Real Wedding: Jenna and Aaron, The Adolphus Hotel

Celebrating Jenna and Aaron

Jenna and Aaron’s wedding was the highlight of January, and such a fun way to kick off 2018! The entire Pop Parties team was involved, from Molly helping Jenna to make some key decisions (she was being SO indecisive!) to Shannon handling the timeline and all of the ‘week of’ coordinating. Our team and our assistants put their all into a beautiful day for Jenna and Aaron.

Jenna and Aaron had over a year to plan their perfect celebration, but I think we actually started planning about six months before the big day. Jenna does such an amazing job putting her all into our client events, that her own wedding may been put on the back burner. Let’s see what she has to say about planning a wedding as a professional event planner turned bride. We’ll explore the challenges she faced as a bride which may be very similar to those you face in the planning process as well.

Q+A with Lead Planner Jenna (Fields) Griffin

What led you into wedding planning/why did you want to be a wedding planner in the first place?

In school, I enjoyed planning small get togethers for friend’s birthdays or half day outings. Being from a small town I didn’t think I could ever make a career out of planning events. I went to college wanting to be a lawyer. But, I quickly found out that law school was not where I wanted to spend an additional three years post college.  I enrolled in a special event management class for fun at UNT and quickly realized that there was an entire program  dedicated to the events industry. The next semester I dropped my political science degree and changed to a hospitality business degree! I never looked back and ultimately I knew I wanted to be a wedding planner.

How did you come up with your design for the wedding?

I LOVE blue almost as much as I love pink. I knew that blue had to be a wedding color and of course blush, because it’s my favorite! From there my husband and I both agreed, we wanted something classic, simple, and a little natural feeling. We also knew we wanted to get married in a historic hotel, because we had our first date and got engaged at a historic property. Check out our engagement announcement from DWeddings! After those key things were nailed down, it started coming together. A neutral color pallet, with blue and gold  details throughout the evening encompassed mine and Aarons classic style.

What’s a good “tell all” story you can share with us from your time planning as a bride?

 I feel most couples struggle with staying true to their style and what they envision for the day because of having multiple opinions to take into consideration. For us, we had our parents, my boss, my girlfriends, and my industry friendors. Each of them had very different opinions on what would be best for Aaron and I. Being the people pleaser I am, having multiple opinions was really challenging to balance both as a bride and a professional.

The guest list is also a difficult process. Your guest count really drives your entire wedding budget. Being conscience of what you are spending is always important so that it doesn’t get out of hand. Knowing that  limits the number of guest you can invite and can be a tough conversation to have with family members. After all, mom’s seem to always want to have your childhood best friend’s. mother’s, sister-in-law, in attendance. Don’t go down that rabbit hole and stay true to yourself.

 

What advice can you give to future brides now that you’ve been on both sides as a professional planner and as a bride? 

Make time for planning your wedding. I work full time (although as a wedding planner!) and had a hard time finding time to make wedding decisions for myself. If you have a demanding job, personal life, or family – hire a planner! My job exists to make your life and your wedding planning easier! Although I planned and designed our wedding, Shannon, one of our month of  planners handled the last minute details and the day of coordination. She was incredible! It was nice to have someone to defer to when something came up so that I didn’t have to answer questions or solve problems from vendors.

Second, hire a fantastic photographer and videographer. The day goes by so much faster than you could ever image. It’s a day that you will never want to forget! Hire someone you really like being around and that is great at capturing your day so you can enjoy those memories for years to come.

Special thanks to the creative partners who made Jenna and Aaron’s wedding day so perfect!

Planning/Design: Jenna Griffin (Fields) for Pop Parties

Month of Coordination: Shannon Rockne for Pop Parties

Floral: The Garden Gate

Rentals: BBJ Linen and Top Tier Event Rentals

Bakery: Posh Cakes by Shane Morgan

Stationery: Invited Paperie

Venue/Catering: The Adolphus Hotel, 19th Floor Ballroom

Entertainment/Lighting: DJ Nate Nelson of LeForce Entertainment

Photography: Dyan Kethley Photography

Videography: Maddie Beene for Lynn Films

Hair/Makeup: Stephanie Nelson Makeup and Hair