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No doubt about it, 2020 was a gut punch for weddings. So many couples had to put their plans on hold and so it seems like everyone is approaching 2021 with baited breath. While I certainly don't have a Crystal Ball, I am feeling very hopeful for a much more "normal" wedding season. What is giving me a lot of hope that we didn’t have before is I’ve seen first hand that incredible weddings can happen EVEN in the pandemic. Your Perfect Bridesmaid has successfully executed almost 30 weddings since COVID-19 came into our lives in March. We know the guidelines, we know how to identify what things are subject to change, and we are always ready to adjust given new circumstances-- we don’t just give up. We have seen with our own eyes that couples, families, and guests still have so much fun, even with an adjustment or two to the plans. If you want to talk about options or ideas for your wedding, email us and ask us how we’ve pulled off COVID-19 weddings-- we’d love to work with you. Better yet, submit a question for our Online Wedding Workshop on Jan 23 (I’ll talk about this more below). Another thing that gives me hope is the vaccine. It really is the game changer we have all prayed for. Every day, thousands of folks are being vaccinated and experts are saying we can expect to see COVID-19 cases go down significantly as more people become vaccinated. Finally, Oregon and Washington's new guidelines are also giving me hope. We now have clear outlines on what is possible given each risk level and increased flexibility with lower risk levels. Having the risk levels evaluated and adjusted every two weeks makes for some fun last-minute planning, but with our help, last-minute adjustments can seem more possible than you might think. While I am really hopeful for a year of incredible, much needed, much over-due celebrations, I also know we aren't out of the woods yet, and I know that can be unsettling. It seems like way back in April or May of 2020 we started hearing how Winter was going to be pretty bad in terms of number of cases. Sadly, they were 100% correct. And while we all have so many reasons to to be hopeful, our current case load is making that difficult and I wanted to acknowledge that. I know this uncertainty is causing a lot of stress for some couples, and I totally understand if you have a bit of anxiety of what steps to take next. If that resonates with you, I recommend you take a short, temporary "vacation" of sorts from wedding planning. If you received our newsletter in your inbox, you might’ve heard us tell you that it is perfectly okay to “press pause” rather than cancel and come back to things a few weeks from now. One of the many benefits of having a professional planner on your team is that they know what needs to be done and can enact a plan to make sure nothing is dropped or forgotten while you’re taking a break. Reach out to your lead planner or shoot me an email (info@yourperfectbridesmaid.com) and let's figure this out together. A peace of mind is so valuable, and that is something we always strive to provide. Like I mentioned before, Your Perfect Bridesmaid is hosting a 3 hour workshop from 10:00am - 1:00pm, where we’ll answer all of your wedding planning questions. We’ll also help attendees craft their day-of timeline and share our Little Pink Book, which is our book of trusted vendors that we have curated over the past 12 years and 850 weddings. This event is completely free. It is our way of helping couples get through this pandemic and get excited about their wedding again. We know how much harder wedding planning is, given the current situation, so let us help you take off some stress. You can RSVP (to receive the Zoom link) and submit any pressing questions you have on our website. In closing, I hope you know that you are not alone and I sincerely encourage you to reach out if we can be of any help with your planning. As Thomas Fuller said "the darkest hour is just before the dawn." Better, brighter days are ahead. Hang in there, 2021 is going to be a much better year, and your wedding is going to be amazing! -Kim

Right now couples are in a bit of predicament. On one hand, 2021 is set to be the busiest wedding season in a long time given all of the 2020 reschedules. On the other hand, most states like Oregon and Washington are in a freeze, as we try to get our infection rates down. With the all the uncertainty, couple's are saying it's hard to know whether they should send out Save the Dates. While there are many details to consider and we work with each client to come up with a personalized game plan depending on their unique situation, we did want to share a few options that may work well for you. 1. Embrace the craziness. Everyone you are sending Save the Dates to are well aware of the pandemic. They get it, so embrace it. Work with your designer to incorporate some light-hearted text like: August 7th, 2021 (we hope) We are getting married some time in 2021, check out our website for current info. 2. Make technology your friend!! Because things are a little up in the air for 2021, I really suggest that couples have a wedding website and direct their guests there asap! Having a website will allow you to communicate any change of plans quickly. This will be especially nice if you have a few rounds of changes, or any last minute changes. 3. Keep it simple. If you don't feel comfortable spending money on a printed Save the Date that may need to be changed, then keep it simple and send out emails. Again, everyone totally gets the cluster that is 2020. Send a group email to your must have attendees. As a bonus you will then have everyone's email addresses should you need to make any last minute updates/changes. I know the uncertainty is maddening and its making things even more complicated, but we are here for you. If you would like to talk thru things, reach out. Our email is: info@yourperfectbridesmaid.com. We happy to help anyway we can.

A bride's bouquet is her most photographed accessory on her wedding day. And we love that each bouquet is as unique as each bride. We are blessed with incredible florists in the Northwest. True artists that choose flowers as their medium. We wanted to highlight some of the incredible bouquets our bride's have carried with them on their most special days. We hope this inspires you to reach out to one of our very gifted florist friends and work with them to dream up your bouquet.

When I am talking with potential clients during our initial consultations, one of the most popular questions I get asked is "What makes YPB different from other planners?" I love that question, but it is a difficult one to answer because I haven't seen other planners at work. I talk with other planners every day as our Planner Community is pretty close and collaborative, but I cannot really speak to how our services specifically differentiate from each other. What I usually end up sharing is what makes YPB special. I am pretty proud of this company and our team, and I thought I would share a few things that I am most proud of. Our Experience: I started YPB in 2008. I say that out-loud and I just cannot believe it has been 12 (super fun) years. Over those twelve years we have been able to hone our skills over the 850+ weddings we have planned and coordinated. Those weddings have taught us so much and I feel like that experience is invaluable. Every wedding we plan is different. Each one exposes us to new venues and vendors. Each one offers new challenges to overcome. Each one provides yet another opportunity to create something so beautiful and unique to each couple. Wedding planning is like exercise. The more we exercise our muscles, the stronger we get. We too get better with each wedding we plan and coordinate. We leave each wedding a better planner than when we started. I really feel that 12 years of experience has made us an outstanding company to work with. The second thing that makes us special is our industry relationships. Forming and nurturing relationships with the venues and vendors in our industry is essential to what we do. Those relationships allow us to know exactly what vendors would be a great fit for our couples. Those relationships are how we are able to advocate for our clients. Those relationships are how we are able to call in favors during extra-ordinary times. Relationships are so important to me that I started The Art of Weddings Portland - a vendor community that brings Portland vendors together for networking, education, and advancement. I treasure the relationships we have with other vendors, and they are huge benefit of working with us. With COVID-19 being a big hurdle for engaged couples, we immediately sought out opportunities to stay informed and help our couples and fellow vendors navigate the ever changing situation. Back in late march we teamed up with three other vendors and created the Live Events Industry of Oregon (LEIO). This is a coalition of over 4500 event industry businesses that we brought together in order to have an organized voice and large presence with State Government. Thru LEIO, we have been meeting with state and county government officials since April. These regular meetings have allowed us to be very familiar with the guidelines, and have allowed us to stay informed with best practices and new developments in this area. That information has been so invaluable as we have returned to planning weddings. Navigating COVID has been one of the most difficult and heart-breaking things we have faced since we started YPB, but I also feel so thankful that we have been able to flex some creative muscle to find ways to simultaneously keep people safe and create super special weddings. If you haven't checked it out yet, we partnered with some awesome vendors to put together an information shoot that helped couples understand the guidelines and see them in action. We uploaded those pictures so I encourage you to review this page when you can. Lastly, I think the main thing that makes YPB special is our heart. There are no words to adequately describe how much we care about our couples and their weddings. We understand that this is a once in a lifetime event, and whether you are going for a black tie formal ballroom wedding, or an intimate backyard gathering of your favorite people, we are going to do everything within our power to make it the best day ever. And prior to that day, we are going to be right beside you, guiding the way through all the wedding planning highs and lows. And while I don't have the words to share with you, I thought I would share a few recent reviews from former clients. I feel like their words will give you a good idea of how much we care.

This past Saturday Your Perfect Bridesmaid hosted its first Online Wedding Workshop and gave everyone who joined the opportunity to ask any “Berning” questions (in light of the Bernie meme that’s storming the nation) about planning a wedding. These workshops are an opportunity for you to ask and us to answer, whether YPB is your planner or not. In this blog, we wanted to share some of the frequently asked questions that we received and our expertise on the matter. During the workshop myself and our other YPB planners gave insight into: Sticking to a Budget, Venues and Vendors, Creating a Timeline (including a section where we made one from scratch), COVID-19, and offered a Q&A about each topic. If you weren't able to make, we've recapped some questions we covered below. Better yet, YPB is also hosting another workshop at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9, if you have your own “Berning” questions. You can RSVP and submit any questions at no cost on our website, and we'll send you the Zoom link. We hope to see you at our next workshop! As always, you can always reach out to me, Kim, at info@yourperfectbridesmaid.com with any questions. WEDDING PLANNING FAQ STICKING TO A BUDGET We are having a hard time finding a venue within our budget and it's been hard to make a choice on what venue to book. What should we do? Your wedding venue is traditionally one of the larger wedding expenses, but it doesn’t have to be! We believe that anything is possible when it comes to venues. We have worked with couples in an open field with no electricity, in private residences, parks, and other alternative spaces. It is totally possible to transform a non-traditional space, add a little spice, and make it your own. Resources like Wedding Wire list various venues for different budgets, but we encourage you to think outside the box and look for beautiful alternative venues like a local park/public garden, favorite restaurant, or even a fun campground or summer camp What is a realistic budget? Your budget is specific to unique factors such as guest count, priorities, how much money you want to spend etc. Thanks to a bunch of industry research we can say that the average budget for both the Portland and Seattle Metropolitan areas is about $35,000. But like all "averages," there are plenty of weddings on both ends of that number. The best thing you can do is to sit down with your planner and create a custom budget that works for you and your wedding vision. While we do that for our clients you can also hire us just for a budget meeting. Email us for more details. What’s the best way to save money? Your guest count is the biggest factor that affects your budget. Darn near every budget line item can be whittled down to a per-person cost. To make sweeping, impact-full cuts to the budget, trim your guest count. Once you have trimmed your list to the must-haves, turn your attention to the parts of the wedding that aren't as important to you. For instance, if music isn't a top priority, ditch the DJ and create an Spotify playlist. If stationary isn't important, email out your invitations. There are a ton of ways to trim while still keeping the elements close to your heart. VENUES AND VENDORS How do you choose your priorities when it comes to selecting and budgeting for vendors? Our best advice is to remember that it doesn’t have to be an “either or” when it comes to budgeting different aspects of your wedding. It’s about allocating your money based on what’s most important to you. If you want to splurge more on your venue, maybe you get flowers from the farmers market. If you want to have more people, maybe you choose a cheaper catering option. So ask yourself and your partner some questions about what you value the most. Figuring out those values first will make selecting and budgeting for venues easier. COVID-19 Read our breakdown of COIVD-19 restrictions for weddings in Washington or Oregon. What are people doing instead of dancing to fill reception time? If COVID-19 were not a thing, we would never replace dancing. But unfortunately, Washington’s COVID-19 restrictions explicitly prohibit dancing during reception in Phase 2 and below and Oregon venues may restrict dancing at receptions. But there are still other ways to fill the time we would normally be dancing our hearts out, like: Offering yard games and placing hand sanitizer by each station Doing scavenger hunt and incorporating cute details about your love story Setting up a photo station Playing the “Who is…” shoe game in front of your guests (Check out this list of questions and instructions from The Knot) How do I adjust my seating chart with COVID-19? How many people can be at each table depends on the socialization guidelines for your state and county. For example, Oregon counties that are in extreme risk must limit groups to 6 people from a max of 2 households. We recommend talking with your guests and try to make tables based on households and people’s established social bubbles to make sure everyone feels comfortable and stays safe. How can you make sure your guests feel safe coming to your wedding? Many people have had very limited social events and may feel uneasy coming to a wedding. To make sure all your loved ones are having fun and feel safe, here are some little things you can do: Place hand sanitizer on tables, especially around food Provide extra masks or even custom masks Keep tables small and spaced out Ensure that the food is protected until served Keep a check-in book to make sure you know who all was at your wedding in case anything happens. We really loved all of the questions, and we look forward to answering more questions Feb. 9th at our next Workshop. Be sure to RSVP and submit your questions! Kim