Vendors We Love

Italian Inspired Styled Shoot: Harvest Moon Pond – Poynette, WI

October 5, 2020 By Sarah Davidson

I love creating impactful moments and bringing people together soooooo much. Like, SO much.

Well, when Covid-19 hit the USA in March of 2020 it temporarily put a damper on things like that. Personally, I went through a rough few months (as did many in the hospitality industry), stuck in this mindset that I just wasn’t going to be doing any events for a very, very long time. There was nothing that could be done, that we all just had to live through this, and also try to figure out how to survive until it was over.

By the time summer rolled around though and we realized this wasn’t ending anytime soon, I needed to shake myself out of it. It took a lot of watching and being inspired by industry friends seizing the moment, a lot of conversations with my business coach, and a lot of holding up the mirror to get through my head trash that nothing could be done. But finally I was able to get to a point like:

Loving this 2020 release from Ale Asylum

Right around that time is when I received my first message from Stephanie, one of the new owners of Harvest Moon Pond, a gorgeous venue in Poynette with a beautiful history. Somehow I had yet to have been to her space so she invited me out for a tour, along with Jason, Owner of Chance Productions, to get a lay of the land and brainstorm on ways that we could all work together. In this meeting we hatched the plan to collaborate on a styled shoot, meant to inspire in the current times, while showcasing parts of the venue that haven’t gotten as much love as the should. And voilà! Here we are.

While I enjoy a big, glamorous wedding as much as the next planner, I equally love creating a low-key yet personalized celebration. This sentiment served as the overall goal for this shoot, that a wedding doesn’t have to be cheapened by adding the term “casual” in front of it. Instead it offers an opportunity to define a very specific experience that a couple wants their guests to have.

To pull this together, I would only (as I always do) trust the best. With the venue and rentals already on board, the next key members were those who could capture the entire project’s ambiance and the creative work of all vendors flawlessly. Enter Tim Fitch (photographer) and Paul Gero (videographer), who I trust over and over again to capture the essence of HUE – our approach, our style, and the end result we want. And they deliver every. single. time.

Once the vision is set, it’s time to talk details. My approach in this is to leave the finer things to the experts, giving each vendor a general scope what what I want the end result to feel like and then letting them run with it. As per usual with this particular dream team, they ran hard and took things to a level far beyond what was asked of them. For instance, can we just soak in these daffodil*parker florals for a minute?

When I asked Kayla from DP to participate, she said “We’ve done so much with whites and greens, it would be awesome to incorporate more color into the palette! I’ve personally been really into rust, taupe, cream, beige, brown and pops of color that lean late summer.” With the shoot occurring in August, that was more than okay with me. We understand that casual couples prefer to lean into their surroundings, embracing the moment and everything that comes along with it, so floral and colors natural to the season in Wisconsin made perfect sense.

Delicate and personalized details have been the heart and soul of A LA CRATE Rentals for many years now, and there is no way the look could’ve pulled together as seamlessly as it did without key pieces from their collection. To some, the addition of something simple like a rug or vintage plates might not seem like that big of a deal. However it’s taken me years to learn that in the world of creating memorable experiences, these touches are everything.

These touches also include paper goods, which set the stage and put your guests in the proper mindset before they’ve even arrived. Kathy, Owner of Sugar Pear Design had a lot of fun for me on this one, designing an invitation suite poking fun at the time of Covid and leaning heavily into our Italian inspiration. You know, I love being a little extra now and then!

Geoffrey, the Owner of Celebrations Entertainment is another friendor of mine that feeds my “being extra” habit, which you can see from this particular shoot with the inclusion of his silent disco setup. Hosting an outdoor event and want to rock to the wee hours? Make sure to check these out for maximum party potential with minimum risk of noise complaints!

And finally, we could not have done this all without our amazing models! Carrie and Noah. From our first connection, to their trip to Moments to Cherish to be outfitted with Arlene, to being present on shoot day, they understood our vibe and were totally willing to go with the flow, enjoying these moments we had all created and helping our whole team forget about the pandemic for a little bit.

Thank you to all involved! Until next time!

The Dream Team:
Design, Planning + Coordination: HUE by Sarah Davidson
Venue: Harvest Moon Pond
Photography: Tim Fitch Photography
Videography: Gero Pictures
Arch + Rentals: Chance Productions
Vintage Rentals: A LA CRATE Rentals
Floral: daffodil*parker
Stationery: Sugar Pear Design
Catering: Salvatore’s Tomato Pies
Silent Disco: Celebrations Entertainment
Attire: Moments to Cherish Bridals
Models: Carrie Brick + Noah Hockett

Why HUE?

April 3, 2020 By Sarah Davidson

We know that there are a million wedding planners out there that you could work with, so why choose us?

No wedding we do looks the same

We’ve planned weddings indoors, outdoors, at theaters, summer camps, museums, backyards, hotels, barns, and probably almost anywhere else you can think of. Every wedding is a personalized experience for our clients from start to finish, and our services will fit exactly what you envisioned it to be.

We live for logistics

It takes a lot of effort to make something look effortless, and that’s the kind of stuff we live for. We focus on all the steps that need to be taken to provide a smooth and beautiful end result so that when the wow moment comes, all you need to do is take it in.

We enjoy people, and people enjoy us

Check out our reviews and ask your other vendors their opinion of us. Personal relationships are the single most important thing to us in the world and we take every measure to maintain those to the fullest. We aim to make planning a wedding a thoroughly enjoyable experience for all involved, and one of our favorite parts of the job is connecting clients with their vendor dream team.

We are experienced

Our team has held a variety of positions in their careers including as planners, coordinators, venue managers, caterers, and florists. We’ve all been working in the wedding industry for nearly a decade. The only real way to gain true experience and knowledge in events is by being a part of them. Ask us about past situations we’ve transformed from big deal to no problem in a matter of minutes. From tornado warnings to forgetting the rings, we’ve seen it all.

And finally

“That’s not what you normally do“.. is what we do

It’s your wedding. We love new traditions, ditching the old ones, out there design, tacos for dinner, casual but classy, and look forward to making your vision a reality.

Ready to work together? Contact us today to get started!

Vote for HUE! – Wisconsin Bride Awards

March 4, 2020 By Sarah Davidson

It’s that time of year again! Every year, Wisconsin Bride Magazine wrangles the best wedding vendors in the area based on reputation and popular vote and bestows upon them the title of “Best Of”. It’s something that we at H UE by Sarah Davidson have strived for since day one!

We’ve been SO lucky to have been making our wedding couples happy since 2015.

Would you be willing to take five minutes to vote for us in the Wedding Planner and Top of the Tiara category? (Write-in vote) Here’s how:

Link to vote for Wisconsin Bride Magazine Best of 2020 Awards

4 Simple Rules

One entry allowed per email address; each ballot must include a first and last name and contact information.
Voting Ends May 4, 2020.
Voters must vote in at least 10 categories to have their ballot counted. (Let us know if you need recommendations for who else to vote for!)
Write-in “HUE by Sarah Davidson” for Best Wedding Planner and Top of the Tiara Categories.

Thank you for all your love and support!

Sincerely,
Sarah and the HUE Team

Featured Photo: The Still Life Photography

Welcome To A New Era: Introducing HUE Business Coaching & Consulting

February 18, 2020 By Sarah Davidson

You all have been so supportive of this new era in my business life lately and I cannot thank you enough, but once again, thank you.

And with this post, I’m excited to introduce a service that now aides in supporting the other side of my audience, small creative business owners and vendors in the event industry! This has been a long time coming and we’re excited the day is finally here.

Introducing: Business Coaching & Consulting by HUE

The launch of our business consulting branch is the brainchild of nearly a decade of experience in the event industry, as well as the following facts about myself:

I enjoy working with vendors just as much as clients
I’m pretty good at effectively pushing creative ideas forward
I love my life as an entrepreneur, and want to share the love with others who are also following their passion

From there it was a pretty simple question. What can I offer that encapsulates it all?

So who is this service for? I’m looking for creative entrepreneurs and event based business owners who:

Have business ideas that they want to develop but need help or don’t have the time
Need help organizing their systems and processes to stay on track with business goals
Need someone to brainstorm with, bounce thoughts and ideas off of, and provide accountability on a regular basis
Have general business administrative tasks they’d like to hire someone for, but they don’t want to have employees
Are looking to break into or grow further within the wedding market

Do you fit one of these criteria? If so, take a peak for more info here.

And let’s all work together to keep moving Wisconsin Events Forward.

Featured Photo: Tim Fitch Photography

How to Handle Vendor Contact Transitions

July 15, 2019 By Sarah Davidson

Life happens; people leave jobs and start new ones all the time. However, this doesn’t make it hurt any less when a vendor you’ve loved planning with lets you know that someone else is going to be taking over. Perhaps it’s your amazing venue coordinator, who’s answered all questions within 24 hours of receipt. Or maybe it’s your DJ, who understood your vibe immediately. Losing a connection like this would make anyone understandably nervous.

Any good, quality business wants to make sure their clients feel taken care of at all times. In perfect world, said business (ideally even the old contact) would give you the heads up they are leaving, thank you for your time working together, and introduce you to their replacement. This person will then have notes or been briefed on your plans thus far. Try to be kind and provide the new soul a little bit slack as they get up to speed (depending on how quickly your event is coming up) and then continue on, trusting that they will take just as good care of you to the end.

In the event it DOESN’T happen this way, be patient but persistent. Take initiative to hunt around on who your new point is, even if it means reaching out to a manager/owner or via the general business channels. Remember that many event businesses prioritize their events in order, so if you’re not for another six months it may take some time to hear back, but you’re still owed that communication. If your event is coming up quick, you have every right to bug the heck out of them until getting some response.

Even if you’re working with someone you love, we strongly recommend making sure all vendor commitments during your planning process are communicated in writing. If things are promised in a meeting or over the phone, ask them to follow up with what was said in an email and/or added onto your contract. “Oh yeah, we can do that!” said verbally doesn’t always translate from one person to the next. And for the love of god, please sign a contract with EVERYONE. Not all vendors have them, sometimes just requiring a deposit to hold a date and final payment day of. Sure, they’ve never ever had an issue before, but do you even want it as an option that they could? They’ll likely keep you on the hook for your end of the bargain, so why shouldn’t you do the same?

One other thing to highlight is when the day-of contact is a different person from the one that you’ve planned everything with. This format is pretty common, and as long as everything is communicated properly and they have a good system in place, it turns out fine. Make sure to ask about this before booking, so there are no stressful surprises as your event gets closer.

Finally, BREATHE. Things happen and it’s much easier to enjoy the process when you go in ready to roll with the punches. And if you think it would help to have that extra layer of planning assistance and day-of execution, know that HUE is always here for you!

Featured Image: UEDA Photography