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 Trevor Booth Photography, Windsor, Ontario Making Dollars & Sense of a Wedding Budget
In a report I read recently, it revealed that brides and grooms are very optimistic about their upcoming 2010/11 weddings. While the economy starts to point up again, bridal couples refuse to compromise on their big day, saying its their once in a lifetime dream day and they will figure out how to make it happen- their way- their milestone!
At The Wedding Guide Windsor/Essex County, we realize that there isn’t a bottomless budget with huge amounts of money to be spent , but some items will prove to be immenently more important than others due to their staying power. We’re here to help you make your day occur your way.
Your Photographer- Your Archivist
You want to be able to look back at your wedding day and love the memory-making that your photographer captured. There is no way to go back and redo a wedding once its over, so ensure that you check your photographer’s references and make sure that their portfolio is a handsome one. Also, ask if the photographer you are meeting with will be the one shooting your day. It’s important to have a good rapport personality-wise with your shooter as you will be spending the entire day and night together.
Most photographers today do a combination of photo-journalistic style (candids) as well as some traditional shots. If your idea of pictures is spontaneous, then you won’t want to spend the day standing like statues, being posed. However, do remember to include family group shots for future viewing. It’s important to chronicle the generations that are at your wedding celebration for future posterity.
Your First Trip as a Couple!
Your honeymoon is an important piece of your planning because it is the separation between your single life and your future married days together. Find a place that you can both unwind and decompress after all the months of wedding planning. You want to do things you enjoy together and enjoy this delicious time away. Don’t compromise on your honeymoon- you’ll always remember it vividly and be able to recount together as a couple for your entire life.
And if you’re thinking of last minute travel plans- stop now and reconsider. Friends have done it, despite warnings and found themselves disappointed in sub-standard places that just weren’t suitable for a honeymoon.
Human Wedding Décor!
An artsy, actor friend of mine was recently hired to be a duo in a bride and groom “statue-like” feature at the reception. They held their poses, mannequin-like as decorative pieces in the hall, as well as mingling with the guests. It was a fun addition to the day and unique and fun!
Should you be interested in this type of entertainment- contact us and we can recommend them to you directly. I’m watching this as another new emerging trend as brides and grooms continue to personalize your days and put their signature style on everything about their wedding day.
Until next time
Register and come back often and thanks for dropping in.
Sheryl Davies
Publisher
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WHAT’S BEING SAID ABOUT THE WEDDING GUIDE
FROM THE BRIDES
Your magazine is both informative and resourceful. It gave me all the information needed to plan a stress-free wedding. The magazine has ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of. Thank you.
Mary L.
After reading The Wedding Guide from cover to cover, I found it to be so helpful in planning my wedding. It’s a great resource and I’d recommend it to anyone in the area. It’s full of coupons and articles, both of which I’ve used.
Diane
As a Bride of the Month winner, I thank you for your special gifts and the opportunity to save some money as I planned my wedding.
Sandi
I loved your guide! I booked most of my wedding services and I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable reading.
Karen
I thought I’d take a minute to thank you. I am currently planning my wedding and your publication has been a valuable resource. In fact, I am using The Wedding Guide more than my bridal work book that I purchased for $20.
Tracey
The Wedding Guide was my sanctuary. I couldn’t have been as organized as I was without it. Thank you so much for keeping me balanced and stress-free. I loved my copy and used it for all my services.
Marilyn
Your new website and blog is so informative. I love reading the new materials. You are giving me some grand ideas!
Martha J.
FROM LOCAL WEDDING PROFESSIONALS
I have definitely decided not to participate in wedding shows, and I intend to make The Wedding Guide my primary means of advertising.-Eleanor
Thank you for introducing us to the Wedding Guide. In a few short weeks, we have successfully increased our wedding bookings by at least 60%.-Edith
We want to let you know how happy we are with your guide. We look forward to future issues.-John
Thank you for contacting me and for following up. I would not have wanted to miss the deadline for your fantastic guide.-Pauline.
Sheryl is exceptional at what she does. The Wedding Guide is the best wedding publication in Southern Ontario.-Trevor Booth Photography
I am disappointed that I have changed my business direction and can no longer use your indispensable bridal planner. It helped me grow my business and for that I thank you!-Carol
When I married 20 years ago there was nothing like this guide! I would have had such an easy time planning my wedding with this resource. The local brides are lucky to have it! Susan M.
Dear Sheryl,
I received your new book a few days ago and everyday I plan on emailing you saying “IT IS BEAUTIFUL” and I run out of time and steam! Congratulations, the book is beautiful! Ghada Guarini, Gift Registry Lead Sears
We’ve had great success with your program. Canadian Club Brand Center
FROM OTHER BUSINESS COLLEAGUES
Sheryl Davies and I have been colleagues and friends for over 40 years. Sheryl is one in a million. She is a hard working business professional in every way. She acts with integrity and diligence; rises to any challenge and accomplishes her goals. I admire her tenacity and her sense of humour, particularly. I am honoured to count her among my trusted colleagues and friends. I know you will agree. Mary Jane Russell
Sheryl is an excellent business woman and a very good friend. She has provided encouragement and good guidance for many through her professional endeavors. Her work is always first rate. Bob Reynolds
Sheryl has an amazing grasp of the current trends that she researches and publishes in her Wedding Magazine affair that attracts audiences from both sides of he border and contributes significantly to Windsor’s tourist economy. Bill Kent
I just looked through your most recent Wedding Guide that you sent, and it is awesome! Thanks for mailing me a copy; can’t wait to show it to a couple of my girlfriends that just recently became engaged. You are pretty awesome, woman, in case you didn’t know!- Rita Mendenhall Caruso, January 25/10 via emai“
“Sheryl always gets the job done. Her direct aim at your success, will get you what you want, and need, where you need it, and on time. There is very few people that will tell you the truth like Sheryl. She calls it as she sees it. She’s my number one go to person.” Wendy Paquette, Singer/Lyricist, Wendy Paquette.com September 15, 2009
“Sheryl is the consummate professional and event organizer extraordinaire. Her marketing, communications and PR talents are exemplary and I would highly recommend her services.”Debi Croucher, Executive Director, Windsor International Film Festival (business partner) September 16, 2009
“I would feel comfortable directing anyone to hire Sheryl. She is energetic, tireless in fact, always filled with positive energy and well researched ideas.”Bob Farnsworth (client) August 26, 2009 ob hired you as a Marketing/Printing in 2003 and hired you more than once
Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, High Integrity
One of the biggest decisions a bride and groom have to make before any wedding planning officially begins, is the colour palette for the day. This can be baffling; something that has to be decided on before you can pick the bridesmaids’ dresses, cake, flowers, décor; everything is predicated by this important outcome.
The best way to begin is to pick two dominant complimentary colours and one highlight colour. Other colours can be added to intensify and highlight your dominant colours.
If you have already worked with an image consultant in the past, you will already be aware of which colours compliment your complexion and give you that wonderful glow that makes you look your absolute best.
Starting with a blank canvas, the process will evolves naturally. From the time you were a young girl, you may have imagined a wedding with deep red roses and crisp white linens. Or, did you envision yourself in a setting that was classy and elegant; perhaps a dramatic and always proper, black and white theme as your décor?
With spring and summer weddings, a feeling of calm waters and beach vacations come to mind with soothing Turquoise, a hot colour this season with the connotation of a faraway beach resort. Add an ocean blue and the feel becomes cool, refreshing and filled with energy.
Yellow makes a statement; its always associated with and bathed, in the warmth of summer. It is always a terrific choice, combined with shades of neutral champagne or taupe.
The new red this season is Tomato Purée, and its zippy and fun, paired with a cream infusion of florals and table linen. Touched with silver or gold, it is a rich, inviting look that is warm and inviting.
When picking your colours, think about your home and what colours you wear most often. These are the colours that are in your comfort zone; ones that you can live with in harmony and feel good about.
You may want to spend some time in the paint section of your local hardware store or building centre, where you can mix and match the chips to see what your true colour personality reveals.
Whether you are looking for a traditional look, an out-of-the-box, bold statement, or a modern feel, the palette you choose from will add glorious colour to the look and feel of your wedding day.
Whatever you decide on, your day should highlight all your favourites, from your beautiful dress to your menu to your accessories, and every colour detail in between. When you pick your colour scheme, you will set both the tone and your own distinctive, signature style for your day.
Don’t jump into something that you think you may like; be honest in your colour approach and you will have a look that you will both love and forever remember.
From urban chic, to haute couture there is a combination for you that will inspire the look and feel of your day, and put your own unique, fingerprint on it; guided by what you love.
The Wedding Guide|Windsor & Region helps local brides find and assess the professional wedding vendors in the area, that deliver first-rate service: reception venues, ceremony sites, photographers, beauty, florists, honeymoons, limousine service and more.
We wish you a beautiful day filled with love!
For your complimentary copy of The Wedding Guide, please visit one of the selected bridal salons on our website: www.theweddingguide.ca
Be sure to visit “Planning” at the beginning of our website, where you’ll find printable checklists, a comprehensive timetable, interactive budget calculator that appropriates each wedding service according to the Canadian average, the best bridal phone resource in the area, and, lots more to assist you with all your wedding day preparations.
Y
The years have flown by and during a conversation the other day with my business partner/husband John, we began thinking about the number of Wedding Guides we have published and the number of area brides we have been privileged to share our wedding expertise with. We’ve laid out and proofed guides at the cottage, at the onset of the Gulf War, through our son’s minor illnesses, and during the unexpected loss of my mom, who always cheered me on. In her memory, The Canadian Cancer Society will always be included in our pages.
Holding the franchise for the Ontario region, we are part of a group of over 100 cities throughout the U.S., Great Britain and Australia. The Wedding Guide is the largest bridal planner in North America, marrying a multitude of brides annually in local city areas.
Publishing twice a year, we have been privy to over 30,000 weddings, during the past 17 years; brides and grooms who chose us for their wedding planning. We have gotten to know the best in the industry and recommend them and sing their praises, whenever we can.
Considered to be the wedding experts in this area, covering everything weddings from the “I Will” to the ‘ “I Do”, we have to acknowledge and salute our network of wedding professionals, who are there helping couples achieve their dream weddings. It is our belief that products and services originate from people who have ongoing professional interest in the wedding market and we are blessed with many talented professionals. It is a wonderful feeling to know that we are sharing the most important day of a couple’s life.
A wedding marks the beginning of an important time for a bride and her fiancé, and our publication contains great information and ideas in an extensive resource that addresses every detail of a wedding day. The digest sized format is convenient to carry to appointments and it is a valuable companion, practical and specific to this area.
http://www.theweddingguide.ca contains checklists, timetables, an interactive budget calculator (don’t miss this useful tool), Special Offer coupons and advice, while keeping a bride’s wedding plans organized. (See “Planning Tools” for printable checklists, wedding party duties, vendor deposit forms; everything to keep organized.
With a new website, around the corner, which is 21st century savvy in real time, we are excited to continue to deliver to this community what brides want and need.
Our reach has migrated to the social online networks with pages on Facebook and Twitter. Our new social online ‘widgets” are becoming an emerging bridal trend, as brides personalize their social pages with their very own, customized interactive, hi-res video players. We know relatives and family friends who cannot attend the wedding appreciate being part with these neat items. And, our announcement of WGNN, Wedding Guide News Network eight months ago is coming closer to being a reality for all the brides.
It is our belief that products and services originate from people who have ongoing professional interest in the wedding market and we are blessed with many talented professionals. Each category on our current website will direct you to a sampling of the vendors, with direct links to their respective websites. You will find many more wedding professional, throughout the pages of The Wedding Guide.
Portable in size, The Wedding Guide has been developed to help the bride make the correct choices, and to enjoy their engagement; a time that should be filled with joy, hopes and dreams- not stress. Our professional vendors understand a bride’s needs and are there to help handle the protocol and details and always available with new ideas and services.
To get The Wedding Guide Windsor/Essex County delivered to your inbox, please go to: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheWeddingGuide-Windsor/essex
Remember, “For Perfect Wedding Planning at Your Fingertips”, The Wedding Guide is the resource of choice.
Best wishes with your wedding day planning and for a happy life together. Please feel free to email us with any questions you may have regarding weddings in Windsor/Essex County.
Until later,
Sheryl Davies
Publisher
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 “Here’s to the bride and groom- May their joys be as bright as the morning, and their sorrows but shadows that fade in the sunlight of love.” Anonymous
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Expert advice
Here at The Wedding Guide office, we live, eat and breathe weddings. If you have a specific question about protocol, etiquette or something that may be unclear to you, please go to “Ask the Editor” online for your private one-on-one conversation.
If you have a specific question about protocol, etiquette or something that may be unclear to you, please go to “Ask the Editor” online for your private one-on-one conversation.
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Facebook and The Wedding Guide Windsor/Essex County
As your local web portal for this area, www.theweddingguide.ca, we are constantly adding information to our Facebook site daily. Check in and see what’s new, what’s exciting and what’s cutting edge. These are tips that will make your wedding day go more smoothly.
Social Media Widgets We do these unique and innovative online social app tools for brides. Share with all your friends, family and wedding party, near and far. The cost is reasonable and the widget can be shared on all social media pages with your friends. (Facebook, Twitter and 50 more. For more information, contact us at dmscommunications.info or call us 519-252-8463.
Special Offers Online
Our wedding professionals have provided special money-saving offers to help you with your wedding cash flow. Check our online Special Offers, top right hand side to save money.
Planning Tools from us
Online under Planning, did you know that you can print out checklists, budgets, timetables and duties for your wedding day? Check out our handy organizational tools at www.theweddingguide.ca
Fabric Makes the Difference
Though you may fall in love with a particular style wedding dress, the fabric in which the dress is created can make it truly spectacular. Familiarize yourself with wedding dress fabrics, as certain ones are better suited to different weather and in creating a particular ambiance. For instance, tulle is often used as an overskirt in creating those fairytale gowns you may have dreamed of since you were a little girl. Different types of silks breathe better in the heat of summer while medium to heavy weight types of silks like Dupont or Peau de Soie, work well for dresses to be worn in the winter months. It truly pays to bone up on your fabric knowledge if you are having a custom-made gown of your own design.
Guy Wear
Though tuxedos are the typical choice for menswear for today’s modern weddings, they do come with many more choices than the typical white shirt, black bow tie, cummerbund, jacket, pants and suspenders. In fact, today’s tuxedos and accessories often incorporate more style and colour than the suits worn in past years past. Vests are often used with, or in place of, cummerbunds and come in various colours and fabrics. Bow ties, neck ties and ascots are often coordinated with the fabrics of the best or cummerbund as well. Cuff links and studs are not only functional, but are used as high-fashion accents to enhance the entire look of the tuxedo they are worn with.
Wedding Day Assistance
Maybe you couldn’t afford the services of a wedding consultant to plan your entire wedding. Or maybe you loved planning your own wedding but would prefer to have someone else take charge on your special day, so you can just relax and enjoy yourself. Hire a wedding consultant for the day! Provide clear, detailed notes and instructions for anyone that fills this special role for you. This could be the biggest luxury; or necessity- you give yourself!
Double check the details
Even though you may be a perfectionist, you’ll want to double (and maybe even triple_ check all your wedding day details. The perfect time to double check all the essentials is when you are getting ready to go to print with your invitations. Confirm the day of the week, date, time and location of your ceremony and reception. Go over the guest list to ensure there are enough invitations (including a few extra for addressing mishaps). Verify that you didn’t inadvertently miss putting someone on the list. You would be devastated if they weren’t a part of your wedding day. It’s a great idea to have your groom and someone else from both sides of the family review the list as well. Of course, carefully check the spelling of all the names and locations on your wedding invitation. If you haven’t ordered your invitations yet, check out our list of expert stationers. www.theweddingguide.ca
Keeping everyone happy
It would be great if there were an inside secret that would help make everyone happy on your wedding day, but unfortunately, there is no such thing. Keep in mind, while it is nice to be able to comply with other’s wishes, itis your wedding day. While considering any special needs of your family and friends, remember to be true to your feelings and values. Rest assured that those who love you will honour your choices. Take complaints with a grain of salt; there is always a perfectionist in every group that gathers together. Who knows, it may even be you! Whatever glitches may occur, make sure to relax, take it in stride and most of all, and enjoy your day.
Great new flavours
Though chocolate is still one of the most popular wedding cake flavours, new flavours always seem to make their way into today’s wedding cakes. The emergence of Latin cuisine into today’s mainstream culinary choices has brought the decadent flavours of dulce de leche (“sweet milk”, otherwise known as caramel), and trés leches (three milks- sweetened condensed, evaporated and regular) to super special wedding cakes, plated desserts, and even ice cream. Some popular and often unusual flavours today include: carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, Kahlua white Russian cake, cheesecake with strawberry filling, lemon with lemon curd filling, chocolate truffle, angel food with raspberry filling, banana chocolate chip, mocha cake and hazelnut filling, and even a cannoli cake. Make sure you schedule a tasting before selecting your wedding cake. Check out our article on wedding cakes so you can chose your dream cake and find your dream bakery.
Macarons are the new, hot pastry item and they can be served with sorbet, gelato, ice cream or just plain with a dollop of whipped cream Yummy!
Until next time,
Sheryl Davies
Publisher
The Wedding Guide Windsor/Essex County
Southwestern Ontario’s Official Bridal Magazine, planner & websiteServing brides for 17 years with local, expert advice.
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