Ask a Planner... "Party Panic!"

Hello DreamGroup ~

This question is not wedding related, but I hope you can still help.  I am hosting a Christmas party in my home in a couple weeks and I wonder what etiquette says about who should be invited.  I was married last year and my husband and I don't have enough space in our townhouse to invite everyone we invited to our wedding (which was 180 people)!  Is it rude not to invite all the people that we invited to our wedding?  We can't afford to rent a hall and make this huge.  Our intention was just to have a nice intimate 50-60 person cocktail gathering at our home.  I had not even thought much about it, but then my mom asked if I was inviting my cousin and her husband and their kids...  all of a sudden I got scared!

Thanks for your advice,
Lesel


Hi Lesel,

Thanks for your question.  Everyone is very busy at this time of year and have tons of things to do, people to see, and parties to attend.  I think your plan to invite those friends and family that are closest to you on a day to day basis is more than acceptable.  Not every party you host has to include everyone you know!  

Weddings are the exception where a greater list of people may be expecting an invitation, but even then many couples are choosing to keep their weddings intimate these days.

In my experience, the best parties (Christmas or otherwise) are best enjoyed when the numbers are intimate and the food, drinks, atmosphere, and entertainment are kept thoughtful and stylized.  Stick with your initial plan and have a fabulous party!  

Planner signing off!  Until next week darlings!  And don't be shy!  Submit your questions by emailing us at askaplanner@dreamgroup.ca

XOXO
Genève 

Click here to See Inside the Book

Genève McNally, Principal Planner, DreamGroup Productions

Genève first began her wedding career in 1999 as the Catering Manager for one of Vancouver’s most sought after wedding venues, Brock House Restaurant.  In 2004 Genève and college friend Sarah Shore ambitiously started up what is now one of Vancouver's longest running and most trusted wedding planning companies, DreamGroup Productions Inc.

These days, in addition to working with her clients in a full planning capacity and raising her two wonderful boys Harrison and Campbell with her husband, Genève focuses her attention on the sales and marketing aspects of the company and is most often the friendly voice you will chat with when first inquiring with DreamGroup.  Genève is known to inspire and excite both clients and industry associates alike with her exuberant personality and joie de vivre!  Her ability to be refreshingly candid and her in depth knowledge of the wedding industry have earned her the friendly moniker “Two-Cents McNally”.  Genève also teaches the Wedding Planning classes offered through the dg Academy and is the chief correspondent behind DreamGroup's weekly Blog feature Ask a Planner.

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Ask a Planner... "Engagement Shoots"

Hello DreamGroup

Can you share some ideas for cool backdrops for a Fall/Winter engagement shoot here in Vancouver? 

Thanks!
Lynn + Jeff



Hello Lovebirds!

I'd be happy to!  There are so many lovely options one might consider.  There are the more traditional ones like your favourite local hotel or perhaps a more cultural and experiential backdrop like The Art Gallery, the Library, any of the Bridges (either under or on), Stanley Park with leaves or snow is certainly charming, walking through Gastown, and even your favourite local restaurant might do the trick depending on what you have in mind.   

Around this time of year the hotels are my favourite "goto" for providing a warm and ambient backdrop. Some of my personal FAVs are Fairmont Pacific Rim, Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Hotel Vancouver, and the Sutton Place.
 
There's something very special and romantic about huge Christmas Trees decked out to the nines and the glow of the little lights all around!  Not to mention the spirit of Christmas and the effect it has on everyone around you which in turn tends to enhance any experience... engagement shoot or otherwise.   

Just be sure you confirm with the hotel ahead of time that you want to use the space as some require a reservation and some even charge a small fee.  Or... you could just show up and plead ignorance, but keep it short and discreet, and be prepared to run when you see security coming! :O) 

Wedding Planner signing off!  Until next week darlings!  And don't be shy!  Submit your questions by emailing us at askaplanner@dreamgroup.ca

XOXO
Genève 

Click here to See Inside the Book

Genève McNally, Principal Planner, DreamGroup Productions

Genève first began her wedding career in 1999 as the Catering Manager for one of Vancouver’s most sought after wedding venues, Brock House Restaurant.  In 2004 Genève and college friend Sarah Shore ambitiously started up what is now one of Vancouver's longest running and most trusted wedding planning companies, DreamGroup Productions Inc.

These days, in addition to working with her clients in a full planning capacity and raising her two wonderful boys Harrison and Campbell with her husband, Genève focuses her attention on the sales and marketing aspects of the company and is most often the friendly voice you will chat with when first inquiring with DreamGroup.  Genève is known to inspire and excite both clients and industry associates alike with her exuberant personality and joie de vivre!  Her ability to be refreshingly candid and her in depth knowledge of the wedding industry have earned her the friendly moniker “Two-Cents McNally”.  Genève also teaches the Wedding Planning classes offered through the dg Academy and is the chief correspondent behind DreamGroup's weekly Blog feature Ask a Planner.

Click here to sign up for DreamGroup's Mailing list! 
We promise to inspire, inform and indulge!

 

Ask a Planner... "DIY vs. Hiring a Pro?"

Hello.  

Can you recommend a florist that will give me the best value?  I am looking for tall centerpieces of white and purple roses.  I can't decide between DIY or hiring a florist.  Would you recommend doing the floral yourself? Thx.

Rachel


Hello Rachel,

Wedding florals come in all shapes, styles and budgets.  Whether to DIY it or hire a pro often means you fall into one of two categories... creative and crafty or budget conscious -- and sometimes it's both!  You are either not afraid to get your hands dirty and genuinely want to be a hands on DIY bride or you are simply trying to maximize your budget and think DIYing will save you money.   

The truth is, it can save you money, but it's not always the case as it really depends on what you have in mind and secondly it comes at a different kind of cost -- a "time" cost.  Most brides who choose to DIY (whether it be for flowers, invitations or cake) say later on that it was far larger a project or investment of their time and energy than they could have ever anticipated.  Some regret it and others say it was tough, but they wouldn't have had it any other way.  They enjoyed being able to say they had a very active hand in making their own wedding vision come to life.  

As I touched on above, DIYing does not always save you money because once you purchase the vases, the flowers, pay for the gas to drive around getting all the bits and pieces it can often end up being very close to if not the same price that a modest wedding pro might have charged as they already own the vase and already regularly have flowers in store, etc.  This doesn't account for your time either.  Typically a floral centerpiece will range anywhere in price between $50 and $400.00 each depending on the size, type of flowers, and florist being used.

My suggestion is that you meet with a 2 florists (or maybe 3 if you have the time) to determine what your vision might cost and then do some thinking and a little homework and do what works best for you.  Below are a few local budget friendly (and reputable) suggestions for you to look into:

1. http://www.budgetblooms.ca/

2. http://www.fransflowers.ca/

3. http://www.flowerfactory.ca/

Good luck Rachel!  And be sure to check out these three previous posts about flower costs in Vancouver, Top 10 DIY tips, and Budget Stress!

1. http://dreamgroupplanners.blogspot.ca/2011/08/top-10-diy-wedding-planning-tips.html

2. http://dreamgroupplanners.blogspot.ca/2012/05/ask-planner-budget-stress.html 

3. http://dreamgroupplanners.blogspot.ca/2012/06/ask-planner-centrepieces-are-how-much.html

Wedding Planner signing off!  Until next week darlings!  And don't be shy!  Submit your questions by emailing us at askaplanner@dreamgroup.ca

XOXO
Genève 

Click here to See Inside the Book

Genève McNally, Principal Planner, DreamGroup Productions

Genève first began her wedding career in 1999 as the Catering Manager for one of Vancouver’s most sought after wedding venues, Brock House Restaurant.  In 2004 Genève and college friend Sarah Shore ambitiously started up what is now one of Vancouver's longest running and most trusted wedding planning companies, DreamGroup Productions Inc.

These days, in addition to working with her clients in a full planning capacity and raising her two wonderful boys Harrison and Campbell with her husband, Genève focuses her attention on the sales and marketing aspects of the company and is most often the friendly voice you will chat with when first inquiring with DreamGroup.  Genève is known to inspire and excite both clients and industry associates alike with her exuberant personality and joie de vivre!  Her ability to be refreshingly candid and her in depth knowledge of the wedding industry have earned her the friendly moniker “Two-Cents McNally”.  Genève also teaches the Wedding Planning classes offered through the dg Academy and is the chief correspondent behind DreamGroup's weekly Blog feature Ask a Planner.

Click here to sign up for DreamGroup's Mailing list! 
We promise to inspire, inform and indulge!

 

Ask a Planner... "Monster-in-Law?"

Hi Geneve,

You addressed a past Ask a Planner inquiry's problem with her issue of a "lazy" Maid of Honour with such care and a good dose of reality that I'm hoping you might be able to help me with my situation.  My problem involves my fiance's mom. To put it simply, I don't think she likes me. She loves her son A LOT and I can't help, but feel that she doesn't think I'm good enough for him.  She is very cold towards me and when she calls and I answer she asks to speak with "John" without even saying hello to me first.  It's so rude and I'm tired of it!  You'd think 3 years into our relationship and an engagement ring later she'd be a little kinder to the future mother of her grandchildren?!  His whole family is kind of rude to me actually, but it's the issue with my future mother-in-law that I worry about most.  I don't want to spend the rest of my life feeling this way and am not sure what I should do.  I have talked about it with my fiance, but he doesn't seem to understand how BIG a deal this is.  He says not to let it bother me!  Ha! Yeah right.  Anyway, I'm really feeling torn by this and figure I have nothing to lose by asking you what you think I might do.  

Sincerely,
Nikki



Hello Nikki,

I'm glad you emailed!  I'm so sorry to hear that you are going through this.  It has to be very frustrating.  Your fiance could be right in that you need not over think the situation, but the reality is family dynamics play a HUGE factor in the long term success of a relationship so this sort of thing should be addressed sooner rather than later.   

Sadly, no matter how much in love two people might be, family opinions do matter and can be a really tricky and in rare cases an insurmountable obstacle to overcome.  That doesn't mean that you should walk away from your life and plans... it just means you may need to take some more strategic and aggressive steps to getting to the bottom of the problem.  

Where something this serious is concerned I will ask that you receive my feedback with an open mind and be sure to discuss your feelings with your fiance first before acting on any decisions as I am offering you advice based on what I know and without the complete back story would hate to think you would act on anything I said too hastily. 

Here's what I would do... First, talk again with your fiance (when you know you have his full attention) and explain how worried you are about the situation and the affect it could have on your future.  Perhaps if he understands just how serious this issue is he will be able to work with you better to come up with a solution.  He could be brushing it off because he knows his family better than you and really thinks it's a non-issue OR it could be that he just doesn't want to face the fact that his family may not be as crazy about you as he is.  Either way, it warrants further discussion between the two of you. 

Once you have determined just how serious the issue actually is I would do one of two things:

If together you determine that it's most likely not as personal or dire as you first thought then your next steps might include calling up his mom and ask her to join you for a coffee, a glass of wine, or a pedicure some time!  I'm not suggesting you become best friends, but it is very possible that her standoffish behavior could just be that she doesn't know how to break the ice with you and doesn't realize how rude she is being in the process.  There is a lot to be said for being the first to extend the olive branch or invitation!  Maybe if she sees that you are making an effort to get to know her she will in turn open up.

Now, in the event that this just doesn't feel right and you both know deep down there's more to it than simply a misunderstanding, then I think "John" might need to have a few words with his mom privately about how her behavior is affecting you and your relationship.  In my opinion, if he truly loves you and wants to spend the rest of his life **happily** with you he will have the guts to stand up for you and try and make things better.  This sort of thing should not be ignored.

I wish you the very best as you deal with this situation Nikki.  I would love to know how things turn out for you.  Stay in touch! :O)

Wedding Planner signing off!  Until next week darlings!  And don't be shy!  Submit your questions by emailing us at askaplanner@dreamgroup.ca

XOXO
Genève 

Click here to See Inside the Book

Genève McNally, Principal Planner, DreamGroup Productions

Genève first began her wedding career in 1999 as the Catering Manager for one of Vancouver’s most sought after wedding venues, Brock House Restaurant.  In 2004 Genève and college friend Sarah Shore ambitiously started up what is now one of Vancouver's longest running and most trusted wedding planning companies, DreamGroup Productions Inc.

These days, in addition to working with her clients in a full planning capacity and raising her two wonderful boys Harrison and Campbell with her husband, Genève focuses her attention on the sales and marketing aspects of the company and is most often the friendly voice you will chat with when first inquiring with DreamGroup.  Genève is known to inspire and excite both clients and industry associates alike with her exuberant personality and joie de vivre!  Her ability to be refreshingly candid and her in depth knowledge of the wedding industry have earned her the friendly moniker “Two-Cents McNally”.  Genève also teaches the Wedding Planning classes offered through the dg Academy and is the chief correspondent behind DreamGroup's weekly Blog feature Ask a Planner.

Click here to sign up for DreamGroup's Mailing list! 
We promise to inspire, inform and indulge!

Ask a Planner... "A Stagette You WON'T Want to Forget"

Help Ladies!

I don't want to sound ungrateful or come across like a bridezilla, but I'm getting married in June of next year and am worried that my maid of honour and bridesmaids are going to throw me a tacky "bride in a cheesy veil drinking from a penis straw" stagette at some local top 40 nightmare of a club and would love to avoid the embarrassing parade.  Can you please suggest some alternatives?

Thank you!
Anti Stagette Bride



My darling anti-stagette bride!

You are hilarious! Thank you for making me laugh out loud today!  I don't think you are a Bridezilla at all for wanting to try and avoid the cliche stagette party.  Good for you in fact for thinking about it and voicing an opinion while there's still time to come up with a different plan!  The great news is there are many awesome alternatives to the "traditional" stagette as you've so colorfully outlined above.

These days brides are often a little older, smarter, and are thankfully looking for some more creative, healthy, and/or interesting things to do with their girlfriends to celebrate the occasion.  I have listed below my top 5 suggestions for a Stagette here in Vancouver.  Maybe forward this post to your maid of honour and girlfriends as a sort of FYI... :O)  Good luck!!


TOP 5 STAGETTE IDEAS (that do not include veils or p*n*s straws):


1. Spa Party:  Who doesn't love getting pampered?  Contact your favorite local spa (or step it up a notch and make it a weekend affair at a destination spa) and book a group session for manis-pedis-massage for all!  Find a spa that offers private rooms or designated areas for group events.  Bring champagne, order some food, plug in a favourite movie like Bridesmaids if applicable, and RELAX!  Not the most unique idea, but fun and easy. My personal Vancouver Favs... http://spaon4th.com/  or http://www.absolutespa.com/  or http://www.purenailbar.com/

2. Pole Dancing Lessons: Yup I said it!  This new found fun fat burning activity is a really fun way to unwind and laugh yourself silly with your girlfriends while picking up some new sexy moves. http://www.poledancestudio.com/about.php

3. A Makeover Party: This one is both fun and practical!  What better time than now to try a new look or better yet learn how to enhance your best features like a pro with a private group makeover and lesson.  Contact Jayna Marie at Fancy Face Academy to inquire! http://www.jaynamarie.com/JBMakeupArtistry/Fancy_Face_Academy.html

4. Bootcamp: I know, I know it sounds awful, but it's actually really fun and whether you are a Grouse grind fitness fanatic or exercise avoiding couch potato you will enjoy the endorphin inducing activity (if not during at least afterwards when you are feeling happy and proud of yourself)! :O)  http://www.barrefitness.com/our-classes

5.Shopping Party: This is a super fun way to spend an evening with your girls! There are several local clothing and specialty boutiques in Vancouver that will book private shopping parties after hours at no cost.  Ultimately they are hoping you will make a few purchases to make it worth their while, but it's not mandatory of every attendee.  Many of them will allow food, drinks, and music to help set the mood!  http://www.sephora.com/  or book a Diva's Den Party at my absolute favorite store in all of Vancouver... http://www.changesclothing.com/

And if all else fails... A delicious and leisurely dinner at your favourite local restaurant sounds perfect to me!

Wedding Planner signing off!  Until next week… keep those questions coming in!  Submit your questions by emailing us at askaplanner@dreamgroup.ca 

Cheerio,
Genève 

Click here to See Inside the Book

Genève McNally, Principal Planner, DreamGroup Productions

Genève first began her wedding career in 1999 as the Catering Manager for one of Vancouver’s most sought after wedding venues, Brock House Restaurant.  In 2004 Genève and college friend Sarah Shore ambitiously started up what is now one of Vancouver's longest running and most trusted wedding planning companies, DreamGroup Productions Inc.

These days, in addition to working with her clients in a full planning capacity and raising her two wonderful boys Harrison and Campbell with her husband, Genève focuses her attention on the sales and marketing aspects of the company and is most often the friendly voice you will chat with when first inquiring with DreamGroup.  Genève is known to inspire and excite both clients and industry associates alike with her exuberant personality and joie de vivre!  Her ability to be refreshingly candid and her in depth knowledge of the wedding industry have earned her the friendly moniker “Two-Cents McNally”.  Genève also teaches the Wedding Planning classes offered through the dg Academy and is the chief correspondent behind DreamGroup's weekly Blog feature Ask a Planner.

Click here to sign up for DreamGroup's Mailing list! 
We promise to inspire, inform and indulge!