Last weekend I went to a seminar by the Heeney Company that showcased three weddings by their designers, a New Year’s Eve Wedding, an Autumn affair, and a Christmas Wedding.
Some of the things I learnt from this event:
1. It is now a trend for couples to get married on New Year Eve’s
I guess this concept is not new in the Chinese cultures as a lot of Chinese people will try to get married before Chinese New Year and during Chinese New Year itself. In America, the Chinese will even get married on Chinese New Year’s Eve since it is not as big a holiday here as it is in Asia (where people reserve this day for family gathering).
My take on New Year’s Eve wedding (as well as other holiday weddings) is that it will be good to give advance notice to your guests so they can plan ahead to attend your wedding. People who really want to be at your wedding will come no matter what time of year it is but do know that holiday air ticket costs tend to be higher so you might want to take that into consideration for your out-of-town guests.
Also, staffing costs will be higher due to the holidays so it can increase your event cost if you choose to get married on New Year’s Eve.
2. Unless you really like your church or venue’s Christmas design, it is not a good idea to get married in December in a pre decorated venue.
I am not sure who came up with the idea that using holiday decoration will save you money so it is good to get married in a church or venue that is already decked out in the Christmas decoration.
I guess this concept is based on the idea that you actually like your church or venue’s Christmas decoration so you do not have to spend money on decoration for your wedding.
The problem is you must like the décor first for this plan to work.
Please know that most churches/venues will not take down their holiday décor for your event. Some of them that do it will charge you an extra fee to have the décor taken down for your event. Therefore, please plan accordingly before booking a date in December.
3. When in doubt, dim the light
Dim the light. It helps to make everything looks more romantic. Seriously check to see how the lighting will work in your venue. The right lighting can make a huge difference to create the atmosphere of your wedding.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Working with Venue Coordinators
Yesterday I got a call from the venue of my client informing me that the venue coordinator whom we had been working with is no longer with the company. The new coordinator sent me the Banquet Event Order with the menu choices of my client for review. One quick glance and I saw that the per person rate was incorrect (and they were much higher!). I called and got the problem resolved before my client even realized there was a mistake.
The incident really got me thinking about one of the reasons why it is important for brides to have their own wedding coordinator or planner instead of relying on the venue coordinator: turnover rate is really high for venue coordinators.
The coordinator with whom you signed the contract with may not be there for your wedding. This is especially true if you book your event a year out at a venue but it can also happen with short engagement. Personally I have seen it happened to brides with 4-7 months engagement period. If you have a long engagement, you may even see a few coordinator changes throughout the length of your engagement.
If the transition is seamless and the previous venue coordinator had kept a good record of the paper work, hopefully your event will not be affected and the new coordinator can just take on your event without problem. Frequently though, things are dropped when there is a change of personnel so you probably have to make sure you have all the paper work to get things straighten out with the new venue coordinator.
Having your own wedding coordinator means that he/she will be dealing with your venue on your behalf. Your own coordinator/planner should also have the planning details from previous meeting with your venue and can easily show the new venue coordinator what was agreed upon.
A venue coordinator is very valuable because he/she can help with your reception floor plan and with his/her experience with the venue, help make suggestions on the flow of the event. He/she is also familiar with the menu choices to be able to make recommendation for the reception menu design if there is an in house caterer with the venue.
However, a venue coordinator works for the venue, is paid by the venue, and thus is most concerned about the interest of the venue. They also do not coordinate the other details of your event that is not related to the venue itself such as creation of the timeline for your event and communication with other vendors not booked through the venue.
Simply put, your own wedding coordinator/planner is your personal advocate and he/she works on your behalf. This is especially true for brides who have planned their own wedding (and want their plans to be carried out a certain way) because the use of their own coordinator will ensure that their planning vision is carried out correctly.
On your wedding day, your personal wedding coordinator will be the one who works with the venue coordinator, as well as your other vendors to ensure that no details are missed.
As far as I am concerned, the only "job" for a bride on her wedding day is to look good and enjoy her time with her new husband and the loved ones!
The incident really got me thinking about one of the reasons why it is important for brides to have their own wedding coordinator or planner instead of relying on the venue coordinator: turnover rate is really high for venue coordinators.
The coordinator with whom you signed the contract with may not be there for your wedding. This is especially true if you book your event a year out at a venue but it can also happen with short engagement. Personally I have seen it happened to brides with 4-7 months engagement period. If you have a long engagement, you may even see a few coordinator changes throughout the length of your engagement.
If the transition is seamless and the previous venue coordinator had kept a good record of the paper work, hopefully your event will not be affected and the new coordinator can just take on your event without problem. Frequently though, things are dropped when there is a change of personnel so you probably have to make sure you have all the paper work to get things straighten out with the new venue coordinator.
Having your own wedding coordinator means that he/she will be dealing with your venue on your behalf. Your own coordinator/planner should also have the planning details from previous meeting with your venue and can easily show the new venue coordinator what was agreed upon.
A venue coordinator is very valuable because he/she can help with your reception floor plan and with his/her experience with the venue, help make suggestions on the flow of the event. He/she is also familiar with the menu choices to be able to make recommendation for the reception menu design if there is an in house caterer with the venue.
However, a venue coordinator works for the venue, is paid by the venue, and thus is most concerned about the interest of the venue. They also do not coordinate the other details of your event that is not related to the venue itself such as creation of the timeline for your event and communication with other vendors not booked through the venue.
Simply put, your own wedding coordinator/planner is your personal advocate and he/she works on your behalf. This is especially true for brides who have planned their own wedding (and want their plans to be carried out a certain way) because the use of their own coordinator will ensure that their planning vision is carried out correctly.
On your wedding day, your personal wedding coordinator will be the one who works with the venue coordinator, as well as your other vendors to ensure that no details are missed.
As far as I am concerned, the only "job" for a bride on her wedding day is to look good and enjoy her time with her new husband and the loved ones!
Monday, September 13, 2010
09/12/2010: 173 Carlyle House Open House
Source of Image: http://www.173carlylehouse.com/I had a chance to go to the Open House at 173 Carlyle House yesterday.
While I had driven past this event venue in Historic Norcross several times before, this is the first time I was able to check it out.
173 Carlyle House has an elegant ballroom that can accommodate up to 200 people as well as several cozy rooms available for pre reception event. The courtyard space is also available for couples who want to get married outside. For larger events, the courtyard space allows outdoor dining as well.
One thing I like about this venue is definitely the food. Owned by Chef William Janousek (who was actually serving the meat at the chef station yesterday!), I can see that he pays a great deal of attention to the food quality at 173 Carlyle House. We especially love the various canapes! They were yummy and I could see the guests eating a lot of them during cocktail hour!
173 Carlyle House also serves various wedding cake samples that were baked in house yesterday and they were delicious! The pricing for the wedding cake is very reasonable as well. I will highly recommend brides who are getting married here to get the wedding cake in house to save on the cake cutting fee.
I also like the relatively neutral ballroom as it offers a lot of opportunities for brides to choose various color combinations that will work well to personalize their own event. For brides who want to bring in ethnic food to compliment Chef Janousek's tasty creations, I was informed that as long as the minimum on food and beverage has been met, 173 Carlyle House welcomes the couple to bring in some outside dishes that reflect their cultures or to show off that proud family traditional recipe! This is a flexibility that not many venues allow and in my mind, it is definitely a big huge plus!
While I had driven past this event venue in Historic Norcross several times before, this is the first time I was able to check it out.
173 Carlyle House has an elegant ballroom that can accommodate up to 200 people as well as several cozy rooms available for pre reception event. The courtyard space is also available for couples who want to get married outside. For larger events, the courtyard space allows outdoor dining as well.
One thing I like about this venue is definitely the food. Owned by Chef William Janousek (who was actually serving the meat at the chef station yesterday!), I can see that he pays a great deal of attention to the food quality at 173 Carlyle House. We especially love the various canapes! They were yummy and I could see the guests eating a lot of them during cocktail hour!
173 Carlyle House also serves various wedding cake samples that were baked in house yesterday and they were delicious! The pricing for the wedding cake is very reasonable as well. I will highly recommend brides who are getting married here to get the wedding cake in house to save on the cake cutting fee.
I also like the relatively neutral ballroom as it offers a lot of opportunities for brides to choose various color combinations that will work well to personalize their own event. For brides who want to bring in ethnic food to compliment Chef Janousek's tasty creations, I was informed that as long as the minimum on food and beverage has been met, 173 Carlyle House welcomes the couple to bring in some outside dishes that reflect their cultures or to show off that proud family traditional recipe! This is a flexibility that not many venues allow and in my mind, it is definitely a big huge plus!
If you are looking for a historic house to host your event in Atlanta, definitely consider 173 Carlyle House. Besides weddings, they also host other events such as holiday parties and one can choose between the ballroom or the other private rooms depending on the group size.
Have fun planning!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Marriage Couples Retreat
I spent my Labor Day weekend with my husband in North Georgia to attend the Marriage Couples Retreat organized by our church.
We learnt so much from the 3 day retreat. Besides our honeymoon, this was one of the best trips we have taken together. It was a trip filled with laughters, tears, discovery, and understanding. I am so glad we were able to get away from our daily life to spend time with each other and had a great learning experience with the other 9 couples to improve on our communication skills, and to enrich the most important relationship in our lives, the one we have with our spouse and partner for life!
For brides planning weddings everywhere, I just want to say that we should put in as much effort in our marriage. Afterall, the wedding is only the beginning of a marriage. It is the celebration of the beginning of a great journey, one that you and your spouse will take together, through ups and downs, sunshine or thunderstorms, harsh winter or beautiful spring.
I have always want my brides to have a beautiful wedding but I know I want them to have a great marriage even more!
We learnt so much from the 3 day retreat. Besides our honeymoon, this was one of the best trips we have taken together. It was a trip filled with laughters, tears, discovery, and understanding. I am so glad we were able to get away from our daily life to spend time with each other and had a great learning experience with the other 9 couples to improve on our communication skills, and to enrich the most important relationship in our lives, the one we have with our spouse and partner for life!
For brides planning weddings everywhere, I just want to say that we should put in as much effort in our marriage. Afterall, the wedding is only the beginning of a marriage. It is the celebration of the beginning of a great journey, one that you and your spouse will take together, through ups and downs, sunshine or thunderstorms, harsh winter or beautiful spring.
I have always want my brides to have a beautiful wedding but I know I want them to have a great marriage even more!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Windermere Golf Club Bridal Show – 8/31/2010
Source of Image: Angela Wilson Photography
Yesterday I drove up to Cumming, GA for Windermere Golf Club’s bridal show.
I was informed that the ballroom can host up to 170 people but it is actually quite an intimate space (at least to me). One can also set up the cocktail area outside in the covered patio area which overlooks the golf course. Last night, I enjoyed a piece of wedding cake sample from Cake Envy out in the patio during sunset and it was a romantic atmosphere.
As far as the ceremony goes, it can be outdoor or indoor which is definitely a huge plus for those who want an outdoor wedding but also the peace of mind to know that there is a rain location in case of bad weather.
Whenever I go to a site visit, I always try to imagine what kind of couple will like this space. To me, Windermere is a more traditional venue suitable for couples who want a more classic country club wedding. However, I have also seen pictures of the ballroom at Windermere during last night’s show where the use of extra lighting totally transform the space and change the atmosphere.
While the venue is a little out of the way for people in Atlanta, it is not very far if you are in the Alpharetta or Buford area.
One final note: at night it gets really dark around the area so road signs are hard to see. Make sure you have a GPS or be naturally good with direction! I was glad I have a good memory!
I was informed that the ballroom can host up to 170 people but it is actually quite an intimate space (at least to me). One can also set up the cocktail area outside in the covered patio area which overlooks the golf course. Last night, I enjoyed a piece of wedding cake sample from Cake Envy out in the patio during sunset and it was a romantic atmosphere.
As far as the ceremony goes, it can be outdoor or indoor which is definitely a huge plus for those who want an outdoor wedding but also the peace of mind to know that there is a rain location in case of bad weather.
Whenever I go to a site visit, I always try to imagine what kind of couple will like this space. To me, Windermere is a more traditional venue suitable for couples who want a more classic country club wedding. However, I have also seen pictures of the ballroom at Windermere during last night’s show where the use of extra lighting totally transform the space and change the atmosphere.
While the venue is a little out of the way for people in Atlanta, it is not very far if you are in the Alpharetta or Buford area.
One final note: at night it gets really dark around the area so road signs are hard to see. Make sure you have a GPS or be naturally good with direction! I was glad I have a good memory!
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