Wedding of Heli & Stephan - a beautiful event!

Yesterday was a PERFECT day in every way for Heli & Stephan's wedding - clear blue skies, warm sun, cool breeze.

Stephan waited anxiously for his bride to arrive at the end of the pier of Bronte Harbour - and when he turned to face her, the tears that sprung into his eyes proved how beautiful his bride was - and how in love he is with her!

The Maid of Honour wore a long hot pink gown with one strap of fabric flowers. The Bridesmaid wore a short, strapless dress in the same colour & fabric. The Bridesman wore a black tux with hot pink shirt and tie. The best man & ushers were in black tuxedos with lime green vest, ties & accessories. White peonies, lime green spider mums, granny smith apples and bright pink berries were used for bouquets, bouttonieres, pew bows and altar flowers.

The ceremony was held at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Burlington, followed by cocktail hour and reception at Geraldo's in LaSalle Park. The bride & groom choreographed the first part of their first dance song and then the bridal party & rest of the guests joined in for the last half of the song. It was a fun start to the evening which unfolded with delicious food, touching speeches, lots of laughs with the "shoe" game and great music!

Their wedding cake was a simple white tiered cake with pink satin ribbon - and the topper was a bride & groom - each on their cell phones - a very true depiction of this couple (Heli's wedding dress had pockets in it - and guess what was in her pocket? Yup - her phone!!)

Congratulations Heli & Stephan - a beautiful couple!


WEDDING VENDORS:
Photographers - Paul Koziorowski Photography www.pkwedding.com
Florists - Botanically Bent http://www.botanicallybent.com
DJ - Mike Marinuk http://allthingsmusic.ca/
Church & Officiant - Pastor Colin Cameraon - Holy Cross Lutheran Church www.holycrossburlington.ca
Reception - Geraldo's http://www.geraldosatlasalle.com
Limo - Fox Run Limos www.foxrunlimos.com
Cake - Lakeview Pastry & Chocolates www.lakeviewpastry.com/home.htm

Pre-Wedding PANIC ATTACKS!

This week, I've had three separate brides contact me and each one was having their own little "panic attacks" as they were working on their wedding plans...

* guests I didn't know we'd invited just RSVP'd and I don't know where to seat them - help!
* well-meaning people are trying to re-design my decor plans - augh!
* the limo driver is giving me attitude - what should I do?
* I have a list wedding-related things to buy and I hate spending money on things I'll never use again - I need some creative & cheap alternative ideas!
* my dress needs to be altered & my seamstress won't return my calls - how do I find someone else reliable & trustworthy?
* I have wedding stuff all over my dining room table and I thought I had it all under control - but I'm freaking out - I can't do this!

Yup - wedding stress is very real, very common and very challenging to deal with! And every bride will face it at some point in the planning process - especially as the time ticks down closer to the big day! It can become very overwhelming.

SO - HOW can you deal with this stress? Here's a few ideas for you...

FIRST.... BREATHE! Deep, slow breaths to calm you down. None of the plans are worth hyperventilating over! Take a break from wedding plans for a night - go for a walk, sit on your deck & read a book, sit at a coffee shop & just people-watch, go to a good & funny movie. You have a life outside of wedding plans - don't forget to LIVE it!

SECOND... KEEP LISTS & KEEP ORGANIZED! Get a notebook that you keep with you always. Write down anything & everything you think of so you won't forget it or keep worrying about it. Then as you accomplish a task, black it out or better yet, use white-out tape & make it disappear! Its done & over with, so get it out of your line of vision and watch your list get smaller.

THIRD...PRIORITIZE! Look at your lists and decide what you MUST do first - and then do those things first. Take care of the big things as soon as you can & then you'll have the head-space to think about the little things. Take a serious look at the items on your list and decide what things you can let go of if you have to. Remember that while most of your ideas will be good idea, if trying to get them all done breaks you, then they are no longer good ideas! Its just not worth falling apart over some things.

FOURTH...DELEGATE! Anything you can delegate to your mom, your fiance, your Maid of Honour or bridesmaids, your family members... DO SO! If someone volunteers to help you - take them up on their offer! YOU don't have to do it all by yourself! Give them a task and then TRUST THEM to do it.

FINALLY... or really, this should have been FIRST OF ALL THESE SUGGESTIONS... hire a wedding DAY coordinator to help you with all of these things. Every single bride I have worked with in the past and that I am working with this year tells me how glad they are they've hired me - how my referrals saved them money - how my attention to details to things they wouldn't have even considered have helped the plans to flow smoothly - how the way I listen and am there for them really does calm them down & helps them to keep things in perspective.


As a wedding coordinator, besides handling all the myriad of details that needs to come together for a wedding day - I also pride myself in being a "calming influence" and the "voice of reason" that can help to reduce the panic attacks & relieve the stress that brides face during those last busy months of planning.

SO - are YOU feeling stressed & panicky as your wedding draws closer?! If so - give me a call & let me take care of the details - so you don't have to!!


PHOTO by: Heidi Ram Photography www.heidiramphotography.com

Two Unique Wedding Vendor Networking Events this week!

I had the privilege of attending two unique networking opportunities this week.

On Monday evening, "Let Them Eat Cakes" had an open house/cake tasting event that brides were invited to - and several other vendors were on hand to meet & greet brides & offer their unique services to them.
At the event were:
Let Them Eat Cakes www.letthemeatcakes.com
From Me To You (cookie creations) frommetoyou@bell.net
Picture Perfect Cake Art www.pictureperfectcakeart.com
She's So Beautiful Consignment & Bridal Boutique www.shessobeautiful.ca
Social Notes Custom Invitations www.socialnotes.ca
These vendors were very friendly and offered wonderful services to the brides who came. And the cake-tasting - OH MY -talk about delicious cakes with some very unique & unusual (but yummy) cake flavours!


This evening, Jason Matos of Jason Matos Photography, and I attended a Wedding Industy Vendor Networking event at the Courtyard Inn in Mississauga. There were quite a few different vendors on hand - enjoying complimentary cocktails & appetizers while chatting, meeting and exchanging business cards with each other. It was a great opportunity for Jason to promote his newly updated website with special pages dedicated to weddings, couples & families! As a vendor, its always a good business practice to get out & meet others who work in the industry! Both of us came away with some great new contacts. (by the way - check out Jason's site at: www.jasonmatosphotography.com )