Finding the right Wedding Planner

Find the right planner for your wedding. Photo by Alante PhotographyHiring a coordinator is no longer a luxury…but essential for couples planning any type of wedding celebration. While you relish in the moment with each other, your friends and family… your wedding planner is there to handle every detail ensuring you’re day goes wonderfully smooth.  A coordinator can help you negotiate contracts, offer you exclusive discounts and invaluable advice, and help you build that perfect team of vendors that match your style, needs and budget.  Not only do you want a wedding planner who understands your vision and is able to make it a reality, but also one who adapts well with various personality types and can diffuse stressful circumstances that might arise.

So how do you find your dream planner?

Personal referrals are often invaluable.  If a friend or co-worker was recently married, ask them who they used and what they thought about their experience.  Were they happy with their overall experience? Did the coordinator offer sound advice and guidance? Did their rates match their level of services provided? 

Many venues and wedding professionals have a list of preferred vendors. They want to effectively provide their best product or service so they’re going to recommend those planners that are the most flexible and professional to partner with.

Use your local wedding resource guide, wedding shows and bridal magazines to gather your list of potential planners to interview.  Whether you found the planner through a friend, a preferred list, or a magazine, always interview them.  Most coordinators offer a complimentary consultation so you can get to know them, their style, their level of experience and how they can help you. Your coordinator can often act as your confidant, designer, liaison, organizer, scheduler, and so much more so make sure there is a good connection between you. 

Lastly, remember wedding planning can be FUN!  You’re only going to do this once so choose someone that will inspire a fun experience for you!

Finding the Right Wedding Planner was written by guest blogger Jenny Harding – Owner/Coordinator with New Chapter Weddings

Tips for attending a wedding show

With so many big decisions to make, attending a wedding show can sometimes feel overwhelming.  Whether you have a good feel for what you want your wedding to be or have no clue at all, you will surely see something that gets you excited.  There really is no better place to find the inspiration to take your wedding planning to the next level.  Here are a few tips to help make sure you get the most our of attending a wedding show. 

Who should you bring with you?  Think about the important, influential people in your life that will help you make important decisions about vendors:  Do you always ask your mom? Your mother-in-law? Maid-of-honor and bridesmaids?  Your best friend from grade school?  These are the people you’ll want to have with you at the wedding show. If they will be weighing in, let them receive the information when you do and experience the event together.  Plus it’s more fun! 

Ask questions.  You are there to learn and vendors love what they do and cannot wait to share their passion & expertise with you. Photographers, transportation, florists, caterers, DJs, entertainers, wedding planners and bridal boutiques will all be in attendance. Rather than sifting through countless websites, you can meet and see the real work of these outstanding professionals.  This way you can rule out anyone that does not feel right and have a smaller number of people to contact for personal meetings after the event.

Get your hands on a Wedding Resource Guide!  These guides will be your “bridal bible” and can be the ultimate resource to reference after the show is done so you don't have to sort through all those individual pamphlets.  

Dress comfortably & for the weather.  You’ll be walking around and standing talking to vendors for a few hours.  Take into consideration the shows location and possibilities for outdoor portions that call for sunglasses or raincoats.

Bring your checkbook.  Don’t be afraid to put a deposit down for vendors that you fall head over heals, or rain boots for those of us in the Pacific Northwest, with. 

Some of the Seattle's premier wedding shows are Weddings in Woodinvile, The Seattle Wedding Show, One Love Wedding Showcase and Get Hitched, Give Hope.

Should you attend a wedding show?

Weddings in Woodinville, the NW's largest boutique wine tour wedding showYou're engaged, the date is still TBD, now is the best time to attend a wedding show.  You are flexible on the details and are looking for inspiration on every aspect of your day.  Venue availability, seasonal food and coordinating colors will change with each season but at the first of the year, shows are playing up the years wedding colors and themes.  You will leave the show with a better idea of when you want your wedding to be by discussing your options with the vendors you’ve met.

A wedding show is that experience alternative to looking through endless pictures and web sites.   It is your opportunity to walk into a venue that you might be considering, see the decorations of a rental company, taste the food of a caterer and meet the people who can make your dream wedding a reality. 

Wedding shows are also an intimate way to get to know your potential vendors and give you inspiration of what trends & possibilities there are for your special day. 

Besides they are an incredibility entertaining, enjoyable and resourceful way to spend the day! 

Large wedding shows versus boutique-style?  Large wedding shows can be an overload for the senses but also have a palatable buzz of excitement in the air and are a good place to get ideas for just how many options there are out there.  Boutique shows are more intimate and you get the chance to interact with the vendors on a more personal and unrushed time frame.  

Weddings in Woodinville is the largest boutique wedding show in the Pacific Northwest featuring 7  of the top Woodinville Wine Country venues, 100 vendors, and over 20 wines.  Join us on January 27, 2012 for this chauffeured wedding wine tour.  Tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets. 

*This show has sold out every year, so we highly encourage you to purchase your tickets early.

The Pantone color of the year for 2013 is Emerald Green.

"Lively. Radiant. Lush… A color of elegance and beauty that enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony."  The Pantone color of the year for 2013 has been announced.  Welcome to the year of Emerald!  Living here in the “evergreen” state we could not agree more with the definition and praise for this color. 

See how some of our 2013 Weddings in Woodinville Vendors have embraced the color of growth, renewal, prosperity, healing and unity.

Green & black table linens and chair covers by Creative Coverings; parfait by Foodz Catering; bag piper at DeLille Cellars with wedding planner Event Success; peace flowers by Loves Me Flowers; custom champagne bucket by Susabella; bike invitation by Swash Letterpress Printing & Design; moss letters by Covet & Swoon; green channel back chair from Vintage Ambiance; Jameson bottle cake by Lady Yum; green chandelier, table & chair setting by ABC Special Event Rentals; chair flowers by Melanie Benson Floral; succulents in chalkboard box from All The Flutter; green dress by Cicada Bridal.  

How will you use this color to celebrate your wedding?

How much do you cost? It’s a question that’s frequently asked, but tricky to answer.

“How much do you cost?” 

It’s a question that’s frequently asked, but tricky to answer.

With bottom lines on the mind, brides are eager to request on-the-spot quotes for our planning services. Unfortunately, pricing out your unique event is not that cut and dry. Brides – here are a few pointers to keep in mind when “shopping around.”

First, bridal shows like Weddings in Woodinville are not the ideal setting for a quick quote. Instead, these events are created to immerse you in the wedding world and introduce you to excellent vendor sources for products and services. While some vendors – like transportation providers or makeup artists – can give you a direct quote upon meeting, when investing in a wedding planner, capture the contact info of your favorites and follow up with them after the show. It’s this post-show one-on-one time that enables your planner to grow a deeper understanding of your wedding and form a more accurate, personalized quote.

As the foundation for your quote, planners request your day, date, time, guest & wedding party number, ceremony & reception location and your ideal, total budget. Here in the Northwest, Saturdays in June through August are considered prime dates in high demand. Friday and Sunday weddings may incur lower rates, but discounts vary by consultant or may be dependent on other factors. Your ceremony & reception’s location are also hugely significant to the quoting process. For example, a destination wedding on Maui or Washington’s San Juan Islands would require higher vendor and consultant travel costs than a winery wedding in Woodinville. The venue itself may even present challenging working conditions – think: a remote cliff-side ceremony vs. a resort ballroom reception.

Lead time is another element to consider.  Ideally, consultants welcome 10 - 12 months for proper planning. For a wedding with production beginning 3 - 4 months prior, additional man power is often necessary and may drive costs up.  That being said, if the wedding is fully planned and a bride chooses a Week-of Wedding Coordinator to implement and execute plans, consultants will sometimes reduce costs if your chosen date is still available.  

Money bride bouquet by It's Doable.... Crafts, food and life

How Much Do You Cost? was written by our guest blogger, Jacky Grotle of Event Success.  

At Event Success, we offer a range for both Full Planning and Week-of Wedding Coordination pricing, though we still rely on one-on-one time with our brides to determine their unique, precise needs and costs in the process of realizing their dream wedding.