What do you need to know before hiring a wedding planner?

When I was younger, I was convinced I'd spend $10,000 on a dress, and of course I'd hire a wedding planner. Fast forward 15 years, reality sets in. My dress costs less than $2000, and I don't have a wedding planner.

I still wanted to hire a planner when I first started planning my wedding. I don't have one creative gene in me, but I am particular about what I DON'T like. My problem is that I don't know what I do like!

I started asking for wedding planning quotes over a year in advance. Getting married in a small town has its perks, but it also means there are limited number of vendors per industry. Wedding planning was one of these limited industries. The best, and really, only wedding planner was already booked on my date. So I asked for quotes from planners in Vancouver, gritting my teeth about paying for their travel costs the whole time.

In the end, I opted for a day-of coordinator instead of a full wedding planner. A day-of coordinator is a fraction of the cost of a full planner. She will confirm your vendors, choreograph the rehearsal, handle any last minute emergencies, and basically anything you need on your big day.

A lot of brides try to save a few bucks by having friends or family be the day-of coordinator. However, for us, we want our guests, and family to enjoy our big day. After all, we're spending all this money for a great celebration. The last thing we want is for our guest or family to worry about is if we would like the way they set our table.

By hiring a professional, you can dictate exactly what you want. If you don't like the way something is, all you have to do is ask it to be changed, without having to worry about hurting the other person's feelings.

Here are some things to think about when considering hiring a wedding planner or day-of coordinator:

1. Does your budget allow it?
2. What do you need the planner to do? Many planners offer partial packages where they takeover where you left off. You could also customize packages where the planner only deals with specific aspects of your wedding, such as, caterers, rentals, or decor.
3. Meet with several planners to get a sense of what they can do for you. Do you have a "good" feeling about the company? Go with your gut!
4. How busy are you leading up to the wedding? If you are working 80 hours a week, plus other responsibilities, chances are, you won't have time to actually plan your wedding.
5. How big is your wedding? If your wedding is small, you can probably handle everything yourself. It's a different story if you have 200 guests.
6. What is the minimum you'd be happy with? This is a strange question. But does your budget fit with your vision? Are you happy with a lesser quality to fulfill the quantity?
7. At least hire a day-of coordinator!!! If you take anything away from this post, this is it. Don't ask your family or friends to coordinate for you. It might get tense on the day when something they do doesn't match the vision in your head. Save the stress, spend the money. Just hire the day-of coordinator!!

What are some of your wedding planning tips?

xoxo

~meesh

Engagement pictures are done! FINALLY!

We've been engaged for over a year now, and we JUST got our engagement pictures done. We didn't book Justin from Three Sixty Photography until June last year, and by them he was knee deep in wedding season. We thought about doing our photos during Winter, but we're not really winter people.

It was a beautiful morning when I went out to get my hair and makeup done. My regular hairstylist needs a couple months notice, and we booked our date so late, I had to find a "random". I was debating between Blo or Holt Renfrew Salon. Since the prices were pretty much the same, I decided to go with Holt's. I was not disappointed! By the time I finished hair and makeup, which took about two hours, the skies were beginning to cloud over. By the time we got to our first location, 49th Parallel, it was a MASSIVE downpour. At least we were inside was all I could say. Justin made us feel so comfortable, and he was able to make Chris laugh, which is no easy feat. When we were done at 49th Parallel, it was still pouring rain. But we decided to go on with our second location anyway, Queen Elizabeth Park. I'm so glad we decided to keep going because by the time we arrived, it had stopped raining, and was just slightly overcast, which is the perfect lighting for photographs!

We received about 100 photos to print, and share as we wished. Here are a few of our favourites!

Here are the obligatory "engagement photo" poses for the family.

Do you know what to look for in a photographer? Check out my previous post!

xoxo
~meesh

Invitations - Signed, Sealed and Delivered!

A question I often get asked is how much should we spend on invitations. This is really a personal questions and depends on your budget. My invitations came to about $1.20CDN each. I was also very lucky that my aunt is an amazing artist, and she drew everything on our invitations by hand, and her friend created the digital files for the printer. Our costs probably would have doubled if did not have my aunt and her friend's help.

My friend had her invitations made in Indonesia, and it cost her $0.12 each. That's not a typo. Twelve cents! My bridesmaid's wedding invitations are laser cut, with a photo as the backing, and will cost between $3.00 - $5.00 each.

So my advice: choose a style you love, and get as many quotes as you can. You will most likely find the cheapest prices in Asia. If you have the time, and are not afraid of the potential risks, such as shipping, communication, and quality, then definitely have them done in Asia. If you're doing a small batch, and don't want to take those risks, then do them locally. But always ask around, get as many quotes as you possibly can, and NEGOTIATE!

We received our unassembled invitations from China a little while ago. While looking at the parts of the invitations was VERY daunting, it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be when I was putting everything together. I also realized I am more anal-retentive than I thought I would be.

Our invitations had a backing card, vellum page (with the actual invitation details), map, RSVP, and also an invite to our rehearsal dinner. Since we are having a destination wedding, most of our guests are from out of town, so we thought we might as well invite everyone to our rehearsal dinner.

Step 1. Punch holes in the backing card and the vellum. Luckily the printer also printed marks for where the holes should be. That saved me a LOT of time. It's a good idea to get your printer to do the same for you.

Step. 2 Cut the ribbon to the length you want. I did a test ribbon, and just cut the rest to the same length. Tip: use SHARP scissors, and cut all the ribbon first, instead of one at a time for each invitation. I also decided to dovetail the ribbon. To do that, simply fold the end in half, and cut at an angle. I wasn't too particular about have the exact same angle for each ribbon. It probably would've taken me a lot more time if I was THAT anal.

Step 3. Tie backing card to the vellum with ribbon. This part was pretty quick once you get in the zone. Pay attention about which side of the ribbon is shiny, and also how the knot is tied. I tried to make them all as similar as possible.

Step 4. Tie all the different cards together with raffia. I wanted a more rustic look, so I tied everything together with raffia. I only got one roll of raffia from the craft store, so guests who didn't give me their address in time for the first batch of invites ended up not getting raffia with their package.

Step 5. Here they are, all in their little pearlized envelopes. I also had a rubber stamp made with our names and return address. But because of the type of paper the envelope was made of, the stamp just smudged. So sadly, we didn't use our stamp.

Step 6. Labels. I used clear printer labels. I have terrible hand-writing. So why waste time writing out names and address when I can just print them with a nice font? Efficiency is key!

I assembled about 60 invitations. It took me 5 hours, and I did it on my own. It obviously would have taken less time if I had help. But I wanted everything to look the same, so I opted to do everything on my own.

My question to you, how much did you/will you be spending on your wedding invitations?

xoxo
~meesh

How To Get Married in BC

We are getting married in a church, so luckily, we didn't have to figure out the details of hiring a marriage commissioner. However, if you are not having a religious ceremony, here are some things to consider.

In Canada, you can't get a friend like Joey Tribbiani ordained to marry you.

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You will need to hire a Marriage Commissioner to perform your civil ceremony. Marriage Commissioners have replaced Justice of the Peace in conducting ceremonies. You must book a commissioner as soon as you set your date. There are a limited number of Commissioners in Vancouver, and most of them do multiple weddings in a day, especially in the summer time. There are actually only 321 registered Commissioners in B.C. Fees usually start at $75, but it can vary depending on the commissioner you hire. You can search for registered Marriage Commissioners here.

Once you book your date, and a commissioner, don't forget to apply for your marriage license. You can search for businesses that give out licenses here. A few of the London Drugs in Vancouver are issuers. If you think you can get the license done and out of the way, DON'T! The license is $100, and only valid for 90 days, also the cost is non-refundable.

If you are getting married in a religious ceremony, your Priest/Pastor/Rabbi/Reverend etc will have all the information you need. We are getting married in a Catholic church, and there is a whole bunch of paperwork that needs to be done. We have already met with our parish priest, and also the priest of the parish we are getting married in, also the priest that is actually marrying us (yes, there are 3 priests involved). We are also required by the church to complete a marriage preparation course. This is a seven week course that talks about things that could help you in your marriage. Things such as communication, family planning, and finances. Chris and I also need to request a copy of our Baptismal certificates from the church where we were baptised. After we get the course completion form, the Archdiocese of Vancouver will send our paperwork to the Archdiocese of Nelson to get our wedding approved. It's a little more complicated for us since we are not getting married at our "home" Archdiocese, let alone, our "home" parish. It actually not as daunting as it seems. The church takes care of most things for us.

For more information on how to get married in BC, check out the government's website.

5 things you need to know when hiring a wedding photographer

I thought instead of being narcissistic all the time, I'd post some helpful tips for wedding planning. I've been in the planning process for about a year now. Like most brides-to-be, I spent a lot of time contemplating various details, and also figuring out what questions I need to ask various vendors.

One of the most important vendors you will be working with is your photographer. My way of thinking is that you’re not just paying for some pictures, but you’re buying memories. I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s the truth. You may look back at your shoes and remember how pretty you felt, but you’d probably also remember how uncomfortable they were.

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Here are some things to look for in a photographer:

1. What style are you going for? My fiance and I are casual people. We aren’t super cheesy people who stop and pose for pictures. When we researched photographers, we looked for portfolios that had candid, more journalistic shots. However, being Chinese, I also needed to satisfy my family with some portraits. So we also had to make sure the photographer we chose was comfortable in taking huge family portraits.
2. Cost: This is a biggie. Ask your friends who got married recently and find out how much they spent. You can also check wedding forums and get feedback from other brides if you are the first to bite the bullet. Create a budget and stick to it. As much as I believe in buying your memories, you also don’t want to be broke.
3. Packages: When you request a quote from the photographer, they are going to give you prices on various packages. The packages will include things such as hours of photography, number of photographers, and goodies such as number of retouched photos. When you are comparing prices, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. One package may seem cheaper, but may not include as many deliverables such as albums or printed photos. You need to be sure your overall spend (including prints, and albums) is within your budget.
4. Interview: If you’re in the same city as your photographer, SET UP A MEETING! You need to be sure your personalities fit. This is a great opportunity to ask questions, and also look at a larger portfolio. Most photographers have part of their portfolio on their website, but those online are only the tip of the iceberg. You may not like a photographer’s website, but you like his prices. It doesn’t hurt to set up a meeting. You may be surprised by what you find.
5. Sign the Contract!! If you like what you see, chances are, another bride getting married on the same day will like him too. Once you sign the contract, you can move on and plan other aspects of your wedding! (In my case, I’m contemplating my table settings)

After thinking about all these things, I got a few quotes from photographers from Vancouver, and also in the Okanagan area. I quickly eliminated a lot of them based on cost. As much as I believe that you shouldn't skimp on photography, I also couldn't justify spending half my budget on it. I was so happy to find Justin from Three Sixty Photography. I discovered him at Vancity Bride's blog! Justin has a great portfolio, and great pricing. He really listens to what you're looking for, and will do whatever he can to accommodate. What I like about him is that he's done journalistic style shoots, as well as the formal portraits. Him being Chinese is a plus, since he already knows how to handle the demanding aunties! Haha!

We will be doing our engagement shoot soon. I'll be sure to share some of the pictures once they're available!

I hope these quick tips will help you in finding the perfect photographer for your special day!