I have a question about welcome bags at destination weddings. Is it necessary to give this to your out-of-town guests? I don’t mean to sound cheap, but isn’t the point that the guests should be providing the bride and groom with the gifts (and not the other way around?) I’m not made of money here...After $100/plate for dinner, I find it hard to afford all these fantastic “goodies” for my out of town guests. I feel like I have done enough.


Dear Rebecca,

No, you do not sound cheap at all- you sound ungrateful and spoiled.

The welcome gift bag is a thank you to your guests. Please do not forget that your guests are likely shelling out $1,000-$3,500+ to be at YOUR wedding. They did not ask for you to spend $100 a plate or anything else. They have requested time off of work, used up vacation days, spent hours in the car or on long flights, and spent a lot of their money and time to be at your wedding because they knew it was important to you.

The least you can do is show them that you are appreciative of their time, money and consideration. No, you do not have to provide welcome gifts and if you do, you do not need to make them expensive. But your attitude that your guest owe you gifts is quite alarming. Do yourself a favor, watch an episode of Bridezilla's and then realize that you are acting just like them. Then go out and thank your guests for the time, money and energy they put into being with you on your special day.

Updates from the show!


We have had a lot of really positive feedback from the segment on the Rachael Ray show. A few things that I definitely want to clear up.

First off, we are not simple Proposal Planners.  We create and plan unique experiences and events, and they are for all kinds of occasions; be it anniversary, birthday, wedding, conference/meeting, product launch, etc.

We started this company in an effort to give people highly creative experiences that produced the feeling of being in a film, dream, fantasy... you name it. Ever wanted to feel like James Bond for a day? We wanted to make that happen. Want to relive the 1980's by putting yourself as the main character in a Hughes film? We wanted to make that happen too. And we did. We interviewed clients, found out what their partners dreams were and then wove it into a highly creative script. This script placed them in the middle of their own personalized film. But it was live.

Eventually, a few clients expressed a desire to not only experience our events but to use it as a platform to propose. While participating in a once-in-a-lifetime event, they would ask a once-in-a-lifetime question?

The media quickly grabbed on to this concept. People proposing during one our events? Sounds like a great story. At first I was flattered by the media attention. Who wouldn't be? But eventually I saw how they used me and my clients to further their own articles and agendas. Stories were being twisted, exaggerated and articles were focusing on the cost of "proposals" instead of reporting on the work that we do.

I find it interesting when angry people blog and talk about how terrible it is that event companies exist to assist people in special and romantic moments of their life. They think it is terrible that people pay for experiences, be it renting a dream exotic car, arranging a scavenger hunt, flying to Vegas or hiring a limousine. Do these same people have a problem with throwing a birthday party at a club for a friend or partner? Well, why not? Don't you pay a club money for the alcohol, private room or bottle service? Does that mean that you are less creative because you paid a venue to host a birthday party for you?

Would these people be angry if someone flew to Hawaii for a wedding, birthday, a marriage proposal or for a romantic getaway? Would they be mad if someone went out to a nice restaurant to celebrate an anniversary? Well, they should be! According to them, spending money on a romantic occasion makes you completely insincere.

Would these same people be mad if their partner bought them a piece of jewelry for a meaningful occasion? Does it make their partner less creative or insincere for spending hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on a material object? I mean, the guy didn't actually "make" the diamond or find it in the mine. He simply went into a store and bought it. At least during our events, clients are using elements of their own life to create something unbelievably personal and moving.

Some of these people claim that people must be lazy if they hire someone to assist in creating a romantic atmosphere. Does it make someone lazy if they took you out to your favorite restaurant for your birthday? I mean, the man did not actually prepare the dinner did he? He simply sat down, enjoyed it and paid for it.

The funny thing is that my clients are some of the most creative, fun, romantic and genuine people I have met. They appreciate collaborating with an "outsider." They love brainstorming with us to create something unbelievably fun, imaginative yet meaningful. Some clients have surprised their friends and significant others many times over the years and are now trying to top themselves this time around! They appreciate that my firm exists to handle the time consuming details, that we have worked for years to build our connections with vendors and that we work endless hours to make sure they are happy.

I started this company to give people special moments that were more meaningful than the diamond necklace. We help people create something so personalized, detailed, loving and fun that recipients have literally told me it was the single greatest day of their life.

Thanks to everyone for your support!

Rachael Ray Show today...




Go Get It Events was featured on the Rachael Ray show today. They did a segment on proposals and since many of our clients turn our experiences into proposals, they asked us to be the featured guest! I hope to have it on the site soon. Did you enjoy?





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My girlfriend is still friends with an ex, who I think still holds a torch for her. 'Brent' comes to Michelle with all his female issues and finds excuses to call her, knowing full well she has a serious boyfriend. I honestly know they are not having an affair--as Michelle and I live together and she works with my sister--but I hate the fact that Michelle still insists on keeping Brent as a friend. I'm thinking of proposing, but can I tell Brent to stay away from my soon-to-be wife?


Matt,

It sounds like Michelle is a nice person and who is able to be friends with an old flame. If you trust her, then I would not worry about Brent and her keeping up a casual friendship. If it really bothers you, I would talk to Michelle about it. If their relationship was over long ago, then I would let this one slide. I think you may be feeling a bit insecure about your relationship. This is something that both you and Michelle need to work on. How can she make you feel more secure in your relationship? Ask yourself what would make you feel more secure.

I want to propose to my girlfriend Kim, but my family does not like her because I made the mistake of telling them secrets about my relationship with her and they naturally took my side. We have gotten past those issues but my family doesn't rust her. I love her and want to marry her but am worried my parents and brother will not attend the wedding. How can I get my parents to forget what I told them about Kim and realize that she is wonderful? Help!

Greg,

Seriously. The wedding ceremony is about you and Kim. It is your marriage and your life. It is not about your mother, father and brother. I can understand that you are sad they may not attend, but it is truly their loss, not yours. Your ceremomy and life together will go on with or without their support. All you can do is sit down with them and let them know that you love Kim and will be marrying her, regardless of their blessing. Explain that she is now going to be part of the family and for you, please give her a chance. Kim should also talk to your family directly about their issues in a non-confrontational matter. She should assure them that she is sorry, that those issues have been taken care of and that she plans to never break anyone's trust again. If Kim really is wonderful, they will hopefully see this, move on and attend the ceremony.

By the way, what did Kim do?

I am 32 and have been dating a great guy for around 2 1/2 years. We love each other, get along fantastically and make plenty of time for romance. The only problem is that he has never once brought up a future between us, marriage, his plans, etc. He has never even asked me if I see a future with him or asked me at what age I can see myself married. Does this sound like someone who wants to spend the rest of his life with me? I just don't want to be wasting anyone's time- especially mine.

Dear Nina,

It sounds like he is not considering marrying you. At least not anytime soon. If he was, he would have brought it up by now or made references to a future together.

I know that may sound harsh to hear but if your man has never worked it into sentences saying things such as "when we are married" or "when we have kids," or even brought up the "idea" of a near or distance marriage, he is probably not considering you for marriage or marriage at all.

I am not a believer in rules set in stone, as all people and couples are different, however, I see men in love on a constant basis and I know how they act.

When a man decides that he wants to marry his woman, he goes after it. Even if he is not ready to propose yet- he makes it known that he wants her in his future. And why wouldn't he? He doesn't want to lose her and more importantly, he wants to make sure she has similar goals to his. Most men bring it up with their girlfriends, asking them at the very least what age they would ideally like to be married.

If you don't want to get married right now, then this could be fine. But eventually you may want to find a man with similar goals.

I am thinking of proposing. Do you think I should make it really grand or keep it low key? I have read all of these articles lately about really loud and grand proposals and was wondering if that is the way to go.

Dear Chris,

A lot of these articles and TV shows you watch (i.e. Inside Edition, reality shows, etc) appear desperate for good ratings so they actually seek out over-the-top proposals with these grand finales. In some cases, they even stage it- they find someone who wants to propose and then have a proposal planner make it very "TV worthy"- I know because I have been asked to do this for many TV shows.

This is all done for ratings and I find it extremely cheesy. At Go Get It events, we have done over-the-top and we have done quiet, but regardless, they have always been personal and meaningful. Never Grand just for the sake of being Grand. In fact, our proposals are experiences- experiences that every client has said is the best day/night of their life. You can give your lover one of our experiences for any occasion- it just so happens that lot of people choose it for their marriage proposal.

So my answer to you without knowing your history or personalities is to make it meaningful and honest. Outside of that- do whatever suits her personality and your relationship. Make it from the heart and you cannot go wrong.

Good luck!