911! June 22, 2009

Here’s the scene.

Beautiful wedding with 250 guests. During the ceremony a man in the second to last row has a heart attack. Ambulance is called and the Rabbi continues with the ceremony. All the guests are respectful and keep their eyes toward the bride and groom. I can see that the paramedics need more time and it is almost time for the ceremony to end. I run down to the tent where the reception is being held and grab the violin player from the band. I tell him as soon as the glass is broken by the groom to step into the aisle and play Sunrise/Sunset until the stretcher is gone and the ambulance is driving away.

By the violin player standing in the aisle ,it held the bride and groom from walking down the aisle along with the guests.

Within 2 minutes of the glass breaking the stretcher was in the ambulance and heading towards the hospital…the violin  player proceeded down the aisle with the bride and groom and all the guests.  

The mother of the bride looked at me and said…”Is he dead”? I said no…and she said Thank goodness..let’s have a party!!

The guest ended up being ok and the party was fantastic!

Toasts! May 26, 2009

I think my favorite part of wedding is hearing a well thought out toast.

The toasts that make you laugh,  then cry and laugh again. The ones where you don’t want to move because you want to hear every word and every guest is looking towards the speaker and intently listening and smiling.

The heartfelt toasts from the father-of -the-bride, the funny humourous and insightful stories from the bestman and maid/matron of honor.

A wedding is a passage of life.  A meaningful toast given will be a wonderful gift to give the new bride and groom and will be remembered forever.

Some of my favorite..one liners

Father of the Bride: My daughter didn’t want to do the money dance…but I am telling you tonight, I have no problem with it and I am doing the money dance.

Maid of Honor: I knew I met a friend for life in college. We were roomates and Stacey arrived with 100 pairs of her shoes all in my size!

Bestman: The Bestman was foreign and I didn’t realize he didn’t understand English that well. I asked him if he was ready to give his toast. He said, “Yes” and proceeded to the stage. He lifted the microphone to his mouth in his right hand and his champagne glass in his left and out came the words “Toast”…then he left the stage. Ahhhhh!!!!

Life is a beach “wedding” 5-18-2009 May 20, 2009

In San Diego, we do alot of weddings on the beach…yes it is beautiful, but just remember-

1. Tides. They change daily and throughout the day. Make sure you check a tide chart (which may not be correct ) to make sure there will be a beach on your wedding day and that you don’t set up too close to the water in the morning while the water washes away your ceremony site in the afternoon.

2.  Wind.  The wind  can pick up by the beach. I have seen many brides with their veil in their face during the ceremony. Also, make sure your florist secures your decor so it does not fly away.

3. Sound. With the waves behind you, it is very hard to hear what the officiant and  bride and groom are saying.  Hire a sound company so all guests can hear.

4. Parking.  Usually very limited.  If you can afford to have guests park in a lot and shuttle them in or have your guest’s park at the reception site and pick them up there and bring to the beach and back.

5. Sun.  It can be hot and smack in your guests’ eyes especially if you are getting married around sundown. I coordinated a wedding in La Jolla..had the parasols for the guests, bottled water, sunglasses on every chair…it was foggy that day… sometimes you just don’t know at the beach.

6. Sandals. Nice to have a place for guests to take off their shoes if they want and put on (supplied by you) sandals, they will appreciate the option!!

7. Privacy and Reserving your spot.  Set up your chairs early to reserve your space, make sure you acquire a permit as soon as you know your location to make sure it is ok to hold a wedding there. If the beach is not secluded, you will have the public watching you  while wearing shorts and bathing suits.

Embrace the above, plan ahead and have the beach wedding you have always dreamed of!

Seagulls May 11, 2009

If you are doing an outside reception by the beach do not include food items in your centerpiece. The set up was complete with champagne grapes as part of the centerpiece. As soon as the floral crew left, the Seagulls came dive bombing down on the tables to eat the grapes. We had to keep the wait staff by the tables until the guests arrived.

Always know when you are anywhere outside there are always birds above that can drop a present at a moments notice.

I was organizing a lobster clam bake at La Jolla Cove when the photographer arrived. He took out all his expensive camera equipment and started to shoot and within 5 minutes his equipment was covered with Seagull droppings…Bullseye!!

My first Post 5-3-2009 March 18, 2009

Whenever I tell people I am a wedding planner, first there is a smile in their eyes and then come the questions. What was the biggest, nicest, weirdest, craziest, most expensive wedding you have ever planned? 

People love hearing the stories. Weddings are high drama and I love being the director.

I do this because I love it all. The theater, the creativity, the families and the appreciation I feel for a job well done.

With every wedding I have learned something new,  be it a way to do something better, different or to never to do it that way again.

Diary of a wedding planner came about after I went to a party and started telling my stories. At first I had one person listening and within fifteen minutes I had twenty standing around me awe struck, laughing and crying. 

So I thought, why not blog about it and others may enjoy reading the stories.

So here it is what I have learned, the good, the bad, the joyous and the ugly in fifteen years of helping brides and grooms prepare for their big day.

Hope you laugh, cry and learn something for your own wedding from my wedding experiences.

If you are a bride or wedding vendor and would like to share your story, I will be adding new topics every Monday and would love to include your wedding life lesson in my blog.

Enjoy,

Mary

Animals, Birds, Dead Butterflies and Fish 5.4.2009 March 18, 2009

Animals…let’s start with dogs at weddings.

Some bride and grooms love having Fido at the wedding…just remember some guests may be allergic.

I once had a guest sneeze through the entire ceremony…she ended up leaving for the night.

Also, if you are to be married in a backyard, send a flyer to the neighbors and ask that their dogs are inside for the 1/2 hour you having the ceremony.  12 years ago I had a German Shepard with a deep bark, bark through the whole ceremony.  Instead of “I do” it was “I woof”

Doves: Never release doves if hawks maybe in the area. I had a beautiful 200 bird release until the hawk came down and snatched one out of the sky. Instead of the guests talking about the bride’s dress they were discussing the dove murder.

Also, concerning doves…you have to release doves before sundown or else they will not find their way home. Just make sure your officiant knows this so he/she can time the ceremony with the dove release if it is close to sundown.

I’ve never been a big fan of the Doves in baskets out in the open for all to see. The challenge is you can’t put doves behind a wall. If there is anything in front of a dove it will not fly.

Butterflies: I am 50/50 on this…can be really great if all butterflies fly but there are always a few that don’t make it out of the cacoon stage.

Fish: I’ve never had fish swimming in a bowl as a centerpiece at a wedding.  I personally feel they should be on the Sushi Bar.