Corporate vs. Weddings

I am currently trying to decide if making a move to the corporate world is right for me.

Planning weddings is so much fun. I love working with (most) of my brides and making their day special and memorable. I love getting the emails after the event about how much they loved their wedding and how everyone is raving about it. But I am not sure about how much time it takes out of my week working on the catering side. 

Corporate is more relaxed but not as much girly fun. Here the planning is done mainly from a phone and behind a desk. The events do not need a day of planner so that would free up more time to plan smaller parties for my clients outside of my work now. 

Decisions Decisions...the glitz and the glam of weddings or the hard and cold business world. There are just so many sides of planning that one can be a part of. 

Corporate event example from London (from google)

VS.

SAIC wedding from 6/22/2013 (taken by me)

From these images...Both look pretty fun :)

Rooftop Bliss

On Saturday, though it was scheduled to rain all day this bride and groom had the sun come out when they kissed! So movie like :) Planning events in so many cool places lately and loving the turn out!

Here are some images from this event!

The beautiful cake the couple had made and the father of the bride make a replica of the famous bean monument here in the city! 

 The beautiful fruit platter that the chefs made for the couples sweet table

 The reception/dinner area of the roof. Protected from the rain that came later that night!

The view from the ceremony side of the roof! 

The happy couple!

The Irish Tie the Knot

Kenmare Catering is named after an Irish city, so it is only fitting that and Irish couple from Ireland get married here in the space. The couple moved to Ireland a couple months before their wedding and came back one week before to make sure everything was in line for their big day.

I had been working with this couple for 3 months with my coworker and planning a wedding with a couple overseas is difficult. The day did turn out spectacular and the bride and groom were very happy.

Below show images from the from the ceremony that was on-site and the reception!

 Ceremony set in the Royal Ballroom- perfect for a smaller wedding group and beautiful with the stage set in the background.

 Head table set for 20 people

Tables set beautifully by our staff and the step-mother of the bride

The beautiful cake the bride and groom selected for their wedding and beautiful decorations on the table for the cake cutting portion of the night!

Though planning this event was a challenge with the couple not being in the U.S. the party was still a success and the couple moved back to Ireland pleased with everything!

Wedding Fads of 2013

I spend Monday through Friday from 9am-5pm planning weddings. On the weekends lately, when I am not working events, I have been attending weddings with my boyfriend and his family. 

Table Number Idea!

I have never seen the below idea before at a wedding and I LOVE IT!

This is a great way to have your guests involved at the event and even keep them involved in your lives years later. The people you celebrate with are the people who make the night that much more special. Having guests write notes so you remember that night and the love you and your significant other share is one o the best ideas I have seen!!

Photobooth!

This is one of the most popular purchases I have been seeing lately. My cousin had it at her wedding two summers ago and ever since then I have seen them everywhere! 8/10 of the weddings I plan have photobooths and the guests love them! The photobooths provide an online album that you and your guests can view after the party and they also have a book that has a photo-strip of your guests and the goofy faces they made as the night progressed! This is a great scrap book to remember your guests and the props are always so fun!

This was the group I was with last weekend at a wedding in Indiana. The set up was beautiful and they had the adorable table number card pictured above. Weddings are some of the best parties anyone can through so why not make yours memorable for everyone for years to come!

Art Fair Success!

The Old Town Art Fair (kick-off party) was a complete success. Over 200 guests and a paint performance from the painter that appeared on America's got talent! Below are the finished products he painted and it was a spectacular show. All paintings were bid on and bought! This artist really got the crowd going before the silent auction ended and the Blackhawks performance had the crowd screaming. Overall this event was a complete success and was the perfect way to kick off the art fair weekend in Old Town!

Go Hawks!!!!! 

What started as a green blob then turned into an amazing painting of the Chicago skyline!

Long Hours During Busy Season

 Grand ballroom is almost ready for the wedding reception tomorrow!

 While my staff waits for other questions from my Old Town Art Fair client they were busy setting up the Grand Ballroom for the wedding reception that will take place tomorrow night. This way they do not have to come in as early tomorrow after working a long night! Gotta love my staff and how awesome they make each table look without centerpieces!

Getting ready for my event with Old Town Art Fair

Getting ready for events makes for a long day! So far everything looks great but not close to being done yet. When planning an event at your venue, you have to make sure everything is perfect for the client before they arrive and during their entire set up. My client today has been here since 11am and we have made several adjustments so that everything can be just how they imagined. Going on my final walk through to make sure all the final touches are done and that my staff is all ready to go. Should be a very successful night since 225 people are coming to the event and that is only because they capped it there! Can't wait to see the live art performance and how everything looks. :)

Wedding Costs Oh My!

Presented By Moissanite.com visit moissanite.com 

I found this on a website today at work and thought it was interesting! Weddings are becoming more and more expensive these days. When factoring in the costs of dress, food, party favors, place cards, menus, transportation from the hotel, photographer, cake, waitstaff, band or DJ, florist, venue, bar...OMG these really start to add up! Looking at the prices of what weddings used to cost to what they cost now I wish I could have been married centuries ago! How brides are paying for these weddings right out of college amazes me. Spending this much on the love of your life is worth it though. I know my future knight in shining armor will freak when he sees the final bill from the wedding but marrying the one you love is worth a big celebration! <3

Becoming the Best Planner

To become a strong and successful wedding planner research on the latest trends always helps. Below are a few blogs and sites I use to help me stay up to date!

http://becomeatopweddingplannerblog.com/
http://www.perfectweddingguide.com/wedding-blog/index.php/about-us/

http://www.theknot.com/?MsdVisit=1

These blogs give some great tips on being a great planner! There are posts about what classes to take in college, to which associations to be a member of, to how to deal with vendors. There is even a section on one of the blogs that shows you some of the top vendors to use at your wedding.

The Knot website is another great source to use. My company always has this magazine laying out for our clients to take and view when them come and visit the space. Most clients say how helpful it is and that they get a lot of great ideas from them. The Knot comes out with a new issue every month so you really see the freshest styles that are popular this wedding season!

Using an outsource is the best way to keep you and your clients up to date. The only way to be successful is to learn from the latest trends to see what works well and what doesn't. Planning a wedding takes time and with constant research on the seasons trends that cuts a lot of the time down so you can get right to the themes and fun planning points!