A Great Union!

Hi everyone!

I hope your week was as good as mine. The highlight for me was the grand opening of the Union Eleven studio at 619 Bank Street in the Glebe.



Union Eleven sees the uniting of talents, Andrew Geddes & Derrick Rice. Both men have established themselves as top of their game and are in much demand, both locally and internationally. I have had the pleasure to work with Derrick and Andrew on more than one occasion, and can very easily say that they are as nice as they are gifted!

Here are a few images of their new fabulous space!



Nice eh? And the photographic images highlighted on the walls are even nicer!

Thanks for inviting us all over to share in your big news, Derrick & Rice. I know everyone wishes you much success with this joint effort!

L

Formal photos

Happy Sunday!

I'm on the heals of a fabulous wedding yesterday for Liz & Rory at the Chateau Laurier. Liz and Rory and I worked on the plans for their wedding for a year and had a wonderful time pulling everything together. The photographer for the day was Miv, a well known exceptional photographer here in Ottawa. Can't wait to see the beautiful images that he captured of the day!

In looking back at the day, I am thrilled at how well things flowed. And one of the reasons for that was because Liz & Rory were open to having their formals photos prior to the ceremony rather than afterwards. I know that is a concept not welcome by many engaged couples, but please keep an open mind. Many of us have this romantic notion of his seeing us for the first time walking down the aisle. And, not to say that this is wrong, or shouldn't be honoured. But for those willing to give up that vision in favour or a really relaxed day, I highly recommend it!

Think about this. Your wedding day goes by SO fast! You have guests assembled who have travelled and set aside their plans just to be part of your vows. When you run off for a couple of hours for photos after the ceremony, you miss so much of the time that you could have spent with them. Photos after the ceremony can also put a bit of a crunch on the timing available since you don't want guests cooling their heels in a cocktail hour that is essentially more than an hour. And I don't know of any photographers who would only want an hour to devote to capturing you both, your wedding party and family members.

Yesterday, saw a wonderful intimate reveal where Liz & Rory saw each other for the first time so that "wow" moment wasn't lost. Afterwards, the wedding party joined them for their walk around the downtown core. An hour later, family joined them for their portion, which was perfect as they only had to be ready an hour earlier than they would have if they were going directly to the ceremony. Liz, Rory, and their families enjoyed a relaxed afternoon with Miv. And we even built in an additional half hour prior to the ceremony, during which everyone had a chance to relax before the big show! It worked out just great!

To watch Liz & Rory enjoy the cocktail hour with their friends and family who had waited with much anticipation to see them, just solidified to me the importance of considering this alternate way of doing things. I have been a proponent of "formals prior" for as long as I can remember, but wanted to share with you today just how well it works!

I trust that Liz & Rory are excited as they are in the air on the way to their honeymoon destination. My heart is with them both and the honour of being part of their wedding plans will be with me always!

Happy planning to you all! L

Website

Hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend planned! I get to enjoy the wedding of Brynne & Robert so I'm pretty excited about that!

Just a quick alert to all of you who may have tried to find me on the web. My site is down and has been for a few days now. Hopefully it will be up and running again soon! When it is, I'm at www.weddingsunveiled.ca.

Have a good one! Lynn

In my opinion

Last night I spent a wonderful night with my clients, Danielle & Geoff, and their moms. We were catching up on the plans for their wedding (coming up VERY soon) and reviewing what has been done, and what still needs doing. In the process of reviewing, Danielle says to me "I would never have booked ______ if I had known....". What was she talking about? Danielle was referring to the experience of working with a particular supplier. Now, she's not concerned that the supplier is competent. And she's not worried that this supplier will pull through in the end to create an enjoyable day for her guests. But this supplier has taken something away from the process that Danielle so needed, and that is enjoyment.

In my opinion, those who are successful in the industry are those who recognize that the wedding biz is a unique one. We supply a product within what is probably one of the most emotion-filled environments aside from funerals. And with that, we have to decide whether we are going to play the emotion game or not? Well, I'm sure there are many of you that will differ with me, but I think those of us who really serve our clients well, do.

In my humble opinion, one of the worst experience breakers is nickle and diming our clients. Sure, there are sometimes costs that we have to pass on to our clients. If I'm planning a wedding in the Muskokas, I pretty much have to bill for gas, accommodations, that sort of thing. But in my local dealings, I don't want to have a bunch of add-ons. They spoil the experience for my clients. Include the basics in your fee structure so you don't have to keep saying "and that will be an additional _____". If you're a venue, include the podium, dance floor, HT riser, all the stuff that you know 98% of weddings are going to request. And be a bit flexible people. Add a little buffer to your fees so that you have covered yourself for the odd additional request. Isn't it more pleasant to be able to say to your clients "sure, I'd be happy to" than to have to say "Well I'd like to, but...."? It's all about creating an environment for our clients that is supportive and positive while being able to meet our own financial demands. A fine balance for sure, but it can be attained. In my opinion anyway!

L

Wedding show news

Great way to spend a girl's weekend in the dead of winter? Make a trip to the big TO for Wedluxe's wedding show January 8th. You can be sure that I'll be there! L

One in a million!

Want a wedding that is one in a million? Check out The Twelve Apostles in Capetown, voted one of the Best Places in the World to Stay in the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2011. This property is offering a new One in a Million wedding packages and here are the unforgettable inclusives:

Day 1:
-You are met on arrival at the airport by your personal butler, who will arrange transfer of luggage. You and all your guests will be transported to the hotel by helicopter.
-You will enjoy lunch with your personal wedding co-ordinator to finalize all arrangements.

Your bridal party will enjoy the following:
-In each of the guests room are personalised, embroidered gowns, a silk Madiba shirt, a bottle of champagne, canapés, fresh flowers and a fruit platter
-Mini-bars are stocked with top brands
-Signature spa treatments for you and your guests
-A rehearsal dinner with a Rainbow Nations theme
-Welcome cocktails and canapés with a jazz band
-A South African smorgasbord and seafood barbeque extravaganza, overlooking the ocean with a selection of top local beverages
-Evening entertainment including Cape Minstrel singers, and the hotel’s resident musician

Day 2 (wedding day):
Champagne breakfast for all guests, or breakfast in their rooms
-For the bride and maid of honour: hair, make-up, manicure and pedicure
-For the groom and best man: barber services, a deep tissue muscle massage, mini-manicure and mini-pedicure
-While you and your maid of honour and best man prepare, the remaining guests will be taken on a one-and-a-half hour scenic drive over Chapman’s Peak on Harley Davidson motorbikes or in vintage cars
-An antipasti platter will be provided in each of the rooms to be enjoyed while they are preparing for the big celebration

The wedding (with Bubbles and Bling theme):

-Ceremony hosted in the Fynbos Gardens
-Rain plan of a church in nearby Hout Bay
-Personalised Chinese umbrella for use during the ceremony
-Instrumental trio playing before and after the ceremony
-Hundreds of butterflies
-The hotel’s marriage officer
-Photographers and a videographer
-A rare, protected cheetah, with which you may pose for wedding photographs
-Pre-dinner drinks with canapés in the gardens
-Decoration of the marquee and gardens, as well as your bridal bouquet and boutonnieres
-Lavish seven-course wedding banquet
-Bouchard Finlayson estate’s premier wines
-Champagne for toasts will be served in crystal cut glass with a heart cut Shimansky diamond in each
-A wedding cake will be prepared by the Twelve Apostles’ talented cake designer
-A top live Cape jazz trio will entertain during the meal

Day 3:
-A private picnic breakfast
-A one-hour, scenic helicopter flight for two leaving from the Twelve Apostles and landing at the V&A Waterfront
-A champagne breakfast for guests
-Guests will be transferred to the Waterfront to board their private yacht for a half-day cruise with plated lunch and beverages
-Helicopter flights for all your guests to airport
-You will be flown to and from Bushmans Kloof on a private flight
-A two-night stay in the exclusive Koro Lodge at Bushmans Kloof

This package also includes:

Accommodations for two nights in the Presidential suite and one night accommodation in sea facing suite for groom at Twelve Apostles and two nights in River Side Supreme Suite at Bushmans Kloof

Does this scenario sound like the wedding of your dreams? For you and 8 other guests, it can be just that............for a million! I'd love to see one unfold, wouldn't you?

L

Being pretty is not enough!

Greetings from wedding land everyone!

I was working on some final details for my August weddings today, and with that, dealing with a lot of logistics. It had me thinking, I gotta tell you. We are inundated in social and print media with countless images depicting drop-dead gorgeous weddings. And, face it, most of us want just that! We planners especially! But pretty is not enough. Weddings have to be practical and well organized too(I'm talking logistics here) or else it turns out to be a bit of a pain-of-a-day! So, since I seem to be dealing with logistics every waking minute of my own day, I thought I would share with you some things to ponder during the planning process:

-That 3:00pm ceremony is fabulous because it gives you 2 hours for formal photos before the reception starts. Serious yippee!!! Think of all those pretty pictures you'll have for your album! I, the logistics queen, is picturing your guests hanging out at Tim Horton's in their fancy clothes fighting over the last honey glazed Timbits because they have no where else to go! Do consider doing your formal photos prior to the ceremony. It really isn't that bad!

-Love, love, love the Notre Dame Cathedral! And seriously in love with Temple's Sugar Shack for my reception. And your guests are going to love travelling downtown, then driving an hour to Ferguson's Falls. Then they get to spend the rest of the night sober as a judge because they have to drive all the way to Orleans to get home.

-Develop a very explicit formal photo schedule with your photographer so that your family members know exactly where to meet you and at what time. Otherwise, your mother may be a bit bummed that there is no record of her existence on your wedding day!

-What ya gonna eat on your wedding day? If you think you're going to get through from breakfast till dinner without a good lunch in between, you are probably going to need my full supply of granola bars that are packed in the car! Eat ladies, eat!

-Dollar store. Umbrellas. Need I say more? :)

-You're staying at a hotel the night before with your girlfriends. What fun you're going to have! Well it was fun until you have to check out at 11am and you forgot to have your luggage transferred to your wedding night suite. Pretty wedding gowns don't look so pretty when worn to next day's brunch!

-Emergency phone numbers list for all suppliers. Taxi numbers. Mini emergency kit. Cash. Couple rolls of duct tape and you'll be glad you have them. Duct tape especially!

-Seven ladies for hair and 6 for makeup. Perfect, 10am should be an idea time for the spa appointment in order to get you out by 1pm. That is until you arrive on site and find out that they only planned for two stylists and one makeup artist. Ask the right questions even if they irritate people!

-We've all seen this one. Slide show, no DI cord for sound, wrong cably things to plug into the LCD projector. Slide show is cancelled due to malfunction. Ask your entertainment company for help here. And bring your popcorn for an on site testing earlier in the day of the wedding. You can't be too careful! And you can't have too much butter either!

-First dance. Party, party, dance. Woohoo! Five minutes pass. Cake cutting. Dance, dance, party. Woohoo! Fifteen minutes pass. Cake cutting. Dance, party. Woohoo! Shoe game. People, let em' party for a bit without your trying to amuse and entertain them!

-Booked the most incredible decor anyone has ever seen, with a fancy ceiling thingy and everything. Spent $12,000 on it! Venue tells you that access to decorate begins no sooner than 2 hours prior. Woops!!! No more fancy ceiling thingy!

-And lastly, because I could go on all night!

-Auntie Loo gets up for her reading during the ceremony. Auntie Loo is a bit of a wing nut and forgets her copy. Lynnie has already put one on the podium and has a second in hand. Do you?

Moral of the story. Think and develop pretty! And then spend five times as much energy making sure all the pretty is noticed because everything else went off seamlessly!

That's it, that's all! Nightie night! L