Productive Wedding Planning | Avoid wedding burnout

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Productive Wedding Planning | Avoid wedding burnout and review your accomplishments.

Everything has it’s place.

Invitations, napkins, hiring photographers and DJs and too many things to list. But where SHOULD you be in the wedding planning process? If you’re not sure, take a look once in a while at your wedding checklist and see what you’ve accomplished. Start of with your top priorities and go from there.

Once you’re done hiring vendors and venues, it’s time to think about your decor. Your centerpieces, china, napkins, and anything else you want to make your wedding extra special. Always keep your checklist with you so you can check things off as you go. Being organized is key and will help you to plan your wedding more efficiently and with less stress.

The Bridal Party Packet | Wedding Planning Essentials

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The Bridal Party Packet | Wedding Planning Essentials

You’ve been planning your wedding for months now and we’re getting down to the wire. All of your hard work is about to come to fruition in just a few short weeks. So what’s next?

While on WeddingWire, I saw a great wedding planning idea for keeping things organized for your bridal party. Wedding packets. Yes. A go-to resource for your bridal party that gives them the details of your special day and assignments as necessary. As Ashley said, “Nothing bridezilla like” just something to keep VIPs informed.

Being very organized for your special day is important as it helps guide the flow of the day and allows events to go smoothly. So what should you include in your wedding packet? Here are a few suggestions…

1. Date, Time, and location of your wedding and reception.

2. A who’s who and what order they will need to be in for your introductions.

3. A timeline of events. (Ex: Ceremony at 4pm, pictures to follow. Cocktail hour at 5pm with more pictures to follow. Reception Start 6pm etc.)

4. Things to bring. (Comfortable shoes, a small purse or handbag with your personals that can easily be carried in formal attire.

5. leave all cell phones, ipads, electronic gadgets in the car or your purse during photos. (This will speed up the photography process without distraction or interruption of social media updates)
6. Assign  different tasks to your bridal party. (Grabbing coffee on the way to getting ready for the big day, fielding phone calls for the bride and groom so they can concentrate on their wedding, keeping in contact with vendors to ensure that they are in place and ready to go)

With the right bridal packet, you, your bridal party and guests can enjoy a fun, stress free, and memorable experience on your special day.

Bridesmaids wearing different dresses

Bridesmaids wearing different dresses.

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Bridesmaids wearing different dresses.

People come in all shapes and sizes. What may for one person may not necessarily work for the next. Especially when it comes to bridesmaids, groomsmen, and formal wear such as gowns and tuxedos.  Just like when you do your every day shopping, you try many different things on to see which colors compliment your body, your eyes, and so on.
If you’re feeling the stress from your bridesmaids on picking the right dress for your wedding photos, consider this great article from Brides.com.  How Will it Look in Wedding Photos if my Bridesmaids are Wearing Different Dresses?

Wedding Photo ideas that you’ll LOVE!

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Wedding Photo Ideas that you’ll LOVE!

If you’re an outside the box thinker, you want something a little something extra special for your wedding photos. Maybe you and your beau are into comic book heros or love to embrace during a zombie apocalypse. Throw caution to the wind and have fun with it and let your wedding photographer’s creative juices flow into their work. Trust me on this one. You’re going to love some of these great photo ideas.

You’ve gotta check out Buzzfeed’s “42 Impossibly Fun Wedding Photo Ideas You’ll Want to Steal”

Trust me, you’re gonna love this. See the pix here!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/impossibly-fun-wedding-photo-ideas-youll-want-to-steal

 

Katerina’s Sweet 16 Party

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Last night, we headed up to the Pond House Grille in Glastonbury, CT for Katerina’s Sweet 16 Party. Despite the blizzard like conditions, everyone wade it safely. After a white knuckle ride up to Glastonbury, we beat our setup record. With just an hour to spare, we had the entire ballroom at the Pond House uplit in purple, a color changing, cascading waterfall, dancing under the stars, and audio ready to go for when guests arrived. PHEW!

60 of Katerina’s family and closest friends danced the night away with an eclectic mix covering several decades of music. The Funtastic Photo Booth was a big hit as guests dressed up in their favorite charachters for a fun photo. Check out some of the pix from last night’s Sweet 16.

Daryll Hall – Daryl’s house

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Daryll Hall – Live from Daryl’s House

I’ve recently picked up on a new obsession in music. Iconic musician Daryl Hall (Hall & Oates) has brought something very special to music with his new show “Live from Daryl’s House“. Shot and recorded just over an hour from our office in Prospect, CT, Daryl has had some of music’s best jamming along side of him at his home in Millerton, NY. Guitar great Joe Walsh (Eagles), Thomas DeCarlo Calloway (Cee-Lo Green), and Smokey Robinson just to name a few.

During the epic jam session, daryl and his guests along with his band take part in preparing a meal with some of the northeast’s greatest culinary talents. It’s a laid back atmosphere and you can really see the camaraderie between musicians and the magic that happens in live music up close and personal in this intimate show.

This show is free to watch and can be seen at www.LivefromDarylsHouse.com

Have a sneak peak of Daryl playing his No 1 hit with Cee Lo Green – No can do (I can’t go for that)

Weddings for men, Mother Son dance songs

The Perfect Mother Son dance songs | Weddings for Men

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The Perfect Mother Son dance songs | Weddings for Men

Picking music for your wedding is not something you think of every day. It’s hard to figure out a song that really speaks to you in terms of your life and experience with mom. Here are 50 of the most popular mother/son dance songs that we’ve seen at weddings this past year. Hope it helps!

1 Rascal Flatts
My Wish

2 Armstrong, Louis
What A Wonderful World

3 Boyz II Men
A Song For Mama

4 Beatles
In My Life

5 Lynyrd Skynyrd
Simple Man

6 Womack, Lee Ann
I Hope You Dance

7 Dion, Celine
Because You Loved Me (Theme From Up Clo…

8 Kamakawiwo’ole, Israel ‘Iz’
Over The Rainbow

9 Groban, Josh
You Raise Me Up

10 Stewart, Rod
Forever Young

11 Chesney, Kenny
Don’t Blink

12 Stewart, Rod
Have I Told You Lately

13 King, Ben E.
Stand By Me

14 Brooks, Garth
It’s Your Song

15 Matthews, Jason
That’s What Mamas Do

16 Cole, Natalie With Nat King Cole
Unforgettable

17 Wonder, Stevie
You Are The Sunshine Of My Life

18 Adkins, Trace
Then They Do

19 Collins, Phil
You’ll Be In My Heart

20 Midler, Bette
Wind Beneath My Wings

21 Rogers, Kenny
Through The Years

22 Taylor, James
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)

23 Fleetwood Mac
Landslide

24 Hicks, Taylor
Do I Make You Proud

25 Hill, Faith
There You’ll Be

26 Mcentire, Reba
He Gets That From Me

27 Sinatra, Frank
The Way You Look Tonight

28 Beatles
Let It Be

29 John, Elton
Your Song

30 Morrison, Van
Days Like This

31 Presley, Elvis
Memories

32 Brickman, Jim Feat. Lady Antebellum Wit…
Never Alone

33 Simon, Paul
Loves Me Like A Rock

34 Beach Boys
God Only Knows

35 Brooks, Garth
The Dance

36 Harris, Mark
Find Your Wings

37 Joel, Billy
Just The Way You Are

38 Dixie Chicks
Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)

39 Taylor, James
You’ve Got A Friend

40 Wonder, Stevie
Isn’t She Lovely

41 Clapton, Eric
Wonderful Tonight

42 Travis, Randy
Angels

43 Carey, Mariah
Hero

44 Cocker, Joe
You Are So Beautiful

45 Denver, John
Sunshine On My Shoulders

46 Houston, Whitney
I Will Always Love You

47 Underwood, Carrie
Mama’s Song

48 2pac
Dear Mama

49 Guns N’ Roses
Sweet Child O’ Mine

50 Intruders
I’ll Always Love My Mama

wedding toast, writing a wedding speech

WEDDING TIP: How to come up with a great wedding speech.

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Writing a wedding speech for someone’s special day is an honor. Your friend’s wedding is one of the most memorable days of their life and you’ve been called on with the duty of speaking on their behalf to their family and friends. A spokesperson of sorts.

Even if you’ve never written a speech before, it’s easier than you think. What should you say? What will it sound like? Will you get choked up?
Don’t worry about stage fright. It happens to everyone. When you see grown men and women with that lump in their throat, you know that they aren’t faking emotion and it makes the speech that much more meaningful.

KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET: Put yourself in the seat of your audience. Hollywood has mastered the art of the acceptance speech in keeping it at a conservative minute and a half. As much as you might like to host the Comedy Central Roast of your best friend, keep in mind, it’s their special day. They have invested months of time, effort, and money for this one day that they will remember for the rest of their life.

SPEAK FROM THE HEART: You’ve known your best friend for a long time. There are many life experiences that you’ve shared over the years so choose dialogue that is both entertaining as it is heartfelt. Remember, you’re not writing a script for a made for TV movie. You’re talking about your best friend

WARREN, DON’T BE SUCH A SAP: Heartfelt speeches are a beautiful thing, but keep those tears happy. Keep your content positive. Weddings are a joyous occasion. Keep the mood upbeat.

SMILE: When you smile, your audience reacts positively with encouragement. And when the audience you’re speaking to smiles back, it will help to instil confidence and you’ll have a great speech.

PROPER MICROPHONE TECHNIQUE: You’ve wrote a speech about your best friend for all to hear. Make sure that they hear it. Hold the microphone towards your mouth about 2 inches away and speak from the diaphragm. Also, never stand in front of a speaker when you have the microphone. The feedback will melt your face off.

Uptempo First Dance Songs

Upbeat first dance song ideas

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Upbeat First Dance Song Ideas

Jess & Sean are a fun and energetic couple. They were seeking something a little out of the box for their first dance song. Here is what we had to tell them…

Hi Jess & Sean!
Congrats on the engagement! You guys sound like a fun couple. I love working with couples like you. :) I see you are looking for some uptempo first dance song ideas. One of the hits of this past year was ‘Marry You’ by Bruno Mars. It’s an uptempo song that is also very sweet. Another hit at high energy weddings this year was the ‘Fake out’ first dance. That’s where you have 2 songs. The first being a slower and romantic song which is interrupted by a party anthem like LOW by Flo-Rida or Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO.
Both of these methods work great and will make for a memorable first dance. Good luck and happy planning!

wedding cakes, history of wedding cakes, cake cutting

The meaning behind the wedding cake cutting

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The Meaning behind the Wedding Cake Cutting

Why white?

Wedding cake is made white to signify the bride’s purity, innocence, and virginity. The challenge for bakers in the Victorian era was their limit of creativity in regards to the icing as it requires fine sugar. So, back in the day, it was assumed that the whiter the icing on the cake, the wealthier the family was.

Multiple layers & Stacking

Since the beginning, cakes were stacked from large to small layers. Traditionally, cake stacking was representative of fertility. The number of layers that were stacked signified the number of children the newlyweds would conceive. But today, the meaning of a tall cake is all about keeping up with the Jones’ and the taller they are, the more glamorous they are.