So I am getting married - wedding advice, expertise, past experiences needed.

[REDVAN]

Bump...

My fiancee and I are getting married in the summer and need suggestions.

Officiant? We are not religious at all, but some in the crowd are.
Catering? The reception is in Canmore.
Cake? For this, I only have one idea and don't know where to look.
Activities? We have a photobooth a friend made, but what else can be fun? We want a good reception- which might be an impossible task!

Thanks for the help in advance!

[troutman]

I don't know if Crazyweed or Zonas caters, but if they did, that would be awesome.

http://crazyweed.ca/index.html

http://www.zonaslatenightbistro.com/Menu%20Page.htm

[mykalberta]

I havent directly contacted Crazyweed, I did contact 3 other similar type restaurants and they all seem to want the same:

Minimum 18K food and beverage minimum. 18-25% minimum gratuity on top of 18K. That is assuming you are going to be shutting the place down with 100ish guests.

Also the places seemed very restrictive on their menu offerings.

Wow Zona's menu seems awesome, I will have to try them when I go out for the new year long weekend.

[Minnie]

Have you checked out Rafter Six? Husband went to a wedding out there a couple of summers ago - not sure if they cater or not. Digging around their site to see...

[To Be Quite Honest]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

Bump...

My fiancee and I are getting married in the summer and need suggestions.

Officiant? We are not religious at all, but some in the crowd are.
Catering? The reception is in Canmore.
Cake? For this, I only have one idea and don't know where to look.
Activities? We have a photobooth a friend made, but what else can be fun? We want a good reception- which might be an impossible task!

Thanks for the help in advance!

Congratulations to you too! I've never been married so I have no real pointers there but if your doing and video production please have a chat with me. Even if you have someone else in mind, I can help you avoid hacks. There are a few in the Banff/Canmore area that I refuse to work with due to poor quality and service.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

I saw the suit thread earlier and thought of one of the most important pieces of advice for your wedding- and not sure if anyone has mentioned it.

Make sure you and and your groomsmen's suits/tuxes are tailored by someone that knows what they are doing. I don't understand how it can be so common for employees at these rental companies to set the men up with suits and tuxes that are 2 sizes too big. Of course material is important, but the fit of the suit comes first- doesn't have to be a martini fit, but it should have a nice slim fit.

Its amazing how many wedding pics I see (on facebook for example) where the groom's side look like clowns with their enormous suits.

Most guys in general wear suits that are a size too big, but anyways... I guess its one of my pet peeves

End rant

Which rental companies?

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

Which rental companies?

I just mean generally speaking... I only know what I see in wedding pictures and some weddings I have been to. I suppose the wedding party are often responsible for picking the awful fits, not just rental company. Whether the groomsmen is heavy set, muscular or skinny, you have to go for a nice trim and tapered look in my opinion.

The rental place we went to was great, but I intentionally picked slim fitting, 2 button suits. I can't remember the company- will look it up.

[Maccalus]

So, I made the plunge over the weekend and asked my girlfriend to marry me. Of course, this now means that we have a wedding to plan. I some of you will have just gone through this process and will have some advice/recommendations.

I would love some recommendations for a good and affordable photographer and good djs or live bands (we are up in the air on which we want to do at this time).

What are the opinion of the public on sending out save the dates in email form (with a google calendar link, etc.) instead of hard copy save the dates? We would still send hard copies to the people who can't understand how to use a computer such as grandparents.

I'm sure I will be back for more advice/recommendations at a later time as we get more into the planning.

[stang]

I got married in Mexico and would absolutely do it again. Great vacation, then came back and had a BBQ then a reception.

[Regular_John]

Hand sanitizer for after the receiving line. You're gonna hug/shake hands with 100+ people, including children. Some hand sanitizer is a god send.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

A word of advice for future Emcees out there.

Sit down with the bride and groom and discuss a plan for the evening. Who speaks when, etc.

If its a buffet ask if they need you to direct when people to eat or if the caterer will do this (seriously should be the caterer; same goes for dessert.

Then when that's done tell them that YOU run the show. Yes it's their day, but in order to make it flow well and the guests and everyone have a good time tha doesn't have a lot of confusion, they have to follow your lead, and do what you say.

I'm sure brides and grooms understand this, but be forceful and let them know that it's their day bur you're in charge of the dinner/speeches.

Nothing sucks more for an emcee with the bride and groom interrupting them, changing the game plan halfway through the dinner. Telling the emcee one thing and then doing another.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

Hand sanitizer for after the receiving line. You're gonna hug/shake hands with 100+ people, including children. Some hand sanitizer is a god send.

I can attest to this being necessary. I got a head cold the day after our wedding that we had just recently. Between the stress, and the lack of sleep, the alcohol, and everything else, my immune system was shot. I normally get sick once every couple of years, so this was out of the ordinary.

Get the sanitizer but be discreet about it so they don't see you disinfecting right after you shook their hand...could be considered rude.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Also, if you want to feel less stress on your wedding day you can get a coordinator for the day of. It's much cheaper than a full wedding planner and they can help keep everything on schedule so you and your family can just enjoy yourselves without the added stress of constantly checking on things to make sure it's alright. We did this and they were a HUGE help for us.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

A word of advice for future Emcees out there.

Sit down with the bride and groom and discuss a plan for the evening. Who speaks when, etc.

If its a buffet ask if they need you to direct when people to eat or if the caterer will do this (seriously should be the caterer; same goes for dessert.

Then when that's done tell them that YOU run the show. Yes it's their day, but in order to make it flow well and the guests and everyone have a good time tha doesn't have a lot of confusion, they have to follow your lead, and do what you say.

I'm sure brides and grooms understand this, but be forceful and let them know that it's their day bur you're in charge of the dinner/speeches.

Nothing sucks more for an emcee with the bride and groom interrupting them, changing the game plan halfway through the dinner. Telling the emcee one thing and then doing another.

This is exactly how I organized the last wedding reception I MC'd. It's their show so I needed to know what THEY wanted. We had a few planning meetings, also attended by my wife for ideas. Once I knew the bride and groom's preference, I ran the show. I told them when they suggested something that wouldn't work. They knew that everything was being looked after well and they didn't have to worry about anything. For example, he's Spanish and wanted two MCs working in both languages. I knew that wouldn't work and got them to change it. It went very well and afterward my other niece told me that she should have got me to MC her wedding also.

[loob job]

At one point in the night during the party, stand back with your new wife and watch everyone enjoying themselves. It'll bring a big smile to your face to see all your friends and family having a great time celebrating your marriage.

[Shawnski]

Originally Posted by Maccalus

So, I made the plunge over the weekend and asked my girlfriend to marry me. Of course, this now means that we have a wedding to plan. I some of you will have just gone through this process and will have some advice/recommendations.

I would love some recommendations for a good and affordable photographer and good djs or live bands (we are up in the air on which we want to do at this time).

On the question of DJ versus live band, perhaps you might be able to do both (if budget allows). There are definitely positives to each one, and the combination of both often offsets the weakness in the individual acts while magnifying their strengths.

Questions you should ask are:


What music (and by whom) is to play at the ceremony?

• Is this something you require from the DJ/Band? Often the ceremony is located elsewhere from the reception and would require a completely separate setup for either (thus more cost.)

What music is required for the reception?

• A DJ is typically ready to go from this point (guest arriving, wedding party entrance song(s) dinner music, etc), working with the MC to co-ordinate everything right up to the first dance
• A live band performing during dinner time is likely a bit too much, and makes for a LONG night for them.

What music will entertain the most people throughout the night?

• This is where the rubber meets the road. A DJ doesn't have "sets", they just play, and they can play from thousands of songs at their fingertips.
• You may very well may find a band that has enough material to cover a general audience for the night, but is it the right "mix"?
• There are a lot of "special" songs at a wedding, like the first dance, mother/son, father/daughter, combinations thereof etc. Will a band know and be able to play them? And to what quality? Are you going to listen to their rehersals for each of these?

These are but a few considerations for anyone looking into selecting entertainment for their wedding. A good band can definitely wow a crowd for portions of the evening; a clear plus, but looking at the night as a whole, they may not be the best option. Again though, having both can really rock the place!

FYI, I am a licensed DJ and have done many weddings for CPers already. My feedback is more educational than to drum up new business as I have a liimited selection of dates I can do. For the record though, here is my set up last night (Sunday) at Silvertip in Canmore. Tags for a bigger image.

Spoiler!

Big system, big GOOD sound. No lighting truss system required as the two Martin Wizard Extremes (as well as three lazers an Elan that are hidden) perform quite nicely. There is a water based hazer on the left that works far better than any fog machine (and allowed in venues like Silvertip/Banff Springs Hotel, etc where fog machines are not).

Bottom line, do your research!

If you have any questions, PM me.

Cheers,
Shawn

[Maccalus]

^^^^^^^

I agree with everything you posted here and if were up to me alone it would be a dj. It is mostly my Fiancée's mother (who is contributing a lot of money) who is pushing for the live band after the band they found for her sister's wedding. Apparently, they did a ridiculous job and I think that trying to find a band that could live up to that for the price they paid would be hard. I am just compiling a list of pros and cons each way as my fiancée is not convinced either way (but I think leaning towards dj).

Anyway, those are not decisions for this moment as finding the venue comes first. When we get that sorted out I will probably come back and contact you directly, and I really appreciate your advice Shawnski. I have seen several CPers recommend you on here before.

[icarus]

I just got married in Portugal a week and a half ago. One of the best decisions we made was to hire a wedding planner. We couldn't have organised everything from out of the country but even if it had been local our wedding planner took care of the big stuff like decorations, catering, entertainment etc. As the big day got closer it was nice not having to worry about that stuff, as there is always plenty of other stuff to worry about.

[TheGrimm]

Some of the best weddings I've ever been to have hired a DJ who MC'd the reception. If you can get a guy who is fun and keeps the party going it will make a world of difference.