Planning Tips
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In this area you will find a growing collection of Planning Tips on various topics. They are included here as a general guide to help you get started and may include important points you haven't considered yet. When you are ready - please contact us to arrange a free confidential interview to discuss your requirements.
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General Tips for the Bride-to-be:
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It is easy to become bogged down in struggling with the fine details about the ceremony and reception and unfortunately causes many brides to delay unnecessarily making their critical bookings.
I always suggest that the bride takes care of business in the following order:
Eighteen to 12 months in advance have the final previewing of potential reception sites, including getting the rates for their catering services, etc. done - so that you are fully armed with enough information from which you can start making choices. Even though prices are likely to change between then and your wedding date, you will at least know how those on your short list rate in today's market.
Confirm your ceremony date and the church. This is also ranked as a first priority because you need this info for when you actually book your reception venue. Once this is done, you are able to start thinking about how you wish your wedding day to unfold. If time slots for the ceremony are very restricted, it will dictate how early in the day you need to schedule such things as your personal grooming appointments, including hair, if you have decided not to do it the day before.
As well, the time of the service will guide you into considering when best to schedule your reception. For example if you must have your wedding service in the morning it might be reasonable to consider having a brunch or luncheon type reception so that your guests are not caught with lots of idle time before the reception begins. On the other hand, if your guests have come from away or if they have very young children whose needs must be attended to, then they could be grateful for free time between the wedding service and the reception. In all, it's a matter of being considerate of your guests as you pull together the details of your celebratory day.
Don't get caught up in the fine details of your wedding day too early on as it will impede your ability to address other parts of your wedding decision making - details which require decisions up to a year ahead of your big day, such as the following:
Book your photographer and your florist. Frankly, there are just so many available for any given day and you are not the only wedding in town on your date. Good photographers book early. Trust word of mouth from people you know well. Interview those you're interested in. Check their work. Speak with some of their clientele. Find out the pricing of the various packages they offer, and the payment schedule. Book early. Get a written contract.
Book your florist a minimum of 9 months in advance. Great florists are talked about constantly. You may not ever hear the name of the floral designer and instead hear of their work in terms of the business name they work for. If you have been to weddings or other events where you have been impressed by the floral work shown there, ask who did the work. Make a list of at least 2 or 3 florists whose work you like and then contact them to see if they are available to accept your floral booking for your date. Remember, a conscientious florist will only accept a certain number of wedding bookings for a given day so that your wedding florals are given the attention they deserve.
In HRM we are fortunate to have several excellent florists that I am happy to mention to my clients, in particular My Mother's Bloomers on Spring Garden Road in Halifax, Deans Flowers on Stanley Street in Halifax and Rosedale Nurseries in Dartmouth. These are only some of many florists worthy of your consideration.
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Event Decorators/Coordinators
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I am obviously in a compromised position when I speak of event decorators as that is the business I am in. A good event decorator does more than just decorate your event. They should be good listeners so that you are given an opportunity, even encouraged, to express what you would like for your day, if you wish to participate in the planning of the décor elements. Some brides are quite happy to have little or no involvement in the planning details of the décor and that is fine as long as the bride feels she has been given the choice.
If the bride wishes to have the decorator come up with several themes for consideration, color schemes, etc. that is also doable.
Be sure that your decorator understands the budget that she has to work from, and all that is to be paid from that budget. Often brides forget to tell the decorator important details such as the décor budget will also include the purchase of all bridal party, family and church flowers. That type of detail is huge, particularly in a limited décor budget and can be disastrous if overlooked.
As with florists, ask questions of your decorator such as how many people will be assigned to the décor staff for your wedding, ask how much time will be required by the decorating team to execute the décor at the venue. Advise them of important details such as when the decorating must come down. At some venues it must be de-decorated immediately at the end of the reception while at other venues the knockdown is allowed the following morning. Sometimes these details will affect the cost of a decorating fee so they are important details to know.
Some decorators, depending on their length of time in the business and their range of other contacts in the bridal bus, are capable and happy to also do the wedding coordination details for you. If not, then there are individuals who do coordination only and if your budget allows or your peace of mind dictates, you could find this a worthwhile investment.
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Linens/Chair Covers, Etc.
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Depending on what your reception venue is, you might need to book table coverings, skirtings and/or chair covers yourself. With table linens, you need to consider if you wish to have floor length linens or regular linens that just hang a few inches past the table's edge.
Chair covers are considered a luxury item for receptions and come in several qualities. Don't assume that all covers fit all chairs. Know precisely the size and style of chair that you wish to have covered so that you can provide that important detail to the rental facility. Also think about if you wish to have a sash for the chair and, if so, what color and what type of fabric. Those details affect the pricing.
If you rent from a do-it-yourself rental agency it means that you, someone you have allocated or your decorator will be putting the covers and sashes on the chairs, as well as the removal. Be sure you have conveyed that info to the appropriate person so that time is allocated for that task.
We now also offer a variety of rental chair covers and table linens and more information on this service will be included here soon. Contact us for details.
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Complimentary Photo CDROM
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To celebrate the launch of our new website we are offering a free complimentary Photo CD with every order. Contact us for details!
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