Happy New Year: A New Podcast

Happy New Year!  I can’t believe that it is the first day of the first month in 2019!  Today also marks my 11th year in business.  I started my business in 2008, and I have an overall experience in the wedding Industry of 15 years.  I’ve learned so much over the years planning weddings, and in 2013, re-branding my company to specialize in Multicultural weddings.

Planning cultural weddings for the past 5 years has been truly rewarding.  I’ve learned so much, and gained a lot of experience! I’ve also had my share of challenges, and I would love to share those stories with you.  I decided last year to start my podcast, “Weddings and all things culture”.  The podcast will share my story of how I began in the industry, as well as my top 5 tips that you need to know to create a successful planning process.

Before I get into those tips, I highly recommend hiring a wedding planner.  There are some negative views associated with hiring a wedding planner.  I’ve heard, “Oh, a wedding planner will only help to book my vendors, and I can do that”, or “A wedding planner won’t respect my ideas on what I want for my day”.  Absolutely not true.  A wedding planner’s job is to manage your entire wedding, including your expectations for the day, budget, keeping you on task, and saving you time and money, just to name a few things.  It is important to hire a wedding planner earlier than later to assist you in making informed decisions.

So, here is a snippet of my top 5 tips!  These tips are important when beginning to plan your special day!

1. Budget:  Once a client is booked with me, we sit down and discuss a budget in full detail.  It is important to decide an overall budget.  A cultural couple may need to figure out how many different events she will host, as well as who will pay for what.  Knowing that number will assist your planner in determining what funds to allocate to each category of wedding professionals hired.
2. Guest List:  Creating a guest list will assist couples in determining that overall budget as well.  I encourage my couples to create a spreadsheet and create a worksheet for each guest list.  For example, creating a spreadsheet for (bride’s guests, groom’s guests, bride’s parents guests, and groom’s parents guests).  Viewing everyone’s estimated guests will assist in getting a full idea of the guest count.
3. Wedding Date:  Selecting a wedding date can be tricky with cultural clients.  Cultural couples will select their dates based on an important day in their life, or even the date they met.  Other couples, such as my South Asian couples will have to wait for a priest to provide their wedding date. This can be a bit stressful for some couples who are excited to begin the planning process, but once the date is selected, things will move on fairly quickly.
4. Venue Selection:  Well, I enjoy speaking about venue selections, because it sets the tone for the type of event couples will have.  Most cultural couples will select a ballroom that may hold 300+ guests, and also will have multiple event spaces to accommodate all of their events.  Ballrooms are convenient for couples and their guests that may be traveling from out of the country or even out of state.  However, over the last year, I have seen a shift in venue selections.  More cultural couples are selecting farm homes or barns that create more natural spaces and more flexibility to bring in rentals.  I truly love this shift because it is considered a blank canvas that I, as a Planner and Designer, can present new ideas to my clients.  I encourage my couples to review all options and select a venue that fits their personality and style.
5. Vendor Selection:  Once your venue is selected, we can move on to hiring your top wedding professionals.  Vendor selections are always fun, but there is an order that I follow during the selection process.  This order isn’t written in stone, but it assists my couples in making selections that won’t overwhelm them.   After selecting your venue, I usually recommend Photographer, Videographer, Decorator, Hair & Makeup, then DJ services.  If the Caterer has to be hired outside of the venue, then they will take first priority.  Besides the venue, food and beverage will take up 45-50% of your overall budget, so selecting a caterer earlier than later is important.

Once vendor selections are made, I usually assist my clients with design direction and helping them to make their ideas on their vision come to life.  Logistics, floor plans, timelines, and full coordination with every vendor will create a seamless flow and ensure couples that no detail is missed for their day.  As a Wedding Planner, communication with clients and directing them through the process will help to decrease stress and maintain balance and trust during the planning of their special day.

Want to hear more, listen to our Podcast!

 

 

Cheers,