Tiffany Cook Wedding Talk: Destination Weddings

Destination wedding planner, Tiffany Cook, of Dream Design Weddings, plans a Miami Beach destination wedding.

What bride doesn't get excited at the prospect of going somewhere gorgeous and unique to exchange vows with their groom? It’s a great way to break tradition and also have a more intimate affair, which is why destination weddings have been on the rise recently.

The beauty of having a destination wedding is that they're set in romantic getaways, perfect for you to stay post-ceremony and honeymoon with your new husband and they may even allow for a little island-hopping.

What’s even better is that no matter what your style or budget is, there's a destination for every couple! From tropical islands in the Caribbean to scenic peaks in Italy even to whimsical Disney, there is a location stateside or abroad that will bring your dream wedding to life.

But remember, when planning a destination wedding a wedding planner is a must especially so you can enjoy being a bride! We can handle with everything from organizing flight information and transportation to finding the right florist and making sure everything is delivered even on island time.

Tiffany Cook Wedding Talk: Why You Need a Wedding Planner

Tiffany Cook of Dream Design Weddings leads the bride and groom NFL TE Jared Cook and his wife Lana into their reception room reveal.

To us, having a wedding planner is a given. Most brides (and grooms,) though, think ‘why would I hire someone to do something that I could do myself?’

Well, your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life, and you should be able to enjoy being a bride not stressing over if the cake has arrived yet--that’s our job.

There are other countless decisions to make and monitor, and they're all the more daunting for a bride and groom. We all know wedding planning is often one of the first things to go in order to save on costs so brides and grooms end up "doing it themselves.” Did you know that a seasoned wedding planner can actually SAVE YOU MONEY, yes that's right, I said save you money. Often times off setting her fees once or twice over. There is so much more that goes into planning than just over seeing vendors, a seasoned planner is like an orchestra leader, everyone follows the leader, that ensures the execution of the song is flawless, a wedding planner ensures every aspect of your wedding is flawless.
A planner like Tiffany Cook also designs and executes every aspect of the decor with and for the bride in order to provide her clients with a custom one of a kind wedding experience.

A wedding planner is indispensable. We not only cherish our relationships with our clients—you hired us as your planner—but we will keep you organized and sane, handle the budget, save you time, money and tears, and we can’t say it enough, we allow you to actually enjoy being a bride! After all your wedding day goes by so quickly you should be able to enjoy every second of it!

Tiffany Cook Wedding Talk: Planning Your Wedding from Afar

Because a majority of our brides aren't local and end up planning their weddings with Tiffany from afar, here is a little perspective on what it takes to be plan a destination wedding if you can't have a planner. 

First and foremost, don’t let your expectations get you down. Because you end up planning from across the country or the other side of the globe, planning isn't exactly like what you've seen on TV or in the movies. By throwing out your expectations, you get to really focus on what planning is and enjoy being a bride. Look into Skyping with your family for the tough conversations like budget or to show off your latest DIY triumph. And when you are in town at your wedding location, you get to have jam-packed weekends and do what Tiffany likes to call "power planning." 

Speaking of power planning... Be prepared! Come with lists of what you want/need to get accomplished that way you can get as much out of those visits as possible. These power plannign trips will become something you look forward to, and a fond memory to look back on.

This one's a tough one for many brides, but learn to let go. Your bridal party and family are going to ask 'what can they do' and you’re not going to want to relinquish things but for your sanity (and theirs) learn to let go of some of the little details – it will be hard but in the end you're going to be so happy you didn't have to worry about picking up welcome bag items or your brother's tux. (Trust me, we've been there before.)

Most importantly, remember that you’re not alone. There are so many brides and grooms who do the cross country/destination wedding planning, and you just have to brace yourself for it!  The more you can do to let go, the better your sanity will be. You won’t be missing out on anything you don’t set yourself up to miss.

Announcing: Tiffany Cook Events

Dream Design Weddings very own NFL and celebrity wedding planner Tiffany Cook launches Tiffany Cook Events

We are so excited to announce the launch of Tiffany Cook Events!

It took over a year of planning, decisions, and preparation to launch our new brand but it's finally here! As you may or may not already know, in 2001, Tiffany Cook launched Dream Design Weddings to great response. Dream Design Weddings was featured all six seasons on WeTV's "Platinum Weddings" and has gone on to win The Knot's "Best Of" for six consecutive years since 2006. So, it's no surprise that in just a few years, the business has burgeoned into Tiffany Cook Events to accommodate its ever-growing offerings. What this means for DDW is that there are some exciting changes coming your way and we can't wait to share those soon! 

Congrats Tiffany and be sure to check out Tiffany Cook Events!

Office update & destination services

Dream Design Weddings opens its new office in Buckhead Atlanta

With our move to Atlanta, we've received a few questions as to which regions we will be servicing. While we've just recently opened our new Buckhead office for South-based weddings, Dream Design Weddings will still maintain offices in Palm Beach and Miami (in fact, we already have two weddings in South Florida next year!) It really comes down to this: Dream Design Weddings will happily travel worldwide for your celebration, whether in the US or abroad!

Let us help you get a platinum wedding for less!

The reason most couples don't hire a wedding planner is pretty simple: budget. We get it. When you’re trying to cut costs, does hiring someone to do things you could do yourself make sense? The answer is surprisingly yes! 

Lots of our brides reveal to us after their wedding that they really didn't think they could afford us and our wowed at what we did on their budget. 

You see, at Dream Design Weddings, Tiffany Cook and crew are comfortable working with a whole range of budgets for both day-of coordination or full-service wedding planning--big and small. But we're also upfront about how much things cost and have alternate suggests on standby so you can achieve that "platinum weddings" look on your budget. 

Not only can we save you time (and your sanity), but we can actually save you money. For example, we know vendors in all price ranges so we're there to help prevent you from making costly mistakes when negotiating a contract or we’ll walk you through simple and affordable ways to make centerpieces (Want the peony look without the price tag? Hello, garden roses!)  

And then there is the organization. We actually enjoy the tedious part of planning as much as the creative part. Budgets, floor plans, contracts, oh my! Organizing a wedding is hard work, and more than that, it’s skilled work. Planning a DIY wedding is even harder work. 

So please don't be afraid to ask us to help plan and create your wedding because you truly can afford us! 

Contact us today at info@dreamdesignweddings.com