Tis the season for celebrating all that happened last year and looking forward to the new adventures of the next. I wish you all a happy, safe night. And here's to a wonderful 2009! Love, Jenni

Labels: Just Jen

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So in the past few years when people ask me what the most important thing to look for in a wedding vendor is, I say, hands down, personality. This surprises some. I think they all think I am going to say quality or price. But the reality is, most people can judge quality when they meet with vendors. And price is fairly obvious as you receive quotes and proposals. What isn't so easy to judge is how well are you going to work with this individual. If you ask me, hiring a wedding planner is a sure fire (if you hire the right planner) way of creating a stress-free planning process. But if you choose not to do that, hire vendors based on personality is your next best option. Let me run a couple of situations by you that can potentially be bad if you choose vendors that are hard to work with.

1. You do not like something.
How many brides do you think experience this? Tons! Whether it is your album design, your flower showing, or your make up trial, if you do not like it now. Chances are you will not like later. So you need to feel comfortable with the person to be able to ask them to change things. It is your day, your contract, and your memories. You should get it the way you like it. Now, I am not asking you to be unreasonable, but I am suggesting that some vendors are not that understanding. Find ones that are. This will save you tons of stress throughout all these small decisions.

2. You change your color scheme or overall theme.
This one involves many different vendors: florist, paper lady, cake, linens, rentals, etc. So if you decide to change something it is total overhaul. Even if it is just a little thing in the flowers or an addition to the program. You want to feel comfortable with asking them to make the change, feel confident that they understand what is is you are asking, and comfortable knowing that the outcome will be perfect. Comfort is huge, especially when you make such large changes to a plan already in place.

3. The proposals are a little too high.
If you have a good report with someone, this one should be easy. Most vendors ask for budget up front so they can give you a proposal that will fit that budget. if the budget is too low for them , they will be honest and send you a referral to go with another reputable vendor. If it fits within what they can do, they meet with you and create what they think of as the most appropriate proposal. If it is still too high for your budget, call them back and see if there are any options. Can you change the paper quality, lessen the design, change the type of flowers listed, the quantity, or go with another, less expensive option? Most good vendors will do their best to educate you on costs, so you are not in the dark, but will also work with you to see where they can get your vision to fit your budget.

I could probably go all day. Situations surrounding a wedding are numerous. And you want to make sure the people you hired to make your day go as planed will make sure that happens with as little stress to you as possible. Please avoid vendors who think it is all about them on your day. Avoid people who you think have questionable taste. And most of all avoid vendors you just don't get a good feel for.  You will be working with the people really closely, to do things that mean a lot to you.  Establishing a play list, taking pictures, making an album, creating floral pieces, developing a flow for the night.  You want to do this with people who care enough about your day to make you feel stress free and comfortable.  

I had a girlfriend get married last March. Since it was a busy time of year for me I did as much as I could to help her, but ultimately she planned the whole thing on her own. As her day approached I started asking questions about all the vendors she hired. She knew little of them and was a little worried that they were going to forget about her wedding day. Then she said her engagement pictures didn't turn out as well as she hoped. Needless to say, her limo did forget about her, her pictures were less than appealing and her DJ was just plain weird, killing the party way before she would have liked. This is way worse than anything you will probably experience, but if you base your choices off personality (if you have already established quality), I am sure you will have a great outcome! Happy planning!

Labels: Advice, All Things Wedding

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Every Fall I get to December and think, where did the time go? With a wedding virtually every weekend starting in September, I am lucky to still have my head attached at the end of the day, much less keep up on the blog. So I wanted to return to a day that was very important in our nation's history. The day Barrack Obama was elected the first African American president. Now, you know I am a history buff, but what you didn't know is that my mom also ran for a state office this fall. So instead of getting into any political commentary, I just wanted to give my mom a shout out. This was her second time running for state representative of her district. A long time teacher, my mom saw a need to change Arizona's education system, and she wanted to do that from the top, down. Defeated in the last election, she decided to try again and see what turn out for a presidential election would do for her numbers. Unfortunately, it was not enough to put her ahead. But what she realized was that she made her voice known, and now other elected officials want to her from her more. She even has potential of being part of the Superintendent of Public Schools office come the next election. So after seeing her do something that was very difficult (running for office twice) and working on something that she was so passionate about (education), I just wanted to say to her, "I am so proud of you!." We all are.

Here is the fam at the election night party. From the left: me, my sister Regan, my husband Josh, Grandma Darlene, mom Tammie and step dad Dale.

Labels: Just Jen

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