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February152018NOCOMMENTS

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Weddings

Ten Steps to Simplify Your Wedding Planning

Ten Steps to Simplify Your Wedding Planning

Valentine’s Day is over, and so is “engagement season,” the period between Thanksgiving until now when 40% of all engagements occur.  If this was the year when he popped the question and it was everything you dreamed of…now what?

Before the proposal, you were convinced that finding the ideal mate was the hard part. Now you’ve come to realize that wedding planning can be overwhelming. Never fear! We’ve compiled a list of steps you can take to streamline the process and simplify your wedding planning:

Step 1 – Set a date: You may have an idea of where you envision yourself walking down the aisle or what you want your cake to look like, but until you decide when you’d like to get married, you can’t commit to anything.

Step 2 – Set a budget: Whether you’re dreaming of a lavish hotel soiree or an intimate garden affair, figuring out your priorities and setting a budget will help you determine how much to spend to make it happen.

Step 3 – Determine head count: One way to determine headcount is to decide how much money you can afford to spend per guest on food at the reception. To prioritize your master list, determine the must invites, the should invites, and the could invites. 

Step 4 – Hire an event planner: If you aspire to achieve your wedding vision with your nerves and sanity intact, a professional wedding planner with a keen eye for design and detail is the wisest investment you can make. Read our blog post on this topic to find out why!

Step 5 – Get inspired:  Take your family traditions and values into account, and use them as inspiration for your wedding colors, theme, style, and more.

Step 6 – Select your venue: It is important to book your ceremony and reception venue early on to ensure availability. Other determining factors include location, cost, guest capacity, and alignment with the ideal look and feel you have for your wedding. 

Step 7 – Select your vendors: Hiring professional vendors will save you money and grant you peace of mind. Event planners have access to an extensive pool of vetted vendors.

Step 8 – Select your attire: Selecting your fairytale wedding dress is what you’ve always dreamt of. Enjoy the process, and choose complementary styles for your wedding party’s attire.

Step 9 – Send your invites: Save the Date cards and official invitations set the tone for your wedding. They give your guests a glimpse of what is to come during your big day.

Step 10 – Enjoy: Relish this uniquely romantic period of your life when your significant other is the center of your world. Relax in knowing that your professional event planner has your wedding preparations under control. Your dream wedding will be unforgettable!

Ready to start planning? If you are looking for an experienced event and wedding planner to take command of the vendors, coordinate logistics, and ensure that everything runs smoothly, look no further than Exceptional Events by Elisa. We would love to provide you with an exceptional wedding and event planning experience! Please call us at 703-752-6287, and schedule an appointment today! 

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February32018NOCOMMENTS

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Weddings

Who Does What? Event Professionals Explained

Who Does What? Event Professionals Explained

You have a big event on the horizon, and can’t wait to start planning! You begin imagining the big day, browsing websites, and scanning social media sites for inspiration. Soon, you feel overwhelmed and buried by a blizzard of checklists and a daunting array of decisions. You know you’ll need help to pull it all off, but what type of event professional should you hire?

Doing your research, you’ve gathered information about a variety of event professionals including event planners, coordinators, managers, designers, and stylists. How do they differ in what they do, and who should you hire? Let us help clear up the confusion:

An Event Planner handles:

  • Planning, coordinating, designing, and styling: An event planner conducts meticulous event planning from start to finish, which includes the services rendered by an event coordinator, an event designer, and an event stylist. An event planner has a comprehensive role, providing the services of the remaining three types of event professionals described in this article, plus the planning and execution portion.
  • Smooth and seamless planning: An event planner takes the guesswork out of the process, making planning a wedding as seamless and smooth as possible.
  • Logistics: An event planner takes care of the logistics. From vendor referrals, coordination, and contract negotiation, to understanding and executing your vision.
  • Budgeting: A planner will keep careful track of your budget, ensuring you stay within your means while securing the best deals.

NOTE: Wedding planners are a subset of event planners; they specialize in weddings, and conduct all duties of an event planner for weddings. Event planners plan, design, execute and manage a variety of events to include weddings, birthdays, graduations, baby showers, corporate events, and more.

An Event Coordinator or Event Manager is focused on:

  • Logistics, on a shorter timeline than a planner: An event coordinator’s services are expedited; they serve as a week-of or month-of version of an event planner. An event coordinator will confirm vendor contracts and create a day-of timeline, making sure things like payments and guest counts are in order. They will not be involved in the earlier planning phases or in keeping track of your budget.
  • Coordinating on the day of the event: Part of an event coordinator’s job is to manage everything involved on the day of the event, from load-in and load-out, to ensuring that everyone is on schedule.
  • Tweaking details: An event coordinator makes sure everything you’ve done, up until they take over, is in good shape. Hiring a coordinator to take over the month before your event gives them time to tweak any details and follow up on loose ends.
  • Freeing you up to enjoy your day: An event coordinator ensures that everything is in order, nothing is forgotten, and you’re free to enjoy your celebration!

NOTE: An event coordinator’s work is performed for social events, while an event manager’s work is performed for corporate events.

An Event Designer’s role includes:

  • Translating your vision: An event designer’s role is to translate and enhance your vision of the event, making it a reality. They design your event before the big day, but do not style the event for you on the day of your event.
  • The big picture and details: An event designer designs everything from floor plans and tablescapes to linen selection, color palettes, floral designs and more.
  • Decision making: An event designer helps make the design decisions that will give your event a cohesive and stylish look.
  • Creating an environment that’s unique to you: An event designer has the ability to make your unique event vision a reality, weaving personality and sophistication into your event design.

An Event Stylist is charged with:

  • Stylizing elements of the event:  A stylist uses the client’s own supplies, including family heirlooms or purchased décor, to style the event to perfection. An event stylist works their magic the day-of the event, or during the few days leading up to the big event. They do not plan the overall design of the event ahead of time, which is instead the job of your event designer.
  • Transforming a space: An event stylist has an artistic eye that allows them to take your event designer’s preconceived design concept, and beautifully transform a space.

Event professionals are equipped to anticipate and troubleshoot problems that may arise in preparation for your event, allowing you to enjoy the planning experience with minimal stress. Ensure that your special day goes off without a hitch, with the help of the right event professional!

Are you looking for an experienced event professional to design your dream event, take command of the vendors, coordinate logistics, and ensure that your event runs smoothly? Exceptional Events by Elisa would love to provide you with an exceptional event experience! Please call us at 703-752-6287, and schedule an appointment today!

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January262018NOCOMMENTS

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Weddings

You Can’t Afford NOT to Use a Planner!

You Can’t Afford NOT to Use a Planner!

The love of your life proposed, and following an emphatic “yes”, you are now engaged! Congratulations! You can’t wait to begin planning your dream wedding, but the job of turning your wedding vision into reality is quickly turning into a nightmare. Should you continue planning your own wedding only to further deepen your frustration? Should you hire an amateur wedding planner to save money? Or should you listen to your wise married friends and make a strategic investment, for the sake of your sanity, to hire a seasoned professional wedding planner?

If you aspire to achieve your wedding vision with your nerves and sanity intact, a professional wedding planner with a keen eye for design and detail is the wisest investment you can make! Here’s why:

Knowledge and experience: When you hire a professional planner, you are hiring experience, knowledge, and refined talent. Experienced planners constantly grow their knowledge base and stay on top of trends through research and continued education. This makes them experts at what they love to do. Experienced planners are equipped to anticipate and troubleshoot emergencies that may arise before and during your event, allowing you to thoroughly enjoy your big day and focus on your guests without stress.

Savings of time and money: A professional planner is truly a worthwhile investment — one that will save you precious time and money. Most couples have a strict wedding budget and timeline to which they need to adhere. Your professional planner will make it a priority to help you achieve the biggest bang for your buck. They will crunch numbers and score discounts, stretching your dollars and securing the best deals.

Bringing your vision to life: A great planner will loyally protect the distinct vision you have developed for your wedding, ensuring the details and the big picture never deviate from your wishes. Many vendors tackle more than one wedding per day or per weekend, leading to mix-ups, distraction, and disappointment. A dedicated professional planner will focus solely on your special day and will serve as the head conductor of your grand wedding symphony. They will ensure everything looks, feels, tastes, and sounds perfect, according to your unique vision.

Connections: Experienced planners have access to a large network of tested and proven wedding vendors. A great planner will not only help you to secure discounts, but will also help you to select vendors whose services are truly worth what they charge. Seasoned planners will connect you with budget-friendly vendors that will achieve your unique wedding’s style, and identify extras that can be added to a service as a bonus. Professional planners expertly focus on each vendor’s value and reputation, which is a priceless benefit to your budget and your wedding experience.

Your sanity: Peace of mind before and during your wedding day is priceless. On average, wedding planning conducted by nonprofessionals takes between 250 to 500 hours to complete — hours that would be better spent making sweet memories with your spouse-to-be. It is frequently a source of stress that leads to tension between a couple, at times leading to the disastrous end of a relationship. Hiring a seasoned planner allows you to hand off time-consuming responsibilities so that you have space to enjoy the romance of this unique moment in your life. A professional planner is adept at scheduling appointments, working with vendors, and handling the nitty-gritty issues and inevitable hiccups related to planning your big day. A professional planner will hand you back your sanity so that you can truly enjoy the planning process and your relationship.

Are you looking for an experienced event and wedding planner to take command of the vendors, coordinate logistics, and ensure that everything runs smoothly? Exceptional Events by Elisa would love to provide you with an exceptional wedding and event planning experience! Please call us at 703-752-6287, and schedule an appointment today!

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