Entries Tagged 'wedding reception' ↓

As a wedding planner I am beyond particular, so when I am looking at a wedding venue I have a long list of questions I ask. Many of these questions will be answered in conversation with the venue staff, and some will be non-applicable for your wedding.

I must stress that if a wedding venue can not find the time to have you visit with a set appointment and someone to meet with, then you should remove them from your “potential venue” list. Any venue that claims to be too busy to be able to make an appointment to see you and show you around their premises clearly doesn’t need your money.

Here are the questions I ask when viewing a venue:

• Are the candelabra included in the venue hire (check what is available for look and quality)?
• Are there adequate bathroom facilities?
• Are there enough chairs for the ceremony venue or will you need to hire more?
• Are there other weddings taking place on the same day?
• Are there restrictions for photography?
• Are waiters and barmen included in the venue hire?
• Can you get dressed on the premises, is this room included in the venue hire (if you’re doing everything in one location) and what time can you get there to begin preparation?
• Can you spend your wedding night on the premises and is it included in the venue hire?
• Can you use your own suppliers and vendors?
• Do you allow candles and open flames (this also applies to fireworks, flying Chinese lanterns, candle-lit walkways)?
• Do you have noise restrictions (this sometimes happens if residences have been built up around a venue since it was opened)?
• Does the venue have a a problem with you bringing a coordinator with you (keep in mind that a wedding venue’s own coordinators are looking after the venue, not the bride)?
• Does the venue have a coordinator you can work with (keep in mind that a wedding venue’s own coordinators are looking after the venue, not the bride)?
• Does the venue supply a PA system?
• How far is it from the ceremony venue from the reception venue?
• How far is the parking from the ceremony venue?
• How far is the parking from the reception venue?
• If you’re thinking of an outdoor ceremony and reception, is there an adequate back-up plan at the venue?
• Is confetti/ rice/ streamers allowed after the ceremony?
• Is cutlery and crockery included in the venue hire (check what is available for look and quality)?
• Is decorative draping included in the venue hire (check what is available for look and quality)?
• Is it pretty enough to take photographs (try to visit the venue at the same time of year and time of day as you plan to get married, summer flowers and greenery are often gone in winter)?
• Is it wheelchair accessible?
• Is table linen included in the venue hire (check what is available for look and quality)?
• Is the clean-up fee included in the venue hire?
• Is the dance floor big enough once the tables have been set up (5mx5m is usually enough)?
• Is the venue available for your date?Is the venue big enough for your wedding (or too big)?
• Is the venue easy to find?
• Is there a generator?
• Is there a minimum requirement for food and beverages, and are there consequences for not fulfilling the minimum?
• Is there a payment schedule option?
• Is there enough secure parking on the premises and is it included in the venue hire?
• Is there space for the band/ DJ in the reception venue after the tables are set up?
• What is the cancellation policy?
• What is the corkage fee (a bottle of wine per table can be costly as you pay for each one opened and not everyone drinks wine, consider letting people order it if they want it)?
• What is the expected turn-around time for communication during the planning process?
• What time can set up begin?
• What time does the venue close at night and are there overtime charges?

Apart from this long list, I suggest you ask for a sample contract to read through before they draw one up for you.

A monogram can be a gorgeous and surprisingly useful addition to your wedding’s theme! There are a few things you may want to keep in mind when designing your monogram.

Its considered a bit of a no-no to include what will be your married surname’s initial in your monogram before you are actually married, so the monogram on your invitations, save-the-date notifications and bridal shower thank you letters should have only your first name initials in it. The ceremony programs (if you have them) are up for discussion- some feel its still too soon to use your new surname on these whilst I think its the perfect time to show your new monogram for the first time!  After the ceremony of course you can use it anywhere and everywhere- a jewelled decoration on your cake, on your bonbonnieres, traced in petals on the dance floor, printed on your thank you letters, embroidered on your serviettes- you name it!

As for the order of the letters, the bride’s name or initial must be first. Why? Because the man’s initial should never be seperated from his surname. Yes, I know it sounds antiquated, but that’s how it works. Naturally if the bride is keeping her maiden name then a monogram with the groom’s surname won’t even be considered.

There are endless options when you design your wedding monogram. You can use just your first names and initials, you can use just your new surname’s initial with a little decoration, or you can use only your initials and the first letter of your new surname, in which case the surname’s initial should be bigger than the first name initials and it should be in the middle. I used mine and my husbands first name initials on our cupcake collars!

There are no rules!

I want to know about your wedding!

Tell me what you did to make your wedding special and unique and all yours.

Did you do everything yourself with your own two hands or did you have everything done for you? Did you have your dress made just for you or did you hire one you fell in love with? What was your colour scheme? Did you have a theme? Was your fiance involved in the planning at all? Were you a “bridezilla”?

Tell me everything!

Leave a comment on this post if you would like to be featured ad I will email you!

Many wedding photographers these days charge extra to photograph the guests at a wedding reception, and some togs don’t cover the reception at all. This is understandable, if you take into consideration that photographing a wedding means a photographer will be working for up to 12 hours from start to finish! What this could mean is that you may not have pictures of the guests who shared your wedding day.

There are ways to get pictures of everyone- disposable cameras or photo booths being two options. Rented photo booths are awesome but they can be pricey, which makes disposable cameras look a little more appealing on a wedding budget. These days the disposable cameras aren’t hard to find, they come with built in flashes, they can be colour coded to your wedding décor, and you can buy them without breaking the bank…

But I think your money could be a LOT better spent elsewhere!

Here’s why.

First and foremost on my list- they are expensive in the long run. Disposables use 35mm spools and need to be handed in at a lab to be processed. Yes you can save some money by having the negatives developed and then putting the photographs straight onto a CD or DVD instead of printing them, but even if you got a good deal when you bought the cameras, it’s going to cost you several hundred Rand to have the cameras processed.

Then think for a moment about how many people don’t like to be photographed. In fact the majority of people will put something in front of their face or turn away and say no, especially if the camera is being held by the person sitting next to them at the table! This means a lot of the cameras will not be fully utilised, but the cost of developing them stays the same regardless.

Consider also, how many people at each table will know what to do with a camera? You are certainly not going to get professional quality pictures from your wedding guests; many of whom might not even own a camera of their own. Spending several hundred Rand on processing for maybe ten usable photographs is a little steep.

And then of course, there’s usually an alcohol factor to take into consideration at a wedding. Cameras will very likely be abused once people get a little tipsy!

And the most frustrating thing for me about disposable cameras, is that you won’t know what you have on these cameras until after you’ve paid to develop the spools inside them.

I’d suggest you rather put that money towards your honeymoon. Or, if you really want photos of your guests- and you can’t afford to hire a photo booth- perhaps you can ask your photographer if he or she can set something up where your guests can “volunteer” to be photographed and then you can pay a little extra for the photographer’s time instead.

I’m sure you know by now that just about every aspect of a wedding is packed full of traditions and symbolism, many of which have long since been forgotten but have resulted in customs and actions we all know about- like cake cutting, first dances, garters and bouquets.

I would like to give you a little information here about cutting the cake, and what the traditions are behind it.

Cutting a wedding cake is supposed to be the first task the bride and groom perform together, but the knife is never to be handed to the bride- she is to pick it up herself. The groom then places his hand over hers to assist her in cutting the first slice. The couple then feed the first slice to each other- the groom feeding the bride and then the bride feeding some to the groom- demonstrating their promise to provide for each other.

Traditionally, the top layer of the cake is put aside and kept for the couple to eat on their first anniversary, although this is difficult to do if it’s not a fruit cake.