Sabrina & Nathan

Ceremony Location: MSU Alumni Chapel

Reception Location: MSU Union, East Lansing

Wedding Colors: Gold, Dark Teal, Fuchsia

# Guests: 136

Emergency Kit Items Used: Talcum powder, lotion, Band-Aids, gum


Sabrina & Nathan live in California and were in need of some additional assistance on their wedding day to make sure everything was set up and in place. This was a rare situation in which I did not meet the couple until their wedding day, but no worries!

And what a hot day it was! It had to be at least in the mid to upper 90's! My assistant and I arrived first to MSU Union where Corine Sebesta of Sebesta Design (http://www.sebestadesign.com/) was already setting up the chair covers and florals. Corine is absolutely professional, does a beautiful job, and really has her act together. Looking forward to working with her again in a couple of weeks!

On to the setup....Sabrina had a personalized CD made for each guest that we placed on the chairs as not to interfere with the table settings. Actually there were two CD versions ~ one for the younger crowd, and a "clean version" for the rest of the guests. Lots of votives surrounded the centerpieces, with some really pretty scrapbook paper placed under each centerpiece, and we draped tulle (over skirting) and lights (under the skirting) to make the 2-tier head table look extra special.

For the cake we added the flowers left for us, then surrounded the table with petals and gold votives.

The ceremony took place at MSU's Alumni Chapel and let me tell you, they really have their weddings down to a science. Up to 3 ceremonies can take place there in a single day and they really run smoothly. I was recently there in June also, and the ceremony coordinator, Sarah, is super sweet and so organized. As before, Sabrina & Nathan's ceremony went off without a hitch. Guests were offered progams of course, and these adorable fans that Sabrina's step mother had brought from China. The Alumni Chapel is air conditioned, but the fans came in handy for everyone outside and later on at the reception when everyone was hot from dancing.

At the reception, the plated meal was delicious. Guests were then served cake for dessert. The Union staff (especially Patrick) was so very professional and accomodating to anything I requested of them. Sabrina's father and step-mother were also an especially big help, and even agreed to bring the altar flowers to the reception site from the church for me. I had wanted to leave them in the church so they could be in the background for photos, but since the reception was immediately following the ceremony, we had to get back to the reception site to make sure things were set for guest arrival. Thanks, Ted & Alanah!

Sabrina and Nathan's wedding was photographed by Sam of Sam Sarkis Photography (http://www.samsarkisphotography.com/); the preview pics I got a chance to see were beautiful. Video was done by MK Video, and DJ "T" at Tunes By T (http://www.tunesbyt.com/) kept guests on the dance floor all night long. I had been in touch with Sam and T prior to the wedding day and both were very cooperative and stuck to the timeline so that we were on-schedule the entire evening. I love working with great vendors!

THANK YOU and congratulations, Sabrina & Nathan! Enjoy HAWAII!!!

Shelby & Kevin

Ceremony Location: MSU Alumni Chapel

Reception Location: University Club, East Lansing

Wedding Colors: Purple & Green

# Guests: 140

Emergency Kit Items Used: Tape, Pins, lots of Kleenex!

This one was a special one to me because not only are Shelby & Kevin clients, but also friends. I had been on-board to do Shelby's wedding months ago, but in the meantime we became wedding planning friends and then friends "in real life". My husband Dan and I were invited to this wedding as guests, so I readily put him to work for me that day instead of bringing an assistant. I am not sure how much he enjoyed that, but he had no choice in the matter :-)

The day started out bright and early, and we had lost power at home so we started off to East Lansing a bit earlier than planned, dog and all. The reception location, University Club, has Candlewood Suites attached which is where we were to stay that night. I have to give them major thanks for being so accomodating once I told them our situation (no power) and allowing us to check in so much earlier than usual with no additional charges. They also gave me a discounted pet rate.

Dan and I arrived to the MSU Alumni Chapel just as Horrock's was delivering the flowers, so I checked all of those and started pinning bouts on the guys. It is a pretty ceremony location, and as I understand, only MSU alumni (ahem, both Shelby & Kevin are very proud Spartans!) and a select few others are able to use this church. The gorgeous bride arrived a little while later and in good spirits. As she and the girls were getting dressed and ready, my "assistant husband" and I got to attaching pew bows and setting out the other decor/accessories (unity candle, initial letters to hang from the church doors, garland, guest book, programs, rose petals).

The ceremony site coordinator, Sarah, was professional and ran things exactly as needed. In many cases with ceremony sites, intervention by an additional coordinator is not neccessary. As always, I am on-hand and available to step in where needed, but my purpose is not to step on toes. I provided Kleenex for our tearful bride pre-ceremony, fluffed her dress, and off she went. The ceremony started on time and was tearful but very pretty. Upon exit, I had guests take handfuls of fresh flower petals. The bride and groom made their exit as we all tossed the purple rose petals. I cannot wait to see those photos. I am a huge fan of exiting with the rose petals; I really love the photos that result from this.

After cleaning everything out of the church and getting the couple off in their limo, we then headed to the reception site. We were greeted by Janice at University Club and began the setup as discussed. Shelby had a candy buffet, purple uplighting, and 8 miniature angel food cakes with sugar flowers on top of a glass cake stand as her centerpieces. The initial letters we used at the church were attached to the head table. Also, we placed another great floor monogram from Right On The Walls to the dance floor.

Instead of a memory table, two place settings were set with an empty plate and a red rose in memory of Kevin's father and brother who are no longer with us. A very thoughtful touch. We could not find the two red roses anywhere (as it turns out, someone forgot to bring them) so I sent my dear husband out to get some roses. He was a trooper for me that day!!

The University Club staff (Janice and Tricia) were a HUGE help and so very accomodating to anything we needed. It is much appreciated when reception site staff works with the coordinator rather than against them and I could not have asked for more cooperation. They were terrific.

Everything ran smoothly and as planned. There was a minor emergency regarding the music, but luckily we got that problem solved quickly as well. Many thanks to the guest with the IPod!

After the rounds of special dances and some candy buffet refills, I was able to relax and enjoy the party as a guest for a couple of hours. Moonlighting :) Later came pack-up time and we got that done in a flash with a little help from a couple friends and family. Totally not neccessary, but so very appreciated!

Shelby & Kevin, thanks a million for giving me this opportunity to be a part of your day, for welcoming us also as guests, and special thanks to Shelby for all these month as a friend who sincerely cares about people. You are truly one of a kind. Have a WONDERFUL honeymoon in Europe!

* Photographer Samantha Vanderlist of Shutter Sam (http://www.shuttersam.com/); DJ Sean Bouchard of Complete Music DJ's; cake by Roma Bakery * (Update ~ Some pro photos can be seen here)

The happy groom with a wedding gift....