Written By: Chloe Lemkie, Day of Coordinator
This was such a great day!
This beautiful day started out with the brides and bridesmaids getting to Ivy House at 9 a.m. to start getting ready. When they arrived, I helped to unload the car and then set all the items that they brought in. One of the great things about choosing Day of Coordinator is that you are able to drop all your items off in the reception space for the coordinator to set up! This allowed the Bride and Groom, as well as their families and friends, to not have to worry about set-up and just enjoy their day!
Sophie & Ben brought their own decor, which I set up for them, which included a custom neon sign! Neon signs are a popular item that adds a ton of fun to weddings. Sophie and Ben chose to rent Ivy House’s Greenery Walls and add a neon sign with their last name as a photo backdrop for their guests!
After everyone was ready and bridal party photos had been taken it was time for the ceremony. I got the bridal party ready and lined up, communicated with the DJ, and photographer so that everyone was ready! Since I was the Day of Coordinator, I made sure that the timing was correct, and that everyone walked down the aisle properly! One of the things I remember most about this wedding was how they managed to have such a sweet and meaningful ceremony quicker than any other ceremony I had coordinated before! Just because ceremonies are short or happen quickly - doesn’t mean that they are any less meaningful!
But let me tell you they had one of the fastest ceremonies that I have seen, but it was still so sweet and meaningful. Something to remember is that just because it is quick doesn’t mean it has any less meaning.
After Sophie & Ben had officially tied the knot, they moved onto family photos and remaining bridal party photos. Then it is time to PARTY! One of the biggest things that makes a party is a good DJ! And Sophie and Ben had an amazing one. Tyler from Bee Entertainment did such a great job of interacting with guests, getting the crowd on their feet and voicing the event! There are so many DJs out there, but it's important to spend the time to find the one that fits you and your crowd.
A super fun thing that a lot of my Ivy House couples do is have a late-night snack! They usually are set up about an hour and a half before the bar closes. Late Night Snack allows guests to get something in their stomachs after all of the dancing and drinking! Sophie and Ben choose to have a hotdog & popcorn bar! It had all the fixings and tasted AMAZING!
Sophie and Ben wanted to do a send-off at the end of the night! This gave them the perfect opportunity to do a private dance! The private dance gives couples one last moment to soak it all in, just the two of them. I moved all of the guests outside and started coordinating the send-off, which involved moving everyone into place and getting all of the sparklers lit!
The couple chose to have their send-off two hours before the bar closed! This was great for the guests who didn’t want to miss anything but didn’t plan on staying the entire night! Afterwards, people could go home or guests could continue to party and celebrate the couple!
WOW! This was such a great day for two great people. By having me coordinate the wedding day, they were able to relax and enjoy all the little moments while I was there dealing with the details. Having a Day of Coordinator helps to alleviate stress as well as allow you and your family to enjoy the day! I was there every step of the way to make sure details were set as well as handle any problems that came about.
Even when we spend 6 months planning, things can still happen on the day of the event! On Sophie & Ben’s wedding day they had a vision of the circle arbor behind their head table with drapery hung on it! On the day of I started putting this together - and immediately realized we had a slight issue!
They wanted this beautiful drapery hung on it but let me tell you this was not easy. Had they not chosen to do in-house coordination it may not have been hung. Since I was apart of the venue, I have access to things that outside coordinators do not and I was easily able to address the issue with the tools I had on site and with the help of my team! This is a MAJOR benefit for our couples.
So, when you are booking your wedding, really think about something as simple as hanging an item. Would you want someone who has never hung drapery or someone who learns a new way to do it (almost) every weekend and has the tools to get it done!?