Ways to save on your wedding

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We are still in the heart of engagement season (that's right, Valentine's Day is coming up). Which means many new couples will begin their wedding planning early this year. With wedding costs on the rise (the average wedding is now between $20-30k depending on the area) it is good to know some ways to cut costs in general. Here are a few tips we think are noteworthy: 1. Cut down. Have 100 guests instead of 150. Have a buffet instead of a 5 course meal. Have 3 bridesmaids instead of 7.

2. Loosen up. The less formal the affair, the more affordable. Instead of a sit down hotel dinner, go for a casual brunch or appetizer only event.

3. Pick and choose. Go for a designer dress but skip the expensive shoes and accessories, serve cake but skip the candy/dessert bar. Have an amazing photographer but settle on having cousin Doug in film school videotaping the event.

4. Hire a wedding planner! Wedding planners are professionals and know even more ways to save and cut costs, they even get discounts with many of the wedding vendors who would normally charge you full price. (Hey, I think I know a planner...)

Stay tuned for more tips on getting started with planning your wedding!

Meet our Interns!

Hey there! This summer has been flying by! Wedding season is in full swing, and we are grateful to have a little help this summer. We have two amazing new interns on our team this year and would love to share a little about them! Meet Samantha & Kate! Samantha K.DSC_1743d

Tell us about where your from and what you are in school for. I was born in San Jose, CA but at age of 5 I moved to Poland and lived there for 15 years. I came to Seattle around 5 years ago. I chose Seattle because it’s a very artistic city which I love and also I have family here and since I was moved from a completely different culture, I thought I would need some help and it’s always nice to have someone around just in case. (Sam is in school for event planning at Edmonds CC)

What is your favorite Disney movie? I love all the old school Disney movies like “Dumbo” or “ 101 Dalmatians” but my favorite would be “Mulan”. I love how that movie shows little girls that women can do incredible things as good or event better then men. I always had a strong female figures around me growing up so I always love watching women kick ass.

If you had to choose your last meal ever, what would it be? Lemon soup... I know it sounds weird but my mom makes the best lemon soup, it’s served with rice. I think it’s known only in Poland but I love it!

Why wedding planning? I always enjoyed planning parties for family and friends everyone always seemed to really enjoyed my parties. I never thought I would fall in love with weddings so much but it’s such a beautiful celebration of life and being part of this magical day, a new beginning in couples life, it brings me a lot of joy. I always wanted to do something that will make people smile and I finally found it. I feel like a fairy godmother and it’s the best feeling in the world to know you made someone’s dream come true. This is the day they will be remembering for the rest of their lives and I couldn't be more honored to be part of it.

Your favorite thing about working for IYDEE? I love working with Christina & Ashley because they let me try new things and are just really fun to work with. I get to learn and experience something new  every single time. For someone who’s just starting out like myself, Ashley & Christina are ideal mentors and I’m just really happy I get to work with them, very inspiring young women.

Your guilty pleasure? Green mint ice cream! I can eat tons of it and don’t care how fat it will make me.

What is your Starbucks order? Cinnamon dolche late

Something a lot of people don't know about me is: Something a lot of people don’t know about me is in my free time I write song lyrics. Most people write in diaries and I write lyrics about my life.

In this job, I learned that when I get married, I : In this job, I learned that when I get married, I will know how to stay on budget. For me it has always been the biggest problem as well as I learned a lot about importance of details. But I think the most important part will be to have an event coordinator day of. I don’t want to stress out and worry about time or if all the vendors are on time so I will definitely have someone to take care of it so I can enjoy my day.

Your personal advice for the newly engaged bride?  My personal advice for a bride to be would be definitely hire a wedding coordinator; if you can’t afford full planning then at least day of. A lot of people think it’s easy but it’s so much more work, most people don’t realize, to have a professional to help you that way you can be positive you will have a dream wedding. Also give yourself enough time to plan everything slowly step by step.

 

Kate B.

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Tell us about where your from and what you are in school for. Hometown: Shoreline, WA. Currently at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA studying Psychology.

What is your favorite Disney movie? Monsters Inc.                                                                                                            

If you had to choose your last meal ever, what would it be? A turkey sandwich. It's a weird obsession                                                                              .

Why wedding planning? I'm very detail oriented and love planning. Wedding planning allows me to see each and every little detail fall into place to create a beautiful event. And it's so much fun!                                                                                                                                                   

Your favorite thing about working for IYDEE?Working with such fun, laid-back wedding coordinators!                                                                                                  

Your guilty pleasure? Watching crime TV shows. And the Bachelor.                                                                                                                                                 

What is your Starbucks order? Iced vanilla macchiato                                                                                                                             

Something a lot of people don't know about me is: I used to be a ski racer.

In this job, I learned that when I get married: I'll have a tough time making decisions. There are so many options!

Personal advice for the newly engaged bride:Relax! Planning your wedding should be enjoyable, and having the help of wedding coordinators like Ashley and Christina will make the process a whole lot easier, less stressful, and more fun!

 

Cheers,

Ashley

Real Wedding {Carly & Jesse} The Harbor Club 6/23/12

Carly & Jesse are the classic story of young love. She was a sorority girl & he a frat boy...need we say more? Well, we will! The beautiful ceremony took place at the charming Bellevue First Congressional Church and the reception was held high amongst the city of Bellevue on the 25th floor of the Symetra Financial Building, downtown. Needless to say, the views were breathtaking. The decor was simple, classic, and mostly purple! With an amazing staff and crew, the evening went off beautifully. The bride looked absolutely radiant and the groom happy and handsome as ever!

The night did not end until both the sorority and frat had each done their special chant to celebrate the event.

At evening end, the bride & groom whisked off in the limo headed to their hotel, then off to Oahu! Congrats to Carly & Jesse!

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Vendors:

Venue & catering: http://www.harborclub.org/

Day-of Coordination: http://www.itsyourdayevents.com/

Photography: http://www.danapleasant.com/

Cake: http://kelliscakecreations.com/

REAL WEDDING~ {Kim & Kevin}~ 7/21/12

Kim & Kevin are an amazing couple that got married at none other then the Woodland Park ZOO!  The ceremony took place in a beautiful grassy area  called the Beech Grove.  Even though the location was in the middle of the zoo, the surrounding trees made for a very intimate and beautiful ceremony. Afterward, guests retreated to the wonderfully made up Rainforest Cafe to celebrate the new couple. Guests enjoyed a memorable slide show from the fathers and had some fun in the Photo Booth from 3-2-1 Foto. The food was delicious, the dancing was entertaining and the guests were left with a fun and very fitting favor of animal cookies adorned with a cute little thank you note from the couple.

Many congrats to Kim & Kevin!

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Vendors:

Venue: Woodland Park Zoo

Cater: Lancer Catering

Day of Coordinator: It's Your Day Events & Expressions

Photography: Kate Price Photography

Photo Booth: 3-2-1 Foto

DJ: Bugsie Productions

Flowers: Floressence

Cupcakes: Trophy Cupcakes

Real Wedding~ Kirby & Derek 8/11/12

What a great amazing honor to share in the special day of these two! Kirby & Derek are in fact old friends/classmates of ours from high school. However, even though they went to the same HS, they did not know of each other until a chance meeting one day a few years back. (See their "Love Story" in the photos below.) It was a beautiful sunny day on August 11th and the bride looked amazing in her dress, the groom very stunning [slideshow]in his tux, in fact the whole bridal party looked sharp, right down to the 5 flower girls in their black tutus!

The room was adorned in coral, black and ivory with wine bottle and cork accents, with a slight vintage touch. To top it all off was a GI Joe grooms cake and a favor cookie bar from The Cookie Lady!

Congrats Kirby & Derek!

Venue: Rosehill Community Center, Mukilteo WA

Catering: Cristianos, Marysville WA

Day of Coordinator: It's Your Day Events & Expressions

Photography: J.Jackson Photography

DJ: Rich

Flowers: Garden of Eden Bouquets

Set up/Take Down Services: Lady Bug

New Service: Event Set Up & Take Down

Happy Fall! Here at It's Your Day, we are always trying to think of new ideas of how we can help our customers, past and future. A recent concept we came up with, is event set up & take down services! Stay tuned for our rental catalogue! Event Set-up and Tear-down