Fairytale Weddings

Ok, my personal taste does not lean towards the tons of tulle and lace “fairytale” type wedding. So I did not think I would be a big fan of the new cd Disney’s Fairytale Weddings when I first heard it mentioned on one of the wedding planner forums I belong to. (Thanks, Terrica, for the heads up.) Oh boy was I wrong. This is a beautiful instrumental cd with 14 love songs from famous Disney movies. Fully orchestrated and totally amazing this cd would be wonderful for the cocktail hour at any wedding or if you are searching for something different to walk down the aisle to, or to have as your first dance.

Maybe I’m into fairytale weddings after all. Who knew?

P.S. I understand this is the same cd as Disney's Instrumental Impression, just repackaged, so if you already own that, no need to buy it.

Special Dances

A good wedding planner is always researching and looking for new ideas to help make your wedding and reception the best ever. So while doing some research reading I ran across a great idea to make your father/daughter dance or any of your Special Dances even more special. I found it while reading The Best Wedding Reception... Ever! by Peter Merry.

Let’s say you want to use a song that your father sang to you every night at bedtime or maybe a song your Dad taught you to dance to when you were growing up. Why not have your DJ record your voice explaining exactly why you picked this song, what makes it special to you and your dad. Then have this recorded message played as the song begins or over the instrumental part of the song. Let all your guests be aware of just why this song is so special. Talk about a moving moment. There won’t be a dry eye in the house.

"But I’m not having a father/daughter dance", you say. Well you could do the same with your First Dance. Both of you could take a moment to record why this song is special to you, or what you love about the groom, and he loves about you. Have it edited into the song by your DJ and turn your first dance into even a more romantic moment.

Now I know that some ideas in the wedding books are not that easy to accomplish so I contacted one of my favorite DJ’s in the Greenville area, Robert Batson of Life of the Party, to get his take on this idea. He said it could be accomplished with very little trouble. The voice over would just be recorded and then edited into the song. Robert thought it was a great idea and plans to run with it. So do I.

Just something to think about.

Head Table vs. Sweetheart Table

I was recently in a meeting with a bride where this discussion came up. Which was better head table or sweetheart table? Well, those of you that know me know I voted sweetheart table. I know there are people out there who are strong believers in the head table and it has been a staple of the reception for years and years (which is one of the reasons I don’t like it, soooooo dated).

So to check and make sure my feelings where correct on the issue (gasp, could I possibly be wrong), I took the question to one of the wedding boards I belong to. Now, this is not just any group of wedding planners, their membership includes some of the most popular ones in the nation. If you watch the wedding shows, such as Whose Wedding is it Anyway, you have seen some of the members in action. So I posed the question, “Which do you prefer, head table or sweetheart table and why?”

The vote was overwhelmingly Sweetheart Table. The reasons were:
Head tables are antiquated.
If the head table is only the wedding party, all the significant others end up at a table alone or if they allow SO’s then and I quote “it begins to look like the last supper with "fifty-eleven" people sitting at one table” (I love that…lol)
Sweetheart tables are like eye candy to a design scheme.
Head tables tend to look pompous.
Sweetheart tables keep the bride and groom the center of attention. (which can be good or bad depending on the couple and what kind of attention they enjoy)
Sweetheart table gives the couple more intimate moments at the reception. They are usually sitting angled, so they can see each other and talk to each other, rather than seated side by side at a head table.

The only negatives were:
They are separated from everyone
Guest tend to walk over and talk to them rather than letting them eat. (I solved this problem by having some of my group stand near the couple, giving them time to eat. Guest tend not to approach them if we are standing there. We don’t run them off; it’s just a visual thing, which allows the couple a few minutes to get to eat.)

Just something to think about.

The Cocktail Hour

We talked earlier about the new trend of the Pre-ceremony cocktail hour. Now let’s talk about the original cocktail hour before the reception plan. I was asked recently if this hour was necessary. A bride had a friend tell her she had attended a reception that had no cocktail hour, the guests just went straight in and started eating and everything went just fine. She wanted to know my opinion.

Of course you can do a reception this way. Weddings in the South were done this way for generations. But is it necessarily the best plan for you or your guests. Pacing the reception is what makes the difference between just another reception and a great reception. The cocktail hour is part of that pacing. It allows for smooth transition from one part of your wedding to the next.

First of all when I say cocktail hour, I am talking about the hour before the reception starts where guests mingle, snack on appetizers and wait on the wedding couple to arrive. It does not necessarily have to involve any alcohol at all. We have done many non-alcohol cocktail hours. Flavored waters, tea, lemonade, punch can all be served either bar or butlered style.

From a guest point of view not having a cocktail hour or half hour may appear fine. They go in, no waiting, they eat and then they wait on the bride and groom to arrive and the party to start or they leave. But let’s look at it from the bride’s and brides mother’s point of view.

Without a cocktail hour, your photos will have to be VERY rushed. You will be looking at, at the least, 30 to 45 minutes that your guests will be in the reception area eating before you even get there. This means several things. 1) The bride will not get to see the reception she worked so hard to plan before the guests have littered it with dirty plates, moved chairs around, eaten most of the food, etc. 2) All the excitement of the guests first walking into the room, being awed by the flowers, etc and then the bride and groom being announced in, won’t be there. 3) Since the guests will have 45 minutes or more to eat, they will be finished or nearly finished eating by the time the bride arrives. If your buffet is not being replenished for at least two hours or more (and why you would chose a site that doesn’t do this is beyond me) you could run the risk of a lot of food being gone before the bridal party even shows up.

If the bride and groom take time to eat, some of the guests will be bored and leave since they have long finished eating. The guests will be eager to talk to the bride and groom allowing them no time to eat. The cake will have to be cut almost immediately when the bride and groom enter the room, as the guests are ready for dessert. A lot of guests will leave as soon as the cake is cut. Family dances will need to be rushed so the dance floor can be opened, if you don't I promise your guests will leave.

This moves up the whole schedule for the reception, cutting it a lot shorter than it should be. As I mentioned before the pacing is suddenly not smooth. Also, a big thing for a lot of couples is that there will be no blessing over the food, since the entire wedding party will be taking pictures at the time the dinner begins.

Remember no cocktail hour allows no time for the photographer to get there and take pictures before the area is littered with plates and half eaten food. Also, guests don’t want pictures taken of them eating, so his chance of good candid shots is cut way down.

Unless you are having a huge crowd and there just is not room, for the small expense involved and the high visual and elegance impact, I can’t see any reason for not having a cocktail hour.

Just something to think about.

Logos - Branding Your Wedding

Here’s another new trend for weddings. Ok, everyone knows about using your monogram on invitations, napkins, linens, even your cake. Well today’s new trend is using what is called your Logo. Logo’s are a lot like monograms, most include your names or initials, but they differ in the fact that they use more than just the initials. Along with the initials they include an element that sets the theme for your wedding. Logos can include anything from a drawing of where you are getting married to just a graphic design that helps set the tone for your wedding.

Let’s say you are using pinecones throughout your winter wedding. A logo might include a graphic of a pinecone with your initials underneath. This logo would run through your entire wedding. It would be on the save the date, invitations, programs, gift bags, napkins, favors, cake and even the thank you notes. As they say in the business world you are “branding” your wedding.

There are loads of places online where you can contract with a designer to create your own logo. One such example (that another planner friend turned me on to) is Love Letters Logo . That's their beautiful work in the pictures.

Maybe you are lucky enough to have a talented graphic artist as a friend that could make one up for you as your wedding gift. If you are, go for it. Anyway you look at it, logos are one more way to make your wedding a seamless unique event.

A Little Bit of Marie Antoinette

So what color scheme do I think will be big for the Greenville area bride for the coming year? Metallics and crystals will be the thing. Everything from wedding cakes to wedding gowns will have that shinny metallic or icy edge to it. As you can see from the rehearsal dinner photo and cake photo above, both from Alabama weddings magazine (which by the way is a great magazine for ideas) metallics are beautiful. Brides will also see a lot of gold, bronze, copper, silver and icy blues especially in bridesmaid's dresses.

If you are a Clemson bride looking for something a little out of the normal orange and purple scheme, why not try the bronze/copper metallic.

And crystals will be everywhere. Not the small little dots of crystal but the larger chandelier crystals. These will be dripping off of flower arrangements and candles for an over the top bling effect. Think Marie Antoinette, lush gorgeous excess, after all every bride deserves to be a queen for at least a day

Guest Sign In Picture Book

Speaking of new trends, here’s another one. Ok, it’s not all that new, but it’s new to the Greenville area. I love the guest sign in picture book. The one pictured is from Kodak Gallery. You can also check out Shutterfly and for a higher end book try Blurb . To make one of these albums all you do is take pictures of you and your groom growing up, or your engagement pictures, scan them in and then load them into the album of your choice. Be sure to leave open pages for your guests to sign in and leave their wedding wishes. Then after the wedding you have a wonderful coffee table book to display at home.

Pre-Cocktail Hour

One of the newest trends that I’m starting to see pushed by all the wedding magazines and online wedding sites is the cocktail hour before the wedding. Now all of us are familiar with the cocktail hour after the ceremony. It is a time for the guests to mingle and loosen up a little bit while waiting for the bride and groom to finish pictures.

As a planner, I love the cocktail hour (we even do non-cocktail, cocktail hours). It’s a great way to keep your guests happy while waiting and not have the reception practically over by the time the bride and groom arrive. It is also a great time to show those childhood montages that are so popular now.

The newest trend however, is the cocktail time before the actual ceremony. Guests are invited to come an hour earlier and served cocktails while waiting for the wedding to start. Of course this is not going to happen if you are getting married at the church, at least not on the church grounds, but if your ceremony is at a site this is a possibility. I can see both the good and the bad of this. It does give you an hour before the ceremony for the guests to arrive, cutting down on those last minutes guests holding up your walk down the aisle. It does give the guests a little while to relax after the drive over, especially if they have come some distance. If you’re at an outdoor site that is warm it is certainly nice for your guests to have a cool drink.

On the other hand, guests walking into the ceremony drinks in hand, does not lend itself to the formality of the occasion. And lord forbid, someone gets drunk and loud during the ceremony. From the planners view, getting guests to leave the bar and go into the ceremony might not be the easiest challenge.

All that being said, I have done this at one site here in Greenville and it worked out just fine. So it’s really up to the bride and groom. Just something to think about.

Start A Wedding Tradition

Ok, let’s face it, no matter how beautiful you think your wedding dress is, chances are your daughter is not going to wear it. Are you wearing your Mom’s? But here is a tradition that you can start and pass on from generation to generation.

Buy a very nice silver cake server set and have it engraved with your and your groom’s name and the wedding date. Then pass it on to each family member that gets married, for them to do the same. How perfect is that? Something that will never go out of style and can be used for more than one occasion, reminding you each time of all the wonderful family moments it has seen.

I have to confess, this wasn’t my idea. One of my brides’ (Joy) family had started this tradition a long time ago and I just thought it was a beautiful idea.

The Best Ticket Around

Now this is a cool idea. I happened to be browsing through this month’s In Style Weddings and saw these ticket invitations from Bliss Weddings Market. I love it and at 10 tickets and envelopes for $15.00, the price is not all that bad. If you are having a ballgame, or movie theme wedding, what could be more perfect? Send them out as your save the dates or use them as invitations to a bachelorette party or bridal shower. I love creativity and this is it.

The Father/Daughter Dance

I just had to post this. Check out this Father/daughter dance at a wedding. I love it. If you have a “fun” dad, maybe you could do something like this and really give your guests a reason to sit up and pay attention.