Wedding Blog

For those of you just finding my blog, for the last week, we have been following the amazing saga of bride Jill, who planned her wedding in just eleven weeks. Her thoughts have not only been spot-on for brides planning a wedding in a short period of time, but have been useful for every bride. Today, I have some final thoughts from Jill.

Susan: Do you think planning your wedding so quickly would have been easier with a wedding planner?

Jill: I was extremely lucky because my venue gave me an amazing wedding coordinator that was so helpful throughout the entire process. We got along great and she did all that she could to ensure our day was fabulous. I think if she had not been there I would have definitely looked into hiring a wedding planner especially for the day of the actual wedding. On their wedding day brides should feel stress free and happy and in many cases it might be best to hand over control to a seasoned professional to ensure the day is perfect!

Susan: Was there anything that didn’t turn out the way you wanted it on the wedding day?

Jill: Honestly, no. Everything really was PERFECT. It was so much better than I could have ever imagined.

Susan: Was there anything that turned out better than you expected on the wedding day?

Jill: The weather! In April NYC is normally wet and cold. On my wedding day it reached a warm and sunny 65 degrees. We were able to take lots of outdoor photos. We were also able to use a terrace off my reception room for appetizers. Many northeastern brides decide not to have their wedding in April in fear that it will rain. April falls right between peak and off peak wedding season in New York. I lucked out because I picked a time of year that was not very popular, vendors ended up being available, and the day was warm and gorgeous. Picking an off –season date really paid off for me and I recommend brides take the chance on it!

I was also so thrilled with my band. I knew they were going to be good, but they were absolutely phenomenal. They had every single person up on their feet dancing – which was exactly what I wanted. They played the perfect mix of music and filled the room with tons of energy!

Susan: If you were to do everything over again, would you take more time to plan the wedding?

Jill: No! I would do it just the same again. Doing it so quickly forced me to make quick decisions. I am an extremely detailed oriented person because of that I often analyze my options when trying to make decisions, which can be extremely time consuming. If I had been given more time for the wedding I think I would have over-analyzed everything…maybe to the point where I might have started to second guess myself and my decisions. I never doubted any decisions I made for my wedding. I stayed very organized, looked at all my options, and quickly made decisions so I could move onto the next task at hand. Planning the wedding so quickly ended up being the best scenario for my perfectionist personality!

Susan’s Tip: I have observed thousands of brides and grooms during the wedding planning process. I have watched them agonize over every single decision; It is exhausting! Trust yourself. Trust your inner voice. Use a little research and a little common sense, and your decisions will be sound. Then relax and enjoy your wedding day. It goes by so fast, don’t distract yourself with little details.

Susan: Is there any final advice you would like to share with other brides?

Jill: I don’t want brides to be discouraged when people tell them they can’t plan a wedding quickly! My advice: Don’t get discouraged and don’t let anyone get you down! Be confident, organized, and never second guess your decisions! And remember – when all is said and done - you, your future husband, and the love you share is what makes your special day gorgeous and unforgettable. Happy Planning!

Special thanks to Jimmy Ryan of Barnaby Draper Studios for the beautiful wedding photos. Here are some more for you to enjoy.

Do you have a great wedding planning tip you would like to share with other couples? Post a comment here, or email me at Susan.Southerland@pwg.com.

I have mentioned before some of the really great perks of being a wedding planner…days off during the week (it really feels like I am playing hooky), shopping with other people’s money, and my very favorite — eating fabulous food with great friends. Well, Wednesday night, I got to enjoy that favorite perk.

Damon Tucci Photography, Lee James Designs and Norman’s hosted many of Orlando’s finest wedding planners and catering managers for a dinner to show off their private room for rehearsal dinners. The food was amazing and the decor was stunning.

After dinner was over, we were escorted to the patio where we were served sweet wine and a selection of desserts. The patio was beautifully decorated and the temperature was perfect.

Below are some photos of my crazy friends in the Orlando wedding industry. More on my Jacksonville wedding vendors soon.

From left to right: Jennifer Smith from Omni Champions Gate, Lisa Konecny from E-Events, Tracy Marini from Eventfully Yours, Janine Boylan from the Grand Bohemian and me, Susan Southerland from Just Marry!

Orlando Wedding Photographer, Damon Tucci taking our photo.

More friends from left to right: Bonnie Garfield, Director of Catering Portofino Bay Hotel, Susan Pelteson from Distinctive Weddings, Susie Weiss from Wonderful Weddings, Jessica Lodispoto from the Winter Park Racaquet Club, Lisa Konecny from E-Events, and Laura O’Keef from Isleworth Country Club

Destination Weddings seems to be a topic on everyone’s minds. We at Just Marry! have seen a big increase in destination weddings here in Orlando and outbound as well.

A college student writing an article for Boston University just contacted me to ask me questions about the pros and cons of planning a destination wedding. As soon as the article comes out, I will link to it. Anyway, one of her questions was, is a destination wedding less or more expensive than a traditional wedding.

That is an interesting question!

My associate Aimee Bressler handles most of our inbound Orlando destination weddings. Her brides typically have fifty guests or fewer. Many of her clients say that they decided to do a destination wedding specifically so they don’t have to invite 250 guests to attend. Some of them do it for budgetary reasons, others do it because they don’t want to be “on stage” on their wedding day.

Aimee’s clients typically spend between $3000.00 and $12,000.00 on their entire wedding. That certainly seems like a big savings over an in-town traditional wedding.

Michele Butler and I typically handle the outbound destination weddings and the large in-bound destination weddings. Our clients for outbound weddings typically have ten to 100 guests and spend starting at $40,000.00. That’s a lot of money for ten people! The reason these couples do it, usually has something to do with sentimentality. They want to be married in a place that is very special to them and they want to share that place with their guests.

Our inbound destination weddings spend anywhere from $40,000.00 to $150,000.00 or more. These weddings typically have 150 guests or more. These couples usually say they marry here because the guests live all over the country, or all over the world, and they wanted to have their wedding in a location that was easy to travel to and had lots of things for their guests to do.

So, can you save money planning a destination wedding? Absolutely, but you have to plan carefully!

It isn’t often that I toot my own horn, but I was so honored and excited to see this write-up by Jean Patteson, Fashion Editor at the Orlando Sentinel. I hope you will indulge me by allowing me to share these kudos with you.

Question: My stepdaughter will be married in September and has asked me to work with her on planning the wedding. I feel honored, of course, but also terrified. I have no idea where to begin — and she doesn’t either. Can you help?

Answer: There are loads of wedding how-to books, but reading is a solitary business. A wedding-planning DVD, on the other hand, is something you and your step-daughter can watch together, pausing whenever you want to discuss a point or make notes. And if there are tips and ideas you’d like to share with the groom and/or father-of-the-bride, all you need do is hit “rewind” and “play.”

Believe me, it is easier to get most men to watch a DVD than read a bridal magazine.

One of the best DVDs I’ve viewed is JustMarry!: Wedding Planning Secrets by Orlando wedding planner Susan Southerland. She covers everything from selecting a gown, invitations and venue, to working with vendors — photographers, musicians, bakers, caterers and more. Packed with no-nonsense tips for saving time, money and stress, the DVD is aimed at both do-it-yourself brides and those working with professional planners.

Southerland, a 20-year veteran of the wedding-planning and travel industries, and a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants, is founder and president of Just Marry! She has helped plan more than 5,000 weddings and appeared on the Style Network’s Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? and The Learning Channel’s Wedding Story.

The 68-minute DVD costs $29.95, and can be ordered at justmarry.com.

Jean Patteson

Planning a wedding is no easy task. The months leading up to your big day are going to be filled with excitement, emotions and big spending. The best way to make sure you don’t start your new marriage horribly in debt is to determine what you can spend and how you are going to spend it. Below are my top five secrets that will help you create a meaningful budget and stick to it.

1. Create an accurate guest list. Your biggest expenses, like your food and beverage bill, linens and centerpieces will be greatly influenced by your guest count. That makes the guest list the single most important variable in your budget. Whether you do it by spreadsheet or index cards, before you do anything else, decide how many people you will invite and how many will actually attend.

2. Determine what is most important to you. Typically I find that the food and beverage bill accounts for nearly half of a wedding’s overall budget. So, if you are going to spend $30,000 on your overall wedding, figure $15,000 of that will go to feeding your guests. That leaves you with only $15,000 to spend on everything else. You will be surprised how fast that money goes. You must determine the items that are most important to you. Do you want an extraordinary gown? You may have to cut back on the flowers. Do you want a 10-piece band? You may have to cut back on the photographer.

3. Don’t forget extra fees. In Orlando, most hotels and restaurants charge a 22 percent service fee and then tax on top of this. On a $10,000 food and beverage bill, that adds almost $3,000.00 in fees. You can also expect chef attendant fees if you do action stations. Some locations also charge cake cutting fees if you don’t purchase the cake from them. These fees can really add up. Don’t forget to plan for them.

4. Once you know what you can spend on each service, share that with the vendors you meet. Hopefully all the wedding professionals that you interview are, well, professional. If they are, they won’t hesitate to help you figure out how to get the most for your dollar. If you have $800.00 to spend on a wedding gown, tell the salon that’s all you have to spend. They will show you beautiful gowns that you can afford rather than tempting you with something out of range.

5. Set up a wedding bank account or debit card. This will keep you from digging into your savings or going into credit card debt. Also, if you have people helping you pay for your wedding, you can have them contribute directly to the account. This will help you avoid the pain of calling that person every five minutes when you need financial help. It also will make that person less likely to give you unsolicited advice with every decision you make.

Following these five easy tips will make shopping for your wedding a much more pleasant experience AND you won’t return from your honeymoon with a big case of shopper’s remorse. More great tips for planning the wedding of your dreams can be found are on my new dvd, Susan Southerland’s Just Marry! Wedding Planning Secrets, available on justmarry.com or amazon.com. All those who purchase a DVD receive free access to all my favorite forms.