Entries Tagged 'Unique Ideas' ↓

Well, this weekend I went to “An Exquisite Event” in Hollywood and had the pleasure of making a new friend, his name is Preston Bailey. He seems to have a knack for decorating and has some good ideas when it comes to party planning. We hung out for a while, talked about blogging, he said he just started blogging a couple of weeks ago. I told him to hang in there, one day he might make it to the blogging major leagues like Our Wedding Plus!

Okay, you got me…

I’m talking about the same Preston Bailey who put together Donald Trump’s wedding, Oprah’s premiere party for O magazine, and parties for almost every other big celebrity you can think of.

He’s also the author of…

Inspirations

Preston Bailey’s Design for Entertaining: Inspiration for Creating the Party of Your Dreams

Preston Bailey’s Fantasy Weddings

Here’s some information Preston passed on during his presentation at “An Exquisite Event.”

Where does he get his inspiration?

From his clients. He said 95% of his clients are women and he’s learned to listen to women and give them what they want.

He said he has two kinds of clients:

1. The kind that want their party to be bigger and better than their girlfriend’s
2. The kind that just want to celebrate and have a good time

His favorites are the ones that fall into category 2.

As far as specific advice for brides, he said…

Be careful with your budget. Think of what is most important to you and realize you can’t have it all. Cut out things that are less important and focus on the more important.

Figure out what your vision is for your event…romantic, traditional, color scheme and don’t do what everyone else is doing.

He stressed to make a dramatic statement that people will not forget. He typically would include at least one dramatic thing in the event design that people would amaze people.

He also stressed that you should do something exciting up the aisle. Check out his blog to see what he did for the aisle at a wedding on the French Riviera.

Some other tips I picked up were…

Only choose 1 or 2 different kinds of flowers. Many people go overboard with different kinds of flowers.

If you are using chair covers don’t use all the same style, use a couple of styles to make it interesting.

And when checking out your venue, don’t forget to check out the bathroom!

His favorite colors?

He likes to try different things but he does like yellows and golds

His favorite themes?

He likes a mix of traditional and contemporary. Doesn’t like it too contemporary.

And, like I’ve said, don’t expect your wedding to go off without a hitch! Preston told a couple of stories about some big things that went wrong at his events. So don’t feel bad just enjoy your day!

Now I did get to talk to Preston Bailey a little bit and I must say he is one of the most approachable people that I’ve met. I was amazed at how friendly and modest he was. He seems to be a truly nice guy.

And, Preston if you’re out there, if you ever need help with that blog of yours let me know!

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Rhonda

Well it is like Christmas in July! I just received my brand new Dell Inspiron! I traded in my Pentium III laptop…that’s right Pentium III. I was operating in the stone age! It feels good to be sitting here typing in Word 2007! It was just in time too! Today I had to restart my old laptop 5 times just to get to my Windows ME desktop! Now it’s time to get down to business…

Today I’m going to pass on some pictures of some pretty unique groom cakes.
Are any of you getting a groom cake for your groom? The jury is still out on this one for me. It kind of remi nds me of getting your 1-year old their own mini cake to destroy on their first birthday.

Anyway, these cakes are from Pink Cake Box in New Jersey. Anne Heap the baker and founder of Pink Cake Box definitely makes some incredible cakes, check out her site to see more.

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Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus

Looking to save some money on your wedding? Well there’s a newly emerging trend…the fake wedding cake. Some extravagant real cakes can cost upwards of $1,000 so here’s your chance to cut that wedding bill.So how does this work? Fake cakes have a plastic foam center and are covered in gum paste and fondant. From the outside it looks just like a real cake and can be made as extravagant as you would like with a custom design or you can pick from a pre-made stock cake either way the cost is much less than a real cake.

How do you do the whole cut-the-cake thing? Typically, there will be a small section of the fake cake that is reserved for a real piece of cake or even some Twinkies stacked up and covered by the icing. Once the couple cut the cake, it is taken out of sight and a inexpensive sheet cake is served to the guests from the kitchen. No one has to be the wiser!

The cake shown above is from http://www.cakerental.com/. They were featured on the Today Show last week. Check out their site for details!

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Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus

Feeling stressed about the cost and complexity of your wedding? You’re not alone. The average cost of a wedding is over $27,000 and according to Women’s Health magazine 32% of couples are paying for their own wedding. It doesn’t have to be this crazy, in fact I think we are going to see more couples opting for a more traditional more affordable wedding in the future. Here’s my five ideas to have one of the most memorable, meaningful and quaint weddings while also keeping it affordable.1. Have your ceremony and reception outside at a park or in a family member’s yard. Mother Nature provides some of the most beautiful ceremony and reception sites; and She’s pretty cheap! Chautauqua Park in Boulder, Colorado has about 40 weddings a year on the lawn shown in this picute. You can see another picture in yesterday’s post. But, be careful of the weather, I recommend you rent a ceremony tent so you’re not rained out.

2. Pool your resources, leverage the talents of your family members. I believe this is the best way to bring real meaning to your ceremony and reception. Your wedding is also the joining of two families so what better way to bring your two families together than to have them involved in it? The most memorable and romantic wedding I’ve ever been to was my sister’s. The best cooks in the family volunteered to cook for the reception. The groom’s father even made the arbor under which my sister and her fiancé exchanged their vows. At the end of the reception, they drove off in my brother-in-law’s car, that was decorated by their friends!

3. Use a handed down wedding dress. There is nothing more meaningful than getting married in an heirloom wedding dress; maybe one your grandmother or mother wore. It may not be the current style but does that really matter?

4. Have a natural honeymoon. What is the meaning of a honeymoon? Is it to spend a lot of money on an extravagant vacation? Or, is it to finally get away with your new husband or wife and spend some quality time and make memories that will last a lifetime? Some people may say yes to both, but I don’t think you need to spend a fortune to have a meaningful and memorable honeymoon. Stay close to home, check out some of the United States’ natural beauty. You don’t have to go to an all inclusive Caribean resort to have a good time. Checkout my post about unique honeymoons.

5. Pick your own music. You don’t need a DJ or a band to keep the party going. You can have an “iPod Wedding” and make your own playlist! Pick songs that you like, that are personal between you and your fiancé. But, to keep the party going, I recommend you ask someone close to you to be the Master of Ceremonies during your reception. You will have to rent some sound equipment for this.

Are you sick of the wedding rat race? Any other ideas out there?

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Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus

Want to make a grand entrance? Want something different than a standard wedding limosine? Checkout these horse drawn carriages. A couple of things to think about…

- Don’t plan on using a horse drawn carraige for a 20 mile ride from the church to your reception. Actually, a horse drawn carriage only goes about 4 miles/hr. So, I would say 4 miles should be the limit. You should probably consider the routing available. You don’t want to have the horses going down highways to get to your reception site.

- Think about the weather - If you have a rain storm your entrance may not be so grand. Since you have to plan at least a couple of months out, you may be looking for a last minute backup plan if this happens.

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Rhonda
Our Wedding Plus

Click on the Photos for Photo Credits

Okay, your concerned about the environment and a horse drawn carriage isn’t the option for you to get to the church or the church to the reception. Here’s a wedding limousine alternative for you! At least if you live in Southern California.

EVO-Limo calls themselves the “Environmental Luxury Car Service.” All of their cars are powered by Compressed Natural Gas which is a clean burning domestically produced fuel. Their SUVs are considered Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles or Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles. They also have plans to go to Zero Emissions Vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells and electric vehicles.

The have full-sized Suburbans and sedans including Priuses.

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Rhonda
Our Wedding Plus

Have you trying to figure out what to do to make your wedding invitations unique?

The couple that made this animation, burned it to a DVD and sent them out as their wedding invitations!

It’s Awesome!

Check in next week for a series on the Wedding Invitation Ensemble.

Enjoy your weekend!

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Who was the man in your life before you met your fiancé? Is he the kind of guy that never said a mean word, was always there when you were down, and was very easy to please? Well then I’m sure you’d want to have him at your wedding!

It doesn’t matter if he has bad breath, or if he hasn’t bathed in a while, his cuteness makes up for all that! Of course I’m talking about your dog!

Adam Sandler had his dog Meatball as his ring bearer and Eva Longoria is going to have her dog Jinxie accompany her in her wedding to Tony Parker in France so why can’t you have your dog in your wedding?

Well, if you do, here’s some things to keep in mind from Wikihow.com.

1. Make sure no one has any major pet allergies or phobias
2. Make sure your pets are welcome at your event locations
3. Make sure your pets are up to the task at hand. (i.e. don’t ask a dog that doesn’t like strangers to walk down the aisle of a packed ceremony with your rings!)
4. Practice, Practice, Practice
5. Have a back-up plan. Don’t have the success of your wedding ceremony based on your pet performing their duties.
6. Have someone designated to watch over your pet. You don’t want to be the one wrangling your dog in your wedding dress or tux! Just make sure your pet is comfortable with this person.
7. Remember that not all pets are up to the task of being at a wedding. So, don’t feel bad if you have to leave that special someone at home. You can give them some extra treats to make up for it. He/she will forgive you!

The picture of the pug in a tux at the top of the post is from Wiggle-n-Waggle. Looking for adorable wedding outfits for your pets checkout this. The other pictures are from AdamSandler.com and Celebritydogwatcher.com

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See you tomorrow!

Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus

Summer is just around the corner and if your wedding is coming up soon you will most likely be having some other get togethers with friends and family this summer also. Well, today I’m proud to have some great party planning tips from Marley Majcher, The Party Goddess from Pasadena California. Majcher has orchestrated gigs for the season opening of the Hollywood Bowl, the Critics Choice Awards, celebrities she can’t mention, as well as exclusive dinner parties and corporate outings. She is also a professional wedding planner and even if your not from the LA area she is also willing to travel!

So, here are Marley’s Tips and Tricks for Summer Entertaining! Very small things make the difference between flat and fabulous!

- Multitask - Make everything do double (or triple) duty. Martini luges arefunctional, act like décor AND entertainment as guests ogle at the noveltyof booze flowing through the frozen sculpture.

- Do something unexpected - Put dry ice in the martinis, float centerpieces in the pool, put the dj on the roof.

- Create a fabulous invite - The summer social season is packed. Your guests receive three invitations: two are the usual uneventful variety, one is 3-D and sent in a box. Which might be more fun?

-Exaggerate your theme - It takes a lot for people to “get it.” Remember, you’ve been thinking about your party forever, your guests haven’t. If you’re doing a Moroccan theme, make sure the waiters are dressed in costume,the tablecloths are bejeweled, and the centerpieces reflective of the message you’re trying to convey.

- Stay within your means - Even blockbuster events have limits. If your budget isn’t huge, strive to get a lot of bang for your buck. Serve beer and wine instead of a full bar, or offer just wine, non-alcoholic beverages and a signature libation. Do a killer cocktail party with fabulous décor and lighting instead of the full sit down dinner with the omnipresent rubber chicken.

- Create vignettes and alternative seating options - No need to seat everybody at 66″ rounds. Instead, try combinations of squares and rounds,stand ups with barstools, low cabaret tables, lounges with couches and cubes.

Don’t want to deal with any of this? Perfect! Call The Party Goddess! and she’ll handle it all. The Party Goddess! is a full service catering and event planning company that handles any aspect of an event from concept to completion.

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See you tomorrow!
Rhonda
Our Wedding Plus

Hey! That’s not a whale! That’s my husband’s best man! Just kidding, it actually is a whale. Not just any whale, that’s Shamu! Well, you might ask, how did he get from Sea World to attend his close friends John and Sallie’s wedding? Boeing made an airplane especially for the event, see it here. No, you got me, I’m just kidding again. John and Sallie actually brought the wedding to their good friend Shamu’s house at Sea World. (Disclaimer: I’m not sure who these people are, and odds are their names aren’t John and Sallie, and I really don’t believe they personally know Shamu beyond their encounter in this picture. Also, Boeing did not build an airplane especially for Shamu) Actually, this picture is from SanDiegoWeddings.com and it really was taken at Sea World!

So, now that my comedy routine is over! Here’s the scoop…

If you are in the market to have a very unique wedding, much like those two unidentified people in the picture you can! Sea World can host your wedding reception if you have a group of 75 to 10,000 people! You can even have dolphins or killer whales as honored guests at your wedding. Not sure if they will let them stand in as your maid of honor or best man, but if you have enough money they might be able to accommodate!

Checkout Sea World for details!

Rhonda

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