WPIC

How much money do Canadians spend on Weddings?

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel I really don't like when Wedding Vendors give a couple a list of what the average spend is on Wedding Items.  I have never given one of my couples such a list or budget, because there is no set formula. One couple will value the party, while the next is more interested in the decor. No two weddings will ever allot their budget the same way, everyone has different priorities.  To give an example: if someone gave me $50,000 to decorate and renovate my house, and they gave you the same money, we would spend it in two completely different ways. You may put it into a kitchen and bathrooms, whereas I may put it into the basement and flooring, etc.  Its all about priorities and to tell a couple, this is how you should be spending your money, could really mess up the planning process.  I understand some people just really like to know what the stats are, so here you go. Here is the average spend on weddings by Canadian couples, as compiled by Weddingsbells/Mariage Quebec Magazine.As you can see even the type and formality of the wedding affects how a couple will spend their money, so average is just that, average. Its not a guideline at all.  You will notice that Wedding Planners are not listed in the budget. Wedding Planners/Coordinators are not typically included in the budget, as they charge 10-15% of the TOTAL budget (excluding Honeymoon, unless they planned that too).

"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.

Event Graffiti for Your Clients

By: Tracey ManailescuAttention GTA Wedding Coordinators:

Your clients look to you for guidance, creativity and something different.  Check out Event Graffiti. 

Event Graffiti is very thin pieces of vinyl that look painted when applied to most smooth surfaces.  It is simple to use and will quickly personalize your clients special day in a very classy way.  They have great prices and add that special touch.

Event Graffiti is not only easy to apply, it is just as easy to remove without harming underlying surfaces, even the not so skilled and  coordinated could apply it.

Where can you apply Event Graffiti?  It can be applied to the dance floor, reception area wall, behind the head table, along the front of the bar, the possibilities are endless.  Large or small, practically  anything can be customized to continue the look and
theme of your event.

They do vinyl work, print custom backdrops, seating charts and can also print custom favour stickers and labels. 

*All photos were taken by Corrie & Norm Oliveira of Event Graffiti

The Truth About Competition - Wedding Planners by the numbers

by Danielle Andrews SunkelDownload The Truth About Wedding Competition pdf

Quality vs. Price - Why Hiring a Budget Wedding Planner Could Backfire

by Christina Frizzell,WPICC of Sweet Bliss Weddings in Edmonton, AB

Everyone loves a bargain! And when are you more likely to look for a bargain than when you are planning on making a big purchase?  Whether it’s a car, an entertainment system or a camera, chances are that you want to do a bit of research to determine what the best model is for the best price.

This practice should be no different when you are looking for a wedding planner.

The average cost of a wedding in Canada is $25,000.  That’s a LOT of money to invest and chances are you will have to trim up on a few wedding expenses to stay within budget.  However, I am here to explain why hiring a budget wedding planner could end up costing a lot more than if you had hired a professional in the first place.

If you’re getting married (congratulations!) and are starting to research all-things-wedding, then no doubt you have already checked out websites like Kijiji looking for décor, vendors and services.  While sites like Kijiji are great for finding bargains, they’re also a free bulletin board for self-described “professionals” to get your business.

Aside from the usual red flags (no company website, a hotmail address, no business materials), you should also be looking at their pricing as an indicator as to whether or not these so-called professional planners are actually qualified to be entrusted with your special day.

For example, I am always told about “wedding planners” who charge $400-$500 (or less…yikes!)  for Wedding Day Coordination.  While this may sound like an absolute steal, let’s do the math:

For us WPIC certified planners, what’s known as a “Day Of Coordination” actually doesn’t just include your wedding day.  We are doing a bunch of work behind the scenes in preparation of your wedding day.  We are contacting all of your vendors to confirm everything they contractually agreed to provide you with; and if we are not familiar with the vendor that you have booked, we may contact a reliable vendor that we know of and ask them to be on stand-by in the event that your chosen vendor fails to show up.  We are also creating your wedding day timeline and itinerary for you and coordinating your rehearsal.  In total (including being there on your wedding day), we are putting in 40 hours or more for your “Day Of” coordination.

Photo by Nikko Lim

If we only charged $400 for this service that means that we are only making $10/hr, which is slightly above Alberta’s minimum wage (less than minimum wage in Ontario).  At this point, you should be asking yourself: “How is this business making money?” And that’s a great question!! 

The main goal of all businesses is to make money.  So if you are hiring a wedding planner who is willing to work for minimum wage, what level of service will you be getting?  And if their business is not making money, will they even be in business by the time your wedding rolls around? 

The bottom line is: You Get What You Pay For.  Anyone can claim to be a wedding planner and take out an ad on Kijiji or start a page on Facebook.  However, it is education, past experience, professionalism and industry connections that set professional planners apart from the “weekend warriors” who are just out to make a quick buck. 

Would you hire a wedding dress maker who has no formal training or experience other than “I watch a lot of Project Runway”?

When it comes to your wedding day, who would you rather have in your corner?

About Christina Frizzell, WPICC - After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree and living abroad in London, England, Christina returned home to Edmonton and created Sweet Bliss Weddings. Christina believes that a wedding should be a reflection of who you are, both as individuals and as a couple, and will help you incorporate those personal touches that will leave your guests talking about your wedding for years to come. She is also the first and only Wedding Planner in Alberta to be certified by the Gay Wedding Institute. 

Ladies Night Out - Rosehill Event Lounge

By: Lataysha Jackson, WPIC Intern.

On Wednesday October 12^th 2011 Danielle Andrews Sunkel, Kim Choy, and I had the pleasure of attending the Rosehill Event Lounge. Us lovely ladies got to dress up and enjoy a lavish night of complimentary appetizers/beverages, and entertainment.

The Rosehill Venue/Lounge is wonderful location to host wedding ceremonies, weddings, special event receptions, parties, luncheons and dinners.

Rosehill Information
6 Rosehill Avenue Toronto, ON
Tel. 416.923.2232
[email protected]

When we walked into the building we all were blown away by the beauty. The interior was a gorgeous vintage elegant layout with exquisite decor, modern furniture, and historic pictures. The crowd was amazing! Everyone was conversing, taking pictures, and enjoying the mellow jazz music in the background.

We had the pleasure of indulging in different food dishes, and drinks from the food stations, coffee and espresso and beer and wine bar. The food stations were hosted by different catering companies.

Sequel Catering & Events, Ann Tran
416.480.0996
www.sequel.ca

BLT Mac N’ Cheese & Ann Tran and Chef

The BLT Mac N Cheeses was DELICIOUS! The dish was superb, and was Kim’s and my favourite dish of the night. The dish was light, all flavours of ingredients blended nicely, and you got and evenly tastes of all ingredients. Every bite felt like heaven.

Ingredients: parsley, tomatoes, bacon bites, mix of three cheeses, and assorted spices.

L-EAT Catering
416. 631.9926
http://www.leatcatering.com/home.htm

Beef served with Lobster Mash Potatoes

Kim and Danielle had the opportunity to try this dish and said “The beef was juicy! and the lobster mash potatoes were good”

Ingredients: green beans, sundried tomatoes, lobster, mash potatoes, beef, beef gravy, and assorted spices

Noble Culinary Creations Catering
416.288.9713
www.nobleculinary.com

 Cornish Hen Chicken & Raspberry Stuffed Pastry

When Danielle, Kim, and I took our first bite into each dish, we said “WOW, this is really good”. Me having a sweet tooth I loved the dessert, it was to die for!

Ingredients
Cornish Hen Chicken: dark chicken meat, peas, pearl onions, mash potatoes, and blackberry sauce.
Raspberry Stuffed Pastry: raspberries, flakey pastry, icing/crème, filled with assorted fruit filling.

On The Move Catering Company
905.615.9957
http://www.otm.ca/

    Chef cooking it up!  & Seafood Jambalya

“Wow I like this I really like this. I think it’s the best dish of the night” –Kim Choy

Besides the great review from Kim, the Chef was so friendly and inviting. He was very approachable, knew his information, and had a blast cooking our dish.

Ingredients: rice in an authentic sauce, onions, peas, assorted spices served with all or your choice of; shrimp, chicken, salami sausage, and clams.

En Ville Event Design & Catering
416.533.8800
www.enville.com

 Herloon Carrot & Beat Root Coleslaw & Lobster Bisque with Popcorn

The food was all delightful and the portions were filling.  By the end of the evening we were all stuffed!

The Suzana da Camara Cabaret
416.525.5757
www.suzanamusic.com

 

Apart from the catering, culinary, and events companies there was an entertainment company called The Suzana da Camara Cabaret. The company specializes in 1940s cabaret shows with themes, musicality, and choreography. Performances are always performed by Suzana along with her instrumental band. They do performances for weddings, special event, and many more.

Spirit Entertainment
416.322.7464
www.spiritentertainment.ca

 

Along with food plus beverages was entertainment. Enjoyment to soft jazz music being played, guest also had the opportunity to go in a photo booth to take pictures, AWESOME!

Danielle, Kim, and I squeezed ourselves into the booth to take memorable candid photos of the night. It was hilarious trying to fit all our faces into the camera shot, however they came out nicely. Mission Impossible was Possible - sort of...!

We indulged, interacted, drank, and were entertained. It was a lovely eventful night and a great success for the Rosehill Event Lounge. It was a good turn out and on behalf of WPIC Danielle, Kim, and I would personally like to thank Rosehill Event Lounge for hosting great night. Thank You!

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.

 

Tips for a Great Business Headshot

Special thanks to guest Bloggers Lin and Leon from Vancouver B.C's Orange Memories Photography for sharing their great article with us at WPIC.

Tips for Getting a Compelling Business Portrait

A good business portrait is essential to your business because it's part of your brand. It promotes your professional presence everywhere such as business cards, websites, brochures, public relations, press releases and of course social media. A professionally created business portrait is an important tool to convey your identity to the public and connect you with your potential clients. People see who you are and are more likely to feel like working with you.

 

Here are a few tips that will help you get great business portrait

1. Be confident about yourself. Remember. What you are feeling always gets portrayed through our lens. So be confident, you will look confident. Be happy and you will look happy. Your business portrait should showcase that you are an accomplished professional. 
2. Smizing. Smizing means smile with your eyes. Don't worry about the few wrinkles that might go with it. A genuinely happy person is too positive to let a few wrinkles to get them down. 
3. If you need a hair cut, do it a few days before the photo shoot. 
4. Wear clothes that fit you well. Wear colours that complement your skin tone. 
5. Wear makeup in moderation to accentuate your assets and downplay any undesirable features. Get a professional make-up artist if necessary. 
6. Straighten up during the photo shoot. Don't hunch. 
7. If you want to hide your double chin, tilt your face slightly upwards.

"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