Always a Blogsmaid – wht sponsor highlight
Images: Always a Blogsmaid
Soon this always in the know and in demand wedding specialist found a bit of a niche in providing beautiful and unique weddings perfectly tailored to the happy couple. The wedding coaches explain “While the gals at Always a Bridesmaid love to work on weddings of all kinds, we do bring a certain special something to the table with couples seeking to bring a little culture to their celebration. From Bagpipes and Mariachi to planning Sangeet celebrations, we have been fortunate enough to gain valuable experience from clients from myriad cultural backgrounds and bring creativity and respect to timeless traditions.”
This off beat yet elegant style could not be contained to just the NYC area! National exposure came calling and wht readers can check out the ladies of Always a Bridesmaid on “Who’s Wedding is it Anyway?” on the Style Network to get a look at them in action! If you need even more wedded bliss, make sure to check in daily with Xochitl and gang over at Always a Blogsmaid. The site where the Bridesmaid gang answers bridal questions and offers wedding advice for ladies everywhere. There are also regular photographic galleries of spectacular weddings with notes on just what the couple did right in planning their perfect wedding. All the wedding images you see here are from More What They Did Right: Dario & Aisyah, a NYC area couple, coached by the Bridesmaids, who pulled off their beautiful and unique wedding vision celebrating Spring in New York City.
Thanks to Xochitl for graciously taking some time from her demanding schedule to answer some of our burning questions!
weheartthis: How did you find your way into the wedding industry? What is your background?
Xochitl : Wow, like most things that you end up finding really enjoyable, it really snuck up on me. In college I studied art, but I did a lot of event work to make money, and when I graduated and wasn’t quite sure what to do. I thought, “Well, I’m good at planning things.” That led to a job in corporate events at the Clio Awards for advertising. It was so much fun, but after a few years, I’d met my now business partner Mayra and we were so bored with corporate events. Our friends were all starting to get married and it seemed like “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if we could help people like our friends plan their weddings?” And, soon, we started Always a Bridesmaid! I was 26 at the time and almost too young to think about how much work starting a business would be! It was great fun!
What is the difference between a Wedding Coach and a Wedding Planner?
When we started this business, a lot of people were nervous that wedding planners were going to “hijack” the process. Weddings are a really personal experience and it’s not really about my taste or Mayra’s taste, it’s about our clients’ style. We like to think that a wedding coach helps you get the most out of your own ideas, and to help you with the creative process. Literally, we feel like we “coach” the most personal, thoughtful day out of our clients’ already existing thoughts and tastes.
How did your company Always a Bridesmaid evolve into the Always a Blogsmaid blog?
It’s funny because it started so randomly. We had been on a TV show and we started to get calls and emails from brides with random wedding questions asking if we could offer them up any advice or ask about how we did certain things that they saw on the show. I had this idea that maybe we should start a blog so we could offer up advice to brides who weren’t able to or opting not to work with a planner, but needed some advice. After a while, it evolved into an all things wedding blog, a place for us to share trade secrets and, real weddings and a place for us to share funny stories from “the road”.
What tips can a world-class wedding planner like you pass on to a backyard party planner? Can you give share some with us?
Haha! I love throwing parties, so here are my “Take home” tips that I take from work to home:
1) Color is free! Even if it’s colored napkins, a colorful signature cocktail and your shoes- using color makes it look “pulled together” and thought out.
2) Less is often more. It’s always tempting when you are hosting to serve 10 different things and stock a full bar. But if you are working on a budget, it’s better to concentrate your resources. Think a big bowl of mojito punch and then just have beer or wine. Think filling, self-contained dishes like Paellas, and quiches instead of spending time and energy on tons of dishes and sides.
3) Guest Comfort is Key! The best hosts put themselves in the place of their guests. Where will they put their bags or jackets? Do they know one another? How will you help them break the ice? It’s great to have parties where you do everything that you enjoy, but the most successful ones are those where your guests feel comfortable.
Tell us about one of your favorite weddings you’ve ever done.
It was so long ago and it was so much fun! They were married in an art gallery and we had BBQ and beer milkshakes. They loved old soul and country music, so we had Hatch Show Print in Nashville design all their invites and stationary and had a local DJ spin the party for us. The bride came down the aisle to Aretha Franklin. We surprised the groom with a Mariachi when the ceremony was over. It was insanely challenging, but it was so personal and fun and they just had the best time. I loved it! It was the most unique wedding I’d ever done at that point in my career and it’s just always stuck with me.
What do you find most challenging in planning? What’s most rewarding?
Well, the most rewarding thing is to feel that you helped create something special and unique for your clients, especially when you’ve also made the process more ENJOYABLE. When I feel that couples not only had a great wedding, but a fun engagement, that is the BEST feeling. The greatest challenge is helping clients deal with their families. Often it’s the most intimate experience that brides and grooms have had with their parents and families in a long time, and that brings up A LOT of challenges sometimes. Ironically, the hardest part of planning weddings usually has very little to do with the actual planning!
Have any run ins with a “bridezilla” that you can share with us?
YES! I shouldn’t share, but I will. She really, really, really wanted the ceremony to be outside and the weather was just TOO iffy to call it. She was so nervous she sat in front of the TV scratching herself and watching the Weather Channel satellite for hours before. When the photographer got there she cursed her out and then she smacked the videographer’s camera away. The florist called to say she thought it was too dangerous to put up the iron structures we’d selected (because it might be a thunder and lightning storm) and she called the florist something I’d just rather not repeat. The clouds MIRACULOUSLY cleared away and the ceremony was held outside, and immediately afterwards, it was like we’d performed an exorcism or something- she was a TOTALLY different and normal person. Amazing.
What was your biggest wedding disaster and how did you over come it?
Oh, wow! My florist was 3 hours late to set up AND THEN they forgot a centerpiece AND a tossing bouquet. It was a nightmare. We stole flowers from all the other centerpieces and MacGyvered a new centerpiece. I think I took apart cocktail arrangements to make the tossing bouquet. I sweat so hard that day!
Do you still cry at weddings?
YES! I’m a sucker. I ALWAYS cry at the ceremony. I get so emotional seeing the girls go down the aisles and sometimes their stories are just so beautiful. I did a wedding for two classmates from college who’d been together since we were freshmen. I NEVER STOPPED BALLING. It was crazy.
What new trends in weddings are you most excited by?
The death of the traditional bridesmaids’ dress. Bridesmaids are wearing such cool things now and I love that brides want them to look pretty. (Now that’s a trend we can get behind! ~wht) I’m also so excited to see how much brides and grooms are embracing color! When I first started the business six years ago, things were still so relatively muted and limited to “traditional” wedding combinations. The blogs have really inspired brides and grooms to be really bold and pick fun, fresh color combinations!
We keep reading that registering for a honeymoon (as opposed to home goods) is tacky. We’re torn. What’s your opinion?
I don’t like it personally, but I never shy away from giving my opinions. I don’t know that it’s tacky, as much as I think it’s not as enjoyable for your guests. Theoretically, the romantic in all of us wants to know that when you look at your turkey platter, you’re thinking of me (or your Aunt Lee, or whomever). I think the thing with Honeymoon registries is that your guest feels like the tip for your masseuse or cab fare from the airport just doesn’t seem quite as memorable!
And no wht interview is complete without a reach in our potluck question vault…
Photo of Xochitl by Karen Mordechai
Fun loving, hospitable, music and dance loving, annoyingly anal about things that other people probably don’t notice, over-prepared and aesthetically obsessed.
I heart:
Dancing, music, funky shoes, bright colors, dresses (especially DVF and Nanette Lapore) great lingerie.
What book do you think everyone should read?
Madame Bovary. I just love it.
You can have front row concert tickets to see anyone, who do you choose?
Stevie Wonder.
Favorite movie(s):
Working Girl, Goodfellas, Godfather, Part 2
If I were an 80’s movie/tv/music star, I’d be:
Hmmm. Either Jennifer Grey (but 80′s, big nose version) or Lisa Lisa of the Cult Jam.
What’s your sign and do you fit the traits of it?
Virgo and yes, yes, yes.
What’s the one thing always in your bag?
Tampons, mini deodorant and a sewing kit. That’s three things. Oops. It’s a running joke that whenever girlfriends borrow my bags, they KNOW that they are prepared for nearly any emergency.
What are you three make up must haves?
Good concealer, powder (I’m oily) and my eyelash extensions!
If you had a spare $500, what would you do with it?
Buy a bag or a new rug… I’m torn.
Filed in: eat, drink, be merry,potluck
I’ve been hitched for some time now (so I’m not planning my own wedding) but I really like going to this site and seeing all the really beautiful touches Xochitl and Mayra come up with. So much of it can be applied to other parties too. Plus, the photography is always just so amazing!
I appreciate the party planning tips. I need to start following the advice of “less is more”. I always plan way too many food items and things go to waste and I’m in the kitchen the whole time, boo!
And I have to second Stef, the photos on their site are stunning.
Very nice interview Ladies!
What a fun job you have. Makes me want to plan a big party…or just attend one :) I have a friend who just got engaged. I’ll make sure to forward your site to her.
Wow – that wedding looks like a total blast! I would love to be a guest at that one.
And I adore the idea of a wedding coach as opposed to a planner. Someone to guide you through the bits you find hard and just offer some support on the things you’ve had planned in your mind for-ever. I’ve seen some rigid wedding planners and they can suck all the joy out of it.
oops – and I love all the pics, most especially that last one of the no where but else New York City background with the yellow cab waiting to whisk the happy couple away!
What an awesome site! I would say that I would want this job, but I’m pretty sure I would slap any Bridezilla and get fired anyway. I just have to make sure that my boyfriend doesn’t catch me looking at the site! :-P
That does sound like a fun job! I’m passing your site along to a couple of my soon to be engaged pals!! :)