Don't Be A Ninny. Hire A Planner.

Hey everyone!  Wow this week's been busy!!!  I've had something to do for 27 Dresses every single day.  I blame this on the time of year.  Yes that's right!  We are fast approaching wedding season!!!  AAAHHHH!

In honor of this, I wanted to get the word out there that I will be assisting Michelle at AKM Events with her weddings this season.  Last year, I had the honor of helping where and when I could, but this year it's a little more official as last season I was feeling out the biz and getting an idea of how it all works....I will mostly be day of help, but it may be more depending on her work load and what she needs.  With this, I got to thinking that seeing the work AKM has done for couples is absolutely inspiring.  So inspiring that sometimes I wish I could go back in time and hire Michelle to design for my big day.  Now, don't get me wrong.  In the spiritual sense, there is nothing I would change about our day.  That was all great!

I had a handsome man...

Who was excited to marry me.

And he even loved my son.  :)

We had a great ceremony.

(Look at those flowers...thanks Lake Effect Florals!)

And we were surrounded by people we loved, and who loved us.

So yes, spiritually/ceremony....great!  But then it's party time.  And let's face it, in the realm of your wedding day, the ceremony is a blink of an eye.  Then you move the guests to the reception site and 

that's where you spend hours and that's where most of the time and money that you've taken months 

to plan and earn goes to.  If I could change anything about my wedding day, it would be to make the after party match the awesome ceremony.  Maybe that's what Johnsie was thinking about here.  ("Uh yeah...Now we have to go from this beauty to plastic cups and paper napkins.")  Yikes.

Again, we had fun.  Johnsie and I have families that LOVE to dance.

And friends who are always the life of the party.  

(That is the Japanese hand symbol for life of the party.)

BUT...  Here's the reality...Our tables were bare.  At the last minute, my sister went out and got bud vases that we bought a few extra flowers to go in and also used the bridesmaid bouquets for extra table flair.  But again, it doesn't match the real beauty of the day.

We had plain white table cloths and office looking chairs.  Which not only didn't match the day either, but it didn't show who Johnsie and I even were!  Our wedding party was decked out in bright pink and orange for goodness sakes!  We are colorful people!  It would've been so nice for the room to reflect that.

So yeah...we had that...and could've had this...

Even our awesome cake was just laying there on a white table cloth.  Now I know Michelle, and she would've made it a display somehow... someway.  It would've been raised with color underneath and flowers on the sides.  Something amazing.  I know this.  And that's how it should've been.  It was a special cake.  But instead it was in the back in a dark corner.  I still have guests that are like..."There was a cake?"  

Errrr!

  None of this is the end of the world I understand, but knowing now that I could've treated our guests to something more makes me a little regretful.  And the reason this happened (And I guess the point to all this) was because I had no idea it could be any different with the budget I was working with!  Michelle has the hook up people!  She can get you so much closer to what you want with the budget you have than you could ever get yourself.  And on top of all that...by the end of planning everything by ourselves...we were exhausted which caused us to go over budget anyway!  I could've given that money to a planner and had something spectacular, but instead we were so tired of thinking about things and making things ourselves that by the end, we were just throwing this and that on our credit cards thinking..."It will work itself out."

Well work itself out translated to high monthly credit card payments we couldn't afford.  Awesome way to start a marriage.  lol!  Good thing I picked a keeper.  He has stood behind me and supported me no matter what.  :)

In all seriousness, I just really want to get the word out there and be honest because I wish I knew then what I know now.  And if your budget just can't stretch for full time design and organization help, AKM also has smaller packages and even day of packages that can make things nice and smooth for the actual wedding day.  Might be a nice choice for those brides who have maid of honors gone bad that I see on all these wedding reality shows lately.  haha!

Anyhoo,  Check it out!  You won't be disappointed...and I'll be there too!  :)

Now stop being a ninny and hire a planner! 

www.akmevents.com

www.facebook.com/akmevents

michelle@akmevents.com

219-512-5620

    

This Organizing Stuff Is For The Birds...Or Is It?

I hate organizing.  The thing is though, I don't get anything done when I'm unorganized.  So this past week, I took the bull by the horns and decided to get my "studio" looking more like one.  The first thing I did was put a small Pinterest board together.  I found this picture and decided it would be my inspiration.

To be quite frank, I wanted to get something for nothing.  And...mission accomplished.  I spent $45 on some sheets, organizing bins, and the rest I had lying around and was ready to re-use it.  I should be honest and tell you though...In order to keep costs down, it required ALOT of work...  Here's some proof.

Yeah.

One of the things I did was makeover an old folding chair.  I don't know about you, but I find the cushioned folding chairs quite comfy.  This is how it turned out.

I really liked how the satin looked when I was finished.

I also made some shelves with old boards I painted in black and hung with ribbon.  Another Pinterest idea.

See them hanging over my little seating area?  And the seating was a couple of fillable box/ottomans I used to have in my living room before I re did it, and a couple of travel pillows I covered with the leftover satin.

My desk I work on actually was raw wood (but I forgot to snap a pic before I started painting).  It was a hand me down from an old friend...I shabby chic'd it (well my hubby helped with that part), and I love how it turned out.

Then I made a little corner changing nook by hanging some hooks and hanging an old curtain rod from them with ribbon.  The curtains again were from my old living room design.  :)

I also put another area with a desk so I can sketch and print invoices too.  Does the desk look familiar?  It was in the "gypsy chic" photo shoot Michelle and I did that was featured in Landlocked bride.  It actually used to belong to Marshall Field.  My great aunt and uncle bought one of his old homes in Chicago and he left it in the house.  It's been passed through my family and now it's my turn to have it.  :)  Pretty cool huh?

Anyhoo...Here's how it all turned out...

I think it's lovely don't you?  It's nice and bright and there is a place for everything.  Makes working so much more enjoyable!  Hope it inspires all of you to do some spring revamping...

Feel free to share any makeovers you are doing this spring.  I would love to see them!

XO, Christina