Bloggity Goodness

Real Wedding: Snow, Ice & a Marching Band!

May 18th, 2012

I can tell you the moment Suzanne told me her heart was set on having a marching band at her wedding, I knew that we were going to have an enormous amount of fun working together. Darren & Suzanne met at work, and really do make the perfect balanced pair. Darren’s's analytical, Suzanne relates more to how things feel. Darren is a spreadheet kind of guy, and Suzanne is the Pinterest queen. The image below alludes to it, but Darren was a ‘planner’ groom. NOT a groomzilla, but definitely part of the new generation of grooms have have as much ( if not more) input than their bride to be. We set to work planning a fete than was just loaded with person details.Suzanne was part of the National Bobsleigh Team, so a winter wedding seamed appropriate. We began working with a delightful palette of a deep holly red combined with a very slight iceberg blue. It’s not a super common combination, but it looked fresh together. Some of the really neat personalized touches included a bobsleigh Ice Luge, Thistles in the florals & a bagpiper to represent Suzanne’s Scottish background, and tree slices under the stunning red amaryllis to represent the beautiful mountain surroundings.

Of course, the most epic part of this wedding ( besides how much Suzanne & Darren are in love), was the marching band that played while the bride & groom entered the reception. There’s a bit of a back story here that I have to share with you. When Suzanne & Darren first suggested the marching band, I was beyond excited. I’m going to admit that I had been DYING to have a marching band at a wedding, and even had a picture of it on my office wall! Well it just so happens that the Stampede Marching Band had been invited to play the Rose Bowl ( yes, that Rose Bowl), and would be arriving back to Calgary only a few short days before the wedding. The instruments were arriving the day before the wedding. So understandably, the Marching Band told Darren they wouldn’t be available. BUT Darren really wanted to make this dream happen for Suzanne, so he asked again ( maybe he asked a few more times) and finally, they agreed. You can see a video of the performance below. it was epic. Seriously, A marching Band Playing “enter Sandman” by Metallica? AH-Mazing. So, I’m going to wrap it up here, and let you have a peek at the images, supplied graciously by Julie Williams Photography, and the video of the marching band entrance from Aydin Productions!

Thank-you SO much to the wonderful wedding professionals who were part of Darren & Suzanne’s wedding team!

Band: Calgary Stampede Marching Band

Cake: Rimrock Resort Hotel

Ceremony Venue: St.Mary’s Catholic Church

Coordination: Cherry Tree Occasions

Design: Cherry Tree Occasions with the Bride & Groom

DJ: Class Act DJ

Florist: Lil’ Pink Daisy Flowers

Guitarist: Andrew Ibanez

Hair Stylist: Botega

Ice Sculpture: Frozen Memories

Make-Up: Natasha Brons

Photography: Julie Williams Photography

Reception Venue: Rimrock Resort

Rentals: Special Event Rentals Banff

Stationary: The Social Page

Transportation: Highland Executive Chauffeur

Videographer: Aydin Productions

Introducing…

May 17th, 2012

Amidst all the excitement of our Best Day Ever! Giveaway,we didn’t get the opportunity to introduce Cherry Tree’s newest team member! Kacie is going to spend one glorious summer as our marketing intern. She’ll be learning tons about weddings, and sharing all of the trends and thoughtful ideas with our mountain brides ! I could tell from the start that Kacie has not only has a passion for weddings, but the desire to approach weddings from a professional event management background. That’s important at Cherry Tree, so she couldn’t be a better fit! So, I’ll turn it over to Kacie to introduce herself!

Hi Everyone!

Me!

I am crazy excited to be Cherry Tree’s newest summer intern!! This is going to be such a great opportunity for me to learn a whole lot about the wedding industry – and from such an awesome company who I respect and look up too. But before all that I should tell you a little about myself. My name is Kacie Wright, and I’m a 21 year old student that is currently enrolled in Thompson Rivers University. Right now I am getting my Events & Conventions diploma with hopes of laddering up into the Bachelor of Tourism Degree. I love cheesy romantic comedies, anything to do with turtles and alligators, football, and most importantly Ryan Gosling. Throughout my life I have been overly passionate about love, and beautiful floral arrangements. This has opened my eyes and made it clear that I will be in the wedding industry. Whether that’s planning weddings, or decor, or marketing, I have yet to decide. These dreams have landed me here today in this position, and I am so excited to get started and see where my life takes me!!

P.S. YAY

Kacie Wright
Marketing intern | Happy-Go-Lucky Wedding Enthusiast

It’s time to enter the Best Day Ever! Giveaway!

May 11th, 2012

Hello, and happy Friday! Can you believe how quickly this week has gone by? I am so excited to post the link to the contest entry form, so I can start reading all of your amazing stories! This week I really wanted to take some time to explain exactly what it is we do here at Cherry Tree. I know it’s hard for couples to understand what a wedding planner does, it’s not like you work with one frequently. We ( wedding planners I mean), also all do things a little bit differently, so they way Cherry Tree services are structured might be completely different from the next Planner. In case you missed it, on Monday I shared a bit about our Weekend Wedding Planning – our most comprehensive planning & design service, and one that we LOVE doing. On Tuesday, I went a bit more into what the term ‘full planning‘ means at Cherry Tree. I also really wanted to share some details about our design services, so that’s just what I did on Wednesday! Finally, yesterday I let you in on a few things I don’t do. That can be just as important, right?

So without further ado – you can find the last tip of the day on our “Happy Things” page. Because, who doesn’t want to end a contest with a bunch of happy things?

In case you missed them, here’s the tips from earlier in the week!

Monday – “Our Story”

Tuesday – “Planning”

Wednesday – “Our Couples”

Thursday - “Exclusive Access”

Friday – “Happy Things”

Ok, so how do you enter this “Best Day Ever!” Giveaway? it’s easy!

You’ll need to fill out THIS FORM <———- CONTEST ENTRY FORM

1. On the form you’ll need to list all 5 tips of the day ( a brief description will do the trick!)

2. On the form you’ll need to list all 5 photos of the day ( A brief description will work here too!). Head over to Julie Williams Photography to get any pics you’ve missed.

3. Tell us your story! We really love thoughtful, creative couples, so wow us!

4. If you have an inspiration board or Pinterest board that illustrates the amazing wedding you’re planning, share it with us! The part isn’t required, but we’ll add bonus points for it!

And that’s all! If you have any questions, please get in touch at info{at}cherrytreeoccasions.com!

We’ll announce the winners Tuesday, May 15th, at the very latest!

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What Doesn’t a Wedding Planner Do?

May 10th, 2012

Wow, our Best Day Ever! Giveaway is almost over, can you believe it?? We’re on day four! Scroll down to the bottom of the post to see a hint to the tip of the day. And don’t forget to mosey on over to Julie Williams Photography to read through her week of excellent posts and find the photo of the day!

I’ve spent the week sharing with you many of the things a wedding planner does. I’m hoping you have a greater understanding now! I also thought it important to tell you that while we do alot, we don’t do everything. And in case you are wondering, here are some of the things a wedding planner doesn’t do.

1. Edit your Guestlist. I’m going to tell you now, creating your guestlist will most likely be a challenge. Who to invite, who not to invite, who will be offended. While I will give you guidance, and a handy little template to do this, I just can’t do it for you.I’m sorry! You know if I could, I would!

2. Get you discounts with every vendor. The is a misconception out there that if you work with a wedding planner, you will offset the cost by the discounts the planner will find for you. Perhaps this is true in some areas, but here in the Rockies, I’m sorry to say it’s not. Now, don’t fret, I will save you money. I will do this by helping you select the items that are most important to you, and will give you the most value. I also help you save money by not making mistakes ( as we all know mistakes usually cost $$). I do get a few discounts that I will pass along to you, but for the most part I work with really awesome vendors who charge what they are worth. They provide great service, are amazing at their craft, and most importantly, provide value.

3. Answer the phone at Midnight. It is really important to me that you feel all of your questions are answered in a timely manner, and if you have a wedding crisis, I’m there to offer assistance. I regularly go above and beyond for my couples, and everyone seems pretty pleased with my services. But, my phone is almost always off on Sundays (unless your wedding is on a Sunday!), & I keep regular office hours too ( which means I close at 5pm unless we have an evening call scheduled). I am so lucky to live in the mountains that I like to get out and enjoy them. The benefit to you? I’m a pretty happy, easy going kind of person. Really, you don’t want an overworked over stressed planner at your wedding. You want someone who is going to calm your excited nerves. Right?

4.Alarm you when something goes amiss. If at all possible, when something goes wrong, I won’t tell you. If it’s really important, or if it’s going to cost you extra $$ I will, but otherwise, I keep my lips zipped. One of my jobs is to keep you calm, happy, relaxed, and excited on your wedding day, and if I have to tell just the littlest of white lies I will. Generally, I can fix those little blips without you ever worrying!

5.Take over your wedding. I hear this concern from brides pretty often, and I don’t blame them! As much as you want guideance with your wedding, you also want to enjoy the planning process. You want to be involved in how your wedding looks and feels, and make sure it’s uniquely you. Good news, I already had my wedding, so I’m totally focused on planning what you want. Sure, if you have an idea that I don’t think is in your best interest, I’ll let you know. But, if you insist on wearing a superman cape through your ceremony, I’m not going to stop you!

Did you know we write a newsletter just for mountain brides? Head over to the Exclusive access page to find the tip of the day, and sign up for our newsletter!