Do you need wedding insurance?

Wedding insurance–nobody seems really excited to talk about it, since it means bringing up the possibility of less-than-happy events occurring around what's supposed to be a totally blissful day.  However, I recently had an event that reminded me that it is something we should all be talking about. A client called to tell me that a completely freak accident had landed her father-in-law to be in the hospital, the day before the wedding. There was no way the wedding could proceed as planned.

Aside from something happening in your family that might cause your wedding to be postponed, many wedding and event cancellation insurers also provide protection in case a wedding vendor goes out of business, or if weather prevents the day from going as planned.  Bottom line is – take a look at your total investment in the wedding day.  You insure your car and your house, right? If your wedding day is anywhere near as important or as much of an investment as those items, then consider insurance.

Wedding insurance is just like reserving a tent for backup when you have an outdoor wedding, or carrying an umbrella in case of rain.  A couple of sites offering this service are wedsafe.com and protectmywedding.comGales Creek, a local Portland company, provides wedding liability insurance, and may also provide cancellation insurance.  You should also check with your own insurance broker to figure out which product is right for you. Understand the difference between liability insurance and cancellation insurance.

I hope you'll consider getting wedding insurance; at the same time I also hope you'll never have to use it!  

When can we meet? whenisgood.net

time management wedding planningAfter creating this list of interactive wedding planning tools, I recently found one more that really is so useful, it merits its own blog post: whenisgood.net .  While not strictly for wedding planning, whenisgood.net is wonderful, simply because it does one thing well: allows you to specify “when is good” for everyone involved in a meeting.  Simply click and highlight several dates and times that work for you, create an email to send to everyone you would like to invite to the meeting, and send. Your invitees also click their available times, and eventually a good date for everyone emerges.

For busy wedding planners and brides trying to coordinate the multitude of vendor interviews, looking for a free, easy to use online tool, whenisgood.net is super helpful!

How “Bling’s the Thing” turned out – Bravo Wedding Affair 2009

So tired after today, but had to post at least one little peek at the magic we created.  Thanks to Royce's Prop Shop, Event Floral, The Bridal Loft, and all who made the room a success.  The entire Bravo! Wedding Affair was the best one I've ever seen.  I enjoyed every room.  More soon!

bling wedding EJP Events portland bravo

And here's another mosaic (Thanks BigHugeLabs.com!) from the entire event.  Every room was amazing. I was sad to see it all taken down.

bravo wedding affair 2009

For a complete listing of all who participated, see here. Thanks again Bravo!

EDIT: Just realized that Flickr makes really easy slideshows. Let's see if this works: 

To see descriptions of each picture in the slideshow, please go to our Flickr set.

Sneak peek: Bling’s the Thing!

Nicole-green-photo-bling-wedding

If you are engaged in the Portland area, you do not want to miss The Bravo! Wedding Affair at the Embassy Suites Downtown Portland, this Sunday, February 22, 2009 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.  Get tickets here, or keep reading for a sneak peek into what EJP Events, The Bridal Loft, and the rest of the "Bling's the Thing" team have planned for attendees!

The Bravo Wedding Affair is a unique, interactive wedding show where seven wedding coordinators take over the Embassy Suites Downtown Portland for a day and transform each event space into a themed wedding.  From "Dusk after Sunset" by Soiree Special Events, to "Renaissance Romance" by Sweet Dreams Bridal Consultants, to our own "Bling's the Thing" coordinated by EJP Events, as well as six others, the coordinators assemble crack teams of wedding vendors and compete to create vignettes to inspire and excite. It's like "Iron Chef" for wedding planners! (Seriously – we have from midnight until 10am to transform our room. Find out if we make it or not!)

"Bling's the Thing" will be located on the Mezzanine level in the Colonel Lindberg Ballroom.  Featuring decorator/designer Royce's Prop Shop, floral by Event Floral, music from Paradox Productions, a fashion show debuting the Love, June Bridal spring 2009 collection, hair and makeup from Event Cosmetics and Fada Salon, aestheics from Soleil Spa, veils from August Veils, alterations info from expert seamstress Sewing Solutions, photography by David Barss, videography from Bigler Productions, cake sampling from La Joconde, and catering/drinks from Crave Catering — "Bling's the Thing" reads like a "Who's Who" of Portland weddings. Don't miss it – we can't wait to see you there.

Image from Nicole Green Photographer.

x# Handy Tools for Your Out of Towners

If you have tech-savvy guests, have them make use of the Portland "Twisitor's Center" by following @travelportland on twitter.com . Your guests can then post questions with the tag #inpdx and receive real-time advice on where to eat, shop, and play during their wedding-weekend downtime. Thanks to VentureBeat for the tip!