Portland Wedding Coordinator

Reminder - The Portland Wedding Coordinator Blog has moved!

How time flies! We've been doing some really fun things over on our own website, ejpevents.com

Photo: Evrim Icoz

Come check it out! This is also where The Portland Wedding Coordinator Blog has found a permanent home. It's hard to believe we've been writing this blog for *gasp* 12 years! We've seen technologies, venues, and vendors come and go, and it's been so interesting to document how people wed in our area, the beautiful Pacific Northwest. 

We decided to combine all of our blog interests into one place, and cover Weddings, Destination Event Travel, Corporate Events, How-Tos, and Advice to the Events Industry. Ambitious maybe, but when your company has been around for 20 years, it's time to look for more challenges, and never stagnate, only innovate. Happy 20th Anniversary to EJP Events!

We've planned special events from Portland to Boston, from Minneapolis to Texas, throughout this time. We added (back!) our conference and corporate event planning departments in 2009 -- Corporate is where our love of events started in 1997, so it only made sense to come full circle and serve our most loyal customers with our signature creative and inclusive style. 

So even though we haven't been super active here on Typepad, this site will remain as an archive -- feel free to browse our posts going back to 2007. And then roll with us into the future over on ejpevents.com.

With love,

Emee Pumarega
Founder, EJP Events LLC

Where wedding websites fall short

Photo credit: Madeline Ball, licensed by Creative Commons

Newly engaged? If you've started planning, that likely means heading to the computer. What you’ll come across are many websites that provide some of the same things a coordinator does: a to-do list, a list of vendors, and hundreds of articles about anything and everything wedding related. If you're not sure if wedding coordinator is in your budget, or you want to take on the planning yourself, these websites are amazing resources. However, there are several things a website can’t do:

1. Tailor a plan unique to you and your partner. A coordinator can sit with you and your partner—and your families if they are involved—and go over each individual detail of what you would (and really wouldn’t) like to see on your big day.
2. Give you advice from years of experience. A wedding coordinator that has been at this for a while has seen a lot of weddings, and this means they can pass all of this knowledge along to you as a bride or groom.
3. Provide day-of coordination. This is one thing that couples often forget. While some feel they can handle the preparation ahead of time, it’s easy to overlook how many things need managing on the big day. Hiring a coordinator means someone is assigned to this, and you and your family and friends can focus on enjoying yourselves.

If you have experience with planning your wedding over wedding websites, good or bad, let us know in the comments! 

-- Malia Robinson-Exo and Emee Pumarega, May 18, 2016

 

 

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Quick Poll: How are you finding your wedding vendors?

I'm curious as to how you all have been finding success in getting a great vendor team together for your wedding.

Please take this one-question poll! Once we start getting votes, the results will appear here in real-time.

Are you having any difficulties in finding the right people to work with? Please share in the comments - I'll answer any questions that I can.

 

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{ Portland Wedding Planning } What is a "kick-off" consultation?

Sometimes the terms that are bounced around in the wedding planning process can be confusing.

In our {Wedding Planning Definitions} series, I'll examine some different terms and products that come up often in discussions of wedding planning.

Today's definition is:

"kick-off consult".

This is a program for clients who would like assistance from a wedding planner in the early stages of their engagement, but perhaps have not committed fully to using a planner for full services. The "kick-off consult" usually includes a design component, where the planner talks with you about your overall vision for the wedding in everything from colors and sounds to the food and drink, all the way to what the attendants will be wearing.  You can ask questions about the pros and cons of different sites, and also get ideas for sites you may not have thought of on your own.  Budget will be discussed, and vendor matches will be suggested. You should also get a wedding planning checklist with a list of to-do items for wedding planning and the dates the tasks should be completed.

The bride and groom-to-be leave this meeting armed with a great deal of information to make sound, educated decisions for the initial wedding planning process.  Time involvement varies from planner to planner, and is usually around 90 minutes to 2 hours, often with an email follow-up included. There is usually a flat or hourly fee for this meeting.

If you are having a hard time getting your wedding planning process off the ground (perhaps you are stuck without a date or venue and getting stressed), a one-time, "kick-off" consult could be just the thing you need.

A version of this blog post appeared on The Portland Wedding Coordinator on May 9, 2009.

Photo: Oliver M. P. Miller

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My Portland Photographer - a valuable resource for finding quality wedding photography

We worked with Bethany and Patrick for their wedding in Bend, Oregon. Photo by Altura Studio.

With so many national resources and wedding directories out there, it's sometimes hard to find a directly, truly local resource for information on Portland wedding photography. Thankfully you only need one - and we have a great one in My Portland Photographer. Run entirely by a savvy group of local Portland wedding photographers, the site serves up almost daily wedding inspiration, photography advice, and just good old fashioned wedding eye candy. You can even check availability and book your photographer straight from the site. The best part is that I have personally worked with many of the photogs on this site, so I know you'll find someone you'll love!

 

 

What are the different kinds of wedding planning services, and how much do they cost?

Recently I've been receiving a lot of requests for info for my wedding planning business, EJP Events, and I thought it might be helpful to answer questions on the blog as well.

My assistant and I at a wedding in Boston in 2003. Many thanks to Craig Strong (yes, the Lensbaby inventor) for the photo.

Today's big question: "What are the different kinds of wedding planning services, and how much do they cost?" I can only answer this for my own business, and please know there are MANY fantastic business models out there. This is just what has worked for me for the past 14 years:

I offer three main types of planning, all with set, flat fees. After I meet with my client, I am able to create a customized proposal for them - sometimes all with one type of planning; but many times using elements of several, to get them exactly what they need.

- Hourly consulting: We meet at my office, or at a specific place (e.g., invitation store, venue tours) and work on a specific project. Typically, after the project is complete (I find them a venue, we co-create decor designs or themes), I do not work on-site at the wedding.

- Wedding month-of coordination (Also called "Day-Of Coordination"): The client leads all the planning themselves, but comes back to me about two months before the wedding and shows me all vendors booked, and explains how they would like the site to be laid out, how they want the day to flow. My assistants and I then take it from there and create/distribute the event plan communications, and coordinate at the rehearsal and at the event.

- Full planning and design: The client is in creative control, but I lead the planning process, in that I push action items to the client. (e.g. "It's time to book your caterer"; "It's time to create your overall reception design".) This is our most popular program of service.

Planner-led vs. client-led is a spectrum; ask your coordinator what options are available to you based on your preference and budget.

You can read more in detail about these planning types and get pricing information over on the business website: ejpevents.com

I hope this info is helpful to you - please leave any questions in the comments, or email me! Are you a couple who has found the perfect wedding planner? Tell us about him or her!  Or - are you a wedding planner, who has found success in a different business model? I would love to hear your ideas.

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Poll: How do you like to make and keep contact with your wedding vendors and service providers?

I am always curious about what my clients prefer. Today I'd love to know how you like to initially contact the folks you are hoping will work for you on your wedding day.  Please take this one-second poll and let me know!

 

{ Meet and Greet } Join us at The Bridal Loft open house - March 14, 2012

Have you met our family at The Bridal Loft yet? I am grateful to have had the "Lofties"'s friendship, camaraderie, and business support since I joined in June of 2002. We are doing our yearly open house to welcome the upcoming 2012 and 2013 wedding clients, as well as renew friendships / make new ones in the community of artists, artisans, and designers that make up Portland's wedding businesses.

Please join us on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 from 4pm to 8pm and enjoy a fun evening out with the wedding professionals of The Bridal Loft, Portland’s original bridal collective. Light hors d’oeuvres and wine will be served as you view the 2012 collections from August Veils and beadALEX, as well as getting your opportunity to meet in person with:

Bridal beauty educator Katherine Sealy of Event Cosmetics

Wedding planner Emee Pumarega of EJP Events (that's me!)

Photographer Paul Rich

Calligrapher Alesia Zorn

The cinematography team of Scott and Amanda Shama of Ambient Sky Couture Wedding Films

Master seamstress Kim Trickey of Sewing Solutions

and designer Andrea Hoyt of August Veils

Bring your wedding questions and be ready to enjoy the atmosphere of The Bridal Loft. We’ll see you there!

RSVP here for best service.

Photo credits, clockwise from top left: Holland Studios, Holland Studios, Holland Studios, Craig Strong, The Bridal Loft, Craig Strong

An Oregon Garden Wedding Inspiration for a Stylish Manhattan Bride

I was so excited to be contacted by another out-of-towner this week who will be planning her Oregon summer wedding, working long-distance from Manhattan. Her big priorities are food and photography. She sent along a few photos of her intended style and I thought I would go through our past event file to put together a few photos to  convey my initial thought process for site selection and other possible details. Here goes:

All photos are from real weddings coordinated and planned by EJP Events.

Full size photos and photographer credits after the cut.

BarStocker - the iPhone app that calculates liquor needs for your party or wedding

Many of our clients are in turnkey venues where they can provide their own caterer and bar. But figuring out how much liquor, beer, and wine to order is always a challenge. Order too much and it's a bit of a waste. Order too little and you risk running out during the event, and having to send a wedding party member to the nearest 7-11.

EJP Events is pleased to unveil our own iPhone app to tackle this continuing problem. Based on an algorithm developed over our 13 years in the event planning, catering, hotel, and wedding planning businesses, BarStocker will save you time and prevent a waste of money or alcohol by helping you figure the perfect amount to order.

 

 

Customize your order based on length of party in hours, time of year, types of alcohol being served, and how much your guests like to party :-)  It's available right now on the iTunes store. Please let me know what you think!