The Wedding Where We Needed to Find a New Venue Just Six Weeks Before the Wedding Day.
The Ultimate Guide to Wedding Planners: The Job Description Behind the Price Tag
The role of the wedding planner/coordinator is to assist clients in planning their weddding, or certain aspects of it, and bring the couple’s vision to life.
Wedding planners have been around for a long time, and most people automatically think of Jennifer Lopez’s role in the movie The Wedding Planner. We can assure you being a wedding planner is not as luxurious as JLO made it look. Wearing a dress and heels on the day of a clients wedding? The amount of times we’ve had to crawl around on our hands and knees to fix things such as decor, back drops, linens, bride and bridesmaids dresses etc, that would not be appropriate work attire for us.
Now, most venues do come with what’s called a Venue Coordinator, however they may still refer to themselves as a wedding planner or coordinator. They may sound the same, however Venue Coordinators at the end of the day work for the venue, whereas Wedding planners/ coordinators such as us at Perfect Planners, we work for the couple. To read up on the differences between the two more in depth, you can read a past blog post of ours “Wedding Coordinator versus Venue Coordinator“.
Not all couples decide to go with a Wedding Planner/ Coordinator, but we can assure you that EVERY couple who has hired us, did not regret it.
Your wedding day should be filled with laughs, love and loads of memory making. The last thing you should be worrying about is timelines, vendors showing up on time, or any issues that may arise on the wedding day. This is our job, let us do that so you can enjoy your special day.
The specific tasks that each wedding planner does may vary between companies, however the points we will be making are what your wedding planner should do, in our opinion, and what our team is trained to do! We have broken it down based on when the tasks would be done, such as before the wedding which includes all the planning, and then during the wedding day.
Please keep in mind that we tailor our services to each couple, meaning some couples may need/want our help more than others, or in different aspects of the wedding planning and coordinating!
Wedding Planning
The initial one on one meeting with the couple is free of charge, where we pick your brain and see what it is you are looking for and have in mind for your special day. We give you a slight inside scoop to what we think may work and any ideas we have to go with your theme. Once you decide that you’d like to work with us, you sign the contract and our work starts!
Some couples come to us knowing exactly what they want. They have a theme, colours, venue, and decor all planned out in their heads, or on their Pinterest boards! Then there are some couples who have some idea of what they want, however they aren’t sure on venues, or colours, etc. Regardless, we can help! Just by gathering some information from the couple, we can get a general idea of what they are looking for and what we absolutely should stay away from. Another important thing that is discussed is the budget, and the plan we come up with for that.
Your wedding planner should be doing the budget planning with you, and constantly monitoring it to ensure your dream wedding stays within it! With the budget planning we are able to start searching, and suggesting, venues that not only fit the budget but the theme and asthetic of your wedding. Once the couple has selected a few venues, we will arrange site visits for all of us to go and check it out in person together. We also do this with any potential vendors you may need such as DJ, Decor, Florals, Catering, etc. We outsource the vendors, negotiate vendor contracts, and keep in constant communication with any and all vendors that have to do with the wedding day. We find this to be absolutely crutial in ensuring the wedding day goes perfectly!
Once we have the vendors all secured, we reach out to them all to get an idea of what they need on the day of. For example, how much time they need to set up in order to be ready ontime for when they are needed. By reachig out to them to get times, and ideas, we are able to build the ultimate timeline of the wedding day. Not to toot our own horns or anything, but when we build a detailed timeline, we BUILD a detailed timeline. It includes everything you can think of and it’s one of the things our clietns absolutely love. When the rough draft is complete, we send it off to all of the vendors again, this allows us to make sure everyone is on the same page and if there are any scheduling conflicts we are able to fix them. We wait to get the approval from all vendors before finalizing the timeline, and then it goes out again for everyone to have for the day of.
At Perfect Planners we find it cruitial to building meaningful relationships with the vendors we work with at each and every wedding!
Photo: As It Happens Photography Inc.
Another very important part of our task before the wedding day is the rehearsal! Regardless if you have an officiant that attends the rehearsal or not, we are always there as we feel this is another critical aspect to making sure the wedding day is a success! We ensure each person knows exactly what is expected of them on the day of, where they should stand, when they should walk, etc!
the wedding day
You may assume that the “hard work” of planning is done, and we can just sit back and watch the day unfold, however that is certainly not the case. The day of, the couple has our full attention, we typically are the first to arrive and always the last to leave, and hardly sit down! The day of is when we need to be in top shape to catch any problems that could potentially arise and solve them before anyone notices, that includes the couple.
If you are curious to hear some stories of problems that have arose in past weddings, check out our “Things That Go Wrong” blog post!
The day of for us is constantly checking the timeline, making sure the other vendors are arriving as they should be. If there are deliveries to be made, like the cake or any rentals, we are the day-of contact so the couple can focus on getting ready and enjoying the day. We are the ones that keep everyone on track and on time, that being said some things are out of our control, however with our problem solving skills we almost always able to get everyone back on schedule!
While the couple gets ready, we are at the venue setting everything up, and making sure other vendors that are setting up and doing it how the couple wanted it done. For the ceremony, this could mean aisle decor, alter decorations, candles, special seating signs, and that the signing pen is at the signing table. At the reception site, we go around and check the tables, and number of seats at each, making sure the venue has the correct number of guests. Another important thing we check for with the table settings is any special equipment that may be needed. For example, highchairs, booster seats, or a place with no chair to accommodate a guest in a wheelchair. From there we will set out the placecards, favours, table numbers, stationary, signs, centrepieces, etc.
Once everything is set up and show time approaches we are there to make sure everyone arrives to the venue on time, if they are not already there. We ensure the guests are seated, the DJ or musicians are cued, and those walking down the aisle are doing so at the right pace and are evenly spaced out for optimal photo capturing! We assist the photographer with the post-ceremony photo session, ensuring you get photos with all the family members and friends that you want a photo with. We keep you hydrated and fed, making sure the venue brings you a special platter of the cocktail hour food to keep your energy up.
When it comes time for the reception, they usually start with grand entrances. During this time we coordinate with the venue and DJ to get things started and ensuring the correct names are being called and the specific songs are being played. Throughout dinner service we are constantly keeping an eye on the tables making sure guests are happy and being served. In most cases, while everyone is eating we have speeches spread out through the service, we like to go around and give those doing speeches a heads up before it is their time to get called up so they can have 10-15 minutes to prepare, go to the washroom etc. Our goal throughout the rest of the night is to keep things on track, in control and on schedule!
Earlier we mentioned that our team is the last to leave. A lot of wedding planners and coordinators don’t do this, however we find it important to ensure everything goes perfectly, right to the very end. We also like to stick around to the very end to make sure the couples ride at the end of the night shows up. We have had it before where the limo service doesn’t show up for the bride and groom at the end of the night. In one particular case we were able to get ahold of another preferred vendor of ours and have them come last minute to take our couple home.
Before the couple leaves we help them gather all of their belongings and make sure that nothing is left behind! In some cases, we will actually pack most of the wedding items into our vehicles, and meet up with the couple or members of the family a few days after the wedding.
We can only touch on some of the tasks that we take care of for our clients, the list is honestly endless because anything that pops up, we take care of. Our sole purpose is to not only help plan and put together the wedding of your dreams, but execute it and ensure any problems that arise get sorted immediately. All of our clients get treated like family, we work as hard to ensure your day is perfect as we would for our closest family and friends, and we feel any wedding planner in the industry should do the same! As we mentioned earlier, there is no one size fits all when it comes to wedding planning and coordinating. What one couple needs and wants will be different from the others, so we really do tailor our services to each and every couple that we meet.
How to Prepare for Your Wedding Day; Our Top 10 Tips.
Things to Consider When it Comes to DIY Wedding Decor
One of the most common searched questions in google, in terms of weddings, relates to the pricing of a wedding, and how one can save. Most couples turn to some do it yourself items or buy second-hand to try to not rack up such a high bill by renting or buying brand new.
Between buying used items from Facebook buy and Sell groups, bridal swap events, or making your own items, you could save quite a bit of money! There is nothing more special than homemade, one of a kind items, that fit your vision and theme perfectly. Although this can be a great idea for some couples, not all will have success with it, and there are some things you will need to consider.
Photo by Carrie J Photography
Photo by Carrie J Photography
Creativity:
Creating your own decor can give your wedding a special personal touch. However, not everyone is crafty and you run the risk of purchasing all the supplies you may need and then being disappointed with how it turns out. You just have to think about the quality of the items you are able to make vs. what you could have from a decor company, will you be happy with how your work turns out?
Another thing to think about is your time, as making all these different aspects for your wedding can be very time consuming. If you work full time, your evenings and weekends will now be consumed with making stuff for your wedding, leaving you with little time for rest or relaxation.
Setting up:
The more items you supply, the more you have to bring to the venue the day of. Some venues allow access the day before which means you would be able to drop it all off ahead of time, but that is not the case for most venues. This means with all the getting ready and organized the morning of, you will also need to assign people to deliver and set up all the items you are providing. Items could include vases, slabs of wood, candles, backdrops, floral arrangements, pillars, favours, card box, etc. Depending on the amount of items, you really have to consider if you have enough manpower to get it to the venue, AND have them set it all up the way you want it to be.
Tear down:
At the end of the night, is another thing that needs to be considered. Will you have the same set of hands helping at the end of the wedding? Packing up all of your DIY and personal items, and loading it up into vehicles to be taken home that night. Most venues do not allow you to leave ANYTHING there overnight, as soon as the evening ends, everything needs to go home with you. If you can’t guarantee you will have enough sober hands to help at the end of the night, this can cause some headaches for you when all you want to do is go home and get some sleep after the busy day!
** In terms of set up and tear down, most wedding coordinators and decor companies do offer a setup and teardown service, so please keep that in mind! If you do hire someone to set everything up, you just need to make sure you are making a detailed map and instructions on how and where you want the items placed. **
Things to Think About When Deciding on a Destination Wedding
2020 was tough on everyone, and once travel is open again, we feel the desire for a destination wedding will be that much more! Why wouldn’t you want to get married and have a vacation at the same time?
There are many pros to having a tropical destination wedding, and depending on what is important to you, there may be a few cons. We are here to help dive right on in to help you make the decision as to if a destination wedding is for you!
First and foremost getting married on a beach is very romantic especially if you say your vows at sunset. What a special way to get married, on the beach and during sunset? Not many people can say they’ve done that! Not only is the scenery spectacular for your wedding photos, but you’re almost always guaranteed perfect sunny weather.
Many resorts in the Caribbean offer wedding packages which include a wedding planner who takes care of everything for you, from the food, cake, decor, arranging the officiant, flowers, photographer, hair and make-up stylist etc. All you really need to do is bring your wedding attire and show up.
Some resorts have special tools that allow you to customize your wedding items. On the Sandals Resorts website for example, all you have to do is click on design your wedding- then choose your location, colour palette, and specific wedding items. Once you save and share your custom wedding, you will finalize it all with the wedding planner. Sandals does also offer you a choice between six pre-designed wedding theme packages at affordable prices, sometimes they are even offered for free. The more inclusions your package has, the higher the price. You can do most of your research online or you can go to a travel agent who can help you choose the perfect destination for your wedding.
Another bonus to having your wedding in the Caribbean is that by combining your wedding and honeymoon together, it saves you a lot of money. Destination weddings are becoming more and more popular because of this, but also because there is little stress involved.
How relaxing does it sound for the wedding attire to be able to include things like flip flops, light-flowy dresses, or dressy shorts with shirt sleeves rolled up? Not only is a beach wedding romantic and carefree for you, but for your guests also. They get to relax and get a mini vacation out of it, they can unwind and have so much fun with you two- the newly weds.
Some of the negatives to having a destination wedding is that not everyone in your family or circle of friends may be able to afford to attend. If a big wedding is important to you, this may be a con for you, as the guest list may be small and you may have to accept that some of your loved ones will not be there. One way to help get the best of both worlds would be to have the smaller destination wedding, and then once you are home, do a big reception with everyone. This way, those who couldn’t afford to travel or couldn’t due to any health related issues, still get to celebrate with you and take part in this special chapter of your lives.
Another thing about destination weddings is that you can’t expect to receive wedding gifts from the guests that do attend, because they have already had to pay out all this money to attend the wedding itself. Now, if the gifts don’t matter too much to you and you are just happy with being able to share this experience with them, then this wouldn't be a con for you.
Whatever you decide to do, just remember that it’s your wedding and you can choose to have it wherever and however you want. The only time we feel it be necessary to allow someone else’s input, is if they are paying for it.
Things to Consider if You’re Thinking of Having a Wedding During the Holiday Season in Canada.
In the wedding industry, the winter months are often referred to as “off-season”. However, that doesn’t mean weddings don’t happen, in fact weddings over the holiday and winter months are becoming more and more popular!
That being said, there are some things to consider when you are trying to decide if a winter wedding is for you. Instead of breaking the points up by pros and cons we’ve decided just to lay it all out. What may be a viewed as a pro to one couple, could be seen as a con to others, since it really all comes down to personal preference!
Photography:
You may think that photography in the winter would be unfavourable when compared to a warm and sunny summer day. However, if you can brave the cold, the photos you end up with will be incredible. Whether snow is falling from the sky, or it’s covered the ground you are walking on, snow makes for a beautiful prop and background. Not only is it beautiful, but makes it so romantic too.
Another thing to consider when it comes to photography this time of year is how early the sun sets and gets dark out. This might mean that the sun is setting when you are in a busy part of your wedding day timeline, and makes it unable for you to go out and get those sunset photos. That being said you can always sneak out later in the evening for latenight shots in the dark and snow, if there is any. Those photos would be a totally different look to sunset shots, but equally as stunning in our opinion!
Expenses:
As we mentioned previously, the winter and holiday months are typically known as “off season” which can definitely work in your favour. When it comes to securing a venue, and potentially even some vendors, most offer discounted pricing when it comes to this time of year as they usually aren’t as busy. This means if you have your heart set on a venue, but the peak wedding season months are quite pricy, if you don’t mind changing the season you can have your wedding at that same place but for quite a bit less! Now, keep in mind that each venue is different, so how much of a difference in price will vary. By reaching out to the venue or your wedding planner, they will be able to help you with getting the pricing for each season.
Speaking of expences, this time of year tends to be qiute expensive for everyone, with gift-giving, travelling, dinners, and everything else that comes with the holidays, it can add up quickly. You just need to keep this in mind when it comes to your guests, and that they may not be able to spoil you as much as they would like too.
Decor & florals:
During the winter months most if not all venues decorate for the holiday season. Decorations including Christmas trees, garlands, lights, candles, some may even have their fireplaces dressed up and lit. This can be a huge benefit when it comes to decorations for your wedding day. As long as the specific decor matches the look you are after, you can save big time in not having to provide your own decor, or at the very least you won’t need as much! In terms of florals, keep in mind that not all flower types are available year-round, so if you have your heart set on certain flowers you may not be able to get them if they aren’t in season, or you may be paying a big premium to get them provided that is even an option.
Guests:
This time of year can be tricky! Most people do have time off from work to spend with their families, especially while children are on their winter break from school. However, for most people between dinner parties, family gatherings, community events, work Christmas parties and more, this time of year can be so hectic and leave their calendars packed. Our advice? Make sure you give your family and friends as much notice as possible so they can be sure to attend your special day, and plan the other holiday festivites around it.
Date Availability:
Speaking of giving your guests ample notice to your wedding, you may want to also book the venue well in advanced too. Yes, it may be “off season” in the world of wedings, but this is the time of year that people rent out different venues for their Christmas parties or other holiday festivities. Venues may not be busy with weddings, but availability may fill up fast for the Christmas parties and events, so you will want to make sure you plan ahead to secure a date!
Weather:
As mentioned earlier, the snow can make for a stunning and romantic backdrop to your special day. That being said the weather can be so unpredictable, causing snow storms, ice storms and power outages, which can cause major travel issues for guests. It is impossible to predict the weather so the night before or even the day of, you may end up with guests that aren’t able to attend because they are unable to travel, or they feel unsafe in doing so. It is Canada after all, and our weather can be so unpredictable!
We aren’t trying to push anyone in one direction over the next, as weddings are all about personal choice and style! Just keep these points in mind if you are trying to decide between having a wedding during the summer months or winter. Again, there is no right or wrong way to do things, a wedding is about the two of you and your love, make it exactly how you two want it to be!
Perfect Planners is an award winning wedding planning team located in Oakville, Ontario. We plan and coordinate weddings in Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, Niagara, Vaughan and beyond. Please contact us for a custom quote or link the button below to book a free 15 mins discovery call to discuss your wedding.
Breanne and Dennis’ Outdoor, Lakeside Wedding
January 2019, at the Burlington Bridal Show, we got the chance to meet Breanne. Upon meeting her she had joked with wanting us to organize everything to do with her wedding. We chatted for a little bit and she carried on through the rest of the show.
The next time we heard from Breanne was in August when she asked to meet with us. Chatting with them, Breanne mentioned that since we had first met she had a wedding folder, and the only thing that was in it was a Perfect Planners business card! That is the extent of their planning in 8 months. They decided they really needed help with planning the whole wedding, otherwise it wouldn’t happen!
Breanne and Dennis, her fiance, knew they wanted an outdoor wedding in the backyard of her parents house in the Kawartha’s. Along with the beautiful location by the lake they knew they wanted live music, BBQ style catering and a weekend of fun including inflatables for on the lake! This is exactly what their wedding consisted of.
It was a very hot, late August weekend. The festivities started on the Friday with fun in the sun, on the lake and on the inflatable obstacle courses. A great way for the soon-to-be husband and wife to celebrate beforehand with their family.
On Friday evening, nearly everyone had arrived and we all gathered for the rehearsal and after that we ate home cooked pasta by the bride & groom. We deliberately set up the tables differently to how they would be on the wedding day, so that it would be a surprise to everyone.
The morning of the big day consisted of more lake fun, relaxing, swimming and boat rides. Lunch was served, games were played and then it was time to get ready for the couple and our team to set up. Sounds like an incredible way to get over any last minute nerves doesn’t it?
The set up for us included balancing in the “Rock Garden” to place our LED pillar candles. Here’s a photo of Vicky nearly dropping a candle. It was fun!
When we were ready for the ceremony, we got everyone together. It’s always a challenge when you have little kids involved in the ceremony, especially when Grandad (Breanne’s dad) tells all the kids that there is a frog in the rock garden when you are trying to get them to walk down the aisle! Hee hee!
The kids did a great job with bubble guns rather than flowers. They lined up by a tree before the chairs and sprayed Breanne with bubbles as she walked through.
The ceremony was beyond stunning, taking place on the dock overlooking the water. We were concerned that we were so close to water, so we put down coloured tape for the wedding party to put their right foot over to ensure they were in the correct position. The ceremony was very simple, just as they wanted. Ashley Vittoe was an engaging officiant and had got to know the couple and did a wonderful job of making the ceremony just how Breanne & Dennis wanted.
After the ceremony, cocktail hour was held on the grass by the bar and buffet table and the Christian James Band played background music.
With the weather cooperating, there was no need for a tent. The reception was held within the trees, under stunning string lights that were hung within the branches. There were big harvest tables, and gold cutlery, really pulling together this beautiful, elegant but simple look. The light pink water glasses were our favourite addition to the set up.
The evening started with the cutting of the amazing cake from Lil Chick Cupcakes which had a custom topper of a monkey holding a cupcake. Breanne has a tattoo of a monkey on her hand and Dennis has a cupcake on his. We loved this unique touch.
Afterwards it was time to eat! We had a buffet dinner of delicious smoked beef brisket, smoked pork baby back ribs, BBQ chicken thighs, corn on the cob, roasted potatoes and cornbread! It was heavenly. This was provided by Gary from The Garage Guy.
For dessert we served the wedding cake. Guests had the choice between two flavours, raspberry cheesecake or chocolate and salted caramel. OMG it was divine.
There was speeches from Breanne’s parents, her Brother and then Sister. After dessert Dennis’ dad did a toast, Dennis’ Mom and Brother also made a speech.
It was then time for the first dance to the music of I Do by Aloe Blacc. We love that this is such a unique first dance song. It was so romantic watching them dance under the lights.
After the first dance, the fun began with the band playing well into the night. The smores station and blankets by the fire was a lovely added touch to the evening.
Vendors
Photography : SC photography
Band : Christian James Band
Catering : The Garage Guy
Officiant : Ashley Vititoe
Rentals : Perfect Party Event Rentals
Cake : Lil Chick Cupcakes
Lake Rentals : Cottage Toys
Florals & Planning : Perfect Planners
Perfect Planners is an award winning wedding planning team located in Oakville, Ontario. We plan and coordinate weddings in Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, Niagara, Vaughan and beyond. Please contact us for a custom quote or link the button below to book a free 15 mins discovery call to discuss your wedding.
570 Guest, Drive-Through Wedding at Pearson Convention Centre
Malaika and Faraz were set to get married in August 2020 with a multi-event celebration and 1000 people! However, this year had other plans and couples have had to adapt. What 2020 did not stop, was these two from celebrating their love.
The new date was set, the guests were sent special video-invites and we were ready. As most of their family lives in the United States and England, there was a live stream set up so they could attend virtually.
July 4th, 2020 at Pearson Convention Centre, Malaika and Faraz had the first drive-thru wedding! You may be thinking to yourself… a drive-by wedding? What about the party, the food, or getting to talk with the couple? We know that every wedding consists of certain aspects such as music, food, dancing, photos, and sweets. Malaika and Faraz, although having had a drive-through wedding, didn't have to sacrifice any of those!
The day started off with the couple meeting up at the Scarborough Bluffs for some beautiful photos. This was the first time in 2 weeks that they had seen each other! You can feel the love and magic pouring out of these photos!
While the bride and groom enjoyed their time together, the parking lot of the Pearson Convention Centre was being transformed! Along the front of the convention centre were five different stations set up for cars, full of guests, to stop at as they arrived.
Station one was a loot bag station, little baggies filled with some sweet treats for the children in the vehicles to help keep them entertained!
Station two consisted of a beautiful box of desserts, one per car, for the adults to snack on.
Station three was set up with a long red carpet, sanitizing station, beautiful decor and 3 stages. Two stages were set up along either side of the red carpet, one stage for Malaika’s family and the other for Faraz’s family. On the main stage, placed at the end of the red carpet, sat Malaika and Faraz ready to take a socially distanced photo with the guests, one car at a time.
Station four the guests were handed dinner in a box by the lovely catering staff.
Station five sat an icecream truck, ending the celebrations on a sweet note!
As the cars waited patiently for their turn at each station there was a DJ, MC by DJ Sunny Sharma and a live flute playing from Flute Hypnosia keeping the music going and the guests entertained!
A total of 570 people came through each station that evening, starting at 7pm and finishing at midnight. There was even some celebrities that were in attendance! The Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, as well as Premier Doug Ford, stopped by to pass on their well wishes to the couple and to take socially distanced photos! A news crew had also shown up to interview the couple before the party got started.
The celebration was a success, the music was lovely and everything looked incredible.
Many couples have been forced to cancel or postpone their weddings this year, however as we have seen with Malaika and Faraz there are ways to get creative and still celebrate!
Remember through these hard times and the ever changing status of this pandemic, that LOVE is not cancelled.
Checkout the coverage on CityTV news
Our Vendor Partners
Venue : Pearson Convention Centre
Photo/Video : 4K Production Studio
Flute : Flute hypnosia
DJ : Sunny Sharma
Food : Capitol Banquet Hall
Decor : Elegant Wedding Decor
Planning : Perfect Planners
Perfect Planners is an award winning wedding planning team located in Oakville, Ontario. We plan and coordinate weddings in Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, Niagara, Vaughan and beyond. Please contact us for a custom quote or link the button below to book a free 15 mins discovery call to discuss your wedding.
Things That Go Wrong
In the 8 years Perfect Planners has been in business we have saved the day many, many, many times.
Once, one of our brides had a very fitted dress and as she entered the room, we noticed that her dress had split right on the butt! They did their grand entrance and straight into their first dance with her new husband’s hand covering the split. Once everyone sat down, we escaped upstairs where we proceeded to sew up the dress.
While on the topic of sewing up dresses, we have had to sew up more than just the brides dress! While the bride and her bridesmaids were getting ready, one of the girls was struggling to get into her dress. It was a little snug around her bust. With a needle and clear fishing wire, we were able to sew the bridesmaid into her dress so she could walk down the aisle.
This cake here is made by Nadia and Co. This stunning cake looked amazing the whole night and tasted even better! Not all cakes however make it to the venues like this one did. We have had some weddings where the cake gets into an accident, had to be remade and ended up 3 hours late. Cakes have melted and on the verge of falling over. Our duty at that point is to notice the issue and move things around in the timeline accordingly. For the cake being late, cake cutting was moved to a later time in the night. The cake melting, we simply got the bride and groom’s attention to cut the cake ASAP, before it ended up on the floor!
Picture this: Wedding date is coming up with just 6 short weeks left. Everything from the venue, to all the other vendors that make up a wedding, booked and ready to go. At that 6 week mark we get a call that the venue can no longer proceed with the event (private location mixed with family drama). We had 6 weeks left to find a whole new venue and make sure that all the vendors we were committed to working with could move as well! The Perfect Planners team tirelessly called venues to check availability, before passing a list off to our clients for them to check out. One of them was a major score with the couple, within 24 hours they were doing a site visit and it was a done deal! The wedding date remained the same, and it was a beautiful wedding day at the new venue!
Weddings are a time for celebration; however, some parties get a little too out of hand! One wedding we noticed the bridal party had disappeared, and upon searching they were found in the bridal suite. They were having a party of their own upstairs in the suite, one that could have cost the couple their security deposit. Once we got them out of there and had them return to the party downstairs, the room got cleaned up quickly, diffusing the situation before it became a big problem.
One wedding, at the end of the night the shuttle that was to make trips to the hotel from the venue did not show up. The first time it was supposed to show up was 10:30pm, our Perfect Planners team immediately got on the phone with the company and because it had only been a few minutes late they brushed them off and said it could be traffic. At 10:45pm, we arranged Ubers for the guests that were ready to leave, while on hold with the company yet again looking for some answers. Now at 11pm, the company still unable to find out where the driver was or get ahold of him, had also let us know that they can’t guarantee the driver would show up for the other times either. We called one of our trusty friends and preferred vendors, Shawn from Destination Chauffeurs, to see if he could come run shuttles. Though extremely last minute he agreed without hesitation. Between Shawn and our team, the night was saved!
The morning of the big day while the groom and his groomsmen were getting ready, they noticed pieces of the suit were missing. The groom called our team to let us know what was going on. They confirmed with the groom that the suit bags hadn’t been opened since they left the store. We got on the phone with the suit company and advocated for the couple, explaining the store did not provide them with what they paid for. After some time on the phone, our team had an employee from the store driving the missing items directly to the groom!
Couples will work on their seating chart, putting guests in certain places, and then forward it to us but what if you were given a seating plan and then about 50 uninvited guests show up looking for their seats? This is something that happened at one of our weddings! Our team had the seating chart handy to help seat the guests easily. However, when they started getting a lot of people whose names were not on the chart, they realized something was up. They quickly tracked down some extra tables that the venue had, found some chairs and made room for all the new tables needed. Talk about thinking quick on your feet!
Speaking of seating charts, we had a wedding where the couple had all of their stationary made. It looked terrific, however there was one problem. While our team was setting everything up the morning of, they realized that the seating chart they had made for them was made on poster paper. This caused quite an isssue when trying to get it to stand up on the easel. One of our team members had poster board in her vehicle, that combined with the stock in our emergency kits we were able to fasten the seating chart paper to the sturdy board. The seating chart looked great and stayed in place on the easel all night long.
Old buildings make for cool wedding venues! HOWEVER, one thing that is often overlooked with these buildings is the electrical. This bride really wanted an LED dancefloor for the night, however once the DJ, dancefloor, and other décor lights plugged in, fuses popped, and the dancefloor would not work. Our team tried to assist the dancefloor company to see what exactly it was they needed in order to make this work. Unfortunately, they hadn’t had a clue as to how to go about fixing this, so we had to get brainstorming. One of our team had a contact with a generator company, and someone to transport it to the venue. After a couple phone calls, the generator was on the way to the venue to be installed so the LED dancefloor could have its own power source.
Sometimes our health doesn’t always cooperate with our plans or schedule, and that’s exactly what this one couple of ours had run into. Just two months before the wedding the groom was in the hospital with an aneurism. At the time the family was unsure how and if the wedding was even going to be able to happen. We were there to take over all the final details so the couple and their family could focus on getting him healthy and recover. We were there not only to deal with the wedding side of things but also for emotional support for the family. We are happy to share that the groom made an incredible recovery and the wedding went perfectly!
When dealing with vendors for your special day, having an inspiration picture as to what you are wanting and envision goes a long way! However, unfortunately sometimes you get some “epic fails” for lack of better words. For instance, on the morning of our couples wedding the bride and bridesmaids' flowers were delivered to the getting ready location. The bride’s bouquet was not at all what was ordered, not even close to the same design or colours as the inspiration picture that was provided. We got in contact with the florist and had them immediately come to replace the bouquet to what it was supposed to look like, and what the bride had asked for all along. (See the inspiration picture here on the left, and what was delivered by the florist on the right)
At Perfect Planners, we attend our client’s rehearsals in order to help them run through how the day will go. Most of the time, when the ceremony is being done in a church, the minister will attend the rehearsal as well and run through the different parts of the ceremony with all of us. This allows everyone to be on the same page and know what the layout will be like. What happens though when the minister goes completely off course, suprising even the bride and groom with new material that was never discussed? You might laugh at the thought of that but it is actually something that happened!
As wedding planners you really learn to roll with the punches, as things can happen that you can’t control, things that are out of everyone’s control. However, that being said, there is always something that we can do to help! Our team has a gift of being able to come across or sniff out a situation and handle it before anyone else finds out about it! We thought this blog post would be a fun insight into just that, the unexpected that has popped up in real weddings and how we handled it.
Perfect Planners is a award winning wedding planning team located in Oakville, Ontario. We plan and coordinate weddings in Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, Niagara, Vaughan and beyond. Please contact us for a custom quote or link the button below to book a free 15 mins discovery call to discuss your wedding.