Hello Edmonton Brides

stewspoon

Some of the discussion boards are pretty dead and since the Calgary brides decided to bring a little life to the community I thought I'd follow suit. 

I just got engaged on Christmas and so I'm right at the beginning of my planning. We're thinking Fall 2013 or 2014 (I guess if I can book venues in the next two weeks we'll have the wedding this year). 

So far my first impression is that it's hard to find an extensive list of Edmonton venues anywhere online, and my second impression is that weddings are a lot more expensive than I thought!

When I get some of my own details firmed up and have a few extra minutes to breathe, I'll post all the places I emailed and maybe that'll save a future Edmonton Bride some of the stress.

But enough about me! How is your Edmonton wedding planning going?

Kaelaandmike

I got engaged over Christmas too! We were trying to decide between late this year or next year...and I booked my venue this week! Going to the faculty club June 2014. So true about the venue options online and how expensive they each are! Faculty club was actually relatively reasonable! We booked our church too so that part of the planning is done and now I can take my time

clairetb

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_canada-alberta_hello-edmonton-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:626Discussion:27dbe3ef-d8d6-447e-b60e-5e22dadc7312Post:4c7d4e0f-3721-4939-8f86-2ddc0949547b">Hello Edmonton Brides</a>:
[QUOTE]Some of the discussion boards are pretty dead and since the Calgary brides decided to bring a little life to the community I thought I'd follow suit.  I just got engaged on Christmas and so I'm right at the beginning of my planning. We're thinking Fall 2013 or 2014 (I guess if I can book venues in the next two weeks we'll have the wedding this year).  So far my first impression is that it's hard to find an extensive list of Edmonton venues anywhere online, and my second impression is that weddings are a lot more expensive than I thought! When I get some of my own details firmed up and have a few extra minutes to breathe, I'll post all the places I emailed and maybe that'll save a future Edmonton Bride some of the stress. But enough about me! How is your Edmonton wedding planning going?
Posted by stewspoon[/QUOTE]

<div>Hi!  I got engaged last Christmas (2011) and am a few months away from our wedding in June. It'll be a Sunday brunch for about 60 guests in the Wedgwood Room of the Hotel Macdonald (!) - a venue I never, ever thought we could afford on our budget (we're trying to keep it around $9K), but which became doable when we learned that a daytime rental is HALF the cost - and if you have the ceremony in the same room, you save a ton as well.  Our total charge is a $4500 F&B minimum (but breakfasts/brunches range from $25 to $48, and champagne is $5/glass - so fairly easy to stay under the min.), $800 room rental, 5% GST, and 17% service charge.</div><div>
</div><div>So - about $6000.  Not cheap.  But we'll be spending basically nothing on décor - the room is gorgeous, and I figure no one's going to complain about Fairmont hotel linens, flatware, or anything else.  We're not even doing centrepieces - instead, I've asked the hotel to serve fruit family-style (a big platter on every table) - ta da!</div><div>
</div><div>We looked at a bunch of community halls with ~ $500 rental fees, but when I looked at catering charges (AUGH! Yikes!), event rentals, and decor costs (plus the effort of making a community hall look special), it wasn't really that much cheaper.  Plus, now I find myself with barely anything left to plan - whoo!  To keep other costs down, we've (a) chosen to have only a MOH and best man, no other bridal party members - so no matching dresses, no costly lunches and gifts, etc. (b) eschewed a cake and (c) gone nontraditional with what we're wearing.  I found a beautiful vintage gown for $79, and he's wearing a suit with a new tie.</div><div>
</div><div>Happy to make both your acquaintance - looking forward to hearing how planning goes!</div>

koryn21

Hi Ladies! I've been engaged since December 2011. We will be getting married in August of this year at the Edmonton Petroleum Club. In addition to getting the venue booked right away (we booked 16 months out I believe) I would suggest looking into officiants if one is going to be needed. We started looking into officiants this month and were only able to find one available on the date and at the time we wanted. Otherwise our planning has been rather stress free. Found my dress this past weekend and it should be in by the end of May (with no rush order required). Hope planning goes well for everyone else!

jsaunders85

Hey ladies! Engaged last month and booked our venue last week Millwoods golf course was by far the most reasonable for prices and Margaret is lovely to deal with! And holy are these things expensive, I have a feeling it's the little things that will add up. Things like marriage license, candles etc... I already know what my best investment will be. I hired a wedding planner for the 6 weeks prior to the wedding for $ 1,500. To be stress free the day of is probably worth it right there. She also made a wedding budget for us which has been a tremendous help. We told her what our priorities are and ave her a dollar number and she broke it down for us! We are having 150 to dinner and another 50 to the dance. We gave her a budget of $22,000 but we think we will end up at 25,000. It seems crazy that it will be spent on one day!!!! Looking forward to this seasons wedding photos as well! Jess

laurabelle369

Hi ladies! I also was engaged last month and have been busy trying to book a venue for a September 2014 wedding. We're going to book the Empire Ballroom at the Hotel Mac, but apparently you can't book it until 14 months before, so I'm eagerly waiting on pins and needles until that gets done in July. I don't know what it is about having the date and venue, but that seems like the most stressful part to me.

@clairetb - I love the Wedgeroom room, it is so beautiful! We have too many people, so we'll be booking the ballroom, otherwise I'd be in there too! I'd love to hear your advice on the Hotel Mac as a venue.

@jsaunders85 - My best friend got married at the Millwoods golf course and it was a gorgeous venue. The food was amazing! 

Next up I'll be starting on everything else so I'd love to hear everyone's recommendations for vendors - flowers, dress, cakes, the works. Any advice you've got is helpful!