“The Worst Wedding EVER” Part 1

Every girl dreams of the perfect wedding day! Finding the perfect wedding dress to look gorgeous in for her husband-to-be to lock his eyes on her coming down the aisle or even picking the color palette for her wedding decor. While finding the perfect attire is an easy task for most Brides, finding the perfect team to run the wedding day can be one of the most difficult parts of planning a wedding. Finding a vendor team that you can trust with not only one of the most important days of your life, but also a significant financial investment that most couples families or possibly themselves save up for years. 

The average Alabama wedding cost about $19,000-$30,000. That’s a lot of money to most people. How would you feel if you invested that money with a scam artist? We all have seen it happen before, where a bride & groom invest their money, only to find out that they have been ripped off and sold promises that “so-called” wedding professionals can’t keep. “BAMBOOZLED”. It will probably be one of the most gut-wrenching experiences EVER, to show up on your wedding day, that only happens once by the way, to find nothing but a fiasco! I’m sure you would be crushed and “highly pissed” as us Southerners would say.

Well, at this point I’m pretty sure you’re asking yourself, What can I do to avoid having the “Worst Wedding Ever”? Here are a few tips that you can take along with you to plan “The Best Wedding Ever”. You didn’t think I was going to let you leave without giving you the goods right? 

Photographers:

When picking your wedding photographer be sure to ask them for their portfolio of weddings they’ve done. There is a distinctive difference between a lifestyle photographer and a wedding photographer. Most photographers can do both, as well as detail shots of your room, but there are some that specifically specialize in wedding photography. It will be such a bummer getting your photos back from your wedding day and the photos are over edited or not retouched at all. Ask your photographer if they are familiar with shooting in dimly lit areas. Don’t hire your “Uncle” just because he has a new camera he bought over the holidays.

Talk to your photographer and get to know them, dont let your wedding day actually be the first time you meet with them. Don’t be afraid to ask for a meeting, expressing your action plan for your wedding day shots and timeline flow is imperative because you want to get the most coverage possible. Also making sure that your style aligns with the photographers shooting style. Cheap photographers are always a no-no! Never sell yourself short on your wedding photography because you have to look back at these photos for years to come. 

Cake/Catering: 

No one wants the Leaning Tower of Pisa for a wedding cake let’s just be clear about that! Be sure that the person you pick to do your wedding cake is familiar with transporting cakes in different climates. Especially the Alabama heat! How awesome is that cake you picked from Pinterest, only to show up on your wedding day with no dowels in the tiers to support the cake structure. Or how about the gorgeously decorated cake that taste like no sugar was spared! Do a cake tasting PLEASE! If the person refuses to give you a tasting RUNNN!! That goes with your catering options as well. Do a thorough testing of the dinner that you will be serving yourselves and your wedding guests. Presentation is everything as well, proper catering tools like chafer dishes instead of aluminum pans on the table would look much more pleasing to the eyes! Just saying. 

Stay Tuned For Part II….It’s Going To Get Juicy!!

Planner/Coordinators

Wedding Designers/Decorator

DJ/Entertainment 

Picking The Right Venue

Written By: Madalyn Sankey

"She Designed A Life She Loved"

This dynamic sister duo with a keen eye for all things glam, started out catering events with luxury dessert buffets and owning the bridal consignment shop Chic and Sleek Consignment Boutique, eventually evolving their business to include designer décor, furniture rentals, florals, and more for events all over the southeast. Stinson said the key to a successful Sweet Luxury event is the connection she and Sankey make with the bride in their first meetings. Many brides come to Sweet Luxury Events with an overall idea, but without a clear vision of exactly what they want their day to look like. “It is so important to us to sit down with the bride and really get a feel for her vision of what she wants her to day to be,” Stinson said.

Constance Stinson, Floral & Event Designer

Sankey added, “We are the perfect fit for the bride who knows where she wants to get married, knows what she wants to wear, and knows what she wants her overall theme to be, but doesn’t know how to pull that all together. We work with our brides to take their overall concept and create the aesthetics in the room that bring that vision to life. ”The sisters say their parents have been their biggest supporters, and the differences that make the two opposites is also what allows them to work so well together. Sankey handles the logistics and technology parts of the event, while both of them handle the floral and the design elements to each event. “We use our individual strengths together like ying and yang,” Stinson said. Stinson and Sankey listen to their brides and pull inspiration from pictures they provide, all while staying in constant contact throughout the process. For the ladies at Sweet Luxury Events, earning their bride’s trust is their number one objective.

Madalyn Sankey, Floral & Event Designer

While emergency situations sometimes arise, Stinson and Sankey are blessed with the ability to stay calm under pressure. “We’ve had to redesign the entire space on the fly when centerpieces didn’t arrive or lighting isn’t right. We never let the pressure show because the last thing we want to do is worry our bride. Instead, we stay calm, and simply work with what we have to make the room beautiful. In our business, it’s all about adapting and overcoming adversity while still making the room flawless,” Stinson said. Sweet Luxury Events uses their own inventory of chic & classic furniture, linens, and décor to pass savings on to the bride who would otherwise pay a premium for using an array of outside vendors to create the design only Sankey and Stinson can provide in a one stop design shop. The ladies of Sweet Luxury Events said, “It is so special for us to be able to create the perfect ambiance on the most important day of their life. The look of happiness when they see the room all put together is the most rewarding part for us. Trusting in God and embracing obstacles that come from new adventures is what keeps our designs fresh and trendy, and we make sure that if a bride dreams it, we can make it happen.”