We met this sweet bride from doing one of her dear friend’s wedding so she had seen us in action and knew that her day couldn’t be complete without our team creating that full guest experience for her friends and family. We were rocking out the planning…everything seemed to be going pretty smooth. She booked her dream location, our services way in advance, got a great recommendation for catering who would do the cake too, locked down her favorite band, had an all-star décor and lighting team and phenomenal memory team to take photos and create a mini-movie from the day’s memories. You would take this as a fairytale right… while it was and will end as one…the in-between is a little less magical no couple should experience.
Over 6 months had passed in the planning process and we were set up for success until we received a call no client/vendor wants to get…”we apologize to inform you that we accidently double booked your wedding date at our venue and you are the second contract which makes it a voided contract.” The venue did everything it could on its behalf by offering an almost free date on any other date available, add extra hours to rental if date available for their mistake (that has never happened prior)…but it was a learning moment and they had to refund all of their money. Luckily we found another beautiful garden bed and breakfast that just happen to have a tent out back for events. 
We quickly changed gears a little bit changing our logistical planning because our new venue only came with that one tent. We would need more tents and all of the tables and chairs. Once the new layout was established we created a lighting design of the tents. Looking back, I wish I would have toured the venue at night because lack of lighting to park made for some trouble at the very beginning but luckily our lighting team stayed onsite all night and lit up the paths making it safe for all guests. Then came the most fun: floral design. With this new venue the options were endless in what we could do. Since the gardens are so lush we only had to add accent florals for the guest tables with a little bit of accents throughout the venue. I typically joke that I should wear a cape and hold a magic wand…this wedding required both. It was our first time working this venue so we already had our guard up and brought a team of four KYAE staff members and six students throughout the day. Little did we know the 90+ heat on a mid-September day, along with the issues with the venue would lead to the day that unfolded among us.
Here are a few high lights:· Our team quickly went into action setting up tables & chairs from a rental company we had never used before (required by venue) and unlabeled linens from the catering & a mix from the rental company that we had never used before. Remember free linens are not always the best linens (some of these had burn holes in them). A few hours later we were ready for an event… we pulled off a huge logistical set up without carts to carry equipment from one side of the large yard to the other and brought a team of incredible vendors together to create a magical day.
· In 15 years the catering company had never had a cake fall…but between that 90+ humid temperatures under the tent, the fillings of the cake and the travel all lead up to a cake quickly leaning during the ceremony. The Baker and myself jumped into action saving the top two layers to give them a beautiful smaller cake to cut later. We removed the larger layers and set them in the back until it was time to serve cake (we saved enough that everyone got cake!)
(photos from the videographer we brought in that day)
· As dinner was being set out, one of the catering staff tripped and fell over the
uneven ground and had to be taken home which made us short staffed from the catering side. However, because we had packed a full team with us that day, we jumped in bartending while the bartender moved from cocktail area, getting beverages for tables and clearing plates. We believe team work makes the dream work!
· As the night went on, we noticed a group of family members in the bathroom upstairs to quickly find out the mother of the bride had an allegoric reaction to something and quote “would have rather hide in here all night than have everyone make a fuss and take the attention off of her daughter.” This mother was willing to do whatever it took to make sure her daughter’s day was the best day ever. Her hands swelling went down after missing at least an hour of the reception and she is 100% fine, she still is clueless as to what the reaction came from.
· As we were wrapping up the night, our staff was going over the exit procedures and a car comes out of nowhere missing a reception table by a foot landing in the woods by at least 2 feet. Remember we are completely in the backyard of this venue which has lush gardens surrounding it. The guest was not drunk and had gotten turned around when leaving…accidently hitting the gas instead of the break while trying to come and pick up a guest closer to the reception area. Our staff assisted with their exit.
Now if you see the photos or spoke to the family or friends…you would have never known that any of the above happened and that is just another reason to have a partial or full-service planner to assist in the planning of your wedding. We were able to step in and assist as quickly as possible to create one of the most magical days in their lives. Although our story sounds as though everything that could go wrong did…we know every event something will go wrong…it’s how we react that shows the professional level of services. Plus, because we were proactive in several other situations made for a much smoother day.
We can’t wait to see this family at future events! And we look forward to working with all of the vendors again, this time we know how to better prepare ourselves when working with this team and at this venue. Many thanks to all of the staff who assisted and volunteered to make this day magical. This only proves you can never have enough staff for an event. Never question your vendors when they say how many staff members they need to provide the quality of service you’re expecting. Just remember… WHAT IF?
