By Shalese Kocher

The Wedding Crasher’s Tour is a multi-dimensional wedding planning experience that allows you to see what a real wedding would look like if a team of vendors came together to make one vision come to life.   “It’s Pinterest in person – it jumps off the page, allowing you to actually walk through a Pinterest board come to life, “say founders and owners Jessica Maida & Amanda Robinson.

As two creative business owners themselves, Jessica and Amanda started the Wedding Crasher’s Tour as a way to inject their creativity into an advertising and marketing venture.   They wanted to give couples an experience that would allow them to have a more intimate, personal connection with the vendors they meet and actually interact with them in a wedding setting.

So here’s how the Tour works: THIS Sunday, February 7, 2016 at 10:00AM (yes, we know that’s Super Bowl Sunday, but we are starting early to get you to the game on time!), you will arrive at the host venue, the John Marshall Ballrooms, for coffee and snacks. From there, you”™ll be put into your transportation groups.   Each group will then be chauffeured to four different venues within a five mile radius in the city of Richmond.   These venues include Quirk Hotel, the Branch Museum of Architecture and Design, and The Frontier Project.   At each venue, you”™ll find a team of vendors – photographers, planners, florists, lighting companies, caterers, et al. – who have come together to create a full wedding experience.

John Marshall Ballrooms, Frontier Project, Branch Museum of Architecture & Design, Quirk Hotel
John Marshall Ballrooms, Frontier Project, Branch Museum of Architecture & Design, Quirk Hotel

You”™ll come in like a guest, a wedding crasher, if you will.   There will be plenty of food and drinks, and of course, you will have ample time to chat with the vendors who made it happen.   Jessica and Amanda say, “You won’t leave hungry, thirsty or empty-handed!”   The best part?   All you have to carry around is a passport booklet where you can make notes and write questions.

“A wedding is coordinated by a team, so we wanted to show what collaboration looks like,” Amanda explains.   Jessica and Amanda, along with their production team, Glint Events, have worked hard to pair vendors and give them clear lanes of communication to create one theme at their venue.   Their aim is to show you what Richmond wedding vendors can bring to the table.   They get to stretch their creativity to come up with new, unique ideas to inspire you.

From there, the attendees can see what works for them.   Do you like that planner’s style?   Do you think a band is more your style than a DJ?   Do you see what a difference professional lighting makes in a ballroom setting?   It’s all in front of you to experience and decide!

The Tour’s number one goal is to make the attendees feel completely pampered from start to finish.   The chauffeured transportation will even be complete with a tour guide who will be able to answer questions about the venue and the surrounding areas.   They will be able to tell you all about the vendors you”™ve seen, the history of the venues you have visited, what accommodations would be nearby for your guests, how parking would be handled, and much more!

Don Mears Photography
Don Mears Photography

At the end of the tour, everyone will meet back at the John Marshall for some truly unique closing ceremonies, which will include a fashion show hosted by Annalise Bridal, Alton Lane and Diamonds Direct.   You”™ll leave at the end of the Tour with an epic swag bag full of innovative goodies!   And of course, we”™ll have you out by 3:00PM so you can get to your Super Bowl parties!

Jessica and Amanda recommend that you come with a friend, a spouse-to-be, a mom, a sister, someone!   The Tour is a fun day out that will leave you feeling supremely inspired and ready to tackle wedding planning head on.

Since we are the title sponsors of this awesome event, readers of Richmond Weddings will receive $5 off the ticket price with promo code RichmondWeddings2016.   I can promise that is a STEAL with all the food, cake and champagne you will have!

For more information and tickets, please visit www.weddingcrasherstour.com. We hope to see you there!

Featured image: Jessica Maida Photography