Did you know Nicole specializes in reverse destination weddings?

Hi Everyone!

Well, it's Friday, and it's 6:01PM, and I told myself..."Self, you have to blog!" So, I picked a topic off of my blog topic list I use to brainstorm for each week. This week's topic is something you may or may not know about us here at Nicole Lisanne Weddings and Events by Design, but we are finding that not a lot of our wedding professionals or clients know this, so here goes!

I don't know how it happened, but we have had the fortune of working with many clients who live in other states, or other countries, who are having their wedding here in California. When a client does this their wedding is considered a "destination wedding", and when a consultant helps them plan it in the town they are holding their wedding it is considered "reverse destination wedding planning" because the consultant isn't going anywhere to do the wedding, but they are helping their client plan their wedding while they are no where near where it will take place.

What does this mean for Nicole Lisanne Weddings? Well, I thought about it today after meeting with our client in from Hong Kong, and while speaking to a new potential client in MN. Both of these clients are having their wedding in our backyard, but they live far far away. I asked myself what it is about our company that makes us specialists in this type of planning. Here are the reasons I came up with:
1.We are good listeners. First and foremost, we care about everything the client says, we have to be really good listeners in order to understand their wishes and execute them for them here.

2.We are excellence communicators. We know how to speak to our clients in an organized and well thought out fashion so that details don't become too overwhelming. It's hard enough planning a wedding in your own backyard, but try planning your wedding in CA while you live in England! Eeeeek! You definitely need a consultant who understands that you don't need any more complexities added to your situation.

3.We are good with technology. We are not afraid to use all forms of technology to make the gap between us and our clients smaller.

4.We are good at acting on our client's behalf. We can speak straight from our client's wishes and needs when we speak to our wedding professionals in order to secure them for their wedding day. We make sure we protect them from things they do and don't want, we communicate what they want to spend, what they need, why they need it, and help make things happen!

5.We are flexible! We understand that a long distance client is not a typical client. They are going to need more phone consultations, more e-mails, more help with everything! We don't make them feel like they are an inconvenience to us, rather we make them feel understood and taken care of by being flexible with their time and distance difficulties.

I'm sure there is more to it than this, but I'm very very proud of our unique specialty, and I am happy that so many fabulous couples from around the world have trusted us with their wedding day plans.

I hope you all have a fabulous evening!

Much love,

Nicole

Ok, I got engaged, now what?!?!

You fell in love, you got engaged, now what?!?!

If you're feeling like you have too many thoughts running through your head after your engagement about what the next step should be in planning your wedding, you're very normal.

Here's the order that most brides and grooms do things in:

1.The dress

2.The site

3.The accomodations

4.The transportation

5.The invitations

6.The photographer

7.The flowers

8.The caterer

9.The music

10.The hair and makeup

11.The videographer

12.The wedding consultant

This doesn't include everything, but it gives you an idea of what typically happens. Right after being engaged it's so exciting that the bride tends to run out and try on gowns with Mom and her best friends or maids and matrons. That's great and all, but without knowing your budget first of all, this can be the first and biggest mistake you make.

Here's a better example of what a bride and groom should do:

1.The wedding consultant

2.Set a budget

3.Find a venue

4.Set the date

5.Set a rough timeline with your consultant

6.Hire a wedding officiant

7.Set up accomodations and transportation

8.Make a wedding website to annouce this information

9.Send save the dates, get them through the same stationer who will do your invites, get those ordered too

10.Find the gown

11.Do a hair and makeup trial run to hire the right artist

12.Buy your accessories

13.Find the wedding party and Groom attire to match the gown and location and feel

14.Find a caterer

15.Book your photographer

16.Book your videographer

17.Book your floral designer

18.Book your music

19.Book your desserts

20.Do your site visit and timeline meeting

21.Work on decor with consultant

22.Book your rentals

23.Book your lighting and draping and rigging

24.Work on small decore touches and favors

25.Send your invitations so they are in your guests' hands no later than a month and a half out

26.Do your wrap up meeting with your consultant

27.Rehearsal

28.Wedding day

This also doesn't include everything and isn't meant to be your planning schedule, a planning schedule of when to do what, and hire who, should be created by you and your wedding consultant together, and be customized to your needs. The main reason I show you this is that it isn't what brides and grooms are doing today. The biggest reason? They aren't hiring their wedding consultant first like they should.

Why should I hire a wedding consultant first?:

1.They can help you start out on the right foot by setting a realistic budget

2.They can bring you on tours of venues that suit your needs

3.They can negotiate contracts for you with the venues

4.They can hand carry you to the best wedding professionals to fit your needs

5.They can negotiate each of your wedding professional contracts for you, and give you access to their discounts

6.They can author your site layouts and timeline document set that communicates all details to your wedding professionals

7.They can make sure to finalize your plans with your wedding professionals

8.They can be there to make sure rehearsal runs smoothly

9.They can manage your wedding professionals on the wedding day as well as set up your personal items, coordinate the day, and clean up everything at the end of the day so you can be a guest at your own wedding

One of the biggest reasons to hire a wedding consultant right after being engaged is that you are basically getting help with the whole project. By hiring a wedding consultant you are bringing on a person who does weddings every day of their lives, they can be your point of contact for realistic advice and resources that can make your job of planning the wedding more fun, and easier. They don't take away from your fun of planning, they simply suppliment your planning and support you along the way.

A lot of brides and grooms don't think of hiring a wedding consultant first because they think it's not in their budget, but the truth is, they can't afford not to have a wedding consultant. We know the industry, we have insider information to help our couple's make the most of their budget, we are the key to the wedding industry lock. With a consultant by your side,  you'll save every penny you spend on their services plus more.

All wedding consultants offer a complimentary initial consultation before you book, so you have nothing to lose! So, be ahead of the couple pack and do it the right way! Hire your wedding consultant first!

Happy planning!

Nicole

Nicole's Tip of the Week...No Consultant = No Savings

Dearest Followers,

This tip of the week is brought to you by frustration...

It is called "No Consultant = No Savings".

There is a false belief  that hiring a wedding consultant shouldn't be the first thing you do after getting engaged if you wish to stick to a budget and save.

The FIRST thing you should do after saying "I Do", is to hire a consultant!

Why you ask? Couldn't you just go it alone?

Of course you can plan your wedding on your own, if you know how to set a budget, if you know everyone in the wedding industry, and if you have specials and discounts to pass along to yourself to keep you on budget, but unless you are a wedding consultant yourself, you shouldn't plan your wedding on your own. (I'm even going to hire one someday!)

A professional wedding consultant will first help you set a budget that is realistic, then they will bring you to their friends in the wedding industry that do flowers, hair and makeup, transporation, have sites, gown shops, that are photographers, videographers, DJs, etc...who fit your needs and your budget. They will make sure you get the best of the best from each of their wedding industry friends, and that you are happy with your choices. A service like this is invaluable, and can save you tons of money, and tons of problems.

Not a lot of you know that you can hire a wedding consultant for just these services if you wish! You can hire a wedding consultant to help you with as little or as much help as you want, it's not all or nothing. In our past experience we have noticed that clients who hire us for even a little bit of help end up saving a whole lot of time, money, and stress, and sometimes end up hiring us for more help because they love the experience so much.

Good consultants don't double-dip and take fees from your vendors and also charge you, they also don't surprise you with big bills for their services at the end of your wedding, so there is nothing to fear! Professional wedding consultants refer wedding professionals based on their good industry reputation, nothing else, and they also charge you for exactly what you agree to pay them in the beginning, and if there are extra fees that need to be incurred along the way, they'll let you know before charging you for work you don't approve of.

Also, good consultants should be able to save you as much if not more than you spend on their services.

So, I'll say it until I'm blue in the face, it's not about saving money, it's about VALUE. If you get quotes from wedding professionals and they are too high, DON'T RUN AWAY and find another vendor, DO COMMUNICATE with the vendor you love but don't think you can afford, and you'll be plesantly surprised by how much they help you. This goes for when you are interviewing consultants, as well as all other wedding professionals.

Happy Planning!

Much love,

Nicole

Nicole's Tip of the Week...You Can Catch More Flies With Honey...

Well folks...the polls are in, and the old adage is true  in life, as it is in planning your Wedding or Event "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar".

This week's tip of the week is simple and common sense, if you are nice to your event professionals, they will go above and beyond to please you.

The reason this topic made it into our second spot for Nicole's Tip of the Week is that in light of this economy that we are all affected by one way or another, a lot of people have turned to being grumpy, self-serving, and rude  in order to get what they want, which will get them no where fast.

A good example as it applies to the event world: A client contacts a floral designer for a quote on their wedding, they meet for a complimentary initial consultation, they get their quote, and the quote isn't within their budget. Almost all wedding and event professionals will explain if their quote is over your budget, and ways you can save money on the quote in order to still use them, often times it means pairing back your expectations of what you are going to get for your budget. Then sometimes clients choose to bully the professional a bit regarding their prices, sometimes their contract wording, and it really leaves a bad taste in the professional's mouth. All professional wedding and event vendors want to please their clients, but they can only do so much before they begin to lose profit margins, security through their contractual agreements, etc...

So, the best approach in this senario is for clients to share with the professionals exactly what they need, what they want, and then allow the professional to do their best to fit their needs. If the client loved the floral designer when they met them, and loved the design proposal, but needed to make a few small changes to the proposal to make it work for their budget, then they should just be open and honest with the floral designer by saying "I've done my research, I love your work, we enjoyed meeting you, your proposal was amazing, but it doesn't fit our budget, can you please work with me to see what we can do to move forward with things and adjust our proposal to fit our needs a little better?" I can garantee you that this type of approach is going to get you a happy professional, who is more than willing to do what they can to help you work with them. Of course there are also the times when what a client wants and needs and their budget don't match what the professional can work with, and a true wedding or event professional will politely refer them to someone more suitable for their needs.

A really important thing to remember in the world we are in today while planning a Wedding or Event is Value over Cost. As clients look for value, find the professionals that you love the most, and get along with the best, whose proposals are wonderful, then work with them to get to where you need to be in order to use them. Doing this will get you the most bang for your buck. Most Wedding and Event Professionals are artists in one way or another, and artists get their feelings hurt easily if you choose to nit pick them on costs vs. appreciating their art and asking them how they can help you work with them. For example, say you find a photographer whose art work you adore! They are slightly over your budget, but because of the value of their work you meet with them, get a proposal, and then if you choose to work with them you just negotiate the amount of work you can get from them (i.e. hours at an event they shoot, how many shooters they bring, if you get an album or digital negatives or not, etc...) for your budget. Clients more concerned with costs will run away from professionals whose proposals come in too high no matter how much they love their work, afraid to communicate with the professional and work out a way to have them at their event. This means that clients more concerned with costs will likely hire a cheap photographer, and a cheap photographer may be newer with less experience, and therefore the photos may come out less nice than if the client had hired a high value photographer whose work they loved. Another old adage is true once more, "You get what you pay for".

So, long story short, you can catch more flies with honey, it's always worked for us, and we know it will work for you!

Happy New Years to you all!

Love,

Nicole

Nicole's Tip of the Week!!!

Hi All!

Ok, I'm starting something new! Nicole's Tip of the Week!!! I'll be posting a tip (sometimes more) per week, to help you plan your wedding.

Professional hair and makeup for your wedding day isn't cheap, but high in value. Ask your wedding consultant for referrals to artists who specialize in weddings and understand the stress and sensitivity of the occassion, come to you on the wedding day at your getting ready location, and know how to do makeup and hair that makes you look the best version of yourself (the MAC counter gals and guys won't cut it unless you want to chance looking like Lady Gaga on your wedding day. they also aren't reliable.).

Also remember that this is also an investment in your wedding photography and videography, because when you look your best, it helps the photos and video too!

A lot of my clients ask me if they have to pay for their Bridesmaids, Moms, Flower Girls, etc... to also have their hair and makeup done, the answer is no. If you can afford to, and that's your gift to them great. But since most of us aren't made of money, here's what I suggest. Find out from your artist how much it is for either hair or makeup for each additional person getting services done the day of the wedding beside you. Then write a message to your maids, Moms, and Flower Girl's Mom's, and tell them about the artist, that they'll be at the getting ready location, how much it will cost for the services if they want them, and ask them who would like what done so that you can tell the artist and your consultant for scheduling purposes. Then prepare your wedding party to bring cash the day of the wedding to pay the artist for their scheduled services.

Another important note on hair and makeup, don't wait until the last minute to book your artist! There are plenty of good ones out there, but dates fill quickly! Make sure your put down a deposit and contract with one who is recommended to you by your consultant as being tried and true, and then do a trial run with them sooner to the wedding date.

Some artists like Monina N. Wright http://moninawrightbeauty.com/ even help with pre-wedding skin preparation and regimes so that your skin is healthy before your special day. I go to her for skin care and she's fabulous! I also refer her to my clients for wedding day hair and makeup, and I haven't had an unsatisfied client yet!

I hope this helps you put your best face forward on your special wedding day!

Much love, Happy Holidays, Happy New Years!!!

Nicole

It's Black Friday at Nicole Lisanne Weddings & Events by Design!!!

Hi Everyone!

I don't know anyone who doesn't love a Black Friday sale!

With the holidays just around the corner, we decided to jump in and help you celebrate by participating in a little thing called Black Friday!

For all clients (wedding and personal and corporate), we are having a HUGE Black Friday sale on our services!

Book by Tuesday November 30th and recieve 50% off our regular priced services*!

Contact us today to learn more by calling 408-370-4997 and leave a message if we don't pick up, or e-mail us which is best at appointments@nicolelisanne.com.

Booking Nicole Lisanne Weddings & Events by Design is the best next step you could ever take in planning your wedding or special event! We help you get organized, make you look good, and save you money! So why not?

We look forward to speaking to you soon!

Love,

Nicole and Team

*This offer is not valid with any other offer

I Love Kim + Jason featured on Kate Harrison Photography's Blog!

Dear All,

We love Kim + Jason, one of our fabu couples married just recently at a private estate in Aptos. Kate Harrison Photography did an amazing job capturing their beautiful and unique wedding day! See here!:

http://khpblog.com/weddings/coastal_wedding_photography_ap.html

Love lots,

Nicole and Team