Cheers to you, Mr. /Ms. “Take Over the Wedding” Guest! We see you at every one of the 1,000 weddings we have produced for almost 20 years. You have been the inspiration for this post, celebrating the next “casting call” for the next wedding we produce.
All candidates are invited to audition this September; however, it is helpful if we know in advance who is taking on which role, but if you wish to just show up for more of an inprov performance, as we are used to, we welcome that, too. In fact, we will be looking for you.
Know It All Bridal Party Member
Trying to show off in front of others and convey that he/she is a true friend, Know It All is really just struggling for attention and feels inadequate in power in life in general. Still, she decides the wedding planner and all the professionals doing their job who have spent a year working together to plan the couple’s wishes do not know as well as she does and asks each one constantly, “Should we be doing it this way?” on the actual day of the wedding, and then proceeds with her own idea and making sure that all the hard work planned by the bride/groom and professionals is thrown out the window because her way is better. Perhaps secretly she always wanted to be a wedding planner; perhaps she wants to look like a hero to the couple, but whatever the reason, her way is always better and she lets everyone know.
Read More >>Introducing: The Affordable Wedding Planning Series™
Blog, Event Industry Businesses & Professionals, Event Planning Advice, Services / 05.30.20170 comments
A Santa Barbara wedding and expert wedding planner are, in fact, within reach. The Affordable Wedding Planning Series allows couples to re-invest what they save from hiring a full-service wedding consultant back into their priorities for their wedding. From The Mobile Wedding Planning Tour For Two, Ceremony-Only Coordination, and The Jump Start, to Full Service Support, investments range from $350 to $1695, providing exceptional value for those needing professional wedding expertise, guidance and resources with limited budgets. This series offers 4 easy-to-understand and affordable planning options for the couple watching their money who is also willing and able to be more DIY. Planning options below.
When A Wedding Planner Weds | The Reception Soirée Story: A “Mobile Dinner Feast”
Blog, Event Industry Businesses & Professionals, Real Weddings, Special Events / 05.05.20170 comments
When we announced to some of our closest friends that we just got married in a secret destination elopement to Santa Fe, New Mexico, one text came back immediately from a long-time friend: “We want to host a reception for you when you return to celebrate.” Seeing as this text was from one of the area’s leading event partners and her daughter, a professional wedding and event planner who had been my Associate for so many years, we knew we were in for something special. But just how special, we did not know until we arrived at the private home of our hosts Heidi and Mike Whitcomb, owners of Ventura Rental Party Center for a grand celebration in style. Event planners extraordinaire Heidi and Ashley of Events by Ashley W. produced a night we – and our family and friends- will never forget. My husband and I did not do one bit of the planning nor were we involved at all. We provided them with a guest list and literally just showed up and stepped into our reception. In fact, being on the other side of planning a wedding was almost overwhelming. I remember staring at our wedding cake for cake-cutting not quite sure how to tackle it, despite the fact I’ve counseled hundreds of couples for over 15 years on this exact act.
Wine Country Experiences | Vineyard Yoga: A Meditation of Movement
Blog, Event Planning Advice / 04.23.20172 comments
As a third generation Santa Barbaran and one whose business has largely been centered in wine country, I am always trying to stay aware of unique experiences for my clients and their guests when they visit my hometown. Vineyard Yoga SYV (Santa Ynez Valley) is an experience that you simply won’t get at any yoga studio and if you come to Santa Barbara and /or its wine country (The Santa Ynez Valley), this is a must.
Founded by Certified Yoga Instructor Cori Crawford Lassahn, Vineyard Yoga SYV offers guests a relaxing setting at some of Santa Barbara wine country’s most beautiful wineries surrounded by vineyards and panoramic views. Instructor Cori graciously welcomes guests of all abilities and her presence as she guides students through all the moves and the experiences is one of the main differentials between this and other yoga classes. She continually rotates her teaching position so that students on all sides of the class have equal opportunity to hear her and see her examples; her music playlist songs are carefully chosen to relax, inspire (and even, in a few cases, boogie – as I found myself bopping slightly to the beat during warrior pose, which was fun). Every movement had a purpose as a “meditation”, as we were all invited to be present with the feeling of
Read More >>Mark & Cristina Enjoy Mobile Wedding Planning Tour for 2 and Find Their Dream Wedding Location
Blog, Event Planning Advice, Industry Shenanigans, Innovations / 04.11.20170 comments
Photo by Jose Villa
The Mobile Wedding Planning Tour for Two is perfect for couples just like Mark and Cristina who knew without a doubt they wanted to get married in Santa Barbara, but a) did not know where to start and b) were not sure they wanted to invest in a full-service wedding planner and c) had a limited spending plan (aka “budget”).
One of the biggest mistakes I see newly-engaged couples make is to spend weeks or months researching venues in an area on their own, and then when they find their dream venue, often fall so in love with it that they do whatever it takes to book it and sometimes a site fee alone can eat up almost half (or a good portion) of their spending plan, if they aren’t careful. They then find themselves over-committed financially and sacrificing on the other absolutely-crucial elements necessary for a lovely, memorable event for themselves and their guests. All of this could be avoided with coming into the whole planning experience with an overall spending plan and a professional to guide them up front.
Read More >>Our Live Broadcast Day of Mobile Wedding Planning Tour for Mark & Cristina
Blog, Event Planning Advice, Innovations / 04.09.20170 comments
“Jump Start Your Wedding Planning” Mobile Wedding Tour For Two
Blog, Industry Shenanigans, Innovations / 03.27.20170 comments
Before “My Big Fat Fake Wedding”, before the “Faux Wedding” there was The Mobile Wedding Planning Experience (also known as The Mobile Bridal Faire), developed and copyrighted by Santa Barbara Wine Country Weddings & Events CEO/Founder Kerry Lee (Dickey) Doehr in 2004. This event provided a luxury motorcoach tour to 5 leading Santa Barbara venues, which were all decorated as “real” weddings and receptions (some with model bride & groom as well). This allowed guests to interact with event partners in their element, as well as provided event partners the opportunity to showcase themselves in front of pre-qualified leads (every attendee had to be looking to plan some aspect of their wedding).
Ms. (Dickey) Doehr’s ground-breaking industry concept earned her the attention of upscale luxury national wedding resource Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine, where they created an exclusive category for her as well as The Texas Board of Tourism who contacted her for consultation on how this was done to further their destination wedding revenue stream. There was no doubt that this was a win for event partners and wedding clientele alike and created a whole new business model and concept.
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Certified Wedding Professional and 3rd generation Santa Barbaran Kerry Lee (Dickey) Doehr has continued this concept through the years but customized it on a more intimate level for couples until the next big mass mobile bridal faire is produced (TBA).
Read More >>Rain or Shine, Alisal Ranch Provided Glow for Newlyweds Megan & Joe
Blog, Real Weddings / 12.29.20160 comments
Bride Megan’s family have been long time guests of the legendary and historic Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort, like so many of the couples who choose to exchange vows at the ranch. Alisal holds a deeply meaningful place in the family traditions of so many. Megan and Joe hosted their wedding ceremony in one of the ranch’s main pastures, with cocktails in the Sycamore Room, a gorgeous dinner at Creekside under the canopying Sycamore trees, ending with dancing and more fun back in the Sycamore Room for the rest of the evening. We decided to put the majority of focus of design where guests would be spending most of their time: cocktails, dinner and dancing.
Sometimes the best plans are unexpectedly enhanced when a change occurs. With specialty lighting planned to
Read More >>Heart-Centered Destination Elopement Featuring a Santa Barbara Photo Safari Experience
Blog, Real Weddings / 12.20.20160 comments
Lauren and Boyd’s wedding was not about the fluffy, over-the-top decor that is the stuff national wedding magazines and blogs are made of. Nor was it anything traditional. But what it was was the quintessential essence of what love, marriage and family is about, something that no magazine or advertorial could possibly convey with photos alone. From the two tragic losses this couple endured just weeks prior to the wedding to the style in which they chose to celebrate their vows, this wedding was exceptional and perhaps one of my favorites of all time.
Lauren and Boyd loved all of Santa Barbara’s picture -perfect wedding locations. They also knew they could only choose one location to say their vows. So what does one do when you want the best of all Santa Barbara has to offer? Enjoy it all! They wanted a personal wedding experience and wanted to focus on the number one most important thing to them: family, friends and…good food and wine. When one has their priorities straight, it is easy on the planning, especially for their destination wedding elopement, which included just them and about 35 of their closest family and friends. They decided on a simple ceremony at
Read More >>When A Wedding Planner Weds: Part II | Our Secret Destination Elopement Story: A “RoadMoon”
Blog, Real Weddings / 11.13.20162 comments
Downtown Santa Fe Historic Plaza by Palace of Governors and Indian Market. Photo by Melanie West.
Part Two of Two of “When a Wedding Planner Weds” (see Part One ) : I got married and changed my last name to “Doehr” in a destination, secret elopement to Santa Fe, New Mexico with 5 family members present. Why? The focus for us was on the sacred intimacy of our vows, each other … and wanting to leave room for serendipity and magic. We did not want just one day of back-to-back neck-breaking schedules and many years of paying back the funds it took for one day’s event to take place. Honestly, we also wanted to stretch it out. To enjoy some travel and then come home and celebrate with family and friends- perhaps even multiple celebrations.
You see, there is this myth that if you don’t do a wedding a certain way, or include all the “required” traditions, that you will regret it or that somehow psychologically, it does not count. I’m here to say that even if you believe that, with an elopement, you can still do your wedding “traditions” and “non-negotiables” later – any way you want – and as many times as you want when you get home or over the years. Knowing you have the luxury of time is a gift I cannot describe, and makes looking forward to the future even more fun.
Read More >>About Me
I am an Innovator. Inspirer. Story-teller. Believer in the magic of life and humanity.
