Life. Love. Laughter. Happily Ever After.

Why I'm partial to February 5th

2012-02-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

Sunday is one of my favorite days of the year… February 5^th! Why, you ask? Well, there’s multiple reasons.

As much as I’d like to say that I remember ALL of my past client’s wedding days, in reality I’m getting enough “past clients” under my belt now that it’s becoming really hard to remember all of their anniversaries. However, I will ALWAYS remember February 5^th as the day that Emily & Dave tied the knot. Other than being a loving and memorable couple, Emily & Dave’s wedding was really special for a couple of reasons.

1. They were the fourth generation in a row married on February 5^th. What a cool tradition!

2. I met one of my favorite photographers, Shannon Schwabe of Clicking Through Life that day. She’s amazingly talented and is someone that I just truly enjoy working with!

3. Snowpocolypse…. That’s right, Emily & Dave’s day was highlighted by a crazy, nearly unexpected snow storm that dumped somewhere near a foot, foot and a half of snow on us… in about 5 hours. It started lightly when I was arriving at the bride’s parent’s house, got stronger through the ceremony and was a blizzard by “I Do”. However it made for amazing pictures and helped me learn an important lesson…wear pants to winter weddings I work in Michigan (luckily, I had that thought the morning of their wedding and thus was prepared for snow shoveling… yes, I shovel snow for my clients, lol)

4. Lastly… not only do Emily & Dave share their anniversary with three of Dave’s family members…they also share it with me and my husband!

That’s right, I was truly blessed to be married to my best friend, Phil, on February 5, 2005. And because he is everything to me, I knew that I needed to dedicate at least half of a blog post to him, lol.

Our wedding day wasn’t the snow filled affair that Emily & Dave had but the snow was a guest. Our snow fell one week before the wedding day, nearly a foot of it, and was still glistening when the morning of our wedding broke. The day was amazing – nearly 40 degrees with a clear blue sky and one of those amazing winter suns that reflects off the sheets of snow and totally blinds you while you’re driving.

We were married at St. Clement Catholic Church in Romeo surrounded by family and friends. The reception began shortly afterwards at the stunning Addison Oaks – a facility that is truly one of my favorites for winter weddings. It’s an old Tudor mansion that features loads of rich woods and a whole bunch of fireplaces. Coupled with the white Christmas lights still present, it was a stunning environment!

Now I wasn’t a planner at the time of our wedding but it was this event that helped inspire my love of the industry. I found that planning the wedding was something that I loved doing. And let’s face it, anyone that plans a wedding for 333 guests (cool final count, isn’t it!?) and includes an 18 member bridal party (aka our “parade”), has gotten some good experience. Because of this, February 5^th will also always represent the day that I really realized just how much I would love my future profession!

So here’s to one of my favorite days of the year… February 5^th! May Emily & Dave have a wonderful FIRST Anniversary. I hope your first year was amazing and it’s followed by about 100 more!

And to my favorite person, my Philly, thank you for giving me 7 years of unconditional love and support, a beautiful little girl and a second one on the way! I can’t wait until our family is complete in May and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life watching our girls grow up with you by my side!

So let’s all raise our glasses to February 5^th and of course, to Life, Love, Laughter…and Happily Ever After!

Stephanie & Sean

2012-01-27T05:57:00.000-08:00

(Please ignore the “quality” of photos in this post – they’re from my camera phone. I wasn’t going to include them but the wedding was so amazing that I wanted my readers to get a visual of what I was seeing!)

This past Saturday I had the privilege of being involved as day-of coordinator for the wedding of an old friend from high school, Stephanie. What an AMAZING event it was!

Stephanie and her husband Sean were married in the historic Masonic Temple in Detroit. The venue was incredibly romantic, featuring rich colors, dark woods and the unmistakable feeling of a historic atmosphere. The décor of the ceremony was simple – white kissing balls on tall glass vases and an aisle highlighted by white petals. Let’s face it…when you’re in Masonic, you don’t NEED anything else!

The couple held their reception at the beautiful Roostertail, also in Detroit. The wedding was one of the more unique ones I’ve done because the couple had the entire building upstairs and down. They began the evening with drinks and appetizers upstairs, music from Elite Entertainment’s DJ George Munger, followed by an amazing dinner served by the Roostertail staff.

After dinner, the party moved downstairs to the lower area that was setup with a nightclub feel. George went downstairs with all of us, but there was also a full 9 piece band waiting to entertain guests! The band and DJ rotated playing music throughout the night and kept the dance floor hopping!

The bride and groom started the dancing with a very touching dance to Etta James’ At Last, highlighted by the floor raising up during their first dance (if you haven’t been to Roostertail, it’s a really cool feature on the downstairs dance floor!). The evening was full of fun, dancing and the AMAZING dessert table provided by the facility. Guests also enjoyed using Elite’s Photobooth to capture fun memories from the night.

So on this, almost one-week anniversary, I’d like to wish the new couple all the best! May you have years and years of a loving marriage and be very blessed in everything you do!

What A Year!

2012-01-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a year we have had!

I just received notification that Beautiful Day Planning has received one of the 2012 Bride’s Choice Awards from Wedding Wire! This award is given to the top 5% of professionals listed on their site and is based on the feedback and ratings from past clients. I feel very honored to have received this award and can’t thank everyone enough for all of their support this year. Thank you to my past clients that took the time to rate the company on the site, and thus get me this award, and to all of my friends / family and supporters that helped us achieve our other awards!!

What a year 2011 was for Beautiful Day Planning, LLC! I’m looking forward to keeping up the momentum in 2012!!

2011 / 2012 Beautiful Day Planning Awards:

2012 Wedding Wire Bride’s Choice Award

2^nd Place, 2011 Detroit A-List Best Wedding Planner

3^rd Place, 2011 Click on Detroit 4 The Best, Best Wedding Planner

BDP On Wedding Wire

Beth & Patrick's Fairytale Production

2012-01-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

This summer, our blog begin anew with the post “How About A Wedding?!”. The entry featured the stunning nuptials of Beth & Patrick, who were married in downtown Detroit.

At this event, I had the privilege of working with the VERY talented crew of Fairytale Productions. Although I had never worked with the company before, I was immediately blown away by their professionalism, how friendly they were and what I envisioned for the footage they were capturing. It turns out, the end product was more than even I was expecting.

The company captured the true essence of the wedding and the exact feel of the bride and groom – from their completely heart-felt vows that left few with a dry eye, to their fun-loving attitude and absolute devotion to each-other.

Don’t believe me? Why not have a look….

Fairytale Productions

Happy New Year! And Happy Birthday BDP!

2012-01-03T10:42:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a HAPPY 2012!!

I am also VERY proud to wish a HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY to my company, Beautiful Day Planning!! Hard to believe we’ve been “official” for three years now… You know what they say, time flies…

This year is going to be a very exciting time for us. I am thrilled that the company did so well in our competitions last year – earning 2nd place in the “Detroit A-List “ Best Wedding Planner competition and 3rd Place in the Click on Detroit 4 The Best competition! Both are huge achievements and I couldn’t have gotten there without all of your support!

We are also going to be moving the office into a new dedicated space in a few short weeks! Although the office will still be located within my home residence, I am THRILLED to finally be getting a truly dedicated space – free of baby toys and other miscellaneous personal items. It will be GREAET to begin our fourth year with a place all our own!

And of course – the weddings! We already have a number of wonderful 2012 weddings lined up – beginning with Stephanie and Sean’s nuptials on the 21^st of this month and culminating with the busiest month in our history – September 2012! However we still have PLENTY of openings so please contact BDP if you’re interested in hearing more about our services! We are also already booking 2013 events, so please pass on the word!!

To everyone – Happy New Year! May 2012 bring you everything you want – Life. Love. Laughter. And, of course…Happily Ever After!

A Spring-Time Girl!

2011-12-27T12:21:00.000-08:00

What’s the best way to begin the 2012 peak wedding season? How about a baby?!

I am pleased to announce that this planner will begin the peak of next year’s wedding season by adding another member to our family. My second daughter is due in May, just in time for wedding season to heat up! However, she was thoughtful enough to make sure to work around all of the prior weddings I had already booked, how nice of her, right?!

Of course, details of my “maternity leave” will depend on the actual date of this little girls’ arrival, but I will not be taking on any weddings occurring in April, May or the first two weeks of June next year. But my current clients can rest easy – work will continue until this baby makes her appearance and will resume via computer after a short break following her birth!

I have to take a second to make an observation. How nice, to be blessed with two little girls when you’re a wedding planner… this means two weddings to plan for my own daughters! Do you think it’s too soon to begin?! ;)

The "Off Season"?

2011-09-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

Well, my friends, September is upon us which means another wonderful wedding season is winding down… right? NOPE! This winter-bride is happy to report that “off-season” weddings are on the rise and keeping us wedding planners nice and busy!!

You might ask why this is the trend?

Well first off, I believe that most brides are realizing that there can be significant cost savings associated with being an “off-season” bride. A lot of vendors will offer discounts for those brides that book during these non-peak months (not including around holidays, like Christmas…) or throw in added perks. Having been a February bride myself, I can tell you that a lot of vendors are eager to book weddings in these slower months and will offer incentives for your business. One cautionary point.. be careful of your date. My wedding was one week before Valentine’s Day… and as a result, our flower budget got spent multiple times over!!

Secondly, why not do something different? Spring and Summer weddings are so common that even with planning a year or two ahead, most people have trouble finding the exact date and location they want or getting all of their guests in attendance. Why not think about having a large scale, fun filled event during those fall and winter months when everyone is sitting at home bored? While most weddings can expect around a 15-20% rejection rate, off-season weddings typically experience closer to a 10% rate of negative responses.

Lastly – let’s face it… we live in Michigan. You’re going to worry about the weather no matter when you get married! It could snow on your April wedding day and it could be 150 degrees with 100% humidity in August. Sure, you might end up with a foot of snow on your wedding day (ah hem… Mr. and Mrs. Donoughe…) but you could also end up with a surprisingly nice wedding day! So why not consider the traditionally left-behind “off season” months… they need love too! ☺

And... the votes are IN!

2011-08-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

The votes are IN and I am thrilled to report that Beautiful Day Planning has received SECOND PLACE in the Detroit A-Lister's Best Wedding Planner competition!!

I can not begin to thank my supporters enough. I truly appreciate you taking the time to cast your vote...and for dealing with my numerous "reminder" emails and facebook posts! You all helped to put us on TOP! :)

And now... it's time for me to go and update the BDP website with my new "Top 5" badge! :)

Congrats also to some of our favorite vendors who also did an amazing job in the competition...
Mike Staff Productions
1st place, Best DJ
4th place, Best Videographer

3rd Street Films
5th Place, Best Videographer

Dream Limousines
1st Place, Best Limousines

Wilson Luxury Limousines
3rd Place, Best Limousines

Shutterbooth
1st Place, Best Rentals

Viviano,
1st Place, Best Flowers

Bellisario's
5th Place, Best Flowers

Why Do I Need A Wedding Planner?

2011-08-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

Let’s face it… most people either want a wedding planner’s help… or they don’t. However I think those that don’t want a planner’s help just don’t realize yet that they NEED a planner’s help. I truly believe, and not just because of my profession, that EVERY bride and groom greatly benefits from a wedding planner’s help at least on the day of their wedding. (I had one for mine!!)

Still don’t believe me? Well, let’s try a challenge… I’ll name off just a few of the to-do items that are going to come up during the week and day of your wedding and you name who’s going to take care of them.

Make the Calls…

I always suggest calling every one of your vendors the week of your wedding to ensure they have everything they need, know your instructions and you both agree on what time they are to arrive, and where. You would be surprised at how often I find different perceptions between the couple and the vendor.

What time is it?

There’s a lot going on on your wedding day – so have you prepared a timeline? You should always have a plan in place for what is going to happen and when. This will help keep you sane and, just as importantly, help your vendors know how the day is going to run. It will also prevent you from being asked at least 4 different times whether you’re cutting your cake before or after dinner (ah-hem…DJ, Hall, Photographer, Videographer. Etc etc etc).

Wait? Who’s taking that?

Weddings involved a lot of “stuff”. Sure, halls will take most of these items the week of the wedding but what about everything else? Who is going to take your flowers from the ceremony to the reception and ensure they’re setup as you’d like? Probably not your florist, who would mostly likely charge you extra for that… How about the programs, unity candle, marriage license and everything else that needs to make it out of the church or ceremony site in one piece? And we haven’t even started in on the reception yet… or who is going to be responsible for making sure everything makes it OUT of the hall at the end of the night… phew, that’s a lot to move, don’t you think??

Well..that’s probably all there is though, right?

Nope. There’s LOTS more…

Who are your vendors going to call on the wedding day if they have a question or problem?

What if the limo gets lost on the way to pick you up?

Oops! You forgot your veil at home…

Yikes… your dress bustle just broke. Who has thread???

Let’s face it… men can’t pin boutonnières on.

Who is going t lineup everyone for the procession?

You need the family for pictures but every time we send Aunt Ashley to get Grandma, we loose Aunt Ashley!

You need a wedding day emergency kit. Why? (see above..”Who has thread”)

You’d really like someone to review the hall before the reception to make sure all of your requests have been taken care of.

Trust me… all of the above probably account for about 10% of what I usually take care of on a wedding day. Crazy, isn’t it?

But… you have help, right? Your parents, your soon to be in-laws, your family and friends. Why would you need a trained wedding coordinator to take care of these things? Well, that’s easy and comes down to two things… First, to free your family and friends to just enjoy the day. Second, because it will ease your mind tremendously!! Sure, you can name people to take care of all of these things but then you still need to be the one to coordinate to make sure it all happens. You’ll also need to provide instructions on how to take care of these items, because the people you’re asking for help probably haven’t done it before. Instead, why not have a trained professional, someone that has done this countless times, prepare your day for you and ensure things run as smoothly as possible?

Did you realize that the cost of a day-of coordinator usually runs about 1.5% of the average budget for an American wedding? 1.5% for sanity, peace of mind and someone to direct all questions to!

I can’t tell you how many times I hear “Just ask Jennie” or “Give that to Jennie” in a single wedding or event… and every time I hear it, it’s music to my ears because I know I am doing my part to ensure that every one of my clients is happy with my service and happy they made the decision to hire a planner to coordinate their wedding day.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a quote from a recent groom…

“At first I had no idea why we needed a wedding planner and now have no idea how we would have succeeded without you. Invaluable. Essential. Perfect. Thank You.”

…. You’re welcome :)

We're Published!!

2011-08-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

Today is a great day! I am proud to announce that Beautiful Day Planning has had an entry published in The Wedding Institute's "Real Weddings" blog!

The Wedding Institute is an amazing company and the one that taught me everything I know! I received my Wedding Planner Certification there a couple of years ago and love being involved with the company.

So check us out in this new blog post...
http://www.weddingplanninginstitute.com/blog/2011/08/11/real-weddings-from-lwpi-graduates-jennie-wiegand/

The Strangest Thing

2011-08-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of different reactions when people hear that I’m a wedding planner. They vary from “Oh… really?” (Insert uplifted eyebrow and condescending look) to “Wow! I would LOVE to do that for a living”… and everything in between. However, no matter what a person may think of my chosen profession, I always seem to get the same follow-up question…

What is the strangest thing you’ve ever seen at a wedding?

Well… there’s been a few. How about the ever-present fall-down-drunk groomsman? Nope…everyone’s seen that. How about the overly emotional father of the bride that literally weeps his way down the aisle? Nope… that’s also kind of common.

So how about this one? A DJ that plays “Last Dance with Mary Jane”, complete with music video (you remember the one… where Tom Petty dresses up and dances with Kim Bassinger’s corpse?)…during dinner. Yep, great dinner music and all-around fantastic choice for a wedding reception, Mr. DJ. Let’s just hope your Bride and Groom didn’t notice… but I did!

How About A Wedding?!

2011-08-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

After... well, a couple of years, I've decided it's time to give the BDP blog a refresh... and, ahem, to start using it! :) So I thought to myself... what's the best "first" post for this updated, expanded, and all-around more fantastic blog?? How about a wedding!?

This past Saturday I was privileged to be involved with the heart-felt nuptials of Beth & Patrick.

This couple radiates love and left few in the church with a dry eye, myself included! The two of them were joined in a Protestant ceremony at the gorgeous Central United Methodist church of Detroit. They just don't make churches like that anymore - and you don't always come across couples like Beth & Patrick anymore!

The couple has 5 attendants each including one of the bride's close friends as maid of honor and, my favorite part, the bride's son as best man. True to Philippine tradition, the ceremony also included 4 Primary Sponsors, 2 Veil Sponsors, 2 Cord Sponsors, a Bible Bearer, a Ring Bearer, a Coin Bearer, 2 Veil Bearers, a Cord Bearer and one adorable baby Flower Girl with her own whicker carriage! (Phew!)

The reception was beautifully put together by the bride with a"secret garden" feel including beautiful centerpieces, lots of candles and seating card tags a-fixed to vintage brass keys. I was blown away by the whole event and SO happy to have been asked to help make their dream a reality!

Thank you, as always, to the amazing vendors! Cherry Creek Golf Course and Mike Staff Productions (DJ) were amazing as usual and companies that I've always enjoyed working with. However, I also had the great advantage of meeting two additional vendors - Fairytale Productions and JLB Wedding. Both are talented companies and, as you can see, Jeff Bennett with JLB has an eye for weddings (and gets his "sneak peeks" out the day after the wedding?! awesome!!) Thank you to all of them! :)

Thank you also to the new Mr. & Mrs. for letting me be part of their special day. I truly enjoyed myself and received the most heart-warming compliment from the groom via the BDP facebook page.

Beth & Patrick, you're a beautiful couple and I have no doubt you're headed for a wonderful life together. Best Wishes Always!