FAQ

What is a 'first date' appointment? Like you and your fiance did, Your Dream Day wants to have a first date with the two of you and anyone who will be a decision maker during the wedding planning process. With a wedding planner you aren't buying cake or flowers -- you are buying personality, work style, contacts, and more than a decade of event planning experience. We want to be a good fit for you AND for us. We will give you a flavor of what to expect from our planning style at the appointment, but we will not give you advice or referrals like our paying clients get. After that we determine whether we go on a 'second date' -- moving forward with a planning package!

Who is my consultant? Through the years we have had up to three teams of consultants per weekend, but now, we are being choosier about the weddings we do. Kathy Piech-Lukas is now our only lead consultant and she is only accepting one wedding per weekend. She loves to spoil our couples and being able to focus on just you allows us to do that? She brings a team of consultants with her to assist on the day of the wedding. Should Kathy be ill or not in a position to do the wedding due to unforseen emergency circumstances, she has relationships with dozens of experienced planners in Dayton and Cincinnati that can assume responsibility of your wedding day management.

Do I need a planner? How do you help me when there are wedding planning websites out there? Wedding planning websites are a great resource; however, they can become overwhelming with all of the details that need to be done, how much to spend on what, and sifting through the thousands of wedding vendors. It is enough to make your head spin. Hopefully this is the only wedding you will ever plan, whereas we have planned more than 200 weddings.

How does my time work with my packages? You may use the hours any way you like. However, there is a focus to your package so that you understand exactly what you are paying for. (And so we know exactly what we are providing you!) The 5 hour package is either a point in the right direction at the start of the planning or ceremony coordination with one consultant. The 15 to 20 hour packages are weekend coordination (you do the schedule, we coordinate rehearsal & day of the wedding), the 30 and 50 hour packages are a partial planning package (vendor referrals, schedule appointments, may or may not attend appointments based on your package, pull the details together a month prior to wedding, schedule, day of coordination with a team of two people.), while the 100 and 150 hour packages are full service (Event design, vendor referrals and attending all appointments, checklists, vendor confirmation, schedule development, pull details together month of, rehearsal, day of wedding, and any other activities that week like rehearsal dinner, day after brunch or other party. Quick answers to text messages or emails are unlimited. Anything that requires specific follow up, prescreening vendor availability, scheduled in-person or conference call meeting time, or going to meet you at a location, is deducted as time from your package.

What is your cancellation policy? It depends on how you paid. If you do our installment option (non refundable deposit, plus a monthly installment due on the 1st of each month that is determined based on how many months your wedding is out), all payments are nonrefundable. If you paid in full at signing, the refund is based on the number of weeks out from the wedding. Since we are a service business and we only book one wedding per weekend, we likely turned other business away to keep you as a happy client of ours.

Do you offer discounts? You get 10% off when you pay in full at signing for your package. If you are active military, you get 15% off when you pay in full at signing for your package.

How do you save me money? We are a 'returning' customer with most vendors, which allows us to get better pricing or freebies for you. You won't make common rookie mistakes, which in most cases equal or exceed the cost of our service. Borrow items from our 'lightly loved' wedding items including frames, table number holders, birdcage, treasure chest, candy jars & scoops, ring bearer pillow, flower girl basket, unity candle holder, just to name a few! Only catch? You break it, crack it or lose it, you buy it!

What do you consider your work style? Kathy is a quick communicator with email, text messages and voicemail. Most communication is returned within hours, but no longer than 72 hours. She is excellent with social media, extremely creative, and loves to brainstorm ideas with you. She thinks of herself as glue -- keeping you as a couple, parents, vendors, and details together so they all flow together smoothly. She likes to anticipate, predict and recognize a problem before it becomes one, and nips it quickly. She has an outgoing, energetic and bubbly personality, and a quick sense of humor. However, she is very laid back, easy going and can quickly adapt to last minute changes and demands. Many of our couples and parents keep in touch with us after the wedding because we have developed such a strong bond with them.

What areas do you serve? Though the majority of our business is in Southwest Ohio (Cincinnati / TriState area and Dayton / Miami Valley) we travel anywhere we are needed as long as the client covers our transportation, lodging and food for any wedding more than 100 miles away from Cincinnati or Dayton, Ohio.

What methods of payment do you accept? Personal checks, cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover & American Express.

What happened to Your Dream Day Cafe? Your Dream Day Cafe was a wedding planning resource center that gave vendors a place to meet with their brides and had a library of vendor info. It was discontinued in 11/15 and we now focus 100% on wedding and bridal consulting. We still meet our Dayton clients in the same location at 2308 Far Hills Avenue, which is now occupied by Behar & Reza dress salon.