Weddings, the most important day of a couple's life, require much planning, effort, and money. Even with these 3 basic components, some weddings turn out a lot better (or worse) than other weddings. The key to planning and executing a great wedding can largely be based on 5 key elements, listed below:
1) Venue As with most businesses, location, location, location plays a crucial role in its success. The same thing can be applied to weddings. For example, it's probably not a good idea to plan a wedding outside in the middle of winter, especially since there is no way to gauge how the weather will turn out. It's also best to find a wedding venue fairly close to major freeways, airports, as well as cities. People may be flying in from various locations and will need places to stay, as well as places to shop and eat out. Pick a destination accordingly.
2) Dcor Since guests will mostly be sitting down to eat at your reception, it's important to have some kind of decorations that coordinate with the wedding colors and such, as not to bore people. Whether it's hanging up colored lights, putting up artwork, or having fancy table decorations, a wedding planner can help ensure this part of the wedding gets handled the right way.
3) Food When people attend weddings and receptions, they will be expecting to eat. This does not necessarily mean you have to cater a full-course meal for everyone (since not everyone can afford such a thing), but it does mean providing some kind of drink (or drink options), as well as an appetizer or some hors d'oeuvres. If you can afford it, go with a respectable catering company with stellar reviews.
4) Music Music is an essential part to weddings. Music is usually needed when the bride walks down the aisle, when first dance begins, and throughout the evening to entertain guests. If money is not a problem, consider going with a live band. If you live in the mid-west, there are some great Utah bands that will put on a great show to entertain your guests.
5) Coordination The final 2-3 days before a wedding are usually the most chaotic days. Minimize the confusion by handing out assignments to family members, and then follow up with them and see how you can assist them if they are having problems. Better yet, find a capable wedding planner who can make assignments and make sure everything is being handled. Be sure to ask friends for referrals and read reviews before deciding on any of the elements mentioned abouve.
Just remember, not everything will go perfectly on a wedding day. Mistakes are bound to happen so able to improvise and enjoy the moment it will be over before you know it!
Friday, October 12, 2012
5 Amazing Wedding Reception Locations in Austin
If you are getting married you want to have that wedding reception that is to die for and fulfills all your fantasy. You also want to have that venue that is going to really stand out for your Austin wedding photographer also. The good news is, Austin is full of incredible venues that you can take a look at to find the perfect one for you.
Chateau on the Creek
Chateau on the Creek is an amazing wedding venue to check out for sure. You will forget that you are even in Texas when you choose to get married here and you will find that this place is pure beauty. You are going to find that there are all kinds of great photo opportunities here for an Austin wedding photographer. Chateau on the Creek has a fountain and a great patio where you can have an incredible looking wedding that fits all of your dreams.
Kindred Oaks
Another great place to have a wedding reception and ceremony is Kindred Oaks. This is a great area that actually overlooks Brushy Creek, so there are going to be incredible opportunities for your Austin wedding photographer. This is a huge facility so it can accommodate a large wedding party and will provide you with everything that you need to have the perfect wedding day and really enjoy all parts of your ceremony and your reception.
Villa Antonia
When you are looking for beauty and tranquility, you are looking to have your wedding reception at Villa Antonia. The scenery here is gorgeous as this villa sits atop Lake Travis so you can see it while you are getting married and have a view of it in your reception room. This will be a great location for an Austin wedding photographer to take some incredible photos of you. This is also a great location because of the beauty that it has in terms of the outdoor areas where you can get some great looking photos.
One World Theatre
Arguably one of the most incredible places to get married in Austin is at the One World Theatre. This is a gorgeous place to get married and while it is not cheap, it is well worth it. If you need space and a large venue, this is the place to be, you are going to get large and you are going to get a lavish place to have a wedding reception. Check it out and fall in love with the beauty of this place.
Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum
An interesting and unique place to have a wedding reception is the Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum. This place is full of sculptures that are mixed within a garden. There also are wooden bridges and covered terraces where you can enjoy the scenery. For Austin wedding photographers, there are all kinds of great photo opportunities there for sure. This is an incredible place to get married in Austin and one that you definitely need to have on your list when you are determining where to have your reception.
Chateau on the Creek
Chateau on the Creek is an amazing wedding venue to check out for sure. You will forget that you are even in Texas when you choose to get married here and you will find that this place is pure beauty. You are going to find that there are all kinds of great photo opportunities here for an Austin wedding photographer. Chateau on the Creek has a fountain and a great patio where you can have an incredible looking wedding that fits all of your dreams.
Kindred Oaks
Another great place to have a wedding reception and ceremony is Kindred Oaks. This is a great area that actually overlooks Brushy Creek, so there are going to be incredible opportunities for your Austin wedding photographer. This is a huge facility so it can accommodate a large wedding party and will provide you with everything that you need to have the perfect wedding day and really enjoy all parts of your ceremony and your reception.
Villa Antonia
When you are looking for beauty and tranquility, you are looking to have your wedding reception at Villa Antonia. The scenery here is gorgeous as this villa sits atop Lake Travis so you can see it while you are getting married and have a view of it in your reception room. This will be a great location for an Austin wedding photographer to take some incredible photos of you. This is also a great location because of the beauty that it has in terms of the outdoor areas where you can get some great looking photos.
One World Theatre
Arguably one of the most incredible places to get married in Austin is at the One World Theatre. This is a gorgeous place to get married and while it is not cheap, it is well worth it. If you need space and a large venue, this is the place to be, you are going to get large and you are going to get a lavish place to have a wedding reception. Check it out and fall in love with the beauty of this place.
Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum
An interesting and unique place to have a wedding reception is the Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum. This place is full of sculptures that are mixed within a garden. There also are wooden bridges and covered terraces where you can enjoy the scenery. For Austin wedding photographers, there are all kinds of great photo opportunities there for sure. This is an incredible place to get married in Austin and one that you definitely need to have on your list when you are determining where to have your reception.
Monday, April 23, 2012
4 tips on how to plan an inexpensive wedding
Lets deal with it, weddings can be super expensive. The typical expense of a wedding is above $10,000. But what if you do not have that sort of cash laying around? How can you still have a fantastic wedding without breaking the bank?
Well, there are actually simple things you can do that will dramatically reduce the wedding expenses. Here are a few.
#1 - Don't purchase A new Wedding outfitI know, this sounds a little crazy but the truth is that you can find a used wedding gown for a lot less than a new one. Just think about it, women only wear their wedding dress once. Then it just sits inside their closet gathering dust. So instead of going to Davids Bridal, why don't you go to eBay and look for a wedding dress there?
#2 - You could make your Own InvitationsYou can find all you need to create invitations at the local stationary store. Just make use of your creative side. And if you aren't creative I am sure you could find someone who is. Pay them $50 bucks to make your invitations and you are good to go.
#3 - Don't Go ALL Out For your ReceptionRather than booking the priciest reception hall, why not have the reception at a local church or at someones home? This will cut back on expenses dramatically. And if you've got people in your family who are able to throw down in the kitchen, ask them to cater for you as a wedding gift. That way you don't have to concern yourself with expensive caterers.
#4 - Have A Family Member Take PhotographsPhotographs from the wedding are very important. But hiring a professional photographer can be quite expensive. So one of the ways around that is to just ask one of your family members to be in charge of photos for the wedding.
When taking these simple tips into account you can host a successful budget wedding.
Well, there are actually simple things you can do that will dramatically reduce the wedding expenses. Here are a few.
#1 - Don't purchase A new Wedding outfitI know, this sounds a little crazy but the truth is that you can find a used wedding gown for a lot less than a new one. Just think about it, women only wear their wedding dress once. Then it just sits inside their closet gathering dust. So instead of going to Davids Bridal, why don't you go to eBay and look for a wedding dress there?
#2 - You could make your Own InvitationsYou can find all you need to create invitations at the local stationary store. Just make use of your creative side. And if you aren't creative I am sure you could find someone who is. Pay them $50 bucks to make your invitations and you are good to go.
#3 - Don't Go ALL Out For your ReceptionRather than booking the priciest reception hall, why not have the reception at a local church or at someones home? This will cut back on expenses dramatically. And if you've got people in your family who are able to throw down in the kitchen, ask them to cater for you as a wedding gift. That way you don't have to concern yourself with expensive caterers.
#4 - Have A Family Member Take PhotographsPhotographs from the wedding are very important. But hiring a professional photographer can be quite expensive. So one of the ways around that is to just ask one of your family members to be in charge of photos for the wedding.
When taking these simple tips into account you can host a successful budget wedding.
4 Fun and Interesting Ideas for Wedding Cake Toppers
If you've read my post about the history of the wedding cake, you'll know that wedding cake toppers aren't that traditional. In fact, they weren't commonly used until after Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1864. From there, wedding cakes became extravagant and were a thing of beauty; not just to eat!
Wedding cake toppers are now a must have for brides and grooms. There are so many different styles though, people no longer want to opt for the traditional man and wife topper. Here are some great ideas for wedding cake toppers without spending an absolute fortune!
Our first topper smashed but luckily my sister and her boyfriend had bought us a set of crystal ones. They're beautiful, small and just us so we ended up using them (although they weren't originally bought to be used on the day!).
Glass and crystal toppers are great because they can catch the light in ways that others can't. They're great when the cake is in the middle of the dance floor while you cut it or for guests to see as they go past. They're also excellent keepsakes for the wedding and perfect for having out on show.
The downside to them is that they can be small. Since our crystal cake toppers were never meant for the day, our cake decorations were too big for the toppers. They looked tiny on our top tier and I don't think everyone saw them. However, there are different sizes available to suit your needs on the day.
If you love to have a laugh and it is all part of your personality, show that with your cake toppers. There are many designs available, such as a bride pulling the groom by the leg or the man and wife locked together with handcuffs. These will make great talking points for your wedding and you'll soon have your guests asking where you got them from and whether it's a true depiction of your future marriage.
For those wanting something a little different, there are animal cake toppers available to add some fun and humour to the day. You could even taken playing pieces from your favourite game, if you're known for that, to add your personality.
Watch out with the fun and jokey ones though as you could do too much with them. It can be easy for the big day to be ruined all because of the way the cake toppers are viewed. You've also got to consider the guests, especially if you have ones who don't approve of the marriage.
Before we ended up with the crystal wedding cake toppers, we had a beautiful, porcelain heart centerpiece for the cake. We didn't want to do the same as everyone else and decided that was a great way to keep that going. Unfortunately it smashed an hour before the cake cutting and a friend is still trying to repair it.
The best thing about a beautiful centerpiece is that you could get a centerpiece for the top table to match it. This works if you have a top table of course! We got one that was made out of the same material and had a couple kissing, with their arms making the shape of a heart. We still have that and it's on a dining room shelf waiting for its cake topper counterpart.
The downside is these types of cake toppers can be heavy. We had a chocolate orange top tier and had to make sure that it would be stable enough to hold the weight. Originally we were going to have a fruit cake top tier, which would have definitely held it.
The wedding is all about you and you can add that to your wedding cake topper. One way of doing that is adding something from your childhood, your nationality or just your personality something that means something to you both. This is especially great if you have a wedding joining two cultures.
This doesn't have to be flags although was something my sister suggested for us. We used white roses while decorating the cake in tartan to show the joining of my husband's clan to my Yorkshire roots. We could have done something similar for the topper but decided against it but that doesn't stop you!
If you've known each other all your life, use something that represents who you are as a couple. It shows how the two of you have come together and will mean much more than a set of bride and groom figurines.
So, there you have it, four fun ideas for wedding cake toppers. Think about doing something fun, different and personal for your big day. You don't have to go for traditional after all, the plastic bride and groom toppers have only been around for a few decades.
Did you have something different for your big day? Are you currently planning your wedding and looking for ideas? Feel free to share your thoughts and own ideas into the mix.
Wedding cake toppers are now a must have for brides and grooms. There are so many different styles though, people no longer want to opt for the traditional man and wife topper. Here are some great ideas for wedding cake toppers without spending an absolute fortune!
Our first topper smashed but luckily my sister and her boyfriend had bought us a set of crystal ones. They're beautiful, small and just us so we ended up using them (although they weren't originally bought to be used on the day!).
Glass and crystal toppers are great because they can catch the light in ways that others can't. They're great when the cake is in the middle of the dance floor while you cut it or for guests to see as they go past. They're also excellent keepsakes for the wedding and perfect for having out on show.
The downside to them is that they can be small. Since our crystal cake toppers were never meant for the day, our cake decorations were too big for the toppers. They looked tiny on our top tier and I don't think everyone saw them. However, there are different sizes available to suit your needs on the day.
If you love to have a laugh and it is all part of your personality, show that with your cake toppers. There are many designs available, such as a bride pulling the groom by the leg or the man and wife locked together with handcuffs. These will make great talking points for your wedding and you'll soon have your guests asking where you got them from and whether it's a true depiction of your future marriage.
For those wanting something a little different, there are animal cake toppers available to add some fun and humour to the day. You could even taken playing pieces from your favourite game, if you're known for that, to add your personality.
Watch out with the fun and jokey ones though as you could do too much with them. It can be easy for the big day to be ruined all because of the way the cake toppers are viewed. You've also got to consider the guests, especially if you have ones who don't approve of the marriage.
Before we ended up with the crystal wedding cake toppers, we had a beautiful, porcelain heart centerpiece for the cake. We didn't want to do the same as everyone else and decided that was a great way to keep that going. Unfortunately it smashed an hour before the cake cutting and a friend is still trying to repair it.
The best thing about a beautiful centerpiece is that you could get a centerpiece for the top table to match it. This works if you have a top table of course! We got one that was made out of the same material and had a couple kissing, with their arms making the shape of a heart. We still have that and it's on a dining room shelf waiting for its cake topper counterpart.
The downside is these types of cake toppers can be heavy. We had a chocolate orange top tier and had to make sure that it would be stable enough to hold the weight. Originally we were going to have a fruit cake top tier, which would have definitely held it.
The wedding is all about you and you can add that to your wedding cake topper. One way of doing that is adding something from your childhood, your nationality or just your personality something that means something to you both. This is especially great if you have a wedding joining two cultures.
This doesn't have to be flags although was something my sister suggested for us. We used white roses while decorating the cake in tartan to show the joining of my husband's clan to my Yorkshire roots. We could have done something similar for the topper but decided against it but that doesn't stop you!
If you've known each other all your life, use something that represents who you are as a couple. It shows how the two of you have come together and will mean much more than a set of bride and groom figurines.
So, there you have it, four fun ideas for wedding cake toppers. Think about doing something fun, different and personal for your big day. You don't have to go for traditional after all, the plastic bride and groom toppers have only been around for a few decades.
Did you have something different for your big day? Are you currently planning your wedding and looking for ideas? Feel free to share your thoughts and own ideas into the mix.
3 Simple Tips to Help You Lose Weight for Your Wedding
From the time most women are little girls, they dream of their wedding day - fancy dresses, gorgeous cakes, family gathered, and of course the lovely bride who is the center of it all. This is the one day in a woman's life when everyone's attention is focused on her and everything has to be absolutely perfect, especially the bride. For this reason, many brides often search for a way to lose weight for wedding.However, losing weight before a wedding can be extremely dangerous if the weight loss is not carefully planned. For example, it is totally unreasonable to expect to lose 50 pounds in 10 weeks.
If you must lose weight before your wedding, be sure that you begin far enough in advance to avoid potential life-threatening health problems. A healthy weight loss goal is planning on losing between 1 and 2 pounds per week. So if you want to lose 50 pounds, you should plan on at least 25 weeks to accomplish your goal.Below are a few simple tips that can help you with your goal to lose weight for your wedding:Water WorksMake sure that you are properly hydrated by drinking lots of water.
To get a good idea of how much water you need to consume on a daily basis, divide your weight in half. The result is the number of ounces of water that you should drink each day. Making sure that you drink enough water not only helps you lose weight but ensures that you have enough energy also.Get Your Beauty SleepThe time leading up to a wedding can be very stressful. For this reason, it is essential that you get enough sleep. This means planning on at least 7 1/2 to 10 hours of rest each night.
Getting enough sleep helps your body to replenish itself.Get Some ExerciseExercise is an excellent way to help you achieve your wedding weight loss goals. It also helps to relieve stress while giving you energy. This does not mean that you need to join a gym - a simple walk each day will work just as well.
If you must lose weight before your wedding, be sure that you begin far enough in advance to avoid potential life-threatening health problems. A healthy weight loss goal is planning on losing between 1 and 2 pounds per week. So if you want to lose 50 pounds, you should plan on at least 25 weeks to accomplish your goal.Below are a few simple tips that can help you with your goal to lose weight for your wedding:Water WorksMake sure that you are properly hydrated by drinking lots of water.
To get a good idea of how much water you need to consume on a daily basis, divide your weight in half. The result is the number of ounces of water that you should drink each day. Making sure that you drink enough water not only helps you lose weight but ensures that you have enough energy also.Get Your Beauty SleepThe time leading up to a wedding can be very stressful. For this reason, it is essential that you get enough sleep. This means planning on at least 7 1/2 to 10 hours of rest each night.
Getting enough sleep helps your body to replenish itself.Get Some ExerciseExercise is an excellent way to help you achieve your wedding weight loss goals. It also helps to relieve stress while giving you energy. This does not mean that you need to join a gym - a simple walk each day will work just as well.
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