Mr and Mrs in Maui
1. I made up a design with a seller on Ebay (he lives in Malaisa I found out) http://stores.shop.ebay.com/loongchai74__W0QQ_armrsZ1
We are going to have bubblegum balls in a big glass vase at the exit of the reception. So, we needed favor bags. And being Brigette - I wanted to make them!
6. Hole punch the top of the scallopped edged papers.
9. Super glue the two ends.
1. I got 2 packs of IKEA white, wood hangers. They are like $3 a pack, or something like that.
The first time I met Brigette, I knew we would be in good hands for expecting things at our reception to run very smoothly. With her bubbly & sweet personality, her charm definitely added even more excitement over the planning and execution of our ideas for the reception. She appeared just as excited as we were about the plans and decorations; it was very reassuring and helped ease the stress of pulling together an event as big and extravagant as a wedding reception, especially because almost all of the décor for our venue was “do-it-yourself”. Also, knowing that Brigette is also a bride-to-be helped convince me that she was the perfect person to help us with the Day-of-Coordination task, since she’d ensure that things went off without a hitch and understood the pressure & expectations of being a bride who wants things to be perfect. Aside from the positive first impression from our initial consultation, Brigette was also very prepared and thorough with the questions about details and had an inquiry packet that brought many issues to our attention that we hadn’t even thought about yet. Having the questions posed at that time really helped us to address some un-finished tasks that we had overlooked, and it was nice to have a fresh perspective to help us figure out many of the “behind-the-scenes” duties that still needed to be delegated. We also worked out a mock layout of the reception venue and where each thing would be placed, which also helped us plan out our strategy when we were able to set up things the night before the wedding.
Upon my arrival at the reception venue on the wedding day, I was glad to see that the family members who we planned to have announced were waiting for us in the lobby, along with Brigette, and she was ready to roll and get everyone in order for our grand arrival! She looked wonderful and had a smile on her face, which of course I expected. Since we had a choreographed “first dance”, she also helped me ensure that the DJ would be ready at the correct time to start our song, and suggested a casual signal for me to use, which worked great.
During the reception festivities, Brigette was very considerate and came up to let me know we were a little behind schedule for the “donation dance” and asked if I needed more time to eat, instead of just moving forward as planned. Since the groom hadn’t even sat down to touch his food, it was a much needed time-adjustment and she quickly took on the task at getting the groom to the head table. I’m sure I complained to her several times about being so hot, and she would nod and let me know they were working on it handling my complaints very well, even though I understood there wasn’t much anybody could do about the temperature.
When it was time to do things like the cake-cutting & champagne toasts, Brigette was right on point with hunting down the groom (who was trying to disappear to socialize often) and making sure he made his way to the right places. The groom told me later that she came up to him to get him ready for cake-cutting, and he asked for 20 more minutes, she gave him a little puppy-dog-frown face and was so cute he couldn’t say “no” to that face!!
Since our venue was rented with a certain number of hours arranged, we needed to have everyone out or close to being finished with clean-up around 7 pm. Although it took a while to get the groom up to the front door, Brigette did an awesome job at getting all the guests outside and ready for the grand exit, with bubbles in hand and a line of folks ready to wish us off! We pretty much ran on time for the exit, even though some of the other events in the beginning were a little behind, so I’m very thankful that we were able to have our exit on time and ensure we wouldn’t use extra time at the venue and risk an additional charge. Also, she was able to get the folks organized quickly to help with the dismantling & clean-ups, which I was told was a quicker process than it took to setup the night before.
Overall, Brigette went above and beyond the expectations I had for a “Day-of-Coordinator” and although I didn’t think we needed such an assistant in the beginning of our wedding planning, I’m so happy that she was there to help us! I’m honestly not very confident that things would have run so smoothly & on time if it weren’t for her help with hunting down the groom and getting us in the right places at the right time. I didn’t realize how chaotic the whole event would seem to me as a bride, and I didn’t even have to think about what came next or where I should be, since I had such a great DOC to remind me while my mind was racing. I will be forever grateful to have had Brigette as a part of our special day, and I will certainly recommend her services for any wedding, big or small! When it comes to organizing and executing a precise set of plans, you can never have enough help, and Brigette was certainly a big part of the success of our wedding reception!
Champ as a bubble-bee on Halloween....
The Entry Table....
The Chocolate Fountain set-up... such a big hit!
The precious bridesmaid dresses....
The bouquets...
Erin and her mother are excellent Do-It-Yourselfers! Her mother purchased all the table cloths and chair covers, as well as the centerpieces and candles. They found that renting these items was far more expensive so they ventured out and made it all themselves, and they did a remarkable job! They got several complements on what a beautiful job they did! I am happy that I was able to complete the day by being the coordinator for the evening. Thank you for allowing me to be included in your big day, Erin and Mike!
