The Second Time Around

Girls think of their wedding days often.  Some start at a very young age as they engage in playtime with their dolls.  We dream big during those times.  We think our bridal party will be as large as the group of friends we have made, as we wouldn't want to leave anyone out!  We dream of what it would be to have a fancy wedding like shown in the movie, "The Wedding Planner, "  with a tall fountain cake, the limousine ride, and the hundreds of guests that would attend our outdoor festivity.  We dream of the dress we'd wear and our handsome prince, and our eyes wander off in a far a way land of color and romance.

Most recently I've been thinking about weddings for those couples that are marrying for the second time.  They've had the big fancy to do once before, in most cases,  and a repeat of that is not necessary this time around.  They've learned that their wedding day is just one day and they are no longer concerned with all that they dreamed about as a young girl.

When doing a simple wedding, whether it be your first or second, keep in mind the aspect of vision and color.  What are your guests going to see?  What will your photos reveal weeks later?The presentation of color assists in drawing your guests in to the main event!  If they don't have anything to look at, sorry to say, you may cause a few heads to drop forward...zzzzzz.  Weddings can be so beautiful with some simple touches of color that won't cost much at all.  Brides-To-Be, as you think about your weddings, keep in mind the little touches--a table cloth for your unity candle or communion table, a couple of ribbons or bows to be added to chairs to signify where your parents will be seated, a floral arrangement on the platform, etc.  I knew of one bride who had asked all her bridesmaids (all eight of them) to wear their long hair with a pony tail off to one side (the same side).  It was an added touch that made her pictures and ceremony even more attractive.  Simple, different, and no cost! 

Keep in mind the background of your pictures as well.  If the church stage presents a dark stained wood frame, you will want to be sure that enough color is presented through your flowers and attendants that your photos won't be entirely dark.  Even if the walls are white, depending upon the hue of the stain, the walls may not reflect a lot of white.  Especially if your photographer is a friend or relative that's doing your photos for you.  Unless they take pictures as a living, they have a nice camera, but will not be able to do the work on the photos that a professional photographer could do.  So your color schemes will be something to consider.  I don't mean to be dramatic and flashy.  I highly don't recommend that either.  Simply placing colors in a tie, your flowers, or even in your hair, will help your photos reveal the pleasantries of your special day!

The acronym K.I.S.S. can take on several different meanings.  In this case, Keep It Simple, Sweetie!  Choose one (or two) colors that will blend in with your black and white, and with a bit of a silver or gold lining you're good to go!  With the added simple touches you can have a beautiful and elegant, low cost wedding! 

If you're having trouble deciding--write a note in the comments section of this post.  I'll be glad to walk you through it!

Marketing Creation

Lately the creative side has been put to heavy use. I've been planning for a huge women's event at my church, which I'll refer to in a future blog. But I've also been busy with my wedding tasks.

After receiving a job to plan a wedding that is outside of the church that I'm already working with, I decided I should put together a marketing piece for brides that may be seeking additional help.

I asked one of the pastor's at the church if my marketing piece could be shared with the couple's that came in who were interested in renting the church facility. They were glad to pass my information along!

As I pondered over what I wanted this piece to say I came up with an idea that totally took on a representation of a wedding. I put together a "wedding invitation." Each couple will be handed an envelope that is "addressed, " Getting Married! On the inside of the envelope flap, it reads, But...

The top half of the invitation gives reasons as to why they may need a wedding planner's assistance, and the bottom half encourages them to contact ACO Events.

Along with the invitation is a response card. The bride is to check off the services they are interested in. Inside they leave their contact information. After I receive the card, I will have a phone call to make!

Creating is so much fun!

Under Way

Saturday, March 17th, was the day for the first wedding that I was involved in, since taking on my new position of a Facilities/Wedding Coordinator for a local church. It was an interesting weekend in many ways. The gal who had the position before me found the Friday night rehearsal a bitter sweet evening knowing it was the last wedding event she would be involved in. She told me that she really had taken the position seriously and she was afraid that the church would not find someone else who would take it as seriously as she did and all her "prep work for this position" would be crushed. Long story short--she told me she felt so much better after watching me in action. "You take it seriously. You know what you are doing. I didn't have to train you, like I've had to with others!" Her evening was left on a peaceful note. Saturday, I arrived a half hour earlier than anyone else to be sure the rooms were all set, the church temperature was good, and everything was in place for the sound man. The wedding was absolutely beautiful! The bride was glowing, as all brides do, and the groom grinned from ear to ear. I'll bet his cheeks were sore by the end of the day! We were able to squeak by from a possible fire mishap, and everything went very smoothly. The setting was very homey and comfortable. Everything was perfect! Oh--the fire mishap? Well, let's just say that extinguishing candles with an aersol can of Dust Remover is NOT a good idea, as the young gentlemen assigned to this task quickly discovered. This was not something that had been discussed with me, so I had no idea that spraying the candles out was the plan. After the first set of candles had been set ablaze the cans quickly disappeared and all other candles were blown out. Whew! (I couldn't believe it. The cans even read: Flammable, DO NOT use near fire!) I don't know whose idea it was, but I am relieved that nothing more had come of it. The vision in my mind read the next days headlines:

Wedding Coordinator Burns Down Church At Her First Wedding!

Wouldn't that have been a plus to any future jobs! Yikes! Here's a good rule to abide to for all you Brides-To-Be out there: ALL candles need to be put out with a candle snuffer!! Bring one or two along! I actually landed another wedding job, that is outside of the church that day, so it was a delightful experience all around. I'm thankful for God's blessings for that day and the many weddings to come. Here's wishing all guests and participants safe and beautiful weddings this summer!

Planning Ahead

September, 2012 another simulcast is coming to the church that I attend. I am the coordinator for the steering committee for this event. I started praying in January, that God would bring forth the individual's he wanted to serve on this committee. As of Sunday, February 26th, my prayers were answered! I have a full team anxious to prepare for this event. There are 20 of us altogether. Right now the director of the women's ministry and myself are making the final financial decisions--figuring out what ticket prices will be, etc. There are many details to consider in this budget. From the cost of the simulcast to the miscellaneous costs that may arise, we are up to our eyeballs in dollar signs! I have two more meetings scheduled in March--one with the director, and another with the individual who will be running the registration site. Meanwhile I am composing a manual for this event, for each team. Yes, there are 7 teams within the committee. Each team serves a different purpose. Design, hospitality, product, prayer, outreach, facility, registration and tech are the teams now in place. We will have our first meeting the end of April and we start digging into our tasks in May. The entire team seems to be really excited--myself included! We are going to handle some major changes from last year, and it's going to be far more beneficial for EVERYONE!

Bats In The Belfry

I received word yesterday that I have been chosen to be a Facilities Coordinator for a local church! The church is 105 years old and many couples love to rent the facility to have their wedding. I will be coordinating each wedding event, making sure the church is in good order for the bride and groom's special day. I will also be adding my skills as an event planner and administrative assistant, dealing with contracts, forms, venues, etc. During my interview for this position I was told a story of one of the earlier weddings held at the church. It was in the winter and at one point if you looked up you would see some black things hanging around. As you continued to look, you realized that there were bats flying around! Eeww! The exterminator that had been called the next day stated that the bats had made their home in the rafters for the winter--it was a warm place for them. We just happened to "wake them up" when the wedding was held that day. Fortunately, no one had screamed or made a scene about them during the wedding, and matters were taken care of quickly thereafter. I am very excited about this position, and have begun my wedding emergency list. I am putting together a kit of things that might be needed incase of an emergency, like a hem that needs to be fixed, or a wedding dress that has gotten soiled, etc. I shouldn't have to worry about any bats in the belfry, but I will be ready for other emergencies. I'll have to keep you posted of my experiences and wedding excitements in the months ahead!

A GO-GET-ER TEAM

All day events generally take about three to four months to plan, sometimes six months, like in the case of a wedding. I have feverishly been working on an event over the last month that will take place the first and second of April. We are anticipating an attendance of 600 women. It's a live simulcast with Bible teacher and author, Priscilla Shirer. The event takes place at a local church. And I only have two months to get it going. Fortunately, I have a fabulous team of nine members (all volunteers from the church) who have been diligently working with me. Within two weeks we had all our publicity materials created and published. I could hardly believe we did it that fast, but I have a very dedicated and hard working group of people who wouldn't take "CAN'T DO THAT" for an answer. They made it happen! Now that the publicity end of it is completed we are gearing up for all the registrations that will be coming in. The registrations will be coming from several mediums--phone registrations, on-line registrations, mailings, and Facebook! We are all set. There are six of us who have split up the responsibilities and we are ready to gather the orders. Meanwhile, this same team is gathering volunteers to help out at the ticket stands. My hospitality team has been organizing and categorizing all the supplies they will need for the concession stands. They are gathering volunteers to help as greeters, ushers, parking attendants and workers at the concession stands and product tables. My tech team has been working over the last month preparing for the workings that only can happen on the internet, making sure that we are prepared and ready to air the day of the event. Soon my facility team will be setting up tables, etc., preparing a layout that will keep the flow of this event moving smoothly. Because this is a church event we also put in place a prayer team who have daily been on their knees praying for God to do His thing throughout the planning of this event, and during the time of the event. I am so excited and delighted to be a part of this special day! It's been a busy time, and I've had my moments of some weariness, but it has been so enjoyable! I just know that I couldn't have done it without all those diligently behind the scenes working along with me. I commend you my steering committee. You have been doing an exceptional job and I'm proud to have you on my team! If God can accomplish what He already has done through us, imagine what He will do for those that attend! God Bless!

DOING IT THE HARD WAY

Have you ever tried attempting a task that you know should be simple, but ends up being somewhat frustrating in the process? Recently, at the grocery store I frequently shop at, one of the workers in the produce section found me struggling with those plastic bags to put your produce in. You know the bags that come on a roll and are flat when you tear them off the roll. Once you have found the open end, you spend your time struggling to open it by pinching the open end between your forefinger and thumb, trying to twist it open. You make every effort to open it up, but to no avail. Watching me go at it with my feeble attemts, the produce worker came right up to me and told me that the bag was made special with handles so all I had to do was pull the handles apart and the middle would open right up. I no longer had to work so hard at opening those types of bags! I was very grateful for this workers kindness to give me such a fanatastic tip, and it worked beautifully! I have remembered that tip in returned trips to the produce isle, and even shared the good news with other struggling customers. I am a hard worker, but every now and then I find myself doing my work the hard way. Taking tests for example, has always been a challenge for me. I just get nervous, I guess, I'm always looking for the hidden meaning or the trick in the question that supposedly will stump me. As an end result I often find in my perfectionist ways I stump myself because there wasn't anything to be concerned about in the first place. Some days I can find myself very busy but feeling like I never get anything accomplished. Other days I end up being a problem solver for everyone else and not getting my own to do list done. Those days when I feel I've completed my day "empty-handed" I need to stop and make a list of what was accomplished. I often find that the day proved to be better than originally thought. My husband believes that days when I feel like I haven't accomplished anything is due to spending my time with busy work, not with result producing work. To some degree he's right. If I search for the most efficient way to get the results I need, I will spend less time with feeble attempts to do what is merely a simple task. My challenge today is to find a more efficient, complete, and smart way to get done with what needs to be accomplished, resulting in less stress, less work, and more play! Are you with me?!