Do Me a Favor: Simple Take Home Treats for Your Guests

By definition, a party favor is a gift, something small and inexpensive given to a guest attending a party. It's a simple "Thank You" for spending time with us! A token of appreciation. Let's face it. We all love to go home with a little something after an event. So I decided to put together these simple party favors shown below. I wanted to make a little "THANK YOU" for all my sisters at church for our monthly fellowship. I had all these supplies on hand at home which really worked out because I not only saved a few dollars, but I also saved some time. These green and white marshmallows are super cute and they taste sooo good! I had the little gift bags on hand from another event and I felt the yellow ribbon was a nice complimenting color. Aren't they cute?

Let this be a reminder that you can save odds and ends from other projects and events. If something is perishable off course you need to use it within the date specified on the package by the maker, but you can always mix things up and create something new. That's one of the perks of entertaining. So next time you want to say "THANK YOU" for spending time with me to your guests take a look in your pantry and craft supplies before running out to get something new. You just might have what you need on hand. Until next time..... Eventfully yours, Jennifer

What is a Wedding Planner?

Twenty years ago I was planning my own wedding. I was 21 years old, excited to be getting married to the man I love and I had all the support, help and assistance of my family and friends. My maid of honor made an appointment for me to meet with a wedding planner. With her fee she assured me that she would handle everything I needed on the day of my wedding. She was professional, knowledgeable in all things wedding and promised to keep me on track. One of our friend's mom planned annual Jazz Festivals and volunteered to be our planner on the day of our wedding so I jumped at the idea of having a wedding planner on my special day and saving some $$$$. I planned on having everything in order. Little did I know that working full time, going to school and planning a wedding were all full time jobs and one task if not all would suffer because I could not give it 100% and no matter what, time stops for NO ONE! So on our wedding day as I traveled to our ceremony site dressed in my wedding dress I had no idea, didn't even think about our marriage license. When I saw the minister he asked for the wedding certificate. With an awkward look on my face, I could not even respond. We purchased our wedding license months ago and I didn't even remember where I stuck it. I was quickly told if we did not have it we would not be married. Our wedding planner for the day promised the Pastor if he started the service she would be back with the certificate by the time the ceremony ended. She later told us she walked in the house, prayed and asked God to guide her and she went right to the desk drawer and found it! God is so good because I didn't even remember putting it there. My point in sharing my personal story........ * A wedding planner is a professional that is trained, knowledgeable and seasoned in their craft. We know what to do when the inevitable happens and we are quick on our feet * A wedding planner is a consultant that will advise you of all things wedding and of those things that you may not have thought of prior to your wedding day. We are logistics specialist * A wedding planner has already walked through the event before it happens. We don't give you a list of events that will happen first, second or third as some DJ's give as a guide, we live the event before it happens so we plan accordingly! * A wedding planner works with you before the "DAY OF" your wedding. There is no such thing as "DAY of Wedding Services". A professional needs to call all your vendors before your wedding day, read your vendor contracts so they know what is promised to you and visit your venue before the actual wedding day. We are planners! * A wedding planner will need to make list of family and wedding party members and anyone else on program that is involved in your wedding day with contact numbers in case someone is missing or needs to be reached on the wedding day. We have to be informed of ALL Things! * A wedding planner will need to compile a list of all supplies, favors, items needed for your wedding day and get those items from you prior to the wedding day so everything is set up and ready to go on time. We take and keep inventory! * A wedding planner will create a timeline for you, your vendors and those involved in your special day to follow so everyone is on the same page. We create a cohesive event that keeps everyone on one accord for you! On my wedding day I had someone to handle a very important task for me, but if I had a wedding professional she would have had my marriage license in the proper hands prior to my arrival. The list above is just a standard account of what a wedding professional provides for their client. We do what ever is needed to make your special day run sooth. This entails so much more than we can ever list. We dress brides, comfort small children, resolve conflict and manage everyone on our clients behave. And we love our jobs! Just like any other professional consultant we are experts in our field. So as you research wedding professionals for your special day, don't compare prices, compare the experience, education and knowledge of your potential wedding professional. Make sure you like them as a person because you spend a lot of time with them. If you are looking services such as event design and styling those are extra line items that we will discuss in future blog post. If you have any questions or comments on this post feel free to them below. Eventfully yours, Jennifer Photo Courtesy of Dino Mosley Photography

Are you Being Social on Social Media?

I love browsing through my social media accounts daily. I enjoy checking out what everyone is doing, where they've been and finding out new things, but I'm not always active in social media. At times it can be overwhelming because there are so may different type of sites that serve different purposes for a business owner. We have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, blogs, and the list goes on. So how do you go about posting to all the sites? Instagram is my absolute FAVORITE social outlet with Pinterest as a close second. I love looking through all the photos, learning what's new, seeing the latest wedding dress and what those I'm following are talking about on their blogs. So, what's holding me back from posting? Nothing at all. I'm getting like Nike and I'm just going to do it from this day forward. Even if it's only a few words I share with the world I'm going to get active in the social media world and not just be an onlooker. With that being said, I updated my Event Designer">Thumbtack account today. I didn't even remember I had an account established. I thought I was doing something new! A Colleague/Friend of mine sent out a request to his address book asking all those that have worked with him to comment on his services. What a great idea to get those comments going! I like that Thumbtack has a variety of resources available for all kinds of things from the event industry to house cleaning. So we'll see how this goes. I also learned that creating a social media schedule and using tools like Hootsuite are a great help in managing and establishing all your social media outlets to increase your social presence on the internet. Yes, this can be very time consuming, but in this day and age of the internet we have to do it! Whether we use social media for personal reasons or for business purposes it is a way of life. Let me know how you do it. I want to hear about your success and your challenges. We can help each other from our personal experiences. Eventfully your's, Jennifer

Celebrate Everything Until Further Notice!

Happy Monday ALL! I hope you had a fabulous weekend, because we sure did. It's almost time for the kids to return to school so we have been trying to cram any and all family activities in that we can. Tuesday the Hubby and I surprised the kids and caught the metro train to see the Los Angeles Angels take on the Philadelphia Phillies. We had such a great time. The Angel's sure know how to keep a crowd entertained.

As an event planner we are always planning for the future, looking ahead and working on celebrations and great times for our clients, but we have to remember to create those times for ourselves and our family. Friday night we headed to Dodger Stadium to check out our beloved Dodgers vs Milwaukee Brewers. Our Dodgers lost, but it was a great game that ended with a Star Wars Firework Extravganza! So much FUN!

With the offical football season around the corner, we ended our weekend with a Fantasy Football Draft Day Party! Oh what laughs we had. I'm excited about what this season will bring with trades, rookie breakout seasons, trash talking and fun competition between the teams. Hosting the Fantasy Football Draft Party gave me the opportunity to create a fun, creative Football Field for our kitchen island where we displayed our Nacho Bar. I will have this DIY Craft on the blog this week.

So don't let the summer pass you by without celebrating you and your family! Labor Day is coming up on Monday, September 1st and Grandparents Day is that following Sunday, September 7th, but remember you never need a reason to celebrate! You and those you care about are reason enough to throw a party. So Celebrate Everything Until Further Notice! Eventfully your's, Jennifer

Time Waits for No One!

It seems like we just shouted, "Happy New Year!" but it's time to say good by to summer, hello to a new school year, and "Welcome" to a new winter. Time waits for no one and it moves faster than the speed of light. 2014 has been a great year so far. I've learned to take better pictures. (Yes, I receive photo credit for the photo above. I fell in love with , became obsessed with and learned that it's never too late to learn something you always wanted to do. So look for me to bring you more from my life, more from The Heart of a Coordinator! Eventfully your's, Jennifer