Wedding & Event Planning

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Weddings and birthday parties

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Talk to several planners and or coordinators. Compare pricing and what is included. Will there be other costs that aren't included in the price you are looking at? Do they provide references? Do they give you a detailed contract? Do they pass on discounts from vendors to you or do they keep the discount as a part of their fee? Are they a member of a professional wedding association?

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Event planners get discounts that the average person doesn't. This is due to the amount of business we bring to other vendors. But unlike some other planners we pass those discounts onto our clients. What you pay us is exactly what you pay us. We do not charge you a fee and then take the discounts for ourselves.

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. All you need to have is a concept, we can help you work through the rest so your concept becomes reality.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. We can provide incredible services for a reasonable price. We also provide services others don't like RSVP services for weddings. Our staff is creative and we work hard to make sure each event exceeds the expectations of our clients.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I love planning events and I love watching my clients smile and be amazed at what we have created for them.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. Do I have to have a big budget to hire a planner?
Absolutely not. We can work with any budget, In fact we will make our fee worth it you becasue we can get you the most bang for your buck. We get discounts that we pass on to you and we know where to go for what saving time or costly mistakes.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. My favorite story is one of a bride who was on a limited budget and was so nervous about hiring us because it was more from her budget. To see the look on her face when she saw her reception site was something I will remember forever. We threw in a few extras just to make sure her day was perfect. She was one of those brides that makes you want to go that extra mile to make her big day extra special.

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. We REALLY CAN take away the stress of the day and make it everything they wished for. Brides don't have to worry about finding family or friends to set up or help. Parents don't have to organize and plan a birthday party for their children with their already too busy schedules. The fee we charge is minimal compared to the sense of peace we provide a busy client planning a big event.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. My event planning started when I took on the task of planning my college's first ever homecoming and I haven't stopped since. I have spent the past 30 years planning birthday parties, weddings, events for girl scouts, and companie parties. My crowning achievement was a black tie dinner in Las Vegas honoring one of Ringling Brothers greatest clowns. My friends and family finally convinced me to start a business doing what I love.

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. I'm proud of all the jobs we do. Emerald Nights makes it our goal to provide top notch service to every client we have. We want each client to feel as if they were our only client and their event our only event.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. We have subscriptions to all the bridal magazines and read them from cover to cover in order to stay up on the lastest trends. We also talk to vendors about what they are seeing change in our area.
Our favorite research is at Bridal Expos we attend as guests and we don't have a booth. It gives us a great opportunity to network with vendors we haven't met yet. My favorite was being invited to the Grand Opening of Posh Bridal Salon in Minneapolis. The gowns were stunning, the shop inviting and glamorous, without being stuffy. The staff was a joy to work with. Now I have an upscale bridal salon I can recommend to my clients.

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. Weddings have been around since the beginning of time and they have changed dramatically. The latest things to become very popular are the customized themed wedding reception, candy buffets, late night snacks for guest at the reception, and specialty linens. It's hard to know what brides will come up with next, but we'll be prepared.
As far as birthday parties, they are getting bigger and better. More parties have a theme based on the guest of honor's favorite character, or even age, such as sweet 16, 21, 50, and 100. Birthday parties are also taking place in locations outside the family home so the options for themes and activites are more varied.

Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.

A. It was a wedding. It took 18 months to plan. The budget was $20,000 and we were able to cut that back to $15,000, which made the father of the bride ecstatic. We planned the entire wedding because it was for a long distance bride coming home for her nuptuals.

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. Emerald Nights Wedding Packages & A La Carte Services

Opal Package $25 an hour with a two hour minimum
This package is for the bride that doesn’t know where to start or has made her own plans, believes she has everything handled, but would like to have an expert go over everything her. The planner will make suggestions on timelines, themes, vendors, and etiquette. This is perfect for the bride who wants the guidance of a planner without purchasing a package

Emerald Package $250
5 hour reception venue set-up
This package includes;
• Consultation with couple
• Set-up of guest tables(Up to 25 tables then an additional $10 each)
• Set-up of bridal table
• Set-up of guest book table
• Set-up of gift table
• Set-up of cake table
• Arrange escort cards
• Other items requested by couple
We will use the items you provide or you can rent from us;
See rental list on last page



Sapphire Package $600
Wedding day package
This package covers the services of two staff from set-up of church and reception site until dinner. Receptions over 200 guests will incur an additional fee of $3.00 per guest. If you would like us to handle things during the reception and clean-up afterward there is an additional fee of $25 per hour and dinner for 2 staff.
This package includes;
• Pre wedding day consultation with the bride and groom to discuss the details of their wedding reception
• Pre wedding day collection and inventory of wedding items to be setup on wedding day, such as candles, photographs, guest books, wedding favors, toasting glasses, serving sets, programs, seating cards, table numbers, etc
• Provide wedding day emergency kit
• Assist with handing out wedding flowers and pinning on corsages, boutonnieres, etc prior to ceremony or pictures
• Make sure the ceremony site is picked up after the ceremony
• Collect all items at the ceremony location and transport to the reception site
• Receive deliveries and greet vendors, contact any that do not show
• Make sure reception and ceremony areas are set up as you have planned
• Make sure tables numbers, place cards, programs, wedding favors are correctly placed
• Help photographer get the pictures you want, making sure family members are available and in place for the photographer
• Arrange your grand entrance
• Handle any problems that come up with caterer
• Make sure things are running on schedule
• Coordinate the collection of gifts to be delivered to a pre-arranged location
• Make sure transportation is running on time
• Provide a stress free day for the bride and groom


Ruby Package – 10% of budget (starting at $1000)
This partial planning package includes;
• Initial consultation with the bride and groom
• Unlimited phone and e-mail availability during business hours (9:00am-8:00pm)
• At least two planning meetings between clients and planner
• Prepare bride and groom timelines and checklists
• E-mail reminders first of the month of what needs to be accomplished that month
• One visit to site of both ceremony and reception sites to go over set-up
• Assist with color scheme, theme and style of the wedding
• Answer etiquette questions
• Provide a list of preferred vendors as needed for the bride to set appointments; baker, caterer, florist, musicians, photographer, rental facilities, videographer, wedding attire, officiate, transportation
• Two hour planning meeting one month before wedding which will include; ceremony planning. Preparation of rehearsal and wedding day itinerary and a timeline to be provided to client and vendors. Final walk-through with client at selected sites month of wedding. Meeting should include florist if providing flowers for the reception.
• Collection and inventory of wedding items to be setup on wedding day, such as candles, photographs, guest books, wedding favors, toasting glasses, serving sets, programs, seating cards, table numbers, etc


Diamond Package-15% of budget (minimum of $1500)
Start to finish we will take care of all the details
• Initial consultation with the bride and groom
• Unlimited phone and e-mail availability during business hours 9:00am-8:00pm
• At least three planning meetings between clients and planner
• Help to prepare and understand a budget
• Prepare a schedule/timeline and checklists
• Assist with site tours, selection and booking of ceremony and reception venues
• Assist with color scheme, theme and style of wedding
• Answer etiquette questions
• Assist with selection of wedding attire and accessories, attend fittings if desired
• Help with finding, negotiating, and booking suitable vendors. We will schedule
appointments and accompany clients to up to three meetings per vendor category; baker, caterer, florist, musicians, photographer, rental facilities, videographer, wedding attire, officiate, transportation
• Coordinate with vendors to ensure services/products are provided in a timely manor
• Ongoing updates and consultations with clients about vendors services/products
• Assist with choosing invitations
• Assist with tracking RSVPs and who will be attending or manage your RSVPs
• Ceremony planning
• Prepare itineraries to be provided to vendors
• Final walk-through with client at selected sites the month of wedding
• Final timelines with vendors the month of the wedding
• Final meeting covering all details with client, the month of the wedding and the week
prior to the wedding. This two hour planning meeting will include; ceremony planning, processional, recessional, placement. Preparation of rehearsal and wedding day itinerary
and a timeline to be provided to client and vendors. Final walk-through with client at selected sites month of the wedding. Meeting should include florist if providing flowers for reception.
• Collection and inventory of wedding items to be setup on wedding day, such as candles, photographs, guest book, wedding favors, toasting glasses, serving sets, programs, seating cards, table numbers, etc.
• This package also includes assistance at the rehearsal and all items provided in the Wedding Day Package
• ***Mileage will be charged for any location beyond 60 miles from Buffalo, MN @ $.50 per mile***


Extra Wedding Planning Services
The following services can be provided for an additional fee
• Coordinate an engagement party
• Assist in booking accommodations for out of town guests
• Assist in planning wedding showers
• Purchase gifts for the bridal party
• Plan a rehearsal dinner/party (Groom’s Dinner)


A la Carte Services
These are services you book without a package
• Guest database (Excel spreadsheet)-$.50 per invited guest*
• Create and print invitations- $1.00 per invited guest* plus materials
• Assemble and mail invitations-$.50 per invited guest* plus postage
• Combination of the above services-$1.50 per guest* plus materials and postage
• RVSP services- $.50 per invited guest*
• Escort cards-$1.00 per guest plus materials
• Tent card escort cards-$.25 per guest plus materials
• Napkin folding in your choice of style-$.50 per napkin
• Lady in waiting- $100 for 4 hours of service prior to the wedding
• Make-up for bridal party- $10 per person, bride is free with 4 paid
• Rehearsal planning & attendance- $50
*A group on one invitation is considered 1 guest, i.e., Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Family would be considered 1 guest

Rental Items
Light & tulle swag for bridal party table-$15.00
Table clamp bouquet holders for bridal party table-$3.00each
Candy bar container set $50.00
Pew bows $2.00 each
Fabric covered card boxes $5.00
Customized centerpieces based on style chosen, plus cost of flowers and/or candles

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. Make sure you really enjoy working with people who are in a very stressfull time in there lives, (Yes as much fun as they are, weddings are still stressful). Enjoy working long hours on weekends, and Enjoy working very hard to make each event unique and the dream come true for the client. If you can do that you'll be successful. Be an incredibibly organized person so you are always ontop of things and can handle any suprize issues without finding yourself in panic mode right next to your client. And above all HAVE FUN! You get paid to plan celebrations!

Q. Write your own question and answer it.

A. Why should I hire you?
10. To take the stress off family relationships
9. You won’t have to deal with a florist that knows ALL brides want HOT PINK in their bridal bouquet
8. To save yourself time, the average couple will spend 200 hours planning their wedding
7. You don’t want your friends and family telling you that you would be a great candidate for the Bridezillas show
6. To save you money, as planners we get deals and discounts, and keep you on budget
5. To have your dreams become reality
4. You won’t have a DJ that insists “I knew the Bride When She Used to Rock n’ Roll” is the perfect father/daughter dance tune
3. We own track shoes and love to do your running for you
2. You will have someone who can keep your vendors on time and in line
And the number one reason to hire a wedding planner….
1. So you can kick back, relax and truly enjoy your beautiful day!