One of the  many things I see on social media is brides looking for "cheap" this or "small budget" that, and many of these brides don't realize that this will often mean a sacrifice of quality...or maybe they are just expecting highest quality for bargain basement pricing. Unfortunate news for those brides, 98% of the time, lower prices mean less quality and/or fewer services that you need. A great example is one I hear from a great DJ with over 15 years experience, hiring a DJ for $300 budget for your ceremony & reception music, Master of Ceremonies duties, lighting, set up, breakdown, planning meetings, playlist arrangements, planning for the timing of the ceremony and reception, communication, which all together is probably 15-20 hours of work, is not going to happen. If you do find a DJ that will work with this budget, it's likely that they will not have backup equipment in case theirs breaks down (I've had this happen at a wedding once, which caused a 30 minute delay in starting the wedding while the DJ went to Best Buy to purchase a new laptop), or they will not have invested the necessary time to ensure that your playlist caters to your expectations, or perhaps their equipment in general is subpar. Either way, if the music of your ceremony and reception is important to you...don't skimp on your investment for the DJ!

Fun thinking about this aspect, right? The things that could go wrong with a wedding by budgeting too low or in the wrong places. Good news, I have some suggestions for you!

One of the most common things I hear is, "We only need about 10 minutes of your time"

While a wedding ceremony may last 10-20 minutes, the time your officiant spends on your event, definitely is much more than you might think.

For an elopement, which would typically entail the least amount of time, will on average require an hour of your officiant's time. Consider the emails, phone calls and/or texts between you and your officiant, the time spent writing the ceremony he or she will be using, travel to your ceremony location, the actual ceremony and completing and returning the necessary paperwork. 

Do I have your attention now?​

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                    Olathe, KS – February 1, 2016 – WeddingWire, the leading global online wedding marketplace, named True Hearts Weddings as a winner of the prestigious WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards® 2016 for Officiant in Kansas City!
                    
                    The WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards® 2016 recognizes the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. The esteemed awards are given to the top local wedding vendors in more than 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding florists, based on their professional achievements from the previous year. 
                    
                    While many industry award winners are selected by the host organization, the WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards® winners are determined solely based on reviews from real newlyweds and their experiences working with True Hearts Weddings. Award-winning vendors are distinguished for the quality, quantity, consistency and timeliness of the reviews they have received from their past clients.
                    
                    “We are thrilled to celebrate such a high-caliber, committed group of professionals for the Couples’ Choice Awards’® eighth year,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “We are proud to continue to serve as the industry leader, with over 2.5 million consumer and peer reviews, and feature award-winning merchants such as True Hearts Weddings who understands the impact reviews have on their successful businesses.”
                    
                    As a Couples’ Choice Awards® winner, True Hearts Weddings is highlighted within the WeddingWire Network, which is comprised of more than 400,000 wedding professionals globally.
                    
                    True Hearts Weddings is proud to be one of the top Officant in Kansas City in the WeddingWire Network. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. We value all of our clients and truly appreciate the positive feedback that helped us earn the WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards® 2016.
                    
                    For more information about True Hearts Weddings, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/true-hearts-weddings-olathe/2669d32083a3093d.html.
                    
                    To learn more about the Couples’ Choice Awards®, please visit www.weddingwire.com/couples-choice-awards.
                    
                    About WeddingWire, Inc.
                    WeddingWire, Inc. is the leading global online marketplace connecting consumers with event and creative professionals. Operating within a $200 billion industry, WeddingWire, Inc. hosts 10 million monthly unique users across its mobile and web platforms. Consumers are able to read over 2.5 million vendor reviews and search, compare and book from a database of over 400,000 businesses. Globally, it provides these businesses the technology they need to serve their clients through advertising, marketing and business management tools such as websites, payment processing, invoicing and contracts. Founded in 2007, the WeddingWire portfolio of sites serves couples and businesses across 14 countries in North America, Latin America and Europe, making it the worldwide leader in weddings with brands including Bodas.net, Casamentos.com.br, Matrimonio.com and more. The company employs more than 650 and maintains global headquarters in Washington, DC and international headquarters in Barcelona, Spain.  
                

                  Olathe, KS – January 7, 2015 – WeddingWire, the nation's leading online wedding marketplace, named True Hearts Weddings as a winner of the prestigious WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards® 2015 for Wedding Officiant in Kansas City!

                The WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards® 2015 recognizes the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. The esteemed awards are given to the top local wedding vendors in more than 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their professional achievements from the previous year.

               While many industry award winners are selected by the host organization, the WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards® winners are determined solely based on reviews from real newlyweds and their experiences working with True Hearts Weddings. Award-winning vendors are distinguished for the quality, quantity, consistency and timeliness of the reviews they have received from their past clients.

"It's always exciting to start the year by honoring the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Network who represent more than two million reviews on our website," said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. "Each of the businesses recognized are committed to quality, professionalism and all around top-notch service. We applaud True Hearts Weddings for their impressive achievements within the wedding industry."

As a Couples' Choice Awards® winner, True Hearts Weddings is highlighted within the WeddingWire Network, which is comprised of more than 200,000 wedding professionals throughout North America and abroad.

               True Hearts Weddings is proud to be one of the top Wedding Officiant in Kansas City in the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding sites such as WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. We value all of our clients and truly appreciate the positive feedback that helped us earn the WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards® 2015.

                For more information about True Hearts Weddings, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/true-hearts-weddings-olathe/2669d32083a3093d.html.

                To learn more about the Couple's Choice Awards®, please visit www.weddingwire.com/couples-choice-awards.

                About WeddingWire

                WeddingWire, the leading technology company serving the $100 billion wedding and events industry, is the largest online vertical marketplace connecting engaged couples with event professionals. With more than two million consumer reviews, it is the industry leader in consumer reviews. The site enables engaged couples to search, compare and book from an extensive database of more than 200,000 recently reviewed event professionals, from venues to photographers. WeddingWire provides event professionals with the technology they need to serve their clients, including a SaaS platform, which powers advertising, marketing, and CRM needs of local wedding and events businesses nationwide.

            

I'm a big planner. I'm also one that understands that things happen and plans have to change. In the year that I've been performing ceremonies I've come to learn something about planning weddings (though I'm no expert and will never claim to be).

There is a happy place for coordinating a wedding. A place where you have just enough stuff planned out and people to coordinate those plans, but not so much that if something unexpected happens, it throws the bride into bridezilla mode or to break down in tears.

I've seen the extremes and I've seen the happy place and of course everything in between. Here are my suggestions:

Jessica and Nick were married 9/15/13 at The Cotillion Room and Garden in Independence, MO. Their ceremony and venue was beautiful, just like this couple and their family. This was the first wedding that I performed and I'm so glad that I was able to be a part of their day!

Thanks to King's Event Planning for sharing this on Facebook! Take a look at the link below for some adorable free printables and other fun ideas!

http://www.weddingchicks.com/freebies/

How many of you will have or had your dad walk you down the aisle? How many couldn't have that opportunity because of some extenuating circumstance? 

Most of us had someone escort us down the aisle to our groom. Traditionally, it's our dad. Occasionally, it's our dad and step-dad. Sometimes it's another male family member or even mom or child or someone else significant in our life (I've even heard of ex-husbands filling the role!). 

The video I'm sharing with you today is so beautiful. A dad dying of cancer with only months to live. Did not want to miss out on the opportunity to walk his two unmarried daughters down the aisle. And to finish the event off, renewed his vows with his wife. 

I ask that you share this with everyone you know, especially those who may be in a similar situation. 

It's been a little bit since I posted anything here...so I apologize! This past couple of weeks have literally been insane with work and family obligations as well as the day to day functioning of True Hearts business side. Today we performed a wedding in DeSoto, and tomorrow we will perform one in Olathe. I'll get photos added to the blog as soon as possible. 

In the meantime...

Enjoy this video of a flash mob marriage proposal. It made me cry. So sweet.

So I was searching Pinterest for "Rustic Wedding Ideas"  to share with you because, well, I'm a country girl at heart. I love the idea of simple, earth colors, natural looking weddings, and I hear they are all the rage! I don't know about that, but I do know that I love some of the things I saw, especially the Hunger Games themed weddings!  I've gathered some blogs from around the interwebz for your enjoyment. 

Hunger Games Wedding Ideas - Bridal Guide

A HUNGER GAMES STYLED WEDDING - Green Wedding Shoes

Hunger Games Wedding Inspiration - Wedding Chicks

The Hunger Games Inspired Rustic Weddings - Tulle & Chantilly