5 THINGS YOU NEED TO DO BEFORE YOU START WEDDING PLANNING

Before you start planning your wedding there are 5 things you should do before announcing your engagement to the wider public! Too often I see brides getting ahead of themselves and hence left feeling overwhelmed or upset that what they want just isn’t realistic . But if you follow these 5 steps you’ll surely be on the path to success! Just think of me like that pesky lifeguard at the pool…No Running! lol

Compile your guest list

Before you begin dreaming of your wedding plans it’s important to lay down some ground work starting with your guest list as this will help you gauge the size of wedding you will be having and the investment you will likely be making. When considering your guest list it’s important to consult with your parents on whom they believe should be included and if children will be permitted to attend. There is no shame in having an adults only reception.

Establish a budget

Once your guest list is established it’s time to address the elephant in the room, budget and who will be contributing. If your unsure of what is realistic I tend to provide the following statistics.

Catering Costs $120 - $150 per person

Open Bar Costs $80 - $100 per person depending on if you are working with a per-consumption bar where you pay for drinks as they are consumed or if your venue provides a flat fee

Decor Costs can be a huge variable, but for a simple but impactful design you could be looking at a minimum of $100 per person. For a more lavish wedding $250-$400 per person

This does not include vendors such as: Hair & Makeup, Transportation, Cake, Venue Fees, Officiant, Invitations and Photography.

In my experience most beautiful Pinterest worthy weddings with a guest list of 150ppl start at around $60,000 CAD

I also suggest couple have a budget reserve of 5-10k for extras and unforseen costs.

One thing I tell all my clients is that whatever design image your looking at, any dollar figure that pops into your head- should be tripled. Meaning if you see a gorgeous centrepiece and you think it’s worth maybe $50, it’s likely $150.

Discuss your vision for your wedding day

Now that your budget parameters have been set you can now start dreaming big or small. Let the countless hours of pinning begin. Once you believe you have pinned to your heart’s desire, narrow down those pictures to your top 25. This will help you narrow down the most important artistic elements.

Develop your wish list

With all the inspo you need under your belt it’s time to start dabbling into a little bit of research. Take your freshly married friends advice with a grain of salt and blaze your own trail in your quest for finding vendors you think match your vibe. But be careful! Many companies out there may be great at advertising but horrible in client care and execution. Things are always cheap for a reason and you need to ask yourself why!

Consult a wedding planner

Which leads me to the most important and final step. Book a meeting with a planner. It’s not a case of whether you think you need one or not. It’s a given that you will need some sort of assistance leading up to your wedding day without asking your friends and family who most likely have no idea how to properly help or guide you. The four steps I listed above will set you up to perfectly to be able to communicate your overall vision and appropriated investment. This will enable the wedding planner to help guide you in the right direction in terms of how they may be of assistance or help educate you on unrealistic expectations etc. At the very least you should hire a wedding planner for the final months leading up to your wedding day to help you organize all your final details.

Whether your local to Ottawa or Montreal or planning abroad or from abroad in Canada- we can help! Our clients are located all over the world and we would love to help bring your wedding vision to life. You deserve to feel like a guest at your own wedding. So call on us!

xoxo Eliza

D & B THEATRE ST JAMES MONTREAL WEDDING

This past summer we were privileged to have meticulously planned and designed Dana’s exclusive wedding in Montreal’s Old Port at the Theatre St.James’ Imperial Ballroom. The venue was like none I had ever seen before, formally being the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce built in 1907. The St James Theatre has been transformed into one of Montreal’s most prestigious event venues, complete with 70ft walls, marble floors and suspended stained-glass ceiling. My favourite feature includes the former bank vault where we hosted our champagne bar.

Owners Ezio Carosielle & Luisa Sassano have protected this heritage gem, restoring and impeccably maintaining it over the years. Among the St James, Ezio and Luisa also have Theatre Rialto and are currently renovating a gorgeous church- newly minted as the Theatre Cartier due to open sometime in the near future.

My first site visit was in winter of 2017, this gorgeous brunette arrived draped in a beautiful vintage fur coat. #Queen. We toured the property, looked at all possible event spaces, staging areas and chatted logistics on lighting such a large space and designing a proportionate floor plan. During our conversations she point to the balcony on the second floor overlooking the main reception space and said- “And that’s where we are going to do our thank you speech and bouquet toss.” #died #queenx2 #areyoumystwin? Suffice to say this venue was a blank canvas with endless possibilities. In the end we deiced to fill the entire space with only candles. In person it was a scene out of a 1940’s Vogue Magazine and was beautifully captured by Joel & Justyna Photography . To be honest I’m not sure any guests realized there wasn’t a flower in sight as our main objective was to highlight the architecture of the building through the twinkle of the light reflecting through our 100 crystal candelabras.

Logistically the design was challenging in terms of- we flipped the main event space in 45mins. It’s these types of weddings I live for…. and also almost die for lol…. since I typically have multiple mini heart attacks while planning a seamless transition. Only the best vendors can accomplish the tasks I set forth before them and Wedecor came through without skipping a beat. This all goes to show- we can plan, design, decorate etc literally anywhere, no matter the logistics or complexities. So if you’re planning a wedding in another city-if you have the right planning, design and installation team of vendors, anything is possible.

Dana’s wedding day was absolutely perfect. We arrived onsite at 10am to begin set-up for a 4pm ceremony. Our core planning team of 3 were on our toes until 1am while working with over 15 vendors with a total over 120 staff to manage throughout the day. I’d like to personally thank Wedecor, Brera Catering from Montreal, the wonderful tech & event specialist team at Theatre St.James, Joel & Justyna Photography, Reno Video, Makeup Artist Jaquie Pogue, Hair Stylist Tara Kieran and Primetime Entertainment for their commitment in making Dana’s dream come true. Your dedication for perfection does not go unnoticed and I am forever grateful for having worked with such a great team of vendors.

So without further ado, enjoy the collection of images bellow.

xo

Elise

ADULTS ONLY

Toast Events Real Wedding Invite by Lafabere

Sorry but your kids aren't invited.....

In 2016 I started seeing a shift in couples requesting kidless weddings. Now in 2018, it seems like it's not even a question anymore. Quite simply- they should stay home. I know it sounds harsh. But that seems to be the way. In 2018 I'm seeing "black tie only"....

So obviously I get this question a lot. "How do I tell my guests their kids aren't invited to the wedding?".

STEP ONE: SETTING THE STAGE

And I feel like I've kinda mastered this one in a two step process. It all starts with the method of your message. The first way I suggest, is to subconsciously hint in the RSVP by adding a line that says " We have __#__ seats reserved for you".

If you don't think your guests will get the hint- add "adult only reception" in small letters at the bottom of your main reception invitation.

STEP TWO: THE BOLD

Likely after you've used the first two initiatives- there will be no need for any additional conversation. HOWEVER! If the "bold" decide to +1 their kid on your rsvp, you have but no choice to address the issue. 

If this guest is close to you, a personal call is in order. Explain that by having an adult only reception, what your really saying is that you want everyone to have a great evening laughing and dancing while having a few extra drinks without having to leave early because of their kids. What you want to communicate is that your wedding is the perfect excuse to take the night off and truly enjoy it. It's really not about you- it's about them. See how I did that ;) ;) 

If the guest isn't close to you, likely it's an invite by your parents- hence they should be the ones to call on your behalf and preach your message. 

CONCLUSION

I've never had any issues with the two-pronged attack ;) 

I would say that most guests no longer expect to bring their kids for the whole or even part of the wedding. So Don't be shy- what used to be a faux-pas is now the norm. 

x Elise