So, this past weekend I had the pleasure of doing a Middle Eastern-themed wedding up in Menomonie, Wisconsin which is a little more than 4 1/2 hours from where I am in Milwaukee. The reception was held at the bride’s brother’s entertainment center…
Working with Mindy and Richard was wonderful even though I had not met them in person until the day before the event. We did all of the planning over the phone and email…sending each other pictures to see what she wanted in linens and chairs like these…
They went with chivari chairs which makes any table setting look elegant…and they went with a Tiffany blue with gold runners…their wedding colors…
Although chivari chairs are wonderful without anything on them, they look even better with a tie…so this is what we did for them…it is beautiful seeing a sea of these…
Which then looked like this…
The bride and groom also brought these back with them to use as some of centerpieces…they were also given away as gifts to their families and guests…
Do you know what they are?
Aren’t they beautiful? I just love it when couples personalize their weddings like this…showing their guests the traditions of locations they have been to and/or living in…this couple is not Saudi Arabian but have lived there!
The also brought back fabric from Saudi Arabia as well and used it for tables like this…on their cake table as a runner and also around the cake…it matched the gold on their cake perfectly!
Here is one with a blue fabric they brought back with them…and yes used small genie lanterns to hold up the place cards!
Here are some other pictures of their reception…and do you want to know what? I took all of these photos on my iPhone! They turned out beautifully! I had my camera in the car, but did not have time to go get it so I thought I would give it a shot with my phone…you can do wonders with phones these days!
The candy table…the are lollipops in small bud vases…
Some more pictures from the reception…
I hope to get more pictures up soon…professional ones…which includes a surprise the bride and groom had for their guests…a belly dancer!
This was a great wedding but not only because I got to work with a wonderful couple and get to help them design this wedding…but like the second part of the title of this post says…Apprentice…
No it is not about the show…although the show can sometimes be very interesting…but I have a new apprentice and she is someone from one of the associations I am a member of and is wanting to learn all about wedding planning.
I brought her onto this wedding mainly because this wedding would give her much exposure to set up…one of the first things I did when I was an apprentice…it is extremely hands-on…wouldn’t you say so?…I mean she did help me tie all those chair ties and it takes a while to do…
That is what apprenticeship is about…the hands-on experience! Many people learn from books about planning a wedding or some people even just go to weddings and plan their own…and they think because they like weddings and they liked planning their own, that they can become a wedding planner. It is not that easy…and this is why I have seen many wedding planners come and go! Some have done it for a year…and some have stuck with it for 5 years…but they end up leaving because it is a lot harder than they thought because they have not thought about all the different aspects of what a wedding planner has to do to be successful.
So, if you are interested in becoming a wedding planner…great! Then please feel free to contact a wedding planner who has had their business for a while like myself and ask us questions and learn from us on what it really means to become a wedding planner. If you have not done this before I am sure we will bring up things that you have not thought about…and then if you are still interested…then feel free to ask to become an intern or apprentice…I know I would be happy to give you the hands-on experience.
Some people do ask me…if you know they are going to be starting their own company, why do you offer to train them? I tell them…brides, grooms and others look for many things when hiring a wedding/event planner…it is not only price, and experience, but they are looking for someone who will match the style and personality of the wedding/event planner to theirs…and everyone is different…so it is not competition…we also have to match our styles and personalities to these couples as well…or in the end it is going to be bad on both sides…
Well this is all for now…I do have more I will share later…
