I receive a lot of questions about how much time is required to plan a wedding. Really, you don’t need much time at all. So if you were recently engaged and would like to get married this year, don’t worry you have time. As long as you don’t have your heart set on a specific date and venue you should be okay. You need to first start with priorities, if you have always known you will be married in the Basilica and it’s only available on June 2 at 3 p.m. you may need to be a little bit flexible with the rest of your planning. If you don’t have your heart set on anything you shouldn’t have a problem at all.

1. Set your priorities and budget, and vision
2. Select a Ceremony and Reception Venue + Date
3. Start booking all your vendors (the ones that can only book one wedding a weekend are where you want to start i.e. photographers/planners) and order you dress – it takes up to six months to order!

Keep in mind the busy months for wedding are June, July, August, and September, if you have a wedding in one of the less popular months you will be able to have the venues and vendors you want!

Julianne Cragg | Edmonton Wedding Planner
A Modern Proposal Event Planning
c: 780.901.5630

They can be very exciting and extremely overwhelming. Bridal shows come to Edmonton in September and then again in January.

Here are some tips on how to survive bridal shows if you choose to attend:

1. Go early. Earlier you go the less line ups and there will still be ‘freebies’ and fliers, also vendors have more time to talk to you. Also if you plan on booking a vendor at the show (not recommended) then your date may still be available.

2. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes; it’s not a fashion show.

3. Pre plan. Pre plan your route through the halls, and your transportation to the event. They tend to hike up parking prices and parking can be very limited.

3. Bring a bag. Not only a bag but a bag with bottles of water, and some snacks. The food at these events is usually price, not healthy and poorly cooked.

4. Create a free email account prior to going to the event, and use that email address to enter into draws. You will be spammed by vendors, sometimes even two years after you attended.

5. Pre-do little labels with your name and email address (refer to point #4), and mailing address. If you put your phone number, they will call you.

6. Bring a camera or iPhone to take photos, but remember to ask the vendor if it is okay for you to take pictures, that way if you see something you like you won’t have a hard time explaining it.

Finally only take fliers from companies you are truly interested in because it will only cause a headache for you to sort through at the end.

Upcoming Shows:

Spring
Bridal Fair: January 15, 2012; Shaw Conference Centre
Bridal Fantasy:  January 22, 2012;  Edmonton Expo Centre

First think of the kind of wedding the two of you want. Is it local, destination, large, small etc. (you don’t need to determine colors or theme but a general idea of your wedding).

Second set your priorities for the wedding – is it the budget, venue, dress, photos, food, number of guests?

The third thing you need to sit down and look at before hiring anyone or even looking at those dresses, is BUDGET. The first two steps coincide with the budget. Unfortunately you cannot have a princess wedding, with 300 guests on a $10,000 budget. You also need to discuss upfront with the parents or anyone else involved if they will be contributing.

Once the budget, priorities, and vision have been discussed you can go dress, venue, photographer, etc. shopping. If you don’t do these steps first you will only cause yourself frustration, and possibly hurt your budget.

Happy Planning!

Just before midnight champagne and new year’s party items were placed out and a count down started. It was a fabulous party and a great way to start the new year!

Please keep in mind these are my photos, and they really don’t do anyone justice, I’ll post the professional ones from DB Photographics when available.

Venue: Country Lodge
Photographer: DB Photographics (not the photos above)
Florals: Akiko Floral Artistry
Cake: Whimsical Cake Studio

Save the Dates don’t need to be sent for every wedding, I advise using them for weddings on long weekends, unusually days (i.e. Friday or Sundays) or in destination weddings (where most of the guests are from out of town). They don’t have to be elaborate or fancy, keep in mind though, this is the first your guest sees of your wedding so keep that in mind when you have it designed. You want to keep a consistent theme.

Row 1: Source, Source, Source
Row 2:  Source, Source, Source
Row 3:  Source, Source, Source

I could have added tons more, but would have needed so many posts, so feel free to check Etsy.

There’s always a magician for children, a colouring table with a few toys for children, a dancer/dance group (i.e. irish dancers, Ukrainian dancers, belly dancers etc.), a singer, other performances. However, I know not each bride and groom has the money or time in their schedules for such performances. Here are a few inexpensive ideas that will surely keep your guests entertained, every time one of my clients has done something similar (mad libs) it’s been a hit.

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Julianne Cragg | Edmonton Wedding Planner
A Modern Proposal Event Planning
c: 780.901.5630

So here are a few of my favourite pieces I would recommend for gifts, there a tons more options available:

Don’t forget that we will be giving away a set of YOUR CHOICE of necklace and earrings from Stella + Dot once we reach 750 fans on Facebook!

Julianne Cragg | Edmonton Wedding Planner
A Modern Proposal Event Planning
c: 780.901.5630

This cute little chart was posted on The Wedding Bee to help you with narrowing down the list. When people ask why they weren’t invited, you can always say “We had limited space at the reception site we choose and had to cut the guest list to only immediate family”.

Julianne Cragg | Edmonton Wedding Planner
A Modern Proposal Event Planning
c: 780.901.5630