Amanda and Shane

Amanda, Shane, the mother of the bride and I had a great time organizing the coordination details for this “out of this world” amazing event at the Hall of Springs on September 24th. I had the opportunity to work with this couple on coordination details for 10 months, and I'll tell you, no detail was left out.

We started our morning off at Amanda's house.  The Bridal Beauty Boutique that we organized was in full swing!

David from Renaissance Design came bright and early to deliver the flowers and had a little surprise for the bride...yes, that really is a monogrammed delivery truck. That man is crazy talented…or talented and crazy.

To keep everything on time, I stationed a coordinator at the bride's house. I usually like to do this so the bridal party has a “lady in waiting” the entire day. They can trust her with getting them dressed, supplying their favorite lipstick shades at the drop of a hat, safety pins just in time and their bags and pashminas safely to the end of the night location...all while keeping them on time.

Another coordinator was checking on transportation and making sure everything was running smoothly, as well as getting over  to the church to set up for the ceremony.

Our reception team was picking up favors, arranging seating cards in alphabetical order and managing load in at the Hall. There are always endless tasks to be accomplished to make sure the day runs perfectly!

David did an amazing job on the decor of the church flowers.

Amanda walked out of the limo. The music was cued.The girls were lined up and away we went.

After the ceremony ended, the bridal party made their way up to the State park and the Hall for their photo shoot.

Cocktails were held under a tent and boasted some amazing treats for guests…these guests really had no idea what was in store for the entire evening!

Right before cocktails finished, we had our pow-wow with the band leader and floor manager and got the couple in to see the room reveal. 

The Bride, being an event planner herself, had a great idea when designing the seating cards. The guests could actually find their names easily!! THIS COMES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The New York Players had the dance floor packed all night.

And, of course, what big Italian wedding is complete without its own Spumoni and Italian Pastry Shop?! The family brought in the entire Civitello's shop...booths, staff, Italian Soda Machine and much much more, with the help of Mazzone Catering!

Guests thought for sure nothing else could top that, but then the Italian street fair began on the front patio.

As gorgeous chocolate covered apples were handed out as the guests exited, the bride and groom snuck in the photo booth for one last picture.

 

Amanda and Shane, thank you for bringing me onto an amazing team! Congrats!

 

photo credits: Renaissance Floral design

Elario Photography

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

Jessica and Jason Kerley

Jessica & Jason Kelry were married on 9/10/11 at The Sagamore Resort.  I knew at the first planning meeting when the MOB whipped out her crystal studded blackberry this was going to be a fun planning process.  Over 14 months, we worked on every detail from how many crystals should adorn the invitation to what flavors we offered on the Ben & Jerry's cart. 

We arrived with the breakfast goodies by 8am for the Bridal Beauty Boutique.  I made sure our one coordination assistant stayed with the bridal party to assist with their every want and need (we often find ourselves steaming, stain removing, ordering lunch, popping champagne bottles, keeping everyone on time...you name it...anything to help our clients enjoy their day).

While beauty got underway, the rest of the coordination team started managing the reception space 'build'.  No detail was over looked during the planning process and it paid off on the wedding day.  The room looked amazing.  My favorite part had to have been the specialty linens.

 

Flash forward a few hours and Jessica was all set to get dressed, then dad popped around the corner and all types of emotions were flying.  It was such a special moment and I don't think there was dry eye in the bridal suite. This was followed by a special champagne toast with a very close few in the suite and then we were off to line the crew up for the processional.

The ceremony was outside on the upper veranda. It could not have been a more perfect day...sailboats on the water, set against the mountains and blue sky. 

We set up the Ceremony with programs and petals cones for tossing at the recessional.  After the ceremony concluded they took a few "Vanity Fair" bridal party pictures by the Elario crew and then a newlywed photo shoot down on the dock.  The water got a little choppy at one point, and a coordinator had to dive in and catch the dress before a wave washed over the bride.  (OK so my heart skipped a beat when I heard about this later...all I imagined was the worst case scenario of trying to collect five blow-dryers to dry the bride off!)

Meanwhile, guests were enjoying cocktail hour and we put on the finishing touches inside the tent.  My team knows it as the "perfection test"...are the menu's perfectly straight, chairs just kissing the linens, candles lit, water poured...you get the picture.

We had specialty linens on the head table, guest tables, guest book table and the Welcome tables.  Gorgeous crystal candelabras supported lush floral arrangements by Fleurtacious.  CPR transformed the tent with fabric from floor to ceiling, lighting to die for and chavari chairs that always make such a difference in a space.

When we brought the bride and groom in to have their reception room reveal, the Bride burst into tears and said it was everything she dreamed of and more. These moments are what we live for! The night was beyond a success. Body and Soul had the dance floor packed all night and people could not get enough of the surprise Ben & Jerry's cart.

The day after wedding, Jess left me this sweet thank you on my facebook page:

'Christine - Jason, our families and I cannot thank you enough for yesterday. Not only was our wedding beyond perfect, but you and your team made us feel incredibly special the entire day! Thank you for our dream wedding!!!!'

photo credits by Elario Photography