Snowed In? Here’s a Fun Snow Day Wedding Planning Guide for Your Upcoming Hudson Valley Wedding

Snowed in today?  Today’s the perfect day to catch up on your wedding planning for your upcoming Hudson Valley wedding.

Whose woods these are I think I know . . . and I think I know which Hudson Valley DJ has to plow the driveway out of them today too.

In addition to the wedding planning articles located here on Your Unique Hudson Valley Wedding, I, DJ Bri Swatek from Spinning with Style invite you to read the latest ideas about how to share your unique style with your friends and family on your wedding day on these great Hudson Valley wedding blogs:

The Best Wedding Reception Ever!™

If you’re looking for a good wedding planning book to read, head over to Amazon.Com to order a copy of Peter Merry’s book, The Best Wedding Reception Ever!™  If you want to be both creative and realistic in planning your wedding, I highly recommend you read this guide to planning your entire event, from setting a date to hiring vendors, to the big day itself.  Peter Merry’s example weddings and lists of pros and cons provide brides and grooms with a number of realistic examples of how their planning might turn out given different choices you might make. His years of experience as a “Wedding Entertainment Director” allow him to address a variety of options, such as the daytime wedding vs. the evening wedding, scheduling a wedding at different times throughout the year, when and how to schedule photos, and what type of entertainment to hire.  Peter also maintains a wedding planning blog, Merry Weddings.

The Knot and Wedding Wire

You can find wedding ideas, wedding planning tools, bridal community forums, and local wedding vendors and their reviews at both The Knot and Wedding Wire.

The Knot’s Hudson Valley Forum is located at
http://forums.theknot.com/categories/local-wedding-boards_new-york-hudson-valley

and their Westchester / Hudson Valley Wedding Resources can be found at
http://wedding.theknot.com/local-wedding-vendors/hudson-valley-weddings.aspx

Wedding Wire offers planning tools to get started at
https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-planning.html

and their resources are located at
https://www.weddingwire.com/vendor-reviews

Wedding Vendors of the Hudson Valley

Lisa Zaro’s blog for the local professional wedding vendor association offers couples “inspiration, ideas, and contact information for local vendors” and much, much more.

Borrowed & Blue — Hudson Valley

Borrowed & Blue offers “Real Wedding” stories, an inspiration and advice Wedding Blog, and a guide to Local Vendors.

Best Hudson Valley Wedding Ever

In addition to a wide variety of recommended wedding services and reviews of local wedding vendors, Stephanie and Jeff Padovani’s website Best Hudson Valley Wedding Ever also offers new articles and interviews on a regular basis about the latest wedding trends, ideas, and resources.

Hudson Valley Wedding Vendor Blogs on Your Unique Hudson Valley Wedding

If you scroll down to the “Blogroll” located further down on this page to the right, you will find a number of great Hudson Valley wedding blogs brought to you by some of the best venues, locations, photographers, videographers, florists, and other wedding vendors in this region of New York.  Get great ideas on how to make your wedding day unique from a gathering of true wedding professionals!

Finally, don’t forget to check out this blog, Your Unique Hudson Valley Wedding, on Facebook as well for additional ideas, articles, and resources for your big day:  http://www.facebook.com/youruniquehudsonvalleywedding

Let’s Keep the (Snow) Ball Rolling

Do you know of any other great Hudson Valley wedding planning blogs?  If so, please email me at briswatek@gmail.com or leave a comment below to share links to other great wedding planning resources that you’ve found helpful in creating a unique wedding day.

Enjoy planning your once-in-a-lifetime event, and Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding,

Bri

________________________________________________________

DJ Bri Swatek, Spinning with Style
Your DJ for Your Unique Style
in the Hudson Valley of New York

Email:   briswatek@gmail.com
Phone:   845.235.0080
Online:   www.djbriswatek.com

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How to Hire Vendors for Your Unique Hudson Valley Wedding

While all couples should have a firm budget in mind for their wedding that they are comfortable with and that they can work within effectively, it’s also important to consider this question when planning your wedding: Who are my wedding vendors?

Hudson Valley Wedding First Dance at Villa Borghese with DJ Bri Swatek Courtesy of Owl’s Eye Studios

It sounds like a simple question, but the truth–as always–can be a bit more complicated. In fact, this question actually answers a second question which all couples do consider at some point: Why are all of these wedding vendors’ prices so different?

Here’s the truth: full-time, professional wedding vendors set prices that are a reflection of the time, effort, quality, and service that they will provide for your once-in-a-lifetime event.

First, are your wedding vendors full-time wedding professionals? If they are, chances are you’re going to have a vendor who is responsive to your emails and calls, and treats your wedding as the most important event on their calendar that day. If your vendor is not a full-time wedding professional, it’s good to find out if a) they’re a wedding vendor first with a related sideline second to bring in a little extra income outside of the wedding season, or b) it’s the opposite: being a wedding vendor is really a part-time job for them and they have another career that takes up the majority of their time and energy. Imagine doing your own job as a part-time, weekend sideline–would you be able to do it effectively?

Second, who is actually coming to work at your wedding? If you signed a contract with a company that has several staff members, who is the actual person who will be working at your wedding? Make certain you know *who* your vendor is going to be on your big day.

Hudson Valley Wedding Cake Cutting at Patriot Hills Set to Music and Uplighting by DJ Bri Swatek Courtesy of Custom by Nicole

There are many great companies in the Hudson Valley that offer multiple DJs, photographers, etc. for you to choose from for your event. They offer the opportunity for you to see samples of their work and meet with your personal vendor before the big day. However, there are also a number of services in the tri-state area that offer “too good to be true” prices for “someone” to come work at your wedding.

I’ve said this many times in my career as a DJ, MC, and event host: the words “surprise” and “wedding” rarely go together well. You should know exactly who your wedding vendors are and you should have the opportunity to be totally comfortable with them well in advance of the big day. Anything less than that feeling of complete confidence is not worth it.

Hudson Valley Wedding First Dance at the Villa Borghese Set to Music by DJ Bri Swatek Courtesy of Majestic Studios

Here’s an example from a bride named Lauren who confesses that she “made a mistake” and “took the cheap photographer route,” only to regret it after her wedding:

Lauren’s Wedding Story: “I Took the Cheap Photographer Route”
You can hear it in Lauren’s voice as she tells her story: she regrets her decision to not hire a wedding professional.

In addition, consider what professional Hudson Valley wedding photographer Autumn Thomes has to say on why

“Hiring Professional Hudson Valley and CT Wedding Vendors Matters!”
Clearly, Autumn has had the privilege of working with some great Hudson Valley wedding vendors, but she has also seen some vendor horror stories that could really ruin your big day.

Madison, Wisconsin photographers Primavera Studios further highlight the importance of paying for the time and effort that goes into quality wedding photography when they answer the question,

Why Does Good Wedding Photography Cost What It Does?
Most of this article could really apply to any of the Hudson Valley wedding vendors you are considering for your big day.

At I Found The Place, Stacie Tamaki asks the question

How Much Should Your Wedding DJ Cost?
and encourages couples to raise their expectations when it comes to a wedding DJ’s level of professional service at your once-in-a-lifetime event.

Taking her own personal “horror stories and success stories” as a bride “into account,” Jill Tooley at Best Hudson Valley Wedding Ever offers “seven red flags to watch for when you’re interviewing/researching wedding vendors”:

7 Signs It May Be Time to Find a New Wedding Vendor

Moral of the story: “It’s your wedding, not anyone else’s.”

Hudson Valley Wedding DJ Bri Swatek at Christo’s Courtesy of Cheryl Bolton-Reuter Photography

Don’t ever be afraid to ask your wedding vendors any of the following questions:

– Are you a full-time wedding professional?
– How many years of experience do you have in the wedding business?
– Why did you decide to become a wedding vendor?
– What do you enjoy most about being a wedding professional?
– How many weddings do you work per year?
– How many weddings do you (or does your company) work in one day?
– Do you ever “subcontract” your work out to other wedding vendors?
– If we hire your company, who will be working at our wedding?
– Are you registered as a legitimate business? (DBA, Inc., or LLC)
– Are you a member of a professional association?
– Are you insured for liability?
– Do you use professional equipment?
– Do you provide backup equipment at my wedding?
– What’s *your* backup plan?
– What happens if I cancel the wedding or need to change the date of the wedding?
– When will you arrive on my wedding day?
– Will you be suitably dressed for our wedding?
– Will you be willing listen to me, and follow my plans for my wedding?
– What are your pricing packages, options, and services offered?
– How much is your deposit, how do payments work, and what methods of payment do you accept?
– Do you provide a written contract?
– Can I have references and contact information from previous customers?
– Can I have references and contact information from other wedding professionals?

The American Disc Jockey Association provides questions like these, as well as things to look for in your vendors’ potential answers, online. While the ADJA article is mainly focused on hiring a DJ, these questions could easily be applied to most of the wedding vendors you are looking to hire for your big day.

Hudson Valley Wedding Dance Party at Le Chambord Set to Music by DJ Bri Swatek Courtesy of Elissa I Davidson Photography

Once you begin looking at true professionals as vendors for your wedding, you will find that while there are always differences in packages, options, and approaches to your big day, the price range for quality service is actually fairly consistent in the Hudson Valley. As always, you get what you pay for!

Need help looking for professional wedding vendors to make your big day the best it can be? Start with the list of true wedding professionals located on this blog: Your Unique Hudson Valley Wedding, including recommended

– Venues and Locations,
– Caterers,
– Photographers,
– Videographers,
– Florists,
– Photo Booth vendors,
– and much, much more!

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

Bri

__________

DJ Bri Swatek, Spinning with Style
Your DJ for Your Unique Style
in the Hudson Valley of New York

Email: briswatek@gmail.com
Phone: 845.235.0080
Online: www.djbriswatek.com

DJ Bri: Help! We Still Don’t Have a First Dance for Our Wedding!

With Spring in full swing, a lot of my brides and grooms at Your Unique Hudson Valley Wedding have been asking for suggestions for the First Dance at their wedding.

Besides finding a lyric that speaks to who you are as a couple, there’s a lot to consider when looking for a First Dance song.  I suggest taking a look at this article on my wedding planning blog to help you think about what type of song fits your unique style:

Choosing Your First Dance
https://djbriswatek.wordpress.com/choosing-your-first-dance/

Once you’re ready to go looking for First Dance ideas, check out this lists of popular First Dance songs I have put together from the past few wedding seasons:

Popular First Dance Songs for Your Unique Wedding
https://djbriswatek.wordpress.com/popular-first-dance-and-parent-dance-songs-for-your-unique-wedding/

Samples of many of these songs are available for you to listen to on my YouTube channel as well:

Your Unique Hudson Valley Wedding on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/briswatek

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!
Bri

________________________________________________________

DJ Bri Swatek, Spinning with Style
Your Professional Disc Jockey and MC Service
in the Hudson Valley of New York

Email:   briswatek@aol.com
Phone:   845.235.0080
Online:   www.djbriswatek.com

The Vow Factor: Great Wedding Planning Ideas

Just a quick note to remind all the brides and grooms out there in the Hudson Valley about Sarah Bradshaw’s wonderful wedding planning blog, The Vow Factor, located at

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=weddingblog&plckBlogId=Blog%3aa6cc7a12-0dc9-4ada-bf47-64400ced771a&sid=sitelife.poughkeepsiejournal.com

It’s a great wedding planning resource that I highly recommend!

 

 ________________________________________________________

DJ Bri Swatek, Spinning with Style
Your Professional Disc Jockey and MC Service
in the Hudson Valley of New York

Email:   briswatek@aol.com
Phone:   845.235.0080
Online:   www.djbriswatek.com