Did you see the wedding planner on The Learning Channel’s television show Happily Ever Faster working on a wedding with a black and white theme?  This is always a popular theme because it is very classic but at the same time, it can have a bit of an edge.

Black and White theme ideas from the show were:

• Black and white checkered dance floor, which was already at the venue, but you can rent them from a party rental company.

• Black linens, both tablecloths and napkins, with white china.  You could instead use white linens and black china.  Or mix it up with white tablecloths, black napkins and black china.

• Backs of the white chairs were tied with black sashes.

• Wedding cake was iced in white with black designs and topped with white flowers.  (If the bride wants real flowers, be sure the baker uses pesticide-free, organic ones on the cake.)

• Venue was decorated with white calla lilies and white dendrobium orchids.  Use black vases to keep with the theme.

More ideas:

• Bridesmaids in black with white sashes.

• Black and white favor bags, you can find ones that look like mini bride’s dresses and tuxedos.

• Large strawberries decorated to look like they are wearing a black tuxedos.

And black flowers, whether tulips, roses, or calla lilies, will give the wedding a real dramatic edge.

Asked to help plan a vegan wedding and have visions of “hippies” in the park and boring, tasteless food?  That is an old stereotype.  Vegan weddings can be glamorous events with gourmet food.

First off, for anyone who may not know, a vegan doesn’t eat meat, eggs, dairy products and foods processed with animal products which includes some wines.  They also would not used products such as leather, fur or wool and anything tested on animals.

The current, May/June issue, of VegNews magazine highlights the weddings of eight vegan couples.  Some insights about vegan weddings that you can get from the article:

• In addition to being cruelty-free, vegan weddings are often also earth-friendly.  One couple used hand-picked organic wildflowers in second-hand vases as centerpieces.  Another gave away tree starts as wedding favors.

• Guests often have concerns about vegan food but an experienced caterer should be able to create gourmet food that follows a vegan diet.

• Vegan wedding cakes don’t have to be boring.  Couples had lavish vegan cakes of chocolate with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting, vanilla cake with vanilla frosting, pina colada cake with coconut butercream and much more.

You can find out more about vegan weddings at the VegNews website.

Whether you are planning a wedding in an outdoor or indoor venue, you must be aware of what may be happening with the grounds surrounding the facility.  The other night I was watching an episode of The Learning Channel program, Wild Weddings.  One of the video segments featured a wedding party walking across a lawn when the sprinklers suddenly went off, drenching the maid-of-honor.  Luckily, the bride and groom remained dry.

Here are some things to find out when booking any site with a lawn and landscaping:

• When is the lawn watered?  Even if the sprinklers aren’t set to go off during your event, you want to make sure the grass ise dry so the wedding party and guests are not walking through mud to get to the venue.

• When is the lawn mowed and when are the grounds maintained?  You don’t want any of this work done during a ceremony or reception.  If there is a lawn, it should looked well-manicured.

• Are you planning any landscape changes before the wedding date?  You want to be sure the grounds look like the bride expects them to, or better, on the day of the wedding.  Also, if the bride books the venue in the Spring and her wedding is in the Winter, ask to see photos so she knows what she is getting.

Are you planning a gay or lesbian wedding and helping the couple select a wedding cake?  They can select a traditional white wedding cake and get wedding toppers of two grooms or two brides. Or like many couples today, they can have one designed in favorite colors, the colors of their venue, or the colors and style of their theme.

In my last post, I gave tips on working with bakers from the television shows Amazing Wedding Cakes and Cake Boss.  In the Cake Boss episode, the bakers were making a wedding cake for two grooms.  It was a red, multi-tiered cake with gold lace-like bands, resembling the red velvet curtains with gold trim at their venue, a movie theater.  Check the photos of cakes at the website for the actual Cake Boss store, Carlo’s Bakery.  Don’t just look at the wedding cakes, get inspiration from cakes made for all sorts of parties, just use your imagination when you give suggestions to the couple.

Think of wedding cakes as white, tiered creations?  They can be, white cakes are traditional and some couples still want them but today many brides want something modern and creative.  You can see some very original, artistic wedding cakes on the WEtv show, Amazing Wedding Cakes, and The Learning Channel (TLC) show, Cake Boss.  Both programs show you how cakes are made and give you insights into the way bakers work.

Here are some of tips that will help you and your bride and groom work well with bakers:

• Bakers can incorporate colors and design elements from “Save the Date” cards, invitations, and the reception venue into cakes.  Have your couple bring their cards and photos of their reception venue to their meeting for inspiration.

• Bakeries may require that any requests for changes be made at least a week in advance.  Confirm that the bride and groom know their cut-off date so they won’t be upset when they can’t make a change.

• During the wedding season, popular bakers may have 25 to 30 cakes to deliver in one day.  Ask what the baker’s schedule is and confirm their delivery time and date the day before the wedding.

• Traffic and parking can be a problem during delivery.  Make sure the baker knows where to park and what entrance to use when they deliver the cake.  Warn them if heavy traffic may be an issue near the reception site so they can allow extra time.

Both Amazing Wedding Cakes and Cake Boss have “repeat performances” so check the WEtv and TLC websites or your local television listings for schedule information.  You’ll also see photos of the cakes on the sites.

What would you do if you were unable to work on the rehearsal and/or wedding day?  Do you have a backup plan in place?  You should.  In a recently aired episode of the Style Network television show, Whose Wedding is it Anyway?, a wedding planner was unable to attend the rehearsal because her daughter fell ill.  Then the planner couldn’t work on the wedding day because she was ill. On the TLC show Wedded to Perfection, the wedding planner’s daughter fell ill on the wedding day. Don’t worry, both planners had emergency plans and everything ended up great.  But things do happen that you can’t predict.

Here are some suggestions for making sure sure the wedding still comes off without a hitch, even when you can’t be there :

• Work with only professional, high-quality wedding vendors whom you can trust to do their jobs well.
• Have a responsible, trustworthy assistant who takes initiative to do things even when you are not available.
• Make sure the bride has met your assistant.
• Keep track, in writing, of any changes to the wedding plans.
• Have all of your information about a wedding in one place so your assistant can easily access it, when necessary.

If something does happen to you, don’t keep your bride in the dark, let her know as soon as possible.  Tell her what is being done so her wedding will still be as perfect as it would have been if you had been with her.

By the way, you should check that all the wedding vendors also have made contingency plans.  For instance, you don’t want to find out, on the morning of the wedding, that the officiant can’t make it and has no idea who can take his or her place.

As a new wedding planner, you will be meeting vendors, to create your team of trusted professionals, and networking with seasoned wedding and event planners to learn from their experiences.  A good habit to develop now is handwriting thank you notes and sending them to people who have taken the time to meet with you.  Many people send text messages, emails, or nothing at all.  Your handwritten note will help you stand out as a professional and make you more memorable.

Sound like a lot of work?  It isn’t, just write short notes thanking them for their time and mention something you discussed during your meeting.

When working with clients, write notes of thanks after they return from their honeymoon and keep in touch with occasional notes and holiday cards. You will be first on their minds when their friends need a wedding planner and when they need help with social and business events.

I’ve been doing this for years and it has helped me get many good referrals and repeat business.

What’s it like to be a top wedding planer and run a business that has been featured in magazines like Vogue and InStyle Weddings?  The Learning Channel gave us a glimpse of the answer in last night’s show, Wedded to Perfection.  It followed well-known New York City wedding and event planner Jung Lee and her husband Josh Brooks, owners of company Fete, as they planned two high end weddings (most of their couples spend $200,000 to a million on their Big Day).  In case you did not see the show, some important points about being top planners that you can learn from them:

• Make sure you are clear on what the bride and groom want. One couple wanted “chic and modern”, Jung found out what that meant to them, she didn’t assume she knew.

• If you design any part of the decor, show it to the couple (don’t just tell then about it), get their input, then give them exactly what they ask for.

• Even though Jung and her staff worked hard on perfecting their designs and she thought they did a great job, she knew it was more important that the couple like it.

• One couple was interviewed and they commented that they appreciated the way Jung personalized every aspect of planning their wedding.  So, remember that is it is all about your clients and what they want.

You can see some of Jung’s wedding in her book, Fete: The Wedding Experience.

What happens when you’re planing a wedding and the bride requests additional services from you?  Or, let’s say you are working on a wedding and suggest adding a few services to make the ceremony or reception really stand out, what do you do?

Well, the first thing to do in both situations is to put new services in writing.  Then get your client to agree and sign off on the additional costs of those services.  Never think your client will remember what they requested at the last minute.  Also never assume the client will pay for upgrades.

A friend recently billed a corporate client for an event he had completed for them.  In order to to make their event better than originally planned, he spent extra hours on the decor. He frequently gave the client status but never got agreement in writing.  He presented the client with their bill with the extra charges and his client refused to pay.  He is still trying to get his money.

Your final bill should never be a surprise to your client.  Make sure you let them know of any changes in charges and have them sign an agreement for the increase.

Need to find ways to save money while planning a chic wedding?  The June 2009 issue of Vogue magazine gives 17 inspired ideas from three fashionable brides.  Here are some of them:

• Food - serve only one course, other dishes can be placed on the table to be served family style.

• Bouquets - keep the bride’s bouquet grand, since it appears in many photos, but order small attendant’s bouquets.

• Decor - request flowers that are in season and move the arrangements from the ceremony to the reception and the morning-after brunch.

• Centerpieces - instead of cut flower arrangements, use small potted plants then give them away as favors.  This is also an eco-friendly choice.

• Photography - have guests follow a dress code such as wearing black and white, this produces dramatic and memorable photographs.

Pick up the June issue of Vogue to get the rest of the ideas and take a look at the photo of tennis star RogerFederer’s bride, Mirka Vavrinec, in a beautiful wedding dress from Oscar de la Renta’s spring collection and the fashion photos of model Sasha Pivovarova’s “reenacted” wedding.