If you’re having your wedding in Spring or Summer this year (or any year, really) in Vancouver, then you’re probably going to be paying premium prices for venue rentals, hotels, etc.

After all,this is peak wedding season AND peak tourist season in Vancouver!

But there ARE ways to save money while having a Spring/Summer Vancouver wedding! Here’s how:

1. Skimp on flowers

If your wedding ceremony or reception will take place in a garden setting, don’t bother with expensive floral arrangements. The surrounding greenery and flowers will provide plenty of natural beauty. Use inexpensive decorations on the tables if you feel you still need something (like votives, simple vases with twigs, or even just platters of beautiful food).

2. Skip the heat lamps

Okay, but be careful with this one! While skipping the heat lamps is a great way to cut costs, don’t forget that Vancouver weather can be very fickle! If your event takes place outdoors in the evening, a little rain is all it takes to make your guests chilly. The weather is the biggest challenge for a Vancouver wedding! But if the city’s in the middle of a summer heat wave, you can probably safely skip the heat lamps.

3. Use flowers and foliage from your garden

Raid your garden… your parents’ garden…. your friends’ gardens… There is plenty of beautiful foliage to be had for a Vancouver wedding in spring and summer. It doesn’t need to be fancy — use cherry blossoms, pussy willows, or daffodils in the spring. In the summer months you can use any kind of flower, branches, even ferns if you like them.

4. Go more casual

While you’ll probably still want the wedding dress of your dreams, a Spring or Summer wedding in Vancouver can look lovely with simple sundresses for the bridesmaids, and less formal suits or even just shirts and ties for the groomsmen. Nobody wants to be wearing a three-piece suit on a sweltering summer day!

5. Head to the beach!

Rather than renting an expensive location for your wedding ceremony, find a free outdoor location to say your vows. Vancouver beaches offer spectacular views; there are also plenty of beautiful parks around Vancouver and the Lower Mainland that are lovely for wedding ceremonies. Make sure you know the rules of you location before planning anything, though!

Different restrictions apply to different areas. For a list of beaches and parks in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, including the regulations regarding wedding ceremonies at each, sign in at www.myperfectwedding.ca/login.

Not a member? Sign up at www.myperfectwedding.ca for instant access to 150+ in-depth reviews of wedding ceremony and reception venues in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, plus Vancouver wedding planning guides, local resource lists, and more!

Spring is springing! And that means time to get your check-list items ticked off, for all those Vancouver brides planning a Spring or Summer Vancouver wedding!

By now, most importantly, you should have booked your Vancouver wedding venue. If you haven’t booked your wedding venue yet, do it now!

Then, move on to the other items on the following checklist!

(To see part TWO of this wedding-planning checklist, which lists all those last-minute details, log in at www.myperfectwedding.ca.)

PART ONE: YOUR SIX-STEP WEDDING PLANNER 

STEP 1: Congratulations, you’re engaged!

r  Book your ceremony location

r  Book your reception location  

r  Book your officiant to perform your wedding ceremony

r  Book your photographer

r  Book your videographer

r  Book your florist

r  Book your band, DJ, soloist, or other musical accompaniment

r  Book your caterer

If any of you having your wedding at a Vancouver wedding venue during or around the Winter Olympic Games this year, then you’re probably battling traffic a little more than most people in Vancouver these days!

When planning your wedding in Vancouver, the issue of traffic and parking should never be far from your mind — and during the Olympics you’ll have to plan extra carefully to ensure that your wedding isn’t ruined by late or absent guests caught in a traffic snarl!

Here are some tips to help ensure that traffic problems near your Vancouver wedding venue don’t ruin your wedding day!

1. Look for a Vancouver wedding venue with a private (and free!) parking lot.

Many wedding venues have designated parking lots for your guests. This can be a serious PLUS at busy times of the year in Vancouver!

2. Avoid making guests travel to Vancouver wedding venues during during rush hour.

If your ceremony is at 5 pm and your reception is at 6 pm, all located near a busy urban area, your guests run the risk of getting caught in serious traffic!

3. Consider group transportation.

A rented bus or van(s) can help shuttle guests around the city more efficiently — and alleviate them of traffic stress so they can focus on your wedding instead! Also consider fun options like the Vancouver Trolley Company or other novelty options.

4. Take advantage of valet parking — offered by many Vancouver wedding venues.

It may be an additional expense (and it’s something you should really pay — not your guests), but it will be well worth it if your wedding venue is in downtown Vancouver, Yaletown, Kitsilano, or any other area where parking is tough!

5. Research local parking options.

Look on the internet or ask at your Vancouver wedding venue to find out if there are paid parking lots near the venue. That way, you can let your guests know where the easiest parking options will be for them. Group rates are sometimes available.

At www.myperfectwedding.ca our in-depth reviews of over 150 Vancouver wedding veneus include all the details you need to know about each venue — including options for parking and transportation!

While the rest of Vancouver is thinking about the upcoming Olympic games, right here in our fair city, brides who are buys wedding planning are not that easily distracted!

One of the most fun aspects of planning your wedding is picking a colour scheme for your Vancouver wedding reception.

Much of it might depend on the time of year you are having your wedding. In Vancouver, Spring means an abundance of beautiful, fragrant, delectable cherry blossoms… so perhaps you’ll want to carry that pale pink colour scheme indoors to your Spring wedding reception.

Summer in Vancouver is very lush and green (thanks to all that lovely rain we get!! so perhaps you’ll want to consider adding touches of pale or vibrant green to your Vancouver wedding reception colour scheme.

Fall can be lovely in Vancouver, with the yellow and burnt orange leaves vibrant against the backdrop of our beautiful ocean and mountain views. You could reflect this autumnal Vancouver scene in your wedding colours — or even reflect the misty, foggy coastal weather we experience with soft greys and blues throughout your wedding reception.

Winter does not always mean snow in Vancouver — although there’s usually plenty of it on the local mountains. Icy blues and silvery, snowy whites are lovely in a Winter wedding, as are those soft, misty blues and greys that often extend right through a Vancouver Winter.

… Or perhaps your colour scheme will be fuscia and black, or bright yellow — or something out of the ordinary. You can have a lot of fun with your wedding colour scheme!

So, what’s the best way to incorporate your wedding colours into your wedding ceremony and reception? Here are a few great ideas to get you started — you could use your wedding colours in…

• The bride’s shoes
• Flower or adornments in the bride’s hair
• Bride’s jewellery
• Grooms’s tie
• Groomsmen’s vests and/or tie
• Bridesmaid’s dresses
• Flower girl’s sashes
• Mother of the bride’s outfit
• Sashes over the chairs
• A runner down the aisle for the ceremony
• Your flowers
• Your wedding cake
• Your pre-dinner cocktails (you’d be surprised how many colours you can make if you try!!)
• Your place cards and table numbers
• The wedding favours — even chocolate can be coloured, or the box it comes in, or the ribbon around the box!
• Band member’s clothing (if applicable, and if they’ll go for it
• Tea lights or tea light holders on your tables
• Centrepieces (Tip: Spray paint long branches in your wedding colours and arrange them in a glass vase on each table. Beautiful, elegant, and inexpensive!)
• Chinese lanterns/garden lanters — these often are available in a variety of colours

… As you can see, there are plenty of fun ways to incorporate your wedding colour scheme into your Vancouver wedding reception – whether you decide to bring the season indoors or not!

For more tips and ideas on planning your perfect wedding, and for in-depth reviews of 150+ wedding and reception veneus in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, go to www.myperfectwedding.ca.

Are you planning a “green” wedding in Vancouver? … And we DON’T mean your colour scheme!

Environmentally friendly weddings are all the rage these days — especially in beautiful, environmentally conscious Vancouver!

And many Vancouver wedding venues are catching on to the “green scene” these days, and will do everything they can to help make your special day as environmentally friendly as possible!

Green weddings can mean anything from using local resources to reducing your carbon footprint to going organic (and pesticide free!) with your food, flowers, and decorations.

And now, a new organization called “The Grassroots Wedding Fair” can help you figure out how to keep your Vancouver wedding green — and clean!

The wedding fair is being held THIS WEEKEND (January 30th) at Heritage Hall in East Vancouver. Tickets are $15 per person, with partial proceeds going to the Environmental Youth Aliance’s Seed Project.

Walk, bike, or bus to this event this weeend… and learn about the options you can discuss with your Vancouver wedding venue about keeping it green!

Still haven’t found your Vancouver Lower Mainland wedding reception venue for your Spring wedding???

Don’t panic — it’s not too late.

The most popular Lower Mainland wedding venues might be all booked up, but you might find some flexibility if you are willing to have your wedding on a Friday or Sunday instead of the popular Saturday.

You might also still be able to book a Saturday morning or early afternoon wedding, allowing the venue time to set up for another wedding later that same day.

So don’t assume all is lost! Call your favourite Lower Mainland edding venues and discuss the various options with them for your wedding ceremony and reception.

Not sure which venue you want?

Well, for a Spring wedding, your best bet is to look for a venue that features an outdoor area (like a patio, veranda, or garden) for photos and possibly your ceremony. You may even wish to add heat lamps and possibly tents to this area to make it more usable on chilly Spring evenings — and in case of rain.

That way, you can showcase the beauty of the season at your Spring wedding, but keep guests (and yourselves!) warm and dry throughout your wedding.

You’ll definitely want to find a venue that has a back-up plan in case of bad weather, whether that means tents or a separate room for your ceremony (if applicable), or a back-up area for photos.

Another wonderful option for a beautiful Spring wedding — when nature is at it’s prettiest but the air is still a little cool for an outdoor event — is to have your reception in a glass-domed room that lets all the nature in.

Venues like this one and this one  offer stunning glassed-in areas with spectacular views.

To find other Lower Mainland wedding venues that might be perfect for your Spring wedding, including in-depth reviews of over 150 wedding venues in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, go to www.myperfectwedding.ca.

If you’re in the throes of planing a Vancouver wedding right now — like so many spring and summer bride in Vancouver – then one of the many details you’re probably thinking about right now is picking the right music for your wedding.

What follows here is a guideline for how to set the stage with the right music for your perfect wedding.

Wedding music for formal weddings:

If you’re having a truly formal Vancouver wedding, it may take place in a church, in which case your wedding ceremony music will likely be organ music. If you’d rather not have organ music, or if you’re not having your ceremony in a church, then the best music for your formal wedding ceremony is often either a single violin or a string trio or quartet.

For a formal reception, you may want to keep a violinist around for interludes such as between dinner and dessert. Your string quartet could stay for the dancing, or you could move to live or canned music of your choosing at this point.

Wedding music for informal weddings:

The real beauty of an informal wedding is that your choices can be very expressive of your personalities. And the wedding music is something you can have the most fun with!

Whether you want to “rock out” down the aisle to your favourite classic rock tune or techno vibe, this moment can truly reflect who you and your new husband are. If you have family or friends who play instruments, this might be a great way to showcase your relationships with them as well.

For your reception (dancing), you could go for a cost effective option like loading your iPod with your favourite tunes and just hitting “play” for the evening. You could hire a DJ and provide him or her with specific instructions as to your musical tastes. Or you could hire a live band that again reflects your personalities.

Wedding music for creative weddings:

If you really want to get creative with your Vancouver wedding, think about what you want your message to be at your event. If you are celebrating harmony, for example, give shakers and cymbols to guests and have them provide the “music” for your walk down the aisle! Have friends with duelling banjos or bagpipes get you and your hubby down there in a hurry. Have your new husband or a best friend sing a moving solo.

If you are musically inclined, you could even incorporate music and/or singing into your wedding vows!

For the dancing portion of your event, find some friends who put on a great show and hire them for the night! Haul out the karaoke machine or have a singing contest!

Or load up your iPod with tunes that mean something to you. Remember, though: If your music is too “out there” it won’t get anybody out on the dance floor.

There are all kinds of ways to get creative with the music for your Vancouver wedding — during the ceremony, the reception, and the dancing component of your wedding.

Enjoy planning your special day! For more Vancouver wedding planning tips and for in-depth critiques of over 150 wedding venues in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, go to www.myperfectwedding.ca.

If you’re getting married this spring or summer, and you don’t have your wedding dress yet… NOW is the time to get dress shopping!

There are plenty of  Vancouver wedding dress shops and wedding dress makers throught the Lower Mainland to choose from.

Below is a list of popular Vancouver wedding dress shops and designers to help you get started on your search for the perfect wedding dress!

Bisou Bridal
www.bisoubridal.com 
Bridal shop specializing in high-end creations from premier designers including Monique Lhuillier.  

Isabelle’s Bridal
www.isabellesbridal.com 
Bridal shop which offers the latest creations from different designers from sizes 2 to 28.  

Manuel Mendoza Design
http://manuelmendoza.com 
Design house which creates custom-made couture gowns for brides and mothers.  

MJM Wedding Services
www.mjmweddings.com 
Offers “off the rack” dresses and affordable custom-made dresses.     

Sandra Sung Bridal
www.sandrasung.com 
Sandra Sung creates “ready-to-wear” in all sizes and custom designed gowns to suit every bride’s taste.      

Something Blue
http://www.somethingbluevancouver.com/
Modern and designer wedding dresses.

The Bridal Gallery
www.thebridalgallery.com 
Voted as British Columbia’s “best bridal store” and the exclusive source for Maggie Sottero gowns in the Lower Mainland.  

Treat Bridal Gowns & Services
www.treatbridal.com 
Offers new and pre-owned designer wedding gowns at a discounted price.

For even more Vancouver wedding dress shops and dress makers, plus access to over 150 in-depth reviews of Vancouver wedding ceremony and reception venues, go to www.myperfectwedding.ca.  Happy dress shopping!

Looking for an all-in-one wedding package at a Langley wedding venue?

One of the very best deals in the Lower Mainland is Newland’s Golf and Country Club, located in Langley, BC.

This Langley wedding venue boasts an extremely popular “Club Wed” wedding package with truly amazing deals that include everything you could possibly think of for your all-in-one wedding, from wedding and reception locations to flowers, photography, decorations, tux rentals… you name it!

Langley wedding venues: Newland's

Some people may consider Newland’s a bit of a “wedding factory” — and the truth is, it absolutely IS a wedding factory.

But that’s what makes Newland’s such a great deal: Their Club Wed wedding factory is like a well-oiled wedding machine. They’ve got a great wedding system in place — and they have their systems down-pat. Newland’s knowledgable staff will ensure that every detail of your wedding is taken care of. There will be no hiccups or last-minute problems. These guys know what they are doing.

Of course, there are drawbacks. This Langley weddig venue is housed in a ’60s building that looks a little dated. Many of the ballrooms are kind of dark and characterless, with the exception of the “Conservatory Ballroom” (depicted above).

But the real drawback is that Newland’s does multiple weddings on the same day (as any good wedding factory will do).

But if you can overlook some of these details, you can wind up with an all-in-one Langley wedding venue that’s affordable, easy, and remarkably complete.

Check out Newland’s upcoming Wedding Show on March 25th: www.newlandsclubwed.com

Happy New Year, Brides!

Vancouver wedding planning season is officially upon us! The vast majority of brides get married in the spring or summer, which is why now is the time to buckle down and get planning!

With that in mind, here is a list of Vancouver wedding fairs to help you plan your upcoming wedding:

31st Annual Wedding Fair — January 9-10
http://www.weddingfair.ca/
Vancouver’s largest wedding fair!

Indie I Do — January 23rd
http://www.indieido.com/
Vancouver’s alternative wedding show!

East West Wedding Show — February 20-21
http://eastwestweddingshow.com/
Huge cultural wedding show at the Surrey Convention Centre!

Valley Wedding Fair — February 21
http://www.valleyweddingsolutions.com/
Large wedding fair in Chilliwack.

Fraser Valley Wedding Festival — March 7
http://www.fraservalleyweddingfestival.com/
A large wedding fair held in Langley!

Newland’s Wedding Show — March 25th
http://newlandsgolf.com/wedding-shows.htm
Features Newland’s popular wedding packages plus other vendors.

Happy wedding planning, brides! For more information and advice on how to plan the Vancouver wedding of your dreams, go to www.myperfectwedding.ca today!