InnCredible Events: January 2012

(James and Addison Brooks - October 22, 2011)

For some reason at this time of year, every bride I meet with always asks me the same question: 'Why should I hire a wedding planner?' Well, before I get into the 'nuts and bolts' of all the benefits of hiring a professional to manage the 'biggest day of your life', I'm going to let one of our InnCredible brides, Addison Brooks, give you her two-cents worth on the subject.

(Photo courtesy of 'Turning Leaf Studios')

This is what Addison wrote in her wedding program and shared with all her guests...(and just FYI, Marjorie and I were flabbergasted and honored!)

"When we first started preparing for a wedding, we thought, 'Eh, we don't need no stinkin' planners." Several months ago we realized, 'Uh yeah, planners would be good." Now we have a duo of wedding planning geniuses and they are heaven sent. Carrell & Marjorie asked the questions we didn't think of, got in contact with people we never thought of, and gave us so much advice while allowing us to not have to change who were are or the vision of our wedding. I'd be a wreck. Mom and I would probably be at each other's throats, and James would be reviewing escape routes. So thank you girls from all of us for keeping us sane, me in control and my mother happy. Cause if Mama ain't happy, we ain't happy."

Well, as you might guess...Mama was happy...very happy.!

So, our 'Number 1' reason for hiring a wedding planner is giving your Mom, and your soon-to-be Mother-in-Law, the luxury of actually enjoying your wedding day without having to worry about all minutia of managing your big day!

But, if you need a more convincing, here are few more reasons...

A wedding planner...

Saves YOU Time...
On average it takes approximately 250 hours to plan a wedding. If you’re a busy professional you probably don’t have the luxury to dedicate that much time to putting together your dream wedding…but a wedding planner does! They will not only save you lots of time, they’ll also make sure nothing gets overlooked.

(Franci and Chad Yowell - July 30, 2011)

Saves YOU Money...
Most wedding planners have established relationships with vendors, and are able to explain pricing to you and make sure you stick to your budget. They’ll also make sure you are not paying for, or getting talked into, things you really don’t want or need.

Saves YOUR Sanity...
There are so many little things that can get easily overlooked that most brides don’t take into consideration. A wedding planner will make sure these little things aren’t forgotten and your dream wedding comes off without a hitch. Plus…and this is a big one, they’ll be there if you need a shoulder to cry on, or a hand to hold, if things become a bit too overwhelming!

(Photo courtesy of 'Turning Leaf Studios')

Offers YOU Advice...
Most professional wedding planners have planned and orchestrated a number of weddings so they’ll be able to tell you what will and will not work. They will also help pull all your fabulous DIY ideas together so your ‘theme’ doesn’t get lost in all the creativity, and your DIY wedding doesn’t become your DI-saster!

(Photo courtesy of 'Stellasweet Photography')

Manages YOUR Relationships...
Planning a wedding is very stressful and more often than not, someone is going to get out-of-sorts. A wedding planner will act as your go-between and will advocate on your behalf to handle any stressful situation that comes up, regardless of whether it’s with a family member, friend or vendor. Remember, they work for you and will do whatever it takes to ease your stress.

(Photo courtesy of 'Turning Leaf Studios')

Reviews YOUR Contracts and Prepares YOUR Timeline...
A wedding doesn’t just run itself. It takes a lot of time and effort to put it together. On average a professional wedding planner will take several hours working and reworking a timeline to make sure that every aspect of your wedding happens the way, and at the time, you want. In doing so, they must review all your vendor contracts and coordinate with these vendors to make sure everyone is on the same page. Then they have to put all this information down in your timeline to make sure everyone involved understands their part in your wedding. It’s a lengthy and necessary process and one that you, the bride, don’t want to have to deal with.

(Coralee Barnes - 'A Taste to Dine For' Catering)

Runs YOUR Rehearsal and Orchestrates YOUR Wedding Day...
The success of your ceremony is based on your rehearsal. A wedding planner will make sure everyone in your wedding party knows their place and what to do during the ceremony. They will make sure everyone shows up to the ceremony on time, make sure the guys ties are straight, the gals hold their bouquets correctly, and that you make a show-stopping entrance. At your reception, they will manage your event according to your timeline so that it’s seamless, and you don’t incur any over-time charges which can be very expensive.

(LaRaye and Andy Emmert - October 29, 2011)

Is YOUR 'Go-To' Person...
On the day of your wedding the last thing you want is for a vendor, or guest, coming up to you to ask a question, or get your advice on something. A wedding planner is there to field all these questions and concerns, and make sure you are spending your time enjoying your day and having the time of your life.

Manages Unforeseen Crisis...
Every wedding will have something go wrong. The trick is to keep these situations under wraps. A good wedding planner will handle a crisis with ease so no one is aware that anything has happened, especially you.

And most importantly...allows YOU to Enjoy Your Big Day!
Your only job on the day of your wedding is to enjoy yourself, your family and friends. Hiring a wedding planner will allow you to do this. You want this to be the most exciting day of your life, and if you hire a wedding planner you can enjoy the wedding of your dreams, not work it.

(Photo courtesy of 'Jagger Photography')

Remember, it is no longer considered a ‘luxury’ to hire a wedding planner. In today’s busy world, it is an essential part of hosting the killer wedding.

Oh, and one other wee bit of advice: when selecting a wedding planner, make sure they’re a professional and not someone who does wedding planning as a hobby. You want to make sure your dream wedding meets, or rather, exceeds your expectations, so be sure to hire a professional!

Until next time....

Making Your Wedding InnCredible

'InnCredible Events'

530.919.4588

Happy New Year everyone. Marjorie and I hope your 2012 is as magical as all of you are!

We have some new things in store for you this year, one being asking our brides to contribute to our blog. What better way to connect with all of you then to let our brides do the talking...we thought you'd like that! So, here we go!

Typically, Marjorie and I don't endorse products. Well, not a lot of products anyway. In fact, I think there has only been one product we have ever endorsed, and that is 'MissNowMrs', the fabulous company that helps you change your name, if you're so inclined to do so. We love this company so much we give our brides a 'MissNowMrs' gift card when they sign up for our 'InnCredible Events' wedding planning services. Makes sense, right!

I know we've all heard horror stories about the trials and tribulations that brides, and some grooms, have gone through to change their names after they say, 'I Do'. Even I, a wedding planner, listened to the anger and frustration from my son and daughter-in-law as they went through this tedious process. No fun! No fun at all!

And since we want to make sure the products we give to our couples, and endorse, meet our high expectations, I asked one of our InnCredible brides, Jennifer Witz, now Jennifer Claiborne, to tell you about her experience with 'MissNowMrs.' (And, just so you know, we are in no way getting any sort of kick back or perks from the company...this is just our way of giving you good information to help you make informed decisions...because that's what we do!)

(Photo removed at photographer's request)

So, here in her own words is what Jennifer had to say....

"I received a gift card to MissNowMrs from my amazing wedding planner. Not knowing what it was, I looked it up and discovered a website that makes it very easy to change your last name after getting married all in one spot.

After talking to other brides, I was not looking forward to having to change my name everywhere and gathering all the right forms and documents. However, MissNowMrs makes it oh so easy! I sound like an info. ad, but it's true! It has every place you may need to change your name, from the post office, to the obvious social security, to your bank account and more. There are a handful of generic forms to fill out on yourself and husband, and then with a click, all the information is sent to every form you may need to change your name. All I had to do was print out the forms, follow the step-by-step direction they have for each form, and mail them out. The only one I had to physically go in for was for the DMV, which was easy since they now take appointments.

After planning a wedding in 3 months while starting a new job and getting my Master's Degree, there was no way I would of had enough time to find each form needed, fill them out, and take them in individually. MissNowMrs saved me a lot of time and now I am proudly Mrs. Claiborne!"

(Photo removed at Photographer's request)

Until next time....

Making your wedding InnCredible

'InnCredible Events'

530.919.4588