Day of Coordination (Behind the Scenes)

I knew we had done our job right when the mother of the bride said to me "It is so nice not to have to think about anything!  Thank you."

When we are hired for coordination services our goal is to ensure a stress free day for EVERYONE involved in the wedding from the bride to the bridal party, the mothers, fathers, grandparents...and all the guests.

For Megan & Nathan's wedding I attended the rehearsal the night before.  This allows me to meet the bridal party and the families and begin to establish relationships with them so they feel comfortable coming to me if they need anything the day of the wedding.  This is a key element in providing excellent coordination services for any wedding.

The day of the wedding my two assistants went to the Gandy Dancer to begin set up and I met Megan, Nathan, and the bridal party at First Congregational.  I set out the ceremony programs and guest book, helped the flower girl into her dress, and floated between the brides room and the grooms room to give time updates and let them know the schedule for the foreseeable future.  I connected with the limo driver to give him a schedule update for the afternoon, made sure each bridesmaid had kleenex in her bouquet, and lined up the girls and walked everyone up the stairs for their entrance into the ceremony.  After the ceremony I bustled Megan's dress and worked with the bridal party to hand out bubbles to all the guests for Megan & Nathan's departure.  I then gathered the guest book, leftover bubbles, and cleaned up the brides room so that the girls could easily gather their belongings on their way out of the church.

We had a very tight time line for pictures, so I helped round up family members and assisted the photographer gather the necessary people for pictures so they could quickly leave the church and head out for pictures around Ann Arbor.

I then left for the reception where I helped Megan hand out final vendor payments, and lined up the bridal party for their formal entrance into the reception.  Together with my assistants, we made sure the following events happened on scheduled: cake cutting, toasts, prayer, dinner, and dancing.

Nathan's family was handling clean up at the end of the night, so we were able to head out a little earlier than usual.  Overall it was a great day!  Thank you Megan & Nathan for letting us be a part of it!

courtney@petalsplanningco.com
http://www.petalsplanningco.com

5.7.11 | Megan & Nathan

We kicked off our wedding season this year with Megan & Nathan.  Megan hired Petals Planning over a year ago to help her secure her ceremony and reception venue, as well as provide coordination services on her wedding day.  Megan took on a lot of projects herself including save the dates, invitations, programs, menus, reception table centerpieces, bouquets, boutonnieres, and escort cards; she needed our help to make sure all her hard work and DIY projects were set out as intended, so it was one less thing for her to think about on her wedding day.


The ceremony took place at First Congregational Church in downtown Ann Arbor, and the reception was at the fabulous Gandy Dancer restaurant.  The delicious cake was provided by Cakes by Stephanie, and Chair Cover Express provided the white chair covers with navy blue satin sashes - they looked great!  And last, but certainly not least, Whitney Keeler of Imagine Three took the beautiful photos below.  I can hardly wait to see the rest of them!

courtney@petalsplanningco.com
http://www.petalsplanningco.com

The Venue Search...Part II

I am thrilled to follow up Wednesday's post with the news that Megan has chosen her reception venue!  Out of all the possibilites (which are quite numerous), she has chosen the Gandy Dancer, Ann Arbor's first class dining establishment, as the venue for her wedding reception!

Megan and I met with Kristina, the events coordinator, a couple weeks ago and she was great!  The Gandy Dancer is a really affordable venue in Ann Arbor.  Wedding receptions typically take place outside in their courtyard, which is tented.  They provide tables, chairs, white linens (including napkins), and all dinnerware and glassware.  You can fit up to 120 people comfortably by seating them at round tables of 8.  Your primary costs when you choose the Gandy Dancer are:  food & beverage, alcohol, tax, service charge, and dance floor.

 They charge 20% service charge and standard 6% Michigan sales tax.  Their most inexpensive dinner offering is $39.95 and includes a soup OR salad, choice of one of four entrees including chicken, shrimp, fish, or steak, and creme brulee for dessert.  Each entree is served with a vegetable and a starch, and water, iced tea and soft drinks are included as part of the meal charge.  If you do not want the dessert included with the package, and would like to bring in your own dessert, they will take $3 off the price - so this particular meal would cost $36.95 (plus tax & service charge).  They do have pricier options that are more inclusive - I encourage you to check these out!

The dance floor costs $250 and you can bring in whichever DJ you prefer.  There is no charge for having a private bar, you just have to pay for the alcohol (which you can set a ceiling on).  The reception area comes with uplighting, including twinkle lights strung around the beams, and they also offer round paper lanterns that hang from the ceiling if it suits your decor style (free of charge).

Kristina at the Gandy Dancer takes care of the set-up, you just need to drop your items off to her.  They are very flexible, and very willing to work with each individual situation.  They require a $250 deposit on a credit card to hold the date.  You have until 90 days prior to the event to cancel, and you can rebook for any date within the year to avoid losing your $250.  If you cancel within the 90 day window of your event you lose your $250 deposit.

You may email Kristina at gandbq@ldry.com to receive availability and specific pricing information.

Click here to view the Gandy Dancer's dinner menu

courtney@petalsplanningco.com
http://www.petalsplanningco.com/