Real Wedding - Maryland
ABC Member Planner: Kim Breedlove, ABC™; Breedlove Events, LLC, Chesapeake Beach, Md.; BreedloveEvents@gmail.com, www.BreedloveEvents.net.Photographer: Vicki Grafton Photography.Non-member businesses: Historic St. Mary’s City (venue), The Catering Company of Washington with Elizabeth Petty (caterer), Bailey’s Party Rentals, Scarborough Farms (flowers), BeeHive Events (rentals), The Venture Rays (band), Dave’s Videography, Mark Bailey and Expressions Catering (bar).The couple: Jack and Ayse met in September 2007 during Jack’s first day of work at his new job in Washington, D.C. Ayse, who already worked there, was assigned to be Jack’s “lunch buddy” as part of his orientation. During lunch on the Georgetown waterfront, the two hit it off—realizing they had several friends in common and both shared a love for St. Mary’s City. The pair hung out at a mutual friend’s party later that week, and the rest was history.Wedding date: May 25, 2013.Inspiration: Ayse and Jack wanted a very vintage, rustic, and natural wedding on the water.Most unique design element: The venue, Historic St. Mary’s City, was the most unique element of the day. It has a rich history as well as different areas to explore and make part of the wedding.Color palette: Neutrals, including yellow, gold, brown, and green, with a touch of navy and purple.Budget: The starting budget was $60,000, and the ending budget was near $100,000.Guest Count: 210.Challenges faced: Coordinating the vendors was a challenge. Some were traveling from four to five hours away. The weather also posed a challenge as no one expected Memorial Day weekend to have temperatures in the lower 40s, but with a little bit of luck and help from Baileys Party Rentals, we secured two heaters for the large tent so guests would be comfortable. The greatest challenge, though, was the coordination of lodging and transportation for 210 guests—some of whom traveled from as far as Turkey, Australia, and Canada.Learnings: Communication played a huge factor in this wedding. I read and responded to more than 125 emails, some of which had more than 15 threads. This is not counting phone calls and meetings. I started to feel overwhelmed. Although I do have guidelines for this, one of the things that made this coordination so difficult was the fact that the bride and groom lived in Tennessee, and the parents lived in Maryland. Decisions were made that were out of my control. In the end, the bride and groom had the wedding of their dreams! After this wedding, I put more structured guidelines on emails and phone calls in place. I also started using Planning Pod with my clients more. This helps me know what they want through our "notes" and saves time by my not having to sort through countless emails to find the answer.
