by Diana Warner | Dec 31, 2018 | Being a Wedding Planner
The end of 2018 is here and it’s bittersweet for me. This past year was a big step in setting myself up for success and I am already seeing the results as my 2019 season is starting to get lined up. See this year I pushed myself a little more, took more steps outside of my comfort zone and proved to myself that I am capable and deserving of success.
My year started off with a bang when I sat down with Ivan who runs Villa Croatia Party Center in Eastlake. See I had this idea that my business partner and I could take our small wedding shows that we do as We Thee Wed, and could turn them into larger shows all over Northeast Ohio. My first step in that direction was doing a larger show then we had ever done before, and my sights were on Villa Croatia. Luckily that relationship blossomed and we had an amazing wedding show there in April. (So amazing that we are doing it again in March of 2019.)
I went to so many networking events this year to be able to meet other wedding professionals in the area. I am not the type of person to strike up a conversation with a stranger, but I took that plunge and it paid off big time. I actually know quite a few people at those networking events now and I am always meeting more. My little circle of friends is growing and with that I am able to find even more professionals that are better for my couples.
In May, We Thee Wed organized a small wedding resale event at Concord Township Community Center. It was a great way to stretch our abilities and see what other wedding events we can host in the area.
At the end of June is when my wedding season started off with Joanne & Ryan’s big day. The ceremony was at Communion of Saints Parish and their reception at the fantastic Music Box Supper Club. I can’t say enough about the amazing vendors they brought on for their big day, including their photographer David Corey.
It was a pleasure working with Nikki on setting up her beautiful wedding at Noah’s Event Venue in Mentor. I love being given a beautiful canvas and being told to make it pretty. We were set up for success and everything looked elegant.
I absolutely loved being able to help Rachel & Jeff with their wedding at Lantern Court. Rachel is an artist and she had a vision in her head that turned out very earthy and delightful. They were a pleasure to work with and it was even better when we found out we actually went to school together too!
In September we had our third wedding show for the year at The Gage House. A little boutique styled show that brought in the couples despite the rainy weather. It is a quaint little venue perfect for those pre-wedding events.
Then it was time for the biggest wedding of the season at Perry Community Center for Kim & Jim. Such a fun and laid back couple, with a large and amazing group of friends and family. With a picture perfect first look, gorgeous flowers and a fantastic DJ (aka McGill Entertainment), this was such a fun wedding to be a part of!
Off to Ahern Catering & Banquet Center to help Laura with the setup of her wedding reception. She spent so much time creating and bringing together all the little elements of her décor, my team and I had a great time bringing it all together for her.
October 6th marked the last wedding for my season and it was an amazing reminder that I am so lucky to be able to do what I do. Leiana and Stephanie got married at Steele Mansion in Painesville and then hosted their reception at Legend Lake Golf Club. Over the nearly two years that we worked together on their big day, we got to know each other very well. At the end of it all I gained two new friends. This was the perfect wedding to end my season with.
My attention then turned to the last two wedding shows of the year. The first at the brand new venue called LaPlace Events in Akron. A fan-freaking-tastic show with an awesome turnout.
The biggest step I took this year was in November when I took a week-long trip to Las Vegas for Wedding MBA. It is the largest wedding tradeshow in the states and it was so worth the two weeks it took me to recover. So much information on how to make my business and client experience better. And the creation of many new friendships, some started online and meeting there for the first time. It was an investment of my time and money, and it was worth it all. I bought my ticket for next year before I left and I am bringing some of my friends next year. #communityovercompetition
The last wedding show of the year was hosted by Sun Valley Banquet & Party Center in Chagrin Falls. It is a hidden gem for the area. We were blessed with dry weather when it called for a blizzard, but that’s Ohio for you. So in turn we had a great turnout with an amazing group of wedding professionals at that show too.
The last thing I did this year was to co-host a wedding professionals Christmas party with my friends Weddings by Matthew and Ben Ricci DJs. Matt has a fantastic space to entertain and Ben puts on a great show. There was food, drink and laughing. What more could you ask for?
When I look at it on paper it really doesn’t seem like much, but my year was filled with networking events, meetings, consultations and events. It was a fast paced year that just slowed down for the last two weeks of 2018. After the New Year it will be back to the grindstone with our first two wedding shows. I have enjoyed these two weeks of rest, but I am much looking forward to seeing what next year has in store for me.
by Diana Warner | Nov 26, 2018 | Wedding Planning Tips
So I have had many a chats with couples at places like a We Thee Wed wedding show, and they dismiss my services because they already have a venue coordinator at their venue. Now when I hear this two things happen. One, I kindly respond with my prepared speech what makes a wedding planner different. Something that I have told couples over and over again, which is basically this blog. Two, I secretly scream out in my head in frustration because both of our jobs are being sold as the same, be it by the venue coordinator themselves or someone else, and **spoiler alert** – THEY’RE NOT!
Now I must preface this blog with one thing…..I LOVE VENUE COORDINATORS!! They are amazing at what they do, they know their venue inside and out, they are a HUGE help to my couples and even to me. This blog is NOT to bash on what they do, but instead to share the differences between them and myself, a wedding planner.
So to keep it simple, let’s look at the key differences:
The Venue
Venue Coordinators are brought on with the renting of a venue. They are there for everything that specifically deals with the venue. The venue and it’s staff takes precedence. If they have tables, chairs, linens, tableware, etc. they will handle all of the above. If they handle the catering, they will focus on the kitchen staff as well.
Wedding Planners are brought on by a couple to help with their wedding no matter the venue. They are there for everything that deals with the couple. They will handle the items that your other wedding professionals were not hired for and even some that they were hired for. Their first priority is the couple.
Your Hired Wedding Professionals
Venue Coordinators can sometimes provide you with a list of preferred vendors for their venue and some may ask for a final list of your vendors before your wedding.
Wedding planners will provide a list of wedding professionals based on those they know will do a good job, are within your budget or align with your style. They will coordinate the arrival time and setup of all vendors before the wedding. Wedding planners review contracts to make sure everyone is protected. They will manage the wedding professionals making sure things are on time and that they have everything they need to get their job done and done well.
Your Timeline
In general venue coordinators will ask what your timeline is with your DJ for the time you are at their venue and then they will make sure that correlates with what they need for their staffing.
Wedding planners will create a detailed timeline for you. They will work with your wants and needs and also the wedding professionals you hired to create a timeline for your ENTIRE day. From the moment you wake up, to lunch, to the ceremony time, to the first dance song to the grand exit, EVERYTHING will be timed out by your wedding planner. They also help keep everyone running on time throughout the entire day as well.
Availability
A venue coordinator works during the venues business hours and is split between every couple that is utilizing their venue. Let’s say they are booked for 40 weekends out of the year and only two days a weekend. That means 80 couples. If they have multiple rooms available to rent, like a hotel or banquet center, double that number. This doesn’t include luncheons or events that happen during the week.
A wedding planner does have business hours and most work within those business hours. But lets get real here, I don’t stick to my business hours. My couples work day jobs and generally do wedding planning after work. I do my best work after my child is in bed. So yes, I have business hours, and sometimes I enforce them for my sanity, but in general I am ALWAYS available. Depending on your wedding planner they will have a set number of couples they work with. The average I see is between 20-30 weddings A YEAR. Larger companies take on more, but me personally I take on between 6-12 weddings A YEAR. This means you get so much more personal attention from a wedding planner because they have the time to give it to you.
Look, is having a venue coordinator awesome? Yes! But please don’t dismiss having a wedding planner too. Both do entirely different jobs. Both have a place, working hand-in-hand together, in your wedding day.
P.S. A venue coordinator will also not have an emergency kit available to you, go dress shopping with you, fix a shoe, put on boutonnieres, sew a dress, get the right cake to your venue when the baker sends a horrible one, get flowers removed that don’t belong, find you an embroidery shop that can make a gift the night before the wedding….just to name a few things I have personally done. 😉
by Diana Warner | Nov 14, 2018 | Wedding Planning Tips
So the big day is getting closer and you forgot to purchase gifts for those amazing people you asked to be in your wedding party. (Or your first cousin once removed that you were forced into having stand with you.) Or maybe your on trend and are putting together “Bridesmaid/Groomsmen Proposal Boxes”. Yes, that is a thing. It’s pretty simple, a box of fun items given to the people you wish to be in your wedding party with a card or sign saying something like “Will you be my bridesmaid?”. No matter where you are in this process, you need gifts for your people. You want them stylish, affordable and possibly personalized. More importantly, purchase them something they can use again and again so as not to waste your money on something to collect dust.
Enter Bridesmaid Gifts Boutique or Groovy Guy Gifts – specialty shops that carry unique items for everyone in your wedding party. Now of course I wanted to try something out to make sure the gifts were quality, so I opted for a personalized wine tumbler.
Frankly, it’s CUTE! I have yet to use it for it’s intended purpose of wine, and instead have used it for water, but it keeps it cold and I feel special drinking it. LOL. But when I was looking at all of their options there was something that stood out to me.
When people buy gifts, who does the shopping? Nine times out of ten it is a woman. We tend to know people better, pay attention to peoples likes better and buy better gifts. Now I’m not saying that men are not capable of buying nice gifts, because they are and I try to remind my husband of that every anniversary. But generally women are able to buy gifts easily and it’s easy to buy for women too. But guys, they’re not always the easiest to buy for. You want something they will like, utilize and is quality.
For instance, a personalized cooler. Fill it with his favorite beer or liquor and now he has a cooler for his drinks on your party bus, but can reuse it in the future. Which means it’s not something that gets thrown away or put in the back of a closet.
If you’re having a more formal event, this is really nice. Not only is the box personalized, but so is each item inside. And these are also items that they can use again in the future in every day life, or for future events they will attend.
And this one I just want to throw in because my husband would purchase this for his friends. A personalized axe. I mean we live in an area where an axe is not a necessary tool in your garage, but could come in handy in a zombie apocalypse. Which is why my husband would purchase it. Is it practical, not really, but it is something that screams my husband and his friends, so in that instance it makes sense.
So keep them simple and fun, practical (mostly) and really choose something that you want them to have, not something that you feel you have to buy because it’s tradition. Giving a gift to these special people in your life is a wonderful thank you and really should be something that you want to watch them open.
by Diana Warner | Jul 25, 2018 | Etiquette, Wedding Planning Tips
Something I have seen time and time again on local boards for wedding planning are questions about RSVP’s. Now I’ve already written a blog about invitation etiquette, and I lightly touched on RSVP’s, so if you just want an overview you can skip to that blog now. Within this one I am going to go into much more detail on just your RSVP card and the process of collecting that information.
RSVP Card Basics
Let’s start with the basics of your RSVP card by taking about the type of card. Yes there are types, as in a postcard, online or one you put in an envelope.
Online
- PROS: Very easy and quick for people to do, and generally leads to more RSVP’s actually coming in.
- CONS: Not everyone is technologically savvy and it can turn them off.
Postcards
- PROS: Cheaper for return mail as you can get postcard stamps.
- CONS: Rarely, but can get damaged more without an envelope to protect it.
Enveloped
- PROS: Traditional and what people expect.
- CONS: Postage can add up.
In the end I recommend at least doing one paper form of RSVP as well as offering an online one if you can. The reason I do not say to only offer online, is because you still have people that are not capable of doing it. Be kind and just send them a paper one too. Also, don’t forget that you still need to put a stamp on it. You ALWAYS put a stamp on the RSVP card. Otherwise, you are making it hard on your guests and you will have so many more that do not RSVP that you will have to reach out to (more on that later). The bonus my clients have with me is my online planning portal. My clients can send for a online RSVP request and then it automatically updates their guest list and seating chart. Boo-yah. Talk about efficiency and organization.
What should I put on the card?
Now let’s look at what should be put on your RSVP cards. The very top should have something written about the RSVP due date.
This date is EXTREMELY important. I always recommend to my clients that they set the date to be one week before final numbers are due. Traditionally they need numbers about 1-2 weeks before the event, so set your RSVP to three weeks before. WHY? So now you have a week to reach out to everyone who has not RSVP’d yet. And there will be MANY unfortunately, as that seems to be the norm now.
And YES you need to reach out to every single one who has not RSVP’d by the deadline. You do not want to have to guess and provide more seats and food “just in case”. Call them, text them, email them…..whatever you normally do to communicate with these people. And if they don’t get back to you, set another deadline. “If I don’t hear back from you by Friday, I will mark you down as not attending.” I am more than willing to help make phone calls to guests for my couples because getting a call from a wedding planner is different than from a friend. I always get the answer I need very quickly because of my position in the entire event.
What is that weird “M” line for?
The next line seems illusive to some people.
That line is for people to fill in their names aka “Mr John & Wilma Smith”. Now, traditionally it is for the guest to fill in, so you leave it blank but there is two things I will say here.
One, if you want to write in your guests names then do it. Tradition has flown so far out the window on things, that it really doesn’t matter anymore.
Two, if you do not write in their names you need to number your RSVP cards. For some reason there are people cannot grasp the concept of putting their names on things and send it back blank. Then instead of not knowing who it belongs to, you can look at the number and compare it to your guest list. I recommend either hiding the number in a dark spot on your card or buying UV pens and a blacklight flashlight. It just makes it look better to not see a hand written number on your card. If you can’t do either of the above, just number the cards and Miss Manners will look the other way, I promise.
The most important part of your RSVP card
Next on the card there is some version of the actual RSVP and an added line I ALWAYS recommend adding.
First for the actual RSVP it can be done very simply, or creatively, as long as both you and the guest understand which is a “yes” and which is a “no”. The added line is something like the following, “___ of ___ guests will be attending” or “___ seats have been reserved in your honor”. The point of this added line is to stop people from thinking they can just bring whoever they want. You have a set amount of people for that RSVP, AND YOU MUST FILL IN THE NUMBER OR ELSE IT IS TOTALLY POINTLESS. Now it doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while you get rude and inconsiderate person who crosses off the number and adds in their own. No, you cannot uninvite them as much as you and I wish you could. You do need to contact them and let them know that they will not be getting three seats instead of two. Then they have the choice of declining now or not. Stick to your guns and always blame the venue size for legal reasons that you can only have so many guests.
Don’t forget the food!
Lastly, if you are doing family style or buffet, then your card is done. But if you have meal choices for your guests to pick, then you also need to include that on your card.
Pretty simply leave a line with your meal options and the phrase “Please Initial Your Meal Choice Below”. Now sometimes you will get people putting in numbers or an “X” instead of initials. You can call those people and get a definitive answer if you want. Or you can keep in mind that they are family and if one ordered fish and the other beef, they can switch plates if they get the wrong one.
In the end, contacting them with your questions is best
You can follow all of the above and you will still end up with questions unanswered when you get your cards back. If you need more information or someone has not RSVP’d yet, CONTACT THEM ASAP. Don’t leave anything to chance. The goal in this is to do everything you can to make RSVP-ing easy for your guest and yourself and in the end have the least amount of headaches possible.
As a bonus, some people like to add fun things to their RSVP cards, like song requests. That is absolutely something you can add to your RSVP card at the bottom. And if someone requests the Macarena, kindly forget to put that on your DJs list for me. Thanks.
by Diana Warner | May 31, 2018 | Vendor Love
What is it that you do?
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Tell my readers a little about yourself and your history as a Wedding DJ.
In the entertainment industry, 20 years of success is nothing short of remarkable. The success of Billy “J” Full Spectrum Entertainment can be attributed to Billy “J”. Billy “J” started his Mentor Ohio Wedding DJ company with previous experience in event planning, lighting, sound, special effects, and even technical equipment. Billy “J” is also a skilled musician and recording artist. Billy’s impressive resume and experience backed by great customer interaction proves why thousands of clients have nothing but praise for Billy “J” Full Spectrum Entertainment. The admiration heaped upon Billy “J” Full Spectrum Entertainment places them in the elite tier of entertainers in the Ohio area.
Why did you choose to do what you do within the wedding industry?
We love making couples days and bringing to life the day of their dreams
What trends in the wedding industry are you loving right now?
Purple hues and barn weddings
What is your favorite thing about your job?
Seeing how happy the couple is on their wedding day
What would be the most common mistake couples make when it comes to your business?
(i.e. booking late,etc.)
Booking late, before we are booked up
What is your ideal day at work?
Being part of a wedding and making a couples dream come true
What is your ideal day off?
Sleeping in and going to grab dinner with the family
Describe yourself in 3 words.
Fun, Energetic and Professional
Who inspires you and why?
The couples that I work with and their visions inspire me to be the best I can be at my job
What are three things you cannot live without? (Not including humans and pets)
Music, Traveling and sleep
What is your favorite thing to do, or place to go, in the Northeast Ohio area?
I love Mexican food
Thank you so much to Billy J for taking the time to answer some questions. If you would like to reach out to him to discuss his services please do so at:
www.billyjdjs.com
Phone: 440-585-3004
Email: billyjamesdj@yahoo.com
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