We’ve all seen the romantic comedy The Wedding Planner. There’s Jennifer Lopez living a glamorous life as a wedding planner in San Francisco. She’s working high end weddings with her wedding planner emergency jacket and pack. Now, flash forward to real life. We cannot tell you how many times someone has asked if our jobs, as wedding planners, were just like JLO. Guests will stop us, ask who we are and then the questions begin. Do we have an emergency pack? Are you the secret services? Are you like a “wedding woman?” We always giggle when we get approached with questions, or references to Jennifer Lopez, but in reality what we do goes far beyond paper. Today, we’re going to explore what our team, Elegant Affairs, is all about and what we really do. 

As wedding planners we’ve seen it all. And no matter how many weddings we’ve planned and coordinated, seeing a couple say “I do”, well – you can’t beat that feeling. We still get chills when the bride or groom walk down the aisle towards their partner and we can’t help but tear up during the father/daughter dance. But, for us, it all starts with meeting and connecting with our potential clients. We offer an initial consultation, where we are able to meet with the prospective couple. During this consultation, we not only discuss their wedding visions, budget, wants, and needs; but we also discuss ourselves and how we can support them. For us, it’s not just signing a contract. It is way more than that. We are forming a partnership through this wedding planning journey. Once we’ve discussed our different packages and how we can best realistically support the couple, we begin the process. 

We always tell our couples that we can do as little as you need, to as much as you need – depending on the package that you choose. Sometimes, we have couples that choose our day of coordinating a package only, but then decide they want more. We can always upgrade as we go, or do additional add-on packages. Let’s say you're the couple that wants support just the wedding day. We’ve got you! But, that doesn’t mean we just ghost you until your big day. We are still an active part of your wedding planning process no matter what package you choose. If you’re looking for more of a day of coordination package, so your family and friends can sit back and relax we can provide services for that. For instance, our day of coordination package includes some the following:

• Creation of wedding day timeline 

• Venue Final Walk through

• Coordination of your big day

• Check all the fine details for your day (ex. Did Aunt Betty actually pack your toasting flutes?) 

• Communication and confirmation with all of your vendors prior to your wedding day 

For the day of coordination package, it provides all of the support you need to make sure your wedding day goes smoothly. We’ve got our timelines, emergency kit, and we are ready to support you, your partner, family, and friends have a relaxing, but memorable day. Now, if you want more of a partner within the planning, but don’t need a full-time wedding planner for all the nitty gritty details - we’ve got you, too! We even offer partial planning which is the best of both worlds. This includes everything in our day of coordination package and offers more. Our partial package includes: 

• Three planning meetings 

• Assisting in set-up outside of vendor services

• End of day arrangements (ex. Who is going to clean up? Where do the gifts go?)

• Review of vendor contracts

• Site coordinator for set-up and take down. 

This isn’t everything our package includes, but it covers the major services we provide. And of course, if you’re needing a wedding planner to assist, plan, and support for the duration of planning and your wedding day, we even offer a full planning package. This package provides unlimited access to your planner and/or planning team throughout the whole process.

Even though our service packages give you a good outline of what services we offer, it doesn’t even begin to describe what we actually do in the wedding planning trenches. Throughout these years, we’ve worked with hundreds of couples, assistants, and vendors. We’ve worked with so many clients with different needs or wants and we always do our absolute best to make their vision come true and provide support. Individual support can vary from couple to couple , and trust me we’ve seen quite a bit. 

We’ve coordinated and planned small weddings, large weddings, and even a wedding with 500 guests. Our team has put together 40+ floral arrangements in an hour and hung about 50 strands of lights down a walkway path in the 100 degree heat. We’ve had weddings where the DJ was unable to make it and panic set in. But our team handled it with grace. Our team were DJs for a while with an iPod, while another assistant was calling all of the DJs in town explaining our emergency situation. Yes, there was an emergency, but guests had fun, the couple still had their first dance song, received a refund from their vendor, and danced the night away. We’ve accompanied brides to find their dream wedding dress, attended countless fittings, held their hands through hardship, and were even there for the occasional late night, anxiety filled call. 

So, here at Elegant Affairs, we are more than just the “sign on the line”, “here’s your contract” wedding planners. We are here for you, not just for those eight hours, and not just for a few meetings. We pour our hearts into making your day come to life. We form life-long bonds with our couples that continue far after the wedding day. Our world may not look the same as Jennifer Lopez’s version of the wedding planner, but we’d have to say that our job is the best job ever. And if you’re reading this and want to learn more about what we do, give us a ring, e-mail us, or check out our portfolio. Whatever you need, we are here to help. 

Lori Losee is the owner of Elegant Affairs, a Seattle Wedding Planner with over 17 years of experience. We create awe-inspiring experiences—Events filled with meaning and refined elegance. Behind the scenes, our experienced team collaborates on each stage of the process, executing your vision and a wedding, celebration, or corporate event that is unique to you.