Real Life Wedding - Bethany & Kurt

Bethany & Kurt married July 24, 2009

Bethany & Kurt are a wonderful couple. They share a unique passion, and you can easily tell that they care fore each other in selfless ways. Their wedding was held at Casa Loma among close friends and family. Kurt being an actor, had the room filled with incredibly talented and humorous guests. I was dying of laughter during the Best Man's speech, who used profanity and embarrassing moments with the groom to get across how he was letting go and giving him to the bride. All fun aside it was truly touching. The theme was simple and the party was '60's music. I loved every moment of it because it was sooo different! I felt like I was at a 60's beach side party...but without the sand and ocean. It was the hippie music that won me over! Overall it was a very classy wedding! Please click below to look at pics of the wedding day photographed by Marlen James Photography.

Fairytale Events helping those taken advantage of

I would like everyone to read today's Toronto Star article (Front page) on couples taken advantage of by a specific company in the wedding industry. I feel so sorry for all of these couples who have been taken advantage of. I have had a few couples literally the day of or days before their wedding call me to ask if they could hire me to help them out with this unfortunate situation. Literally they were in panic as to what to do! Fairytale Events and our vendors took on the clients and helped them out to the best of our capacities, working with their new limited budgets. This is tough when people are hurt on the most important day of their new life together. I urge everyone to really ensure that your vendors have established businesses, get references, and stay on top of things. Also I really really suggest, hiring a planner like Fairytale Events to manage your vendors, as we work in the industry, know the reputations of vendors, and also get preferred rates from our own vendors.

For the clients of Fairytale Events, please be assured that all of your wedding details are in order and Fairytale Events has never worked with that vendor or any vendor that does bad business.
Happy Planning!

Real Life Wedding - Stacey & Jeremie

Stacey & Jeremie married August 1, 2009

Stacey had the most interesting style compared to most of my brides. Her unique style and love of colour made for a wedding full of colour. To start things off, we had the receiving area with gothic red and black colours. We had fun with the velvet black roses and the vampire red linen that in some light looks black.
In the Ballroom we used tall centrepieces with lots of colour to liven the room up. Black Chair covers with a white band and brooches were on each chair with black satin table linen topped with rhinestone studded white linen as an overlay. The kids table had little boxes filled with fun toys and we had a babysitting company come in to keep them busy during dinner. They had arts and crafts, and even games in a separate room to keep the fun alive.
Check out the cake!!! Stacey felt the groom had little input on everything else and being a true hockey fan she decided he should have a Stanley cup cake. Significant dates were engraved in the cup.

Publish Post

Wedding Gown Guru

Sooo... Me being a stalker for trends and ideas, came across a really cool website that chooses the type and style of wedding dress that suits your personality. It was bang on with my personal style and tastes. Check out the Wedding Gown Guru to take the personal test and see what suits your fancy!

Flower Lesson: Gloriosa Lily

I think we all need to know more about flowers, since they are so beautiful and used to celebrate so many eventful moments in our lives. I'm starting the post with one of my fav's...the Gloriosa Lily. Gloriosa is typically from Africa and India and climb or scramble over other plants with the aid of tendrils at the ends of their leaves. They can reach 3 meters in height. The Gloriosa is also the national flower of Zimbabwe.
A.K.A: The climbing lily or high fashion flowers
Bloom Time: Mid - Late Summer/Early Fall

Start using them in your centrepieces and arrangements, like I did! Click on Roseanne & Jonald's wedding to see the pics.

Real Life Wedding - Natasha & Matt - Part 2

Natasha & Matt married December 20, 2008

It seems like so long ago, but I finally have a small clip of Natasha & Matt's wedding. This wedding was a year and a half in the making and was literally perfect. It's a winter wedding so don't get to cold watching it...just walk outside and feel the sun. Perhaps the clip will cool you down from the hot summer heat in Toronto!

Real Life Wedding ~ Emma & Pier

Emma & Pier married June 20, 2009

This super hot couple got married on a not so sunny day, but the spectacular flowers and decor made it hottt!!! Emma was really great to work with and always took my suggestions and unique ideas with excitement. Emma's mom called me yesterday afternoon to thank me and my team for all of our hard work and made it a point to let me know that we were amazing. It really is a group effort in making these weddings a success!

Thank you to the Fairytale Events team! : )

My team took these photos and as you can see we're not so experienced in photography, but we do what we can. Click on the pictures to see them enlarged.

Real Life Wedding ~ Roseanne & Jonald

Roseanne and Jonald married June 6, 2009

Fairytale Events to the Rescue!!!

With their beautiful 'little bride' Paula (their daughter), Roseanne and Jonald shared a memorable day...not to mention experience. What I mean by this is, Roseanne and Jonald hired a florist that bailed on them 3 days before the wedding. How un-professional!!! Roseanne, who had hired me to organize the 'day-only' activites, called me almost in tears. I immediately took charge of the situation and assured her that it will be taken care of. I called Rainflower Company and we put together a plan to save the day. Considering we had literally 2 working days to put this together, we came up with a really great last minute ambience with the flowers that Mirella could find at the wholesaler...I made sure she used my favourite flower the 'gloriosa lily', which no one ever uses in wedding arrangements. I think they look amazing and add that spark of fuschia to the mix, which is exactly what the couple was looking for. Please read Roseanne's testimonial on the accolades section of www.fairytaleevents.ca.
Click on the picture below to see the various pictures of our plan enlarged.

Real Life Wedding ~ Gail & Shawn

Gail and Shawn married April 18, 2009

My Girl Gail!!!
I was so excited when my girlfriend from University, found out that I was a wedding planner and decided to hire me to finalize her wedding plans. Gail and Shawn are so cute together...as you can see in the slide show below! Gail being an event planner herself, like all great event planners, she is meticulous. Just like me...I'm a perfectionist! I sometimes think I'm crazy, I did her receiving table 3 times, just because I wanted it to look perfect. To finalize the look I created new arrangements for the receiving table from the pew flowers. Yes, that's right...I'm a wanna be florist! I know Gail and Shawn were extremely happy with the work that we put into their wedding, because now I am excited to be planning her little sister Patty and Lawrence's wedding next year. Something to look forward to... a secret theme!

Hope you enjoy the slide show provided by Kevin Lam Photography. He was a pleasure to work with, very accommodating, and even showed up at rehearsal to scope out the best spots in the church. Thanks Kevin for making this day beautiful for Gail and Shawn!

New Office Location

Great News!!! Fairytale Events has a new office location. As of June 1st we will re-locate to 207 Edgeley Blvd. in Concord. It is just behind the Walmart. We are really excited to be moving into a new place with lots of room and new beginnings!!!

Real Life Wedding ~ Marwah & Samer

Marwah & Samer married October 18, 2008

I'm sooo excited to post this short video of my work! Marwah & Samer's wedding was my favourite wedding to plan. The reason was because of the culture, colours, details and entertainment. We incorporated some royalty with purple and gold coloured linen and all the details you see in the video (my vendors always say that I'm the only planner they know that thinks outside the box). Plus the entertainment was amazing with one of the best arabic DJ's and Belly Dancers that started the party before dinner even commenced. Basically, everyone was on the dance floor before dinner and before dessert. It was an experience that I will never forget...the party also beat out all other weddings in the venue. And guess what??? There was no alcohol at this wedding!!! I was really proud to have planned this!!!

Since the wedding Marwah and I have become really great friends. Hope you enjoy the video!!!

Grey's Anatomy Wedding

Photo provided by greysanatomyadvisor.com

I know you all watched it!

It was the wedding we all waited for, and how sweet was it that Meredith and McDreamy decided to give the day to Izzie. You must admit it was the perfect wedding! I cried my eyes out! But did you know they actually had a wedding website that Izzie created? Well it was actually created by the knot.com. The site has favourite moment's, wedding details, dresses, the tux, and the story. Plus there is even a registry with donations to the American Academy of Neurology Foundation, American Skin Association, and The Alzheimer's Association. It's like a real life wedding! You can even RSVP to their wedding and view wedding advice from the staff at SGH.

Now we have to actually wait to see if Merdith and Derick will actually marry.

Click on Grey's Anatomy Wedding to take you to the site.

Photo provided by theknot.com

Real Life Wedding ~ Seena & Rony

Seena & Rony married October 4, 2008

Seena and Rony came to me to ensure their wedding day was flawless...and that it was! Their wedding reception was indeed Grand!!! Their guest count hit 500 people at the Libery Grand. There were so many seating cards to deal with but we got everything done seamlessly with the short period of time between the ceremony and reception.

The pictures were taken by Jay of Xero Digital. Please click on the pictures below to see an enlargement.

Real Life Wedding ~ Kinga & John

Kinga and John married on October 25, 2008

Kinga came to me as a bride whom was taking on all the planning and organizing by herself and really needed me to take control of the situation, as she was incredibly stressed out. I was happy to see that on the wedding day both Kinga and John were excited and free of any stress. I assisted the couple with all the details and ended the wedding day with praise from the family, bridal party, and most importantly Kinga and John.

The church was stunning, as you can see in the photo below. The photos were taken by Jay of Xero Digital.

Click on the pictures below to see them enlarged.

Fairytale Events on Global News

Global Evening News with Consumer & Investigative Reporter Sean O'Shea, recently featured a segment on 'Planning a Wedding during the Recession.' Melinda of Fairytale Events was interviewed to gain insight on how the recession has affected the wedding planning industry and what consumers can do to help their budgets. Amelia a client of Fairytale Events was also interviewed to gain insight on the consumer perspective of being on a budget. The segment aired on March 23, 2009 at 6PM and 11PM. Click on the video below to view the segment.


Consumer SOS - Planning A Wedding from Xpression Video on Vimeo.

Cutting Wedding Costs

During tough economic times, engaged couples are trying to find ways to cut cost of hosting a wedding without sacrificing the elegance of the wedding. Fairytale Events has developed a guide that can be used to help stay focused when planning a wedding, thereby minimizing costs.

1. Establish a budget of what you 'CAN' spend and stick to it.
2. Host a Sunday Brunch with an early ceremony.
3. Stick to a 3-course meal.
4. Choose inexpensive entree items such as Chicken and Pasta for your reception meal.
5. Ask vendors for recession rates.
6. Schedule photographer and videographer for smaller time frame.
7. Read the fine print on all contracts. Don't skip reading anything and if you have questions ask immediately, especially about payment terms.
8. Ask about hidden costs with all vendors.
9. Choose in season flowers.
10. Limit your guest list.
11. Give a donation instead of a wedding favor. This brings double benefits by helping a charity that may be dear to your heart and the tax incentive.
    
12. Enlist HELP! Though wedding planners come with our own costs, hiring one will save you time and money. Think about all the time, gas, and other things you will be missing out on by doing it alone...not to mention your sanity! Fairytale Events has suppliers that provide us with preferred pricing, we are experts in the industry, and we do the research and negotiation for you. Contact us for a complimentary consultation.

Fairytale Events recognized as best in the business

Fairytale Events has been recongized by Pure Platinum, a listing of wedding professionals working throughout Southern Ontario, as the best in the business. The businesses listed on this website are present by invitation only, having been nominated by their peers. They are generally recognized as the best in the business ... offering the best service, the best customer experience, the best products and, above all, the very highest integrity.

Unlike many other wedding sites, the vendors listed by Pure Platinum have not paid to have glowing reviews written about them.

Fairytale Events is honored to be recognized for our accomplishments. We strive to maintain integrity and ensure that service is a priority.

Real Life Wedding - Natasha & Matt

My last wedding of 2008 was Natasha and Matt's on December 20th. This wedding took place the day after a major snow storm in Toronto. I seriously thought it was going to affect the entire wedding and delay everything, but it was absolutely perfect. Fairytale Events spent one full year planning this wedding and all the details from the pew decorations, guest favors, and the talented accordian player Lucio, delighting us with his musical talent during cocktails. This was a winter wonderland. I hope you enjoy the pics.

Cultural Confusion?

Have you ever been invited to a wedding of a different religious or cultural background than your own, and wondered what the proper etiquette is? Well thanks to a recent article by the New York Times, "Different Rules for Different Cultures: Be Prepared," we can all brush up on our etiquette on attending these weddings. After reading this article you will now be that much more familiar than the others and won't gasp when you attend a traditional Persian weddings, and the bride is asked twice if she will marry the bridegroom. He doesn’t get the yes until he presents a gift, often of coins or jewelry.

I think I need to adopt some of these traditions for when I get married, gifts and jewellery from the groom on the wedding day...I'm keepin' him!

Welcome

This is my first time blogging. You would think that with years of marketing experience and consulting at an executive level and having my own business, I would be blogging everyday.

Through my blog I want to share the wonderful experiences that I have endured with my years of event and wedding planning. My goal as a professional is to help you find value for your investment. Let's face it our industry has sooo many facets to it and you probably don't know where to start or are stuck. You were probably overwhelmed by all the people and businesses at the wedding shows. I completely understand! As a vendor with a booth at the Canada's Bridal Show, I too was overwhelmed and exhausted by the end of it. We all hope for value and this is exactly what Fairytale Events is about. I certainly hope that my blog will inspire you in many areas of everyday life and help you realize that there is someone on your side.

Happy Planning! :)