Yay Me!

I just needed to share a personal, yet major, accomplishment with all of you. I have been doing my own taxes (with the help of some software) since I was 18. In the past it only took a short amount of time to fill them out, submit them and then rack in the refunds. Last year was a tiny bit more difficult with the addition of the wedding business, but since we didn't make much money, taxes weren't really much of an issue.

This time around, however, I am pleased to announce that Elegantly Expressed had a great year in 2009 and we surprisingly made some money. I did not wish to pay more in taxes than I actually made though. Therefore, I spent upwards of 14 hours (2 whole Saturdays!) working on paper work, sorting receipts, adding up utility bills, calculating miles, etc. I then spent a couple more hours putting all the data into itemized deductions. In the end, I am pleased that my efforts paid off and I am actually receiving a small refund.

When I hit the submit button I was so proud of myself! I couldn't believe that I had waded through the financial wording and 30,000 documents to really succeed in doing my own taxes! I felt like this was a major big deal for the girl who nearly flunked pre-calculus in high school. Plus, it gave me hope that I might actually be capable of owning my own business.

I now understand what I am up against and have started a system to make it easier on myself next year. I am organizing my expenses differently and starting a new spreadsheet before the crazy summer hits and hopefully next year things will work out even better!

I don't usually pat myself on the back, but this time I can't help it. YAY ME!

Bridal Etiquette: Chapter 1

The day dawned with a glorious light, deceiving me into thinking it would be a marvelous day. I awoke early, anxious to finish my big task of sewing table runners. The morning sun peeked through my living room curtains and the machine stitched away as I watched a revival of Saturday morning cartoons eerily familiar to those I watched 20 years ago. Strawberry Shortcake and Transformers graced the TV bringing back forgotten memories of childhood.

The revelry collapsed with the last stitch and reality crashed back as I rushed to accomplish everything I had to do. The next hour was comprised of running up and down the stairs to and from the basement to make sure everything was remembered, put in a box and checked off the clever inventory list I had created the day before. With the last wire and lantern in place we continued with our duties. Running to K-mart in desperation, I found the perfect black button-up shirts for all three of my employees (the boys) and ran to finish loading the trailer.

By 1:00 we were on the road to Salt Lake City, ready to conquer another wedding. However, the traffic was against us and we didn't arrive until nearly 3:00. My poor boys carried 8 heavy pillars up two flights of stairs. Luckily, the other things fit in the elevator. We rushed to put up two backdrops, hang lanterns, put on chair covers and ties and set up the chocolate fountains.

At 6:00 the reception was set to begin. As I was adjusting the chocolate fountains, I glanced over at the main floor, only to see a member of the bridal party attempting to move the backdrop back a foot. I recoiled in horror as my carefully crafted waves of fabric and yellow drape were pulled apart, leaving the pillars stripped, like bare bones. Running across the room, my frustration evident on my face, I approached the bride.

"What is going on?!"
"My dance floor isn't big enough. I need a bigger dance floor"
"Couldn't you have moved the tables back?" To this I received a blank stare. "Well, it's broken now, I have to fix it."
"Well, I didn't like where it was, so I had to move it....." She continued on her selfish mumbling as she sauntered towards a bridesmaid who would probably assure her that moving the backdrop one foot back was the right thing to do.

Tears stung my eyes as I grabbed my duct tape, the only tool available to me, and began my attempt to hurriedly fix the sad disaster. Behind me I could hear the bride exclaiming that her reception was supposed to start 10 minutes ago. Thoughts of frustration and hurt whirled through my eyes threatened to spill down my cheeks in the form of tears. I swallowed the lump in my throat and kept working. When it looked mostly decent, I ran back to the fountains to ensure they were running correctly.

And now to the bright spot of the evening: the chocolate fountains ran perfectly. Even when they were low on chocolate, the rivers ran evenly down the sides in a lovely cascade of brown satin. The only thing missing was the other food. I had not been contracted to do any of the dipping food. I looked around for one of the surplus bridesmaids and inquired as to who was in charge of the other food.

"Oh, uh...I don't think anyone is. We just thought, that, it would...kinda happen..."
Kinda happen? Really? It was immediately evident that they had expected me to do all the food. The bridesmaids huddled and realized that they were the only ones who would do it, so they scuttled off to the kitchen where Alexander was melting chocolate.

Please imagine your most typical valley girl voice direct at my patient husband: "Aren't you the caterer? Why aren't you working? None of this food is done!"

"Actually, I'm a decorator and I'm melting chocolate. We were not contracted to do any of the other food besides the fountains."

Finally, the food was brought up on platters by girls with scowls on their faces. Such lovely girls. We soon realized that they didn't have anyone clearing tables either, which flabbergasted me. It wasn't my job, but I decided to help, so I cleared off the tables and attempted to make the situation better.

When it came time to dance, no one but the bride was interested, so she kept going up to the DJ and telling him to announce different dances that would make people dance. "And now, for the dance of the bridesmaids and the groomsmen to dance together..... And now for the dance for the bridal party that everyone must dance...." etc. It was sort of hilarious. I could have promised her that no one would dance, but some brides insist on everything being exactly the way they imagine it.

I have decided that I really must write a book about bridal etiquette spiced up with excerpts of my exciting job. Does anyone else have any funny stories about wedding etiquette gone wrong?

All in a Day's Work

I am exhausted, but very proud of myself. I did a wedding today that had a new, very difficult feature. It had a dropped ceiling, and it actually looked good. It took a massive amount of time to figure out exactly what would be the best way to put it all up, but in the end we did an excellent job. The credit really should go to my best brothers, Bryce and Tyler who spent a good 5 hours working on the project with me. New things always take time to learn, and now that we know what we are doing we can cut the time in half for next time.

I am really excited to have a new product to offer my clients, and I feel that I can now have a really competitive edge. While I was putting the finishing touches on the room, the woman with the cake came. She looked around at the decorations and was really impressed. She told me that she is getting married in August and she loved my decorations so she got my name and phone number and promised to call. Awesome!

Anyway, tell me what you think!

Shar's Wedding

I have known Sharylann for years, we used to work together planning conferences and workshops for a university. Her wedding was so exciting to plan, and it was a blast to be able to take part in all of the preparations.

Shar's colors were red and black with a real modern twist on traditional elegance. I think this wedding actually turned out to be one of my favorite's. We put up our most popular backdrop, draped it in gorgeous red (just like the for the Valentine's Dance) but I added some extra swag to the front to create a more graceful effect. To add a modern twist, I also added red and black spangle branches that I used in the centerpieces. It really tied the room together nicely.

The backdrop behind the cake was draped in black with a shiny red ribbon running through it. I loved it! It turned out perfectly . :)

In a clever attempt to decorate a blank wall, we put up large frames, scrapbook paper, and Shar's bridal pictures to create a collage effect and dress it up a bit. In the end it really added a lot to the room. Kudos go to Alisyn for making it look so awesome. This was her project and she mastered it. What would I do without her?

On top of decorations, we also provided two fountains, one chocolate and one nacho cheese, oh and of course the punch fountain. I have to tell you how much the guests raved about the food! I even found comments on Facebook about how great it was. :)

All in all, it was a really fun event. In the end it's really all about making the day as perfect as possible for the couple getting married, and it's always wonderful to have a hand in that.

Main Backdrop:


Cake Backdrop:



Pictures on the Wall:


The Tables:


The Room:


Finally, the food..somehow the chocolate fountain didn't make it into this picture, oh well:

Divine Yummy-ness

We now offer Chocolate Fountains!!!



Yay!!! We tested it out Saturday night, and boy was it amazing! Dad and I set it all up and he bought special dipping food and we had a little party (for Jen who left for Ukraine this morning). Let me just tell you that I think that this chocolate must be the food of the gods.

http://www.elegantlyexpressedwedding.com/
chocolatefountains.html

Fresh Ideas

I know my last post made a lot of people worry, but I just wanted to let you know that the fever has passed and I am back to normal (well, relatively).

Yesterday I made a bunch of new centerpieces to put up on my website. I am trying to shake the old fashioned look and be more hip and modern, since that's what I really am anyway.

I am putting pictures of my centerpieces up here. Please let me know what you think and if you have any new great ideas. I WOULD APPRECIATE AS MUCH FEEDBACK AS I CAN GET, FROM ANYONE :)

Thanks!!!

A Week's Worth of Ramblings

I'm going to tell the story backwords, starting with today and going back.

I think I am getting sick. Actually, I know it and I also know that my body is totally fighting it. I absolutely hate colds, so I decided that I won't get them anymore. Saturday night I started getting a sore throat and I knew I was in for it. I always get a sore throat first and then the full-blown horridness of the sneezy, runny nose, headache, achy body miserableness. I have filled my body with all sorts of vitamins and liquids so I hope I will slide through this quickly. I have to do another internet radio show this weekend (did I tell you they made me a regular?) and I really don't want a stuffy nose to make my voice sound worse.

Conference is always wonderful. I love the spirit is brings into our home. I also love the excuse to sit home and rest.

My in-laws came up this weekend, they had tickets to 3 of the 5 sessions of conference and they wanted to see us. We went up to Bountiful last night and spent quite a bit of time chatting. I think things are going much better with them. At least I didn't spend the whole night hating them and they gave me orange juice for my throat (I think I drank a whole gallon).

I had a couple of consultations this week, and I actually got a contract signed. I need more than one though so I worked hard this week sending emails and posting ads around. I had a huge week in regards to hits to my website, apparently people keep looking but I am still waiting for them to call. I guess starting something new will always be harder than I expected it to be.

Bridal Fair #1

So I think we made it. We successfully survived the first bridal fair ordeal. Ordeal doesn't sound like the right word... how about baptism by fire, yes I think that's better.

And what a fire it was! I was totally burned out by the end. Perhaps I should start on Friday morning. After a long Thursday night of creating and fixing my marketing pieces I thought I could print them out on my computer and be done with it. By noon on Friday I was completely and utterly discouraged. Seven hours, several gallons of gas, and two nervous breakdowns later, I had accomplished very little beyond picking up a few supplies at Costco. Everything went wrong with my marketing pieces and I had to reformat them all. In the end with the help from my wonderful and supportive husband, I was able to figure it out.

We went to Provo High School at 8pm to set up for the bridal fair and with my strong brothers (and sister) we got the whole thing done fairly quickly. I will post pics below. After the set up was finished around 10:00, we ran a few more errands: Walmart, my storage unit, my parents, Wendy's (we hadn't eaten since lunch), and finally Kinkos (my third visit that day). We spent the glorious hours of 12:30-2:00am printing and cutting fliers. It was great! I think it was actually the most productive part of my day aside from setting up. I finally was able to lay my head down on my pillow at 3:30am, only to wake at 7:30am to rush and get ready.

At the bridal fair my savior, Alisyn, came to the rescue and we rushed to finish setting up. 15 minutes before the show started we were told that we could take up the space next to us because the people hadn't showed up. So in the end we had a huge space! Al and I rushed to recenter the backdrop, but boy was it worth it!

Because of Anna and Al's beautiful daisy balls that were hanging from the backdrop we got tons of girls stopping to look at our booth. We were the only bright colors on our row so people were drawn to us like flies. All in all, I think it went very well. My website hits have been fairly high since the bridal fair, so that's great. At least people are looking. I have been looking too. I checked out all my competition and from what I can tell I have the most variety and the most visually interesting backdrops. I also have the lowest prices, so cross your fingers that the phone starts ringing.

Ketchup

Have you ever felt kinda empty inside but you don't know why? It's sort of like a hollow sadness. I have been feeling that way today, like if one more little thing were to go wrong, I might just sit down and cry. The funny thing is, not too much has gone wrong today, so I don't know why I feel this way.

So the bridal fair is this week and I have been crazy trying to get my act in gear. A couple of weeks ago I ordered a vinyl sign from online and I have been waiting to get it for the past week. I had already sent them an email last week and made 3 unanswered phone calls, so today I sent them an email saying that if I didn't hear from them by tomorrow I would take legal action against them. Apparently that scared them as I got both an email and a phone call in which I was told that the store had closed and they were issuing a full refund. Yeah right. Whatever. It was only $30.

I made ketchup today. My Great Grandmother, Grandma Ellen, to whom I was very close, used to make this homemade ketchup that I grew up loving. I was 12 when she died and I had a very difficult time adjusting to eating food without that wonderful condiment. I have a special fondness for eating it with the traditional breakfast Grandma Ellen used to make when I slept over (which was nearly every weekend for 2 years). We would eat fried eggs, toast, bacon, oatmeal with raisins, and orange juice and we always had ketchup with it. When I got married I decided enough was enough and I found the recipe and started bottling it. I was amazed when it tasted exactly how I remembered it. This is the 3rd time I have made it (cause I keep running out!) and all day long the house smells like spices and it brings the sweetest memories of my childhood. Someday I will also learn how to bottle her version of dill pickles and green beans (not together), but for now this is good.

Should've Read the Warning

I don't feel so good.

I'm not technically sick, but I am nauseated from motion sickness. Yesterday Alexander finally got the game he has been waiting for: Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Oh yeah! So as Wii games go, this one rocks. However, it makes me feel very sick to play it. And then, once I play it, I am sick the entire rest of the day. After feeling awful for a couple hours today, we looked on the game's box and found a warning that read; "Playing video games can cause motion sickness in some players. If you or your child feels dizzy or nauseous when playing video games, stop playing and rest. Do not drive or engage in other demanding activity until you feel better." Hmmm... at least I'm not having seizures which the game also warns about. Needless to say Alexander has been begging me to play with him all day, and now I am sick. Blech!

I was supposed to have a wedding consultation this morning at 10:00, but my client called and canceled at 9:30, approximately way too late! I was up until 3:00am making sure I had all the papers ready and all the appropriate room designs drawn up and that my house was spotless, and then she called and acted like it was no big deal! I was infuriated! Plus, she was rather rude on the phone, so I think I will take her wedding off my calender. She can try to find someone else to decorate her wedding this late in the game (good luck with that).

To make up for the frustrating morning, I got a phone call this afternoon that made my day. This woman was the mother of the groom and was in charge of the luncheon, but had no idea what to do or how to get started. My experience at C&W finally paid off as I BS'd my way through one of the best business calls I have ever had. I recommended a caterer, gave her design ideas, gave her an estimate, practically read her mind (so she said), told her what she needed to ask when reserving a park for the luncheon, etc. It was totally awesome! She told me she had a list of phone numbers in front of her and no one had she had talked to had been nearly as informational as me. After talking for about 15 min she asked me to call her in 2 days to make sure she hadn't lost her mind yet and to discuss more details. I am pretty sure I have this one in the bag (plus this woman is hilarious!)! The best part though was that I asked her how she got the number (so that I would know what marketing was working) and she said she found it on the internet! Boo-Yah! It's working, it's working, it's working!!!

Anyway, if you can't tell I am pretty psyched. Plus, I found out today that I am for sure a vendor at the upcoming Bridal Fair at Provo High on March 29! Awesome marketing opportunity! If I get even one wedding booked from it, it will make up for the cost of the show. Overall I would say that things are going pretty well for my little business.

Well, my nausea has mostly gone away so I think it's time for bed.

Elegantly Expressed Wedding Decor

Hello my friends! (Does that make me sound like John McCain?)

I have officially gone off the deep end. I recently purchased a wedding decoration business on a whim. Yes, it really was an impulse buy. Poor Alexander, he usually needs a couple of months to agree to spend this much money, and I only gave him 24 hours.

Anyway, this means I have purchased an entire stock of decorating supplies: roman pillars, arches, fountains, hundreds of flowers, tablecloths, chair covers, centerpieces, and much much more. It is so exciting and so crazy at the same time. In the last three weeks since getting into this I have spent 8 or 9 hours a day working steadily on getting everything in order. There is so much to do! This is what I've done so far: take inventory, organize everything so I can find it again quickly, create a website (much harder than it sounds), create business cards, scout out competition, get a business license, get a tax ID number, and the list goes on.

Today I overcame the hardest of all those challenges when my website went online. It is not perfect. All the pictures on it are from the woman who owned the business before me. I haven't had time to set up and take pictures yet, but it will happen.

A new challenge is now open before me: Marketing. The first step to this is to tell my friends, so here I am, telling you. Hopefully this will result in you telling your friends and me eventually getting some business. :)

My website is www.elegantlyexpressedwedding.com

Please check it out and pass on the word!