Perfect Beginnings

Posted By Darlene on May 1, 2013

Just got engaged? Have a beautiful love story you want to share? Well we want to hear it! Tell us your love story in our Ultimate Love Story Contest for a chance to have your wedding planned & designed at no cost to you! That’s right; for FREE!!! Isn’t that exciting? Submit your stories to us via the link below from now until May 31st, 2013.

Winchester, Virginia’s wedding planning specialist, Darlene Taylor of TaylorMade Weddings, and Martinsburg, West Virginia’s wedding designer expert and custom gown artist, Kristi Richardson of Bloomed to Last, have joined together to offer one lucky couple in the Shenandoah Valley the opportunity to WIN the Ultimate Wedding Planning & Design experience of a lifetime.

One lucky couple will be able to take advantage of their undeniable talent in planning and design while creating the wedding of their dreams. Will it be you?

Click here for contest rules and entry form. Good Luck!

Category: Wedding Planning | No Comments »
Tags: blue ridge, bride, coordination, coordinator, couple, couples, decorating, Engaged, groom, love, northern virginia wedding, proposal, shenandoah valley, valley weddings, wedding decor, Wedding design, wedding planner winchester Virginia

Posted By Darlene on March 14, 2013

Sources: 20 Something finance, CNN, Wedding Channel, Brides, Mint

Category: Wedding Planning | No Comments »
Tags: bridesmaid, cost, finance, groomsman, groomsmen, wedding party

Posted By Darlene on February 19, 2013

Nifty infographic provided by: Love Infographics

Category: Tuesday Groom's Day | No Comments »
Tags: bachelor party, best man, groom, guys night out, how to

Posted By Darlene on February 12, 2013

This video from The Skit Guys goes out to all the guys out there who really want to understand their wives, fiancees, significant others and Pinterest so they can get them something they REALLY want for Valentine’s Day!

Category: Tuesday Groom's Day | No Comments »
Tags: advice, chocolate candy, crafts, fiance, flowers, groom, husband, love, pins, pinterest, planning, valentines day, wedding, wife, wives

Posted By Darlene on February 1, 2013

This infographic is provided by Staples Copy and Print. Did you learn something new today?

Category: Etiquette, FAB friday Finds, Invitations/Stationery | No Comments »
Tags: envelopes, Etiquette, postage, postal service, RSVP, USPS, Wedding Invitations

Posted By Darlene on January 29, 2013

I’ve been wanting to get this blog post out for quite some time. I’ve struggled with what to say and how to say it politely…but you know what? There is no way to be “polite” about it so I won’t try to sugar coat it. So I’m just going to say it…There IS a difference between wedding coordinators who own their own businesses vs. coordinators who are employed by a church, hotel, estate, or other event location. A BIG difference! A wedding coordinator (that’s ME) specializes in planning, coordinating and managing everything involved in your wedding. I am hired by you and I act as YOUR representative with YOUR best interests at heart. In a sense, YOU are my boss. On the flip side -  The venue coordinator coordinates all the elements at their venue: the set up, the service staff, possibly catering, and the property in general.  Contrary to what you might believe, you are not their boss. A venue coordinator is employed by their company and whoever hired them from the venue is their boss. Though they care about providing you with exceptional service and they want your day to be grand, ultimately their responsibility is to oversee the venue to make sure the venue operates and fulfills its contractual obligations with you.

Recently, at a bridal show, I met a bride who told me, “Oh I don’t need you,” because she had a coordinator at her church and there was a coordinator at her reception venue. “Wonderful!” I replied. “Can I ask you a question?”

“OK,” she said.

“Who is going to make sure all your decor is in place and make sure your vendors show up on time and get everybody from point A to B?”

“Oh I have a friend for all that,” she confidently replied.

“Will your friend be able to take care of a situation with a particular vendor not showing up or if there is a problem with…say… your flowers arriving to your ceremony?”

Blank stare.

“Will your friend be able to take care of contract/legal issues with your vendors or your venue should there be a problem on your wedding day?”

Blank stare.

“Will your venue coordinator set up your favors and table decorations, hang lights, or be able to handle an issue with the DJ should they try to end early or drink on the job?”

“I don’t know!” she says.

“You *NEED* to find out!” I told her. “Ask your church coordinator exactly what he/she will do on your wedding day. Ask your venue coordinator what he/she is exactly going to do on your wedding day.”

The answers might surprise you! And if there are problems when the problems occur on your wedding day, guess who everyone is going to run to? YOU! Or, rather, they will run to your friend first who will then run to you because she doesn’t have the answers. And she will hype it up because she will be so worried for you. “OMG! This is so BAD. I feel so sorry for you.”

That’s why there’s ME! I am not your family member or your BFF. I am not employed by a company where I have to represent them. I am employed by YOU and I act as YOUR representative. I am there solely for YOU. To look out for YOU. I don’t know about you, but having a bunch of vendors, or my mom, or my friends constantly coming at me, while I’m getting hair and makeup done, to ask me questions about what goes where…or what to do about the groomsman who forgot the right socks… that would drive me nuts! Not to mention make my blood pressure go up. Who wants that stress? And WHY would you want your mom or your friends going crazy with wedding stuff when they should be hanging with you, having fun, and enjoying those special pre-wedding moments? Sorry…I digress.

Don’t assume anything. Don’t go on with your wedding planning assuming that the staff at the venue will set up your linens that you’ve rented. A good rule of thumb: If it doesn’t belong to the venue it’s not their responsibility. Don’t assume that they will set out your favors for you, or candles, or mirrors….again…it’s not their stuff so it’s not their responsibility. Also, the venue is paying their staff to set up the venue (which does include getting chairs and tables set up according to your layout) but not to decorate the venue. Those chair covers you rented? YOUR responsibility. However, IF you decide to delegate the wedding decor to your friends or your mom, there will be confusion and craziness and things left undone. Your friends want to be having fun…not throwing together centerpieces (and they will THROW them together) and trying to put together an escort card display. That’s why there’s ME! I’m there to tie it all together. All the vendors. All the point people which includes the church coordinator and the venue coordinator. I’m there to be ONE point person for THEM! Did you get that? Read it again. I am there to be the ONE point of contact for ALL the wedding vendors to talk to. Remember – I am YOUR representative! Would you rather have all these people checking in with ME and asking ME questions on the day of your wedding…or calling/texting/knocking on your door all morning long?

Now, you will find event venues that have extremely nice staff and they will do some things for you. For example: Maybe you’re using all the hotel china and stemware but want a different linen to use beside their standard white. Most venues would probably go ahead and put the linens on the table for you and proceed with the rest of the table set up. Basically they’re doing their regular set up just using a different linen. No problem. But bottom line for venue coordinators…their only responsibility is to set up the venue according to your layout, get your food ready if they have in-house catering, hire staff to serve/assist guests and provide you with excellent service on your wedding day. In other words, their only real responsibility is to the venue. Do they care about you – of course! BUT, they are not required to decorate for you, tie chair sashes on chairs, nor deal with a cake problem, nor deal with your DJ drinking on the job…or whatever else happens on your wedding day. If there is a problem with the hotel service, equipment rented from them, electrical hookup for the DJ, then the VENUE coordinator or banquet manager will take care of that. That IS their responsibility.

YOUR responsibility is to know the difference. And NOW you do!

 

Category: DIY Wedding, Planner's Notes, Wedding Planning | 2 Comments »
Tags: banquet manager, ceremony, church coordinator, coordinator, difference, don't need coordinator, don't need planner, planner, reception, venue, wedding

Posted By Darlene on January 20, 2013

Last night, ABC aired “Wedding Confidential: Industry Secrets.” First off….industry secrets?? What secrets? The title alone of ABC’s 20/20 episode on Friday, January 18, 2013, bothered me but the direct line from their promo, “Learn the tricks the wedding business uses to rip off unsuspecting lovebirds…” well, that just burns my biscuits!! That really makes me mad. And I don’t like getting mad. The media has made me, and the rest of my colleagues in the wedding industry, look like heartless, slimy con artists who use lies and hype to trick brides and grooms into giving us money that we don’t deserve. Normally, I would shrug this off as bad reality TV, but I can’t. Not this time. ABC has made a BIG mistake in their reporting. And judging from the negative feedback on their Facebook page by members of the wedding industry, I’m not the only one who thinks this episode was an epic fail!

What I’m really upset about is that ABC has now created a rift between wedding vendors and engaged couples by creating all the hype themselves and presenting the wedding industry as finks. They present this show with the idea of, “We’re going to help you” and they’ve done nothing to help couples. In fact ABC has made it worse for them. Brides already feel cautious and insecure when meeting with vendors and to see a show like this, that misleads couples about the whole industry, is just disappointing. It’s blown all our collective efforts in building a bridge of trust between our industry and engaged couples in just a matter of minutes. Wedding professionals, including myself, are some of the most caring and passionate people out there who truly want to be a help to brides and grooms and their families.  These types of shows and blogs and books that teach couples “negotiating power” to get cheaper prices are doing nothing but turning THEM into being pushy and demanding.  NOBODY likes a pushy, demanding person. Pushy and demanding brides are a TURNOFF for just about every wedding professional out there! So, tell me 20/20, how does this help them? The repercussions from this will not help the relationship between brides and their vendors. It hurts everyone on both sides.

Very disappointing! Shame on you, ABC.

What most couples don’t fully realize is that there is a difference between planning a party and planning a wedding. A wedding is NOT a standard party! There is more stress, an increased time investment, more details, more liability. Therein lies the higher expense. This should not even be something the wedding industry has to defend.  If you’re a bride-to-be reading this…would YOU want your DJ to prepare for your wedding the same way he would prepare for your birthday party? If you’re honest, your answer is NO!! I would think that you’d want the biggest day of your life to be rockin’ and memorable!! If you hire a DJ who charges the same for every job, you are NOT going to get a rockin’ wedding…you’ll get an OK wedding. I don’t know about you, but that is not acceptable to me. And your mediocre wedding won’t be the DJs fault. You paid for it. You want an exceptional job, expect to pay. That is not a rip-off. That’s common sense!

Again, shame on you, 20/20, for misleading brides instead of educating them on the ins/outs of wedding planning. You had a chance to really help engaged couples everywhere and you didn’t. You had a chance to support small businesses and you didn’t. You just threw us under the bus!

I, for one, will be addressing this episode more in depth in the following week to clear the air and set the record straight with brides and grooms. I hope my fellow wedding professionals – YES! Professionals!! – will get out from under the bus and stand up to 20/20 for making a mockery of brides and grooms and the industry as a whole!

 

Category: Wedding Planning | 18 Comments »
Tags: 20/20, ABC, wedding business, wedding confidential, wedding professionals

Posted By Darlene on December 14, 2012

Short and sweet…this is WAY cool!! And WAY easy! And WAY fabulous!! Make your own photo booth for your wedding, company event, class reunion or family reunion, or your at-home Christmas party. All you need is an iPad, the iPad Wedding Photo Booth App, some creativity and you will have a memorable event! Here’s how:

To see the Photo Booth in action watch this video:

Category: DIY Wedding, FAB friday Finds | 1 Comment »
Tags: Christmas Party, class reunion, company party, DIY photo booth, entertainment, family reunion, iPad, Photo Booth, wedding

Posted By Darlene on November 14, 2012

So you have all all these beautiful flowers from your wedding – centerpieces, altar arrangements, bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres, flowers on the pews – what will you do with all of these flowers after the wedding is over? I suggest donating them to a nursing home in your area. How sweet would it be, let’s say, for an elderly couple to receive a corsage and boutonniere to wear for a day? Or they may even wear it to church or when they go to the cafe to eat dinner. Or – think of how it would brighten someone’s room with a big arrangement of wedding flowers? Wouldn’t it feel awesome to bring cheer to others who would appreciate it so much?

Category: Wedding Planning | No Comments »
Tags: arrangements, bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, ceremony, fowers, leftover, wedding

Posted By Darlene on November 11, 2012

To all those who have served and who are currently serving this great country:

THANK YOU!!

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: