wedding design

Real HUE Weddings: Creighton + Laura

August 3, 2019 By Sarah Davidson

Who says that weddings need to be all white, blush, and navy? Not us. Today, we’re reflecting back on Creighton and Laura’s purple, green, and black (tie) soirée. A couple that had their own unique style from the start, producing a vision for these two during the several months that we worked together was a great opportunity to stretch our creative wings. And we think it turned out pretty dang well!

Can we please talk about Laura’s custom designed gown from Moúra Designs? From the start, it was clear that this piece of the day was one of the most important to her, to have something that fit her style and vision, and that she’d love wearing every second of the big day. Gerry came through in a big way for her, not only in coloring, but in details such as the Tim Burton swirls Laura loves and also including their “CL” initials on the dress.

Another vendor that participated in pulling together the full experience was our stationer, Sugar Pear Design. Working with Kathy was fun and easy, as we had a great time together designing all the finer details that would pull together the look of the day, including an invitation suite that set the mood before guests even arrived to the venue.

This was one for the books. Congrats Creighton and Laura!

The Dream Team:
Design, Planning & Coordination: Harmonious Union Events
Photography: UEDA Photography
Videography: Films by Design
Venue & Catering: Lake Windsor Country Club
Rentals: Event Essentials
Floral: daffodil*parker
Cake: Gigi’s Cupcakes Madison
DJ: Kuhl Entertainment
Ceremony Music: Atwood Strings
Stationery: Sugar Pear Design
Arch Rental: A La Crate
Ceremony Chair Ties: Regency Fiber Arts
Vintage Video Games: Aftershock Retrogames
Wedding Gown: Morua Designs
Tuxes: Nedrebo’s
Hair & Makeup: Brideheads

Also see here for a feature of Creighton and Laura’s wedding on Offbeat Bride!

Real HUE Events: Phantom of the Opera Inspired Styled Shoot

May 2, 2019 By Sarah Davidson

As an event planner and designer, we get to part of some pretty amazing collaborations in our area. One of our favorites occurred last summer, when we were approached with the opportunity to coordinate our first ever styled shoot through the Wedding Planner & Guide, one of Madison’s great sources of wedding inspiration.

Our approach to this design mirrored our approach to our business.. bold and different, but beautiful all the same. Looking at past spreads and what was currently trending in design, we knew that we wanted a look that readers wouldn’t be expecting before turning to our page, and that dared to go dark. The Orpheum Theater provided us the perfect backdrop to build around.

This shoot allowed my girl Jessie to make her debut as HUE’s in-house florist, and pull together a few key designs to soften our edges and bring the romance back. Her work, along with favors and stationery from Sugar Pear Design, including specialty acrylic invitations, showed that an elegant affair can truly be pulled off anywhere, as long as you have the right team.

Given how dark we knew the elements of the shoot would be, lighting would play a key role in developing some of the more delicate ambiance details. Chance Productions came through for us, putting the final touches on our focal chandelier piece just days before we came together.

Thank you to the team for such wonderful work!

The Dream Team:
Design, Planning & Coordination: Harmonious Union Events
Photography: Urban Anchor Photography
Venue: The Orpheum Theater
Floral: Jessie-Rae with Harmonious Union Events
Rentals: Event Essentials
Lighting: Chance Productions
Cake and Cupcakes: Gigi’s Cupcakes
Stationery and Favors: Sugar Pear Design

Designed For: The Wedding Planner & Guide

See here for the Wedding Planner & Guide’s blog feature on this shoot!

Wedding Design, Planning, & Coordination Services: What Each Means, What Is Covered, and Finding Your Fit

April 23, 2019 By Sarah Davidson

So you think you might want to hire a wedding planner. Or a day-of coordinator.. or a month-of coordinator? Or a designer? Or a producer? But you have a venue coordinator who will be on-site anyways, so do I really even need someone? I know, I know.. I’m lost too. Let’s break it down together.

Day-of Coordinator or Month-of Coordinator:
Someone who can be hired at any point in the process, but doesn’t really come into play until the final planning commences a few weeks before the wedding. All businesses do this package differently and we highly recommend having an absolutely clear understanding of how you will work together with whomever you hire. Here are a few different ways it can be done.

Some “day-of” or “month-of” coordinators will leave the full planning process up to you, but still be available on retainer to consult on general questions that come up throughout the planning process, provide vendor recommendations, or build a timeline together. There are others however you will hire ahead of time to get the date locked in, but then be in little to no additional contact with until just before the wedding (HUE falls into the first camp).
Sometimes “day-of” coordination and “month-of” coordination means the same thing, and sometimes it means different things. To some businesses, even though the package is listed as “day-of” coordination, they really actually come into play with you around a month or two ahead of time, typically around when you do a final meeting with your venue. This is nearly always the same time frame as when a “month-of” coordinator would come into play as well. However, there are some “day-of” coordinators that truly do not start chatting with you on final plans until just a few days before before your wedding. (All HUE coordination services are month-of).

Once you’ve established where the day-of or month-of coordinator fits into the ahead of time planning process, here are the things they should be doing the day of your wedding:

Setting decor, within reason. Make to have a clear understanding on if they are willing to set up large items such as furniture, draping, or major installations, and how many people will actually be on-site that day.
Being a point of contact for your vendors so that you don’t have to be (ie. taking calls on the load in process, making sure everyone knows where they are setting up, coordinating weather backup plans, etc).
Running your timeline for the day, including cueing things such as the wedding party walking down the aisle, when dinner is going out, pressing play on the slideshow, and letting dad know when it’s time for his speech to start.
General crowd control and directing guests (ie. coordinating meals and seating for unexpected dates, directing people from the cocktail hour to the dinner reception, and point them towards gift drop off).
Things that are sometimes included already, but sometimes available only at an additional rate: running errands, staying through the whole evening to tear things down, or decor items from the coordinators personal inventory.

Wedding Coordinators will probably put in somewhere between 15-35 hours of work in total with you, from first point of contact to day-of service.

Wedding Coordinators vs. Your Other Vendors:

Venue managers are strictly responsible for tasks related to the venue-only. They are going to be focusing on what your general setup looks looks like, making sure vendors are loading in and loading out properly, and any other areas that are included through the venue such as AV or bar service. They are generally not going to be focusing on things such as when your first dance is supposed to happen, how the dinner centerpieces are supposed to look, or having an emergency kit for when a false eyelash becomes loose. Many venues will also have multiple events happening the same day as your own, for which one person is responsible for moving back and forth in between.
Caterers are strictly responsible for tasks related to their own food and/or bar service. They are only going to keep an eye on the timeline pieces related to when food/beverages are supposed to be served, such as when guests should be seated and when dinner plates all need to be out. They are usually only going to be busing and cleaning dinner items such plates, glassware, and napkins when they are the ones providing them. Do not count on them to aide in rentals of these types of items, or cleaning and repacking of such, unless it’s specifically discussed. It should always be discussed between a venue, caterer, and coordinator who is responsible for event trash.
Photographers and DJs will help manage some parts of the timeline, but not to the full extent it is necessary. Photographers are great about keeping things on track during those dedicated photo sessions in between events, but are not worried at all about what’s happening behind the scenes during venue setup. And let’s be real, if you’re begging them for a few more shots sunset shots or have put in no ahead of time organization into who needs to be present and when for family photos, they’re completely at the mercy of what the day brings. On the flip side, DJs will cover responsibility for making announcements at the pre-planned times you discussed (as well as when asked) during your reception, but those will typically be strictly dinner and dancing related. They have no control over what is happening before guests walk into the venue, and only the good ones are going to be checking in with the caterers and venue to make sure things are still on track.
Rental companies provide an extremely wide range of delivery and pickup, and setup and tear down services depending on what you’re willing to pay for, but it should never be assumed that they are setting up or tearing down the items you’ve rented. See our Rentals 101 post on what to expect when working with these teams.
Your friends and family members love you and would do anything for you, but probably do not have the experience of a vet. And also, you want them to enjoy your wedding day, not stress over it. At 11:00pm when the party is hopping and your bestie is buzzed on the dance floor, are you comfortable with her making on the call on if the bartenders should tap the backup keg? If the photographer learns that the vows were forgotten at the hotel right before the ceremony starts, is your mom the right person to coordinate what happens next?

Okay, now that your final coverage is out of the way, let’s go through a few different roles that you may require assistance from when going through the actual planning process.

Wedding Planner:
Someone that can be hired at any point in the planning process, but is typically done so towards the beginning to middle. This is a person who will work with you to evaluate options, make decisions, provide personalized recommendations, give advice, coordinate logistics, and guide you through nearly all angles of what it takes to plan a wedding. You will work together to build your timeline, meet with vendors, and generally execute all tasks to make your day exactly what you want it to be. On the day of your wedding they will fill the coordinator role as discussed above.

Communication with your planner is generally on a regular basis throughout the months leading up to your wedding through email, phone, or in person meetings. This is usually at least monthly for check ins, if not weekly as you get closer to the date.

Some companies will do custom or a la carte packages for you depending on what you already have done, or what areas you are looking for the most help. For others it will be all or nothing. Packages are another option you may stumble upon as well. HUE tries to accommodate as many couples as possible, and structures it’s services and pricing in the first camp.

Wedding Producer:
Similar to a planner, but likely a seasoned vet with more years of experience, typically a minimum of around 10 years in the industry. Production refers to the actual execution of an event, and covering all the details what it takes to pull together.

Occasionally, you may also see rental, AV, and lighting type companies labeled as event producers. They can be considered this way because a majority of the actual physical items and labor going into the event is running through them. It’s not entirely wrong, just a gray area 🙂

Wedding Planners and Producers can put in between 100-200+ hours of work in total for you, depending on at what point they hired and what they are most utilized for within your process.

Wedding Designer:
This is a person or business who works with you exclusively on the look and feel of your day, and building a cohesive design that all pulls together in the end. They will work with you on elements such as rentals, floral, stationery, and setup, to create something that provides a completely personalized experience to you and your guests. They don’t handle many logistics such as timeline, and their actual time the day-of may be limited exclusively to setting up the space (if that).

Some wedding planners/producers will also provide design services either included in their rates or at an additional cost. We highly recommend looking at a designers previous work and portfolio to get a feel of their style and if it seems to be a good fit for you as a couple. HUE does provides all services listed above, including design, planning/production, and coordination.

Wedding Designers can put in around 30-50 total hours of work for you, focusing exclusively on these ambiance elements of the day

Okay, I think that’s everyone! We hope that this was enough to provide those planning a wedding with insight as to what services are out there and available to them, and also what exactly is the right fit for your needs. And make sure to please consider HUE to fulfill these needs at any point throughout your process!

Featured Photo: Ash and James Photography

Event Rentals 101: Costs, Considerations, and Lingo

January 13, 2019 By Sarah Davidson

There may be a million reasons why you need to consider rentals for your event. Here are the biggies:

1) You’re at a non-traditional venue – your backyard, a brewery, a museum, or somewhere else that doesn’t host private events regularly and therefore does not maintain an inventory of essentials for you to pull from.
2) You are working to maintain a specific look or aesthetic that doesn’t fit with what’s already on hand.
3) It seems silly to purchase 150 water goblets outright, even if it means you get to do an IKEA run.

Photo: Megan Yanz Creative Direction: @viorlandi

Alright, so you’re in the market to rent some things. Awesome. Now go check out some companies and find the stuff you like! Put together your wish list and start reaching out to confirm availability. Rental companies can then start putting together quotes for you to build into your budget. Wait though.. shouldn’t you already know EXACTLY what it will cost you? The prices are on the website!

But wait, there’s more. Here are all the additional line items you could see on a final rental bill that will potentially need to be worked into your budget:

Delivery and pickup – Getting the items to and from the venue. You usually have the option to pickup/drop off from the rental headquarters yourself to alleviate this. If your order is small this may make sense, but it’s up to you to judge if you have the resources and time for this as the order gets larger.

Labor setup and teardown charges – The actual act of setting up and taking down your rentals once on site is generally not included in the base rental prices or delivery fees. If you only pay for delivery and pickup when you order, expect everything to be dropped off on-site in one load for you to setup on your own, with the expectation that it is then organized in one load for pickup. Rental companies will always do the extra setup and teardown for you if you want, at an additional fee of course.

If you’re in a situation with a fair amount of flexibility on timing and have the manpower, it might be fine for you to take on the setup and teardown yourselves. However, this piece of it is ALWAYS more work and time then people realize. It is also up to you if it’s something you’re comfortable asking your guests/others staying on site to help you with or not. Most of the rental companies also will not allow their items to be left outside/uncovered overnight, so depending on where you want to set it it up, that may factor into how and when it gets set up.

Damage Waivers – This is a fee you can pay that accounts for random accidents and damage that can occur to rentals, instead of paying to replace the item after the fact (usually around 5 times the cost) It’s different for each company what exactly it covers. Some companies will make you do it no matter what, some companies will give you the option if you want to add it on or not, and some companies don’t offer it at all. If you see it on the bill you should ask the company if it’s actually required because many will add it on automatically.

Deposits – Many companies take a non-refundable deposit (usually half the amount) to lock in the initial order. You can always adjust your rental quantities as you get closer to the date and have a better idea of attendance, so we recommend starting with around the max of what you think you’d need (at least with any staples such as tables, chairs, dishes etc) and then you can go down from there. They won’t let you go less than the deposit you’ve already paid though. Final quantities and payments are usually due around two weeks ahead of time. Some companies will then also charge you an additional deposit at the end that is refundable if all the items get returned back safely. They do this to have something on hand already in case they do need to charge you after the fact.

Sales Tax – All physical products you receive for your event (rentals, floral, photography images, etc) you’ll see a sales tax charge on.

Phew, is your head spinning yet? We swear we’re not here to beat up rental companies, as they take on a lot of risk by lending their inventory out to hundreds of events and thousands of users per year. We personally appreciate having a few great go tos for any crazy request we could possibly want!

No, this is simply meant to educate you as you build a budget and a plan. We’ll leave you with a few final recommendations on the topic:

– Ask all your vendors that you already have booked if they have any partnerships or referral agreements in place that may help you. For example, we currently receive a 10% rental discount with our local rental vendor, that we’re more than happy to pass along to all our clients.
– Know that sometimes it does make more sense to buy. This typically goes for small decor type things that can fit multiple looks and easily be resold such as candles, linens, signage, etc. Equally, keep an eye on second hand sale groups as you’re on the hunt! Facebook is great for this.