planning

Alexandria + Nathan: Caribou Bay Retreat – Coloma, WI

April 28, 2021 By Sarah Davidson

A blog 3.5 years in the making, Alexandria and Nathan, I am SO excited to finally share the details of your beautiful Wisconsin Northwoods wedding!!

Alexandria and I first met back in 2017 at a different wedding where I was the coordinator and she was the photographer. At that wedding, when all the vendors were hanging out and eating dinner together she asked for my card, so she could reach out when she started to make her own wedding plans. And then low and behold, she actually did! I was ecstatic!

Although the weather was touch and go — it was literally about to rain the entire day — everything was able to go on as planned! And oh there were several fabulous things planned for their big day. Their dog, Kida, was a stunning ring bearer with a gorgeous floral collar and Nathan’s mom expertly sewed Alexandria’s dress herself.

After the ceremony, celebrations commenced and the party truly started. No one went hungry between great Wisconsin fare from Moose Inn Supper Club and pie for dessert, provided Nathan’s Grandma Carol.

By the way, these two are trained ballroom dancers, so for their first dance they pulled out all the stops — wardrobe change, dance moves, and all. It was crazy fun to watch!

Congrats Alexandria and Nathan!

The Dream Team:
Wedding Coordination: HUE by Sarah Davidson
Photography: Brooke Alania
Videography: Bella Hill
Venue: Caribou Bay Retreat
Catering: Moose Inn Supper Club
DJ: You Had Me at I Do
Beauty: Kasha Rodig
Rentals: Wautoma Rentals

Chief Strategist and Creative Director of HUE by Sarah Davidson, Sarah is a sought after event industry consultant, planner, and strategist based in Madison, WI. Follow her work on Instagram at @huebysd.

Featured HUE Event: “It’s Showtime” – A Fresh Look at Events with NACE

April 14, 2021 By Sarah Davidson

While I don’t want to jinx us by saying “We’re back!” just yet in the world of events, things have certainly been taking an optimistic turn lately here in Madison. Last week NACE Capital Area of Wisconsin hosted its first in-person event in over a year and it felt SOOO good to see the real live faces of my friendors!

Guidelines are still fairly tight here, and masks and distancing will likely still be in place for some time, so our group of creative professionals took the opportunity to be industry leaders, showcasing how events can still feel comfortable and elegant while working within public health boundaries.

Event Essentials partnered with our host venue, The Madison Concourse Hotel + Governor’s Club, to set the stage for the event. With the use of lounges, strategic dinner seating, and beautiful decor, it just didn’t feel sterile and restrictive as one might fear, even though everything was set for distancing. Conversations and merriment commenced quite easily.

Food Fight Restaurant Group and Monona Catering took the reins with an enlightening food and beverage presentation, tackling the part of events that may make people the most nervous. Sure it’s all well and good when you walk in with your mask on, but what happens when you need to eat? Lisa and Marcia offered some great suggestions from signage to packaging, to service when it comes to keeping both event guests, as well as staff working, comfortable.

And finally, what about those who are not quite ready to be in-person yet? Enter the world of hybrid events, with Celebrations Entertainment leading the charge as experts in this area. Not only did Geoffrey present on the topic, but the entire meeting was set up as a hybrid event, with a number of guests attending virtually as well. This is certainly an option that I see sticking around long into the future, post-Covid.

This event was a test run, both for those of us who planned it, as well as many of the attendees. There were moments that felt natural and then there were certainly others that were filled with some uncertainty. I believe it will continue to feel that way for a long time, but at this point, there is nowhere else to go but forward. I get emotional thinking about this opportunity that we’ve finally been given to prove ourselves, especially after sharing the state of our industry just three months ago.

Thank you to my friends Tim Fitch for photos and Paul Gero for videography. Events like these are never possible without collaboration from our vendor community and a passion for celebrating each other’s work. Can’t wait until the next one!

Thank you to Channel 3000 and The Cap Times for your coverage of our event!

Chief Strategist and Creative Director of HUE by Sarah Davidson, Sarah is a sought-after event industry consultant, planner, and strategist based in Madison, WI. Follow her work on Instagram at @huebysd.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: Seeing the Bigger Picture

March 3, 2021 By Sarah Davidson

Today, I’m just jumping right in friends!

After a full year of getting kicked around by Covid, what could possibly give me the right to say “Just relax guys! Don’t get stuck in the day-to-day! See the bigger picture!”

Well, nothing really. Except for the fact that it’s probably something many small-business owners (especially those in the hospitality industry) need to be reminded of right now. I know I did.

“The combination of hard work and smart work is efficient work.” – Robert Half

A business exists to serve you as the owner, the owner does not exist to serve the business. You should always remember this. Why did you start your business? Probably not because you loved answering emails and phone calls all day.

I didn’t just want to be a wedding planner, I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Growing up I was inspired to watch my father trailblaze his own career path instead of climbing a pre-structured ladder. I loved the idea of building a business that encompassed specifically who I was as a person, including my strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes. And honestly, I wanted to take a vacation whenever I wanted!

So what are some steps you can take to separate yourself from the day-to-day, continue to love your work, and hopefully scale your business along the way? Here’s a few to start with:

Define the Vision

So what is your answer to why you started your business? When you think about your why and who you are as an owner and a person, do your current services and methods of operating your business line up?

If they don’t, that’s okay! It just means you’re now being presented with an opportunity to reevaluate. I personally started working with a business coach about a year ago, and in our time together I’ve done a lot of reflection realizing that for my first few years of my business I was just going through a lot of motions. I would just sit in front of my email each day and wait for business and tasks to come to me, then address them as they came up. I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to do next, but figured that if I always just did a good job at whatever came my way good things would happen right?

Some good things happened, yes. I’m very proud of the work I accomplished during that time, and frankly continually proud of having the guts to just start the business. But since about a year ago, when I did actually define and write down real goals of where I want to be in the future.. Wow have things happened.

I build my weekly to do list around my goals, and I work very hard to prioritize those over day to day operations. The day to day still gets done though. It’s amazing how efficient you can be when there is a true purpose of what you’re working towards.

Think Ahead

“You’re on time if you’re five minutes early. You’re late if you’re on time.”

While I can’t say I’m in love with this Drumline quote, it’s accurate and applicable here. It’s also been in my head since the January NACE Evolve conference I attended.

As a planner it’s my job to continuously be looking forward to what’s happening next, soon, and later. If the first dance is supposed to start at 8pm and I don’t think about it until 8pm, it’s not happening on time.

So where are there opportunities in your business to be building processes and thinking ahead? Take marketing for example. Many people don’t worry about marketing until business is slow. However if they just kept up their marketing efforts when they were busy, they wouldn’t have to worry about ever being slow.

Set those goals and have touchpoints along the way to make sure your work is continuously driving those goals.

Stay the Course

Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. If it was a sprint, we’d all be extremely bored trying to come up with new things to do, since we have no desire to go back to the day-to-day of corporate life.

If you’re still wondering how am I going to make it both personally and professionally through the pandemic, reflect back on what you’ve accomplished. It’s been nearly a year, way longer than anyone thought it would be, and you’re still here. You’re someone who cares enough about his or her business to read this blog and hopefully have some takeaways. That is the attitude that is going to take you somewhere.

Remember who you are and why you started this business. Did you do something today or this week that put you closer to those goals? Then you’re doing great.

Chief Strategist and Creative Director of HUE by Sarah Davidson, Sarah is a sought-after event industry consultant, planner, and strategist based in Madison, WI. Follow her work on Instagram at @huebysd.

Top 3 Things to Keep in Mind When Planning Your 2021 Wedding

February 3, 2021 By Sarah Davidson

It’s 2021 everyone! For those of you who booked a wedding in 2020, then put a pause on things as Covid played out, the time has come for you to start making some decisions.

So what are the top three things you need to consider when planning for your 2021 wedding, amidst a never-ending pandemic and unclear guidelines as to what could or could not be allowed on your date? Here are the big three!

Vendor communication is critical

Remember that all your vendors are going through this right alongside you. Odds are that we’re already aware of everything that you may be weighing and thinking about related to your wedding this year, and we want to be a resource. Please use to talk through what your day could potentially look like, what changes might need to be made, and precautions we are taking to keep everyone safe.

If you are at all considering changing your date, reaching out to make your vendors aware of this as soon as possible is crucial. Our industry has been flipped upside down for the past 11 months, with even more moving pieces than normal, so the best thing that can get us all through this is clear and regular communication with our clients. We want to do everything we can to still try to make this as smooth of as possible for you.

That being said, do not expect date changes to be as easy in 2021 as they were in 2020. In 2020 no one had any idea what we were getting into and what to expect. But now, nearly a year later, Covid and the policies around it are no longer a surprise. In order to keep their doors open both to you and their other clients, vendors are more often finding themselves in the tough situation of needing to fall back on their contracts. We are seeing stricter enforcement on date change and cancellation policies and believe we will continue to do so as this year goes on.

Think about what your covid-friendly wedding looks like

We all hope that things will be “back to normal” by the time your wedding date comes. However, depending on how local ordinances are being handled in your venue’s location, there is still a great deal of uncertainty of when that will happen.

For this reason, we recommend that you plan ahead and already start thinking about what your wedding would like with covid policies in place. Can your venue accommodate a socially distanced setup? Can your photographer find a system to work in a few safe, non-masked, photos? Are there decor or experience elements that can be creatively adjusted? Can you save money anywhere?

If you haven’t figured it out yet, you’re always going to hear from us that planning ahead is crucial to a great experience. This year, we believe you will have a better experience if you plan for a covid-friendly wedding (even just in the back of your mind) with the potential to be pleasantly surprised than to plan for no restrictions and have to begrudgingly change things at the last minute. If this is still all a big fat no though, see the section above about vendor communication.

Manage guest expectations and communication

Probably the biggest headache though is thinking through your guest list. It’s hard to know what everyone’s various comfort levels could be, not to mention who would make the cut on your ABCD list. When should be your final deadline to send invitations, and what if restrictions change just weeks or even days before your date?

If you haven’t gotten on board the wedding website train yet, there’s no time like the present! Let your guests know that is where all the most up to date information will be and save yourself from responding to the calls, emails, and texts. In addition to basic information, your website should include a list of what safety precautions will be in place, as well as any expectations you have of your guests who attend. If they will be required to wear a mask it will be much easier on everyone if that is known ahead of time, instead of a potential day of surprise. Spelling this all out also aids your guest in making their own decisions if they feel safe attending or not.

And on that note, be understanding of those who decide not to attend because they do not feel safe. We are all human, and it can hurt a lol to have someone close to you miss your wedding. But it can hurt even more to permanently damage a relationship over it, and sadly we’ve already seen this happen a few times now. There are any options today for hybrid events, virtual events, and postponed celebrations that the “all or nothing” approach is a thing of the past.

Anything else we missed that should be considered? Drop a line below to let us know!

Chief Strategist and Creative Director of HUE by Sarah Davidson, Sarah is a sought after event industry consultant, planner, and strategist based in Madison, WI. Follow her work on Instagram at @huebysd.

Bianca + Jeffrey: The Lageret – Stoughton, WI

January 20, 2021 By Sarah Davidson

Looking back now and knowing that destiny was only going to let me coordinate one wedding in all of 2020, I AM so lucky I had the chance for it to be Bianca and Jeffrey’s!

Scheduled for a Leap Day wedding, this adorable couple had their own set of wedding planning challenges they had to work through, even before Covid rocked our world. They were victims of the closure of Noah’s Event Venue in early 2020 and were left without a venue just three weeks before their wedding. Never fear though, as our event community is fierce when it comes to supporting our couples, and with a big thanks to Dana from Wedding Planner + Guide, they were able to secure The Lageret as a beautiful backup location. With the location change, I was honored to step in to make sure no other surprises ensued, so these two could finally relax, enjoy, and celebrate.

If there aren’t photos and videos to prove it – did it really happen? Good thing East Elm Photography as well as Sotography Productions were there capturing the memories created during my favorite wedding this past year.

The happy couple’s reception was professionally prepared and displayed by Upstairs Downstairs. Decadent desserts including a three-tiered wedding cake and assorted cupcakes were baked and designed by Mia Stav Cakes.

Rich, warm hues were an ode to this former tobacco warehouse with event decor provided by Event Essentials, highlighting the historical Stoughton venue.

Saving the best for last, since what truly makes weddings magical is the community involved to create lasting memories. Bianca and Jeffrey’s family and friends came together to provide their ceremony coordination, grazing table, floral arrangements, and table decor.

Congrats Bianca and Jeffrey!

The Dream Team:

Wedding Coordination: HUE by Sarah Davidson
Photography: East Elm Photography
Videography: Sotography Productions
Venue: The Lageret
Catering: Upstairs Downstairs
Desserts: Mia Stav Cakes
Rentals: Event Essentials
Ceremony Coordination, Grazing Table, + Floral/Table Decor: Bianca & Jeffrey’s Community
Special Shout Out: Dana from Wedding Planner + Guide