Leave it to the babies

Last weekend I was able to attend my boyfriend's niece and nephew(twins) baptism in NJ.   But before I even get to that I have to mention our NYC day!  We had a great time playing tourist around Times Square, in F.A.O. Schwartz and in Central Park.  I was surprised with a horse drawn carriage ride! How cool would that be for a wedding party, to arrive like that?! We had a picnic in the park and when crossing over one of the bridges we saw a small wedding taking place.   This was their backdrop:

 So cool!  I know :)

Now...back to those babies!   Sunday we spent most of the morning and early afternoon with the twins(5 months tomorrow!) and their huge loving family.  They did a wonderful job through the baptism, parading around the church and through the service!  I was a very proud...hmmm...I don't have a title..but I was proud of them!  After the service family and friends were invited back to the house for lunch.  My boyfriend's sister-in-law def has her act together! We had wrapped favors and silverware the night before...blue and pink ribbon of course!  She had prepped most of the food the day before including salad and fruit salad.  I can learn alot from this lady about party planning, she has mastered the to-do list and then some!

Talking about babies....I'm throwing a baby shower in a week!  I had originally planned and planned and planned...and then life got in the way.  Now we are down to a week before the shower.  Luckily for me, the boyfriend will be in town to help the day of...and super lucky for me the mom-to-be's mom is helping me throw the shower.  My job is to get the items like plates, napkins, cups, decorations, etc. before hand, as much as I can.  Then next Friday we will get the food and start prepping for a Saturday afternoon shower.  I can't tell you many details because I have a feeling the mom-to-be reads my blog.  She knows she is having a shower....and that's all we are letting her in on for now :)  Let's just say there will be fun!  More on this event NEXT Saturday :)

Sheffield Unit 1 thoughts

Before I even received the course materials, I knew that unit 1 would be pretty basic. I would be learning what is in the day of a planner, ways to charge a client, different things to talk about with clients at first few meetings. I did not know that we would be diving into different traditions and customs that cultures and religions have, but welcomed the eye opening chapters.

Lesson 3 was based on some etiquette things as well as different cultural customs might take place. I loved that they riches on wedding websites because the Internet is taking over lots of places and when having a wedding where people will be coming from all over, they need a place where all the information is stored. Not only is information that guests might need to know, but some sites have places where you can create polls about things or a quiz about the couple and even having guests add their wishes for songs at band...how cool is that?!?!?! I have to be honest in the fact that I have only really explored theknot.com. But I'm lookin forward to looking into some of the others that were recommended!!!

Lesson 4....I'm not going to lie....I got a bit freaked out! So freaked out I put the book down. Watched some tv and came back to the reading the next day. What freaked me out so much?? You are going to laugh because it was nothing "serious". As I've mentioned before I'm planning a wedding to happen this fall. I've been included in a lot of "family" discussions and the MOB and MOH are on my speed dial:). I've known that the hometown minister said he would travel to conduct the wedding, I've known that the brother will walk her down the aisle, i've known we wanted a harpist and soloist. But in none of these conversations have we talked "ceremony" like the actual marriage part! Aaaaahhhhh! The beginning on lesson 4 gives a great rundown on different religious ceremonies. They even go so far to break down a bunch of Christian ceremonies. Here is where I freak out...."I know it's Christian...but what sect?!?".

Luckily the MOB calls me and saves me from my freak out...Episcopalian ceremony...look in Book of Prayer....ceremony is scripted there. Okay.....now the Internet saves me again....I find a copy online and read through it....this is easy I think. Now..we need to talk processional and recessional. But that is for another day and another conversation with the bride herself. Have a great week and keep reading!:)

The course...Sheffield

So after 6 months or more I finally enrolled in a wedding/event planning course. I had done some research and there really weren't many options out there, and of course I didn't want to be prone to a scam. I had two companies send me information and had my parents read over both of the packets. I had also found a forum where people were posting many different opinions on different courses they were taking or books they had bought. I had also asked my mom to read the forum. One of the companies was not getting very good reviews and I let that one go. The other company, Sheffield seemed to be a good choice. They also kept sending me information and finally the price seemed right. I got my parents involved again and they had the normal questions: is the school accredited? Does it have any return policy or guarantee process? I knew all the answers and they like them! So with that I joined Sheffield school and it only took them a few days to get me the welcome book as well a unit 1!! I have finished unit 1 but I will leave my thoughts on that till tomorrow:)

What's in a name?

A name of a blog or a company, is super hard to decide.  In fact, when you are drained of all your creative juices, it's even harder.   I find myself in this perdicitment this past week.  One of my MOBs (Mother of the Bride) suggested I start a blog to document my journey.  Her only stipulation was that I don't "paint" her as the crazy MOB. :)   She by the way is wonderful and has been a true blessing not only in helping me plan her daughter's wedding, but someone I call a friend!

So this past week....I needed a name...and I enlisted the help of many people: my parents, my friends, and even some people on facebook...hehe just kidding you guys are friends too!  There were a ton of choices and options but none of them seemed right.  My parents and I kept coming back to "Affair to Remember" concept.  We wanted it to encompass both wedding and other events, because I love the other events.  I know weddings are fun to plan, but they are a ton of work (as I am finding out)  I want to be able to advertise that I can plan weddings but I can also plan many more events. 

Now the problem was, did everyone else use this name too??  So I did what everyone would do in my situation...I googled it! I came across several companies called "An Affair to Remember" (The closest one is in Fayetteville, NC...but even then there was only a handful worldwide)  There is "Affairs to Remember" but not in Charlotte.  So I tried "The Affair to Remember" and nothing popped up.   I was golden, a new name had been born, and I was on my way!

Or so I thought...trying to start a blog is not as easy as you think.  First you have to find the server that has your "name" free.  I couldn't fine one single blog server that would allow me to be "theaffairtoremember.blog.com" or something like that.   They said all the names were taken....but when I tried to view those blogs, they were not existent.....damn Internet bursting my bubble.   But all in all I came back to this blog site...I like my options and the ease of typing and posting.  And now my name is part of the blog!


So there you have it folks...the name: "The Affair to Remember" not just the name of the blog...but maybe one day, the name of my company :)

Ah....The Beginning

"The Beginning" is such a hard place to spot...because really what is the beginning?  To start let me tell you what this blog is about.  After much deliberation, I have decided to start a program/course in Wedding and Event Planning.  How did this all start? Well, to be honest, it all started with planning my first event at D'Vine Wine Cafe in Charlotte, NC.  I was planning a fund-raising event to help raise funds for my first ever walk in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.  

I loved working that event so much, I just wanted to keep planning.  Then some mutual friends, of my boyfriend and I, got engaged and I jumped at the chance to help them with their planning.  I talk about this like it happened years ago, but really, they have only been engaged since last fall.  So, yes I am still in the middle of planning their wedding.  And since then another close couple of ours has been engaged and I will be helping in that wedding too. (oh and we threw them the most amazing engagement party....more on this later!)


....Or I will just tell the story now...I planned this very fun engagement party "sport themed".  Some of you may be a bit confused, but both the bride and groom to be are HUGE college football fans.  She loves her Gators, while he is through and through a Nittany Lion.  So we had blue and orange as our colors...with some white to bring in the Penn State University colors.  There were over 35 people in attendance and not one of them didn't have fun!  It suited the couple to the T and the food...oh yum the food!  

Below is a picture of the graphic I had created just for them, it was featured on their cake:

So now that you can see how much fun I have had/am having in planning some events!  I wanted to get more information on the event planning industry and see if this is possibly something I would want to do as a career. The only way I know to do that is to take a course, because I've already read several books on the topic.  I am officially enrolled in a program that comes to me.  It includes lectures on CD, textbooks, study guides and my favorite....multiple choice quizzes!


There you have it folks...I am in the event industry! I am taking a course that will provide me with much information and a certificate to prove I am capable.  I have planned my own events, and now other peoples as well!  Maybe one day soon I will be planning your event.  

~Mackenzie