Working Odd Hours

I did a fun interview with cosmopolitan magazine last year about working weird hours as a wedding planner, which was published in their September 2013 issue.  They also interviewed a chef, reporter, ER nurse and broadway performer.  My method of recovering from a big wedding day is drinking huge quantities of water.  I never drink enough water on a wedding day.  Yoga is a huge part of my life as well.  My favourite studio in the city being Yogamaya in Chelsea.  When I can't get to a studio class, there is always Yogaglo, which can be done any time of day.  Perfect for me!   

Tips on Choosing a Wedding Planner

A wedding planner may be assisting you right from the beginning of the planning process and involved in finding your location, choosing your vendors and helping you create a wedding that reflects you as a couple.  Or they may be working with you later in the planning process and handling coordination of the wedding day.  Either way, you end up working very closely with them, so trying to find the right person is very important.  In my opinion a great wedding planner is organized, diligent, detail oriented, very personable, great at multi-tasking, tasteful and has the ability to remain calm and excel under pressure.Aside looking through wedding blogs and magazines, ask for referrals from friends, family, your venue or your wedding vendors.  Your wedding photographer or floral designer may have worked with wedding planners in the past that they think highly of that they can recommend to you.  If a wedding planner is not available for your date, you could ask them for recommendations of others.

Read reviews of the wedding planner from previous clients.  You can find these on independent websites like WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and Yelp.com.  Alternatively ask for contact details of past clients that you can speak with to learn about their experiences.

Take a look at their body of work on their website, blog and Facebook page.  If they have a similar aesthetic to you, it will help the process when they are recommending vendors like floral designers, photographers, rental companies and invitation designers.  I feel you can learn a lot about a person from reading their blog, Facebook pages or Tweets.  If they are actively using these platforms, their personality and style easily show through.  See whether they have any notable press or accolades.  Some vendor lists are more like advertising, where vendors pay to be on them.  There is nothing wrong with this at all.  Many wonderful vendors use different platforms to advertise.  There are also some vendor lists, which are hand picked and invitation only.  This is just something to consider if you are looking through vendor lists.

Most importantly meet with the wedding planner.  If you do not live in the same city as the planner, set up a call or a Skype video chat with them.  I have had Skype video chats with clients that live on the west coast, but are planning their wedding in New York, and looking for a New York based wedding planner.  You likely end up talking to your planner more than any of your other wedding vendors.  They are so involved in every step of planning your wedding.  It still feels strange to me after the wedding when the emails and calls stop.  I get so used to speaking with my clients weekly or even daily leading up to the wedding.  You need to make sure that you get along well with them personally, that they understand your vision for the wedding and that you can see this person working intimately with you.  Essentially you need to be able to trust this person to execute your wedding, so that all you need to do is enjoy your wedding day, and not have to worry about any of the nitty gritty details.  Let them deal with all that.

Ask plenty of questions during the meeting.  You should find out whom you will be communicating with during the planning process up to the wedding day.  Who is in charge of planning your wedding and who will be managing everything the actual day of the wedding?  Ask them if they take more than one wedding on a single day, and if so, who will be working on yours.  If you have a large wedding or multiple locations, discuss how many team members will be present that day.  Will the planner be running the ceremony rehearsal, which is sometimes the day before the wedding?  If you are planning a breakfast or brunch after the wedding, and you want them to assist in setting up, will they be available?  On the wedding day when will they start and when will they leave?  Find out how much experience they have in planning weddings and their professional background.  Request a detailed list of services and if they do not include something that you are looking for, ask if it can be added.

At the end of the day you want to find someone that speaks your language and gets you.  That will be the right person to have beside you on your wedding day.

Put Away the Camera Phones

At one of our recent wedding ceremonies, the church requested that guests refrain from photography during the service.  I was pleased to comply with this request.  The ushers mentioned this quietly to guests on arrival.  

The bride and grooom spend thousands of dollars on hiring a professional wedding photographer.  Someone who is experienced in capturing this special moment and will know how to deal with lighting and positioning.  It makes me sad when wedding photographers are prevented from creating their best work when guests pull out their iphones, androids, blackberries, point and shoot cameras and start snapping away.  This is not a moment that can be recreated.  Isn't the wedding photographer with their fancy slr equipment going to take much better pictures than a smartphone?  Facebook can wait.  I have seen pictures of the bride walking down the aisle and almost every person sitting next to the aisle pointing a camera at her.  They get in the way of the photographer's frame and all you see is a sea of cameras.  I am sure the bride and groom would prefer a sea of smiling faces of their loved ones on their special day.  

A wedding ceremony is often a sacred and spiritual event.  Live in the moment, put the camera phones away and leave the pictures to the wedding photographer.  

Featured in New York Magazine Weddings Winter 2012

I am so thrilled to have Ang Weddings and Events featured in New York Magazine Weddings Winter 2012!  The New York bride's guide to everything.  This issue will be available on the newsstands tomorrow.  Check us out under the listings for planners and event designers on page 174:

"Formerly a VP at a major investment bank, Tzo Ai Ang makes herself available practically around the clock.  She enjoys working with cross-cultural couples, which allows her to draw from her experience living in four countries across three continents.  Initial consultations are free with month-of coordination starting at $2,800.  Full packages also available."

Image via New York Magazine Weddings

Helpful Hint: Number Your RSVP Cards

Using your numbered guest list, write the corresponding numbers in a light pencil on the back corner of each RSVP card.  It will lessen any confusion if a guest sends the card back and you can't decifer their writing.  I have also had guests forget to write in their name at all!  

Image via Minted

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My friend commented that this was also very helpful at her wedding.  Being a Korean couple, there were 25 LEEs and 30 WONGs in their guest list.  Not easy to figure out if someone replies "Mr. & Mrs. Lee", unless you number your cards.

Do We Need a Videographer?

This is a question that many couples find themselves asking with regards to their wedding.  They already hired a photographer who is going to take amazing pictures.  The last thing they want is to have a giant video camera on someones shoulder with a huge light following them around all day.  They feel that the intimacy of their day will be compromised and shudder at the thought of their guests being interviewed on camera.With a little bit of homework, you can avoid all of these things and have a more real-life way to remember your day than anything I can think of.  Don't get me wrong, I love still photography.  When I was planning my own wedding, my photographer was so important to me that it was the first thing I chose after booking the venue and date.  A videographer is able to capture the day in a very different way.  The way your dress moves when you walk, the way the candle light flickers, the touching Father Daughter dance and the hilarious Best Man's speech.

Gone are the big cameras.  Some companies are using DSLRs like the Canon 5D Mark II.  Can you believe how small that thing is?  How good is the quality you ask?  The season finale of House was shot with this camera.

Gone are the 5 hour long home movies that you will never watch.  The editing that is done with the footage nowadays still astounds me.  These aren't videographers.  They are film makers that create 5-30 minute movies that you will watch over and over again.

When you choose your videographer, ask what type of camera they will shoot with, look up their work on their websites and blogs, and meet them in person.  If you are going to have someone around you for a large portion of your wedding day, you always want to make sure you get along with this person and are comfortable around them.  Lastly have fun being a movie star for a day!

Seven Tips on Gown Shopping

1. Be open minded and try on different styles of gowns.  You could be surprised at what you may end up liking.  Even if you do not like it on the hanger, try it on.  Just because you are X body type, does not mean that Y silhouette will not suit.  Different designers have different ways of cutting and draping a gown that may work on you. 
2. Once you have a date and venue set, start looking.  Gowns take 4-8 months to order.  You want to avoid rush fees.  Appointments at the weekend can also book up far in advance.
3. Bring one or two people, whose opinion you really value and who have your best interests at heart.  Leave the entourage and super opinionated people at home.  Remember that this is your gown and your decision, which is more important than other people’s fashion advice.  You should choose what makes you feel most beautiful! 
4.  Wear nude coloured underwear.  If you can wear makeup, it will help to give you a better idea of your overall look on the wedding day.  
5.   If possible, bring pictures of gowns that you like, so you can give the consultant some direction on what kinds of gowns to pull. 
6.  Do not feel like you have to try on X number of gowns before you make a decision.  Once you try something on that makes you feel amazing, go for it!  Some brides end up picking the very first gown they try on. Personally much like finding my partner, once I saw the right gown, I knew. 
7. Once you have made the decision and placed your deposit, please stop looking.  Be confident and you will look fabulous on your wedding day!