Non-Floral Rental Centerpieces

We are so excited to add more centerpieces to our rental collection. Our centerpieces are non-floral rental centerpieces. They are designed to stand on their own without floral, but of course a few flowers could be added. Our centerpieces consists of objects such as marbles, rocks, feathers, moss or steel balls, sand, shells, etc. Who wants to have to buy 20 lbs. of marble and try to resell them? Our prices range from $25-$45 per table which includes delivery (in the metro), set up and tear down. Could it get any better? Yes! We can even help you pair up linens, chair covers, etc. to make the designs coordinate, which is why we call them "design emsembles". If there is not anything you see below that you like, let us know and we can help you create something. We have ten more designs in the works with include coffee beans, eiffel tower vases, calla lillies (they are faux and look totally real), votive trees, etc. Contact us for more information and forgive our terrible pictures. Professional pictures of the designs coming soon. http://www.atyourserviceweddings.com/, 612-208-1051, info@atyourserviceweddings.com
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Shop favors on sale from 99 cents at The Knot Wedding Shop! Save on bubbles, coaster favors, personalized chocolates and much more.

Yesterday, I heard an interesting comment. As I was setting up for an event at the Blaisdell Manor in Minneapolis, I began speaking with a woman who works there. She said that she does not allow her clients to see what goes into the preparation for their events because it "takes away the magic!" We were talking about all the work that goes into events. It is truly amazing what goes on behind the scenes during the creation of beautiful events. It is like day and night, literally! If people wonder whether or not the price of their caterer, DJ, and wedding coordinator is actually worth it, it usually is!

Every Saturday we go to a "bare venue" (great venues, I should add), and I always think, "Oh my gosh, how are we EVER going to get this done?!" But we jump right in! Tables go up, linens go on, someone starts setting tables, another is organizing the escort cards, cake table (or cupcakes), flowers, chairs and sashes. But shoot, we still need napkins folded, and it looks like it's starting to rain! We go to the company van and grab all ten umbrellas and cardboard boxes. The cardboard boxes act as sponges to soak up some of the rain and the umbrellas are for the guests to use while walking into the building (not knowing that the sun was actually going to come out in the nick-of-time). We run back and finish placing candles, table numbers, and everything else that needs completion. We put our finishing touches and...Voila! Magnificent! We have just enough time to run to the church and light candles before the wedding party needs boutonnieres and bouquets.

Now, from a bride's perspective, she wakes up in the morning running a little late, but has just enough time to get to the spa with her mom, sister, and closets girlfriends. They all get mani's and pedi's, get their hot stone massages and facials, have their hair and make-up done and put on their dresses. Everyone is looking and feeling their very best! They get the call that the limo is there to pick them up, so they head outside. In the limo they get their first glass of champagne and ride to the site for photography. When the photo shoot is over, it's time to get to the church for the ceremony. The violinist begins playing Pachelbel's Canon in D and the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down the aisle. The bride walks to the entry of the church with her dad, and their guests stand. Among all the people, the towering flowers lining the aisle, flickering candles and the violin filling the church with breath-taking music, she sees her groom. This is where the "magic" is!

I think it is obvious which experience a bride would like to have on her wedding day. We exist for a reason! We thrive under stressful, crunch-like circumstances and we enjoy creating the magic for the bride and groom to experience with their families and friends!

In the months I have been working in this industry, my understanding of wedding planning has drastically changed! I realize now how much work it takes to plan a wedding and execute the plans in reality, so that it is smooth, romantic and flawless for everyone else present. I admit that I watched J-Lo's "The Wedding Planner" and David Tutera's "My Fair Wedding" and I have read all the bridal magazines and researched certification. I had the romantic dream of becoming a wedding planner! Now I have realized the Earth-shattering reality! The "magic" of wedding planning is not being the coordinator, it's being the bride with a wedding coordinator! That being said, I love it! It is fantastic to see the bride and groom glow in their magical day. And that day could not be as magical unless I had sweat all over it!

By Chelsea

What a Wedding!

Congratulations to Meredith and Tom on their June 18th wedding! I had worked with Meredith and Tom for almost a year. It was a year of anticipation to see this wedding finally arrive. I knew that it was going to be fabulous...and it was. Rain and all.

First off, this couple had the unfortunate experience of booking a "venue". Now, the reason for the rabbit ears around the "venue" is that this place wasn't really a venue even though they sold themselves as a venue. Tom and Meredith booked the venue first then found me. I hadn't worked there before, but had heard about it and was excited to work there. I would say that 90% of the places we work on weekends are new places that we work. There are hundreds of venues in the cities let alone weddings at private residences. We can't possibly have worked everywhere. We have a process that we go through to familiarize ourselves with each venue after we sign a contract with a new client. So, I went to the venue to do a walk through. From the outside, this place was fabulous and I could see the appeal. From an experience stand point, I had a bad feeling about the place. I KNEW how much work it was going to be to pull this wedding off. And, I had a feeling that this place wasn't zoned to be a venue. That is not something that brides and grooms know to ask venues. But, venues should not be selling themselves as venues if they are not venues. Did that part make sense?

To make a long short short (to read the rest of the story, see a previous blog that I wrote), the wedding was moved to Gibbs Family Farm in Roseville. What a great location! I had worked there many, many years ago in my old life as an event planner for a not-for-profit. So, I knew the potential. This couple has an adorable dog that they wanted to attend the reception. They were told they could bring Scout as long as he didn't chase the chickens.

Meredith and Tom have very good taste and I knew that it would come out with their decisions. As they signed contracts and would forward them to me to have, I could envision what the day was going to look like months in advance. They went with Apres Party and Tent Rental for the tent, white padded chairs, granite bar, and floor length white linens. Yes, we were in dirt. But, the floor length linens really classed up the red barn. Their classic touches they brought in, like the granite bar, were just what was needed to make the event feel elegant and not like a hoe down.

Jennifer with Luna Vinca is one of my favorite florists to work with. She always does a fantastic job working with the couples and really cares about their vision. You can see from the pictures the beautiful centerpieces she helped Meredith and Tom design. Meredith is a thrift store addict. She scoured the stores looking for white milk glass and antique champagne glasses that Jennifer could use for centerpiece containers. You can see how it all turned out.

Two weeks before the wedding I was sitting with Tom and Meredith in our final meeting and Meredith made a comment about how disappointed she was to not have antique china for the plates. We had talked early on about her collecting dinner plates from the thrift stores but how much work it would be. Ironically, I had just been to a wedding professionals meeting and one of the presenters was a lady that started a vintage china rental company! What are the odds? So, I found Vicki's information and passed it to Meredith. One week before the wedding she had switched the plates out from Apres to use Vicki's. Her company is called Revived Tableware. The dishes were perfect for this wedding.

Meredith did collect vintage tea cup saucers from the thrift stores and they were used for the cake buffet. They had a cupcake buffet from Sweets Bakeshop. As a vendor, I don't typically eat the food. I am working, I am not a guest. But, my rule is that when I am putting out the cupcakes for the cupcake buffet and one "accidentally" gets smushed, I can eat it. Salted Caramel is my new favorite. I wished I hadn't been working because beer would have been FABULOUS with that cupcake.

The music was fantastic also. They hired an accordian player, Dan, from Daddy Squeeze Music and also Adagio Djay for their DJ service. Dan and Ryan worked really well together. When Dan needed a break, Ryan would fill in with music during the breaks. Then, when dinner started, Ryan took over for the night. Both gentlemen were great to work with. I can always count on Jay from Adagio Djay to send out the very best DJ's to work with.

So,I have talked about the flowers and talked about the linens. What is left? Food! I can never forget about my good friend Nate Lane from Thyme to Entertain. I love that guy! Did I mention this entire meal was vegan? Yes, it was! And, it was fabulous (yes, I did eat late into the night). So, Nate's staff arrives and they always hit the ground running unloading the trucks. Nate is the owner and always works the events. He is just not some guy sitting in an office collecting the checks. Nate carries, runs, and lifts just as much as his staff. And, he was also the last to go home that night too. So, Nate is this crazy chef that I love to work with that has this 1970ish fire engine. The back end of it has been fabricated into a wood-fire pizza oven. Meredith and Tom didn't have his pizzas that night. I have had his pizzas before and they are pretty frickin' good. The fire truck that night did act as his "hot source" and kept the grains and vegetables hot. I was setting up the tent but I knew that he had put wood in the oven because the smell was incredible. I love working with Thyme to entertain because they have "table centerpieces" which are a small marble slab with a starter on them like olives, hummus, handmade crackers, homemade pickles, etc. Then, they served the tables family style. Remember when you were a kid and used to eat as a family? It is kind of like that. The platters are passed around the table and everyone puts on their plate what they want. Nate has large, white, oval platters that look great on the table. It is fun to watch people pass them around.

You can see from the pictures how beautiful this wedding was. Lace/Hanky was the photographer that night and I can't wait to see her pictures when they are done! They only bad part.....it rained....a lot. But, the music went on and everyone had a good time. Then I ate another salted caramel cupcake...

What Suite Number is Yours?

That night, the bride and groom had me take their gifts to their apartment, when we got there, we couldn't get the key to work in the door. Then we realized the door was unlocked! So we went in a little creeped out, but thankful that we could get in. We unloaded some gifts and then noticed some college diplomas on the wall. We found it odd that the diplomas weren't the bride's or the groom's. Then we noticed pictures of a man and woman that weren't the bride or groom either!! That's when we realized it wasn't the right apartment!! So we packed up as quickly as possible!! When we found the right apartment (in a different building) we were SOOOOO relieved! Besides being extremely nervous, we thought it was hilarious!!! What are the chances that we would go to the wrong apartment, same loft number, and it would be UNLOCKED?! Ironic!

...And this is a funny sign in the elevator!

You know what they say...

Rain is good luck on a wedding day! Last Saturday, At Your Service Weddings had an outside reception at Gibbs Museum in St. Paul, MN. Thanks goodness the bride and groom chose a huge tent from Aprés Party and Tent Rental because it rained all day! The ground was covered with mud puddles so we had to get creative!

After we we got the rain/puddle situation settled with cardboard boxes and umbrellas guests of the wedding were able to enjoy a fantastic vegan/vegetarian meal made by Nate owner of Thyme to Entertain Catering. Nate even brought his fire truck-oven!

We were so excited that the table settings were from Revived Tableware. They were so cool, so beautiful!

The DJ was great! And they even hired an accordion player.
The reception was great and the bride and groom were very happy with everything despite the rain!
So it must be true... rain is good luck on a wedding day!!

The Knot

So far, my internship has been above and beyond my expectations! I have experienced SO much in such little time. I am 21 years old and going to great cocktail parties! This past Tuesday was The Knot's annual cocktail party that had an Arabian theme and everything was FANTASTIC! The hors d'oeuvres were better than I have ever tasted. They served salmon, tuna, lamb, beef, mushroom soup, steak, mashed potatoes, and so many more that all lined the perimeter of the room. I was so disappointed that I didn't make it to the dessert table, but they too looked great! They had belly dancers, ice sculptures, and the flowers were amazing! The colors were vibrant reds, purples, oranges and gold and the draping gave the room a fun, Arabian feel. There were even ladies giving guests henna and bindis. It was a great opportunity to get to know other local wedding vendors and get new creative ideas for events! Oh, and it was really fun going into the photobooth and getting some super-silly snap-shots!

The New Intern

Hello, my name is Chelsea Barr and I am Lora's new intern! For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a wedding planner. I watched all the glamorous wedding shows on TLC and WE tv, I own "The Wedding Planner" the movie, and I have researched over and over "how to become a wedding planner." Lots of websites want to sell you their certification program or some kind of training course, and I ALMOST bought one!

One thing I learned right off the bat is that getting into the event/wedding planning industry is that it is NOT easy! To "qualify" you need lots of experience, but to get experience you need to have experience! I learned this when I was looking for a summer job. I figured I could hit two birds with one stone if I could earn experience and money working in the industry! BUT this was not as easy as it seemed. I sent out many emails inquiring job opportunities and every person that responded either didn't have an opening, or they advised me to volunteer my time to build my resume. So I sent out 30 resumes all with the objective to volunteer my time to gain experience in the wedding industry. The only response I received was Lora from At Your Service Weddings! Her email to me was titled, "You Are Hired!" The next week I started and I have been interning for about a month now. While I still consider purchasing a certification program, the value of the time I have spent with Lora is greater and more educational than any course! I have realized why experience is SO incredibly important: NETWORKING!!!!!

To Be Continued...

New Design Ensemble - Wine Wedding

I love this one! It turned out great. This is the Design Ensemble for our Wine Wedding.

Details about it:
•The acrylic tray is 14x14” wide and 3” high. So, it is a big centerpiece
•High quality plastic grapes. I wouldn’t use real because they will stain the linen. Believe it or not but faux fruit and silk flowers come in different increments of quality.
•The centerpiece is on a black linen.
•In the wine glasses are tea candles. If needed more than six hours then we could switch to LED or floating candles for ten hours
•All candles are within venue enclosed flame policies
•Real callas in the vases, not silk.
•The three wine bottles have different labels. One label is the table number. Another label is a thank you from the bride and groom. The last label is an engagement picture. For a small, additional charge we could do a different picture on each bottle, different fonts, or different font colors.
•Centerpiece cost includes consultation time, delivery, set-up, and tear-down.

We have already had inquiries about this Design Ensemble and it hasn't even hit the presses yet! Please contact me for more information or pricing.

New - Design Ensembles

We are so excited to launch our new Design Ensemble service! This is not a new concept. It is something we have been doing for years upon individual client request. Now, we are streamlining the process to make wedding planning easier for everyone.

What is it? It is the concept of having a unifiying design between all of your wedding decor items, accessory, and stationary pieces. The definition of ensemble is: A group or unit of complimentary parts that contribute to a single effect. If you walk into Michael's you are going to see a "collection" of a ring bearer pillow, cake cutter, flower girl basket, and guest book with the same unifying look. What about everything else that goes into a wedding? And, well, some of that stuff is a little dated looking anyway. What we have done is taken the work out of it for the brides. We have taken one look and coordinated all of the pieces in advance. You can pick and choose which items you want. We rent the items to you, go and set them up, and take everything down. Presto! If you don't like a particular element in the centerpiece, we can talk about a substitution. Our centerpiece ensembles are about 95% non-floral. You would go through a florist for your bouquets and personal flowers. We have many great ones that we have worked with and can make great recommendations.

Why have we done this? For a number of reasons: 1) I have a lot of new clients that come into the office that don't have the time to coordinate everything but still want everything coordinated together. 2) They don't have the budget to work with a wedding designer to coordinate everything for them. 3) They have great taste and don't always know how to coordinate everything together themselves but know a great finished product when they see it. 4) Not all brides want floral centerpieces so where do they go for something else? 5) Not everyone is a Do It Yourselfer but they end up doing it themselves because they don't know where to go otherwise. 6) And, if you don't do floral centerpieces, who is going to do the set-up?

Is this a "wedding in a box" design collection? Kind of, but not really. Yes it is because it can be that easy. No it isn't because each Design Ensemble doesn't have that cookie cutter look to it. Each one of these Design Ensembles has already been the highlight of a previous client's wedding. We have just dug through our files, picked out the best of the best, and are now offering it to future clients. A bride can take our ideas and also create them on their own. But, once they start looking into how much each individual piece costs, how to put everything together, and where does it all come from, it is just easier and more cost effective to go through us. Hopefully they hadn't bought anything before they realize that they will be in pictures when the set-up is happening and can't actually set everything up themselves. Another problem that is alleviated by working with us is the dilemma of what to do with the stuff afterwards if you do pull everything together yourself. Do you really want to spend another ten hours on cragslist trying to get rid of everything for the same price?

Each Design Ensemble includes the option to rent or purchase:

Custom made, unique non-floral centerpiece

Coordinating votives for additional ambiance

Table linen, runner, or overlay

Chair cover with or without sash

Cocktail and non-guest table decorations

Place cards

Table numbers

Menu cards

Bathroom primp basket

Hotel welcome baskets

Invitations with RSVP cards

Save the dates

Thank you cards

Cake cutter

Cake topper

Guest book

Champagne flutes

Flower girl basket

Ring bearer pillow

Unity candle

Ceremony programs

Aisle/pew markers

Candy buffet with coordinating scoopers and bags

Garter

We are in the early stages of pulling this all together but I have posted what we have come up with so far. If you are interested in more information on a particular Design Ensemble or the details of this service, contact me and I can walk you through it. This will all be on our website soon.

Also, coming are:
Wine Wedding
Spring Wedding with Eiffle tower vases and callas
Recycled Wedding
Beach Wedding
In Love with Red Wedding
Polka Dot Explosion
Autumn Wonder
Retro Wedding
Fire & Ice Wedding
6 contemporary designs to choose from.

Enjoy!

If I used my cake cutter to cut pvc pipe will it still cut cake?

One of the things that I have always sworn that I would teach my children is how to be themselves. I always felt akward growing up because my ideas were always a little bit different from everyone around me. I was never told that they were dumb or stupid. I just knew that they were different. I was maybe about nine years old and we were packing to go to Billings for a family wedding. I wanted to wear a white shirt, jean skirt, and this white and blue vintage straw grandma hat. I thought my mom's eyeballs were going to pop out of her head when she saw me packing that outfit. Now as an adult and a parent I see why my mom was hesitant.

These days, if you want to see my husband's eye balls pop out of his head say the words, "I have an idea". He is really a patient, kind person. But he knows that with these words it is going to cost him money and there is a project on the horizon. He doesn't have a handy bone in his body so this is why these are painful words. The humorous part is that our three boys have learned this expression. When they say it I can feel my husband's groan even if I don't hear it. He is a good sport with the "creativity" at our house.

As an adult, I am learning that it is ok to be myself and have learned to let my freak flag fly. I don't think my clients would like it if I showed up to their wedding with hot pink hair, but I can at least harness my energy for the greater good. Last Sunday I had a booth in the Book of Love Bridal Show put on by MN Bride Magazine. It has been a very busy (in a good way) January. February hasn't been looking any easier. I am not a procrastinator. My husband's procrastination on things makes my eyes pop out of my head. But, I ended up working on my booth the night before the show. I wanted to create a new table top frame for my display. So, I was running to Menard's at 7 pm the night before the fair. When I got back to my office I started assembling my frame out of pvc pipe. I could have sworn that I left my hack saw at the office from a project in November. But, I couldn't find it. Thank goodness for my McGyver skills. My cake knife did the trick with cutting the pvc pipe into the sizes that I needed. Now, I just need to take it home, wash it, and test it out on some cake to see how well it still cuts!

The best part of being an adult and recognizing that a strength of mine is to think out of the box is that it benefits my clients. The con is that I can't sleep at night because I can't shut my brain off. Fortunately, I made an unexpected score at Menard's that night for a client. This Menard's is closing so everything was on sale for 40% off. I have a client getting married in February 2012. A couple of weeks ago we were admiring Kate Aspen favors at a wedding fair. Picture below. Total for what she would need would be about $350. On a shelf at Menard's I saw two boxes of completely clear Christmas tree bulbs. I thought to myself, "OMG, too bad there are not more. I could totally see us turning these into favors". The best thing about these clients are that the bride and MOB are really crafty and DIYers themselves. It has been a lot of fun to come up with a centerpiece that we could do ourselves. Not all of my clients are DIYers and that is ok. I think we are having a really good balance of making it ourselves and making sure it doesn't look like crap when you make it yourself. Then, I turned the corner and I saw the biggest pile of clear Christmas tree bulbs that thee eye would ever see. I think I heard an angel playing in the background even. I ran to get a cart and loaded it up with 50 boxes of ornaments - 6 in a box for a total of 300. The cost? $45. At the check out they said I could bring them back if she didn't like the idea. I snapped a picture and sent it to the client. She is so excited and we have already generated a ton of ideas on how to personalize the bulbs.

So, when Mikolas wants to wear his Spiderman costume to the grocery store in June, I am ok with it. When Sebastian wants to wear his Thomas the Train rubber boots with shorts in summer to Target, that is ok too. My point is that they also have freak flags and I am going to let them fly them. It will pay off eventually when they can harness that creativity for client projects. I think it is a win/win for everyone. Clients with freak flags are welcome.

This is how the booth turned out!

Oh, this makes my head hurt...

I am so terrible at keeping up with my blog. I am going to be honest, I hate to write. Love, love, love to read, but I hate to write. My husband is always highly surprised by that when I say it because I am, as he says, highly creative and amibitious so a blog should come easy to me. Not so much. So, my New Year's business resolution is to try and blog at least once a week.....once every other week at least. I have so many fun pictures from the 2010 summer and fall weddings that they really need to be posted and shared.

I did want to touch base on the latest issue that has needed my attention for the last three weeks - probably more. It has been a big pain, a big headache, and a mini nightmare. When I have a bride cry, that is when I need to start throwing down the smack.

Last year, I had two different clients sign a contract at the same venue for different wedding days. I hadn't heard of this place before. When I received one of the contracts, the contract made me groan. This "venue" is an abandoned factory in Minneapolis that has been turned into an art gallery. It has a high rental fee, but my clients have to clean their bathrooms at the end of the night and the bathrooms are not cleaned for them before we arrive. There is also no heat or a/c so they only do weddings seaonsally. The space is very raw. There were things in the contract that I didn't like, but the brides had already signed off so my hands were tied.

In December, I made an appointment to do a walk through. I had such a bad feeling from being in there. Great space - but I could tell right away that the zoning was not right. I also knew that my clients had no idea how much it was going to take to accomplish what needed to be done in a few short hours to pull off what they wanted to be ready on time. Could it happen? Absolutely. But, for a price. My mental caluculator was whirling away.

I didn't leave with a good feeling. I don't know exact formulas for zoning, but I know enough to know that it wasn't even close. My tour guide and owner told me that they can hold 1,000. Not with only three tiolets, my dear.

So, I left and I let it simmer for a few weeks. Do I call the fire marshall and check it out? What if I am right and the place gets shut down? Then I have two clients upset at me for getting the place shut down. There is also the possibility that the venue gets a fine and the venue "takes it out" on my clients by being very unaccomodating and making things miserable. Or, do I not do anything and something happens that day. Then I am up a creek with angry clients for not knowing. Worse yet - someone gets hurt.

So, I took the road that causes trouble for everyone. I called the fire marshall and business licensing and find out that my hunch was correct. We talk about my clients getting a "temporary gathering permit". A temporary gathering permit would be a permit needed when we have an event in a tent in the family backyard. It gives them permission to have a large gathering at the property. At first, it looks like the city may grant it. But then, the city looked into how far away the venue is from actually being licensed and says, no way.

So, now I place two calls to clients to inform them of what has happened. While I am feeling like a dream crusher, both couples are thankful for my expertise. What happens next? For the June clients, there is no question in their minds that they need to pull out. They request their deposit back and receive an apology the next day. The venue was under the assumption that they could still have events there during the renovation. They also received their deposit back the next day. Way cool! We were out looking at two new locations when the groom received the email. We were doing high fives in the parking lot.

For the September client, it gets a little sticker. The venue is planning on being licensed as an event center by mid-summer. Should she stay or should she go? We are still working on that.

Lessons learned - always listen to your gut and know your stuff. Wedding planning goes way beyond pretty flowers and the perfect shade of pink. There are tons and tons of other things that we need to know that the client doesn't even know we know - legal, zoning, weather, truck sizing, table dimensions, electrical, plumbing, etc. We wear many hats.

On a lighter note - I am going to switch over my lead picture to this one. Love it! Thanks Jacki V. www.jackiv.com. This is Marissa & Robb at their December 4th wedding at Graves 601. Fantastic wedding. Cute couple.