Category: Wedding Planning

10–12 Months To Go…
1. Work out your budget and establish your top priorities—where to save/where to splurge. 2. Start browsing bridal blogs and magazines to identify your wedding style and color palette.

Here Comes The Guide was on the scene at San Diego’s Hard Rock Café in March, 2010, for the San Diego Wedding Party, one of our favorite semi-annual bridal fairs.

Wedding budgets may be shrinking these days, but the number of tasks on a wedding to-do list never does. This video showcases one of our Certified By The Guide wedding planners, Amber Events, as she works her wedding magic.

Hosting a booth at a bridal fair isn’t just a good way to take a break from the office; it’s also a chance to meet our Guide Brides (and Grooms!) face to face, answer their burning wedding questions and hand out copies of our current Here Comes The Guide books along with our pretty pink bags.

In the first flush of joy after your engagement, you’ll probably begin browsing magazines and wedding websites…and soon feel buried by a blizzard of checklists and a daunting array of decisions. That’s when you and your fiancé might want to think about hiring a professional wedding planner or wedding coordinator.

Here are some questions to ask when considering a location for your wedding. Make sure to ask them all and get everything in writing in your final contract! Click here to educate yourself.

by Joyce Scardina Becker, CMP, Events of Distinction
Seven hip tips for couples and their wedding professionals, as well as sneak peeks on what lies ahead.

You’d think that working from a budget would be obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people, especially brides and grooms, are unrealistic about what they can afford. Part of the problem is that most people aren’t very experienced with event budgeting and don’t know how to estimate what locations, products and services will ultimately cost.

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview celebrity wedding planner David Tutera at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena. Even though he’s worked on events with such VIPs as Jennifer Lopez and Vice President Al Gore, I was impressed by his enthusiasm for helping non-famous brides have equally stellar weddings.

Make it clear that this is your wedding, yet you also want to make your families’ customs a part of your day. If they’re not 100% happy with your choices, don’t sweat it. The important thing is you tried, and they’ll probably come around once they see the awesome party you’ve put together.

California’s Central Coast, celebrated for its charming wineries and photogenic vineyards, also lures visitors with landmarks like Hearst Castle, and the chance to golf, surf or go horseback riding amidst spectacular natural scenery. If you’re planning a honeymoon or destination wedding in one of the area’s picturesque towns, you might think beyond the winery.

Besides your location, the food and drink for your wedding bash will probably consume the largest portion of your wedding budget. Catering costs are usually presented as “per-person” charges, sometimes abbreviated in wedding brochures as “pp” after the amount. But be aware—the per-person charge often doesn’t include everything: Tax and gratuities (sometimes called “service charge”) might be extra, and there may also be separate per-person charges for the meal, drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and even setup.

I’m inviting 178 guests to my wedding and I want to get a better idea of what the final count will be. Is there any way to estimate how many people won’t attend?—Kim, Apple Valley, California

Floral designers do much more than just supply the bouquet! They help create the look and mood for your wedding ceremony, as well as centerpieces and other table decorations for the reception.

Too often choosing the entertainment is left to the end of your overwhelming “Wedding To Do List”—but it shouldn’t be. Not only does music set the appropriate mood, but a skilled Master or Mistress of Ceremonies will gracefully guide your guests from one spotlight moment to another.

An excerpt.
by Drs. Michelle & Patrick Gannon, Marriage Prep 101
Plan the Planning Process First.This is the most important step in our approach to wedding planning. Unfortunately, this is also the step that most couples forget. Remember this: planning a wedding takes time and effort and, like any challenge, the way you meet the challenge requires planning too. Do this step first before you are drowning in the details.

If you’re wondering why we’re including a brief item about recycling it’s because parties and special events often generate recyclable materials and leftover food that the bride and groom don’t want to take home. Nowadays, you and the caterer can feel good by donating the excess, and recycling plastic bottles, glass, metal and paper. An added benefit is that food donations are tax deductible for either you or the caterer. And if you recycle, the cost for extra garbage containers (bins) can be eliminated or reduced.

Nowadays, if someone gets injured at an event or something is damaged at or near the event site, it’s likely that someone will be sued.
In order to protect themselves and spread the risk among all parties involved, facilities have begun to require additional insurance and/or proof of insurance from service professionals and their clients.

It’s housekeeping time at Here Comes The Guide! We’ve reorganized our website a bit. If you’ve been reading our blog (thank you!), you’ll now find all our newest stuff over in Find Ideas, our online guidebook of wedding ideas, how-to’s, advice and lists of questions to ask prospective locations and vendors.

Timing, choice of wedding stationery and, of course, guest list protocol are all critical steps in your wedding planning. The ever-savvy Vera Wang has some ideas for helping you get organized.

Recently a bride tipped us off that she used an online RSVP form from Wufoo.

There are a lot of wedding plans that can be made well in advance, but some to-do items are better left to the last few months. Case in point: Don’t buy your bridesmaids dresses more than two months before your wedding.

A Guide Bride wanted to incorporate the groom’s Middle Eastern heritage in the invites and place cards, so she recently asked me if I could help her find Arabic wedding stationary. As someone who did the same fruitless search 7 years ago, I suggested an alternative that didn’t involve ordering invitations from an international vendor (will it arrive in time? what’s the currency exchange again?).

Unless you’re marrying a fairytale prince and birds help you get dressed in the morning, you probably already know that planning a wedding comes with its share of stressful situations. But what if a film crew followed your every move as you trudged through the wedding details? What if your wedding planner was a big, burly man named Sandra?

As a wedding planner for umpteen years, I’ve learned that there’s no substitute for doing your homework. Follow these three steps before your wedding photo shoot, and you’ll increase your chances of getting the quality images you dream about.

When hiring a photographer for your wedding, remember that this is a business decision. The event professionals you talk to fully expect you to do your diligence. Besides, if they act offended, they aren’t really professional, right?