NW Wedding Show!

We had such a great time at the NW Wedding show this past weekend!Despite the snow that held us up on Sunday! There were so many great vendors there like Mojo Photobooth, Bugsie Productions , and Simply Seasoned! Plus many many more! We absolutely loved mingling and networking with all those great vendors! Flowers by Tiffany had a beautiful booth! We also were able to have some photo booth fun at Mojo Photobooth! Our booth consisted of a very fun theme, burlap favors with chocolate, we had wood slabs;  decorated by wild flowers that were held in burlap and lace mason jars! We wanted to thank all those who stopped by our booth and put their information down, we are in the midst of getting all that data in our system and we will be contacting you shortly. We wanted to welcome Tara and Josh to the It's Your Day family who had booked us at the show! We do look forward to speaking and meeting with you all! Also, we wanted to let any other brides, grooms and or parents looking for planning or wedding day coordination know that we are running our special from the show until February 29th! 15% off any package!

Invitations and Save the Dates by It's Your Day Studio

Meet Dena & Cameron- Our Free DOC Contest Winners!

Congrats to Dena & Cameron! We chose their application as the winner for the recipients for free Day of Coordination services, courtesy of none other then yours truly, It's Your Day Events & Expressions! The couple will be getting married April 21, 2012 in a church in Seattle.

Dena's entry essay on why she should win:

I believe that Cameron and I should win the “Win a FREE Day-Of Coordination Package!” because not only do we love each other, we have been through several ups and downs in the past two and a half years. Cam and I met online, but it wasn’t love at first sight. We started off as friends, but slowly but surely, Cam convinced me to become his girlfriend. We were both unemployed for nearly the two years that we dated (before we got engaged in June 2011). It was rough to see a future together because of our financial situation, but I prayed that God would send us a sign that we were supposed to end up together. On our two year anniversary, Cam took me out to celebrate. He surprised me by taking me up to Kerry Park in Queen Anne and proposed to me! It was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me! Of course, I said yes, and we’ve been planning our wedding ever since.

More about the awesome couple:

What are some of your favorite things to do together?

Cam and I love to go to sporting events together (football or soccer games), we typically hang around the house together, we walk my dog together, and we like to spend time with our family and friends. We've also gone to the ballet a few times together (he calls me Sleeping Beauty).

Why are you looking forward to getting married?

I'm looking forward to our life together. It's not so much about the wedding, and that special day, but really building a home and family together. We talk about our unborn children all the time and I think we are both excited about having kids! We both grew up in a similar type of environment and we are looking forward to passing on our values to our children (one day).

What do you love most about each other?

I love Cameron's compassion and he loves my sense of humor.

Real Wedding- Our Very Own Christina & Benjamin, August 13th, 2011.

Christina, our very own wedding planner here at It’s Your Day Events & Expressions was waiting for this day for a very long time; ever since she set eyes on Mr. Benjamin Fesler- she knew it was bound to be. Her day took place on August 13th, 2011-at the Skansonia Ferry boat located on Lake Union. She had friends and family flying in from all over the country and world to see her and meet her husband to be.  She wanted to make sure her guests got a true Seattle welcome, right on the water with the Seattle skyline behind them. The week before her wedding, it was buzzing with excitement as friends and family began to pour in. After the rehearsal dinner at Tutta Bella on Stone way, the bridal parties departed to their respective hotels, Ben to Hotel Deca with his groomsmen, and Christina to the  Westin Hotel downtown Seattle to the Rainer suite where her and her girls would just sit and enjoy the very emotionally divine evening with champagne, the hilarious Bridesmaid movie and of course ice cream.

The bride to be couldn’t wait to get up the next morning- she was ready to go- breakfast at Portage Bay Café, and then off to hair and makeup. Her hair appointment was at Habitude salon in Ballard, and her makeup was back at the Westin done by Blackline Beauty.  After her girls hair and makeup was done by Rachel Austin, and Blackline Beauty- they all stepped into their dresses, and finally prepared Christina to get in her gown, a summer 2011 Manual Mota, collection with a tight bodice and lace appliqués that surrounded her waist. Her idea of her dress was classy however womanly. For Christina it was amazing to have all her closest friends around her help her in her dress. She was overwhelmed with love, joy, and appreciation to have these fantastic women in her life. As Rachel and Tyler Austin of TAustin Photography were busy snapping up memories of flowers, pictures, and everything else, the Mercedes sprinter arrive ready to take them to Hotel Deca to finally see her handsome husband to be. On the roof top of his suite they had their 1st look. As the butterflies tamed and the glory of the day finally set in, they boarded the sprinter once again to make way to Talaris campus for some more photos, and then back to their final destination at the Skansonia  where her family awaited family photos.

After pictures- the girls; Ashley, Jordan, Maddy, Ashlee, Clare, and Annie all sat upstairs - all their hearts beating just a little faster as the moment drew closer for their processional to begin. All of a sudden, it was Ashley and Christina waiting at the top of the stairs, they both exchanged a heartfelt look and a hug as each of their hearts were beating rapidly with excitement and utter joy. As Christina watched the top of Ashley’s head disappear towards the arbor beautifully decorated by Wylde Flower’s Anh Wylde. She was standing their by her dad- holding back the tears, she all of a sudden knew that this was no time for words, as this was the moment she was waiting for- the walk with her father. As the doors reopened and her song began- she clenched her father’s arm, held back her tears and made her way down the 23 steep stairs to meet her husband.  After the I do’s everyone enjoyed wonderful food, delicious cupcakes, beer, Mexican cokes, and Chatter Creek Wine- while dancing to nonstop jams! The night ended in a sparkler exit where the couple returned to the Rainer suite on top of the Westin downtown Seattle, and enjoyed packaged cupcakes from their wedding made by Sweet Cakes in Kirkland, toasted with a final glass of champagne, and awaited to catch their  honeymoon flight to Cabo San Lucas for 7 days.

Wedding Venue- Skansonia Ferry Boat

Photography- TAustin Photography

Catering- Skansonia Ferry Boat

Cake/Cupcakes- Sweet Cakes

DJ- A  Sounds Unlimited

Flowers- Wylde Flowers

Wedding Planner- It's Your Day Events & Expressions

Hotels - Hotel Deca/Westin Hotel

Bridal Hair- Habitude Salon Ballard

Bridesmaids Hair- Rachel Austin

Bride/Bridesmaid Makeup- Tiffany from Blackline Beauty

Transportation- Butler Transportation

Kick Off Your Heels End of the Summer Special

It's that time again where we like to offer brides a little incentive, maybe you have been leaning toward hiring a coordinator but have been procrastinating or waiting for a deal. Well, here's your chance!

From now until September 22nd you can save either 15% off any open dates we have in 2011 or pre-book for next year and save 10% off any dates in 2012!

If you are still not convinced, book your FREE consultation with us today! At your consultation, receive a free copy of the latest Get Married Magazine! :)

After the sale ends your next chance to save with us will not be until after the new year, at the NW Bridal Showcase in the Tulalip Orca Ballroom January 14 & 15th, 2012.

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Keeping Count and Keeping Cool-Handling Your Guests with Grace

Complication #1: You can’t get a final headcount.

It’s getting close to your cut-off date and you still haven’t heard from everyone. You can’t work on seating, your caterer is getting antsy, and you don’t know how much champagne to order. If this sounds familiar, it’s time to start checking in with your guests. Try to give them a short amount of time to pull together their answer, and keep your message simple: “Hi Aunt Sara, it’s Natalie. We need to give our numbers to the caterers by Friday, and I haven’t received a reply from you, so I’m calling to see if you and Uncle Jason will be attending the wedding. We hope you can still make it!”

If you need to, you can have your fiancé, your parents, or even your attendants help you to make the calls. If a guest replies after the cut-off date, it’s up to you whether you can still accommodate them, though I recommend making it happen whenever possible. A little extra effort with the seating arrangements or a call to the caterer now will be much appreciated in the long run.

Complication #2: Guests want to bring guests of their own.

After much negotiating, crunching of numbers, appeasing of parents, and searching of venues, you finally locked in your final guest list. Then a loved one (or two, or 10) replies for themselves and a guest when no “and guest” was invited. Awkward as it may feel to have pressed for a reply, it’s nothing compared to the agony some brides face when people assume they can bring dates. Wedding invitations are not negotiations; the inner envelope is the final word on who exactly is being invited, and the names listed there are the only guests included in the invitation. (The one exception is when the phrase “and family” or “and children” appears, implying that any and all family members residing under the same roof are included.) If you run into this problem, it’s completely acceptable to contact the overzealous respondents and explain that the size of your venue (or spending limit) won’t allow you to add extra people to the guest list. It’s not okay for guests to ask you to make exceptions, so it won’t be rude in the least to stand by your guest list.

Now, you might wonder if there are times when a guest should in fact have a plus one. Brides and grooms should be aware that spouses, fiancé(e)s and live-in romantic partners (no matter the sex) must be invited with your guests; boyfriends and girlfriends who don’t reside together don’t need to be. This goes for anyone invited to the rehearsal dinner, too.

Complication #3: Guests assume they can bring their kids.

Remember the hard-won guest list you just had to protect from people who want to bring dates? Now you need to defend it from people who RSVP’d for themselves and their children, when in fact their little cherubs weren’t invited. Some parents do this in error, and others decide that you couldn’t possibly have meant to exclude their offspring. Either way, you’ll need to call to correct the situation. “Lisa, we are so happy that you and Alex are able to attend, but we’ve decided not to have kids at the wedding. We hope you both can still make it.”

Stick to your guns -- making exceptions for one couple is insulting to other guests who respected your decision. If there are couples you suspect may get upset or have trouble finding a sitter, call them as soon as you know that children won’t be invited -- even before the invitations have been sent -- to alert them. By doing this you leave no room for doubt when their invitation arrives, and you also give them as much time as possible to make arrangements.

Complication #4: Extra guests show up at the reception.

And just when you thought you had cleared all the hurdles, you turn, white gown billowing around you, to see familiar faces whose names aren’t on the seating chart. At this point, the best thing to do is ask your caterer or wedding planner to find extra seats and arrange plates of food; then take a deep breath and welcome your new guests. And while you may be tempted, don’t read them a lecture on the finer points of invitation etiquette. This restraint will keep you calm, and shows the most gracious side of etiquette: the willingness to accept someone despite their lapse of manners.

Source: emilypost.com

written by: Anna Post