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The Tacoma Wedding Collective

I am so excited to be immersing myself in the West Coast Wedding Community! For our first big bash we are hosting a Wedding Happy Hour with Heritage Distilling. This is a smaller sized show where you can meet some amazing vendors and actually have a real conversation with them, rather than going from booth to booth.  Check out this amazing vendor line up and buy tickets here!

The Tacoma Wedding Collective – A Wedding Happy Hour

Time: 2-5pm

Tickets: $5 General Admission

Location: The Tacoma Community Arts Center, 1102 S 11th St Tacoma, WA 98405

Lavender9125hOur Sponsors:

Hello Cupcake Tacoma 

The Tacoma Community Arts Center 

Heritage Distilling 

Krispy Kreme 

Our Vendor Team:TiffanyBurkePhotography12738

Campbell Events – Event Planning and Design

Ike and Tash – Motion Booth

Celebrity Cake Studios – Bakery

Thrifty Events – Event Planning

Markie Jones – Photography

SSeko Designs – Fashion

Eunligraphy by Clara Park – Calligraphy

Paper Luxe Studios – Stationery

 

 

 

 

9 Reasons to Hire a Planner

unknown-4“Do I really need and planner?” “What do planners do?” “Can’t I plan my own Wedding?”

I hear these questions all the time. I often have newly engaged couples at my table during trade shows with these same exact thoughts. Is it truly worth the investment?

The Wedding world can be complicated for newly engaged couples, and it is best to have someone there to walk you through it, or at minimal, someone to watch over things the day of the wedding. Here are just a few of the many reasons hiring a planner will make your engagement easier.

1. We have been there already… Literally

So you get that ring on your finger, start breaking out the excel sheets, and start googling venues. You type in “Rustic Brooklyn Wedding”. Next thing you know you are 20 websites in and still haven’t found something that matches your vision. Planners typically have already worked in the local venues, met with the owners, and know exactly which venue would fit your vision best. Because we have typically worked there before, we know the best way to light it, what kind of decorations work (or don’t), the best floorplan to design, and the quirks of each place. We also know the owners (or at least know their reputation) so that we can field any issues before you even book.

2. We have a network

One of my favorite parts about working in the Wedding Industry, is the strong sense of community that other wedding vendors have. Rising Tide Society penned the phrase #communityovercompetition, and that embodies the spirit of the industry. Most planners have a network of about 20 other planners that can give recommendations, last minute assistance, and advise on venues or vendors that we haven’t worked with ourselves. When you hire one planner you are really tapping into their whole network.

3. Your Auntie/Cousin/Friend really isn’t your planner

Your guests and family are there to love and support you. If they want to donate their time helping you make an amazing guest book, giving you a family heirloom, or helping you call up those late RSVPs than that is AMAZING! But they probably don’t have the experience to be your planner or even your Day of Coordinator. They should be there to help you or hold your hand, but dumping an entire wedding on someone who has never worked in the industry really isn’t a fair situation for anyone.

4. We can save you money

Planners are experts at finding deals, knowing the deals that are going around, or finding discounts. We are amazing barterers and can be sure that you aren’t getting ripped off.

5. Timelines

When you have made a timeline over and over again, you start to understand what works and what doesn’t. We can help you with your flow so that everyone gets to speak, eat, and still get an amazing dance party. Let us do our thing and get that party flow on.

6. We can see your Vision

Planners and Designers spend a large bulk of time researching trends, styles, and ideas. We love planning styled shoots and creating on our own time. Most planners have done many different styles of weddings. When planning a wedding we want to make it Uniquely YOU. Our visions can be brought out on our own time through side projects, editorials, or styled shoots, because when we are planning your wedding we want it to reflect the couple. We get energy from watching you see your dreams come to life. It is one of my favorite parts of planning!

7. You need someone fighting for you

When I was buying a house, I started looking around without a Realtor. After going to several showings, I quickly realized that we really needed someone that was fighting for our best interest. I knew nothing about buying a house and the realtors selling the houses that we were looking at were just trying to sell a house. They were fighting for their client’s best interest not ours. Chances are, this is your first time navigating the Wedding World.  The wedding industry is a sales oriented field. You will have people trying to sell you everything from personalized hangers to personalized tissue packets. You need someone to be sure you are getting the best deal, and prioritizing your funding correctly.

8. Your venue manager isn’t necessarily your planner

Venue Managers are great, and make my life much easier, but they aren’t necessarily your planner. Although they may volunteer to help you with some aspects of your day, they are there to be sure that their team is aligned and their ducks are in a row. They are salespeople as well, and need to be sure that your wedding is making enough money for their establishment. Sure, they may volunteer to assist you in lining up your Bridal Party but they won’t be able to give you the same personalized experience that a planner will.

9. Your Wedding Day should be enjoyed

I say this A LOT, but it is only because it is true. At the end of the day it won’t matter if you have 5 courses or 1, baby breath or succulents, or the most bomb dance party. What will matter is that you and your new partner are enjoying the first day of your new adventure. As corny as it sounds, your guests are going to be focusing on celebrating you. They will notice how you are interacting with each other and will feed off of your excitement. If you have to handle all of the “Day Of”details yourself, you won’t be able to truly enjoy the day the same way that you could if someone else were to be there running around for you.

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The next big Wedding Song is here…

Hey you guys! Can we please talk about how sweet Ed Sheehan’s new track, Perfect, is?!  Seriously, I think everyone is going to want to get married just to play this song as their first dance. Move over Thinking Out Loud, I am predicting that this song is played at every single one of our Weddings this year (and maybe even until 2035…).

Check it out below!

So you just got engaged…

So you got engaged over the winter?! Congratulations! You have updated your status, called all your friends, and posted a million photos, but now what? First things first, you need to decide if you want to get married as soon as possible, or line a few ducks up in a row before the big day.

1. Budget

This is a big one! This could determine if you are going to be getting married next year, or waiting awhile to save up. While everyone’s situation is different, it is important to be realistic about how your Wedding expectations fit in with your budget. The average city wedding will run well over $50,000. The average rural wedding is typically around $30,000.  If you are blessed enough to have family members that want to contribute to the budget this would be a good time to talk about it. You cannot start shopping for vendors, talking to your planner, or even deciding on your style of wedding before your budget it established.

2. Guest List

After you decide on the budget, you need to decide on how many people are going to be attending. It is important to be realistic about this as well. If you have a network of over 200 friends/family/coworkers, you probably won’t be having a 75 person wedding. If you have a smaller budget you may not be able to let everyone have a plus one, but it is important to keep in mind who may be expecting to come. Having a 200 person wedding on a $20,000 budget will be much more difficult that having a 50 person wedding on a $50000 budget.

3. Plan, Dream, Repeat

Now for the fun part! Once you are over all of the drama and stress of deciphering budgets and guest lists you are free to make your Pinterest boards come to life. This is also the best time to decide if you want to work with a Full Service planner. If you are in communication with your planner from the beginning things will go very smoothly.

and Enjoy the rush of Wedding planning!

Photo by OlliStudio

A Big Announcement!

I am thrilled to announce that we have won the Wedding Wire Couples Choice Award! Thank you to all of our amazing clients throughout 2015 and 2016. 2016 was a huge growth year for us. An additional thank you to my amazing team! I could not have done it without you! We look forward to meeting and serving more couples throughout 2017.



Campbell Events  Honored For Excellence With 2017 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award®
Brooklyn, NY – January 10th, 2017 – WeddingWire, the leading global online marketplace for the wedding and event industry, announced Campbell Events as a winner of the esteemed 2017 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards® for  Wedding Planning in the TriState Area!

The Couples’ Choice Awards recognize the top five percent of wedding professionals on WeddingWire who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness, and professionalism. The prestigious awards are given to the top local wedding professionals across more than 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their professional achievements from the previous year.

The WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards winners are determined solely based on reviews from real newlyweds and their experiences working with Campbell Events. Award-winning vendors are distinguished for the quality, quantity, consistency and timeliness of the reviews they have received from their past clients.

“The Couples’ Choice Awards’ ninth year features one of the most impressive groups of dedicated and acclaimed wedding professionals yet,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “It is our honor to work with high-caliber merchants, such as Campbell Events, who not only make a couple’s big day possible, but also contribute to the more than 2.5 million U.S. reviews represented on WeddingWire. We congratulate all of this year’s winners on their achievements.”

As a Couples’ Choice Awards® winner, Campbell Events is highlighted on WeddingWire, which is comprised of more than 200,000 wedding professionals in the U.S.

Campbell Events is thrilled to be one of the top Wedding Planners in New York on WeddingWire. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. We truly value all of our clients and appreciate the positive feedback that helped us earn a 2017 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award.

For more information about Campbell Events, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/campbell-events-brooklyn

To learn more about the WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards®, please visit http://www.weddingwire.com/couples-choice-awards.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire, Inc. is the leading global online marketplace connecting consumers with event and creative professionals. Operating within a $200 billion industry, WeddingWire, Inc. hosts 10 million monthly unique users across its mobile and web platforms. Consumers around the world are able to read over 3 million vendor reviews and search, compare and book from a database of over 400,000 businesses globally. It provides these businesses the technology they need to serve their clients through advertising, marketing and business management tools such as websites, payment processing, invoicing and contracts. Founded in 2007, the WeddingWire portfolio of sites serves couples and businesses across 15 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia, making it the worldwide leader in weddings with brands including Bodas.net, Casamentos.com.br, Matrimonio.com and more. The company employs more than 800 and maintains global headquarters in Washington, DC and international headquarters in Barcelona, Spain.

2016 Highlights

Thank you so much to all of our clients, photographers, caterers, venues, and other Friend-ors. 2017 holds some big adventures for our team, but in the meantime here’s a few of our favorites from 2016!

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6 Unique Holiday Parties

Happy Holidays, Peace on Earth, Merry Christmas… or whatever we’re supposed to say these days. Typically within the December month we are working on Corporate Holiday Parties or Staff Appreciation Luncheons, but for those of you that just want to grab a few friends and host a party, here are a few of my favorite low-key Holiday get togethers.
images.jpeg1. The Cookie Swap

Seriously, this is one of my favorite Holiday Traditions. To host a good Cookie Swap you really just need a bunch of friends that love cookies, some bottles of wine, and some good cheese. For an evening affair, host after dinner and provide light appetizers, such as dips or a cheese board, throw on some holiday music, pop open a few bottles of wine (or ten… you know your friends better than I do), and enjoy! Most of the time you end up just talking until the end when you remember you were supposed to be cookie swapping! The best part about this is, that you then end up with an assortment of up to 12-15 different cookies and a ton of new recipes to try.

 

2. The Ugly Sweater Party IMG_8130.jpg

This is always a fun one. Grab a few friends and break out those ugly christmas sweaters. Have some fun games and competitions, and don’t forget to have a competition for best sweater at the end of the night. A white Elephant swap typically goes well with this type of an event. I usually host around dinner time with heavy appetizers such as dips, crudite, canapés, and a few crock pot dishes. Start the evening with a cocktail for each guest as they enter the room, and have a wine and beer station set up throughout the night. Be sure to take lots of pictures! The sillier this gets the better.

 

IMG_8145.jpg3. A Gingerbread Party

This is a great one to do with several families. I typically host in the late morning so that any young children can participate as well. The idea of this one is for each guest to bring a component of the Gingerbread house. One family would provide the cookie pieces, others would bring the candy, the frosting, the boards, etc… Start the party by breaking into teams and setting your structure first thing. After your structures are complete, break for a Brunch and let your structure set. After Brunch, break into your teams and let the decorating contest begin! After the decorating has commenced, have some books and kids games to keep everyone occupied while the votes are places and tallied. Line them up and announce a winner! I mentioned that typically I like to do a brunch for this type of an event. Some brunch ideas are eggs benedict, a mimosa station, a waffle bar, fruit platters, and smoked salmon. The best part of this is that you have a beautiful (hopefully beautiful) cookie centerpiece to take home for your Christmas Table.

4. Dressed up to get Messed UpCHRISTMAS-NIGHTS-2015-dishes-stonegableblog-2.jpg

This is definitely an Adults only party. I always ask my guests to Dress Black Tie. I start the night off with Cocktails and Appetizers. Continue on the evening with a full DIY Bar stocked for your guests. I always do a coursed meal for this type of event. Salad to Start, a Roast or Duck as the Main course, and tarts or Creme Brûlée for Dessert. Be sure to have your table dressed to the nines as well (it makes for better photos). I also include a Yankee Swap at the end of this one. The Rowdier the Yankee Swap gets the better.

5. Festivus!

A Festivus for the rest of us! Seriously, this is a great party to throw. Throwing it on the 23rd is tricky because so many people are using that day to prepare for family plans, but talk with your friends to see what would be the most feasible. I do it up complete with a Festivus Pole! Be sure to have Seinfeld playing in the background!

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6. A Feast of Seven Fishes

A Christmas Eve tradition! If your family doesn’t have a Christmas Eve tradition this is a fun one to adopt. I usually set the table with “the night before christmas” poem and new Christmas Socks for each guest. We course out each of the Seven Fish Dishes. We always begin with Oysters and always End with Baccala. We fill the evening with more wine than we know what to do with and typically will not do a formal dessert. I usually get a plate of tarts or Italian cookies to finish off the meal. Afterwards we all give hugs and look forward to Christmas morning!

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7. A Twelfth Night Party

I will be honest. I know next to nothing about this Holiday. This made the list because a good friend of mine threw an amazing Twelfth Night Party a few years back and all I have wanted to do was relive it. This is said to be the day where the Wise Men brought their gifts to the baby Jesus (because they weren’t actually at the stable guys… duh!). This holiday is mainly A-Twelfth-Night-Party-at-Hanwell-Lunatic-Asylum-624x438.jpgEuropean. America seems to still be on a Christmas Hangover this time of year and can’t seem to stomach another Party. After ample Research about the 12th Night party I have come across a couple traditions. To start everyone must bring a gift wrapped in gold. This is like a grab bag type of drawing. No names are assigned. For the dinner make twelve healthy appetizers, since everyone is still trying to burn off those holiday calories. The dessert is the main attraction. Each guest is given a small piece of cake and whoever gets the dried bean becomes the King and Queen of Twelfth Night. Also, it is apparently mandatory to sing 12 Days of Christmas (of course)! Learn More Here.

“NY Hearts You”

IMG_3552_large.jpgWith the passing of Thanksgiving and the stress of Black Friday still lingering in the air, I wanted to point you in the direction of a very worthy cause. Although for many New Yorkers the holiday season is full of decorations, the tree, the Rockettes, Luxury Windows, ice skating, and family gatherings, many New Yorkers do not even have a place to call home.

Our Rising Tide friends, Lace and Scone, have started a movement called New York Hearts You. Which will be reaching out to the cold, hungry, and homeless New Yorkers this Christmas to bring them some holiday spirit. Please visit them here to learn more.

Party Like a Gilmore

 

 

While all of you were out shopping on Black Friday, my family and I were setting up a Gilmore Smorgasbord at 3 in the morning! That’s right, the premiere that we have been waiting a decade for came out last night and we were all over that. While I won’t reveal any spoilers, I’ll reminisce by going through some of the amazing, junk food and stunt filled parties premiered on the originals and how to host your own epic Gilmore Inspired Party.

  1. Don’t use the Letter E

886da781d7b70846ad3a6efd95ddf0aa-1.jpgIn season 5 of Gilmore Girls, Rory gets swooped away, blind folded, and brought to a secret soiree in the woods. She initially learned of the group by following a woman in a Gorilla Mask screaming the phrase ‘In Omnia Paratus’… from there the rest is History. Watch Season 5, Episode 7 to see the elaborate set ups, stunning stunt, and plan your Life and Death Party.

2. Raid the Cosmetics Store

We can all agree that the addition of April was pretty much the biggest buzz kill of season 6 right? But Lorelai goes beyond above and beyond by whipping together an amazing pre-teen party in season 6, Episode 20. After Luke bombs the birthday party, Lorelai gets the girls in order and has the raid the near by cosmetic store. After that, they get to bring the attendants back to the Diner with them to continue make overs. How cool is that?! So find some lip smackers and you can be a super cool party person too.

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3. Play 21 when you are turning 21

The Gilmore Girls had a pretty genius plan for Rory’s 21st. As we all know now, this had to be done on a do over and Rory ended up with a sushi filled pink drink 21st Birthday party. 2016-08-18-gilmore-girls01.jpgHey, at least they had chocolate boxes, which bring me to my next point…

4. Find some amazing chocolate boxes

These chocolate Boxes get brought up on several occasions, the Christmas party from season 1, Rory’s Birthday Party, and the Vow Renewal. These Boxes are a staple to Emily Gilmore’s party plans, and talk of them always leaves me always wanting a morsel.

5. Pick a Random Year and go for it… 

J Lo, Nelly, Usher, 40 Days and 40 Nights, Kim Possible… Yup thats right, it’s 2002! Now even though the whole Marty/Lucy/Olivia Drama was wack, this party idea was an awesome idea that came from that trio. In Season 7, Episode 9 the girls crew turns up “Hot In Here” and rocks a year that may not have gotten as much attention, because “Why not?!”

header__span.jpg6. Dance the Night Away

…Literally, the town hosts an annual Dance Marathon (it’s “annual” but how come we never see it again?) in Season 3, Episode 7. The event is to raise money for the town, and it apparently happens every year. The girls know exactly when people will get into a fight, who will drop out when, what stories taylor will tell, and what Kirk will do when he wins. This episode definitely goes down in the books as one of the greatest episodes ever, and is a game changer because of Dean finally having enough of Rory and Jess.

7. Learn To Roll SushiUnknown-2.jpeg

When Rory can’t go to Asia with Logan, Lorelai throws a picker upper party and transforms their living room into an asian wonderland. This includes Jackie Chan movies, a giant dragon, kimonos, the works… Sookie even teaches Lorelai to make wacky sushi rolls. Unfortunately, they get into a pretty crazy fight mid way through, but hey at least now she knows how to roll sushi?

8. The Bracebridge Dinnerthe-bracebridge-dinner.jpg.png

I wish I had the opportunity to transform my workplace into an amazing party for all of my friends. Because the regular Bracebridge Dinner Folk get snowed in, Lorelai invites the whole town in for an Era Specific dinner, complete with actors and amazing food by chef sookie. Paris, of course, notices the period inconsistencies, but if she didn’t she wouldn’t be our Paris.

6bf699858305d33ececa6ec8344ef966.jpgThis list could go on and on. There are so many amazing parties in this series. Who could forget the Felon Party, the Knit-A-Thon, the London Extravaganza, the Deviled Egg Filled green balloon baby Shower, the Lord of the Rings Party, The twin wedding, Logan’s million parties with-in a party, the bed rest baby shower, the fan dance at the coming out party, the Renaissance Wedding, Emily’s forced Bachelorette Party, The Quentin Tarantino Bash, The Epic House Party, The Giant Pizza party, Rory’s 2 Sweet Sixteens, the Vow Renewal, Zack and Lane’s Double wedding, the Bachelorette Party, and of course Luke’s final Bon Voyage. Now, we all would have loved to see Lorelai’s June 3rd Carousel Themed wedding, but who knows, maybe we will see it in the revival? So grab your Martini’s, Candy, Twinkies, Pop Tarts, Al’s Pancake Chineese Food, Pizza Poppers (and of Course Coffee) and enjoy Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.

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Five Amazing Thanksgiving Ideas

We are segwaying from weddings to day to talk about Thanksgiving! I love scouring Pinterest every year to find new ways to spice up the Thanksgiving Table. Fortunately for me, you don’t have to be a Rockefeller to make your table look nice. Here’s my 5 Favorite Table ideas for the year! Just don’t forget to leave room for the food!

  1. Pine Cones

Our first adorable idea is a Pine Coned themed. This inspiration comes from the Alive and Livin’ blog. Her adorable Pine Cone Placeholders will set the mood for any gathering small or large and is very cost effective!

pinecones.jpgPlacecard_Final-2.jpg

2. Individualized favor Bags

There are a few renditions of this table idea, allowing you to get creative or switch it up each year. The first is painted, burlap baggies as seen on The Night Owl Blog. This is a bit more time consuming but will leave each guest with a little something to take home with them.  Another option is to have each fork and knife in an individual Wrapping made from Kraft Paper. Check out these beautiful designs by Craftaholics.

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3. Paper Runners

Trust me, I am just as sick as you are of Butcher Paper Runners, but for this one time i will make an exception. You can get incredibly creative with these and it gives the kids something fun to do! Check out this adorable idea from Dawn Nicole.

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4. Fruit!

This is by far one of my favorite ideas. you can never go wrong with a small orange or pear at each place setting. Plus, it is dual purpose. You can eat it in the end! Check out Anthology Co and budget decorating for more cute ideas.

5d280c17032fc1479747933280d38fe0.jpgb29bf4fdaa51aab2bd6c0a320813b015.jpgholiday-inspired-dinner-party-17.jpg

5. Pumpkins

No one will ever complain with a small personalized pumpkin at their place setting (say that ten times fast). Check out these adorable designs at Oh My Creative.

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If you are feeling extra ambitious, here is a little extra inspiration, just for fun!

Happy Thanksgiving
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