Posts Tagged ‘Wedding Reception Ideas’

The Couple:  Rachel and Dustin Henderson

Wedding Date:  April 2, 2011

Photography by  Siegel’s Portrait Design

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Dustin and I met our freshman year of college at Sonoma State University. Because we met so young, we both wanted to finish school, and start and be settled in our careers before getting married, so we we’re together  more than 10 years before we actually got married.

We both feel like it was definitely worth the wait, we were able to put our wedding together the way we wanted without really having to scrimp and save for a budget. We both wanted our wedding to be simple and fun, because after all, we were celebrating the life we had built together and imagining the possibilities yet to come.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  Dustin and I agreed to see each other before the ceremony so that we could get our family and wedding party pictures done, so our photographers and our venue director arranged for Dustin and I to have a private moment at the altar. I actually walked down the aisle while Dustin had his back to me, when I got to the altar he turned around and saw me for the first time in my wedding dress. I didn’t think I was going to get emotional that day, but I totally started crying, it was very sweet!

What else would you like to share about your big day?  Having a wedding in April in Sacramento can sometimes be like rolling the dice, and it had rained for what felt like all winter until the week leading up to our wedding, but it was forcasted to be cloudy and rain on our wedding day. About 1-1/2 hours before the ceremony started, the clouds dissipated and the sun came out for the rest of the evening, and it made it seem like our wedding day was meant to be perfect!

Ceremony & Reception Site and Wedding Planning:  Newcastle Wedding Gardens & Historic Red Horse Barn, and Georgia Barron, owner of Newcastle Wedding Gardens & Historic Red Horse Barn

Photographer:  Siegel’s Portrait Design

Videographer:  Premier Entertainment

Caterer:  Jackson Catering & Events

Cake:  Icing on the Cupcake

Flowers:  Christine Franzi

Favors:  Cool Party Favors

Wedding Dress:  J.Crew

Bridesmaid Dresses:  J.Crew

Hair:  Susie Jobe from Main Street Salon in Napa

Makeup:  Seanna Murray in Napa

Invitations:  Wedding Paper Divas

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  Premier Entertainment (Randy Bartlett was absolutely amazing, made the reception soooo much fun, we still haven’t stopped getting compliments about him!!)

Photo Booth:  Jensen Photo Booth (so much fun also!)

Honeymoon location:  We haven’t gone on our honeymoon yet.

First Dance Song:  “Better Together” by Jack Johnson

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  1) Nail down your theme and then tackle the details and don’t let it overwhelm you, 2) your wedding day should be about you and your husband, get a wedding planner to take care of wedding day madness!!

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  There isn’t anything that I would have changed, our wedding day was so much better than I could have ever imagined!

Photos courtesy of Siegel’s Portrait Design.

Check out the Real Weddings Contest Page! Great bridal loot for real Sacramento-area brides!

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Red Velvet, Vanilla, Chocolate, Lemon…cupcakes have forever found a place on the reception dessert table. Cute and convenient, they are the perfect alternative to the traditional wedding cake. Now Bella Cupcake Couture brings you a new way to add even more flair to these sweet confections.

Dress your cupcakes in these chic textile-inspired wrappers created by Carrie Middlemiss. After becoming a casualty of the current economic climate, Carrie took her love of cupcakes and came up with this great new product. As she likes to say, she went from “pink slips to pink frosting.”

The designs come in both standard and mini sizes and showcase a variety of patterns, including florals, swirls and damask. Color options range from bright chartreuse and soft blues and pinks, to elegant black and whites and yummy chocolate brown.

And they are eco-friendly! All the designs are printed with soy ink on recycled linen paper. The business manufactures all their own wrappers, so customers have the options of custom designs and logos if requested.

How will you express yourself with your wedding cupcakes?

Check out Bella Cupcake Couture at bellacupcakecouture.com.

Blog Post by Always a Bridesmaid Columnist Darren Elms.

Photos courtesy of Bella Cupcake Couture.

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Welcome back to the Eye Candy Blog Series and our third installment from the NACE Tabletop Design Contest.

To bring you up to speed…recently, the Sacramento chapter of the National Association of Catering Executives (NACE) held its second annual tabletop design contest hosted at Sun City Roseville’s Timber Creek Ballroom.

Like last year’s event, these amazingly talented wedding professionals put their creative hats on and came up with some exceptionally interesting and unique tablescapes. Once again, we’re honored to showcase these professionals’ designs in the pages (print and online here!) of Real Weddings Magazine!

This week, we feature: First Place: Romantic Category – Designer: America’s Party Rentals with Contributors: Visual Impact Design  and  Sweet Cakes By Rebecca… enjoy!

Special thanks to Andrea’s Images Photography (andreasimages.com) and Siegel’s Portrait Design (siegelsportraits.com) for their gorgeous photos featured here!

Photo by Andrea’s Images Photography.

Photo by Andrea’s Images Photography.

Photo by Andrea’s Images Photography.

Photo by Andrea’s Images Photography.

Photo by Siegel’s Portrait Design.

Photo by Siegel’s Portrait Design.

Photo by Siegel’s Portrait Design.

Photo by Siegel’s Portrait Design.

Blog Post by Editor/Publisher Wendy Sipple.

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Welcome back Real Weddings Magazine brides to another installment of The Recessionista Bride Blog Series by our guest blogger extraordinaire Kate Miller of Kate Miller Events.

This week, she addresses some unique reception food ideas! Take it away Kate!

“You’ve found the perfect venue, the perfect dress and the perfect decor – but your budget is so strapped you’re not sure what to do! If you have catering minimum negotiating power, you could work on a nontraditional menu of delights that is both palate pleasing and budget friendly! There are many ways that you can give yourself a one-up on the negotiating bandwagon:

• Choose an unpopular wedding date. If you’re willing to get married on a mid-week or even on a Friday or Sunday, your event venue might be more apt to lower your catering minimums.
• Choose a brand new venue and plan on the short timeframe. I highly recommend you hire a planner to help you with this process, as planning a wedding in two - four months can be difficult if you’re not well-versed in the wedding world. However, if you’re willing to push up your date, a new venue may be more apt to lower their minimum for a date that they would otherwise not book in such a timeframe.
• Choose a unique time. A luncheon, Sunday brunch or afternoon tea party plan may provide you with more flexible catering options that are more friendly to your budget.

If you have managed to get your catering minimum lowered or have found a venue with an already low minimum, the next challenge will be how to feed 100 guests within that estimate!

A $4,000 minimum with a catering menu where the per guest cost starts at $95 will not be much of a help if you have 100 guests. If your reception is later in the evening, make sure your guests don’t go hungry! Recessionista Bride Stevie chose to serve their guests a sumptuous selection of comfort food inspired bites – that also happened to be rather filling:

• Mashed Potato Martini Bar – including Russet and Sweet Potatoes
• Mini Sliders with Blue Cheese
• Tomato Soup Shooters topped with Mini Grilled Cheese Panini
• Locally Grown Crudite

For dessert, we offered guests their choice of five different cake flavors from the Dessert Buffet  – and not one guest left famished!

While the concept of a cash bar is a very personal decision, I always let my clients decide based on what they are comfortable with. For Stevie and Blake’s wedding, instead of just sticking the guests with an added cost, we offered a non-alcoholic signature beverage of lemonade. It provided guests a fun drink alternative without all of the costs of an open bar!

Last but not least, do not forget the 20% +/- Service Charge and Tax, not typically included in the minimum. Many couples come to me asking how they can negotiate that Service Charge percentage and I will tell you what I always tell them: This 20% fee is not just the venue taking it’s fair share of the profits – it’s what pays for all of your setup, service and clean-up on the day of the wedding. This, of course, increases with the size of your wedding and intensity of your menu (three, four or five course meal) as the setup, service and cleanup will also increase with these changes.”

Are you planning a non-traditional menu for your wedding day guests?

Tune back in to the Real Weddings Magazine blog on April 23rdfor the next installment in the Recessionista Bride Blog Series on Fresh Rose Petal Substitutes.

About Kate Miller Events (in their own words):

Kate Miller Events offers full-scale event and wedding planning of extraordinary detail for the bride and groom looking for that extra-special touch. We will keep you organized, on or under budget, and stress-free while designing the wedding of your dreams. We are committed to making sure your day goes off without a hitch — except for the hitching part of course!

Kate Miller Events offers new technology to keep all avenues of communication open and organized. Our excellent online client planning tools include customized checklists, payment calendars with email notifications, appointment tracking, online idea boards, and contract filing with easy access for all members of your wedding party. Our top-notch organization enables us to be your liaison to all of your vendors – we worry about the details so that you don’t have to.

All of our packages are unique and completely customized to fit your budget so that you only pay for the services that you need. We offer a wide range of planning services from Day of Coordination to Full Coordination/Design and everything in-between.

Be sure to check out Kate Miller Event’s Web site and Kate’s blog or call her at 888-808-KATE.

Photos above from Stevie & Blake’s wedding, one of our featured real weddings in the current issue of Real Weddings Magazine, by Sarah Maren Photography. Kate Miller from Kate Miller Events worked with Stevie & Blake to achieve their perfect day. To read more about Stevie & Blake’s wedding and to view more photos from their wedding, pick up a copy of the current issue or click here.

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Welcome back Real Weddings Magazine brides to another installment of The Recessionista Bride Blog Series by our guest blogger extraordinaire Kate Miller of Kate Miller Events.

This week, she addresses unique centerpieces. Take it away Kate!

“Wedding flowers add fragrance, beauty and often a pop of color to a the big day — and they’re an integral part of your wedding ensemble.

But, depending on the options that you pick, they can be quite costly — sometimes taking up to 10% or more of your entire wedding budget.

One area where our Recessionista Bride Stevie looked to save some money on her wedding budget was in the decor arena, particularly for her centerpieces. There are many interesting and unique options for brides looking to save on their decor budget — Stevie chose candles which were a fantastic choice for many reasons. Candles offer gorgeous glow that not only adds a beautiful sparkle to your tabletop, but it also adds ambiance that cannot be created by fluorescent lighting. By adding 17 – 20 candles at each table, we were able to shut the lights off and give guests a gorgeous glow to eat cake by.

With a light floral touch of mustard yellow pom pons, we added a personalized touch instead of using rose petals. Wrapping a few votives with vintage lace and topping everything off with a mushroom bird or two really pulled the table together with the faux lace menus. We were able to add height by using crystal candle platforms to some tables and on others, we placed the tealights and larger candle holders directly on the table.

Are you using non-floral centerpieces at your wedding?