Hilton Mississauga Venue Review
by Alisha Chadee
I love being a wedding and event planner. I love it for so many reasons. The primary reason is that I enjoy helping couples plan the most important day of their lives and I love the creativity involved with designing a themed corporate party. It honestly doesn’t feel like work to me because I enjoy all aspects of the planning and execution. As with any career, there are fun perks! One of them is that the Whimlets are constantly invited by venues to visit and sample their fares. Poor us – having to visit beautiful spaces and eat yummy food. It’s a hard life, but someone has to evaluate all that the wedding world has to offer you! Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered :).
Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale – Yessss!!!
Recently I was invited by the beautiful Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale to come visit their beautiful wedding and event space.
As I sat in the lovely lobby and took a few snaps with my camera, I took in the ambiance of the room. I like evaluating lobbies. This is the first spot your guests will see at the onset of your wedding. I loved that this space was warm and friendly, with a professional yet luxurious feel.
I met with Richha, the Catering and Sales Manager, and she strove to welcome me and answer all of my questions. Richha took me on a tour of the ballrooms, meeting spaces, restaurant and even a guest suite! Check out a few photos of the lovely ceremony and reception spaces. All event space photos courtesy of the Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale.
Modern and luxe. It’s difficult to find spaces in Toronto that can cater to groups of up to 900 that have this ambiance. Like I’ve mentioned before – I love modern.
It wouldn’t be a good site visit without sampling the fare offered by the culinary geniuses at theHilton Mississauga Meadowvale. Richha and I headed over to their in-house restaurant, Quest. The food was delicious and beautifully displayed. The head chef is able to customize their menu to suit even the pickiest palette and I was pleased with the extensive selection of wines.
All in all, I really like the Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale for an intimate or large wedding reception for a few reasons:
- Modern couples looking for a hotel wedding experience usually think of the options available in Toronto. I was very pleased to see that we have a great modern, luxurious hotel option here in Mississauga. I love the West-end, and I’ve lived here my entire life – so the more it develops, the happier I am!
- I very much enjoyed the food. I am a foodie at heart and I believe that your guests will always appreciate a well thought out meal at your wedding. Working with experienced chefs and sommeliers guarantees that your guests will have a wonderful culinary experience. I also enjoyed the flexibility of the menus. There are sit-down and buffet options, along with a multitude of cultural variations available.
- I love modern wedding and event spaces. TheHilton Mississauga Meadowvale offers a sleek, contemporary design and is suitable for modern luxe weddings.
Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale – Quick Facts
Location: 6750 Mississauga Road, Mississauga Ontario
Capacity: 10 to 900
Size of Space: Up to 40,000 square feet
Catering: Available onsite
Bar: Available Onsite
Photo Ops: Available in Courtyard
Amenities: Many – but ample free parking is available for wedding guests.
What do you think of our review? We’d love to go with you on a tour of theHilton Mississauga Meadowvale for your upcoming wedding or event. Contact us today and we can get started!
xoxo
- Published in 2015, Vendor spotlight, Venues, Wedding, Wedding Planning, Wedding TIps
Creative Guestbook Ideas for the Fun Bride
By Alisha Chadee
You’ve picked your wedding colour scheme, you’ve picked your wedding theme and your planning is coming along nicely. Wonderful! Time for the final details, like your wedding guestbook. Here’s an excellent opportunity to showcase your theme in a creative way! There are tons of ways to showcase your creativity and leaving the boring old guestbook in the past. Where it belongs. Forever. Without further ado…
Creative Guestbook Ideas
The Whimlets have planned and coordinated a ton of weddings over the years, and we’ve always advocated for as much creativity as possible. One of our favourite areas to incorporate this is in the guestbook and receiving line items. Guests enjoy the fun extras and out of box ideas that show you care about their experience. For example, one of our couples featured a guestbook tree. The guestbook tree featured an Fujufilm Instax camera with slips of paper for guests to fasten their instant photos and leave a message. The messages were then tied onto the tree and created the leaves. The Diya Decor tree was visually stunning, standing at 6ft tall, and had all of the guests raving.
I’ve always loved simplicity – it’s the ultimate sophistication, right? In that spirit, I love the idea of artwork that guest can sign. These pieces are then hung in the bride and groom’s home after the wedding. Check out this artwork created from the thumbprints of the bride and groom, fashioned into a heart. Guests signed around it and the bride and groom displayed it in their home. I really like the underlying message of two becoming one.
What do you and your fiancé like to do? What are your hobbies? For example, couples who enjoy travel may consider using a globe and have guests sign it. This would be a neat piece to display in an office or in a family room. Like I said before, I love creative guestbook ideas that double as art!
As an alternative to this idea, rather than using a globe, use a map and frame it afterwards!
Are you a wine lover? Yeah, so am I! Start collecting those corks and have guests sign and add them to a shadow box! The shadow box can be personalized to include your wedding monogram and brand!
I loveeeee Jenga! It’s such a fun game for groups or even a low-key date night. My husband and I play all the time and it turns into a battle royale! I digress.. Have your guests sign Jenga pieces on one side and add a piece of advice on the other! You’ll have fun playing afterwards and the game might even become a keepsake for your future children!
Creative guestbook ideas are all around us – just think about the activities that you enjoy as a couple and the ideas will flow! How did you like the suggestions that I’ve given you? Leave me a comment and let me know! If you are looking for help with putting together your dream wedding, contact us today!
- Published in 2015, Trends, Wedding, Wedding Planning, Wedding TIps
Wedding Vendors in Toronto – How do I Pick?!
By Rachel de Silva
One of the most common occurrences I hear when it comes to wedding planning is how overwhelmed the couple becomes with what feels like a never-ending list of tasks to take care of before the big day. If you are either a couple who has a lengthy period or short gap between the engagement and the wedding day, never fear, all things are possible to those who believe—and work for it. One of the most important aspects of any event or wedding is the list of vendors you will choose from. With that being said…
Wedding Vendors – How Can I Tell the Good from the Bad?
From picking a venue that fits your needs, to a photographer that will capture your better side or even how many tiers you want your cake to be, deciding on the right wedding vendors can make a world of difference. The right wedding vendor is one who is the right fit, delivers as promised, and will not stress you out along the way. There are simple ways to tell if a vendor is the real deal or a potential nightmare, and we’ve outlined them below.
Do your research
This is critical. It is completely understandable that meeting your budget needs can be a challenge. Knowing where to stretch your pocket and where it isn’t needed will all depend on you and your special someone. A foolproof method of making sure you’ve gone with the right wedding vendors is giving yourself ample time to do research. Read a potential prospects reviews, fortunately any negative feedback comes from the truest source—other couples who utilized vendor’s services and were disappointed with what they had to offer. Ask other couples or newlyweds who they chose for their big day. The beauty of getting married is that everyone understands how challenging the process can be and was to brag about their awesome experiences with great vendors. Most wedding vendors will tell you that most business comes from word of mouth!
Travel to different venues; although many of these vendor’s websites have an impressive portfolio of photos, nothing other than visiting these locations will assist in making your final decision. Create a personalized list of potentials and be thorough and critical of what you enjoyed and what didn’t work. If you don’t like it now, you probably won’t like it on the wedding day! Take pictures; when it comes to making your choices, these photos will be a great way of remembering what you’re working with. Taste every food option you decide to provide to your guests. If you didn’t absolutely love what was being offered, it is a good inclination that your guests won’t enjoy it either. This may ruin their experience, after all food is a universal passion.
Additionally, the option to choose either a full, month-of or day-of wedding coordinator can either be viewed as an added expense or guidance and assistance for planning your big day. Not only do we have a specific list of vendors that are tried, tested and true but we understand how to stick to your budget.
We’d love to help you pick fab vendors that work with your budget, style, theme and personality! Contact us today and we can get started! We’d love to meet with you! We’ll treat you to your favourite warm bevvie ;)!
- Published in 2015, Vendors, Wedding TIps
Divine Beauty By Sathi – Vendor Spotlight
Today on the blog we wanted to introduce you to a talented makeup artist in the Toronto and GTA region. We’ve worked with her on photoshoots and our brides love her stunning work. We love versatility, and Sathi has it. She has that rare ability that goes beyond applying makeup. She is wonderful at reading her clients and enhancing their best features. It doesn’t hurt that she’s a knockout and such a sweetheart, too! Every one of Sathi’s brides glow in their wedding photos and it’s no wonder that her wedding season is fully booked each year.
Get to know Divine Beauty by Sathi and read her questionnaire below. Be sure to check her out on Facebook, and Instagram, too!
Divine Beauty by Sathi
- How did you become a wedding makeup artist? What initially piqued your interest? I have always loved make-up! Even as a child, my Mom said I would take her lipstick and put it on. I started out doing my friends and family members make-up for their birthdays, proms and other special events. I was always their go-to girl for getting “dolled up”. I then decided that I wanted to experiment more with products and different colours when I saw my first make-up tutorial on YouTube. After that, I was hooked and bought my first eye shadow palette. I started practising on my self and others and finally decided to get certified in this new world of make-up. After receiving my Make-up Artistry certification from the Canadian Aesthetics Academy, I began doing Bridal/Wedding Make-up Professionally.
- Tell us about your very first wedding gig? My first wedding party was about 5 years ago, which consisted of 5 bridesmaids and of course the Bride. What an experience it was! It was so rewarding to see the reactions of my clients after I had done their make-up. Their smiles and shocked expressions at how beautiful they looked and felt made me want to delve deeper into this industry and make it my career.
- If you weren’t a makeup artist, what would you be?I would definitely be in the people business. My corporate 9-5 job is within the Staffing and Recruiting world and this is also very rewarding. Either I am helping someone find their next career adventure, or getting them ready for their most special day, helping people in any aspect of their lives is what I love to do!
- When you aren’t making brides look their best, what can we find you doing? You can definitely find me spending time with my husband and caring for my daughter. They are my motivation and number one supporters.
- What’s your absolute favourite thing about being a wedding makeup artist?The satisfaction of my clients is what I love most. Knowing that they have someone in their corner who is professional and dedicated to them on their big day, is important to me. I truly love creating and enhancing my canvas to bring out my clients inner beauty. Their confidence and happiness after I am done working, is what keeps me going!
- What’s something you don’t think many people know about doing what you do?Make-up artistry is truly an art and takes a lot of practise, dedication and hard work. You must constantly upgrade your skills and learn new techniques to stay current. Make-up is always changing, just like fashion.
- What are some of your other passions (or hobbies)?I love photography. I mostly love to capture my daughter and all of her different smiles and facial expressions. I am still learning and maybe one day I will jump into this craft as well.
Thanks for reading Divine Beauty by Sathi’s spotlight! Makeup is an area where there are a ton of vendors and its hard to tell who is great and who isn’t. Contact us today and we’ll help you craft the wedding team of your dreams!
- Published in 2015, Vendor spotlight, Vendors, Wedding TIps
Bridal Party Duties – Toronto Wedding Planner
Bridal Party Duties
What the heck is everyone supposed to do?!
You chose your bridesmaids and groomsmen because they’re the ones you love most, and you want to be surrounded by good vibes and positive people on your wedding day. Although they’ll help you have the most amazing wedding day full of memories you’ll never forget, they also have certain duties they need to fulfill. Here are a few key bridal party duties we think that they should handle:
Make sure the bride AND groom make it to the wedding in one piece.
There are a million and one things that can go wrong on the day of your wedding, but none of those things matter as long as both you and your significant other make it down the aisle and live out your happily ever after. Cold feet, flat tires, hysterical family members, and wardrobe malfunctions are all crises that can be diffused by your loving bridal party. You can choose to prep them before the big day with all of the emergency phone numbers and materials they may need, so that they can take care of all the minor calamities themselves.
Throw the bachelor and bachelorette parties.
Let’s be real, you and your spouse to be haven’t been ‘single’ since you met, but you can both still enjoy your respective parties. Take this chance to go out and really appreciate the friends who have been there for all the upsand downs, and who’ll continue to support you. Let your bridal party spoil you and take care of you on your bachelor or bachelorette party- let free, relax, and enjoy yourself before the big day!
Host the bridal shower.
This job is typically left up to the bridesmaids, but the groomsmen can definitely be enlisted to help with the bridal shower as well! There’s a lot that goes into planning a shower- decor, venue, food, favors, games, and more. This is an important event that requires a copious amount of care and attention to detail- it’s where you’ll get (almost) everything you need to start your new life with your husband or wife to be!
Go to dress fittings with the bride.
Bridesmaids, the most important thing you can do at your bride’s dress fitting is learn how to properly bustle her dress! You know what they say: a dress is only as beautiful as its bustle. Well, they don’t say that… but they should. Many brides will only let their train bask in its full glory during the ceremony, and will spend the majority of their reception with their dress bustled. Since you’ll be wearing your bustle for a while, it’ll likely be in pictures- and you don’t want to be looking at a lopsided bustle in your wedding pictures 30 years from now.
Help with the details.
Tying and curling ribbons on 250 wedding favours is a tedious task, but your bridal party should be prepared to do just that. It’s important that they lend a helping hand to you with all of the little details- you have a ton going on as it is, and we’re sure any help is appreciated. After all, they are your maids and men, they should be doing all they can to make your life easier!
These are just some general guidelines of what your bridal party should be handling throughout your wedding planning process. Don’t be afraid to enlist them to some heavy lifting- they’re honored enough to be an integral part of your big day, and they should help make it come to life!
- Published in 2015, Trends, Uncategorized, Wedding, Wedding TIps
5 Questions to Ask a Wedding Photographer
5 Questions to Ask a Wedding Photographer Before Booking
Clients constantly ask us how to choose a wedding photographer. With so many photographers in Toronto, it’s tough to pick the right one! Start by reviewing the different styles of wedding photography that exist and immerse yourself. Some photo styles will evoke a feeling in you and others won’t. Once you’ve determined the style that you like, it’s time to start looking for photographers that fit that style and are available for your date. Take the time to judge photographers not only on their style of photography, but on their overall professionalism. You’ll be meeting several photographers before selecting the one. Here are five questions to help identify the right professional wedding photographer for you.
1) How long have you been in the wedding photography business?
This is an important one, even if you are open to newer photogs. Be sure to define what you mean by ‘in the business.’ For example, some wedding photographers include training and education years as part of their years of experience, but you may mean the number of years they’ve photographed wedding specifically.
2) What is your backup plan if your camera fails, or if you are unable to photograph my wedding in the case of an emergency?
As a wedding planner, I know that contingency plans are critical. Michelle and I have witnessed all sorts of unplanned items pop up before and during the wedding day. It is important to have a contingency plan with all vendors – especially your photographer. Many vendors will provide a full refund if they are unable to perform their duties on the wedding day. That’s great, but it won’t help much when you don’t have pro photography on the most important day of your life. Your photographer should have a wide network to ensure they can guarantee quality photography if an emergency comes up – and make sure it’s in the contract!
3) Do you use lighting or off camera flash at weddings?
A professional photographer will have the appropriate equipment for your venue and outdoor photography settings. If you have a vision for specific shots, like light painting, you need a wedding photographer who uses more than basic lighting. Sometimes these extra lighting options come at an additional cost – so double check what the specific equipment inclusions are with your selected package to make sure you’re still on budget.
4) What is the turnaround time on my photos and online gallery?
A professional photographer will guarantee a delivery date in writing, and will honour that date. This timeline can vary depending on the time of year, the calibre of photographer, and style of photography. If turnaround time is a deal breaker, ensure that delivery dates are explicitly stated in the contract.
5) Will you hold my wedding date until we have made a decision?
Quality wedding photographers, have full schedules, which is why we recommend booking this service early in the planning process. While you are meeting with and evaluating your favourites, your photographer will be meeting with other couples who are getting married around the same time as you. Ask for a ‘first right of refusal,’ in case any other inquiries for your wedding date come in.
Did you enjoy this post? Events by Whim is a team of Toronto wedding planners and event designers that also services the Calgary/Banff area. Contact us today to get started with planning your dream day!
- Published in Wedding TIps
Wedding Planner vs On-Site Coordinator
By Tarisha Beniprashad
Wedding Planner vs On-Site Coordinator?!
What’s the difference? Do I need both? What do they do?!
The wedding planner vs on-site coordinator debate is a pretty popular one in the wedding industry, but to be honest, we don’t think it should be a debate at all. The roles of a wedding planner and the duties of an on-site coordinator are completely different- each position has its own merits. If you’re unsure of your stance in this debate, we’ve got you covered- we’ll tell you all there is to know about wedding planners vs on-site coordinators!
Wedding planners:
That’s us! Wedding planners are independent planners that you can hire to help you coordinate all of the little details of your wedding day, and even the days leading up to it. We help you plan everything from the invitations to flowers to caterers to transportation, and pretty much everything in between.
We’re with you on the day of your wedding from the beginning right until the end to ensure that everything runs smoothly from the morning of the wedding to the end of the reception. We aim to build both professional and personal relationships with our clients and really get to know them during their wedding planning journey so that we can do our best to make sure we plan a day they can’t forget, and have a little fun along the way!
On-site Coordinators:
These guys are usually employed by the venue of your wedding or reception, and don’t typically work with you on details outside of that. They’re the ones you meet to sign contracts and go over food and beverage choices, and pretty much anything else that’s going on at the venue. Their main job is to ensure that the festivities run in a smooth and timely manner, and that all of their services are delivered flawlessly. They may also suggest some vendors to you that they’ve worked with in the past, but that isn’t necessarily a part of their job description. You can depend on these guys to be present during your time at the venue, but they’ll likely leave before dinner is over and turn things over to the Banquet Manager, who will supervise things until the party is over.
So now that you know the specific roles of a Wedding Planner vs On-Site Coordinator, we’re sure that you can understand where we’re coming from when we say this shouldn’t be a debate in the first place. These positions cater to different needs, and generate the best results when they work together. If you’re trying to decide between a wedding planner vs on-site coordinator, here’s our advice: why not both? These two can work together to ensure your day goes off without a hitch, and will actually make each other’s jobs a whole lot easier. With a wedding planner you get someone to guide you through the entire planning process from start to finish and manage your vendors, and your on-site coordinator will take care of all the logistics relatingto the venue on the day of. Their jobs are equally important, and you’re guaranteed to have the day you’ve been dreaming of with both of them working together to make your vision a reality!
Whim Event Coordination and Design is a team of Toronto wedding planners who service the GTA and beyond. Leave a comment below and let us know what your thoughts are on the wedding planner vs on-site coordinator debate, and contact us today so we can help you get started on your wedding planning!
- Published in 2015, Wedding TIps