride can also ask for monthly reminders.
  The last thing that all Fairytale brides receive no matter how much planning services they require is access to the wedding planner.  If there is ever any issues or questions, your planner is there for you.  This is another experience perk.  Most people don't have the luxury of planning hundreds of wedding, but your wedding planner does.  Through experience, she is able to help you with logistics, etiquette, traditions, trouble shooting, you name it, she's probably seen it.  All Fairytale brides have access to their wedding planner from 8am until 8pm without any other limitations.  If your planner doesn't answer right away, she will get back to you within twenty-four hours (most of the time sooner).
  These are just the minimal planning details that your wedding planner preforms.  Stay tuned next time for The Details Part Two, in which we will talk about specialized planning services.

What is a Wedding Planner: The Initial Consultation

Now booking weddings for December and 2013.  For a free initial consultation email or call, austinbudgetweddingplanner@gmail.com or 512-657-7209.  Wedding planning services no higher than $750!!

 Our babysitter has shown interest in the wedding planning industry and yesterday when she was watching the kids, I briefly explained to her what the job entails.  I got to thinking, there are a lot of people out there that just really don't understand what a wedding planner is or why you would hire one, so I decided to do a series of posts detailing the entire wedding planning process.  Of course, for those full service wedding planners the amount of work is dependent upon the time in which they are hired and how much they were hired for, but for this purpose and since I am now only doing day of service, we will discuss, in detail, the role of a day of wedding planner.
  After I am contacted by a bride, I immediately set up a free initial consultation.  This will take place at a convenient location, usually a coffee shop or something similar.  At this meeting the bride and I (and anyone else that might attend the meeting) sip on a beverage, munch on some snacks and talk about the wedding.  When I got married, I felt as if I was the only one that truly cared about the event and I'm sure I'm not the only bride that has felt that way.  I desperately wanted to talk about all my plans, but didn't want to bore my friends and family.  As a wedding planner, I care about the wedding nearly as much as the bride.  I want to know every detail, every vendor hired, every bridal party member, family dynamics, decor, and logistics.  I want to know it all and that is what we talk about at the initial consultation.  We start off by discussing the solid aspects; who, what, when, where, and why.  Who is in the wedding party and what other family members play an important role?  Are there any family dynamics I need to know about?  What is the look and feel you are wishing to establish at your wedding?  We'll then go through all of the vendors; we'll talk about who you've hired and who you still need to hire.  I'll ask questions about the vendors your still looking for so I will be able to point you in the right direction of a great match.  Do you like light and fluffy desserts or rich and decadent (for cake)?  What types of food do you and your fiance enjoy (for caterer)?  Are you modern in design styles or more romantic (florals)? Etc, Etc.  We'll go over a very informal agenda and talk about the flow of your wedding day.  We'll talk about your venue or discuss possible venues and talk about their guidelines and the amount of time your allowed for set-up and breakdown.  Then we'll discuss your budget...what are you willing to spend on and what are you willing to save on?  We'll wrap everything up with a discussion of my services and why you would hire a wedding planner.  It makes for a very fun day!  So if your ready to set up a free initial consultation, drop us an email....austinbudgetweddingplanner@gmail.com.

Why You Need a Wedding Planner

It used to be that wedding planners were only for the wealthy and famous, but with the typical wedding becoming more and more elaborate and with more couples paying for their own weddings while working a full time job, the necessity for wedding planners has boomed. Not only are planners helping to pull all the details together, they can also be a valuable resource for finding the right vendor for the right price....Many times, vendors will even give the brides a discount, just for using a wedding planner.
Don't take my word for it. Recently, I stumbled across this article:

Leslie Ramos & Jason Carmona
The key to Leslie and Jason’s flawless Texas wedding is simple—hiring a day-of wedding planner to ensure every detail went just right on their big day. While the couple planned the majority of the wedding, hiring Buon Affare Events relieved unnecessary stress during the wedding. “Rachel [our wedding planner] was the key to our wedding being a success. She ensured that the day flowed perfectly and that all issues were handled without it interrupting our evening. If anything went wrong, we certainly didn’t notice!” says the couple.

To share their vegan ethics with guests, Leslie and Jason not only perfected their reception menu, featuring pear-walnut empanadas and green apple and jicama stew, but also handed out Farm Sanctuary glasses to guests as favors, igniting many powerful conversations about the sanctuary and veganism after the celebration.

As unforgettable as the ceremony was, Leslie and Jason say they’ll never forget their honeymoon, sponsored by family and friends, which included a music tour of the UK, as well as a food tour of Amsterdam. “To this day and forever, we still find ourselves daydreaming of our three-week European honeymoon,” say Leslie and Jason.

The couple were an ordinary, everyday couple, that were busy with their careers and didn't have thousands and thousands of dollars to spend on a wedding planner, but decided to have somebody in charge so that they and their family could enjoy the celebration.
*Article written by By Melissa Feineman for Vegan Weddings,http://www.vegnews.com/web/articles/page.do?pageId=2252&catId=6

Wedding Day Emergency Kit

Now booking weddings for December and 2013.  For a free initial consultation email or call, austinbudgetweddingplanner@gmail.com or 512-657-7209.  Wedding planning services no higher than $750!!

(Note: This is not the actual kit I put together, forgot to take pictures of that one, butound this at http://mymojuba.com just so you can get the idea)

Below is an example of what I put in my wedding day emergency kit:

Agenda (shoulder bag-front pocket)

Allergy medication (first aid kit)

Anti-Diarrheal (first aid Kit)

Baby powder (shoulder bag-back inside pocket)

Black socks-men’s (shoulder bag-main pocket)

Bobby Pins (bead case)

Bubbles for send-off back-up (main case)

Bug Spray (main case)

Cake cutting set (main case)

Chap Stick (shoulder bag-lipstick pocket)

Clear nail polish (shoulder bag-back inside pocket)

Clothes Pins (shoulder bag- back pocket)

ContactSolution/case(main bag)

Corsage Pins (bead case)

Cotton balls (bead case)

Deodorant (main case)

Dryer Sheets-for static cling (main case)

Ear ring backs (bead case)

Emery board (shoulder bag-back inside pocket)

Energy Drink-5 Hour Energy (shoulder bag-front inside pocket)

Extension cord (main case)

Eye drops (first aid kit)

Eye Hook (shoulder bag- inside flap)

Eyelashes/Eyelash Glue (shoulder bag-front inside pocket)

Fake rings (bead case)

Fingernail Clippers (bead case)

Fingernail polish remover (main case)

Fingernails (shoulder bag-back inside pocket)

First Aid Kit (main case)

French tip nail pen (shoulder bag-back inside pocket)

Garter (main case)

Gas Relief (first aid kit)

Gloves-for cake (bead box)

Glue Stick-great for sticking material to skin (shoulder bag-back inside pocket)

Goldfish Crackers (main case)

Hair ties (bead case)

Hair brush/comb (shoulder bag-front inside pocket)

Hairspray (main kit)

Hand Sanitizer (shoulder bag-front pocket)

Itch relief (first aid kit)

Lighters2-long necked (shoulder bag- front pocket & inside)

Lint Roller (main kit)

Lotion (shoulder bag-back inside pocket)

Mints (shoulder bag- front pocket)

Mirror (main case)

Pads/Pantiliners  (main case)

Pain reliever (first aid kit)

Pens (shoulder bag-inside flap)

Peptobismol (first aid kit)

Push pins (bead case)

Q-tips (shoulder bag-front inside pocket)

Razors (main kit)

Reserved Signs (main case)

Ribbon (bead case)

Safety Pins (bead case)

Scissors3 (shoulder bag-front & back pocket)

Sewing kit (shoulder bag-front pocket)

Sharpie (shoulder bag-inside flap)

Snacks-Kashi granola bars (main case)

Spot Remover (shoulder bag-back pocket)

Straws (shoulder bag-front main pocket)

Sunblock (shoulder bag-back inside pocket

Super Glue (shoulder bag-back inside pocket)

Tampons (main bag)

Tape-double side (shoulder bag-back inside pocket)

Tissues (shoulder bag-front pocket)

Tooth picks (bead case)

Toothbrush/Paste (shoulder bag-front main pocket)

Tweezers (shoulder bag-front inside pocket)

Urinary pain relief (first aid kit)

Water (main case)

Wedding Planner 2.0

  Here I am, a mother of 19 month old triplets, thinking that I left weddings in my past to start a new life as a stay at home mother.  So why am I returning?  As a mother we always look for ways to become the best we can be at the most important job there is. That thinking led me to a group called MOPs (mothers of preschoolers).  At MOPs  the kids go and play while the moms listen to a guest speaker among other things.
  At one meeting we listen to this phenomenal speaker talk about budget and our role as wives and mothers. She mentioned something that hit a chord to me....It is every women's job to contribute in her own way to the budget.  Now that might mean different things to different women depending on what you can offer.  You can do it by saving at the grocery store, clipping coupons, our making bows to sell on Etsy.  Its about finding what you can do to contribute no matter how large or small your contribution is.  Well, I don't have time to clip coupons and I'm just not crafty enough to sell on Etsy, so I thought of what I could do....Wedding planning!
  Here's my plan; I'm simplifying wedding planning...No advertising, no wedding shows, no website, only 'month of services', and only one wedding a month.  So, what does that mean for my brides.  First of all, they only find me by word of mouth or they stumble upon this blog.  It also means that my brides get an amazing deal. Having my services set-up this way allows me to charge at the most $750.
  Here's what goes into the $750:
- One initial consultation (no obligation and completely free of charge)
- Eight hours on the day of the wedding (with one assistant)
- One hour rehearsal
- One two hour venue meeting
- Construction of Wedding Day Agenda
- Construction of floor plan
- Construction of set-up checklist
- Use of wedding emergency kit
  Looks good?  So how can you get a hold of me.  You can email me at austinweddingbudgetplanner@gmail.com or you can call me at 512-657-7209.  Hoping to hear from you soon!