Wedding Cake Bags

Here's an old trend that is making a reappearance.  The trend is wax lined cake bags for guests to take leftover cake home at the end of the night.  We did this recently at a wedding and it was a big hit.  I really like the idea because there is almost always cake left over after the wedding that someone has to pack up and take home.  When part of a layer is left it's hard to find someone that wants to take home that much cake, but slice it up, bag it and place it by the doors as your guest leave and they will love being able to carry a slice or two home.

Just have your caterer slice the left over cake and place it in your bags.  The bags can come already decorated with wedding bells, etc., or you can have them specially printed with your monogram.  What a nice way for your guests to remember your wedding.

Ribbon Cutting Event At The Brand New Skylight Chapel in Greer, SC

Tonight, Willrich Bridal and Special Events attended the ribbon cutting event for the opening of the new Skylight Chapel on Lake Robinson  in Greer, SC.   If you are looking for a romantic chapel with a lake view for your wedding ceremony this might just be the place for you. 

The white chapel sits high up on a hill overlooking Lake Robinson.  A stone walk leads to the sweeping staircase at the front of the chapel.  Large glass windows and doors open onto pale white washed floors, cream walls and a chandelier to light your ceremony.  There is a rock wall with a circular stain glass window overlooking the spot where the bride and groom will stand.  Skylights let sunlight stream in on the newlyweds during the ceremony.

Planned with the budget conscious bride in mind it offers several different packages to choose from.  They include the wedding officiant, flowers, cake and even photography.  Owned by Yvette and Dennis Ruzicka, the chapel has been a dream of theirs for quite a while now.  It was so exciting to finally see it all completed and ready for brides.

Here's  a video that Channel 7 news did of the the grand opening. th

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Vera Wang Partners with David's Bridals

Vera Wang announced today, she is going into partnership with David’s Bridals. Yes, you read that right, David’s Bridals. The line will be priced from $600 - $1500. There will be twenty dresses total and they will be available next spring. From what I understand the decision to do this was made after many of the top department stores either closed or stopped carrying high end wedding dresses due to the economy.


Vera says, “I am thrilled for the chance to bring my very specific vision to David’s Bridal, the biggest wedding retailer in America. The ability to grow my sphere of influence in the bridal world is both a huge creative and business opportunity and one I am so excited about. With this new challenge, I hope to speak with a level of taste and authority that will resonate with brides everywhere.”

I can't wait to see the dresses.

Dance Floors At Your Wedding Reception

Today, we’ll talk about your dance floor. This is the center and heart of your reception. The place where all the action takes place, so the bigger the better right? Wrong. When deciding on the size of your dance floor, smaller is actually better. On a small floor 10 couples dancing looks like a party, on a large dance floor 10 couples will seem lost. As we all know, it’s much easier to get people to dance when the floor is crowded. Most people like to get lost in the crowd, not be out on display. As with just about everything else at your wedding, there is a formula for figuring what size floor you will need. The standard for dance floors is about 3 square feet per person dancing. You should plan on a little less then 50% of your guests to be on the dance floor at any one time. So for 150 people you would need a dance floor of about 15’x15’.

Dance floors come in parquet (wooden) squares that are the most common. You can also get black and white squares and totally white floors. You can make your dance floor even more special by adding a gobo light shining your initials on the floor. Let it be a real part of your décor not just a square in the middle of the room.

Tables and Linens For My Wedding Reception, What Do I Need To Know?

 

Today let’s talk about what you need to know when renting tables for your reception. If you are using a reception venue that does not include tables or chairs as part of the rental agreement, you will have to go out and rent these items. The majority of tables that are used at receptions come in two sizes, rounds of 60” or 72”. 60” rounds are the most common. These tables will seat 8 to 10 people. 8 people comfortably, 9 people ok and 10 people that are squeezed in together. 72” tables will seat 10 to 12 people.

Along with tables you will need to rent your linens for these tables. Here are some terms you will need to know. First is table underlay cloth. Underlay linens go under decorative overlay linens. Most tables have two linens. Underlays go on the bottom. They are usually a solid color that ties into your color scheme. These linens are most often draped to the floor for a pretty look covering unsightly table legs. A length of 120” to 132” . You can also rent them in a lap length (meaning they only hang to a seated guests lap).

Your overlay cloth is the linen that goes on top of the underlay. This is the decorative topper and normally come in 84” to 90”. Overlays come in all colors, and all textures. They shimmer, come covered in beading, cloth flowers, embroidery and just about anything else you can imagine. You can choose whatever goes with your wedding colors or themes. They really add the wow to your event.

No Your Photographer (or DJ or site vendor) is Not a Professional Planner

Pic by Blue Mtn Photo

Warning:  The below is somewhat a rant, but I think it is something that needs to be said to both vendors and brides.

Today, I had another bride tell me that a vendor told her not to worry about hiring a planner. They could do everything for them that a planner did. Luckily, this bride had the good sense to relay this conversation and not to believe it.


I’m not sure if this is a product of the economy or caused by the fact that a lot of vendors have no idea what a planner, a “real planner”, actually does. If because of a bad economy you’re trying to up sell your bride by telling her to forgo the budgeted money for a planner and add that to what she can afford to spend on let’s say her photography package, dj package, food costs or any other package, then shame on you. Because you can tell them when to cut the cake makes you no more a planner than if I become a DJ by bringing my iPod to the wedding for their music or professional photographer by bringing my point and shoot. Also, it’s a real quick way to make the planning community very upset with you. Believe me, any vendor that says this comes off my referral list in a hurry and probably off any other planner’s list I talk to. Not only are you taking away my income, but you are giving a trusting bride a bum steer.

Now if you say “but I can do what a planner does”, then ask yourself this:

Do you help the bride plan out her budget? Do you find vendors that should fit within that budget and give the bride what she is hoping for? Do you negotiate discounts that are then passed on to your brides from various vendors? Are you up to date on everything going on in the wedding world that might interest your bride? Do you go with the brides to pick linens, flowers, dresses? Do you draw up room layouts? Do you spend hours with the bride setting up timelines, ceremony plans, seating of family plans? Do you make pew cards, hand out programs at the wedding, and queue the music? On the wedding day do you dress the bride, steam the dresses, and provide emergency kits for the hundreds of little things that can go wrong? Do you line up the processional and send them down the aisle? Do you go to the reception site hours before the wedding to set up, greet vendors, and check contracts to be sure the correct items are delivered? If any thing goes wrong do they call you? Do you handle transportation for wedding party and sometimes guests? Do you make sure the timeline is followed during the reception? Do you greet the guests as they enter the reception? Do you make sure before each event happens at the reception, that the bride and groom are notified, that the parents are there to see the event, that the photographer, videographer and caterer are all prepared and ready? Do you keep an eye on the bar tab to make sure it doesn’t go over the budgeted amount? Oh and here is a biggie, do you pack up the gifts and flowers for the bride and groom at the end of the night? Do you make sure they have their luggage in their get away car, do you pull linens off of tables so they can be returned, do you wash cake stands and get them ready to return and do you pack up the guest book, flutes, cake set, everything the bride brought to the event to personalize it. Oh and on top of that are you certified, insured and licensed to be the planner?

If you can honestly answer yes to all that and still take the pictures at the wedding then I apologize and you are the man! If you can’t, then stop saying it, do your job and I will do mine.

Half Moon Tables at Your Reception

We’ve talked about guest tables before. But the one table we haven’t talked about is the half moon table. I’ve just recently started a little love affair with this table.

We’ve used it as a cake table pushed up against a mirrored wall and we’ve used it as a sweetheart table.

Pic by David Richardson Photography

Both looked great. But what I really love is their use along with banquet tables when doing long guest tables. I just love the look and the fact that it adds more seating at the end of the tables. The term I’m hearing for this look is royal banquet style. I think it’s really cool. What do you think?

Do I Really Need A Wedding Planner?

Willrich team setting up at a recent reception.

The very famous Preston Bailey wrote a blog post today that answered this question.  Since I could not say it better myself, I thought I would reprint it here for you to read.

Let me ask you this: do you need a doctor to deliver your baby? Or would you prefer doing it yourself? Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration but you get what I’m saying…


If you are giving a small, intimate party, have lots of time and you enjoy entertaining then no, you do not need a planner. However, having a large event (at times) is similar to producing a play or show and this requires time and experience to produce.


I have interviewed more than one client who has mentioned that hotel or location managers often insist they don’t need a planner–well, these folks are wrong. There is a lot that happens before the day of the event that needs to be managed.


Now comes the bad news: there are great planners and then there are the planners who give the business a bad name. Being also a part of the planning industry, I have had the joy and pain in working with both good and bad. Here is my humble opinion on how you can tell the difference:

Good planners: They make the process as easy and painless as possible, respecting the client’s time and level of involvement.
vs.
Bad planners: They think they are the show. They create drama were there should be none. They over-involve the client, and they need lots of attention.

Good planners: They give their clients realistic budget expectations, telling them what things really cost.
vs.
Bad planners: They unrealistically promise clients they’ll get quality for less and drive all the vendors crazy asking them to lower their prices.

Good planners: They get their normal fee from their clients and they do not accept commissions from vendors, which puts them in a better position to negotiate.
vs.
Bad planners: They collect a fee from clients and also quietly blackmail vendors into paying them commissions. (For example, they say something like, “If you don’t pay me a commission, I won’t use you or your services.”)


Good Planners: They are very open to creativity, yet respectful of the vendors and artists they work with.
vs.
Bad planners: They are frustrated designers and seem to think they know what is best for the design. (Though, to be fair, they have seen a lot of designs, which gives them the right to have an opinion.)


So yes, I do think having a good planner is a very essential component to having a successful event. I have often found myself explaining this (and why) to my clients