Pretty Swell Parties : Wedding Vendor Wednesday

Hunter and I celebrate our 3rd Wedding Anniversary today (check out a few of our wedding photos at the end of the post)! What better way to help celebrate then to start something new and exciting here on the Katey Penton Photography Blog! Once a month I will be featuring different local wedding vendors that I have worked with and just adore! Hopefully it will bring some inspiration to all of you brides that are knee deep in planning (or just starting to plan) your fabulous weddings!

First up is the wonderful wedding planning company Pretty Swell Parties. This Atlanta based business consists of 2 wonderful ladies, Melissa Bloomfield and Gina Livingston. They do it all! I had the pleasure of working with Melissa at the NotWedding this past February. She helped to coordinate and plan the breakfast in bed styled shoot as well as the day-of coordination for the actual NotWedding event. As we planned the styled shoot, my mind was all over the place with ideas! Melissa did a great job of helping me to narrow down all of my ideas and she truly understood my inspiration. She took over the scheduling and arranging of props, models, and all the nitty gritty details, letting me focus on taking the pictures!

The other afternoon I got to spend some time getting to know both ladies a little better in a more casual setting! Not only are they great at what they do, but they are genuinely sweet and love to laugh! As we talked about the many hats that they get to wear as wedding planners, it was great seeing them interact with one another and capture some photos for them.

Owner and founder, Melissa Bloomfield, was gracious enough to answer some questions about wedding planning, her business, and her love for weddings! Enjoy getting to know these lovely ladies and their wonderful business!

So how did you get involved in the wedding industry? 

I have been planning events long before I entered the world of weddings — formals in high school, rush parties in college, multi-city publicity tours in my previous career.

Before I became a wedding planner, I was a book publicist in New York City and here in Atlanta, which means it was my job to spread the word about great authors and books through media coverage and events. Once I moved away from NYC and the epicenter of the book publishing industry, I began exploring the idea of owning my own business and started planning events for friends and friends of friends, and spent time assisting a more established wedding planner on the weekends. I also spent a lot of time getting to know the wedding landscape of Atlanta by networking with vendors and attending industry events. With my years of event planning experience, the transition to wedding planning was an easy one.  I have met so many talented and creative people over the last few years, and I absolutely love what I do!

I am so lucky to have had my good friend Gina Livingston join Pretty Swell Parties last year. She is an amazing asset, and a fantastic coordinator with a dozen years of event planning experience herself!

What is the most important piece of advice that you can give to a bride planning her wedding? 

Don’t worry too much about the “rules” of wedding planning. There is no one right way to plan a wedding, and you should do what’s most comfortable for you and your fiancé. Also, be sure to plan a few minutes to spend with your new husband after the ceremony – its so worth taking a moment to let everything sink in and process the amazing ceremony you’ve just experienced before sharing it with everyone else!

What is your favorite memory from your own wedding day? 

My wedding day was so much fun!  We got married in our hometown of Memphis and it was such a blast getting to have all of our friends and family together in one place. Memphis is known for good music, and we had the most incredible band (http://memphissoulrevue.net/). The dance floor was packed all night and one guest even got up with the band and did his own rendition of Rapper’s Delight! That was pretty awesome.

Why should someone hire a wedding planner? 

Where to start!? Hiring a wedding planner can make the planning process less overwhelming. There are so many choices when it comes to vendors, venues, and  services, but a good planner can help you narrow things down to match your personal style and price range. I help my clients figure out their priorities on the front end so they can avoid costly mistakes along the way.  I serve as a guide, advisor, confidante, and friend throughout the process. 

Even with the most careful planning, it is just a fact that not everything will go exactly as planned on the day of a wedding.  There are always hiccups and last minute changes, but a good planner will roll with the punches and keep things flowing so that neither the bride and groom nor the guests notice anything was wrong in the first place! 

What is your favorite trend that you have seen this wedding season?

I am absolutely loving all the gold and metallic touches this wedding season. Adding gold to your color scheme can really add a touch of luxury without being over the top! 

How do you stay inspired when it comes to planning so many weddings?

That’s easy! Getting to know my clients personally keeps everything fresh. I love collaborating with brides and grooms to make their wedding totally custom and suited to their unique taste and style.   No two weddings are exactly alike, and I’m constantly finding new inspiration from the wonderful people I get to work with! 

For more information on Pretty Swell Parties and to check out some of the amazing weddings that they have helped to pull together, check out their Website, Facebook, Pinterest, and make sure to follow them on Instagram! Let them help you out with your wedding, no matter how big or small the role!

And as promised, here are a couple of my favorite pictures from my wedding day 3 years ago! Looking back I wouldn’t change a thing about the day, but it would have been nice to have a wedding planner there to help out with all the details that become a bit overwhelming there at the end. Luckily I had some amazing friends and family that helped to make my wedding day a total DREAM! All of our wedding photos are by Red Fly Studio, based out of Thomasville, GA.