We hired Gigi’s Gourmet Kitchen (gigisgourmetkitchen.com) for my daughter’s wedding, and the experience was extremely disappointing. Here’s what happened: - Cocktail Hour Appetizers: Only one tray each of meatballs and eggrolls were served initially — and only after I asked staff to begin circulating. Once those trays were gone, there was a 30‑minute gap with no food. Eventually, one more tray of each item appeared, and that was all that was served for over 100 guests. My grandson and I even had to step in to distribute charcuterie cups ourselves. - - Dinner Service: While the food had flavor, it was served cold. Guests were discouraged from requesting both shrimp and chicken, even though this was never communicated as a limitation. Caesar salads were barely distributed (only about 10–15 guests received one), and asparagus — which was part of the agreed menu — was never served at all. And she admitted they forgot the asparagus! - - Cake Service: We paid for four servers who were contracted to cut and serve the cake, yet no staff assisted. The coordinator had to bring the cake back herself, and my husband and I ended up passing slices to guests. The mother and father of the bride! - - Agreed Details Ignored: To‑go boxes and cake shooters, which we discussed at length beforehand, were not provided. I even shipped the boxes to her location, per her request to have them ready for that night ! and not one was provided. - . At the end of the night, six large trays of food were left over, despite many guests not receiving items during service. As this was a destination wedding, we had no way to store or transport them, and they went to waste. - - Response Afterward: When these issues were raised, the caterer refused to make things right ! She actually has admitted to these mistakes and yet even though she charged me $425.00 in gratuity - which she took the liberty of adding onto the last invoice - has not refunded one penny.

If you feel overwhelmed right now, try this instead! AND remember this for your Big Day! Just breathe! The 4-7-8 Technique ​This pattern is a natural tranquilizer for your nervous system. It is particularly helpful if you feel anxious or have tightness in your chest. ​Step 1: Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whooshing sound. ​Step 2: Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a count of 4. ​Step 3: Hold your breath for a count of 7. ​Step 4: Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of 8. ​Repeat for 4 cycles. ​Why it works: The long exhale is the key. It forces your heart rate to slow down.

Let's all welcome @Beth Macleod to our group! Beth hails from the UK, and is a Celebrant for weddings. She has introduced herself in the Start Here Category. I've asked her to give us a micro lesson on what a Celebrant actually does as I'm not familiar with that job....you can find it in the NEW Guest Pros Category! More on that later as I'm running out the door!

I exhibited at a Wedding Show today! Here are the pics. It was a most EXCELLENT day! 👌🏼

I got married yesterday!!! 😍😍😍 I’m still riding the high from it all! Let me walk you through my super micro wedding. Going this route isn’t for everyone but for us it was perfect. - Venue: The Courthouse Wedding Chapel - It’s a little chapel across the street from the actual courthouse. We picked it because we only had 4 guests and we knew we couldn’t trust the Oklahoma weather this time of year to do it outside. It was cute but minimal. Wood panels, a single curtain of tulle, 2 unlit candelabras, and seating for 20 people. The price ($200) included an officiant but we brought our own. We dropped so many things to make it micro but we wanted it to feel very special and this is something I would absolutely recommend if you have someone in mind. One of our best friends went online to become certified to officiate it. She read a couple quotes from Frey’s favorite books and even brought a couple items that were so meaningful to us that we never would have considered on our own. The only downside to the venue is that they want you in and out FAST. So once you are there you better be ready for showtime and ready to leave once your time is up because there is someone right behind you. — The look- I have zero regrets about splurging on my dress. I felt amazing in it and it shows in the photos. For my veil, I wanted a cathedral cut with a blusher. I couldn’t find anything exactly like I wanted so I went to Micheal’s, bought 108” wide tulle and metal hair combs, and had my tailor make it for me. She measured it to fit my dress. I’m not sure if I saved money there but I was able to get exactly what I wanted. I bought my shoes and earrings on amazon. I tried on very similar earrings at the bridal shop that were marked $70. I found mine for $20 online. I did my own hair and makeup. If you’ve never done makeup for video or photography I would recommend going somewhere like Sephora and asking a lot of questions if you want to go that route. My bouquet was a combination of faux orchids and real baby’s breathe. So happy I went this route because I didn’t have to worry about it getting damaged and I get to keep it forever.