Molly & Danny at Donovan Pavillion, Vail

October 25, 2019

Molly & Danny at Donovan Pavillion, Vail

This amazing couple was married at The Donovan Pavillion on July 6th! This couple had a love for the mountains and a love for the outdoors, for that reason we picked this stunning blank slate venue for them! This couple kicked off their wedding weekend by celebrating with all of their friends and Family on the back patio of the Grand Hyatt Vail (Formally Hotel Talisa). Their guests ate, drank, and enjoyed live guitar music into the night. On this couples wedding day they opted to do a first look, where they would see each other in a private setting and do a chunk of their photos before the ceremony. This was a such a perfect and intimate moment and I would recommend doing a first look to any and all couples! Mollys color scheme was a mix of light purples, pinks, and dusty lavenders with pops of ivory and gold! We set up the ceremony patio with a natural birch arch provided by Have A Seat Colorado and added an asymmetrical floral pop to bring the natural setting to life. We decked out the reception space with pale pale grey linens and floral by the amazing Lumme Creations. Laura with Lumme created a mix of tall and short centerpieces to lead your eye around the space and take in the slight differences at each table. As each guest took their seat for dinner they were greeted with their own personal charcuterie board to accompany their salad. This amazing detail that was suggested and executed by Footers Catering showcased the couples love for cheese and wanted to share their favorite Colorado cheeses with their (mostly) out of state guests. The Gordons and their guests danced the night away to the sounds of Diamond Empire Band. This was a super fun and rowdy group of friends and it was such a fun night to share with a group the knows how to let loose! All of these photos were captured by my good friend Megan Blowey owner of Megan Blowey Photography who I met working at a seafood restaurant when I was 18. We both somehow ended up in the wedding industry and it was so nice to celebrate this amazing couple together.

Here is what Molly had to say about her experience with Promise Event Planners on her wedding day!

Payton and team did a phenomenal job from start to finish. We began working with Payton before we had even selected a venue - she helped us find the perfect place which required selecting all our own vendors. For each vendor she narrowed it down to a couple option that fit our style and budget and helped us decide from there. All of her advice and suggestions along the way were invaluable and saved us countless hours, not to mention how seamlessly everything ran the day of, including making a secret run to the liquor supplier when we ran low on rose (to the shock of all our experienced vendors who reviewed the bar plan). Payton was the perfect balance of giving opinions and suggestions from her experience while letting your ideas and vision drive the end result. We loved working with her and would highly recommend!

Photography: Megan Blowy Photography

Venue: Donovan Pavillion

Floral: Lumme Creations

Catering/Cake: Footers Catering

Band: Diamond Empire Band

Calligraphy: Handsome Love Calligraphy

Invites: Minted

Hair & Make Up: Divine Beauty Artists

What Do I Need To Rehearse at My Ceremony Rehearsal

October 7, 2019

What Do I Need To Rehearse at My Ceremony Rehearsal

The Processional Order: This is the order that you want everyone to walk down the aisle. You also want to make sure that everything looks correctly when everyone is standing at the alter. The typical processional order for us is:

Officiant
Groom and his parents (sometimes the father will follow close behind the groom and his mother)
Brides Mother and her Escort
Bridal party members that will be standing farthest away from the alter followed by the bridal party members that will fill in towards the alter and so on
Maid of Honor and Best Man
Ring Bearer
Flower Girl
Bride and her escort

When to Walk Down the Aisle: When you are working with us this is something you don’t really need to think about because we will be standing right there during the processional to tell everyone exactly when they need to walk! But if you are not using a planner let everyone when they should walk.

The Hand Off: No matter who is walking you down the aisle, it is important to practice the hand off to the person you will be marrying. You don’t want it to look like you’re doing some awkward dance up at the alter.

Readers: If you are having a reader or someone giving a special speech you want that person to know where they will be standing as well as what the officiant will say to invite the reader to the microphone. You will also want to let them know if they will have a microphone or if they need to project their voice so everyone will be able to hear their important words.

The Recessional: It’s the golden rule that the bride and groom should completely disappear into the distance before the maid of honor and best man begin to recess down the aisle followed my the rest of the bridal party. They should follow behind once the couple in front of them meets the middle of the ceremony chairs.

Don’t wanna think about all this nonsense when you’re getting married? Leave all this to the professionals and hire us as your wedding planner or month of coordinator! Check out our packages and see what works best for you and your needs!

Huyen & Joshua's Asian Inspired Wedding at Moss Denver

September 24, 2019

Huyen & Joshua's Asian Inspired Wedding at Moss Denver

Let me start by saying that this was my absolute favorite wedding this year! Not only did we have a blast but this couple trusted me and my vision whole heartedly and the day was actually completely perfect and surpassed all my expectations. Anywhoooo, Huyen and Joshua are two nerdy Android app developers that were set up by their former boss! They have been together for 10 years and finally tied the knot on August 17th at Moss Denver! Huyen wanted to showcase her asian culture but make it super modern. Huyen had two wedding dresses one a traditional Vietnamese wedding dress complete with a head dress and a bright red body hugging gown with a gold dragon embroidered detail. This girl changed outfits six times during the day, but both looks were stunning. Huyen’s bridesmaids wore traditional Vietnamese outfits and Joshuas groomsmen rocked classic suits. When it came time to walk down the aisle after the couples first look these guys actually danced down the aisle. Each showing off their uniqueness. Like how fun? These love birds were married by the wonderful Reverend Kim and in true nerd fashion Joshua knocked off Huyen’s head dress when he went in for the kiss. Guests enjoyed a long cocktail hour complete with a full Whiskey and old fashioned bar by Oak and Olive. We hired the amazing Arthur at Babylon Floral who we sat with for hours during the planning process while he took everything in and created the most beautiful sketches that blew our original thoughts out of the water! Each centerpiece was assembled on site and each was completely different and unique. For dinner, guests were served a family style dinner of Bao Buns, Shrimp and Grits, and Flatiron steak. The brides mother made all three of her cakes. Not only did she make them but she flew them here in suitcases from Maryland. I know your probably thinking that they weren’t good because of that but they SO were! After the food Huyen and Joshua gave a talk, complete with a power point presentation. This is what they do for a living so they wanted to incorporate it into their special day. Then the bride and groom shocked their guests with a surprise choreographed hip hop dance that they absolutely killllled! After that guests danced the night away and enjoyed ice cream from High Point Creamery and authentic beignets from Footers Catering. Seriously the best day ever!

Here is what Huyen and Joshua had to say about working with Promise Event Planners.

(I think they kinda like us!)

“Payton Bernstine and Promise Event Planners are absolutely amazing. Hiring Payton to do full coordination for us is absolutely the best decision that we made, second only to deciding to get married! I wasn't the kind of bride that had a full vision or even knew what she wanted sometimes, but Payton helped us figure out how to make our wedding uniquely us, and made the whole experience fun and way less stressful. So many times I would turn to my fiancé (now husband) and say, "Hey, planning a wedding is pretty fun!"

Often I would give Payton some vague notions, and she would come back with the perfect vendor for us or an amazing suggestion that we instantly loved. I really feel that she truly listened and thought about what we would like and executed on it.

I'm generally very shy and reserved about expressing when I like or don't something, but Payton made me feel totally safe and free to express my opinions and ask questions, even ones that I thought were silly. She was always encouraging and helpful. She took care of the more stressful details for us and let us know exactly what we needed to do. Payton was also attentive and available, providing prompt responses via email or text.
Just in general Payton is a consummate professional with the skills, knowledge, experience, and savvy. All of our vendors said the same thing: "Payton is the best." And I am saying the same.

We had an amazing wedding. It was everything that we wanted and SO much more because of her.

And just as a person, Payton is fun, smart, and funny. My husband and I already miss her!”

Photography by The Scobeys

My Story & How I Got My Start In Wedding Planning

September 17, 2019

My Story & How I Got My Start In Wedding Planning

I am here to tell you all about how I got my start in wedding planning. I will start out by saying that the story of how I found my first wedding planning job isn't particularly interesting. I was lucky enough to find the right job at the right time. But we will get to that part of the story in a second...

Let's back track this story to baby Payton's childhood. I have always been an entrepreneur. When I needed money for whatever reason (still not sure what a 7 year old spends their money on) I would type out a list of assorted chores and services I could offer to my parents with pricing off to the side and ask them what service they would be interested in purchasing. In 5th grade I would buy wholesale press on nails and put them on for girls in my before and after school program for $10 a set. In sixth grade I bought 250 Livestrong Bracelets from China (Thanks Aunt Kristl!) and sold them at school for three dollars a pop. When I was cheering in high school I made giant cheer bows and sold them to the girls in my gym. This business thing has always been my thang.

Planning my birthday parties for example, Luaus, roller skating parties at Skate City, and Slumber parties had a strict schedule. Menus, game plans, themes, and once we had a cake for a sleepover party that was made to look like a bed with the faces, identifiable by differences in skin, hair, and eye color, of all my attending friends peeking out of the top of the blanket (God I miss my Mimi and her baking talents!)

When I went to college, I was a little lost in Boulder. I had planned on getting my Psychology and Education degree with the hopes of becoming a teacher or school psychologist to mold young minds and all that amazing stuff. After my student teaching, having 4th graders bully me for not wearing make up, and current teachers saying "Don’t do it!", I knew that this wasn't the right place for me. I distinctly remember siting down with myself in my sorority house bedroom and writing down all of my favorite things. I loved making things pretty, Pinterest, making people happy and hearing their stories, love, serving others, planning and scheduling things way too far in advance and big, impactful events that give people something to be excited about. I then started googling jobs that had anything to do with the list that I’d made. I was searching for Event Planning jobs in Boulder and stumbled upon a listing on craigslist. Like what are the chances? I interviewed in the hotel lobby of the Boulder Westin and got the job just minutes after interviewing for an intern position. I remember my first few weddings so well and the day that my mentor told me to run a ceremony rehearsal on my own last second. I freaked out, almost cried, and then lead the rehearsal for a 12 person wedding party like I had done it a million times before. Within 6 months at the company, I was planning weddings as a Lead Planner and absolutely fell in love with this life.

Once I graduated from school, I got some business cards, built a website from scratch, and started my own company on August 10, 2015. I guess you could say the rest is history but this story is still so in the works. I didn't go to school for this, I'm not "formally trained", and I don't have a certificate somewhere that says that I am a certified wedding planner. I did the work, worked for a LONG time for free, and gained experience in my own way. I have now had the pleasure of planing at least 50 weddings and events for the people who have trusted me enough to let me do so! We have now been in business for five and half years and 2021 is the most busy year I have ever had as a business owner. The pandemic has brought with it a whole bunch of new challenges that even as professional planners we could have never predicted. My goal for this year is to hire my first associate planner, maybe even two. That means I have to create training manuals and teach other woman to do what I do. But mostly that means giving up control so I can continue to scale this business and be better and stronger as a team. Learning this industry is hard and I have, and continue to, mess up a lot. It is hard to navigate situations where the hours are unpredictable, emotions are high, and there are lots of dollars being spent. Somehow I have thrived in this high stress environment and learned how to turn my personal anxiety, that was so crippling for so long, into a service I can offer to help others. The life of a wedding planner is crazy, stressful, beautifully creative, and will make you question what the hell you are doing but the end result is just...the best thing ever. Welcome to my world and thank you to everyone who has supported me and Promise Event Planners along the way! I couldn’t love y’all more!

What is Included in a Wedding Day Timeline

September 9, 2019

What is Included in a Wedding Day Timeline

Screen Shot 2019-08-16 at 11.25.27 AM.png

Vendor Arrival and Departure Times: To me this would be the most important aspect of a wedding day timeline! Knowing when your vendors are arriving makes sure that we aren’t wasting valuable set up time! This gives us the ability to reach out if someone is late or running behind. It is also critical to know when your vendors are leaving. Some photographers will leave during a long dance party so it is important to know that so I’m not running around looking for them for whatever reason!

Important Songs: Sometimes the DJ or Band may forget what song you are walking down the aisle to. These guys are busy and have to keep a lot of songs in their heads so I get it! Having all the important songs on your timeline can remove this stress from everyone. On your wedding day timeline will be processional and recessional songs, grand entrance song, cake cutting song, first and special dance songs, and the final song of the night that will leave the night off with a bang!

Sunset Time: You want to know what time the sun will be setting on your wedding day. This is the perfect time for your photographer to take the couple out for some last minute newlywed shots during the best lighting of the day.

Notes: We talk about A LOT of tiny details throughout the planning process. Including notes on all these details is critical when laying out a wedding day timeline. Sometimes these notes include whether we are cutting or saving the top tier or of the cake or how long the couple wants to dance to their first dance song. It’s the little things that make the difference people!

There are obviously way more items that go into your wedding day timeline but this is just the tip of the iceberg! By the time this document is done it is about 12 pages long and full of details! A wedding day timeline is included in all of our packages so those tiny details wont get missed!