WEDDING FAVOURS

I recently came across an article on the Become A Top Wedding Planner blog, and found an article about the 2012 wedding trends that was taken from Bridal Guide magazine.  It discusses some of the trends in decor, flowers, food and beverages, and wedding favours. I decided to make a little video to discuss my thoughts about the top trends of wedding favours, and which one I believe will be the most successful this year. 

Thanks for watching my video everyone, hope you enjoyed it :)



My Top 10 Wedding Venues for Ceremonies and Wedding Receptions in Vancouver

1.      The Vancouver Aquarium (Wedding Reception)

This venue is great for the couples that love sea creatures and want something fun and unique. The venue is truly striking and will offer the couple's guests a night that they will never forgot.  I will hopefully get to planning a wedding here for the summer :)

2.      Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden (Ceremony)

 The traditional look of this venue is what makes this an awesome venue in my eyes.  The Magnolia Courtyard would be the place I would want my wedding.  The tranquil and peaceful setting that this venue offers is great for couples that want something a little more intimate.

3.   UBC Boathouse (Ceremony and Reception)

  

  The view of the water is the selling point of the venue.  My friends recently had their wedding reception here, and the view at night was absolutely gorgeous.  Being beside the water really gave it a romantic feeling.  The fact that venue is fairly smaller it really gave it a more of an intimate setting too. I just loved this place!

4.      Hycroft Mansion (Ceremony and Reception)

  

The classic and elegant look of this mansion is what really blew me away. A couple would not need to spend as much on decor, because of the already highly detailed and elaborate decor built into the mansion itself.  Pictures taken at Hycroft would just look so timeless. Great place for outdoor weddings too, because of the spectacular garden that this venue offers.

5.      Cecil Green Park House (Ceremony and Reception)

  This is another venue that because of the view it offers is a reason why I love it!  This venue offers a remarkable view over the Strait of Georgia.  The classic and elegant look of the house gives couples a more traditional feel but at the same the interior can give them some modern elements.

6.      VanDusen Botanical Gardens (Ceremony)

   The stunning backdrop of flowers and greenery that this venue offers is just so amazing.  Just like Sun Yat Sen Garden, VanDusen offers a peaceful and calm venue for couples to enjoy their special moment away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

7.      Brock House (Ceremony)

 This venue is truly beautiful and is great for outdoor weddings.  Couples that are looking for a picturesque ceremony, than you found right place!

8.      Heritage Hall (Reception)

  The inside of this venue is very old fashioned, with sculpted beams and crown moulding.  With the right decor you could make this place feel very retro-chic!  You could make it very modern looking to if you really wanted too.  This place is very versatile, which is why I love this place J

9.      Roundhouse Lodge (Ceremony and Reception)

The Roundhouse Lodge is located about 6000 ft above sea level, on top of Whistler Mountain. It not only offers the couple a magnificent view, but also a very secluded area to share their special day with their loved ones and honoured guests.  The view from the top of the mountain is what really sold me on this venue.

10.  Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club (Wedding Reception)

This Golf and Country Club being on top of a mountain is the reason why it can offer couples a wonderful view of Vancouver.  Thus, offering couples the chance to take fantastic photos!    The excellent service that is offered by Westwood is another great reason why I would suggest this venue to couples.  Many of the people that I know that have been guests at weddings here, have raved about the service they provide.



HOW CREATIVE CAN I BECOME?

An article that I recently came across and “Digged” was one from the Become a Top Wedding Planner blog, called Become a Top Wedding Planner—Get Inspiration from the San Francisco Wedding Fair.  The article discussed some of the neat ideas Sharron Hill came across during this wedding fair, from event designer Floramor Studios.  The blog showed pictures of tabletop displays inspired by today’s top female singers. The table that stunned me the most was the Brittany Spear table, it just looked absolutely magnificent.  The candelabra centre piece with the crystals and pale pink roses just took my breath away.   I would say that this table was created to really speak to brides that have more of an elegant and sophisticated taste.  It is made for someone that wants something classic but at the same time modern.  I would almost describe it as retro-chic! :)

The Lady Gaga table setting was amazing as well, the dark and rich colors to such screamed Lady Gaga too me.  The centre piece for this table was what really caught my eye; and I can imagine how it could create a WOW factor for guests. This Lady Gaga themed table is definitely created for a bride that is a little adventurous and that has more of a unqiue personality.  It is best suited for a bride that wants to be more essentric with the decor of their wedding! Just like Lady Gaga! lol

The Katy Perry table had a great concept; you can see how it was inspired by the California Gurls song.  The elaborate glass jars filled with candy for the centre pieces just really tied in the whole theme of the table.  The table just looked so fun, but at the same time very elegant, which is the main reason why I loved the table so much!  This table is meant for a bride that has a fun and bubbly personality.  It would just be great for a bride that wants to give their guests a more fun and flirty atmosphere. 

Reading this article just made me realize just how creative people are in the wedding planning industry, and also how I need to start thinking outside the box and become more creative.  Being innovative is one of the most important qualities to have in this industry nowadays, no one wants to have a wedding that is like all the other weddings they have been too.  They want something more fun and interesting that will captivate their guests.  Being able to see some of these AWESOME ideas that other people in this industry have come with, has truly inspired me to be just as artistic and creative with my ideas.  To be honest, when I first saw some of these ideas from the article, I was a little jealous, because of right now I know that I could have never come up with such innovative ideas for table settings.  But with great people like Sharron Hill that share such amazing information in their blogs, I think that I will quickly learn how to become more creative and inspirational.  Ultimately, its articles like this that will teach me to be a great wedding planner and also help me along the way in creating a great wedding that my future clients will never forget! J

SOCIAL MEDIA TESTING

So this week, the concentration of my blog will be about how to create a test that examines a component of an event planning company's social media campaign.  This was actually quite an interesting task, and I really learned the importance of social media testing. Hopefully, some of you readers out there can also learn something. J

So here it is:

The company Finer Details is an event planning firm, that not only does weddings but other events such as galas and fundraisers.  I have a designed test for this company to determine what type of content would generate more followers on Twitter and Facebook fans.  The reason that I would run this particular test is so that the company can gain more followers and fans, which ultimately can help them gain more business.  They will be able to cultivate more relationships with people through these social media platforms, which can lead to business relationships.  These bonds that they have created can alleviate the doubt and or insecurities they may have about the company’s abilities to their important event, such as a client’s only daughter getting married.  For these reasons, I find it important to explore and test this particular subject.

First, I would need to find a representative sample of my target audience.  The target audience will be both male and females between the ages of 25-60.  Individuals between this age group are the ones that would be most likely use an event planning agency to plan their event.  The sample size would be about 3000 people considering the number of people that live in Vancouver and that would use an event planning agency. 

The research technique that I would use for this test would be a survey.  There would be questions such as:

1.       What do you think of the current content on our Facebook page and Twitter feed?

2.        Would you like to know more details about particular events we have planned?

3.       Would you like us to post more wedding tips on our Facebook page?

4.       What type of content would you like to see us post about on our Facebook page or discuss on Twitter?

There will be other types of questions such as multiple choice:

Where did you hear about us?

1.       Friends

2.       Family

3.       Webpage

4.       Facebook

5.       Coworkers

Rating scale:

How would you rate the current content on our Facebook page:

·         Excellent

·         Good

·         Fair

·         Poor

The survey would also ask participants to fill out vital information like age and sex, so that we know they are within our target audience

This survey would be available on their website, Facebook page, and it would be tweeted out to followers where they can find the survey. To attract more individuals to take this survey we would offer them a chance to win a prize, such as a weekend getaway to a Bed and Breakfast.  This will not only help with more people taking the survey, but it might also get some individuals becoming fans and followers on the company on Facebook and Twitter. The survey will run for about two or three months (depending on the number of surveys filled out by the second month).

Once the data is collected, and carefully analyzed, the company would hopefully use the data and carefully reflect on the findings and start posting and tweeting about content readers really want to see.

Thanks for reading my blog this week! Stay tune for next week’s post  J