Friday, December 19, 2014

Be Brave

For whatever reason I watched this video today and it really touched me (literally tears at my desk) so I thought I'd share.

"Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave"



Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Vendors Vendors Vendors! (Part Seven:Florist)

It's no secret, I'm not a big flower girl.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good "just because" bouquet as much as the next girl. The idea of flowers, itself, is nice, but after a few days, when they just start to wilt and die, it just makes me sad.

Finding a florist for my wedding (I mean OUR wedding, I have GOT to stop doing that ;) ) was a lot easier than expected. My wedding coordinator actually recommended her and, even though my coordinator is based out of Seattle/Palm Springs, the florist she recommended was from Long Beach! Like me! I figured it was a good sign, and I was definitely right.

My first meeting with LeeLina was in a conference room at her apartment complex and I, of course, took my Maid of Honor along with me. From the moment I met LeeLina, I adored her. Everything about her. Her demeanor, her style, her heartfelt smile. And not only that, she got me, like really got me. She was throwing out suggestions I hadn't thought of, and yet, adored. Adding spray painted gold succulents to the bridesmaids bouquets, genius, and so me! (If you are unaware, throughout my wedding planning process I literally spray painted EVERYTHING gold.) Danica and I walked out of that meeting and said "Well... that was easy".

Throughout our florist/client relationship I feel like we actually became friends. I would text her random thoughts and even vent to her about some of my other wedding mishaps. Any time I would talk about her or be asked about her, it was always the same three words... I adore her. And it couldn't be more true. I even talked with my mom and friends about seeing if, after my wedding, she would maybe want me to start helping her. I always thought I'd want to be a Wedding Coordinator but, after seeing how much my incredible Coordinator had to do and was responsible for, I was like count me out. But, florals and styling... that's the fun stuff! That's the stuff that makes everything beautiful! Who wouldn't want to be a part of that!? The day of my wedding LeeLina actually jokingly asked me when I was going to start working for her and I told her that I had actually already toyed around with the idea. She seemed surprised but excited and said we should definitely work on some collaborating, so we'll see where that leads. In the meantime, if you are looking for a florist, I couldn't recommend LeeLina any higher. An amazing florist, and above all, a wonderful person.


Friday, December 12, 2014

Vendors Vendors Vendors! (Part Six:Coordinator!!)

Honestly, I'd say at the beginning of this wedding planning process I was pretty clueless of all of the inter-workings of planning a wedding. I really didn't think I even needed a wedding coordinator. Boy, was I wrong. Because of the intricacies of my venue, a coordinator is not only suggested, it's required.

I started by contacted a friend of mine who coordinates and styles weddings locally, Wilma Rose of Lovely Jubilee. She has a wonderful eye for turning drab to fab. To exhaust all options I also went through the list of preferred vendors provided to me by my venue. Some seemed wonderful, while others I had to make an appointment just to get a phone call in with them.

Then I spoke with Tamara Bolton of Sensorium Event Productions. Not only had she done previous events at my venue, she had crazy connections all over the Coachella Valley. I was in a pickle. I adored Wilma and her work and, not to mention, that she is local and I could get a quick meeting in with her whenever. I went back and fourth on this with my mom for awhile, but with the intricacies of my venue, it sure would be amazing to have someone who knows the ins and outs. That being said, I ended up going with Tamara but couldn't recommend Wilma any higher. She is incredible at what she does.

With that big decision behind me, I began full steam ahead with Tamara and she was like a gift from God. She knew every little nuance of my venue down to where we needed power supplies and extension cords, things I never would have thought of. Her connections were incredible and it was through her that I found my florist, who I absolutely adore, but I'll save that for my next vendor post.

Technically Tamara was considered a "Day Of" Coordinator but she didn't hesitate to help me in every way imaginable, down to getting Certificates of Insurance from all of my vendors (another requirement of my venue). She was always quick to respond to e-mails and didn't hesitate to let me know where there were holes in my grand wedding plan (and boy were there a lot haha).

I feel honored to have worked with her and if you are planning an event in the Coachella Valley (or in Seattle, which is her second home), do yourself a favor and give her a call. You won't regret it. (And no, she didn't ask me to give her a plug, I genuinely feel that way.)

Also... Be sure to check out her facebook page for some of her previous work.

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