Today I have a special treat for you. As you start envisioning your wedding day, you will start to ask the question of what your first dance will look like. Will you do a simple slow dance with your partner or a big choreographed number? If the latter is what you envision, I’ve brought in Karolina Paliwoda for some expert advice on deciding on your first dance as a couple.

Karolina is an independent latin and ballroom dancer and instructor, and is the Canadian Champion and World Championship finalist. She has spent two years working in New York for Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin from So You Think You Can Dance, and now does instructor training workshops for many dance studios in the GTA.

Here are some of her impressive competition shots and below are some questions I asked her about choosing a first dance. She provides some valuable insight on deciding what your first dance will be like given your circumstances. Enjoy!

What styles are most popular for the first dance?

From experience, every single couple has their own unique style, and their own image of how they would like their first dance to look. Two of the most popular ballroom dances are the waltz and the rumba, however I have choreographed many different first dances, from beautiful waltzes to exciting salsas. All dances are possible to have choreographed for a first dance, and the end result is always a comfortable and impressive performance.

What factors influence what type of ballroom or latin dance is chosen?

The couple’s dance choice is influenced by their song choice, the size of the dance floor at their venue, as well as their attire.

Couples usually choose to dance to a song that has special meaning to them, or perhaps one that they heard when they first met or fell in love. The structure and melody of their song ultimately influences their ballroom dance choice, as only certain ballroom dances can be danced to certain types of music.

The size of their dance floor varies at every venue and should also be considered. Ballroom dances (for example a foxtrot or a quickstep) travel counterclockwise around the floor and require slightly more space, whereas latin dances (for example a rumba or a jive) can be choreographed to be more stationary. The goal is to choreograph a routine with steps that allow the couple to look and feel comfortable, and work perfectly with the space available to them.

Every dance style also has its own pace. If a bride is planning to dance in her long wedding gown, it is a better choice to choose a slightly slower dance. This will ensure that both the bride and groom will feel comfortable with their steps, and that fabric will not get in the way of their performance.

How many dance lessons does it take for couples to learn their first dance?

If a couple chooses to create an entire dance, including an entrance and conclusion, it takes at least 10 lessons for them to learn their choreography and some technique. If a couple perhaps does not have much time to prepare before their wedding date, it is also possible to make a shorter routine within 5 dance lessons. Overall, it is never too late to have one or two sessions to learn a few basic steps for such an important occasion.

How early do you suggest couples to start their first dance?

It is never too early for couples to start learning their choreography and perfect their technique. As the wedding date approaches, there are always last minute details that come up and other matters to tend to. It is best to have choreography memorized and rehearsed at least one week prior to the event, eliminating any stress the day of. If couples can, is it a good idea to begin taking lessons 1-3 months before their wedding, which gives them lots of time to practice their choreography, technique, and schedule any extra lessons if they need more help! Creating a first dance is truly a wonderful experience that a couple can share together. It is an opportunity to create beautiful memories, as well as an expression of love for one another through music, movement and dance.

Rebecca Chan is a Toronto wedding planner and day of wedding coordinator providing sophisticated planning for the modern bride. Whether you need planning assistance or wedding day coordination, Rebecca can help you create your dream wedding day. Contact her today, she'd love to hear from you.

One recent email conversation with a bride-to-be was about how she would decide on the venue first and then see if she had enough money left in her budget for wedding planning services. My post today and my reply to this comment is that wedding planners are not simply an expense but they can actually save a couple money. Really, it’s not a sales pitch, it’s true! How, you ask? Here are a few ways that a wedding planner can save you money.

Photo credit: Captured by Cassidy

A wedding planner is up-to-date on the news

Wedding planners are the first to be contacted when a venues or vendors have new promotions, openings or discounts. They want planners to let their clients know. When I attend event conferences, for example, venues will sometimes have great promotions just for our clients.

Our network of Canadian Certified wedding coordinators keep each other updated on the latest promotions and deals as well, so you can bet that a deal will pass through the hands of your planner if you had something specific in mind or they can surely find a great deal.

A wedding planner can get you discounts

The most obvious way a planner can save you money is through discounts, aka hookups! I have built relationships with vendors over the years that I’ve worked with and they can offer my clients a discount. They want to know that the clients are going to be easy to work with and have a reputable planner helping them out (it makes their job easier!).

Discounts range from 10-20% off what the vendor would charge you normally without a planner referral. This can be significant if you do end up spending on them and it certainly adds up! With floral for example, a typical bride may spend anywhere from $1500-5000 on bouquets, arrangements and centerpieces so even a 10% discount will make a big difference.

A wedding planner is a resource

Even without discounts, a wedding planner is a great resource in sharing best practices in planning and securing your vendors. If you’ve never planned a big event before, you won’t know whether you require all the extra add-ons they are trying to sell you or if you are able to find them elsewhere for a better price.

Because I plan numerous weddings and events every year, you can be sure to ask me about whether something is a good deal or if something is a great deal, or if there are hidden fees that you should be aware of in calculating costs.

Couples are starting to realizing that hiring a professional wedding planner is not just a luxury expense, but an imperative service if you are wanting to get the best for your wedding day. Contact me today and let’s get started on talking about your wedding!

Rebecca Chan is a Toronto wedding planner and day of wedding coordinator providing sophisticated planning for the modern bride. Whether you need planning assistance or wedding day coordination, Rebecca can help you create your dream wedding day. Contact her today, she'd love to hear from you.

As your wedding day approaches, you may have started preparing your wedding day timeline – a detailed rundown of the day’s events. Beyond the basics of what time things happen, there are a handful of extra details to be mindful of to ensure that you have covered your bases. Be prepared by including some of the finer details that I’ve included below.

AV cues

Whether it is your AV person, DJ or just a friend helping you out, they will need to know what your rundown will look like in terms of the audio-visual needs. Take the guess work out by listing out all the things you require of them. This usually is a separate rundown, but with an extra column for AV needs, detailing what song to be played, what mics are needed and any extra things to be prepped like videos or slideshows to be played at what time.

Timing your food

Ask your venue for their recommendations for timing your dinner agenda, as you need to account for serving the food, eating the food, and then clearing the dishes. This is often a part of the timeline that is miscalculated for how much time it will take. The more guests you have, the more time it will take to serve and clear the plates. If you have speeches happening in and around dinner time, you certainly do not want wait staff to be clanging around dishes, nor do you want your food to be cold because you slotted in too many activities before the food is served.

Include important set up times

Do you have a dessert table or entertainment that needs to be set up ahead of time? If so, what time is best and how long do they need for set up? If you don’t know the answer to this question, ask the venue or specific vendor what time they usually prefer to do their setup. Include these details in your timeline so that your coordinator knows when things should be completed. If you have a dessert table going up, you want it ready and prepared, when it is time for desserts. Ensure that this happens by laying out the ground work for set up timing.

Typically I recommend couples to start planning their wedding day timeline as early as possible, then make changes to the details as they get closer. This at least gives you a rough idea of when things will take place (this will be useful when booking vendors that are calculated hourly like photographers). About two months in, you should have a pretty good idea of what time things will happen, when deliveries will be made and so on. If you are having trouble envisioning the day, consult with your wedding planner, photographer or venue, as these parties usually have a good idea of how things are timed.

A detailed wedding timeline will be very useful for sending out to the venue, vendors and helpers closer to the day. With these tips under your wing, you should be all set for creating a detailed timeline to distribute. All the best in your planning!

Photo credit: VisX Photography

Rebecca Chan is a Toronto wedding planner and day of wedding coordinator providing sophisticated planning for the modern bride. Whether you need planning assistance or wedding day coordination, Rebecca can help you create your dream wedding day. Contact her today, she'd love to hear from you.

Hi everyone! This week I have a special treat for you. It is a guest post from 1KW, a photographer in Toronto, and his post below is a fun topic – 4 ninja traits of a secret engagement photographer. Any guy planning a proposal should definitely consider hiring a ninja photographer to capture the special moment. Enjoy!

You’ve heard it before.

Where the couple tries to explain the moment he popped the question.
The nervous state he expressed as he lowered himself on one knee.
The excitement and the energy they she felt when he revealed the ring.
And, of course, the expression they both shared when she said “Yes”.

We’ve all heard this before – it’s charming and exciting, but have you ever seen it caught on film? Have you seen the “on bended knee proposal” in an engagement album or even the “she just said yes kiss” as a hold the date wedding invitation? This is the essence of a secret engagement photography session.

“How” you ask? Because we are photography ninjas.

Talking to all men, take a moment from your childhood and imagine a ninja – not the “ninja turtle” variety – they were an awesome cartoon back in the day but not realistic. Rather, picture the ancient legends and folklore of a ninja… what do you see? In fact, do you see them at all?

According to legends or a childhood memories for the best ninjas you don’t even know that they are there. We operateour secret engagements using many of the same principles… and we are quite proud of that. Exploring some of the greatest concepts of the practice of the ninja culture, is not as hard as it seems. All you need is great strategist like an event planner and an artist like a secret engagement photographer.

Ninja Trait 1: Bo-Ryaku

How are we practitioners of Bo-Ryaku (strategy) you ask? We, being the event planner and photographer, will meet with you from beginning to end regarding your engagement plans. We are always so excited to not only hear your vision of the day, but serve as a sounding board and an additional creative thinker as you aim to make this special and show stopping in your partners minds. Remember two heads or even three are better than one??

During a recent surprise shoot at Niagara Falls, with an awesome groom to be Blake (backlink can be here as well) we devised not only plans for where we would “meet” but how I and when he would indicate the big moment. A “bat signal” if you will – Blake would stretch out his arms before he made his move. You’re smiling, we know, but trust us it works. Arms up and I got ready with my camera to snap away. If we had not taken the time to devise a signal though it may feel like an eternity the precious moment can happen in a blink of an eye.

Ninja Trait 2: Cho Ho

Not only do we have to work out our strategy, but we must work on our ability to practice some level of Cho Ho (Espionage). Why do we most men typically love every Bond movie? The Bond character tends to be smart, funny, brave, and to fool us right in front of our face. Before she knows it, you and her are the stars of a “show” she didn’t even know she was attending.

Like ninjas, Cho Ho (Espinoage) our methods of successful espionage were perfected. Not only is it important to capture the secret engagement on film, equally important is to recruit others in on the plan. Great event planners have numerous connections and vendor relationships to help with your engagement planning and setup – all the way to the big day…

Ninja Trait 3: Henso-Jutsu

The day of the event, don’t worry, we don’t look like a ninja with full face paint. Instead we master the art of Henso-Jutsu (Disguise and Impersonation) by assuming false identities and moving undetected through what ever situation has been planned.

We promise even when noticed your future bride will mistake us for another tourist (actually the photographer) with a camera taking pictures of his wife (actually the event planner or second photographer). How? We discreetly position a second individual close to the couple so even if we are discovered it would appear that I’m just another guy taking in the sites with his wife. Though we do eventually reveal ourselves after you pop the question by asking you to point us out in the crowd.

Ninja Trait 4: Shinobi-Iri

One of the ninja’s greatest tactical methods Shinobi-Iri (Stealth and Entering Methods) is one of our greatest assets. Togakure ryu ninja learned special walking and running methods for covering long distances, passing over floors silently, and for staying in the shadows while moving, in order to facilitate entry and escape. . Although there were a few moment’s that I thought I may have lost them, I sprinted all over Niagara Falls to catch Blake’s important moment – I wouldn’t have missed it for the world! Yes, we have to stay fit to catch the exact moment when she says I do.

Now knowing all this, if you could have a ninja (or two) on your team for your big day, why wouldn’t you?

1KW Photography is a husband and wife team based out of the GTA who not only love wedding photography, but love secret engagement photo sessions more. Like what you read here? Check out more about them here:1kwphoto.com

Rebecca Chan is a Toronto wedding planner and day of wedding coordinator providing sophisticated planning for the modern bride. Whether you need planning assistance or wedding day coordination, Rebecca can help you create your dream wedding day. Contact her today, she'd love to hear from you.

All of us ladies with some bling on our fingers should have the right tools and tips when it comes to keeping them sparkly. Here I’ve got some tips for you from Jennifer at the Fair Trade Jewellery Company on keeping your ring clean. Jennifer does custom design work at FTJCo and FTJCo is also where I got my e-ring made. In fact, that’s my ring up there in the photo

Note that these are tips for gold or platinum jewellery with diamonds/sapphires. For other materials, such as silver or pearls, other methods need to be used.

Cleaning

The best place to start is with a soft toothbrush, warm water, and liquid dish soap. That should take off the oil that holds onto dust and skin, and causes a film.

Some people like to buy a jewellery cleaning solution. It comes in a little container with a brush and a holder. If you use that, I’d still give it a little wash after to remove any solution.

Jewellers (like us) have stronger, safe machines designed to remove dirt from hard to reach places (like under the side diamonds). That can be done once in awhile, but not necessary all of the time.

Polishing

A soft cloth (like an eyeglass cloth) can give a quick shine.

There are also polishing cloths for sale that are impregnated with a compound to help bring out a brighter shine.

For more obvious scratches and dulling, jewellers can buff the ring again to bring it closer to the original. This does remove a tiny bit of metal, and is also not needed regularly. After a long period of time, some people choose to have the stone ((other than diamond) re-polished, and the facets sharpened up again.

The materials I would warn against are abrasives (like Comet or baking soda) that can scuff and dull the gold, and other jewellery with diamonds and sapphires (tossed in a bag/box/pocket together), that can scratch each other.

Safety tips

Make sure to do your cleaning over a bowl or container instead of the sink or in mid-air, just in case you knock out a loose stone or the ring slips from your fingers.

Regarding loose stones, you can check by gently tapping the stone with your fingertip and seeing if it moves, or makes a noise. If it’s loose, or suddenly began to catch on clothes, or it’s been left in the laundry, stepped on, or worse (it happens!), bring it to your jeweller for an inspection to see if it needs some upkeep/repair. Most jewellers do not mind taking a look anytime, to make sure the ring is in good shape and the stone is secure.

Rebecca Chan is a Toronto wedding planner and day of wedding coordinator providing sophisticated planning for the modern bride. Whether you need planning assistance or wedding day coordination, Rebecca can help you create your dream wedding day. Contact her today, she'd love to hear from you.