Attention kate spade new york lovers everywhere! What’s better than a new designer handbag? A free designer handbag! Our event planning friends at Commerce Street Events are giving away a brand new kate spade handbag – the perfect accessory for your honeymoon and beyond. Enter to win below!
This giveaway runs from July 16th, 2014 to August 16th, 2014. Commerce Street Events will notify the winner of the handbag shortly after the giveaway closes.
Over the last few years the Junebug team has frequently asked our brides, “What is the best decision you made when planning your wedding?” By far the most popular answer is, hiring a wedding planner! With a substantial financial investment, and between 200 to 400 hours allocated to planning the average size wedding, it’s no wonder so many couples are grateful to wedding planners for helping them navigate the many details of their wedding planning process.
An experienced wedding planner offers you sound budget and management advice, contract negotiation, timeline creation, vetted vendor and location selection, along with stylish design aesthetic and execution. Contrary to popular belief, wedding planners can actually save you substantial amounts of time and money while ensuring you and your guests are delighted with your decisions.
Designers are experts at creating atmospheres that blend complementary decor concepts throughout your entire celebration and they generally work with your planner, lighting crew, decor rental companies, and photographer to transform your venue into an unforgettable experience. Celebrity couples and couples looking to make a one-of-a-kind statement frequently employ wedding designers. The wedding planner you choose may also be an experienced wedding designer, and if not, you may decide to hire a designer separately to create the overall visual aesthetic of your wedding.
Whether you choose to hire a planner, designer, or both, here are five tips for choosing the professional that’s right for you.
Look to your friends, family, co-workers, and highly-vetted resources like Junebug Weddings to create your own list of wedding professionals. Visit their websites and blogs, and read client reviews. Be sure the companies you’re considering have orchestrated numerous weddings from start to finish before you trust them with yours (we ask our members to have at least 50 weddings completed before they join Junebug Weddings).
Choose 3 to 5 planners to interview, and pay attention to how well they listen, and how comfortable you feel with their ideas and responses. Ask them for multiple references and check them. Trust is the most important component of a great working relationship, so choose someone who you believe will keep your best interests at heart, and who you are looking forward to spending time with in the months ahead.
Set a budget upfront and let your wedding planner and/or designer make the most of it. Your budget will include your wedding planner so keep in mind that wedding planners charge for their services in several different ways. Some charge by the hour, others charge a percentage of your overall budget (generally 10-20%) and still others charge a flat rate. Be sure the pricing structure you agree to fits your needs and desires best.
Share your style, history, and dreams with your planner, and let them know how involved you would like to be in the planning process. After all, you want your wedding to fit you to a tee so the more your planner and designer knows about you and your expectations, the more likely they will be to exceed them.
Keep in mind that your wedding will be much more than a party. Chances are your guests will vary in age and interests, (and even dietary restrictions) and the scope of your celebration from the days leading up to your wedding and the days after will be full of details, logistics, and frequently unforeseen changes that can cause you unnecessary stress. If you decide to plan your wedding yourself, or if you’re going to let your friends and family do it, you may want to consider having a day-of coordinator with you on your wedding day; a professional to help you manage logistics and last minute details so you can relax and enjoy your wedding day unencumbered with worry, and overjoyed by the all the little moments that will never come again.
Junebug Weddings has spent years compiling our World’s Best Wedding Planners and Designers Hotlist. Every planner and designer we recommend is highly sought after and trusted for their talent and expertise, and every one of them is ready to make your wedding planning more fun and easier than it could ever be without them. Don’t miss it!
With fun fashion and glitter galore, Brook and Sherwin’s glamorous winter wedding at the The Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club was absolutely an affair to remember. The bridal party’s sparkling wedding fashion was completed to perfection with these fabulous sequin bridesmaid dresses from JS Collections, and the bride looked stunning in a lace number by Augusta Jones. Needless to say, we are absolutely head over heels in love with all the fashionable details captured by Kristen Weaver Photography!
The Goals:We wanted to create an elegant and fun atmosphere for our family and friends to come together and celebrate. The Vinoy was the perfect setting and I was lucky enough to work with Stephanie Crona of Table 6 Productions who pulled all the design concepts together. I knew after our initial meeting she completely understood the look I was going for – a winter sparkle look using a mix of metallics. I joked that all of our wedding guests would go home at the end of the evening covered in glitter! We incorporated gold, silver and champagne and tied in small hints of blush throughout.
The Style: Keeping in theme with the wedding, my style inspiration was sparkle and glam. We used a combination of textures, colors and lighting that would create a warm, winter sparkle theme and I based my bridal and bridesmaids’ fashion off of that.
The Wedding Dress: After countless appointments at different bridal stores and boutiques, I decided to stop by Malindy Elene Bridal, a local boutique in Tampa, Florida. I arrived at the end of the day without an appointment, and found my dream dress. Megan and her team are amazing and take such great care of their brides throughout the entire process. I knew I wanted lace, but also something less traditional, with a bit of beading. There is a distinct moment where I was standing in front of the mirror next to the boutique’s floor-to-ceiling windows and the sun was going down and all I could see were these beautiful reflections of light bouncing off of my gown. At that moment, I knew it was the dress.
The Bridesmaids:The most fun with fashion for me was finding the perfect bridesmaid gowns! I looked everywhere for floor-length, sequined dresses and the JS Collections silver ensemble I found at Lord and Taylor was exactly what I had hoped for. The girls all looked stunning in them! The silver color complimented nicely with the bridesmaids’ blush bouquets.
The Advice: My advice to any bride choosing her wedding day look is to remember that a dress may be completely gorgeous and feel comfortable while trying on in the dressing room, however, keep in mind that you will be in your dress for most of the day! Make sure it is one you can move around in, stay cool in, and most importantly, feel like yourself in.
Junebug Weddings uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. We also use cookies to show advertising that is most relevant to you. If you continue you agree to the use of cookies on Junebug Weddings.
Terms & Conditions
.jpg "Photographers")
