 Valentine's Day is one of the most popular days for marriage proposals next to New Year's Eve and Christmas. If you're planning a proposal this Valentine's Day, here are some tips to keep in mind! 1. Be Yourself No matter how nervous or excited you get, stay calm and be yourself. Try to act natural and don't give away the fact that you have a proposal planned! If you've been dating a while, he or she will probably pick up on anything that seems out of character and it might give away the surprise you have in store! 2. Choose a Location That is Special to You Pick a location that has some special meaning to both of you. It could be a park, beach, restaurant, while on vacation, at a baseball game, an amusement park or maybe in your own home while enjoying a candlelight dinner. If you don't want a lot of people around, a noisy crowded restaurant might not be the best choice for you. Imagine yourself proposing in different places and how you feel when you think about each one. Choose the one that seems like the best fit for your style and personality. 3. Capture It in Photos A popular trend is turning your proposal into a photo shoot! Talk to a professional photographer about your ideas and how they would best be able to capture this amazing moment for you. Often times they can make suggestions on locations and help you plan all the details. Your partner will be so surprised and you'll have so much fun capturing this special day and memories to last forever! 4. Have a Speech Prepared When the big moment comes you don't want to fumble over your words or get so nervous you forget what to say. Practice what you are going to say out loud to yourself before hand so you can hear how it sounds and make any adjustments. You can write a speech to read from or memorize the most important points you want to say and then let it come out as naturally as possible. The most important thing is to speak from the heart! 5. Make it a Surprise Valentine's Day is full of traditions like going out to dinner, buying flowers and chocolates and maybe a nice card. But to make it really special, be creative and think outside the box! Surprise your partner with something they don't expect such as a private intimate dinner for two, a wine or chocolate making class, couples massage at a relaxing spa or picnic at the beach complete with champagne on ice! You can even hire a guitarist to play background music while you celebrate your new engagement! For wedding packages and prices, please click here.
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 Image: James & Jess Photography Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life and one you will remember and cherish for years to come! Most people have never planned a wedding and don't know what it takes to turn their vision into reality. Hiring a Professional Wedding Planner is often the best way to get started. But with so many options out there, how do you know what type of planner or services you need? Below are some questions to ask yourself. What is my overall wedding budget? A Professional Wedding Planner can help you in many ways and often times will have a few packages to choose in different price ranges to suit various financial needs. Choosing the right package is not only determined by your budget but also how involved you want the planner to be in helping with the details, event design and logistics. Look at what each package costs and what is included to get a better understanding of the value that the Professional Wedding Planner will provide. Think of how beneficial these services will be to you leading up to and on the wedding day. Keep in mind that the Professional Wedding Planner is not only there to give you guidance and support, they are also the liaison between you and other service providers, often communicating and negotiating on your behalf, reviewing contracts and making sure all the details are in place with each and every one of the vendors you hire, as well as act as the go to person on the wedding day for questions and to resolve any issues that may arise without getting you or your guests involved. This is a day where you can't afford to make mistakes and where you want everything to flow seamlessly. How much value do you place on that and what would it mean to you to have someone to go to for advice and questions and to manage the details so you don't need to? How much time do I have or want to spend planning my wedding? If you are working full time, going to school to earn a degree, taking care of children or elderly parents or just have an overall busy life then a Professional Wedding Planner can be invaluable to you during this time. Planning a wedding takes months, often up to a year or longer. It takes time and patience to research and select service providers and venues, negotiate contracts, decide on a wedding theme or design, send invitations, manage the guest list, and much more. How involved you want the Professional Wedding Planner to be will be up to you. You'll need to decide how much time you have each day or week to plan the wedding and what is realistic for your lifestyle. For some couples, doing the research and spending time planning the details is a fun, shared experience that they enjoy doing together. If you are a creative type of person and have time to spend looking at Pinterest and doing DIY projects that's great! Making the wedding unique and personal to you is an important part of the planning process. But that is just one part of it. There are many other details that need to be figured out that you might not have thought of. A Professional Wedding Planner can give you the guidance you need and keep you on track to make sure all the important areas of the wedding are coming together within the necessary timeframe.  Image: I Heart My Groom Packages and Services For the couple who needs a Professional Wedding Planner from the beginning who are not sure where to start the Full Service Planning and Design package is a great option. This package gives the couple ample time to plan their wedding with the planner 8-12 months ore longer in some cases before the wedding. This package includes giving the couple direction on wedding design, theme, colors, style, assist with location and venue options, vendor recommendations, assist with contract negotiations, work with the couple to ensure they are staying within their budget, keep them on track with checklists with due dates, provide advice on wedding etiquette as well as manage the wedding day timeline, rehearsal coordination and all details and logistics surrounding the day itself. A Full Service Planning and Design package is great for couples who need a lot of guidance and those who are planning a destination wedding and need a local planner who knows the area. Professional Wedding Planners are able to streamline the planning process by narrowing down your options for venues, give you a list of recommended vendors in your budget and set up meetings with you a few times before the wedding based around your schedule to check in and make sure things are on track. To see our Full Service Planning and Design package, click here. The next option is Partial Planning and Coordination services. This type of package is the "middle of the road" option, giving you an adequate amount of support and guidance but not as involved as in the Full Service Planning package. Most often the Professional Wedding Planners begin working with the couple 6-8 months before the wedding, giving them more time to plan on their own and get started with some of the details before getting involved. The services are similar to the Full Service Planning package but a few areas may not be included such as wedding design or they may offer less in terms of time spent having in person meetings, site visits or less hours of service on the wedding day. To see our Partial Planning and Coordination package, click here.  Image: James & Jess Photography A Note on "Day of Coordination" Many couples hear the term Day of Coordinator and think that they can save money by hiring someone who will show up to the wedding and manage the details for them the day of. This is very unrealistic and can be detrimental to the wedding causing more chaos and stress for the couple, their guests as well as the other vendors who have been hired to provide their specialized service. A real Professional Wedding Planner with integrity and years of experience will not offer such a service because they know that no one will benefit from them showing up to the wedding unprepared. To really offer value to a couple, a Professional Wedding Planner will need to have knowledge of what is involved in the wedding prior to the wedding day by spending time getting to know the couple and understanding their vision, becoming familiar with the family and bridal party, asking questions about certain key wedding events such as ceremony order, special dances, toasts and speeches, cake cutting, timing of photographs and other formal details. They will also spend several weeks reviewing contracts and communicating with vendors and the wedding venue before the wedding day to review everyone's roles and responsibilities, create a detailed timeline that outlines the order of the wedding day events for the ceremony and reception and get a feel for the overall flow. Many couples choose to spend time planning and designing the wedding themselves, hire their own vendors and then have a Professional Wedding Planner step in a few weeks before who can help put everything together in a way that will ensure a smooth and seamless event. The term Day of Coordinator is widely misunderstood. Couples should not expect to receive the same quality of service from someone who shows up on the wedding day to work for a few hours compared to a Professional Wedding Planner who works with the couple at a minimum 4-6 weeks before the wedding. The cost may be less in comparison but the cost of not having a Professional Wedding Planner will be more in the long run. Our comprehensive take on Day of Coordination is what we refer to as Last Stage Planning + Day of Coordination. This package is our most basic wedding planning package suited for those couples who are planning a smaller wedding generally under 100 people, who are doing most or all the wedding planning themselves and those who are on a tighter budget but still want a professional to take care of the final details leading up to and on the wedding day to ensure everything is executed flawlessly. To get a quote on this type of service for your wedding day, contact us here.  Image: I Heart My Groom You Have Options! If you don't see the right package listed but still want some help, contact us! We can talk you through the details and provide you with a custom quote based on your specific needs. Every wedding is unique and special in its own way and we treat our clients as individuals. Not everyone will fit into one of the packages offered and we realize that so get in touch and let's get started planning your big day! Next: Read "Top 5 Reasons to Hire a Wedding Planner"
2015 was an incredible year! So many wonderful things happened that we are so grateful for. Every opportunity that came our way was a new door opening up and leading us to achieve great milestones. As we enter an unknown 2016 with hope, excitement and an eagerness for new adventures to begin we must say THANK YOU to all of you who have supported us along the way - our clients, friends, partners, peers, mentors and the community for allowing us to have a presence and be part of this wonderful group of talented individuals in the wedding industry. Our eyes are open, our hearts are full and we are ready for the next chapter to begin! Bring it on 2016!
Photo Credits:
James & Jess Lucia Gill Photography Nate and Jenny Weddings Baron Spafford La Femme Photography Thousand Crane Photo Rewind Photography Alexandra Wallace 
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Image: Kacie Jean Phototography
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March 2020
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Brenda Cali is a professionally trained Wedding Consultant and plans a variety of social and corporate events. 
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