Isabel and Dave Kubikian

What a fun wedding this was to coordinate!  Isabel and Dave were married September 18 at the St. Peters Armenian Church.  The reception followed at the Hall of Springs.

We were hired to run the wedding day, aka “Day of Coordination," 8 months ago.  What was brought up at every itinerary session was “How are we going to get through all of the family pictures and how are we going to stay on time?!”  If you have ever been to an Armenian celebration, you know they don’t always start on time.  Well, not only did we keep everything on schedule from the time the bridal beauty boutique started, to the girls getting dressed, traditional pre-ceremony Armenian celebrations, but we also started ceremony right on time and ran 5 minutes ahead of schedule the entire day! (this was seriously a miracle…made true by the synergy of my amazing staff who have a special way of keeping things moving without harassing the client.)

While the traditional pre-ceremony Armenian celebrations were in full swing at the house, we made sure the church baskets of programs were placed at the front of the aisles, crowns for the bride and groom were placed on the altar, floating candles were placed along the aisle and lit and pearlized initials were hung over the church doors. Petal cones were filled with petals to be tossed as the bride and groom exited the church and and guests could also collect directions to the reception that awaited in mini baskets.

Meanwhile, at the Hall of Springs, we were simultaneously putting all of the details for the reception together. (We only had 45 minutes between the ceremony ending and the cocktails starting…I can’t leave anything up to chance and always like to have an extra person onsite to make sure all the details are taken care of.) 

 

After the ceremony, the family photoshoot was called out – the Elario crew knocked it out of the park.  doing the “perfection test” in the ballroom, as I pow-wowed with the band leaders and the floor manager to review, one last time, how the night was going to unfold. 

Isabel and Dave were the first to see the space …..they loved it!!  We were, of course, multi-tasking at this point.  Isabel mentioned to me before we walked in that her dress was loose and sliding down.  Dinner napkins down the back of the dress are an easy fix.  (I’ve used them a million times!)

Guests were then welcomed in to the sounds of City Rhythm and the Armenian DJ group the family brought in; they both had people on their feet all night!

The family had lots of little personal touches.  Small Armenian clay pots straight from Armenia were placed at each couple's seat. Specialty linens and chair covers were placed on the head covers, along with 'Mr.' & 'Mrs." signs hanging off the back.

The candy shop was all jazzed up with ribbons, 7 different types of candy, Pomegranate Sparkling IZZE soda and monogrammed cocktail napkins (along with gelato, sweets and espresso!!) The guest book table was filled with pomegranates, family photos and lots of small details. Pomegranates are one of the symbols of Armenia representing abundance, fertility and marriage.

One of my favorite details was the two large easels with display boards for their seating cards. One was a picture from their engagement session and the other was a quote from 'When Harry Met Sally,' which were revealed once people started taking their  cards. We also had photo booth props set up! The photo booth is such a huge hit at weddings!! Here's the quote they used for one of the display boards--'when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. '

 Isabel and Dave, thank you so much for choosing me and my team to make sure the best day of your life was a complete success!

Facebook love the next day: 'Words can NOT express how grateful we are for having you as our Coordinator. You and your team are beyond talented, organized and amazing. You made our big day stress free and we cant thank you enough.'

Photo credits by Elario Photography http://www.joeelariophotography.com