Marina Andrews

While interviewing your wedding site (obviously you need to make sure your date is available), ask the site manager what their rules and regulations are regarding decoration. Also, inquire as to whether or not they have a “preferred vendors list” or a “required vendors list”. This means you may possibly not be able to bring in your own florist or designer. The site sometimes has such a regulation to protect their facilities or because they may even receive commissions from the vendors. If you have a favorite florist/designer, who is reputable in the area and a professional, ask the site manager if they might make an exception and allow you to bring in your own florist/designer. Most sites are very willing about this as long as the business is reputable.

Ask the site manager (this includes the ceremony and reception sites) if they have any decorations, trees, trees with lights, lattice work or other props that you might be allowed to use. Be sure to ask if there is a fee for such use. This could be a way to save money.

For the Bride on a Restricted budget, here are some other ways to save money:

1) use pot plants for centerpieces (this can be fun; you can place a sticker under one of the chairs at the table and at some point during the late evening, announce that the person with the sticker under the chair can take the flowers home);

2) have a friend take the flowers used for the ceremony to the reception site and arrange them appropriately;

3) find a florist that works in silk or dried arrangements;

4) use seasonal flowers;

5) instead of ordering special flowers for the cake table or head table….or even guests’ tables….use the bouquets for the attendants. Remember, YOUR bouquet should go on the cake table, and while we are talking about your bouquet, it’s a must that one of the types of flowers used in your bouquet should also be used in the groom’s buttonniere;

6) use a simple flat glass bowl and float a gardenia or other type of lilly in the bowl;

7) use tulle and fabric puffs as centerpieces (this can be alot of fun and very economical;

simply scatter flower petals onto the top of the table; use framed photos of you and your groom at different ages or even pictures of the immediate family members, pictures while you were dating, place them in the center of the table with a bud vase with a single flower in it in the middle of the photos.

Having been a wedding consultant for more than nineteen years, I have experienced the happiest of weddings. Those that I find most memorable are the ones where the bride and the groom and both sets of parents are involved in the planning. Every bride and groom ask me: “How can we make our wedding different? What can we do to make it memorable rather than just like everyone else’s wedding?” I always have the same answer for every bride and groom: “Personalize it! Don’t worry about trying to outdo someone else or trying to make it different!”

Here are some tips that I have experienced in planning more than nine
hundred weddings. Along with these ideas, I have included the names of some of the vendors that made them happen.

1. The Wedding Gown:

a). Many brides really do want to wear their mother’s gown. The reality is that not only are gowns sometimes not wearable, i.e. time and improper storage has caused the fabric to be damaged or discolored (Christine Morrissey: National Gown Cleaners (408) 241 3490), but the shape of women has changed from previous generations. In years past women were more involved with manual labor and chores. Because of that the shape of the body was different. That’s not to say that the modern woman has grown soft and flabby. Quite the opposite. Women of the current generation exercise more deliberately and tend to have better body tone and shape. So, the gown of a previous generation simply often does not fit the modern bride. That’s not to say that the mother’s gown cannot be put to good use. Don’t let it continue to sit in the box and deteriorate. As awful as it sounds: cut up that gown! Make a ring bearer pillow, a flower girl dress, use the fabric and lace in the bridal bouquet and boutonneire. If there is an abundance of fabric, create a beautiful overlay for the bridal table. Or use pieces woven in and around the floral arrangements, bows for the bride’s and groom’s chairs. The possibilities are endless.

b). One particularly wonderful idea I had for one of three daughters’ weddings that I did in Texas was that we had a seamstress create the flower girl’s dress in the same design as the expensive designer gown that the bride wore.

c). Be attentive to the ceremonial area. A bride of mine was to have her ceremony on a beautiful winding stairway in a gorgeous Atherton, California home. Above the stairwell was a skylight with wonderful stained glass of lavendor, pink and green irises. I suggested: “Why not design the attendants’ gowns and the bouquets and other decorations to reflect the colors in that skylight?” The bride loved the idea, and we did just that We kept it a secret and were curious if anyone would notice. Sure enough, when the bride and groom returned from the honeymoon, she called to tell me how lovely things were and that she was ecstatic to walk through the reception and overhear a guest comment to another: “Wasn’t it beautiful how the dresses and flowers matched the skylight? I wonder if they did that deliberately?” I can assure you, all my brides and I are deliberate, and very conspiratorial! The bride told me, “You know Robbi, little things mean a lot. I figured that you and I would be the only people that noticed that tiny detail!”

Ever thought of hiring a wedding consultant? Before you do, it would be best to check out his or her credentials. Robbi Ernst, III of June Wedding, Inc. has prepared some questions for you to ask before hiring anyone:

1. Does the consultant have a business license or at least a DBA registration?

2. If you meet the consultant in his/her home, do they have liability insurance?

3. How long have they been in business?

4. What professional organizations do they belong to? (NOTE: while belonging to an association is important, realize that there are some unprofessional organizations and associations and often their only requirement is paying dues).

5. How many weddings do they do a year?

6. Ask for at least five vendor referrals (vendor referrals are other professionals in the area; vendor referrals are usually more reliable than bridal referrals).

7. Is the Consultant Certified; if so, by whom? Again, check out that Association that gave the certification.

8. Does the Consultant have a contract? Ask for a copy.

9. Does the Consultant have a staff or “back-up” system in case he/she becomes unavailable on your wedding day?

10. Does the Consultant accept referral fees/commissions? Do NOT work with any consultant who receives referral fees/commissions.

11.What does the Consultant do? Are they able to work with you on an individual meeting basis or do they only work on the full production?

12. Check out well the referrals that the Consultant gives you. Do they have good reputations in the local business community? Do they all have licenses, insurance and health permits (if they are in the food industry)?

13. Will the Consultant work within your budget?

14. Does the Consultant seem organized, efficient, able to listen to your ideas and translate them into reality?

15. How and what amount does the Consultant charge….and what are they doing for that fee?

16. How often will the Consultant provide you with written updates on your wedding planning?

17. Will the Consultant be at the Rehearsal and Wedding Day
throughout? Is this within the fee quoted or is it additional?

18. How will the Consultant be attired on the day of the wedding?