Altared States
We are fast approaching the 1999 wedding season, which means a couple of things:
For one, horn-honking, limousine-led convoys will be traveling Ventura County streets on most Saturdays over the next five months or so.
For another, it means plans are already underway for next year’s wedding season. And because next year is 2000, there could be a lot of early jockeying for the prime summer wedding dates and locations around Ventura County.
In any given year, planning a wedding can be overwhelming for brides and grooms who take it on themselves. But if you are setting your sights on year 2000 nuptials, it could pose an even bigger strain.
For those who don’t have the time, energy or desire to handle the wedding plans, a variety of local business people are happy to offer their services. We checked in with several wedding coordinators to see what assistance they could provide.
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Wedding coordinators are available to help with the planning from Day 1 until the last guest has left the reception. They can also be hired to assist with a portion of the planning--generally to coordinate the rehearsal and the wedding itself.
For the most part, the wedding professionals we contacted were reluctant to put a specific price tag on their services.
“The pricing depends on the size of the event, how many guests,” said Karen Johnson Bobo, owner of Event Planners Plus of Oxnard. “Some [coordinators] charge by percentage of the overall budget, some charge by the hour. I have package pricing, and my packages are rehearsal and wedding day, or full service.”
Typically, those who charge a percentage of the budget receive 10% to 20%, Bobo said. An average hourly rate is $50.
“Generally speaking, if a bride and groom really want to enjoy their wedding without having to look at their watch all the time, they will need a coordinator for rehearsal and the wedding day,” Bobo said. “Full service is more common for people who just don’t have the time--maybe they’re going to school, working full time . . . maybe someone who’s never planned a wedding before, someone who’s planning a wedding from a distance, people who don’t want their wedding to be just like everybody else’s.”
Like other coordinators, Bobo’s full-service plan includes consulting with the bride and groom on the budget and design of the wedding in its conceptual stage. The service also helps couples select a wedding and reception location, works with independent vendors, sets a timeline for the plans, verifies orders and arrival times and handles any number of other details up to and through the wedding day.
“Usually something minor is going to go wrong at the wedding, but the bride and groom don’t need to worry about that,” Bobo said. “Maybe the cake top is not right; the corsage pins break.”
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Joann Konigsberg, owner of Renaissance Bride of Ventura, said she will provide as much or as little assistance as the bride requests.
“Some brides want just support with the choices they are making,” said Konigsberg, who generally charges by the hour. “Other brides want you to make the choices because they don’t have time to do the running around.”
Konigsberg offers start-to-finish wedding coordination, as well as rehearsal and wedding day coordination only. She will also offer referrals to brides and grooms interested in planning their own wedding and then come in at the end to coordinate the rehearsal and wedding day.
“If you want to get the date that you want, you need to start planning about a year in advance. And for the year [2000], that’s going to be really big. I have brides booking locations now.”
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At Brownstone Place in Newbury Park, owner Eva Brown said she also will be as involved as the bride and groom wish.
“My services range from minimal orchestration to complete orchestration,” said Brown, who charges an hourly fee.
“If they want me to take a wedding from conception of the idea to the honeymoon, I will, and if they want me just to make sure the wedding day goes well, that’s what I’ll do.”
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Toby Kay Applebay, owner of Five Star Consulting in Ventura, specializes in rehearsal, ceremony and reception coordinating.
Applebay charges flat rates of $250 for rehearsal and ceremony; $300 for rehearsal, ceremony and reception room setup; $400 for reception room setup and reception; or $500 for rehearsal, ceremony, reception room setup and reception.
Applebay is one of about 40 local wedding services that can be found on the Online Wedding Planner of Ventura County Web site at https://www.onlineweddings.com.
The Internet site, run by the former owners of Ventura’s Victorian Rose Wedding Chapel, includes links to bridal consultants, wedding sites, photographers, jewelers, caterers, wedding officials and a host of other professionals needed for a full-scale wedding.
It also offers advice on wedding etiquette and the roles of bridesmaids, the best man and the others in the party.
“We still have interest in the wedding industry, and we just decided to put our knowledge to use,” said Phil Knepper, who with his wife, Yvonne, operated the Victorian Rose from 1981 to 1997. “We get about 100 hits a day. We get requests from all over the United States.”