Another Week begins...

So its Monday Morning... I just got up and had brekky and although I should hurry up and get ready for the day, I feel the need to say a little something here. I have been uncertain of how to write some of the things that have happened in regards to our wedding... mostly because they are so exciting and something inside, probably God, is telling me to just write it... or I wont. Maybe if I wrote every time I felt the urge to, I would actually get my book finished. Who knows. ha ha!

Anyway, what I am trying to say, I guess, is that a number of things have happened since Kyle and I decided to have a sponsored wedding, and I really hope that in explaining them, and how we felt about their process, will help you.

If you are a 'fan' of ours, on Facebook, you would know that we have posted photos from our 'Possible Venue: The Niverville Heritage Centre'... Well, Kyle and I stayed up late, a few weeks ago, and wrote out a very lengthy and formal Business proposal to the Niverville Heritage Centre, explaining the ins and outs of what a Sponsored Wedding, is all about. (I will attach a copy of the proposal that we wrote, after this post.)

When writing out a proposal like that, I have to say, BE PREPARED, its a lot of work if you have never written anything like it before. The best advice I think I can give is to write out a proposal that you can use as a template proposal. What I mean by this is that when you are trying to have a Sponsored Wedding, you will write out a number of proposals, and present to a number of different companies. Don't be surprised if you hear a 'no'... or at least thats what I have been told... in all honesty, I have not heard that word yet. There have been some skeptical moments, but most companies are sincerely interested in, and want to be apart of this. If you are looking online for some frame of reference about whether or not to have a sponsored wedding, forget what people say, and do what works for you. There are a number of pages and articles out there that will tell you that 'people are not interested in attending a Sponsored Wedding' or that 'a Sponsored Wedding goes against Wedding protocol'. Honestly, if you are tasteful and work with your companies, its not hard to keep the advertisement to an outside and minimum, while still giving them what you have promised... publicity.

Now back to the Niverville Heritage Centre...

Kyle and I presented to a wonderful woman named Debbie Hiebert. I went in with anticipation, and Kyle was a ball of fire. It was fun, but had my nerves on end. I mean, at this stage, we had only secured a few of our sponsors, but that was simply though word of mouth. If you present to local, smaller, and 'up and coming' companies, you may not need to have a proposal written out, simply having coffee with their owners, or the managers, can result in sponsorship. That said, when Kyle and I presented to the Heritage Centre, it was our first busniess proposal. My recommendation, and the recommendation that I got from event co-ordinator friends, is that focusing on what you will do for them, rather than what they will do for you... is key. Its not about making your wedding grand (although to you it is!), its about what you can do to promote their company.

The Niverville Heritage Centre has a few new aspects to it that most people are unaware of... For you locals reading, did you know that they have outdoor weddings?? Last year they had only one, and it was their first, but that's only because their gardens weren't where they were suppose to be due to the wetness of spring and summer in Manitoba in 2009. This year, 2010, they have major plans to make it large, full of colour, have a gazebo, and a little bridge over a brooke... As its winter still, they have not begun these touches, but plan to have them ready before Kyle and I tie the knot on July 12, 2010. This is something we intent to showcase as apart of our wedding.

So... when we went in to meet with Debbie Hiebert, we discussed this, as well as the trade off of publicity for them. Now I currently do not have any set magazines or newspaper articles, but I do have a couple in mind that we will present to, in hopes of them doing a feature on us, our concept/idea, and the execution of it for our wedding day. In the end, after explaining the nature of a sponsored wedding, Debbie was quite enthused by the idea, and told us that she would present our idea to the owner of the building, as she is one of the event co-ordinator's for the centre.

All in all, despite all the nerves, it went over well. We were excited and are still awaiting an answer and where to go from here... and hoping and praying that they will like our idea, and want to be promoted by us...

Now, the sponsor letter we used... feel free to copy and use it as you please... like I said in one of my previous blogs, everything we do for our sponsored wedding, we would like to make free for anyone else to use... and I found no templates for sponsor letters that I could use... so if you like ours, take it! There is no copy right on it.

Good luck, God Bless, and thanks for reading todays entry!!

Lynzie xx

The Niverville Heritage Centre Sponsorship Proposal Letter:

Kyle and Lynzie: The Wedding

To the attention of Mrs. Debbie Hiebert and fellow directors,

We are seeking sponsorship in exchange for publicity and advertisement for our July wedding. We, Kyle Friesen and Lynzie Causton, believe that we will be able to start a new life together, without the financial burdens that life will inevitably bring our way.

Concept.

The basis for sponsorship is conceived in the notion that the wedding will be commercialized. Advertisement and publicity are on offer, with the possibility of reaching beyond the Manitoba and Canadian borders. By commercializing the wedding, we are offering humanity the opportunity to personalize with our wedding, and the companies involved in creating it.

How this works.

A Sponsor will donate services based on availability, function and need. Advertisement and publicity will be based off of the amount of sponsorship that is received. Currently, our exclusive sponsors are:

1. Hair by Kyle: Bride and Groom, Groomsmen

2. Michelle’s, Hair by Design: Bridesmaids, Flowergirl, Mothers of the Bride the Groom

3. Beauty From the Inside Out: Make-up for the bridal party

4. Tiffany Teneille ...simply esthetics: Nails for the bridal party

5. Jewelry by ‘Dre: Jewelry for the flower girl, Mothers of the Bride and the Groom

6. Sweet Serendipity Cakes: Wedding Cake

7. Soul Pix Photography: Photography

As we are proposing, we would like to request the Niverville Heritage Centre as our exclusive sponsor for our Wedding Reception. Other possible contending reception venues are, but not limited to, the following: ‘The Gates on Roblin’, ‘Terrace Fifty-five: Food and Wine’, ‘The Evergreen Village’, and the ‘Fort Garry Hotel’.

Benefits for you

Advertisement and publicity, on a local and global scale, are among the benefits to be received by the Niverville Heritage Centre. It is only recently that the notion of a sponsored wedding has come about. Yet, as the idea is growing, and more people are becoming aware of the necessities and requirements for a successful wedding; research on the sponsorship subject, although personalized, remains limited. Rather than explaining how ‘simply beautiful’ the wedding was, a sponsored wedding publicizes the companies’ involvement in the making of the event. Recently, we have found that the amount of people interested in a sponsored wedding is increasing, and therefore wedding hopefuls are doing more in-depth research. This proposes the idea that, as a pioneer in the quest for a successful sponsored wedding, companies involved in our wedding, will be on the forefront of changing wedding mindsets and culture; giving them a unique opportunity to be globally sought after, and a locals first choice.

Timing and Commitment

The commitment we are asking for, consists of ‘pre’ and ‘day of’ requests, involving a detailed amount of co-ordination between exclusive in-house and other sponsoring parties. We are aiming for a reception of 150 people, arriving between 6:00-6:30pm to a cocktail hour, consisting of (but not limited to), a *Juice Fountain a *Fresh Fruit Platter and *Fresh Vegetables and Dip finishing at 7:00pm. Us, the bride and groom, would be arriving at 6:45pm, post wedding photos, for a sit down dinner at 7pm. Each table will host 8-10 people, and be donned with *wedding linens, dish and dinnerware, centre pieces, table labels and 2 bottles of wine (1 red, 1 white). Dinner will consist of (but is not limited to), the *Pork Tenderloin dinner entre, served alongside a delicious *Spinach salad, the *garlic mashed potatoes, and *steamed broccoli; followed by a fruity *Trifle desert (and our own Wedding Cake). During the dinner meal, to save on time given to dancing, we will have the speeches. Once the meal is finished, the rest of the evening will consist of music, dancing and a continuously flowing *juice fountain.

Services Sponsored

1. Rain back-up plan – in the unfortunate circumstance of rain, the ceremony will be hosted in the Atrium.

2. Décor, with permission to bring in outside sponsored décor.

3. White chair covers for all chairs.

4. Sound System

5. Corkage fee, and ‘late night snack’, Wine Service Fee.

6. Juice Fountain of refreshing fruit

7. Appetizer platters

a. Fresh Vegetables and Dip

b. Fresh fruit platter

8. Dinner Entrees

a. Pork Tenderloin

b. Spinach Salad

c. Garlic Mashed Potatoes

d. Steamed Broccoli

e. Mixed Fruit Triffle

9. Children’s Meals

Services Provided

In gratitude for the services sponsored, a payment total, consisting of a maximum of half of the total reception cost, will be paid. This will include the gratuity of 15%.

Background: Our story

Our story is very unique and inspiring, and begins on the other side of the world, down under. As fate would have it, before we even met, there were a number of opportunities where we should have met, yet didn't. In all circumstances considered, even if we had met at those times, our story would have remained as unique as a rose growing out of the frigid Manitoba snow on a -40 degree day with a wind chill of -50. As we have now announced our 'until my dying day' proclamation, and will perform said ceremony on July 12th 2010 (our 2 year anniversary, might I add), we have only recently moved to Niverville, formerly students on limited work visas from the other side of the world; we remain in a position of complete reliance on HIS family and friends. Although Kyle is an international hairstylist and will continue to dazzle Manitobians with his 'cut, curl and dye'- stylings, I(Lynzie) remain in a position of job-uncertainty. I might add at this stage that I am from mild-weathered-Vancouver, and it is truly LOVE, that has brought me here. I whole-heartedly believe that we are capable of having a gold medal wedding for the fact that with no house, no car, no confirmed employment, nothing other than what fits into two 50lb bags that have traveled the Pacific Ocean and to the very center of Canada; as a completely celibate couple we are determined to have a stunning wedding, and expose humanity to a style of wedding that has unlikely been seen or heard of before.

Thank you for taking the time, and putting the energy, into helping us create an unforgettable wedding.

Appreciatively ,

Kyle Friesen and Lynzie Causton

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* Items containing this symbol are found in the Niverville Heritage Centre Wedding Package 2010.