Holidays, and how They Effect Your Wedding

With Memorial Day and Fourth of July around the corner, we now have the  perfect opportunity to discuss how holidays can effect your wedding.  Many couples love planning exciting, holiday themed weddings, however they neglect the ways it may alter their guests plans and wallets.

 

 

A perfect example would be a wedding scheduled to take place close to Thanksgiving. Many couples think they are doing their guests a favor by having it around the start of the holiday season. However, what they neglect to factor in is the amount of time their family will be spending with them during the holiday and the final stressful days of planning. The majority of family members want to assist and partake in the final steps towards the aisle, but opinions from various members of the family tree can take its toll and make nagging Aunt Nancy that more of a nuance then she typically is. If you do have family and friends flying in during the holiday season do be aware of the peak pricing for travel and hotel expenses. Do set aside quality, non-wedding time to spend with your family members, show them around the town, and partake in fun activities that will provide lasting memories.

If you are having your wedding in a large city, like San Diego, you may want to set aside time to do some research regarding scheduled conventions or events that will take place around the area. San Diego is a perfect example because not only is it a major tourist attraction during any day of the week, it is also host to several big conventions throughout the year, including Comi Con. Comi Con is a big movie, comic book, and video game convention that attracts thousand, possibly millions, to the city. Now, lets propose a worst case scenario and say your wedding is scheduled to take place during the convention. Not only would parking be a major concern so would hotel accommodations. Therefore, take a look at upcoming schedules in your city and ask your cater or on site coordinator for assistance because they will be more familiar with events taking place in their neighborhood.

Now, lets look at some of the upsides to having a wedding during the holidays. If you will be having a wedding on or around the fourth of July you get to have a huge, massive, free firework display, and have access to sparklers (just don’t tell the fire marshal).

 

 

Fall brides can utilize the rich colors and  numerous pumpkins for a country theme or a Halloween wedding. The possibilities are endless for Halloween brides: they can embrace the candy fever by providing guests with caramel or candy coated apples, hot apple cider, masks or fun costume pieces for guests to play around with, mini trick or treat bags for the little ghouls and ghosts, caricature artists to create portraits of your guests, …or offer a candy station for all guests to trick or treat through.

 

 

Earlier we discussed a few problems that may arise when setting a date near Thanksgiving, but there is an upside to a late November date. Consider a  wedding the weekend after Thanksgiving,  hotels offer lowered off-season pricing and catering/banquet halls offer flexible starting and ending times because demand for those dates are not as popular when clients have shopping and the pending holiday, Christmas on their mind.

If you are getting married around Christmas your reception venue may get into the spirit of the holiday and have lighting surrounding the facility. Case in point, Riverside’s Mission Inn or Menifee Lakes Country Club.

 

Riverside's Mission Inn

 

Menifee Lakes Country Club

 

Lighting will be one less thing to factor into the budget and you won’t have to worry about assembling it or taking it down. Plus you can embrace the winter wonderland experience by utilizing your venue’s warm and cozy fireplace, the seasons vibrant red and greens hues, the vast amount of Poinsettias to create a winter bouquet, take inspiration from candy canes and use their red and white color scheme, give gingerbread cookies decorated in icing similar to the bride and groom’s attire as favors to guests, or use them as a late night snack for guests to munch on with hot cocoa or a glass of milk to leave them with visions of your wedding dancing in their heads.

 

 

Holidays and the traditions that make them memorable, offer plenty of inspiring ideas you can use for your wedding day. However, regardless if you have a date near a holiday or not, your wedding will have the same celebrated, unique, traditions that the bride and groom can share on their holiday, their anniversary. And to that we say. . .

 

BE MARRY,

C&C

{Real Wedding Decorations} Ramirez Wedding

Another successful wedding and with it a new set of table decorations from  Kristin & Daniel Ramierez’ wedding on May 22, 2011. The room was draped in red and adorned with ivory hues, lush red and white roses, and decorative pieces from the happiest place on earth, Disneyland. The room was so whimsical and delicate it reminded us of a sweet, red velvet cupcake. The couples cake was provided by Tasteful cakes of  Ontario, CA ( http://www.tastefulcakes.com/ ) and had a crystal Mickey and Minnie Mouse cake topper to incorporate where they met. The couple met at the place where dreams come true, Disneyland and could there honestly be at greater place to begin your fairytale? They kept the Disney theme going by providing personalized wine glasses with Mickey and Minnie mouse kissing at each guest’s place setting. The intricate scrolling and swirling detail on the cake cutting set reminded us of Sleeping Beauty’s castle which were also monogrammed.

 

 

 

 

Head Table

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Tasteful Cake

 

 

 

Mickey & Minnie Cake Topper

 

 

 

 

Cake Table

 

 

 

 

Monogrammed Cake Cutting Set

 

 

 

Monogrammed Party Favors

 

 

 

The couple had their wedding ceremony in our courtyard with the cascading fountain behind and petals lining the aisle. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be Marry,

 

C&C Team  

Ceremony Spotlight

If you are looking for something quick, cost-effective, and simple to set up and breakdown this is a perfect option. This photo comes from a ceremony on May 21, 2011, the couple kept it very simple, elegant, and basic with family and friends.  Our facility provided the ceremony chairs and it took them only minutes to add the ivy and floral swag to the chairs and scatter rose petals down the aisle. It made set up a breeze and gave them ample opportunities to take photos and spend time with their friends and family.

Courtyard Ceremony

Be Marry,

C&C Team

{Real Wedding Decorations} Mitchell Wedding

These table decorations come from Sarah & Andrew’s wedding on Saturday, May 7, 2011. The color scheme for their wedding was guava and champagne. Instead of a cake the bride and groom opted for a fabulous cupcake tower with alternating flavors of vanilla bean, dark chocolate, and red velvet provided by truly, madly, sweetly cupcakes http://www.trulymadlysweetly.com/.  They also added a candy buffet to their reception that highlighted the peachy/pinky accents.

 

 

 

 

Cupcake Tower

 

Candy Buffet

http://www.sweetcreationsbyjudy.com/default.html

 

 

My Favorite the mini lollipops

Be Marry,

C&C Team

Wedding Timeline

A timeline is essential during the final stages of planning. Why you ask? Because you want to have a timeline listing the evenings events to limit the amount of stress on your wedding day. By providing a detailed timeline to your wedding planner, vendors, and reception staff everyone will be prepared and aware of what will take place next. Now this does not mean you have to go overboard and plan your day from the moment your feet hit the ground, but it is essential to provide a timeline to your wedding vendors.

We assist our couples with the creation of their timeline 2-10 days before their event and make sure each one is unique and on par with their expectations for the evening. The best advice we can share when it comes to creating your timeline is to plan each event in 1 hour or 30 minute increments. To get the process started, we suggest  that couples pick the most  anticipated event for the evening  and place it first.  We had a couple who planned their first dance following their ceremony while surrounded by their guests holding sparklers. Not only did this create a joyous starting point for the reception, as well as amazing photos. 

 

The very first thing we put on our timeline is when the bride and groom will arrive. In the event that the bride and groom don’t want to see each other before the ceremony, we suggest scheduling their arrivals at least 30 minutes apart for traffic, running late, getting lost, or any unforeseeable mishaps that could leave either one waiting. We recommend allowing extra “buffers” for times like these so you don’t lose time that could be utilized later in the evening. One “buffer” scenario is  to switch photography sessions should either the bride or groom run late so you  still get the shots you want without pushing later events behind.

It’s best to share the breakdown of the evening with a  program during the ceremony or at guests place setting during the reception, especially if the reception will be rather long. The program should start with the official ceremony time which is typically 20-30 minutes long. However, do be sure to consider the processional, especially if you have an excessively large bridal party. If you do have  26 bridesmaids, time how long it takes them to walk down the aisle during rehearsal because this alone could add an additional 10 minutes to your ceremony.

Once the ceremony is complete and sealed with a kiss, guests will then enter the reception site to kick off cocktail hour and celebrate! Based on the title alone, “cocktails” generally will be served for about an hour while the bride and groom take photos and sign their marriage license. Cocktail hour is a chance for guests to get situated in the reception area and prepare for the bride and groom’s grand entrance. If you  take the majority of your photos before hand, or are planning on a sunset ceremony, the cocktail timeline can be shortened.

Grand Entrance

Which leads us to our next timeline event, grand entrance. This is considered the “official” start to the reception because  once the guests of honor arrive, the party can officially begin. This is a perfect time to put your personal, creative touch on the wedding with your song choice or choreographed dance. Afterall, the grand entrance does set the theme for the evening.

Toasts

Once the bride and groom have taken their seat, food service or toasts take place next. Toasts are great to give during food service, especially if you have an extremely shy maid of honor or groomsmen. With a plate of delicious food in front of  them guests  tend to be preoccupied and less likely to stare  down your nervous speaker. If you expect long, drawn out speeches, we also suggest giving toasts during  food service because it will once again keep the guest occupied, and prevent evil hunger glares should the speech suddenly become a novel. Toasts typically take 10-20 minutes, but if you plan on leaving the mic open it’s best to let your DJ and caterer know so they can extend food service and not rush into the next event.  It’s best to start food service once all your guests are seated, so you don’t leave anyone without a meal, and do allow one hour for guests to enjoy their meal. A delicious meal will get guests energized for the upcoming events as well as for the remainder of the evening.

First dance is the best event to shorten because you may not want to dance through your entire song after all. It’s best to speak with your DJ about your song choice and discuss how long you want for actual “dance time”. The majority of guests may not want to see the bride and groom awkwardly dancing through an entire  7 minute song. We suggest practicing your first dance once in your living room just to see if it feels boring or excessively long. The average first dance is less than 3 minutes and while you want to have time to enjoy it and get photos, you don’t want to spoil a good thing. There’s plenty of time for dancing later in the evening. It’s also good to note the artist and version you would like played because as well all know, the majority of songs are either re-done or remixed.

Next, cake cutting! The best part! The cake has been staring at you all night, and now, it is time to enjoy your delicious slice. Take your time with this event and feel free to play background music. Another silly, but thought-provoking matter you may want to discuss with your fiancée beforehand is whether you want to have chocolate cake smeared across your perfectly applied makeup? If not, do let the groom know he will be sleeping on the couch if he does apply a layer of chocolate frosting to your face or your dress. Also keep in mind, if  you are going to smash cake on his face he’s more likely to do the same to you. Therefore, practice the old saying, and do on to others as you would have done unto you.  Once you have politely served the groom his slice of cake do give a “peace-offering” kiss so you can both share a bit of frosting and keep your pact as well as your picture perfect makeup. 

Once the bride and groom have had their cake, a perfect segue into the next event would be the bouquet and garter toss. This allows the cake to be quietly taken behind closed doors to be cut or takes the focus away from the cake while  the reception staff cuts it . In other words, it keeps everyone distracted, minimizes the pauses and breaks in the evening, and alleviates the pressure on the person cutting the cake. Some guests also use cake cutting as an acceptable time to politely leave for the evening. Our recommendation is to not cut the cake too early or too late into the evening so guests don’t feel like their being held hostage.

Once cake cutting is complete consider the  timeline  non-existent. Dance the night away!

 

Be Marry,

C&C TEAM