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.

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.

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: Julia & Deric Feb 2014

We met Julia only a couple weeks before her wedding, and we didn't meet Deric until the Big Day. He was the man in a sharp dressed black tux, flocked by two swanky looking groomsmen in white tuxes. Looking good was definitely in order, as this couple got married at the famous Escala Condos, home to the notorious Christian Grey, from the book 50 Shades of Grey. As lovers of this book, we were super excited when we were brought on board. The venue was complete with an elegant staircase, wine cellar and patio ceremony with a roaring fireplace in the background. The venue looked amazing, with flowers provided by Ravenna Bloom, as well as person elements like the paper crane altar backdrop, and expressions in beautiful calligraphy from Carolyn Kach design. Amazing food was prepared by Lisa Dupar Catering and the delicious dessert was provided by our favorite dessert place as well, Hot Cakes. The music was provided by A Sounds Unlimited, the DJ spun some awesome songs and the night ended with some amazing dance moves! Photos provided by Carina Skrobecki Photography.  

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.

REAL WEDDING: Amy & Eddie 4/27/13

Amy & Eddie are an amazing dynamic duo that have known each other since high school. The two had rekindled their friendship a few years out of school which in turn blossomed into the beautiful romance you see today. With Amy being a professional dancer, along with some of the wedding party and many guests, this wedding at the beautiful Tulalip Resort Casino Orca Ballroom made for one heck of a dance party!

The couple incorporated their love of music into their theme of orange, purple and grey with chevrons. Beautiful fresh flowers, large orange round balloons and many, many paper cranes plus lots of little handmade personal expression touches added great accents to the wedding.

It was a truly amazing day to remember! Congratulations Amy & Eddie!

Venue: Tulalip Resort Casino

Photography: Brooks Scribner Photography

Day-of Coordination: It's Your Day Events & Expressions

DJ: Kyle Batterman

Cakes: Happy Cakes

Four ways to make the world a better place on your wedding day

CREATE LIFE. Give back to mother earth & commemorate your wedding day by planting a tree. Plantamemory.Com’s Spruce Evergreen party favors are unique & great for the environment. The tree seedlings come packaged in an eco­friendly box, equipped with a personalized card made from recycled paper. Plus, the more you buy, the cheaper they come. Fifty guests? Pay $3.15/seedling.

FEEL A BIODYNAMIC BUZZ. Biodynamic wines are 100% organic, which means they exclude the use of nasty pesticides & synthetic fertilizers. Growers of biodynamic wines create their own compost, & like astrologists, use the stars & planets to help guide them. Save soil —sip biodynamic wine. For more information on biodynamic wines visit: thedailygreen.com

GIVE THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING. Present your bridesmaids with a gift Mother Theresa would love. A beaded bracelet goes for $16.00 at Spark Tree on Etsy.Com. Seven of those sixteen dollars are donated to Drop in the Bucket, a non­profit organization dedicated to building sanitation systems & wells in Sub­Sahara African schools. Often when a well is built, enrollment doubles. Give the gift of water & education with this trendy accessory.

PLAY MARRY POPPINS. Instead of using rice for your send off, use bird feed & teach your guests the importance of feeding the birds. 

More & more couples are adding eco-friendly & charitable elements to their wedding day. The four listed above are just to name a few! For more ideas visit: eco-beautifulweddings.com/blog/

Why I {Ashley} wanted to be a Wedding Planner!

In high school, I was very active in my school's DECA (Marketing) class/club. My first year in the class as a Junior, our teacher, Mr. P had assigned myself and 3 of my good friends to be in charge of the Giving Tree event that year. This involved a lot of planning, organizing, and follow through, and this; as far as I can remember, and other then planning out my own birthday parties, was my first real taste of event planning. After the Giving Tree Event, I went on to become the DECA Co-Publicity Director my Senior Year with my friend Kristi and we took on several other small events, and decor scenarios and campaigns etc. From here on out I KNEW I wanted to do something in the event field! When it came time for me to go to college, I chose to go to Western Washington University in beautiful Bellingham and persue my degree in Communication. Communication is more of a broad spectrum degree that can lead to careers in many things, but I did focus my studies on event planning courses and took my final internship course for the Downtown Bellingham Association, helping plan a Summer Outdoor Concert Series. By then, I knew planning events was REALLY what I wanted to do.

So, I had graduated college and a few years had gone by and I had started thinking about how the job I was in wasn't really what I wanted to do, and I still had hopes for my event planning dreams. Meanwhile, many of my friends had started to get married, and I realized what a big, exciting, stressful, fantastic & crazy thing weddings were.

All the while, Christina (my best friend) is off doing her creative thing on the side, like making earrings and creating wedding cards and invites.

We talked it over one day and realized we could definitely combine our forces; with Christina's creative flair and business mind & my event planning sense and both our love for weddings, thus, It's Your Day Events & Expressions was born.

For those who don't know, the "Expressions" side of our business is Christina's super creative invites, table numbers, menus, save-the-dates, favor tags, buntings, cake-toppers, cupcake flags etc!

We have been in business for over 4 years and loved every minute of it! We have been in King 5's Best of Western Washington Top 5 Wedding Planner for the last 3 years in a row!

The thing that I love most about this business is that we get to see an event from start to finish AND all the amazing couples we get to meet. It is truly a humbling experience and an honor to be able to share in their special day. What I love about this job is that I get to do it with my very best friend!