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May 5, 2016

Vendor Spotlight : Columbia Country Club • Columbia Missouri Wedding Photography

We’re back with a new installment of our Vendor Spotlights! This month we are featuring one of our favorite Wedding Coordinators and Venues in central Missouri, all in one amazing post! We’ve photographed some amazing weddings at Columbia Country Club and on top of it being a beautiful venue, their customer service is something to be mentioned!

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We sat down with Kristi, the amazing coordinator behind Columbia Country Club and had her answer some questions about her work with weddings and the beautiful venue itself!

Full name/Company/Location: Kristi McCann, Event Specialist at Columbia Country Club

How did you get started and how long have you been coordinating weddings at CCC? How long has CCC been hosting weddings? I transitioned from the publication industry into event planning. At my previous job and with volunteer opportunities, I had the pleasure of planning events and it became a true passion of mine. I have been at Columbia Country Club since August of 2015 and have loved every minute of it. CCC has been hosting weddings….forever? The club was built and established in 1921, so we have been a venue in Columbia for quite some time now!

What is your favorite part about servicing weddings? This is a tough one because I truly enjoy the entire wedding planning process, even if I only get to be part of a portion of it. My favorite part about my job is I get to celebrate milestones with so many couples. When you spend a year planning with somebody, you become close to them, their family and friends, so it’s almost bittersweet when the wedding actually takes place. Since CCC has been around so long, it is also fun to hear guests or parents of brides and grooms reminisce about other celebrations they’ve had at the club.

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How far in advance should bride’s be contacting CCC to book their potential wedding? I strongly urge brides to try and contact us at least a year in advance, especially if you are wanting a very specific date. If you have a little bit of flexibility, I would say at least 8 months out would be preferred.

If there’s one piece of advice you could give a bride when planning her wedding what would it be? If your venue does not provide an on-site coordinator, definitely hire one, or even hire an outside wedding coordinator in addition to your on-site contact. Wedding planning can be stressful and if you are not a details person, it’s important to have the foundation of someone who is. People who are in the business experience multiple weddings a year and are used to the flow of the planning process and the wedding day. They also have an extensive list of vendors they have worked with in the past, so if something goes wrong, they have the capability of fixing it much faster than someone who doesn’t deal with these types of situations all the time. I’ve shared some almost-disaster stories on my blog recently: https://kristiuncorkedblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/to-hire-a-planner-or-not-to-hire/

What is CCC’s favorite area for wedding ceremonies? The best spot for a ceremony would be on our event lawn. Picture a gorgeous, green golf course as your back drop. Plus, you can completely create your own space out there. Whether you’re wanted a floral arbor, gorgeous fabric draping or a handmade cross, the possibilities are endless. We also have the capability to hook up to electricity for ceremony music, and you always have the Plan B option to move your ceremony inside should Missouri weather not cooperate!

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How many weddings does CCC host per year? The Club averages anywhere between 25-30 weddings a year. This year it feels like we have a wedding every weekend and sometimes event two in one weekend! Our wedding schedule really does not follow the stereotypical “wedding seasons.” We had two weddings in December of 2015 and one in January of 2016. It’s fun to be able to celebrate and work with couples all year long!

One more piece of advice for bride’s when booking their venue! When comparing venues, it’s important to look at everything as a whole. Since the club offers packaged deals, sometimes brides can get a little intimidated with pricing. However, we take care of everything from the second you walk in the door of the club. We offer spaces to get ready, we take care of set-up, servicing your event, clean-up, supplies and catering. Another venue might look like a better deal, but they function more a la carte style. They might have a great base price, but then you have to rent everything, bring in your own caterer with servers and bartenders, and your family and friends get stuck cleaning up. It’s important to look at all of those pieces when comparing prices. Also, make sure you read the contracts before you sign! Some vendors and venues can have lengthy contracts, but if you sign it, you are obligated to commit to that contract!

Your personal favorite part of being a wedding coordinator?   Can I say everything? I just love weddings!

Anything else you would like to add? One more piece of advice I would offer to brides and grooms is to ask your venue coordinator if there are weddings of similar size to yours coming up before your date. Usually during the day, they will let you pop in when set-up is happening to see how the layout is, get ideas from other weddings and get a better feel of the space actually set up for a wedding. It helps a lot!

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Want to see more beautiful images from the weddings we’ve photographed at Columbia Country Club, check out Mallory and Eric’s Wedding  & Cayla and Nick’s Wedding ! Thank you so much for all the amazing information Kristi! We can’t wait to bring back our Vendor Spotlights once a month, so stay tuned for our next spotlight coming this June!

© Catherine Rhodes Photography 2016 | Columbia Country Club | Columbia Missouri Wedding Photography

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