Real Bride Interview: Sonya & Chris

This past summer I had the pleasure of working along side Sonya on her gorgeous wedding. She just recently answered a few questions for me about her wedding day to help all the other future brides out there plan their wedding day.

Sonya was married at the Vancouver Rowing Club in Vancouver during the summer or 2011. She had one of the nicest days ever for photos and the day went by perfectly.

It took Sonya a total of only eight  months to plan her wedding down to every detail. Sonya goes on to say that "The personal touches we added to our wedding day were not necessarily unique, but we decided to go with the color purple as our main theme color and also included a love bird damask theme throughout the wedding. I really liked having the bride and groom cupcake toppers on our
cupcake tier and was glad we didn’t go with a traditional wedding cake. I also really liked having the
candelabras with flower centerpieces at our ceremony site."

When planning the wedding Sonya and Chris decided that they wanted to have "a day that was as stress-free as possible, ensuring our guests had a good time, and ensuring our day included really good food, a well-established photographer, and a day that flowed well without boring lulls." This is no easy task, especially when Sonya and Chris live up north and they were planning a wedding in Vancouver. Sonya goes on to say that "ensuring our day went smoothly and that the schedule stayed on track was incorporated by using Bailey as our day of event coordinator. We ensured the food and photography met our expectations by meeting with the vendors, seeing/trying samples, and by contacting references to help us make our final decision" To keep track of everything Sonya found a wedding planning binder at Chapters which was very helpful in keeping her on track. she also used “The Wedding Book” when planning the schedule, and the knot wedding website to get information out to guests and to help in developing the seating chart. She kept track of her budget using an excel spread sheet.

Like every wedding a bride and groom have their priorities on what is important to them, Sonya and Chris ended up splurging on "photography, the venue, and flowers. I’m glad I decided to splurge on these items; however was disappointed with my flowers in general" and what cost surprised them the most?  "I was shocked at the wine corkage fees (especially since we were bringing in our own licensed wine contractor. It is worth getting several quotes from vendors to get a good idea of the range in costs."

 Like every wedding there is always something to be dealt with, in Sonyas case  she found it to  be difficult "dealing with all of your families wishes – especially when it comes to the seating chart!
My husband and I made sure we were on the same page when it came to these things and backed
each other up when communicating decisions we had made with our families and friends"
 Some other bumps in the road...registering! "I registered at Sears and The Bay; however, we did let our guests know on our website that money was preferred as we already had everything we needed from living together for years. My experience with The Bay in Prince George was not good. They were very slow in notifying us when gifts arrived and often I had to wait for half an hour at the store for them to find the gifts. We didn’t get anything from Sears so I can’t comment on their service"

As a newlywed Sonya would like to give the following information to any couple about to walk down the aisle, "Having an overall vision of what you want and sitting down with your significant other to agree on what your priorities are is a good place to start. Also, agreeing on your budget is important as the money you spend on a wedding can go well beyond your budget quickly!Being organized and coming up with a management system that works for you is key as well. Setting realistic time lines for getting things done and sticking to them will help you feel less stress as you
near your wedding day. I definitely recommend including a day of coordinator to ensure that vendors are meeting their contractual obligations and to ensure that the day flows well. This allows the bride and groom, and their families to enjoy the day without having to worry about all the small details. Also, a good day of coordinator will deal with any issues that arise without you even really being aware that this is happening. The last thing you want to do on your special day is have to deal with vendors and their responsibilities.I would also highly recommend going on a honeymoon after your wedding; even if it is only for a few days. You need time to relax and just enjoy being married before you go back to your regular routine" And lastly hire a DOC "I hired Bailey as my day of coordinator and I’m so glad that I did! She also provided some good advice regarding wedding ideas and photography location ideas leading up to the wedding. It was also helpful as we were not living in the same city as our wedding location so Bailey was able to help out with some to do items and pick up before the wedding"

When all is said and done the wedding day was perfect. One of Sonyas favorite do it yourself projects was the gorgeous seating chart her and her mother made and Sonya will never forget the first look pictures she did with Chris before the wedding. "We chose to see each other before the wedding and also took our wedding party photos before the wedding. I’m glad we did the first look as it gave us that private moment with each other without an audience".

Lastly we end the interview with Sonya's favorite wedding picture  from the day.

Congratulations again Sonya and Chris, it was such an immense pleasure to be a part of your day. Come see more pictures of Sonyas wedding here.

All photos are coutsey of Amber Hughes Photography