Google away!!! There are so many online resources related to weddings. Print out everything that works for you and save it in your files.
Here's a video I created for the Budget Conscious Bride
#1 Best Tip...Book your Event Location and Confirm Your Date Before Anything Else... Everything Centers Around It. Deciding on a location one year or more in advance is common. Local vendors who know the location...will be enabled to deliver an accurate quote knowing the time, date, place, and the logistics of the location.
If you would like suggestions or insight on any location in our area, just call us 941-400-5504 anytime...we're here to help.
Here's our growing list of Beach Breeze Wedding Tips ...I hope these bits of advice help to make your entire day a Breeze.
- Work out any disagreements with your partner, not with either set of parents.
- Plan your budget, then expect it to cost up to 25 % more than expected. Search for the vendors and venues that offer the right fit for YOU. Locking in on those you are happy with will enable you to refine your budget while focusing on those elements that are most important to you.
- If working within a small budget...Weekdays and even Fridays are less expensive than Saturdays. Limit the guest list to your absolute nearest and dearest...and be clear if you're not inviting plus-ones. Family and friends can do much of the preparation. Cost saving measures include moving chairs onto a beach, decorating, buying flowers at the local market, making your own centerpieces, and bringing anything else that you can supply yourselves.
- When budget is less of a concern, consider a wedding planner if you think acting as your own planner will take too much time and effort. A planner will eliminate any imposition on your friends, and will allow you to enjoy more of your limited time shared with guests.
- Supply easy to follow maps or directions and estimates of travel time for everyone. I've witnessed many weddings where both guests and hired service providers didn't show up on time. (thankfully, none that I was responsible for.) Remember that beach areas in general, seasonal traffic, opening bridges, and parking issues create different timing than MapQuest would lead you to believe.
- Venues sometimes try to upscale their locations by advertising a different address than their actual location. Be sure to research the address online before sending it out to your guests and vendors. Drive the route in a similar timeframe as your wedding, and take good notes... one mis-direction or wrong street or zip code can screw up a whole event.
- Ask your venue for a list of recommended vendors...., then ask them why I'm not on the list yet !!! (I'll be on it once they see my work.) When you find the vendors that you are comfortable with....Sample the food, ask to see pictures of their work, ask for references, and if they have it, ask to see video tape of their most recent weddings. Call references! Ask about delays and issues in service, quantity or quality.
- With all service providers...discuss your budget as early as possible. Enter the conversation knowing your chosen colors and any themes or ideas that you have already decided upon. Research online to get a feel for expected fees. Ask for pictures of their most recent weddings and to actually see any items they will deliver for you. Pictures are always taken when something is new...Ask about familiarity with your chosen venue and call any references given!!! Ask references about delays and issues in service, quantity or quality. Always trust your gut.
- Meet your tent, catering, decor, and any willing vendor on site in advance, or at least confirm their familiarity with the venue or location. Vendors need to know about any inherent obstacles associated with your chosen location. It could mean a delay on your wedding day that could affect the entire chain of events. Ask about access for your vendors. I've been to places where the DJ is not allowed to use the elevator to the third floor...ASK!!! Always ask your vendors when they've last worked at the venue you've chosen. Use your judgment and trust your gut if you think the vendor just doesn't fit your needs, match your style, or doesn't answer your questions with simple and logical answers.
- When communicating with vendors by email...change the subject line with each subsequent response to reflect the content within.
- Put everything in writing!! Ensure that time changes, new directions, and any detail that would affect the end result of your event from anyone else's perspective, are duly noted in the title of your communication and highlighted within the communication. Repeat pertinent details on subsequent emails (once is sometimes not enough). Never depend on changes talked about only once over the phone!
- Your Wedding dress should be purchased about six months before the event to ensure proper time for alterations.
- Invitations should go out about 6-8 weeks in advance- Sooner if this is destination travel. Be sure to bring a sample of your invitation to the US Post Office to ensure proper postage and no chance of mass returns with postage due.
- Make a timeline photocopy handout outlining the entire event and any expectations you have of your wedding party members and immediate family. They need to know all the details to enable them to plan their day(s) around meeting your needs and getting to the event looking good too!
- Bring an "emergency kit" to your wedding for yourself and for those around you...Safety pins, needle and thread, nail polish, hair pins, contact lens solutions, vitamins, aspirin, snacks, bottled water, personal fans, mouthwash and...SUNSCREEN!!!! etc. If guests are staying in your hotel, this could be part of a care package/welcome gift that you create to be delivered upon arrival to their rooms. Anticipate every need in advance.
- Be sure to direct vendors to the proper emergency contact points. A working and monitored cel phone on your big day can thwart many issues. Decide far in advance, if it's the Planner, a trusted friend, the venue contact person, or the Groom who will handle the issues as they happen. The bride who knows every detail is the one everyone leaves alone on her wedding day.
- The groom is the one that everyone will bring their problems to unless otherwise directed. Share your concerns with him well in advance, and make a list... He's already as overwhelmed as you are...so don't leave details to memory. Make a vendor list with vendor cell phone numbers and expected timelines (verify in advance that you have the correct on-site cell numbers of your vendors, and that they have yours correct as well). All should have the ability for last minute communication if needed. It's great to delegate these worries to a planner which will allow you both to simply forget about all of this and be a guest at your own wedding.
- Eat something before your wedding, be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day. You don’t want to faint on your big day. If you are from somewhere else other than Florida...watch out for our strong sun...it'll burn you in 15 minutes, and our heat can exhaust you quickly. You'll never get a tan in one day...don't try it until after your wedding...red is not a good color with white. Save the alcohol until after your hot beach wedding...you'll slur through your vows. Keep on drinking lots of water!!!
- There is always a point person on your wedding day to monitor the progression of your event and relay information to the kitchen to help coordinate their food service process accordingly. Ask how that will be achieved and what points are pivotal to their success. Usually this is the job of the wedding planner, venue catering captain, or a special point person. You should know their concerns and action points.
- Know the difference in scope and responsibility of your "Day-Planner" and any "Event Coordinator/Producer" that you hire. These bonus services are often available as part of your package with the venue or through your experienced service providers. I highly recommended incorporating this type of service into the mix, so you can be free to just enjoy the event and your guests without concern of the details.
- A Day Planner manages the worries only on your wedding day and is the final point person to interact with vendors and the venue. An Event Coordinator/Producer is involved from the inception of your party to facilitate the entire production and has a deeper understanding of how your event should flow. Either may act as your day planner on the day of your event. There are many ways to approach a wedding...be sure to clarify EVERYONE'S role well before the event. Overlap of service has created tensions on many events. The catering venue should be on board with the plans of your producer, day planner, and any individual vendors with special needs.
- Wedding Politics- Bringing in an outside wedding planner from Tampa to run your wedding in Sarasota in a venue that supplies that service in-house is definitely the wrong approach. It might cost more to hire the one offered by the venue, but be assured they know what they are worth and the higher price means that you'll be backed by an entire team of people familiar with the venue. If you outsource a replacement to save money...the venue that lost money due to your decision will allow your planner to do the job...all of it...and with no help. Avoid any situation where you are creating unnecessary tension or you have to step in as the middleman to facilitate your own wedding. Ask a lot of questions...or hire a pro like myself to ask them for you.
- Unless it has been decided differently right from the start....There's no need for a wedding planner to be involved in the ceremonial portion of any event that I am officiating...other than using them to possibly help meter and define the path of the processional or to gather your group for the line-up...there's really no reason for their input to the ceremony when you hire me. I will handle the rehearsal, logistics, and the structure of your wedding ceremony in it's entirety.
- If considering a live musician in lieu of the music we provide, please use ours or forward a contact point so we can familiarize them with our ceremonies and timing. There's no need for anyone (dj's or coordinators) to rebuild the wheel, review or restructure our plan on the day of your wedding or before your event at a rehearsal. I've got you covered!! My approach is democratic and all inclusive to facilitate the best format that meets your needs. In my experience, the timing and smoothness of any event where two chefs are doing the same job in the kitchen, will result in bad food.
- On that note...trust your vendors. For the most part, you can expect that everyone knows what they are doing and how they will accomplish it....it's time to trust that idea. Everyone should be aware of your expectations in advance and have delivered their understanding of them in writing. On your wedding day it's time to let it happen and focus on your family and friends. Just enjoy the moment and take it all in !!
- Take a deep breath before the start of your big day. A great performer once shared this bit of info with me that has changed my attitude every time I step out of my house and into the public eye. He said, "Before you step out onto the stage.... say to yourself, " I love my audience, and my audience loves me." It's a game changer! This day is all about your abundance of love, forgiveness, kindness, and joy...hold that thought as long as you can !
- Remember to be kind to everyone (especially service providers) you encounter on Your Wedding Day...it's about sharing love....not being caught up in the negatives of any given moment. If you can laugh at the small stuff and the stresses that sometimes add up during your big day...the rest of your life will be a dream. Remember that no one but you knows everything that's supposed to happen. Most professional service providers can regroup and recover from any fumbled moment. A simple reminder might be in order...but hold back on being personally offended by mistakes, or responding as a BrideZilla. Just allow everyone to do their best for you. In all situations, you're the only one that knows a mistake has been made. Remember...Everyone falls over backwards to please a nice bride....the opposite is true as well.
Call anytime...I'll share more stories and ideas if you're interested.
I hope these tips have helped to move you closer to a phenomenal wedding experience and have removed some of the mystery that others charge to reveal. I'd love to be the one to help you through the rest of your wedding event in the Sarasota Florida area.
Now enjoy the process, but most of all, enjoy your Sarasota Wedding Event....and allow your special day to unfold at your feet.
Sincerely,
Allan Zuckerman
