Wedding Blog

Listed among the top romantic destinations in all of Canada, Whistler has much to offer honeymooners. This breathtaking destination in British Columbia will also host several events in the 2010 Winter Olympics, making it an interesting historical site, as well.

Regardless of the time of year for your honeymoon, Whistler offers activities that will appeal to everyone. And the scenery is among the most pristine in the world!

Things to Do:

1. Hit the slopes. If there is one particular sport for which Whistler is most famous, skiing would be it! Situated in the southern ranges of the Coast Mountains, Whistler offers slopes for every range of skill. And if skiing doesn’t interest you, you could always explore the beautiful mountains through biking, hiking, or even via a gondola lift.

2. Cuddle up in a cozy cabin. With accommodations ranging from chalets and vacation condos to the world-famous Whistler Blackcomb resort area, honeymooners won’t have any problem finding the perfect location to snuggle after an activity-filled day.

3. Head out for a night on the town. Whistler offers a tremendous range of dining options, from steaks to tapas to Mediterranean. After dinner, you can head out for an evening of dancing at a night club like Tommy Africa’s, Maxx Fish, or Garfinkel’s. In the mood for a more mellow evening? Check out The Champagne Lounge or The Attic.

4. Broaden your horizons. Whistler also offers many activities for those who don’t consider themselves sports enthusiasts. The Village of Whistler is well-known as a shopper’s paradise, but this area is also home to art galleries and theaters. You will be certain to find the perfect thing to do in this bustling resort town!

If you have questions on this or any other wedding related topic, please post for me here or send me an email to susan.southerland@pwg.com. Also become a fan on Facebook by clicking here and follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

Your partner in perfect planning,
Susan

Happy Friday everyone. It’s a gloomy morning here in Orlando, but the weekend promises to be nice. It’s a good thing, we have two weddings this weekend, one with an outdoor ceremony and the other with an outdoor cocktail hour. Please think sunny thoughts for me.

Since we are knee-deep in wedding season down south, I am reminded about how important it is to have a group of vendors who enjoy working with each other and who will all pitch in to make your wedding day successful. When you are shopping for your wedding vendors, remember to look for personality in addition to skill and style. Look below the photos for my top four characteristics to look for in the perfect wedding vendor.

One of my favorite wedding vendors, Bonnie Garfield, Director of Catering at the Portofino Bay Hotel. Photo by NuVisions in Photography.

Photos by Karla Fountain

1. See how other wedding vendors feel about the vendors you are considering. The wedding industry is a fairly tight community. Most likely, if you toss out a name, you will get some sort of reaction. Look for things like, “Oh I worked with him last month, he’s great,” or “I’ve heard of her, I hear she does great work.”
2. Listen to how your potential wedding vendors speak about other wedding vendors. Be careful of someone who speaks badly about others.
3. Ask probing questions like, “If something were to happen in the kitchen and the food service were delayed, how could you help?” Your DJ or entertainment should say something like, “I would rearange the agenda so that we could stall until the servers were ready to go.”
4. Follow your instincts. If interviewing a particular wedding vendor makes you feel uneasy, chances are he has the same affect on other people.

Over the years, I have seen videographers assist decorators tie chair bows, I have watched DJs help carry photography equipment, and just last week, I had a photographer help pin boutonniers when my staff got preoccupied with an issue. Good wedding vendors feel that the success of the evening is based on the overall result, not that his work is the only one that matters and that if someone else has an issue, it’s that vendor’s problem.

If you have any questions, comments or ideas about selecting the perfect wedding vendor, please post here or email me at susan.southerland(at)pwg.com. Also become a fan on Facebook by clicking here and follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

Your partner in perfect planning,

Susan

I sent out a query earlier in the week to find some interesting wedding ideas from all around the country. I received an overwhelming response. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some of those items with you. Some are eco-friendly, some are money-savers and some are just cool. Today, I have something that is just cool to share with you.

Melissa Dinwiddie is an artist who creates custom wedding invitations, Ketubahs (Jewish marriage contracts) and Quaker wedding certificates… Actually, if its on paper, Melissa can create something extraordinary. Enjoy the photos of her work below!

I love this set of invitations with matching Ketubah. It would match beautifully with a peacock-themed wedding.

This is another example of a matching wedding invitation/Ketubah ensemble. Absolutely stunning.

Melissa gets her inspriation from by historical design (Arts & Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau), and lately she has been inspired by the calligraphic watercolors of Adolf Bernd.

Melissa meets with clients who want custom work, so they can design together. For couples who aren’t local to her studio in San Fransisco, Melissa works with them via fax and email. Custom designs can be expensive ($1000.00 and up), but fear not, she created a line of prints, which are printed with archival inks on the same watercolor paper she uses for her custom art, but much more affordable.

The new trend Melissa is seeing is to use Quaker marriage certificates in lieu of a guest book. She uses one of her beautiful designs and leaves space for guests to sign.

If you have any ideas or comments about wedding invitation ensembles, Ketubahs or Quaker marriage certificates, I want to hear about it. Post a message for me here or email me at susan.southerland(at)pwg.com.

Your partner in perfect planning,

Susan

Today I am thrilled to present a wedding that took place in one of my all-time favorite places: New York City. After changing their initial plans of a large wedding at a relative’s house in Maine, the happy couple skillfully managed to pull together a lovely, more intimate wedding for 50 guests in just five weeks.

Here is their story as told by the bride, Jen:

“[Jesse and I] got married at a garden on our block and then headed to our favorite restaurant in the West Village for our reception, Market Table. After I walked down the aisle, a double-decker tour bus rolled by and someone screamed, ‘Don’t do it.’ We got a great laugh and proceeded to have the most wonderful evening.

Truthfully, I was never much of a wedding person. We are at the age when we have them all of the time! In order for me to walk down the aisle, we needed to do this in our style… which is exactly what we did. We had an intimate, elegant, and affordable wedding that was just different than most of the weddings we all go to.

Some of the ways we did this:
- PHOTOGRAPHY: My father, Mark Portland, is a genius professional photographer. So he could walk me down the aisle, my Aunt Connie (while not a pro, she does an awesome job) took pictures of the ceremony. My father then took pics after he walked me down the aisle and at the reception.

- MUSIC: Originally we were going to go with an iPod for music. Two days before the wedding, we asked two of the guests who happen to have a cover band to play. They did this as a wedding gift to us. It was so much fun and different than your typical wedding band. The first song they sang was Joe Cocker’s ‘Feeling Alright’ with the groom and his father. [The band] now has been booked for other weddings as well!

- KEPT IT GREEN: while we did send out invitations (everyone vetoed my Evite wishes), RSVPs went to my email address. We also ditched having programs at the ceremony.

- BRIDAL PARTY: Since Jesse has been in so many weddings, it would be difficult to include everyone as his groomsmen… So he had his father and best friend as co best-men. My sister was my maid of honor and his sister was my bridesmaid.

- PARTY FAVORS: Were recipe cards with a pic of Jesse and I on it. The recipe was from the famous chef of Market Table, Mikey Price. We were able to print these on our home computer.

- MINISTER: Was Tom Speers, who Jesse has known his whole life. I also babysat for his children years ago when we lived in Philly. Tom made the ceremony lovely. It should be known that my mom is Jewish, my Dad is Catholic, and Jesse’s family is Presbyterian…and we created a loving ceremony that was for everyone.

In the end, we had a wedding for under $15K in the Big Apple. While that is not chump change, when it comes to weddings it is!

If you have questions on this or any other wedding related topic, please post for me here or send me an email to susan.southerland@pwg.com. Also become a fan on Facebook by clicking here and follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

Your partner in perfect planning,
Susan