Fall in Love
- Laura Kiel
- Oct 31, 2018
- 6 min read
Engagement Party. Matron of Honor.
Busy Body.
Tonight, October 30th, I realized it's been about a week since I've written a blog. I have been so busy (no complaints) and to be honest with you I haven't even had time to actually sit down and work on any of The Bridal Binder to-dos. I wanted to get the contracts and some questionnaires finished but I've had to put that on hold for a bit (my brain is still going a mile a minute full of ideas though). The past two months have been full of traveling and I have a few more trips lined up over the next two months. My traveling continues the month of November as I travel back home to Orlando for a few weeks and in December I have a training for two days (stay tuned). Visiting with friends and family I know I will stay busy but hopefully on some downtime I will be able to get some things done.
I've recently had the pleasure of attending two weddings within the past two months - a barn wedding for Jeremy's best friend and a formal garden wedding for Jeremy's cousin. This past weekend ended my wedding festivities (for now) as I attended my best friends fall themed engagement party. Being on the "event planner" mindset of things now, I was able to get hands on with the event rather than just be a guest. I felt as if this was a practice course for the future to come and I loved every minute of it.
The Engagement.
As soon as my best friend Sarah text me the night of her engagement (9.2.18) I was so excited for the future to come - wedding planning, wedding day and their life together as Mr. and Mrs. I was in a town with limited service at the time so when she text me pictures of her ring and Johnny on one knee it took me 3 hours to respond (the anticipation was brutal for Sarah I later found out) but I called her the minute I saw the text come through (while on my moms personal hotspot at 11 o'clock at night mind you) - I must've said "I'm so happy for you" a thousand times (an annoying broken record). Being distant from her is hard (majority if not all of the time) and I couldn't wait to see her ring and give her the biggest hug.
Since the engagement we have been communicating about wedding shenanigans and
she broke the news that their engagement party theme was #FallinLove - being distant I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make the party but after communicating back and forth about a date, I booked my flight and looked forward to giving her the hug I had promised.
Matron of Honor.
The weekend had finally arrived and this past Thursday I flew up to Pennsylvania to visit Sarah and her fiance' Johnny for an extended weekend and help out with their engagement party. The week leading up to the weekend she kept telling me that there was so much to do and I kept reminding her that everything would get done. The night I got in we had jumped right into decor prep - basket bows, mason jars, hot glue gun crafts - we were so productive (both putting things together and chatting) we didn't realize how late it was until we looked at the clock - 3:30 am. Ooops! We knew it was time to settle down for the night but we made an errands list for the following morning to stay on top of things. "Tea time" she said so I went to the fridge to grab our go-to drink (Twisted Teas) and inside sitting on top of the tea bottles was a picture frame of us with the words "First dance friends, then best friends. Now my matron of honor, forever best friends."
I couldn't believe it and was so ecstatic!! I started tearing up and we exchanged hugs. I knew I was coming to PA to help out with the engagement party but little did I know my duties were just beginning. Side note - I have already started planning and have Pinterest boards in place for the bridal events to come. #sorrynotsorry
FriYay.
The next morning we were up and out of the house early to start the errands. We still had a day and a half until the party but there was still so much to do. First stop was our nail appointment (a little pampering was needed before the weekend of course) followed by the several errands. I suggested we make a to-do list which was so helpful making sure we picked up what we needed at every store. We picked up groceries, last minute decor, picture frames, etc. Luckily we were able to cross everything off in a few hours, as I knew we would.
Back at the house we had arts and crafts time (with our twisted teas of course) and painted pumpkins for the party. The guys were getting the tent weather ready (unfortunately cold and rainy) but luckily held up nice for majority of the weekend. Once the tent was finalized we started hanging decor and my creative side kicked in. Things were starting to come together and I couldn't wait to see the final outcome.
By the time we had finished all what we could it was about 6:00pm. We had dinner with her parents and relaxed the rest of the night. We were all so exhausted we were in bed by 11:00am (the previous night had caught up to us).
Fall in Love.
It was finally party day, up early once again (a few last minute errands to run) but I was enjoying every minute of it. Tables and chairs were getting placed, decor was being set, food was prepped and for not one second was I stressed. I knew before I even arrived that everything would get done and the party would be amazing - fulfilling Sarah's vision. I completed one task before I moved on to another to be sure everything was getting done. Between Sarah, her family, Johnny and I we were "go team go" all day long.
I kept thinking about the future of my business. Her aunt I believe even made the comment "You guys could be event planners after this weekend" - Sarah and I looked at each other and I had mentioned the fact that I am trying to start my own business. That gave me the reassurance and confidence to continue this pursuit of The Bridal Binder.
Everything was finally in place, ready to go and before we knew it guests started to arrive. The night was perfect. We were finally able to unwind and enjoy ourselves with everyone. I was happy to reconnect with old friends (Go Birds) and make some new ones. So many compliments on the decor and set-up (despite the weather) were made.
Celebrating the soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Wojtanowski was beautiful! #wojowedding
Sunday Funday.
Along with every great party, there has to be a clean up crew. The night before we had done majority of it already but early Sunday morning we took the initiative to start combining coolers, we took down the decor, cleaned the tables/chairs and stacked them away from the tent. Again, none of this was a hassle for me personally and oddly enough I enjoyed it. The engagement party was a complete success.
We were able to get everything done by about 10:30am, enough time to catch the Eagles game (being the Eagles fan that I am now I) and enjoying the time I had left in PA. Knowing the party was over, reality set in and unfortunately I had to catch my flight back home later that night.
The Future.
Sarah is the first of my best friends to get engaged so my excitement has been over the top but no regrets. Since my idea has become a reality with this business, I told Sarah she would be my guinea pig bride for my forms and everything planning. She happily agreed and so hopefully I can get these forms done soon to actually start implementing them in the real world of planning.
I loved being her extra set of hands all weekend and I look forward to the help she will need in the future with their wedding. Like I said before, I enjoyed every minute of it and knowing Sarah was happy with it all was the most important and made me happy. Helping them with their engagement party was a reminder for myself that yes I can do this and I look forward to doing this for future clients.
Happy Halloween!
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