Leave The Details To Me on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook & Posterous

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I took the plunge & joined the "social Media" networks.... FINALLY!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!

Yesterday, John & Nicole had hoped to have an outdoor wedding ceremony overlooking the lake at the Burlington Golf & Country Club - but the weather just didn't cooperate.

The couple, their families and bridal party met at Dundurn Castle for photos before the ceremony - in the pouring rain. Thankfully, we had the whole covered back porch of the castle to do photos in and lots of big umbrellas to help keep everyone dry. We were also glad that no other bridal parties showed up for the same locale. Despite the rain, the couple were in good spirits and the photos will no doubt still be amazing. The "Big Reveal" moment was captured by the photographers - that special "first glimpse" of each other... priceless!

Back at the Burlington Golf Club, the alternative ceremony site was set up in the banquet hall. Guests were seated at their reception tables and a couple rows of chairs were set on the dance floor for family members. The head table & cake became the back drop for the ceremony
After the officiant, groomsmen, parents and groom entered, the processional was led by Isabella - the 9 month old adorable flower girl, "escorted" by her father as she toddled down the aisle to the delight of the guests. Following her was Charlotte, the 18-mth old flower girl, holding her mom's hand, and stealing the show with her cuteness.
After the rest of the bridesmaids, Nicole made her grand entrance with her dad, looking like a vision of beauty in her strapless gown and cathedral-length, laced-edged veil.

By the end of the ceremony, the rain clouds had disappeared and the guests were able to enjoy cocktails on the lawn, overlooking the lake, while the bridal couple were able to get some formal photos done outside.

The reception was a fun evening - a great meal, touching speeches, and lots of dancing until the wee hours of the morning! Special kudos for the staff at BGC as they were amazing to work with & handled everything with professionalism and integrity.

Congratulations Nicole & John - a beautiful couple.... I wish you all the best in your new life together as husband & wife!

Nicole & John's WEDDING VENDORS:
Photographer: Julie Johnson, Vine Images www.vineimages.com
Harpist: Chantal Dube 416-909-9944
Pianist: Christie Latta, clatta@cogeco.ca
Officiant: Harold Bridle (uncle of Bride)
Venue: Burlington Golf Club www.burlingtongolfclub.com
Decorator & Florist: Paula - La Fiora Floral Studio www.lafioras.com
DJ: Jeff from Bil Copeland DJ www.thunderdj.com
Cake: Lakeview Pastry www.lakeviewpastry.com

Perfect Day for Lexi & Travis!

Lexi & Travis tied the knot yesterday in the midst of 100 family & friends. The ceremony was held at Redeemer University College in Ancaster in an intimate room decorated with an arbour, shimmery fabric swagging along the aisle chairs, accented with red & black chiffon ribbons & bows. Wall sconces held tall vases with taper candles & more chiffon ribbons & bows. Two candleabras completed the decor. It was a beautiful, intimate ceremony setting.


After enjoying some fun with their photographer, Jason Matos Photography, on the Redeemer property, the bridal party arrived in style in an SUV limo to the Royal Canadian Legion in Hamilton for their reception.
Great family speeches, the cutting of a creative Red & Black wedding cake
& special first dance & family dances -and the party was on!


Congratulations on your wonderful day!

Photographer: Jason Matos Photography www.jasonmatosphoto.com
Decorator: Josie - With All My Heart Wedding Decor www.withallmyheartweddingdecor.ca
Flowers: Josie's Flowers, Hamilton Market 905-304-0682
Officiant: Rev. Dr. Kurt Richardson, Ryerson United Church, Ancaster
Ceremony Venue: Redeemer University College, Ancaster www.redeemer.ca
Pianist: Christie Latta, clatta@cogeco.ca
Limo Service: Guy - Happy Day Limosines www.ahappydaylimousine.com
Reception Venue: Royal Canadian Legion #163 www.legion.ca
DJ: Shaun Davidson, korned_69@hotmail.com
Cake: Maggie's Sweets maggiessweets.ca

"Destination Weddings" at Niagara Parks Commission's Great Wedding Venues!

A few weeks ago, I (along with 3 other wedding coordinators) had the privilege of being given a tour of the Niagara Parks Commission venues by Sue Zareski (Weddings & Corporate Sales Manager for NPC). What amazing facilities there are - some of which I had never heard of before! And the rates, other services, options are worth checking into! There is no charge for outdoor photos at any of their sites. You will find Sue & all the staff with NPC are very flexible and creative in their ideas to help you create a perfect "destination" wedding - without travelling too far from home!

Here are the locations we visited and one or two highlights about each venue:

Queenston Heights...sitting atop the Niagara Escarpment, overlooking the river, with on site options for outdoor ceremonies, including a permanently covered porch (in case of bad weather), a historically elegant dining room and a view that is amazing!

Botanical Gardens and Butterfly Conservatory... sprawling, large and varied outdoor garden areas - "aisles" of trees, cozy corners, beautiful flowers. . And what about a small, intimate wedding inside amongst the tropical gardens with butterflies flitting about everywhere?! The conservatory also has a roof-top area that is also available for rent and would make a neat ceremony/cocktail hour/stand-up reception area. Can be rented in advance for indoor photos

Whirlpool Golf Course ... an "elegant casual" room overlooking the manicured golf greens. Outdoor patio are part of the deal as well.

Aero Car ... for a totally unique ceremony idea, why not get married while suspended over top of the whirlpool rapids in the aero car?! Yup - its actually available to rent for such an event!

Oakes Garden Theatre - a unique outdoor expanse of walkways, arches, pergolas, etc that is a popular location for ceremonies.

Edgewaters Restaurant and Terrace - Two options are available here. One is the "Commissioner Quarters" upstairs, and includes large open dance floor area, lounge area with sofas & bar off to the side of the dining area. Intimate and unique. Second option is the restaurant with open air doors to the terrace balcony. Great views of both falls from here - and how about getting custom-coloured lights on the falls during the evening to coordinate with your wedding colours?!!

Elements on the Falls - Very chic, elegantly designed restaurant right at the edge of the falls - with amazing food! (I know first-hand as that's where we ate lunch)

Pop & Lolly’s - a gourmet candy shop that specializes in custom-candies for weddings!

Floral Showhouse - unique grounds for ceremonies or photos, intimate indoor space surrounding by lush plants & flowers of all kinds. Can be rented in advance for indoor photos..


Oak Hall - an enormous, stately mansion elegantly furnished with antiques. A stunning location for a very small & intimate wedding.

Legends on the Niagara Golf Course - large, bright, open foyer that leads into an elegant dining room which leads out onto an incredibly large & attractive outdoor covered porch that overlooks the golf course.

What is amazing about NPC is that the rentals & facilities at all these venues are "mix & match" deals - the options are endless.

SO... for a "destination wedding" close to home - do check out Niagara Falls - and specifically the Niagara Parks Commission venues.

www.niagaraparksweddings.com
szareski@niagaraparks.com

SWEET CHEEKS: Yellow & Black Dinner/Silent Auction Fund Raiser

Saturday April 24th was the date of a great fundraiser event that I had the privilege of assisting at in Burlington. SWEET CHEEKS is the name of a local bicycling team of 19 riders who are training hard and fundraising hard in order to participate in "The Ride to Conquer Cancer" for the Princess Margaret Hospital. Most of these riders are not long-distance riders - in fact, at least one didn't even own a bike - and yet they are all committed to riding the 200km from Toronto to Niagara Falls on June 12-13. Each rider is required to raise a minimum of $2500 in order to participate in the ride. That's a LOT of cash!!




And so, to help the team raise funds, they held a dinner/silent auction event. Approximately 125 people attended the event at St. Luke's beautiful church hall, which was all decked out in black & yellow, the colours of the ride. Gorgeous floral centerpieces were designed by Tracy of Lux Living.
There were well over 100 items donated for the silent auction and several great items were sold off through a fun live. Rick James, local musician & DJ, provided great musical entertainment throughout the whole evening. A delicious meal was provided by Gator Ted's Restaurant. An adorable cake was provided by Linda Jenner and delicious brownies from Jitterbug Java Cafe.

There were two unique features at this event. One was that all the riders brought their bikes to have on display - and attached to the handlebars was the rider's photo and a brief bio about why they are doing the ride. The other feature that was a focal point during the evening was a "tree of hope & memory". It was a white branch tree, lit by a spot light - and people filled out tags to hang on the tree. Yellow tags were for the names of people who have cancer or who have survived cancer. Black tags were for names of people who have passed on from this disease. It was a very visual and impactful image.

The event cleared just over $8000 for the riders - Congratulations Krista & team members for a job well done! And all the best in raising the rest of the funds needed to do the ride.

For more information about the ride, how to donate or how to be a volunteer, check their website: http://to10.conquercancer.ca/site/PageServer?pagename=to10_homepage

Brides - - -
You are invited to an amazing event on Sunday, April 11th
from 12 - 6 pm at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, Toronto...

WEDDING BLISS BRIDAL GOWN SALE and Bridal Show
www.weddingblisssale.com

This very special sale will feature brand new, beautiful, designer wedding dresses at huge discounts (ie - $800 - $4000 dresses on sale for $99 - $350!!!)
There will also be other vendors on site to help you with your various wedding planning needs.

But the really wonderful part about this sale/event is that ALL proceeds support a great charity called New Beginnings. The goal of this charity is to help improve the lives of women and children "in need" by providing specialized support and training -empowering women to become confident, self-sufficient, career-oriented and employable, thus improving their lives & the lives of their children.....

So not only will you help yourself by finding your dream dress at a great price - but you will be helping to support women & children in need!
How amazing is that?!!

Tickets for this great event are being offered at a very special rate of only $10 each ($25 at the door!) Brides can purchase tickets at this drastically reduced rate by going online to the Wedding Bliss website and entering the promo code "VENDOR".


Come on out to the Wedding Bliss Sale....
Buy the dress of your dreams....
and support New Beginnings charity!!

The Wedding Bliss is being organized by Weddings Jubilee and it is my pleasure to be working for Weddings Jubilee at this event.

"Added Value" Wedding Coordinator!

I recently got an email from a bride I'm working for this summer - and her comments really made my day! She thanked me for being "an added value wedding coordinator". I think that phrase really encapsulates what I try to provide in my services to bridal couples.

While I advertise that my area of specialty is in "day of" coordination, the packages I offer are in fact more "month of" coordination as I work hard for a bridal couple pulling all the details for their wedding together during the last month of their plans.

However, I really do more than that for my brides. Once they've booked my services, I tend to make myself available to them by email or phone to help them in many other different ways. If they need someone to research ideas or products for them, I'm happy to do that. For example - recently, I've done research for my upcoming brides for the following items: ice sculptures, wild edible hibiscus flowers, etched glass cake toppers, chuppahs, tropical trees, calligraphers, ceremony musicians, vases, submersible LED lights, etc. At weddings with children in the bridal party, I've been known to provide gift bags of "quiet" treats for them to keep them occupied during the ceremony. At the bridal party photo shoot, I provide a cooler of water & a few snacks for the bridal party. When I'm hired for the whole wedding day, I provide toiletry baskets for the washrooms at the reception hall. Umbrellas are always on hand as well to keep bridal party, photographers, guests dry in case of rain. And of course I bring my well-stocked "emergency kit" as you never know when you might need it! These are all examples of some of the "added value" services that I like to provide my clients.

So.... if you're looking for "Day of" or "Month of" wedding coordination services - why not hire a coordinator who will give you all that - - PLUS "added value"!!
Give me a call if you want to know more about how I will serve you so that YOUR wedding day be a wonderful success!