Have you seen this adorable bridal shower over at Green Wedding Shoes??
This week I’ve been thinking/reading a ton about how much a little preparation can do. How fitting that I found this little gem of a shoot?! : )
We all want to achieve something but so often, we find our actions don’t match up with our goals. Planning can help!
Here’s what it looks like for me:
Yearly – Marking all major events on the calendar (i.e. New Wedding Collection Debuts, Month in Philly, etc.)
Quarterly – Deciding projects to focus on. Preparing for busy seasons by working extra hard before they hit.
Weekly – Spending Sunday afternoons planning dinners and chopping up fruits and veggies for the week. Looking over each client’s progress. Planning blog posts.
Daily – Laying out workout clothes. Packing a lunch the night before. Creating a to-do list every day at 4 for the next day.
I’m a big believer that we can prepare for success and greatness. It just takes a little time on the front end. John Maxwell talks about the significance of being ahead of problems in his book Today Matters. When we plan ahead, problems don’t have to derail us. We just deal with them.
How can that relate to wedding planning? Any brides ever ordered something that came back wrong? If you were on a tight deadline, this gave you an ulcer. If you had plenty of time, it was simply a road bump on the way to your wedding day.
Save the Dates need to go out…And you should have your band booked by… It can be an overwhelming process trying to pick the perfect invitation just TEN DAYS before they need to be sent out. Some of this stress can be completely avoided! Newly engaged brides, take a step back and look at the time remaining before your wedding day. Write out the major deadlines and make a monthly plan for what to tackle. What things are most important to finish right now. Nope, I didn’t ask what things would be most fun to google and search for on Etsy. It will make a world of difference in your planning process.
Remember: Always be prepared. It will pay off. Scouts honor! ; )
So excited for Hailey and Joe’s wedding this Friday! Hailey is not only one of my lovely brides but also my cousin. It’s been so much fun getting to be a part of this process! Jason Cohen shot their gorgeous engagements. Enjoy!! 
Next two are my faves!!
Local ladies! The City Club is having a bridal show at the end of the month. They’ve hand-picked select vendors that will be showcased at the show and I’m honored to be among them! I’ll be showing invitations as well as scheduling hourly consults with brides as I am already booked for my actual wedding planning packages. Here are all the details! Hope to see you there!!
I wanted to share my favorite iPad app that my sister recently introduced to me! It’s perfect for all you brides-to-be who just got engaged as well as everyone who’s still keeping those New Year’s Resolutions! : )
It’s called List! It’s simple but Natalie showed me a great way to utilize it. We’ve all made goals I’m sure for the New Year. I’ve broken down my goals into categories. I think doing this helps to cover all your bases when making goals. Mine below.
From there, under each category, I have GOALS, HABITS and TO DO. Goals are one time things that I’m striving to reach. Habits are things I want to incorporate into my daily life (i.e. drink a cup of green tea every morning). To Do is my list of things to help me reach both of these categories. (i.e. buy green tea).
This will work similar for brides. Instead of having, “social” or “financial” as lists, you can have each category for your wedding (i.e. cake, flowers, attire, etc.). GOALS will be your overall vision, what you’re hoping to do in each category. Instead of HABITS, you may have VENDORS along with notes of what you think of each as you meet with potential vendors. And TO DO for all those steps that will help you finalize each aspect of the wedding.
I hope this helps stay organized! What are your favorite organization apps?
I had this post set for this morning. I’ve been trying to fight off sickness the last two days but it’s officially taking over. Taking to my bed for the next two days. Some lovely inspiration for your Thursday though.
Happy Thursday everyone!! Today I’ve got a clean black and white palette with a touch of greenery. I love the simple feel it gives off while still being completely chic. Enjoy!
1. The Cinderella Project 2. Donna Hay 3. Etsy 4. Snippet & Ink 5. Design Sponge
Ok I’m way late on this too. ; )
I’ve been using the photo app Instagram for my twitter photos but didn’t realize Instagram itself was it’s own form of social media. You can follow people like you do on twitter and see the photos they share with captions. I love seeing other people’s perspectives/days through photos. If you’re like me, you take more pictures than you actually post. Here is where those photos end up!
Find me @valwoerner and share your name in the comments as well if you have an instagram account.
Leaving you with a few of my recent pics!
When Harry Met Sally is my absolute favorite movie. I’ve watched it atleast 30 times. Here’s my favorite quote:
I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
Today I’m picturing how that conversation would have looked for Harry and Sally 20 years later in this adorable New Year’s Eve shoot from Green Wedding Shoes.
I love the muted palette that pops so much with all the fun textures! If you are planning a New Year’s Eve wedding next year, consider this refreshing palette. ENJOY!
I just love recapping the year. I think it does something for my soul to remember everything I’ve experienced in the past 365 but sometimes it seems like so much to sum up in one little post! This year instead of recapping what happened, I’ll attempt to share with you the big things I’ve learned this year and how it will shape 2012.
1. A TEACHABLE SPIRIT IS NECESSARY TO GROWING – I’m reminded of this one every time I make a mistake. I’m human. I will make mistakes, but if I don’t take the time to learn from them, I will KEEP making those mistakes. What a torturous never ending circle! Make a point to have an open heart to loving critique (not criticism) and the world will be your oyster.
2012 is the year I keep my mind open to critique and even seek it out from mentors.
2. SOUTHERN FETE IS A BOUTIQUE STUDIO - I’m not a 10-person team with a 10,000 foot office space and a warehouse of rentals. And Southern Fete has no plans to be that. Sometimes growth can happen so quickly. Southern Fete was booked for all of 2012 for event planning three months before this year even started. Business 101 might try to convince me to hire a wedding planner or two. But the thing is I like small. I like being the one my brides interact with when they contact me. I LOVE what Jason Fried says in his book Rework “Small is not just a stepping-stone. Small is a great destination in itself.”
2012 is the year I realize my potential as a boutique studio and stick to my limits and focus on quality service for my brides.
3. IT’S ABOUT THE MARRIAGE – I’m in this business because I think marriage is one of the most incredible blessings you can experience and being a part of the start of that is a great honor. But sometimes it can feel like my job is just about the “stuff” involved in a wedding day. Reminding myself of the bigger purpose of why I do what I do keeps me refreshed and motivated.
2012 is the year I invest more in my bride’s relationships and ask more about why they love their fiance instead of just why they love their favorite color.
4. BRIDES AND VENDORS NEED TO WORK TOGETHER – When people find out I’m a wedding planner, one of the first things I hear are tragic wedding-related stories. It’s CRAZY the things that happen! I fortunately get to hear from both brides and vendors to get a balanced perspective. Florists don’t make a couple’s vision about themself. Remember you are working for a client. Do your best job and show how much you care and that they aren’t just a number. Brides don’t make ridiculous demands. Show your vendors you appreciate what they do. Just because you hand them money doesn’t allow you to treat them poorly. When brides and vendors love working together, the wedding day goes sooo much SMOOTHER!
2012 is the year I make it my mission to bridge the gap between vendors and brides. How can that start? Communicate with each other in a timely manner. Many times it’s as simple as that.
5. YOU HAVE TO PREPARE FOR GREATNESS – This past week, Tyler and I spent all day working on our dreams and goals for 2012. It was incredibly inspiring to have that solid of a time to plan the future! (Thank you to my lovely brides for being so patient during then!) On the last day of planning, I was sort of gripped with a fear that I had made such awesome goals but what if I never achieved them. Putting a plan into action is the hard part. That day I thought of the obstacles that normally stop me and put a plan into action of how to combat it. I wrote a ton while there too. Getting thoughts out of my head and onto paper helped me see things I didn’t even realize were holding me back.
2012 is the year I set myself up in the best position possible to actually achieve my goals.
6. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE – This year I reached what I thought was an impossible goal. I’ve doubled my gross each year the past three years I’ve been in business. This may mean nothing to most people but when I think of the statistic that most businesses fail in the first three years of business or even when I picture that brand new planner working three side jobs to make Southern Fete happen, I am so incredibly thankful for where God has taken me. He’s done this. Not me.
2012 is the year I make God-sized goals not limited by my own imagination.
7. WHAT I PUT INTO MY BODY AFFECTS ME – Tyler and I have studied so much this year about health and nutrition. It’s amazing the things you realize that can be cure/avoided with simple changes to your diet. Need a place to start? Read Clean by Alejandro Junger.
2012 is the year I put that knowledge into practice and cook clean meals and exercise often.
8. READING IS LIKE MAGIC – I’ll go into more detail about this very soon, but lately I have been amazed at how close we are to knowledge we don’t have. If you don’t know how to do something, take the time to read about it and then POOF!, now you know about it! Magic! ; )
2012 is the year I read at night instead of playing on facebook or watching TV.
9. TIME OFF MAKES ME A BETTER (INSERT JOB HERE) – In 2011, I learned a lot about balance and got pretty good at it. I rarely look at my email after hours and on weekends. At first, it was REALLY hard. I felt like I was not catering to my clients needs enough. Now I see it as my duty to protect that balance if I want to stay my best invitation designer or best wedding planner.
2012 is the year I continue to find balance.
10. I’M BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING – I don’t quite understand why God has blessed me the way He has. Sometimes I’m scared it’s too much. I’ve learned that blessings grow out exponentially. What I do with what I’ve been given can have major repercussions if I’m willing to get out of my safe little comfort zone and make a difference. And those people can bless others, and those people can bless others…
2012 is the year I take the blessings given to make and MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Today is not just another day. How will 2012 look for you?
Let’s get back to basics, shall we? The main goal when trying to plan your wedding day logistics, is checking things off your master list. When you first start planning, things may seem to multiply faster than you can check things off. I’ve got a few simple tips that will help to do that!
1. MAKE DECISIONS – I’ve said it before, when you meet with vendors, make decisions. The more time that lapses between that initial meeting and information gathering, the harder decisions seem to become and the harder it is for both parties to be completely on the same page as some details may become fuzzy on either end. Also, when you approach vendors with your original ideas or vision, in that meeting they can discuss with you if it will work or how it will work. If bride and groom come up with ideas a few weeks later they’d like instead (and have somewhat made their mind in having) when that information is shared with the vendor, there may be logistical issues that make it not so easy or even impossible. This always leads to more frustrations and steps to try to make it work. Making decisions face-to-face with the vendor that will be executing is ideal and will present the best results!
2. STOP LOOKING – The more you continue to look, the more ideas you may have, the less satisfied you will be with the original plan, the more you will worry things aren’t as good as they can be and so on. I have always told brides, it doesn’t matter if you plan for two years or three months, you will use the entire time. It’s like in school, whether you had two weeks or a semester to write paper you never finished until the last moment. Weddings are like that, too. If you can stop looking, you give yourself more of a chance of finishing up planning early.
3, KEEP A TIGHT PERIMETER – Have a few select people that are a part of the decision-making process. The more people that need to be consulted, the longer it takes to line things up. So and so is out of town for a week so you’ll have to wait till they get back to have their opinion. But it just so happens, opinion person 1 and opinion person 9 have the opposite tastes and will never find a common ground.
I know it’s so easy for some items to stay on our to-do list for MONTHS! I hope these tips help get you one step closer to your wedding day.
Today’s inspiration was our vision for Tara and Dustin’s wedding last weekend. Tara loves pink and all things girly but she wanted to add some elements to make it masculine as well for Dustin. We incorporated pink & gray, lace, natural wood and chevron. Enjoy!!
