TahoeBrides.Com - Lake Tahoe Advice Articles

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 one more 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 smoothly. A wedding coordinator could be compared to a symphony conductor who personally knows all of the musicians (wedding vendors, etc.) and can bring out the best in them to perform at the right time and in harmony with the others (vendors).

The very first step a couple has to make 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 are on a tight budget and can't afford a wedding coordinator then here are some helpful building blocks/costs of a wedding.

1. Facility (Could be a church our outdoor wedding site with a facility reception, or a facility that can host both the wedding and the 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's fine print. This is the kind of thing you usually hire a coordinator to be aware of and handle before a crisis arises. Make sure to be clear about the exact set-up time for the caterer to arrive, DJ to set up, etc.... do tables and chairs come with the facility, or are the an extra cost and if so, are they a rental they offer, in house, or do you have to hire a rental company to bring them in? If the facility offers chairs, etc, then do they also include, in their price, facility cleaning, the set-up and take-down of said items? Is set-up and take-down included in your time block, or is it offered on top of your time block?)

2. Minister/Officiate (All minister/officiates are not created equal; with the Internet ministers who go online and pay $25.00 for a ministerial certificate, whom may work at a gas station on the week days and, to make extra money, will perform your ceremony on the weekend. Try to find a seasoned minister 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, if possible, 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 their home kitchen (health codes, etc.). Beyond the obvious questions on quality and costs... what kind of staff do they offer and costs, and how will they dress. When will they arrive to set up, etc.)

5. Rental Company (Find out 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. Does the rental costs include set-up and take-down, or is that a hidden fee that you will find out about later, when you have already spent your entire wedding budget. 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 that the wedding is over budget and the family needs to reduce the flower order. 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, do so. Don't allows go with the least expensive... you generally get what you pay for.)

8. Limousine (Option, if the budget allows. Make sure it is a company with good references. Some companies book their rides close and if one runs over you may be inconvenienced. If possible, build in a bit more time for pick up to avoid a problem. Many companies charge from the time they leave their garages until they return to their garages, which means you may be paying for an hour, or two that you are not physically using.).

9. Formal Wear (If the group is going with Formal Wear, don't wait until the last minute to call in measurements. Most shops work with giant wholesalers whose warehouses included thousands of tuxedos, but when you have a group of various sizes, it may be difficult, especially last minute, to find a style that has all the various sizes, in that style, of your group in stock. They may have all sizes, in a style, but one and that might have you changing to a different, less desirable style, to fit the entire group. Sometimes you will have a busy groomsman that can't seem to find the time to be measured. You have to continue to call and make sure he knows how important it is.)

The order of booking is usually (but not allows) like this: facility, or outdoor Lake Tahoe wedding site, caterer/rentals, florist, photographer, minister, music, limousine, Formal Wear, etc. Some facility/wedding sites will have a list of vendors that they like to work with, but, buyer beware, it may not always be the best vendors in the area. Some facility/wedding sites have contracts with vendors, making the facility/ wedding site partial for maybe the wrong reasons (they could include a group of vendors that allows the facility/wedding site to make a percentage of money off of the vendors willing to kick-back money to the facility/wedding site). Always, check references and be comfortable with the vendor and what they have to offer. Remember, there are usually a lot more vendors out there, if you are not satisfied with a vendor referred to you by a facility/wedding site.

Get signed contracts for every vendor with date/time, location set-up time, etc., 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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