Wedding Planning Blog

I am shocked to see I haven’t written in a while. Wedding season is definitely in full swing and time is passing fast.

Over the past two weeks, I have had the pleasure of working on two truly spectacular weddings. One I have previously mentioned — Ashley and Matt in St. Augustine. I am still waiting for those photos and I will share them as soon as I have them.

Jessica and Mike had a beautiful wedding here in Orlando at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes. The wedding day was absolutely spectacular… except for the threat of rain. We have been having so much rain threats here lately that my “Plan B’s” have been getting a big workout. In the end the weather wasn’t great, but we were able to have the ceremony outside.

Below are some photos from the event. I hope you enjoy them and get some inspration for creating your beautiful wedding.

I am often asked the best way to keep communication with wedding vendors. Sometimes it seems that we sign the contract and then for months at a time there is no communication. While most wedding vendors agree they do not need a weekly phone call from the couple, they do like to have updates when things change for the wedding.

I have heard wedding vendors tell me that sometimes the week prior to the wedding rolls around and then all of a sudden the bride will call and tell them that the wedding has been moved two hours earlier. Sometimes the vendors find out because they happen to speak to one of the other vendors working at the wedding.

If you want to avoid major stress on your wedding day, be sure to update your vendors as your wedding plans become more concrete. You may want to create a wedding day agenda to send out to everyone the week prior to your wedding as well. It is certainly in your best interest to keep everyone informed.

The key to having a stress-free wedding day is to keep everything organized. I maintain a ring binder (my “wedding binder”) for all of my clients. I keep all of their contracts, emails, notes, ideas and photos in it. It is wonderful to have a portable record of all our plans and all of my clients wishes.

I think a ring binder works best because it is easy to insert and remove items as plans and ideas change. The binder is also easy to carry around for meetings and appointments.

I divide my wedding binders by category. Florist, Ceremony/Reception Site, Entertainment and Musicians, Invitaions and Accessories, Photography and Videography, Transportation and Accommodations, Correspondance, and Special Touches. The dividers make it easy to access all of the information. I also put pockets in the binder to keep fabric swatches and items in which I don’t want to punch holes. Printing out calendar pages will also keep all of your planning meetings in an easy to find location.