Enchanted Wedding Event: Not Your Traditional Wedding Fair!

Hi loves! 

I am so excited to finally share my photos and experience from the Enchanted Wedding Event last month. Like always, I'm a little behind in getting this post up, but I am still just as excited about the event as I was a month ago! 

When my partner in crime, Liz, of Enchantment Floral, suggested we team up together to create a vignette for Enchanted, I was nervous and apprehensive. It would be the first time I would be marketing and presenting myself to the public as a real planner! I didn't think I was ready for all of that! At the time, I didn't even have my business name set in stone, let alone business cards; and my social media presence was still a work in progress. It may have just been another event of many, many events that wedding vendors in the bay area attend and participate in, but for me, it was a big step to take. Needless to say, I am so happy that I made the decision to take that step and am so thankful to Liz for pushing me.

When we were deciding on what we wanted to create, we knew we wanted something that was fun, edgy, and would stand out. Most importantly, we knew it had to be PERFECT. Once we had the color palette down, everything else kind of fell into place. And our team name - Team Peaches n' Cream - was just too genius to not use *insert 112 here*.

The event was such a success and I am still gushing over how much fun I had and how awesome everything turned out. Enchanted was definitely not your average wedding fair; there were delicious cocktails, a fire dancer, make-up artists providing eyelash applications, gorgeous models showcasing bridal gowns and so.much.more. All the vendor displays and vignettes were incredible. I was able to meet and mingle with other industry professionals {many of whom I already idolize and stalk on social media} as well as brides and their friends & family. We even jokingly called it my "coming out party". I am actually very shy and not a "networker" at heart so putting myself out there and introducing myself to other vendors and talking with brides was as scary to me as having to play in a room full of clowns {if you know me, you know how much I HATE/AM TERRIFIED of clowns}. But, I did it and it was actually FUN {the blackberry mint whiskey cocktails didn't hurt either =) }. I am so proud of myself and most importantly, our team, for putting together such a fabulous display. The efforts these ladies put in to make our team vignette PERFECT is inspiring and I couldn't have asked for a better start to my wedding business journey.

I hope you enjoy these photos from Angie Capri Photography as much as I do!

Thank you again to our wonderful team who made this all possible! MUAH! 

XOXO

kels 

♥

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{Venue: The Lighthouse at Glen Cove Marina} {Event Coordination + Design: Kelly Elissa Events} {Florist: Enchantment Floral} {Event Rentals: Pleasanton Rentals} {Decor + Prop Rentals: Hunt & Gather Rentals} {Handmade Decor: HARLOWShouse} 

A Schiess Love Story

Happy Wedding Wednesday loves! 

This post is looooong over due but nonetheless, I am very excited to share some photos from the first "solo gig" I did last September. To say that I was honored to be a part of Gina and Tom's wedding is an understatement. Being one of 60 guests, the whole event was more of an intimate party than a traditional wedding. I am so glad that my coworker and bride, Gina, asked me to help her on her special day. I had only started working with Gina a couple months before, so to have her and Tom trust me to take care of their ceremony and reception set up was really exciting for me. They are a very down to earth couple and their wedding day really portrayed that.

There were a lot of DIY aspects in their wedding; Gina made the groom's  boutonniere out of dried hops and along with her mother, sewed her own wedding dress. This wedding really proved the old adage "less is more". The venue was a nursery located in Loomis, CA and with such an abundance of greenery throughout the ceremony and reception areas, there really was not much they needed to do with or add to the space. I fell in love with the nursery as soon as I stepped foot in the doors; the nursery itself was used for the ceremony space and the nursery's atrium cafe transformed into the dinner and reception area. Enjoy!

 

Wishing these two a lifetime of love, laughter + happiness   

♥

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{Venue: High Hand Nursery} {Photography: JandM Photography} {Florist: Enchantment Floral}

Kelly Elissa Events

Happy Hump Day! 

I have some exciting developments in the work and with the rate things are happening I had to make quick decisions on my official business name and getting my logo created. So happy to cross these two items off my planner checklist! Totally in love with this simple and pretty logo that was created for me by bellaluluink. Let me know what you think!

FYI The name of my blog will still remain as kels and wedding bells!   

Have a great week loves! 

XOXO

kels

sunday {wedding} funday

I love weddings!! That's all I really wanted to say. I just got home from doing a styled shoot and I am going to do a "real" blog post on it once the photos are ready, but I am on such a high from this morning that I wanted to share my excitement with you all! It was my first styled shoot and I am so lucky that my new friend, Denise, of d.Royal Engagements asked me to assist her in the set up. My task for the day was to work on the winter wedding look/tablescape. It turned out so beautiful (if I do say so myself); I couldn't have been happier with the end result. My boo Liz, of Enchantment Floral, did all of the floral arrangements of course, so you know the flowers were on FLEEK (yea, I just did that - sorry, did I mention I'm on a "wedding" high?). 

Today was SO much fun and just made me realize even more that I cannot wait to get myself out there and really get working. Speaking with Liz and the hairstylist, Taylor, got me thinking that the only person holding myself back is me. All I need to do is put myself out there. I want to do more shoots and continue meeting new vendors and other professionals in the industry. I am just so excited for what the future holds!!!

And lastly, in case you haven't seen, I have officially activated my business account on Instagram so please follow me on there!! I will be posting on both accounts for awhile but will eventually phase out posting any wedding {planning} related stuff on my personal account. Small steps, but I'm getting there :) 

new and old friends!

XOXO
kels
♥

 P.S. Don't forget to subscribe to my blog so that you don't miss out on any posts! 

"It's not going to be easy, there may be some bumps along the road"

My plan was to blog last Sunday, the day after my first day of class, while everything was still fresh in my mind, but due to a bad case of the flu, I am just now crawling out of the cave that I have been stuck in the past week.

So, despite being sick, I survived my first 8 hour session of the course!! Wooo! It was long and there was SO much information, like, an overwhelming amount, but I'm excited for the next 5 months and learning everything I can.

The director of the program, Joyce Scardina Becker, is a multi-award winning Special Event Planner, owner of Events of Distinction, and the Founding President of the Wedding Industry Professionals Association (WIPA). She is also the author of "Countdown To Your Perfect Wedding", a book that will be my bible for the next few months.She definitely knows her stuff and knows a ton of people in the industry.

The class only has about 12-15 students/aspiring wedding professionals (all female), so it is a very intimate setting. After going through introductions and talking about our backgrounds and what we hope to accomplish, I was embarrassingly sent to the back of the class so as to not infect anyone with my SICKNESS. Things really got off to a great start =/

Each session covers different aspects of being a wedding planner/designer/consultant/coordinator/stylist, etc. These are titles that we went over in class and really got me thinking about what I want to call myself.  Do I want to be a planner, designer, stylist? This class focuses on full service wedding planning as that is what Joyce offers through her company. Right now I think I want to focus on month of coordination, at least as I start out, but  it is definitely good to know all the aspects of full service planning. And who knows, maybe by the end of this course I may change my mind.

So, in order to pass the class and receive my certification, I have to complete all homework assignments, pass the quizzes and final exam and complete {and receiving a passing grade} on what is called a "Staging Guide". The staging guide is just a binder but it will hold all the information on the hypothetical wedding that I will be planning over the next 5 months. We have the option of basing our wedding off a real wedding of someone we know, or creating one. I thought it would be fun to design a hypothetical wedding. Hypothetical wedding = hypothetical budget. What can be better than planning a wedding with a completely made up budget?!

Day 1: Lots of notes, books and new information

It's going to be a lot of work and I definitely have a lot of studying to look forward to. It has been some time since I have studied anything {about 7 years actually - ugh, I'm old} and I am already finding myself getting very easily distracted at home as I attempt to review my notes/read a few chapters of my "bible".  One of the first things Joyce said at the beginning of the class was, "It's not going to be easy, there may be some bumps in the road" and I think she may be right. I will probably be a bit stressed and overwhelmed with this additional workload; on top of my full time job, my assistant gigs I have lined up, and everything I have going on in my day to day life {like my adorable puppy CHARLIE}, it's going to take some good time management skills, but I definitely think it's worth it. I am going to work hard on this Staging Guide and make this an unforgettable wedding, even if it isn't real. This might mean that I will have to take some time away from a very serious relationship I have …  with Netflix … but it's probably for the best  =)

Not this time Netflix!

I'm excited to share my journey with you guys; and stay tuned for some sneak peeks of my Staging Guide. For those of you still in school, please share any good study places you know of in the South Bay!

As always, thanks for stopping by!!

XOXO
kels
♥

#goaldigger

This post is a few days late, but better late than never right? {maybe one of my goals should be working on my procrastination ... }

I never really do New Year's Resolutions because I feel like there is so much pressure put on them and for me personally, that just sets me up for failure. I tend to just set little goals for myself throughout the year, instead of just at the beginning of the year, but as I embark on my Wedding Planner journey, I thought it might be a good idea to put pen to paper and really focus on what I want to accomplish this year. So, here they are, my main GOALS for 2015:

{Complete my Wedding Planning Certification Course} 

 

{Reach out to more Wedding Planners in order to find work as an assistant}

 

{Attend more networking/industry events}

 

{Complete my branding & increase my social media presence}

and finally, 

{BLOG MORE CONSISTENTLY!!}

 

I am excited for what this year has to bring for me personally and professionally. My first day of class is January 17th and I can't wait to "go back to school". I am going to be that old lady with my new notebook and pens while everyone else is on their laptops. For some reason, taking notes on a laptop just isn't the same for me. I LOVE taking notes; in school I used to rewrite my notes if I felt they weren't neat enough. 

Just 6 days into the new year, I have also begun work on goal #2. Since my mentor, Christy, moved out of the state, I have been looking for other planners to work with as a day of assistant. Last night I had my first meeting with another bay area planner to discuss/schedule the weddings that I will be assisting her with this year. I am scheduled for 4 weddings in 2015 so far! Wooo! Will definitely be blogging about those events as they come along. I am really looking forward to gaining more hands on experience and working with different types of planners, and of course, sharing my experiences along the way. There is so much to learn and I am ready to soak it all in! I have big dreams and hopes for this year and could not be more excited for what is in store. 
 
What are some of your goals for this year? Would love to hear from you :)

XOXO

kels 
♥