Hilton Hotel Markham – A Behind-The-Scenes Recap!
Hilton Hotel Markham – An Elegant DIY Dream
Gorgeous sign made by a close friend of the couple – made entirely out of photos of the bride and groom!
Michelle and I recently welcomed a new Whimlet (isn’t that a great term?!) to our ranks. Her name is Rachel de Silva, and she is assisting us with coordination on wedding days. Her first wedding with us was a lovely Hindu wedding and reception at the Hilton Hotel Markham, and she did a fantastic job! I asked her to write up the wedding from her perspective and you can read more below!
A fun (and fuzzy) instamax photo of our little team
“Just so I can get the record straight, I by no means got hitched nor do I plan to take a husband anytime soon. I will however state that the Whim team was gracious enough to grant me the opportunity to assist in Ilina and Anil’s big day. Recently, I have found a thriving passion to plan events, so what better time than now to get involved during wedding season. To say the least, this couple did a fantastic job in creating a fun and engaging guest experience. There were little jars of M&M’s featuring every guest’s name with a personalized message to each. A gorgeous decor set up for both ceremony and reception from Diya Decor, a guestbook tree with hanging paper cards dangled from the branches where the guests were able to tape a Polaroid of themselves to the cards. The effort in the details undeniably showed in every step of the wedding process.
Custom Gold Framed Schedule Board
6ft Customized Guestbook Tree
Closeup of signage and chalkboard with instamax photos for the custom guestbook tree
Closeup of signage and chalkboard with instamax photos for the custom guestbook tree
Seating chart
A key component to ensuring the day ran successfully was time management. Since this wedding featured a Hindu ceremony and reception in the same day, there was a time sensitive itinerary, list of name and phone numbers of every vendor required, and a detailed map of table numbers and list of names per table. These documents became very useful throughout the duration of the wedding. The one lesson I have learned through this entire experience is preparation, sticking to the time schedule (give or take a few minutes), making sure to eat at some point and remaining calm. I also became aware of the difference between an outstanding guest experience and a mediocre one. I truly want to say thank you to the Whim team for choosing me to join them on this amazing journey. Cheers to many more weddings, some of which I hope to take the lead on.
Stunning reception decor courtesy of Diya Decor!
The first dance of the night with the bride and groom!
Beautiful centrepieces and table design by Diya Decor.
Beautiful receiving table with vintage decor and candles, dedicated to the bride and groom’s family – this table featured wedding photos of both sets of parents, grandparents and great-grandparents!
Special thanks to the Hilton Hotel Markham, Diya Decor, G&H Photography, and all of the vendors and extra hands and Celia Mackenzie, Huma Sheikh and Mahdis Lowe for all their help and efforts. Congratulations to a wonderful bride and groom, Ilina and Anil on this wonderful milestone!”
We hoped that you enjoyed Rachel’s write up on this lovely wedding. We’ll feature a full post on it in the future when the pro photos come in with a full vendor listing. We’re so excited that we have Rachel to assist us on our future weddings! We’ll feature a bio on her very soon! To find out more about how we can assist you, please contact us today!
- Published in Uncategorized
A Guide to Selecting the Perfect Wedding DJ
Wedding DJs: Who Needs ‘Em? Answer: Probably you.
A great wedding DJ keeps the crowd on the dance floor all night long!
Today on the blog we wanted to talk about wedding entertainment; specifically wedding DJs. We’ll chat more about wedding bands and other forms of entertainment in different blog posts in the future. People tend to have strong ideas on the importance of the wedding DJ and how much of the budget should be allocated toward this service. We are here to tell you that having a great, professional and experienced wedding DJ is very important!
Toronto wedding DJ Ryan Ally of Alley Entertainment had this crowd jumping!
Music plays a huge part in setting the mood of your event. If your plan is to have an iPhone connected to a set of speakers that tells me, as a planner, that dancing isn’t an important aspect of your wedding. That is totally fine, but if you want to ensure that your guests spend a lot of time on the dance floor, a different approach is needed, and you may want to consider hiring a qualified wedding DJ. A great wedding DJ will do more than play one song after another – they take the time to discuss musical tastes and preferences and the mood that their clients want to set at the wedding reception. Some couples want a club atmosphere at their reception, and some couples are looking for very specific genres. A great wedding DJ will have experience with reading the crowd at the wedding, and will know when to switch the sound up to get the crowd amped up– and will also know when to censor music so as not to offend your guests. Most importantly, a great wedding DJ will keep your crowd dancing the night away, and everyone will walk away with wonderful memories and sore feet!
In order to help you ensure that you are selecting a great wedding DJ, we’ve put together a list of questions to ask when you are conducting your interviews. Enjoy!
10 Questions to Ask Prospective Wedding DJs
- How long have you been in business?
- How many weddings have you played at?
- What is included in your wedding packages, and what are the rates?
- Do you own your own equipment or do you rent it? What type of equipment do you use?
- Do you provide MC services?
- How extensive is your library? Do you have [insert specific genre here]? Do you have experience DJing [insert specific cultural] weddings?
- Can we give you a ‘do not play’ list that you will follow, even if a guest requests one of the songs on that list?
- Do you lead any centerpiece or ice breaker games?
- We need help picking songs for first dances, mother-son, father-daughter, etc. Can you help with that?
- Can you adhere to business casual attire for the event?
We are confident that by asking the above questions, you will be able to find the best wedding DJ for your wedding and your guests will dance the night away!
If you need assistance with finding the perfect wedding DJ, get in touch with us! We’d be happy to show you how we can help!
- Published in Uncategorized
Cinderella Wedding at John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre in Mississauga
June wedding at the John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre
As little girls, we spent a lot of time watching Disney movies and marvelling over the beautiful details in each movie. When our lovely June 2015 bride approached us in Fall 2014 about designing a fanciful, punch pink, silver, white and blush wedding, we instantly thought of Cinderella. Our bride selected a gorgeous colour palette and a large venue in John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre in Mississauga, which has a ton of open space and lots of lighting.
In developing the colour scheme, we imagined crystals, large floral displays, and horse-drawn carriages. We decided to use a silver gilt framed mirror as the seating chart using the custom stationery design that we created for the bride’s invitations.
Photo credits to Nirvanie Srikishun Photography. John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre in Mississauga.
Photo credits to Nirvanie Srikishun Photography. John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre in Mississauga.
Photo credits to Nirvanie Srikishun Photography. John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre in Mississauga.
We envisioned a lot of white, with pops of punch pink and touches of blush and silver. Using simple uplighting and LED bars, provided by Ally Entertainment, under the Cinderella-skirted head tables transformed the auditorium. The hand-pinned silver brooch buckles on the head tables really shone with the uplights and candle light. As you can see, using the right kind of lighting can transform any type of space!
Photo credits to Nirvanie Srikishun Photography. John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre.
Photo credits to Nirvanie Srikishun Photography. John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre.
Photo credits to Nirvanie Srikishun Photography. John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre.
Photo credits to Nirvanie Srikishun Photography
Photo credits to Nirvanie Srikishun Photography
Photo credits to Nirvanie Srikishun Photography. John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre.
We assisted the bride with selecting vases for her tall centerpieces, which consisted of greenery and hydrangeas. We set these off with votives for each table. The table linens were white satin with punch-pink satin pocket-folded napkins. The pop of pink set off the centerpieces wonderfully and brought the room together. It was quite the feast for the eyes, as well as the palette!
Photo credits to Nirvanie Srikishun Photography. John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre.
Photo credits to Nirvanie Srikishun Photography
All in all, we found the experience of decorating at John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre to be a delight, with very helpful staff and management. We would recommend this hall again and are looking forward to working with this great group again in the near future! These lovely photos were provided by Nirvanie Srikishun Photography, and she even helped us set up and tear down :).
Need a design and decor quote for your upcoming wedding? Contact us at inquiries@eventsbywhim.ca, or head over to our contact form. We can’t wait to hear from you!
- Published in Uncategorized
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!
Do you have any fun memories of your bridal party, or of being in one yourself? Leave us a comment and let us know about your bridal party experiences!
- Published in 2015, Trends, Uncategorized, Wedding, Wedding TIps
Vendor Spotlight: Toronto Wedding Photographer Thomas Zitnansky
Vendor Spotlight Series
Toronto Wedding Photographer Thomas Zitnansky
Toronto Wedding Photographer Thomas Zitnansky portfolio sample
Here at Whim Event Coordination and Design we pride ourselves on working with great vendors, and in an effort to show you some of the connections that we’ve made and their talent, we’ve decided to launch a vendor spotlight series! We have a list of questions that we ask each of our vendors when we interview them, and we’ve decided to share their answers, along with samples of their work, with you! We love our vendors because they consistently give our clients a great experience, and when they work with us, they always go above and beyond, and we appreciate that so much! Enjoy the first of these interviews, with one of our favourite Toronto Wedding Photographers, Thomas Zitnansky!
Toronto Wedding Photographer Thomas Zitnansky portfolio sample
How did you become a wedding photographer? What initially piqued your interest?
My introduction to wedding photography was a very unusual yet organic. I studied music since I was seven years old. I always wanted to be a songwriter and I did just that. I was scoring for independent films and producing for hip hop and pop artists, but I always had a camera with me. I never made the official decision to be a photographer but when I wasn’t behind the keyboard or the music console I was capturing moments and documenting the works of my friends. After years of being the unofficial photographer and videographer for my musician friends I became that go to guy for album covers, live shows and music videos. At this point photography was just another passion that allowed me to express myself. That all changed when I was in New York while my friend was mastering one of his albums. I was in the studio with Tony Dawsey and I happen to snap a portrait of him that I shared on social media. Masterdisk, the studio where the pictures was taken, ended up buying that portrait from me. That is when I realized I was spending more time behind the lens then behind the music console. My work started to get
Toronto Wedding Photographer Thomas Zitnansky portfolio sample
published in music magazines. I kept seeing my work on websites like CBC, my music videos started to get airplay on MuchMusic. Before I knew it I lost interesting in music production and all my creative efforts became focused on photography.
Tell us about your very first gig in wedding photography?
My first wedding photography gig was for a non-traditional wedding for a friend of mine. The couple were two artists that never conformed to societies expectations. They wanted the wedding pictures to look more like album covers I photographed for their musical projects. It’s the most unusual wedding I ever photographed and it’s still one of my favourites.
If you weren’t a wedding photographer, what would you be?
I’d be in the recording studio working on music.
When you’re not shooting, what could we find you doing?
I’m a loft enthusiast. I buy lofts, furnish them and rent them out. I’m a huge dog lover so you’ll also find me in the dog park playing with Zoe.
What’s your absolute favourite thing about being a wedding photographer?
Toronto Wedding Photographer Thomas Zitnansky portfolio sample
With music I was able to evoke an emotion through my music. When I wrote a song, I had the ability to play it back and know exactly how I felt at the time when the song was written. With photography I’m able to capture moments and when my clients look back at their pictures they know exactly how they felt the moment that picture was taken.
What’s something you don’t think many people know about wedding photographers?
Wedding photographers don’t start off photographing weddings. We all start photographing something different. My background is in portraiture and photographing album covers. The fundamentals and photography styles I learned as a creative photographer are the same fundamentals and styles I bring to my wedding photography
What are some of your other passions (or hobbies)?
Lofts and more lofts.
Toronto Wedding Photographer Thomas Zitnansky portfolio sample
Thomas is social! If you would like to connect with him on social media, check him out below:
- Published in Uncategorized