Planning from overseas

Thanks for the encouragement! It's good to know I'm not alone in this situation!

I think I've found my photographer! The next big vendors to secure are DJ and florist! All the DJs I've been looking at have online tools to help you plan your music, but none of them are accessible from my area! Not a problem, but I would have liked to use them!

I'm in pretty much the same situation as you. I was lucky to do some venue walk throughs before I left and the rest I have done through skype.

Skype makes such a huge difference nowadays. When picking my vendors I always look at their timeliness (getting to the skype date on time, responding to emails etc.), how they looked on the skype meeting (just because it is a skype date doesn't mean you shouldn't be professional), and just their general personality, if it was compatible with mine.

I think that if a vendor is easy to talk with and plan with over the distance, they will be good to go the day of. References are important, it's great to look for reviews. I also know that a couple really great vendors may miss out because their online presence is weaker than the competitors, so don't let a poor designed website hold you back if you really like their style because some people just don't translate as well online.

You're also lucky you will be there 2-21/2 months before your wedding because you will have a chance to work out any kinks and meet them all in person!

Photographer was my biggest challenge as well, but just look at all the portfolios and see what matches your style first, and then a skype date! See if they match your personality and wedding style!

Good Luck!

Samtam - Yes, my pinterest account has never seen this much activity! lol
I have been trying on dresses here, but the styles are all very over-the-top, glamourous and I want some thing quite simple. Apparently girls who prefer simple dresses here usually have to have them made.
My husband is here with me; we're living in his hometown. We actually already got married here in August. It was a courthouse ceremony followed by dinner at a nice restaurant with family and some close friends, but only my parents and brother came and I have a big close-knit family and some important friends that we want to celebrate with back home. And it's important for me to have a ceremony in the church - at our wedding here we didn't even say vows... a bunch of couples got married at the same time and there was a point where the judge litterally said (in Portuguese) "If anyone here does not wish to get married today, raise you hand". I thought for sure I had misunderstood (I'm not fluent), but nope! LOL

Cassandra, Lisa - I think I've found my photographer! She was highly recommended and when I looked at her work on her website I could clearly see why! And she's shot in our church before! I'll skype with her to make sure our personalities match, but I'm feeling very positive about that!

Everything is coming together! I still have little moments of stress when I think about all the things I still have left to do, but I try to just focus on the next thing on my list!

The photographer we chose was Kathy Focca, Focca.ca. she's amazing!
Would could try having Skype consultations with them. Have you tried that?
I would agree with you, it's got to make it difficult. Instagram is a great way to see a vendors work as well. So look them up on Instagram first and check them out!
Hope this helps!
Lisa

Make sure to look for photographers in the area. Any good photographer should be able to show you their portfolio online/ have a website. Also- always read reviews as well!

Good luck

It sounds like you're well prepared and I'm sure you'll be able to find a dress! You can still research dresses you like (Pinterest is the best!) and contact shops before you arrive to see if they'll have styles you like that you can buy off the rack. Even though you can only rent dresses in Brazil, could you still go and try some on? Maybe that way you can at least narrow down the types of styles you like and see what looks good on you so you don't have to waste time doing that once you get back to Toronto. I would hate for you to have your heart set on a particular style but then realize when you try it on that it might not be right for you!

Is your fiance overseas with you? That's so great that your parents were able to help with your venues!

We already have our venues. The church was easy because it's the one my family has been going to for generations! My parents visited the reception venue for us and put down the deposit. I've been there before and it's beautiful! A little small, but that that will just help us stay within our budget! - No space for distant relatives or a photobooth!

The one thing that I should really be more stressed about is the dress... I can't buy one here in Brazil, they only rent them and I have a fear of having one made (every dress I'ver ever had made didn't turn out how I hoped). I'll have about 2 months to get one once I arrive in Toronto - so it'll have to be off the rack or a super rushed order! For some reason I'm totally calm about this!

My cousins/friends/sister-in-law have offered to help, but we have kind of different tastes so I don't completely trust their opinions, and I'm a bit of a control freak too which doesn't help.

But I'm starting to relax about it all now! I'm too busy with work and studying and other things at the moment to waste anymore time being stressed!

Skype is your best friend! Have you found your venues yet? Do you have someone who's local who might be able to do some walkthroughs for you and take pictures? One of the only things that you really need to see in person is the venue so that you can see how everything works and what size space you're working with. (Pictures on their websites can be misleading.) If you can narrow it down to a couple places, maybe they'd be willing to go meet with the venues and ask questions on your behalf? Make sure they take lots of pics and then as soon as you're in town, you can walk it again yourself.

That's a great point ^^

Destination weddings are basically the same thing. I am in a unique situation where I am in Africa for work, getting married in Cuba in August. So the little party we are planning to have in Toronto when I return is being satellite planned haha, so I feel you!

Dress, deco, everything...theres only so much Pinterest can do.

I have arranged with my sisters and best friend to help out with seeing vendors and whatnot, and I trust their opinions. If you have a close girlfriend on the same page as you, she might be able to help out a bit till youre back.

Hey girls! Thanks for the replies!

Samtam, skype is a great idea and it'll have to do for us because we won't be able to make any trips - we're too far and can't take time off work. We'll arrive just over 2 months before the wedding and will be pretty busy during that time.

Emilie, yes, we're celebrating in Toronto! I'll definitely check out the destination wedding discussions! Thanks for the suggestion!

Kat

Hi Kathryn! Welcome and congratulations on your engagement! I planned my wedding from another country as well! (We're in the US and our wedding was in Canada.) Though you may not be able to meet with your vendors in person until closer to the wedding, with the help of modern technology, you can still meet with your vendors face to face! We started with emailing our potential vendors to get information and then once we narrowed it down, we set up skype sessions to meet them and see if they were a good fit. We were fortunate to be able to make a couple trips to plan our wedding but there were still a few vendors that we didn't get to meet in person until our wedding day. Are you going to be able to visit in person at all before the wedding? I would recommend checking their reviews/portfolios, asking for references and skyping with them to choose your vendors. And then once you're in town, have a face to face meeting with them and do a walkthrough of your venues with them (photographer, videographer, officiant) so that they're familiar with it and know what to expect on the wedding day.

Hi Kathryn! Welcome to the community! It's hard to plan everything from abroad, but you can definitely do it! You can look at the Real Wedding section to find styles that you like for instance: Real Weddings in Ontario. And you can also take a look at the photographers in our directory to see if they have a style you like too:

Wedding Photography Toronto

Are you celebrating your wedding in Toronto? I'll see if some brides in here could help. That's what we're here for!

Brides who are planning a destination wedding are also all planning at a distance. I'll try to see if they can also give you some tips

Where will you go on your destination wedding?

What style of photography do you like best?