ContentsIntroduction4Letter of Transmittal4Executive Summary5Facts Sheet7Company and Industry8Mission8Vision8Business Concept10Goal11Market Analysis & Marketing plan12Market and customer profile12Competitive Analysis12Market Size13Market Share and Sales potential14Product- Market Strategy14Price15Place17Operational, staffing and implementing plans22Operational22Recruitment:22Job description:22Selection:25Orientation:25Training:26Performance management Plan26Management Structure27Staff Policies and procedures:27Implementation Plan:28Risk management and legal requirement28Insurance for wedding planners30Bibliography32Appendix34Appendix A - Form for Analyzing Your Competitors34Appendix B - The Swot Analysis36Appendix C - Resume37Appendix D - Assumptions43Appendix E - Interview45

IntroductionLetter of TransmittalApril 14th, 2014To: John Andrade Professor, Small Business OperationsFrom: Gurkirat Kaur (6639918) Robin Robin (663070) Ravikumar Patel RE: Submission of the Business Plan ReportWe submit herewith a business plan report of a research project entitles VIVAH: The knot of love completed by the above mentioned team members.The report includes information on topics such as Mission, Vision and Value statements, Market Analysis & Marketing Plan, Operational, Staffing and Implementation plan, Implementation Plan, Risk management and legal requirements Financial Plan.Moreover, we have included other information such as our resumes and all details about job postings. In order to have a better picture of the information provided in the report several tables and charts have been used.It has been a real pleasure and challenge working on this business plan report. We would like to thank you for your help throughout the whole project.

Yours sincerely,Group 3

Executive SummaryTodays economy is really hard to setup a small business. Lots of small businesses are struggling with competition and money crisis. In this kind of situation setting up a new business is really hard. Idea for new business should be unique and effective. Customers should be attracted and they should be satisfied with services or products they are getting. As a team, we have discussed about numerous ways to set up a unique business and the idea is to organize wedding Ceremonies in a traditional way. A vast majority of Canadian population is immigrants; we can see people from different countries, religions, color, race etc. around us every time. This signifies that the celebrations of events like wedding could be done in different ways for people belonging to different culture. For example, most of the Indian weddings are 3 to 4 day long celebrations including some rituals done before and after the marriage day. Green is considered to be a color representing good luck and prosperity to the married couple, so we will try to keep green as a theme color for marriages relating to Italian culture. So, this business gives us an opportunity to attract an existing multi-cultural market in Canada. Our company name will be VIVAH which basically means marriage in one of the oldest language in the world Sanskrit. So our concept is based on the old traditional way for organizing the event. Our company will serve to all the needs of the clients from dresses, catering, decorations, photography, gifts, and music with applying our specialty of doing everything in old and traditional style. Once the client has made a deal with us, it would be our responsibility to look on everything required to make the wedding as a picture perfect memory. The demand for this business is upward as marriages takes place every month of the year. So it would not be seasonal as well as good contacts will help us getting more clients. The target market would be different nationality or cultural people. But the primary target market would be Indians and secondary would be all other cultures. The reason being as all of our team members belongs to India and it would be easy to organize the initials event in which we have experience. Also there are different rituals and traditions followed by different religion people for example, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali etc. So this will help us gather experience in this field.No doubt, we need a workforce to carry out our projects. After the experience in initials projects our focus will be to have diversity in the workforce. We will hire people from different culture which will create our base of knowing other traditions and also we will do secondary research to know the depth of different cultures. That will help in getting success in our business plan. This will enable us to provide workforce for marriages relating to that particular culture.

Facts Sheet

22 to 26 is the age in Indian culture believed to be ideal to get marriedOur Target: 3% to 5% of the total market in first five year, which is 150-200 weddings3 Different packages: Silver package $6,000 Gold Package of $10,000 to $15,000 Diamond package $18,000 Address: 340 king street east, 2nd floor Toronto, ON M5A 1KBCompany started by three partners Services offered: Wedding arrangements, Catering, Decoration items, Event organizing adviceCustomer signs a contract which states that they pay 50% before the marriage and 50% after the marriage. 5% discount if everything is paid in advance.Main tools for advertising: Personal sellingCo-operative advertising programTrade Promotion ProgramPublicityPublic RelationStarting inventory- $10,000 (Furniture)-$1000 worth of decoration items-equipment worth $2,000

Company and Industry MissionAt VIVAH- The Knot of love, we endeavour to make the wedding of our client perfect and stress free. Our company provides customer with full consultation and focus on the details for the event. Our mission is to make your wedding day as a memorable part with old spice as well as help our client to get satisfied results from our work. We will always make an attempt to achieve the expectations for Vivah by our customers, vendors and every single person connected with Vivah. Our mission is to fully understand the needs and wants for our client. We will plan the event with proper time and effort dedications for 100% satisfaction to customers. Our main focus is to provide the traditional wedding environment for people living in Canada from different parts of the country. Our company will be a median to make our clients feel the same as their home. We will arrange a wedding which will be legally and religiously recognised in Canada and clients country. Our company will arrange the dream wedding as you have planned on time and will be in specified budget. We will value our clients confidence in it and that will also boost us to see all the details to make the clients wedding their dream wedding. VisionOur vision is to serves as the grate framework for our Roadmap and guides every aspect of our business by describing what we need to accomplish in order to continue achieving sustainable, quality growth. People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be. Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs. Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value. Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities. Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities.Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.Value StatementLive Our ValuesOur values serve as a compass for our actions and describe how we behave in the world. Leadership: The courage to shape a better future Collaboration: Leverage collective genius Integrity: Be real Accountability: If it is to be, it's up to me Passion: Committed in heart and mind Diversity: As inclusive as our brands Quality: What we do, we do well

The wedding industry is a modern phenomenon. It was not until the Roman civilization that women were allowed to choose whom they married. A wedding planner is a professional who assists with the design, planning and management of a client's wedding. Weddings are significant events in people's lives and as such, couples are often willing to spend considerable sums of money to ensure that their weddings are well organized. Couples that work long hours and have little spare time available for sourcing and managing wedding venues and wedding suppliers often use wedding planners. They want it to be done in a covered budget and as good as they wanted it to be. Professional wedding planners are based worldwide but the industry is largest in the USA, Western Europe and China[footnoteRef:1]. Various wedding planning courses are available to those who wish to pursue the career[footnoteRef:2]. Several colleges and university offers degrees and certifications for wedding planner course. [1: "Wedding Industry Research." A Guide to the Wedding Industry (Business Reference Services, Library of Congress).] [2: "Wedding Planning." certificates training programs and diplomas.]

Planners generally charge either a percentage of the total wedding cost, which can range from $20,000 to $2 million [footnoteRef:3]in relatively affluent communities in USA, or a flat fee. Every country has a different economy so there could be a bigger changes in it. [3: "Wedding Industry Research." A Guide to the Wedding Industry (Business Reference Services, Library of Congress).]

Planners are also popular with couples planning a destination wedding, where the documentation and paperwork can be complicated. Any country where a wedding is held requires different procedures depending on the nationality of each the bride and the groom. For instance, US citizens marrying in Italy require a Nulla Osta (affidavit sworn in front of the US consulate in Italy), plus an Atto Notorio (sworn in front of the Italian consulate in the US or at a court in Italy), and legalization of the above[footnoteRef:4]. Some countries instead have agreements and the couple can get their No Impediment forms from their local registrar and have it translated by the consulate in the country of the wedding. A local wedding planner can take care of the different procedures. [4: "Wedding Gift Registries." theknot.com.]

Business ConceptThe concept of our company is to help people connect to their roots. The happiness and joy people get by remembering their ancestors and their base is not available in todays time. Event such as wedding gather all the family members and relatives on the same place and the people getting married want it to be a memorable. Getting married and performing rituals and following traditions will get people in back times. And most of the people want to go back in older times from this modern time. So our theme will provide a temporary escape from modern time to older times.Wedding planners are booming up like mushrooms and this industry is growing really fast too[footnoteRef:5]. There are a lot of wedding planners providing services but our company has approached customers with some traditional styles. The wedding arranged by Vivah would signify the rich culture of our client. Each and every detail in making the wedding perfect and memorable for client will be a big responsible for our company. We will make huge effort in ensuring that the customer gets exactly the quality expected from us. [5: "Wedding Industry Research." A Guide to the Wedding Industry (Business Reference Services, Library of Congress).]

GoalOur company wants to be known for the customer satisfaction and uniqueness in our services. The goal of our company will be divided in short and long term. The short term goal of our company will be to make a base for our company that will be to get the market share and attract customers. We will be the full service planner that means we would be responsible from the beginning to end of marriage event. We will try to expand the customer base by 60 percent within 6 months of the business set up, the feedback obtained from the customers must be 90 percent positive, for the company profits we would like to achieve break even during the initial stages of the company and then we will try to increase our profits. The primary target market will be mainly the people who belong to Indian culture so we get skilful and experience in this field.The long term goal of this company would be to expand our business internationally. The company target market than will change to all cultural people from different nations or religions. The company would have diversity in the workplace, and will be known globally for its services. The company will organize wedding events that will give 100% satisfaction to the customers. The branches for our company VIVAH will be opened in different countries to serve customers. The company theme would still be according to one ritual but with some modern touch so we can sustain the customers interest and royalty for our company. The target market would always want to have some uniqueness every time we organize an event so thats why over the years we will give some modern touch to our ideas so our theme ( marriage according to traditions and rituals) would not look as repeated over the years.Market Analysis & Marketing planMarket and customer profileOur company provides service like planning, organizing, implementing and controlling the wedding events in a very traditional and ethnic way. So this service will be focused on the people looking to get married in an old traditional way. Todays busy schedules does not allow anyone to take out tine from their busy schedule and try to make this special day very unique and traditional. So for the initial projects we will focus on the people who belong to India and later on people from different cultures and nation. The prospective customers will be people from different cultures and religions people who belong to India settled in Toronto. The age of the targeted customer market will be from 22 to 26, as in Indian culture this age is believed to be ideal to get married[footnoteRef:6]. The people who will sign the contract with us will get rid of all kind of stress they would have otherwise taken while arranging for wedding event. Specially, our primary target market (Indians) has a lot of rituals to be followed during the days of marriage[footnoteRef:7]. So each and every rituals which they have to perform will be taken care of us such as how, when and what is needed to perform it. [6: "Indian Wedding." Indian weddings- Wedding in India- Indian Marriages.] [7: "Indian Wedding." Indian weddings- Wedding in India- Indian Marriages.]

We have big target market not only in Toronto but also all over the Canada[footnoteRef:8]. And most of the families in Canada are middle class. They would prefer to celebrate weddings as one of important event in their life, but at the same time they have to take care of economy as well. [8: "Wedding Industry Research." A Guide to the Wedding Industry (Business Reference Services, Library of Congress).]

Competitive AnalysisThe three of the wedding companies that are highly successful in this industry are:1. The Wedding Planers.1. Rebecca Chan.1. Fusion Events.Out of the total market for wedding planners the above mentioned three companies have the biggest share. The wedding planners have the biggest share in market and have a huge share in market[footnoteRef:9]. Fusion events are cheaper as compared to others[footnoteRef:10]. Their main target is Asian markets. From the recent market information the market for wedding events is increasing at a huge rate but for the above mentioned three companies neither one of them is experiencing an increase in sales. The wedding planners are accused of negligence because of huge market share and low number of staff[footnoteRef:11]. Rebecca Chan is the most stable one but they also suffer from slow and old techniques[footnoteRef:12]. Fusion events have a decrease in sales as they are not as efficient as others. Another disadvantage they have is that they only target Asian families. Most of the wedding planners provide different themes but none of them have focused on organizing the wedding according to the traditions and rituals. This is exactly what a customers wants in their wedding events so the idea of implementing all the rituals is what differentiate us from the competitions. [9: "The Wedding Planners Toronto." The Wedding Planners Toronto. http://theweddingplanners.ca/index2.php#/home/ (accessed February 22, 2014).] [10: "Contact Rebecca Chan - Toronto wedding planner." Rebecca. http://www.rebeccachan.ca/contactrebecca/ (accessed February 22, 2014).] [11: "The Wedding Planners Toronto." The Wedding Planners Toronto. http://theweddingplanners.ca/index2.php#/home/ (accessed February 22, 2014).] [12: "TORONTO WEDDING PLANNERS - Fusion Events - TORONTO WEDDING BANDS." Fusion Events. http://www.fusion-events.ca/ (accessed February 22, 2014).]

Seasonal TrendsUsually, an average person in his life gets married only once. So for our services we expect it would apply the same, but it is possible that we can make many connections with the people attending the wedding ceremony. The people attending the ceremony will be the greatest source of growing our business. Our services will be provided at different places and customer can connect us through our locations, telephones and email. For our target market which is mainly Indian people, marriages are not seasonal it depends on the dates which are given by priest. So it would be not seasonal for our primary target market, but for the secondary market it is usually summers and springs the right time to get married.Market Sizea. 298,372 people are south Asian in Toronto, which is 12% of total population. They are our primary target customers. There is other 32% of population, which are immigrants as well.b. 75,000 are eligible bachelors and more than 50,000 youngsters wants to their wedding traditionally.c. 65.23% of them are men and 34.77% are women.Market Share and Sales potentialWe have big target market not only in Toronto but also all over the Canada[footnoteRef:13]. And most of the families in Canada are middle class. They would prefer to celebrate weddings as one of important event in their life, but at the same time they have to take care of economy as well. As we are flexible according to budgets we might be able to cover 3% to 5% of the total market ( All over the Canada)in first year, which is $ 520,000[footnoteRef:14]. According to this calculation this is a good start and if everything goes well we will be able to expand in future. It is kind of unpredictable to calculate particular number of customers in this field. [13: "City of Toronto: Toronto Facts, Toronto's racial diversity." City of Toronto: Toronto Facts, Toronto's racial diversity.] [14: Referred from the financial statement ( Business Plan)]

Product- Market Strategy To survive in todays competitive world, being just a wedding planner would not be enough to survive in this business. Our company provides service like planning, organizing, implementing and controlling the wedding events in a very traditional and ethnic way. So this service will be focused on the people looking to get married in an old traditional way. Todays busy schedules do not allow anyone to take out tine from their busy schedule and try to make this special day very unique and traditional. So for the initial projects we will focus on the people who belong to India and later on people from different cultures and nation. The prospective customers will be people from different cultures and religions people who belong to India settled in Toronto. The age of the targeted customer market will be from 22 to 26, as in Indian culture this age is believed to be ideal to get married[footnoteRef:15]. The people who will sign the contract with us will get rid of all kind of stress they would have otherwise taken while arranging for wedding event. Specially, our primary target market (Indians) has a lot of rituals to be followed during the days of marriage[footnoteRef:16]. So each and every rituals which they have to perform will be taken care of us such as how, when and what is needed to perform it. [15: "Indian Wedding." Indian weddings- Wedding in India- Indian Marriages.] [16: "Indian Wedding." Indian weddings- Wedding in India- Indian Marriages.]

Product/Service Offering Helping the client in preparation of wedding budget Arranging for all the services and things need for occasion Contacting vendors and making contracts for food and decorations services On site preparations and giving notification to the customers Assisting bride and groom for dresses and make upNo doubt that there are a lot of wedding planners selling their services in Toronto. And this industry is growing faster, but people living in Canada migrated from some other countries will always seek the environment like their own culture. People who still feel connected to their roots will seek out wedding as a good way to go back in their memories. We will offer services exactly in the same manner which they would have got back home on the marriage celebration. Our idea is not just be successful but actually making our customers feel as this really is one of the best days of their lives. The ritual, tradition and sense of being at home will bring the attention of the customers toward us. The people will be concerned about the quality as what promise do we actually imply that while arranging for the occasion. As well as for the price, it will depend on the budget of the customers so it would be more flexible.The features and benefits that these customers consider in the purchase of products/services like us is that we provide efficiency in what they demand. Marriage in most cases is a onetime even and every customer wants it to remain in their memories for long time. They want it to have a long lasting impact and as especially when they are enough foreign country deprived of the actual cultural and traditional series they would like. So that is exactly what we are going to do. We are going to provide them services with exactly the same blend they would get it in their homeland.PriceOur company is providing services to the client and we are free to charge any price for our services. But still we have to keep in my mind the fact that we have to relate to the market prices. If we are charge too high (in the starting months of business) than the other competitors we have in the market, the customer would prefer our competitors above us. But we charge lower price it would not cover all the expenses and we might suffer a loss. When we have established our name in the market with our unique services, we can charge a little high price (reasonable) than competitor.The minimum budget that we will work on is $5,000[footnoteRef:17] and the maximum can go as much as the client wants. We will provide our services in three different packages that are made considering the income and expenditure cost for wedding event. Our packages will be designed to help the needs of the client within the proposed budget of the client. Brief explanations of the packages are as follow: [17: Financial statements and Assumption sheet]

Silver package: Our silver package will be for the clients who have a budget with $6,000. This package is for the clients who want to have a memorable event but would help us coordinating. Our services will be to provide our client with a unique style of traditional wedding but our clients will be responsible for our contacting vendors. We will just co-ordinate everything for them on the wedding day according to the material provided. We will help in making the budget, give customer a suitable vendor within their budget, advice clients on the different wedding aspects, continuous communication till the wedding day, prepare schedule for all the day and activities taking place on particular day, advice on bridal and groom dresses.Gold Package: Our gold package would be for the clients having a budget of $10,000 to $ 15,000. This package would get that includes all the services for silver package along with that we will help customers booking the vendor, contacting vendors to conform the details about the event, wedding rehearsal with the vendors, helping in estimating the clients guest, dresses of bride, groom and close relatives matching the traditional styles, decorating the event in old traditional way, helping the client from beginning to end day of the event.Diamond package: Our diamond package will be for the clients with the budget of $18,000 and as much as the clients wants the wedding to be. This package includes all the responsibilities transfer from the client to us. From the invitations distribution to the every little and big things required for an wedding event. This package includes all the steps like finalizing the vendors, scheduling the event, required place, decoration etc. So basically in this client has to sign a contract with us and all the other responsibilities will be left for our companyParty package: This package would be offered to client for additional $4,000 for Gold and Silver package. This package includes a dance night and a bachelor party for the wedding event. The dance night would be a kind of dance competition held between all the family members of bride and groom. The competition will be focused on the old songs and older member of the family will be participating as well. And of course, food and beverages will be served to guest and family. Our company has a policy of 50-50 which means a client can pay 50% of the amount when the contract is signed and 50% after the services has been provided to them. Customer paying the entire amount on the contract day or before the wedding is held, will get a discount of 5% on the entire amount.PlaceThe distribution for our services will be directly to the clients because we will be the one organizing the event and looking for everything. So it is necessary for VIVAH team to be present while providing the services. The most preferable locations for our business are as follow:1. Yonge and Shepard OfficeAddress: 110 Sheppard avenue E, Toronto ON2. Toronto King East ( Workplace Ones)Address: 340 King street east, 2ND FloorToronto, ON M5A 1KB3. Telsec business Centre Inc.Address: Toronto Star Building1 Yonge St. Suite 1801Toronto M5E 1W7

FACTOR A:Number 1 is used to refer Yonge and Shepard office[footnoteRef:18] [18: "Yonge and Sheppard Office Space Toronto March 2011." : Office Search Toronto.]

Number 2 is used to refer Toronto King east[footnoteRef:19] [19: "Toronto King East." Shared Office Space Rental.]

Number 3 is used to refer Telsec business Centre Inc[footnoteRef:20] [20: "Telsec." Office Space.]

PRIMARY ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION FACTORS by Location #123(RATE YES OR NO)1.Will municipal zoning allow the proposed business? Yes YesYes2.Does this site meet the minimum operating needs of the proposedBusiness? Yes Yes Yes3.Do existing buildings meet minimum initial needs? No YesYes4.Is the rent for this location within your proposed operating budget? No YesYes5.Is the rent for this location, with or without buildings, reasonable? No NoYesOne No answer may be sufficient reason not to proceed with further investigation unless some modification can be achieved.FACTOR B: SITE EVALUATION(USE PERCENTAGE SCALE 0 TO 100)6. How does this location compare with the best possible location8010070Available?7.What rating would you give the present buildings on the site?90100608.How would you rate the overall environment of this location with the best environment existing within your trading area?9090759.How would you rate the availability of parking for vehicles?10.How would you rate the nature and quantity of combined foot and vehicle traffic passing your location?95 85 7011.What is the improvement potential of this location?9010085Total525560450FACTOR C: TREND ANALYSIS(COMPARE THE ANSWER FOR EACH LOCATION AND RANK EACH BYNUMBER FROM AMONG THOSE REVIEWED i.e., 1st, 2nd, 3rd)LOCATION # 12312.Has the location shown improvement through the years?2nd1st3rd13.Is the owner and/or landlord progressive and co-operative?2nd1st3rd14.What major patterns of change are affecting this location?a.Streets: Speed limits, paving1st2nd3rdB.Shopping centers2nd 1st3rdc.Zoning2nd1st3rdd.Financial investment2nd 1st3rde.Dynamic leadership and action1st2nd3rdf.Type of shopper or other potential customer1ST2nd3rd15.What businesses have occupied this location over the past 10 years?Toronto King East (Workplace Ones) have small business such as Kinxy cosmetics, Governor Films, High view communications[footnoteRef:21]. Yonge and Sheppard has a Rogerss customer service center and telsec business centre is newly opened in that location so it does not have any previous record. [21: "Toronto King East." Shared Office Space Rental.]

16.Have the businesses identified in question 15 (above) been successful?Workplace Ones location at King East has Governor Films, which is highly successful along with high view communications having good reputation. Also, Rogers has a good reputation and is quite successful.17.Why is this location available now?All of these building available for rental office is basically made to provide space for commercial use. So that is why it is available to our company for business.18.Are a number of other suitable locations available?Yes there is a lot more suitable locations available in Mississauga, Kitchener, waterloo etc. but only these three chosen for comparison for most suitable for our company in Toronto area.FACTOR D: PRICEVALUE DETERMINATION19.What is the asking rent for each location? (Per month)$5077.44 $3750 $120020.What is the estimated cost of required leasehold improvements?$400 $550 $30021.What numerical total for each site is developed for questions6 through 11?525 560 45022.Is there a No answer to any of questions 1 through 5?Yes, there is No answer to some questions.23.Do the answers to questions 12 through 18 develop a pattern that is:a.Highly favourable?NoYesNob.Average?YesYesNoc.Fair?NoYesNod.Questionable?NoNoYese.Not acceptable?NoNo Yes

The location for our business would be Toronto King East (Workplace Ones)[footnoteRef:22] [22: "Toronto King East." Shared Office Space Rental.]

Address: 340 king street east, 2nd floorToronto, ON M5A 1KBThis location has all the factors required to operate our services. Some of the factors are: The budget of the building rent is reasonable and within our operating budget The locations has availability of parking for vehicles It is located in a busy market place Workplace ones building is known for renting space for office use and they are in many parts of Toronto. The building space come with desk, office chairs, printers, fax and other basic equipments The internet and telephone services are 24/7 hours The maintenance and cleaning on regular basis Security services for the access of the building is availablePromotionAdvertising: We are going to rely on media advertisement as well as we going to keep on track of promoting our company name and ideas constantly on social networking site. So we can actually identify what people look in our services, get feedback from it and innovate new ideas on our reviews. The media to advertise our company would mainly be on social networking site and our company website along with advertisement on magazines and newspapers after some growth in this industry we will use radio and television as a mean to advertise our companyPersonal selling: For our business the real promotional tool will be personal selling. We would actually concentrate on attracting customers while giving demo for our work, which would be the guest or family members of couple. These people will see our work and it would be the great opportunity for getting more clients.Co-operative advertising program: The co-operative advertising will be the greatest mean to attract our customers. The vendors such as decorations, food, and lighting can suggest and give our contact information to their clients, purchasing some wedding material from vendors. This will help getting clients to them as well as to our company. We will give vendors some significant amount of share in profits for getting more clients.Trade Promotion Program: We will put VIVAH booth in Idea factory[footnoteRef:23] which is four day trade show that gives great opportunities for networking and giving information about our company. This event is attended by approximately 2500 [footnoteRef:24]event professionals every year. After when our business will be globally developed then we will approach MPI world Education congress, International Convex[footnoteRef:25]. These trade shows will help in getting market share across Canada. [23: Oregon Trade Promotion Program." Oregon Business Trade Promotion Business Oregon] [24: Oregon Trade Promotion Program." Oregon Business Trade Promotion Business Oregon] [25: Oregon Trade Promotion Program." Oregon Business Trade Promotion Business Oregon]

Publicity: To promote our company we will offer Catalogs- a booklet which will contain a brief summary for our idea, we provide, the average cost, different images and photos. We will use a signature for our company VIVAH a wedding bell which will be given to customers or people as a hang tag labels. We will also give our prospects a calendar with different pictures of some symbols of traditional weddings from different cultures (with contact information of VIVAH at the bottom).Operational, staffing and implementing plansOperationalOur company is a service company so we are selling intangible things. Our services provided will include contacting vendors and material used for wedding event will be contracted with vendors. They will provide the event with all the necessary material required from small to a massive one. But the location of our office will required some fixture and equipments in order to make our office look professional. Furniture would cost $10,000[footnoteRef:26] as it will be relating to the old traditional style and equipments will cost us $2,000[footnoteRef:27]. Along with these we will buy a second hand trucks for the company use such as meeting a client or inspecting the locations etc. We will keep a starting inventory of $1,000[footnoteRef:28] that will include some of the antique and ritual decoration material imported from India. The material which is found only in the specific holy places that is required to perform some rituals in the wedding event. As we will expand our target market it will be expected to increase. [26: Financial statements and Assumption sheet] [27: Financial statements and Assumption sheet] [28: Financial statements and Assumption sheet]

Recruitment:Our company is started by three owners of the company; the initial projects will be handled by only three members of the company. But when the company will start succeeding we will hire wedding coordinators to manage the 24X7 hour business. After getting some in new projects we will hire full time wedding coordinators. This process will include identifying the new position or employee required to handle specific department or coordinate in some department. Below is the job requirement or job description based on the Human resource and skills development in Canada[footnoteRef:29]. [29: "Common menu bar links." Welcome to the National Occupational Classification 2011.]

Job description: Name of the company: Vivah- the Knot of LovePosition: Assistant/ Wedding coordinatorPurpose: Assisting in planning the wedding event Working Conditions The working hours would be flexible Weekend work required Will be required to attend to the clients needs Assisting with the overseeing of the event responsibilities Some lifting may be requiredJob Status: Full time, 40 to 45 hours a weekSalary: CompetitiveJob responsibilities: Assisting the wedding event with checking the requirements, decoration and food Assisting the needs of the clients, answering to the questions of guest and helping guests to get to the right place Overlooking and helping vendors to set up their work, helping vendors to place the products or material at right place Keeping a track of schedule and coordinating the activities according to the schedule Taking care of the VIP guest is more crucial, heading them to the right place as well as proper accommodation arrangementsJob Specification: Creative and innovative for ideas Solving problems or hurdles quickly Ability to work as a team and individually Energetic and enthusiastic Friendly nature Client satisfaction focused Good interpersonal and communication skills Management skills Possess culture awareness and sensitivityQualification: High school diploma or equivalent 2 year experience in wedding industry or management services Customer service experience Basic knowledge of excel, Microsoft and PowerPoint Knowledge regarding event organization

Position Title: Receptionist for Vivah- a wedding planning company Purpose: Serves client by greeting, direct them to the office, fix appointment with the manager, handle telecommunication and assist customers regarding any question about the company.Salary: CompetitiveWorking Condition Shifts starts at 9 am to 5 pm Weekend availability required Longer hours sitting and using computer Some light lifting may be required Might have to handle number of requests and situation at the same timeJob requirements: Respond to the telephone and email inquires Respond to the email and telephone messages Assisting in planning the meetings and professional telephone calls Fix appointment with the clients and inform up to date information proceed from clients Answer all the incoming calls and emails Assist the staff or manager as requested Perform other related duties as requiredSkills required Team building Problem solving and decision making skills Good communication and listening skills Computer skills Stress and time management skills Friendly and respectful Flexible Possess culture awareness and sensitivityQualification: High school diploma or equivalent Knowledge or diploma in Microsoft software Experience in customer service for minimum 2 years Fluency in English language Knowledge of interpersonal communication skillsSelection:After reviewing the resume of the applicants, we will shortlist the candidates who meet the required skills and qualification. Those shortlisted candidates will be called for an interview with company management. The interview will include questions such as problem solving, behavioral, creative thinking and fact finding to check the ability of the interviewee. After the interview, the best candidate meeting all the requirements will be selected. Then we will proceed to the background and reference check of the selected candidates and sign a contract with the employee. Orientation:Our orientation will be done in two parts- the first part will be informing hired assistance/coordinator and receptionist about the company policies, mission, value and rules. This part will include telling employees verbally their position and job responsibilities along with effective methods to perform it. This step will be performed within the office space. The second part of the orientation will be only for assistance/ coordinator that will include actually showing the real site of work. Employees will be taught and shown different kind of methods for effective work production. This on site orientation will help employees to learn and apply the techniques under an expert, reducing the chances of omission and errors while performing. Training:As our company will be hiring employees based their skills and previous experience in event planning, we will assume proving their skills while performing the job. In the on-site training we will be teaching employees methods to be used to effectively use the resources and produce better result. So training will be mixed with the orientation that is covering all the major aspects and techniques that employees can use to increase their performance. Performance management PlanEmployees are the key for the satisfied customers; if the employees are satisfied with their job then clients will be automatically treated well by them. So our company will pay vital attention to the needs of the employee. We will be getting continuous feedback from our employees through regular meetings. Although we will be hiring only 5 employees in the first 2 years and we will work more as a team (rather than a boss and employee). The environment in the office will be more informal as we want the Vivah team to enjoy while working. And organizing wedding event is more effectively organized if the employees and employer are enjoying working on event.To evaluate the performance we will measure the quality of the work done in arranging the wedding event as well as getting feedback from the clients. As our main focus will be to satisfy the faith put in Vivah by clients so we evaluate from customer satisfaction level. As their will only 5 to 8 employees it would be easy to measure the performance of each employee based on the effort put in performing the given task. Management Structure

Staff Policies and procedures: The employees are expected to give priority to the customer satisfaction It is important to have and give respect to fellow workers Coordinating activities with other team members Harmony no discards Reporting activities timely to the manager or assistant manager Any violation, discrimination or harassment is not tolerated with co-workers or clients Employees are expected to dress up in causal business clothes and a neat appearance Employees should be aware of the risk factor in our business and take necessary steps to reduce or eliminate the risk The employees are not allowed to have any usage of alcohol or cigarettes while organizing the event.Implementation Plan:The step by step plans and how we going to implement those plans are shown in appendix (Project file).Risk management and legal requirement Some of the risks that can cause harm or loss during the event organization are following along with the solutions: The expenses exceeds as compare to budget available from clientSolution: This can happen due to lack of planning while organizing and making deals with the vendors. When the client hires us for the wedding, they will provide us a certain budget for their wedding but chances are there that the budget sometime can exceed the expenses incurred. The minimum budget that will be accepted by our company will be of $ 5,000 from our client. Along with that we are providing packages to our client (discussed in price) that will be our charges to the client. It would be like fees charges so with that it will be our company responsibility to provide client with everything promised in that package. We will be flexible if the client wants to include some things from silver package and some from gold etc. This would help in doing everything within the budget, so for this we would plan everything out in the financial statement for predications of future expenses. The services required such as catering, decoration, banquet hall etc. not available on the required date: During the wedding season when there is like a lot of people getting married on the same day. It would be hard to get vendors on the required time or preferred location by clients. As for this our company will try to get fixed vendors for all the services, when we are able to establish in the market. This would help in having fixed vendor that you know will provide our company their services. When we have the market share we want and our business is running in profitability, we would make a contract with the vendors and buy their services. This will help our vendors to get a fixed customer as well as help Vivah in providing the clients, what we promise. Wrong estimation of guests resulting in shortage of food/beverages or other services: One of the biggest risks in the wedding is under or over estimation of the guests invited to the wedding. There cannot be a particular solution for it because even if you allow guest to attend your wedding according to an invitation card (that allow only 3 people on the card) will be more like a ticket. This would be not accepted as a respectable way. So this will be discussed with client in the beginning of making a estimation of the guest to be invited and how much can be expected from each family. This will be discussed and all other plans would be based on the wedding list. One of our company employees will make the estimation with the client and make invitations and a figure of estimated guests. We will always expect a show up of some unexpected guest and make backup arrangements for it. Event organized outdoor ruined due to heavy rainfall, wind or some other natural disasters: No one has control over the nature, neither it is in hand of our client nor our company. Outdoor event which is in trend these days can be ruined by wind or rain and indoor events can be ruined by earthquake or any other natural disaster. We cannot control these risk but we can avoid or reduce the chances of its affecting the event. For example, Outdoor events should be organized by checking the weather forecast or if the wedding is occurring in rainy or windy day it should be done indoor. However, we cannot reduce or eliminate the risk of having earthquake or other natural disaster but we can transfer by having an insurance to overcome any loss occurred due to natural disasters.

Fire risk: We will assume the risk of fore on the basis of the event having so much use of electricity or some equipments related to food services. At the first place, we will ensure that we take necessary steps to identify the risk, take necessary steps to reduce or eliminate the fire occurrence. Such as making sure that there are proper exist route in the place, Exists signs are clearly visible, fire extinguishing and other safety equipments available on sight, the equipments and safety aids are tested in last 6 months for the usage, proper system installed of alarming people and calling fire services. This all means can help in reducing the risk of injuries due to fire. Also, there will be proper use of electricity and food equipments to eliminate the risk of fire. The insurance policy for fire or theft will help in transferring the risk. Failure of electricity: The chances of this risk occurrence are very low but still we assume that this risk can cause a heavy loss in terms of the company image and damages. We will eliminate the risk of failure by ensuring the installation is done with proper safety and would be tested before the event. Although, we would reduce the risk by getting generators or invertors that will provide electricity as when required. Third party claim on injuries such as guest: It is the responsibility of the company to make good arrangements of the place that would not harm any of the individual attending the wedding. If it is in banquet hall than it would be their responsibility but anything happened to third party because of the arrangements done by our company, we will be liable for it. To reduce the chances of any injury we have to make sure the location, layout and structure is free from any risk. We will make sure the walkway or the entrance is not slippery or hinder by any object causing accidents, the space is sufficient for people invited, the banquet hall or the place (where event is taking place) is in a good condition. Along with that, our company will have an insurance to cover third-party claims ( transfer). Bad debt: Our Company can suffer from bad debt as we will collect 50% of the amount when the client gets in contract with us and 50% when we have provided them with services. As we will sign a contract with the customer which states the term that a client is supposed to submit 50% of the amount within 10 days (after the event has taken place). So if the client is not able to pay the money he/she is breaching the contract, so we can sue the client. Also we will make sure that the client has enough funds to support the wedding.Insurance for wedding planners General Liability Insurance: As the wedding event involves presence of lots people that increase the chances of accidents or other cause to the guests. Any cause or harm to people will result in great amount of loss to the company and decreasing the goodwill of the company. It covers expense such as injuries to third party that covers medical expenses or loss of services. Damage to the property which our company is holding an event. The claims for the food services or decoration that has cause damage to the third party or clients.

Worker compensation Insurance for wedding planner and party Coordinators: There are high chances while doing arrangement such as food or decorating that can cause an injury to our employees. According to the law, the employee injured at work place is liable for all the expense to be covered by the company. For our company it is important to provide safe work environment to our employee but if some injuries take place on the job, worker compensation insurance will cover all the expenses related to providing treatment to the injured employee. This insurance also include providing lost wages to the injured employee, covering cost of the court when injured employee sues the company, funeral and other payments to the family of the dead employee.

Errors & Omission Insurance for wedding planners and event planners: In a business of services there is always a chance that your client may not like the service provided and can sue the company by claiming that the services were not provided as it was promised. This policy helps the company to cover all the cost suffered by client due to the company services. Any negligence in the services provided to client, mistakes done while providing the services, or some other factor that will have adverse effect on the client. This insurance will help the company to overcome all the loss suffered by client.

Bibliography"The Wedding Planners Toronto." The Wedding Planners Toronto. http://theweddingplanners.ca/index2.php#/home/ (accessed April13, 2014).

"Contact Rebecca Chan - Toronto wedding planner." Rebecca. http://www.rebeccachan.ca/contactrebecca/ (accessed April13, 2014).

"TORONTO WEDDING PLANNERS - Fusion Events - TORONTO WEDDING BANDS." Fusion Events. http://www.fusion-events.ca/ (accessed April13, , 2014).

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"Indian Wedding." Indian weddings- Wedding in India- Indian Marriages. http://weddings.iloveindia.com/indian-weddings/ (accessed April 13, 2014).

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Appendix Appendix A - Form for Analyzing Your Competitors

FactorYour BusinessCompetitor 1Competitor 2Competitor 3*

Market Position1. Rank competitors based on relative size.Smaller as compared to all of theseThe Wedding plannersRebecca ChanFusion Events

Strengths2.What are their major strengths?Knowledge of cultureHuge MarketExperienceCheaper as compared to others

Weaknesses3.What are their principal weaknesses?New in businessNegligence because of high amount of businessSlow and old school techniquesNot as efficient and effective

Target Market4.Who appears to be their principal target market/segments?All kinds of Indians familiesCanadian familiesCanadian FamiliesAsian Families

Product or Service5.How does the companys product or service differ from others?Providing service suitable for different people from different cultures.Focus on Perfection through new method but that suffers because of huge workloadFocus on traditional and cultural ways.Have new techniques because of being new in the market and try to find alternatives to cover costs

Price6.How do competitor prices differ? (show numbers, but also indicate % differences)* We havent decided about our prices yet. We have to do an analysis about our costs and other expensesMost Expensive and generally charge 15% more than others with a Net Profit of 18%Net Profit of 15%. Not that much of high revenues but have low costs.Net profit is 13% because they have low costs than others and are relatively new in market.

Promotion7.Identify the primary promotional tools used.Online, Emails, Posts and print mediaEmails and Phone callsPrint MediaPosts and Emails

Distribution/Place8.Describe the principal features of their place/distribution mix.Mainly areas with high immigrant populationOnly in GTAGTA but also take business from outside areasToronto only

Marketing Strategy15.How would you summarize their overall marketing strategy?New and trying to increase their market shareHuge market so focus on techniques which have huge baseEfficient but not as effectiveEffective and do it at the right time after the research

Appendix B - The Swot AnalysisSWOT MatrixOpportunitiesThreats

1. Large target market1. Competitors already in the market

2.The concept of traditional marriage events new in the market2. People arranging events on own to save money

3. Rate of success in the business high3. Other cultural people other than Indians may hesitate to hire

StrengthsO/S MatchesT/S Matches

1. Knowledge of the target market rituals and cultureTarget marketMore opportunity big competition

2.Easy to understand and work on the customers needThe traditional marriage events conceptWaste Knowledge of field

3.easy to find the initials projects as will contact relatives and friends for the first contractGrowing industryCultural advantage/disadvantage

WeaknessesO/W MatchesT/W Matches

1. New in the market with no previous experienceHard work but big marketNew comers

2.Hard to get financial assistance for initials contractsBig Profit but big investmentEconomy Problem

3large number of competitors in small and large sectorsGood Future With big competitionMore options

Appendix C - Resume

Ravi Kumar Patel

ObjectiveTo get a job where I can utilize my skills and improve myself with a range of new skills to use them for the organizations growth.

Education

Business, Conestoga College, Kitchener, ON. Sept 2012 - Present Able to work in a manner consistent with legal and professional standards, practices, and protocols. Accounting and financial knowledge related to the operation of an organization. Able to Communicate business-related information persuasively and accurately in oral, written, and graphic formats. Accounting, Sales, Marketing, Supply chain ETC.

Work Experience

Supervisor Jan 2013 - PresentDiva Petroleum, Cambridge, ON Experienced dealing with customers and customer complaints in a timely manner. Earned management trust by serving as key holder, responsibly opening and closing store. Provided an elevated customer experience to generate a loyal client. Restocked inventory every month and reviewed cash operation data to verify proper replenishment. Assisted in creating pre-season marketing plans to support department and divisional strategies.

Customer Services RepresentativeJuly 2012 - Feb 2013Cinema1, Cambridge, ON Developed reputation as an efficient service provider with high levels of accuracy. Organized store merchandise racks by size, style and color to promote visually appealing environment. Answered product questions with up-to-date knowledge of sales and store promotions. Described product to customers and accurately explained details and care of merchandise.

Customer Sales RepresentativeFeb 2012 - Feb 2013SAM SUB, Guelph, ON Operated a POS system to itemize and complete an average of number customer purchases. Built long-term customer relationships and advised customers on purchases and promotions. Greeted customers entering the store to ascertain what each customer wanted or needed.

Volunteer Experience

President of Conestoga College South Asian Community. Hosting an event for 100-200 people twice a year. SAM SUB. Store advertising. Conestoga College Respect Representative. Spreading respect awareness. Conestoga College Orientation Leader. Guiding new students at the college. Conestoga College Bookstore Ambassador. Marketing for bookstore.

Interests

Sports, Reading, Music, Dancing.

References available upon request. Robin Sharma Robin Sharma Contact Info: 1502-16 Cedar woods Crescent 226-600-7285 Kitchener, ON sharmarobin23@yahoo.caObjective: I am seeking a part time job position in which I can gain valuable work experience and build some customer relationship skills.

Education: General Business Diploma (2012-Present) Conestoga College, Kitchener, ON Senior Secondary Education (2010-2012) GMSSS Sector 16 Chandigarh, India

Knowledge and Skills: Hardworking can work in long shifts Good Communication Skills Fluent in languages such as English, Hindi and Punjabi Confident in facing challenges

Co-curricular activities: Team member at Conestoga College South Asian Society (2012-Present) Orientation Leader (2012-Present) Respect team member (2012-Present)

Work Experience: CSR at Macs Convenience Store , Kitchener, ON (June2013- Present) Customer Relationship Building Keeping the store neat and tidy Stocking shelves during the night Restocking the cooler during the night Assisted in sales promotion Working in a busy environment Doing cash and debit transactions

Helper at Air Expert, Waterloo, On (May 2013-Sep2013) Installed ACs Helper at installing water heaters and furnaces Delivered Flyers Handled Office work and talked to customers who walk in Did Marketing Made Advertisements for them on kijiji

Team Leader at Pizza Maniac, Kitchener, ON (Sep 2012-June 2013) Supervisor, Cashier, Inventory Checker Experience in opening and closing the store Worked during busy days on my own Gave inventory orders to the suppliers Took orders from the phone

Gurkirat Kaur Gurkirat Kaur544 Peach Blossom CourtKitchener, Ont. N2E 3Z9Cell Phone: 519- 590-8314Grewalz6@hotmail.com

Objective:

To get a job where I can utilize my skills and improve myself with a range of new skills to use them for the organizations growth.

Skills: Proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and internet research Familiar with Simply Accounting Gained excellent communication skills while working with young students as a Student Teacher Resourceful team player with a willingness to learn new concepts Planning and organizing social events and documents as a General Assistant Over six months experience in sales field

Education: Conestoga College, Kitchener, ON, 2013- present General Business Diploma

Emm Aar International School, Punjab, India, 2007-2011 Indian Secondary School Diploma

Relevant Skills: Customer Oriented Good Communication skills Fluent in English, Hindi and Punjabi Know how to do transactions

Work Experience:Subway Canada, Kitchener Ontario, 2013-Present Customer representative Assist customer Record sales in computer that include cash transactions Record expenses in Excel Keep track of monthly cash out-flow and in-flow Experience in opening and closing store

Macs Convenience store, Cambridge Ontario, 02 June-15 August (2013)Customer Sales representative Customer relationship building

Keeping the store neat and clean Restocking inventory on shelves and in coolers Receiving and making orders Assisted in sales promotion

Volunteer Experience: Orientation Leader, Conestoga College, Kitchener, Ontario, 2013Leader Organized social events for groups to take part made new students feel welcome in their first year of College

Appendix D - Assumptions

1. Salary for the owner will be $4,000 for the first and second year. So it will be $ 48,000 for the 1st and 2nd year but will increase by $12,000 by the 3rd year.2. Wages and salaries will be for 2 people which is $3,000 each. So in total it will be $6,000. ( For the Start up sheet)As also mentioned in implementation plan that we will hire more workforce. The first year wages expense would be $ 72,000 ( wages of each month showed in financial sheet). In the year 2nd and 3 rd, it will be $ 80,000 and $ 90,000.3. For the rent we have referred to this locations rent terms and leasehold improvement "Toronto King East." Shared Office Space Rental. http://workplaceone.com/king.html (accessed February 23, 2014).http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/slprtnr/rprtng/cptl/dprcbl-eng.html#Class_43The leasehold is calculate refereed to class 8 (20%) The rent for the office space is $ 3750 (20% of that) $750 4. The furniture for the office will cost $10,000 which is estimated from the following site:http://www.source.ca/5. Telephone we will get a deal from Rogers and Free Wi-Fi is included in the rent expense paid for office spacehttp://www.rogers.com/web/Rogers.portal6. The inventory for our company will include some of the antique and ritual decoration material imported from India. 7. Legal and other professional fee to acquire a certificate of wedding plannershttps://registration.xenegrade.com/dtccstan-wilm/courseDisplay.cfm?schID=17500&print=true8. Advertising and promotions for the start will cost around $3000 as that will include paid advertisement on social networking sites, transit advertising, promotional products, online advertising agency, public relation. http://www.entrepreneur.com/businessideas/industry/4.html9. Stationery, business card, brochures and maintenance are related to estimate for printing and stationery product prices.10. The cost for vehicle is estimated from the selling price of trucks from the following sitehttp://www.carpages.ca/ontario/kitchener/used-cars/11. Utilities ( Heat, power, light)This is covered in the rent expense. 12. Pro forma Income statement We will collect 50% of the sales by cash, in the month sales occurredThe other 50% will be collected in the following monthFor example, in the 3rd month we have sales of $25,000We will have total cash in hand for March of $20,000 which is $12,500 in cash from March and $7500 received from February (credit sale).13. The depreciation for our vehicle was calculated from following sitehttp://www.money-zine.com/calculators/auto-loan-calculators/car-depreciation-calculator/ 14. The interest is calculated at 10%

Appendix E - Interview

Wedding traditions vary across religion, caste, ethnicity, language, region, etc. Traditional Indian weddings are generally structured into pre-wedding ceremonies, wedding day ceremonies. Its almost really difficult to arrange wedding in Canada. There are lots of things that are not easily available in this country or not accessible.Now a day it has been changed little with new generation. People are comfortable with technology involved, which make these weddings more enjoyable and easier even in other countries. But the original tradition still continues all the process involved in it is still part of those weddings. We have done some research and we found that how other organizer makes it easier in Canada. Preety is current wedding planer in Vancouver. She had answered few common questions in June 2013. What traditions did you have?We kept all of the traditional Sikh ceremonies with the exception of the Doli. I wasn't keen on having a Doli for several reason, but mainly I felt that the wedding is about not only joining two people, but two families so I felt like the Doli was a bit outdated and unnecessary. Plus I didn't want to cry in front of everyone.What did you do that was new?I don't know if I would call it new, but we decided to have the ceremony outside of the Gurdwara. Ever since I was a little girl I always envisioned my wedding outdoors and pulled inspiration from my uncle's wedding in India, which was also outdoors. Some people had their opinions about this was in the end I think everyone agreed that there was nothing wrong with this and was a lot easier to setup than anticipated.Another thing I tried to do was keep as much simplicity into my 'big fat wedding' as possible. Indian weddings can be over the top, but I felt that you could still have a big wedding while keeping everything organized, simple and beautiful. This simplicity was found in everything from my invitations to my makeup and jewelry. Sometimes less is more. Or as they say, 'keep it simple stupid.' I tried to keep this in mind throughout my planning.We did have the wedding ceremony and reception on two separate days. I didn't feel so rushed and wanted to make sure my guests had enough time to rest so that they could party the day after without being exhausted.How did you design your dress, come up with the colors, etc.?I have always bookmarked and clipped inspirations from all over, even if it wasn't wedding related. One of my favorite designers is Matthew Williamson, and I have always loved his bohemian, Indian, colorful, style and most of all his peacock designs. I love peacocks, and I wanted to include this in my wedding day in a not so obvious way. I always loved the combination of pinks and oranges as well.So when I went to New Delhi with my parents, I took a drawing of my dress that I drew on the flight there, went into Roop Sarees and asked them to custom design my Pakeeza style dress using all the inspirations I have kept.Believe it or not, I ordered my dress in less than 30 minutes. It was the easiest part of the wedding planning. I was prepared, brought visual examples for them and I was so thrilled that they nailed my vision.As for my reception dress, I wanted something not heavy so that I can dance the night away. I took inspiration from a Marchesa dress and adjusted it to fit my style. It was really a really different design. Well Groomed in Surrey, British Columbia did a great job recreating this dress. It wasn't easy to do apparently, but sometimes things that appear simpler are harder to create.I think I really lucked out with both of my outfits since they were made based on my inspirations. Sometimes you don't always get what you want but I was pleasantly surprised and I think its because I came well prepared with all the details.Did you design the bridesmaids saris (they were lovely btw!)?I designed the bridesmaids outfits with the help of my friends. All my friends were so important to me that I wanted to make sure they felt beautiful and comfortable. I didn't want them to wear anything less that average. I initially wanted them to only wear a tradition Indian outfit for the wedding ceremony but they all really wanted to wear sarees for the reception too. I picked colors to compliment my outfits. I think they all looked stunning.What was the hardest part about planning?Details, all of the details! And all of the things you didn't know you had to do or buy. Its all the little things that can blow your budget. Another thing that was hard were all the DIY projects. I did my own table numbers and I redid them 3 times until I got it right. I still laugh about this, they were so time consuming. Its really ridiculous.What was your favorite part about the wedding?My flowers. The florist I worked with did an amazing job. Evan Orion from Flowers in Vancouver blew my mind away. We worked closely to design the days. He was more than a florist, he was also my decorator. I think the flowers made my wedding and people really loved how unique they were. I wanted to recreate streamers of flowers that I had seen in my uncle's old wedding pictures. Evan did this in a very modern and beautiful way.I remember the flowers on the ends of the ribbons blowing in the wind during the ceremony; it really brought tears to my eyes. Some people say flowers die and they aren't worth the money but I think they were worth every penny because they set the mood for my wedding. My husband Jason was also completely blown away by his work.What advice do you have for brides to be?1. Don't obsess over the little tiny details, because nobody will notice if something isn't exactly how you want it. You have to let go at some point.2. Its nice to keep the family's interests in mind but its ultimately your wedding.3. Collect inspirations and go in prepared. You have to know what you want otherwise you will get overwhelmed by all of the options.4. Get organized! I wrote down all of my tasks and them broke them down monthly. I did little by little. My friends and family thought I was super organized and at times a crazy control freak but I had nothing to do around the wedding time but relax and take care of myself. I hate leaving things to the last minute. This includes tracking all of your guest names, guest count, addresses and expenses in a excel spreadsheet.5. Have fun and try to be in the moment as much as possible. Take a moment with your significant other to look around and soak it all in. This is advice is the most important because I wish I did more of this.Thank you Kerry and Jason for sharing your wedding. We loved it!{Wedding Suppliers}Photographer: Gucio PhotographyVenue Ceremony: Cecil Green Park House, UBCVenue Reception: Fairmont Pacific RimDecorator: Evan Orion @ FlowerzBrides Dress: Custom designed. Bride in India designed morning. Reception was created by Well-groomed in Surrey, BC.Bridesmaid Dresses: Designed by bride, created by Well-groomedMakeup: Leah EllistonGrooms Outfit: Traditional Indian suit made by Well-groomed.Brides Shoes: Morning: Valentino from Holt RenfrewEvening: Prada from Leones & Vera WangGrooms Shoes: Hugo Boss from Harry RosenStationery: Designer: Lisa Nakamura / Letterpress: Heather Braun @ Porch Light PressFlowers: Evan Orion @ FlowerzCatering: Cecil Green / Fairmont Pacific RimCake: Ganache PatisserieDisc Jockey: DJ FriktonTransportation: Time Limousine

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