Keep your eyes here for updates later this week for changes happening March 1st, 2014!
Month: February 2014
Where in the world would you choose for your dream destination wedding?
Book your key vendors – without cutting corners!
“Planning ahead allows you more room to get vendors you want for your wedding day.”
I’ve had so many calls lately from people who had contacted me months ago about their wedding… and then call back only to find we have that date already booked. My heart sinks, because some of them I would so LOVE to photograph their wedding. I kindly hand them off to other photographers that I personally recommend – but hate the deep sigh I get from them when I tell them we no longer have their date available.
I encourage anyone having a wedding to book your key vendors ASAP… especially ones that can only do one event at a time. Wedding planner, photographer, videographer, DJ or Band… are mostly limited to one wedding a day – so make those your priority after you have your date & venue set. This is such an amazingly important day and getting the vendors that you love can make a huge difference in how comfortable and carefree you feel on your wedding day. Florists, catering, On-site MUAs, Stylists and cake should be next up – because although they may be able to do more than one wedding in a day, they still have limitations on how many they can do.
The “when to book” each vendor changes from year to year in your most loved wedding magazines (it almost changes as fast as your local weather forecast) and typically their ball park timeline only works if you have multiple choices that you love for each vendor. If you have a specific vendor you want to work with, or an amazing vendor that does limited events to give you the best service and attention then you can throw all those timelines for booking out the window. This is your wedding day – you deserve world-class vendors, and the memories of your wedding day are world-class important.
The DRESS… yes, that beloved dress that you want… can take months to get and even more time to get altered. Many brides don’t realize how much time that can take… so find your dress with enough time – so you’re not cutting it too close to the wedding day!
Another great reason to book ASAP… is it gives you more time for financial planning for your event. Many vendors will work with you on payment plans so that instead of “cutting” your budget and settling, it may allow you to get the vendor you want, the packages you want to make your day over the top amazing.
So get out a pen an paper and start making your priority list for your wedding day – make a wedding top 10. Those top 5 vendors – book as soon as possible, and the the next five as soon as you can after too.
Don’t forget to follow our BLOG to get lots of great tips for your wedding day!
The Wedding Bouncing Board
Oh, yes… it’s exactly what I mean. You scour websites, you have a million questions about your wedding… why? Because for most of you, this is your first wedding.
So what do I really mean by Wedding Bouncing Board? I’ve been in the wedding industry for over 25 years, and personally photographed over 800 weddings. I am grateful to have some of the most amazing contacts in the wedding industry that are located all around the globe. Myself and my invaluable network of vendors that I work with all have opinions… because… well, we have seen A LOT OF WEDDINGS, we have been involved in A LOT OF WEDDINGS, and our opinions and suggestions are based on real world experience.
So lets sum this up and give you the goods. We aren’t here to tell you “don’t do” or “do” anything. What we are here for is to answer your questions in a very experienced way. Go ahead, flowers, timing, planning, DIY, invitations… we will be giving you some of the pros and cons to see what your options and realities really are. Of course all final decisions are up to you, but if you need someone maybe outside your wedding planning box to give you some ideas or helpful hints… this is the place to be!
If your question seems to hit a nerve or something we think needs to be a little more detailed, we will do a separate blog post on it too.
Go ahead… pass this along to your friends. With 25 years of experience and over 800 weddings I’m happy to help any way I can, and if I don’t know the options or answers – I know how to get some from some very influential people in the wedding industry.
COMMENT HERE and tell me what you want to know!
Writing a letter.
The lost art of communication. We text, we tweet, we send the occasional short e-mail. Who here remembers writing a letter? Who remembers receiving a letter by mail? Some will write a short bit in a thank you note… but that’s not what I’m talking about. Who of you have actually written or received a full blown 1 or 2 page letter from a friend? Can you remember when the last time you received one or sent one?
Challenge of February. Write 3 letters to friends and mail them… one full page minimum. Send them in the mail and then let me know how you felt, and then follow up to see if you get any feedback from who you sent it too… and even more so – if you receive a letter back.
Jeanine Thurston 