You're Invited Wedding & Event Planning

BEWARE: Transportation companies time change fees

2010-05-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note. I just learned that some transportation companies in town are charging a $25 change fee if you make any timeframe changes to your reservation after the reservation is booked. Let me just give my professional opinion on this topic. If you book a mini coach, trolley, limo, etc 6 months prior to your event there WILL be changes to your reservation timeframe as your event gets closer and timelines are finalized with your ceremony location, venue, make up artist, photographer, etc. If you are booking with a company who will require a change fee for any timeframe changes, I would consider looking for a new transportation quote from a new company. Of course, once a transportation contract is made with specific timeframes, your ability to change times will be dependent on any reservations for that particular vehicle before or after your reservation. Changes happen, especially with weddings, as details become more solidified. Be careful to book flexible vendors who work under this philosophy.

If you need someone just to review your details and help you make a final timeline based on your specifics, we can do this for you.

Some of my favorite cakes

2010-05-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

We're doing so many cupcakes at weddings this season, that it made me think of how much I truly love wedding cake (the cupcakes are fab too, but I'm a BIG fan of wedding cake). Here's a few pics from over the years. Most are from Sandy Danner of Creative Cakes (her frosting is to die for!) and Michelle Rice of Iced Art (we are big fans of her signature Guava flavor). As you can see, each cake is so very different and I can truly say that each cake reflects the style of that particular wedding.

Remember: A wedding cake doesn't have to be your traditional 4 tier, one flavor cake. Mix up the flavors per tier to provide a variety. Wedding cakes can also become a part of the festivities for all guests, not just the wedding couple. For Elizabeth and Tom's wedding (see second to last photo), we had small cakes on each guest table and each of those tables had a different flavor cake. Guests cut their own slice of cake, then went around to the other tables to try different flavors. Not only was this a blast, but the cakes had another purpose as well...centerpieces!

Congrats to Carrie and Marcus!

2010-04-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

Congrats to one of our own. Carrie and Marcus were married on Friday, March 26th. Check out the video and a few of our "non-professional" photos. A recap of details:

Lodge at Ironwoods
Robert G Weddings Videography
Creative Cakes
Catering by Hy-Vee
iWink Photobooth
Photography by Fara Rose (these are not her images)
Transportation by Pech Limo
Stationery-Jamie with You're Invited
Florals/Centerpieces by You're Invited

And to see the wedding video highlights click here.

The Lodge at Ironwoods

2010-03-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite venues in the KC Metro area is The Lodge at Ironwoods, located at 147th and Mission Road in Leawood. It truly is a great space for both ceremonies (indoor and outdoor) and receptions. After being out there the last two weekends, I thought I'd showcase a few photos of the events we've done out there over the past several years. But, before I do so, just a few points on why we love this facility.

Cost Effective and Flexible-The Lodge allows you bring in both your own caterer and alcoholic beverages, which makes the venue less restrictive and very flexible regarding your budget.

Blank Canvas-We have done so many different style events at the Lodge, you can just see how easy it is to transform the event space into your style of event. From the photos, you can see how easily we have worked in many different color palettes. Plus, there are a variety of locations on the property for photo opportunities.

Staff-The onsite staff is very accommodating and friendly. It's your event. They will guide you, but it is definitely your event to handle and create.

Here's a few photos.

It's Summer "Day of Coordination" Special Time!

2010-03-23T11:33:00.001-07:00

We have a special running for June and July 2010 weddings. Book your "Day of Coordination" package with Carrie Runyon and receive one of the following discounts:

The Big Event-$125 discount
The Occasion-$75 discount
The Hostess-$50 discount

Just mention this special in your request and we'll set up a complimentary consultation with Carrie!

Guest Blogging for the Solar Photographers

2010-02-23T19:39:00.001-08:00

Check out my guest article for the Solar Photographers blog about "Selecting the Right Vendors".

Engaged and Getting Started, The First Piece: BUDGET!

2010-02-09T13:19:00.001-08:00

As we are still in the middle of engagement season (Valentine's Day anyone?), I thought I'd re-start my blogging in 2010 by writing about something we at You're Invited feel is incredibly important before booking anything other than the church: The Wedding Budget.

Not every bride's favorite thing to discuss as she comes off the "high" of just getting engaged, but an essential element before the planning even begins. Outside of what the day is truly about (the commitment, the love, the fun) the budget is a guiding force behind how and where to get started and I ask all of my couples to hold off on booking any venues/vendors until I have the chance to provide a fully detailed budget analysis. The first two questions I ask of every couple are: "how many people are you inviting (not the same as the number expected)?" and "do you have a budget?" These two questions will give me an idea on how to begin. For example, inviting 400 guests with a $15,000 budget is very different from inviting 200 guests with a $15,000 budget. It's a matter of how to breakdown that $15,000 budget to accomodate the number of guests expected, as well as planning the event of your dreams. Once everyone is aware of the budget and on board, I move forward with finding the reception venue (as it will dictate your food and beverage costs), then I move on to the other vendors in order of importance to the couple and their families. Without a true understanding of the budget, there is potential for issues as you realize what you have committed to (or over-committed to) before the completion of booking your vendors.

Of course, at You're Invited we have worked with budgets in all shapes and sizes. We do not have a restriction on what we believe families should spend on a wedding. But, we have ideas on how to make a budget work. Sometimes that requires a bit more flexibility :) AND, we don't have to plan a couple's wedding to provide them a proper budget analysis. For a small fee and completion of a questionnaire, we will gladly provide a fully detailed budget analysis for any wedding. Just shoot me an email: kimh@youreinvited2.net

New Photobooth Company in Town-iWink

2009-11-18T14:33:00.000-08:00

Recently, I attended the Junior League Holiday Mart with a good friend. As we were enjoying the shopping festivities, we found ourselves in a Photobooth ran by Matt at iWink Photobooths. Of course, it was a blast! Always a fun addition to your wedding reception. If you get a chance, check them out.

iWink Photobooths

THE Thank You of the Year!

2009-11-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

Maura from Creative Video catches it all, which means she caught Chris Grys (Father of the Bride to Ashley) thanking me during his toast at the wedding reception. Gives me goosebumps! Thanks so much Grys and Whitaker families for making me feel like so much more than just the wedding planner!

Video Clip

New Event Location in KC-The Grand Reserve

2009-10-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

I just have to pass along a brand new event site in the Federal Reserve Building called The Grand Reserve. In my years of planning, I've been to several event sites and once a year I get to the point where I decide "I need to find a new site in KC to mix things up". Lucky for me, I ran into Alisa at Bonterra Catering and she told me about this beautiful location because this IS the new site of the year! The venue is run by Bonterra Catering and it truly is the perfect location for classic and elegant event.

Looking forward to Amanda and Chad's wedding and reception at The Grand Reserve in April 2010! Check it out.

KMBC A-LIST: Best Wedding Planner in KC-Year 2!!!

2009-10-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to all who voted. We WON 1st place!!!

A-LIST

And congrats to the other Wedding Planners in the Top 5 and our vendor friends with top honors! It's great to be a part of a wonderful wedding planning community!!!

You can always tell a wedding coordinator....

2009-09-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

Funny story from this weekend. It was Molly and J.D.'s wedding on Saturday (blog post about that later). My first stop of the day was the Marriott Downtown to take care of getting the bridal party their flowers, making sure everyone got on the trolley, etc. When I pulled up, I noticed another gal running around acting like I do on the wedding day...very determined and with a purpose! So, the curious planner I am, I had to stop and say hello because I was SURE she was a planner. I was right! It was my pleasure to meet Sharon at Kiss Events. Kansas City is truly a small world when it comes to planning weddings :))

Leslie and her cake shots!

2009-09-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

I just had to post this because somehow Jason Domgingues always gets a shot of Leslie involved with cake. Made me laugh when I found it on the disc he gave me today.

Ashley and Jeff, 6/19/09

2009-09-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

I just recently acquired images from Josh Solar Photography from Ashley and Jeff's gorgeous wedding held at Prairie Baptist and The Hilton President, so time to blog!

This was a fun wedding to plan, mainly because I was working with one totally AWESOME family. The cool thing about this was that I wasn't only working with Ashley, but not kidding, I talked to her dad Chris every day for 6 months. He was so organized and I swear someday I will hire him as part of my staff!!! Plus, Ashley has such a great relationship with her parents that there was no question this was going to be a special day. Let me not forget to mention that Ashley and Jeff are just too cute together.

Ashley wanted the princess fairytale wedding and that's what she got! Originally, she wanted colors of blue and white, but I convinced her to add some pewter in there just to add a bit of sparkle. The ironic thing was, even though this was a fairytale wedding, we had a mosh pit at the reception. Absolutely hilarious and completely shocking to those of us vendors who've worked weddings for years!

Here's the details.

Prairie Baptist Church-beautiful setting for a wedding.

The Hilton President-The perfect location for Ashley and Jeff's fairytale. It just had the right setting for the style of reception we were trying to plan.

Branches and Twigs Floral-Andrea and I have collaborated for years on weddings. Together we truly try to bring to light the bride's vision for florals, carrying the design aspect through everything else including stationary. One of those items was the rosette design in the architectural details of the Congress Ballroom at the Hilton President, as well as pearls which are a symbol of Ashley's sorority.

Marc O'Leary-Marc is the ultimate entertainer. By all means, one of the best in KC.

Josh Solar Photography--Josh and Jenny are just a fantastic pair, loving parents and really great photographers.

Creative Video-Maura is one of my favorite videographers. So passionate and has a great eye. I'm anxiously awaiting a clip of the Father of the Bride's speech and will post soon! Check out her blog for clips of her work.

Creative Cakes-Sandy has one of the best icing flavors in the city! She is also incredibly creative when we give her a challenge. She made a set of tympani drums as the groom cake, as both Ashley and Jeff are musicians.

Party Favors-I'm a big fan of party favors which are useful (meaning edible!), so we decided to put together a blue and white themed candy station (via www.candywarehouse.com) to open AFTER dinner was served. As always, it was a huge hit!

I truly believe that linens can make or break the design of a wedding reception. Just adding more than the standard white, ivory or black can make a big statement. BBJ Linen-All table linens and chair ties were provided through You're Invited's BBJ connection. Be Seated supplied the chair covers for the reception.

Stationary was provided by Jamie of You're Invited. Jamie created a custom rosette similar to designs in the President ballroom. We used the same concept from the Save the Dates through the invitations, programs, valet cards, reception seating dance cards (one of my personal favorites!), candy buffet labels, etc.

Enjoy!

Congrats Sierra and Andrew!

2009-08-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

One of our most recent weddings was Sierra and Andrew's. They selected our Junior Wedding Planning package where I guided them in the vendor selections, how to make decisions, budgeting, organizing, etc while they made the actual plans. It worked out perfectly, as they are both so creative with their ideas.

The great thing about Sierra and Andrew is that they were both so very involved in the details, making the day truly about their unique style. My crew had a few challenges (the heat!), but it turned out to be a gorgeous event!! Their colors were Black, Champagne and White which matched their Mizzou spirit perfectly (and that's coming from a KU fan :)) The theme was "Around the World" as they both love to travel. The placecards were boarding passes with tables named after the locations which the two have traveled together. My favorite idea of Sierra's was the hotel guest gift baskets with each item being a play off of both their names. Too cute! To be honest, Sierra was so detailed in her planning she could take over my job!!

Vendor Acknowledgements:

Kansas City Public Library-unique space with outdoor rooftop patio. We planned an AWESOME lounge area on the patio, where the guests mingled and danced under the stars (when the sun went down).

18 Flowers-Monica is awesome, down to earth and incredibly resourceful. She always "gets it" from the start.

Above and Beyond Catering-Rox, Patrice and the rest of the crew take pride in not only their food but their service (which is excellent!)

Adrienne Maples-Adrienne is so sweet and gets some awesome moments. Check out her blog with Sierra and Andrew's images.

Fine Tooners-Caricature Artists were on site to create custom party favors. A great idea and these ladies keep it moving and fun!

Pech Limo-Excellent service for all your bridal party needs!

Crossroads Trolley Tours-The best trolley company in KC! Cecil is awesome and always takes care of my clients.

Iced Art-Michelle has such fun, unique flavors that you just can't help but to love her cakes. Check our her Guava flavor. One of Leslie's favorites.

And a quick thanks to Les, Carrie and BJ for taking over for me the weekend of. It wouldn't have turned out as it did without you there.

Enjoy our "non-professional" pics ;)

Please vote!

2009-08-12T15:25:00.001-07:00

Don't forget to vote for us as Best Wedding Planner in KC for the 2nd year!

Kansas City's A-List

Fall 2009 "Day Of" Coordination Special-The Big Event

2009-07-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

We have a BIG special going on right now for Fall 2009 weddings.

Package-The Big Event Package has been discounted to $1000 for Fall 2009 wedding (the normal price is $1250...a $250 discount!). You can check out the full package description on our site, but here's a quick synopsis of what it includes:

-Assistance with final planning stages beginning 2 months prior to wedding day
-Ceremony/reception venue reviews
-Creation of wedding weekend timeline for family and bridal party
-Vendor confirmations and scheduling
-Full wedding weekend coordination including rehearsal/day of/clean up
-Floral/cake designer rental returns.
*subject to planner availability*

Contact us to schedule a consultation with Kim, Leslie or Carrie!

Two More Awards

2009-07-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

We won two more awards this year, yeah! Thanks to everyone who voted. The Kansas City A-List voting is about to start again...hint, hint!

We're alive!!!

2009-07-14T07:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, this year has been nuts. I cannot even believe it is the middle of July already. It' been a busy one for me personally and professionally. Between moving (TWICE!), building a house and a bunch of weddings, I haven't been able to blog. However, my good friends at Josh Solar Photography gave me a little nudge to get going again.

So, here's a little clip of our PWG event in November. PWG Vendor Appreciation Party.

Whitney and Adam 1/3/09

2009-01-22T13:24:00.000-08:00

Whitney and Adam had a gorgeous wedding with a very classic winter feel at the Hawthorne House. Whitney is the daughter of Patty Johnson who owns and runs KC Photobooth. They designed this amazing event together. They had the most adorable snowflake placecards. Patty made the chair caps and fabric chargers which looked absolutely amazing once placed on the tables (I do believe they are now for rent)!

We were called in about 10 days before to assist with "day of" coordination. As I've told many couples in the past, day of coordination is not only a gift to the bride but definitely a gift to the mother of the bride who typically gets stuck with the organization of the entire day and day of! I'm so glad we were there to see both mother and bride enjoy the day in it's entirety!!! Enjoy the photos. Here's a list of vendors.

Flowers-Branches & Twigs (Andrea always does a great job)
Cake-Caren's Cakes (check out this cake, which was a custom design Whitney found)
Ceremony/Reception-Hawthorne House (the staff there is the absolute sweetest!)
Band-Atlantic Express (with Hal Wakes--see the clip courtesy of Peter at Kairos)
Videography-Kairos Moment Wedding Films
Photographer-Mark Leonard Photography
Framed Art-Alexander & Co

CONGRATS TO WHITNEY AND ADAM!

Day of Coordination-Special Discount!

2009-01-07T12:31:00.001-08:00

If you are still in need of a day of coordinator for you 2009 wedding, we have a special going on until JANUARY 31ST, 2009.

As our New Year's gift, we would like to provide you with the following discounts if you book your day of coordination services with us by January 31st, 2009
(contract and deposit must be postmarked by this date)

$150 off “The Big Event” day of coordination
$75 off “The Occasion” day of coordination

Contact us for a planning consultation!

New Year's Resolution-BLOG MORE OFTEN!

2009-01-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

Well, the holidays truly caught up with me...and the fact that we have a ton of new weddings being planned for 2009. So, my resolution this year is (among other things) blog more! With that said...

In September, I was contacted by Shannon in Colorado for "day of" coordination for her 10/11 wedding. We completely hit it off and she has the best laugh of anyone I know! It was planned to be a small, intimate wedding at Southmoreland Park on the Plaza. There was to be a tent with all the rentals you can imagine involved. Only, Shannon started to panic about the weather (she will admit this!). So, two weeks before the wedding, Shannon flew in town and we decided to keep the ceremony at the park but move the reception to Weddle Event Space (convenient considering her fiance's last name was and still is Weddle...no relation). At this time, Shannon and I decided that it might be best that I fully take over and get this puppy moved. It was a challenge, but it turned out perfectly (including the weather, but oh well). Catering was provided by Oklahoma Joe's, while the mini cupcakes were provided by BabyCakes in the River Market (can I say, amazing?) and reception music was provided by Complete Music. Chris at Glow Imagery was the photographer and shared the link to this slideshow of the wedding.

KC Photobooth-So much fun!!!

2008-11-19T12:32:00.000-08:00

We had our final event of the year last night (more info to come on that event). One of the vendors featured at the event was KC Photobooth, owned by Patty Johnson. If you haven't seen one of these at an event yet, just wait because it is a very hot commodity these days. There are so many reasons to tie this into your event and everyone can have fun with a photobooth. Use it as a party favor, guest book, just to make more laughs, etc. KC Photobooth is fun to work with and very full service. Here's one of the photostrips that my team took last night. We clearly enjoyed it!

Congrats Jamie & Sam

2008-11-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

I completed my final wedding of the year on November 8th for Sam and Jamie. Jamie used to work for me back in my promotional products days, so it was a blast to have her ask me to plan her wedding reception! They got married in Mexico, so it wasn't your usual wedding reception. The event took place at her dad's office building and we were able to have some fun in planning a unique event that completely fit her style. The wall orchid design (by Andrea at Branches & Twigs) was created to match the design of the invitations (by Jessica at Catie Cards), which were very architectural in nature. We used the outdoor built-in grill from the space for Above and Beyond Catering to create some amazing (and yummy) straight from the grill seafood kabobs and quesadillas. Dessert was Sheridan's frozen yogurt...wedding cake flavor of course! Here are some photos.

We Won!

2008-10-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

We finally received the news last Friday that we WON the Kansas City's A-List award for top wedding planner! Thanks to all of you who voted for us. We couldn't be more excited! Check out their website for more area businesses, as well as wedding vendors who won in their respective categories. KMBC A-List

Perfect Wedding Guide Bridal Fair

2008-10-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

What a fun show! We had a blast getting our booth together and chatting with brides, as well as vendors. Here's a few photos of our booth and our team who worked the show (l-r: BJ, Jamie, Kim, Carrie and Leslie). A big thanks to Monica at 18 Flowers for working with us to create the perfect floral design.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by or commented on our booth!

Vote for You're Invited

2008-09-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

We're in the running for Kansas City's A-List #1 wedding planner. If you haven't done so already, please vote for us!

http://kmbc.cityvoter.com/contests/best-of-kansas-city-s-a-list/1926

Amanda's Funky Wedding at the Aladdin

2008-09-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure of doing a really cool, funky wedding at the Aladdin hotel downtown in February for Amanda and the Marine, Rob. It was funky because the space lent itself to a challenge...the carpet in the main ballroom. However, once we figured out the right way to tackle the challenge, we think we nailed it!

One thing that Amanda was very adamant on having was uplighting to illuminate the room and I am so glad she did! It really added a great element to the entire design of the event. The ceremony was held in the ballroom, cocktail reception was held in the martini loft and the dinner reception was back in the ballroom. Check out the before and after photos with lighting.

When planning, we try to keep some form of the same element all the way through. Notice Amanda's monogram throughout: on the programs, dance floor and cake. We used a company called Wedding Graffiti for the dance floor design, as well as a few other locations throughout.

Oh yeah, we totally believe in making your wedding YOUR own. Check out her ring bearer...Maize her dog. She made a big fashion statement with her pearls!

A big thanks to the Aladdin, Monica at 18 Flowers, Josh Solar Photography and Marc O'Leary for making this a spectacular event! We look forward to our next event at the Aladdin in November!

Makes me smile!

2008-09-11T12:44:00.001-07:00

These are the sorts of things that make wedding planners know they are doing their job. Courtesy of Kate. Thanks! You made my day!

Congrats Leah & Ryan

2008-09-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

We'd like to say a quick congratulations Leah and Ryan! I had a great time getting to know you the last couple of months. You are an amazing couple and I wish nothing more than the best for you. Keep in touch! -Leslie

P.S. Check out the Josh Solar Photography blog for pics of the event

Behind the Scenes: BJ Smith

2008-08-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

Whereas Leslie, Jamie and myself are what we call "lead" planners, the people who are the face of You're Invited, we MUST have a support staff of reliable, smart, fast thinking, witty people to back us up at events. And we have one heck of a staff!

Meet one of our our secondary planners. B.J. Smith...Many days, she's been a total Godsend to me. We love B.J. and are so happy to have her back after a brief hiatus! What clients don't realize is that while we take on their stress, we can have a few stressful moments ourselves. B.J. is that gal that I just have to look at and she knows what I need from her at events. I swear she can read my mind :))

B.J. has been with the You're Invited team since January 2007. I knew her in a previous life and found out that she was interested in helping with events. Her background includes Marketing and Graphic Design but she also enjoys Fashion Design. She has assisted with the choreography and music selection for high school fashion shows and co-directed two shows at Johnson County Community College.

B.J. also helps out at Branches & Twigs Floral Design, which is a great asset to have onsite when we have a large floral set up.

Thanks for all you do B.J. Smith!

Welcome Back to Heather at Botanica Floral Design!

2008-08-22T13:25:00.001-07:00

A warm "welcome back" to the KC wedding industry to Heather @ Botanica Floral Design! Heather and You're Invited go way back to when You're Invited first opened it's doors in 2003. She even supplied floral arrangements for our first kick off event. Heather took some time off from doing weddings, but is now back in the floral design business. We look forward to working with Botanica again very soon! In the meantime, enjoy some images of her work from some of our previous weddings together. Don't forget to check out her blog at www.designbotanica.blogspot.com

Vibrant Colors for Spring Wedding & Personal Party Favor Touch

2008-08-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

One of Jamie's first weddings was and outdoor ceremony and elegant reception for Noor and Jitan at the Simpson House. Noor had a wonderful array of colors and really wanted an elegant setting for her guests. She selected a very talented florist in Michelle at Bella Designs. Noor and Jitan also did something that we really push our clients to do with the small elements of the wedding. Their party favors were Krispy Kreme donuts, picked up fresh that day by Jamie!

This is new...

2008-08-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

So, this is a bit new for the You're Invited ladies. We've decided to add a blog to our site. We can't promise that we'll be able to keep it up all of the time, but it will be fun trying!!! I'll post some photos from our spring weddings. We had quite the variety!

The great thing is that we are able to work all over the city. We're not married to an area or a budget, so we get some flexibility.

I will also try to add some info about our secondary planners. They keep Leslie, Jamie and myself on mark during the wedding day. We can't love them enough!

Brand New

2008-07-15T12:16:00.001-07:00

Testing out a new addition to the YI website to showcase ideas, updates, etc. Now, we're in the real world!!!