We are often asked these questions over the phone so in order to serve you better and to assist you in getting to know us, we offer these responses:

About Us

• Q: How long have you done this?

• A: I have coordinated events since 2000. I have coordinated many different kinds of events: birthdays, retirements, engagements, graduation parties, children's parties, bar and bat mitzvas, showers, but my favorite are weddings.

 

• Q: How much can I expect to be in contact with you?

•  A: This is as much or as little as you request. In my ideal world, we speak at least a once a week (if not more, your preference). The value of adequate preparation cannot be understated.

 

• Q: What different kinds of companies do you partner with?

•  A: We have partnerships across the event spectrum. We have worked in many different venues and worked with varied professionals. On the event side, we partner with caterers, make-up artists, hair stylists, bridal salons, photographers, videographers, bakers and confectioners, paper and invitation companies, party rental companies, photo booth companies, bartenders and servers, florists, bands, DJs, officiants, and favor professionals. On the party planning side we can connect you with balloon artists, face painters, magicians, bounce house companies, game rental companies, cleaning companies, and bartending and serving companies.  

Parties

•  Q: What is the rule of thumb on the number of people to the server ratio?

•   A: Normally, the rule is 25 guests per server. If you're having a buffet style meal, the ratio doesn't go down. Many people have the impression that buffet meals require less work, I promise, they don't. Servers are needed to help with things like set-up of tables, chairs, linens, place settings, buffet area, re-filling the food station, re-filling the drink station, serving food, collecting plates and glasses, disposing of trash, then at the end assisting with clean-up). Plated meals do require more attention, as you'll need additional wait staff in the back plating the food while servers are serving.

Weddings

• Q: Why do I need a Wedding Consultant when my hotel or venue already has one?

•  A: A Wedding Consultant at a venue is really only responsible for managing the catering staff and making sure you have access to the room during your specified rental times. The coordinator/consultant really doesn't "have" to assist you with all the things you'll need to do to prepare for your big day, booking the rest of your vendors, pulling together all the decorations, helping with set-up, etc. If that person manages the the staff at their location, that's really all they are required to do and anything else they do is "extra" and it will depend on the commitment of your coordinator and how much they are intersted in getting involved with your event. Hiring your own consultant ensures that someone is looking out for your interests and not just the venue's.

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Here are a list of questions to ask a Catering or Venue Day-of Coordinator:

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• What are their exact responsibilities?

• Do their responsibilities include setting up any centerpieces, name place cards, favors, sign-in table, gift table, memory table?

• Are they responsible for making sure the wedding stays on track (managing the schedule for the day) and adjusting the schedule as needed?

• Will he/she make sure all vendors who have meals as part of their contracts are fed?

• Has this caterer worked this venue before and are they familiar with the good and the bad and things to be prepared for when working there?

• What kind of manual labor is included as part of their contract (if you know you’ll need that as part of your contract?) For the most part, unless rental equipment is rented through the caterer, their servers will not move your tables and chairs (unless they are contracted to flip the space from ceremony to reception space).

• Who is responsible for making sure my decorations and my personal belongings are in my car at the end of the night?

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• Q: Do you have a "day only" package?

• A: We carry a Ceremony only Package (Level 8) or Reception Only Package (Level 6). I don't normally do "only day ofs" and here is why. We have a certain process that we follow in the months leading up to your event. We want to know your event inside and out. I carry copies of your contracts with me, but that's just to confirm with the person delivering that I have what they are delivering, but not because I don't know exactly what's coming to me. That's the main difference between us and someone who won't speak to you before 2 weeks out, they don't really know your event. We want to know from memory whether or not you had name place cards or a sign or a cake topper or toasting flutes, etc. We want to re-check a list to confirm, not to learn for the first time. The other thing we can't do (if we come in too late in the game) is help you prepare. Most of our couples have never planned a wedding before and we hope to be able to ask you every question about what you might want or traditionally see at a wedding and coming in late, we can't offer that same kind of expertise. 

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• Q: My DJ has said that he plans weddings all the time, do I really need a planner in addition to a DJ?

• A: The simple answer is yes. Most DJ's are left with the task of managing a timeline, not necessarily the wedding. They keep the time and the caterer usually has to guess based on the timeline that the DJ provides (if there is no planner) as to whether the timeline is staying on time or running behind, etc. If there is no planner there, you're tasking your DJ to make sure your banquet manager has the timing right for the food, champagne toast and dessert. Most DJs don't want that responsibility and are honestly happy when you tell them you have someone else managing that aspect so they can just focus on keeping your guests entertained. Photographers also tend to love us since we help coordinate large group shots (pulling people together) and help them stay aware of upcoming milestones within your event timeline. 

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• Q: How far are you willing to travel to my event?

• A: We provide service to all of the DC Metro area, Southern and Western VA, Maryland and some parts of West Virginia. All of the pricing on the website is based on a local event (within 25 miles of Chantilly, VA- our office location or travel equivalent to 1 hour of commute time- DC traffic tends to dictate 20 miles can take about an hour). In the event that we must travel more than 35 miles (or spend over an hour in commute time to your event space), additional travel time adjustments or hotel stays will apply. Please mention your venue to us at the time you request a quote so that an accurate quote can be provided. 

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• Q: Do you ever schedule to work more than one wedding per day?

•  A: No, your consultant is dedicated to you on that day. We may work more than 1 wedding on a weekend and will work with both parties to accomodate requirements for both events.

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•  Q: How far in advance should I look to book a planner?

•  A: Any planner will tell you, the sooner the better. The part that is difficult when planning any event is getting called in when many decisions have already been made and (as is in the wedding world, many items cannot be undone once a contract is signed without high penalty). For us to best assist you, we'd like to be involved as close to the beginning as possible. We also prefer not to start planning more than a year out as many prices change over time and so might your tastes and availibility. We are happy to brainstorm with you a year and a half out, but recommend deposits to locations and major decisions should begin to be made no earlier than about a year before.

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• Q: Why do you ask for volunteers to assist (possibly) before and after the wedding and how many are required?

• A:  Volunteers are required at any event held at a private residence, historic property, vineyard, or Community Center. These locations do not customarily come with a crew that works at the location that is there to set-up tables and chairs, and other heavy equipment. On day of, I'm a two person team (myself and an Assistant). I'm running around handling vendor questions, making sure the vendors are complying with the venue rules, and managing the schedule. My Asst is normally handling the decor, etc. We can't handle manual labor on top of all of those responsibilities, which is why that needs to be contracted seperately.  

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After the wedding, volunteers (this goes for any reception location) are needed to assist with collecting all decor and helping me pack a vehicle. I'm working to assist you with complying with reception location rental times so you are able to get out of the venue on time. The number of volunteers for both before and after the reception really is determined by how much is required as part of your set-up and how much vendors you have paid to make deliveries will assist with the placement of decor.​

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• Q: What is the purpose of a walk-through?

• A: Most venues and/or caterers are starting to require walk-throughs as part of their contract (which is why we include them as part of our packages). What a walk-through is, is a chance for the reception site, the caterer, yourself, and the wedding planner to all be on the same page for the wedding day. The kinds of details that are reviewed are (but not limited to: the locations of your tables, number of guests, details for the ceremony (if the ceremony will be held at the reception site), responsibilities of the venue, the caterer, and the planner, a basic review of the timeline (including adjustments if necessary), rain plans, the listing of all of the equipment that is being provided by an internal rental company (and potentially any rental items you have procured and who is responsible for setting up, moving and removing each item), delivery times, and contact information for vendors. Reception Halls also expect to meet with Coordinators that have not worked in their venue before to review house rules to make sure coordinators/planners are on the same page as their staff. They cannot be everywhere to make sure their venue is being taken care of. Most planners are an extention of reception staff in that they are looking out for the Couple and also for the venue to make sure all vendors that are there are abiding by the house rules. Couples are responsible for the actions of all vendors while they are guests in a rental space.

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• Q: What are Acts of God clauses and why do many vendors include them?

• A: Act of God clauses are included within contracts to protect a vendor from lost revenue. It is not a vendor's fault if for any reason (hurricane, fire, flood, earthquake, any natural disaster reason) that your wedding does not happen. Vendors have to go off the assumption that if he/she had booked with another client, their event would have occurred and they would have been paid. For that reason, all wedding vendors tend to include this as part of their clause. Something we hear often is, "but an act of God is also not my fault." This is true. For that reason, many people elect to purchase day of insurance which will cover your costs if for specific reasons (each coverage plan is different), the wedding does not go on as planned. Our Act of God clause states that in the event anything should happen (out of your power) on your event day, we will do everything we can to re-schedule your event day (provided we have not already signed a contract with another client). In the event that your day is not available for reschedule, the planner will work with you to find a stand-in equally qualified coordinator.

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•  Q: What if I'm not certain of exactly what level of wedding service I need?

•  A: That's not a problem. Our one hour, no obligation, initial consultation is a chance for you to get to know us and how we work, we talk through our experiences and get to know you and your event. We are happy to develop a contract at a lower level and if you decide to change your mind and increase the level of service later in your planning, that's fine, any payments that you made to any lower level package can be applied to any larger package (all except the Level 9 or any a-la-carte per hour contracted services).

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• Q: What if I'm a parent and I want to help my daughter or son contract services? Can I speak to you first?

• A: Yes, but we also want to meet with the Bridal Couple to make sure they are on board with receiving our services. If this doesn't happen, unfortunately our staff ends up suffering for those decisions in that we are treated disrespectfully, and our company won't allow that. We understand that with weddings (as well as any important milestone in life), emotions run high and we want to make sure that we're executing a vision that's been agreed to. On contracts where parents are financially responsible, names of parents in addition to the Bridal Couple are added to the contract since we will be receiving payment from a parent (for example) but working with the Bridal Couple on details and planning. When working with parents, we ask that you respect the decisions that the Bridal Couple makes, as it is their decision for what they would like to see happen that day that we are planning to execute.  

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• Q: Are you friendly towards different cultures, races, religions, LGBTQIA+?

• A: Yes, of course and so are the vendors that we work with. Once you sign with us, you have access to our preferred vendor list that includes vendors that I have worked with over the years that I personally trust and that I know want to see your vision come to life. Whether it's a traditional custom or not, we want to hear it! If your wedding doesn't fit into the traditional number of hours because of religous custom or otherwise, we're willing to work with you on coming up with a custom contract.

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If there is any question we haven't answered in the above list of questions, please reach out to us or send an email, we're excited to hear from you!

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Billing Questions

• Q: What forms of payment do you accept?

• A: We accept Cash, Check, Cashier's Check, and Credit Card.

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• Q: What is the payment structure?

•  A: For weddings, we ask for a 50% deposit at the time that you sign your contract, next 25% is due 60 days after you sign the contract and the remainder due no later than 30 business days prior to your event. If you contract your event within three months of the event date, 50% is due at the time of signing and second 50%, five business days prior to the event. We can work with you if you'd like to make payments in advance of the payment deadlines. For smaller events (events $500.00 or less), a minimum of $250.00 deposit is due at the time the contract is signed. Any remaining balance is due within 5 business days of the event date. For parties, we require a 50% deposit to hold the date and the remainder due at the time of arrival of the contracted event time.

Here are some questions for you:
Are you ready to plan the wedding of your dreams or the event that you have pictured in your mind?
Then we're ready to get you there! Call us to set up a free, no obligation appointment. Give us an hour of your time and we're convinced you'll know why all of our past clients chose us! If we meet and you don't believe we are the right fit for you, that's not a problem and we'll wish you well. If we are a perfect match..we look forward to making your dreams come true!