Wedding Entertainment: Unique Ideas For Your Celebration

Are you looking to have a wedding reception like no other?  Start out by listing your likes, hobbies, favorite season - things that will define who you are as a couple.  Decide on your likes and dislikes and unveil your personal style.  Once you've done this you're ready to move forward and create your wedding theme.  Here are 10 creative {and very unique} ideas to make your wedding reception POP!

1.  Consider your venue.  Are you into art?  Have your reception at an art gallery.  Do you love gardening?  Go to a Botanical Garden.  Not into dancing?  Set up a lounge area where your guests can kick back and socialize.

2.  Hire professional dancers, hula hoop girls, belly dancers, a steel drum band or a mariachi band.  What is the style of your wedding? 

3.  Bring out a "Breakfast Buffet" later in the evening.  Mimosas and Bloody Mary stations?

4.  Serve food and drinks that are regional.  Do you live on the East Coast?  How about a delicious seafood soup?  Are you a southerner?  Add sour-cream cornbread to your meal.

5.  Add a cigar roller to your event.  Even if you don't smoke cigars, this will be a huge hit!

6.  Bring in an artist.  Find someone that can do caricatures or water color paintings.  This takes care of your guests favors.

7.  The photo booth is always a popular and fun idea.  Have some props available.  You can even make this part of your "guest book".  Have your guests take their pictures then glue them into a provided book and leave you a special message. 

8.  Go with a Carnival Themed wedding.  You really can't go wrong with cotton candy machines, carnival rides and games!

9.  Have yard games available.  Set up a frisbee golf area, play some croquet, or just kick a ball around.

10.  Hire a professional band and make your reception more of a concert.  I worked with a couple that did this for their reception.  They weren't expecting most of their wedding guests to come, but they all did and danced all night...it was great!  They brought pizza in around 10pm to keep the energy alive in the room {the band even MC'd the garter and bouquet toss}.

What are you going to do at your wedding reception?  Leave us a comment and share your details.

Fat Tuesday: Get Out Your Beads!

I LOVE New Orleans!!  The music, the food, the people, and of course, the parties.  Here's a little bit of fun New Orleans style music to help you get in the mood on this great Fat Tuesday!

Try this yummy meal for dinner tonight. Straight from Emeril...so you know it'll be good!
Bloody Mary
Andouille and Chicken Jamalaya
King Cake


Happy Fat Tuesday!

The Fit Bride: Nutritional Tip

Nutrition tip: Eating colorful food offers numerous health benefits. Green produce offers immune-fighting properties. Red & blue fruits & veggies promote healthy circulation. Yellow & orange foods strengthen your heart & purify your blood. These foods provide anti-aging properties, encourage weight loss & help ward off disease including cancer & diabetes. Pretty cool, huh?!

Eat Well!!

Andrew

Summer Wedding Tips and Ideas

With the weather changing, flowers blooming and a lot more sunshine to be had by all, May through August - with good reason - are the most popular months for weddings. 

Here are some tips and ideas for you to be able to take full advantage of your summer wedding.



The outside setting
Take advantage of the longer days with a later afternoon wedding.  With the sunset behind you, you don't really need to spend a lot with decorations.  Use a flower garden as your nuptial site, a huge, green willow tree, or your families backyard. 

Summer wedding attire
With most of the wedding gowns being strapless, the summer bride is LUCKY!  Be sure to choose a gown that will fit with your location.  If you're getting married on a beach, a simple, light silk, linen or chiffon is perfect.  You could use beautiful hats in your party for a garden wedding, or you could decide to go barefoot for your beach wedding. If you are still getting married in a church and having an indoor/ outdoor reception, something a bit more formal, but still a light weight material is what you will want to find.  Make sure your girls are comfortable with a lighter dress and the guys could go with a linen suit or a pair of khakis and a nice button up shirt and dinner jacket.  And, of-course, a tuxedo is always appropriate for the more formal weddings. 

Summer hair and make-up
You will want to keep humidity in mind when choosing what to do with your hair {all of you!}.  Don't fight your hair, work with it.  Most professionals can design an updo for you that will look fabulous all day.  Keep your make-up light and natural.  You will be more comfortable and it will just look better!

Summery wedding favors
This is a great time to use some delicious fresh fruit for favors for your guests.  Work with your planner to find the perfectly colored, perfectly ripe peach or chocolate covered strawberries.  Also, make sure to offer your guests water {if getting married outside}, a beautiful wicker fan {which can double as your ceremony program} or a personalized parasol to block the sun.

The flowers
Well, this is easy!  It's summer and flowers are everywhere!  There are so many choices, so to help you narrow your choices here are some favorite options:
Hydrangeas, Roses, Lilies, Lilacs, Calla Lillies, Orchids, Stephanoitis, Mums and Zinnias.


Are you having a summer wedding?  Tell us about your details! Gown, flowers, food, decorations...we all want to know!

A Mexican "flavored" Wedding

I love Mexico!  I love the water, the people that I've met, the food and most definately the drinks!  Cinco de Mayo is coming up {YAY!!  another reason to have a party!} so here is an Inspiration Board - Mexican style!

I also created a fun Bridal Shower invitation for my future sister-in-law {ooo...that is so fun to say}.  Since I love Mexican food, and I'm hosting the party, Cinco de Mayo style is what she is getting!

Watch for party pics!

Wediquette Wednesday - Help for the groom

Traditionally, the bride and her family did most of the wedding planning.  Well, that time is done!  Grooms today are WAY more involved in the whole planning process.  If you are one of those men that want to be involved, but you're not really sure what you should do, here are some things just for you.


Choose your best man (wisely)
Your best man will be the guy that is supposed to be there to help you with some very important duties.  He will be in charge of the marriage license, the wedding rings, giving the first toast at your wedding reception, delivering your final checks to your vendors, organizing your bachelor party and assisting with any last minute details that need to be taken care of. 

Choose your formalwear
Be sure to set up an appointment with your formalwear merchant.  Your future bride should be with you to make sure the colors are right and the style you choose works with the formality of your wedding day.

Make your boutonniere selection
Again, you and your fiancee should go together to your chosen florist to decide on flower bouquets and boutonnieres. 

Get your groomsmen gifts
When considering what to get your attendants, you should think of their hobbies and personalities.  Here are some suggestions:

Make sure you get your marriage license!
Enough said.  Most counties require you to apply for your marriage license no more than 30 days before your wedding.  You both will need to be there and there may be blood testing that will be required.  Also, make sure to bring your marriage license to the rehearsal the night before your wedding.  The officiant will keep it and make sure it is there to sign after your ceremony.

Toast your bride
After the best man has had his moment with the microphone, you will want to toast your bride.  Make sure you spend time on this.  Think of special moments the two of you have had together and the wonderful new life you will have as a married couple.  The words you say should be written down and should come from the heart.

The rehearsal dinner
Traditionally the rehearsal dinner is the responsibility of the groom's family.  This can be anything from a formal dinner to a fun backyard bar b que.  Make sure to invite the wedding party, family, any out of town guests and the officiant.  You can invite anyone you want, but these people are a must!

Mother/ Son dance
You might not think this is important, but it is.  Choose a meaningful song and practice your steps.  Let your mother know that you appreciate and love her.

Final payments
All of your vendors will need a final payment.  Some of them will require up to 2 weeks before the wedding day, but some will be paid the day of your wedding.  It is easiest to have an envelope made out for each vendor.  When you know what the final payments are, write out the check and slip it right into the envelope.  Give the envelopes to your best man for any vendors that need their payments on the day of the wedding and have him deliver them.

The wedding night
You might want to surprise your new bride with some fruit and champagne, flowers in the room, petals on the bed, or a light late-night snack for the two of you to share when you finally are alone. 

Another thing for you to keep in mind is, your mother.  She won't have the responsibilities that the mother of the bride has, so she might not be as involved in the wedding planning.  I guarantee that she will appreciate any advice you ask of her, and any "keeping up-to-date" information that you give her.

Tip of the week - Get your groom involved

He asked, you said yes.  You're engaged and getting ready to start planning the wedding of your dreams, and, traditionally, the bride has done most of the planning, but you'd really like your fiancee to be involved.  Here are some simple ideas on how to get him involved, keep him involved, and enjoy the time you will get to spend together while planning for your celebration.




1. Have dinner or lunch together, regularly, to discuss wedding plans.  Have a lot of one-on-one discussions with your notes, pictures and thoughts all readily available.

2. He's a guy, so you will have to make the planning fun and boost his self confidence.  Take him to tastings.  How can you go wrong with food and drink?  Go on fun gift registration trips.  Sporting stores (Scheels), outdoor party ideas, items needed for fun entertaining are all decisions that he'd most likely want to be involved in.  And, always make sure to compliment him on his creativity and ideas.

3. On one of the first one-on-one discussions you have, ask him what he would like to be in charge of. Even though you would still like input on these decisions, you can let him take charge of these things.
Some fun ones for the guys are:

• drink selections
• writing his vows
• music for the reception
• cake flavors
• tuxedo or suit options 
• wedding day transportation
• planning the honeymoon
• make room blocks for out-of-town guests at local hotels

4. Delegate simple tasks to your fiancee.  He can run over to pick up the invitations.  He will have to check them over to make sure everything is correct, so this is a great thing for him to do to make sure he is involved.  He can also work with you to call all of your vendors the week before your wedding to verify all important information.  Give him half of the list and the date that this should be done by.  When this is done, have some dinner and verify everything with each other.

5. AVOID fighting over wedding planning and wedding budgets. Finances is the number one topic married couples fight over. Start your marriage on the healthy path by having loving, mature, productive discussions about your wedding finances.  To make sure you don't have finance issues before you're even married, make a budget for your wedding and stick to it.  Make the budget one of those one-on-one discussions...you'll be happy you did!

6. Please don't be a BRIDEZILLA!  Your groom will give up on trying to help, and neither of you will be happy.  A BRIDEZILLA is defined by the following behaviors:

• controlling behavior
• irritability
• yelling
• making all of the decisions
• hard to please
• being critical of the groom and everyone else that is trying to help 

Planning your wedding together should be a fun and creative way for the two of you to start your new life together.  This is a great time to learn how to work together.  Planning a wedding is stressful and time-consuming, but if you work together, make sure to communicate, don't sweat the small stuff and have fun with each other, you are off to a great start.

Tip of the week - Wedding Registries

No matter what the style of your wedding is or what your budget and your friends and families budgets are, people will buy you gifts for your wedding.  They want to get you something you really want and need, so please do your wedding registry. 

This is a shopping trip that would be fun for both you and your fiancee.  This is the beginning of your new life together and it's great to have the things you'll need once you get back from your honeymoon.  Sure, you can register for china, silver and crystal, but while you're out with your hubby-to-be, go to the sporting store and register for those snowshoes or tennis racquets that you both wanted.  Or the hockey gear for him and the sweet roller blades for you.  You will also want to register for the everyday things.  Cookware, silverware, cool wine glasses, appliances, cutlery, sheets and towels fall into this category.  Everyone will want to know your colors of choice and sizes and this way, you will only get one toaster - not 5!

Make sure to register at least 5 - 8 months before your wedding.  This should be enough time for your friends and family to know what to look for by the time any showers and parties arrive.  Most companies will keep your registry for up to one year after the wedding date. 

Also, some places offer a professional bridal registry consultant.  This would be a good idea if you're not sure what you need.  They have the knowledge of the products to help you with your choices.  If you decide that you would like to work with a bridal registry consultant, call around.  Make sure that, wherever you go, your guests will be treated well, make sure the list, and the items on it, are easily obtainable, and the prices, selections and quality are acceptable.

Then, when this is all done, have some delicious dinner and a glass - or two - of wine and sleep well!

Tip of the week - Fun wedding vows

When you decide to write your own wedding vows you've already decided to make your wedding more personal and memorable. Most couples decide to go with the traditional vows (minus the "obey" part - thank you very much!), however, there are some that decide to put a unique twist and stray a little from the norm.

Wedding vows can be serious, romantic, sentimental, or poetic, but we are going to focus on the funny vows and how to incorporate them into your wedding ceremony without going overboard.

Funny isn't enough
One of the most important tips I can give you for writing your funny wedding vows is to make sure your vows are also meaningful. When you look back at the moment you both promised yourself to each other, you want to be able to smile with love, not just humour. Vows that come straight from the heart will have this desired effect. You want your vows to be memorable and sentimental.


Please, no inside jokes
Funny wedding vows should be able to be appreciated by the majority of your guests. The use of inside jokes can tend to make some feel uncomfortable, and why would you want to exclude people that took time out of their day to celebrate with you?


No surprises
Before you get to the altar and proclaiming your love for one another, you should discuss your vows. You don't need to share word for word what you want to say, but you should discuss the nature of them. If you'd really like to have some humour as part of your vows, talk about what sort of humour is okay. You should make sure there will be nothing (and I really really mean nothing) in the vows that will make either of you uncomfortable or embarrassed in any way, shape or form! Because, again, you want to look back at this celebration with a fun, happy, light heart.


Be appropriate
And, at last, please take into consideration the guests that will be celebrating with you. Your vows should NEVER include sexual innuendos or any sort of vulgar language.


Oh yeah, and always always always write your vows down! It will not matter how often you practice (though you definately should), there is a good chance that you will forget something. Besides, that piece of paper is a sweet little momento to add to your scrapbook.

Have fun and happy writing!!

Simple Tip #3 - Wedding Inspiration

Simple Tip #3 - Wedding Inspirations. When you're planning your wedding and your head is spinning around, sit down, close your eyes and take a slow deep breath. When you open your eyes again, go grab your car keys and run to the store. Grab some magazines, a poster sized sheet of paper (or better yet, a project board), some glue or tape and a sharp pair of scissors. When you get home, start cutting out the pictures that you really like. Cut out pictures of cakes, shoes, jewels, gifts, flowers, clothes, pictures that you like the "style" of - everything! Group the images together, all cakes in this pile, all flowers in this pile...you get the idea! Then start weeding out. You will find the color palette you like, the style of flowers, cakes, attire, jewels and maybe you'll find the perfect pair of funky shoes! Put all of these on your board and voila! You have your Inspiration Board to keep you on track. Here are some samples for you. Good luck and have fun!!