When you are contracting for your wedding food and beverages, think about the time of the year you will be hosting your wedding.
With the dog days of summer upon us, it is important to remember that your guests will be thirsty, due to the weather. When it’s very hot, you want to ensure that no one is waiting for a drink- whether alcoholic or non. Be certain that the venue that you are using for your reception is prepared with enough bartenders! Be ready to serve lots of choices from water, to lemonade, ice tea to alcoholic cocktails and have some light finger food on hand too, prior to your reception dinner.
 Trevor Booth Photography, Windsor, Ontario- will travel High heat and humidity can dehydrate both you and your guests quickly. Trays of water during your ceremony and plenty of liquid throughout the reception will help keep everyone comfortable and cool. This measure is extremely important during any high heat advisory days when it could be uncomfortable for anyone with respiratory problems or the elderly.
Remember to offer your vendors and officiant some liquor-free libations too! They will be working hard for you too! Lack of liquid can cause lethargy and confusion and the last thing you want is a supplier who is not at the top of their game, due to the weather.
Leave nothing to the last minute because you will really want and need to unwind and gather your thoughts the day before your wedding.
With all the upcoming summer weddings on the horizon, your rehearsal dinner is the last party before your wedding day. And it is an intimate and family oriented affair; a time to be with the closest people in your life before you speak your wedding vows at the ceremony.
Your rehearsal dinner is the time to introduce your family and close friends that are involved in the wedding, to the each other. Many times your attendants come from other cities and it is the first opportunity everyone has a chance to meet one another before your wedding day.
 Brandon Scott Photography, Windsor, Ontario -will travel Traditionally, this dinner is hosted by the groom’s parents, in a restaurant, hotel, private dining facility, or in their home. Today, fewer and fewer weddings follow are following a traditional pattern so it may be paid for by the bride and groom or any family member who volunteers.
Although a rehearsal dinner following the wedding rehearsal is not a necessity, it is a lovely way to begin your wedding festivities and it’s a great way to relax and unwind.
Invitations should be sent out two to four weeks before the wedding. A simple phone call informing the expected guests of the time, location, and perhaps formality of dress is also appropriate. Invite members of the wedding party as well as their respective spouses or guests.
The parents of young attendants should also be invited. Included your clergy and spouse or officiant and musicians and vocalists (if they attend the rehearsal). The guest list can be expanded to include grandparents, honoured guests, or the immediate families as the groom wishes.
Special instrumental music will make this event even more elegant; consider hiring a pianist, a harpist, or perhaps an entertaining guitar duo. Usually the location you have chosen will be pleased to accommodate space for special music unless your group will be in a main dining room where music is already provided.
Use place cards to ease seating arrangements. Decorate the dining area with flowers and candles. These touches will help everyone to relax and enjoy the party.
The night before your wedding is a great time to calm any wedding jitters and to relax and begin your celebration. Since your guest list will be smaller for this event, you will have more flexibility than you have had with your wedding planning.
Enjoy the evening and make it an early night because you want to be fresh and bright-eyed for your wedding day!
A bridesmaid has a strong supportive role that has to be played during your engagement and wedding experience. Although your Maid of Honour will be there for you, your friends will also be there for your comfort and to listen to your opinions too.
Being chosen to be a bridesmaid is one of the most honorable duties any woman can fulfill for an important girlfriend in her life. The bridesmaids do have responsibilities and, they can really help the couple through this amazing time of their lives. Being there to witness the signing of the marriage license is a tribute to your friendship.
Bridesmaids are there to offer general support to you, the bride; to plan and help with the bridal shower under the direction of the Maid of Honour and to assist the guests at the ceremony and reception. It is, of course understood that they will also offer help to the bride with pre-wedding duties such as addressing invitations, (if requested) and helping to assemble the wedding favours.
Other duties include helping with wedding organization and going with you to choose a wedding gown; attending the rehearsal dinner, helping register for wedding gifts if the groom is not available and being there prior to the wedding festivities. The most important role is to provide moral support and be a good listener to the bride throughout the engagement, since it is a wonderful but challenging time for the bride who is faced with much decision making.
The topic of bridesmaid dresses can get a little difficult. Thankfully, the days of ugly tulle and taffeta gowns are long gone. Today’s dresses are chic, stylish and very 21st century. No longer do you have to recoil at the thought of deciding on that important purchase. Some brides are choosing the colour palette and leaving the style of the dress to her bridesmaids. That way, everyone is comfortable and the bonus is that the dress can be worn again at another time and won’t be delegated to the back of her closet.
Many bridesmaids have asked what are their obligations to pay for things during the pre- wedding and wedding process. Below are the traditional bridesmaid responsibilities to help you prepare for how much the wedding process will be. Again, these are only traditional expenses, as some are covered by the bride and her family if they have the money and wants to chip in:
Bridesmaid Dress
Bridesmaid shoe.
Jewellery to accent the dress
Bridesmaid Hair for the wedding day
Wedding shower gift
The bachelorette party planning (invitations, venue, airfare, food and drink for you)
The bachelorette party supplies and entertainment
Gift for bride and groom on wedding day
If traveling, any and all travel expenses including gas, parking fees, airfare and accommodations
For anyone who has been through a wedding will tell you, those months leading up to the day can be a time of stress as well as happiness. Welcome to the wedding jitters; they are about as common as weddings.Thankfully, there are ways to control pre-aisle anxiety and The Wedding Guide http://www.thebridaltalkltheweddingguide.ca is here to help.
Communicating your feelings is important. You are deciding on all kinds of dreams and decisions and you struggle with each new one. More guests, less of this, a bouquet of that! Because there is so much on your mind, it is important to be open and honest with your feelings. Tell your fiancé or people around you what is bothering you, if and when you are upset. Don’t keep these stressful feelings to yourself because they can transfer to something or someone else. Taking positive action whenever you can, will alleviate the problem. Worrying never solves a problem.
 Photo: Chalet Studio Photography, Windsor, Ontario- will travel If you share responsibilities, you won’t have to do everything yourself. Enroll the loved ones you trust; your family members, your maid of honour or your best man can help you out whenever they are able. Pick your wedding professionals and leave them to do the job you so carefully chose them to do. They devote all or some of their business
Good wedding planning means adhering to a timetable and being conscientious in following its details. It will give you a feeling of security and you won’t be forgetting to look after all those important details.
If you develop a working system and you break down each task into organized steps, you can decide how long it should take and who will do it. It is then necessary to set a completion date and stay on schedule.
Learn to pace yourself from the beginning of the planning stages. You’ll have many major areas to decide on. Don’t try to tackle them all at one time and trust yourself when you are making those important decisions.
If there is one primary task of importance, it is to take care of your health. Eat right and get regular exercise and enough sleep. Pamper yourself when you can with time tested soothers; a hot bubble bath, a back rub, warm milk or a good book.
Schedule facials, manicure, pedicures and time spent with good friends. Keeping “in balance” will provide a calmer you as you during your engagement.
You can and you will keep stress under control if you allow plenty of time to plan your wedding, and then follow through on your schedule in a timely manner. You are living what should be a very exciting time in your life; your engagement and we believe it should be the happiest time of your life.
Our Wedding Guide preferred professionals are wedding wonders! They are dedicated, detail-oriented and committed to your special day. Feel comfortable in using their services and tell them the The Wedding Guide Windsor|Essex County sent you to them!
Photo: Chalet Studio Photography- Windsor, Ontario- will travel
A gathering of wedding professionals in the Canadian market highlighted the similarities with the US market but also shows a slightly more advance train of thought when is comes to understanding today’s bride. The neighbors to the north take a slightly more realistic approach to marketing, taking more time to really understand the bride and what makes her tick.
This week eWedNews visited Windsor, Ontario and spent time with Sheryl Davies . Davies, a 35 year seasoned professional, is the publisher of The Wedding Guide and, as a seasoned wedding industry veteran, has watched the modern day bride evolve over her decades of service. “You have to stay on top of the changes, if you want to remain at the top. Since 1992, we’ve assisted 35,000 brides and helped them plan their wedding by doing the legwork. We don’t just sell advertising space, we sell service and become a resource for the bride,” says Davies.
The event came about as a new way to show partners how they can become part of a marketing package way beyond space reservation in the Wedding Guide’s publication. “It is way beyond that, we need to be where the bride is and today she’s reading magazines, she’s connected online and she’s mobile—in real time planning. If she wakes up with a thought it’s like having an itch. She wants to scratch that itch at that moment. She can pick up her Iphone and make changes to her plans at any given moment,” says Davies.
With honest, traditional values as a solid base, The Wedding Planner has all the fire power of military might embedded in its organization through the latest technology available.
Her partner, John Liedtke, is of the same mindset. “Sheryl and I have both seen the changes take place before our very eyes and have always managed to stay ahead of the curve by thinking ahead. It’s not always easy but it is necessary because if you don’t stay ahead you fall behind,” he feels.
“Keeping the organization ahead means leveraging technology and using it to the fullest advantage; that’s where I come in,” says Stuart Liedtke, John’s brother. Stuart is the Chief Technical Officer and in-house web developer. Stuart was one of the speakers at the event and gave a captivating presentation explaining some of the most up-to-date technology involving Face Book and Social Media software. Stuart’s military background was obvious in his presentation, strategically formatting well-executed and interactive programs that coincide with today’s tech-savvy bride.
As part of the event, Shelly Sharpe contributed an impressive presentation leveraging her 20 year graphic and branding background. Sharpe’s creativity and knowledge is an integral component of the Wedding Guide team. Her presentation exuded professionalism and style that fits well within The Wedding Guide parameters and is consistent with the message being delivered to their local market.
eWedNews found the Canadian market to be similar to the US in many aspect but several key elements shows a slightly different view of what’s important to the brides in Canada. According to current studies by TheWeddingReport.com average national spending on photography in the US is around $1,800 dollars. “We’re three times as much. That’s because we work with a higher taste level with our photographers. We know that they are the best in our market and therefore their clients have the means to afford them. With that kind of audience the rest of our vendors benefit,” according to John Liedtke.
The event was staged at Caesars Windsor Hotel & Casino in Windsor, Ontario. Representing Caesar’s and speaking at the event was Jeremy Tyrell, a seasoned 30-year veteran in the restaurant and hotel business in Canada. Tyrell’s presentation was also consistent with The Wedding Guide’s standards featuring a premium property and setting for weddings. Tyrell’s very comedic presentation executed well, delivering tips and information about selling and closing sales and even touched on Social Networking saying, “I’m following a guy like Paul Pannone that will probably write about his experience at our property; it’s all about doing the right job and getting people to talk about you.” Mr. Tyrell couldn’t be correct in his statement; Caesar’s, Ontario, is a prime location and needs no selling—the facility speaks for itself.
In our commentary we commended The Wedding Guide organization and its affiliates saying this is the way of the future but added the future is now. At this moment in time, The Wedding Guide is being watched as honesty and traditional standards converge to meet the requirements of today’s busy bride. The Wedding Guide is a “bridge to the bride” offering its advertising partners the best of print, digital and promotional media and creating positive experiences for the end consumer.
eWedNews continues our research in all areas of wedding planning and congratulates The Wedding Guide for finding the right balance. We continue our search for other organizations with similar formats and encourage others to follow their lead.
eWedNews
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2011
Posted on 03/24/2011
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