What does a wedding day-of coordinator actually do?

I've been a freelance wedding day-of coordinator for almost 5 years now and, while some have heard of this title, I often get the question, "So what do you actually do? Are you a wedding planner?" And even though I'd dreamed of becoming Jennifer Lopez from the movie 'The Wedding Planner' and marrying Matthew McConaughey - the answer is no, I'm not a wedding planner (nor have I found my Matthew McConaughey). 

A day-of coordinator is the person who ensures the vision of your wedding is executed - leaving you and your loved ones with no stress on your actual wedding day, which enables you to enjoy the months (or years) you spent planning it! Most commonly, as a day of coordinator, I will work with couples a few months in advance of their wedding to outline a detailed timeline of the day itself, understand the wedding theme and the vibe you're going for and establish myself as the point of contact for the venue and vendors on the actual day.

A DOC is more than decor set up and take down: it's the person that will shoulder the stresses of the day as well as deal with any uncontrollable surprises that may come up. I pride myself on the mantra of "figure it out" and work to earn the trust of the couple to make sure they feel confident with handing me that power and responsibility. We all know that regardless of all the planning you can do, unforeseen things can happen and, even if you have the most helpful aunts in the world, the last thing you want them to be doing on your wedding day is a late night ice or booze run, clearing plates when the servers go MIA or dealing the catering team on the shortage of bacon at brunch. 

I work with every couple to determine how I can be of most value on the day or leading up to it. I love bouncing ideas about flowers, decor, when the parents should give their toast or the general timeline for the day. I come equipped to my weddings with a full "emergency kit": think sewing supplies, tide to go, clothes pins, a glue gun and more often than not my parents, who act as my lovely assistants. I will be the first on site at the venue and can help with take down if you need. Every wedding is unique and special in its own way and that's how I cater my services. 

I truly love weddings and I love actually giving a couple the ability to enjoy their day to the fullest and have the best memories of their day. I hope I've given you some more insight into what a day-of coordinator actually does but if you have any more questions please get in touch! You can also read more from the amazing couples I've worked with in the past here.
 

And to quote the movie 'The Wedding Planner': "Love can't always be perfect, love is just love". This quote also applies to weddings: rain may pour, the cake may melt or the power may go out, but at the end of the day you're married to your person and you got to do it in front of your favourite people (I know, I'm making myself roll my eyes). 

xx

LC

Always a Planner, Never a Bride

As a girl I was always a sucker for a good romantic comedy. I'd get butterflies at a happy ending that usually involved some sort of grand gesture or elaborate wedding; the guy getting the girl and riding off into the sunset. And while I can't say my movie watching has set me up for success in my personal life, seeing as we live in a digital age - instead of hoping one day I'll get swept right off my feet I'm only hoping someone will simply swipe right.  

However, the digital age has not dwindled my love for love and I still do love a good wedding. Weddings can be over the top and extravagant but they also have the ability to be an amazing and intimate day that reflects the couple while bringing together their two worlds to celebrate finding one another.

Between the engagement and the I Do's there are so many things that go on to make your dream wedding a reality and, without sugar coating it, there are some highs, lows, frustrations, compromises, tears, more tears and potentially the question of should we just a elope? YOU'RE NOT ALONE. The honeymoon engagement phase often peters out when you realize that you have a year (or often times less) to plan a wedding. This is where the not-so-fun parts come in: How many people are we inviting? What's our budget? Can we afford this dream wedding I've been planning in my head for the past 20 years? Why don't you care about the flowers we're ordering? The list goes on... 

When you're starting to plan any event there are the basics you need to check off. I've used this list from baby showers, work parties and weddings, and it helps define and outline what can feel like an overwhelming task: 

1. Budget: Yup. Start with the hardest first. Figure out your top end and work backwards. Check off the big ticket items first and see how much you can afford to add to your day.
2. Venue: Your wedding shouldn't be a rogue version of who you are as a couple - make it an EXTENSION of who you are. It will feel more natural to yourself and your guests! For example: love wine? Wineries make for amazing venues. Love the beach? All inclusive might be the way to go. 
3. Theme/Decor: This goes along with the venue, but you really shouldn't need to build your vision at whichever venue you choose - you should just add to it. You're not going to add hay bales to the country club, if you know what I mean.
4. Network! This one is HUGE. Every couple who's ever had their own wedding (and even their guests!) are more than happy to share what they loved and hated about their day and what they would do differently. If you remember a wedding where the DJ was awesome and ended the night with Dirty Dancing, find out who that guy is and hire him. Photos so amazing that you went through the entire Facebook album? Find out a name! The wedding business is all about referrals - if one has resignated with you be sure to utilize your network! Social media has also become a tool to reach out to others in your community - there are so many groups to join to ask for advice and tips.
5. Ask for Help! Seriously, ask for help. Organizing the logistics of a wedding is not a small task regardless of the number of people. There are so many moving parts that need to be coordinated: schedules, vendors, last minute details - all of which you might not want to burden your family with. Ten years from now you may not remember the cost of a coordinator - or you may cringe at the memory of your dad and father-in-law dashing dinner midway to hit up a 7-11 and stock up on Coca Cola because the caterer misjudged the demand. Sometimes a little cost goes a long way.

I've had the opportunity of being a day-of-coordinator for some amazing weddings. So, what is a day of coordinator? To put it simply, a day-of-coordinator takes away any stresses leading up to and the day of your wedding. I work with couples to provide a detailed timeline of your day, act as liaison for the venue and point of contact for all vendors, do the complete set up and take down of decor and ensure your vision of hard work and planning becomes a reality! By having a day of coordinator it allows your friends and family a stress-free day to enjoy you and your wedding, without the interruptions of last minute questions or details. The reality is that even with months of planning there are always day of changes that can be inevitable; leave those last minute decisions and trouble shooting to your coordinator! Ultimately it is my goal at every wedding to make sure that your day is as perfect as it can be. The unplanned will happen but the one thing you can plan for is to have someone there to take care of those details.

With wedding season fast approaching it's time to wrap up the details and plan for the execution! I've worked with numerous vendors and venues in Greater Vancouver Area, and would love to sit down with you and discuss your ideas for your day.

Read some testimonials with past couples I've worked with here. 

Let's grab a coffee with you and chat about all things wedding! 

Email me at daywithlauren@gmail.com or message me here for more details. 

I look forward to hearing from you, I'll leave you with one of my favourite quotes:

“When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
– When Harry Met Sally

xx

LC

VANCITY VIRTUAL POTLUCK: Coconut Chicken Curry

OK, so you know when people find out you play an instrument and they expect you to pick up and jam and show off your skills? Well, I play the piano and cannot do that. I need sheet music and time to practice before I unveil my mediocore skills. I'm the same with cooking: I need guidelines, measurements and preferably a picture to know what the end result will look like (hopefully). However, I LOVE cooking and hosting and trying out new recipes! I like to challenge my skills and learn new techniques. 

I was so excited to be invited to participate in Piquant Marketing's Vancity Virtual Potluck (read all the details here!) I'd never heard of the concept before but it aligned perfectly with my culinary aspirations while connecting with other talented bloggers. BONUS: You learn a new delicious recipe (or 35) to try out next week. Let the digital feast begin! 

I'm a big fan of the one pot special. I like to get the most ROI on my recipes, which means I love a recipe that can feed the most people or its leftovers can last me in lunches all week. I'm always trying new soups, chilis and curries - admittedly, this also acts as a great way to clean out the fridge with all your produce. 

My virtual contribution is Coconut Chicken Curry, a pinterest recipe found here. I added mushrooms and zucchini to up the veggies and I served it with brown basmati rice! 

Coconut Chicken Curry (Serves 5)

• 1 pound chicken breast (cooked and chopped into small pieces)
• 3/4 c. canned coconut milk
• 1/2 c. chicken broth
• 3/4 c. thinly sliced red onion
• 1/2 c. chopped red bell pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• cilantro for garnish
• 1 tbsp curry
• 1/2 tbsp tumeric
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tbsp cayenne 
• salt & pepper to taste

Heat coconut oil in a skillet and add red onions, peppers, garlic and ginger and sauté until veggies soften (3-5 minutes). Add chicken broth, coconut milk and spices and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cover, allowing the sauce to thicken.

Add chicken to skillet and stir with the coconut curry mixture. Cover for 5 minutes on low heat to heat the chicken through and allow the flavours to seep in! 

Serve with rice and garnish with cilantro (if that's your thing).

This dish is quick and easy to make while the spices pack a punch. And these days anything with coconut milk is my jam. 

Continue feasting with other talented bloggers on the virtual potluck and click on the 'Last Dish' and 'Next Dish' below! 

xx

LC

How to Win at Hosting a Holiday Party

'Tis the season for all things merry, bright, festive and sometimes boozy. The month of December quickly fills up with various holiday events, multiple ugly Christmas sweater parties, Secret Santa exchanges and sometimes the dreaded obligatory work party. We've all been to those parties that are just stiff and uncomfortable with the equivalent to your weird uncle drinking too much egg nog and giving an angry toast. The "cool" people just wondering how long they'll have to stay before heading to the after party.

When planning a fun party for an entire company, it's definitely a tall order but I was determined to make this year's holiday party one to remember. I was apart of the planning committee for our holiday party and we looked for some inspiration from the king of hosting himself, Gatsby. He's famous for his parties in West Egg, of course.

Like any party you're hosting, whether it's a wedding, work party, dinner party, or baby shower you have to break down what decisions need to be made or else it can be overwhelming. I've compiled a list of how I plan parties and avoid losing your mind in a Pinterest rabbit hole.

1. BUDGET. Always a limiting factor that can put your party dreams to a halt but I'm a firm believer that you can work with any budget with a little imagination. Find out what your max budget is and work backwards from your big ticket items. For example, factor in the venue, food, and booze costs first. When budgeting, always calculate based on maximum number of guests and plus ones. This will minimize surprise costs at the end and allow for that inevitable overture (I always factor in a 5-10% unexpected costs into the budget too!).

2. VENUE. Think about the number of people you're hosting and who is the audience. Holiday parties don't have to be limited to hotels and conference spaces which offer little to no ambiance. Restaurants are great options for venues because they are more often now offering group menus, lots of food choices outside of the regular chicken and beef and are super accommodating to make sure the guests have an amazing time! We chose to host our party at Roof Garten, they call themselves a rooftop "utopia" in the middle of the hustle and bustle of downtown Vancouver. You're transported to this indoor outdoor space that instantly offers an intimate dining experience and unique decor (think mirrored walls, a panorama bar and champagne lounge). Location is key when picking a venue too, think about transportation options to and from so you can make sure your guests can easily get to the destination. We could have not been happier with our choice, the food was amazing, and a perfect size for our group. 

3. THEME. Parties always up their game when a theme is involved, however, it's always a huge party fail if no one gets into it. Therefore, you have to be mindful of a few things when picking a theme you know people will participate it in: 

• Pick something that everyone will feel comfortable dressing up as. Ideally something people could potentially work with in their own closet so they don't feel like they need to break the bank or be discouraged to attend. 
• Don't be too specific but rather pick an era or genre. Our's was Great Gatsby which extended to the whole 1920's decade, men in suits mostly dressed up with a hat, bow tie, suspenders or a cane. Done! Girls have a wide spectrum too: sequins, pearls, headbands, fringe, fur... the list goes on. Even with a basic neutral dress, a girl could throw on some lipstick, curls and layer some jewellery and fit in! 

4. DECOR. Again, something that can easily get expensive quickly, that's why it's important to set a budget and work within it. Focus on a few key areas and do those well instead of trying to do a little bit of everything. For example our decor list includes:

• A gold "curtain" at the door, who doesn't love making a grand entrance to a party? Gatsby sure did.
• A champagne "tower", plastic cups from the party store and champagne "bubbles" behind (coloured balloons). We even tried the champagne pour and were semi-successful! An overall hit and a great photo op.

• Table decor: We opted to stick with the gold and black Gatsby idea, black table cloths, and spray painted wine bottles gold. Super easy but packed a punch when draped with pearls and feathers. Not to mention an abundance of candles! Candles are my go-to for instant ambiance game changer. 

5. NETWORK. Everyone knows a guy who knows a guy who knows... you get the idea. We were fortunate enough to have an in house DJ who kept the party going all night which was awesome and saved us some pennies. Utilize who people know: referrals always give the best result. Another employee referred us to Dang Good Booths and they were AWESOME! So professional and wonderful to work with. They allowed us to customize the print out of the photo's to match our theme and add our company logo. Needless to say the photos became more interesting as the night went on and were a huge hit! Our very talented design team did a wonderful job with the signage, invites and photo booth print outs; of course on trend with our Great Gatsby theme. 

6. PLANNING. Delegating and pre-planning are always a huge help when hosting a large event. Stay organized with the guest list so your numbers are accurate, keep a decor list, and track your spending so you don't go over budget. Complete what you can ahead of time (huge time saver) and most of all; ask for help and delegate tasks! Such as, a set up and take down crew, decor, 'hostessing' (monitoring drink tickets, and etc.) and name a person to be a liaison with the venue. A huge help when keeping to the timeline, food service and clean up. 

I hope I've inspired you to look outside the box when planning your next party and think about a place you had an amazing dinner or brunch at... maybe they host private events! Engage your coworkers with favourite movies and get ideas for a theme (James Bond, Masquerade, etc.) and get everyone excited for the next work event that you'll be planning. 

xx

LC

10 Tips to Impromptu Hosting!

Ok, we've all been in that situation where you're thinking of something to do on a rainy Saturday night and the best idea is for someone to host a relaxing evening at their house, and everyone agrees that someone should be you (INSERT PANIC EMOTION HERE!). Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE hosting. I have the Monica Geller from Friends gene. However, I'm also a planner and before having people over I prefer to have my walls be washed, fresh sheets, fluffed pillows... the whole shebang. But you know what, sometimes it doesn't work out that way you have to say "Great! I'd love to host" (Again, insert more panic...) And get down to work.

I've come up with a few tricks that help me always stay "host ready":

1.  Stocked bar: I've said it before and I'll say it again, too many options are just too many. A few staples I always have on hand that always prove to be crowd pleasers:

• Prosecco (or champagne) chilled in the fridge. Life is about celebrating, the big or little things - a first date to an engagement. Always best to have a chilled bottle of bubbly to pop!
• Hard Bar Staples: Vodka (in the freezer), Gin, Crown, Rum and Tequila, for good measure.
• MIX! My Soda Stream has saved my life (and dollars) to serve up Vodka sodas. I usually have cans of coke in the fridge because someone will always say yes to a rum and coke.
• Garnishes: Lemons and Limes. Cute to have on the counter, inexpensive and always adds a little zest (pun intended) to a drink.

2. Candles! Instantly creates an ambiance in the room and are easy to have on hand. A few flameless are great to have too.

3. Flowers! I love flowers and now that we're in tulip season I usually treat myself to a $6 bunch. An easy update to your place that doesn't take much time or money!

4. What are your go to favourite fridge staples? I would love to say that I am always equipped to put together an amazing charcuterie board at a moments notice, but I'm not. Guacamole is one of my favourites so I always have avocados on hand (find & master a great guac recipe like this one). I serve this with some salsa and some corn ships and watch them disappear! Or get fancy with a towering plate of nachos, but my nachos, unlike the restaurant's, are layered up on cheese and the guac won't be extra. I also love my hummus, bake pita chips and some veggies. Super Easy! Figure out your go-to recipes and make sure they are always on the grocery list!!

5. DELEGATE!!! This is the hardest one for me because I have control issues and I want to do everything, but I've learned that IT'S OK TO ASK FOR HELP! Especially if you're doing dinner. You made Lasagna? Get someone to grab a loaf of break for garlic bread! Dessert? Would love you do bring some. Make sure you're clear you'll have some booze but if there is anything specific your guests like to drink then encourage them to bring it along!

6. ICE! It seems obvious but it's so easy to forget. I try to stay on top of it but I will always have a bag ready to go, just in case.

7. Run the dishwasher/do a plate and glass check. On average people have 3 drinks in a night and can typically use 3 glasses. Another Martha tip I use is to have all my glasses accessible on the counter so guests don't have to go through my cupboards. 

8. Entertainment. Whether it's a Throwback Thursday playlist or a classic board game, sometimes entertainment needs to be planned. Spotify is my go-to right now; who knows, it could be a game changer and spark an impromptu dance party. It's fun to find out who else has Bieleber fever (clue: everyone). Some classic board games to have on hand:

• Cards Against Humanity
• Cranium
• Heads UP!
• aaaaand Twister

9. Did you ever hear the saying, "Make sure you have clean underwear on so if you get into an accident you won't shame your family"? I try to keep the same mentality about the cleanliness of my home. Be prepared for the "pop by" and impromptu gatherings by tidying a bit every day; it is way less work than one massive clean up, and you'll have one less thing to stress about when hosting! 

10. Just say YES and you'll figure it out; no one is expecting perfection so don't put that pressure on yourself. (I say this now, but my inner Monica Geller sometimes creeps in).

writing this post is inspiring me to host a gathering -  anyone else? Twister and chili may be on the menu tonight... 

Hope everyone had a good weekend and I hope the Easter Bunny was good to you!!

xx

LC