The Wedding Planners Blog

A Cure for the Groom's "Cold Feet" on the Wedding Day

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

No, this post isn't about wedding day jitters, it's about the latest wedding day trend for grooms: Socks with Personality.

It's hard for a groom to really express himself and his style on his wedding day.  A rented tux, rented shoes, there isn't toomuch variation, so what's a groom to do?  Go for some funky socks.  There are several lines available and at a recent trip to Andrews Formals there was a whole rack of fun socks called Good Luck Sock.

My groom was sporting two looks from Andrews Formals, so here are the socks he wore:

He also wore a black pair with white X's all over with a couple red hearts for the O's.

I also picked up these socks:

 

Other brands available in stores or online include: Happy Socks, Joy of Socks, Sock it to Me, Zoraab, Sock Dreams and the list goes on and on.

The bride wore... shorts?

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

Ten years ago, I had a bride who wanted to have a custom gown that had Velcro, so she could pull off the skirt to reveal wedding shorts underneath.  Everyone thought this was so unique!

Fast forward to today and several designers have launched their Bridal Attire line with wedding shorts, jumpers and jumpsuits!

Olivia Palermo recently sported this look at her wedding. Carolina Herrare designed her wedding outfit including skirt, shorts and sweater. Photo via Olivia Palermo.

BHLDN has this cute wedding jumper available

and J. Crew sells these sequin wedding shorts.

Solange Knowles sported this wedding jumpsuit for her wedding to Alan Ferguson.

Photo by Rog Walker via People Magazine

Riki Dalal showed a few wedding separates in the bridal line.

Photo via Riki Dalal

So what do you think, would you wear shorts or a jumper for your wedding?

Wedding samples delivered to your door monthly!

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

Okay, how fun is this?!  Cool wedding items and samples, in a pretty box, delivered to your door every single month! Photo: StudioWedBox.com

The folks at Studio Wed Box spend all month curating new & fun wedding items and then send them off with some wedding wisdom. Photo: MySubscriptionAddiction.com

Perfect for engaged couples, I signed up for this last week, and we are all excited.  The cost of an annual subscription is $29.99/month.  I figure we will get great items for our emergency kits and we will discover new products to tell our couples about!

A similiar company is The Bride Box, which sends a different themed-box each month for $35.

Photo: TheBrideBox.com

Sneak Peek of Feature in The Wedding Planner GTA Magazine

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

In September we participated in a Photoshoot Extravaganza with the Wedding Planners Institute of Canada at Paletta Mansion located in Burlington, ON, right on the shores of Lake Ontario.  

Photo Source: Burlington.ca

The idea of the event was to create two similiar wedding set-ups; one exclusively for a magazine shoot with one couple and some specal elements; the other, for Wedding Planners to pose for headshots and working shots, with another couple and different elements.  

When working a wedding, wedding planners are usually so busy we can't stop to take a great pic, or we don't want to, because we look like we've been working our tails off for hours ;)  So this is a great opportunity that WPIC sets up for its members.  

Unfortunately, I was working for 5 hours on my set-ups before I got to take any shots, but oh well, Phat Dog Visuals and Richard Emmanuel Studios still captured some photos of me that I am thrilled with. For example:

Photo by Richard Emmanuel Studios

I chose to produce an outdoor wedding ceremony.  The inspiration shoot I did for the magazine had an awesome feature which I will save for when the winter edition of Bride & Groom Canada comes out.

Here are pics of the feature in The Wedding Planner GTA, which will be available in Indigo Stores on December 15, 2013:

People who contributed to this shoot:

Styling and Coordination: Danielle of The Wedding Planners

Partner: The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada

Decor and Flowers: Craig of Designing Trendz/DT Florals

Photography: Rohan of Phat Dog Visuals

Venue: Paletta Mansion

Models: Kasia and Richard Kovacs

Bride's Attire: She's So Beautiful 

Groom's Attire: Andrew's Formals

Bride's hair and Makeup: BlushPretty

Wedding Cake: SweeterE

Favours: Kate Aspen

Stationery: The Wedding Planners

Pantone Colours of 2014

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

Each Fall, Pantone releases its colour forecast for the upcoming year.

I love that my signature colour made number 1. Anyone who knows me, knows I wear A LOT of this colour, LOL. Looks like I will have no problem shopping for the next twelve months. Unfortunately for me, this means I won't be wearing much of it come 2015.

Without further adieu, here are your colours:

Photo courtesy of Pantone.com

What do think? What are your favourites?

Wedding Dress Trends of 2013

Diagram courtesy of: www.BridalBook.ph

Putting His Stamp on it - Wedding Planning for the Groom

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

For far too long, everyone has called the wedding day, "the Bride's day".  If the groom got any thought, he might get a groom's cake. Today's grooms are not sitting so idly by. When it comes to wedding planning, I often deal more with the groom than I do the bride.  There are lots of fun ways to incorporate both partners into the wedding, so today I am going to focus on how to let the groom's personality shine through at his wedding.

An Homage to his Favourite Libation - A fancy way to say: BAR! If the groom loves a good whiskey, microbrew or bourbon, have a tasting station at the wedding. Source: ShotofBrandi.com

Say it with Socks - Lots of men are going for a bold statement with their socks.  Our grooms have had lime, orange, purple and pink socks this past year. Here past client of The Wedding Planners, Peter, shows off his purple socks. Photo by Bassem.com

Who needs Flowers? - Rather than a flower boutonniere, why not have a special pin, a favourite childhood toy or a super hero on his lapel? (Just remember how to pin it correctly)

Sources: Left, GraceOrmonde.com, photo by AlainMartinez.com; Right, OffbeatBride.com

Stand Apart from the Crowd - Rather than having just a different coloured boutonniere or tie, why not have an entirely different coloured suit than the groomsmen? Source: RebekahWestover.com

Punt that Garter - Embrace the groom's favourite sport by tossing the garter on a football, baseball or tennis ball. Source: Photo by Gino Creglia

Dessy Group Sample Sale Aug 7 & 8/12

Will you say "I Do!" or "I Don't" to the new Wedding Collection by UGG?

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

With the tag-line "Your wedding just got cozier", the Australian company introduced their "I Do Wedding Shoe Collection."

So the question remains: Will you wear these shoes?

Vera Wang Sees Red for Spring 2013 Bridal

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

You may have noticed any wedding dresses I post have to be really special and usually include colour. Vera Wang has been featuring colour in her wedding dress runway shows for quite a while, but her Spring 2013 Bridal Runway show was the boldest yet!

All photos and descriptions from Vera Wang company page

Cardinal strapless ballgown with hand-rolled floral detail skirt and horsehair trim

Vermillion V–neck mermaid gown with alternating sheered tulle flange skirt and crystal embroidered shoulder detail

Scarlett mermaid gown with tiered, micro–bias bodice and inverted flange skirt with abstract floral shoulder corsage detail

Vermillion strapless mermaid gown with inverted flange bodice andcrystal embroidered floral detail skirt

Crimson strapless ballgown with hand-draped tulle bodice and honeycomb tulle skirt with embellished floating Chantilly lace and bias-cutorganza ruffle detail

Crimson strapless mermaid gown with corset bodice and honeycomb tulle skirt with hand-rolled floral embellished detail

Dahlia mermaid gown with chevron pleated bodice and pleated tulleskirt with hand-rolled floral appliqué shoulder detail

Dahlia strapless ballgown with notched neckline and lifted tulle skirt with crystal embroidered detail

Dahlia strapless open back, V-neck ballgown with lifted tulle skirt and tiered flange, hand-cut petal embroidered detail

I think they are gorgeous, but I don't know if I would be brave enough to wear red for my wedding.  Tell me, what do you think?