The Special Event Conference - San Diego

I am posting from my hotel room here in lovely San Diego. I am attending The Special Event Conference, and it has been great so far. Basically, you sign up and attend different seminars during the day, and at night, there are different parties being put on all around the downtown area where we are. I've learned so much, and met so many people in the industry!

Yesterday, my classes consisted of Wedding Disasters and How to Avoid Them. Even though they had some crazy stories (an aunt passed away during one reception, yikes) I felt I could actually outdo them on some of my own stories. I did take away from it though a few more key things to add to my emergency kit. Then I went to a seminar put on by some of our Bay Area colleagues about taking a wedding concept and working it through the entire event, even down to the food, dessert and bar stations. Stations are becoming more and more popular as a way to save some money while planning a large wedding and choosing not to have a seated plated meal. I even went to a class on whether or not to do reality TV, as I've been approached to do a few shows in the past, and usually it didn't work out since I was either already booked, or I didn't have an underage teen getting married who was pregnant (hello, MTV). After that, I attended a class that really didn't help too much, as once you start a business, you know the basics. This was really for people that do wedding planning as a hobby, not their full time career. Not much to learn there, since this is what I do 24/7. The last seminar of the day was How to Be a Good Planner, or something in that realm. It was very informative, and there were about 250 other planners from all over the country and sharing stories, and also creative ways we've all handled certain uncomfortable situations was great to hear.

The Special Event then hosted an amazing party at Stingaree, a great club right across the street from our hotel. We were feted with drinks, and so many tasty delights (too bad a few of us already ate before hand!). It was nice to meet people from all over that do the same work we do. Many of them are the ones you see on TV doing celebrity weddings, reality wedding show, etc., so it's always nice to hear that their challenges are the same as ours.

I am excited to visit the trade show today of all the vendors that are displaying their work. Then I have a few more seminars, a quick dinner at Nobu with some friends, then back on the plane to San Francisco tonight. The conference lasts until Friday, but there is just too much work that needed to be done back at the office, so two days was all I could spare. I am looking forward to implementing some of my new discoveries in some of the 2009 weddings I have, and also into my business.

Happy Planning!
kathryn

Really Cool Green Wedding Photography Giveaway!

Check out this cool contest one of the great photographers I work with is putting on for any of you putting on a green wedding. Check it out and enter to win a free photography package!

Yes, I said free.

Happy Planning!
kathryn

The Dream Bridal Tour No. 2

We hosted our second Dream Bridal Tour yesterday for a group of ten ladies, and it was a fun and very informative day. Not only was the weather amazing, the group of girls that had signed up were so friendly and excited about their weddings. We visited many vendors throughout our tour, and here are a few photos as well as links to the vendors that participated:

Gift bags donated by The Knot

That Takes The Cake - Cupcake Tasting

Nick Brown Photography

Dress Shopping at Bella Bridesmaid

Manicures at Mizu Spa

Shu Uemura Make Up Artists

Lash Bar Demonstration

Andrew Weeks Photography Presentation

Cardgirl Custom Invitations

For those of you who are not familiar with the bridal tour, it is something I put on twice a year. It's a bridal show on wheels where you get a more intimate and detailed presentation from each vendor, as well as many discounts through the particpiating vendors. The day went like this:

The particpiants met up at our offices on Fillmore and Pine at 10:30am, and we mingled before boarding our shuttle bus to Pres a Vi Restaurant for a lovely three course brunch. We then went to That Takes The Cake for cupcakes, before dashing across the street to Nick Brown Photography and Bella Bridesmaid. We then hopped into our shuttle to take us across town to Mizu Spa for manicure treatments and a little relaxation. After the manicures, we were taken to Shu Uemura for a demonstration on one of our brides at their world famous lash bar. We then walked across the street to our offices again to hear presentations and taste cake from Cake Coquette, hear some more photography tips from Andrew Weeks, saw custom wedding invitations from Cardgirl and custom out of town gift baskets from Woods & Company. We of course ended the day with champagne, and the girls all walked out with tons of loot that they picked up throughout the day. I learned for the next tour, I need to provide much larger bags!

It was a great day, and I really enjoyed meeting all the girls that came along. We had sisters, a mom and bridesmaids as well, so the tour was enjoyable for all. We will be announcing our next tour date by March.

Happy Planning!

kathryn

Loralie + Kevin's Wedding Featured on Four Blogs

We absolutely LOVED being a part of Loralie and Kevin's wedding this past November. Not only did Loralie hire all her vendors sight unseen from our referrals, she ended up with a fabulous team! Our wonderful friends and talented photographers, Joel and Cara Flory, shot the amazing photos from the day, and the wedding photos were not only in San Francisco Brides Magazine, but it is now featured on four really cool blogs. Check it out!

Southern Weddings Magazine Blog
Green Wedding Shoes Blog
Brooklyn Bride Blog
The Brides Cafe Blog

Happy Planning!
kathryn

Happy New Year!

Well, 2009 is upon us, and I'm really excited for the weddings that we have already booked for this year. It's going to be a great year for us, we have some exciting news to share in the next few months, and a great year for our clients that get to celebrate their weddings in the year of the ox.

In other news, we have two weeks left until the bridal tour, with only a few spots remaining! If you would like to join us on our exclusive bridal show on wheels, get your tickets today by clicking here. This is going to be a great event, as we have some really fun spots to visit, and lots and lots of goodies to hand out. Even The Knot has provided us with some gifts to give to our tour participants. We'll be having a lovely champagne brunch, relaxing manicure treatments and a bridesmaid dress private shopping experience. If you have any questions, please email us!

Happy Planning!
Kathryn