kendra&ryan  | personally speaking...

promotional photo shoot by Accent Studios Photography

The big picture: Kendra & Ryan's dream wedding...

Kendra: Kendra wants everyone to have fun at her wedding, and for Ryan and herself to have a special day that they will remember forever! "Our fantasy would be that it would be a winter wonderland, and that everyone is able to make it to see us get married."

 

Ryan: Ryan's priorities lie totally with his relationship with Kendra. "'I am not concerned what other people think, I just want to make sure that we are happy and that we can show everyone how committed we are to each other."

 

Since Kendra & Ryan's guests will be coming from Hanover, St. Catherines, Rockwood and Guelph areas, this couple have organized their wedding day around making it as convenient as possible for everyone to attend and enjoy themselves without any worries. The first decision they made was to have a winter wedding (no summer holiday conflicts). To eliminate any drinking & driving risk, and to save their guests from having to drive home for hours in the dark, they've chosen an upscale downtown hotel & reception hall. Kendra & Ryan blocked off a large chunk of rooms at a percentage discount for their guests. By finding a convenient but beautiful downtown church, the couple hopes to make it easier on out-of-town guests who may not have otherwise been able to navigate the area.

Engagement story

"On December 12, Ryan and I were supposed to move in to our new house. We were so excited! It also happened to be our 4 year anniversary, so that night when we got our keys, we were going to get take out Swiss Chalet and eat by the fireplace on our anniversary, all before we moved in the next day! (I didn't know at the time but he was planning on proposing that night!)

 

"Our moving date got mixed up, and we found out the day before (Thursday) that we had to move the next day (Friday) by 4 pm. We were in such a panic, and our anniversary did not matter anymore, just trying to move was our biggest issue, and the fact it was the first snow day of the year didn't help!

 

"Well we managed to get moved in, but everything was a mess. There was so much to do! Ryan turned to me that night and said, let's move our anniversary to next Tuesday. We both had the day off that day, and we were going to go out for dinner, and shopping. So Ryan quickly came up with another plan to propose. So on the Tuesday, we went to St. Catharine's shopping, then to Niagara falls, where we went to the casino for the first time and out for dinner. After dinner, Ryan asked if I wanted to go for a walk, but it was raining! So we bought an 'I love Canada' umbrella and went for a walk through the Winter Wonderland lights. He proposed in front of the falls during all of the lights and rain, got down on one knee (soaked) and asked me! It was so beautiful!" - Kendra

How We Met Story

"Ryan and I went to the same college. His best friend was taking the same course as I was, and thought we would make a good couple. One night, while we were all out, he introduced us, and then we kind of said hi, and went our separate ways. (Although I thought he was the best looking guy in the world), he made me nervous! Later on that night my friends and I were dancing when I got hip checked across the room! When I looked over there was Ryan, trying to dance with me! So we spent the rest of the night dancing, it was amazing. At the end of the night he asked if he could have my number, and I said no, since I don't give my number out! Then he said, "Okay fine, please give me your address, and tomorrow I will send you a dozen roses, and on the card I will give you my phone number and if you want you can call me! Then you have nothing to lose! You get a dozen roses out of the deal, and you never have to talk to me again!" So of course I agreed, and gave him my address. The next day around 6 pm the doorbell rang, and to my amazement it was a flower delivery for me! On the card it said, "I hope you call me, Ryan" and his phone number! I could not believe it! Of course I called him, and we have been together ever since!!!"

kendra&ryan | planning...

Getting Started: 11 months & Counting

March 3, 2004 @ Jennifer's Home with Kendra (Bride) and Jennifer (The Wedding Ring)

Kendra met with Jennifer at her home after Kendra finished work as a marketing and communications associate for the City of Kitchener. Ryan was working at the time, so they had to forge ahead without him. The topics on the table were, well, EVERYTHING!

Kendra and Ryan had already booked her reception at an upscale downtown reception hall, but because her wedding is not until February, 2005, they still need everything else, including a place to exchange their vows. Jennifer and Kendra went over every possible idea for transportation, photographs, flowers, invitations, churches, spa packages... Everything was put into an Excel spreadsheet throughout the meeting with estimated costs offered up by Jennifer. At the end of the meeting, their rough draft of the wedding budget totaled approximately $12,213.77 with taxes, gratuities and extras included. Not bad for a first attempt! But there were still some unknown costs to be added. That's where the fun begins!

At the end of the meeting, there were several big planning steps to conquer in the following weeks

• Jennifer spends a week on the phone shopping for the best options, best people, and the best prices she can get

• Jennifer sends email to Kendra with names, phone numbers, and quotes for Kendra to look over and decide as to whether or not she's interested in them

• Kendra gets to work finding a church that will marry her and Ryan even though they aren't members, and putting a deposit down on it - preferably in the downtown area, near her reception hall

• Kendra looks into rings, takes care of wedding attire

April 23.04 - Planning Session: 10 months & Counting

The Ring's Downtown Office

We met for a short lunch to talk about what needed to be done.

 

Wedding Planning Work Book | Kendra was provided a copy of The Wedding Timer by author's Rory Butson and Diane Tolton, when they heard about this reality wedding. The Wedding Timer will be keeping everyone on track with planning as the big day gets closer. Kendra was ecstatic to get The Wedding Timer as part of her reality wedding. After she got started on the details of planner her wedding, she was even more impressed. "I really love The Wedding Timer, it keeps me on track with everything!"

 

Flowers | Kendra & Ryan need regular and sweetheart roses in and around Valentine's Day when roses are triple the cost! Because there is no way that florists will know what their roses will cost them in February, at this early date, this has been put on hold for a few months.

 

Pictures | Discussed photographers, our promotional shoot, locations for photos. Kendra and Ryan are considering doing their winter wedding photos on skates in front of City Hall!

May 11.04 -  Planning Session: Sweating the small stuff

"I am starting to feel a little bit stressed, although I don't know why, there is still so much time left! I felt as though I had done all of the big things, so I had started to relax, but now I am thinking of all of the small things that I have to do, and it is driving me crazy! There are so many beautiful things to do out there, and they are so expensive, I am terrified of going over budget. That is another big stress for me!"

Kendra was sent links to local decorators that Jennifer recommends in the K-W area. After searching the site, Kendra was having a hard time deciding on what to get, whether she needed to get any at al l... With all of the decorating options, it's easy to want to choose them all. Because of the upscale elegant nature of the reception hall, however, Kendra has narrowed her choices down to the possibility of a backdrop, decorating of the head table, and possibly a nice ceiling drop. Quotes so far are for $500 without the ceiling drop.   

June 18.04 - Photo shoot on the Roof: 8 months & Counting

Accent Studios with Tony Ward, Photographer & Jennifer Goulden, The Ring

In order to talk about Kendra and Ryan, we had to show them to you (see photos above). Jennifer asked Accent Studios to do a promotional shoot for our couple.

 

Because nothing is ever what you expect with Tony Ward, we ended upon the roof of his downtown building, shooting pictures against a brick wall, five feet away from a power line. The results? Amazing romantic shots of the couple in question, and it took about twenty minutes.

 

Details, details: 5-10 months and counting

Ceremony | Kendra is Roman Catholic but Ryan isn't, so they decided to tie in their personal beliefs by finding a church that would not only allow non-members to be married in it. "We really want to have the atmosphere of religion and belief as part of our ceremony - for us and for our families.". Not only that, Kendra & Ryan wanted to use a minister, Lynn, that they have been close to through the years. Most churches prefer to use their own ministers, and many don't allow non-member couples to get married there at all, or at least without marriage counselling classes and agreement to join the congregation.

 

Surprisingly Kendra found a church in the downtown area that are will provide space and that could accommodate them. It was beautiful inside and out. She tentatively booked this church (but not with a deposit).

Cost Quoted: $550 for two hours.

 

Only a few weeks later, the couple found another church they liked even more, that was still downtown and still met all their religious and space needs. There were still a lot of loose ends at the time, but having a place to actually get married was starting to be a definite bonus at that point in time. Kendra, the easy-going bride she is, had been having second thoughts on whether she really wanted to go with her first choice for churches or not. In the end, she decided on the second church that was more her style and put the deposit down the day before this meeting so that Jennifer didn't completely lose her mind. It's rare that the wedding planner stresses out before the bride does! "I'd like to think I'm like Kendra, and not much of a worrier, however this time, my bride definitely put me to the test!", says Jenn.

2nd Quote: $345.00 - Benton St. Baptist Church = Booked!

 

One of the biggest parts of planning a wedding day is getting the timing right. Between Kendra and Jennifer they and set out a possible rough draft of events. The final approval will come when Kendra & Ryan pick their photography, verify their ceremony start and end times with the church, and how many locations they want to do for photos. Also, it will be affected by whether or not they do a receiving line before the reception.

 

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Ceremony

4:30 pm - 5:00 pm Receiving line outside of church or in church lobby (Judi says that if it's cold, people will move even quicker, which is a good point, so that the receiving line doesn't take two hours)

5:00 pm - must-have photos of family, etc. at church

5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Fun shots of bride, groom, wedding party (location photo shoot)

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Cocktail hour (you and the wedding party will get there half way through)

7:30 pm - Dinner (Speeches during dinner or right after)

8:30/9:00 pm - Dance (start time depends on length of speeches)

NOTE | this schedule is fairly tight, and will need a lot of planning to keep things moving according to plan so that no unnecessary stress overtakes the bride on her wedding day!

Reception | Before even contacting The Ring, Kendra & Ryan had their hearts set on an upscale downtown reception hall that they booked right away, to assure they could get it.

Decorations | Their reception hall was already elegant and beautiful. The big question was whether or not they even need to decorate. The hall provided mini trees with lights. Do they want to use a head table backdrop, chair covers, ceiling treatments, etc? If so, could they afford to do so? Jennifer showed her some of the things that her favourite decorators could do. Kendra took particularly to one of the decorators. "I love the lanterns, those are beautiful!... And the backdrop... I like simple, and one of the iron backdrops is beautiful! Thank you so much for all of this! I feel so much better about the whole thing now that I have some expert help!". While she didn't make a final decision on the decor, this was a step forward. The jury was still out as to whether she really wanted to go all out with decor or not.

Centrepieces | This is where this bride wanted to get her hands dirty and get creative. Kendra had seen centrepieces at a wedding show that were in a square vase, with 6 sweetheart roses in it that were flush with the top of the vase. Very chic! Perfect with their wedding colours! Figuring she could do this herself, she bought one similar vase, some pebbles and did a dry-run to see if she had the talent to pull it off. "It was perfect!". So the couple went out, found a sale, and picked up enough similar vases on sale for their entire reception at an amazing price.

Cost of Vases: $150

Cost of Pebbles: ?

Additional Cost: Sweetheart roses to go in them... ?

Menu | Kendra and Ryan have yet to decide on what to serve.

 

Flowers | Red roses are their favourites. Problem? This wedding is held two days before Valentine's Day, at which point red roses (usually not too expensive) are double and triple the regular cost. We're hunting down florists who can provide roses without the huge increase in price, if possible.

 

Alcohol/Wine/Spirits | They are hoping to make their own wine. From the quotes collected, it is looking like this will ring in at around $800.00, when including the corkage fees (charged by the reception hall when not serving their own alcohol), for each bottle served.

Quote: $800.00

Note: a price comparison might need to be done for serving wine from the hall vs serving home-made wine.

 

Music | Kendra & Ryan have a friend who is a Disc Jockey. They are entrusting him with the duty of making or breaking the fun-factor of their reception party. This is making The Ring nervous, however Kendra is quite confident in her friend's abilities. A bonus is that he isn't charging them any fees!

Wedding Must-Haves | Because there's a lot more that goes into the wedding than just saying 'I Do' and throwing an after-party, we had to get into some serious detail.

Photography | Kendra & Ryan really liked the work of two particular photographers with two totally different styles. At the same time, their opening packages were very different in price. Once you factored in what was included in each package, they were pretty close. Style was the deciding factor, and it took the couple two months to really decide to go with Emma Smallbone of barebonephoto. Emma is a young, artsy photographer who's style is explicitly candid/photojournalistic. This is the tell-it-like-it-is type of photography. Kendra & Ryan thought her shots were 'funky'. 

 

Videography | They have a friend who is a television camera man, who will shoot the wedding. Not sure if they want to have it edited afterward, or how much it will cost. This is on the agenda to check out later in planning calendar.

 

Transportation | Kendra & Ryan want to arrive in style, but aren't really focused on that. If they have the money in their budget, they will splurge on this, if not, they aren't too focused on it. They talked about it with Jennifer, all the options - from limo to rental car. After speaking with Brentwood Livery, it looked like a limousine would be about $500 which wasn't a bad price at all. After looking at the wedding day timing, a limousine might only be needed for 3 hours, and maybe only for Kendra & Ryan.

2nd Quote: $436.48

Still not decided. Everyone is going to wait and see how the budgeting goes.

 

Wedding Cake | coming soon

Wedding Rings | coming soon

Wedding Attire | coming soon

Special Requests | Late Night Pizza & Cake!!? coming soon

August 28.2004 - The Engagement Party/BBQ Meet & Greet

Because a lot of Kendra & Ryan's closest family and friends hadn't met one another, they wanted to come up with a way for everyone to meet and get to know each other before W-Day came about. Thus, the Engagement-Party/BBQ-Meet-and-Greet was born! K&R invited family, friends and wedding party members that didn't know each other, over to their home for this BBQ that included lots of food and drinks. The event was totally casual and held outdoors in the backyard by K&R's in-ground pool & deck...

Problem:  Pouring rain all day long! No tent, not shelter, definitely no swimming...

Solution: A family friend brought over their backyard tent, snapped it all together in a matter of minutes before guests arrived

BBQ Scrapbook

smiling, happy  people

men: meeting... mingling... getting a little wild!

strike a pose...

group hugs everyone!

the men set up camp...                    bridesmaids let loose a little!

awwwwww...

September, 2004 - 'Mystic Crystals'

At the same meeting, Kendra received her five packets of Mystic Crystals that she purchased from The Ring's online store. Mystic crystal actually replaced her original plan of putting pebbles in the bottom of her square glass table centrepieces. Mystic Crystals look like crushed ice, take a tenth of the time, will make her roses stand straight up, and can be done way ahead of time so as not to be messing with centrepieces on the day of her wedding. Each package of crystals expands to make a ton of crystal ice.

Breaking with Tradition...

We also talked more about the wedding day timing. Kendra is going to talk to Emma at barebonephoto to nail down the details of how long the photo shoot will take and where they will go for pictures. Because Kendra doesn't want to keep her guests waiting very long, but she wants some very unique pictures, she suggested taking photos before the ceremony, so that all that's left if the family must-have shots at the church. "It's really important to Ryan and I to spend time with our friends and family. That's what this day is all about for us. I'm a little hesitant about breaking tradition and letting Ryan see me in my gown before the wedding, but I think when it comes down to it, I'm okay with it, if it means I get to spend more time with my friends and family on our wedding day.". Mike thought it was an amazing idea. It leaves lots of time and room for photos and video, and lessens the pressure of keeping to the schedule.

Tell us what you think:

Is it really bad luck to see the bride before the wedding anymore? Is having photos taken before you walk down the aisle untraditional or back luck or simply a life-saver for your wedding schedule?

Email The Ring to add your thought to K&R's reality wedding story.

- photo of top of bride's gown with tennis pendant & necklace courtesy of barebonephoto

November 8, 2004 - Everything is coming together

Kendra & Ryan have been tying up tons of loose ends over the past month. Kendra's latest update came in Monday, November 8th. With most major decisions made and under control, the anticipation is getting higher. Kendra emailed Jenn at The Ring to tell her how she's feeling, "I have you to thank for everything, you have really helped me! I am so excited!"

Dinner Rehearsal Plans | Miltons Restaurant in a private room, for 30 people the Friday February 11

Transportation | 4 new Chrysler 350 vehicles, one for each wedding party couple

Honeymoon | Mayan Riviera - Moon Palace Resort

Flowers | $425 + tax for my bouquet, centrepieces, boutonnières, and corsages

Pictures Before Ceremony | "Our final decision was to have photos before ceremony at 1:30 at City Hall, then we can go right to the hall, and get family pictures done after the ceremony."

erika&gary  | personally speaking

The big picture: Erika & Gary's dream wedding...

Erika: "Something elegant, and classical. A peaceful dinner, but an exciting reception. I want to create an environment where everyone feels like royalty themselves, but still is able to enjoy everyone else's company - a black tie event!"

 

Ryan: "For Erika to be happy with her Wedding Day."

Engagement story

"First you have to understand something about Gary - he is a total goofball - a total child at heart. All the time while we have been dating he has told me that he will be 30 before he even thinks about marriage - 30! But that was all right. I had accepted that, I mean I would only be 28 then, not too old, so ok. But it was the night before we both were to graduate from UW - both in the same program - and Gary had told me that he had planned a special night for us to get out of the house, and not have to be bothered by both sets of parents and the fuss they were making. So, Gary took me out to Sole for dinner. Once we were finished there we tried to go mini-golfing (that is what our first date was, and he told me he wanted to win once before we had graduated since he never did before), but unfortunately it was pouring rain. From there, Gary drove us to the St. Jacobs Country Inn - where he had booked us in for the night. So he sent me to the room, and when I went in there were roses on the tables, with wine there too. I turned around to find Gary on one knee. He talked about our new life together, and moving forward after graduation, and that he couldn't imagine doing it without me. Of course I said yes!"

How We Met Story

"Gary and I met while attending UW. We were both in co-op, and in our second year, we had all of the same classes that summer. Initially Gary sat behind me in all of our classes, and constantly talked through lecture to his friends. So after I had enough of not hearing the professor, I turned around and asked him to be quiet. He told me only if I would help him study for his midterms. Desperate to get him to be quiet, I said yes. Once we started studying together, we started dating, and from there everything else is history (as the cliché goes!)"

erika&gary  | planning...

February 28.04 - Planning Session 1: Details, details, details...

Gary's Parents' Home with Erika and Gary (Bride & Groom), and Jennifer (The Wedding Ring)

Erika and Gary are using referrals and planning tips from The Ring to create their dream wedding day. Session one was at Erika and Gary's home, where they stay with their parents as their house is being built. They'll be moving into their new home in August, only months before the wedding. 

As the meeting got started, Gary was laying back in his Lazy Boy, trying not to move very much. He'd hurt his leg playing basketball until 4 am for Erika's high school fundraiser (both Erika and Gary are teachers) the night before. Erika & Gary are young, peppy and are equally involved in every step of the wedding planning. 

Because Erika & Gary have already reserved their reception hall and church, it was all about details. This day was about limos vs. five rental PT Cruisers for each couple in the wedding party, wedding cakes vs. cupcakes, guest hotel rooms, a killer honeymoon suite, finding a great location for a Sunday brunch with the family, and, of course, flowers.

Flowers | Erika has already had some quotes on flowers, but because reputation and quality are everything in the flower business (the last think you need is wilting roses as you walk down the aisle), Jennifer suggested Erika & Gary go to Kelly Greens . Erika loved owner, Donna Belanger. "Kelly Greens has come through for us! I am giving her the quote that I got from the other place, and she is going to match it. I have seen some of her work and I think that they will be fantastic.....[Donna] was and is fabulous!"

Honeymoon Suite | Erika & Gary are spending their honeymoon night at the Best Western St.Jacobs. They also blocked off rooms. E&G's plans were that, "...a lot of the out of town people will be staying there as well. We even booked the Veranda Room for the following morning Sunday Brunch (after regular breakfast hours are done), and we have a chance to invite people to eat at a nominal price....great! We will eat breakfast there and then go to Gary's parents house for snacks and present opening."

Cake - As it turns out my sister has been making wedding cakes in Whistler for the past 6 months. We got a really cool design, and she is going to make that as our wedding gift. | Bingemans - Doris has allowed us to have a choice dinner selection, as opposed to a single meal for everyone.....She is a wonderful lady, and I am glad to have her to assist me with this aspect of the wedding.