Every bride should feel like she has angels in the wings on her wedding day. Debbie Goeden of Twirl Management was a living and breathing angel in the wings on mine, this past fall (2012).
My husband and I planned our wedding so that it would be truly ours. From the venue (where my husband had proposed) to the wedding cake to (made by a dear friend), everything had our signature.
About six weeks before the wedding day, the original company we had hired for food and drink service (including full bar, staff, and supplies) called to notify us that they were simply out of staff on the weekend of our event. We were shocked.
Deb had already joined us in our wedding planning as our florist. Finding ourselves six weeks from the event and suddenly without anyone to staff and service it, we emailed Deb to solicit her advice. Deb offered many good recommendations, but the request resulted in her hire as our wedding coordinator and, ultimately, this proved the best thing we did in planning our wedding.
We had originally selected Deb as our florist for two central reasons, the first being her skill and talent and the second being that she welcomed our request that the flowers be supplied from my brother's garden. While I requested only bouquets and boutonnieres for the wedding party, the wedding day was decked with table arrangements and other floral touches here and there. My bouquet contained flowers not only from my brother's garden but from my parent's garden as well. There were red roses from the vine my dad had planted under my bedroom window, succulents and fig leaves from my brother's sunny garden on an Oakland hillside, and geraniums that had been gifted to my mother by a loved one who had raised me and my brother. The bouquet was so beautiful, it inspired tears with hours yet until the ceremony.
We had been operating independently before Deb signed on as our coordinator. When Deb came to our walk-through at the venue, we caught our first glimpse of how invaluable she would prove to be. She was a true facilitator and coordinator, listening and responding, with attention to detail that is stunning.
Deb created a seamless, perfect, unique, and beautiful event from all of the pieces we had set in place before her hire, including:
* The aforementioned homemade wedding cake;
* Her own floral arrangements, made from homegrown flowers she selected from the family gardens;
* A meal delivered to the venue by our favorite local Mexican restaurant;
* A bar stocked with makings for our signature cocktail, beer and wine;
* A personal slideshow of family photos, for display throughout the reception;
In addition, Deb handled every detail we hadn't imagined with grace, integrity, and in perfect fashion, including:
* Complete set-up and break-down of the venue;
* Seamless coordination between restaurant staff, venue staff, and Twirl Management staff;
* Safe-keeping of several computers, beloved framed photographs, and favorite books, all in place throughout the venue and left behind upon our departure.
Deb simply went above and beyond, from pre- to post-event. She created a stunning event at the broad resolution visible to all of our guests, at the detailed resolution visible to the perfectionists among us, and behind the scenes. Her personal care was evident even when no one but us was looking: she snuck a dearly packaged dinner to us just before we were whisked away at the end of the night, and deftly handled a question regarding an outstanding bill while we were out of the country on our honeymoon (someone had missed a digit of our CC). Service such as this simply can't be encapsulated in a contract. It is truly priceless service, delivered only by someone committed to their craft and to their clients.
I cannot say enough about Debbie Goeden and Twirl Management. I would recommend Debbie and Twirl Management without hesitation and with all of my heart, to anyone. You simply cannot pay, or repay, sufficiently for what is delivered. read more
