Grand Rapids Real Wedding: Sarah and Chris

My only regret from Sarah and Chris's wedding was that I didn't get to spend MORE time getting to know them in the months leading up to the big day! They are such a kind, welcoming, hilarious couple and it was such a pleasure working with them on the coordination of their wedding at the Ballroom at CityFlats in Grand Rapids. It was a gorgeous day for a wedding and such a fun one to kick off our 2014 season.

Ceremony and Reception Venue: The Ballroom @ CityFlats - Grand Rapids
Photographer: Tiberius Images
Day Of Coordination: Red Heels Events
Floral: Stuyvesant Floral - Wyoming
Cake: Connie's Cake
DJ: Moments In Time - Chuck Spiedel
Hair: Ashley Lundquist
Makeup: Angie Miller

  

I absolutely love working at CityFlats in the Ballroom, it is a gorgeous venue with the old architecture and modern lighting. Both the ceremony and reception were held in the same room so our team (and the CityFlats team!) flipped the room during a two hour window while the guests explored downtown Grand Rapids. The transformation was stunning and I loved seeing all of the guests reactions when they came back in for cocktail hour.

 The groom brews his own craft beer so these favors were waiting for the guests as they left. Such a great personal touch to end the night. 

Grand Rapids Real Wedding - Lauren & Ryan

When Lauren and Ryan contacted me about assisting them on their December Winter Wonderland wedding I was thrilled. There are not too many Michigan couples that choose to embrace the winter season but these two did. All of the little details reflected their theme, from the flower girl dropping snow flakes to the white flowers and fur wrap. Everything turned out beautifully and I could not have been more pleased. The couple was such a pleasure to work with and the team of vendors they hired was phenomenal!

Day Of Coordination: Red Heels Events

Photographer: Karyn May Photography

Ceremony Venue: Fountain Street Church

Reception Venue: Ballroom at CityFlats Hotel

Florist: GVL Floral

DJ: Moments in Time

Bakery: Kimberly's Cakes

Trolley: B & W Charters

Horse & Carriage: Grand Carriages

Thank you Lauren and Ryan for having Red Heels Events as a part of your beautiful day!!

When to Hire a Planner

I have done a lot of posts in the past about WHY you should hire a wedding planner or a coordinator but I have never really touched on WHEN you should do it.

If you are considering hiring someone to assist you with the planning or coordination of your wedding I recommend doing it as early in the planning process as possible. Here are my reasons why:

1. An experienced and knowledgeable planner will have access and information about venues in the area and will be able to direct you to ones in the style, size and budget that you are looking for. They can save you time by contacting the venues upfront to check for availability, as well. This is especially important if you are planning your event on a shorter time frame, if a popular venue will book up quickly and a planner will be able to guide you with that.

2. A planner will have a large network of vendors (photographers, florists, DJs, bakers, etc.) and can recommend those that will fit your style and budget. This MAJORLY cuts down your research time and also gives you the confidence that the vendors you are working with are professional and reliable.

3. A planner will help you layout the timing of your day so that you (or they) can relay the schedule to the rest of the vendors and venues. Although the majority of your time line will be filled in closer to the wedding day, you will need to have the main times such as ceremony and reception start times early on.

4. If you are having a hard time coming up with the overall feel, look and design of  your wedding a planner can brainstorm with you to help develop these.

5. A planner will keep you on track to make sure that you are accomplishing things in a reasonable time frame. They will help you to cross things off your list and keep you from getting overwhelmed with all the decisions that need to be made.

There are many packages and services offered by wedding planners. They are able to assist you with one or all of these things depending on your needs. Hiring a professional to be on your planning "team" can be a huge asset for you. Hiring someone early on in the process places them on your team and makes them accessible for questions or concerns you may have throughout your engagement and planning period.

Red Heels Events would love to assist you with your planning and coordination needs. Our 2014 calendar is filling up quickly so please contact us soon to see if your date is still available!

Happy Planning!
Michelle

In Town Wedding, Out of Town Couple

(Image by Celeste Duran Photography via weddingchicks.com)

So many people, these days, move out of state for school or jobs but when thinking about getting married they want to make it happen back "home". Home is where their families and friends are and where couples want to celebrate the beginning of their new lives together. It all sounds so perfect and romantic, until the long distance planning begins. Planning a wedding long distance can be difficult and stressful. There are many reasons that an out of town couple should consider hiring a planner that is located where the wedding will take place. Here are a few of the top reasons to consider:

1. If you are getting married where your family is located, you may initially consider to use them for the majority of the planning. This can place a lot of pressure and stress on them and also add extra stress onto your relationship with them. A planner can assist you, as a professional, so that you and your family can enjoy the planning process together. 

2. A local planner will know the best vendors and venues for your budget and style. They will have a large network of vendors that they trust and can give you recommendations. This will save you hours of research online. 

3. If you are unavailable to travel back to the wedding city often, a local planner will act as your point person. Your planner can attend any meetings with vendors or do any venue walk throughs in your place. If you are able to travel back for meetings, a planner can schedule appointments for you and attend alongside you. Planners know the questions to ask and will make sure every detail is taken care of so that on your big day nothing will be missed. 

4. A planner can act as a coordinator for the wedding day, taking care of all of the logistics. On the day of the wedding, you will want to spend as much quality time as you can with your family and friends that you may not have seen in a while. Having a planner on your team will free up your time from things like decorating, managing vendors and cleaning up at the end of the night. A planner can manage the entire event for you so that you and your family can sit back, enjoy the party and celebrate the big event together. 

Whether you are an out of town bride or local to your wedding city, there are many ways a planner/coordinator can help you. Here are a few other posts that you may be interested in:

Myths About Wedding Planners

Wedding Planner vs. Onsite Coordinator

Why I Hired a Planner - From the Brides

Why I Hired a Planner - From the Brides

From Julie - Married June 2012

I got engaged in May of 2011. Almost immediately, I knew I wanted to hire someone to help me plan the wedding. I was working full time, as was my fiance, and while we were getting a lot of "help" from our family and friends, I wanted to have someone on my team that really knew what they were doing. 

I'm a procrastinator at heart, plus I second guess my decisions constantly. I needed someone to keep me on track and focused. I started looking through bridal magazines pretty much right away, and was a little intimidated by everything that needed to be done, all the deadlines and time lines, etc. I kept thinking, "I have to do all this by myself?!". I just didn't have time to go through thousands of online reviews for vendors in my area, and even if I did, I wondered if I could really put my trust in a specific vendor based on reviews from people I didn't really know. Hiring an experienced wedding planner gave me first hand knowledge of many vendors, since she had worked with so many of them before, and could help me decide which one would be the best for me, specifically, and what I needed. 

Also, this was going to be my "big day", and I didn't want to worry about the little things on the day of- vendors who maybe got lost, setting up decorations at the ceremony and reception, dealing with last minute emergencies- thinking of all that alone was making me want to throw in the towel and go to Vegas! However, I am SO happy that I didn't. Hiring a wedding planner was the best decision I made; I was able to relax, breathe, laugh, and enjoy my day, because I trusted her and knew things would be taken care of.

From Jessica - Married October 2008

We were living in Dublin, Ireland when my husband and I got engaged. We would be completely planning our Grand Rapids wedding from thousands of miles away. No easy task but with my eager DIY family, we knew we would have plenty of help with the details. As we were starting the planning process, my mom and I were reminiscing about my sister Jill's beautiful wedding. It had been a large wedding -- my brother-in-law has a huge family -- and my mom was saying that she felt like she hadn't really had time to enjoy the celebrations because she was running around making sure everything was going smoothly. It suddenly dawned on me that while I loved that my family was so DIY and hands-on, I knew that on our wedding day, I wanted them focused on one detail only -- us! At that point, we only saw them once or twice a year and I didn't want this one day and night to fly by (as weddings always do) and not have had the opportunity to make as many memories together as possible. The perfect solution was to hire a wedding coordinator. 

My mom was skeptical because she was unsure about a stranger being involved, but I was firm in this decision. We found Michelle through a referral on The Knot and initially interviewed her over Skype. My mom and sisters met with her face-to-face and loved her instantly. It was the best wedding decision we made and she never once felt like a stranger! Not only did our wedding day exceed our expectations, everyone agreed (including my once skeptical mom) that Michelle's help had been integral in the process. She gave us the peace of mind we were looking for and we certainly had fun making those great memories!. I would highly recommend hiring a wedding coordinator to any bride, especially if you are planning an out-of-town wedding!

Please also check out these posts about hiring a wedding coordinator/planner:

Why You Should Hire a Planner - The Vendor's Perspective
Myths About Wedding Planners and Why You Should Hire One