Community› Local Wedding Boards› Canada-Ontario
Canada-Ontario
New Discussion
Options

Booking vendors

CaylaSummerCaylaSummer
First Comment
in Canada-Ontario
Hello there,

I just got engaged for a week and I would really love to have my wedding next august 2011. We are still sorting out the church stuff and doing the guest lists. I was wondering if I have enough time to book everything. I will likely have my wedding in Toronto, it seems like a lot of work to do all this planning but I'm sure it would be worthwhile in the end. 
Report Reply to Post

Re: Booking vendors

  • Options
    APW2010APW2010 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hello and welcome!

    You have more than enough time to get everything booked - just try and get all your 'contract' items done before the January wedding rush (ceremony, reception, photographer, etc.).

    It is definitely a lot of work. My wedding is Sept 25th, and right now we are both kind of anxious to have it done and just get our lives back, it feels like so long we have been doing nothing but wedding stuff - we've seen less of our friends and have no free time. But it will totally be worth it.
    Report Reply
  • Options
    ring_popring_pop member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Congrats and welcome!

    You are in about the same boat I was... I got engaged Aug 08 and got married Aug 09.

    You should be in good shape but don't be surprised to find a lot of the popular venues booked already. Don't worry though - there are still lots of great venues left, they just might be slightly less well known. Don't be discouraged, keep looking but move fast to book if you find a venue you like.

    Glad to hear you're already working on the church and guest list. Aim to have your venues booked by the end of September. Also, good officiants, photographers and videographers (if you want them) will also book up soon, so aim to have those done ASAP after you have your venues.

    Are you planning to go to any of the fall bridal shows? Keep in mind that the vendors who display at the bridal shows tend to get booked soon after the show.

    Once you have those major vendors booked, you'll be in good shape for a few months. We got our venues, photographer, videographer, and DJ booked by the end of September and took a breather in October because we were so burned out from checking out venues!
    image
    Baby Birthday Ticker
    Baby #2: Surprise BFP 9.19.12, EDD 5.24.13, natural m/c 10.19.13 at 9w
    Report Reply
  • Options
    CaylaSummerCaylaSummer
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    When is the bridal show and where is it? Yeah we are attempting to have a catholic wedding. My FI is not catholic so we have to talk to the priest and hope that goes well and if not we would have to go to my FI"s church in oakville. So everything is kind of in a limbo right now in terms of where the ceremony would be. I would prefer to have the reception close by where we are getting married so this would totally change where we need to be looking. Toronto vs. Oakville. Yeah I want to book the ceremony and the venue before september is over. My future mother in law seems to think that it only takes 2 months to book a venue as my future sis in law only needed 2 months, however it was a January wedding so it was a little bit different. I cannot book anything yet since we still need to sort out who is paying for what. My family is paying only for our guests and same with my FI.  

    When do i book the following:
    videogrpaher and photographer?
    venue and ceremony hoping to get done by end of September
    DJ? October
    wedding cake?
    Flower arrangements?
    Dress? I was thinking to go shopping end of January, bridesmaids, shortly after that
    Invitation? February, since I apparently have to send invitations to ppl that are most likely not going to come, my future mother in law insist.
    I guess other gifts can be ordered later in the new year.
    Wedding bands? I was thinking May
    I can go shopping for little things in between the months
    Oh when do you book hair and make up?
    Sorry for the long questions
    Report Reply
  • Options
    Rankin85Rankin85
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hey!

    You should pick up something like REAL SIMPLE WEDDINGS or one of the Martha Stewart guides. They offer a complete time line of when you should be getting stuff done buy... plus lots of thoughts and tips on other wedding issues that may come up.

    I'm getting married next August too.... engaged end of June. I've got my venue, photographer and DJ all booked and now I'm taking a breather.

    I was really worried about everything being booked up -- but most things were still available when I was booking at the beginning of the month.

    Congratulations - and good luck planning!
    Report Reply
  • Options
    ring_popring_pop member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    There are two major fall bridal shows - the National Bridal Show at the International Centre in Mississauga (Sept 10-12) and Canada's Bridal Show downtown at the Metro Convention Centre (Sept 24-26).

    If you decide to go, narrow down specific types of vendors you want to meet (for us, it was photographers and DJs) and you'll be much more productive. It's not really necessary to go to both as a lot of the vendors overlap. You can check out their websites for a list of vendors.

    For your timelines, try the Knot Wedding Checklist. I found that to be very helpful when figuring out when to get things done. From www.theknot.com it should be on the left.

    Your timeline sounds more or less like what I did. I started shopping for my dress in October though. I didn't want to drag around winter shoes and coats while shopping. I booked my cake not long after Christmas.

    A note about sending invitations to people who "won't come"... make sure you only send as many invitations as you have the space and budget for - assume they will all come! You might be surprised. It happens a lot.

    image
    Baby Birthday Ticker
    Baby #2: Surprise BFP 9.19.12, EDD 5.24.13, natural m/c 10.19.13 at 9w
    Report Reply
  • Options
    CaylaSummerCaylaSummer
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Okay thanks ladies. I might check out the bridal show later in september. Am I suppose to bring my FI to this or is this a girls day thing. I do not want to book anything without his permission because he is paying for some of our vendors and while I'm technically planning the wedding, I am checking with him in terms of what flowers he would like and what kind of a dress he would like to see me wearing etc. 

    What are some of the benefits of going to the bridal show?
    Report Reply
  • Options
    ring_popring_pop member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My DH came to the bridal show with me but most men find them boring. A sister or BM might have more fun.

    The advantage is that you'll get the opportunity to meet lots of vendors in one place. In some cases, they'll offer you a discount for booking on the spot. But it gets hectic so it's difficult to have a meaningful conversation. Most likely, you'll collect a bunch of flyers and cards and refer to them later. You can accomplish this just by looking at the vendor lists on the websites even if you don't go.

    To be honest, I found that most of the photographers I met there, aren't the best in the city. The really high-end, artsy ones, don't go to the bridal shows (because they get so much word of mouth advertising already). I found that the bridal show photographers were generally the mid-range ones. Good, but not amazing.

    If you go... don't give out your phone number or email address to too many vendors. They'll use it to contact you later.
    image
    Baby Birthday Ticker
    Baby #2: Surprise BFP 9.19.12, EDD 5.24.13, natural m/c 10.19.13 at 9w
    Report Reply
  • Options
    APW2010APW2010 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_canada-toronto_booking-vendors?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:613Discussion:c118484d-b303-4efa-9bb6-9f44679d47e3Post:c3965c4e-5ffe-4de2-80d3-3bc59cde7f0b">Re: Booking vendors</a>:
    [QUOTE] If you go... don't give out your phone number or email address to too many vendors. They'll use it to contact you later.
    Posted by ring_pop[/QUOTE]

    I created a new email address just for wedding planning for just this reason - you pick up a lot of spam and wind up on a lot of mailing lists easily.

    A lot of girls at the show brought address labels with them for entering contests and easily giving out their contact info - it saves a lot of awkward writing for sure.
    Report Reply
  • Options
    WeddingBliss32WeddingBliss32
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi you can totally plan a wedding in less than a year. Totally doable. I got myself a wedding planner and let me tell you that she has been amazing so far. Saved us quite a bit of money as well and I don't feel one bit stressed. Wasn't expensive either, go figure .

    I am going to the Last Bride Standing Bridal Show in November it's a bit more intimate then some of the bigger one's.
    Report Reply
  • Options
    CaylaSummerCaylaSummer
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi there,

    i just looked at the last bride standing bridal show however it is in april. Is there one before that?
    Report Reply
  • Options
    gingerbride2011gingerbride2011
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Welcome and congratulations!  Aug of next year!!!! You can do that!  Pick up a wedding guide as someone said and that would be a great start and have great converstations with family and your other half and get going.... (that is what this winter will be for!)

    good luck and happy planning!
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • Options
    two_zedstwo_zeds member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    hey everyone,

    i just joined the site and I am super anxious about planning! I have about a year and a half to plan, so this thread really calmed me down! What an overwhelming experience!
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards