Author: Emee Pumarega

Are you killing off your wedding vision before it even happens?

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Couple-planning-wedding-vision

Image: Bufferchuck on Flickr.

"We really want an open bar, but we probably can't afford it."

"I love the idea of live music, but it probably won't work in our venue."

"We really pictured guests walking with us from ceremony to reception, but it seems like logistically it would be too hard."

The above statements are just a few I've heard this week from my couples just starting their planning. Notice anything? They are self-editing before they've even begun planning. They are killing off their wedding vision even before it has had a chance to stretch out and take its first breath.

It's sad to me when I see couples assuming that they can't have what they want, that it will be too hard, that they should just settle for the venue or setup that will be easy, so they can stop worrying. Later they'll look back and wish they had just held out for those few things they really wanted that would make the day special and worthwhile to them. In addition, those special touches (which might seem a lot of work at the time) will be their first statement as a married couple.

So, don't self-edit. Don't give up. If you have an amazing idea, get it down on paper. Pin it on Pinterest. Talk to a wedding professional who may have seen something just like it before and can help you get there. Do something — just don't let it die before you give it a chance to be part of your wedding day.

Check for availability with The Portland Wedding Coordinator!

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Book An Appointment

To book your first appointment, please check our appointment calendar below. If you don’t see your preferred time, email us at info@ejpevents.com, and we can adjust to your schedule. Once you have chosen an appointment time, simply email us at info@ejpevents.com to request the time, or call us at 503-284-6756 to schedule by phone. You’ll receive a confirmation shortly after.

EJP Events offers a 30-minute initial complimentary phone consultation to discuss your event needs and create a proposal. It is meant as a casual conversation and introduction to the business. We also can book working in-person or remote consultations at the cost of $75/hr, to address specific issues and work on your event, such as: develop venue/vendor lists, create preliminary budgets, or provide assistance with initial concept, design, and strategy. If you wish to book more time for an hourly consultation to work on a specific task, just let us know at the time you make your appointment.

We look forward to meeting with you and talking all about your wedding!

Voting open for NW Meetings and Events Best of 2012

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Event professionals in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho can show their appreciation for their favorite meeting venues and services in the pages of Northwest Meetings and Events magazine. Voting is now open for the magazine’s “Best of 2012”, where hotels, attractions, and service providers can be nominated for the Readers’ Choice Best of Awards.

Make sure to cast your vote before the deadline on February 24th.

Make it a White Friday instead, and set your wedding planning intentions

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Black-friday-shopping-wedding
Photo by tshein on flickr, used with Creative Commons License.

Wait! Before you make one more Black Friday purchase, stop for a minute! If you’re recently engaged and hoping to have your wedding in 2012, why not take a little time this holiday weekend to set your intentions around what’s really important for your celebration? A little pre-planning before the plunge of wedding shopping can go a long way.

1. Have your families met yet? Ideally, your families will meet before the wedding day. Figure out a way to make this happen if it hasn’t already.

2. Have you set your budget yet? There are many budget planning tools online, or you can email me with the subject line “I read your 11/25 blog” and I’ll send you the one I use for my full-service clients — free!

3. Have you started on your guest list? Your budget will give you an idea of how many guests you can have. It’s not a perfect rule of thumb, but just to get you started, consider on the casual end (in the Portland, Oregon area), a budget of $50-100 per person; then, a more elaborate celebration will have a budget from $100-500 per person. Reducing your guest list is the easiest way to reduce your budget.

(Of course, all you really need is your intended and the witnesses, but these guidelines should work for anyone hoping to host a celebration with more than a dinner-party number of guests and some kind of food, drink, and entertainment.)

Another way to think about budget is to consider a favorite restaurant whose food you would love to have at your wedding. What did you pay per person the last time you went there on a date and had appetizers, dinner, and a few drinks? Take that number and double it (in order to budget 50% on catering and 50% on the other things like planning, venue rental, entertainment, documentation, printing, etc) and that can be a rough budget for you.

4. Have you discussed your shared vision with your fiance(e)? On The 2000 Dollar Wedding Blog, Sara Cotner discusses how she and her fiance “started with the end in mind”. No matter what your wedding budget might be, this is great advice.

So take a few moments during this holiday weekend to be thankful for this exciting time, and to set your intentions and get your wedding planning started right. Who knows–maybe eliminating one Black Friday impulse purchase will allow you to get something you really hoped for for the wedding.

A version of this article originally ran on The Portland Wedding Coordinator on November 27, 2009.

{ Be a Better Event Planner } Handling client email

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Wrapping up a recent corporate event, I noticed that there were 258 emails in the folder I had set aside for this client. I’m sure there will be a few more when you take into account post-event recaps and invoices. Even with the low, conservative estimate of five minutes spent working on each emailed request or action item, that’s almost 21 hours of event planning work based on emails alone. In reality it’s probably far more.

As an event planner, are you accounting for the work you do over email when you are estimating the job for the client and planning out your workflow? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks to Ramberg Media Images for the graphic.

Debugging your wedding (Keeping insects away from the ceremony and reception)

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

This cool Portland summer has been lovely, but in some places, the dampness has led to an excess of bugs. Bug-off spray is a must at outdoor weddings, but here are a few  tips to make you the perfect wedding host:

– Avoid DEET-based sprays that can irritate skin. Lemongrass and geranium oil-based repellents are available and they smell much nicer.

– Transfer the insect repellent spray into nicer glass bottles before setting them out at your event. Empty glass spray bottles can usually be found in the bulk beauty aisle (lotions and soaps) of natural grocery stores such as Whole Foods and New Seasons. Wrap the bottle in a ribbon to match your scheme, and then it will be guest-book-table worthy.

(Vintage atomizers could be fun too!)

image from Polyvore

– Burning lemongrass torches or candles can keep bugs down in the immediate vicinity. Having gently-blowing oscillating fans can also help.

– If the area seems to be uncontrollably buggy, consider applying non-toxic lawn or yard insect treatments (some examples here and here) several hours or days prior to the wedding (get the permission of the venue owner first).