WATER'S EDGE WATER'S EDGE - Holly Matrimony Weddings

Say Yes Bridal Gallery is all about
you! We offer a variety of designer
gowns at affordable prices!
Plenty of plus sized samples to try
on! We also have jewellery,
headpieces, veils and purses.
On-site alterations by experienced
seamstress.
Bridemaids receive 10% off gown orders.
38 Muskoka Weddings 2013
46 Mississaga St. East, Orillia,ON
705-259-4937
sayyesbridalgallery.ca
Specializing in
wedding and event planning
Different packages available
to make your wedding or event
memorable.
705.706.3676
the wedding party, making everything go.
There are weddings that go perfectly and
there are others where there’s a hiccup.” She
works to make sure things happen as they
should.
It takes about 250 hours to plan a wedding.
So says, Holly Carney, owner at Holly
Matrimony Weddings. She bases her business
in Mississauga but grew up in Gravenhurst
so does a lot of work in Muskoka. She
says today’s dual income couples don’t
always have the time to plan all the little
details for their wedding. “Say they want a
horse and buggy for their wedding. I go out
and find them three options,” she says
explaining it saves the couple’s time.
“A lot of people think wedding planners
will take over, and there are some people
who give us a bad name,” says Carney. “But
I’m there to make things easier and more
efficient for the client.” Making sure the
nuptials stay on schedule can save you
money when, say, live entertainers will
charge for additional time, Carney adds.
Most wedding planners and co-ordinators
offer different packages, from the all-inclusive,
starting at the engagement to being
there just on the big day, and everything in
between. Just to be clear on the terminology:
a wedding planner sources the service
vendors (venue, food, flowers, etc.) for you,
whereas a wedding co-ordinator works with
vendors you’ve already contracted with. Carney
strongly recommends hiring an independent
planner, i.e. one with no particular
ties to any vendors, so she’s working strictly
for the client.
The planner’s job, explains Allison, is to
help the couple find a venue, find them vendors
based on venue and/or budget, track
the budget, plan design and décor that suit
the couple’s vision, and finally – “I’m there
the day of the wedding to make sure everything
goes off without a hitch. To see the
bride and groom being able to enjoy the
night with their guests and not worry about
the details is what makes it satisfying for
me.”
A planner can also rescue a wedding
when there’s a major crisis.
Often it involves using her contacts, as
when Carney was planning a wedding with a
singularly unco-operative caterer. “They
were having major food safety concerns,”
she recalls. “I had to come in and a week
before the wedding and we had to make a
decision. The bride opted to forfeit her initial
payment and change caterers.” With the
bride in tears, Carney stepped in. “I called
two people I’ve worked with who could do
something on the fly and with the budget
she had.” Through this last-minute aid, the
wedding feast went off well after all.
Hamer recalls a wedding for which the