The Bride's Experience-In Her Words

Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure that I am really living in my dream job. While it has had challenges, hard clients, mistakes, and great ops for lessons learned, I keep on keeping on because of the people/clients that make it truly rewarding and exciting. I am beyond thankful for the incredible events we have had the opportunity of being a part of. From the Not Wedding(aka..Big Fake Wedding), Biz Bang-Youth Entrepreneurs biggest Fundraiser, to the countless weddings. What an honor!!

For today's 4th post in our blog series, I have asked a few of our past brides to share their "been there, done that" experience with other brides-to-be! Brides! If you have more questions you want answered from other brides who have already gone through the planning process, we are launching a Bridal Mentoring program that is FREE. Please contact us and we will put you in touch with a past bride to be mentored and encouraged by during your very own wedding planning process. Email us at: ashley@myeventbyashley.com This is a great tool so make sure you take advantage of this opportunity!

Bride and Groom: Kelsey and Brandon Baker

Venue: Exploration Place

1. What is one thing that you have heard the guests remember most about your wedding? Our guests are still to this day telling us how awesome the reception was and how much fun they had.

2. What was the deciding factor when choosing your vendors? Some of it was recommendation from other brides, but I really took Ashley's advice as a planner who has dealt with so many vendors! If she recommended someone that's who I wanted!

3. Were there any unexpected trials your experienced during planning? There was no unexpected trials during the wedding planning process! It's crazy because I tell people that wedding planning was so easy and I was never stressed about anything throughout the whole year of planning. As a very anxious person, I had assumed my anxiety would be at an all time high, but I really didn't have any problems with it. The only issue I had was not realizing how heavy my dress would be and that it would fall so much making it a little long. Walking into the reception I kept tripping on it. I will never forget that Ashley and Amy were on their hands and knees pinning up my dress so I would stop tripping I loved my dress, but wish I would've had a short fun dress for the reception!

4. What element was most important to you for your ceremony and then reception? The most important thing about the ceremony to me was time. I hate when ceremonies take forever, so I wanted a 30 minute ceremony and one where the minister didn't talk forever. Our minister at East Heights was perfect and actually quite funny! At the reception my main goal was for us to have an awesome DJ so that it was fun! I wanted people to leave our reception talking about how fun it was and we definitely accomplished that!

5. What is most memorable to you? The most memorable thing was how much fun my husband and I had that day! We had a blast with one another and our closest friends and family!! We said we had so much fun we wish we could do it every year!! I also think part of that was due to the fact that there was no stress in the planning process! I didn't have to worry about anything and could just enjoy it all!

6. What piece of advice would you give to brides/future bride? My mom and I always say the #1 piece of advice we would give to any future brides is to hire Events By Ashley!! They make it so you can enjoy every part of your day and never have to worry about the small stuff! I know so many brides who weren't able to relax and enjoy the day because they were so stressed about all the little details that ultimately people don't care about! The day goes by so fast!! Hiring a wedding planner gave me the piece of mind to know that all those little details would be perfect and taken care of, allowing me to fully enjoy every part of the day!!

Bride and Groom: Isabelle and Rob Rotola

Venue: Abode Venue

1. What is one thing that you have heard the guests remember most about your wedding? The venue and decorations. They tell me it was simple yet beautiful and although I didn’t have tons of decorations the venue was pretty the way it is without having to add much.

2. What was the deciding factor when choosing your vendors? Price and also style. When we met with them we paid attention to how they treated us and how well they listened to what we wanted to make sure we could trust them to do what we wanted.

3. Were there any unexpected trials your experienced during planning? Yes!!! I had lots of questions, doubts and had a hard time making some decisions since there are so many details that we don’t realize when it comes to planning a wedding, no mater how simple it is. It was also hard for me since I am not from the USA and the culture and wedding traditions are not the same. I overlooked some things because I simply didn’t know that they were important and I wish I had known. Also there are so many options out there and it was hard for me to pick one of each and stay within budget.

4. What element was most important to you for your ceremony and then reception? We wanted our ceremony to be short and simple yet different. We wanted to include all of our immediate family members and close friends in it to share that special moment with them. The most important element for our reception was to make sure our guests had fun. We wanted the reception to represent what we like and who we are. We did that by serving our favorite foods as dinner, a candy table for the groom instead of a “grooms cake”, cupcakes and brownies instead of a wedding cake and played the music we like.

5. What is most memorable to you? How beautiful everything looked, how much fun we all had and how smooth everything went.

6. What piece of advice would you give to brides/future bride? I recommend getting a wedding planner first of all. I didn’t from the beginning and I wish I had someone to help me explore different options and be the creative side when I was blind, just trying to get things done and looking at ideas on Pinterest. Take your time when choosing every piece of your wedding, don’t try to rush and look at different options even if you are not sure if you like it or if you don’t think you can afford.

The Importance of a GREAT Wedding Film-The Brickhouse Films

Mary and Craig Beebe; owners of The Brickhouse Films are two of the most kind and patience people to work with. I have enjoyed getting to work with them on many weddings and look forward to continuing working along side them this year on several weddings and events. There was a day when wedding films were the last thing booked depending on budget when planning a wedding. Now, it has become one of the first things a bride and groom book.
Read Mary's post below to find out why! 

The Importance of a Great Wedding Film

Written by: Mary Beebe, cinematographer and editor at The Brickhouse Films

Until very recently, most couples considered wedding videography to be the least important part of their wedding day. It was something that they would "wait and see" if they had room for. Oh how the times have changed! There have been numerous blogs and articles written about how the number one regret brides have regarding their wedding day, is not hiring a videographer. Apparently the word has spread and couples are finally realizing the importance of having a beautiful wedding film! 

Why is a wedding film so important you ask? Well, it is a means of capturing the most momentous day, and what is essentially a split second, of your much longer love story. There is nothing that will preserve your memories more vividly than a wedding film. It will capture all the emotions of the day - the reactions, sounds, the little "I love yous" between camera flashes. A wedding is not just a single moment, but a live event.  Above all else, when the years pass by it is an amazing keepsake to share with your children and grandchildren! You can relive your day and share the memories in whole, not just snapshots, but the actual laughter, spoken vows, music and dancing. Take a look at one of our recent films:

Mischia + Sam from The Brickhouse Films on Vimeo.

The last five years has brought more changes to the video/film industry than anyone had thought possible. New technology has made it possible to provide not just a home movie look, but a wedding film look. The result is a very exciting time for wedding video! Everyone knows how much time, planning and money a wedding requires, so make sure to hire a professional wedding cinematographer so those memories can be preserved for a lifetime!

If you need more persuading, watch this film by Love 24fps, where real couples talk about the importance of a great wedding film!

love24fps.com education | Why a wedding film is the best investment you'll make from Long Haul Films on Vimeo.

It's About the Signature Drink-Xclusive Event Services

It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to our contributing guest blogger today. Crystal McDonald is co-owner of Xclusive Event Services. She and her brother Cody Lathrop have changed the mobile bartending scene here in Wichita and surrounding areas! I am honored to work along side these two and their team of hard working, dedicated hosts. They love to serve others, and give of their time and talents to ensure that their clients and guest have an exceptional, safe celebration, meeting, or special event. The bar is more than just the alcohol, it's about the passionate people behind the bar, handing a guest their drink in a way that provides comfort and great service to those receiving.

It's all about the Signature Drink

written by: Crystal McDonald

When planning your big day what comes to mind?  From your dress to your entertainment to your venue there are a lot of details and planning that is involved. Being the bartender at literally thousands of weddings I gained great insight that some Brides/Grooms seem to overlook..like the BAR!!!  

Its not just a bar anymore, its another important piece of the puzzle. The bar and what's being served is a small detail that can make a big impression. 

Being the bartender at these events allows me talk to guests in a manner that most involved don't get the opportunity to. Guests share things with us that they won't tell the Bride/Groom, planner, florist, caterer, DJ, or other vendors. People seem to just open up to the bartender like women do to their hair dresser!(might be the alcohol) but we hear the good, the bad and the ugly about these events, whether we want to or not.

So what do I hear? What do guests tell us? What do they say when they think nobody else is listening? 

I will tell you that more often than not, they never mention the ceremony, or the vows you spend days or weeks worrying about. They may not remember the amazing decorations you spent endless hours working on, or even the kind of cake they ate. All of those things are equally important in pulling off an exceptional event, but offering complimentary adult beverages of some kind will be something your guest will definitely not forget about.

Think back on any event/wedding you have been to and try to recall a few things about it.  It could be lots of stuff you remember, but I bet you remember if it had an open bar or if any drinks were served complimentary. 

While open bars can be pricey, there are ways to make it work on a budget.  Offering just Beer and wine and a signature cocktail or two is one way to scale back and is what we usually suggest to our clients.  A Signature cocktail is a fun and inexpensive way to not only please your guests but add another element of "unforgettable", personalization to your wedding.  

A few things to consider about signature cocktail(s):

• Make sure its crowd pleasing.  Not everyone likes tequila or whiskey but most people will drink vodka or rum if mixed properly.  Or offer a "his" and "hers" cocktail to please them all.
• it makes the bar line go quicker.  Providing less options or having a signature drink already ready to grab.
• Have it match your color(s) or theme.
• Serve them in fun glasses that they can take home so they will never forget the night.
• And the most important... Make sure it represents your love story.  The wedding is an expression of you as a couple, as should be the signature cocktail!

We want to enhance the fun you can have with personalizing your signature cocktails.  Step out of the wedding norm and think for yourself!  What I mean is be unique, make it special, and do something that makes an impression.

We bartended a wedding that used Swedish fish tied to a straw to make it look like a fishing pole as the garnish.  The drink was called the "Salmon Slayer" and it had lots of personal connections to the bride and groom that most would know if you knew the bride/groom. 

At my reception we had a Margarita bar.  We were married in Mexico so thought it was only appropriate.  We had  a large variety of tequila, mixes, flavorings and garnishes that or guests could choose from.  Another fun option is a Vodka bar, same concept just with Vodka!

So all the above to say: let's have some fun, be creative. Add a fun, unique garnish, straw or stir stick. Add anything that could represent you as a couple and make the bar impressionable, because most people will remember this piece of the puzzle whether you think about it or not.

Here are some other fun cocktail ideas...