Tag: wedding planning

Super sparkling deals!

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

I can’t pass up a great deal on champagne, can you?  If your wedding is coming up soon (or maybe even if not), and you’re permitted to bring your own champagne, swing by the Laurelhurst Wild Oats for the wonderful price of $9.99 (normally $11-12) on Domaine Ste. Michelle Blanc de Blancs or Blanc de Noirs Washington State sparkling wine.  It’s made in the traditional methode champenoise, so it’s everything Champagne, except for the country of origin and the high price.  And you can feel good about supporting a local Northwest business!

Or if prosecco is more your thing, a fine version of this lovely Italian sparkling wine is available at Great Wine Buys for right around $12.99 last time I checked.

Enjoy and happy holidays!

Dia de los Muertos! and Chocolate!

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Have you been to Sahagun Chocolates yet?  This tiny adorable shop, run by chocolatier Elizabeth Montes,
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features her own amazing creations, from pumpkin-seed-and-jalapeño "pepitapapas" to salted caramels, plus hard-to-find single-origin and artisanal bars from around the world.

And this Dia de los Muertos season, she has these groovy spooky chocolate brides and grooms!  (If you’re not familiar with Dia de los Muertos, this is the Hispanic / Latin American celebration of Halloween and All Saints Day.)

Getting married this fall or winter? Why not ask…

Continue reading “Dia de los Muertos! and Chocolate!” →

Photos from a bridal show

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

We didn’t have our blog back in February, when we participated in the Bravo! Wedding Affair, but now that we do, I thought I’d share a few of the photos with you:

Feb 2007 Bravo! Wedding Affair

Enjoy the photos!  This was a really fun bridal event…

Continue reading “Photos from a bridal show” →

the gift table

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

I imagine not many wedding guests to be would read a wedding coordinator’s blog, but here goes anyway.  Confidential from all brides and grooms: they wish the gift table would go away forever.  Not the gifts themselves, mind you, but the custom of physically bringing wedding gifts to the party.

Continue reading “the gift table” →

thoughts on service

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Today, I called a florist with a last-minute request for a few more napkins and linens.  The wedding is tomorrow, it’s been a very elaborate, complex one, and as I was going over the list I realized that a few service tables might not have linens, and I didn’t want any franticness on the day of the event.

After I made my request, the florist said “OK, we’ll take care of that for you.”  Then, she added sarcastically, “The rental company is just gonna love us.”

And I thought to myself, thank goodness my client has a wedding coordinator, because she was spared that kind of attitude the day before her wedding.  In my opinion, the grating remark was unnecessary and unprofessional.  There was no need to comment on the trouble involved, since it is our job to go to a little trouble. 

The wedding industry is supposed to be about taking problems and stress away from the client, and by transference, taking them on ourselves.  That’s what we’re paid to do.  If all florists did was arrange flowers, then they’d be out of a job the minute a bride saw what was available at the farmers’ market.  If all wedding coordinators did was to make phone calls, then any bride could do it.  Our business is supposed to provide much more than that.  We are supposed to provide professional service and peace of mind.

My dream wedding venue…

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

One post won’t be enough to enumerate all the qualities of my dream wedding venue, but every time I work a wedding, I think of one more thing that I would add to the list.

Today that thing is rigging points.  With today’s more sophisticated brides and grooms, the decor and lighting needs have become more creative and complex.  Often, I am bringing in specialty lighting, whether it’s pinspots to highlight each table centerpiece, or a custom treatment to hide an ugly airwall in a ballroom.  Or sometimes it’s a certain prop, such as a crystal chandelier, or luxuriant drapery to transform a room completely or create a divider where there was none before.

This lighting or decor has to attach to something, and that’s where rigging points come in.  These often exist in the ceiling, and can be built in, or can be brought in by the event services company.  My dream wedding venue would have existing rigging points and offer diagrams showing their exact locations and how much weight they can hold…so I can pinspot, hang chandeliers, and drape to my heart’s content!