Christina, making the veil fly at our Biltmore wedding!
We strongly believe in having a planner for your wedding day. We have said it time and time again. Weddings are a lot to handle. Even if you’re an expert planner, type A person, we STILL recommend hiring a day-of wedding coordinator at the very least.
You can read more about our personal reasons for recommending wedding planners so highly, here.
We met Christina, the owner of Lovely Ever Afters, at a wedding we were photographing at the Biltmore this past June. Besides being absolutely warm and friendly the entire day, she was on top of everything before anyone could even think about it! We were in contact with her prior to the wedding day as she finalized the flow of the day and timelines and absolutely loved working alongside her (with her huge smile) on the wedding day!
Read more with our interview with Christina Alsip of Lovely Ever Afters, where you’ll notice her spunk and joyfulness, and hear her hearts desire to serve her clients well.
1. What is your favorite part of being a wedding planner?
I love being a witness to my clients’ “Best Day Ever”. Sharing in the joy, making memories that not only they will cherish, but I will cherish too, and loving and supporting my couples so they can laugh louder and smile brighter without worry of anything that may be going wrong in the background.
I love “taking care of business” (and yes I sang the song as I typed that phrase! :D) so they can relax, have fun, and enjoy being surrounded by so many loved ones. I mean when else does that EVER get to happen again? It’s not lost on me how special my job is, and I always try to take a minute on the wedding day to just soak it up and give thanks for the honor of being a part of it all.
2. Why should brides have a wedding planner/coordinator?
Not to be a broken record, but again, when else in your ENTIRE life, do you get to bring all of your family, friends and people that matter most to you together to celebrate YOU and your future together?? NEVER. Not graduation, not your kids being born, not your kids wedding. This is it folks.
So it’s important that brides and grooms make the most of the time they have with their loved ones, and not stress about the logistics of the wedding day. Hire a coordinator so you don’t have to worry about sending the wedding party down the aisle.
Hire a coordinator so you don’t have the caterer call you during your ceremony in a panic because the cake is collapsing. Hire a coordinator so you don’t have to run back and forth in the venue relaying messages between the DJ, the photographer, and the caterer in the kitchen.
And hire a coordinator most importantly so your mom or your sister or your best friend don’t have to worry about these things either. <3
And while you’re at it, hire a wedding planner so the stress of not knowing, your inexperience of the
wedding world and making the million and one decisions doesn’t taint your attitude ABOUT your wedding day. Some brides are so frazzled and “over it” after planning their wedding, they can’t enjoy their actual wedding day.
And that breaks my heart. Again, you have this one day, let’s make it the best it can be. <3
Photo provided by Lovely Ever Afters
3. What tips would you give a bride who is newly engaged and planning a wedding?
Step 1: Take a deep breath.
Step 2: Make a list of “Must Haves/Important Things” for your wedding day (and make sure the groom has a say on this list, lol.)
Step 3. Profit! (Just kidding! I recently played a lot of Cards Against Humanity and that was playing in my head, lol.)
Step 3 is actually finding yourself a wedding planner.
Or at the very least, a trusted friend who’s done this before and can give you words of wisdom from their experience. Don’t try and go at this planning thing alone. This should be a joyful season in your life, so make sure you have joy filled people surrounding you as you look forward to your wedding and ultimately your marriage. 🙂
4. What are the most important qualities/things to look for when you’re choosing a planner for your wedding?
The number one thing you want in a planner is TRUST. When you meet with them for the first time, do you like them? Do they ease your worries? Do they encourage your visions and ideas and dreams for your wedding? And my favorite, do you want to be friends with them? 😀
(I’m a big advocate of being friends with my brides because who do you trust more than your friends?) At the very least, you need to make sure your are comfortable with communicating with your planner and that you can trust them for when crap happens. Because crap will happen.
5. What’s one thing you want your potential clients to know about Lovely Ever Afters?
I love my job and I love my couples. It’s as simple as that. I have been totally and completely blessed by the friendships that have developed because of my little business and I’m so so thankful.
A guest at a recent wedding of mine said something to me that I think really sums it up well. She said, “Wow, it’s after 11pm, you’ve been on your feet all day, and you’re still smiling. You must really love what you do.” And it’s true. I do. (haha, look at that pun!)
6. What song HAS to be on the playlist at the reception?
This is a good question!… Hmmm. If you want ME to automatically start dancing at a reception, then you have to play Usher’s “Yeah!” song. It’s from my days of school dances and it just brings back some great memories (and dance moves! Lol.)
Couple of close seconds are “Happy” by Pharrell and “Uptown Funk”. Those are my dancing jams. 😀
You can find Christina on Instagram at @lovelyeverafters and on Facebook as “Lovely Ever Afters”, and on her
website.
