Many newly engaged couples are not exactly sure what a “wedding planner” can do for them. We live in a “do it yourself” age, and no one wants to pay for things they don’t need, or feel like they have been taken advantage of.  So let’s talk for just a moment about what it is that a wedding planner can help you with.

First, we will help you come up with a plan for your big day and the months leading up to it. This is THE key to a great event.

Second, In a 4 county area of relaxing, quaint, rustic charm, chic, modern, luxuries, many lakes, beautiful venues, and stunning sunsets on the “big lake” (lake Michigan) we have much to offer any type of couple. Some venues do not have websites nor do they do a lot of advertising so you have to know the area and the right people to find them. It really helps to have someone that can direct you to areas and venues that are most likely to satisfy your expectations.

Third, we will help secure and negotiate the appropriate contracts to stay within your budget. We will give recommended budget advice for what you wish to do, and guide you along the way while allowing you the final decisions.

Fourth, we know the right vendors and importantly, PROFESSIONAL vendors to do a great job in every aspect of your wedding event and the events surrounding it. From photography to catering, live entertainment to rentals, flowers to decor and everything in between to insure that everyone knows their job and how to pull off your event in a professional manner. This doesn’t mean stuffy, it means confidence and a smooth flowing event without giving up the fun for the bride, groom, and family.

Fifth, we have over 25 years in the event industry and 13 years devoted to weddings in the SW Michigan area. We help you every step of the way from the moment you get engaged to the end of your beautiful gathering. We guide you through the process, recommend the right vendors to choose from, pull it all together, and manage your day(s) so that everything runs smoothly while allowing you, and your family and friends to truly enjoy their experience.

Sixth, we also have our in-house travel agency to help you plan your group needs surrounding the wedding such as group accommodations, sailing on a yacht or tall ship, dune rides, fishing trips, beach days, wine tastings, fruit picking, shopping trips, and more. We have everything to help you plan the perfect wedding weekend or weeklong event. We specialize in planning beautiful honeymoons as well no matter where you decide to go!

Seventh, we serve as your base of knowledge and expertise for your entire planning experience. You are hiring a professional. We have worked very hard to educate, network, and communicate to become the “expert” in our area.

Finally, we are your safety net. Our most serious responsibility is to make sure our clients are armed with all the information they need to make the right decisions for a memorable, fun, and safe event. We are your “insurance agent” of sorts. We work very hard to exceed our clients expectations. Should there be any problems along the way we are your sounding board, confidant, problem solver, and manager for a smooth planning experience and beautiful wedding day.

At The Organized Partner we have many services to chose from:
~ Full Service Wedding Planning and Design (min 100 people)
~ Wedding Management Service (otherwise known as “day-of”  service)
~ Beautiful All-Inclusive Destination Weddings for smaller groups
~ Full Service Travel Agency specializing in Destination Weddings, Honeymoons, Special Occasion and Group travel

Holiday Weekends

Holiday weekend weddings have pros and cons. You’ve got an extra day for the festivities plus, it’s easier to host a Sunday wedding (if it is a holiday that lands on a Monday), which is often less expensive than a Saturday one would be. However, costs of travel and hotels are higher on the lakeshore. Also, having a holiday wedding might adversely affect your wedding guest list. Some families have standing holiday weekend plans or traditions that they’d prefer not to disrupt. Suggestion: Try having your wedding inland like in Kalamazoo. Hotels usually are cheaper than on the lakeshore.

Weekends before/after the holiday

Remember that many holidays are on a Monday or like Independence Day falls on a specific date, not a specific day of the week. With this said, avoid the weekend before the Monday holiday and either before or after Independence Day, whichever is being observed that year.

Sunday Weddings

Sunday weddings may be less expensive in some ways but more in others. For instance the reception venue may give you a break on having a Sunday reception but other vendors may charge more because they will have to bring in extra staff or they are not usually open at all on Sunday’s. So remember that it is never cut a dried.

Friday & Saturday, July & August Weddings on Lake Michigan

Friday & Saturday weddings are most popular. Saturday being the first to fill up. Remember that July & August are the most popular time for tourists and the most expensive time to get married on our lakeshore. The lakeshore is bustling with festivals, holidays, tourists, and summer vacations in July & August each year.

To make your planning more relaxing and less stressful, call us here at The Organized Partner. We know the area, the schedules, the vendors, and can help you plan the perfect wedding.

Today we will talk about venues for your wedding. Venues are a very important part of planning a wedding for busy brides and grooms. Choosing a venue can be daunting if you don’t take the proper first steps in the planning process. Below are 8 TOP TIPS for locating the perfect venue for your needs.

In beautiful Southwest Michigan we have become a DESTINATION WEDDING playground!  Our lakeshore areas are very popular for weddings and receptions, wedding weekends, and even wedding weeks! There are many choices in our area depending on what you are looking for.  Here are a few TOP TIPS when thinking about a venue in Southwest Michigan for your wedding:

1. Consider the size of your wedding -have your guest list finalized BEFORE talking to anyone, searching the internet, or making a site visit appointment with potential venues.
2. Have an overall budget in place – know who is contributing and how much they are contributing so that you have an overall budget BEFORE speaking to anyone, searching the internet, or making an appointment.
3. Consider the things you wish to do at that location – you may love the look of a location but if they can not accommodate your needs or wants then you need to move on or you will be frustrated before you get started.
4. Consider weather – We usually have beautiful weather in Southwest Michigan between Mid-May and Mid-October but no one can guarantee that. It is also beautiful here in the winter time!
5. Remember to avoid festival weekends and holiday weekends to get the best value for your money and the least amount of people in town. These are popular & expensive times of the year for the lakeshore communities.
6. Be flexible – being flexible with your date is best. Consider a weekday, a Fri, or an “off season” wedding to have more availability of space and more flexibility with times. It’s beautiful here in the winter too!
7. Remember that Southwest Michigan is nature driven. Don’t expect to get a “Chicago” wedding on our lakeshore. We are not Chicago although we can put together some pretty impressive events here in SW Michigan.
8. Remember that we have really beautiful and romantic venues inland as well! Try Kalamazoo… close to South Haven & St. Joseph and it opens the door for even more possibilities! Its halfway between Detroit and Chicago!

The key is that if you do your preliminary neccessities BEFORE you start looking you will save a lot of time, money, and frustration.  For the best in wedding and reception planning, finding the perfect venue and vendors, and having an overall pleasant wedding planning experience, Call THE ORGANIZED PARTNER, we can even plan your honeymoon!

Congratulations!

Today, our first day back after the holiday, I would like to Introduce TOP TIPS for 2012.  TOP TIPS was developed to make it faster and easier to share information thru abreviations. (TOP = The Organized Partner). We will share both wedding and travel tips throughout the year under this name to help you become more informed and getting information faster and easier when looking to plan a fabulous wedding, honeymoon,family vacation, or group travel. So stay tuned and subscribe to our blog to stay up on the latest!  Many more things are coming your way…….

This week I would like to start off by offering 3 very important TOP TIPS to newly engaged couples all across the USA.

We get many calls from potentials clients that have spent hours looking for venues, talking to vendors, and still coming up with a lot of questions and frustration because they are not getting anywhere. I would like to share a few TOP TIPS with you that will help you when contacting us or any venues or vendors. Stay tuned throughout the winter to get more TOP TIPS but we will begin by offering the first 3 this week.

Ashley & Brett

TOP TIP #1

Budget - Getting started on the right foot – The Budget for your wedding is the first thing that you should establish BEFORE contacting any venues or vendors for your wedding. Begin by talking to everyone that is involved with any kind of financing for the wedding. Often times this is the bride and/or grooms parents as well as the couple themselves. Find out what and if they will contribute financially to the wedding. Some will say that they will pay for the flowers or others may decide they wish to pay for your dress or the cake. This is good except you really need a dollar amount. One persons cake could cost $150 while others could be upwards of $800. You really need to get down to the dollars and cents part of the conversation. Then you need to establish if you and your fiance can contribute all or any part to the wedding expenses as well.  We recommend that you take all funds and open a checking account for wedding expenses only. If the words “whatever it costs” or “how much do you need” come into the conversation, then you should ask for them to be more specific on what they can contribute, those are RED FLAG words to people in the wedding industry and do not help you or them. (don’t worry, you can close the account after the wedding if you don’t need it). This way, you know that you can add to this account as well as write checks out of it. Remember that not all vendors except credit/debit cards, so it is important to have a checking account that you can write checks out of and send to the appropriate vendor for deposits and payments. Once you have established a budget….., see TOP TIP #2 – Guest List

TOP TIP #2

Guest List - The guest list is the next very important item to complete BEFORE talking to any venues or vendors. It is important to know how many people you will be inviting in order to know what size venue or tent you need and many more items as you move along through the planning process. If a venue is too large or too small for your guest list, there is no reason to waste yours or the venues time in looking at them. Remember also that you may start out with a large list but have to cut it down a bit due to your budget. Honestly, so many couples and families feel that they have to invite everyone they know to the wedding and that just isn’t the best way to plan a wedding. Your wedding guest list should consist of the most important people in the bride and grooms life. You want to be surrounded by the people that mean the most to you, not everyone you know for some reason or another. For instance, your parents work friends are not neccesarily people that you know and are intimately acquainted with, so you may or may not want to add them to your wedding guest list. Let’s face it, weddings are expensive so you want to have only the closest people there to share it with you.

TOP TIP #3

Hire a professional wedding planner - Once you have completed TOP TIPS 1 & 2 above, contact us for a personal consultation. We will sit down with you and go over all of your thoughts and bring them together in a “big picture” format for you to relate to. We have more than 20 years in the event planning & wedding planning industry and specialize in planning fabulous weddings in the beautiful SW Michigan region including the amazing SW Michigan lakeshore area. We offer several services to help you with all of your wedding planning needs. As a professional wedding planner we will help you itemize your budget, locate the perfect venue, pull together all of the necessary and appropriate vendors, take you through the entire planning process, and so much more. We are an invalueable resource committed to helping you plan the most memorable customized wedding for you and your fiance’.

Stay tuned for more TOP TIPS to help you with more wedding planning and travel planning necessities and ideas. or if you have questions, give us a call, we would love to speak to you!

See more pictures on our website!  www.theorganizedpartner.com!

Wedding planned by The Organized Partner. Photography by Holly Henderson, Flowers by Sofia, Reception held at the Radisson in Kalamazoo. Ceremony at a local church. After the wedding, the couple went on a romantic southern caribbean cruise by The Organized Partner.

When using The Organized Partner to help you book any type of travel does not cost you more!  As a travel agent, I work to help my clients find the best place to experience their honeymoon, cruise, or group travel based on their criteria.  I do all of the research, find the best deals, use my experience, training, connections with resorts & vendors, and know how to pull it all together for the best experience. This will save you countless hours searching, and save you money. It is difficult to work a full time job and try and plan an event or vacation too. Searching the internet can be daunting and what most people don’t  realize is that the internet does not have ALL of the information!  Travel agents are here to help you get ALL of the information and make the planning, travel, and experience the best it can be. We work hard at matching you with the right locations based on your desired activities, length of stay, and budget.

No one experience is like another  and no one has the same desires for their vacation as someone else. So Relax & Enjoy and call us for more information!  We love what we do here at The Organized Partner or we wouldn’t do it. Life it just too short. We want to give you the best vacation possible.

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