Ricci and Jason

Jason and I would like to thank you again for all of your help with planning and organizing the wedding. Since we are both Ph.D. students, it can sometimes seem like there are not enough hours in the day (and sleeping is sometimes a luxury instead of a necessity). So, it was so amazing that you were able to handle all of the phone calls and digging around for information and prices, and setting up many of our meetings...it was more helpful than you know! Plus, it was really great to be able to draw on your experience of what people have done in the past, particularly what has worked and what hasn't, in order to help make our day even more wonderful. Although I was a bit stressed the morning of the wedding, I knew that everything was going to come out beautifully, because you were so organized in all of our previous meetings! And, lo and behold, the wedding was even more beautiful than I could have imagined it to be. It was so awesome that you were able to recruit help and set up the wedding decorations while me, my mother, and my bridesmaids were getting hair and make-up done! And, at the end of the night, it was EVEN MORE amazing that you all took down the decorations and cleaned everything up. It was like the wedding magically unfolded around us, and then disappeared around us...without me and Jason having to worry about doing anything! Plus, we got all of our deposit back from 7f (thank you thank you thank you), so we can use that money to purchase wedding pictures!

We got so many compliments from our friends and family about the wedding (people were still talking about it at Christmas!), and about how amazing our coordinator was. Some of our friends that are getting married in April were a disappointed that you live so far from where they are getting married because they wanted you to help them with their wedding! Overall, it was a wonderful and special day, and you and all of your helpers (but especially you) made it that way. So, thank you again!!

Best,
Ricci and Jason Clepper

Getting to know my clients

I recently planned a wedding for Ricci and Jason. They hired me in January and the wedding was not until December, so I got to spend a lot of time with them and really get to know them. They are a sweet, easy-going couple that seem so comfortable around each other. Ricci has a really great sense of humor, and I liked them both from the start! Her number one priority was the cake- she wanted a delicous cake that everyone would remember how good it was for years. The cake lady that Ricci chose was Mary Burkhalter with Heavenly Crumbs, and the cake was beautiful AND delicious!
The wedding took place just outside of Bryan/College Station at 7F Lodge which is an outdoor facility in Welborn, TX. It was drizzling in the morning, but turned out to be an absolutely perfect day for an outdoor wedding. J squared did the catering and Lori Luza was the photographer. The videographer, Magination Video, came from Waco and the DJ, Chris Austin from KORA 98.3 did his first wedding that evening and did a great job!
As a wedding planner, I get the privilege of being a part of the most important day in a married couple's life. It is the day that they join together as one and make a convenant to love and honor each other through better and worse. I find myself praying for them during the ceremony because I know that marriage can be a rough road, but with commitment, compromise and patience, they have a lot to look forward to in their lives. It was no different for Ricci and Jason. I prayed for them to have the kind of marriage that the Lord intended for them to have and that their wedding day would only be the beginning of their joy.

Engagement Pictures

Who your photographer will be is one of the most important decisions you will make for your wedding. You should choose someone who fits your style as well as your personality. There are many wonderful photographers in Bryan/College Station. However, several of my brides have chosen to search outside of our area, and I have enjoyed meeting and working with them. Recently, Amy and Todd had their engagement pictures done, and I thought they were so cute and unusual, so I decided to post some of them on my blog. The name of the photographers are JD & Jessica Merritt with Snaptacular Photos: http://www.snaptacularphotos.com/ http://www.snaptacularphotos.com/blog/
To me, they look as if they are having a really great time, and that's the way it should be! The time you spend planning your wedding and the big day itself should be a wonderful and joyful occasion. Yet, another reason to hire a wedding coordinator so that she can make that happen for you! I hope you enjoy the photos!

The Joy of being a Wedding Planner in Bryan/College Station

Throughout the day, I wear many hats. I am a wife, a mother, a teacher, a worship leader, and in my free time, I am a wedding planner. I teach 7th and 8th grade at a wonderful private school in College Station. When my students found out that I am also a wedding planner, their eyes lit up and they were so interested in what I do. The funny thing is, almost everywhere I go, when I tell people that I am a wedding planner (especially women) they often get very excited and interested. I have sat at tables during several of the receptions and the whole conversation revolved around me and what I do as a wedding planner. The movie, The Wedding Planner, usually comes up as well, but I tell people now that I can relate better to Katherine Heigl's character, Jane, in 27 Dresses. The way Jane serves and ministers to her friends on their wedding day is much of what I do as a wedding planner. Of course, I'm not a bridesmaid in the weddings I plan, and I have already found my groom (oddly enough, my groom's name is Kevin, too.) I also do NOT own 27 bridesmaid's dresses!
Anyway, I find it interesting that so many people are fascinated by what I do for a living. I never captivate an audience when I tell them I'm a mother, or a wife or a teacher. They may ask me a few questions about my children, my school and my husband, but the questions never dominate a conversation like they do when I tell them I'm a wedding planner. I wonder why so many people (including me) are so enraptured by that one special day that almost every girl dreams about her entire life? It is a mystery, but whatever the reason, I enjoy doing a job that so many people find so interesting. And, it is a blessing to make my bride's special day as perfect as possible. That is why I find so much joy in being a wedding planner.

Christian and Christine

I usually know a lot more about the ceremony before the wedding day than I did for this one. The bride wanted to keep it very simple and pretty untraditional. I actually did not meet the bride until she walked out of a room with her father and was about to walk outside. Her mother and aunt had done most of the planning and my interactions had been with them. They hired me for "day of" services only and that's exactly what I had to work with when the ceremony plans were changed at the last minute! However, I am really good at problem-solving and improvising (see my post on "the day I saved the cake!") and everything turned out beautifully. I got at least 10 compliments from guests about how beautiful it was and how great everything turned out. I am always amazed that people are able to pick me out of the crowd as the wedding planner. I really try to stay in the background and be as inconspicuous as possible.

Maddins did the catering and they were amazing! The location was at the bride's aunt's house

which is located in Traditions. It is a beautiful house and was a great setting for a wedding. The bride reminded me of Jenna Bush on her wedding day. She was simply elegant. She walked out to music played by the Brazos Valley Stringed Quartet. Their music was lovely. Most guests stayed until the very end because Livewire does such an amazing job of throwing a great party. It was a wonderful evening!

Jeff and Leanne

This wedding took place back in August, but I am just now getting around to blogging about it. I was only in charge of the reception which was at the Brazos Center. If you've ever been to the Brazos Center, you know that none of the rooms are very attractive when you first walk in. The rooms basically look like cafeterias. So, I had quite a job to do to get this room ready so that it would look like a wedding reception and not your neighborhood elementary school.
Leanne's grandmother brought all the decorations, and we got started setting up tables and chairs, putting on tablecloths, and putting everything where it belonged. Then, we had different types of candles, vases and mirrored tiles to use for centerpieces on each of the tables. The florist and cake lady came and the flowers and cake added to what we had already done. We had long stem roses in tall, thin glass vases, rose pedals on the tableclothes, and floating candles in some of the shorter vases. If you have to decorate a place that looks like a cafeteria and you can dim the lights, candles are the way to go. Softening the lighting with candles and dimmer lights makes the tiled floor and ceilings disappear, and brings a romantic and beautiful tone to the room. Candlelight really transforms an ordinary room into a beautiful reception hall. And the wonderful thing about candles is, they don't cost a lot of money, especially when you find them half-price at Hobby Lobby/Michaels or even the dollar store! So, after we lit all the candles and dimmed the lights, we had an absolutely beautiful room.

Another aspect of the reception that added some fun (as well as a delightful scent) was the chocolate fountain. If you've never tasted chocolate from a chocolate fountain, you are really missing out, especially if you are a chocolate lover. The chocolate covered fruit, pretzels and marshmallows are very delicious. Having the fountain at the reception also gives the guests something to eat while they are waiting for you. It also just smells so good! The man that owns the fountain is a delightful fellow from Germany named Klaus Elfeldt. I really enjoyed meeting him and smelling his delicious treats!
Livewire Productions provided the entertainment, and once again did an outstanding job. The bride and groom were always pretty reserved, quiet and shy when we met to talk about the wedding. However, Chance, the DJ, somehow managed to get them on the floor and dancing toward each other for the bouquet and garter tosses (Jeff had sunglasses on and Leanne had a rose between her teeth). They were really funny and it was such a joy watching them have so much fun. Chance has a way of bringing out a different side to everyone.
All in all, the reception turned out great, and I had a marvelous time. It is always a pleasure working with Tim Harris, the photographer, and this time I got to meet his wife, Kelli. They make a great team. The guests seemed to enjoy themselves as well. At least half of the guests stayed to the very end and some of them helped us clean up afterwards! Quite a blessing. This was a nice way to end my summer wedding season.

Marcus and Margaret

I had some concerns about this wedding because in our consultations, Margaret was wanting to do too many things the day of the wedding to make sure everything was exactly as she wanted them to be. I know every bride feels that way, but I counseled her to let things go, let the people she hired do the job she was paying them to do and enjoy her day. "Let me take care of the details." She listened to me, and the day of the wedding, she was so calm and relaxed and beautiful when I saw her! I heard her say several times, "It doesn't matter" "That's fine" and she was all smiles and giggles! I was so glad that she decided to let things go and because of that, she really enjoyed and remembered her special day.

One of my favorite things about coordinating weddings is getting to meet new people. When I met with Marcus and Margaret in our consultations, Margaret did all the talking and Marcus just sat there and smiled. When we asked his opinion, he really didn't say much. He was very sweet and obviously loves Margaret very much, but was very quiet. The day of the wedding, I found out why....
During the reception, I was grabbing a quick bite to eat, and Marcus' sisters invited me to join their family for dinner. So nice!!! So, I went over there, and was asking questions about their family. It turns out, Marcus is #7 in a family of 7 and he is the ONLY boy! No wonder he is so quiet! When would he have had any time to talk in that group???? Three of the sisters were actually at the wedding. One of them, Julie, has 7 children of her own and she doesn't look old enough to have that many! They were all a lot of fun to be around and I enjoyed the sisters and their husbands so much! This was probably my favorite family that I have met since becoming a wedding planner. If we lived in the same town, I would probably call them up to hang out.

I also really enjoyed her photographer, Brandi Tejeda. You ought to check out her website http://branditejedaphotography.com/. She's really good, and a delight to be around. I hope to work with her in the future.

This wedding and reception went off without a hitch. Everything turned out really nice. The most important thing to me is that the bride and groom were smiling the whole time, and I know they will remember this day fondly. That's why I love what I do.