Spend or Save: A guide to putting your hard earned wedding dollars to good use.
Let's talk about money and wedding budgets...
Of course we would all love to have Kate and William size budgets for our own royal wedding, but unlimited budgets are often not within our means. So, we take to spreadsheets to help us determine where we need to spend our money to get the most bang for our hard earned bucks!
One of the first thing that I do with new clients is have the "budget talk" - sure... not as much fun as the cake tasting or the design meeting, but one that is absolutely necessary to start us off on the right track right out of the gate.
If you do a quick google search you will find hundreds of pre-fab budgets that pop up that provide you with a magical percentage of what you should be spending on each element of your wedding - and this is a great place to start.
But more importantly, I believe that you need to look at your own personal goals first and determine your own personal "save V.S spend" for each area of your wedding. Not a flower person? cool... let's save some money here and go a different route. Huge foodie: ok SPEND here and we can sacrifice in areas that are not as important to you.
For me, my top three "spends" are as follows:
1. Photography: To me this is an area where you can not afford to try and save cash. After your wedding is over and the last thank you note is sent out, it is these photographs that remain. They capture all of the planning and all of the wonderful things that happened on your wedding day. It is worth the investment in a GREAT photographer. SPEND
2. Wedding Planner: (yeah, yeah... I know, I know...stay with me here) Spending your money on a well trained, WPIC certified, experienced, professional planner that suits your style can save you time, money and many many headaches both during the planning process and during the wedding day itself. I understand that not every couple needs a wedding planner for the full planning process - but I believe that every couple should have at least a month-of-planner who will not only be there for you during the most hectic time of the planning process (the month of) but will also protect the hard work and the investment that you have put into this wedding. By managing the day-of, your wedding planner/coordinator will make sure that everything runs as it is supposed to, so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labour! This is important: SPEND
3. Food: Everyone loves to eat... and talk about food. After the wedding is finished, most people will forget what the centrepieces looked like and which flowers you had in your bouquet, but they will always remember if there was lots of yummy food.
Determining your own personal "spend VS save" is an important part of getting the most out of your wedding day. Keeping these top tier items in mind when planning your full wedding budget will ensure you get the balance right. What are (or were) your "spend VS Save" priorities for your wedding day?
Tell me all about it in the comments!
"The Initial Meeting" - What to Expect and How You Can Prepare.
As I am sure that you have noticed, most wedding vendors encourage you to book an "initial meeting" before you book their services (I, myself am one of these vendors and say it many times on my own site). But, what does this mean? What can you expect to get out of this meeting? And how can you make the most out of this opportunity?
First of all, the initial meeting is free of charge and allows us to meet before signing on the dotted line. For me, I approach this meeting like a coffee date with a new friend rather than a formal job interview. It is a chance for us to sit down and get to know each other. I don't believe in hard sales lines or pitches, for me choosing a Wedding Planner is like choosing a really organized best-friend that will help you though an emotional, expensive, complicated and really important milestone in your life - you have to find the right FIT.
I have always had an amazing working relationship with all of my clients. I genuinely CARE about their weddings and I truly want the best planning experience for my clients. During the initial meeting I will ask about your lives together, your hobbies, jobs, families... anything that comes up, really... I am a great listener. I try and guide this meeting in a relaxed and informative manner so that we can walk away from it feeling like we truly know each other.
Of course, since we will also be sharing a business relationship, I will go over my company history, and talk with you about my process as a designer and a planner. Together we will discuss what areas of your wedding you feel that you will need most help with and how, as a professional, I can help you in the most beneficial and cost efficient way.
We will discuss the wedding packages that I offer: Full Planning, Partial Planning, Month of Coordination, and pretty much everything in between. Every wedding that I work on is unique and each couple deserves an individualized approach to planning. During this initial meeting we can discuss what is going to work for you, your vision, and your budget.
I will show you some photos of weddings that I have worked on in the past and talk to you about my goals for these weddings and the role that I took in planning them- this will give you a better understanding of the work that I do and how I take a unique approach to each wedding... no cookie cutter weddings here.
So... How can you prepare for this "Initial Meeting"?
I really appreciate it when clients take the time to review some of the information that I have posted online, my Blog (yay you are already here!!) , my Facebook page, and my Website are all really good places to start. You can also check out my reviews on wedding wire from some of my past clients. By reviewing these sites ahead of time, we will have have more time during our initial meeting to talk about how I can help you, and will need to spend less time talking about what I have done in the past.
Write down any questions that you have for me in advance so that we can go over your list together and make sure that when you leave this meeting you have all of the answers that you were hoping to get - of course if you forget something you can always email me and I will be happy to answer! ;)
I think that choosing your wedding vendors - especially your wedding planner - is a truly personal experience and the decision needs to be based on your comfort level with your planner and your confidence that they are going to be the right person to really listen to your needs and guide you though this process!
Want to know a little more about who I am and how I became a wedding planner? Check out this blog post for a glimpse into this or my FAQ section on my site.
Still have questions? Get in touch any time to set up your initial meeting - I look forward to hearing all about you!
TBT - My intimate 2008 beachfront winery wedding.
Throw back Thursday y’all.
Happy Thursday folks.
In celebration of throw back Thursday this week I want to take you all
back to July 18th, 2008 – the day I tied the knot.
Since the launch of Cara Mia Events in March of 2010 I have had
many folks ask me about my own wedding day.
Was it huge and elaborate? Was it
over the top and glamourous? Well, like most of you out there, my wedding was about my husband and I sharing our day
with close friends and family.
We got married at a small beach front winery in Harrow
Ontario. The day flew by quickly and we enjoyed every moment to the fullest. With a small guest count of 98 guests we kept things relaxed and full of
love.
So without further ado I take you back to 2008 - a special shout out to our amazing photographer Amy Britton of Britton Images for capturing our day so beautifully and giving us these photo memories which we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Thank you Amy! :)
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| Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery - 2008 |
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| Walking up the Aisle with my Dad |
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| Beach front Ceremony |
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| Sand Ceremony - Ceremonial Element |
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| Golf Cart "get away vehicle" :) |
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| Beach Front Bridal Party Photos |
Beach front photos
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| Blue and White tented reception table |
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| Beach themed centrepieces |
We have been married for over 7 years now and I still would not have changed one thing about our wedding.
Much love,
Cara Cassidy
Owner and lead Planner Cara Mia Events
So, you’re engaged? Now what?
Congratulations, you are about to embark an amazing journey; planning your wedding. I know it can
be stressful and maybe a little overwhelming, so just to get you started, here
are just a few tips that will start you off on the right track:
1. Determine your wedding budget: This is SOOOOOOOO important and I can not
stress this enough. Before you book
ANYTHING (and I mean ANYTHING) – sit down with your fiancé (and anyone else who
may be involved in the finances of your wedding) and have a frank conversation
about your hard lines in terms of budget. Do a little research and see how much
you will realistically require to cover your needs (according to Wedding Bells 2015 Survey the
average Canadian Wedding with 129 guests cost around $30, 717 including the
honeymoon).
2. Although you may already have good idea of the
style of wedding you want (and some of you may already have a fully stocked pinterest
board) if you haven’t given it much thought, now is the time start thinking about it. Get a
few magazines, browse online, look at what others have done, find out what you
like and more importantly what you DON’T like – building this vision will help you to
pick the right vendors/locations.
3. Start writing out a rough guest list to
determine the scale of your wedding – a rough estimate at this point is all you
need.
4. Hire your wedding planner – research and hire a well
trained, WPIC certified wedding planner who is right for you (check out my blog
post about initial meetings and how to be prepared to meet your vendors) and
they can help guide you throughout the planning process.
5. A good way for you and your wedding planner to start booking vendors is to first focus on what I like to call the big three: Your Ceremony Venue (and Officiant if it is not
included with your location), Your Reception Venue and your Photographer. Once you have these three things in place you
have your wedding, and you can slowly build from here.
Other Blog posts that might be of interest to you as you
start this planning process:
(photo Credit: Renaissance Studios Photography)
Check out our New Re-Designed Website!
We are always improving and growing and are looking forward to this year's engagement season and all of the exciting wedding to come!
Check out the new site and tell us what you think...
Modern Wedding at the Gardiner Museum - Toronto Ontario
It was an absolute pleasure to work with Phil and Sue in designing and planning their wedding! I am thrilled with how everything came together and so happy to share some photos from their day with you!
Special thanks to Megan Preece Photography for allowing me share her photos from the day!
Enjoy!
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| Gardiner Museum Modern Wedding Ceremony |
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| Botanical Altar Pieces |
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| Modern Lounge Area |
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| Toronto Wedding Ceremony Gardiner Museum |
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| Gardiner Museum Wedding 2015 |
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| Asymmetrical botanical Bridal Bouquet |
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| Succulent Boutonniere |
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| Cara Mia Events Candy Buffet |
Can't get enough of this gorgeous modern wedding? Click here to see more....
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