TahoeBrides.Com - Lake Tahoe Wedding Advice

First of all, a large wedding event can put great stress on any wedding couple and their relationship, as well as stress and both of their families. Let alone the traditional sticker stock for the bride's parents whom quickly find out how much of their hard earned money can be spent in a single day (sometimes 2-3 or even 4 years of savings). That said; if you can afford adding another item to the cost of your wedding a coordinator can be the most valuable person you hire. A wedding coordinator can help in ways that remove a lot of the guess work and stress associated with planning a large event. Even though a coordinator costs money, He/she can help save money by knowing the best locations and vendors for the budget given by the family. They can help avert the hiring of sub-qualified vendors, who may be talented about selling themselves and their future services to a wedding couple, but when it is time to deliver may fall far short of expectations.

A coordinator, familiar with the area/facilities and the vendors, can efficiently choose the right location and pull together professional business that will make your wedding look great and flow seamlessly.

What a couple has to do to begin is to create a budget with just a little wiggle room. Everyone has a budget, even the ones that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a wedding. From your budget all of the items you will need will be deducted. If you can't afford a wedding coordinator then there are some helpful building blocks/costs of a wedding.

1. facility (Could be a church wedding with a facility reception. Be aware; if you choose a hotel reception room, make sure the contract doesn't have a clause that says that they can bump you into another, less desirable room, if they can book a last minute convention... you would be surprised what can be in the contract fine print. This is kind of thing you usually hire a coordinator to be aware of and handle before a crisis can arise.)

2. Minister/Officiate (All minister/officiates are not created equal; find one whose ceremony performance is well delivered, with emotional pauses, who commands a certain presence and authority. Avoid one who can read a ceremony out of a book, similar to reading a newspaper out loud with very little feeling behind the words.)

3. Photographer/Videographer (Investigate thoroughly. Talk to people. There are photographers that have "accidentally" taken a great wedding shot, every four or five weddings and their promo book is full of these shots, but it may not represent the kind of photos you will receive as a whole. See if you can look over a complete wedding book, from only one wedding and from an album that is in your package price range.)

4. Catering/Cakes (Again, talk to people, get references. Make sure they have a business license and do not work out of the home kitchen. Beyond the obvious questions on quality and costs... what kind of staff do they offer and costs, and how will they dress.)

5. Rental Company (Find our if your caterer will handle the rentals of tables, linens, china, silver wear, chairs, etc. and will they oversee their set up and take down? Get it in writing. Most of the time a caterer will handle the rental items of the reception, but the wedding site could be up to you and/or the florist. Make sure of each company's responsibility and GET IT IN WRITING.)

6. Florists (A lot of couples make the mistake of cutting the floral budget. This seems to be the first vendor to be notified, since they are over budget in other areas that they need to cut down on the flower budget. This can leave the wedding and reception sites looking like bare buildings/cafeterias. Be aware that a beautiful wedding is adorned with the joy of flowers covering up the cold walls of these important sites.)

7. Music (Be aware; there are lots of DJ's that lack the "Master of Ceremony" presence to get a room full of shy family members to get up and dance. Make sure that they have a wide selection of music that can please both young and old, alike. If you can, look in on one of their events before hiring. Don't allows go with the least expensive... you generally get what you pay for.)

Get signed contracts for every vendor with date/time and location spelled out in clear language with exact costs, deposits made and balances due and date/s that they are due. Leave nothing to chance.

Congratulations and Best Wishes,

The Staff of TahoeBrides.com

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