WPIC

"Feeling Good" Chronicles of a Wedding Coordinator

by Caryn Lim, WPICC of A Timeless Celebration Weddings & Events Inc.

One of our most rewarding experiences took place last summer when we saved an outdoor wedding from being drenched in the rain! The ceremony was planned to be held on the terrace of a hotel. Of course, the most difficult situation for an outdoor wedding is to decide if the wedding should be kept outside or change the location to the backup indoor venue due to bad weather condition.

On the day of the wedding, my partner and I had to set up the ceremony and reception decor. The weather was beautiful and it didn't seem like it was going to rain at all. The banquets manager was suppose to make the final call. He said, "no worries, it's going to be beautiful all day, just look at the sky." We bugged him about it a few times because the weather forecast said otherwise. At first we let him have his say because he was supposed to make the final decision.

As the early afternoon passed by, we kept our eyes on the hour-by-hour weather forecast, it continued to indicated a 90% chance of rain by the late afternoon. As we setup outside, it was getting darker and windier. We stopped setting up and start on the inside in case we would be doing the outside decor for nothing. We also told the DJ to hold off on his setup and tried to convince the hotel staff to stop setting up the chairs, but unfortunately, they couldn't because they had to follow orders. This is something we have never done before, but we called the bride three times, yet she continued to say she REALLY wanted the wedding outside. During our last call, the groom said to us "listen, I know she really wants the ceremony outside, but use your best judgment and you make the call." We said "OK. We're moving everything inside. Bye."

We immediately went to look for the banquet manager, but he was nowhere to be found! We waited a bit, couldn't wait any longer, went to his assistant and told her "the ceremony will be inside, anything you need help with, we're here." Why we said that was because it was only 1.5 hours before the ceremony was to begin and the backup ceremony location was the restaurant of the hotel and all the cutlery, linens, tables and chairs had to be moved out of the way to fit 200 guests! The banquets manager was no where to be seen, the hotel coordinator finally came in to work, but all she said to us was “I am not happy with this last minute decision” and left us with only two hotel staff to help make this ceremony possible! They were already occupied moving the chairs from the terrace into the restaurant, it was only my partner and I left putting away the cutlery, linens and moving the tables and chairs without any hotel staff there to direct us! We had no choice but to grab a few guests who already arrived, explained to them the urgent situation, had them roll up their sleeves and started the workout! As soon as all the chairs and sound equipments were moved from the terrace into the restaurant, it literally started raining cats and dogs! It poured and poured and poured, so hard that we couldn't even see the outside from the large windows of the restaurant. Everyone started cheering. HUGE sigh of relief! CLOSE ONE!

That wasn't the end of the story! None of the chairs, decor and sound equipments were wet, but we still had to deal with a restaurant that was in a HUGE mess! Tables and chairs were everywhere because we didn't know where to put them! My partner and I had to improvise and we had to dismantle the head table backdrop from the lower level, bring it up to the restaurant and set it up so that we can close off a section of the restaurant and hide all the (horribly stacked) tables and chairs behind the backdrop!

Everything was pulled together JUST IN TIME! Everyone stayed beautiful, handsome and dry. The backdrop served as a beautiful background for the ceremony and photos. No one else knew what had gone wrong, not even the families of the bride and groom, not unless they were there during all the chaos or unless they peaked behind our backdrop!

-Caryn Lim, WPICC

A Timeless Celebration Weddings & Events Inc.

The Wedding Professional's Guide to Conferences

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

“Hello.  My name is Danielle and I am a conference junkie.” 

Let me preface this article by saying, yes, I am the Co-Producer of the WPIC Conference, so of course I want you to come to our conference, but I realize our conference is not right for everyone.  I truly believe conferences are an important part of continuing education for Wedding Professionals.  You MUST attend conferences to stay current, educated and constantly improve yourself and your business.

“Tracey Manailescu and I have attended at least 40 different conferences in the past 5 years.” 

We've attended Wedding Conferences, Meeting Conferences, Travel Conferences and Event Conferences. Some are better than others, but for almost all of them, we have taken away something we could apply to business. 

No doubt, you make an investment when you attend a conference, but you are investing in making your business better and more profitable. 

“If you learn even one tip that books you 2 clients, then the conference has more than paid for itself and you've still made a profit.” 

I am going to break down the conferences that I feel are best for Wedding Planners to attend, BUT, just because it is on my list, does not mean its the best conference for YOU, and just because its not on my list, doesn’t mean you won’t gain something valuable by attending. You need to look at what the target of the conference is, what they will be teaching you and if it is applicable to YOUR particular business and area. Just like a Wedding, Conferences are personal to the person.

My Top 5 Picks, their targets and costs: Conferences are set up so that you can learn important business strategy and the latest trends from the best and most successful in the Industry. In order to be a better professional, you need to learn from the successful professionals. 

Your government lets you write off conference expenses for a reason :) In my opinion, you are doing a disservice to yourself and your clients if you are not attending at least one Industry conference each year.  

Etiquette Training with The Etiquette Guy

By:Kim Choy

Last week, Lataysha and I, along with other WPIC Alumni attended The Etiquette Guy's Business and Dining Etiquette Seminar at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto.  This event was organized by one of our WPIC Alumni, Holly Carney of Holly Matrimony Weddings.

I was so excited to attend this seminar!  For some reason I've always been fascinated with etiquette.  Why we practiced it, where it originated from and how to improve my etiquette. 

Growing up, my family always went out for dinner, I was in my first restaurant when I was a week old.  As children, my siblings and I were always raised to sit nicely at the table, use our fork, remove our hats, and be relatively quiet.  I wouldn't say we grew up in a household of impeccable dinner manners, but we weren't the kids running around the restaurants screaming!  By the time I was 18 months old, I could use chopsticks, and by the time I was 12 I knew which cutlery to use even for a 4-6 course meal at a restaurant.

It surprises me so much that adults these days simply don't know the proper etiquette of meeting someone for the first time, the courtesy of removing a hat while in a building or proper dining etiquette.

Lataysha and I attended this seminar on behalf of WPIC Inc.  I wanted to attend this seminar, not only because I like learning about it, I wanted to have the training behind me from someone who knows what he's talking about! 

Jay Remer is the Etiquette Guy.  He has been trained by the Protocol School of Washington, which is the leader in etiquette and protocol services.  He has planned royal, corporate, political and social events over the past 40 years.

Jay states on his website:
"Good manners and proper etiquette are based on common sense. There are reasons why we do certain things in certain ways and not in other ways. My goal is for clients to have fun sharpening their knowledge and updating their skills, and in doing so, to gain greater self-confidence, to set a good example for their peers and their families, and to develop a deep sense of respect for all people."

The first day we learned about business etiquette. 

During the business etiquette seminar we were taught the 3 main proper etiquette practices:
We were taught how to greet someone with a proper handshake with the right amount of firmness, depending on the sex of the person, the positioning of the hand and how many times you "shake" the person's hand.  This was such useful information, as so many times we are meeting new clients and their parents, new vendors and other important people.  It is really important to know how to shake someone's hand properly - without crushing them or being too dainty!

Some other things Jay covered in the Business Etiquette:

• TOO MUCH eye contact is distracting and just plain creepy!
• Handwritten notes are always a must!
• Business cards aren't handed out like candy, they are only given to someone once you have decided you would like to continue a relationship with this person (I love this rule!)

The second day was the seminar most people were looking forward to: Dining Etiquette.  Everybody eats three meals a day, so we should all know how to eat, but do we know how to eat properly?

We learned the proper seating etiquette when there is a host and one guest or many guests.  We were taught how to sit - bet you didn't know there was a proper way to do that, eh?

I think one of the most important things we were taught on the second night was The Host Duties and The Guest Duties.  Jay taught us whose right it is to do certain things when being the host or the guest.  I find that this is so helpful not only for dinner parties, but also weddings as well. 

After a few hours of teaching, it was time for our 4-course meal!  It was so good!

One of the hardest things we struggled with was how to eat with a knife and fork - I know this sounds silly!

• Once you commit to using a knife (which should be in your right hand), you can never, change your fork back into your right hand to shovel food into your mouth?  This was the most challenging thing for all of us to accomplish!  We were so tempted to switch hands!  
• In order have to a comfortable amount of space at the table, there must be at least 24 inches between each dinner plate (center to center of the plate)

• Cutlery never touches the table again once you have picked it up.  It must rest on the plate or bowl.
• For dessert, sometimes a spoon is used as a substitute for a knife. 
• For ladies, if your purse is small enough, it goes on your lap and for larger purses, they should go inbetween your feet, under the table.

Overall I enjoyed both nights at the seminar.  I had fun catching up with old friends and meeting new people and most importantly brushing up on my etiquette and learning some new tips I never knew before!

Thank you to Holly for organizing this event and to Jay for teaching us!

The Truth About Competition - Wedding Planners by the numbers

by Danielle Andrews SunkelDownload The Truth About Wedding Competition pdf

Wedding Gifts and the Etiquette of it all...

By: Tracey Manailescu

Photo by: Oliver Schwarzwald 

Should you advise your clients about the risks of having gifts brought to the wedding reception? Theft, broken china, not enough room in the vehicles to transport it, just who is going to transport the gifts back to the parents home, who is receiving the gifts and manning the gift table, etc?

Believe it or not, there is Etiquette about just this sort of thing...

Gifts are supposed to be delivered to the bride's parents home. Yup, you read this right!

Etiquette is all about easing through situations, and to create a standard that eveyone can follow. Etiquette also says that guests have one year to give a gift, as the couple are technically, honeymooners for a year's time. So there is no need for the guests to lug it all with them to the Wedding Reception. It can be delivered beforehand, or afterwards.

When large and/or expensive gifts are brought to a reception, it creates all sorts of drama. Who is going to watch the gift table? Should security be hired, just in case? Who is going to load up the vehicles with gifts? Does the venue have a designated room to store the gifts until such time?

Now, of course we realize that if guests are going to bring a gift, they are going to bring it no matter what. Hence the need for a money box and a gift table, regardless.

What if, you as the professional Wedding Coordinator, could plant this little tidbit in the couples ear, so it trickles down through the family, and word gets passed through the mothers, etc? Makes sense doesn't it?

Happy planning!

Facial Piercings and Weddings

Written by: Lataysha Jackson, WPICC our newest WPIC Inc., Intern :)

Do you have a client with face piercings? Do they want to remove them or keep them?

Solutions to keeping the piercings or removing them for the big day

People pierce different areas of their face for numerous reasons; some have an interest, some wish to accessorize their face, and some may do piercings for a living. Whatever it may be there has always been a debate whether or not brides should keep their face piercings in on the wedding day. Commonly nose piercings and eyebrow piercing are okay piercings to have and are ok to keep in on the wedding day.

However if you have more than just your nose or eyebrows pierced on your face, that is when you run into indecisive decisions, and debates.

Keeping Them In:

If the bride wishes to keep her face piercings in; and comes to you for advice. Inform her that she may want to look into wearing small studs, diamonds, or jewellery that aligns with the wedding theme, wedding dress, or the attire of the wedding. Show her that she does not want to overpower her face but to keep it settle, that way all the focus will be on her beauty not the metal in her face.

Removing Them:

This decision should never be implemented by the wedding coordinator. If your bride chooses to remove her face piercings, and is concerned that her holes will be seen or her hole will close here is some suggestions.

Make-up is always the best way to cover them up, concealer or cover up is perfect for covering the holes, and preventing them from being seen in wedding photos or by the wedding guest. Your bride can speak to the make-up artist on the day of wedding that she wishes to hide her piercing holes. If you even have an eyebrows piercing, try styling your hair with bangs that fall down covering the area.

In some cases there are certain piercings that close within 24 hours. If your bride has worries you may suggest:

• Taking  a good size piece of broom straw that is big enough to be taken out after, but small enough so it is not visible; and insert it in the pierced hole
• Take dental floss or string that is a good enough size that won’t get stuck in the pierced hole and tie a knot at the end
• Or your bride could purchase earring sticks (seen below in the picture) these usually sell for $4.00 per pack and come in different colors. Using nude or colors that compliment your skin tone are the most suitable.

http://www.earringsplanet.com/category_11/2/Stud-Earrings.htm

*These or just ideas and suggestions, you may know your own solutions that you can present to the bride, or the bride already may know*

Face Piercings: How many is too many!

Check out Elaine Davidson: Elaine Davidson is a Brazilian born nurse, who has over 6,000 piercings. Elaine piercings didn’t stop her from being married; she painted her face green, and walked down the aisle filled with joy to be wed. Elaine is proud of her piercings, and isn’t afraid to be seen with them, her husband Douglas Watson supports his wife and says “he loves his wife and her appearance”. To read more, check out the following links below the pictures.

http://wikileaksnews.net/elaine-davidson-worlds-most-pierced-woman-gets-married-to-balding-civil-servant.html
http://chairforcengineer.blogspot.com/2011/06/worlds-most-pierced-woman-gets-married.html 

Piercings are personal and often represents a person; individuality, personality, and defines them as a person. Whether the face piercings are removed or not, at the end of the day the most important thing is that the bride is HAPPY.

 

A Magical Evening with Preston Bailey

“A Magical Evening with Preston Bailey”

By: WPIC Instructor, Monica Hill of Aisle Plan Your Day

When we first read about Preston Bailey coming to Edmonton, AB on Twitter, we registered our fabulous WPIC instructor, Monica Hill ASAP to represent and share her experience with all of us. Below is her recap of the night.On Saturday, October 1/ 2011 I had the pleasure of attending a “Magical Evening with Preston Bailey” presented by the Edmonton Bridal Expo in Edmonton, Alberta with several WPIC members.

 
The evening started out with a champagne cocktail reception at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald.  It was here that I had the opportunity to meet with Preston Bailey face to face… and what an amazing experience it was! Preston Bailey is truly a down-to-earth person who seems genuinely interested in what you have to say. He asked about the market in Edmonton and surrounding Alberta … and proceeded to ask about our current rates on planning packages for clients. He is a very intriguing individual and it was certainly hard not to get “star-struck” when speaking with him. He ended our conversation with a hug as we exchanged business cards.

Upon conclusion of the cocktail reception, we proceeded to our reserved table front and center for Preston Bailey’s presentation.  The evening started out with a decadent array of food for our plated dinner.

  Our dinner menu for the evening included: 

• Woodland Mushroom Bisque with White Truffle Oil drizzle
• Pan-seared Snow Crab Cake with Black Bean and Roasted Corn salad, Organic pea shoots w/lemon zest aioli
• Organic “Diamond Willow” Beef Tenderloin w/ Red Wine jus, Mascarpone and Red Beet mashed potatoes
• Dessert trio of: Classic Creme Brulee, miniature Apple Pie bite & rich Chocolate Pate

Upon conclusion of dinner service, Preston Bailey took the stage and within minutes, had the entire room laughing. Preston shared some rather personal facts with the group about his claim to fame and offered some great advice on how to be successful. His advice consisted of 3 main points:

1. “Determine what makes you different and what sets you apart from the competition”
2. “Always say Yes”  to clients
3. “You have to trust in yourself & your surroundings”

Preston then proceeded to share some of his current projects he is working on and highlighted some of the best moments of his career, including planning Oprah Winfrey’s 50^th Birthday and working closely with numerous clients such as Jennifer Hudson, Donald Trump and Royal Families across the globe.

Preston made a point to mention how truly lucky we are to be working within such a wonderful industry. He discussed the difference between social vs corporate clients and emphasized his passion for weddings. Preston also provided some insight into the different design concepts he provides to his clients, and that he always creates 3 completely different concepts for his clients to choose from. He works with an amazing team of designers out of his office in New York and said his true love for designing is in India as they are familiar with the various textures and textiles and he loves the fact that they party for a week!  Preston even showed us a picture of his personal bedroom in New York City showing crystals and florals on a 4 poster bed and explained; “I wake up every morning and want to have a party”.

Upon conclusion of the presentation, Preston Bailey proceeded to take pictures with every person that attended the gala and sign his book for anyone that had copies with them. If I had to describe my evening at The Preston Bailey Gala, I could sum it up by saying I was completely star-struck by such an amazing person who made every person in that room laugh and smile throughout the entire presentation. I feel truly honored to have been able to attend an event with a true icon in our industry!

Preston Bailet and WPIC Instructor, Monica Hill

"Conceptualizing Your Ad" Marketing Seminar

By: Tracey Manailescu

 
As you should already know, we at WPIC inc are all about continuing your education, growing your businesses and staying on top of the latest laws and trends. When our Alumni are investing in themselves and their companies we are all stronger because of it.

This past weekend is an example.

Creating a print advertisement for your business can be a tricky and for some an agonizing thing...

Melissa Nowakowski, Founder and Director of Marketing UnVEILED and Creative Director for Et Lofte Events and WPIC Instructor, provided tips for creating the most effective ad to market your business in a 3hr. seminar. She encouraged the attendees to submit their own ads, where she gave tips and advise based on what was submitted. Nowakowski also showed other companies' ads to show as examples.

"Hi All,

I thought I would share my feedback from today's seminar.

I would HIGHLY recommend this course to everyone and strongly encourage Mel and the WPIC to host another seminar (or even webinar) in the near future. Whether you are new business owner or a veteran planner this one is a must. The tools and guidance presented alone are a valuable asset to you and your business.

Mel is professional, engaging and enthusiastic not to mention her expertise on the subject is extensive.

There is absolutely no reason why you should choose to miss out on such a great opportunity as this one!

Thanks for a great morning!"

Liz Scheniman, WPICC of Gush Events

Memories of Wedding MBA 2011 -Las Vegas

By: Tracey Manailescu

Photo: Kim Choy

The WPIC Office (along with 2100 others) went to Las Vegas last week to attend Wedding MBA at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.

Danielle Andrews Sunkel and Tracey Manailescu were speakers (for the 4th year in a row) on Destination Weddings. What was unfortunate for us, aside from my hair disaster that happened the day before we left for Las Vegas....(LOL!) was that we know we did not do our best.  We had the necessary material and content, but did not allow our personalities  to take over and share the trials and successes we have experienced over the years in the delivery. We have been beating ourselves up from it since we presented :(

Kim Choy and Angelina Raykova ran our double booth to promote the 7th annual Wedding Professional International Conference

I found this year had more variety of professional speakers and enjoyed the tips and tricks shared with the participants. My favourite speakers included Alan Berg, Sasha Souza, Tammy Elliot of The Perfect Wedding Guide, Kathy Ireland and Wedlock Marketing Journal's Nicole Munoz.

We were invited to attend a party at Aria sponsored by The Knot, which included drinks and passed hors d'œuvres.  It was a packed event that was well organized.  It was great to see so many attendees "glammed up"!

Photo: Kim Choy

Every time we come to Vegas, we try to catch a show and explore something special that is unique to this wild and whacky city. How can you possibly sit in your hotel room when their is truly something for everyone?

See you in Vegas next year!

WPIC Sponsoring "Love Mexico" Destination Wedding Conference