Why Should I Hire a Wedding Planner?

Many brides love the prospect of event planning. The organization, the preparation, the overflowing to-do lists. In fact, the DIY trend has actually trapped a lot of brides into thinking that they could (or should) handle every detail of their wedding day on their own.

But brides also know that planning a wedding is no small task.

This is where a professional wedding planner steps in. They pick up those lists, work out those itineraries. They can help you with as much or as little as you need. In addition to working within your resources, a planner will save you time, evergy, and a lot of unneeded stress.

There's a great Huffington Post article that highlights a lot of great reasons why. It even explains some of the mishaps that can occur when there is no designated wedding planner. I was even able to expand on a few of these reasons myself.

Detail Execution.
While brides spend a great deal of time and resources choosing vendors and venues, the execution of these details might be pawned off to friends and family on the day of the wedding. A coordinator orchestrates everything so that the bride can enjoy her wedding day, and family can enjoy the wedding as guests. 

Communication Guru.
In the weeks leading up to the wedding, a planner can remain in contact with the bride's vendors. As a communication mediator, a planner can confirm arrival and set-up times, coordinate catering and transportation, and produce an overall itinerary for the wedding day.

Budget Planner.

Wedding planners work within budgets every single day, and will know exactly what will work within yours. And, in many cases, can work out a discount with some of their vendors. And because a wedding planner knows what works and what doesn't in terms of budget, hiring a knowledgable wedding planner can actually save money in the long run.  

Photo by Martha Stewart Weddings

Inspiration.
A good wedding planner loves to inspire. For brides who want help with a vision for their wedding, planners can create suggestions for decor and style. In many cases, they can help choose fun and creative details, from chalkboard menus to photobooths.

Knowledge Base.
Wedding planners can avoid problems before they begin. Because of their experience, planners can make excellent referrals concerning vendors and suppliers, DJs, videographers, photographers, rental companies, and more. For brides who are unfamiliar with the wedding industry, a wedding planner can be a trusted resource.

Yes, I love to plan. But I also feel that a wedding day is something to be enjoyed by the bride and her family rather than spent pouring over budgets, lists and last-minute tasks. Hiring a professional wedding planner is definitely a worthwhile investment.

Real Indianapolis Polish Wedding at the Latvian Community Center

When I found out that Lindsay and Sebastian were implementing many of Polish Wedding Traditions from Sebastian's heritage, I was beyond excited. I enjoyed learning about the Salt and Bread Toast, the Sto-Lat Toast, and the Oczepiny Ceremony. But, my favorite part of all the Polish Wedding Traditions was the PARTY! Polish weddings generally last until 3 or 4 am the following day (and this one did). Polish weddings also have more food than I have ever seen at a wedding. Allow me to ellaborate: Guests were greated at the cocktail hour with an ample amount of hour d'ouvers. This was followed by a toast with a shot of vodka. Next came the main meal. Then, a desert course where guests chose from numerous cakes and tortes. Later, the wedding cake was cut and offered to the guests. Finally around midnight, the second meal (with all traditional Polish dishes) was brought out for the guests. I'm full just thinking about it!

Enough about the food. How about some photos? Jessika Feltz did an outstanding job capturing the day. Enjoy!

Megan of Thistle and Moss rocked the flowers!

This cake was AMAZING! Kuddos to Heavenly Sweets!

Who could better to make to get the party started and keep the dance floor full than the The Flying Toasters???

Indianapolis Wedding Professionals who made the day possible:

Photography: Jessika Feltz Photography

Wedding Coordination and Event Design: April Foster Events

Ceremony Venue: Our Lady of Lourdes

Reception Venue: Latvian Community Center

Catering: MBP Catering

Make Up: Faces By KLM

Hair: Jenifer Hand

Flowers: Thistle and Moss

DJ: Main Event DJs

Band: The Flying Toasters

Wedding Cake Baker: Heavenly Sweets

It was truly a pleasure getting to know you and your families, Lindsay and Sebastian. I wish you all the best!

Recent Press for April Foster Events

Can you believe it is already June? We have been busy getting our brides and grooms down the aisle and making the sad goodbyes to them and their amazing families. In the mean time, I am trying to patiently wait for their respective photographers to blog photos so I can share them with you. But, until then, I'm excited to share that we received some press last week from a couple different places.

Calligraphy by Jennifer featured our black and white striped wedding tablescape on her blog. In case you are just quickly browsing through this post looking for photos, here is a reminder of what that tablescape looked like:

We were also inverviewed for North Magazine and part of that interview appeared in their June/July Issue. You can find us on pages 43 and 50 in The Wedding Planner section of North Magazine. I can't figure out how to get a screen shot, so I guess you will just have to go visit the magazine online. :)

Art of the Table, Wish Upon A Wedding, a Half-Marathon, and Green Monsters

(Warning: Long post, but worth the read) :)

It's hard to believe that it has been a little over 45 days since I last checked in on the blog! 

After the last post I wrote, I decided I needed to take some time to reflect about the direction that I want to take things with those blog. It seems that every day a new blog pops up with inspiration "this" and featured wedding (designed by someone else) "that". While I want my blog to provide information and inspiration that will help brides plan their weddings, I don't want my blog to be like most of these blogs that have a national audience. [Please don't get me wrong, I LOVE and read most of these aforementioned blogs daily. I have even submitted some of my work to them.]

What does this mean for the April Foster Events Blog? From this point forward, the blog will be much more focused. Because April Foster Events is based in Central Indiana and 90% of our clients' events are in Central Indiana, the events, information, and inspiration will be relevant and specific to Indiana. Additionally, instead of posting 5 blog posts one week and 1 blog post the next, it will be my goal to consistently post 3 blog posts every week.

So, that's that!

Now, for the blog's title. We have been busy over the past 45 days and I want to share some of the highlights with you.

On March 6th, we participated in our first ever Art of the Table event. We chose to showcase a Stlylish Black and White striped Reception table. Below is a little sneak peak of our table. You will be able to see more pictures on another website soon!

Black and White Striped Wedding Reception Table - Photograph by Nathaniel Edmunds Photography

April 7th was a day that I will never forget. Indianapolis's Wish Upon A Wedding Chapter granted their first wish and we had the honor of planning the wedding. You can read all about the wedding on the Wish Upon a Wedding Blog. Please take a moment and visit the How to Help page to get involved with this amazing orgainzation!

Wish Upon a Wedding at the Eitlejorg Museum - Photographs by Jessica Strickland Photography

On a personal note, I will be running my first ever race - the Indianapolis Mini Marathon - on Saturday, May 7th. I'm excited and nervous, but ready to run!

The Green Monsters thing was more or less to get your attention, but there is a little more meaning. Recently, I started drinking these smoothies called Green Monsters. They are supposed to improve your health on a number of levels. While they taste really great, the verdict is still on the results.

Closing thoughts: I think this blog post is long enough. I won't bore you with any. :)

Easy, Different, and Beautiful DIY Table Runner

Remember the website that I couldn’t read, but had the great tangerine and print wedding inspiration? Today’s post is from Dom in Stil again, and features this easy to recreate DIY table runner. All you need is a roll of black paper (you can find this at a teacher’s supply store) and white crayons. I think it is beautiful and romantic, especially when pared with candlelight.