As I look out my window today, I see rain. Lots of it. And this has been one of the hottest, driest summers on record in Vancouver.

But for all those brides unlucky enough to pick this particular weekend for their long-planned, much anticipated wedding day…. they got rain.

Ironic? Not really. But kind of too bad.

But that’s the thing about Vancouver. The reason it’s so pretty here is because we have the lush, verdant landscape made possible by all that RAIN! Those clouds roll in over our lovely ocean views, bump up against our fabulous mountains, and bam: rain.

That’s why it’s so incredibly important to have a back-up plan in place in case of rain on your wedding day. No matter what the season — even in the height of summer — rain can easily become an unwelcome wedding guest. Especially in Vancouver!

But you know what? It won’t ruin your special day. Your wedding will be wonderful, and beautiful, and your memories will last a lifetime. No matter what the weather.

It’s true: The most popular venues around Vancouver and the Lower Mainland are booking up NOW for summer 2011. Even a tentative booking is a good idea at this time — most popular venues will allow you to tentatively book a date without putting down a deposit until somebody else wants the same date.

Still looking for a summer wedding venue in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland for THIS summer?

While most 2010 summer wedding venues are fully booked, you still have some options! By checking out some of our lesser-known venues and hidden gems, you can find spectacular locations that most brides simply don’t know about.

Log in at www.myperfectwedding.ca to access in-depth reviews of over 150 wedding venues in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland — and find that last-minute “hidden gem” for your summer wedding in Vancouver!

New Westminster Rose Garden: Perfect for Your Wedding Ceremony!

Summer in Vancouver is the main event in our rainy city. We wait all year for summer and we always want to enjoy it as much as we can.

That’s why, if you are having a summer wedding in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland, you’ll want to make sure you take advantage of the beautiful weather and stunning scenery in Vancouver!

Beautiful parks and gardens abound in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland — many of which could be perfect for your summer wedding!

Favourite locations for Lower Mainland summer weddings include…

Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver — This huge, gorgeous park in the middle of the city features spectacular views, manicured gardens, beautiful Japanese-style water features, a restaurant and wedding pavilion for those who want to have their reception here too, plus countless stunning photo opportunities!

Stanley Park in Vancouver — Stanley Park is renowned worldwide for it’s huge old-growth forests, many beaches, pretty lagoons, winding trails, rose garden, lighthouse, and more! The photo opportunites don’t get much better than this. The stunning rose garden can be rented for ceremonies; many other locations can be used as well.

The Rose Garden at UBC — This beautiful, manicured formal rose garden is a lovely spot for a Vancouver wedding ceremony. The rose garden also features views of the north shore mountains and English Bay.

Park and Tilford Gardens in North Vancouver — This “hidden gem” is a surprisingly beautiful and tranquil spot right in the middle of a busy shopping mall area, flanked by a busy trucking route! The gorgeous gardens offer spectacular photo opportunites and many pretty locations for your ceremony. You may also hold a small reception at the very pretty — and inexpensive — Rose Room.

Queen’s Park New Westminster — The large, beautiful Queen’s Park features plenty of lovely spots for a ceremony and/or photos — plus a lovely rose garden in the centre of the park that can be reserved for your ceremony.

For a complete list of gardens and parks in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland that might be perfect for YOUR wedding ceremony, go to www.myperfectwedding.ca. We’ll also fill you in on all the details you’ll need to know about reserving park space, fees, limitations, etc.

Lower Mainland Wedding Venues: Accent Cruises

If you’re looking for that perfect Lower Mainland wedding venue for a summer wedding, and you really want to have ocean views — but don’t want to pay the PRICES for ocean views! — here’s an excellent option:

Have your wedding at sea, on a luxury yacht!

Some Lower Mainland wedding venues will charge you a pretty penny for an all-inclusive summer wedding with a view. But with Accent Cruises, you can get married at sea, with all the catering and details taken care of for you — all for a relatively low package price!

Of course, there are a few drawbacks to having your wedding one of these luxury yachts…

Find out how Accent Cruises compares to other Lower Mainland Wedding venues at www.myperfectwedding.ca — where we give you the “inside scoop” plus pictures and all the details on over 150 Lower Mainland Wedding venues!

You need to APPLY to have your wedding ceremony in most Vancouver parks or beaches!

Plus, there are fees associated with wedding ceremonies in many Vancouver parks and beaches, as well as limitations regarding number of people and equipment.

So if you’re planning a wedding ceremony at any Vancouver beach or park, check out the Parks Board application form located here: http://vancouver.ca/PARKS/info/applications/weddingapplication2010.pdf

And if you want a list of the TOP 20 Beaches and TOP 20 Parks in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, log in at www.myperfectwedding.ca to get the scoop on which beaches and parks are best for your ceremony!

Not a member yet? Sign up at www.myperfectwedding.ca to gain access to 150+ in-depth reviews of Vancouver wedding venues and Lower Mainland wedding venues, including the “inside scoop,” the “fine print” details, pricing information, and photos of each!

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!

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

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!

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.

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!