What is Simply Lovely?

Simply Lovely is our Partial Planning package. Sounds a bit strange to partially plan, but it is a very accurate description for the majority of brides and grooms. Couples who have either the majority of their vendors contracted or 1 or 2 of the major vendors (ceremony/reception venue, caterer) and need help finishing up, this is the planning package for them.

Here’s the official description:

You have secured some of your vendors and now desire a professional planner to guide you through the remaining affairs, offer advice and coordinate the logistics of your wedding day.

Visit the Simply Lovely page on our website to view all the services included in the Lovely package.

Here’s your reality check:

Some couples have the luxury of having a family church and/or officiant. Some had the foresight to decide on their location or caterer or photographer well in advance of their engagement. Those things were no brainers for them. Because of these things, they thought they were well on top of their planning. That was until…they realized there were a lot more services/vendors and details that they had no clue about.

Having a professional wedding planner/consultant on hand to step in make your planning path smooth when it becomes rocky is pure peace of mind.

If you want to find out more about our Simply Lovely Partial Planning Package, please visit Simply Beautiful Concepts on the web or give us a call at 240.565.5103.

What is Simply Perfect?

Simply Perfect is our Month of Coordination Package. Some commonly refer to this type of service as “Day of Coordination.” In our package, coordinating the day of your wedding is most definitely included, however, for logistical, practical and professional reasons; Simply Beautiful begins working with our Brides 30 days prior to their wedding.

Here is the official description:

You are planning your wedding on your own and/or with the assistance of friends and family, yet want to enjoy the fruits of your labor without the pressure of handling the logistics.

Visit the Simply Perfect page on our website to view all the services included in the Perfect package.

Here’s your reality check:

I implore you, at the very, very least HIRE A COORDINATOR. Day of, month of…whatever it is called, hire a PROFESSIONAL coordinator. Why? A few brief reasons:

Don’ts

• · You DO NOT want to be scrabbling around for phone numbers and you’re cell phone to try to find out what is going on at the reception venue.
• · You DO NOT want to find out at the last minute that no one really knows how to pin a boutonniere on without ruining the flower.

Do’s

• · You DO want to enjoy your day, your love, your family and your friends.
• · You DO want to see the labor of your work unfold just as you had planned.

For the average Day of/Month of Coordination package, pricing is well worth every penny and more. If you want to find out more about our Simply Perfect Month of Coordination Package, please visit Simply Beautiful Concepts on the web or give us a call at 240.565.5103.

When the Money Runs Out! Part II: Cancel the Wedding

The economy was NOT supposed to affect your wedding and ultimate passage into marital bliss. How could you have planned around something that is completely not under your control? But it has. Now what? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are aware that the “economy” is in bad shape. Simply Beautiful will break it down in a series to give you advice on, When the Money Runs Out.

If you and your fiancé find yourselves in a situation where you must take a timeout from the wedding plans to seriously assess your finances and the question has come up as to whether or not you can still have a wedding, you are not alone.

Cancelling the wedding seems so harsh. It is. Not to mention the shear emotional feelings associated with “cancelling” the wedding, even if it’s the couple’s decision for financial reasons or other reasons.

Yet, if the potential savings is tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands compared to a minimal percentage you will lose. Cancelling the wedding may provide some financial relief, especially when there are other mitigating circumstances that require your full financial resources immediately.

However, cancelling the wedding may not give you the financial holiday you may think.

Deposits, retainers and some purchases are usually non-refundable or returnable. Those items would be a complete loss. Also, many larger contracts, such as ceremony and reception venues have cancellation fees. These fees can range from 25-100% of the balance due depending on how far out you cancel.

After all is said and done, you may end up paying 50-100% of the cost of the wedding that you’ve decided not to have. In these instances, it’s probably best to explore options other than cancelling the wedding.

The best thing to do is to compare the cost of cancelling the wedding to the current cost of continuing with the wedding plans as they are. This will usually help you make the decision if it is advantageous financially to cancel or explore other options

So what do you do?

Cancel the Wedding

Raise more Funds

Postpone the Wedding

Check out these Simply Beautiful posts for more budget advice: Wedding Costs, Financial Cold Feet, Realistic Wedding Budgets.

Why Hire a Professional Photographer?

Simply Beautiful Words has created this blog series, “Why Hire?” to help you understand what to expect from services, highlight their value and give you some pointers to use in your consultations. I’ll touch base on a few on the most questioned vendors/services.

We started of our Why Hire? series, with a look at a wedding professional that is near and dear to our heart…Wedding Planners.

Now we move on to our next wedding professional, Photographers.

Why Hire a Professional Photographer?

MEMORIES

The main reason is quite simple, besides your marriage and new family, your photographs will be the only tangible thing left of your wedding. After all the planning, all the expenses, all the stress and all the details if your photographs do not expertly and accurately capture the day, you will be sorely disappointed.

SBC: I am not advocating for every couple to spend their entire budget on a high end photographer that is out of their price point. However, I certainly support couples who allocate a portion of their budget that is significant to them on photography.

(and seriously, none of this has to do with the fact that my hubby, DigitalPharaoh, is a professional photographer/artist)

PROFESSIONALISM & QUALITY

Yes, I believe you when you say your cousin, uncle, sister are take amazing photos with their high end DLSR. But have they had the most recent training in the digital technique? Do they know how to work around poor indoor lighting? Poor outdoor lighting?

Unless your friend or family member is a professional photographer with professional equipment and the ability to process your photographs, please consider a professional photographer.

SBC: You can find a professional photographer for every budget and every style. A wedding planner will have a number of photographer referrals to meet your needs that is provided with some wedding planning package or as an a la carte service.

Well, what is a professional photographer? Not every Joe Blow with a website and a camera is a professional photographer…or even a decent one. To help you navigate through the process, here is how Simply Beautiful Concepts guides its clients:

1. Research photography styles that you like. Search far and wide through that wonderful thing called the internet. Don’t worry about price or location, find photographs and styles that appeal to you.

2. Research photographers in your area. Match area photographers with the styles you gathered in step one.

3. Create a list of 3-5 Photographers. Contact them and conduct a phone interview of basic questions. You can find some advice here from Blue Orchid Designs.

4. Eliminate 1-2 Photographers. Set up interviews/consultations with the remaining photographers.

5. Book Your Professional Wedding Photographer. If steps 1-4 don’t yield in a successful selection, repeat.

Happy Planning

Next in our “Why Hire?” series:   Your little brother and his friends DJ/have a band and play at parties every weekend.  They seem to have a lot of equipment and music and wouldn’t cost a dime so “Why Hire a DJ/Band/Entertainment?”

First Comes the Wedding…Then Comes the Marriage: Post-Wedding Wrap-Up

For all my newly-wives (and wives-to-be), I’ve created this series (original post) for the After Wedding aka Marriage. If you have a fear that once you put your Wedding Planning Binder away, you will feel naked and without a sense of direction, never fear, your to-do list still awaits you.

After your wedding is over and after the honeymoon, there are some wedding details that need to be closed out. Simply Beautiful Concept offers a Post-Wedding Wrap Up in their Classic and Most Beautiful Planning packages to cover rentals, returns, contracts and invoices. However, you can ensure a smooth close to your wedding by attending to the following areas:

Contracts

First things first, Security Deposits. Review your contracts if you placed a security deposit on any of your wedding related items, such as reception hall, rentals or transportation. You will want to confirm the method and time frame the vendor is to return your deposit.

Certain contracts, such as the Reception or Catering, may have required minimum dollar amounts or your bar may have been on consumption. Be sure to get final bills and figures to ensure you met your minimums, owe any balances or are due any refunds.

If any of your vendors did not provide some of the contracted services or substitutions were necessary, you may also be entitled to a refund of some of your cost.

100 Proof: Photography and Videography

Your photographer and/or videographer was great on your wedding day. You can’t wait to see the pictures/video! But before you start ringing his or her phone of the hook once your return flight hits the tarmac, check your contract. Most photographers/videographers have a specified time frame to present you with your proofs, albums, CD/DVD etc.

You will want to touch base with them soon after the wedding to see if there are any known issues that will delay delivery of your proofs or photographs or video. After that, let them do their thing. Remember, in high wedding season, your photographer/videographer may be booked every weekend, which leaves little time for editing, manipulating and printing. My DigitalPharaoh is a photographer, and I sometimes get impatient for my clients pictures before they do. I’ve come to realize that after hours and hours of adding effects, cropping, correcting etc, his eyes get a little crossed and he needs to take a break so that he can bring fresh eyes to the rest of the photos. You don’t want some really great photos and the rest looking like snapshots from a disposable camera because you had an unreasonable expectation. Ask your photographer during your initial consultation about these time frames. And after the wedding, hold them to it.

Thank You Cards

Etiquette states that Thank you notes for gifts should be sent as soon as possible after the gift is received, if this is prior to the wedding. For those gifts received after the wedding and if you plan to thank each guest for attending, 3 months is the maximum amount of time to complete this task.

Next up in our series: To Change or Not to Change Your Name & How

Complete Series

Sunday: Kick Off

Monday: Post Wedding-Wrap Up

Tuesday: To Change or Not to Change Your Name & How

Wednesday: Holidays

Thursday: Your 1^st Anniversary

Friday: Awkward Questions, Awesome Answers

Saturday: It’s Different

Be sure to leave a comment letting us know what Post-Wedding topics interest YOU.