Weddings at Wood Acres Farm
Wood Acres Farm is a hidden gem in Litchfield County. See why Wood Acres is one of our favorite places to host weddings!
Wedding Photography Ideas – Timing makes all the difference
Wedding Photography ideas are as trendy as tik tok dances. With so many creative ideas from funny poses and superimposed wildlife to the traditional bridal party shots, there’s no shortage of really cool photos to be taken. And as cool as that is, it’s very easy to lose track of time. One thing’s for sure. You’ve spent so much time, effort, and money to pull off the most amazing day in your life. And we don’t want you to miss a moment of it. Here’s a couple suggestions to maximize your time at the party and still get all the shots you want.
1. Spring for a 2nd photographer. By having a second shooter, you’re going to have so many more photos to choose from because essentially, the team is taking 2 times the amount of photos. A wedding could easily yield 5-8000 shots per photographer. And although that’s a ton of shots, each shot is part of a 3 shot technique to make sure everything that needs to be in the picture is and of the best quality. The other benefit is, by having a second shooter, they can also split up and capture some really amazing candid moments during your wedding ceremony, wedding reception and other formalities during the day. More shots means more options for the photographer to offer the best collection from your day following the editing process.
2. Do your formal shots BEFORE your ceremony so that you can enjoy cocktail hour too! Sure, this means you’re going to have to get up a little earlier and be on time to get out of the house and over to the wedding location but, it’ll be well worth it in the end. When you’re done posing for hundreds of pictures, you’re going to want to relax and mingle with friends. By giving yourself more time to mingle during cocktail hour, this gives you more opportunity to enjoy the meal that you paid for and your introductions will be on time and ready to go. If you’ve ever been a wedding guest, you know what it’s like to wait for the newlyweds to emerge from the bridal suite. If you need a few minutes to freshen up before your introductions to look your best, bustle your wedding dress, or just take a moment, getting your formals out of the way gives you more time.
3. Sunsets are amazing. Get your cake cutting done right after your first dance. Who doesn’t love a good sunset? The beauty of the sunkissed sky with so many colors and that deep blue off in the distance with the perfect couple enjoying each other on their special day. Ahhhhhmazing! Getting your cake cutting done before you sit down for toasts and a blessing does 1 of 2 things. First, it gives the caterer time to take the cake to the kitchen to be plated right after dinner service. Your guests will appreciate it because dessert will promptly be served following dinner. They’ll also love it because if you have a packed dancefloor, nothing kills the vibe and your packed dance floor better than shoving a formality smack dab in the middle of dancing and having your guests sit down. Also, if the cake is out of the way, you can run out really quick for those gorgeous sunset photos undetected and we can keep your party going until you come back!
4. Group shots during cocktail hour and also right before a slow song. Were you a part of a fraternity or sorority? Maybe you invited your highschool band to attend your wedding. Either way, group shots are a fun way to commemorate the life that you’ve shared with your guests over the years. And if they’re timed at the right place at the right time, you’ll get the shots you want without taking away from the rest of the reception. Cocktail hour is a great time for formal group shots with family, friends, and groups of people. Right before a slow song is an excellent opportunity to get that crazy frenzied group shot with all of your guests because they’ll already be on the floor.
5. Parents dances during dinner service. You’re the guest of honor. You will get served first. This mean’s you’ll finish first as well. Having your parents dances during the dinner service accomplishes a few things that people rarely think about. First, your guests will be seated during your parents dances because they’re eating. This is great because the likelyhood of having a hundred people with cell phones on the floor with you during that tender moment with mom or dad is minimal. You’ll have some great unobstructed shots of you and your parent. It also keeps us from having to sit everyone down during open dancing for a formality.
6. Feed your team before your guests. If you’re offering to feed your vendors (which is so appreciated because we’re working a 10+ hour day with zero breaks) please tell your caterer to feed them right after you are served. This will allow your photographer and other members of your wedding team to be ready to go when everyone is done with their meal to get back to work, back to dancing, and back to the party.
Please share with friend who’s getting married. You’ll thank us later when you’ve danced all night long, enjoyed your meal, and have the best shots imaginable!
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Wedding Venue or Guest List? Which comes first?
With engagement season right around the corner following New Years Eve, many couples will begin the process of planning their wedding. And like many couples, this is their first wedding and knowing what item to check off the list first can be confusing. So which should come first? The wedding venue, or the guest list?
Depending on what your goals are for your wedding reception, that will tell you where you need to start. If you’re looking for one stop shopping, a venue is your best bet. When searching for venues, it’s important to find out first what their minimums and capacity limits are. From there, you can get down to pricing for catering, service and any other add ons that you might want for your special day. Once you clear indication of the wide range of prices and packages, determine which venue gives you everything that you are looking for and go from there. When you set your budget, now you can begin putting your guest list together. Start from your closest family and friends and branch out through your list. Don’t forget, most guests will be bringing a plus one so that will double your number.
But if you’re planning to have your wedding in a tent outside or in a non-traditional venue, the guest list might be able to be taken care of first. Of course you want to find out what it would cost for tent rental, table, chairs, linens, flatware and the rest. But the possibilities are endless. You also have to consider climate control, parking, catering and sanitation. With tented weddings, you could easily have 300 guests, or you can have an intimate affair of 25 in the backyard. Either way, its up to you.
But if we had to give our professional opinion, we’d choose the venue first. Don’t be discouraged. Not every wedding is massive, and not every wedding is tiny. Find the wedding venue, and budget that works best with your priorities to give you and your guests the wedding you’d always dreamt of.
The Covid Bride Guide. I’m Freaking Out about my wedding!
Amidst the pandemic that we’ve all come to know and love are a plethora of challenges that come with events great and small. We’ve grown used to the idea that it will be quite some time before we see the all too familiar summer concerts, sold out pro sports events, and theatrical events. But within all of the restrictions there is a silver lining. Over the last 8 months, we’ve gone through a series of transitions from completely quarantining to being able to have 150 people inside and then back to 25. But with all of this back and forth, it’s nerve wracking. Especially for those covid brides planning their nuptials.
I prefer to look at the long term. Progress is slow and steady. You remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? The tortoise won the race. We’ve been in the entertainment business for a quarter century. We’ve seen massive technological changes, the desires of our clients shift from traditional to outside the box and highly personalized service. This is no more than a transitional phase for us. We’ve been able to roll with the punches and keep growing during periods of uncertainty. This too shall pass. (hopefully sooner than later)
Here’s what we’re planning for in the 2021 wedding and events season. I suspect that during the holidays we will see restrictions increase to prevent the spread and lower the numbers of infection. But once that happens, some leniency should happen during the spring as it will be much easier to host events outdoors. The venues that prepare themselves for more of a mobile setup with catering, seating, and yes…. dance floors, are going to be in a much better position than the places that solely rely on the interior of their venue. As to the restrictions of social distancing, dancing, and foodservice, the wedding industry is taking their cues from the restaurant industry as they are the closest cousin to hosting events on a medium scale.
We anticipate that many couples may decide to privately hold their weddings on their property or in smaller locations that can comfortably accommodate a lean guest list. Think of it like private vs public school. The benefits to private education is smaller classrooms and more individualized attention. The same can be said for weddings. Having a smaller boutique affair will be able to give you the gusto you’re looking for but on a more manageable scale. Hiring a planner is paramount to make this happen. We recommend Nightingale Events & Pink Olive Events to our couples. Both teams are extraordinary at what they do and create magic every where they go.
When it comes time to dance, I’m reminded of a wedding that I hosted over the summer at Water’s Edge. The ceremony was held on the beautiful CT Shoreline Beach and the party was tented just outside the main ballroom on the patio with 75 guests. And even though, a formal dance floor was not present, guests danced between tables in their groups with the tables offering the social distancing required to keep guests and staff safe. Staff was required to wear masks through the duration of the reception and most guests adhered to the rule as well.
All in all, where there’s a will there’s a way. We’re in the business of fun. And that’s what we do.
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5 Things You Need to Do NOW If You’re Rescheduling
With Connecticut Re-opening it’s doors slowly but surely, we’ve seen restaurants, salons, gyms, and other businesses open their doors to a limited capacity. But in the events industry, we’re still waiting for the green light from Hartford to tell us when we can get back to hosting events. With this uncertainty overhead, we’ve been receiving emails nearly daily to re-schedule our events. We understand that you’ve taken so much time to research and create the perfect team for your day. It’s important that your team stays intact for your rescheduled event date. Here’s what we’re doing to help our clients to keep their team intact.
1. Contact your venue and get several date options when re-scheduling. This will help give you the best option for nailing down a date with all of your team.
2. Send a group email to all of your vendors with the dates that are available at your venue of choice so that they can check those dates against their future event schedule.
3. Don’t forget about Sundays and weekdays for your event. Often times, these non-conventional days offer big savings to you and double your chances of getting everything you need for the perfect celebration.
4. Follow up follow up follow up! Keeping lines of communication open with your creative team is essential. Especially now.
5. Once you and your team have chosen your new date, pop on social media and let your guests know about the date change so that they can begin making travel arrangements if needed.
Many couples don’t have the luxury of time when booking their DJ and in most cases do so between 8-12 months out. The pandemic is actually a blessing in disguise because you now have more options than ever to plan the event you’ve always wanted!
Post Covid-19 Weddings – Are you ready?
Previous to 2020, wedding celebrations took all kinds of forms. From the grandiose to the modest. We’ve introduced food trucks, photo booths, and everything in between for a trendsetting wedding celebration. And right now, we’re looking for new ideas to work around the pandemic. Many of our colleagues in the wedding industry have found some short term solutions to give their clients a fraction of what they had intended so that they didn’t have to give up their date and others have rescheduled their weddings to a hopefully more stable 2021. But the big question we’ve all been pondering is, what will weddings look like moving forward?
In the days to come, Connecticut will begin re-opening through phases at about half capacity for many public dining and entertainment venues. This is most definitely a start in the right direction. If you look at Massachusetts and New Jersey, they are months behind CT with re-opening. So what does this mean for you and our neighboring states? I predict an influx of weddings and events to take place here. With CT being the progressive state that it is, we’ve always been innovative in finding new ways to do things. This will be a challenge like no other. Our casinos have already opened their doors to the public with responsible distancing guidelines to keep their patrons safe. This comes ahead of what the rest of the state is doing and will most likely used as a benchmark for the rest of us.
But what about your wedding? What does that look like? When you think about weddings and the safety of guests and staff, that’s the great debate weighing heavily on our minds. More tables, less people per table will ensure social distancing guidelines will be met. Larger dance floors with more space for guests is most likely the new norm. At least for a while. With the re-scheduling of weddings from the 2020 wedding season moving into 2021, there is no doubt that mid-week weddings will be all the rage. And that’s great because every couple will have an opportunity to have the venue and vendor that they choose. There are 365 days in a year and there are over 100 wedding venues in Connecticut. Many of them with multiple spaces to be able to take on more than one wedding simultaneously. And if you’re thinking outside the box for a more intimate affair, the parks and backyards will most likely become an option to allow for safety and enjoyment to you and your guests.
Weddings are ever changing and have been since they’ve began. And the wedding industry has always rolled with the tide and have created new ways to help you celebrate. This is no different. And we’re absolutely up for the challenge. We’re ready for you.
Are all Connecticut Weddings the Same?
You’ve recently got engaged and begin looking at venues, Wedding DJs, and everything else you need for your special day. You and your soon to be spouse travel from place to place looking for that amazing venue to host your celebration and somewhere in the mix, you begin to think to yourself… “What’s really different from one to the next?” Besides the obvious architecture of the building and the grounds, how is the food? How is the service?
Here’s what to expect when choosing the right venue for your wedding reception.
The majority of wedding receptions in Connecticut last around 6 hours including your ceremony. Some venues are very strict when it comes to start and stop times because more times than not, they have 2 or more weddings in a day that they need to handle. This is what we refer to as a “Wedding Factory”. Everything is pretty much laid out for you and even though their efficiency is second to none, it can leave you and your guests feeling rushed. So if you’re the type of couple that really wants a relaxing experience that’s more laid back, these are not the venues for you. But, if your priorities are that you will need or want for nothing because the service is a cut above the rest, this is DEFINITELY the option for you. Fork drop on the ground? No problem. There is already a waiter running for your sweetheart table with a clean one. Did you take a sip of wine and hit the floor for a song or 2? No worries! When you get back, the 1.5 ounces of wine will be topped off.
Let’s talk about estates for a second. There’s nothing more regal than having your wedding at a Vanderbilt Estate where sophistication and class is paramount. But even if you have your wedding on the grounds of a notable family’s summer home in Fairfield county, remember that it was someone’s home at one point and it was never meant to be a wedding venue. That doesn’t mean you can’t have it there, it just means that there’s going to be some additional costs included when it comes to ensuring that your guests are comfortable. Remember, July is one of the HOTTEST months in Connecticut and if you have a tented wedding on the lawn of an estate, climate control is an absolute must and you’re going to need lots of electricity to make sure that your tent is lit, is comfortable, and with enough power for your wedding entertainment. If money is no object, this is a great option. In addition to investing more in your venue, you’re also going to want to hire some amazing core vendors that will be able to accommodate the non-traditional venue and really complete your vision.
We can’t possibly leave out the farm/barn wedding. At one time, Connecticut was home to many farms and apple orchards. Farmers have wised up and turned many of their hay barns and horse stalls into working wedding venues. The benefit they have is open space. You’ve got lots of versatility in terms of your layouts, length of reception, and opportunities for really amazing photos. And like the estate wedding, it also poses a few challenges. Farms and barns are sometimes in residential areas. What does that mean for you? Noise ordinances. If you want to party all night until the sun comes up, this might not be the best option for you. In Connecticut, most towns have a 10pm cutoff time for excessive noise. And if the neighbors to the barn are particularly annoyed by ambient noise and music, it will definitely be a lot quieter when it comes time for dancing. That’s probably not a bad thing considering that if you’re looking for the laid back experience, booming bass probably isn’t your thing.
All in all, there are many great options available in Connecticut. There’s a venue that fits every couple. Just be sure to prioritize what’s important to you and decide the style and atmosphere you’re shooting for. It’s all up to you!
Food Truck Wedding
Tacos. The most important part of any nutritious meal. Who doesn’t like tacos? And with food truck weddings on the rise, we’re seeing more and more tact truck weddings every weekend.
Weddings are nothing what the used to be. A wedding used to be an all day celebration with friends and family and people worked hard at keeping up with the Jones’. Maybe her dress had double the thread count that her bridesmaid dresses did. Or perhaps her cake was one tier taller than her sisters and was in a nicer venue. But taking all of those competitive wedding trends out of the equation, we’re now planning for outside the box weddings.
It’s true, wedding trends come and go and with the millenial crowd taking the reigns from their Gen-X counterparts armed with a can do attitude living life in the fast lane, the temptation to go simple is here to stay. According to Lisa DiBenedetto (owner and planning guru) from Nightingale Events, 90 percent of her wedding clientele for 2019 is not having their wedding in a “traditional” wedding venue. Instead, we’re seeing a lot of barn weddings, and out-doorsy type stuff. And of course, taco truck weddings.
So what are the benefits of having a food truck wedding?
For one, you’d be hard pressed to find someone that doesn’t enjoy tacos. We’re not talking the elementary school lunch program tacos either. There’s beef, chicken, pork, steak, and shrimp tacos to name a few. Food trends are also changing. Many food trucks are getting into fusion and taking two different cultural cuisines and marrying them. Making even the simplest of taste pallets salivate with anticipation.
Food truck weddings don’t have to stop at tacos. There’s pizza trucks, hot dog carts, grilled cheese trucks, and a whole lot more to choose from.
It’s great to plan your wedding outside the box with something trendy. You’re getting exactly what you want and aren’t limited to the options that only a traditional wedding venue can provide. But, with switching things up also comes a risk.
Here’s a few things that you might want to ask your taco truck wedding vendor before hiring them for your once in a lifetime celebration.
1. Have you ever catered a wedding before?
2. Have you ever worked with a wedding planner or scheduler before?
3. How can you ensure that you won’t run out of food in the middle of dinner service?
4. How much time do you need to prepare for 150+ guests or more?
5. What is your most popular item?
6. Do you offer vegetarian/vegan options for our non carnivorous guests?
7. Do you need permits to cater a wedding and if so, do you have them?
8. Are you insured and are all of your employees over the age of 18 and permitted to work in the united states?
9. Are you insured?
10. Have you ever worked at my venue before?
11. Do you offer bus service (clearing of tables, changing place settings)
It sure seems like a lot of questions to ask but, the end result is worth it. The one benefit that the traditional wedding venue has over the food truck weddings is that they have a system set in place and the facilities to make it all happen. This is what they do. It’s all they do. And they’re good at it.
Take control of your wedding – Hire a professional
It’s your day. And you’re the boss.
You’ve taken creative control of the decor, the bridesmaids dresses, the menu, what shots your photographer needs to take, and have written a minute to minute schedule of events that must be adhered to or there will be hell to pay. Sound familiar? It happens every day.
With so many things to think about to ensure that your $20,000, 6 hour celebration goes off with out a glitch, it is understandable that you want to ensure that things go to plan. It’s also easy to understand that with making that kind of investment, theres some stress that comes along with it. You and your soon to be spouse have made a commitment to throwing the best party that world has ever seen. But this is different than setting up a veggie tray and some chips & salsa on the counter at your home.
A wedding is very much like a theatrical production.
(Cue the house lights, fade to 50%. Enter bride, stage left)
Because your wedding has so many moving parts to make it perfect, you must rely on the expertise of trusted professionals to orchestrate your vision down to every last detail. And when it comes to hiring professionals, it requires an investment of not only money, but trust as well. You’ve picked the venue of your choosing, the photographer that you feel will capture you at your best, the hair and makeup team that will enhance your natural radiant beauty and hide the imperfections that you stare at in the mirror for hours, and a wedding planner that has your vision in the front of their mind from start to finish. But beyond all of that, it all comes down to the DJ.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while now, you know that it’s a pro-DJ sentiment. And why is this?
At every meeting that we conduct with new couples like you, we always ask, “What do you remember about the last wedding you attended?” Suffice to say, 9 out of 10 couples say the same thing. They talk about the food and they talk about the entertainment. It’s what is remembered the most. We also often hear stories about how the DJ couldn’t quite get people dancing and after thinking about it for a moment, many times we hear that the couple had complete control over the music being played and furnished the DJ with a playlist.
Now there’s nothing inadvertently wrong with playlists. I mean let’s face it. You like what you like. BUT, your guests may not share the same tastes in music as you. What may get you shaking your ass on the dance floor might be your grandmother’s version of kryptonite. And what might be your spouse’s “JAM” might clear the floor. And we know, line dances aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. They are typically the first offenders on the DO NOT PLAY list.
So this begs the question, how do you ensure that you and your guests will enjoy your celebration? Hire professionals. Invest in what is most important to you. And TRUST the professionals you hire to put their best foot forward for you. Take the time to meet with and interview your creative team. Communicate with them often, and breathe.
You’ve got enough on your plate and we know that.
Investing in your celebration means more enjoyment for you and your guests, and less stress for you.