How to choose the perfect venue

How to choose the perfect venue

How to choose the perfect venue

Choosing the perfect venue for your wedding is one of the most important decisions that you have to make at the beginning of your planning process. The venue will define absolutely everything, from the number of guests you will have, to the mood and decoration style.

And I know you probably arrive at the venue and see things that dazzle you, but don’t let yourself be dazzled, considering it calmly.And for this, here you have 3 tips that will help you to know if that is the chosen place.

1. TALK TO A WEDDING PLANNER 

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As wedding planners, we know the places available in the area where you are going to get married, we know what will be needed to decorate the venue and transform it into what you really want and all the rest of the things that you may not be considering. So do not be afraid to ask for help, I assure you that you can save yourself a lot of time and headaches if you work together with a professional.

2. have a plan b

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Most of the couples who get married in Barcelona decide to do it during spring and summer precisely because they dream about having an outdoor wedding, near the beach or near the mountains surrounded by nature. But even though it doesn’t usually rain in those months, nature is unpredictable and you need to be prepared.

If this is your case, ask where they would move the wedding in case of rain or bad weather. Fall in love with the inside as much as the outside, because even if the possibilities are remote, it is better to be happy from the beginning with both alternatives.

Another thing you can do is have a budget to hire tents to have the possibility of still having an outdoor wedding but safe, clean, and dry. Ask your wedding planner to help you consider this in your budget.

3. Knowing your guest list

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It may seem obvious, but you don’t know how many couples start looking for a venue without having any idea of how many people will attend.

Do not make the mistake of underestimating the guest list, you do not have to know it for sure, but an estimation would be handy for easily making the decision with all the information in your hands.

This is super important because the number of guests will make you need a smaller or larger venue, and this affects not only the choice of a suitable venue but also affects the budget, the style of the wedding and many other aspects that should be considered. 

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3 WAYS TO PLAN A SUSTAINABLE AND SUPPORTIVE WEDDING

3 WAYS TO PLAN A SUSTAINABLE AND SUPPORTIVE WEDDING

3 WAYS TO PLAN A SUSTAINABLE AND SUPPORTIVE WEDDING

The world is changing and we are increasingly getting involved in making it a better place to live. There are people who are trying to reduce their ecological footprint and others who have decided to volunteer for the well-being of some of the most disadvantaged people and communities.

That is why I have 3 options that can print in your wedding those values that define you and making it a sustainable and supportive wedding.

1. Wedding favors:

As guests, we often receive gifts prepared with a lot of affection by the bride and groom, but that in reality, they may have little use on a daily basis and end up soraged in some place of our homes.

In May I attended a super special event, @eventoslazossolidarios. During the event, they explained their proposal for all those couples who want to have a solidary wedding. This year they support #PielDeMariposa, an association that was born to help, train and accompany both families and professionals related to this disease; cataloged as  rare and incurable. You can allocate part of the budget that is normally used in wedding favors to this cause,  and through the solidarity cards that Samikay has designed,  you can communicate your guests that in this wedding they are also helping.

Photographs by Marie Marry Me

2. Guest of Honor:

You can symbolically add one more guest, and the cost that this action represts can be donated on the cause of your preference.

You don’t need to set up a place at the ceremony or at the table, just  communicate to your guests that you have one more guest who will be helped in the way you have decided.

Photograph by Lanty at Unsplash

3. Honeymoon:

Travelling to an all-inclusive hotel, to a paradisiacal beach and being pampered may not be an ideal honeymoon for many couples.There are other alternatives in which, without so many luxuries, you can leave a possitive impact on the community you visit.

On this occasion I wanted to mention Nomad Republic, who are a travel agency that organize volunteering trips in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Portugal. Leaving more than 50% of the cost of  the trip on an economic impact for the community and the project you’ve decided to support.

As a volunteering activity, you will be working for the community or environment in which the project is developed. Among some of their projects are teaching English to children in Bali, assisting in the preservation of a protected species (rich coast turtles, Elephants in Thailand or the Iberian wolf in Portugal) or assisting in the preservation of the jaguar’s habitat in Yucatan, México.

If  you still want the whole honeymoon experience, after completing the project, you could alternatively plan the ideal honeymoon, extending your stay to enjoy the beaches of México, Thailand or Costa Rica, to name a few..

Photographs from the Nomad Republic website

I hope it has helped you to get  ideas to have a sustainable and  supportive wedding .

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ARE YOU FRAIGHTENED ABOUT A DESTINATION WEDDING?

ARE YOU FRAIGHTENED ABOUT A DESTINATION WEDDING?

ARE YOU FRAIGHTENED ABOUT A DESTINATION WEDDING?

It’s been a while since you met him, he smiled at you and that made you blush; there he was, him and his sheepish look.

And now you are here, figuring out if you made the right decision of flying away from home and get married in the city of your dreams; in that city to which you feel bonded, happy and glowing. As a person that got married in a destination wedding and help happy couples from around the globe to have their dreamed wedding, I can tell you that is always a good idea and there is no reason to be worried about as long as you make the following tips yours.

1.  Local supports – should you hire a wedding planner?

 

Photography by Kobu Agency on unsplash

There are some venues and hotels that have a wedding planner as a part of the team and services they offer in their property, but you must know that everything that is not related to what is about to happen in their property is out of their scope. Imagine that you’re having an issue with your wedding dress a couples of days before the wedding, a wedding planner can help you and guide you to solve this issue, or maybe you’re getting married in a religious ceremony, the coordination of the ceremony is also the wedding planner responsibility.

If you do not know anyone in the city of your destination, you should get a friend which in this case will be your wedding planner, a person that you have decided and have trusted in her/him to help you not only in the venue and party, but also to help you with all the troubleshooting before and during the event. This will be the person that will build the perfect team for your wedding.

2.   Finding the perfect venue – should you go for your favorite destination?

Photography by Gabriel Silverio on unsplash

Maybe you’re doubting in between getting married in a near country or getting married in a faraway destination. In order to decide your destination you will have to follow your heart and consider the kind of travel in regards the traveling time that your guest will be willing to do.

If you expect most people to travel for only for the weekend of your wedding, choose a nearest location, maybe under half a day’s flying time from where your guests will be traveling. The more direct the flights are, the better a location will be for your guests, maybe you expect to have guests that can only travel for a weekend, and this is something that should be considered.

Remember that is you and your loved ones, people will be traveling no matter where your wedding is held, your guests may find your destination wedding as an opportunity to travel abroad into a county that they probably would choose for a trip for their own.

3.  Legal or symbolic ceremony – which option should I go for?

Photography by Anthont Delanoix on unsplash

If you are planning to have a religious ceremony, you must consider that depends on the religion institution, you will probably need to get the approval and permissions from them in order to get married abroad, a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy will have to be followed. You will also have to consider that in some countries, a religious ceremony is not valid for legal purposes, so you will must celebrate a civil service back home.

 4.   Customs & flying with the dress – what should I consider?

I recommend you to travel with just the necessary wedding items from home and always in a carry one or the luggage that always travel with you (bag, backpack, etc.)

Shipping outside your country is not the best idea for the things that matter for your wedding day. Check- in luggage and packages can get lost as they’re no longer with you, it’s better to have your wedding items with you and pay the airline baggage fees if necessary. The good news is that you are traveling with friends and family and they can help you distribute your items to reduce these fees.

Another thing that has to be considered is that the majority of the airlines are prepared for this situations and you can have your wedding dress or suit hanged on the plane, but unfortunately there are some airlines that not consider this, so you must double check this prior taking your flight so you can be prepare for this.

Now you’re ready, ready for walking on the aisle and find him, find his sheepish look that made you fall in love in the first place, cheers!

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HOW TO UNSCRAMBLE YOUR WEDDING GUEST LIST?

HOW TO UNSCRAMBLE YOUR WEDDING GUEST LIST?

HOW TO UNSCRAMBLE YOUR WEDDING GUEST LIST?

Photography by Plush Design Studio on Unsplash

Congratulations! If you are reading this, it means that you are engaged now and wheeling to start a new phase of your life, with your fiancé. I can guaranty that this new chapter is 100% amazing.But now, let’s get into the subject of this post.

It doesn’t really matter if you are planning a destination wedding or if your wedding will take place in your hometown, we all face the same problems while trying to decide to whom we should invite, and this can cause stress and family drama, but you need to be strong and to be true to your vision.

Unless the budget of your wedding is enormous and you are free to invite whomever you, your parents and the entire society wants, you will actually face one of the most challenging subjects into the planning process, and this is something that is totally up to you, neither your best friend, your wedding planner or a wizard can help you with, I am sorry for the bad news.

I have been in your position while planning my wedding and I can tell, this is a headache; you have to stand up for your vision, what you want and what your budget is. Believe me, I get you, I am from a Mexican family (and Mexican families are huge), and if you add into this equation that my parents are divorced and that some members of my family love drama (specially my mom), you may know that dinner is served. But don’t be afraid, there is no need to panic, I’ll give you some key advices to win the “guests” battle .You will have to ask these question to yourself each time you face the situation of adding someone to your guest list, and you can see at the end of the post a flow chart for you to visualize and unscramble your wedding guest list.

3 questions that will help you to unscramble your GUEST list and get to the end of this soap opera

Photography by Taylor Grote on Unsplash

1.      Have you been in contact with this person in the last month or even before?

For me this is a crucial question, if this candidate hasn’t been in your life and you haven’t been into his/her life in the last month, it probably means that you are not that close. I know a wedding is all about feelings and love, but there are sometimes that you have to step back and give a cold look into everything and be aware of what you really wants. I know this is a hard and difficult question to start with, and there are some other aspect that must be considered, there are millions of circumstances that stopped you from keeping in touch in the last month, which lead us to the following question.

Photography by Venice Fleming on Unsplash

2.     Have this person been by your side in good and bad moments of your life?

Your wedding is a happy moment, and I truly believe that the people who have been with you in the bad and saddest moments of your life are the ones that “earned” the right to be with you in your greatest day. Visualize that moment, when you were admitted to the hospital for a treatment, when your mom had an accident or when you face economic problems that partially stops you to continue studying, who were those who were by your sides during the bad moments?, and on the contrary, Do you remember who was with you when you got to college, when you got your longed university degree and when you got your first professional job?; if this person was there in both scenarios maybe is time for you to include him/her in the guest list.

Photography by Rawpixel on Unsplash

3.    Are your parents paying the wedding?

Let’s accept it, there are some compromises that even you can’t escape from, maybe you don’t know this person, or maybe your do, but there is not relationship at all; but let’s be honest, if your parents are paying for the wedding or a part of it, they have the right to decide or at least propone some guests that they want them to be on the wedding.

 My advice for this case is that you decide a number of guests that your parents can invite, you can do this randomly just deciding a number of guests that you can accept or there is another cold way that you can use as a reference for knowing the number of guests that you can accept, applying a percentage of the money your parents are providing in comparison of the total budget o the wedding, of course this only works if they are helping with the expense, but no paying them all and keep the secret, this second option can be a little bit tricky if your parents know about  it.

a flow chart that is a real lifesaver

No matter what your situation is, I can guaranty that the mentioned questions and the provided flowchart can help you to go through this process in an easier way:

You can also use questions number one and two for deciding if you will invite your coworkers. These questions can help you to figure out that some of them were actual friends. You spend time with them outside work, going to dinner, movies and they’ve helped you with personal issues and with other situations related to work. 

At the end of the road you will spend this precious day with the people you love the most and loves you back. As I mentioned is all about to earn the right to be with you. The decision of not inviting them will probably push you away for some of them, but you are starting a new chapter, so maybe it’s time to ask to yourself if those relationships where worthy and start caring and maintain the relationships you already have with the people you love and also build new relationships.

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