Technology and the Planning Process: Saving you Money and Removing Stress 1 Click at a Time!

With all the technology we have at our fingertips, it’s not surprising that there would be hundreds of apps and websites to help brides get ideas, find the best deals, read blogs and help plan their weddings.  Thanks to the Huffington Post and some personal research, we now know the top apps and websites that will help you along the way to your wedding day.

Guesterly (https://www.guesterly.com/)

This is a website helps you create mini magazines or booklets with information about your wedding day.  You can fill the book with pictures, fun/funny facts about the bride and groom etc.

How it works: the bride and groom come up with a questionnaire for their guests to pick questions from and answer.  The guests choose questions they want to answer, upload a picture of themselves and guesterly turns all the responses into a booklet for all the guests to have the day of the wedding.

“Couples love that a guesterly makes everyone feel like old friends. And their guests say it ups the fun factor and makes the wedding more memorable.”

Wedding Spot (http://www.wedding-spot.com/)

If you’re trying to find a venue that you can get the best deal for-this website is for you.  Wedding Spot allows couples to compare venues side by side including amenities and price.  Couples can type in specific keywords for what they are looking for. 

Benefit: Couples are able to see a variety of venues and find out information about them without having to call or email all of the venues.

Squarespace (https://www.squarespace.com/tour/wedding-website)

A website to create your very own customized wedding website! Squarespace now offers unique website templates just for weddings.  For only $8.00 a month, couples can create a unique website to keep all the information that their guests need to know.

“Create a beautifully designed, mobile-friendly wedding website that will be a joy for friends and family to visit. Collect mailing addresses and RSVPs, post photos to your blog, and share important information with ease.”

Pretty Pear Bride (http://prettypearbride.com/)

Pretty Pear Bride is the only website and magazine catering to the plus size bride.  This site lets brides get inspiration for wedding dresses, accessories, photo shoots and hear about weddings from other plus size brides.

The site was created by Shafonne Myers, a certified wedding planner and plus size bride. “Pretty Pear Bride was started as a site where plus size brides can find bridal inspiration that THEY long for. So many people planning their weddings struggle with finding inspiration that includes images that look like them.  Everyone wants to see people that look like them, doing what they are trying to do because it allows them to envision that they can be just as glamorous and gorgeous as they imagined. So the mission was clear: merge a love for blogging and wedding planning with creating a place for plus size brides to see themselves in wedding inspiration.”

AllSeated (http://www.allseated.com/)

Welcome to the 21^st century of seating charts for your wedding! That’s exactly what AllSeated is.  The website takes the floor plan of the reception venue and lets you choose how to arrange the room.  All the details of the dance floor, tables, chairs, bar etc. are there for you to design.  It also lets you keep track of RSVPs and guest list.

“We save you time and make life simple.” –isn’t that what every bride needs during the planning process?

Brideside (http://brideside.com/)

Finally the website to help bridesmaids everywhere! No two bridesmaids are built exactly alike which means when it comes time to shop for bridesmaid dresses, it’s anything but easy.  Brideside’s fit algorithm, try-at-home program and fit videos, your girls are sure to wear bridesmaid dresses that fit like a glove!

Check out the gallery on their website and see the magic for yourself!

BevMo (http://www.bevmo.com/weddings)

Of course there’s a website to help supply you with the best part of the reception-the booze! That’s right, BevMo is a website that helps you calculate how much alcohol you need for your reception. The site also has party planning tips to help you learn more about choosing drinks for your party, including cocktail recipes, measurement guides, and wine pairing advice.

How it works: Once you register, for free, on the site you are assigned a beverage expert. He or she will find a local BevMo store where you can go for a private beer and wine tasting to help you choose the right wines for your wedding.

Nearly Newlywed (http://www.nearlynewlywed.com/)

If you have a budget for your wedding dress that seems hard to keep, this is the website for you.  Nearly Newlywed is a website that sells a selection of gowns from “nearly new” starting at $700 to brand new around $2000. Most of the dresses come from top name brands! They even send you dresses to try on and ones that you don’t like you can send back-basically they have taken the fear of online shopping for wedding dresses out of the equation and have made dresses more reasonably priced.

“The Nearly Newlywed way… a better way to shop bridal.”

The Bach (http://thebach.com/)

The Bach is your go to place to plan your Bachelorette Party! It can help you find places nationwide for your party.  Once you select your location the site then gives you information about recommended restaurants, bars, spas, adult entertainment, transportation and other activities.

“At The Bach we know that modern brides and bridesmaids are busy juggling thriving careers and active social lives. Planning a fun and exciting bachelorette party can be incredibly time consuming, and we are here to help you streamline the process.”

Happily Ever Borrowed (http://www.happilyeverborrowed.com/)

If you are looking for the final accessories to complete the look for your wedding day-look no further than Happily Ever Borrowed.  This website has partnered with designers such as Enchanted Atelier & Elizabeth Bower, and has curated a special collection of veils, tiaras, headpieces and jewelry to “frost yourself” on your special day.  You simply select the item you would like and rent it for your wedding, after that you ship it back to them to be cleaned for the next bride.

HitchSwitch (https://www.hitchswitch.com/)

Can’t wait to take his last name but don’t want to deal with all the paperwork? This is the website for you. HitchSwitch provides a simple full-service solution that guides you through the process. Just fill out the quick EasyForm online then they’ll send you your personalized name change forms that come with step-by-step instructions and pre-paid addressed envelopes. You can call or email them directly in case you have questions along the way.

How helpful is that?!

Postable (https://www.postable.com/)

So the wedding is over and you’ve opened all your wedding gifts….now it’s thank you note time! If you aren’t fond of putting pen to paper and writing hand written notes then this is the website for you.  Postable lets you type out your personalized thank you messages and then select from a variety of fonts (most of them are handwritten fonts) and ecofriendly card designs.

Appy Couple (http://www.appycouple.com/)

Now you can have a wedding website and app to keep track of it all too! Keep RSVPs organized and keep your guests up-to-date on your wedding. 

How it works: you design the app, post information and invite your guests to download the app too.  Whatever update is posted on the app will also update your wedding website.

“The stylish wedding website and app. Everything you need in one place. The way it's meant to be.”

Bottom line-there are lots of ways to take the stress out of wedding planning! That’s what All Events Planned is here for as well as all the websites we researched above.  I hope you found this helpful and will consider using some of these websites and apps.

Happy Planning!

-All Events Planned

www.alleventsplanned.com

Today is National Proposal Day!

In honor of March 20 being National Proposal Day I thought I would share with you one of the best proposals I’ve heard from Eric and Kathryn.

Eric proposed to Kathryn on Christmas Eve, but this is much more than a Christmas proposal….

It was Christmas Eve in 2014 and for the past four years Kathryn has catered a family Christmas Eve dinner in their home. She had asked if Eric could come up towards the end of the evening to help clean up so they could get off to their own family Christmas Eve dinner.  When Eric arrived Kathryn noticed he was acting very strange but strange in a good way. She was busy working when she looked up and saw Eric talking to the family, who she was catering for, like he had known them for years but Kathryn knew they had never met Eric before.  She was plating the dessert when Santa arrived to give all the children their presents.  This was nothing unusual as it had been this way for the last four years.  All the children had received their gifts when Kathryn heard Santa say, “We have one more present!” Kathryn turned and saw Santa motioning towards her.  She still didn’t think anything of it and figured it might just be a gift from the host.  She made her way toward Santa and sat on his lap.  She began unwrapping the package and discovered it was a box with a beautiful ring inside it.  Even looking at the ring it still took her a minute to realize what was happening but this was the moment!  Eric walked toward her and proposed!  Afterward, with huge smiles, Eric and Kathryn headed off to their Christmas Eve dinner to share the wonderful news with their families!

“It was a glorious evening that I will always remember!” said Kathryn.

 

We love to hear the proposal story when our brides meet with us so feel free to share your proposal story too!  Whether yesterday or 10 years ago, your proposal will always be a great story to tell and remember for years to come!

-All Events Planned

Kathryn & Eric on their wedding day in 2015

Client Feedback- Jason & Annie January 2010

I love hearing back from brides and grooms after their wedding.  Annie & Jason were kind enough to fill me in on their feedback and I've even have some great photos from their wedding to share! 

Here is what they had to say about All Events Planned, wedding planning services. 

 

Q: What made you decide to hire a wedding planner?

A: We felt a wedding planner is able to bring up all of the important details that we would have forgotten if we planned the wedding & reception just by ourselves.

Q: What types of things attracted you to each planner that you interviewed?
A: We stopped after the first interview!

Q: What was something you found that made you WANT to hire a certain planner?

A: She asked questions and brought up points that we did not think to even plan for during the wedding ceremony and/or reception. She respected us wanting to use our own ideas and we really appreciated that.

Q: What was the best thing your wedding planner did for you?   
A: Everything! She took control at all of the most important transition points of the night; she could look ahead to make sure that things flowed very smoothly, and addressed things before they became an "issue". Took all of the stress away.

Q: What was something your planner did that you would never have thought of doing?
A: One thing? Let's see...how about setting aside an area for gifts, and coming up with a way for the gifts and cards to be transported away from the reception without us having to worry about it. Also, making sure that the transitions were not distracting; she knew exactly what to do, and just said, "Let me take care of this..."

Q: Did you feel that your wedding planner was worth the cost?
A: Absolutely. We would recommend her to everyone we know that's planning anything at all, for anything, ever.


Q: Was there anything you would have changed about your experience with your wedding planner?
A: Paid her more! (If one more client answers that way, I'm raising my pricing, lol)


Q: What was something you wish you would have known before hiring your planner?
A: That a planner makes EVERYTHING easier, and really they are there to iron out every detail. We wish we would have started talking to her a lot earlier.


Q: Is there any situation where you could see why a bride would NOT want a wedding planner?
A: Only if she's insane! (I love that answer)


Q: Any other input you have on your process with your wedding planner (me) any advice, ideas or feedback, it is all welcome. 
A: Her associate was a great help as well; both of you made our day perfect and we still talk about the fact that our day would not have been as special without your help. It was amazing!

Now you can see why I love hearing back from bridal clients.  They have the most wonderful things to say and nothing makes a planner feel better than knowing she made someone's most important day, even better!!  Have you asked your clients to give feedback on your services?  I bet you'll be just as thrilled with what they have to say.  If you are a bride who has hired a planner, why not send her/him over a thank you note right now, it is the best thing a planner can receive. 

All photos were taken by Pulp Foto.  You can visit their site at http://www.pulpfoto.com/