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How to Elevate Your Wedding: The Magic of Wedding Bathroom Baskets
Having spent more than a decade as a wedding planner in Alaska, there’s one detail that never loses its charm for me – the wedding bathroom baskets. These little enhancements add a thoughtful touch for your wedding guests, making their experience even more enjoyable. What’s more, they’re incredibly easy to assemble, and they become a lifesaver when your wedding venue is nestled in a remote location, where the nearest grocery store might be a 20- or 30-minute drive away – a common scenario in Alaska. One of the most memorable examples that comes to mind is from Ragen and Cole’s wedding back in April. They opted for adorable little tubs…
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Sealed with a Kiss!
In the world of invitations, there is so much to know that it kind of makes my head spin. So today I decided to breakdown some of the most common questions that my clients ask me when it comes to wedding invitations. When should I send out my save the dates? Save the dates should go out six to twelve months before your wedding date. I lean more towards the ten to twelve months to give people enough time to prepare. 2. When should I send out my invitations? You want to mail your invitations six to eight weeks before the wedding. If it’s a destination, aim for 10 to…
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The Name Game
Now that your wedding is over, what will you do with all the time on your hands?? Well, how about changing your name, that’s if you are going to. So before I get into the what and the where you need to go to change your name, I want to share a little story with you on why it’s important to make sure you change EVERYTHING! Back when I lived in San Diego, I was married. After my divorce, I went through and changed most of my information, but there was one that I forgot to change, or maybe I was just too lazy to do it, it was my…
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Spread love, not germs!
Wow, it’s been a minute since I did my last diary entry. I think this COVID-19 time as given me more time to procrastinate and say, “Oh, I can do that tomorrow!” As I am writing this I am having a pity party for one! See, July 24, 2020, is my 10th wedding anniversary. I had all these plans, from retaking my pictures, trashing my dress, upgrading my wedding ring, spending a week in Cabo San Lucas, and having a small, family dinner at O’Malley’s on the Green, the venue we got married at. And then enter the COVID-19 bus, crashing into my plans and almost destroying it all! So,…
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Buyer Beware!
I figured with the Alaska Wedding Fair coming up this Sunday and everyone getting engaged this was a good story to share with you all since I know you will be looking for vendors for your wedding soon! You know how they say, “You get what you pay for.” Well here’s a story about a wedding planner, and her nightmare wedding photographer that she hired for her wedding! Yep, it was me! If I was granted a “do-over” from my wedding day, do you know what it would be? Well, besides the horrible, and boring first dance song that my husband chose (which was Feel My Love by Adele in…
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You’re Engaged! Now what?
Did you know the most popular time to get engaged is during the Holidays? Yep! So, are you one of these people? Well if you are, then what do you do now, besides show off that ring (wink wink)? Now, you plan and you enter the world of wedding planning! It may be a bit overwhelming but hey, I got you Boo Boo! And I’ll even point you in the right direction to get started! Budget – Have the budget talk. Find out who will be contributing to your wedding budget. You, your fiance, and any family members. You need to know what you have to work with when it…
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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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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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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.…
