There are basically 5 components to a wedding invitation. The Host Line, Bride & Groom names, Invitation / Action, Information and Party Line.
The Host Line example: “Together with their Families”. The host line signifies the host of the wedding. It could be either / both sides of family or it can be the bride and groom. It can also be omitted altogether.
The Invitation Line example: “Judy and Alex invites you to share their joy as Husband and Wife.” This is where you actually invite your guests to your wedding, so feel free to set the tone.
Bride & Groom Names example: “Judy & Alex”. Normally the bride’s name comes first. The Bride and Groom names are also the largest element on the invitation
Invitation / Action Example: “At the celebration of their marriage”. This line is the “Call-to-Action”, what do you want the invitees to do?
Information: Keep this section simple. Make sure you include the Time, date, and location. There is no need to be creative with this section. Keep in simple and straightforward.
The Party Line Example: “Confetti and magic to follow”. Get as creative as you like! If you have a gap or a location change, here’s the perfect section to state that information.
2. How wedding vows work?
The wedding vow sets the stage for the whole wedding experience. It states why everyone is gathered at your wedding and what the Bride & Groom are committed to. Here are 6 steps:
Talk to your Officiant. Depending on your faith, there are statements / words that need to be said during your wedding vows. Sometimes there are specific structure that your vows need to be said. Either way, find out what the rules are before you get creative
Come up with a structure. Will you write your vows with your significant other or will you each come up with your vows separately? Have a structure of style (serious / emotional or humours / personable?), and the amount of words will make sure your vows are along the same lines.
Make it about You! Both of you should take some time to think about what you love the most about each other, what are your most memorable experiences and most importantly, what are you willing to promise to each other.
Edit your vows. When you have all your notes, decide what style, tone and length you want to keep your vow to be. Don’t make it too long, also favour the short and sweet.
Practice, Practice, Practice! It is very important that you both practice your vows. If possible, you should memorize it. I mean how can you really make a vow when you constantly refer to your notes.
Once you have gotten enough practice, do what you want! At the end of the day, everyone is there to celebrate the union of you and your significant other. No one’s going to judge you on your vows, truly enjoy the experience.
3. How wedding rings should fit
Your ring should slide on easily and resist just a smidge (especially over the knuckles) as you slide it off. If you size it to your knuckles, the ring will be too large.
how much does a wedding planner get paid Unique Secrets Wedding Planners Won t Tell You
4. How wedding planners get paid
There are a few ways a wedding planner gets paid. They get paid for their clients via a flat fee or in more rare cases, they get paid exclusively by the commission they get from the vendors they refer to their clients. Some planners get a flat fee from the client and also get a small commission from referring their vendors. If the planner gets paid by commission, their clients should be fully aware of their business model as commissions from vendors may sway the planner to refer only specific vendors who are open to the commission model.
5. Will wedding venues negotiate price?
In today’s market, popular venues will probably not entertain the idea of price negotiations. However, there are 3 tips that has worked for my clients.
Tip #1: Work with a wedding planner who already has a relationship with the venue. When your wedding planner constantly refers business to the venue, your wedding planner has leverage when it comes to venue negotiations.
Tip #2: Have your wedding on an odd day. If you had your wedding on a Monday or Tuesday during the month of July / August, you will probably get a nice discount. Weekdays are normally reserved for corporate events, however, during the months of July and August, it’s the slow season for corporate and those days are usually vacant.
Tip #3: Have your wedding at an odd day. You may also want to have a lunch wedding instead or the traditional dinner reception. In this case, the venue can still fit another wedding in the evening. Lunch weddings are usually more economical and you can probably save a few dollars on the catering as well.
Bonus Tip: Book your wedding well in advance. When you book your wedding 2 years in advance (for example), you are paying for the venue rental at a much lower rate for the same date than if you book the venue 1 year later. It also gives you more dates to choose from.
The Officiant: If the officiant is part of the clergy, you can make an additional donation as you may not be able to tip the officiant directly.
Photographer and Videographer: If you are working directly with the owner, tipping is optional.
Caterer and Waitstaff: Gratuity is often included in your final bill, if not, you may want to tip them separately. Unlike restaurants, your wait staff are not dependant on your tips for wages. When gratuity is included in your bill, sometimes it never makes it to the wait staff / cooks.
Bartenders: Bartending services, like wait staff often have gratuity included in their final bill. They may also be accepting tips from your guests.
Hair and Makeup: Like a salon, be sure to tip the hair and makeup professionals
Chauffeurs or Drivers: Many transportation companies include gratuities in their bill.
Valet Attendants: If you cover all the gratuities yourself, make sure you place a sign in the front that tells your guests that gratuities have been covered
Restroom and Coat Check Attendants: If you cover all the gratuities yourself, make sure you place a sign in the front that tells your guests that gratuities have been covered.
Wedding Planner, Baker, Stationer, and Florist: If you are working with the business owners, they won’t expect a tip, however, if you really like their work, feel free to give them a nice tip.
7. Which wedding tradition releases doves?
Many weddings today choose to have the release of doves on their wedding day, but the tradition originally came from the Philippines, where the bride and groom release a pair of doves to symbolize harmony.
Wedding Planner: One of the most important job as a wedding planner is to secure the perfect wedding team (Venue, caterers, officiant, etc.) for your wedding. When you have an experienced wedding planning working with you, everything is streamlined and you won’t have to worry about “bad vendors” who don’t show up or the execution of their services.
Venue: Without the venue, you haven’t officially set a date. When you book your venue with less than 12 months before your wedding, many of your dates might not be available anymore.
Photographer: Just like a venue, the photographer get booked up pretty fast. Besure you like their personality and style before booking them
Florist + Decor: If you have a smaller wedding, a florist can help you with almost all your decor needs, however, if you have a medium / large wedding, you would need a dedicated decor + floral company who just does weddings and events.
Caterers: If your venue doesn’t include a caterer, then you need to book your own caterer. Make sure you book a tasting and when you are calculating cost, make sure to include gratuities.
Entertainment / Music: Remember to book your DJ, band or other unique entertainment. You may want to consider a harpist, photobooth or food truck as well
Officiant: Without an experience and professional officiant, you won’t officially be married. Make sure they are licensed and you like them as they will help provide a meaningful and personal ceremony.
Wedding Dress: It takes months from the day you order to the day you actualy receive your dress. It also takes time to try on multiple dresses before you find “the one” and time to arrange any necessary alterations.
Stationary: It takes a few weeks to get your invites designed and printed. Make sure you get them early so you can start the invitation process
Cake Designer: Get your cake designed and ordered.
Bridesmaid dresses: Find the look that matches your wedding and get them ordered for your bridesmaids.
Makeup & Hair: Sometimes you find a company that does both makeup and hair
Man’s attire: It doesn’t take as much time to pick a Tux but don’t forget about the time it takes for alterations
Transportation: Having a limo or shuttle bus can save you a lot of headache.
Favours: Have wedding favours that match your wedding style. It’s like a souvenir to remember your wedding by.
Wedding Ring: Last but not least, the wedding rings. If your engagement ring comes with a set of wedding rings, then it’s a no brainer.
9. Wedding who to invite etiquette
Who to invite can be tricky. Before you involve anyone else, sit down with your significant other and estimate the number of people you would like to have at your wedding. Then make a list of all the people you would like to invite. When it comes to family, if you invite your uncle, you should invite all your aunts and uncles. This goes for your cousins, second cousins, etc. Start with your family, and your closest relatives first. After your families have been accounted for, the “extra seats” should be divided equally for each side. When it comes to children, there’s not right answer. You could allow your closest family to bring children and not your friends and other relatives. Always invite your friends if they invited you to their wedding in the past.
Wedding planners have a lot of services that they provide. Here is a high level summary of their services. Wedding planners also have different packages depending on your needs. Check out our services page to learn more: http://elleweddings.ca/wedding-services.html
Helping you set a realistic wedding budget based on your expectations
Devising a wedding master plan that maps out all the little details, from vendor contacts, to multiple timelines for each vendor
Bring you to see the right venues for your wedding while considering your wedding size, budget, and vision
Put your wedding team together: florists, photographers, caterers, bands, DJs and other vendors in your price range
Wedding planners bring volume to wedding vendors, and they often get deals in terms of your cost and/or extra perks.
Review your vendor contracts to make sure it’s in accordance to your best interests and negotiations any amendments on your behalf.
Handling the invitations, from the wording and ordering to the addressing and mailing, as well as tracking RSVPs
Advising you on proper etiquette as well as hot trends in the wedding industry
Managing the wedding day: supervising vendors, setup, and delivery; handling emergencies; and soothing nerves
Let us know if you are looking for an independent wedding planner. We are based in Vancouver and plan weddings all around the world. Give us a call or fill out our information request form here. We cannot wait to work with you!
Meet Leslie Luu (Elle Weddings)
I am described as a zealous person with an insatiable curiosity, a trendsetter in the world of colour (see blog), and an adventure seeker with an admiration for world libraries, beautiful architecture, and delicious food. I believe that beauty is found in the tiniest and most unexpected details and it is these beautiful things around me that fuel my inspiration to do what I do.
As a teen I loved hosting birthday and holiday parties for my family and friends. I was fully involved in all aspects of event planning such as handwriting invites, decorating the house, cooking, baking, and organizing games and activities. Despite my love and enjoyment of planning events at this time, I graduated with a university degree in Criminology and pursued a career in law enforcement instead. Unhappy in this field of work, I left and found work decorating for weddings and assisting local planners in day-of coordination gigs. From then on a passion blossomed, I earned a degree in event management, and my journey into weddings began.
Leslie was organized, efficient, worked with what we wanted, easy to communicate with, and so lovely to work with. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to plan our wedding! She is super knowledgeable about all of the best deals and vendors in the area and was able to create our dream vision with our budget. She took a lot of things off our plate with handling the vendors and everything on the special day making it stress free. On top of taking on all of these responsibilities, she was always so quick to respond. Leslie is the best and we will miss working with her!
Leslie helped to ensure our wedding day was amazing. She is attentive, responsive, flexible, and always smiling. Working with her was a pleasure and we'd highly recommend working with her. My husband and I were able to just enjoy the day while she took care of all the details on the day of, guiding us with a smile and always showing her caring attitude. As the day passed by me as a blur, I remember Leslie always busy working to make sure the details were perfect. Very grateful to have found her and for the work and love she put into our wedding. Thanks Leslie!
