Highlight in Las Vegas

I am not a big fan of thrill rides but last weekend at a private event in Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas, I somehow decided to take the X-Scream because it was part of the privilege offered to all the guests at the party.

The ride indeed make me scream like a crazy woman (and I had a loud voice to begin with!). Well, it was hard to content myself and stay quiet when the ride put us 27 feet over the edge of the buidling on 108 floor of the tower which is about 866 feet above the ground. I was scared to death to say the least! But I must say it was a fun ride and it was the highlight of my trip.

The ride was definitely one of a kind and for me it was a very different ride compared to all previous roller coaster rides I had been on. Will I go on the ride again? Probably not. But I will remember this ride for a very long time.

Maybe it is not possible to offer a thrill ride at your event but it is nice to plan event with a highlight in mind. It makes for a memorable event for your guests!

Winter Wedding

Picture by Kin Phan Ng: Log Cabin Church in Smyrna, GA

This winter in Atlanta has been colder than usual. It even came with a January snow storm that had the entire city going crazy for a week but also allowed beautiful pictures like the one taken above at the Log Cabin Church near my house (taken by my husband who walked from our house to the church in the snow).

We are now in February 2011 and it looks like another wintry mix is on the way. I thought it might be a good time to share a few tips on planning winter weddings.

(1) Weather

Obviously Atlanta has its share of "nice and warmer" winter days but it is best to plan for winter weather if you choose a winter wedding date.

This means having a shawl or jacket for the bride and the bridesmaids to keep the bridal party warm and plan to have pictures taken indoor by deciding in advance where you can do so at your venue.

You may also want to check with your vendors to see what is their plan in case of inclemental weather. If your vendors cannot show up, do you have a plan in mind?

Also, will you be ok if your out-of-town guests cannot make it on time to your wedding due to the weather?

I think the key here is to be mentally prepared so that you do not get too disappointed when the weather does not cooperate.

(2) Popular Wedding Dates in Winter

Despite the cold weather, there are certain popular wedding dates in winter.

For example, a lot of couples choose Valentine's Day weekend to get married. Prices for flowers tend to go up for this weekend due to the high demand so you may need to pay a higher rate or be flexible with your choice of flowers.

If you intend to plan a Chinese wedding, the weekend right before Chinese New Year is very popular too and there are only a limited number of Chinese restaurants in Atlanta that actually can accommodate a wedding banquet.

(3) Winter Discounts

On the other hand, winter months tend to be less busy for wedding professionals. If you are flexible with your wedding date, having a winter wedding can allow you to save some money.

For example, a lot of venues will lower the rental fee for winter months to fill their open dates.

Sometimes the discounts are not advertised but it does not hurt to ask the vendors.

(4) Plan around the Winter theme

If you have decided to have a winter wedding, you might as well embrace the theme.

Perhaps you can serve hot cocoa to the guests?

Use lots of candles for warmth an decoration if your venue allows.

Pick the flowers that are available in the winter months instead of paying extra for those that have to be shipped from warmer places.

With careful planning, you can have a beautiful winter wedding!

Bilingual Wedding Ceremony Planning

Recently I was asked by a bride who was planning an intercultural wedding on what language to use for the wedding ceremony.

Personally I feel that the couple should exchange the wedding vows in the language that they normally communicate to each other with because this is something special between the two people getting married. Do the guests need to understand the language of the vows to participate in this part of the ceremony? I doubt it is really necessary as most will be able to “tell” from the facial expressions what had just been exchanged between the bride and groom.

I remembered being in weddings where the translator was repeating after the pastor and the couple down to the "I do". This makes for very long and sometimes boring ceremony. In my opinion, a better alternative is to have a bilingual program for the guests to follow themselves.

Without a wedding program, you will risk losing the attention of the guests who do not know what is going on, especially if the wedding ceremony involves cultural or religious customs that the guests may not understand. Most guests want to celebrate different cultures but they can only do so if they know why certain things are done during the ceremony.

Another one of my personal favorite things to do is to choose music and readings for the ceremony in both languages if possible. This is also a great time to involve those special people in your life and let them participate in the ceremony together with you. For example, if your older aunt can only speak Chinese but your wedding is in English, wouldn't it be great if she can participate by reading a Bible passage or even a poem in Chinese during the ceremony?

Finally, if you do decide to go full translation route on everything, please be mindful of the length of the ceremony. After all, you don't really want the guests to start thinking "when is this going to end?", right?

Gabe's Downtown Catering

Source of Image: Gabe's Downtown Louisiana Bistro

On a snow day last week, I received a phone call from Michelle Pethel, the catering coordinator of Gabe's Downtown Louisiana Bistro to invite me to come out for a tasting of their food on the weekend.

While Villa Rica, GA sounded quite far, it is actually a rather pleasant drive on I-20. We drove the 26 miles from our house in Smyrna to downtown Villa Rica free of traffic on Saturday morning. There were still snow on the road side but it was quite an easy drive.

The restaurant was cozy and Michelle offered us a wide range of food for the tasting:

(1) Cajun Egg Rolls and Mini Crab Cake as appetizers
(2) Goat Cheese Salad
(3) Gumbo

(4) Lobster Bisque (served in a bread bowl)

(5) Seafood Etouffee as entree

Everything we ate was so delicious and we finished everything! Michelle told us that all the food are freshly made as the chef do not believe in using anything frozen in his cooking. They also tried to source their ingredients locally which is a huge plus!

I absolutely love the food at Gabe's Downtown! If you are looking for a caterer who can provide you with something different than a typical wedding menu, Gabe's Downtown is the place to go!

Even though they are located in West Atlanta, they do travel all around town for weddings. Please take a look at their flexible catering packages on their website which starts at $15.00 per person to $50.00 per person. I hope you don't get too hungry!

Anya Bridal Sale January 15, 2011

Source of Image: Anya Bridal

If you are still looking for your wedding gown in the Atlanta area, consider checking out Anya Bridal this coming Saturday. On January 15, 2011, the store is having a sale from 9am to 5pm with 30-80% discount.

The gowns in the store are all named after different girls' names. Shown above is Ella, one of my favorites. Maybe you can even find a gown you like in your own name?

A Blueland Wedding

Source of Image: Atlanta Thrashers

Watching ice hockey is one of my favorite things to do in winter months as far as indoor entertainment is concerned and I always try to go to a few Atlanta Thrashers games every year.

Last Thursday I went to the Atlanta Thrashers vs. Boston Bruins game at Philips Arena and I happend to be one of the 17,624 guests for the first wedding in Blueland.

Two season ticket holders for Atlanta Thrashers had decided to tie the knot during the first intermission of the game. Check out this link from the official website.

The bride was escorted to the ice rink by Thrash, the mascot for Atlanta Thrashers. Her "something blue" looked to be the Thrashers skirt she had on. The groom wore the Atlanta Thrashers jersey.

While this is definitely a non-traditional wedding and one that is not for every one, there are more traditional ways to incorporate hockey love into your wedding planning if you wish.

For example, cufflinks.com offers Atlanta Thrashers cufflinks (and other NHL teams) for the groom and/or groomsmen.

I also like the use of the hockey sticks in this Blueland wedding at the end of the ceremony to create an archway of hockey sticks during the recessional.

Of course, your guests can sign their names on the hockey stick instead of a traditional guest book.

Go on, show us your love for ice hockey!!!

Beau-coup Favors, Inc. Sale

I just received an e-mail from Beau-coup Favors that they are having a three day sale. With the code BYEBYE2010, it is 15% off without any minimum. Offer expires Dec 15, 2010 at midnight, PT though.

I also like the fact that they offer free return within 30 days in case you do not like the products. Some restrictions apply so please read the return policy (e.g. personalized products cannot be returned obviously!).

For me, I like the Mini Brownie Favor Pops pictured above.