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You had me at wedding CAKE!
If you know me, then you know that the way to my heart is wedding cake! Just put a piece of cake in front of me and I’ll say “yes” to just about anything, lol! Which brings me to my topic for today…wedding cakes! And who better to talk to than Anita Algiene, the owner of The Midnight Sun Cakery about cakes! If you have never had one of her cakes, then you are surely missing out, and I am not exaggerating! Years ago I attended the Fall Wedding Show and Anita was a vendor there. She served samples of an almond cake that was to die for. Normally, almond…
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Lorell’s Favorite Things 2019
If Oprah can have a “Favorite Things 2019” list, so can I! I’m recapping some of my favorite things, ideas, and moments from my 2019 weddings. Brianna and Clay came from South Carolina to elope in Alaska. This beautiful picture of Brianna’s late mother was held by her sister during the ceremony. What a beautiful way to honor her late mother and include her in the ceremony. Brianna’s Tiffany Blue Hunter Boots were everything! One of the Bride’s closest friends baked this homemade wedding cheesecake for Mercedes and Jay. It was made with LOVE! Guests had cheesecake for dessert and this beauty got to go home with the newlyweds! We…
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The death of “Day-of-Coordination”
For years in the wedding planning world, there has been a lot of discussion on not using the term “Day-of-Coordination.” “Day-of” suggests that a wedding planner will come in on the day of your wedding and magically work his or her magic, without ever learning or assisting with the details before the actual day. And the fact is, that’s not how it happens. Because in all actuality some of us come in a week prior, a month prior, or even two months before to start assisting with a wedding. More and more planners are using “Wedding Management” to replace “Day-of-Coordination” or in my case, I use “Wedding Direction.” After I…
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After Wedding Photos
Getting photos back from a wedding are like Christmas morning for wedding planners! So, when I got my hands on Heather and John’s wedding photos from July, I was ecstatic, to say the least. I knew they were going to be ahhh-mazing because the wedding and the couple were just gorgeous, to begin with! To my surprise, there was a little something extra in this batch…after wedding photos. What are after wedding photos? Exactly as it sounds, photos taken the day or days after your wedding. Whenever I have had couples do a photoshoot after their wedding they have turned out gorgeous, and it just brings a different element to…
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This is the “ugly!”
Okay, I guess you are due for an “ugly” story! When people find out I’m a wedding planner, their first response is usually “Wow, that’s so cool!” (Thank you JLo!) And then their next response is, “I bet you have some good stories to tell!” Yeah, I’ve got stories, I’ve got good ones, I’ve got bad ones, and I’ve got ugly ones. Thankfully, I don’t have too many ugly ones! So, let’s talk about a wedding that I had back in 2013 that seriously haunts me till this day! This couple booked me for a Wedding Day Direction package, which is wedding day management. The planning of it was left…
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Things a Wedding Planner will do that you will never know about!
So what does a wedding planner do? I’m sure you’ve probably seen the movie, “The Wedding Planner” so you have some sort of distorted idea(lol) and if you were looking for one or have had one, you’ve probably seen a list of our services. But, I don’t think people know ALL the things that we do or deal with, behind the scenes! A couple of years ago I sat down and wrote a list of 79 things that I have done for my weddings that were not listed in my services. Why? I have no idea but I did! I thought it would be fun to take a walk down…
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Hey Mr. DJ!
There are two things that you can tell me that make me die a little bit inside. One is that you don’t want to hire a photographer, and two, you don’t need a DJ! Yes, you do to both! But we are only going to talk about one of these right now…the DJ! I often hear people tell me that they don’t need a DJ because their guests are not a dancing crowd, and that ends up being the opposite. Not only does a DJ get the crowd fist-pumping but they have so much more that they bring to the table. 1. They provide music and sound for your ceremony.…
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The tipping point!
One of the most dreaded questions that I get asked by my clients is, “Are we supposed to tip our vendors?” It’s one of those awkward moments for me because I almost feel like they are asking if they need to tip me. But part of starting this diary was to not only communicate the good but the bad and the ugly right? Or shall I say “the uncomfortable?” Look, I get it, weddings are expensive. And now on top of that, you hear that you need to tip your vendors. But in short, the answer is no, you don’t have to tip anyone if you don’t want to. None…
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Strike a pose!
So, I did a little thing the other day, I finally got professional photos taken for my i do Events website. I figured it was time to switch out that old selfie for a proper photo! Part of the reason why it took me so long, as I was waiting for the right moment, you know the moment when you’ve lost all that weight and you are feeling sexy and you know it? Yeah well, I determined after 8 years, that moment was not coming anytime soon! So I just needed to “just do it!” Thanks, Nike for the motivational quote! I think the hardest decision for me was who…
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One of the best Thank You’s ever!
I remember that exact moment in 2016 when she “popped the question!” We were at Kaladi Brothers having our usual wedding pre-planning meeting…”As a thank you, would you like to go on a helicopter ride with Turner and me?” Um, yeah, do birds fly??? And that’s how it happened. But life also happens, and years went by, and then out of the blue, I got a call. “Hey Lorell, it’s Audry!” It hit me by surprise because for the first 20 seconds or so, I had no idea who I was talking to! She explained that she was now 8 months pregnant, and wanted to do a maternity shoot on…
