Wedding Guest PSA

Dear Wedding Guests:

When you go to a wedding, please do not take the centerpieces AND vases from the reception, UNLESS you are told its okay by the bride or wedding planner. Often taking the FLOWERS is okay. But NOT the glass vases. Either way you should always have permission.

Vases, tables, chairs, and even votive candles are often rented by the bride and groom. And actually need to be returned OR paid for. So not only did you enjoy dinner, cocktails and dancing on your friend’s dime, but now you have also cost them extra money to reimburse what you just stole.

Thank you.

PS I should add that melting candle wax on the linens because you are “bored” will not be received well.

PSS Feel free to enforce these everyone-should-know-better rules at a wedding you are attending.

Introducing our new intern… Michelle!

Good morning Flagstaff, Northern Arizona, and all the other followers out there of Peak Events’ blog! I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself before you start seeing my name pop up on future blog entries and start wondering who the heck I am!

My name is Michelle Gibbs. I just recently received the honor of becoming Peak Events’ latest intern. As summer is approaching quickly I am incredibly excited to join Jen and Debbi’s team! Come August, I will be a junior at Northern Arizona University majoring in Public Relations. I’m also minoring in Business and considering minoring in Advertising as well (or possibly getting a certificate in Accounting, who knows!). I grew up in the Phoenix area and am lucky enough to escape the summer heat by staying in Flagstaff for the summer for the first time.

From Oktoberfest to weddings to all the other parties Peak Events coordinates I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty in all the work involved in making these things happen. Although I’m totally new to the business, Jen and Debbi have promised me I have mountains to learn and experience. And while I’m sure the work is mountainous as well, I think the fun and play involved will be even greater. After all, we’re all just here to party, right!

You’ll be seeing something new from me every week on every different topic I can come up with! So you’d better start getting used to seeing my name now :]

Have a lovely week,

Michelle

What is an Eco-Bride ?

With the growing trend of being kinder to the planet , it is not surprising that many brides are considering going green for their special day. So, why bother ?

The idea of being an Eco -bride is to take in to account the economical, environmental, and social impact of your wedding. Many brides can relate to cutting back financially. The average cost of a wedding is $25,000. This is half of most American’s yearly salary. How can you save while supporting the planet ? One great idea is to support the locals. You will save time, money and energy when you buy local flowers, decorations, food, and other wedding services. Why import items from half way across the globe? Local florists and vendors know the area, and can tell you where they get their goods. You can even  request food and flowers that have not been sprayed with pesticides. It feels better to support  a local Mom and Pop operation instead of ordering from huge corporations. They are often times more flexible and will work to keep the prices down.

Saving money, okay.  Saving the environment, not so sure ?

Most brides have not even considered putting carbon footprint in the same sentence with anything that has to do with their special day.

The average wedding produces on average, 500 pounds of garbage and over 60 tons of Carbon Dioxide.A lot of this relates to flying, driving, and hotel stays. You would be surprised at how much waste there is with weddings. The isle runners get thrown out. Left over food gets tossed. Wedding dresses are often used once. Eco-brides are taking steps to minimize the waste without putting a damper on the beauty and elegance.

Even if you do not commit to a totally green wedding, there are some things every bride can do when making choices on the ceremony and reception. Speak with the vendors and find out if you can save and bring home extra food instead of throwing it out. Make choices that support locally grown food and farmers. Choose table decorations that are not imported from China and get thrown out anyway. Do your research. Ask questions.

Last but not least, the social impact of your wedding. Huh? Why think about that on my special day?

By choosing conscious vendors and holding them accountable for delivering local and environmentally friendly goods, you are helping raise the standards in your community. The guests might even take notice and get inspired.

Keeping your Northern Arizona Wedding green is easy. Arizona is ahead of the curve on sustainable and eco friendly trends. Peak Events has relationships with local vendors that can save  money, time, and the environment. We would be happy to work with you to create your dream wedding. 

Sally

Prioritizing your Wedding Planning

Planning a wedding CAN be a daunting task. It’s overwhelming with so many ideas out there. Thanks to the Internet, with wedding blogs and pinterest you now have MORE concepts that you ever knew to consider.

Too much information? You betcha.

If you have an unlimited amount of money to spend, then you’ll be fine. But that is usually not the reality.

So how do you process all of this?

Sit down together as bride and groom and make a list of the TOP THREE THINGS that are important to each one of you. Then take a look at the list. Hopefully there will be overlapping (both of you choosing the same idea) that will land in your top three.

Then, discuss it with each other. From there you should be able to make ONE list that of must haves at your wedding to make you both happy.

This is where you are going to put your money and let the rest fall into place. By identifying the most important things, you can stop worrying about trying to fit it all in within your budget.

An example (truly an example, as each wedding is different), these may be your top three things:

1. Good Food
2. Great Entertainment
3. Excellent Photography

If these were your top three, then you can stop worrying about pocket invitations or special favors. You may want to take it a step further to create a secondary TOP THREE items to ensure: beautiful decor, videography, open bar, etc.

Everyone is different, there is no right and wrong. You want to be happy at the end of the day. And that’s what’s really important.

4th Annual Flagstaff Oktoberfest

Hello Oktoberfest fans!! We are only 173 days away from the 4th Annual Flagstaff Oktoberfest! We will again have the event in Wheeler Park in beautiful downtown Flagstaff. We have been busy taking your ideas from last year’s event and putting them into action. We are looking at having new and fabulous merchandise for sale. We have once again teamed up with Nackard Beverage Company and will have some great beers on tap! Satchmo’s BBQ of course will be coming back as a food vendor, with some yummy treats for everyone. We are always looking for new food vendors, so if you or someone you know is interested, please email us!

Don’t forget we’ll be having our yodeling, costume and of course our brat eating contests!

If there is something you want to see at this year’s event, please let us know!

We are looking forward to another great year!

Marry Me

What a great wedding song! Enjoy this video of Marry Me by Train.

Marry Me Video

Flagstaff Private Parties

Sometimes you just want to have fun. And Peak Events can help you plan the perfect party to do just that!

       Birthday Parties
       Anniversary Parties
       Graduation Parties
       Holiday Gatherings
       Bridal and Baby Showers
       Engagement Parties
       …and more!

Peak Events offers services ranging from full-service planning and coordination to consultation on how to make your party a success.

As with all of our events, pricing depends upon how involved you’d like us to be in planning, the size of the party, and a variety of other factors. We’ll work with you and your budget to create the best solution possible! So please Contact usfor more information on how we can help you celebrate your special day!

So the next time you have a private party coming up in Flagstaff, contact Peak Events!

Bridal Show of All Bridal Shows

What happens when you put thousands of women under one roof with one common goal of having the dream wedding? Chaos.

My friend Melissa and I went undercover to the Arizona Bridal Expo as recently engaged and both a planning our weddings, leaving the fiances at home! Before we even got inside the Phoenix Convention Center there were vendors handing out fliers and pamphlets on weddings. Then once you walk inside, well… it was a whole other story.

I won’t lie to you; I walked in those doors into the first room and thought I was in the only room. It was gorgeous and hectic all at the same time. There were jewelers and wedding displays and food and as we walked through I realized this was nothing…. We hadn’t even handed our tickets off yet to get into the Arizona Bridal Expo. We walked to a door, one of many and entered into a glamorous fashion show of beautiful wedding dresses. It was a run as typical fashion show and the MC was great! In between designers he would hold contests for free stuff and I tell you, I have never seen hands rise so quickly for free stuff. Before the MC could even finish his sentence 500 hands would shoot up in the air and waive around for something free.

We watched the bridal show for 15 minutes or so and then decided to keep on and walk to the room across the way. We walked into the bridal gown room. There were hundreds of dresses in that room with try on stations, mirrors, veils, accessories… it was bridal heaven, but I won’t even mention the line to try on the dresses! My advise to you if you want to try on gowns… get there early and when the doors open… RUN to the bridal gowns.

Eventually after a good 10 minutes or so of gawking over the dresses we entered the vendor room. This ladies is the room people are talking about when they say you are crazy for wanting to go to the Bridal Expo but trust me once you are in there you have a pretty great time! I think for most this is the room that really helps future brides put their weddings in perspective and imagine what it is they really want. All the displays and pictures, cake and barbecue, wine and champagne make it all seem real. After walking through the 20 or so aisles of vendors I left with a bag of goodies filled with fliers, discounts, magazines, picture books, raffle tickets, and I even passed on some stuff!

Going to the Bridal Expo in Phoenix at the Phoenix Convention Center really is a fun experience. I will admit it might not be for everyone but it is worth trying because there is nothing else like it.

Belle

sh*t brides say …

I had tears….and have almost heard every single thing said on this video.

Brides…we are not laughing at you. Just near you. Xoxo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ut8kwaKvZc0

Thanks weddingchannel.com for this hilarious video.

3rd Annual Flagstaff Oktoberfest

The third annual Flagstaff Oktoberfest was a huge success!!! It was a beautiful day in Wheeler Park, the vendors were setting up and the beer was cold! We teamed up with the Flagstaff Sunrise Lions Club and we have to say they are some amazing men and women! We can’t wait to work with them again next year. They even provided an ice cold semi to keep the beer cold!

Satchmo’s BBQ, along with other vendors were busy all day serving up great food! Nackard Beverage Company supplied us with plenty of beer and wine.

We would like to thank our sponsors, Nackard Beverage Company, Pepsi, Findlay Volkswagen, Superpawn, Deckers, College America, QC Office, Courtyard Marriott,  Magic 106.1, 93.9 the mountain, 92.9 Kaff, A Friendly Cab Massage Envy, Taverna, Alphagraphics, and Brookside Chocolates. Without them, this event wouldn’t be possible.

We had over 3200 people attend and we were able to raise over $5,200 dollars and 350 pairs of eye glasses to the Flagstaff Sunrise Lions Club.

We want to thank all of those involved, who volunteered and participated in making this such a successful event. Again, without our amazing vendors, staff and volunteers this event wouldn’t be possible.

We are looking forward to our 4^th annual Flagstaff Oktoberfest on Saturday October 6^th in Wheeler Park.

If you would like to be a part of our event, if you want to vend or volunteer or if you have feedback, please email us at info@flagstaffoktoberfest.com.

Until Next Year!