Such exciting news! If you haven't heard about this yet, listen up!
StrongerMarriage.org, in partnership with FOX 13, is providing one lucky Utah couple with a dream wedding.
Couples enter by visiting www.facebook.com/strongermarriage, uploading a photo of themselves and explaining why they deserve a Dream Wedding.
Submissions are from September 21 – October 9, 2011.
On October 14, 2011, five (5) finalist couples will be announced on FOX 13’s Good Day Utah.
Fans can vote for the couple they think deserves to win on www.facebook.com/strongermarriage. The voting period is from October 14-26, 2011.
The winning couple will be announced on FOX 13’s Good Day Utah.
Once the winning couple has been selected, FOX 13 viewers will help plan the winning couple’s wedding by voting for various elements of the wedding onwww.FOX13now.com
I had the pleasure of attending a cake consultation with one of my brides this week, MacKenzie. Her and her groom asked for advice on where to go for a quality wedding cake for a cheap price. I immediately suggested Granite Bakery, one of the best bakeries in the state. They do quality work for a low cost. We headed on down for a consultation and started hammering out what MacKenzie wanted in the perfect wedding cake... or at least, what she would consider the perfect wedding cake. Now, I am not going to give way the surprise of her cake, although, I can tell you that it is going to be spectacular and I am extremely excited to share from her photos but we'll come back to that later. However, the consultation did get me thinking about the perfect wedding cake and what you, as a bride (or groom), should apply to that question. So here are a few tips:
Aaron and Jessica Durrant (formerly Gustafson) are a match made in heaven. I loved meeting with them and finding out all the wonderful details of their wedding. They were married on July 21, 2011. I can't take much of any of the credit for the wedding but it was a beautiful wedding. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple and had their reception at Wheeler Historic Farm.
When I met with them we went over their budget. In the end I only helped with a few details of the wedding although, like their flowers which were from Skyline Flower Gardens based in Salt Lake City. I also sent them in Ashley's direction for their gorgeous invitations! It was so much fun to watch it progress and come together and it turned out fabulous!
The happy couple!
The get-away!
The bride with the little ring bearer. Isn't he adorable!
Today I will be featuring a talented individual and close colleague, Ashley. As I have mentioned before and would like to reiterate, she is an extremely creative craftsman. She can think of anything and then create it. Today, however, I am going to focus on her invitations because I have never before seen hand crafted invitations like she does them. Her invitations, rather than being one dimensional, have depth and character. She takes what you can imagine and then turns it into something spectacular. She uses any type of type of materials that you can imagine to create something special and unique. Using a graphic design can be extremely impersonal and you will most likely see that design somewhere else. When Ashley creates your invitations it is one of kind and made just for you!
I just had to share this! I am a total nerd myself and zombies is often the talk of my social circle and when I saw these engagements I fell completely in love! What a wonderful and unique idea! Would you be daring enough to try something this unique? If so, let me know, I would love to feature you. :) Enjoy!
So I am going to try to keep up with a "tip of the week" each week. This week is Budgeting for a Wedding.
There is probably nothing more stressful in a wedding than going over cost and where all that money is going to come from. My first suggestion to any bride or groom would be to hire a wedding planner. Any wedding planners first job is to keep you on budget and to keep the prices low. But what if, you just don’t want that planner to be involved. Then what? Well, here are the basics, in all their glory, to having a budget.
Find out who is paying. Talk with your families. They are going to be your greatest support in many aspects, and one of them is definitely going to be money. Traditionally, the bride’s family picks up the tab of the wedding, but this is the 21st Century! Now, it is more often than not, that either the bride and groom themselves are paying for their own wedding or all sides of each family are contributing.
Talk with both sets of parents and determine a specific amount that each will be willing to pay.
Another way is for each set of parents to determine what they will be paying for rather than a specific amount.
Lastly, determine how much you, as the couple, can contribute to the festivities. A good way to start is by figuring out how much of your total income you can put a way in a month.
How much do weddings cost? Keeping everything straight can be stressful and overwhelming. But determining where your money is going to go can be easy. Here are basic percentages of where your money should be divvied out:
Reception: 48-50% (This includes venue, decorations, cake, catering, favors, etc.)
Photography: 10-12%
Attire: 8-10%
Flowers: 8-10%
Entertainment: 8-10%
Ceremony: 2-3%
Invitations/Stationery: 2-3%
Transportation: 2-3%
Gifts: 2-3%
For Everything Else: 8%
This is just a generalization to help you. What can help more is a tracking sheet of some sort. There are so many budgeting trackers online that you can download and use. My suggestion would to be to get one and make sure not to lose track of your expenses. Keeping on your budget is hard but if you keep track and have a visual aid, it can make it easier for you.
If you have any questions on budgeting for any event, not just weddings, I would be more than happy to answer general questions. I hope you enjoyed this, and Happy Planning!
This is where I begin my journeys as an event planner on my own. While I was with All Things Included I did a few weddings and my boss Michael, taught me a lot. Along with that knowledge, I am continuing my education to be the best event planner I can be. I am currently going to Utah Valley University to get my bachelor's in Marketing and then will move onto a hospitality school in Las Vegas to get a certificate in event planning.
My passion is weddings but I do everything from birthdays to corporate events, and everything in between. I love the little details and are here to not only make it perfect for you but also save you money. I will do everything I can to help you in every way I can. Your wish is my command. :)
I am working on a couple of projects that I will soon post. I hope you enjoy the fun as much as I do and if you want to talk, call me!
