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!
Friday, August 13, 2010
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."
Monday, March 29, 2010
Newbie "Wedding Planners"
I recently read an article in Special Events Magazine and felt it was worthy to share on our blog. Our consultants are constantly learning of the "newbies" in our market. Any one with the finances to participate in a wedding show, purchase advertising or build a website are calling themselves a "professional planner." Many boast of years of experience, yet the seasoned professionals have never heard of them.
We encourage our clients to check vendor and client references on the wedding vendors you are considering hiring, search the Internet but dig for the true facts. Find out if the planner you are considering hiring is in fact a professional or assisted one of her sorority sisters with their wedding or just planned their own wedding, enjoyed it then decide to become a "wedding planner". Both of these things are honorable, but do not make for a professional planner.
Interview your planner. Some questions to ask:
How many weddings have you done?
How extensive is your vendor base? How do you develop your vendor base?
Is this a full-time career or something you do on the side?
Tell me about your first wedding?
Tell me about your most challenging wedding?
Tell me about the weddings represented on your website/Facebook/ blog?
Additionally, if you are comparing several planners and one is providing you with a proposal that is much lower than the others, this is a red flag. Not only do you want a qualified professional to execute your plans, but you want some one that demonstrates knowledge of his or her industry.
Enjoy the insert from the article...let us know what you think!!
Newbie "Wedding Planners" Plague the Professionals
by Lisa Hurley
Along with price-shopping brides who haggle over every penny in the wedding budget, veteran wedding professionals face another headache these days: the newbie wedding planner. Often armed with little experience—other than their own wedding—the newbies drive down fees and taint the value of experienced wedding pros, many in the business say.
Newbies are not a recent phenomenon, explains Joyce Scardina Becker, president of San Francisco-based Events of Distinction and founding president of the Wedding Industry Professionals Association. "However, they do come in waves," she says, "and right now it feels like a tidal wave!"
The San Francisco Bay area sees "at least one newbie a week," says Jenne Hohn, founder of Napa, Calif.-based Jenne Hohn Events. Although the recession has pushed the newly jobless to try to break into weddings ("I've heard of corporate planners who said they would never touch weddings now seeking advice on how to plan them," Hohn says), she thinks the problem started while the economy was still healthy. Many planners and vendors "saw that the wedding planners were doing well and decided to add planning to their repertoire a way to get a piece of the pie."
DAY-OF DILEMMA
One of the most galling trends, Scardina Becker says, is the low-cost, "day of" wedding coordination service many newbies offer.
"I'm not sure how the term 'day of' coordination originated, but it is a term that needs to be eradicated from the vocabulary of the wedding industry," she says. "No wedding planner of sound mind, experience and education would simply show up on the day of a wedding, wave their arms in the air like a symphony conductor and expect everything to flow flawlessly." Instead, she says, a professional wedding planner would spend from 30 to 45 hours a month out from the wedding date, making sure all plans are in place.
To read more please visit this link: http://specialevents.com/weddings/newbie-wedding-planners-plague-the-professionals/index.html
We encourage our clients to check vendor and client references on the wedding vendors you are considering hiring, search the Internet but dig for the true facts. Find out if the planner you are considering hiring is in fact a professional or assisted one of her sorority sisters with their wedding or just planned their own wedding, enjoyed it then decide to become a "wedding planner". Both of these things are honorable, but do not make for a professional planner.
Interview your planner. Some questions to ask:
How many weddings have you done?
How extensive is your vendor base? How do you develop your vendor base?
Is this a full-time career or something you do on the side?
Tell me about your first wedding?
Tell me about your most challenging wedding?
Tell me about the weddings represented on your website/Facebook/ blog?
Additionally, if you are comparing several planners and one is providing you with a proposal that is much lower than the others, this is a red flag. Not only do you want a qualified professional to execute your plans, but you want some one that demonstrates knowledge of his or her industry.
Enjoy the insert from the article...let us know what you think!!
Newbie "Wedding Planners" Plague the Professionals
by Lisa Hurley
Along with price-shopping brides who haggle over every penny in the wedding budget, veteran wedding professionals face another headache these days: the newbie wedding planner. Often armed with little experience—other than their own wedding—the newbies drive down fees and taint the value of experienced wedding pros, many in the business say.
Newbies are not a recent phenomenon, explains Joyce Scardina Becker, president of San Francisco-based Events of Distinction and founding president of the Wedding Industry Professionals Association. "However, they do come in waves," she says, "and right now it feels like a tidal wave!"
The San Francisco Bay area sees "at least one newbie a week," says Jenne Hohn, founder of Napa, Calif.-based Jenne Hohn Events. Although the recession has pushed the newly jobless to try to break into weddings ("I've heard of corporate planners who said they would never touch weddings now seeking advice on how to plan them," Hohn says), she thinks the problem started while the economy was still healthy. Many planners and vendors "saw that the wedding planners were doing well and decided to add planning to their repertoire a way to get a piece of the pie."
DAY-OF DILEMMA
One of the most galling trends, Scardina Becker says, is the low-cost, "day of" wedding coordination service many newbies offer.
"I'm not sure how the term 'day of' coordination originated, but it is a term that needs to be eradicated from the vocabulary of the wedding industry," she says. "No wedding planner of sound mind, experience and education would simply show up on the day of a wedding, wave their arms in the air like a symphony conductor and expect everything to flow flawlessly." Instead, she says, a professional wedding planner would spend from 30 to 45 hours a month out from the wedding date, making sure all plans are in place.
To read more please visit this link: http://specialevents.com/weddings/newbie-wedding-planners-plague-the-professionals/index.html
Join TCWE and ISES for exclusive Sasha Souza luncheon
Raleigh, N.C. – The Triangle Consultants for Weddings and Events (TCWE) together with the Greater Triangle North Carolina Chapter of ISES (International Special Events Society) will convene for an exclusive book signing, intimate lunch and conversation with national wedding designer Sasha Souza at 11:30 a.m. April 27 at 18 Seaboard of Raleigh.
Seating for the event is limited and open to the first 18 respondents. Attendees, including top Triangle event planners, will be able to engage in an intimate, roundtable discussion with Souza as well as take home a copy of Souza’s “Magnificent Wedding Designs” book.
Contact Shawn Schindler, TCWE president, via shawn@makingyourdayspecial.com for more information on the luncheon.
Souza is one of only a handful of wedding designers who have been named a Master Bridal Consultant, the highest designation given by the Association of Bridal Consultants. Souza is the recipient of numerous awards including the Special Events Magazine Gala Award winner for “Best Dining Tabletop Design”, Event Solutions Magazine “Designer of the Year” and three ISES Westie Awards.
Later that evening, Souza will speak at the ISES meeting, making her available to those who could not attend the exclusive luncheon. For further information or to register for the ISES meeting, please visit www.regonline.com/isesgtemergingtrends
About TCWE
TCWE was introduced to the Triangle area in 2005, by a group of wedding consultants and event planners. They shared a vision to provide the social and corporate communities with an Association of special event professionals, trained and disciplined, to safeguard the hospitality industry’s high standard of excellence. TCWE members are required to have a minimum of three years wedding and event planning experience. Members must provide references from a facility/site, vendor/purveyor and client, each from a separate event that was planned and coordinated. For more information on TCWE please contact TCWE president Shawn Schindler of Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events, shawn@makingyourdayspecial.com.
Image Source: www.sashasouzaevents.com
Seating for the event is limited and open to the first 18 respondents. Attendees, including top Triangle event planners, will be able to engage in an intimate, roundtable discussion with Souza as well as take home a copy of Souza’s “Magnificent Wedding Designs” book.Contact Shawn Schindler, TCWE president, via shawn@makingyourdayspecial.com for more information on the luncheon.
Souza is one of only a handful of wedding designers who have been named a Master Bridal Consultant, the highest designation given by the Association of Bridal Consultants. Souza is the recipient of numerous awards including the Special Events Magazine Gala Award winner for “Best Dining Tabletop Design”, Event Solutions Magazine “Designer of the Year” and three ISES Westie Awards.
Later that evening, Souza will speak at the ISES meeting, making her available to those who could not attend the exclusive luncheon. For further information or to register for the ISES meeting, please visit www.regonline.com/isesgtemergingtrends
About TCWE
TCWE was introduced to the Triangle area in 2005, by a group of wedding consultants and event planners. They shared a vision to provide the social and corporate communities with an Association of special event professionals, trained and disciplined, to safeguard the hospitality industry’s high standard of excellence. TCWE members are required to have a minimum of three years wedding and event planning experience. Members must provide references from a facility/site, vendor/purveyor and client, each from a separate event that was planned and coordinated. For more information on TCWE please contact TCWE president Shawn Schindler of Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events, shawn@makingyourdayspecial.com.
Image Source: www.sashasouzaevents.com
Monday, March 8, 2010
Meet Allyson and Archie
Allyson had booked several meetings with wedding planners to narrow the list down to one; however, after our meeting, Allyson jokingly - but seriously said, "Do I really have to meet with other planners?"
Because of our connection and our ability to see eye-to-eye, almost all details of the planning process for Allyson and Archie's October 2nd wedding at Barclay Villa are complete!
Warren McCormack's engagment session photographs, shot in Wilmington, truly captured Allyson and Archie's essence.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events, and the Greater Triangle ISES Chapter is "going green"
The "Popcork" Experience Gone 'Green'
Exploring 'Green' Food and Wine Pairing
"Going Green" is not a trend - it is a lifestyle.
Industry veteran and noted food and wine educator, Sharon Charny, will bring her unique food and wine pairing experience in this highly entertaining and interactive seminar.
Using a neutral flavored medium - popcorn - Charny will lead attendees through a tasting of four different wines, featuring specific grape varietals, along with different flavors of popcorn - lemon, salt, sugar and spice. As each wine is tasted with each flavor, participants will discuss what the flavor represents in a menu or recipe, while discovering which flavors enhance the wines (or not)!
This seminar will open up the palate to ways that certain food flavors can change the way the wine and food taste together - all with an eye toward meeting increasing consumer demand for organic options. Also learn and discuss common misperceptions about "organic" or "green" wines and what actually constitutes a "certified organic wine."
We invite you to join us at one of Raleigh's newest venues "7" on March 16, 2010 at 5:30pm.
For information visit http://www.ises-gt.org/
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