Save a little for yourself this weekend....

Photo by Mary Kahlor

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday...One of them involves heavily gorging yourself with delicious food, the other 3 are about shopping and sales! But they just so happen to be all coming up back to back. We know you may be scrambling, looking at ads, trying to figure out what to buy everyone on your list. But!...Don't forget about yourself. If you (or someone you know) are currently planning a wedding, we have got a wonderful little sale for YOU!

Now through Tuesday 11/27 at 11:59pm, Save 20% OFF all of our packages! Do you have to decide quick and book us by tuesday night? NO! As long as you inquire with us and set up a free consultation in the next few weeks, we will honor the pricing through the end of 2018! 

BONUS: If you do decide to book with us before the sale ends, we will not only give you $25 credit towards anything from our expressions studio, but we will also donate $25 to Northwest Harvest! That is enough to provide a family of three 37 nutritious meals!

All you have to do, is inquire with us and mention our Small Business Saturday Sale! 

Until we meet again, Happy Thanksgiving weekend from our entire team to you and yours!

Save a little for yourself this weekend....

Photo by Mary Kahlor

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday...One of them involves heavily gorging yourself with delicious food, the other 3 are about shopping and sales! But they just so happen to be all coming up back to back. We know you may be scrambling, looking at ads, trying to figure out what to buy everyone on your list. But!...Don't forget about yourself. If you (or someone you know) are currently planning a wedding, we have got a wonderful little sale for YOU!

Now through Tuesday 11/27 at 11:59pm, Save 20% OFF all of our packages! Do you have to decide quick and book us by tuesday night? NO! As long as you inquire with us and set up a free consultation in the next few weeks, we will honor the pricing through the end of 2018! 

BONUS: If you do decide to book with us before the sale ends, we will not only give you $25 credit towards anything from our expressions studio, but we will also donate $25 to Northwest Harvest! That is enough to provide a family of three 37 nutritious meals!

All you have to do, is inquire with us and mention our Small Business Saturday Sale! 

Until we meet again, Happy Thanksgiving weekend from our entire team to you and yours!

The Adventures of An Intern

Wedding planning is a dangerous job... 

There were real sweat, blood, and tears. Now it's not as gruesome as you're picturing it right now so let me set a scenario for you. You get pulled around by the families and loved ones, making sure everything's going smoothly, being pricked and poked by all the bountineers that have to be pinned on the groomsmen and fathers, dragging around all of the props that are needed through the ceremony, holding the brides' and bridesmaid bouquet, veil, and belongings, ext.  The pressure of making sure that everything runs smoothly. Then at last there is tears of joy and happiness because you can just feel the love in the air between the bride and groom. There are so much more to do and I've definitely underestimated what a wedding planner's job is. 

After my first wedding planning experience, I am very determined to get to where my goal is: being Beyonce's little girl, Ivy Blue, plan her future wedding! ( A girl can only dream right?) Anyways... it's not about the money or the fame of helping throw the biggest most spectacular Jay Gatsby kind of party, but it's helping a couple make the best night of their life and to celebrate such a thing called love.

All this inspiration talk is cheesy and corny, but its the actions what count. Let me tell you the day I had on my first day of interning at a wedding, Christina, my wonderful boss, and her husband Ben, and I were on our way to Ballard's Lutheran Church at around 12 pm, we were going to set up a few hours before the wedding and making sure the families and loved ones were getting ready and situated! As we are making our way down to Ballard, we stopped a light right past Dick's drive in and we were stopped a red light, RIGHT ON SCHEDULE, if I might add. Then all of a sudden a minivan rear ended us out of no where! Christina had a scrapped elbow, Ben and I had some whiplash and our head hit the back of the seat really hard. The lady who hit us didn't even say anything to Ben when he got out to exchange information and insurance. How rude!! Anyways, we were back on our way to the church, not even a little fender bender will stop us from going to the wedding. We finally get to the church and we're making sure the photos were being taken, the make up of all the brides made were done and the dress and veil was looking FLAWLESS. The ceremony was so beautiful! The flowers and the huge organ in the church was just so beautiful! 

View fullsize

Ballard First Lutheran Church 

After the ceremony, Christina and I were in charge of collecting all of the belonging that were left behind by the groomsmen/bridesmaids and also the flower arrangements down the aisle and putting them into the car to take with us to the reception venue. Then we were to meet Ashley at the venue where she was setting up for the reception. So once we loaded all of the flower arrangements in the box, Ben, Christina's husband was helping load the car as I handed him the flowers in the glass vases one by one... You can guess what happened next. He accidentally grabbed the flowers instead of the vase and the vase just shattered on the street! Next thing I know is Ben saying, "Uh I think your foot is bleeding..." I looked down and said "Really?" Turns out the glass shattered around my foot and all I got a was a itty bitty cut on the top of my foot. It was so small that I didn't even notice it! Christina said, "You're gonna scare our intern off by hurting them like that!" All laughs and jokes!! 

View fullsize

Then, we arrived at The Canal, where the wedding reception was and all night long, it was laughs, hugs, a lot of eating, drinking  and LOTS OF DANCING. It was such a blast that all of the things that went wrong that day had been forgotten! 

View fullsize

Jewel Hospitality catering ft my #OOTE for the wedding!! Dinner was delicious!

Being hit by a car and dodging shards of glass was not how I planned my first day of interning to be but it really made the day more interesting. New thing that I learned that day is to always prepare for the worst. It's someone's special day and if something goes wrong, you fix it real quick, bandage it up or something and just keep going. You got to be innovated and think on your feet. You also probably have to sustain the hits of a vehicle and have shields of steel for a foot like me! 

What has been the craziest and unexpected thing that has happened to you on the day of a wedding you were attending to?? I would love to hear your story! :) And if you guys are interested in a wedding #OOTE (Outfit of the event) put below in the comments!!!

Next time on The Adventures of An Intern,

Kailin C. 

5 Wedding sendoffs that don’t suck!

So, I was entirely sucked into the Wedding portion of Pinterest the other day, and started thinking about the wedding sendoff scene. As wedding season 2015 quickly approaches, let me share with you my top five list of clever sendoffs I hope to be seeing  this season. Of course traditionally, there are the classics like sparklers, rice, bubbles and rose petals. Now a days, rice isn’t even PC! - rumor has it that it hurts the birdies! Now I haven’t been able to find anything that confirms nor denies that particular claim, but better safe than sorry I suppose. Anyway, most weddings that we work do have a sendoff… don’t think that you HAVE to have one, but here are a few simple ideas to kick around.

1. Glitter: Ok, I know what you’re thinking…what a mess. I agree, but think of how lovely it would be!! I would be pretty upfront with your venue and see if you can even use glitter. I wouldn’t want to have this sendoff anywhere that I would have to be cleaning it up. This would be great for backyard weddings at your parents house or something! Glitter toss is something that can easily be matched with your theme, and everyone will go home with a piece on their get up- thereby remembering your special night! ;)

2. Lavender: Alright, this is a smell good, calming kinda sendoff. To personalize this one, hit the craft store and pick out some paper you want to fold into paper cones. Then you can think of a station to hold the cones up filled with the lovely scent of lavender. Heck! If you wanna stay simplistic…why not use actual ice cream cones!?  The bonus about this one….no environmental hindrance, and no clean up! 

3. Ribbon Bell: Hit the hardware store and pick up some dowels, cut them to a reasonable length, and drill a hole at one end large enough to thread some ribbon through. A project for the groom?? I think so! Then you can have your bridesmaids over to tie one end of the ribbon to the dowel, and one end to a bell… sounds like a Wine Wednesday kinda night to me!  Winter theme? Make it a holiday ribbon and a jingle bell! Head off to your getaway car like Santa leaving on Christmas! This sendoff will surely add some color to your getaway photos, and be something your guests haven’t seen before.

4. Leaf confetti: Runner up to my favorite new getaway is this genius idea! It’s probably best for a fall wedding. Take a stroll around your neighborhood and collect some of those vibrant falling leaves. Invite your girls over and grab that hole punch out of your desk drawer! Punch holes out of the leaves you collected, and BAM! Hello environmentally friendly confetti. Also, talk about a cheap, colorful spin on the sendoff. I would bet my bottom dollar that you haven’t seen this one at any wedding you’ve attended!

5. SPRINKLES!:  This one is my #1 pick for the 2015 wedding season! Sprinkles come in all shapes and colors- match to your wedding theme and keep it on the cheap. The pictures are full of color and fun, and you can distribute them as you like. I’ve seen small mesh bags with a cute phrase (SWEET sendoff @ 10pm), paper cones, or simply a basket your guests can grab a scoop out of. These will wash away with the rain, and don’t hurt any of our feathered friends. Ahh I love it! Please do this and send us some pictures!

The runners up include birdseed and sequins, but they don’t make the top 5 list in my opinion. As far as wedding sendoffs go, don’t spend too much time dwelling on how you want to do it, just stick with something fun. This will be the last bit of your evening before you leave your guests and head off to start your official married lives- I say…end it on a high note!

 

Until next time- the staff of IYDEE

Ways to save on your wedding

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 Associate Planner~ Sara!

We met Sara back a couple years ago when she inquired with us about an intern opening during a wedding show...and decided to hire her on for the summer season of 2012. Good thing we did...Sara is one of those rare gems. We couldn't let her go after her internship was up, so she is now officially part of the IYDEE team as an Associate Planner! She is an incredibly hard worker, smart, creative, funny- and not to mention she has become a true friend to us both! Get to know a little bit more about Sara and why she is so awesome. I interviewed her a little about herself and about being a wedding planner! Read on to hear more about this lovely lady!

 

1. Tell us about where your from and what you went to school for.

 I grew up in Spokane, Washington- we moved there from Mesa, Arizona just before I turned 3. I lived there until I transferred to Western Washington University! I went to school two years at Eastern Washington, before transferring, and graduating from Western Washington with a degree in Business Administration and Management.

 

2. What is your favorite Disney movie?

My favorite Disney movie is Mulan. I like the girl power in that movie, and the animals crack me up.

 

3. If you had to choose your last meal ever, what would it be?

Choose my last meal ever huh…? Hmm..Probably a big spread of my favorite Thai foods! Yummy!

 

4. Why wedding planning?

I have always planned the events and vacations for my friends and family. I would say that the planning of those gave me the bug! I always dreamed about being a wedding planner, so I finally took the plunge and enrolled in an online event planning course. The event planning course was great, but not hands on- I was looking for something more. So I went to the Snohomish Wedding Guild, and tried to meet wedding planners, I asked if anyone needed a summer intern. That of course, is where I found the amazing gals of It Your Day Events…and the rest is history!

 

5. Your favorite thing about working for IYDEE?

My favorite thing about working with IYDEE is the team. We have such a good time during each and every event that I find myself wishing we had events to work all day every day. The best part is that I know we can accomplish anything between the three of us. It can be anything from bussing tables to going on a beer run- and a good time will still be had by all.

 

6. If Sara isn't planning weddings or flying as a flight attendant you can find her__________?

Running, reading or traveling more!

 

7. A fond memory of a wedding so far?
We worked a wedding at Hidden Meadows in 2013- I loved the set up of that wedding! However, there is something I enjoy out of each of the weddings we work- set up, details, flowers, dessert, dances, toasts etc etc etc!!

 

8. In this job, I learned that when I get married, I __________________.

I want to have elements in my wedding that pertain to myself and my future husbands relationship. We worked one wedding that, for their dinner, they served the meal that the couple ate together on their first date.

 

9. Your personal advice for the newly engaged bride? 

My advice would be to take your time, don’t try to take on too many elements at once (that’s what coordinators are for!) and to make sure you enjoy it!

 

10. Random wild card?!

I worked at a YMCA summer camp for four summers, my camp name was Sara “Toga” Northey.