Congrats to Jason and Shawna!!!!

Jason and Shawna were a referral to me from Mickey and Chris. They were such a great couple to work with. The facility they used did have on hand "coordinators" but Jason and Shawna knew they would need someone to help them through the planning process leading up to the wedding and the day of the wedding. I am soooooo happy they called me and could see the value of my services. The church was very hesitant to work with an outside coordinator (this is actually quite common among churches with on site coordinators) They assured us the event would run smoothly but Jason and Shawna wanted help in the months leading up to the wedding as well. They took full advantage of my texting services, as well as my unlimited email, and phone communication. They also utilized ATC by RACHEL for their floral services as well. Below are some pictures from Dana of Dana's Creative Photography. Stay posted for their testimonial and gallery page. Enjoy the pictures below.

Great advice from an All Things Creative bride

Below is an email I received from my September 12th bride. She was so pleased with our services, she wanted to make sure everyone knew how helpful a coordinator can be. Enjoy her testimonial below and look for her gallery in the next day or two. THANKS Mickey!! It was an honor to be a part of your day.

Weddings can be very costly events and it can be exhausting thinking about adding an additional expense of a wedding coordinator to your budget. My only words of wisdom (as a recent bride) are that you really need to consider your experience with planning such an important event. The services that Rachel provided to us for our wedding day are invaluable. She pulled everything together and made our day run incredibly smooth.

We had issues with a rental company prior to the day, and she helped so much with this piece.
We wanted something different for our ceremony music and she put us into contact with a fantastic musician.
Our wedding as at our home, so parking was a concern and she came up with some great solutions that we never would have even considered.
Because she was setting up the tables and designing the décor, I cannot even imagine what the décor and flowers would have been like had Rachel not also provided her floral services for our wedding ceremony and reception. I previously worked with another florist, however because that florist wasn’t involved with the décor and event design, that person was limited on the services (and creativity) that could be provided. Rachel’s creative designs were perfect for our ceremony because she was involved with everything. Also, because she was involved and understood the site layout perfectly, she knew where the money should be spent so that we didn’t waste any money on unnecessary flowers or décor.

In the initial stages of our wedding planning, I was afraid to invest additional money for what some might consider frivolous, but now in retrospect I realize her services were a necessity, just as much as a caterer or an officiant. Now I truly understand that it would have been impossible to pull off our wedding day without her by our side!

I would recommend her services to everyone!
Mickey Cyr
September 2009 Bride

2 down 4 to go

WHEW!!!! September and October are such an exciting whirlwind for All Things Creative. We've gotten through two of our September weddings and have four more weddings between this weekend and October 17th. Stay tuned to our blog and gallery for updates and photos.
I'll be heading north as of Thursday September 24th for Jessica and Jay. It's going to be an amazing wedding at a private residence in Traverse City right on the beach (weather permitting)
Stay tuned for pictures!!!

Julie and Brad August 1st

WOW!!! What a wedding and what a day!!

The Birmingham Community House is an amazing facility with an amazing staff!!! I would love to work there again... and again... and again!

Julie was a BEAUTIFUL bride! She wanted the wedding to have a vintage, antique feel to it and she succeeded! Julie contracted our services for Collection Three which is day of assistance with a couple of additional meetings. This was one of the smoothest events I have ever worked. Hannah was there with me and the day was perfect! I can't say enough good things about this wedding. The weather couldn't have been any better for an outdoor tent wedding in August.

Enjoy some of my pictures below. Check back to the ATC by Rachel Testimonial and Gallery page for professional pictures coming soon!!!

Krista and Duncan July 17th

Krista found us last October but knew she would need assistance during the final month of her wedding. She chose Collection Four for our day of coordination assistance. I knew that we were going to be a great match from the start!!! The wedding colors were hot pink, black, and white. It was an ATC by Rachel wedding come true!! I love the flowers done by Blumz (always a great job)
She did realize last minute that she forgot the boutonniere and the toss bouquet. I was able to create those for her last minute and no one knew the difference. It was a great day!

Here are some pictures of the toss bouquet and the boutonniere.

More wedding pictures....

Blumz created a great arrangement for the alter that we were able to take to the reception site and use at the head table.

Jackie and Terry June 13th

The bride called me a few weeks before her wedding, a little overwhelmed with all the details that were coming her way... luckily the date was available. I was so happy to be there and help. My assistant and I worked the event and it was a good thing because even with two hostesses, there was plenty of work for us to do. It was a great day and every thing turned out perfect! Congrats Jackie and Terry!!!

I LOVED the cake and candy table!

Everyone had a great time!

where has the time gone...

It has been a while (and a few weddings) since my last blog. Here are some pics from a few of our weddings. Enjoy!!!!

June 6th Laura and Tim

I LOVE SHUTTERBOOTH!!!!

Great ceremony in the park.

The bride collects snoopy items, so her sister found this snoopy bride and groom and they had it on the guest book table. It was super cute!

Their colors were purple and white. She chose to do a pillar candle and hurricane vase for her centerpieces with purple butterflies around the table. Butterflies were a theme carried throughout the wedding. They had a butterfly release at the ceremony.

They also had white chair covers with with purple bands. It all looked great and the candles created a great glow in the room.

Congrats!!!!

The little things can add up.

When you are planning the budget for your wedding, make sure to include tips and meals for vendors in your budget. Things like the basket for the restrooms, toss bouquet, etc. all of the little things can add up. Try to sit down and create a full list of everything you could possibly need by date and that should help you to stay on track. I also suggest that you carry a "wedding notebook" with you at all times, that way when you have a thought, you can write it down right there. That should eliminate the "I had a thought about the wedding but can't remember what it was" moments. :)

Happy Planning!

food for thought when choosing your vendors...

It doesn't matter how many weddings I do, I always take something away. I am not sure if it is due to the recent state of our economy or just a large amount of competition out there but I am finding that some brides are cutting corners (and costs) by using vendors with prices that are lower than the average. This should always be a red flag to anyone, in any industry. In any business, there is a cost to run that business. I recently worked at a wedding and the bride chose a fairly new linen company. I was horrified when I walked into the reception site and all I could smell was fabric softener. The coordinator of the facility came up to me with a panic on her face and said "do you smell that, what are we going to do"? She said that when the linen company delivered the linens, the woman was proud of that smell. The smell wasn't the only concern I had. That smell told me that the linens were washed in a regular washer and dryer, which left me to wonder if there were any sanitary issues? If they are washing them in a regular washer and dryer, are they able to get out all stains? I get my linens from one of the largest suppliers in Michigan and know that they have industrial washers that wash the linens in water that is 750 degrees! That's right 750 degrees!
I understand that times are tough and everyone has to pinch every penny, I am right there with you. That is why it is so important to use reputable vendors, shop around, and make sure you feel comfortable with the vendor you choose. So many people believe that wedding coordinators are only for big budget weddings, that is not the case at all. I strive with every wedding to find ways to help cut cost for my brides. I have networked with the best of the best in the industry to make sure that my clients are taken care of from start to finish.

I went to a floral design seminar the other day and saw some great floral arrangements.
Enjoy the pics!!


The first set is a black, green, and white. They did some really cool things with wire, green mums, and black river rocks.




In this picture you can kind of see how they made the display for the table numbers and place cards. They glued the wire to the river rocks and then glued the green mums on top of the wire and then put the table numbers and names on the top of the wire.








This was beautiful. It was a black box of green green Kermit mums, green trachelium, and votives. It was so neat and crisp looking. I loved it!






This is another shot of the arrangement above but in the background was another arrangement that they made with a branch that was spray painted white. Everything together was so impactful.




They also had a pink, green, and orange theme. They did some really cool things with the colored wire and beaded embellishments. I love the floating candles!!!



This was one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time!!! They had the gerberas in vases and then attached the free standing gerberas with the wire and used small tea light holders as a base for water. It was so cool in person! I can't wait to recreate this for an event.



Here is a better shot (don't mind the kitchen supplies in the background. I got there towards the end and they had moved everything over to the refreshment area)

Table Top WOW!!!

What a great night! It was so nice to see all of the great vendors and all of the amazing tables. Enjoy the pics!

This was my favorite table!

This table won best table as chosen by the judges. It was a beach theme raw food table. It had sushi and a live model as a mermaid. It was really neat.

This table was a lot of fun. It was called Lucy in the Sky. It had a real retro feel to it with a ton of great colors.

This was another great table. It was called "Keep the Motor City Running"