Sarah and Hunter

This weekend, we were out at the beautiful Driftwood Estates Winery managing an equally beautiful wedding.  Sarah and Hunter were truly one of the sweetest couples I have had the pleasure to work with.  Sarah was such a laid back bride and she created a fun festive atmosphere for her special day.

Wedding Ingredients:

Venue- Driftwood Estates Winery

Photography- Tyler Schmitt, The Mill Photography Studio

Cupcakes- Sweet Treet Bakery

Flowers- Bouquets of Austin, Becky

DJ- Music 4 Life, DJ RJ

Rentals- Austin's World of Rentals

Catering- Flores

Coordinator- The Fairytale Effect, Rachel Stepanov

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.

About Me: Rachel Stepanov

 

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!!

   My husband and I were engaged in 2004 after two years of dating, and thus started my wedding career.  I loved every part about planning my wedding, working on every detail, and dreaming about the day to come. It was actually my husband that had planted the idea of me becoming a wedding planner, and after initial stipulation that idea took on roots and grew.

  I did things a bit backwards; before I had any experience as a wedding planner, I educated myself and became certified by Penn Foster University.  A few months went by, my wedding took place and I then became a "wedding consultant" for David's Bridal.  While at David's, I began an internship at one of the top wedding planning companies here in Austin.  After about six months, I was then hired as a wedding planner for another top Austin company and worked as a company owned wedding planner for a year and half.  

  After that, I went into business for myself, and became more successful than I could have imagined.  After not even being in business for a complete year, I was named The Best of The Knot; a coveted award voted by past clients.  Not only do you have to be voted, but you have receive multiple votes.

  In September of 2010, against all odds, I became pregnant with triplets and decided to sell my business to take care of my unique pregnancy.  I became a mother on April 1st, 2011 and have been enjoying the experience of raising triplets ever since.  As mentioned before, I decided to exclusively return to the wedding industry on accordance to God's will and inspired by Proverbs 31:10-31, the story of the Virtuous Wife.

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 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!