Introducing Meera Meera – Indian Lehenga Rentals in Toronto!
You all know that one of my favourite past times is finding new and exciting vendors who are pushing the boundaries and serving with love. This week I had the pleasure of meeting Sonny from Meera Meera Rentals, located in Thornhill.
Introducing Meera Meera Rentals – Indian Lehenga Rentals in Toronto!
Meera Meera Rentals provides designer Indian lehenga rentals and boy, can I just say that we’ve needed this service for a long time? I’m sure you all can think of a few companies that provide clothing rental options for Western wear, both formal and informal, but I can’t think of any for South Asian attire.
As soon as Sonny reached out to me on Instagram, I was immediately intrigued. As a second-generation Canadian of Indo-Guyanese descent, I’m no stranger to South Asian attire. The issue I’ve had is that I don’t wear lehengas and sarees with enough frequency to constantly update my wardrobe. Also, my knowledge of what’s currently styling is limited to scrolling Instagram and Pinterest. It’s also hard to justify dropping $400+ on a beautiful outfit that I’ll likely only wear once. By the time the next event rolls around, it may have even gone out of style! Cue heartbreak and tears from me because I can’t stand having things just sit in my closet unworn.
Meera Meera fills this gap so beautifully – especially for fusion weddings, in my humble opinion. Sonny’s reasoning is that she herself is in a fusion marriage, and found that the constant need for stylish outfits came at a pretty big price tag. Many people find it intimidating to head to the shops to shop and compare. As a fusion-wedding planner, I can attest that shopping for Indian attire can be challenging for non-Indian folks. Even I struggle with using the right terminology for the type of outfit that I want. By providing this service, Sonny takes the guesswork out of shopping for stylish Indian attire. I love that she is being eco-friendly with this service, and giving women a chance to look bomb-diggity at an affordable price point. I love that this service also means that I’ll have more variety at my finger tips, too!
So how much does it cost?
Meera Meera’s Indian lehenga rentals provides a boutique-style experience with pricing starting at $85 CAD for a stunning outfit, and a 4 day rental. Sonny also provides minor alterations and accessory rentals. Each outfit is professionally cleaned after every wear, so no need to worry about that, either! You can literally reach out to her, have an outfit with a super-fast turnaround and show up at your event looking like a million bucks! Sonny’s showroom is stunning and you’ll love every second of chatting with her. She’s warm, caring and funny, and she’ll make you feel right at home as you find the perfect outfit for your next event!
As an added bonus for Whim readers, let Meera Meera know that we’ve sent you, and you’ll receive $10.00 off of your first rental!
Events by Whim is a team of Toronto Wedding Planners committed to creating intimate and elegant celebrations for Toronto’s discerning couples. Contact us today if you have any wedding planning questions or are ready to get started on your dream day!
- Published in Vendor spotlight
Venue Spotlight: Crystal Ballroom in the Omni King Edward Hotel
There are few venues with the sheer opulence and grandeur of the Crystal Ballroom in the Omni King Edward Hotel.
Dubbed the first luxury hotel in Toronto, its history of hospitality is unparalleled, much like the Crystal Ballroom itself. Every space in the Omni King Edward drips with style, but the newly reopened Crystal Ballroom is truly a space like no other. If you are interested in reserving the Crystal Ballroom for your function, it is important to note that the venue is considered one of the most-sought after spaces, and should be booked well in advance of your wedding or event.
The beautiful space underwent a $6.5 million renovation to restore the ballroom to its former state, with many modern touches, like the chandeliers and state of the art AV system. The history of the space is impressive, dating back to the 1920s with some of the most high profile events in the city happening in this decadent space.
My favourite features of the Crystal Ballroom are the floor to ceiling windows that wash the room in bright, sunny light, which make for stunning wedding photos. The space is approximately 5,000 square feet, and so can host gala-sized events easily. I also love that the space is completely private from the rest of the hotel. The hospitality team is amongst the best in the city, and the history of the Crystal Ballroom is both extensive and interesting, a fine talking point for guests. Fine art wedding enthusiasts, designers and anyone who is a fan of urbane, romantic space will want to check out the Crystal Ballroom as soon as possible!
Whim Event Planning and Design is a team of Toronto wedding planners and day of coordinators, specializing in modern romantic weddings for fun, sweet couples who are madly in love. Get in touch with us today to start planning your dream day!
- Published in Vendor spotlight, Venues, Wedding Planner Tips, Wedding Planning, Wedding TIps
How Does This Wedding Planner Stay Organized?
by Alisha Chadee
As a creative entrepreneur, I’m constantly looking for ways to stay organized and ahead of my work. Between client commitments, vendor management, actually managing my business, and all of the extra projects I want to take on, some days my brain feels like the zoo on half price admission day. How do I keep it all together? Well, it used to involve caffeine, but since I started growing my little peanut, I’ve had to give that up, too! Luckily it wasn’t the biggest sacrifice :). Here are a few tools that I use as a wedding planner and business owner to stay organized. PS none of these vendors are paying me to say any of this – these are just tools I use on a day to day that I really enjoy!
A FANTASTIC Day Planner – Day Designer
I did a lot of research before I committed to a pen-and-paper day planner. I wanted to be sure that I was using a tool that would help me map my days out, and achieve my long and short term goals. After extensive research, the Day Designer seemed like the best option for me because it is specifically tailored toward creative professionals (both entrepreneurs and otherwise). I love that each day has it’s own page with to do lists and scheduling sections, as well as areas geared toward mindfulness and gratefulness. While I’m a tech savvy person, and my clients are all on a cloud-based software (more on that later), its still incredibly important to me that I put pen to paper and make a list of everything I need to get done. My planner is super useful because I’m able to prioritize and organize my day around critical, important and nice-to-have actions. This is my second year using it, and I’ll be sure to repurchase for 2018.
A FANTASTIC Client Management System – Aisle Planner
Like I said before, we love being tech-savvy and efficient, and one of the ways that we’ve really pushed that point across is to use a fabulous client-facing planning tool. Aisle Planner is our client portal, as well as our client and vendor management tool. Once again, I did a lot of research over 2 years ago when we made the switch from spreadsheets and shared docs to a tool like AP. Any wedding planner with experience will tell you that managing 1-5 events is vastly different from juggling 20 or more. In order to do our best work, I felt that having an all-in-one tool with the capability of managing our vendor information as well was very handy and worth the investment. I love that our couples can log in from anywhere (we work with a lot of out of town couples), and can access everything related to their wedding. Now that our team has expanded to include more planners, it’s handy to have a tool we can all use to stay organized for each of our commitments. We’ve even organized a team space to host our schedules, templates, documents, contracts and client-facing resources.
A FANTASTIC Scheduling Tool – Calendly
Some weeks I look over my schedule and it seems pretty light – a few meetings here and there, and tons of laptop-time to follow up with vendors, write articles and work on resources for my beloved brides and grooms. What happens more often than not is that my week turns around dramatically and is suddenly filled with meetings with clients, vendors, new inquiring couples and personal commitments. In order to track all of this (in addition to my trusty Day Designer) I started using a tool called Calendly. This handy tool syncs with my calendar to read my current commitments and parse out my availability for anyone who needs my time during business hours. This makes it easier for my couples to find times that fit their schedules so we can meet and collaborate. BC (before Calendly), I really disliked the back and forth by email trying to find times that suited everyone – with this tool everyone can easily figure out what works based on when I’m available and can also reschedule or cancel if need be directly online. This also allows me to have some control over last minute appointments and my own schedule for the week.
There you have it – tools that make my life easier! Every entrepreneur is different, and our needs are all dependent on the type of work we do, but these types of tools are super useful for anyone. I love how efficient these tools have made my team, and to be honest, our clients love them too!
Whim Event Planning and Design is a team of Toronto wedding planners and day of coordinators specializing in modern romantic weddings for fun, sweet couples. Get in touch with us today to start planning your dream day!
- Published in 2017, Vendor spotlight, Wedding Planning, Wedding TIps
Sip, Scan and Celebrate with Hudson’s Bay!
Fall is here, which means wedding planning for 2017 and 2018 is in full swing! Many of our brides ask us for advice on how to get started with a registry for showers and the wedding, and luckily we have a very fun few events coming up that will help with this very task! Hudson’s Bay
Get ready.. It’s time to Sip, Scan and Celebrate with Hudson’s Bay!
As a past bride, I can tell you that the Hudson’s Bay has the best registry experience in the GTA, and we recommend it to all of our couples. I found the experience of building a registry online and in-store to be quite easy, both for myself and my guests.
We’re stoked about this event because it is going to be a great opportunity for couples to build a beautiful registry, chat with the team of experienced and personable Hudson’s Bay consultants, and enjoy yummy fare! Not to mention, if you check out the Queen Street location in Toronto, you’ll get to hang out with the Whimlets!
Here are a few reasons to register with Hudson’s Bay:
- They have the best products from the top brands in the world
- Between Hudson’s Bay and Home Outfitters, you’ll have everything you need for your future love-nest!
- There are stores located all across Canada – so even your most remote guests can access your registry
- The Hudson’s Bay Rewards Program is fantastic
- If you’re not sure how it all works, the consultants are happy to help!
- Registrants get access to exclusive offers and special VIP events
- FINALLY get that KitchenAid Artisan Mixer you’ve been coveting from your mom’s kitchen for years
Now… Here’s why you should come hang out with us on September 25th and October 16th 2016!
The Scanning Event:
At both the Yorkdale and Queen Street locations, guests can start a new registry or add to an existing registry, all while sipping yummy bevvies (from Pelee Island Winery and Steam Whistle) and enjoying delicious snacks! Both locations are pet-friendly, and fur-babies will be treated to special treats from Pawsalicious! All registrants* have the chance to win a weekend getaway courtesy of Marriott Hotels, and will receive a gift from Treelings!
You’ll also get to hang out with us – you know you wanna – we’ll be onsite viewing product demos and covering all of the action!
Interested in Attending?
Good – we want to meet you, too! Click here for your invitation and instructions to RSVP
Important Dates:
September 25th and October 16th at both the Queen Street (176 Yonge Street, Toronto Ontario) and Yorkdale (3401 Dufferin Street, North York Ontario) locations
We can’t wait to Sip, Scan and Celebrate at Hudson’s Bay with you! Leave us a note and tell us which event you’ll be attending!
Xoxo,
The Whimlets
*Please see in-store for further details on contest
- Published in 2016, Vendor spotlight, Wedding Planning
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
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