Favors: To Be or Not To Be

In today's world of weddings, favors have become something that brides feel is expected of them by their guests. But is that really true?

Favors, by definition, are a gift from the bride & groom to their guests, a small token of thanks. While they are a very sweet gesture, they are not mandatory and can easily be cut out of your budget if you are looking for ways to save money. The guests who attend your wedding are there because they love you and are honored to be able to celebrate with you on your special day. They come expecting nothing in return.

If, however, you do have room in your budget for favors, they can be a very fun part of your planning. As you search through the myriad of ideas in magazines and online, keep in mind that, while the favors should reflect your unique personality as a couple, they are ultimately for the benefit of your guests. In other words, while a magnet of the two of you might seem cute, the only people who may ever use it are your moms and grandmas. And while it might seem elegant to have a favor with your names & wedding date engraved, again, only mom & grandma are going to see them as sentimental tokens worthy of keeping.

If you want to have favors that display your picture, names or wedding date, think edible and perishable: candy, cookies, water bottles, plant seeds, etc.

If you're thinking more along the lines of a keepsake or something practical, keep it generic. Your guests will appreciate it more and your money will not have been spent in vain.

If your favors are truly a "thank you" to your guests, make sure your choice reflects that.

Thankfully there are thousands of choices when it comes to favors. If you're looking for a great place to start with ideas, The Knot is an excellent choice. Go check it out!

Local Venue - Navarra Gardens

Today I would like to tell you about another local venue that is a gorgeous place to have a wedding... Navarra Gardens in Willamina, OR.

Owners Joe & Marie Navarra have worked hard to provide a natural setting full of beauty. In the late spring and summer, the grounds will be in full bloom, ignited with all sorts of brilliant colors.

If you look, you can imagine the peaceful sound of the river, the beauty of the flowers, lights or lanterns strung from the trees, and tables adorned with beautiful centerpieces.

Marie is one of my favorite people to work with. She is very flexible and wants nothing more than to provide a way for each bride to have her own unique wedding just as she's envisioned it.

Marie is so accommodating that she even welcomes brides to hold their rehearsal dinners in a relaxed atmosphere right here on the grounds.

She has a cute little cottage for the bride & her bridesmaids to get ready. She even welcomes them to spend the night in the cottage the night before.

When everything is in full bloom, the grape arbor provides a beautiful backdrop for pictures.

There are so many photo opportunites on these grounds that a bride is sure to want her photographer to come out beforehand to make a mental list of locations for some unique wedding pictures.

One thing that every bride is sure to love is how many water features there are. Imagine you and your new husband with this backdrop in your photos.

Navarra Gardens is perfect for both small and large weddings. Although you would have to rent all of the tables, chairs and linens for your wedding, the fee for the venue itself is so reasonable that there is nothing cost-prohibitive about it. And while Marie is able to provide you with vendor referrals, she is open to accommodating anyone you choose.

If you get the chance, call Marie and experience the pleasure of your own tour. And if you book through No Ordinary Affair, you can look forward to receiving a discount on this venue!

Local Venue - The Mansion at the Bayou

One of the things I'd like to do with this blog is to provide you with glimpses into the local Yamhill County wedding sites.

Today I'd love to tell you about The Mansion at the Bayou in McMinnville, OR. Here's a little history straight from their website:

The Mansion was built back in 1948, and was the family home of Dr. Byron A. White. Dr. White was well known for his chiropractic practice, which he began in 1922. Thousands of patients came from around the world to see Dr. White. He was known as “The Miracle Worker” to many and performed a method called “bloodless surgery” on his patients.

Interests of Dr. White were not limited to his chiropractic abilities. At the time of his death, Oct. 16, 1963, he was directing construction of a large golf course project. On April 11, 1964, the White family opened the first 9 holes plus a short 9. Dr. Whites dreams still lives on as many people enjoy and love the surroundings of the Bayou.

Amanda Mercier, the Mansion's Event Coordinator, is very personable and easy to work with. She and the new owners have done a lot of work toward renovating the Mansion in order to make it a very desirable location for a wedding. She has also secured discounts for brides from local vendors.

The grounds of the Mansion are gorgeous and well-manicured. For outdoor weddings, there is this beautiful gazebo for the ceremony, and room to easily accommodate up to 300 guests. The possibilities are endless as far as design, theme and decoration.

For indoor weddings of up to 75 people, there are two spectacular ballrooms. You can use the downstairs ballrom for the ceremony and the upstairs ballroom for the reception. There is ample room for dancing upstairs (even with tables!), as well as a special loft alcove for your DJ. The upstairs ballroom even comes complete with a bar area.

All of the Mansion's wedding packages include tables, chairs and linens for all of your guests.

It's a gorgeous place for a wedding.... and if you are referred through me (as your Wedding Planner), you get the added bonus of receiving a discount at this venue!

Wedding Cakes: Fondant vs. Buttercream

It's time to choose your wedding cake and you're faced with a dilemma... what kind of frosting you want on the cake. This is a matter in which you want to choose wisely!

Fondant icing is a sugar dough that is rolled onto cakes. It is what you see on most cakes in bridal magazines. It's the very pretty, very smooth icing that comes in a multitude of colors. Cake decorators use it to make the elaborate concoctions that are able to replicate literally anything. Without a doubt, fondant makes for some gorgeous and creative cakes. It also holds up well in heat if you have an outdoor wedding.

If you choose fondant, you can expect to pay about 3x more than you would for buttercream. Before committing to that kind of expenditure, do yourself a favor and request a taste test. In many instances, you will find that fondant is tasteless. Some cake designers are able to add flavoring to the fondant and this may or may not make it seem a little more edible to your guests. You'll have to decide. If you choose fondant, you might find that your guests simply eat the cake and leave the fondant shell on their plates.

Buttercream frosting, on the other hand, has a wonderful flavor. Some people will say that you cannot get that same smooth, finished look with buttercream like you can with fondant, but a good cake designer will be able to design a cake with buttercream frosting that looks every bit as good as one with fondant. (Note: Not every cake designer can achieve this, so be sure to view their portfolio!) By choosing buttercream, you are sure to get a cake that is delicious.

Either way you go, you will want to request to see pictures of past weddings your cake designer has done so you have a good idea of their level of expertise. Decide first what is most important to you... Is it taste? Is it appearance? Does your choice fall within your allotted budget?

Be Kind to Your Feet!

I just got done coordinating a rehearsal and wedding this past weekend and I was reminded anew how important it is to have some comfortable shoes for the reception!

As a bride, I know how much thought and preparation and time go into finding just the right shoes to compliment your wedding dress. The shoes can add that extra bit of "bling" to help you feel like a princess on your special day.

However, by the time you reach the reception, you have already been in those princess shoes for several hours and suddenly they may not seem as comfortable anymore. Unless you slip into something a little more comfortable, you may find that you are hobbling before the day is even over.

Here are some suggestions for you:

If you love being barefoot and your reception area has grass, sand, or even carpet, then by all means kick off your shoes and enjoy! Just don't try going barefoot on cement, tile or hardwood floors or your feet will still be aching by the day's end.

Some brides opt for cute ballet shoes. These, however, are little more than covering for bare feet. They will keep your feet clean, but they won't provide any cushion between you and the hard floor.

Many websites offer special flip flops for brides. One such site I found is AnaDia T. Another one is Exclusively Weddings. While this site is a little more pricey, the shoes are elevated so your dress is less likely to drag on the floor. Advantage Bridal offers rhinestones on their flip flops instead of bows.

If you're not a flip-flop type of bride, you can always opt for some cute, comfortable sneakers. You can buy and/or decorate your own, or you can opt for an online company like Savvy Sneaks and Sandals.

There is also an online discussion board for brides on this very subject. It's found on Yahoo! Answers.

No matter what you choose, do keep in mind that your dress will be altered to fit with your ceremony shoes. If your reception shoes are significantly shorter (or if you choose to go barefoot), your dress may drag a little. Be sure to try out your dress with your reception shoes before the big day. In most cases, your dress will drag very little and your feet will be very grateful.

The Making of a Great Reception

According to a survey conducted by Modern Bride Magazine, what your guests are likely to remember most from your wedding is not your dress or the food or the cake or the decorations. What they are most likely to remember is the entertainment! Yes, there will be tender and touching moments that they savor along with you; and yes, there are likely to be some funny moments that live on as stories long after your wedding is over. But what your guests may remember most is whether or not they had fun.

Think of it this way: while the wedding ceremony is the joining of two lives, the reception is technically the first party the two of you host as husband & wife. While the ceremony is all about you, the reception is just as much about your guests as it is about you.

Your choice of entertainment has the power to make or break your reception. Whether you hire a band or a DJ or have Uncle Pete stand in as the Master of Ceremonies, your reception can be a great success if you choose wisely. The person or band you choose needs to be able to direct the pace and flow of the reception, they need to be able to creatively involve your guests, they need to have an entertaining personality and be skilled in public speaking, and they need to take the time to get to know you on a personal level beforehand. It's important that they make this event unique to the two of you and that they carry out your vision for the day.

Keep in mind that you often get what you pay for. If someone's prices are far below average, you need to ask yourself why. Get referrals from people you know; see the DJ or band perform live at another event, if possible; or contact a local Wedding Planner for some great referrals.

How A Wedding Planner Can Help

In our world where the economy is tight, gas prices are soaring, and everyone is trying to save money, many of you brides wonder why you would need a Wedding Planner, or just how you could ever afford to pay for one. Am I right?

Let me put your mind at ease... not only can a good Wedding Planner help you, they can also save you both time and money.

All brides go into planning with the thought they get only one shot at having the perfect wedding. Right off the bat there is that pressure to get everything right, to live out the dream wedding and to impress the guests. For some brides that pressure becomes overwhelming right from the start. It takes about 250 hours to plan an average wedding ("Plan Your Wedding in No Time" by Leah Ingram). Trying to fit an extra 250 hours worth of work into your already busy schedule can be difficult, to say the least. A Wedding Planner can alleviate much of that stress and pressure and can allow you to enjoy your engagement with your new fiance.

By bringing a Wedding Planner in right from the beginning, you have someone who can take your vision and turn it into a reality. The Wedding Planner can either work with you from start to finish, or they can simply head you in the right direction by referring you to the best vendors for your budget. The Wedding Planner is able to keep your budget on track and is often able to get you vendor discounts that you could not get on your own.

If, however, you love the planning & organization parts of a wedding (as I do!), you may not think about bringing in a Wedding Planner until a month or so before the wedding. This is usually the time that most brides really feel the stress of the last-minute details; the handling of the guest list and seating; the coordination of the vendors and the decorating; the organization of the rehearsal, ceremony and reception; etc. The Wedding Planner can take all of that responsibility off your shoulders.

Perhaps, though, it is simply the actual wedding day that causes your stomach to go in knots. You wonder who will make sure that the cake knife is at the table, that your family is in the right place at the right time for the pictures, that the florist delivers the right flowers, that the photographer isn't AWOL at a critical moment, that the reception schedule flows smoothly and your guests enjoy themselves. The Wedding Planner will confirm with all of your vendors, will have detailed itineraries for both the wedding party and the wedding vendors, will coordinate the rehearsal, will handle the tiny details, and will troubleshoot any last-minute problems that arise. This allows you, your family and your guests to enjoy the wedding celebration that you have worked so hard to put together.

So is a Wedding Planner a luxury or a necessity? Why don't you take advantage of a free consultation with one in your area and then decide for yourself...