Wedding Planning: The Big Five

2020 seems to be dragging on in some regards adn flying by in others!  It has been two months since I got engaged and it has been a whirlwind.  We took engagement photos, have had a few engagement celebration, I have gone wedding dress shopping, and got going on a few big items.  The Knot has a wedding checklist which I have found very helpful and as I am a big planner, have now locked down the big five. 

(1) Venue – (Source) – We now have a location for our wedding (and that essentially implies a date, yes, we have one of those too).  This location is going to be where we will hold our ceremony and reception and was likely the easiest one on the list as we chose the clubhouse of the golf course where my parents belong. Both Mark and I were there a few times in February (and I have been at least a dozen times over the past few years) and it will be perfect location given it’s outdoor and indoor celebration space and the size of the main room.

(2) Photographer – (Source) -Finding a good photographer where we were getting married required quite a bit of research as it is popular destination and there are dozens to choose from.  I ended up going with someone who has an average of 5 out of 5 starts on a leading wedding website (with feedback from 376 brides) and the main photographer has shot over 1400 weddings to date.  I also wanted to go with a smaller company that does not have tons of photographers which make wedding albums hard to review as you do not know who took the photos – my lead photographer shoots every wedding.    And as all sites will tell you, it is essentially to review the fine details of the contract especially key phrases like “ Unlimited high resolution image” and “Usage license with full rights to print”.  We will be meeting in person over the holidays but I am very excited with our choice.

(3) Dress –  I have told mark three things about my dress: (1) It is white 2. It is floor length 3. It is a dress (not a crop top / skirt situation).  And those are the three things I will tell all of you.  And since I put it on Instagram, the dress is from the brand Pronovais and I bought it at their London flagship boutique.  It is being made in  Barcelona and my first fitting is in March (eek!) You may have heard of them because the brand is carried at Klienfield (on the show say yes to the dress).  And because I really struggled to find a photo without giving any more details about my dress – here is one of my bridesmaids, Samantha, on her wedding day in her Pronovias dress.  (You can see more of her wedding here). 

(4) Entertainment  – (Source) – One benefit of getting married somewhere my parents live is when it came to entertainment my parents have been to a few parties or events with a fantastic live band and that because a shortlisted option.  I knew I wanted a band as opposed to a DJ and the combination of clips of their performances and reviews from other wedding led me to choose a great live band.   It is also amazing that they will be there for our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception to get the party started form the very first moment!

(5) Florist  –  (Source) -Unlike photographers I did not have as much of a clear direction on what I wanted to so I actually sent out an RFP (request for proposal) to a half dozens of the top rated florists in the area with inspiration from Pinterest of the kind of things I am looking for.  The company we ended up choosing has done 500+ events in the last four years with incredibly good reviews and I was incredibly impressed with their 12 page proposal they sent back to us.  It was incredibly helpful that they sent pictures as pat of the proposal too as they named more than two dozen flowers and my flower naming knowledge ends soon after roses versus lollies versus peonies. 

I have also ticked off a few other things like booking my hair and makeup company and am underway with others like discussing wedding rates with a few local hotels! If you have ever planned a wedding I am curious your thoughts on wedding planning the Big Five?