Monday, May 24, 2010
I recently met with potential clients who were in the beginning stages of their wedding planning. During the initial meeting we discussed their preliminary guest count. They planned to invite approximately 190 people to their wedding BUT hoped only 115 would actually RSVP yes. That means they expected 75 guests (roughly 40%) not to attend their wedding. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I’ve heard this.
Some couples do it because of budget, some because of limited space at the venue they’ve chosen and the list goes on. Let me just say this is not a realistic way to handle your guest list. There, I said it…and here’s why.
Venue: if your venue can only hold 125 guests with a dance floor but you invite 190 you run the risk that you’ll end up with more guests than your venue can accommodate. You will have to figure out what to do with the “additional” guests. Where will they sit? Will you have to call and disinvite some who have already rsvp’d yes? Will you have to change your venue? Talk about stressing out during your wedding planning!
Budget: If the budget for your wedding reception can only accommodate
115 guests, you’ve invited 190 and let’s say 150 people rsvp to attend your wedding, you could have a financial disaster on your hands. Will you have to cut back on other items for your wedding? Will you have to ask parents for additional funds? Will you have to take out a loan? Or again, will you have to disinvite some who’ve already said they’re planning to attend your wedding?
Moral of the story is…you cannot create more space where there is none and you can’t always add additional funds to your budget. So plan your guest list accordingly.
Happy planning!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Meet Piyumi and Tom! I met this wonderful couple back in January. They recently had their engagement photo session in Annapolis, MD with Jen of JLowe Photos. Below are a few of my favorite shots. You can view more of their engagement session here and watch the slideshow here.
I can’t wait for their Labor Day weekend wedding.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
In addition to the educational portion of Eventology there were also fun networking events. Sunday night, Jennifer of A Regal Affair organized what she called “The Smart Girls Dinner” at Ruth’s Chris. It was great to meet attendees prior to the start of the conference. I think there were a total of about 40 of us eating, drinking and having a great time getting to know each other.
After our first day of classes, Katasha of K. Sherrie + Co and the organizer of the annual Eventology conference arranged a cocktail party which also included an eye lash bar courtesy of Nashara from Ready to Blush.
And yes there were guys there {photos below via Jen Lynne Photography}
After the cocktail party we headed over to Jillian’s for karaoke and pool also organized by Jennifer of A Regal Affair. I started the evening thinking I would only watch others do karaoke however I was somehow talked into singing…twice. I was too chicken to do a solo so our first group sang En Vogue’s “Hold On (To Your Love)” while our second group sang/rapped Bell Biv Devoe’s “Poison”. I had a great time!
I was surprised by how many people actually participated but the show stopper of the evening was the duet of Saundra Hadley of Planning Forever Events and Eric Kmetz of Epic Motion {photo below via Jen Lynne Photography}.
Hope you enjoyed my recaps of day one, day two and the fun events of Eventology 2010. If you’d like to see more photos check out Jen Lynne Photography’s blog posts here and here. And you HAVE to watch the video coverage of the conference on Epic Motion’s blog. They did an awesome job recapping day one and day two and they even did a blooper reel.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
We began day two with breakfast and then it was time to hit the ground running. Our first workshop was “The Art of Wedding Design” with Sasha Souza of Sasha Souza Events. Anyone who’s seen her work knows that her design skill are off the hook (or the bomb dot com as mentioned several times during Eventology lol). She gave us great tips on how to design an event that truly reflects our clients and we received a copy of her new book. SCORE! The next workshop was “Geek is Chic” with Terrica Skaggs of Cocktails & Details and Chic Wedding Geek. Terrica is a legend in the wedding industry for being the go to person for all things tech-y. She gave us so much information and products to streamline our business and create a great experience for our clients. The last workshop was “Building Your Team” with Lara Casey of Bliss Events Group, Southern Weddings Magazine, Lara Casey Reps, etc. She provided us with a few questions to make us think about whether we really need to increase our team.
As day two came to a close I had to say goodbye to some of my wedding planning friends as they headed to the airport. It was great to see old friends I’ve known for awhile, friends from Twitter that I’ve never met in person and meet new people from all over the country.
Check back for my final recap of the conference. We aren’t just all work and no play. We had fun events each night of the conference and all I’ll say is…us wedding industry folks sure know how to have fun 
{All photos from the official Eventology photographer Jen Lynne Photography}
