An Impressive Event

Nearly a year from our wedding, the excerpt from my blog still rings true. I would whole heartedly recommend utilizing Karen's services. My husband and I still say that from our wedding budget, the planner fee was the best money we spent - hands down. As an investment in our day, that money came back to us in folds.

For those of you searching for a planner, you already understand the value of hiring a professional to assist (or take the reins) in your planning. A planner can ensure that things go smoothly on your big day, help you gather the right vendors, and help you prioritize your spending.

From our experience, I feel that there are several reasons to hire Karen:
* She is great about returning calls and e-mails. At one point during our planning process, John and I were astounded to hear that she had other clients. The level of service we recieved just made us think that we were the only bride and groom in her world.

* Karen is very good with budgets. Her goal is to help you realize your dreams for your day, but understands that not everyone has the funding for their champagne dreams. With respect to budgets, Karen helps you prioritize your spending. We didn't have much for our florals, so she recommended specific areas where we should focus on our spending.

* She keeps you on task and organized. As a Type-A person, I was surprised to see how disorganized I became during our wedding planning. Karen was always there with contract copies, calendars showing critical dates, and following up with e-mails.

* Karen cares. It's easy for a professional to get jaded by the work in their field or to treat something flippantly. This is not something that I experienced with Karen. She's excited for you, with you, and is very open minded about any planning concepts you might bring to the table. She's also there for you when your wedding dress shop abruptly closes its doors and apparently leaves you without a dress 10 weeks before your wedding (a wild moment in our planning). Incidentally, that was the ONE choice I made outside of Karen's list of handy vendors and that was a giant backfire.

* Karen is also respectful of your place of worship and any traditions that you may carry with your faith or culture. Our church's pastor and wedding consultant had some bad planner experience which Karen erased. After working with Karen on our wedding, they mentioned how much they appreciated her approach.

Apparently, I can go on and on about the benefits of working with Karen. Good luck with your planning, but if you Karen, just sit back and enjoy it!

Karen Caskey is everyting we hoped for and then some. With her 'A' type personality, she was confident, driven, focused and definitely had great contacts and or suggestions of which way to go. Initially my wife Delia and I were determined to plan our own, but it soon became much more than we planned, so her sister recommended us to Karen. Right from the start we were able to relax and enjoy the journey. There still were moments of stress, but Karen assured us we were right where we needed to be. She was right because our wedding was fantastic. It's also a nice feeling that each anniversary we get to remember the event and Karen who played a such a significant part of that memory.

We could not be happier with our wedding. Chad and I kept saying to each other, “It’s a perfect night!” You knew the itinerary and announced as needed. Your were great and your appearance was professional. The timelines you provided were helpful as well as picking up all the décor before the wedding. Thank you!

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write, I just never imagined it would take me this long to get back to day-to-day reality! I just wanted to let you know how appreciative Tommy and I were for your services. You did an AMAZING job!!! My entire family is still talking about how hard-working and thoughtful you were in making sure that everything went off without a hitch. I can honestly say that my wedding was PERFECT, and I wouldn't change A THING. I'm sure that keeping the boys in line was a near miracle, but you handled everything so gracefully. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I will fill out the questionnaire that you sent, and of course, please feel free to use me as a reference ANYTIME.

The following is an excerpt from a client’s wedding blog on the morning of her wedding. It is reprinted here with permission:

With 8 hours to go, I have just about everything set. I think I'm calm. I think I'm relaxed. I think I can hold it all together today. I'm packed for the trip. I just need to get showered, pampered, and then high tail it to the church and get dressed. That's it. Ah, the beauty of having a planner. She takes care of the decorations and all the little last minute details. As a Christian, my Savior is Christ. As a bride, it's Karen. She has been the calm within the storm of planning. Although it's her job, she's still able to have an emotional connection and get excited with you. She understands the importance of the moment for you and your family as well as the spiritual significance of your union. I truly feel that this experience of wedding planning would not have been as enjoyable without her involvement or influence. As the weeks led up to the wedding, I wondered to myself if I could have done this on my own. No professional help. And each time, it was a resounding "no" and with so many reasons to back it up. Without Karen, the short period of planning we had allotted ourselves (just under 4 months), would have been serious stress. She was able to gather up the potential vendors and rank them for us based on experience and reputation. I never would have found my floral designer, photographer, or baker, had it not been for her. Oh yeah, and the DJ, too. When John and I first met with Karen, we were so appreciative of her ability to respect and understand a budget. Before meeting with us, she researched out different venues and made an effort to find beautiful locations that would meet our needs. The advice and tips that we received from her at that first meeting and along the way of planning, have been extremely helpful. I think having Karen around has really helped me keep a steady hand through this week. For those of you who remember, I would get rashes every time I thought about the wedding. Once we hired Karen, the rashes stopped. That very day. She makes the checklists and follows up on them. At this point, I just need to do as I'm told. And right now, that means eating breakfast so that I don't faint at the altar. That would be a serious party foul.

We cannot begin to express how grateful we are for all your help. We would have paid wayyyyy more for your services. You did a wonderful job with everything from the first meetings to the rehearsal, the wedding, and the reception. Everything was amazing. My mother, Tony, and I are so thankful for all that you’ve done. Please let us know if you ever need a glowing referral. We will be happy to help.

You exceeded our expectations! You coordinated our wedding from A-Z. All we had to do was dress and show. Our family members expressed their appreciation as well. We will definitely recommend you to family and friends. Thanks again!