Sarah runs Simply Love Studio in Lexington, it is adjacent to Purdon's Rental and Sales (linens, chairs, pipe and drape, etc.). Meeting with her is COMPLIMENTARY a.k.a. FREE (no matter how many meetings you have with her)!!!! She has been a wedding planner for the past 5 years and is basically funded by the local wedding vendors. You tell her your budget, give her ideas of what you have in mind and/or your style preferences and she is able to recommend local vendors that are on her preferred list that she believes are a good fit for your perfect day. Since I have been to several bridal shows and affairs already, it was nice to be able to ask her specific questions about certain vendors I had in mind and not feel pressured or like I was being sold a dream. For example, I absolutely loved Tinker's cakes (one of her preferred vendors)! But at $4.50/slice I was looking at around $900-1125 for our cake (depending on the final guest list). Sarah was able to recommend another local preferred vendor Sweets By Cindy that is comparable for $2.50/slice. That cuts our cake cost almost in half, $500-625!! So I will be contacting Sarah's recommendation for a taste testing and consultation.
Sarah gave me a to do list. First was to work on our guest list since this will be the determining factor in many costs. So needless to say, we will be working on getting that finalized ASAP. Second, she said to work on finding the photographer. Since a photographer is only able to do one wedding per day (unlike a cake vendor who can make lots for one day) and a larger wedding cost, we need to make sure we find one we like and get the deposit paid so they are reserved since June is the busiest month for weddings. A couple she recommended were Blair Studio and Wes Brown Photography beings how I am a very traditional kind of girl when it comes to pictures and settings. Third, she said to find a florist we want to work with and get them reserved as well. She recommended Doug Smith Designs, which was comforting because I know they do beautiful work with floral arrangements and also help with the design/setup at both the church and the reception. I assumed they were expensive and out of range but Sarah assured me they are very reasonably priced and easy to work with. I have contacted them this morning to get a meeting set up, since this will be one of the bigger wedding expenses also. They can help bring our vision to life and I believe this will be the most productive consultation of all.
Sarah was very informational and helpful with recommending vendors that are in our budget and ones that fit my personality and preferences. Most all of these vendors will meet you at the Simply Love Studio office for your convenience, which I think is pretty awesome. There were many more points we touched on, but they aren't as important yet. Around April or so we will meet with Affordable Invitations to get a potential package together. I am so thankful for Sarah's direction and guidance, and am looking forward to slowly but surely getting this planning under way!
In blogging, I hope I am able to help someone else whom is busy, needs help, is budgeting or looking for recommendations as this can be a very time consuming process. I have provided links within the blog to each of the vendors to allow easy access. This day should only come once in a lifetime and I want to be sure we have the day of our dreams!! Only 479 days until I marry my best friend and change my last name!
