Dedicated. Passionate. Creative.

The Hidden Value of a Wedding Planner

Megan Sawchuk • Mar 28, 2024

Everyone knows that a wedding planner helps bring everything together for a wedding. But there are hidden values that may not be apparent right from the beginning.


The Questions We Ask

We recently finished a set of site visits to help one of our clients find their venue. Once they had a moment to sit down and think about their choices, they realized that we had asked a lot of questions that they never would have thought to ask. And they ended up thanking us for this.


Why do I bring this up?


First, we spend a lot of time researching the venues and vendors that we propose to our clients. During this research, we end up having questions as we seek to understand the implications of everything to do with that vendor and how it would affect the wedding vision. Clarity before the contract is signed is critical for success.


Second, what we think are pretty standard questions really aren't to someone who does not work full time in the industry. Also our questions are informed by the professional development workshops and seminars that we attend so that we can bring a better experience to our clients.



Risk Management

We go over every single detail in your wedding plans and look for things that can go wrong. As we identify these things, we either fix the plans so that this doesn't happen or we have a plan if it does happen. As a third-party and not emotionally invested in the wedding, we can put our pragmatic hats on and examine the details with a critical eye. We focus on this as we never want a wedding to end in tragedy - one of our biggest nightmares.



On-site Experiences

While we do try to predict everything that can go wrong and have a solution to those problems before they exist, we can still be surprised. Every time we go on-site we learn something. And that something will then be integrated into our processes so that it never happens again or that we can predict it happening and be ready for it.


A real life example of this is when we were stuck in a storm in a tent. Tents are not permanent structures and can be unsafe in these conditions. We had to call our rental team to discuss the safety, and then evacuate everyone to safety. Because of this, all of our tent weddings now have an evacuation plan so that this never happens again.


Industry Knowledge

Weddings are a component of the larger live events industry. Because of this, we end up exposing ourselves to ideas and learnings in that larger arena and bringing them to weddings. This means that we may be ahead of the game when it comes to trends, integrating new ideas and technologies, and crafting a better experience for you. Plus, as the production level of weddings increase, we will be able to grow into that with our base of knowledge existing in live events rather than just weddings.

Wedding ceremony set up with wood chairs under a long wood pergola at the Saskatoon Farm.

How to Use Pinterest to Plan Your Wedding

By Megan Sawchuk • 24 Apr, 2024
Pinterest is a wonderful search engine full of photos and ideas for almost anything including weddings. Most people start here when they are gathering ideas for their weddings. While Pinterest can be a wealth of ideas, it can also be a let down in other areas. The way that you utilize Pinterest will make your wedding planning much easier and provide fewer let downs. Here are some of the ways we utilize Pinterest with our clients.
A wooden table topped with a book, a camera, a bird cage , and flowers.

Your Perfect Timeline: Scheduling Your Calgary Wedding Day for Success

By Megan Sawchuk • 15 Apr, 2024
Ensure your Calgary wedding day is a success with these timeline tips. As your wedding day draws closer you need to consider various factors that could impact your plans.
How to Choose Your Vendors

How to Choose Your Vendors

By Megan Sawchuk • 20 Mar, 2024
Hopefully you have already sat down and discussed with your partner what your wedding priorities are. If you haven’t, take a moment to talk about this as it will make your decisions that much easier. With your priorities sorted out, you are now ready to start booking your vendors. But how do you choose? There are so many to choose from - how do you find the ones that will work best with you? Here are our steps to finding vendors that suit you and your wedding.
10 Essential Wedding Planning Tips Every Couple Should Know

10 Essential Wedding Planning Tips Every Couple Should Know

By Megan Sawchuk • 08 Mar, 2024
10 essential wedding planning tips to streamline your big day! From setting budgets to adding personal touches, we've got you covered to help simplify the process.
Unique Ideas to Make Your Alberta Mountain Wedding Truly Memorable

Unique Ideas to Make Your Alberta Mountain Wedding Truly Memorable

By Megan Sawchuk • 07 Feb, 2024
Craft an unforgettable Alberta mountain wedding with our guide. Personalize your ceremony, embrace nature-inspired decor, and create memorable guest experiences.

2024 Wedding Trends

By Megan Sawchuk • 23 Jan, 2024
What's hot in wedding for 2024?
How to Choose the Best Venue for Your Alberta Mountain Wedding

How to Choose the Best Venue for Your Alberta Mountain Wedding

By Megan Sawchuk • 09 Jan, 2024
Discover the perfect Alberta mountain wedding with our guide: tips on wedding theme, size, accessibility, and indoor vs. outdoor options for your dream day.
badge stating 2024 avenue's best wedding services runner up

We're One of Calgary's Best Wedding Planners!

By Megan Sawchuk • 27 Dec, 2023
From the desk of Megan Sawchuk: I am thrilled to announce that Megan Sawchuk Weddings has been named one of Avenue Calgary’s Best Wedding Planners for 2024 . This is one of those pinch me moments. To be named one of the best by our peers, clients, family, and friends means the whole world to my little (and growing!) business. Because it takes a team to get here, I need to take this moment to say thank you! First, if you voted for Megan Sawchuk Wedding - thank you! You have no idea how much it means to me that you took time out of your busy schedule to hit that vote button. Second, if you are a past or present client, big hugs and thank yous. I am grateful that you chose me to produce your wedding and even more grateful for the relationship that we have built. And if you are still saying my name and supporting me after all of these years, I couldn’t say thank you enough. Third, this company is much more than me. Thank you to everyone who has assisted on a wedding and had to deal with my demands. This goes out to my family and friends you have stepped up, but also to the amazing team of people who have found me and decided to jump on board. And lastly, I need to thank my wonderful family who probably thought I was nuts to completely change my career path and life. I like to believe that it has been for the better. Thank you for jumping in when I needed help. Thank you for listening to me endlessly talking about weddings and this business. I couldn’t have gotten here without you. And if you are reading this and you may be a future client, I can’t wait to meet you, get to know you, and plan your amazing wedding. Cheers! Megan

What to Consider When Asked to be a Part of a Wedding Party

By Megan Sawchuk • 13 Dec, 2023
In the second part of our series on wedding parties, we are now talking to the people in the wedding parties. You can make or break the wedding experience for your person and yourself. Don’t damage your relationships with some of your friends and family. Ask questions You have received the ask - will you be in my wedding party? Before you scream your excitement from the rooftops, you need to ask some questions. Get the whole scope. What are the couple’s expectations? Do you need to plan wedding adjacent events like showers and/or bachelorette/bachelor parties? What will you have to pay for - attire, grooming/beauty? Take in this information and consider if you have the time and finances to be in the wedding party. Say no if you need to If being in the wedding party would cause you too much stress, it is okay to say no. But let the person know why, if you are comfortable sharing why. You can still be supportive by talking about the wedding, being a sounding board, and even attending the wedding. Clearly communicate If you say yes, you are now in the thick of it. Be sure to keep the lines of communication open with the couple and the other people in the wedding party. Make sure that you are contributing and answering texts. If you say you will do something, DO IT! If something isn’t going well, bring it up early and help find a solution. Don’t be a drama llama Don’t start drama, don’t play into drama - just don’t. If the couple want to do something a certain way, remember that it’s their day and you signed onto this even if you disagree with it. Be on it for the day The day of the wedding has many moving parts and you are one of those parts. Make sure you have the timeline and you stick to it like glue. Show up on time. Be in your attire and ready to go. Help keep areas tidy. Make sure there is food when you are getting ready. Don’t over consume alcohol. Be present for the major events like speeches. You have no idea how many times I have to hunt down wedding parties in the bathrooms so that speeches can happen. Have fun Obviously, you have a special connection with the couple or one of the person’s getting married. You are allowed to have fun and celebrate their love. Be their biggest cheerleader, cry those tears, and rip it up on the dance floor. 

How To Select Your Wedding Party

By Megan Sawchuk • 05 Dec, 2023
This is the first part of a two-part series on wedding parties. This first part is for the couples getting married. We have compiled some advice on wedding parties and how to make the experience amazing! Consider your people carefully The right people can make this experience wonderful. And the wrong people…well you may find yourself in wedding hell. So take this moment to evaluate the people you are considering for your wedding party. Will they meet your expectations? Will they keep to a timeline? Or are they going to cause problems? Or will they do something cringey? Go ahead, be different It’s okay if your wedding party numbers on each side don’t match. It’s okay to have different genders on one side of the wedding party. Pick great people who you would love to have standing right beside you. Be clear on your expectations When you ask someone to be in your wedding party, you should have an idea of the financial commitment, the time obligations, and any other expectations you may have. For example, will they have to purchase attire (dresses, suits, accessories)? Will they have to purchase specific attire that they may never wear again? Will they have to plan showers, bachelorette, bachelor parties? Are you expecting them to travel out of city/province/country for these events? Will they have to travel to the wedding? It’s okay if they say no If after presenting your expectations, let it be okay if they decline the invitation. Don’t take offence to it. Instead, give your friend/sibling/relative grace. It may be a hard period in their life and while I know that they would love to stand up there with you, it may not be possible. Instead, be happy that they will likely be at the wedding and possibly some of the surrounding events and can enjoy being there rather than stressed out to the max. Keep the communications clear Once someone has signed onto the task of being in your wedding party, keep the lines of communication going. Check in with them to see how they are doing. Is anything stressing them out about the wedding? Before the big day, it is a good time to reset the expectations for the day of the wedding. Provide a timeline to everyone and where they are supposed to be during the day. Other things to discuss could be alcohol consumption, seated for speeches, who is giving speeches and how long do they have? Are they expected to help get people on the dance floor? 
More Posts
Share by: