Choosing A Wedding Date - Minneapolis/St. Paul Wedding

Congratulations on your engagement! If you have not set your wedding date yet, you may want to consider certain dates that are popular, dates that are considered "unlucky" (if you are superstitious), and dates that may have save you some money.

You may have dreamed about getting married on Valentine's Day, Christmas Day or New Year's Eve since you were nine, but the fact is that these dates are extremely popular and may get booked a year or sometimes a couple years in advance. Keep in mind that flowers may soar on Valentines' Day (it's not surprising that it will triple the cost you would have in other dates), restaurant may be packed with Valentines' dinner goers (they may charge a premium on booking their hall!), and there may be a lot of competitions among the photographers, officiants, limos, and bands. The same may apply to Christmas Day and New Year's Eve weddings. While you may save dough for having the wedding in winter time. You may want to consider the frigid temperature, snow storms (aren't we lucky?), and snow emergency (you don't want your guests to not be aware of the Minneapolis/St. Paul special parking rules during snow emergencies that they end up finding their cars in the impound lot. yikes!) You may also want to do an online check on big events that are happening around Twin Cities, such as Twin Cities Marathon (during which hotel rooms maybe scarce and pricey) and depending on your ceremony or reception location, you may want to be particularly keen about the major baseball or football season, where the traffic can be a problem and a lot of rowdy crowd on the road.

If you are superstitious, the Japanese considers the number 4 as a bad luck because it is pronounced the same as the word death (shi). Since the number 4 itself is already considered unlucky, when it held on the fourth month, the potential of "disaster" may increased. Getting married in the same date as your birthday (or your fiance's birthday) is also believed to bring misfortune in your wedding. To top this list is Friday the 13th of any month. Most couples would rather not get married on the thirteenth because of the association of the number as bad luck. Some hotels don't have the 13th floor or some airplanes skip the 13th aisle, just in case their customers are superstitious.

Now after you digest all this information, the most important thing in choosing your wedding date is the personal and cultural implications on both of you and your families. Do you want to get married on the same date as you first met your fiance? or when you had you first kiss? or first dance? Do you or your fiance have certain beliefs that would affect choosing the right date? As we all know, living in Minnesota brings the best in us in terms of surviving the weather. June, July and August are the most popular months but also the most expensive months at the same time since the weather brings about warmer season and outdoor living (yes, we love the outdoors!). September and October are growing to be ever more popular for their Fall colors (gorgeous!) and their slightly more affordable months. Of course, there is nothing stopping you if you love the snow and winter time. Besides the three dates that were mentioned above, the advantage of having a wedding at winter time, especially during the holidays, is that you may slice up the cost of decorations (most reception halls and hotels are already decorated). As far as the day of the week, Saturday is the most popular day, followed by Sunday. Thursday and Friday nights are also getting more popularity due to its availability and lower costs.

So is there any particular date that is really good or really bad? All dates are connected to something. It's a good idea to reassess the story and happenings on the date and the days surrounding it. I wish you a fabulous time in planning your wedding and best of luck in your marriage. May this New Year brings happiness and prosperity for you and your soon-to-be spouse!

Winter Wonderland

There is something magical about the winter in Minnesota. Even with the snow storm that is about to happen (according to forecast), I feel quite peaceful about it. It is the time of year that I usually reflect on what had happened and how the coming new year brings so much hope and inspiration to be a better wife, a better mom, a better friend, a better sister, a better sister-in-law, a better daughter, and a better person all around. Building this business from the ground up really took a lot of time from family, and I know for sure family is something that I cannot sacrifice at all cost. I am grateful that my clients are awesome individuals. They are so great to get along with and are appreciative of what I do. No bridezillas or groomzillas so far! *knock on wood* I know that deep down this is such a blessing that I can even get this going and I know I have to stay positive in the coming year. I wanted to prove it to myself that "if one advances confidently in the direction of (her) dreams and endeavors to live the life (she) imagined, (she) will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." - unknown
I need to do this for me. Not for anybody else - well, maybe a tiny bit for those who doubted me, but a lot more for those who believe in me. I hope that Christmas season brings joy in midst of sorrow, hope in the midst of difficult circumstances, and love in the midst of doubt and misunderstanding. And a great and prosperous New Year for all!

Joan & Wilson's Wedding

Joan & Wilson were a fun-loving couple who was just a joy to work with! They were easy going, open to suggestions, all-around great clients! I was so honored to play a part in their wedding on Oct 17, 2009. I also met a few amazing individuals whose talents were beyond my expectations. The wedding decorations were mostly done by the bride herself. My only contribution was the mantel decoration that the couple had graciously let me did whatever I wanted!

Here is their full testimonial:

"Beatrice was extremely helpful in helping us plan our wedding. She's very organized, and kept us on the track of the planning time-line. She's very detail-oriented in identifying all the major as well as all the little things that need to be addressed. She's easy-going, accessible, flexible, and has a lot of creative ideas to make our wedding beautiful, memorable, and FUN! She understands our concern and does not mind to work around our constraints. She kept herself involved from the initial planning phase all the way through the end of the BIG DAY. She managed the flow of the wedding day very well, and she handled a lot of things which we would otherwise have to worry about. Overall, we must say that we are very pleased and really appreciate her work. Our wedding turned out to be so much better than what we had imagined. Thank you so much for your help and for making it happen!!"
- Wilson & Joan H.

The theme was fall foliage with lots of reds, yellows, and oranges. The wedding came together and it was practically flawless!

Small Business Accounting

Accounting is supposedly my strength... after all, I have the advanced degree for it. But boy how it is so different for a small business. As I was trying to find a good software out there, I found QuickBooks was one that actually had a free online trial. I tried to do some journal entries and was able to yield a profit and loss statement. It made sense but I did struggle a little! It's amazing that after 2 kids and a couple of years of not working had made an impact on my brain! It's definitely shrinking .. ha!

I am excited though to see what QuickBooks has to offer. I am a bit hesitate to buy the software yet since this is the first accounting product that I tried. Otherwise, I have to resort to my beloved Microsoft Excel - which has been my lifeline all these years.

Dessert Centerpiece

It's snowing here in Minnesota, but doesn't the dessert centerpiece make you warm and fuzzy inside? I really love the practicality of this idea, not to mention the visual feast right off the bat!
It is especially nice for this time of the year, while in most places of the country, the fall season had just started to kick off (we're not in talking about Minnesota - of course) that warm and gorgeous colors of rust, wheat, and gold showing up everywhere to bathe our eyes with the expectation of great bounty. Fall is definitely my favorite season.

New logo and new ad!

I have the privilege of having a creative sister! She presented me with several choices and I chose one design that I think represented what I do and what I would like this company to be in the future. The possibilities of expanding the design to many marketing materials are limitless. That's the main reason I chose this simple graphic. One of the important elements of building the business is branding. With branding, the identity of the business is determined and people would know the who, what, and how I do events - the way only I do them.

Check out my ad at The Knot Minnesota - Wedding Coordinators. Today is the premier!

New look of my website

"Yes!" That was my first reaction upon finishing up the new look of my website. It now has the look that I envisioned. Simple. Earthy. So me.

I do have to work on a few pages at the back but the first ones were satisfactory to me. I can't wait for placing an ad on The Knot Minnesota and am actually proud of my website! I got in touch with a couple of very helpful marketing people there and just over the moon with the possibilities!

I love this table centerpiece found from shutterstock.com - a fall ambiance with a lot of earthy elements. The use of moss here is just brilliant!