Extremely Present
If you have ever planned a wedding, you know that there are a lot of details to coordinate. You have different vendors asking you questions ranging from what food you want to eat, to what color napkins you want at your seat, to what kinds of music you want to be playing as appetizers are presented.
As the bride and groom, you're making so many decisions. For many couples, you're preparing for a day where dear friends and family will travel from afar to focus on your love and your new combined future together.
When planning a wedding, couples spend much of the wedding planning season (generally cheerfully) overwhelmed. The idea of sending one more email, meeting one more vendor, or making one more decision sounds like a lot.
My husband and I got married in September 2020, right in the middle of a pandemic. We got married at River Stone Manor, and very few weddings were happening around this time due to pandemic regulations and general health concerns. We had even more to worry about than just our napkin colors - we wanted to have a beautiful celebration, even though we couldn't dance, we had to bring our masks, and some of our wedding party members wanted to stay at least 6 feet apart from all others, at all times.
Karen and Paul helped to ease our decisions and worries, even in these unusual circumstances. Rather than endless streams of exchanged emails, they both arranged a time to call my husband and I when we wanted information about their services. They took their time on the phone, answered all of our questions, and repeatedly shared that they wanted to do whatever they could to make the day beautiful and relaxed for us.
They called us, again, just before the wedding and reviewed all major details, constantly reassuring us that they were ready to go, had communicated with venue leadership, and were excited to provide music, live and recorded, for our day.
Karen and Paul were also extremely attentive during the reception. Instead of dancing, we gave people an opportunity to make toasts. Karen invited guests to go and talk to her at any point throughout the evening if they thought of a story or memory to share. This ended up working out so well! Karen found beautiful moments, between songs, to invite our guests to speak. These ongoing speeches ended up being one of my favorite parts of our celebrations.
If I had one tip to those planning weddings, try not to miss Karen and Paul's live music cocktail hour, if you choose to have this! My husband and I took photos during that time. We heard the music from afar, and I so wanted to be at the reception with everyone else. We heard incredible reviews from all of our guests!
Karen and Paul are well-prepared for what they do. They have so much experience. They know how important and unique each individual wedding is. They are present and attentive with couples for every step of musical and sound system planning. They were a blessing to have at our wedding!