Weddingbee boards

If you are looking for a reliable, affordable and fabulous wedding planner, please look into Downey Street Events.  I have been friends with both Emily and Lauren since we studied together at Stanford Law School.  Luckily for me, Emily is my best friend from our law school days, so I was delighted when she offered some of Downey Street Events' services to me and my fiance for our August 1, 2009 wedding, as a wedding gift. (Yes, disclaimer, I am friends with these two, but I am objective, I promise!)

As I've watched their business grow and heard the amazing feedback they consistently receive, I have seen firsthand how dedicated the ladies of Downey Street Events are to their clients, big and small events alike.  There is nobody I would trust more to get things done in a stylish and professional way. So I happily accepted Emily's offer, and it was the best wedding gift we could have asked for.

Our wedding was at a yacht club in New York where my family and I are members.  It was extremely minimalistic, small and intimate (60-something close friends and family), on a small budget, and we didn't want many of the features that most weddings have -- such as bridal party, flowers, cake, colors, etc.  Instead, we had mariachis, a Beatles tribute band, and black and white lobster ravioli.  To quote Frank, we did it our way!  I basically planned it all, DIY, both since it was so simple and because the yacht club included an excellent, free wedding coordinator for both planning and day of (so there was very little for me to do in the ten months leading up to it besides choose and hire the band and photographer, and get invitations and my dress).

Originally we weren't going to have any flowers, but Emily offered to take care of  boutonierres for family members and groom, bouquets for me and my sister, who stood up with me, and to come around with me and the female family members in the morning in case anything popped up where we needed help.  I sought her advice on pretty much everything as I chose stuff for the wedding, so when she asked me what we had in mind, I literally said something like, "I like white flowers, but other than that, I trust you!"

My husband and I both love sailing and the water, and he is an officer in the U.S. Navy.  This, combined with the location, caused a nautical theme to sort of naturally emerge, though we didn't really notice it until shortly before the wedding.  Early on though, Emily picked up on this, and ran with it, to stunning effect.  Without another instruction from me, Emily found the best flower source in my small town, hit up the antiques markets, and ended up creating the most gorgeous little bouts I have ever seen, all fresh and ready to be pinned (by Em!) on the morning of the wedding.  She told me what she was planning early on when she sent me mock-ups to approve, and I was like, looks great, you can take it from here!  And I'm glad I did.  She chose white orchids (she knows we love orchids) with navy ribbon and tiny, special little nautical charms in metal, like little anchors and things, incorporated in.  Everybody was raving about how beautiful they were, and they instantly turned our simple yacht club wedding into a stylish nautical party.  

My bouqet was beautiful, too.  White dahlias, with white orchids threaded over them, and subtle incorporation of beautiful nautical pins and such.  I say only my bouquet because I only found out afterwards that one of the staff had accidently destroyed the bouquet meant for me minutes before the ceremony.  I had to carry the one meant for my sister, which was a bit smaller and less ornate than the original one for me.  Emily brought it to me so calmly and with such a big smile and hug that I didn't have a care about it, and went on to walk down the "aisle" (grass) and have an amazing, magical and fun wedding.  Emily was also indispensable with last minute errands and things on the morning of, working well with the Club's wedding coordinator, showing up with my favorite iced coffee just at the right time, snipping last minute threads, and so forth, and was calm and fun to be around the whole while. 

I must say that I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to planning things, trusting others to do what they say they will, etc. -- cut me some slack, I am a lawyer after all!  But with Emily (and Lauren!), I know that I can totally let go and count on them anytime, anywhere.  Just as importantly, they have "it"-- that gift where they know how to come up with stylish, lovely stuff that I just don't have the gene for.  You can see it in how they put their clothes together, how they decorated their little dorms in law school and now their homes, how they throw parties that are always just perfect, and how they plan their events.  Their trustworthiness and that "it" factor translate 100% into how they run DSE, and frankly I think that for all that, their prices are a steal.  I highly recommend them to anyone and everyone.  But please don't book them for August 1, 2014.  I plan to book them that day for my five year anniversary party!