Dishy Events » st. louis event planner

Do What You Love

Ashley — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:20:25 +0000

And now for some deep thoughts, brought on by some recent life activity. To sum it up…I realize that with each wedding I work, each vendor I connect with and as I continue to build these amazingÂ relationships, this is the life I love! Making someone’s day unforgettable and special is what it’s all about for me! And as with anything you do in life, you should always do what you love and what makes you most happy! Don’t settle for less, especially not for any longer than you absolutely have to! Same goes for love and weddings!

So how does this apply to weddings you ask? Well, actually I say – how DOESN’T this apply to weddings?!? When you’re planning your wedding or even if you hire someone else to plan your wedding, remember to always follow your heart. If you’re not in love with the burnt orange, speak up! If you’d rather have calla lilies instead of roses, you better let it be known! If you want to include some LED place cards, then make it happen! (Sorry had to throw that one in there, I think I’m obsessed)

Most weddings come once in a lifetime, so make your wedding something that you love, even if that means disappointing your mom by not wearing a bright white gown or including a unity candle at the ceremony. Decide what’s most important and right for you and make it happen! In the end, everyone will understand that your wedding day is just that, YOURS!

So there you have it, my feelings for the night! I’m looking forward to a fabulous (and not too hot) wedding weekend coming up! What could be more fun than the St. Louis Zoo and animal noses, right?!? Not much, I’d say!

Happy Labor Day everyone! Cheers!

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The St. Louis Wedding Planner

Ashley — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:34:06 +0000

To all my fellow St. Louisans, the St. Louis Wedding Planner is coming soon! It’s my new web site and it should be here by mid- July (at least that’s the plan)! In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s called the St. Louis Wedding Planner and my hope is that it will be an amazing resource for all of the brides and grooms in St. Louis Metro area looking to plan the wedding of your dreams!

The St. Louis Wedding Planner is a web site dedicated to helping brides and grooms learn more about all of the fabulous wedding ceremony and reception venues in the St. Louis area. By conducting in-person interviews and walk-throughs myself, I hope to give brides and grooms information that is more than valuable in helping them select their wedding ceremony and reception locations! And I’ll be categorizing each venue by St. Louis neighborhood for all of you interested in a particular area of the city!

Last week, I started with An American Place, which is located right in the heart of downtown on Washington Avenue in the Renaissance Grand Hotel! I was fortunate enough to get a personal walk-through of the space as well as a run down of pricing, what’s included in the reception package as well as some other fun details (and pics) which I’ll be sharing on the site! Be looking for all the goods come July! And thanks to Katie at An American Place for being my guinea pig!

If you’re interested in having your venue featured on the St. Louis Wedding Planner, please contact me directly! I promise it’ll be a painless visit!

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Planning Your Wedding is Like Running Two Miles

Ashley — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 02:42:19 +0000

I know, I know! You were probably expecting me to say something more along the lines of “planning your wedding is like running a marathon!” Well, you’re right. And if I could RUN a marathon that’s exactly what I’d compare it to. HOWEVER, right now I can run two miles (especially when there’s a 100 degree heat index outside). So yeah, for now you get the “two mile” analogy – planning a wedding is like running two miles. It takes a lot of stamina to keep you going and a lot of drive to complete it!

Everyone knows there is a lot that goes into planning a wedding, but sometimes, people forget just exactly HOW much there really is! That’s why it takes a good training strategy to make your wedding a success, and well to make it enjoyable!

Drink lots of water. In some instances, you might substitute the water for a martini or glass of wine (or two), and there will be no judgment on my end! And in this case, it may just be a necessary evil to help you maintain your sanity! But please drink responsibly!
Walk every now and then. You don’t always have to sprint to get to the finish line! After you’ve got your big stuff knocked out, i.e. the venues, photographers and florists, take a break and start to space things out until you get it all done.
Get lots of rest. This is especially true leading up to your big day. There is no need to add to the stress of a wedding due to lack of sleep. Nobody wants a cranky bride, and nobody wants to be a cranky bride. Last time I checked, weddings were meant to be fun! And sleep can only make you feel and look your best for the big day!
Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Sometimes planning a wedding is easier when you have someone on hand to help. Your mom or best friend would be good options, but absolutely NOT for the day-of! And when all else fails, we’ve got these handy things we like to call planners waiting around to be at your beckon call!

How’s that for an analogy at 9:30 on a Monday night?!? In short, keep it simple when you can, don’t overexert yourself and as always remember to HAVE FUN! It’s about celebrating your love and your future, don’t ever forget it! Just ease your way into the marathon!

Happy running! Cheers!

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Building a Wedding Plan

Ashley — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 02:20:10 +0000

Coming from my project management background, of course I would think that having a wedding plan is a definite must for your wedding day planning process. Why you ask? Because it’s an easy way to keep track of all the tasks you need to complete for your wedding day and the time frame in which you hope to complete them. I know it seems completely lame and maybe even a little redundant, but it really can help!

If you’re like me, when you have a busy day, week or even month coming up, I make a task list of every detail I need to accomplish. And I LOVE my lists, it’s quite a weird obsession actually!

If you’re up for the challenge of creating your own wedding plan, here are some suggestions of what you might want to include:

All the vendors you plan on booking or items you plan on purchasing for the big day.
An estimated time line in which you hope to book each vendor or purchase an item.
All of the minor tasks you don’t want to forget about as you get closer to the big day (i.e. ordering lunch or snacks to keep your energy up).
A handy dandy column to put a check mark in as you complete a task!
Fun colors to keep you entertained throughout the entire process!

Alright, so now that I’ve dorked out for a bit there, I want to go back to the value of having a plan in place. Just like anything you do in life, the more prepared you are, the less stressed you will be and the better the outcome in the end. I’m a firm believer that planning ALWAYS pays off! I’ve witnessed it many times over! And if all else fails, hit up The Knot’s online planning tools!

So get those spreadsheets ready and get to work! Happy planning! Cheers!

And be on the lookout later this week for a recap of Wednesday’s Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis launch party! It’s going to be a fabulous time for a great cause…and there will be lots of fun pics to share! I can’t wait myself!

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Wedding Receptions: Think Outside the Box

Ashley — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:15:56 +0000

Just because you been to dozens (if not hundreds) of weddings in your life, doesn’t mean your reception has to happen in the exact same way as every wedding reception you’ve ever seen! Sometimes it’s fun to think outside the box and change the order of events and surprise people! It keeps everyone on their toes, not to mention it usually means more dancing and more good times all around!

If you’re looking to change a few things up on your wedding reception, consider some of these ideas. P.S. Several of them I heard via the infamous Ali Phillips from Engaging Events by Ali, based out of Chicago, Illinois! She’s an outside-the-box thinker for sure!

And away we go…

Rearrange the dances and dance in between courses!
Cut the cake as soon as you walk into the reception! Everyone’s eyes are already on you!
Have your first dance as soon as you walk into the reception!
Setup a cool lighting scheme, or pattern, and have it show on the dance floor!
Do the bouquet toss before the reception! At the church maybe?
Sit at your own table! Your wedding party will thank you (they can site with their dates)!
Have food stations! It’ll keep everyone moving around and trying different things!
Setup a lounge area with cigars and a martini or vodka bar!
Hire a clown or magician to entertain the kiddies!

Okay, okay I guess I’ll stop it there! The list really could go on and on with new and different ideas. However, the general rule here is “It’s your wedding day, so you make the order of events and you’re allowed to do what you want!” Don’t be worried about confusing the heck out of people with your unique ideas! Maybe they’ll just take that time while their head is still spinning to do a few spins on the dance floor as well!

Remember to think outside of the box, make it your own and certainly make it an event no one will soon forget! Oh and remember to make sure your venue will allow it!

Happy planning! Cheers!

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Wish Upon a Wedding St. Louis Launch Party

Ashley — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 02:27:33 +0000

It’s almost time! June 16th is the Wish Upon a Wedding official Launch Party in St. Louis, Missouri! The board and committee members have been working their tails off to put on a great celebration for the organization in our town and we hope you can make it! The Launch Party theme is Caribbean Chic and the location is Lumen Private Event Space, so you know you’re in for a treat! We’ll have complimentary grill stations from some of St. Louis’ finest caterers and island cocktails that will cool you off for the summer, so you won’t want to miss out!

If you haven’t been to Lumen yet, now is the time to check it out! For some great pics, see below.

Photos taken from Lumen Private Event Space web site.

We have an “A-List” cast of vendors that have been enough to donate their time and services to the Launch Party and we couldn’t be more grateful to them! Check out some of the great vendors below. Note: this is not a complete list.

If you’re interested in attending, simply register online at Event Brite! And you better hurry because registration ends on June 9th – that’s this coming Wednesday! Admittance without an RSVP will only be available if there is space and you must be 21 to attend!

So grab your Tommy Bahama shirts and get in the Caribbean mood! We’ll see you there!

If you’re interested in supporting Wish Upon a Wedding, check out the many ways you can help online!

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To See or Not to See Before the Wedding

Ashley — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 02:44:47 +0000

It’s an age old question…literally. Remember that guy named William Shakespeare? I swear I think he started it all with his to be or not to be. Choosing whether or not to see your bride or groom before your wedding ceremony is a personal decision each couple must make for themselves. There are many reasons to support either option and no one reason is right or wrong, just your own! So never let anyone make you feel different! It’s all about what is most important to you and whether or not you like to stick to tradition.

If you’re absolutely distraught over what to do for your big day, I’ve come up with some benefits to consider for each choice, so take some time and think it over!

TO SEE BEFORE THE WEDDING

You have a chance to get out all of the nervousness (kind of).
You have some alone time to enjoy each other before all of the guests see.
You allow yourself some extra time for some very special pictures.

TO NOT SEE BEFORE THE WEDDING

It’s a tradition in for most people, and a fun one at that!
He makes that “oh my gosh, I get to marry her” face when you walk down the isle.
It allows all of your friends and family to share in that special first moment.

These are just a few ideas to think about before making the big decision on your own. Of course there are always multiple sides to the story and various feelings involved. Just remember to do what’s best for you and your husband-to-be! If that means setting aside some private time for some lovey-dovey, kissy-kissy stuff before the wedding, then do it! If it means completely and utterly blowing him away when he sees you down the isle for the first time, then do that!

Like I said, no one way is right or wrong! Pick your preference and make it happen! Also, be sure to have a great wedding planner on hand to help ensure the choice you make actually happens the way you want!

Happy wedding day planning! Cheers!

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A 40th Birthday in St. Louis!

Ashley — Fri, 28 May 2010 01:09:09 +0000

This past Saturday, Dishy Events was lucky enough to be a part of Jeff Bast’s 40th birthday celebration which took place in Granite City, IL. The party was put together by his lovely girlfriend, Tyra Saunders, and she was amazing as Dishy’s first birthday party client! We were able to help Tyra select a venue as and a few other vendors. And I must say, overall it was a great success!

Unfortunately during the always important picture taking process for the party, I learned a very valuable lesson, one every event or wedding planner should know – don’t drop your camera while trying to take pictures of your work! Duly noted to not fumble and drop my camera in the future! I missed out on some fun pics to share!

Nonetheless, I was able to salvage one great photo of Jeff’s Over the Hill cake put together by SugarBritches Cakery, a great new cake maker located right here in St. Louis. I think Shannon did a great job and I can’t wait to work with her again in the future. She’s anal about her work just like me, and that’s one of the things I love about her!

In case you can’t read the note on the cake, it says “To whom it may concern, I will be out of my office on 5/22/10 at Jeff’s 40th Birthday Party!” - G. Reaper

Love it! Two thumbs up for SugarBritches!

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