2009 July

The Magic Behind GHGH…

I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Michelle Loretta, the “boss lady” for Get Hitched, Give Hope. We joke that I’m the “boss lady” because we really don’t have a better name for what I do. While I technically serve as President for the organization, I act as a support for every one of the executives. My question to them is, “what is it that you need to get your job done?” My job is to fulfill and/or solve that need. The magic of Get Hitched, Give Hope is the AMAZING people that make it all happen. We are all hard-working individuals who volunteer countless hours to support the organization as a whole. The word “teamwork” is an understatement for what it is that we do. And, that’s why GHGH works!

Here’s a little peek into the magic of our team…

The Getters of the Goods…
(These are the ladies who get all the awesome goods that end up being auctioned and raffled)

Wendi Hroncich heads up the Procurement Team with Holly-Kate Foss as her badass-sidekick-in-action. The two of them are on top of all the phonecalls, emails, and meetings with hundreds of donors so that they can send in all sorts of goodies. The level of detail that they manage and the amount of communication that they have with the donors is unbelievable. They are sweethearts that put blood, sweat, and tears into GHGH.

The Pretty-up People…
(These are the ladies who make everything pretty… from the GHGH stationery on up to the decorative details on the night of the event)

Laurel McConnell is our marketing maven. Our logo, branding, print collateral, and website are completely maintained by her. (If you thought we had high-techy-designy type of people for that… no way! It’s all Laurel.) Not only does she dictate the GHGH image, she also adds her awesome “Laurel Speak” onto everything so that GHGH has a unique voice.

Shannon Lassen is the event visionary of our team. She determines what will happen on the night of our big event and how it will all look. She is the one deciding what you will see, hear, taste, feel, and smell on October 29th. Recently, Kaycee Parker has joined Shannon to help make this vision a reality. These two ladies are basically responsible for the feast that your senses will partake in this fall at GHGH.

The Talky-Talkers…
(These are the ladies who chat, chat, chat it up… telling the world about all that is awesome about GHGH)

Barbie Hull and Eliza Truitt make up Public and Media Relations. I’ve hardly met anyone in this industry quite so connected and resourceful as these two. It’s only a matter of minutes before Oprah and Ellen are on the phone wanting to feature our event. (I’m certain of this because of how ingenious these two are at making things happen.) I’m surprised that they haven’t already gotten job offers from leading international PR firms.

Mad Men…
(We happen to be supported by two really cool cats… who do our organizational management and our accounting)

Ryan Barr is all things spreadsheets, contracts, mail, pencily-papery, secretary-type of stuff. And, Andy Loretta makes sure our checks are deposited and our bills are paid. Whew – thanks guys!

I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with these AMAZING people for such an AMAZING cause! And, I can’t wait for you to meet everyone this October 29th and see for yourself the MAGIC behind Get Hitched Give Hope.

Vendor Profile: Christopher Flowers

There are so many great people from the wedding community who are participating in Get Hitched, Give Hope. So we wanted to introduce you to them by posting mini profiles! Below you’ll get a chance to meet Christopher Smith of Christopher Flowers. He does gorgeous work–and I can say this from personal experience–I hired him to do the flowers at my own wedding! So here are a few questions for Christopher:

Tell us about yourself!
Christopher Smith, Christopher Flowers – I am a floral designer for weddings, parties, and events. www.christopherflowers.biz

What do you love about your work?
I love creating pieces that reflect the personality of my client. I love working with beautiful flowers and showing them off to their best. I love it when someone walks into an event and says “Oh, it’s perfect!”

What drew you to Get Hitched, Give Hope?
Barbie Hull! As soon as she asked me if I would like to participate, I knew it would be a great thing to do. The idea is so wonderful; it’s just a good thing. Last year was awesome, and I can’t even imagine how great it will be this year!

What makes your business different?
I think some things that set me apart are my attention to detail, personalized service, and my design style. I do virtually all of the designing myself, so everything has a consistent, unified look. I make every attempt to be as communicative and pro-active as possible during the planning of a wedding, knowing that it is probably all new and likely overwhelming for the bride-to-be.

How are you participating in the event?
I will again be making bouquets for the models to carry during the show–loved that last year! My auction donation this year is custom-designed flowers for a bridal shower–worth up to $1000.

Anything else you’d like to share?
I feel so honored to be included in the event, and truly impressed by all the creativity and energy that the GHGH ladies (and gents) put into planning a fabulous evening for a great cause!

Swag Bags – Dry Soda

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Last year when we were planning our event we kept talking about the swag bags – I was jumping out of my seat to be part of the planning committee (no joke). I have been to SO many parties where the swag was ROCKIN (aria!) where I kept the items for a long long time or in some cases gobbled them right up (yum!). BUT THEN there were always those parties where you get home excited to check out the goods and you find nothing but paper advertisements (boo). So we at GHGH pull out all the stops – we don’t do anything that isn’t high end, top notch, super cool….you know - SWANKY !

Once I wiggled my way into being on the swag team the very first company I called was Dry Soda. This is the BEST non-alcoholic drink in town. (There are also many ways to mix it into a cocktail) and I have to say – their response was better than I could ever ask for!! They are a local Seattle company (which we love) they answered on the first ring – remembered meeting me and a couple of the other girls – and best of all they said they would be PROUD to donate to such a wonderful group.

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Dry Soda was definitely one of the highlights for me last year – and I don’t know if it is supposed to be top secret… but word on the street is they’ll be in the bag again this year!!

Okay – now that you know we have swag bags, that they ROCK and you want to know how to be a part of it?? Just send me a message! hello@gethitchedgivehope.com There are rules though…

Rule #1 – No paper products, cool swanky items only (that promote your amazing business)
Rule # 2 – well, that’s really the only rule! =)

There will be 100 bags filled to the brim of goodies, fun items and treats, and if you want a swag bag you can reserve one when you buy your ticket (HERE).

{Post by Barbie Hull}

October 29th! Mark your calendar!

Did you know that this year’s event is on Thursday October 29th?? Tickets are on sale and they are going quickly! We have space for only about 350 people and hope to fill the space with couples planning their wedding and of course their loving friends & family! Start shopping for your party clothes now – this is going to be SUCH a fun event!

We hope to see you there!

Flipped Out!

As an event planner, I’m always looking for new and exciting ways to add a little swank to your soiree. So imagine my glee when the GHGH team stumbled across Flipped Out Productions, and they agreed to participate in this year’s event. Here’s the skinny…. Guests are invited to step behind a video camera and make a 7 second video clip of themselves having fun with props and signs. During the video guests can dance, hold up signs, blow kisses, and just be themselves. In about a minute, Flipped Out Productions turns the video clip into a personalized 60 page business card size flipbook while everyone else watches. To add a personal touch, they can also create custom graphic covers for your event’s flipbooks with wedding logos, names, dates, or anything your little heart desires.

So look for Flipped Out Productions at the event, I can’t wait to make a book with my GHGH gal pals! A huge thanks to Flipped Out Productions!

Yours truly,

Shannon Lassen
aka “The Scene Queen”

Charities We Love – Suit Yourself!

Hello!

Alan & Sarah Hartgraves of Flint Men’s Grooming Salon over in Bellevue are two amazing people – they opened their doors not long ago and are already making a HUGE splash in the industry.

Eliza & I originally met them through a BNI friend (thank you Dr. Frank!) and fell in love with everything about them! Their passion not only for work but for their community! They are a huge supporter of Get Hitched Give Hope – having lost a dear friend very recently to breast cancer they have been wonderful enough to help us spread the word. Lets celebrate life while we have it!!

So when I got the email from Sarah that she & Alan are partnering to do a charity – I knew, they had to be first on the list of “Charities we Love” section of our blog!!

Thank you to Flint Men’s Grooming Salon for being such wonderful supporters – we wish you the best of luck in your event!

~ Barbie Hull

Read on to learn more about “Suit Yourself” (in Sarah’s words)

I wanted to share some information on a Community Outreach event that FLINT Men’s Grooming has partnered with Overlake Services League to bring to the Bellevue Community, called Suit Yourself.

“Suit Yourself” is a two part event, a Suit and Clothing Drive combined with a two-day complimentary event to assist unemployed men to get back into the workforce or make a career change. Flint Men’s Grooming is teaming up with Overlake Service League to provide men with gently used suits and apparel and mini makeovers (haircuts, hand details and shaves). Recruiters and local employers will be on-site during the two-day event to assist the men with employment opportunities. The final goal of the event is to instill confidence in the attendees to face the job market with a new suit or business attire, makeover, and job leads and advice from recruiters and potential employers.

Event Dates:

Clothing Drive: The Suit Drive will be held during the month of August with local businesses acting as drop off points for the suits and apparel.

Suit Yourself Event: A two-day event at Flint Men’s Grooming on Sunday, September 13 and Monday, September 14 for unemployed men in the community to come in and get “suited” with a local tailor, have a make over and be introduced to recruiters and potential employers.

So, I am asking each of you to spread the word about Suit Yourself. The only way to guarantee that this will be successful for our community, is with your help.

Please visit the website, http://www.suityourselfbellevue.com/index.html or feel free to contact me directly if you would like additional information regarding this amazing event.

Thank you, and remember to be thankful for our everyday luxuries!

Sarah Hartgraves
Vice President/Co-Owner
FLINT Men’s Grooming
www.flintmensgrooming.com
206-940-5959

Get Hitched, Give Hope…the Recap 2008

Last year’s event was an incredible success. We raised $30,000 and had SO much fun doing it!

Thank-You

There was so much going on – live music by Jason Parker Quartet, DJ mixed music by Brian Dale of Wavelength Music, cocktails & appetizers provided by The Arctic Club, a photo-booth by Kate McElwee, the event was hosted by the fabulous Brooke & Monti from the Ladies room, Mark from the Stokes Auction group was our amazing auctioneer (everyone loved him!), photos from the evening by Jeff LaPlante and BEST of all we raised $30,000 for Brides Against Breast Cancer & The Making Memories Foundation.

Here’s the amazing full-page write-up about the event in Seattle Metropolitan magazine:

You can also read more on the recap by clicking these links below – OR just google us (we are SO cool!)

Jeff LaPlante

NW Source – Alison Brownrigg

Divine Confections

Married & More with Michelle

Barbie Hull

Sweet Pea Events

Who We Are

It seems like all good ideas are hatched over a bottle of wine. In late 2007 a few of us wedding gals were sharing a bottle (or two) and a lightbulb materialized above our heads–”Wouldn’t it be great if we could make an event that would bring members of the local wedding community together AND raise money for a great cause?” It was a brand new idea–there was nothing like it in our area–and that’s how Get Hitched, Give Hope came about.

On October 23rd of 2008 we had our first event. It was a big fun swanky party where brides bid on things they needed for their weddings (flowers, cakes, photography, DJs, etc.) and helped us raise $30,000 for an incredible charity called the Making Memories Foundation. The brides got some incredible deals–up to 70% off retail prices from some of Seattle’s most incredible wedding vendors. (Ridiculous, right?!?)

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Get Hitched, Give Hope is a 501(c)3 organization, and we maximize our fundraising by working on a 100% volunteer basis. Every auction item, raffle prize, and hour of behind-the-scenes work is donated by generous members of the wedding community. This year’s event is on October 29th at the amazing Dome Room at the Acrtic Club Hotel. Buy your tickets today and we’ll see you there!

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Get Hitched, Give Hope

Be a giver… you know you wanna!

The Magic Behind GHGH…

Vendor Profile: Christopher Flowers

Swag Bags – Dry Soda

October 29th! Mark your calendar!

Flipped Out!

Charities We Love – Suit Yourself!

Get Hitched, Give Hope…the Recap 2008

Who We Are

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Fabulous Charities

Be A Giver!

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