DOC Details: pliers & bobby pins

So, I'm not sure if this "DOC Details" post is going to be the first of a series of future posts, but it definitely could be! Every time I get asked what my job as a wedding coordinator entails, I can always talk about things like the creation of a timeline, vendor recommendations, coordinating all of the moving pieces on the wedding day, etc. But, I always think that one of the most important parts of coordinating a wedding is how the moments that cannot be predicted are handled.

I could probably do a whole post about one tented wedding where there wasn't enough ice at the bar and there was still an hour left of dancing/partying to go, so I drove around a really small town looking for ice and every place I went to was either closed or ran out of ice already because it was a hot summer day. Long story short.. after I thought all hope was lost of finding ice anywhere, I happened to drive by a restaurant that was open at 10pm with a big ice chest on the sidewalk (it literally said ICE on it in huge letters), and I was able to get the 12 bags that I needed. It was like DOC fate =) But now, you already got the short story, so let's talk about pliers & bobby pins instead.

Pliers & bobby pins?? Well, bobby pins always were part of my day-of emergency kit, but after a wedding last summer, pliers will always be with me as well. Just last Friday, I did a photo recap of Rachel and Steve's wedding here. In addition to the typical DOC duties, here were two examples in just a span of 15 minutes where I stepped in to help: Rachel had a gorgeous dress, but it was also one that had a clasp at the top of the zipper that had a mind of its own. When hooked at the top, the clasp got bent in a way where it was poking Rachel in the back, and digging into her skin! So, I quickly ran down the stairs and asked the site coordinator to see if she had a tool box in the venue office. After she pointed out where it was, I looked through it and thankfully found a pair of pliers. The photo below shows me using the pliers to gently bend the clasp back into place, and also protecting the dress from the dirty pliers by layering some of the plastic that the dress was stored in between the fabric and the metal. No more poking clasp!

Then after the dress was on, the only finishing touch was the hair flower. It was a white football mum, and since Rachel had her hair done off site at a hair salon, there was no hair stylist on hand to help. So instantly the DOC becomes the next best thing to a hair stylist, and I happened to have about 40 varying colors of bobby pins in my pocket (you never know when you'll need to fix falling pieces of hair throughout the day!). The photos below show me securing the flower on Rachel's side-swept curls, and I'm happy to say that the flower stayed put through the entire night!

Photos by Jodye Alcon Photography
Using a pair of pliers or some bobby pins is no big deal, but if I didn't have those tools with me or available to me somehow, these small tasks would be much harder to take care of. There are definitely more stories that I could talk about, but I will save those for another post =)

~Emilie

Rachel and Steve's Commandant's House Wedding Photos by Jodye Alcon Photography

In July 2010, I coordinated Rachel and Steve's wedding at the Commandant's House in the Charlestown Navy Yard. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and the ceremony and reception were both held on the grounds of the historic venue. All of the details of the wedding can be found here in my wedding recap.

Vendors for this wedding included Salon Acote for hair, Chris Lewis for makeup, florals from the amazing Michelle Rose of Blooms Flower Shoppe, delicious food from Capers Catering, liquor and beverages from Kappy's Fine Wine & Spirits, DJ Lee Wilson from C-Zone Entertainment, cupcakes from Lyndell's Bakery, and the tent from The Event Company.

Professional photos below are from Jodye Alcon Photography, who is based in Woodland Hills, California.

Photos by Jodye Alcon Photography
Fun fact about the wedding: one part of the reception that was a huge hit with guests was the row boat full of beer! I fastened four bottle openers by string to two small pails for guests to fill with their bottle caps throughout the night. It was definitely a fun "self-serve" beer bar for guests!

~Emilie

Brides Boston Spring/Summer 2011 Magazine

Photo from Brides Boston
It is always so much fun to see Pink Orchid Weddings in bridal magazines. A few days ago, I picked up the latest Spring/Summer 2011 issue of Brides Boston Magazine, and along with an article where I contributed some advice for welcome bags, there were some fun surprises! As I turned the pages, I noticed some very familiar photos. Some of my favorite Boston vendors were featured in the magazine as well, and there were photos and details from a couple of weddings that I coordinated last year as part of the articles.

The first was a gorgeous bouquet of cymbidium orchids created by John LaRoche for blueGuava, and the lovely photo was taken by Joyelle West Photography. This was one of seven bridesmaids bouquets that John created for Mark and Rhonda's stunning wedding last year.

The next was an article on how four different photographers captured the Boston Public Library. A beautiful photo from Am and Ken's wedding was featured in the article, taken by Lisa Rigby Photography.

Then I found the article about Welcome Bags for Out-of-Town Guests, where I was one of six local wedding planners who contributed some ideas on what you could add. My favorite of the list is definitely under the category of "something sweet" where I mentioned S'mores from Sweet Lydias. Her treats look amazing, and more importantly, taste delicious!

This issue of Brides Boston is on newsstands now. It's filled with a lot of advice and information on local vendors. It was fun working with the editors on the article, and I hope to contribute to many more issues!

~Emilie

Night at the Museum Birthday Invitations

This past January, I was contacted by Alice to create another set of birthday invitations for her daughter, Emma. Last year, I created these carnival invitations for her, and this year there was a brand new theme: Night at the Museum. The party was held at the Miami Science Museum (how cool is that??) and Alice gave me a few suggestions for elements to include such as planets, dinosaurs, and a scavenger hunt. It took me a while to play around with how to fit all of these together, and I really love the end result.

I wanted it to seem like you were on another planet, with the Earth in the background behind the sand dunes, hand drawn telescope, menacing T-Rex, and dinosaur prints in the sand. The stars make it seem like it's night time, even though the invitation is white, and that makes it easy to read the invitation details and the poem for Emma's big day. I also created matching thank you cards, which Emma will write out herself after her big party.

If you are interested in these invitations or another custom design, please contact me at info@pinkorchiddesigns.com!

~Emilie

Meghan and Matt's Omni Parker House Wedding Photos by Catharine Morris Photography

Back in July 2010, Fiona and I were the coordinators for Meghan and Matt's Red Sox & Yankees themed wedding. Meghan was a bride who knew exactly what she wanted, and she was definitely one of the easiest brides I've ever worked with! The ceremony was held at the historic King's Chapel, and then the cocktail hour and reception took place right across the street at the Omni Parker House. The wedding was photographed by Catharine Morris Photography, and you can find a full write-up of details in my previous post here.

Vendors for this wedding included: florals by Orchids N' Blooms, wedding cake by Montilio's, cookie favors by A Dozen Eggs Bake Shoppe, hair styled by Will Charles Salon, makeup by Krystal Treanor of I Do Faces, videography by McElroy Weddings, and music by DJ Aaron Topfer.

Photos by Catharine Morris Photography
Fun & Random Fact: the boutonnieres that I pinned on the groomsmen were probably the biggest flowers that I've ever worked with in a bout. They were bright orange callalilies!

~Emilie