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 18^th, 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! :)

Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery - 2008

Walking up the Aisle with my Dad

Beach front Ceremony

Sand Ceremony - Ceremonial Element

Golf Cart "get away vehicle" :)

Beach Front Bridal Party Photos

Beach front photos

Blue and White tented reception table

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:

http://caramiaevents.blogspot.ca/2014/11/can-i-get-quote.html

http://caramiaevents.blogspot.ca/2012/07/why-do-you-need-wedding-coordinator.html

(photo Credit: Renaissance Studios Photography) 

Check out our New Re-Designed Website!

Haven't been to our website in a while?  You are in for a treat, we have re-designed the site to include many more of our recent weddings in the newly designed event gallery.  The new gallery is designed to give you the ultimate experience in inspiration and showcases some of our favourite weddings from the past few seasons!

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!

Gardiner Museum Modern Wedding Ceremony

Botanical Altar Pieces

Modern Lounge Area

Toronto Wedding Ceremony Gardiner Museum

Gardiner Museum Wedding 2015

Asymmetrical botanical Bridal Bouquet

Succulent Boutonniere

Cara Mia Events Candy Buffet 

Can't get enough of this gorgeous modern wedding?  Click here to see more.... 

Congratulations 2014 Full Planning & Design Clients: Photo Round Up

Ring Photography: Fotoreflection

Well, I have officially finished the last of my 2014 weddings, but before we get cerebrating the holidays and ringing in the new year I wanted to share a few of my favourite weddings from the 2014 season.  (More photos from my 2014 season are coming soon in the event gallery on my website... check back often for new updates!!! :) )

Kate and Danny -  Dundas Valley Golf & Curling Club

I worked with Kate and Danny for just over a year to plan this stunning black and white wedding.  

The wedding ceremony and reception, held at the Dundas Valley Golf and Curling club, both went off without a hitch.  This lovely couple was amazing to work with and their wedding day was so full of beauty and joy. 

Photography: fotoreflection
Floral Design by:  Settings Design Stylist

Photography: fotoreflection
Cake By:  Andy's Cakes

Photography: fotoreflection 

Photography: fotoreflection 

Angela and Steven  - Hockley Valley Resort

Steve and Angela, who both live in northern Alberta, were amazing to work with throughout the 8 months that we spent planning this wedding (mostly at a distance).  We had to take advantage of every moment that they were in town the few months before they said their i do's.  The wedding turned out absolutely stunningly.  We worked hard to come up with a design that matched their personalities and would "wow" their guests.   This one definitely goes down on my 'all time favourite weddings' list! :) 

Photography by: Sharp Fluff Photography
Floral Design by:  Settings Design Stylist

Photography by: Sharp Fluff Photography

Photography by: Sharp Fluff Photography
Floral Design by:  Settings Design Stylist

Photography by: Sharp Fluff Photography
Candy Buffet by: Cara Mia Events

Tian and Stacy -  Spencer's at the Waterfront

I absolutely LOVED designing this this wedding using the fresh red and teal colour palette and super cute pinwheel accessories.  I worked with Tian and Stacy for 6 months and the end result was breathtaking. (I also had the opportunity to deign an e-session shoot for them - photos coming soon on the site) 

Photography by: Renaissance Studios

Photography by: Renaissance Studios

Photography by: Renaissance Studios

Photography by: Renaissance Studios

Lisa and David - Private Residence

I worked with Lisa and David for a very short planning timeline of TWO WEEKS.  In that time we planed everything from dress to design and there wasn't a moment to spare.  The design concept and decor came together just as imagined - everything was soft and romantic for this perfectly intimate at-home wedding.   

Photography: Britton Images

Photography: Britton Images

Photography: Britton Images

Photography: Britton Images

Laura and Jeremy - October 2014 - The Edgewater Manor

Laura and Jeremy's wedding was so uniquely personal and captured their spirit in every way.  This purple lego themed wedding included so many personal touches and even ended with a lightsaber battle!  Check out all this awesomeness! 

Photography: fotoreflection 

Photography: fotoreflection 

Photography: fotoreflection 

Photography: fotoreflection 

Thanks again to all of the wonderful clients and vendors that made 2014 the best year ever!!!
Much Love,
Cara Cassidy

Can I get a quote?

Not surprisingly one of the first things that most clients ask for is a quote- and it the first thing I would want to know as well.  But it isn't that simple.  Each wedding that I plan is as unique (photo gallery) as the couple that I am working with - no two are alike and a one-size-fits-all pricing structure doesn't seem fair to anyone.

Usually the best way to determine your custom quote is to sit down together, have a coffee and chat (free of charge of course) is so I can hear a bit about what you have in mind for your wedding.  I need to know how big/small, fancy/casual, elaborate/simple your vision is and your specific needs from your planner.

When we sit down for our initial meeting we will spend approximately one hour getting to know each other.  I will ask you about what you have in mind for your wedding and what you have in place (if anything) so far.  I will go over the service options that are available to you and together we can determine your needs. 

After I have all the details, I can determine a custom quote for service.  I use your answers to help me determine the number of hours it will take me to create your vision and I multiply that by the cost/hour for time and expenses.  

So… How long DOES it take to plan a wedding? 

Here is the breakdown of MY time spent planning a wedding

The numbers below are REAL numbers from a REAL wedding that I planned this past season.  

Just a few details about the following wedding:  this was a local wedding (Approximately 100 guests) and the couple wanted to keep it "simple, yet elegant" and had an average wedding budget. 

Here is the breakdown of my time on this wedding:

21.75  hours          14 meetings (both with vendors and for planning purposes)  

10.91  hours          Travelling to and from meetings                                 
28.08  hours          I received/sent (337! )emails in regards to this wedding (approx 5 minutes/email)                       
09.50  hours          Researching potential vendors and venues

07.50  hours          Working on story boards and design ideas    

09.00  hours          Creating/maintaining budgets, planning schedules, itineraries,             

                              floor plans, set up checklists, contact sheets etc                                                                                                               

24.50 hours           On Site for the Wedding Day and Rehearsal (Time includes 1 assistant)                                

     
That is a total of 111.24 hours not counting all of the quick phone calls and text messages of which there were too many to count and record! ;)

Need more information or want to set up an initial meeting with me? Send me an email and we can set up a time to chat.  Click here to email me!

My Brand New Website is Live!

Finally the weather is warming up and I can feel the excitement and the buzz from all of my 2014 brides as their wedding days get closer and closer!  It is gearing up to be an amazing season of fabulous weddings.

With the new wedding season in full swing,  I thought I would launch into this season with a brand new website design. 

So without further ado – please check out the new site! 

www.caramiaevents.com

Check back regularly as there will be more photos going up in the gallery section soon!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 

Happy Monday!

Cara