Destination wedding in New York

jenniferf2901

Hi everyone,

I live in Canada, but my fiancee and I want to get married in NYC December 27th, 2012. It will be a pretty small wedding, about 20 to 40 people, and a very tight budget. I've come across Kool Events, which is an event planning agency that works at no cost to help find venues and set up stuff for the big day. Since I won't be seeing anything planned for the wedding until the day-of, it seems ideal to have an event planner. Just wondering if anyone has had any experience working with this company (the whole free-of-charge thing worries me a bit). I haven't seen any bad reviews online, but just wanted to check. Also, if anyone has any suggestions for doing this type of wedding, I'd love to hear them! Thanks!

Avion22

The "free-of-charge" thing worries me too.  Do they get kick-backs from the vendors they select for you?   If that's the case, then you probably ARE paying them because you'll likely be paying higher prices to the vendors to cover the finder's fee or commission or whatever they want to call it.  Also, if this is the case, then you can't be sure that they are selecting the best people to do the job....

Do they have any testimonials on their website?  References you can ask for?

FWIW, I live in Scotland and am planning a wedding in Virginia.  I've done it in 2 major planning trips and tons of emails.   It helps that I grew up in the town the wedding's in, so I know the area well, but still.   It can be done.    

melntaitt

I don't know and I would ask them for phone numbers for their references; I checked out their online reviews and there were only 4 from a year ago.

And ask them to be specific; they may not charge for finding the vendors because they may already have a list of vendors they used from previous events, but you may be charged for if they have to coordinate it for you.

Get the contract, review it and be sure you know what you're getting into; I really haven't found  a FREE service in NYC ever!

MsMissa

I think my MoH and day of coordinater planned a small NY destination wedding on that very day this year! The wintery New York pictures were so pretty! She gets you all of the info and docs to get married and knows a ton of venues.  I'm pretty sure if you book all of your vendors through her, day of stuff is free as well.  I'd check in with her. www.voyagenyc.com
Having just planned a New York wedding, a free-of-charge planner seems pretty sketchy.  I'm certain they must have a group of vendors they funnel each client to in order to make money.  And there are some crummy venues in New York!

jenniferf2901

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

The whole thing doesn't seem too bad - like I've found a venue that I'm really interested in and it was one of the many that she had recommended. The thing is, that I do the booking directly with the vendor and not with her - so it sort of seems like it works a bit more like how a travel agent would get paid. Like she's not really overly involved like how a regular wedding planner would be, but I will look into getting some references for sure. Thanks!