I’m talking about Mandi Downs and Rachelle Bell of Champagne NW. They’re full-service wedding coordinators that I’ve become friends with over the last year and I wanted to share a little info from them, plus some fun pictures.
This is Rachelle. She loves what she does for a living. Both she and Mandi were on separate paths toward becoming teachers when they found the wonderful world of weddings. They’ve both been working as wedding coordinators for several years, but their company (Champagne NW) is a newcomer on the scene.
One myth that Mandi and Rachelle want to dispel is that having a wedding coordinator is only for the rich. “The amount of money you are spending on your wedding, whether it be $5,000 or $500,000, is  a lot of money. You’ve put anywhere from 6 months to 2 years into planning and waiting for your wedding day. When it comes to the day of, do you really want your parents, best friend or family to be taking care of all of the details?”
The women at Champagne offer lots of levels of service, from the total planning and coordination level down to “day-of” coordination, which basically means they come in more or less at the last minute and make sure everything goes smoothly.
One thing Mandi and Rachelle recommend when shopping for a wedding coordinator is (surprise, surprise!) to find someone you click with. “Your coordinator will be at your wedding all day long and if you don’t have a personality match, it will be a long day!” Mandi said. I love that they mention this, since I believe this to be true about most wedding vendors, especially photographers.
One thing I love about the women at Champagne is the personality they bring to their jobs — look at them work it above! They’ve got style and character and they’re willing to buckle down and do the work, because they love weddings, they told me. If any of you reading are interested in checking out what Mandi and Rachelle have to offer, check out their Web site (click here) and give them a call.
Thanks, Rachelle and Mandi, for being so much fun to hang out with and for coming out on a freezing cold day to take some photos with me!