New Jersey Wedding Planner - Man’s Best Friend

No, I’m not talking about the best man or any of the groomsmen. I’m talking about your pet! Pets are like humans to some people (including myself, who loves my dog, Duke, to pieces!!!) and it only seems natural to some people to include them. Couples have been incorporating their furry friends into weddings for a while now, and I want to show you creative ways to get your little (or if you’re like me, big!) munchkin involved. The good news is that it doesn’t matter if you have a dog, cat, rabbit, horse.. there is a place for every animal at your wedding!!

There are several ways you can use your pet(s) during the planning of your big day. If you don’t want to physically use them in the actual ceremony or reception, consider some of the following:





1. Involve your pet in your engagement photos. You can use any type of aniaml here: dog, cat, horse, snake, rabbit, ferret, cow.. you name it! It’s a subtler way of keeping your precious pet involved, and you’ll have the pictures of him/her forever.

2. If you don’t want to have animals in your engagement photos, consider using a picture of you, your partner, and your pet in the Save the Dates.

3. Model your wedding cake, or grooms cake (see last week’s post), after your pet. This is another way of not involving the pet directly, but still paying tribute to how much a part of your life your pet is.

4. If you don’t want to compromise the elegance of your cake, you could add animal cake toppers to the top!

5. You could also name your signature drinks after them and add a photo or two! They're guaranteed to get a lot of attention!






If you do want to use your pet directly in the wedding, here are some suggestions:




1. Ride to your wedding in style on your horse! This is a beautiful, regal way to show up to the reception and a surprise to your guests, as well.

2. Use your pet to be your ring bearer, flower girl, or part of your wedding party (see: Adam Sandler, who named Meatball as his best man in his 2003 wedding). This is great for dogs, cats, or any other animal that is well trained.

3. If you have a pet bird, you can buy an elegant bird cage and utilize it as part of your wedding décor.

4. If you have pet fish, you can use them as part of your sweetheart table display, perhaps as the centerpiece!

5. Use pictures of you and your pet as table names/numbers.




These are just a few suggestions. There are many other ways that you can be creative and get your animals involved on your big day. It’s just another special “person” to be sharing your wedding day with.


Have fun!!


Kaitlyn


Photo Sources:
www.elizabethannedesigns.com
www.adamsandler.com
www.geoffwhite.com
www.ablwedding.com
www.baliwww.com

New Jersey Wedding Planner - A great gift for your Husband-to-Be

Are you thinking about doing something extra special for your hubby-to-be for your upcoming wedding, but aren’t sure what to get for him? Maybe you want to stay away from a traditional gift or want to add some spunk to something you’ve already gotten him. A great way to surprise him is to have a custom groom’s cake made especially for him. It doesn’t matter when you give it to him, that’s completely up to you! That’s right, you can stray from waiting until the wedding day to give it to him if that’s what you desire – you could give him the cake before his bachelor party (if he has one), at the bridal shower (if he’s going to be there), or catch him off guard on a random day (no audience needed!); the possibilities are endless. Whichever way you choose to surprise him, he’s sure to be in for a delicious treat.

Now that you’ve decided on the specialty cake, it’s time to decide what you want the cake to be. This is where you can be creative if you want. If you’re looking to go non-traditional, think of his favorite sports team, a pastime he loves, his hobbies, an inside joke between the two of you.. and then have that cake created for him. They can be funny, sentimental, manly, silly.. anything! Then take the idea to a local bakery and see if they can make it for you or use the internet to find bakeries near you that specialize in these types of cakes. If you’re REALLY good, you can make the cake yourself!

I Googled some pictures of groom’s cakes and here are a few for inspiration:


















Have fun with this and he will love it!! =)

Kaitlyn


Photo Sources:
themecakesbytraci.com
sweetideasbywendy.com
hotbreadsmddc.com
blog.makezine.com
sweetelement.com

New Jersey Wedding Planner - Cocktail-style Wedding

We had a fabulous wedding on Friday, May 7th!! It was the wedding of Yvette and Steve, who were the winners of our "Dream No More Wedding Giveaway" sweepstakes from Entourage Effortless Events this past November. Everything was so magical; from the wonderful couple to the stylish lounge, to the gorgeous lighting; everything was amazing!! We had such a great time.

One thing that Yvette and Steve decided to do for their wedding is have a cocktail-style wedding reception. This is a more informal way of hosting -- where there are more guests than there are seats. The tables used were a mix of high boys and regular sized reception tables. There were no assigned seats, so guests were free to roam around wherever and whenever. That is usually the point of a cocktail style, to make sure guests are up and dancing. It's just another style to consider when you are planning your wedding ;o)

We know Yvette and Steve had as much fun as we did and we look forward to keeping in touch with this fantastic couple!


Kaitlyn

New Jersey Wedding Planner - Be a Great Wedding Guest

I've been blogging a lot about what brides and couples should do to prepare for their wedding day, but what about the guests? If you're a guest to a wedding, you're going to need a few guidelines, even if you have attended weddings before. Here are some tips on what you absolutely should not do as a guest at a wedding (no one wants ANY type of “zilla” at a wedding!). Some of these may seem obvious, but trust us.. they need to be said and more importantly followed!!



1. Don’t ask to be part of the wedding party if the bride or groom doesn’t ask you. There’s a reason

2. Unless it’s absolutely unavoidable and excusable, don’t skip the ceremony and go straight to the reception. It’s not only rude but disrespectful to the wedding couple.



3. Don’t bring your children or other family members whose names are not explicitly included on the invitation.

4. Don’t wear white, unless it clearly says that’s what the couple wants (ie, some couples ask all guests to wear white, but that only happens occasionally).


5. Don’t, under any circumstances, arrive late to the ceremony. It’s extremely inconsiderate to interrupt the ceremony, so give yourself ample time to get to the venue. Allot time for traffic, lights, stops; anything that might set you back.

6. Don’t cause a scene anywhere. This includes fighting and drinking too much liquor.

7. Don't assume you can invite a date (unless it says +1). Nowadays especially, people are trying to cut their budget costs, and adding an uninvited guest is impolite and more costly for the wedding couple. There’s a reason only your name is on the list.


It's very important to follow these rules, because in doing so you are showing the newlyweds your gratitude, appreciation, and respect for them. No matter how close you may be to the wedding couple, there are no excuses to breaking these rules. Don’t assume you’ll be able to get away with it, because chances are, you won’t. A bride, especially, will remember who let her down on her wedding day.

They aren't too tough to follow, so I know you guys will have no problem being great guests! Remember to have as much fun as possible!! =)


Kaitlyn


Photo Sources:
patrickcox.wordpress.com
swsmag.net
www.faqs.org
canongateoccasions.com

New Jersey Wedding Planner - Lighting Your Reception

Lighting is something a lot of couples overlook when planning their wedding. I don’t know if it’s because they aren’t sure that so many great options exist, or if they just don’t want to add something else to think about on their long list of things to do (but what’s one more thing, right?). However, it’s not something you should be overlooking. Lighting is a great way to improve the mood, ambiance, and atmosphere of your weddings. Today I want to show you what great ways pin spotting can transform a room.

No worries if you don't know what pin spotting is, I certainly didn't before I joined the Pure Ambiance team. Pin spotting is a type of lighting that is set up before your reception starts. It is hung from above and you use the light to focus on one main thing. Perhaps you have gorgeous centerpieces that you want people to immediately be drawn to when they walk in; this would be the perfect time to use pin spotting. Generally anything you want to draw attention to is a great thing to use this type of lighting on. The right lighting will totally transform your reception into anything you want it to. Can you see the difference in a table with pin spotting and one without?













Another great thing you can do with pin spotting is change the color. Not all lights are white. If you want a different feeling than the one plain white offers, go for it! Blues and greens create cooler atmospheres, which are great for winter- or nature-themed weddings. On the other hand reds, yellows and oranges create warmer atmospheres; think of themes like a hot summer night or a sunny spring day.




Pin spotting isn't the only type of lighting that will make over your wedding reception, but I wanted to keep it simple to begin with. Now that you have opened your eyes to a whole new variety of options, the possibilities are endless!


Kaitlyn


Photo Sources:
www.pacificlighting.com
www.bizbash.com
www.flowershopnetwork.com

New Jersey Wedding Planner - Cake Toppers for Everyone

The Team was in a design meeting one day when we came across cake toppers in one of the bridal books we were browsing through, and let me tell you, I was surprisingly amazed. I know that you can get monogrammed cake toppers, but as for the people cake toppers, I was one of those people who thought they only came in the plastic bride and groom statues with one look and no options -- you know the one I'm talking about. I was so wrong. I had no idea what great toppers were out there. You can customize, personalize, and specialize your very own cake toppers to virtually anything you want. There are humorous cake toppers, elegant cake toppers, themed cake toppers, bobble head cake toppers, character cake toppers, outrageous cake toppers, sporting cake toppers.. and all of them are great! Whether you're short, tall, thin, curvy, blonde, brunette, pregnant or not... you can find YOU.

This is a great way to show off a side of you to the guests that you normally wouldn't get to at your wedding. There are also places where you can send in a picture of yourself and they create you as a couple. If you don't want statues on the top, you can go for custom monograms, animals, beloved characters, flowers, trees, or even have a photo of you two engraved. If you want to go crazy with something at your wedding, but don't know what... this is the perfect solution for you!! I'm attaching some photos so you can see just a glimpse of all the great toppers you can choose from.








































All I did was Google "wedding cake toppers" and found a huge selection. Start personalizing your own today. Good luck and go crazy!


Kaitlyn

Photo Sources:
www.caketoppers.com
www.weddingmountain.com
www.weddingaccessories.net
www.weddingcollectibles.com/

New Jersey Wedding Planner - This one’s for the Bridesmaids...

One of the most fun things to do when helping your friend plan her wedding is to throw her a bridal party! It is the job of the Maid of Honor and other Bridesmaids to plan and host this event, from the drinks (if you decide to have any) to the location (bride's house? restaurant?) to the games. You may consult the bride before deciding upon the details, unless of course it's a surprise party. See what kind of party she wants, then get to planning!! Here are a few things to take note of when you are planning:

*Make sure you assign specific tasks to certain members of the bridal party so no one gets confused and things aren't left out. For example, have different girls send out invitations, greet guests as they arrive, order/make the food, etc. TheKnot.com has a great Bridal Shower checklist: http://wedding.theknot.com/bridesmaids-mother-of-the-bride/bridal-shower-ideas/articles/a-bridal-shower-planning-checklist.aspx

*Use name tags so those who don't know each other can talk to one another. If it helps, give each other titles, such as "aunt of the bride to be".

*Since gifts are the major focus of a bridal shower, make sure you're organized. Be sure to have someone record what gifts the bride gets and who it's from.


*Make it fun! Some traditions at bridal showers are: play games, tell funny stories, eat, drink, and be merry! For great entertaining ideas, visit BridalShowersEtc.com: http://bridalshoweretc.com/more_activities_for_your_bridal_shower.php.

If this is all too much for you to handle, just give Pure Ambiance a call and our team will be happy to coordinate everything for you!

Have fun,

Kaitlyn


Photo Sources:
www.yumsugar.com
www.forbridalshowers.com