Advice Series Post Two - Veronica Veliz

It's day two of our Advice Series and our feature bride today is.....(drumroll) Veronica Veliz! I had the pleasure of attending this wedding - it was spectacular. Her pictures below by Alina M. Photography tell the tale!

Bride and Groom: Veronica and Rene Veliz
Wedding Date: October 12, 2013
Venue: Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

1. How you felt when you got engaged.

I felt excited, nervous, happy and confident I had found the right person to share a life with and to start a family with. I was more excited for our marriage than our wedding.

2. Step One - what you did first and what you would have done differently, if anything.

First thing we did was agree to a time-frame as to when we wanted to get married, i.e., November-December of the next year. Then we started contacting venues to see what was available and we fell in love with Vizcaya. Although they weren't available during our preferred months, we chose to do it there whenever they were available and set an October wedding date.

3. What was most overwhelming about the process?

Who to invite – prices of everything – trying to make everyone and their opinions happy!

4. Your wedding look - how did you get to the final result, i.e., how you picked your linens, flowers, bridesmaid dresses, color scheme, venue, etc. What sources or people helped and what was their advice?

Our caterer, Suzanne Michael, was a huge part of our event production. Our wedding planner, Eric Trelles, also had great ideas. We chose Vizcaya because there was no other venue in Miami that was on the water and that would hold 400+ people. I chose the design and color of my bridesmaid dresses from a designer dress that I loved and we made them with a seamstress. I chose our color scheme because I wanted something classic and elegant.

5. Do you feel like a company like HOL, which focuses on event design and vendor referrals, would have been beneficial with respect to your answer in No. 4 above?

Definitely!

6. What you found most helpful during planning, whether a wedding planner, a parent, a friend, certain vendors.

Being confident in what I wanted for my wedding, not allowing others to sway my decisions and finding someone to help me execute my vision.

7. What you found most difficult during planning.

The fact that everything I liked was very expensive and trying to stay within budget!

8. How you found your vendors and how you feel like HOL would've helped and facilitated the planning (including for your wedding planner).

Mostly through referrals and word of mouth. However, some vendors I was not thrilled with and a company like HOL could definitely help weed out vendors based on a bride's taste.

9. Looking back, you would have done this differently (in general).

I would have researched certain vendors more.

10. Your advice to any bride planning a wedding is:

Don’t stress out! Enjoy this time, do your research and be happy!

11. Your favorite moments during the whole planning process were:

When the wedding all came together.