Real Wedding - Featured: Ashley and Kristjan

Ashley and Kristjan were married June 19th at Botanica Gardens. They were such a fun couple to work with! They were both very open to ideas of how to make the reception fun and energetic. The wedding colors were red, black and white. Both families were very talented and contributed to the event. Ashley's brother designed and produced the wedding dress, and did Ashley's hair on the wedding day. Kristjans dad performed a touching ceremony on the terrace at Botanica. The other details were brought together by a group of fabulous vendors. Jubilation Events (that's us) was the designer and coordinator. We were excited to use a new product at this wedding. We were able to transform the banquet room at Botanica by installing a faux wall. We created the 3 sided 12 foot walls with Velon. Ashley picked a fun black and white pattern Velon that created an amazing effect along with the 12 foot monogram that hung in the middle of the room. In that room also, Corporate Caterers set up 6 food stations, each decorated with red and crystal base lamps and a fun candy buffet.Of course, the wonderfully talented, and super nice guy, Tim Davis from http://www.timdavisphotography.com/ did the photography. This collection came out stunning!

The cake was created by Cake Affairs. We moved it outside for the cutting, but it was on display inside. All the sound and lighting was provided by Accent Mobile. The lit the place on "fire". Well, kind of, they had red uplights all around the terrace. It was an amazing effect.

The bride and groom finished the night by having all their family and friends line up to see them off. They gave each guest a glow stick. It was the perfect way to wave goodbye!

Thank you Ashley and Kristjan for letting us share your special day! We will put more pictures of this wedding on our website soon, http://www.jubilationevents.com/, so check out our galleries often.

Honeymoons

I have had a lot of questions about honeymoons lately. Our couples are exploring new options for their honeymoons. Some of the things we have seen them do or ask about are:

1. Taking other couples along on the honeymoon.

One of our planners said that she wishes she would have taken a couple or two along with them. While she had a great time, it would have been nice to have people their to go out with. My suggestion is to just have a talk with the couples and remind them that there will be times when you and your new spouse will want to be alone. Don't be afraid to say that you are doing your own thing at any time.

2. Going to all inclusive resorts.

While this is not a new honeymoon experience. We have seen a lot of couples going back to this option with the economy the way that it is. Our couples are liking the idea of paying one price for everything and being able to budget for that amount. We do offer Sandals and Beaches honeymoon planning. There are so many great resorts to choose from. All alcohol, food, room and water sports are included at every resort. At some resorts, golf is also included. When we arrange the honeymoon for you, sometimes the resort will throw in free volcano tours or something similar. You can go to our website http://jubilationevents.com/weddings/shops.htm

and click the sandals link to get more details about each location.

3. Waiting on the honeymoon.

Some couples are considering waiting to go on the honeymoon. They are opting to travel in less peak seasons. While I think this is a good cost saver, I would still suggest getting away in some form. If you are planning to take a big trip later in the year, you can take a small weekend get-a-way to a nearby city. The important thing is that you spend some quality time together, it doesn't really matter where you are!

Trends we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE...(and some we don't)

Today Stacey is telling us all about what she loves, hates and thinks we will be seeing for a while, when it comes to weddings. I'm going to post mine later this week. But, it's funny that we pretty much see eye to eye on most things! That's probably why we work so well together.

Ok, here is goes....

Wedding Trends I Love (by Stacey)

Photographers blogs: Good photographers get to know the bride and groom and can express their personalities through photographs. I like their blogs because I want to know their perspective and I am able to see the wedding day through someone else’s eyes.

Inspiration boards: This is essence of creativity and design. I love making these to help inspire brides to think “outside of the box”.

Creative Invitation Designs: Let’s face it, this is the first thing guests will see in regards to your wedding day so make a statement. I like the use of patterns and intricate designs.

Bold Color Schemes: Love, Love, Love. Black, eggplant, apple green, teal, hot pink (yes I said hot pink… done in the right way). Even a black and white wedding can make a statement if you distribute the colors in an exciting way.

Monochromatic flowers: What a great way to bring texture to your bouquets and centerpieces without sacrificing your color theme. It’s fun and adds excitement to your flowers.

DIY Projects: For years grandma was put in charge of making a few things to save some money, but today brides are more creative than ever. There are hundreds of DIY projects that make your wedding your own and its something that has come back and will stay.

Unusual Venues: This is something that can be difficult, but not impossible. It just takes effort in creativity. Mansions, museums, yachts, farm, vineyard, public gardens, private homes just to name a few. We once put a tent inside of a gym… yes, a gym.

Lighting: Want to transform your reception into a magazine wedding? Use lighting. I can’t encourage it enough!

Customized Ring Bearer Pillows: We do them! Why use the same kind of pillow that EVERYONE uses?? Be creative and customize your own pillow with your colors and embellishments.

80’s Songs: Not sure if this is a “trend”, but I love it anyway. I don’t know why, but everyone knows the lyrics and your guests can sing the night away on the dance floor.


Wedding Trend that are Out!

Choreographed First Dance: We’ve all seen it, whether in person or on YouTube watching bride and grooms break out into “It’s getting hot in here”. Yes they are fun, but it just won’t last.

Stargazer Lilies: There are so many other flowers that are much more trendy and up to date.

Pastels: Say good bye to light blue as “something blue” and say hello to navy blue. Rich gem colors like plum, amber, bronzes and coppers are the new thing.


Wedding Trends with a shelf life

Chocolate Brown and _____: I don’t think incorporating brown into your color scheme will ever go out of style. It’s dark enough to make bright colors pop and it brings on a style of its own.

Cocktail Hours: There is no better way to get your guests mingling than to serve them cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. So much of the wedding includes formality so this can be the time to let your guests get comfortable before the dancing begins.

Candy/Dessert Bars: Instead of personalizing a favor for each place setting, you can choose to personalize your own candy/dessert bar. These get more and more innovative and delicious so I don’t see this kind of bar phasing out.

New Etsy.com Store

We have put in so much time on these adorable ring bearer pillows! They did great at the show in July. And, now we created a store on Etsy.com. It's a website for people to sell all things handmade. I just started late last night, so I only have a few items up. But it should all be finished by today!

The A-Mazing Tim Davis Photography did all of our product shots. They look great! I did dress my little cutie up in a tux to show off the pillows. I couldn't resist, and he was such a trooper. But there are close ups and all that for people who actually want to see the pillows too.

We will have a mini store on our website once all the listings get added.

So stay tuned for shop completion: http://www.jubilationevents.etsy.com/!

10/10/2010....closer than you think!

We have had a lot of fun dates the last few years. For us, it started with 7/7/07 and just keeps going. 10/10/10 just happens to fall on a Sunday. But, the following Monday is Columbus day, so if your guests work for a bank or school, they'll be fine!

We wanted to put this blog out now because with such a popular date we didn't want you ladies thinking you could put off plans "because you have so much time". NOT TRUE. It's simple supply and demand. Vendors and venues are going to be in high demand for that date. So don't put off booking the people you want because they could be gone soon.

Ok...enough lecturing. We want to hear some fun ideas for incorporating the "10" theme into your wedding. We've heard, "perfect 10", but we want some really original ideas. If you have a monogram with "10" incorporated into it, or if you have a unique way you are going to arrange tables, anything....we want to hear it!

If you don't want to post your ideas online, email them to us at sales@jubilationevents.com.