Howerton+Wooten Events Blog. The musings of a Maryland Wedding and Event Planner

Preserving Your Wedding Veil

2009-11-12T07:12:00-05:00

Wedding veils are so beautiful, and they are often family heirlooms. So, you want to do your best to clean and store your wedding veil for preservation.

As you may already know, there are plenty of instructions on the web for storing and preserving your wedding gown (check out this post and this post), so here is a list of pointers for cleaning, storing and preserving your wedding veil too.

1. Immediately after your wedding, take your wedding gown and your veil to a reputable dry cleaner to ensure that all of the stains are removed before you store it.

2. When shopping for your veil’s storage, make sure that the tissue is acid-free. And try to purchase an acid-free box that is not buffered. As you may know, most paper materials contain acids that could cause the veil to deteriorate. And some of the acid-free boxes available contain an alkali called calcium carbonate, which can slowly ruin and damage the veil’s fibers.

3. When placing your wedding veil into its storage box, fold it gently between folds of acid-free tissue paper in each layer. If the veil is attached to the headpiece, position it delicately around the headpiece.

4. Consider placing the headpiece on a Styrofoam head (found at wig and beauty supply stores) to maintain its shape. If the headpiece is detachable, store it separately from the veil.

5. Don’t store your veil with your wedding gown because this could affect the shape of your wedding gown.

6. To ensure that the boxes remain protected, avoid placing them in direct sunlight, the attic or the basement, and don’t wrap it in plastic.

7. Each year (possibly on ythe eve of our wedding anniversary), take your veil out of the box to check it for yellowing and insect damage.

Now, even your best efforts may not prevent your veil from yellowing. If it does, check out this post that lists steps to cleaning a wedding veiled that yellowed.

Love & Soul Always, Kay

Five Tips for Effective Communication with Your Wedding Vendors

2009-11-11T13:02:47-05:00

1. Hire Your Wedding Vendors Wisely. When you are interviewing your wedding vendors, pay attention to their communication style. Is their written and oral correspondence clear? Do you feel as if they are listening to you? You will communicate with your wedding vendors quite a bit, so having a similar communication style is vital to your successful wedding planning.

2. Set Up a Communication System.

· Create an e-mail account for wedding planning only. You are going to get a lot of e-mail messages during your wedding planning, and you don’t want your special message from your Aunt Hilda to get lost in your wedding e-mails.

· Set up project-specific folders within your e-mail account. File the e-mail messages (from both your in-box and out-box) within the corresponding folder so that you can easily find them when needed.

· Follow-Up to Your Phone Calls. To ensure that you and your wedding vendor are on the same page, send a quick e-mail message after your call to re-cap your conversation. It doesn’t have to be a long, drawn out message, but you want to be sure that the two of you are in agreement.

· Make Your E-Mails Count. Instead of sending numerous daily e-mails to a wedding vendor, jot down all of your questions from the day. Then put your questions together in one email rather than sending six different emails addressing the same concern. Now, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t share as much information as possible! Your wedding vendors just want to be sure that nothing gets lost in the shuffle of e-mails.

3. Ask questions. You get married (for the first time) once – your wedding vendors manage weddings all of the time. Don’t worry if your question seems silly to you because it probably won’t seem silly to your vendors. There really is no such thing as a stupid question.

4. Be Visual/Share pictures. The wedding industry is a creative business, so your vendors are most likely visual people. Rather than trying to explain your wedding flowers, find a similar picture in a magazine or on the web and share that with your floral designer instead.

5. Save your difficult topics for face-to-face conversations. E-mails can be easily misunderstood, which makes any conversation difficult. If you need to address a difficult topic, ask for a face-to-face conversation. If that is not an option, then use the telephone.

Now, all of your wedding vendors should be communicating with you in the same manner. But this is your money – and it is important for you to stay of top of your correspondence with all of your wedding vendors.

Love & Soul Always, Kay

Wedding Insurance

2009-11-10T09:00:00-05:00

To some, wedding insurance sounds like a financial investment you should make if you have money left over in your wedding budget.

Here’s my take.

Wedding insurance is a small financial investment you can make to protect a much bigger investment – Your wedding day.

While a large percentage of wedding days are free of incidents, there is a small percentage that is affected by theft, sudden illness, vendor closings, or a natural disaster. And, believe me. If you experience one of these issues during your wedding or wedding planning, you will definitely wish you had insurance.

Does wedding insurance still feel like overkill? Here are some true scenarios from our little world of wedding planning –

1. A bride has custom linen (in various colors) flown in from India. Her wedding is carried out perfectly. At the end of the night, the wedding planner is packing up the linen when she realizes that she is missing linen. In fact, she is missing one of each color. So, she and the banquet captain search the entire venue but they cannot find them. They come to the conclusion that the linen was stolen. This theft left the bride and groom, $2,000 in the hole.

2. A wedding guest was a little too, shall we say exuberant, on the dance floor. So, he slips and falls while doing the “cha cha slide.”

3. A groom gets deployed to Iraq five weeks before the wedding date. The bride and groom are able to get most of their money back from the wedding vendors. Unfortunately, their lovely wedding invitations were already printed, assembled and stamped. This resulted in a $1,200 loss for the bride and groom.

4. As a result of the failing economy, a florist closes shop three weeks prior to a wedding (taking the flowers and the deposits with them). The bride just made her final payment on her $4,500 order.

As you can see, there are a number of things that can happen. But wedding insurance gives you peace of mind that you are financially protected if something crazy should occur.

And, don't forget to insure your wedding rings! For your reading pleasure, here is a post on Engagement Ring insurance.

Love & Soul Always, Kay

The "Not So Glamorous Side" of Wedding Planning

2009-11-09T14:30:00-05:00

Starting tomorrow, we will feature a short series on the, "Not So Glamorous Side" of Wedding Planning.

We all know that wedding planning can be fun and charming, but there are some "less than glamorous" projects that must be addressed too.

Sure, these tasks can be a bit tedious, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

Please check back tomorrow for recomendations, tips and calculators to help you take care of ALL of the aspects of your wedding planning.

And, please let us know your thoughts.

Love & Soul Always, Kay

Words of Wisdom from the Birthday Boy -- Cornell

2009-11-09T07:12:00-05:00

A couple of days ago, we celebrated the birthday of our team member (and my little brother) Cornell.

As many of you know, Cornell, is our client care associate, so he understands that planning a wedding is both an emotional and a financial investment.

So, I wasn't surprised of his chosen advice --

"When it comes to your finances, know that your marriage is your wedding's #1 goal. We all know that the chair covers and the chargers and the special touches are great. But you don't want to walk into your brand new marriage facing money problems. Everything (including your joint bank account) should be a fresh start."

Well said brother! I hope that your birthday was a great one!

Love & Soul Always, Kay

Happy Birthday Cornell!

2009-11-06T08:00:00-05:00

He's a really big guy with a really big heart, and I love him so much. (And yes, he's my brother)

He's also a great member of the Howerton+Wooten Events team! And let me tell you, nobody knows customer love like Cornell Howerton!

So, we would like to wish Cornell a very happy Birthday today. May your upcoming year be filled with love, laughs, good health, peace and plenty of prosperity!

(Photo: Cornell is on the left. My brother, Darryl, is in the center. That's me on the right)

Love & Soul Always, Kay

A Checklist to Track Your Wedding Venue Options - Part Two

2009-11-05T12:00:00-05:00

When you walk into your wedding venue, it's easy to get swept up into your own wedding dream. You walk away knowing that you love the venue, but you cannot remember why.

Here are seven items that affect the look and feel of your wedding. So consider tracking them on your wedding venue checklist.

1. Venue’s Neighborhood – No matter what anyone says, the venue’s surrounding neighborhood can affect the whole vibe of the venue. Consider having someone else drive you to the venue so that you can pay attention to the venue’s surrounding neighborhood. Refer to those notes when you make your final determination.

2. Parking – Is ample parking available? Is there a fee to park? Is it well lit in the evening? Make sure that you jot this information down because safety should be important to your guests. If guest parking is not complimentary it could definitely impact your budget.

3. Outside of the Venue – When you arrive at the venue, stay in the car for a minute. Think about how it makes you feel when you look at the exterior. Pay attention to the landscaping. And take a look at the building – Does you get the sense that the managers care about the upkeep? Remember the outside of the venue is one of your guests’ first impression of your wedding.

4. Inside of the Venue – Take your time when you walk inside of the venue. How does the lobby make you feel? Does it make you feel welcome? Can you imagine your wedding in the venue’s space? This is what you should write down for the description of the venue. I have found that a room looks one way in person and very different in pictures. To get a sense of the venue’s appearance in your wedding pictures, bring a digital camera to your site visit and take plenty of pictures.

5. Catering – If you are like me, the menu matters (big time). So, ask to see a copy of the venue’s sample menus. Most venues will not require you to pick their exact menu for your reception, but you will get a sense of their style and ability by checking out their sample menus.

6. Policies – Okay, here is the deal. The Howerton family likes to party (with gusto)! So, I made sure that my venue didn’t have a policy forbidding alcohol or amplified music. So, make sure that you get a copy of the venue’s policies during the site visit. Because something as simple as a policy could affect the overall feel of your ceremony or reception.

7. Contingency Plan – If you are planning to get married outside, make sure that you ask to see where your wedding ceremony’s contingency room will be if it rains. Does that alternative work for your ceremony? Does it work for your wedding pictures too?

Of course the basics must be addressed too. So, check out my previous post for those points.

Love & Soul Always, Kay

What's On Our Educational Calendar This Month!

2009-11-05T08:52:50-05:00

November seems to be chock full of educational opportunities for Wedding and Event planners in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, and all of us at Howerton+Wooten Events intend to take full advantage of some of them.

For those of you event planners with a little professional development money remaining in your 2009 budget, here are some professional development ideas for you.

PMPI Learning Experience: Using Interactive and Social Media to Enhance the Meeting Experience

Thursday, November 5

4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The Washington Plaza Hotel

Third Annual Washington Metropolitan Women Entrepreneurs' Networking Meet and Greet

Sunday, November 8

3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Busboys and Poets

Professional Convention Management Association (Capital Chapter) Annual Meeting

Wednesday, November 18

5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Hilton Washington

ISES DC Expo 2009 – Idea 2009!

Monday, November 23, 2009
4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Bethesda Marriott North

And in December . . .

The Emerging Gay and Lesbian Wedding Market in Washington, DC

Tuesday, December 1, 2009
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Arts Club of Washington

Let us know if you are planning to attend -- We will be on the look out for you!

Love & Soul Always, Kay

A Checklist to Track Your Wedding Venue Options - Part One

2009-11-04T08:57:06-05:00

Selecting a wedding venue can be a daunting task. If you don't ask all of the necessary questions, it can be an even more challenging task. You will find yourself calling back over and over to ask more questions -- next thing you know, the venue is no longer available on your preferred date.

Consider creating a venue tracker in Excel or a similar program that allows you to create a side-by-side comparison of your preferred wedding venues.

Here are seven items that you should track on your wedding venue checklist. These seven items will help you to ensure that you have the basics covered.

1. Venue Name and Contact Information. This may seem very basic, but it is definitely necessary to manage your venue option tracker.

2. Sales Contact Name – When you call the venue to check its availability, make sure that you speak with the staff member responsible for the venue sales. Save this person’s name and contact information because this is the person that you will be working with until you book your venue.

3. Availability for your First Option – Is the venue available on your preferred wedding date AND time? Especially if you contact a venue that holds afternoon and evening weddings. Your wedding day could be available, but your preferred wedding time may not be available.

4. Availability for your Second Option – Do you have an alternative wedding date? Check the venue’s availability for your second option too.

5. Capacity – Having enough space to accommodate your wedding reception is not only important, it’s key. If you are unsure of the amount of ballroom space you need, check out my ballroom space calculator post.

6. Distance – Jot down the mileage and driving distance from the church. If you decide to hold the ceremony and reception in the same venue, jot down the distance from your home and possibly the distance from a major airport or train station. Also, pay attention to the traffic pattern during your preferred wedding time. Nothing is a bigger downer for wedding guests (outside of waiting forever for food) is being stuck in traffic.

7. Rental Fees – What are the venue’s rental fees? If you are planning to hold your ceremony and reception at the venue, ask if the venue charges a ceremony fee in addition to the rental fee.

Check back later for checklist items that affect your overall wedding day feel.

Love & Soul Always, Kay

Words of Wisdom from the Birthday Girl -- Caryn

2009-11-03T07:12:00-05:00

Last week, we celebrated the birthday of one of our planners, Caryn.

As many of you know, Caryn has been a part of the Howerton+Wooten Events team since day one!

Caryn has a very calm spirit, and she knows the value of a stress-free wedding day.

So, I couldn't help but smile when I read her words of wisdom for brides --

"When you get engaged, take some time before you select your wedding party. After you take some time, consider choosing fun friends and family members who will have your best interest at heart. And consider keeping your bridal party small -- minimizing the bridal party may help you to minimize the drama."

Great advice Caryn! That's why you are so awesome!

Love & Soul Always, Kay