Good things come in small packages

The month of December, New Years Eve and Valentines Day are the three most popular times for “popping the question.”

So to all who became engaged this month, or who anticipate setting a date within the next month or two, let me be the first to say… CONGRATULATIONS!!

It’s an exciting time, planning a wedding. It’s also full of stress and often overwhelming for the uninitiated.

Here are just a few of the many REAL questions potential clients call ART & SOUL Weddings and Events looking for answers to…

* How much is my wedding going to cost?
* How much do you guys charge to plan a wedding?
* I have a tight budget for the wedding. What are some things I can do to make my dollars stretch the farthest?
* What are the best sites for having an outdoor ceremony?
* Do you know of any Native American flutists who can play for my ceremony? How about a flamenco guitarist for the cocktail hour?
* Which photographer will give me the best value?
* I don’t need a wedding planner, I want to plan the wedding myself. Can you just help me find a place to have the reception that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?
* Do you plan weddings in Las Vegas?
* I want a small wedding at a private estate. Do you know of any gorgeous estates in Santa Fe where my fiancé and I can be married?
* How can I find the florist who will give me the biggest bang for my buck?
* The florist wants to charge me $250 for my bridal bouquet. How can flowers cost that much?
* Why does a “Day of” Wedding Coordinator cost so dang much, and is it worth it?!?

In the weeks to come, I’d like to address each of these queries and more. Feel free to email me with your own questions. Send your questions to cynthea(at)artandsoulevents.com

Merry Cakemas!

I received this joyful holiday greeting yesterday from the Cake Queen of Santa Fe, Maggie Faralla. Too perfect not to share with you!

Ms. Mags, as she calls herself, can be reached at 505-980-1416, for all you 2008 brides. Maggie is an artiste extraordinaire.

And to all visitors to ART & SOUL Weddings and Events, we thank you for your business in 2007. As always, it is a privilege to serve you. Happy Holidays and Safe Travels to ALL and MERRY CAKEMAS!!

Whose Wedding is it Anyway?!?

I have acquaintances in the wedding industry who have been the featured wedding planners on the series of nuptial dramas, "Whose Wedding is it Anyway?"-- Baltimore planner Linnyette Richardson, "Premier Event Management" and Mark Kingsdorf, owner of Philadelphia-based "The Queen of Hearts."

Both Linnyette and Mark have bemoaned the heavy editing that goes on and how often the wedding they planned and coordinated is so vastly different than the time-manipulated/drama-spun versions they eventually view on WWIIA.

Which leads me to today's topic: "You, Me and MTV: Shows Influence Event Clients"

The following is taken from a recent article of the same name in Special Events Magazine, © 2007 Penton Media Inc. http://specialevents.com/weddings/TV_shows_influence_event_clients/

Clients "absolutely" base their expectations for their event on TV shows, says Chicago's Frank Andonoplas, MBC, head of Frank Event Design. Particularly popular among his wedding clientele are the programs "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway," "Platinum Weddings," "Bridezillas" and "the one-timers like 'In Style Celebrity Weddings,' which appear once a year," he explains.

Sheldon Sloan, director of sales with South San Francisco-based Melons Catering, notes that even shows not directly based on special events can have influence. "'Dancing with the Stars' seems to have renewed interest in ballroom dancing," he says. "All things Hollywood are popular, from celebrity look-alikes to red carpets and so on." The bar and bat mitzvah market in particular goes for themes based on reality shows and hit movies, he says. Carolyn Arthurs, founder of All About Events with offices in New Orleans and Los Angeles, has appeared on the MTV phenomenon "My Super Sweet 16" and says, "I have noticed that the younger clients for bat mitzvahs, bar mitzvahs and Sweet 16s are often referencing what they've seen on the show."

How realistic is this?

The problem with the event-based shows in particular, planners agree, is they set unrealistic expectations about budgets. "Many do not show the price tag associated with the over-the-top" events, Andonoplas notes.

Another quarrel planners have with event-based reality shows in particular is how the editing distorts reality. "I have to let [clients] know that the order of certain things and the way that things are shot will affect their perception of the event," [Carolyn] Arthurs explains. "From being a part of MTV's reality show as well as working with another show on TLC, I know that what they say and what's really happening are drastically different."

On top of that, TV shows sometimes prove the adage that a little learning is a dangerous thing. "I blame [TV cook] Rachel Ray for teaching people to open cans and use pre-grated cheese--if you can call it cheese," grouses Lee Gregory, head of San Francisco-based McCall Catering. "I might blame the Food Network for creating a community of people who think they are food experts. But all they really do is watch other people cook."

Beyond that, though, Andonoplas says he doesn't find that the shows lead clients to make consistently outrageous requests. "If what [the clients] want is not affordable, not realistic for space, or just plain not going to happen in Chicago, I always try to find an alternative," he says.

Indeed, Andonoplas himself has his Tivo DVR "set for 'bride,' 'wedding' and 'weddings' so I can see what is out there," he says.

The one program several social planners say they would banish from the airways if they could: "Bridezillas," which documents the outbursts of bratty brides. "I hate that they show all that can go wrong in an event," Arthurs says. "That makes brides expect the worst and panic for no reason."

Your job must be so much FUN!!

Andonoplas' other pet peeve: TV shows that make the job of a planner look easy. "There was a series that died quickly, called the 'Wedding Belles,' about a team of three sisters who ran a one-stop ceremony/reception/we-can-do-it-all-from-catering-to-flowers-type facility," he says. "When they were not sleeping with the vendors and dealing with their own baggage, it was, again, completely unrealistic. They don't show how hard it really is to do what we do."

Finally, a legacy from planner shows that Andonoplas could do without: "The daily call I get--seriously--for someone wanting me to 'take them under my wing' and teach them how to do this because it looks like fun. They need to stop making this look like a glamour job. Again, editing!"

Note from Cynthea:

From this planner's point-of-view, programs like WWIIA are fun, but not realistic. And they're not particularly inspiring anymore. They used to be filled with ideas, like Mark's Pirate wedding. Now I'm seeing rehashing old ideas and spinning even more drama.

And please! Think twice before calling me and telling me your DREAAAAAAAAAAAM is to be a wedding planner, because it looks like so much fun. Even with the drama, the TV shows often portray wedding planners as spending the majority of their time picking out flowers, driving around in a brand new SUV and going to cake tastings. That's about 2 percent of my job (and I don't have a new SUV, BTW). The majority of my time is spent responding to email inquiries; writing proposals; trying to find an available site that is both charming AND affordable on short notice; hammering out budgets; paying bills; explaining to the bride who insists for her outdoor wedding that she doesn't need a tent as a back-up plan, that it DOES rain in New Mexico; putting out fires; straightening out messed up room reservations at lodging establishments and managing clients' expectations.

That's Reality-- not the TV shows!