When we had our Sex and the City 2 party in May, we worked with a team of phenomenal planners, one of whom was Amy Thomas who owns Swizzle Events. She is such a thinker, anticipates your needs and makes sure you are taken care of. Plus, she is quite a creative visionary and has come up with some beautiful events and concept shoots. I would absolutely trust my wedding to her and I don't make too many out right endorsements. But, I am 100% confident in her ability to execute. She is the type of planner you want to help you plan a beautiful wedding but also be directing your day in the event it rains and you have to change ALL of your plans.
One thing that stands out the most about my experience working with Amy is that she is so tactful and logical. I can sometimes get overwhelmed, with a challenging vendor or situation. Not Amy! She's the calm one who can help me see beyond my mini-crisis. Here's more about Amy...
Meet Swizzle Events...Wedding Planner + A Bride's Best Friend!
Number of years in the business
Almost 9 (6 years in corporate & 2½ as a business owner)
How did you get started in weddings?
I actually began my special events career in the coroprate world and gradually began to plan weddings for friends and friends of friends. It was a natural progression since I use many of the same skills to plan both corporate events and weddings.
What do you like most about weddings?
My favorite moment of a wedding is the «first glance» when a groom sees his beautiful bride on their wedding day. Love it! I also love creating the design concept for weddings. I have so much fun pulling together all the colors, flowers, and that special touch that makes the bride say «Wow!»
What’s your favorite wedding pic/video and why?
I love this photo of an outdoor wedding. It's full of southern charm. The quintissential backyard ceremony.
What is your service philosophy?
I believe that it is important to strive for creative excellence and bring integrity to all of my work. As a small business, I want to give each client a personal, yet professional planning experience. A wedding or special occasion is a defining moment in your life that calls for an unforgettable celebration. My team and I will help you make the most of that moment by keeping the planning process organized and creative.
What are your strengths compared to others in your category and why should a bride hire you?
First, and foremost, I am a consummate professional. Regardless of the budget or size of the wedding, every client deserves my full attention, and they get it! I am also very organized and leave no detail behind. And, I believe that I am a very creative and resourceful person.
Who are your 5 favorite Nashville wedding vendors – helpfulness, professionalism, style?
This is a tough question! Nashville has a wealth of wedding vendors! Here are five favorites (in no particular order): Nashville Event Lighting, Blue Nova Design, Jonathon Campbell Photography, Designs in Paper, and it's a tie between Allison at Classic Party Rental and Peter at Music City Tents.
Who do you recommend when you’re not available/not a fit?
Emily at Simpy Yours Weddings or Susan & April at Defining Moments
What do you read/watch regularly to stay on top of wedding/event trends?
Well, I'm a huge blog junkie anything from the big standards to the quirky. I love Green Wedding Shoes, Snippet & Ink, Southern Weddings Magazine (the blog), Flights of Fancy, Style Notes. And, Ashley's Bride Guide, of course! The list goes on and on. I also like the magazines but to be honest, I look at them for the eye candy and don't really use them as a planning tool. My favorite wed mag is hands- down Real Simple Weddings.
What trend do you love? I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE dessert tables! I love how they can be styled as chic and sophisticated or fun and whimsical. And, who doesn't love a good dessert? Even better, let's just fill an entire table with delicious little bites of yumminess.
You've got to see this wedding inspiration shoot conceptualized and styled by Amy and her team of wedding pros. Photographed by Jonathon Campbell Photography.
Is there a trend that you hate?
Well, I can't say that I hate this one, but I don't really see the practicality in having two wedding dresses. I know, for a platinum wedding, it's just part of the glamour. But really, for many brides, it's just an expense that isn't really in the budget.
What about a trend that you are glad to see go?
Fondant wedding cakes – while it's not officially gone, I have seen a resurgence of buttercream. Hallelujah! Icing that actually tastes good enough to eat.
Is there a trend that you are sad is gone?
I like change, so it doesn't really sadden me to see a trend fade to the background. And really, if a bride truly loves something, it usually gets worked into the plan somewhere regardless of the trends.
What would be doing if you did not work in weddings?
I would be a photographer, not necessarily a wedding or lifestyle photographer. I'd just like to create beautiful art.
Where can we find you if you’re not working with a bride?
Driving a minivan full of kids and baseball equipment. I spend a lot of time driving my kids from school, to baseball, to cubscouts, to playdates . . .
In our second installment of our Wedding Planner Inspiration series, we talked to Kristin Kaplan, owner and lead event planner with Simply Stunning Events. From modern weddings in loft settings to gorgeous outdoor celebrations, Simply Stunning Events has put together events their brides and grooms' hearts desired. For an upcoming wedding Kristin fills us in on what and how she's been working with her engaged couple on their plans.
Kristin Kaplan, of Simply Stunning Events, Shares Inspiration for an Upcoming Nashville Wedding
Tell us about your engaged couple:
Karen & Austin are a sweet and energetic couple who first came to me last June to plan and design their spring, 2011 wedding. They wished for a classic, romantic wedding (nothing too trendy or that might look dated in 10 years) and most of all it had to be “fun”!
We sat down a couple of months ago to begin the planning process and they immediately won me over by bringing Gigi’s Cupcakes to our design meeting (seriously folks, if you want your vendors to work extra hard for you, all it takes is food and treats).
One of the first steps I take with couples is to talk about their personal styles, favorite colors, family backgrounds and heritage, favorite foods, the music they listen to, stores they shop in, anything to give me an idea of who they are as individuals and who they are as a couple. When the guests arrive at the wedding I want them to think “Wow this is SO Karen & Austin!”.
As a couple, Karen & Austin are both very grounded and practical, but at the same time have warm and funny personalities. Karen’s family is Chinese and from the mid-west, while Austin is Korean-American but hails from New Orleans, Louisiana. It was important to them to give a nod to their heritage and somehow work it into the wedding. They both love the color blue and from there we decided on a color palette consisting of shades of blue, silver, white, and pearl. After learning more about their personal styles and going through many different adjectives, I really felt they were going for a classic elegance with a contemporary twist: very pretty and sophisticated, without being overbearing or stuffy. Finally, they wanted to incorporate the Fleur de Lis into the design, since Austin is from Louisiana.
What excites you about this wedding? Is there an inspiration board you can share with us?
I then pulled all the ideas together and create an inspiration board and color board for the couple. This step is REALLY important to me because with an inspiration board we can be sure that we are all on the same page creatively. I typically take a few images that the couple has provided and then fill in the rest using everything I’ve learned about their style. Many of the images are not of things we plan to actually use (sometimes I include images of furniture, artwork, and architecture), but they are meant to convey a particular style or vibe and of course “inspire”. We then use these boards throughout all the various steps in the planning process. It’s a great tool to use with each of the vendors so that they immediately understand the vision and style that we’re aiming for and as a result, the entire event has a cohesive feel.
I am in love with what Karen, Austin, and I came up with for their wedding! The colors, predominantly the blue, in conjunction with the pearls and baroque patterns, have such and “old-timey” romantic feel while still being classic and contemporary. They recently chose Scarritt Bennett for their ceremony and the War Memorial Auditorium as their reception venue and both locations are a perfect fit with their style. I am so excited to see how the design evolves from this point and to continue to incorporate their fun and lively personalities into their wedding day.
Lastly, from your expert perspective, how would you encourage brides/couples to find their vision for their wedding?
Your wedding is your day together as a couple, to proclaim to the world with the support of your family and friends, that you will share your lives together forever. So it should reflect who you are and your own style. When you first begin the design process for your wedding, sit down and discuss what makes you unique as a couple, and find ways to incorporate that into your wedding day. Brainstorm a list of adjectives to describe your style and how you want the wedding to look and feel for your guests and hone that down to 3-5 words. Then start searching for images that reflect the style and build an inspiration board around them. And be creative! I love weddings that incorporate unique touches that reflect the couple.
Thank you Kristin for sharing the inspiration for Karen and Austin's big day! Everything looks gorgeous and we can't wait to see how it all turns out. You can see more of Simply Stunning Events' wonderful weddings and events at their website to keep up with what Kristin and her brides have done!
Most people still have the misconception that all a wedding planners do is march around with a clipboard in hand barking orders to frantic wait staff and wedding vendors. SO not true. Planners are here to help engaged couples make decisions in their planning and to take the stress of planning off their shoudlers. Most planners (if not all) will work especially with you in one of the trickiest, most daunting parts of wedding planning - vendor negotiations. When does a bride say yes or no? How much is too much when it comes to estimates?
Hillary Capes of Your Day of Fairy Tales shares some insight in today's Penny Pinching Bride advice segment.
What is negotiation and how can it help me in my wedding.
According to Maiese, “Negotiation is a discussion between two or more disputants who are trying to work out a solution to their problem.” (Maiese, 2003) Negotiation is a part of every day life. At a stoplight, you negotiate with who will go next. Negotiation often goes unmentioned by the American population. Unfortunately, too many people settle for what appears to be the norm and do not try and better themselves.
{...enter wedding planning}
How many vendors have you contacted and automatically not given a shot because their package included too much for you or didn't even include what you wanted? Did you try to negotiate with that vendor? Negotiation is key to making a budget wedding work.
Photography
For example: You contact the most amazing photographer in all of Nashville. You absolutely love their work and they MUST take your wedding portraits. Problem is though, their packages include WAY too much extra "stuff" and not enough coverage time. Easy fix. Contact the photographer. Tell them how much you LOVE their work and that you really are interested in more coverage time. Explain to them the reason you feel you do not need the extras in their packages and ask politely if you can do a swap out for extra coverage hours. Usually if a vendor knows that you are going to book, they will work with you to make sure you have what you want in your package.
One easy tip is to not hire an inexperienced photographer who has never done a professional wedding. Whether it's second shooting or solo, make sure that they have done weddings. Amber of Lotus Blossum Photography posted a great blog about the difference in professional wedding photography and un-professional wedding photography. There definitely is a difference.
unprofessional photo taken by a family member
BRIDES LISTEN!!!!
Inexpensive photography does NOT mean horrible in all cases. But, it does not mean go to Craigslist and hire the first ad you see for cheap photography because chances are that person just got that camera and can't operate it. This is THE ONE aspect of your day that you will have after it is all said and done. Treasure it and hire a professional photographer who will tell the story of your wedding day!
Flowers
Oh brides who think all florists are expensive: Newsflash! They aren't! It is all based upon the flowers you pick! I know you have heard time and time again, that it depends on what is in season and what isn't. For example. I am sure most of you have heard about the expensive price tag of roses in the early part of the year, especially around Valentine's day, but due to over whelming qualities in the summer time, the price of roses drastically decreases to about half.
This centerpiece cost approximately $25 and was done for a late April wedding.
Source: erinthacker.com
Another way to cut your florist costs is to consider the size of your flowers. A small flower such as tulips, ranaculous, or roses are going to be more expensive to make a full bouquet than a large flower such as a sunflower, stargazer lillies or hydrangea. Also, reducing the number of those expensive smaller flowers in your arrangements or bouquets is a great way to cut costs.
Catering
As a planner, negotiating catering is the hardest part of my job. One quick and easy way to negotiate the price point of your catering is man power and the amount of time they spend there. Rather than having 6 people there at $25/hour per person for 6 hours, ask your caterer if you can cut it down to 4 people for 4 hours. A majority of the time, they can still function with those terms, whilst cutting your contract price down.
All of these tips are things you should mention to your vendors when contacting them for the first time. Negotiation is an important factor into making your budget wedding come true. Hiring a wedding planner is also a good step as most planners have experience negotiating with vendors.
Happy Planning!
The views shared in our guest blog posts aren't necessarily those of Ashley's Bride Guide.
When I first entered the Nashville wedding scene, A Delightful Day Wedding & Event Planning was a fairly new wedding planning company that I connected with immediately. Mary Alice, the founder, was dedicated and it showed. That was in 2007 and year over year, I've seen A Delightful Day grow into an even more amazing group of fabulous planners with creativity, great execution and a zeal for serving Nashville brides. Their brides love them and if you need a planner, I'm sure you will love them too!
Ashley's One-on-One with A Delightful Day:
Company Name: A Delightful Day Event Planning
Website: http://www.adelightfulday.com
Main Contact: Mary Alice Sublett
Associate Planner/Coordinator: Leigh Barker
Contact: 615.938.0711 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Number of Years in the Business: 5 1/2 years
How did you get started in weddings? I got started in the wedding industry in college and as a newly engaged bride to be. With my personalty, I love being involved in details and really seeing a wedding brought to life, so after working on some weddings for some friends and bride's that arrived by referrals, A Delightful Day was born. Being a native Nashvillian, it has certainly given me the opportunity to get to know many in the industry here and know what Nashville has to offer local brides and destination brides to Nashville. We have grown into a company that offers many different facets to brides and provide the support that they need to plan the wedding of their dreams; planning their event, design/florals, and custom papergoods!
What do you like most about weddings? I love all of the excitement of the planning process, the stresses and all, and seeing a bride walk down the aisle to her groom, tears in their eyes and anxious thoughts, and know that we have everything under control. Also, seeing the overall design come together that we have worked so hard with our brides on and see their excited faces when they see it for the first time! We really try hard for that first look experience so that we can enjoy their enjoyment of their wedding dreams come true!
What’s your favorite wedding pic/video and why? We had a wedding in May of this year, Tami and Brent, and Tami and I had put in so much work together to create this dream day for her and Brent. Their wedding was the following weekend of the flood and we had to find a new location for her in 5 days. It was stressful, but we stayed calm through it all and had a beautiful event that Tami and Brent loved every minute of. That’s what makes this passion worth it every day!
What is your service philosophy? We go above and beyond for our brides and aim to provide our clients with a stress-free and positive experience. Brides are so busy now with careers, family, sometimes kids, social lives, so wedding planning is something that we want them to be hands-on with, but not left feeling overwhelmed. We also pride ourselves in guiding our clients in creating a "signature look" that is unique to each couple. From colors, theme, to florals and small details, we make experienced recommendations for our clients in creating an intimate celebration that is truly their own!
What are your strengths compared to others in your category? / Why should a bride hire you? I feel that we have a interesting connection with each of our couples and that is truly a relationship that you can not only trust that we're going to advise our clients on what is best for them, but also we have the ability to share our opinions on what has worked in the past and what hasn't. Also, being in the same age group as the majority of our brides I feel we have the best understanding of trends, education, and experiences to help them plan the best wedding for them. Also, the wonderful relationships that we’ve built with fellow wedding vendors in our years of experience gives brides a more personalized experience.
Who are your 5 favorite Nashville wedding vendors – helpfulness, professionalism, style? There are so many FANTASTIC Nashville vendors, but here are a few of my favs: I love Jay from Maples Wedding Cakes! His flavors and tastes are to die for, as well as design. We love Dove Wedding Photography for their style, but also the friendship and trust that we have developed in them. Alison Bryant at Classic Party Rentals has been my calm in so many storms... what would I do without her. Rhonda Patton has such a grasp for modern design and displays that with our clients. Brocade Design Arts, Hillary Robson, has such an eye for florals and talent that just oozes out of her! She is always looking for new challenges for brides designs.
What are your favorite wedding websites? Neatest wedding find? Some of my favorite wedding websites include: iloveswmag.com, the Southern Weddings blog is full of southern inspiration and goodness!; The ultimate in southern gorgeousness, the Weddings Unveiled blog, weddingsunveiledblog.blogspot.com and their magazine is incredible for inspiration; stylemepretty.com of course has been a source of all types of inspiration for brides; weddingchicks.com is another great blog for continual inspiration and they have a great little wedding boutique; one other website for great inspiration, DIY projects, and real wedding galleries based on type is oncewed.com, which also offers the ability to purchase used wedding dresses.
A neat wedding find would have to be the Etsy wedding section. Absolutely wonderful unique pieces that speak who you are for your wedding, for example these adorable cufflinks you could give your lovebug (i.e. fiance’):
What's one way brides can save money / be more economical without sacrificing her vision? When you begin your planning, really sit down and discuss with your fiance’ what your priorities are. Create three items that are your top priorities, i.e. photography, having a videographer, hiring a planner, florals, favors like a photo booth, having a full bar, etc. and that will assist you in delegating your budget appropriately. From there, you can see what items aren’t necessarily as important to you and you won’t plan to spend as much of your budget on those items. One way to really enhance a space, but not necessarily dig too deep into the wallet is lighting! Many brides believe lighting is a luxury/high end item, when in reality it is more affordable than you think and can truly create a completely different space. With that, you can be a little more savvy with your florals/floral budget, and not require an extreme amount of florals for your space.
For the platinum bride, what is the one thing youve always wanted to see? Oh.... SO MANY THINGS! One item in particular is doing a completely separate, decked out area for a lounge/dance party complete with unique lounge pieces, extreme lighting, and truly modern vibe! I love seeing the pictures of these in magazines and just yearn for that event one day!
Does your company do anything special that a green bride might want to know?For our brides, a lot of times we will contact a local hospice company that will take their wedding day florals and rearrange them to take them to hospice patients and nursing homes for them to enjoy for the rest of their floral life! Many brides wonder what will happen to those florals, and I think that that becomes an area of waste, so this in turn allows for someone else to have a little cheer from their wedding for several days following!
You can follow A Delightful Day on Twitter, become their fan on Facebook and see more beautiful weddings they've done on their website.
Photography credits: McLellan Style, Phindy Studios, Gray Photography, Creative Push, Joy Marie Photography, Chris & Adrienne Scott.
Wedding planners aren't just planners anymore - some are multi-talented, skilled professionals with plenty of skills (like coordination, design) to bring to the plate. But beware. There are many so called "one-stop wedding shops" touting they can do everything you need for your wedding (from photography to cakes to video). Most can't deliver on such a wide breadth of services so be sure to really hone in on their true skills - hire them for those.
Sarah Goude, owner of Regalo Design, is a full service planner that I'm excited about!. Sarah is great for Nashville brides who want one person taking the lead, from full planning to floral and event design. She's meticulous and has a great eye for design. I''m thrilled to introduce you all to her and her expertise.
Ashley goes one-on-one with Sarah of Regalo Design!
Number of Years in the Business: 10 years experience in event planning, 4 years official business.
How did you get started in weddings? I always knew that my passion was event planning with a specialty in weddings. I started by planning my friends and family’s weddings 10 years ago. I was also in corporate positions where I planned corporate events professionally. Four years ago, I was in a place in my life where I made the decision to start Regalo Design. I receive confirmation everyday that this is exactly where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to do in my life.
What do you like most about weddings? Building relationships with my clients. When you ask a married couple about their wedding, good or bad, they remember those people who were involved. My mission is to build quality relationships with all of my clients and leave a positive, lasting impression beyond the wedding day.
What’s your favorite wedding pic/video and why? My favorite picture was taken at an outdoor wedding held at Fairview Plantation. Although it is a beautiful picture, it is a reminder to me to stay in front of the “storms.” A few minutes after this picture was taken, there was a downpour for 30 minutes. The wedding was still beautiful and dry however; sometimes there are things out of our control. It is important to be able to plan AND adapt to the “storms” in event planning.
What is your service philosophy? It is all about the client’s dreams, not our own. Regalo Design serves as a great resource to brides to help generate creativity and find the perfect vendor for each client. Our service philosophy is based upon listening to our clients needs and suggesting resources while ultimately allowing the client to choose their vendors and products. Some of our clients have been dreaming about this day all their life and it is so important that we serve as a facilitator of those dreams, not a dominator.
What are your strengths compared to others in your category? Regalo Design’s strengths are in event planning, floral design and event décor. Brides should hire Regalo Design because we are talented in each of those and once a bride books our wedding planning services we extend our wholesale discounts on flowers, décor, rentals, paper products and so much more.
Who are your 5 favorite Nashville wedding vendors? We have built relationships with several vendors and it is hard to pick just 5. Here is a list of those we have worked with and all of them are very helpful, professional and have great style! Most of all, they are good people. Regalo Design truly enjoys partnering with good people in the wedding industry and love to see other vendors succeed in their business.
Videographer: 345 Media
Photographer: Amelia Moore ameliajmoore.com
Cake: The Bake Shoppe http://www.thebakeshoppe.com
Makeup: Heylee Achten with Heylee B heyleeb.com
Hair: Korie Bernard with Unruli 615-599-5339
What are your favorite wedding websites? My favorite wedding website is Ashley’s Bride Guide…I know…I know…this is what I am supposed to say. However, I have a reason to back up my answer. First, Nashville was lacking a central place for brides to search for vendors for their wedding. Regalo Design services several states but wanted a place in which we could reach out to the Nashville market and Ashley’s Bride Guide was the perfect place. Also, as stated earlier, we love working with good people and have enjoyed building a relationship with Ashley who saw the need and created this amazing resource for Nashville Bride’s.
Thanks Sarah!! Huge smiles over here:). What's one way brides can save money / be more economical without sacrificing her vision? Regalo Design extendes all of our wholesale costs to our clients when they book a wedding planning package. We do not feel we need to up charge our clients. Our goal is to pay for ourselves in the savings over and over again. This makes us different and is the perfect way to save money.
For the platinum bride, what is the one thing youve always wanted to see? Working with a platinum bride the beauty is in the details. To be able to have the freedom to work without the worry of a budget is a blessing and a rarity. What I would love to see is every dream made possible for this bride from a celebrity band playing at the reception to personalized gifts for the guests. Every detail would be uniquely made to fit their vision and all of their dreams would come true. Regalo Design strives to provide platinum weddings even if you are working on a nickel budget by providing wholesale cost to our clients. You don’t have to have a platinum budget to have a platinum wedding.
Does your company do anything special that a green bride might want to know? We are able to accommodate an eco chic bride. Each bride is unique and our job is to be an advocate for each bride creating the perfect day whether green or pink!
See more of Regalo Design's work online, follow Regalo Design on Twitter or be their fan on Facebook!
At Ashley’s Bride Guide, we’re always on the lookout for innovative and exciting wedding ideas.
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