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How to Get the Perfect Wedding Planner

Wedding Gal — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:48:22 +0000

There will come a time in your wedding planning when you might want to get a little help. The best thing to do is to find yourself someone who can help you, someone trained in the field would make the perfect wedding planner. It is important that you have a perfect wedding planner because you will be able to sit back and enjoy more of the wedding planning process than if you were doing it all on your own.

What Is Important about It?

A perfect wedding planner is going to let you be yourself, because they will sit down with you and talk about the kinds of things that you would like to see in your wedding. They will be able to show you more ideas based on your thoughts and help you figure out what things look good and what things don’t look. They’ll be able to take into consideration your feelings about what you would and would not like to see in the wedding, and then a perfect wedding planner will take all of these ideas and put them into wedding plans that fit your budget and your needs

A perfect wedding planner is important to have for several reasons. First of all, it gives you the comfort of knowing that things are getting taken care of. Second of all, you are going o be able to relax a little bit because you won’t have to be doing all of the wedding plans on your own. Third, a perfect wedding planner is specially trained to know how to put things into weddings that need to belong there, and has several areas of expertise when it comes to wedding planning. A perfect wedding planner is going to make the dream wedding of your lifetime a reality, and is going to give you the freedom to ask for help with things that you never dreamt of doing on your own.

Remember that although a perfect wedding planner is going to cost you money, you are going to save in the long run because a perfect wedding planner will be able to give you lots of deals. Many times, wedding planners already have vendors that they use a lot, so they will have deals that they can get you on everything for your wedding, such as flowers, food, and music. A perfect wedding planner is going to allow you to get all of these things, stay in your budget, and incorporate ideas that you never knew you could.

The Essential Traits for Becoming a Wedding Planner

Wedding Gal — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:48:12 +0000

Wedding planners have a very demanding job as they are responsible that everything goes according to plan on the most important day of a couple’s life; a day which they hope to remember and cherish forever. Therefore becoming a wedding planner is not an easy task but definitely a very rewarding job, which will bring you great satisfaction and monetary benefits.

Here are some of the requirements and points to ponder before you decide on becoming a wedding planner.

Your Personality and Qualifications

There is no specific qualification required by law in order to be a wedding planner. However, it is highly recommended to train with local wedding planners or wedding consultants before you decide on becoming one. Training with a local wedding consultant will cost you between $750 and $1500 depending on the company you are training with but it will be very helpful in your future activities and be a contributing factor in your success.

Becoming a wedding planner however requires a very strong character and the ability to work under pressure as there will be more than one occasion when things will not run as planned. You will need to make the right decisions fast without panicking and also without altering the wedding plans.

In order to become a successful wedding planner, you need tremendous organizing skills and coordinating abilities. You need to be able to foresee what may go wrong and most times have a back up plan for it. After all, you are dealing with the most important day of a couple’s life and if you ruin it there is absolutely no way to rectify your mistakes, and therefore, there is no place for error.

Things to Prepare as a Wedding Planner

Becoming a wedding planner will require you to let others know that you are offering these services and the only way to do it is to prepare a portfolio with the services you can provide and in due course the weddings that you have organized as well as references of the couples as well.

Advertising will in the end be key to your success and even though the word of mouth is what will get you the most amount of jobs it is important that you have a professional approach and provide as much data as possible to all those interested through a brochure and if possible a website too. The key to becoming a wedding planner that is successful and thus, in demand will require tremendous people’s skill, professionalism and ensuring that all jobs are done exactly as per the requirements of your clients.

photo by hulk4598

Do I Need Wedding Insurance?

Wedding Gal — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:00:28 +0000

Most weddings cost far more than you would spend on a decent saloon car. It’s unthinkable that you would drive your brand new car without insurance cover, yet so many couples take a bigger financial risk by not insuring their wedding costs against the risk of total loss. By comparison to cars, house content, possessions, valuables, etc., wedding insurance costs very little for comprehensive cover. The relatively small premium for wedding insurance will give you peace of mind as you plan for your wedding.

Wedding insurance policies give a wide range of cover for many eventualities that could affect your wedding day. However, it is unlikely that small, irritating events would be included in the cover, such as rainfall, cloud, etc. but stronger weather forces that affect the wedding day almost certainly would, such as floods, landslides, earthquakes, etc. If adverse weather or other unpredicted events were to cause your wedding or reception venue to close or become inaccessible then your wedding insurance policy would provide a suitable level of cover. The same policy would cover unpredictable events with the wedding car supplier or the caterer or even if the bride or groom should sustain an accident which caused the wedding to be canceled for the planned date. A low premium insurance policy to cover all of the wedding day suppliers and events will compensate for those unexpected situations that can leave you seriously out of pocket.

Don’t Forget to Plan for Wedding Insurance Early

When you start to plan the wedding arrangements most couples wouldn’t consider including insurance as a part of their list – but you should! When you have set your wedding date and you start to book the suppliers for your wedding you are starting to make financial obligations for the big day – at that stage you should have your wedding insurance in places as well. This will give you a maximum period of cover for your insurance fee as well as adequate cover should anything go wrong in the period leading up to your wedding day that may leave you financially disadvantaged.

Wedding Insurance Policies

Most wedding insurance policies are similar, both in price and in the level of cover that they offer, but it’s still worth shopping around to find the cover that best suits you. The internet and insurance brokers are a great source of information for the levels of cover offered by different companies. A good policy will include cancellation (but unlikely that this would include a change of mind!), the wedding rings and other wedding jewelery, wedding dress, the Groom, Best man and bridesmaid’s outfits (if you are hiring formal attire, then check the insurance requirements), venue(s), caterer, transportation, florist, personal accident for the Bride and Groom if this affects your wedding plans, personal liability, wedding cake damage, photographer (including destruction of the wedding photographs), wedding gifts (ensure that cash and vouchers are included).

The insurance cover for your honeymoon should be arranged separately from the wedding insurance. Your honeymoon would normally be covered by travel insurance, generally arranged at the same time as making your travel arrangements. However, you may wish to consider that the travel insurance would not normally cover cancellation as a result of your wedding plans having been disrupted, so you may want to include cover for this with your wedding insurance policy or take out separate cover for this specific risk.

Peace of Mind for Your Wedding Day

Planning and organizing your wedding can be a very enjoyable experience, leading up to one of the most exciting and important days of your life. No one expects things to go wrong, and they rarely do, but you should have the reassurance of wedding insurance to give yourself peace of mind over any unexpected or unpredictable events that could disrupt your wedding day. When you start to plan your wedding day and book the suppliers, take out your wedding insurance policy at the same time. This gives the maximum period of cover and means you can concentrate on your wedding whilst you have the reassurance that the whole event is covered by your wedding insurance policy. Enjoy planning for the big day and your wedding day itself – congratulations, it’s one of the most enjoyable days of your life.

Article by Steve Shaw, of wedding services and information. The website offers advice and information on organizing and arranging your wedding.

Photo by lemonjenny

Hiring a Wedding Planner (Coordinator)

Wedding Gal — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 05:53:37 +0000

photo credit: www.sweetchicevents.com

Don’t underestimate the usefulness of hiring a qualified and experienced wedding planner or wedding coordinator.

Each and every year around 2.5 million weddings take place nationwide. This means that the number of weddings that will take place in your immediate area is astounding. Your wedding plans are going to be affected by number of factors, because many more weddings will happen at or around the same time as yours.

If you want even the tiniest little detail to be taken care of at your wedding, it would be recommended that you hire a wedding planner. He or she can save you a lot of time and money. The wedding planner will help you coordinate your wedding and the most important of all they will save you from frustration.

So, what is a wedding planner anyway, and what do they do?

A wedding planner (sometimes called a wedding consultant, wedding coordinator or a wedding producer) is hired to help the bride and groom coordinate a wide variety of tasks associated with their wedding. Planning your wedding can get vary frustrating at times that will make you forget about the fun that you need to have. So, it is a good idea to spend a little bit more on a wedding planner to make sure your wedding day goes smooth.

A wedding planner can help plan many aspects of your wedding, including DJs, floral arrangements, cake, seating arrangements, invitations, photography, and so on. In some cases, they might also be able to use their industry connections with vendors to get you a good deal on many things.

The wedding planner will conduct an interview with the bride-to-be and the groom, and then coordinate the details of the wedding that have been agreed upon. A good wedding planner should be able to assist in organizing, budgeting, purchasing services for your wedding, and after the interview he or she will put a contract together that you and him or her need to sign. Without a contract there’s a lot of room for misunderstanding and confusion of what was agreed upon.

In the contract, or often referred to as a letter of agreement, the wedding planner will include his or her services, the cost of these services and payment terms.

When you receive the contract, if there’s anything you do not agree with or anything not to your desire, discuss it before signing. When you sign the contract, you and your soon to-be wedding planner have to agree on all of the items listed to avoid any possible misunderstanding. But remember: even though you have been through the interview process, you are not obligated to continue with his or her service until you sign the contract.

So, how can you find a good wedding planner?

Nowadays, it’s probably the easiest to find them on the Internet. But, it’s best if you know anyone who had had them for their wedding. Referrals are always the best.

Even if you have to seek help from the Internet or yellow pages, be sure to ask for his or her credentials. Ask for references from each of your potential planners and research their past work. Also, ask to see a few other weddings your potential planner has prepared. This will help you make a decision very easily of whether you like their style or you need to seek another one.

Some of the advantages of hiring a wedding planner are: saving you from frustration; money savings, since most have connections in the industry; low stress, and so on.

However, there could also be some disadvantages, such as: overconfident (ego) planner may try to convince you into having a wedding of his or her dreams and not of your dreams. If you’re a person who likes to be known or to show off, hiring a planner may not be a good idea as they will be in charge of your wedding. Another disadvantage would be that you may hire a scam artist who may not have done any weddings while broadcasting his or her enormous experience. That’s why it is vital to do a thorough research on the planners of your interest.

So, how much does a wedding planner cost?

Expect their fee to be anywhere between 5% and up to 20% of your total wedding budget.

Some important points:

Be sure your wedding planner is a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants.
Contact your wedding planner’s references. Contact at least three brides and be sure that the wedding planner performed well.
Be sure the wedding planner is dressed to match on your wedding day.

Photo credit: www.sweetchicevents.com

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Groomsmen Gifts: A Modern Tradition

Wedding Gal — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:55:15 +0000

There are many old traditions still visible in today’s modern wedding. One of the most obvious is the best man and groomsmen standing next to the groom during the ceremony. We now see this custom as an opportunity to involve our friends and close family members in our big day, but at one time the groomsmen were seen to guard the bride until she was married to her husband and new protector.

These days the groomsmen often help out with the arrangements and tasks leading up to the wedding, and most importantly keep the groom smiling no matter how stressful the wedding plans get. A modern tradition is that the groom gives each member of his wedding party a gift on the day of the wedding to say thank you for helping out. Whether your groomsmen gifts are traditional or modern is completely up to you.

Traditional groomsmen gifts offer a touch of class and remind us of an era our grandparents might recognize more easily than we would. A watch was a traditional gift for any big occasion, from graduation to retirement. The symbolism of a watch varies depending on your culture, but in North American it’s often seen as a wish for long life.

Other traditional groomsmen gifts are flasks, cufflinks and money clips. While most of use don’t wear shirts with cufflink holes, keep a flask in our hip pocket and prefer a debit card to a wad of cash, the timeless significance of these gifts is what makes them special.

A modern groomsman gift generally reflects the taste of the man receiving it. It could be sports related, like a golf set or a baseball bat engraved with the date of the wedding and the groomsman’s name. For a groomsman who travels frequently a leather carry-on featuring his initials, or a travel case for his grooming kit also makes a thoughtful gift.

No matter which route you choose, traditional or modern, adding personalization to the gift will remind your groomsmen of your big day and the important role they played in it. You can add their monogrammed initials, the wedding date and even the bride and groom’s names to many different types of gifts.

It’s important to think about each of your groomsmen and choose a gift that suits his personality and taste. Choosing the right gift is the best way to show just how well you know the men standing by your side and how much you appreciate them being there for you on your wedding day.

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