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The Pregnant Wedding Planner – Confessions From the Trenches

Saturday, 19 August 2017 by eventsbywhim

by Alisha Chadee

What an amazing year 2017 has been, and we still have lots to go! This year I saw Whim take on more weddings and corporate events than ever, with a stronger focus on ideal type clients. We did a complete brand relaunch late last year, and the results have been spectacular! We collaborated with amazing friendors, and made a bunch of new ones! I personally had a huge change in my personal life, too! After two and a half blissful years of marriage, my husband and I discovered that we are expecting our first little human! We’ve affectionately dubbed our little nugget ‘Pooklet’ and we’ve had many adventures with our unborn son this summer! He’ll make his debut in October, and we’re all eagerly awaiting his arrival, as he’s the first grandkid on both sides of the family, so it’s like I’m carrying the Messiah in my womb right now. No pressure or anything :).

Speaking of adventures, being a full time wedding planner, business owner and all-around girl-boss is challenging on its own, but adding the unexpected and hard-to-predict symptoms of pregnancy made this year a whole new ball game for me. As a pregnant wedding planner, I had to really change the way my days flowed, especially wedding days. My typical wedding days can be anywhere from 8-14 hours – averaging out at about 12 hours or so. Fighting through nausea, fatigue and coping with an expanding waistline meant that I had to change my approach to pretty much everything. Lucky me, since I pretty much just figured it out last season LOL! However, I’ve made it through the busiest part of our season, and I have a few tips to share with those of you out there who might be in the same situation now or soon!

Be Real With Yourself & Your Clients

I disclosed my pregnancy pretty quickly to my clients, but when you do so is totally up to you and your comfort level with sharing the news. I found out I was expecting in February, and we shared the news in April. My wedding season had started in February (I found out the day after our first wedding), and I had quite a full calendar in May so I let those couples know that I was expecting by April. I let them know that this wouldn’t affect my ability to finish planning their weddings or my availability on the day of. That said, I did let them know that I would be bringing on extra help for any lifting or running around that might need to get done because I was fighting serious fatigue in my first trimester. Having that discussion early on helped to manage expectations, and helped my team have contingency plans in place for each of our weddings going forward. This also led to a fabulous expansion of our team with Ilina and Sylwia coming on board! This put my mind at ease because any events for later in the year now had full coverage and all of our clients were happy with the solutions we offered.

Stay Hydrated & Keep Snacks on Hand

This is super important, especially if you’re fighting through that first trimester. I learned very quickly that morning sickness isn’t confined to the morning, and it hits like a bat out of hell with little to no warning at all. The telltale symptom for me was a deep and gnawing hunger pang that came almost out of nowhere, and I knew if I didn’t eat within 5 minutes, I’d be really sick. After one unfortunate incident in a Tim Horton’s drive through, I learned to keep water and snacks everywhere, from in my office to in my car to in my emergency kit and purse. Granola bars, nuts, dried fruit, dry cereal, cookies.. pretty much anything that I could access quickly. As lovely as it would have been to completely ride out my morning sickness in the comfy confines of my bed (I was sick for about 12 weeks straight from week 10 to week 22 or so), that just wasn’t realistic, as I had tons of events to prepare for, meetings to go to and clients to wow. Yet throwing up in the middle of a meeting because I hadn’t prepared properly also wasn’t an option. Also that’s just gross.

Gear Up, Take Breaks & Delegate, Delegate, Delegate!

Any wedding planner worth their salt will tell you that comfortable low-heeled or flat shoes are an absolute must to get through the long hours of a wedding day. If not, you’ll be rocking a serious party hunch the next day if you can walk at all! This is doubly true as a pregnant wedding planner! Invest in a pair of orthotics or other well fitting and well-supporting shoes because your body is already doing a heck of a lot without the added strain of no arch support! I also found it useful to invest in a few dresses/pantsuits that accommodated my ever-expanding waistline and kept me feeling light and comfy throughout the day. Depending on the stage you’re at, you may not even need maternity dresses specifically – just flowy dresses and tops could do the trick! Lastly, the hardest but by far the most important lesson for me was to trust my team and delegate more than ever. We created task lists for our assistants and on the day of, if I needed a minute, I delegated duties to my assistant(s) to take the load off of me a bit so I could rest or sit down as needed.

Honestly, Whim has amazing couples and each and every one of them felt super invested in my pregnancy and made the experience beautiful for me. It’s so lovely working with all of our brides and grooms and I felt so well taken care of by every venue I worked at! Between my couples, my team and our venues, little Baby C has been living the good life while mama put in work! With a little bit of preparation beforehand, you too can get through a busy wedding season while growing a human! Leave me a comment below and let me know what it was like for you getting through a busy wedding season while expecting!

Published in 2017, Wedding Planner Tips, Wedding Planning

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Stephanie & Rohan’s Romantic Ancaster Mill Wedding

Thursday, 17 August 2017 by eventsbywhim

I met Stephanie and Rohan in a Starbucks near Square One the day after New Years in 2016. It was a chilly day, and I was excited to meet with them because of how they described their wedding vision. Meeting with these two was lovely – their vision of a cozy cottagey winter wedding resonated with me, and within a couple of weeks we got started.

Stephanie and Rohan hired a planner to help them with logistics and details, as they live in Vancouver and travel back and forth to Toronto to visit family. So we started by finding two venues to host both days of their wedding – a traditional Indo-Trinidadian Hindu ceremony followed by a light reception, and the next day, a Western-style chapel ceremony and reception. After searching through a ton of venues, we happened upon Vishnu Mandir in Richmond Hill, which was a hit with its abundance of natural lighting and large open space in the sanctuary area.

Jessica Rose Photography captured these lovely images from their Hindu ceremony at Vishnu Mandir. As you can see, Stephanie’s style favoured lovely natural lighting, winter greenery and a beautiful open concept mandap. This style was effortlessly captured by the talented Nafeesa of Princess Decor, who thoroughly enjoyed creating this very out-of-box mandap look for our happy couple. Stephanie herself evoked effortless classic beauty and style in her custom made red velvet lengha. Romantic winter wedding

On day two of the wedding, our sweet couple shared a lovely first look and then bridal party photos in the Hamilton area. Their bridal party looked incredible, dressed to the 9s, and were a fun bunch to hang out with!

Afterwards, we all headed over to Ancaster Mill’s beautiful Miller’s Chapel, decorated with fragrant winter greens and romantic candle light. Afterwards, guests enjoyed a lovely cocktail hour, with live music on sax by Florin Clonta, and headed into the Fallsview Room for dinner and dancing.

I loved the little details, like the garland centerpieces, which were the perfect accent in the wood and stone filled Fallsview Room. I also loved the stationery designs that Michelle put together, including the labels for the delicious homemade hot sauce favours, prepared by the groom’s mom! The night even held a few surprises – like a world class musical performance that the groom had tailored specifically for his new bride!Romantic winter wedding

Stephanie and Rohan were a pleasure to work with – we shared many laughs over our plentiful Skype calls, and we enjoyed some fabulous meals together, too! I sincerely miss working with this lovely couple, but I’m so happy to look fondly back on the weekend! A huge thank you to the myriad of vendors that worked together seamlessly to bring this lovely fusion wedding together!

Vendor Love

Venue: Vishnu Mandir (Hindu Ceremony)

Venue: Ancaster Mill (Chapel & Reception)

Photography: Jessica Rose Photography

Planning & Stationery: Whim Event Planning & Design

Decor & Floral: Princess Decor

Sound & DJ: Alley Entertainment

Entertainment: Florin Clonta

Bride’s Accessories: The Borrowed Collection

Bride’s Gown: Truvelle Bridal

Videography: Chris Di Staulo

Hair & Bridal Setting (Hindu Ceremony): Beauty by Sacha

Hair & Makeup (Ancaster Mill): Debbie Sioutis

Published in 2017, Real Wedding, Wedding

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How Does This Wedding Planner Stay Organized?

Thursday, 10 August 2017 by eventsbywhim

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!

Published in 2017, Vendor spotlight, Wedding Planning, Wedding TIps

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Modern Wedding Inspiration at the Aga Khan Museum

Tuesday, 01 August 2017 by eventsbywhim

By Alisha Chadee

Earlier this year, a group of wonderful vendors put our heads together and created a modern, elegant styled shoot at the Aga Khan Museum. The concept was simple – use tons of greenery, add touches of gold, and create a design that would make any fan of modern wedding design swoon.

Our stationery diva, Michelle, used touches of rose gold and white ink on heavy card stock and created a fresh, appealing stationery set full of eye-popping detail.

Our friends at Elisabeth and Beau outfitted our beautiful model, dolled up by Beauty by Sacha, with a stunning wedding gown encrusted in Swarovski crystals, with a gorgeous separate skirt. I loved both glam looks – perfectly versatile for a ceremony and formal reception. Our handsome male model wore a special suit designed by Esco Tailored Style. I especially loved the gorgeous black on black seared details – perfectly offset by the vibrant green blooms from our decor and floral vendor, Princess Decor.

Sinfully Sweet Co once again knocked my socks off with a stunning green and gold marbled cake display with lovely hand-made sugar floral details. Each specialty confection was delicious (as the entire team can attest) and absolutely stunning. Vintage Rentals Caledon provided the tables and decor rentals to bring it all together, with table top items provided by our friends at Plate Occasions.

Now what would any wedding be without entertainment? Our friends at Brent Miller Live and Alley Entertainment kept the mood light and fun with funky beats and great lighting. Brent and his band created a magical first dance scene in the Aga Khan Museum’s atrium space and we’re thrilled with how it turned out!

I’m thrilled with all of the beautiful details, like the calligraphy from Written by Love, and the creative shots obtained by Memory Video Productions and Tom Wang and his team. We’re so excited to share the details, already featured on EventSource’s blog, and we can’t wait to get this talented team together again to create more magic! A huge thank you to the staff at the Aga Khan Museum for hosting us and to all of our vendors for working with us to put this stunning shoot together!

Vendor Love:

Creative Concept & Planning: Whim Event Planning & Design
Venue: Aga Khan Museum
Photography: Tom Wang Photography
Videography: Memory Video Productions
Decor & Floral: Princess Decor
Vintage Rentals: Vintage Rentals Caledon
Table Top Rentals: Plate Occasions
Sweets & Cake: Sinfully Sweet Co
Calligraphy: Written by Love
Stationery: RSVP by Whim
Hair & Makeup: Beauty by Sacha
Bridal Attire: Elisabeth & Beau
Bridal Accessories: LUVYT Shop
Bridal Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Menswear Sponsor: Esco Tailored Style
Lighting: Alley Ent
Music & Sound: Brent Miller Live
Features: EventSource

Published in 2017, Styled Shoot

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How to Have a Wedding with Intention

Friday, 28 July 2017 by eventsbywhim

by Alisha Chadee

OMG there’s SO much happening on your wedding day – so many people to see, so many flowers to smell, so many drinks to consume! And yet..

Too often the wedding world is focused on the pretty/fun and not necessarily the mindful, so today I thought I’d put a little focus on the latter. I’ve been around the wedding block more than a few times, and I can’t stress how important it is to have a wedding with intention. After you walk down the aisle, the plates are cleared and the last crumb of scrumptious wedding cake is devoured, you’ll notice that the day flew by. We spend months, sometimes years, planning the perfect day, and before you know it, the lights are on and the dance floor is clear. We are strong advocates for a beautiful, personalized day that reflects your couple-y style, but also a day where you take time for what’s important. Here are a few tips to have a wedding with intention.

Start the day with Yoga/Meditation/Quiet Time

I’ve had a few brides and grooms start the day this way – and we literally build it into the itinerary – and its always struck me as a beautiful way to begin a new chapter of your life. Even if you aren’t necessarily into yoga, prayer or meditation, taking a few moments to reflect on your journey together (and separately) that has lead you to this point is a great way to start your wedding day.

Take a few minutes to yourself to reflect on what’s happened and what’s to come – Tara Lilly Photography

Take a few minutes to keep your marriage in mind, and the life you want to have together, and I guarantee that no matter what the day throws at you, you’ll enjoy your day even more. Mindful wedding day

Stay Hydrated

This seems simple enough, yet proper hydration – I mean water and not champagne – is often neglected. It’s a long, long day, even though it flies by, and staying hydrated and well fed is your best bet toward surviving the day and enjoying every minute of it.

We love yummy sips and strongly advocate for them – but don’t neglect your best friend – WATER!

We’ll keep a fresh glass handy for you, but definitely start the day with a glass or two of water to keep you glowing and energized.

Spend Quality Time with your Family

Your wedding morning is a great opportunity to enjoy a warm cuppa with your immediate family and listen to any advice they may have from their years of life experience. Before things get too crazy with makeup and hair and giggling bridal party members and photographers capturing it all, have a few quiet moments with your parents, siblings and grandparents.

Claire experienced the many emotional highs and lows a bride faces on her wedding day. Red Planet Studios Photography.

This is even a great time to share a special card or letter expressing your gratitude to them for all they’ve done to support your journey to the altar. These are precious moments that you’ll cherish forever as you embark on your walk down the aisle to start your new forever and family with your spouse.

Take a Timeout

A lot happens on your wedding day. If you’ve ever seen one of the Whimlets’ timelines, there is seriously a lot packed in there. Between family, bridal party and friend photos, greeting your guests and partying the night away, you barely get any time to soak in the fact that you just got married to the love of your life! As a result, we strongly advocate taking about 15 minutes at some point to just be present with your new spouse. We usually build this in during cocktail hour or after your ceremony if we can manage it. It’s lovely to spend a few moments alone together, away from everyone else, including us and your photographers, to just be together.

Celia and Stud took a few minutes alone to just enjoy each other. In Your Prime Photography

Enjoy a few sips and snacks, giggle together about your ceremony or just do whatever – just take the time to be together before heading back out and socializing to your hearts’ content. You’ll thank us later – trust me!

And there you have it – four simple ways to stay present, grounded and mindful, and to have a wedding with intention. Let’s face it, your wedding day will eventually end (sob!), but the marriage coming afterwards is what is even more important, and we want you to look back on your wedding day as not just a lovely celebration, but the start of something very special in your matrimonial journey.

Published in 2017, Real Wedding, Wedding Planning, Wedding TIps

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Romantic Floral Inspiration with Fete Floral!

Friday, 23 June 2017 by eventsbywhim

Our dearest friend and photographer, Paisley Peterson Photography teamed up with us to capture Fete Floral Boutique‘s Wedluxe Show booth this past January. We had a lovely time working with Fete on this fabulous show-stopping booth, with vendors like our friends at Sinfully Sweet Co assisting with the fresh inspiration by providing individual cake favours adorned with gold leaf and custom monograms. Spring was certainly in the air with the fragrance of beautiful floral, and we especially loved Fete’s use of neutral blush tones with pops of bold colours in the roses and their signature poppies. Paired with greenery and gold this combination is the perfect palette for any elegant, romantic wedding. We’d like to thank Helix Candles, Chantal Dube and GTA Dance Floors for their assistance with our booth! Check out Paisley Peterson Photography’s gallery below for more fresh floral inspiration!

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! Niagara Wedding Planners Niagara winery wedding planners Mississauga wedding planner woodbridge wedding planner vaughan wedding planner

spring wedding inspiration spring weddings wedluxe

Published in 2017

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Venues in the GTA: Niagara Wineries

Tuesday, 06 June 2017 by Tarisha Beniprashad

If you and your SO are fans of cozying up to a nice glass of red by the fire, then a winery wedding is the perfect choice for you. And, well, even if you don’t fancy a glass of chardonnay every now and then… it might still be your ideal venue. Wineries in Ontario are absolutely stunning in every way, and offer an exceptional backdrop for your nuptials. Whether it’s your dream to get married in a vineyard or in the quaint accommodations of a historic winery, there’s one place in Ontario that we can guarantee you’ll find it all: Niagara. Just outside of the GTA is brimming with stunning Niagara wineries with exquisite wines and more importantly, beautiful wedding venues. If you’re interested in tying the knot at one of the elegant wineries Niagara has to offer and aren’t quite sure where to begin, worry not. Take a look at some of our favorite Niagara wineries—we guarantee you’ll find something you love!

Beautiful Niagara Wineries for Your Wedding

Hernder Estate Wines

Located in St. Catherines, Hernder Estate Wines is the perfect option for any type of wedding. Their outdoor facilities are gorgeous, with a quaint little bridge for photos, and a gazebo just begging to be strewn with flowers. They have indoor facilities if you fancy a winter wedding, with two different rooms that seat from 140 to 300 guests. The barn-like structure of this venue gives us some serious rustic vibes, making it perfect for a rustic chic event.

Vineland Estates Winery

Just outside of St. Catherines is where you’ll find this stunning winery. Well-suited for a more intimate affair, this quaint venue is ideal for someone looking for a cozy place to say I do. The stunning view of their vineyard that seems to go on forever is incomparable, and makes for a gorgeous outdoor backdrop.

Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery

If you venture a little further out of St. Catherines towards Beamsville, you’ll stumble upon Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery. Since it sits right at the gateway to Niagara, you’ll find incredible views of the Niagara Escarpment, Toronto skyline and Lake Ontario when you visit this venue. What’s most unique about this location is their incredible charming coach house, where you can entertain just under 50 guests for a sit-down dinner. This makes it the perfect spot to have the intimate wedding you’ve always dreamed of.

Stratus Winery

This Niagara-on-the-lake winery’s ambiance is surprisingly modern, while still maintaining the peaceful and elegant atmosphere of the surrounding area. They have a number of stylish rooms you can host you guests in, their most notable being the Press Alley Industrial Chic. Here, Stratus Winery can become the setting for your reception, with 50 to 100 of your closest loved ones seated at a harvest table among the oak fermenters and stainless steel tanks. Could your winery experience get any more authentic?

Reif Estate Winery

If you’re looking for a winery with a grand Victorian mansion, you’ve found the place. If you’re planning a winter wedding, you can take advantage of their stunning stained glass windows and cozy fireplaces in the Great Hall. In the summer, couples have a wrap-around verandah and an acre and a half of gardens to take gorgeous photos that’ll last a lifetime. With something to offer year-round, you’ll find that the Reif Estate Winery is the embodiment of the term ‘quaint.’

Chateau Des Charmes

An absolutely regal venue, Chateau Des Charmes is a stunning winery that absolutely begs to host the most luxurious of winery weddings. As is the Bosc Family Wines weren’t delicious enough, their grounds are swoon-worthy. With both indoor and outdoor accommodations, this is the ideal choice for those that want to forego the cozy and quaint vibe associated with most wineries, and opt for something a little more grand.

These are just a few of our favorite Niagara wineries, and we hope you found something you like too! Did we forget to mention your favorite Niagara winery? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Published in 2017, Venues, Wedding, Wedding Planning

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Meet The Whimlets – Ilina!

Wednesday, 31 May 2017 by eventsbywhim

Our amazing team keeps growing, as more and more fabulous couples across the GTA choose the Whimlets as their wedding planning crew! We couldn’t be happier with that, and with our fantastic team! We figured it’s about time we did in depth blog posts on each of our fab team members. First up is Ilina!

In her own words… (more or less..):

“Now, this is a story all about how
My life got flipped, turned, upside down.
And I’d like to take a minute, just sit right there
I’ll tell you how I became a Whimlet just this past year…”

*fade to black*

So there’s two things I love to do and that’s rhyme and make lists and now that I’ve gotten the first one out of the way (with a little help from Will Smith…) here’s a list of things about me and how I joined Whim.

1. Who am I?

My name is Ilina, I’m WPIC certified and the newest member of Whim. Aside from rhyming and making lists in my free time, I’ve grown up dancing (bharatnatyam) and being creative which is why I love the endless possibilities for creativity in weddings.

Our beautiful Ilina, captured by G+H Photography!

2. What made me want to be a planner?

Even though a part of me is very creative, I went to school for Marketing and worked in the Banking industry for almost 8 years. My love of lists, staying organized and already working in coordination roles made becoming a professional event planner a perfect fit.

3. Where did I meet Whim?

I was fortunate enough to have hired Whim for my wedding day coordination back in 2015. When I decided to make the career change from Banking to weddings, I reached out to Whim and the rest is history!

The OG Whimlets + Ilina was a match made in heaven! Beautiful photos by G+H Photography.

4. When did I know this was the industry for me?

After always being the one to plan special birthday parties, cottage trips and even fun date nights while growing up, it was after planning my wedding that I was exposed to how fun, vibrant and creative this industry can be. I helped plan some other events for friends and family and then finally decided I should do what I love and make a career out of it!

5. Why do I love weddings and planning events?

As I’ve said, being creative is something that is inherent to me, but there’s something about checking things off a “to-do list” that gives me satisfaction like no other. Weddings and events probably have some of the biggest “to-do lists” and the satisfaction of seeing someone’s big day come together is truly magical!

Thanks for the awesome blog post, Ilina! If she seems familiar to you, it’s because we had the pleasure of coordinating her wedding back in 2015, and we’ve featured her wedding in our gallery because of how creative and beautiful it was! It’s still a big favourite of ours, because Ilina truly had her guest experience close to her heart and it showed in every aspect of her beautiful wedding. Check out the full gallery here!

Published in 2017, Wedding Planning, Wedding TIps

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How to be an Awesome Bridesmaid – and NOT a Bridesmaidzilla!

Friday, 21 April 2017 by eventsbywhim

Okay people, today we’re going to discuss a touchy subject – bridesmaidzillas. Yes, this is a real thing – we’ve seen it countless times (not just in the movies) and it never ceases to amaze us (in the worst way possible). We love bridal parties – we love seeing the bride and groom hanging with their nearest and dearest on the most important day of their lives and revelling in the fun with their besties. We equal parts do not love bridesmaidzillas. Luckily, we’re here to help you not to become the dreaded bridesmaidzilla by giving you tips on how to be a great bridesmaid!

Don’t be like Annie or Helen! – Bridesmaids

The Definition of A Bridesmaid:

noun.

a girl or woman who accompanies a bride on her wedding day.

The Whim Definition of A Bridesmaidzilla:

noun.

a girl or woman who accompanies a bride on her wedding day but makes the entire process of getting there HELL.

As you can see, there is a stark difference in the two definitions, yet somehow a few bridesmaidzillas seem to slip through the cracks every year.

Luckily, we’ve compiled a few helpful tips on how not to become a bridesmaidzilla!

Understand the True Responsibilities of Being a Bridesmaid

I know, I know, Instagram keeps telling us that bridesmaids show up, look beautiful, sip yummy cocktails and dance the night away – but the role is a bit more involved than that! Every wedding is different, but bridesmaids are typically close friends or family of the bride and groom. These trusted folks are asked to be a part of the bridal party because the bride and groom need their closest compadres to help get them from engaged to I Do!

Be like these beauties – happy and carefree – photo via ChriLee Photography

Typically the bridal party is responsible for pre-wedding events like showers and bachelorettes, as well as assisting with DIY decor projects, picking colour schemes and attire. It’s also an unwritten rule that bridal party members are sympathetic shoulders to lean on when the process of planning a wedding gets to be a little overwhelming.

Be Real About Issues You’ve Got Going On

Be real with your friend about any issues you have going on- financial or otherwise. We all know that there are hard costs associated with being a bridesmaid – like purchasing a dress, paying for hair and makeup or mani/pedis, and throwing pre-wedding events. If budgets are tight, be upfront with the bride. The same goes for any family/relationship/work issues that you have going on that could impede your ability to perform your bridal party duties. If you’ve been friends all this time, there’s no reason to think she’ll turn into a fire-breathing dragon when you broach your ability to be the best bridesmaid ever. Chances are your dear friend will still be your dear friend. However, if you decide to ghost on your bridesmaid responsibilities without rhyme or reason, your friend probably won’t be as forgiving.

Plan Kick-Ass Pre-Wedding Events

This doesn’t necessarily mean to break the bank and destroy yourself financially. Catering coming up too pricey? Do a breakfast or a brunch and have everyone pitch in. Work as a team to set a reasonable budget and be prepared to get creative to pull off a wonderful and authentic bridal shower, bachelorette and/or brunch for your bestie. Don’t phone it in for this – this is literally one of your major responsibilities. Nothing is worse than putting a half-assed, mediocre and not well thought out shower or bach for your bride. It’s the only one she’s going to get, so do your best to make it great!

A lovely engagement party, bridal shower or bachelorette party should be well thought out, not necessarily overly expensive, but personalized to the bride

Wear the Dress – Seriously

Be present and a part of the process of choosing the bridal party attire, but be prepared to wear a dress that you may not love and may not be to your exact tastes. These days most of our brides are pretty conscientious about choosing flattering frocks, but every so often a bride will have her heart set on a particular style, fabric or colour. If this is the case, just remember that it is for one day, and you’re doing it for someone you love. Grin and bear it, wear the dress and smile ’til it hurts. It is never appropriate to swap out the dress or throw a tantrum over a piece of clothing. At the end of the day, this day is about your friends tying the knot – not about your outfit.

Via Gorgeous in Grey

Fun story – I (Alisha) once had to wear a dress that was a monstrosity. I won’t give too many details to protect the guilty parties but it was ill-fitting, the colours clashed and it was just awful. Still, I smiled through it and had a great day for the sake of the bride and groom. If I could live through (and pay for) that obscenity of a dress (seriously, it was bad), you can too!

Okay, you’re ready to go out there and be the best bridesmaid ever, and not a bridesmaidzilla! We’re confident that if you follow our handy tips, you’ll rock this bridal party thang! Good luck!

Whim Event Planning and Design is a team of Toronto wedding planners specializing in modern romantic weddings for fun, sweet couples. Get in touch with us today to start planning your dream day!

Published in 2017, Wedding Planning, Wedding TIps

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What we’ve been up to – Part 1

Wednesday, 22 March 2017 by eventsbywhim

Hiya everyone! I thought I’d do a quick update on what we’ve been working on for the past few months.

Fall 2016

Aleya & Allan’s Romantic Fall Wedding

Fall was an exciting time for us! As we wrapped up the last of our weddings – hello Aleya and Allan! – we had corporate events and a few networking gigs lined up, too!

Our last wedding of 2016 was a lovely affair. Our sweet couple, Aleya and Allan, tied the knot at York Mills Gallery, and it was a fab fall fete! Our friends at Fete Floral Boutique helped us design a lovely, modern event, complete with lush floral and sumptuous linen.

Aleya and Allan sharing a magical first dance at York Mills Gallery. Photo by Zdenka Darula Photography.

We had a fantastic time working with Aleya and Allan, and sincerely miss the planning process with this organized, laid back couple! We’ll post a full recap soon, too! This wedding was adorable and delicious, and we know you’ll ‘fall’ in love with all of the autumn-details, too!

Wine & Unwind

Our networking event, Wine & Unwind, was a fantastic success! It was the first time we hosted a networking event for industry peers and we learned a whole lot. As wedding and event planners, we typically work behind the scenes on event days to keep everything chugging along. After a long (and wonderful) wedding season, wanted to reconnect with all of the fabulous vendors we always promise to catch up with but never get a chance. Wedding vendors are like ships passing in the night on wedding days – we barely see each other on event days and then have to move on to the next one!

Delicious desserts at the Hilton Mississauga-Meadowvale

Wine and Unwind was a collaborative effort with some fabulous friendors! Our pals at the Hilton Mississauga-Meadowvale hosted this lovely event for us, offering yummy cocktails and delicious food stations and passed appetizers. This event was a great opportunity for fellow event planners and event professionals to tour the newly renovated Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale meeting spaces and facilities, and the friendly staff provided tours all night long.

The lovely Nafeesa from Princess Decor offered up her decor and floral services, and Paisley Peterson Photography captured the details for us. Our friends at Brent Miller Live kept the crowd amped with fun live music, and worked with Ryan from Alley Entertainment, who DJ’d between sets, and provided the lighting and AV for the night as well.

Another very cool feature came from Pop-Up VR, who created an amazing VR display for guests to check out. Since the idea of the event was centred around relaxing and unwinding from a hectic wedding season, the team put together a relaxation virtual reality experience that was a hit with everyone! They also put together a fabulous event recap video, also in VR! Be sure to use your mouse to scroll around the screen to get the full image! Check it out here!

All in all, this was an awesome event to put together and we loved every second of networking with our peers and giving them a chance to check out the Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale! We are definitely planning on doing a few more of these networking events, so stay tuned for more!

Super Hero Party

We love corporate parties. They are so much fun to design and plan, and we get to use colour schemes, concepts and textures that we ordinarily wouldn’t have the option to with weddings. So naturally when the Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale approached us to design their partner appreciation event, with a super hero theme, we had a lot of fun with it! We envisioned an adult version of a traditional superhero themed party, with super-power cocktails, sumptuous black and gold spot linens from Chair Decor, and fun actors from The Hero Headquarters playing the part of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman! We created fun comic book catch phrases to pair with Princess Decor‘s fluffy floral centrepieces, and fun signage to complement the food stations and bars. Check out the pretty details captured by Paisley Peterson Photography below!

Whim Event Planning and Design is a team of Toronto wedding planners specializing in modern romantic weddings for fun, sweet couples. Get in touch with us today to start planning your dream day!

Published in 2016, Corporate, Wedding, Wedding Planning

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