Real job, eh?

When I talk about my "real" job and doing a "program overhaul" I'm not talking about computers, I'm talking kids. During the day, and to pay the bills until this thing gets off the ground, I run an after school and summer camp-- sure, that sounds like it's a blast, but it's a whole lot of organizing and has given me some great skills for event planning and coordinating!

During school breaks, we take field trips just about everywhere-- SkyZone, Stone Mountain, assorted state parks, Six Flags, Andretti Karting, Movie Tavern, and about a thousand other places. We do full day field trips, not just little outings, so it involves a lot of working with venue staff to sign contracts, place deposits, arrange catering menus to meet our needs fiscally and nutritionally, and ensure everything goes smoothly day of.

When we're on field trips, I bounce from group to group, ensuring that everyone gets where they need to go when they need to be there. Troubleshooting on the go is an absolute must, and on several occasions I've had to deal with sick staff, low staffing, and venue staff that doesn't have the correct information.

On a day to day basis, I coordinate transportation, paperwork and contracts, oversee staffing and enrollment, and deal with families who range from pleasant to stressed to upset to (on a rare occasion) belligerent.

Before I did my own wedding, I'm not sure I would have connected the two professions but the more I work at both the more I see that they are incredibly alike. In both, I am responsible for making a day fun and unforgettable for a loved family member and handling the strange mixture of business and emotion.

Prudent Gifts

I've recently become addicted (I know, I know, me and my blog addictions...) to Dear Prudence, the advice column over at Slate. During the course of reading around a decade of columns, I've seen a lot of questions about wedding gifts-- appropriate and inappropriate. I've written before about registries and requests, but the questions posed to Prudie made me wonder... what is the most meaningful gift I've received? So many people talk about the amount of money they're spending on gifts, and though we did our absolute best to keep our registry on the cheap end  I certainly know people dear to my heart who have had registries were the cheapest thing was around $40! So what to do in those situations?

My friends, take it from me, the most wonderful gifts you can give are not things from registries. Those are wish lists, for some it's a list of things the happy couple need like a can opener or decent dishes that aren't mis-matched from college, and I have been just as lucky "going off-registry" with a small and thoughtful gift.

What makes me happy? What makes me feel like we are truly loved are the following:

1. The picture above-- I thought it would be very cute to have everyone sign a picture frame in addition to the guest book, that way we would have something to display always. My sorority little sister drew the funny little stick figures in the middle where we would eventually put a wedding photo. Her picture is still there. I love reading the names of those present at our wedding and it would definitely be one of those "save from the burning house" items.

2. A pair of journals from my mother's friends and fellow Rhodents-- they received the same gift for their wedding, a journal for each of them to record their thoughts and feelings and experiences throughout their marriage.

3. My friend Anne-Minter's words to me-- one of my best friends growing up, Anne-Minter, graced me with the honor of having her as a bridesmaid. Her mother passed away when we were in high school, which was a shock to us both; Mickey was like a second mother to me and losing both of them so suddenly was heart-wrenching. I think of both of them constantly. At the reception, Anne-Minter came up to me and whispered, "Mama would be so proud of you." I didn't cry all day, my husband was the one with the tears flowing at the ceremony! But those words were worth all the gifts in the world.

So, when you get invited to a wedding, don't feel obligated to bring a gift; or, perhaps, don't feel obligated to bring an expensive gift. If the bride and/or groom is close, some words of love will be well received and cherished, or a simple but thoughtful gift will mean the world. If your friends choose to be picky, you can always point them to the Prudie column which includes a couple that received a book on how to survive a cheating spouse from an aunt and uncle!

Deals around Town

Publishing FAIL! I had this post all lined up and didn't remember to hit "publish post" last night!


This week's a simple rundown on the deals around town for those of you planning an event--

* $300 gets you Four Hours + Attendant + Prints from a Photo Booth through a LivingSocial Deal for Picture Perfect Announcements! This would be a great deal for a wedding, anniversary party, retirement party, or even a milestone birthday. Who doesn't love a Photo Booth?!

(Photo By Meg Clark)

* $70 gets you a LivingSocial package for a birthday party for up to 8 kids at MightyJumps over on Collier-- this place is a bit hellish from an adult's perspective (think weird carpet design and Kidz Bop), but we were here for my goddaughter's birthday this weekend and the kids loved it! With the amount of money people are dropping on kids' parties these days, a deal like this might be worth it for the kiddos in your life. (Alternatively, they also have a deal for bouncy houses if you have a warm-weather birthday coming up-- Groupon also has a similar deal)

* Looking for a baby shower gift for the crunchy mom in your circle? $10 gets you a free Mom & Baby or Prenatal class at Oh Baby! Fitness thanks to LS. I've gathered from friends of mine that these are things they wanted to try while pregnant, but couldn't "justify" spending the money, so this would be a welcome gift!

If you're not in Atlanta, be sure to check out your local versions of these sites-- after the initial boom, they're focusing less on restaurant deals and more on "escapes" "adventures" and "goods" for your convenience!

Sweet Tooth

Clearly, it's a sweet time of year for me-- I've been obsessing over cakes lately! I have an entire board of them over on Pinterest; "Special Cakes" I've called it, and they are all a LOT better than the wrecks featured the last couple of weeks!

1. Chambord Layer Cake

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I'm a sucker for Chambord-- it is pricey and decadent and dee-lish! Serving this little baby up at a bridal shower with French Martinis would be a guaranteed hit!

2. Charming Chromatic

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You could use the layers to put in different flavors, or just leave it be and make it pretty! The cake as a whole is just as beautiful as the inside.

3. Diminutive Delights

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I think these would be adorable for any shower, and even for a wedding! If you have a baker in the family and the ever amazing helpful wedding party, you could do these a couple of days out-- just don't break out the wine until the icing is done... 

4. Neapolitan Cake

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Oh, boy, I'm also a big time sucker for Neapolitan. I think the only thing that would make this better is a layer of strawberry cake, then strawberry ice cream, then chocolate... well, I'm sure you get where I'm going with this. What a great way to please every palate! 

What about you? What does your sweet tooth have you craving?

Winter Weddings: Really Red Romance

Moreso than any other winter month, February gets a bad wrap. I'm not gonna lie, I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else, but just like with any other winter month there's a lot you can do to brighten things up-- especially when everyone inevitably suggests you have a Valentine's Wedding!

In the spirit of love and cheering this dreary, chilly, wet month up for those of us in the States, Here's your Valentine's Wedding, Pt. I:

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I adore the edible centerpieces, and what goes better with champagne than chocolate dipped strawberries? And with a helpful wedding party, they'd be so easy to make! Heart cookies would make adorable favors, and with a paper cutter and a heart shaped punch you could put together a quick and easy thank you note to compliment them! Best of all, a striking red and white contrast will make the head table pop! To see these pins and more, visit my Valentine's Wedding Pinboard on Pinterest!

Dessy's Next Trick

Dessy 1019

Dessy Dresses are a tricky business-- a lot of times you can find a similar look for a little less elsewhere, and my final verdict on their LBD experiment stands: you have to be careful or you're not really getting a deal! They have a new program called Sample on Loan which boasts one upside for the busy bride on the go; they will send you a sample to try on at home! 

There are a few ways this could be a total rip off, so let's check out the details.

The Premise: You pay Dessy $35 to ship you a sample that may or may not be the proper size so that you can hang on to it for 2 days, try it on, wear it around the house, take it to dance lessons, what have you. 

The Ins and Outs: You get the dress (from the After Six Collection) and a pre-paid adhesive shipping label in the mail, you keep the dress for 48hrs. If you haven't returned it in time you are charged an extra $20/day. Dessy MAY be able to send you more than one dress at a time, for another $35. Your size may also not be available, so they will send you the "closest" size possible-- no word on whether that's one size up or one size down, but I would assume one size up.

The Ups and Downs: If you're planning on a budget, $35 to rent a dress for two days may not be the best investment. If you're not planning on a budget, and you're a busy gal, it might be worth it to you to not have to find your nearest Dessy (which for me is anywhere from roughly 8-20mi, ranging 30-120 minutes in travel time one way) and go in to the store, deal with people, etc. If you're going to be wearing a dress from Dessy's After Six collection and you have it in hand and you'd like to do a bridal shoot before the big day, you could always rent a sample to do the shoot in. Though I'm sure major damages would result in an extra fee, it would be a safe way to do your shoot and not worry about getting dust on the hem.

As with the NewlyMaid program, I would suggest really looking around and checking your budget to see if this is the right program for you. You should also contact the Dessy Customer Service BY PHONE to ask if there are any partial refunds available, and what happens if you rip the hem while seeing if your heels work with the gown. I emphasize BY PHONE because I e-mailed them and got a form response which was copy and paste from the website. No extra information, no effort put in to the response at all.

Luscious Libations

Whether it's a wedding, BBQ, birthday party, or shower everyone needs a beverage handy to sip on while the guest of honor or host opens presents, gives a toast, or grills the burger to perfection!

I love the idea of signature cocktails and have found recipes galore, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, for every taste and age!

Sherbet Punch, perfect for a baby shower or girls' birthday!

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Winter Wonderland Martini for a Holiday Party or Winter Wedding!

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And for a BBQ or Summer Wedding, you can NEVER go wrong with a margarita bar!

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Check out these ideas and more on my Libations Pinboard on Pinterest!

Markdown Mondays: Paper Crazy!

Wedding Paper Divas, one of my favorite sites to browse through, is offering up 5 Samples For Free for a limited time! So, if you're having trouble choosing between... 

Cute and Quirky

or Bold and Beautiful

or Clean and Classic

or Sweet and Swirly

or even Very Vintage

you should definitely take advantage of this opportunity-- I spent about $15 ordering samples of the invitations I wanted and it was totally worth it because you'd be surprised how much difference there is between a white paneled invitation and a white double paneled invitation! Head on over and go wild-- I'm going to!

Atlantic City Wedding!

So, you're thinking to yourself much like I was that Jersey ain't known for romance... lately, it's mostly known for Jersey Shore (which I have never watched and still know lots about-- that's how prevalent it is) and it seems to always be in the constant state of mockery for it's nickname, "The Garden State." In my previous life as an airline ASA/CSA I knew it for Newark, the least on time airport in the world and home to the people who hated to be forced to fly there.

Great way to start a blog entry on weddings, amirite?

It's because of all these things that places like Atlantic City have had to step up their game and reinvent themselves, though, and that's why my second "classic/cliche" (if you can find a way to combine those two words, I will pay you. In love.) wedding destination is Atlantic City, NJ-- the Vegas of the East Coast.

You can honestly tell a lot about a city by the website they put together-- my hometown's website, for example, is simple, cute, and functional which is very Decatur. Cities in the middle of nowhere mostly go for simple and functional with most attempts at attractive thrown out the window. Atlantic City has gone all out and created a subtly snazzy website with a lot of information, pictures, and links for the inquisitive tourist.

Much like Niagara Falls, Atlantic City has made tourism its bread and butter. They have spots on their site specifically for tour groups and meeting planners, so clearly they have this down. If you're looking to do a wedding that is well executed, you don't even need to hire someone like me. Dear God, Atlantic City, NJ just made me obsolete!

ANYWAY-- you're wondering how a casino town could be a great place for a wedding? I mean, sure, Vegas but Vegas is THE casino town, right? Apparently not-- I, for one, would be all about this view on my wedding day:

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I'm right, right? So anywhere that's smart enough to have views like this is bound to have good food, right? One Atlantic is where this shot was taken, and they feature a wide array of attractive attributes. You know, outside of the shiny shiny above. Not only do they cater, but they cater with attention to organic food and farm to table supply chains! They are a Two Star Certified Green Event Facility, which is fantastic and lends a little more credibility to that Garden State thing... 

Outside of the venue, Atlantic City provides plenty of fun in the sun (and shade) for the wedding party on the go. The website even has a section on "Free" and "low cost" options in the area, which is a catch! Like any good casino city, there are also some amazing restaurant options-- everything from sushi to burgers and boardwalk fare. Another fantastic point? The website (I know, quiet about the website already) says it's 72 degrees there! I'm not sure about where you are, but here it's 81 feels like 84 and that's a cool night this week! Add to list of summer wedding destinations? Yes.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that I've already sold myself on Atlantic City and I'd sworn previously I was never going to set foot in NJ... just goes to show you what a fantastic website will do for tourism. Oh, and a completely re-vamped public image... Well played, Atlantic City, second on my "classic/cliche" weddings list!

Niagara Falls!

Tip one for a Niagara Falls Wedding-- when you Google the phrase, don't spell "Niagara" "Niagra" because Google will think you're an idiot. Fail, Southern girl, fail. The good news? It patronized me and sent me on to find out more about weddings in Niagara Falls!


So, I could go in to the minutiae about a destination wedding, but that's boring (and redundant) and let's admit it-- the reason we all want to get married somewhere like NF is the absolutely amazing scenery that surrounds you! 

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I am all over the river boat at Stone Mountain, but this view? KILLER! Your guests will be in awe of the ceremony and will be in tears about the drama of the falls and the beauty of your marital bliss!


Another fantastic thing about NF or any other amazing outdoors space is that you can take advantage of the setting for your pictures! 

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From what I can tell, a lot of the venues at Niagara Falls definitely go whole hog in the exploitation game-- they love the panoramic views and big glass windows, or meadows by the shores at the bottom of the falls. If you're looking for a quaint town with great activities for your wedding party and good food to munch on, you're good to set sail in Niagara! (Also, stop in at Joe's Crab Shack and you might catch sight of my dear friend and groomsman extraordinaire-- Joe! Note: He does not own said Crab Shack.) Below is what Joe had to say, and to me nothing sounds better than a little bit of kitsch finished with fireworks and a party!

Joe's 2 Cents: Yes! There are some great restaurants. Most of the good stuff is either on the Canadian side or in Buffalo (20 mins south). It's kinda weird...the American side of the falls still sees a lot of tourism, but many of the shops are closed and buildings are abandoned. Kinda represents a cultural shift in the states, really. Some of the activity is kitschy. A lot of neat things go on though, like jazz concerts, musical events, fireworks at the falls, etc.

"Music Midtown Ruined My Wedding"

OK, so now that the AJC has finally posted their article on the subject, I'm going to throw my two cents in on this subject that probably most Atlantans are pretty familiar with by now-- "Music Midtown Ruined My Wedding" and the good folks behind it.

The bride is a high school friend of mine, and I AM a wedding planner, so clearly I'm going to be biased BUT I feel like Emily and Aaron have a legitimate complaint here. For those of you who don't live in Atlanta, here are the players:

Music Midtown: A staple of high school social life when I was a teenager, Music Midtown is an Atlanta classic. Back in the day, it was three stages and more bands than you could count-- thanks to MM, I've seen Bonnie Raitt closer than I ever thought I would, Bob Dylan, The Offspring, and countless other fantastic musical acts. It was also raucous, filled with drunk people, and everything else a music festival should be. About six years ago, they shut down due to low ticket sales but we all always kinda hoped it would come back. We found out last week that MM WOULD be making a comeback this fall, but on a smaller scale-- only 55k people instead of a billion.

The Date: Saturday, September 24, 2011.

Piedmont Park: A popular wedding venue destination for Atlanta couples-- specifically The Greystone (pictured below, courtesy of piedmont.org) and Park Tavern.

Gorgeous, right?

Emily and Aaron: The engaged couple-- totally excited about getting married, found their dream location, and were only warned that Coldplay "might" be playing in Piedmont that night, but no hints of a full fledged music festival on site.

Now, the common argument against E&A is that Piedmont is a public park (which it is) and they need to suck it up and not be snobby about it. MY opinion is that the venue, being a part of the Piedmont Park Conservancy and therefore having access to the calendar, had the onus on them to tell E&A and anyone else who asked that there was the potential for a major event that evening. A Coldplay concert? OK, all you have to worry about is some hipster kids wandering around, maybe a few drunk soccer moms getting lost on their way back to MARTA-- a full fledged music festival entails more than one stage, major vendors, port-a-potties, and lots and lots of drunk people.

How do I know this? I used to go to the old MM and we all know music festivals aren't the most family-friendly places.

The AJC didn't do a great job of covering the costs of the wedding, which I think is a key point here, and they failed to really emphasize the fact that they are having to advocate for themselves here. There's not an agency out there that will go to bat for couples getting married, which is interesting considering the amount of money people spend on weddings.

What remains to be seen is whether or not E&A will have to/be able to change venues on such short notice. They have caterers and music booked, save the dates and invitations sent and RSVPs coming in. With two months left, there would be an unexpected cost of mailing out (since not everyone's grandmother uses eVite!) venue change notifications and potentially of putting down new deposits, and even changing caterers. I think that Greystone needs to let them out of their contract penalty free, and negotiate with their preferred vendors to refund all, if not part, of the deposits put down on catering.

Obviously, E&A aren't holding MM the event responsible for this, but the fact that it was kept from them until a nearly prohibitive last minute is unacceptable and unprofessional. I think it's their right to vent however they need to and in whatever fashion gets them the wedding they have not only dreamed of, but paid for.

It IS easy being Green!

Kermit the frog's got nuthin' on us these days! Eco Friendly weddings are all the rage, and I'm jumping on the bandwagon. I think there are so many ways to do a Green wedding and they range from the smallest of gestures to the grandest-- same goes for the price!

I'm sure you're all tired of hearing about our wedding, but since it's the only one I've planned from start to finish it's getting center stage yet again!

Ours was small and on a tight budget, so we used recyclable plates, flatware and cups and served drinks in cans and glass bottles that could be recycled. Sure it isn't a lot, but it's enough to show an effort and enough to make your guests feel like they're involved in the process. Here are a few other ideas we used that were simple, easy, and effective!

The favors were in unwaxed paper boxes (which meant they could be recycled) and the extras were donated as stocking stuffers for a local women's shelter.

Nobody minded the prosecco in a plastic cup! I think most of my friends were happy to not have to worry about dropping their glass, and there wasn't a large load of dishes to be done at the end of one little toast!

Since our city lets us recycle EVERYTHING, even the foil wrappers on the cupcakes were recycled! (check with your local recycling plant to see what they'll take)

We didn't have a lot to spend on flowers, so we splurged on sustainably farmed roses and just had smaller arrangements and a few stems in bud vases on the tables for the reception. The smaller bouquets were easy to carry and handle (I've seen bridal bouquets that weighed 20lb!) and didn't leave us feeling like we'd wasted flowers at the end of the day. 

Soundtrack

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We all know that music/dancing is in the top three awesome things about weddings (the other two being food, and people we like gettin' hitched), so if you don't have a DJ what should you do? Make your own playlist!! We all have that friend who really wishes they were a professional DJ and with the iPod docks getting cheaper, smaller, and louder by the day you can take your speakers with you to the venue and get a feel for how loud they are. If not, talk to a friend in a band (yeah, you know you have one) and see if they can hook up the speakers to your dock which is something even I can do. (For the record, there are five year olds who can work sound systems better than I can!)

There were some obvious choices (for us, Blues Brothers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Etta James) but then I sat down and started looking at the guest list-- were there songs that I associated with folks that would be good for the event? Were there more musically in touch people than myself who might have a better suggestion than BSB's "Everybody"?

Utilize your guest list, make everyone feel like they're part of the planning process, and take some of the stress off your shoulders all at once!

Registry Madness

Drawers full of registry gifts!!

I'm really not sure how this blog would stay afloat without my friends and family-- I may be creative, but darned if I don't get the worst case of brain freeze when I sit down to bang out something for this blog!

My father is responsible for reminding me of this topic, with a very interesting article on registry trends in recent years by the Wall Street Journal. "Bison Brown bath towels," he said, "Who knew?"

Registries have been changing a lot recently, and though the WSJ is correct about one factor being that people are getting married later in life, I think we're also seeing more couples who choose to live together before getting married. Personally, I'm all for it-- I knew a girl once who didn't live with her fiance, and after getting married were divorced three months later because they couldn't stand living with each other!! The other upside is that when you live together, you tend to already have most of what you need.

My husband and I had most of what we needed, so we went big and registered almost entirely for kitchen things-- things we wouldn't always have the money to pick up, things that were definitely a "wish" list for entertaining friends and family in our future home. A good knife block, serving platters, a blender, and nice china were the best things we got and I was a-ok with picking up a few of the smaller kitchen gadgets on our own as we found the need for them (oh, hello melon baller!).

My friend Caitlin is getting married in a few weeks and since she and her fiance have survived a few years of living together and a nearly cross country move, they have pretty much all they need. The one thing they don't have as graduate students? Money. So their registry covers a few kitchen gadgets and a honeymoon fund! I wish I had thought of the honeymoon fund, it would have been more enjoyable than even my beautimous china... they set up a site through honeyfund.com which lists out the details of where they want to go on their honeymoon. We sent them money to have brunch and do a little shopping, which we were able to do since we can't make the trip up to Philly.

I love looking through our kitchen and seeing a collection of friends and family there, but the same thing could be achieved looking through honeymoon pictures! If you don't need much, don't register for much-- nobody these days will look down on you for asking that you send them what they would have spent for a honeymoon fund, a car fund, a baby fund, or a mortgage fund. While I love the little gifts I've picked up on and off of registries for friends, I also love that I'm a part of helping Caitlin and Dusty get what we didn't-- a honeymoon and an essential part of anyone's blossoming marriage.

Getcha hur did Pt. 2

OK, so really we have to talk about hair for a second. If you're like me, you spend most of your life with the "easy" option-- generally speaking, a ponytail. If you have something big going on, why not toss the usual style, forget torturing it with the straightener and go get a blowout? It's the difference from your hair looking like this...

And looking like this...

Taking the time to either style your hair yourself or the $30 to go up to the salon and have them do it could be that big of a difference. Clearly, this isn't a huge difference, but to me it's big enough. When you have an event, whether it's your best friend's wedding or a Christmas party you've been going to for the last 13 years, you don't want to look back at the pictures and wince just a little. That's what the 80's/early 90's were for, they're good at it, so from now on I'm saving my winces for the over-sized star print sweater from third grade.

Need a good blowout? Check out fresche in Oakhurst (yes, yes, I'm their biggest fan EVER) where a basic blowout starts at $25 which isn't much to pay a few times a year for your favorite events! They also do makeup sessions AND makeup lessons for those of us who only ever khol'd our eyes for the stage and feel a little like Cleopatra sometimes.

Unseasonably Chilly!

Given the unseasonably cool weather this week, I'm thinking of everyone who planned for a beautiful May wedding outside! Don't panic! Grab a cute cardigan and ask your outside venue if you can bring in a few small fire pits-- you can pick up fireproof mats at Lowe's or Home Depot to protect the ground!

Fire Pit from Lowe's