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!

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.

Winter Wedding Ideas

If you’re getting married in the next few months in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland, then you know what it’s like to plan a winter wedding. The flowers are harder to come by; your outdoor options are limited (or completely eliminated!); your weather concerns increase… and so on.

Well, here’s a list of ideas to help you finalize the details on your winter wedding!

1. Add some faux fur
Nothing says luxury like a bride wrapped in elegant white fur at her winter wedding. Try a stole or a wrap — or even an old-fashioned muff — to add this touch of decadence to your event. And don’t forget: fake fur saves you money AND is more humane!

2. Spread some icy blue
When most of us think winter weddings, we think red pointsettias, maybe some gold accents… Another way to design a super elegant winter wedding colour scheme is to stick to white and silver, but throw in a few touches of pale, icy blue (like on your wedding cake, for example, or your favours). The effect: cool, elegant, and stunning!

3. Think outside the pointsettia
If you like strong, rich colours, then red pointsettias are going to be a great option for your winter wedding. However, if you want a more subtle colour scheme, then you could consider white pointsettias as an alternative — they’re beautiul, and tend to be easier to find these days than in the past. Another option is to buy or find a large number of sticks or branches, cut them to similar (but not identical) lenghts, and spray paint them either white or silver. Arrange them in glass vases as a striking accent to your winter wedding, emulating the bare branches on the trees outside, but in a stunning, artistic style.

4. Lights, lights, lights!
One thing that’s easy to find around the holiday season is Christmas lights. If you’re going to be having your winter wedding after the holiday season, you’re in luck, since you’ll be able to pick up plenty of lights at bargain prices! You can decorate almost any space with strings of small white lights (or try pale blue if it suits your event) to add even more sparkle to your winter wedding. Try wrapping lights around trees or through the branches that you’ve spray painted.

5. Stock up on silver bells!
Again, if your winter wedding falls near to or after Christmas day, you will be able to find bargain-basement prices on decorations like silver baubles and other tree decorations. Try purchasing large bags or buckets full of silver, white, and pale blue baubles (tree ornaments) and use them to fill the same style of vases you used for your branches. (Obviously, you’ll need to use the colours that suit your particular colour scheme.)

Good luck planning your winter wedding!

For more information and articles on how to plan your wedding, including tips on booking the perfect venue for your wedding ceremony and reception, go to www.myperfectwedding.ca.

Some of the most upscale Vancouver wedding fairs were held earlier this month, like the Love Struck Bridal Show and Creme de la Creme Grand Wedding Showcase. But if you missed these luxury Vancouver wedding fairs, don’t worry!

Because January and February are host to some of the biggest Vancouver wedding fairs — including the Queen of all wedding fairs itself: The 31st Annual Wedding Fair, which is Vancouver’s largest and most popular wedding fair.

Here’s a list of some of the upcoming Vancouver wedding fairs:

The 31st Annual Wedding Fair
January 9&10, 2010
Westin Bayshore Hotel, Vancouver
Vancouver’s largest wedding fair

Indie I Do
January 23, 2010
Heritage Hall, Vancouver
Same-sex, themed, and alternative weddings

East West Woman & Bride Show
February 20-21, 2010
Surrey Convention Centre
Shows include wedding booths and lifestyle booths

Valley Wedding Fair
February 21, 2010
Tzeachten Hall, Chilliwack
Check out this new but popular wedding fair!

The Wedding Show at Newlands
February 25, 2010
Newlands Golf & Country Club, Langley
Features Newlands own wedding packages plus other vendors