of the year??

Hello my party princes and princesses,

I find myself doing something I swore I would never do, mentioning the name Kim Kardashian on this blog. Ugh!!  But I feel I must!  Whether you’ve wanted to or not, we’ve all been dragged along for the ride that I like to call “Kim Kardashian’s Krazy Konnubial Khaos”.  (My apologies to spelling teachers everywhere)

Not only does it irk me that she treats weddings and marriage with such irreverance (I’ll save that for another blog post), but I cringe at the very idea of spending 20 million dollars on a one day event for 500 people. Now I love a great wedding, don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t be in this business otherwise, but there is no need to spend anywhere near that amount to make it fantastic.

As a wedding planner and recent bride, I’m appalled at her wedding costs, especially since the marriage lasted barely longer than the honeymoon!  My own fabulous wedding (eco-chic, of course) was two years ago so I’m putting my wedding up against Kim’s in this chart.   Today I get to play with the idea “What would I buy, besides my dream wedding, with 20 million dollars”  Here’s what I would purchase with that amount of money!

Which wedding packs the bigger "Wow" factor?

These charities and ideas are all very near to my heart for one reason or another.

• $1,500,000 to North Texas Food Bank -  We all know what  horrible economic times we are living in.  I’ve had friends who have had to go to NTFB to get food for their family.  This much money would go a long way towards feeding those who don’t have anything.
• 150 Angel funded small businesses – We all need an angel now and then.  $10,000 can go a long way towards helping someone realize their dream or make a new life for them and their family.
• $1,000,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project - I never forget the debt I owe to those men and women in uniform!  My freedom is so precious to me and I have ultimate respect for those who serve this country so I can teach others how to save it in a different way.  I would donate in the names of my Grandpa Wagner, brother-in-law Ray Frederick and good buddy James Foster who all served!  Thank you all!!
• 10,900 Holiday adoptions through Allen Comunity Outreach – Imagine having no toys at Christmas!!  And not because you pulled some “Dennis the Menace” prank, but because your guardians couldn’t afford it.  The thought of that always makes me sad.  The ability to give almost 11,000 local kids the christmas of their dreams makes me so happy!
• 3 water drilling rigs for Charity : Water charitywater.org – Ever since my family took a mission trip to South Africa, this has really been on my mind.  Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren’t strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses.
• 40,000 Emergency Family kits for the Red Cross – Disasters suck!  Tsunamis, tornados, earthquakes.  Families who have lost everything in a disaster need immediate help to make it through the first terrifying weeks. A kit that provides a month’s supplies for a family overseas—including a cooking set, toilet paper, toothbrushes, water containers and a blanket.
• 30,000 honeybee hives from Heifer International – Those of you who know me know my deep and abiding love for this amazing charity! Giving a person the toold and education they need to make their life better is one that resonates with this chica verde!  This would not only help the families who receive the hives,  but also the dwindling honeybee population which plants and flowers desperately need to thrive.  Read more about honeybee helps here.  Aaaah, I love alliteration almost as much as honey! =o)
• $1,000,000 to reforestation through the Nature Conservancy.    That would buy 1 million Ice Cream Bean trees!!  No, I’m not making that up, it’s a real tree! =o)
• $1,000,000 to the Fisher House - For those of you who don’t know, the Fisher House is to veterans receiving treatment at VA hospitals what the Ronald McDonald House is to  children needing hospital care.  It’s a nice, safe, free place for families who can’t afford a long term hotel room to stay in while their loved one is in the hospital.  My brother-in-law went through several years of tests before they did his brain surgery and my sister stayed at the Houston Fisher House several times during that trying time.   I just can’t say enough great things about the people who work there, the volunteers who bring in group meals and the cleanliness of the place.  I would be honored to donate to their worthy charity.
• $1,500,000 to North Texas Make a Wish Foundation – I love the idea of granting wishes to someone who could use a little magic in their life!!
• $2,000,000 to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – What a horrible disease!  I would never want to put anyone through that!  Growing up, my sister and I had a really good friend with CF.  He is truly an inspiration to me & the reason I support the CF Foundation now.  He is sarcastic and funny to the extreme and he never let his illness get him down. I remember visiting him in the hospital and hearing him talk about his nurse Brunhilda who wanted to give him a sponge bath.  I’m happy to say he had a lung transplant and he is doing great!  37 years old & still side-splittingly funny! =o)
• $1,000,000 to college scholarships for students who want to make this world a better place in some way- whether it’s preserving our heritage, finding the new eco-friendly engine, studying green interior design, etc.  I’d like to make sure the best and brightest are focusing on making this planet better for those around them!

and that, ladies and gents, is how yours truly would spend 20 million dollars!! Any thoughts, questions, concerns?  Any bored billionaires looking for a great and meaningful way to make a difference?  I’ll let you have my list for free! =o)

Until next time, Wishing you “Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever After. . . .”,

Melissa

Melissa Wagner-Gens, PMP

Have you heard about Pinterest?  We decided this new thing of pinning your
favorites like a virtual bulletin board, inspiration board, interest board was
too irresistible to pass up. Pinterest, you’re hot!!

Many of my perky planners, vivacious vendors & cute as a button couples have joined
Pinterest and are pinning their favorites from wedding hair ideas, to green bouquet ideas to DIY
wedding favors. They share them with me and I am able to see their fun stuff.
Its great!

We would love it if you started to follow us too. You can find us at http://www.pinterest.com/ecopartygoddess/
Happy pinning!

Melissa

What does today need?  I’ll tell ya.  A really rockin’ new green theme for a wedding.  Welcome to our special feature I’m calling “Dream Green Themes”  These will be monthly party themes which are eco-chic and unique!

One way I try to get my blushing brides to incorporate themselves and their honeybunnies into their wedding is to incorporate items found in their houses already.  They love the items and it reduces waste/cost, so why not use them?  From dishes to art to jewelry, all can be incorporated into a rockin’ theme which really tie the couple’s personality into the wedding.  I was challenged recently to put my money where my mouth was, so to speak.  Never one to turn down a challenge, I accepted!

Recently I had the pleasure of working with several amazing vendors to create four new looks for the eco-conscious couple.  The first one I’m going to share here is our Strawberry Fields theme.  The dishes, silverware, burlap and giant teacups are mine.  Everything else is locally sourced and/organic.

Who doesn’t love the juicy red and crisp green of a strawberry?  They have always reminded me of summers in my grandfather’s garden. Those little berries grew like wildfire much to the delight of all of us grandkids who made it our personal mission in life to eat as many as we possibly could . =o)

The first thing we needed for our Dream Green Theme was a great location.  I was looking for somewhere cozy (less people = less waste & less carbon emissions) and rustic (strawberries, vines, duh! =o>).  I found the perfect place in Melissa, TX called the Bird’s Nest. It had room for an intimate wedding (aka 50 people or less) and amazing photos ops everywere including a small red barn and gazebo.

Our blushing bride for this eco-chic wedding was recent bride Lauren.  I love this picture the amazing Eleonore from Photo By Eleonore took of her!  Lauren & Lindsay (our planner for this shoot) were both styled by the fabulous Karri of Hair by Kar who had her work cut out for her since we shot on a day that reached 108° in the shade!!  Oi!!  I just loved both of our models’ energies!  Both ladies were full of ideas and energetic despite the record heat!

Instead of using a cut flower bouquet flown in from South America or Holland, consider using locally grown flowers, live plants or perhaps a fresh strawberry one. Ours consists of long-stemmed strawberries and parsley.

In this shot, our planner Lindsey shows our bride one of the table set-ups. Our vintage linens were provided by Rent My Dust, a hidden gem in the DFW area which rents vintage linens, china, accessories and furniture! Miss Rita set us up! =o) The berry dishes, 1940′s cakeplate & vintage teacup are from my personal collection. Yes, I know! I rock! LOL

Both centerpieces cost less than $10 to make.  To create the tea cup centerpiece, I used a head of ruffled lettuce, a head of cabbage and a pint of strawberries.  Editor’s note: No styrofoam or cut flowers were harmed or utilised in the making of this centerpiece. ;o)

I got the idea for the cake stand centerpiece from a 1940′s photograph of a teaparty my grandmother attended. All you need is a cool cake stand and the ability to stack strawberries. =o)

And now onto the yummy part of our Strawberry Fields wedding – The dessert table!!  What would a strawberry themed wedding be without make it yourself shortcakes?

Our too-cute-for-words blueberry and cherry pies in the jar came from the Diva of Dessert herself, Tiffany at Haute Mama Dessert Company.

Haute Mama also provided the uber-realistic strawberry cake pops, adorable pie pops and sugar cookies decorated in a vintage postcard theme. Look for her other amazingly yummy sweets in our upcoming Green Dream Themes!

I’ve been asked by several people why  we did not go with a wedding cake for this theme.  The answer is simple.  Cakes create waste.  An average of 30% of wedding cake does not get eaten on the day of.  There are many reasons for this – some guests don’t like the flavors or like cake at all.

Creating a dessert table allows the guests to pick from an assortment of dessert  flavors and choices.  So for this wedding them, I chose to forgo the cake =o). 

Cafe Mozart provided the deliciously decadent strawberry and raspberry mousse desserts which rounded out our delicious dessert table.

So what do you think?  Is this an eco-chic wedding you’d like to attend?  I hope so! I loved designing this juicy and fun eco-friendly unique theme!  I would like to thank my gorgeously green models and locally sourced vendors for all their assistance in pulling this photo shoot together despite the raging heat of a record Texas summer!!  =o)

Remember Emerald Events & Weddings for all your green wedding and event questions!

Strawberry Fields Faux Wedding Vendors

Photos – Photo By Eleonore

Location – the Bird’s Nest

Makeup & Hair – Hair by Kar

Vintage Linens -Rent My Dust

Desserts – Haute Mama Dessert Company & Cafe Mozart

Tireless assistant to Melissa – Courtney Collyge

Blushing Bride – Lauren Lambert

Perky Planner – Lindsey Crabtree

Event & Photo Shoot Design -Melissa Wagner-Gens – Emerald Events & Weddings

Next month, look for our “I’ll be your honeybee” Green Dream Theme, bringing attention to one of the hardest working natural pollinators & producers out there, the honey bee. =o)

Season 1 - RWPOCC

Today I wanted to tell you all about my Collin College Wedding Planner certification classes.  Three years ago when I was approached to develop and teach this class, I had no idea the profound effect this class would make on the rest of my life.  First of all, all certification courses are not created equal!

Back when I got my online event planner certification, the course I went through did not touch on several topics I thought were necessary to have a successful event planning business in the 21st century- project management skills, greening events, social media & small business skills being the biggest pieces left out.  I always said if I ever taught a class, I would include those points.  If I am putting my name on this certification, the students will be getting a complete education!

My students put together their wedding business in class complete with a “sticky” name and tagline, 5 year business plan, press release, headshots and public image assessment.  I’ve had several come up to me and say it was much harder than they expected but definitely what they needed to know.

Season 2 - RWPOCC

I also said I’d make it fun!  Planning parties is hard work but it is also a lot of fun.  And no one retains information when they are bored out of their skull, least of all me! So we have learning games I’ve developed like “Survivor:Wedding Edition”, “Bridalpiece Theatre” & “America’s Next Top Planner” which hone their wedding planner skills.

Season 3 - RWPOCC

In the second half of the class,  they also get thrown into a real-world wedding exercise where they use all the planner information they’ve been given to plan a local “wedding” where I am the bride and have final say over vendors and details.  They have to research local vendors, control the budget & develop the wedding day timeline.

Season 4 - RWPOCC

Each wedding has a twist (just like a real wedding).  Past twists have included gluten free diets, flower allergies, theme weddings, cultural weddings & eco-chic weddings.  It always amazes me to see how my students incorporate the “Bride’s” demands with their own sense of style to produce a memorable occasion.

I also bring in several of my trusted local vendors to talk with the planners in a section I call “Inside the Vendor’s Studio” where I informally interview the vendor.  This allows the students to learn about the person behind the product or service and allows them to begin building their vendor database.

The planners learn how to tell a good vendor from a bad or inexperienced one, hear what drives the vendor to do what they do and what they wish planners and brides knew before coming in.  This allows the planner to really understand the concept that vendors are people too and the relationships they forge really reflect on them as a planner.  We’ve been lucky enough to have such choice vendors as Chef Pete Catering, Illumination Fireworks, Heartsong Productions, Cater 10, Envision Images, and of course, my amazing friend Photo By Eleonore.

Bridesmaids

We recently had a reunion of the first four seasons of our class and our favorite vendors centered around the wickedly funny movie Bridesmaids, complete with our own awards, the Emeralds (aka the Emmys) that the planners got to vote on.

Thirty planners and the talented Tony Valadez from Flashbox Photography came out to mix and mingle.  The awards included “Miss Congeniality”, “Most Improved”,  “Favorite Vendor”, “Best Business Name”, “Most Likely to Plan a Celebrity Wedding”, and “the Maverick” award for the “best of the best” of the class-designed weddings.  We laughed, we cried, we ate popcorn and sang Wilson Phillips (Bridesmaids reference. lol)

It was an amazing night with amazing party planners and I am so lucky to have come into contact with all of these beautiful, talented women!  I hope they stay in touch! They have taken the information I’ve given them and really made the wedding planning world take notice.  I look forward to seeing them follow their passion & grow into their own niches of the market.

Wishing you Love, Laughter & Happily Ever After . . . .

Melissa

I wanted to give you a rundown of our Emerald Certified ™ Seminar - DFW which happened in September!  I have developed this class in response because of the number of former wedding planner certification students who were asking me to teach them how to be Brilliantly Green™ when planning their client’s events or wanted to go to the next level of certification in their education.  Now I am not a “Mean Queen of Green” and I don’t lecture as one.  I believe people retain more knowledge when they are engaged and entertained, so our class was very interactive and hands-on.  The students got the chance to create eco-friendly centerpieces and green signature cocktails using organic vodka, locally made tequila, fresh fruit and organic fruit juices.  I explained 100 mile weddings and green terminology they needed to know and introduced them to local eco-chic vendors they could use when planning their parties.  Our 7 hour seminar just flew by and I know for a fact that I helped these women think differently and sustainably about events and how their business relates to the environment around them.

Some of our wonderful sponsors included Emerald Events & Weddings (of course =o>), ClearSky Climate Solutions, Aspen Ironworks, Wales Manor, Java & Gelati, HeartSong Productions & Chef Pete Catering.  Here are some pictures of all the eco-chic educational fun!

I know, I know!!  You thought I got kidnapped by angry anti-environmental antique wedding planners, but that’s not what happened!  Well at least that’s not what’s happened yet!

The simple truth is between teaching the Collin College wedding planner certification class, the Emerald Certified ™ green event planner certification seminar, planning brilliantly green events for Emerald Events & Weddings, writing my Brilliantly Green Bride book (coming soon) and being a newlywed bride, life just did not include time to blog.  But I am hear to catch you up on all my caffeinated craziness of the last year!  We’ll get to all that but first, here’s a wonderful quote that I’m just digging right now…..How cool would it be done in calligraphy for a wedding shower present?

Love This Sentiment!

Talk to you soon! =o)