Wedding Planning Nightmare

Normally when I start a post I have a tip or suggestion. That isn't the case here. This is merely a post to beware. The wedding industry has a lot of people and vendors that are fly by nights. (Definition of fly by night: unscrupulous; "a shady operation" )In the last 2 weeks I have received 4 phone calls with similar scenarios that could be possible problems... BIG problems. Venues that have overbooked. Venues that have been sold. Employees that signed contracts then are no longer employed at that establishment. Last but not least; the financial contributors have backed out. One of the scenarios included 3 of the 4 problems mentioned here! Brides, take heed. Your wedding planning process needs to be thought out and have direction. Consult a wedding professional that has been in the industry for a while. If something seems too good to be true, more likely than not, it is. Your deposit (in most situations) is not refundable!! A reliable wedding professional can tell you something in 15 minutes that will take you 3 days of research.

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Planning a wedding

Engagement ring

It's official... my little girl has gotten engaged. Although I'm ecstatic, I realize that I'm joining the masses of the daunting task of planning a wedding with my little beloved. We've been down this road before planning her Quinceanero. We had lots of time and lots of planning. I'm hoping that because Whit was turning 15, her undeveloped taste is behind her. We had too many things to choose from and, although she is quite picky, I don't think her taste had developed for princessery. Yes, that's a word - and I just made it up. If I'm going to trust my planning guide - which I've used for years and tons of weddings, I know that the first order of business is the guest list. Without a guest list you can't move forward. We all know this right? Not one decision can be made until you know the number of guests you're planning on inviting.

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First impressions

Every event host is looking for an idea to wow their guests. Here's a tidbit to consider: valet services. Valet services Image courtesy of: All Secure Valet Services

Everyone (for the most part) likes to be waited on. Valet services can offer that bit of panache to your event that can separate you from all those other events that you've been to. You don't even have to sell the farm for valet services ... most parking attendants cost about the same as a bartender per hour. For an event of 100 guests you could expect to have 4 attendants to park your guest's cars for the first 90 minutes. Then keep 2 of them for the remaining part of the event. After all isn't it always about first impressions?

Centerpieces on a budget

Whether I’m initially contacted by a bride for planning, for an hourly consult or to rent my amazing facility, I always hear the one thing that holds true; “I never would have thought of that!” I take great pride when I hear those words. It proves that I am doing what my Purpose is on this earth. That said, I’d like to pass along a pearl of wisdom that I wrote for “The Look for Less” by Josie at PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com… one something that you may not have thought of.Everyone (or most, I would think) knows that you can repurpose the flowers from the Ceremony for some blank spots at the reception. But what about repurposing the centerpiece? What do I mean? Well, what about taking a minute and calling all of those near and dear to you… (Start the conversation by saying “I don’t have a lot of time to talk…” if you don’t you’ll be on the phone forever!) ask if they have a special cake plate, cake plateau, compote or riser. Cake plates Photos courtesy of: Amazon, Style Me Pretty, Country Living, Vintage Indie, The Haystack Needle Ask those very women to make their most special and favorite cookie recipe and fill those cake plates with 2-3 dozen of cookies. Use these as your centerpieces… they will be the hit… trust me! Not interested in having cookie centers but would like something edible? How about cakes or cup cakes?

Cake plates Photos courtesy of Clara French

If that doesn't stir any excitement, not to worry, you could also use the cake plates as flower or candle bases. You could also mix and match with some tables having cookies, some having cakes, some having candles and the others having flowers. Just be sure that you are tying the wedding colors into the centerpiece.

Cake plates Photos courtesy of: Martha Stewart, Country Living, Ilovelolliblog Lots of family and friends want to help with the daunting tasks of wedding planning but don’t know how to ask or where they can be of help. This is a perfect fit from all perspectives.

Cookie Favors

One of the wonderful things about Twitter is the tweets that give me informative tips of my industry. I received a tweet from @EmmalineBride with this tidbit about Williams-Sonoma's cookie cutters. It definitely caught my attention. I love anything that is personalized. These are just the bees knees. Cookie Cutter

Watch the video for quick tips of how-to. These would be adorable to add to your cake table in your event colors. I'm off to place my order....

New form of love

I think I may just be in love. I'm a crackberry baby but recently decided to try a new smartphone. I found my match.Solstice It was important to me that the touch screen wasn't hard on my 40 something year old eyes... If you're looking for a new phone. Give this one a try.

Fiiiinnnallly!!!

Have to start with the "WOOT-WOOT"... this is truly awesome! Turkey Hill in Columbia

Lancaster Online Article

It wasn't a traditional groundbreaking — officials unfurled a banner rather than tossed a symbolic shovelful of soil — but Wednesday's event at the site of the planned $14 million Turkey Hill Experience project in Columbia signaled a new era for a historic silk mill.

"This old shell of a building will be transformed. By the time it's opened in April 2011, we'll have 250,000 visitors a year coming to Columbia," said John Cox, Turkey Hill Dairy executive vice president, speaking at the event.

Featuring 26,000 square feet of dining areas and retail space, the new attraction, at Third and Linden streets, will showcase nine different interactive exhibit area allowing visitors to learn more about how dairies work, how ice cream is made and the history of the company.

Bob Adams, Experience center manager, said when visitors enter the attraction, they will proceed to a second-floor "hub" with three distinct spaces where they can learn how Turkey Hill makes its celebrated tea, relive the company's early days serving as a main dairy for Columbia Borough or enter through a gigantic ice cream container for an interactive walking tour on how the ice cream is made.

"This is going to be a visitors' destination, but on the western side of the county," Adams said. "By reusing the (former Little Prince silk mill) site, we're preserving farmland somewhere else."

Redeveloping an abandoned industrial site has not been without its problems. In September 2009, engineers discovered groundwater containing benzene, a known carcinogen, and two other industrial solvents, located about 30 feet beneath the surface of the 2.7-acre site.

Columbia Borough councilwoman Sandy Duncan said the borough oversaw a $250,000 cleanup of the site with the help of the state's Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Community and Economic Development.

That work delayed the project by a year.

"The next battery of tests after the cleanup showed everything was OK," she said. "The scientists and engineers have assured us that all issues have been resolved."

The borough sold the property in June for $950,000 to developer Bill Roberts of IBS Development Corp. of Harrisburg, Turkey Hill Dairy and Museum Partners.

The Turkey Hill Experience will work in Columbia, Borough Manager Norm Meiskey said, because the facility is going to be "absolute state-of-science," pulling visitors off of Route 30 when they might be driving between the attractions at Gettysburg and the Plain-community attractions in the eastern part of the county.

"This is going to be like Chocolate World at Hershey or maybe even something you would find at Disney World," Meiskey said. "When visitors come here to the Turkey Hill Experience they're going to want to come back … and they're going to want to come back to Columbia, too."

Get it in writing!!

Didn't get it in writing? It didn't happen!That's the scenario that we all want to avoid. Contracts are more than just a letter of commitment between two parties. Contracts protect the both of you. I've had clients that come to me 2-3 weeks before their event and say: "Gosh, if I'd known that xyz was going to happen I would have gotten it in writing." Then they look to me with puppy eyes and say; can you help? Depending on what the picture is is what will be the telltale of whether or not Perfect Settings can save the day. We have long, tried and true relationships with most event specialist in our area. But that is all besides the point! If the vendor is "throwing in" ANYTHING it's not uncouth to say; "could I bother you to add that as an addendum to my contract?" If they are committed and honest to what they just offered, they will not have a problem with jotting that down. Here's the worst (which actually happened): I'm hired for "day of" coordination. I show up at the reception facility right after the ceremony to find that the stage that was to be "lush like Shakespeare's A Mid Summer's Night Dream" was all but. There was a ficus tree, a bench, a lamppost, a trellis and a few ferns. I quickly find the decorator. I say something like: When is the stage being completed? She says, pan faced: What are you talking about? Me? (irritated since guests are about to walk through the door): "What happened to the Mid Summer's Night Dream?!" She looks at me in the most pained expression: "I decided that she didn't pay me enough for that so I decided last night that I wasn't going to do it." Are. You. Kidding. Me???!! My face must have shown that while my mouth was hanging open. Before I went any further I go to my trusty binder to find her contract. Sure enough... no mention of such Garden is there. Since I was "day of" (which is another topic) I wasn't there for the signing of this contract, nor was this decorator on my preferred list of vendors. After a VERY heated conversation she agrees to run to her shop and bring some more foliage out. End result: maybe something akin to a backyard garden. No Mid Summer's Night Dream here. It was more like a Mid Summer's Nightmare. As the bride came in to the reception facility it was the first thing she noticed. I say to her "this is your day... don't let the action of one person determine how your reception is going to go" She was almost in tears then I reassure her; "trust me, it was worse!" ... of course, the garden was what she was looking forward to the most. Some years later, I bump into this bride and ask what ever happened with the garden decor. "I didn't have a leg to stand on... it wasn't in writing and my wedding was long over" is what she said. How very true. So, get it in writing! Sign that contract

Fireworks... yay!

Fireworks What an awesome display of fireworks... from the rooftop we saw: Mountville's, Washington Boro's, Columbia cottages' (2 nights in a row + 2 families), Wrightsville's, Marrietta's, (some of) York's and one fabulously talented neighbor around the 2nd St. area's fireworks. It was like watching a tennis match... didn't know where to look next. In addition, a previous client put off sky lanterns that were spectacular!! My rooftop terrace has become a place that's more than just a pretty view. It's so serene and peaceful after a long day when you need to regroup. Maybe next year we will have a porch party!

Business Woman Magazine

Perfect Settings was in this month's Business Woman Magazine featuring none other than moi. Be sure to check it out and don't just skim the paragraphs!When it's available electronically, I'll be sure to post it here and on the press page.

Lots to do in Columbia

It's going to be a busy week here in Columbia ... here's a snippet from the Chamber's email blast:Friends, This coming weekend promises to be a busy one in this region. This Friday, June 25, is the fourth Friday of the month which means the art galleries in Columbia will be hosting their monthly Fourth Friday event from 5 - 9 PM. Take some time to visit the galleries, sample refreshments, and view the art work of local and guest artists. Cap your evening with a visit to Perfect Settings for an evening of jazz, or dine at a local restaurant.

Saturday, June 26, marks the 30th annual Antique, Art & Craft Show in Locust Street Park and down Locust Street in Columbia. The show will run from 9 AM to 3 PM. Free parking and shuttle service are available from Glatfelter Field on the east side of Columbia next to Anvil International. A variety of stand holders will be present. We are pleased to announce that the spaces are sold out for this year's show. All monies raised benefit the SVCC Visitors Center.

Complete your weekend by taking part in the Riverfest, scheduled for Sunday, June 27, from 4:30 to 9:30 PM. This event will be located at Front & Walnut Streets in Wrightsville. Featured activities include a motorcycle show, music by MidLife Krisis, and a ceremonial burning on three bridge piers. Your donation of $2 will benefit programs and initiatives of Rivertownes PA USA.

Gather family and friends for a fun-filled weekend.

Have a great week!

4th of July Weddings

4th of July weddings present the opportunity to infuse your reception with some good, old-fashioned patriotism. Such color schemes as the ones below blend elegance and class with the carefree fun often associated with the 4th of July holiday weekend. From BetsyWhite.com:

From Blog.WeddingWire.com:

From BehindtheKnot.com:

Also, 4th of July weddings give you an excuse to express your excitement with fireworks! Image from Oneperfectmoment.com

Even so, Independence Day weddings have one major drawback: cost. It is true that a 4th of July wedding may be convenient because your guests will be on holiday from work. This advantage is a double-edged sword, however, because it also means that other people, namely vendors and their employees, will also be reluctant to work on a holiday. The major consequence of this is that vendors will unfortunately be more expensive on the 4th of July than on the average day.

Columbia 4th Fridays

*The Next Fourth Fridays in Columbia Event will be held Friday June 25th. Hours are 5 pm to 9 pm and beyond* End your evening at Perfect Settings enjoying Jazz! Event website: www.fourthfriday.hitart.com

Check out our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/Fourth-Fridays-in-Columbia/128464630512582?ref=ts

Experience Columbia's art galleries, participating antique shops, specialty shops, and local eateries. This self guided tour provides the opportunity to view exhibits from local and visiting artists, enjoy refreshments, and discover the uniqueness that is Columbia.

Perfect Settings, LLC The Highlight of Your Event! 717.684.4455 Office | 717.951.8541 Direct www.perfectsettings.net www.facebook.com/Perfectsettings www.twitter.com/PerfectSettings Be sure to read my Blog! I am the featured author in a National Wedding Blog, The Look for Less, for June.

What we love to do we find time to do. --John L. Spalding

Lovin' those Crocs!

My feet have started to become very unforgiving. If you've ever been here during a reception you'd know that I climb my stairs more than 20 times during an event.I have been on a quest for comfort and fashion. When I stumbled across heels by #Crocs I stopped in my tracks - pun intended! I love these things! Bring... on the parties! Croc heels