WebStats: How often?

Understanding your website statistics is an important part of understanding how your website is functioning, how your visitors are using your website and how you can improve your website to make it work better for your business.

If your website is hosted, then you probably have some form of statistics available from your host. I use AWStats available through my host. If you can’t access your website statistics through your website host, then you may want to install GOOGLE analytics to give you some stat access to your website.

So once you find your stats, you’ll probably find tons of data, and graphs, and lists and links…if you’ve never analyzed website statistics before, then you’ll probably be a bit overwhelmed. It’s a lot of information to take in.

I’m going to try to walk you through the different statistical elements of your website at least twice a month, so that you can gain a better understanding of your website – but first, I have a new a habit I want you to develop….

I want you to log in to either your website stats or your google analytics – at least once a week! You think you can do that?? I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it’s important for you to start looking at the numbers and at least seeing if they are going up or going down…and as you start to look at them more frequently, it will start to make more sense.

How often do I look at my website statistics? Well, if I haven’t changed much on my website, then I check my stats out once a week. But if I’m actively changing details on my website or reformating, then I’ll usually end up checking every day to see if any trends are developing. Ultimately, there is no right or wrong answer about how often you check your statistics, it really comes down to how you use the information you find there…but we’ll start analyzing that in our next chat on stats!

Jolyn | Wedding Planner Coach

Newsletter Hook – offer a freebie!

What makes your newsletter the one a visitor should sign up for? It’s a question your website visitors are asking, and so should you?

You should already be maintaining a list of current clients and those who have inquiried about your service – but if you are looking at a way to increase your mailing list database, consider offering up a freebie.

I’m not asking you to give away free services or massive discounts. I’m asking you to write a brief document to share some of your knowledge – and in turn, wedding couples will give you their email address, in order to obtain a bit of this free knowledge!

I know the hardest part is figuring out what to write and how to provide it. I’ve known for years you should offer a freebie in order to grow your mail list, and in my hectic wedding planning ways, never got around to it. So this fall, I decided to focus on my newsletter list and make it grow. I decided to write about something that I say I do for my clients – personalize their wedding. For many couples, they may not have a full understanding of exactly what that may involve. So I decided that my ‘freebie’ would be a report on the 5 easiest ways to personalize a wedding. I kept it to 5 points, because I didn’t want to give prospective customers all of my secrets, but I wanted it to be enough for them to get a glimpse at what I can do for them. And I wanted it to be something that every couple could use, no matter what stage of planning they were at when they stumbled upon my website.

I then wrote it out, and made sure it sounded like I was writing specifically for that one couple reading it. I made sure to thank them for requesting the report and I made sure at the end to give a bit of a spin on how I could assist them, and how they could follow up with me.

I then added a little graphic to the header of my website, that visitors could click on that would take them to my sign up page. When they submit their email address, it comes to a specific folder in my inbox, which sends out an automatic reply, which includes the link to my special report.

So with very little time, a websurfer can find my site, sign up for the report, and receive the report – all without me having to be involved…what is more simplistic than that!!

And the best part, when I started my newsletter list, I had just 50 recent and current clients on it – and within 2 weeks of offering the ‘freebie report’ – my list had grown to over 100…that’s over 50 people that I can now speak to monthly through my newsletters, and get them to recognize how badly they need my services.

What is the freebie you are going to offer? I’d love to hear about what you implement on your website and what results you got!

Jolyn | Wedding Planner Coach

Beau-Coup

My favorite online wedding store to send my brides to…has to be Beau-Coup! Although based in the States, my couples have always paid fair prices for shipping and received their shipments in a timely manner.

Some of my favorite items from there are:

• mini candy dispenser
• custom boxed wedding truffles
• heart bud vase card holders

Whether your client is looking for a distinctive favour or unique favour box, Beau-Coup offers excellent selection and pricing!

Jolyn | Wedding Planner Coach

Long Distance Phone Matters

When couples are searching for the perfect wedding planner to assist them with a destination wedding (a wedding in a different city than they live), they’ll look for a wedding planner who can make it easy for them.

One of the simplist steps you can take, to ensure your company is attractive to new out-of-town prospects, is to make use of a toll-free numbers. Toll-free numbers are free to set, and can be forwarded to your business phone line or cell phone number. By making use of a toll-free number, you know your couples aren’t watching the clock on their long distance calls, and when counting their dollars and cents for their wedding – will see the value in using your company.

If you have a lot of out-of-town couples – you may want to look into internet phone services, that are free for use within different regions – so that you can bypass long distance charges altogether for the regions you speak to the most. A popular internet phone service is Vonage.

Jolyn | Wedding Planner Coach

Just ‘Add This’!

With the explosion of social media and marketing…viral marketing is easier than ever to start! If you aren’t familiar with the term – viral marketing – it’s where one person tells a friend, and they tell a friend, and they tell a friend, etc.

Networks such as Facebook, Digg can give your website quick exposure.

A simple way to catch into this market with your website, is with the Add This bookmark icon – one simple icon in your blog posts and on your website, can allow website visitors to easily bookmark and share your website or blog.

Take a look at the bottom of this post to see the button in action!

Jolyn | Wedding Planner Coach

Tale of 2 Planners

Once in a while, in the middle of an ordinary life…you accept a trip, with no idea of the adventure you’ll take!

Although Crystal Adair-Benning and I had only met in person at a conference in February 2008, we quickly became not only like minded colleagues, but also became friends – sharing battle stories from across the country.  Cystal is a wedding planner extraordinaire, operating Distinct Occasions in Toronto & Niagara.

This is our shared account of this one incredible week, and all the work it took behind the scenes to make it look like perfection…so grab a cup of coffee, get comfy and enjoy!

Day 1 (Crystal writing)

Day 1: Airport Pickup
Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Well, being the professional wedding planners we were, and with the help of a really nice local – we made the call to CAA – the tow truck was on the way – called a rental company (PS. Enterprise will come and pick you up – which was handy in our situation)

We unloaded all the ’stuff’ onto the sidewalk while waiting for our rental, which happened to be a HUGH HEMI PICK UP TRUCK – all sexy and black LOL – needless to say, we quickly threw everything into the back and decided it was time to head to the ferry and cross to Wolfe Island.

In the ferry line up, it started to rain – remember…we’re in a pick up!!! We begin to pile ALL THE STUFF from in back, into the actual truck…back seats on these trucks don’t hold a lot…LOL…Crystal and I couldn’t even see each other because of the pile in between us for this ferry ride.

Thankfully, we crossed with no issues, and went to find our hotel the bride had booked us into – the General Wolfe Hotel – really – it was right out of Bates hotel, but that’s another story….we checked-in – got the grand tour – and finally shown our room – OUR REALLY TINY ROOM- one tiny double bed for the two of us (and we don’t like each other THAT much LOL).

So now we loaded all of the stuff into the tiny room – and left to go check out the tent….the tent was up…but the flooring had BIG issues …there were big divots, lots of bumps and all around not a safe floor. John with the tent company had assured Crystal the flooring he could access would work on lawn, but really – it didn’t…we spent a good portion of the day coordinating with the company about the different ways we could fix it and trying to find a solution the bride and groom would be happy with as well.

As the day went on, we realized our room at the General Wolfe was not near big enough for our stuff, and all the work we needed to do….so after getting the brides’ blessing – we removed all our items from the General Wolfe at 11:30pm (for those counting, we’ve packed vehicals 6 times by this point) and took the ferry back to Kingston, and in 4 loads, moved into the Confederation hotel (for the 7th movement of decor in one day).

We were exhausted, but we still decided to try to start working on our craft projects….which you’ll see later on….

It was definately an action packed day, and the wedding work had barely even started!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

However, the piece de resistance was the Rehearsal Dinner. Completely created and designed by Distinct Occasions the bride & groom wanted the details left up to me to create a rehearsal I felt worthy of them both! And wow did I have fun!!!

(Here is me and the stunned & ecstatic Bride):

For starters, Jolyn & I draped the tables in a beautiful satin Pucci print pink tablecloth, added retro multi-bubble vases and rose balls and a LOT of candles. The finishing touch was the draped tent walls and the lit up plexi-bar to complete the look.

The couple was served BBQ casual with filet mignon and a deluxe assortment of salads.

And Jolyn & I of course made sure they were happy and then left the Island to deliver gift baskets to 3 different hotels in Kingston for guests. The gift bags were my “brainwave” to have each of the bridal party & couple provide an item for the bags to represent themselves, their relationship to the couple, and to celebrate Wolfe Island and here’s how they turned out…

 

So at 7:15am we arrive at the island, along with the work crew from the tent company. We reviewed all the problem areas of the floor, and between us, the tent company and couple, decided the quickest and most cost effective option was place plywood under the worst parts of the floor, to give the rolled flooring more stability.

Now this is the kicker, all of the wedding deliveries of rentals had been delivered on Thursday, and were piled in the far corner of the tent (taking up easily a 20×20 foot area)…our caterer was also supposed to be on the island at 7:15, but he wasn’t.

Because he wasn’t there – both Crystal and I had to move the entire area of rentals from the far wall, into the kitchen tent – we moved close to 200 chivaris, 35-40 tables, all the dinnerware and glassware for 5 courses, cocktail tables, linens and everything else you could imagine. This all came on 2 semi trucks, so you can imagine how much we had to move!!!

Crystal was calling the caterer every 5 minutes, and not getting an answer – needless to say, both Crystal and I were not made for this type of labor – but the items HAD to be moved in order for the floor to be fixed, which was a priority. Since all the items were his, they were piled into the kitchen tent and he’d have to sort them out later (we were secretly a little bit happy he’d have to move it all again, since he missed the first move LOL)

When the caterer finally arrived at noon – we quickly decided that I needed to deal with the caterer, since Crystal was likely to tear a strip off him and make him leave the island for good – which wouldn’t have been good. So Crystal kept working with the flooring company, I dealt with the caterer and we continued on.

Then we started the fun of removing 2 labels, from each of 140 glass vases….I think the goo-gone fumes were making us a little giddy, cause we probably had the most laughs of the week during this 3 hour work bee….note to self – always make the bride/groom take off labels themselves…I’m not doing that any time soon again!! LOL!

Once we were sure the floor issues had been resolved, we went back over to Kingston for late lunch/early supper and to complete our final meeting with the florist, and view the florals. Crystal quickly noticed that the bridal bouquet was not distinctive from the rest, so we then set in motions for us to ‘fix it’on the wedding day.

Our return to the island took a little longer, as we discovered one problem with the ferry in the area…as we waiting in Kingston, to go back to the island, we noticed the ferry was late for the first time in the last 3 days. Apparently, the ferry had to take an ambulance to another island, causing a significant delay….although it didn’t impact much of our schedule…we hoped this wouldn’t be a pattern of things to come…we were delayed by 1.5hours in getting to the island this time.

As our caterer had left all the physical labor to us in the morning, he promised us a steak dinner on our return to the island…we’re both glad we trusted out intuition and ate back in Kingston, because when we arrived back to the tent, the floor was done, but the 12 person caterering crew that was supposed to be there just after lunch, had not shown up yet. We had the one supervisor, with no equipment or food, and a wedding tomorrow!!!!

Because of the tight wedding timeline for the next day, we quickly began assembling our décor items and preparing, despite nothing being done by the catering set up team. We began filling vases with the garden hose, so the water would be room temperature the following day, and ready for all the florals.

At 8pm, the catering crew finally arrived, and began the kitchen set up.
We left the island at midnight, with the promise, that the catering crew would show up first thing, and they would do all the basic décor (table arrangments, linens, plating, napkins, chairs, etc) and we’d just have finishing touches in the morning to begin with….

Day Five – The Wedding!!! (Crystal writing)
Date: Saturday, July 26, 2008

Tanya & Craig’s glorious Wolfe Island Wedding Day on Saturday, July 26, 2008, began as a hazy July morning. Distant storm clouds looked threatening but strong will prevailed that this would be the most stunning outdoor reception any couple could hope for!

Working with Tanya & Craig over the last year has been a joy. Their passion for the details and ability to just trust in my skill and experience was a joy for me. I loved everything about this couple. Their love and passion for one another runs deep and for that above all else – doing this wedding was a passionate, creative and joyful experience.

Starting the day off bright and early began with a floral pickup (NOT a typical thing) but a paid favor to our couple. Assistants Emily Hodgins (intern) and Stephanie, met us at the ferry dock for what was to be a VERY hectic day of wedding planning fun!

The Catholic greystone church was beautifully decorated with guests greeted by the couples initials on the big church doors and pews decorated with handmade pew bows designed by the Groom’s mother. The altar was awash with florals of delphinium, dendrobium and roses to beautifully frame this white wedding.

The Mother’s donned beautiful handmade gowns custom created for them through a designer of the bride’s choosing. The Fathers looked regal in their dark suits. Groomsmen made a splash in dark suits accented with pale blue ties (for our “something blue”) and the bridesmaids in white designer gowns custom created for them. Even the five small flowergirls got into the act with gorgeous white princess dresses tied with a neat satin bow at their backs. However, the highlight of course was our stunning bride, Tanya, dressed in a silk, organza and tulle creation from Oscar de la Renta and walking proudly in gorgeous Christian Leboutin heels accented in pale blue, baby green and clear swarovski crystals with the trademark red sole. Stunning from head to toe!

While rain deterred setup a bit and threatened an outdoor cocktail reception focused on Wolfe Manor’s pool area the heavens opened up just beautifully as the bride gracefully walked the aisle and took her rightful spot next to the handsome groom, Craig.

After the ceremony a short recieving line was hosted in the church for everyone to give the couple their best wishes and with the sun shining passed cocktails including our speciality drink, Mojitos, were passed in the Manor’s gardens which guests walked to through the orchid strewn grove between ceremony and reception. Guests enjoyed mini comfort food appetizers including mini-burgers, french fries, fig & prosciutto biscuits, spanikopita squares and mini crab cakes before retiring to the main tent for dinner!

Walking down a lantern lined pathway from Manor to cocktails, guests were enthralled with a gorgeous white glow from inside the tent provided by rectangular white tables wrapped in crinkled satin linens, white pocketfold napkins, dendrobium orchid lamp centrepieces, swarovski beaded dendrobiums on their napkins, table names after the bride & groom’s flowerbed favourites, a lit up plexi bar and a sophisticated votive per guest with hand calligraphied placecards courtesy of the Groom’s mother. It was a vision of pure joy for everyone in attendance!

Every detail of the day was coordinated to match the bride’s beautiful white invitations created by Bella Couture in Toronto including the napkins, seating chart, menu cards, wedding cake, bride’s bouquet, pew bows, and chair decor for the bride & groom!

Dinner was a masterpiece for the senses featuring five gourmet courses to tempt the pallet and delight even the most finicky of eaters. Guests dined on an Amuse Bouche of sensual big apple mini martinis with double take peach carpaccio on citrus crisp. A starter of Plantain lasso wrapped Cosmo salad topped sugar daddy skewered jumbo shrimp & giant scallop with ginger perfumed emulsion. A delicate lemon sorbet pallet cleanser. A delightful and surprising entree duo of Pink peppercorn crusted pork tenderloin with fontina and celeriac mash on pink grapefruit silk sheet with a pan seared baby supreme chicken with, pineapple puree, grilled pineapple and saffron honey. Vegetarians even got in on the gourmet food with a Grilled Sicilian eggplant layered in artichoke compote, buffalo mozzarella, roasted garlic and grape tomato. Dessert was a tongue pleasing decadent chocolate trio featuring a Lindt flourless chocolate torte with strawberry ganache, white chocolate & raspberry risotto and an out of this world chocolate-cinnamon soup! Guests walked away very full, very impressed and wanting the recipes for such an unusual and delightful wedding dinner.

One of the most touching details of the day was in a ring worn by the bride on her right hand an heirloom ring passed down by generations of women in her family worn on their wedding days. The vintage look perfectly matched the clean simplicity of this elegant event and couldn’t have been more perfect.

So the scene was set, the beautiful white a scene setter for sure, and a backdrop of an Island Manor house a perfect locale. The food was savoury, delicious and a joy for guests. The couple stunning, in love and grateful to have everyone around them.

While not every wedding goes exactly as planned; every great wedding makes it look easy. And, with the help of the incredible Jolyn Saramaga, Emily Hodgins and Stephanie - this wedding was flawless (at least to guests) and definitely looked easy! Thank you for the love and support my sweet girls. I couldn’t have done it without you.

Congratulations to Tanya & Craig. May you always remember your city chic wedding in the country with fond memories. Cheers to a lifetime of joy… together!

So, no post from Jolyn & I could be complete without explaining the behind the scenes dramas from the day and why should the wedding day be any different?

What’s It Like?

This is probably the most often asked question I receive from those who are interested in being a wedding planner. But answering this question is a double edged sword for me.

On one hand, I LOVE WHAT I DO…I love being my own boss, picking the clients I work with, and helping people celebrate one of the happiest days of their lives.

But…it’s hard work, it really is, and this career isn’t appropriate for just anyone. You have to be truly passionate to make a successful career. Here is a list of just some of the things you should expect if you decide to enter this field…

• You’ll be working 6 days a week – both day and evening, as your vendors need you during business hours, and your clients need you in the evenings/weekends
• You’ll be working with difficult clients, difficult families and difficult vendors
• It will be difficult to make a full time salary until you have a sustainable number of weddings throughout the year
• You’ll work opposite schedules from your family and friends – when they are socializing on weekends, you’ll be working on your busiest days
• You’ll be responsible for managing multiple details on multiple weddings and need to be highly organized to keep it all in check
• You’ll have to be knowledgable in evreything weddings – florals, cakes, music, wines, food, fashion – in order to make recommendations, but also to step in to manage any emergencies
• On wedding days, you can expect to spend from 12-18 hours on your feet, attending to every detail of the wedding and the couple
• Your role is NOT to take the glory of the day, but to remain the silent partner behind the scenes
• You’ll be helping brides to pee, and cleaning up guest puke and sweating profusly while setting up an outdoor tent on a humid day

This industry is not glorious…at least not as glorious as the movies make it…but if you are a results orientated person, and love to see months of planning culminate into one brief day, with one opportunity to maintain perfection, then…and just then, this might be the right field for you!

Jolyn | Wedding Planner Coach

Coffee Shop Comfort

Although I love working from a home office…as a wedding planner, many of my early days client meetings were held in coffee shops. But how you can make the most of your coffee shop meeting and make sure you close your sale?

Clients dislike uncertainty – so be thorough when setting up your meeting. Ensure you give a client an exact address, not just ‘the coffee shop next to Safeway’. If you can, let them know what you are wearing, or what you’ll be carrying (maybe a brown portofolio book?) or better yet, email them a professional headshot photo. A client’s biggest worry is to show up at the wrong coffee shop and not be able to find who they are meeting with.

And scope out your coffee shops – don’t just pick from a listing. Some coffee shops host live music, so know when and where that happens so you can avoid setting meetings for then. Look for coffee shops that may have soft seating, or some larger tables in case you have to meet with a bride and her family! Look for coffee shops that have lots of free parking and close to main routes. And if you can, figure out what times of the evening they are quiet, and schedule your meetings for those times.

Get to the coffee shop early, and ensure you can grab a spot where you can see the door. You can usually spot your clients easily, even if you’ve never met, as they are usually walking in and scanning the room to figure out who they may be looking for. Stand up, take the initiative to verify their names, and introduce yourself. Offer to buy them a coffee, tea or other beverage…and sit down and begin learning about their wedding vision and how your services could benefit them!

Jolyn | Wedding Planner & Coach

Online Passwords Overload

Anyone else getting tired on all the different online passwords you have to remember? Some can only contain letters, some have to have letters and numbers, some can only be 5 characters long, and some have to be at least 8 characters long…

Just over six months ago, my husband installed Roboform on my computer despite my protests…I’m glad he did. It keeps track of all my passwords for each and every online site I frequent, and it controls it all with just one master password I have to remember. It’s got very high security for your home or office computer, but saves you time when you just have to get access to a website before you leave for a meeting.

Say goodbye to looking through a stack of sticky notes on your desk (my previous way of managing my passwords LOL)

Jolyn | Wedding Planner

Marketing Magic…I Love Andy…

If you don’t know the Andy I’m speaking of, the Andy who the guru to marketing within the wedding industry…then it’s time you become very familiar with Andy!

I first met Andy at the Professional Wedding Planners Conference in Toronto in February 2008 – and although his presentation that day didn’t have a whole lot of new information for me, I realized I had yet to do anything with the information I already had…his address reminded me of all the things I had promised to work on or change with my current website…and when I got home from the conference, I put myself to task on getting those changes finally made.

Andy Ebon is owner and writer for ‘The Wedding Marketing Blog’ which can be found at www.weddingmarketing.net/blog – for those new to the industry – it gives you loads of information on advertising and marketing to the couples you want to work with. For those of us who are a bit more experienced, it gives us a kick in the butt to change how we’re doing things.

Either way, it’s a great resource to help you focus your marketing and advertising efforts and definately worth reading weekly (but I bet you’ll soon find yourself checking into his updates daily!)

So if you don’t know Andy yet…check out his blog…and if you have the chance to hear him speak at a conference – definately do so…his no nonsense approach to marketing is approaches worth making an effort for!

Jolyn | Wedding Planner

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