Tara And Aaron’s Romantic Lodge At Tahoe Donner Wedding

Tara and Aaron’s wedding took place in the charming town of Truckee, Ca which is in the Tahoe Mountains just north of Lake Tahoe.  The Lodge at Tahoe Donner provided the perfect mountain location for their intimate celebration. 

With snow pouring right before the ceremony was to take place, Tara and Aaron exuded nothing but grace and flexibility with all the changes Mother Nature presented them with on their day.  Moving from the lush greenery to clear tented backdrop for their ceremony site, allowed for guests to stay cozy while still enjoying the snow covered evergreens in the background. One of the sweetest elements of the ceremony were the charmingly named ‘Petal Pushers’; Tara’s aunts who represented the flower girls in the ceremony. 

The cocktail hour took place in the tented reception area and guests could cuddle up under the provided blankets, entertain themselves with the custom curated lawn games designed by the groom, and snack on popcorn, a must for the bride!- as one of the many appetizers provided. 

The tented reception was draped with lush greenery and soft white blooms of garden roses, peonies, dahlias, scabiosa, ferns, silver dollar eucalyptus, and smilax.  Lanteners, Gold plated decor accents, and woodsy elements brought touches of warmth, elegance and mountain romance the couple set out to achieve. 

To keep their romantically elegant celebration relaxed and fun, pictures of the couples were set as part of the centerpieces, figurines of their fur babies adorned their two tiered cake, and glow sticks and neon glasses brought the dance party to another level. 

Guests were treated to red velvet, chocolate, and vanilla cupcakes and a two tiered red velvet and vanilla semi-naked cake. 

It was a perfect celebration indeed!

Vendors:

Photographer: @ksl_wedding

Venue/Caterer: @tahoedonnerassociation

Planner/Designer: @marcellacamilleevents

Florals: @love_and_lupines

Rentals: @eventmastersusa

Brides Dress: @swoonbridal

Bridesmaids Dresses: @swoonbridal

Cake: @laketahoecakes

DJ: @mcclainsmobilemusic

The Myth of Day-of Coordination

Day-of Coordination:

This is still one of the most popular terms going around in the wedding industry.  Did you know this was a term coined by The Knot? And it’s kind of been misleading a lot of couples and causing a lot of stress for those that book a ‘day-of’ coordinator and the company offering day-of coordination?Why? Well day-of coordinators can’t truly offer the service that a couple is looking for when they are working with them on just the ‘day-of’ their wedding.

Engaged couples generally fall into one of two categories when it comes to looking for a planner:

1. Thinking they can handle all the planning of their wedding and just need a ‘day-of’ coordinator.

2. They are busy professionals looking for someone to manage all aspects of their wedding plans so they can enjoy their engagement season and wedding day and still live life respectively stress-free of wedding planning.

Caveat: Let’s be real. Weddings are stressful. Even when you hire a wedding planner, stress unfortunately comes with the territory of such a huge life event. If you’re not stressed about the planning part, chances are you have family or friends that are stressing you out regarding some part of your wedding. Hiring a wedding planner can help significantly lower that stress and that’s one of our main goals for you! We want you to enjoy this process as much as possible!

Think about it, you planning your wedding and then handing off the wedding plans to someone the day-of your wedding is NOT realistic and certainly not a good idea.  And would only lead to stress and tension for the couple and even the planner to make sure all is done properly on the wedding day.

What most couples don’t know (because let’s face it, you don’t know what you don’t know and most have never been through the wedding planning process before), is that the term: day-of coordinator is a myth!  Someone coming to run your wedding and only working with you on the wedding day is not a real thing.

The actual reality is that this service requires the following (and this is just skimming the surface):

1.  At least one meeting and venue walkthrough prior to the wedding date to give adequate (and more relaxed time) for communication to make sure all parties are comfortable with the plans and details.  

2. Time spent liaising with the vendors so plans run smoothly day-of. 

3. Time spent reviewing your vendor contracts so your planner can accurately represent you and ensure the agreements signed with your professionals have been met.

4. Time spent reviewing all your wedding documents so there’s not wasted time day-of making sure they can manage your day and set up properly. 

5. Running your rehearsal so she can meet and know the wedding party and family of the couple (there simply isn’t enough time to learn and know who’s who the day-of the wedding).  

6. Managing the wedding day!  This includes arriving to the venue with enough time to ensure the vendors are there and know where they’re going to set-up, setting up decor (and locating missing items if they were inventoried), disbursing florals, and communicating with and managing all wedding VIPs (anyone who has a role during your wedding and not just a guest). 

7. If hired to do so, this often includes managing the tear down and clean up of your items.  Almost every venue requires all your wedding decor, personal belongings, and leftover dessert to be brought out of the venue night of. 

Like we mentioned, this is just skimming the surface. There is so much more work that goes on behind the scenes that clients will likely never know. So much more work happens than just the ‘day-of’. And we truly believe just looking for a ‘day-of’ coordinator won’t serve future clients well.

So, instead of looking for a day-of coordinator, try searching out Wedding Management for your day. This will still allow you to be very hands on while receiving exceptional service, too.

Have questions? I’d love to chat!