Sep 21, 2015 | Weddings
Do you have your planning notebook handy? Courtesy of sprungphoto.com.
Getting married is often stressful and time-consuming. Unless you’re eloping or having a very small wedding, it’s a big, huge project. Why do we do it this way?
Is it just because the wedding industry marketing is so good? Is it because we follow tradition blindly? Is it because we want to feel rich and special? Those may all be part of it, but I don’t think that’s the whole story.
I think a big part of it is that if you’re inviting a lot of friends and family members, it seems the civilized thing to do to feed them a special meal and show them a good time, as long as they are making the effort to come to your wedding. You have to have room enough to fit all your guests and enough food and plates and forks for everyone to have dinner (or breakfast, or whatever). And you don’t want anyone to be bored. Besides, if you like to dance, you want to celebrate on the dance floor with your friends and relations. And then you might want to make the location look festive.
With just those few things in mind, all of a sudden you need to rent a venue, hire a caterer, find a good DJ or band, and get a florist. And then you probably want a photographer to document all your hard work! And maybe you need to hire transportation to get your wedding party and your guests around. If you don’t already have a lot of these resources, suddenly you’re up to your elbows in work and stress–and that’s before you even have an officiant and something to wear.
Are there ways to make wedding planning less stressful? Yes, of course. For one thing, if there are traditional things you don’t want at your wedding, you can leave them off your to-do list. You can aim for simplicity, even when it is out of fashion.
And, of course, you can hire a professional planner to help you. With a planner, you have excellent resources at hand and a calm head to help you put all the pieces together. If you want, you can hand off all the decision-making to your planner and just show up at your own wedding. That’s what I call stress free!
Sep 14, 2015 | Weddings
Photo by Magical Moments Photography.
It’s toot-my-own-horn day again on the blog. (If I don’t do it, who will?) I love getting reviews from clients, and here’s a really nice one on The Knot:
“We absolutely love Lisa!! She was really easy to work with and it was so nice not to have to worry about dealing with all the details on our day of. She also is one of the only wedding coordinators in our area that can offer tangible tips about greening up your wedding.”
If we’ve worked together in the past, please take a moment to write me a review. Good or bad, I love feedback!
And if you want to see more things people have to say about me, check out my reviews page.
Aug 31, 2015 | Weddings
Elizabeth-Anne Stewart officiated at this lovely wedding I worked on. Photo by Peter Coombs.
There are a lot of very good wedding officiants available and I have featured some of them before here. Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of working a few times with Dr. Elizabeth-Anne Stewart, and I thought she is someone you should know about.
With a PhD in theology and broad experience in counseling and life coaching, Elizabeth has the credentials to help you create your wedding ceremony. She is also an warm, lovely person who seems to be able to make people feel comfortable easily. The weddings I have been present for when she has officiated have been beautiful ceremonies. She’s also not afraid to help you make your ceremony personal, even when that means going outside the usual bounds.
There are lots of options for good officiants. Elizabeth is one I recommend consistently.
Aug 3, 2015 | Weddings
I have the professional photos from Becca Heuer Photography from the wedding at the Garfield Park Conservatory earlier this summer. This is the one that was all about simplicity. Enjoy the photos!
The happy couple in the conservatory. Photo by Becca Heuer Photography.
Photo by Becca Heuer Photography.
The ceremony in front of the fountain. Photo by Becca Heuer Photography.
A toast during the cocktail hour in the Show House. Photo by Becca Heuer Photography.
Dinner tables in the room where the ceremony was. Photo by Becca Heuer Photography.
Dessert was a pie buffet. Photo by Becca Heuer Photography.
Everyone enjoyed the pie! Photo by Becca Heuer Photography.
The Show House lit up after dark. Photo by Becca Heuer Photography.
Dream House Productions kept the dance floor hopping. Photo by Becca Heuer Photography.
Jul 6, 2015 | Weddings
Rainbow flag, via https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Rainbow_flag_breeze.jpg
I didn’t have a chance last week to say Hooray for Marriage Equality!! I’m very excited that the Supreme Court ruled the way it did. Love wins and so does justice. It doesn’t make much difference here in Illinois since we were ahead of the curve, but it’s a great thing for the nation.
Jun 29, 2015 | Weddings
The forest preserve in a downpour
It was a beautiful summer day, the perfect kind of day for an outdoor wedding in the forest preserve. My assistant and I arrived early to set up 150 vintage wooden folding chairs in a clearing near a picnic shelter–along with games and vintage living room furniture on the patio and picnic tables in a rented tent.
The ceremony was beautiful. The reception was fun. And then, around the time people were thinking about leaving, the sky darkened and one of those intense summer thunderstorms was coming toward us.
We sprang into action: Patio furniture came under cover. Decorations came down. And my assistant and I carried 150 vintage wooden folding chairs and stacked them under a large tree.
The wind was fierce. The rain fell hard. Vast puddles formed on the ground. But the rentals were all safe–a little damp, but not ruined. And the guests who remained had a very memorable end to the day.
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