Fun, Flowers, and Friends

Ahhhh, young love.

The wedding of Brian and Erica yesterday was a perfect combination of décor elegance, romance, and a whole lot of fun. With such a great group of young people in attendance, the party got off to a quick start with a packed dance floor and ended with sparkers (of course) for this holiday weekend wedding.

We certainly had a wonderful time planning the wedding with the bride’s dad and step-mom who were gracious, generous, and grateful from start to finish. We incorporated tones of copper, gold, peach, and cream to create a dazzling table setting. The copper chargers perfectly accented the custom linens and were topped with chocolate toffee apple favors from Lisa Anne's Apples.

The bar at Chestnut Ridge was packed all evening thanks to Erica's favorite Chocolate Martini and Brian's favorite White Russian. Not to mention the lines that formed at the tables for Cold Stone Creamery and the fun photo booth provided by Photo Illusion.

Chestnut Ridge Country Club was absolutely gorgeous thanks to the step-mom’s great design style and vendors like Table Toppers (custom linens), Perkins Productions (lighting, draping, and staging), Party Rental (china, crystal, flatware, chairs) and Myland Farms (all the floral décor including the chuppah).

The staff at Chestnut Ridge could not have possibly been more helpful, caring, or hard working. They were like a well-oiled machine making sure that every detail throughout the evening was perfect.

As always, Jim Skipper of Black Tie Video and Joe Sachs of Artful Weddings photographed and documented the entire wedding day with a professional and cheerful manner.

We worked with Gunther Motor Coach for the first time this weekend and they were terrific. We just love finding new, reliable and kind vendors. Sugar Bakers once again produced a delicious and beautiful wedding cake and Concord Ensemble provided a wonderful string quartet for the ceremony.

Congratulations Erica and Brian.

You are both very sweet and we wish you all the best.

Signature Drink? Make it Pop

We are still seeing signature drinks at wedding and parties because people love them.  They're the perfect way to encourage your guests to try something new and add a pop of color to your cocktails.

Of course the drink should be yummy and the perfect accent to your color story, but don't forget about the container.

The glass you choose is so important.  Check out your local rental companies - they're sure to have something to suit your drink.

Saturday's Wedding ABC's

V.  V is for volume.  Your older guests are more sensitive to the volume of the music.  Seat them away from the speakers so they can chat during dinner.

W.  W is for wedding website.  A wedding website is a great way to communicate with your guests.  Get it started and put the url on your Save the Dates so your guests can keep updated.

X.  X is for xylophone?  No no, is for X's - kisses!  Lots of kisses on wedding day. Don't forget your touch up lipstick.

Y.  Y is for young guests.  You've made the decision to have children at the wedding and you need to give them something to do.  Have a room close to the reception room set aside for the kids.  Stock it with movies, a tv and dvd player, some games and toys, and snacks.  And yes,  a babysitter or two.  If you can't manage a room, then give each child a tote filled with toys and games to play during the reception.  Their parents will thank you.

Z.  Z is for Zzzzzz's.  The few nights before the wedding it's best to get a good nights sleep.  Don't count on sleeping the night before the Big Day - it may be difficult.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July!

Image from WhiteHouse.gov

Guest Books for Dummies

Love the idea of a guest book, but want to make it fun and memorable?

Try this idea from GuestBookStore.com

We love this idea because it takes off all of the pressure off your guests to write the perfect wedding day message.  They have a starting point and it's sure to make for some fun notes and advice.  They can even design the books to make room for a Polaroid photo of guests.

GuestBookStore even has designs for Wedding Showers, Baby Showers, and Birthdays!

Thank You!

As wedding season rolls on the thank you notes should be rolling out. Here are a few guidelines to get you started.

1. Be timely in sending out your bridal shower thank you notes. They should go out within a few weeks of the bridal shower. Since your wedding thank you notes will either you both your name and your fiances name or your new married monogram imprinted, you will need separate notes for the bridal shower. You can get started before the shower by pre addressing the envelopes of those guests you know are coming to the shower.

2. As wedding gifts start to arrive you can start you thank you notes. Be sure that these notes have your maiden name as well, since they are being sent before the wedding day.

3. Thank you notes have a few key components: express gratitude for the gift, tell how you will use the gift, and tell how much you're looking forward to see the person or how much you enjoyed seeing them at the wedding.

4. Notes should always be handwritten, as well as hand addressed.

5. Wedding gift thank you notes should be sent in a timely manner. The gift giver will want to be sure that it was received. There is a misconception that you have 1 year to write thank you notes, this is not true. Your guests have 1 year to send a gift.

Image from Cranes.com

Mix it Up

You have the ring on your finger, the reception site has been chosen, and you have a band.  You know what that means?  Time to register.

Here are a few tips:

1.  Start online.  Most of the stores can let you start everything online.  This will help you keep your time in the store to a minimum and let you start the fun while you're at home (or at work!)

2.  Choose 2 or 3 stores.  A department store and a speciality store are most common.  Just check out their return policies and online shopping abilities.

3.  Give it some variety.  Add items to your list at a range of price points.  There's no harm in adding things to the list at a higher price point.

4.  Check in.  If you're having a surprise shower then you may want to assign this task to your fiance or mother, but the list will need regular attention.  Items may go on backorder, out of stock, or be discontinued and will need to be replaced or removed.

5.  Have fun!  Plan to go to the stores with you fiance and just have a ball.  Add things to the list that are fun and silly.  Arrange to go on a weekday if possible, things will be less crowded.