Allyson and Archie were married at Barclay Villa in October surrounded by their loving friends and family. Warren of Warren McCormack Photography captured not only the beauty of our couple but the emotions of the day. We love how Warren presented the sneak peek of photos for this wedding.
With Archie stationed in London and Allyson joining him before the wedding, our couple relied on us to bring their vision to life. Expressions of Love Florist, CE Rentals and Simpson Production served as our decor' team. Ron K. Smith kept the dance floor full throughout the night, while ShutterBooth provided fun for those needing to give their dancing shoes a break! Archie's highlight of the evening was the classic cake designed by Ambrosia's Cake Creations. I understand the top layer has already been consumed. He insisted Allyson bring it back to London after a visit to the States in November!
Allyson and her girls began the day with hair and make-up, on-site, with Margo Williams, Belloviso.
Take a minute to watch this video and enjoy Allyson and Archie's special day!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Friday, November 19, 2010
A Note of Thanks....
We just received this note from one of our previous brides. This is why we do what we do and love every minute!
"Hey Shawn,
Hope you are doing well. Mom had said that she mentioned to you that I have taken some interest in planning and directing weddings here in Hickory. I had my second one this past weekend and I love it!!!! I thought of you all weekend. I have a total different perspective on what you did for my wedding. Thank you so much!! YOU were a blessing!!! When you are on the other side (not the Bride caught in the moment) you realize what all it takes to have a successful wedding day!!! It has been a year and a half now since mine, and way too late, but Thank You!! Can't wait to get another myself!!
Thanks,Ashley Reynolds"
"Hey Shawn,
Hope you are doing well. Mom had said that she mentioned to you that I have taken some interest in planning and directing weddings here in Hickory. I had my second one this past weekend and I love it!!!! I thought of you all weekend. I have a total different perspective on what you did for my wedding. Thank you so much!! YOU were a blessing!!! When you are on the other side (not the Bride caught in the moment) you realize what all it takes to have a successful wedding day!!! It has been a year and a half now since mine, and way too late, but Thank You!! Can't wait to get another myself!!
Thanks,Ashley Reynolds"
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Check us out!
How exciting it is to be a contributor for one of our local publications. We hope you will take a moment to read our article in the December issue of Cary Magazine!
How to Host a Dinner Party
Contributed By Shawn Schindler, of Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events
Imagine the expressions on the faces of your friends and family as they enter your home and take in the surroundings that you have created especially for them. Your creation may be an elegant holiday dining affair or an eccentric coffeehouse-styled leisurely evening. You may be thinking, “I can’t pull something off like that!” With my tips, you will be able to create a memorable occasion.
Let’s start with eliminating the thought that entertaining in your home is going to require gross amounts of money, an abundance of decorations and countless hours. If you follow these helpful hints that I have gathered in my many years as an event planner, you will learn the ropes of home entertaining.
Be a Good Host
The first and foremost element to discuss is you, the host or hostess. You need to be able to enjoy your own event. You could be the executive producer of your production or the author of your own confusion. One key rule of thumb here is a stressed host or hostess will leave a lasting impression, and not the kind you are trying to make! Even a novice can be the executive by being organized, detailed and exact in executing the perfect production, no matter how small and intimate or grand and lavish.
Pick a Theme & Budget
To begin, you need to establish a theme, not in terms of a 40th birthday party or Super Bowl party, which are both fun atmospheres, but in establishing your style, color palette, food and drinks to serve and what budget you want to work with to complete your event. Everyone has a budget, regardless if it is $200 or $2,000. Remember, overspending will not impress your guests!
Set a Date & Invite
After you determine your theme, set a date in advance, allowing your invitations to arrive to your guests by mail … yes, the kind with a stamp! As is it convenient to send an Evite, an invitation received in the mail will set the personalized tone for your gathering and show that you have a sense of social etiquette that many have forgotten.
Decide Your Menu
The next and potentially most important element of your actual production is the food and drinks. This can be accomplished with your own talents or those of a professional chef, which is a huge trend right now. A personal and professional chef can simply deliver the food or prepare it on-site, serve it in your dishes and clean up while you enjoy your guests. If you have a few special dishes but need a more balanced menu, improvise and call a caterer for your needs or go to your local gourmet grocery store.
Choose Your Spirits
Now that you have your food taken care of, let’s think drinks. I highly recommend hiring a professional bartender if you are serving a variety of alcoholic beverages. Not only do professional bartenders serve your guests, but they have knowledge of a large array of beverage recipes. For the small investment of $25–$50 per hour, you are releasing yourself of some of the hosting responsibilities, allowing you to further enjoy your guests.
Set a Time Line
As a professional event planner, I cannot stress enough the importance of preparing a time line for the days leading up to your party as well as the day of. You need to make sure you schedule time for shopping, cleaning, food preparation, and don’t forget to allow a few minutes for relaxation prior to greeting your first guest. Remember what we discussed earlier: A stressed host or hostess will leave a lasting impression, and not the kind you are trying to make!
Conjure Up Your Decor
Theme, food, drinks, time lines — now the décor! This element is going to completely depend on your theme. Let your creativity kick in and showcase your style. Place your decorations as accents to your evening not to steal the show. Instead, let your moments with your guests create memories that make the show. If you need help with decor, there are plenty of professional decorators and florists who can help.
Go to Plan B
Lastly, if you still feel overwhelmed and you just want to test your hosting skills, consider having your event at a restaurant. There are many excellent places in our area that offer private dining facilities. You can add your personal touch with linens, florals and print stationery.
If you would love to create this special moment for your family and friends but don’t think you are up to the challenge, special event planners can design and execute your party on your behalf, and no one has to know. A planner can take you from start to finish or can even provide you with hourly consultations to get you moving in the right direction and build your confidence. Special event planners have the resources you need at their fingertips, which will save you time and money, bringing vendors that will reflect your particular style.
Shawn Schindler is owner of Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events in Raleigh. For more information, call (919) 662-7816 or visit www.makingyourdayspecial.com.
How to Host a Dinner Party
Contributed By Shawn Schindler, of Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events
Imagine the expressions on the faces of your friends and family as they enter your home and take in the surroundings that you have created especially for them. Your creation may be an elegant holiday dining affair or an eccentric coffeehouse-styled leisurely evening. You may be thinking, “I can’t pull something off like that!” With my tips, you will be able to create a memorable occasion.
Let’s start with eliminating the thought that entertaining in your home is going to require gross amounts of money, an abundance of decorations and countless hours. If you follow these helpful hints that I have gathered in my many years as an event planner, you will learn the ropes of home entertaining.
Be a Good Host
The first and foremost element to discuss is you, the host or hostess. You need to be able to enjoy your own event. You could be the executive producer of your production or the author of your own confusion. One key rule of thumb here is a stressed host or hostess will leave a lasting impression, and not the kind you are trying to make! Even a novice can be the executive by being organized, detailed and exact in executing the perfect production, no matter how small and intimate or grand and lavish.
Pick a Theme & Budget
To begin, you need to establish a theme, not in terms of a 40th birthday party or Super Bowl party, which are both fun atmospheres, but in establishing your style, color palette, food and drinks to serve and what budget you want to work with to complete your event. Everyone has a budget, regardless if it is $200 or $2,000. Remember, overspending will not impress your guests!
Set a Date & Invite
After you determine your theme, set a date in advance, allowing your invitations to arrive to your guests by mail … yes, the kind with a stamp! As is it convenient to send an Evite, an invitation received in the mail will set the personalized tone for your gathering and show that you have a sense of social etiquette that many have forgotten.
Decide Your Menu
The next and potentially most important element of your actual production is the food and drinks. This can be accomplished with your own talents or those of a professional chef, which is a huge trend right now. A personal and professional chef can simply deliver the food or prepare it on-site, serve it in your dishes and clean up while you enjoy your guests. If you have a few special dishes but need a more balanced menu, improvise and call a caterer for your needs or go to your local gourmet grocery store.
Choose Your Spirits
Now that you have your food taken care of, let’s think drinks. I highly recommend hiring a professional bartender if you are serving a variety of alcoholic beverages. Not only do professional bartenders serve your guests, but they have knowledge of a large array of beverage recipes. For the small investment of $25–$50 per hour, you are releasing yourself of some of the hosting responsibilities, allowing you to further enjoy your guests.
Set a Time Line
As a professional event planner, I cannot stress enough the importance of preparing a time line for the days leading up to your party as well as the day of. You need to make sure you schedule time for shopping, cleaning, food preparation, and don’t forget to allow a few minutes for relaxation prior to greeting your first guest. Remember what we discussed earlier: A stressed host or hostess will leave a lasting impression, and not the kind you are trying to make!
Conjure Up Your Decor
Theme, food, drinks, time lines — now the décor! This element is going to completely depend on your theme. Let your creativity kick in and showcase your style. Place your decorations as accents to your evening not to steal the show. Instead, let your moments with your guests create memories that make the show. If you need help with decor, there are plenty of professional decorators and florists who can help.
Go to Plan B
Lastly, if you still feel overwhelmed and you just want to test your hosting skills, consider having your event at a restaurant. There are many excellent places in our area that offer private dining facilities. You can add your personal touch with linens, florals and print stationery.
If you would love to create this special moment for your family and friends but don’t think you are up to the challenge, special event planners can design and execute your party on your behalf, and no one has to know. A planner can take you from start to finish or can even provide you with hourly consultations to get you moving in the right direction and build your confidence. Special event planners have the resources you need at their fingertips, which will save you time and money, bringing vendors that will reflect your particular style.
Shawn Schindler is owner of Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events in Raleigh. For more information, call (919) 662-7816 or visit www.makingyourdayspecial.com.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Carly, Travis and Shea
Carly and Travis were married at the RTP Hilton on Saturday, August 28th. I had worked closely with Carly during the planning process but just met Travis the weekend of the wedding. Watching this couple together and with their daughter Shea totally warmed my heart.
From the moment of the "First Look" photo, until the end of the reception you could feel the love and committment they share.
JAM Photography did a wonderful job capturing the happiness of the day.
I can't resist sharing this photo....the heart of it all, Shea.
From the moment of the "First Look" photo, until the end of the reception you could feel the love and committment they share.JAM Photography did a wonderful job capturing the happiness of the day.
Kisses....Look Closely!!
I love this collage of photos from the day...
As always, it was a pleasure working with Sweet Memories for the cake, CE Rentals for the linens and Brides and Bouquets for the flowers. Thanks to our new DJ friend, Kevin with KMDJ Company, who provided the ceremony and reception music.
I can't resist sharing this photo....the heart of it all, Shea. Friday, August 13, 2010
The Most Incredible Night
Last Saturday night, I attended the 2009-2010 Esprit Awards Gala. The Esprit Awards program is an opportunity to celebrate excellence in our industry, honor individuals and teams who set the highest stands of performance and professionalism, and showcase the incredible experiences that are being created all over the world. Nomination for an ISES Award is one of the highest honors a special events professional can receive.
On August 7, Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events was an Esprit Award Nominee. Although we did not win, we are so extremely honored to have been nominated for this prestigious award. To see our name projected on the screens with the other nominees was completely overwhelming.
I was told I needed to prepare a speech, just in case. Although I did not get to share these words on the stage, I feel they still need to be heard.
"Ten years ago when I began my journey in this crazy event industry, I never aspired to own my own company. Four years ago, I started Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events, yet never dreamed I would stand in front of our industries leading professionals accepting this award.
I want to recognize a few who have played a key role in our company’s success.
David Casteel and Bill Allen, Mitchell’s Catering, thank you for your unwavering support, guidance and encouragement.
Lyn Graves, Fresh Affairs, for encouraging me to get involved in ISES and for his extraordinary floral design talents on Ethereal Elegance.
Thank you to the 12 vendors, 10 of which were ISES members, who helped make the vision come alive and Christobal Perez, Azul Photography, for visually documenting Sandra and Luciano’s wedding.
To my family, our staff and clients…there are not words to tell you how much I appreciate your love and support.
One last person…Tracy Adams, Adams and Events, thank you for attending the Gala and for always being willing to “play in the sand box with me”.
Thank you ISES for giving us a platform to showcase our passion."
As I stated earlier, the program said, “Nomination for an ISES Award is one of the highest honors a special events professional can receive”. I agree, it is a high honor and I would love to have the award on my desk, but my association and relationships with those mentioned above far exceeds any award!
On August 7, Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events was an Esprit Award Nominee. Although we did not win, we are so extremely honored to have been nominated for this prestigious award. To see our name projected on the screens with the other nominees was completely overwhelming.
I was told I needed to prepare a speech, just in case. Although I did not get to share these words on the stage, I feel they still need to be heard.
"Ten years ago when I began my journey in this crazy event industry, I never aspired to own my own company. Four years ago, I started Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events, yet never dreamed I would stand in front of our industries leading professionals accepting this award.
I want to recognize a few who have played a key role in our company’s success.
David Casteel and Bill Allen, Mitchell’s Catering, thank you for your unwavering support, guidance and encouragement.
Lyn Graves, Fresh Affairs, for encouraging me to get involved in ISES and for his extraordinary floral design talents on Ethereal Elegance.
Thank you to the 12 vendors, 10 of which were ISES members, who helped make the vision come alive and Christobal Perez, Azul Photography, for visually documenting Sandra and Luciano’s wedding.
To my family, our staff and clients…there are not words to tell you how much I appreciate your love and support.
One last person…Tracy Adams, Adams and Events, thank you for attending the Gala and for always being willing to “play in the sand box with me”.
Thank you ISES for giving us a platform to showcase our passion."
As I stated earlier, the program said, “Nomination for an ISES Award is one of the highest honors a special events professional can receive”. I agree, it is a high honor and I would love to have the award on my desk, but my association and relationships with those mentioned above far exceeds any award!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Weddings, Parties and Celebrations...Don't just happen!
Weddings, Parties and Celebrations…don’t just happen! A lot goes on behind the scenes. Enjoy a few photos of Shawn and Emily in action at Kristin and Todd's wedding in Statesville, North Carolina. We had the pleasure of working with Brian Mullins Photography for this wedding. Your Special Day has always admired Brian's work but this was our first time actually working together. I promise it will not be the last!
Emily is taking the bride's ring to the maid of honor. Although it is a huge responsibility for our company to accept the rings from our couples, we like the comfort of knowing the rings actually arrive at the ceremony site and make it down the aisle.
Kristin's dad wanted her to wear her baby ring, bought on the day she was born, on her wedding day. What an honor to share such a special memory with our bride.
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Pinning flowers on our groom, Todd, and the rest of the guys in the wedding party.
I love this photo...children attendants can add so much to the overall feel of the ceremony. After this little guy's dad went down the aisle, he decided he wanted to go with dad...not wait for his turn. We always tell our couples we are experienced with children and if there are issues prior to sending them down the aisle, we will take care of them. After trying to get this little one to wait his turn and sending the wedding party down the aisle at the same time, I can honestly say I am out of practice with 18 month old "wiggle worms" and very thankful for my assistant!
What a unique signature board....you actually etch the signatures in the matting with a special pen. We take these items from our clients weeks prior to the event so they don't have to worry about them.
Cutting the cake...this is not normally the responsibility of the our staff. However, we always do whatever it takes to make the event a wonderful experience for all. Kristin had asked her aunts to cut the cake and they were nervous about not knowing the proper way to cut a wedding cake so that you get the number of serving needed. So, give us some gloves and we will take care of it!
We are constantly learning and sharping our skills. Thanks to Mrs. Veda, one of our favorite alterations specialist, for sharing this interesting technique for lifting the hem of the gown when the bride changes into flats!
I have said it before...we love what we do and have fun doing it. Thanks to Brian Mullins and Ginger for such great photos and helping us make Kristin and Todd's wedding....Special!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Met Emily Stepp, Consultant for Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events
This blog post is long overdue...I want to introduce you to a fabulous planner, Emily Stepp. We are so fortunate to have Emily working with the Your Special Day clients. Emily has been a professional planner for over 5 years, more years of experience than most planners in the Raleigh wedding community. Having her experience and expertise serving our clients allows us to connect with a diverse range of couples as well as the luxury of knowing Your Special Day has the trained staff to execute the most complicated event with ease!
"I unofficially began my career in the wedding industry while in college. I worked for Savvi Formalwear and found a passion for helping the couples that came in plan the perfect look for their wedding party. After realizing my enthusiasm and talent for the event planning circuit, I joined an event planning business where I learned the tools of the trade from Shawn. I appreciate that a wedding day is the most important day of a couple’s life and I am honored to be an integral part of bringing their dreams to life. It is a very hectic and fast paced industry but that is what keeps my work exciting! No two couples are alike and they constantly keep me on my toes."
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