Intern | Southern Charm Weddings & Events, Jacksonville Wedding Coordinator

“Becoming a Wedding-ista, 1 Wedding down, a lifetime to go”

April 20, 2011 |

Author tanya

As I explained earlier, part of the intern process is writing a blog of their first experience with Southern Charm Wedding & Events, so now I would like to introduce to you another of our interns, Kristen Thomas:

“This is a lot harder than it looks”; that was my first thought as I looked at the agenda on

the afternoon of my first wedding with Southern Charm Events. I had NO idea there were

so many intricate details involved. My hats go off to all wedding coordinators across the

board, especially Tanya with Southern Charm Weddings and Events because she doesn’t

miss a detail! A good Wedding Coordinator knows what is happening every minute

of the day on that Wedding Day from the time the vendors will arrive to the time the

bridesmaids will bustle the bride’s dress. If any of those details are missing, it can make

for pure chaos. Thank God, my first wedding went off with out a hitch.

Myself and the other intern for the day had our work cut out for us. We set up the escort

card table, which by the way, definitely made me sharpen up on my alphabetical ordering

skills which I’m glad I paid attention in grammar school. Lol. We set up the center

pieces, put the decal on the dance floor and the doors, set out the favors, brought drinks to

the bridal party, pinned the corsages and boutonnieres on the bridal party, etc. Anything

you can think of, we did. I can honestly admit, I broke a sweat!!!

Once the wedding ceremony began and the beautiful bride walked down the aisle, certain

calmness came over me. It almost felt like I was part of the family because I was so

excited to see her walk down the aisle. I quickly snapped out of it when the ceremony

was over because now it was time to get the guests to the cocktail hour area and bridal

party to the location for pictures. Again, things ran pretty smoothly and the guests along

with the bridal were ready to party!

During the reception, on a few different occasions, some of the guests stopped me to

ask more about Southern Charm Events and to shower us with compliments about a job

well done. I even got a few, “Hey Kristen, High Five!” That definitely gave a sense of

fulfillment, and ultimately, that’s what it’s all about. You cannot and I repeat CANNOT

be a successful Wedding Coordinator unless your main goal is to please the client and

make their vision and dream come to fruition.

I think the universe cut me some slack for my first time around because everything went

really smoothly. I’m sure that my initiation will occur really soon and I will be subjected

to the wrath of Bridezilla. Either way, I’m excited and looking forward to my new life

that I like to call “Becoming a Wedding-ista”!

Posted in Bridezillam, Escort Cards, favors, Intern, wedding flowers, Wedding-ista |

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Through the Eyes of an Intern

January 17, 2011 |

Author tanya

I recently asked one of my interns, Kristi Riley, to write me an article about the last wedding she worked with us through her eyes. This is how Kristi saw the day:

The last wedding that I interned with Southern Charm Events was anything but dull. The wedding and reception took place at Palm Valley Gardens in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. It was elegant and absolutely beautiful with deep red and silver colors in keeping with the Christmas theme. There was rain in the forecast, however, it turned out to be a sunny and beautiful, warm winter day. From the first moment we arrived on the wedding site we were hopping.

The first hurdle of the day was the bride’s father. He had fallen the night before the wedding and was taken to the emergency room with a very large gash in his leg. Nobody was sure he would be able to walk his daughter down the aisle. Luckily, he was able to pull it off….thank God for prescription drugs!

One of the groomsmen had lost weight since the last time he had tried on his tux. We had to pin him up to prevent any accidents. The grooms vest was too big….luckily Tanya has a HUGE emergency kit. This kit has everything imaginable! It has Pepto, antacids, safety pins, panty hose, make up remover and everything you can think of. About 10 minutes before the bride was to walk down the aisle, one of the bridesmaids ripped her dress. Of course, Tanya had a sewing kit and was able to sew her in her dress (which stayed in one piece all night.)

After the groomsmen and the bridesmaids walked out, it was time for the flower girl. The little 4 year old girl had a very long walk from the house to the garden by herself. Once she realized that everyone was looking at her she got embarrassed and decided that it would be best to cover her eyes. With her eyes covered, she could not see the pond beside her that she fell right in to. Other than being wet, she was fine. The wedding went on and was a success.

During the reception, the bartender came up to Tanya and told her we were running out of beer. With an open bar and a drinking crowd, this did not make the bride’s dad happy. I made a run to the liquor store and stocked up just in time. Nobody even knew that there was almost a bar disaster.

As the band started up and everyone danced and greeted the bride and groom, we helped the catering staff clear tables; we loaded gifts in the appropriate cars, passed out bubbles and cookies, and stayed BUSY! I heard so many people tell Tanya what an amazing job she did. It was so much fun and so much work at the same time.