Destination Weddings: How do we really feel about them? August 21, 2011

Destination weddings are something that can be a fun trip for everyone involved. The bride and groom choose a special location to exchange their vows, and then the destination wedding planning begins.

Something wonderful about having a destination wedding is inviting your guests to an exotic loocation that they may have never been to. It can create a unique experience that is very memorable for years to come.

There may be some problems though that the bride and groom didn’t count on. What if someone special to them is not able to make it because of financial issues? Then what?

Is is proper etiquette bride and groom to pay for their guests? Some professionals say yes and some say no. There are professionals that say if a bride and groom chose to have their wedding at a distant location then they should be able to help guests pay to be there. It can become a huge burden on everyone when you are asking people to pay a lot of money just to go to a wedding.

According to destinationweddings.com,” the couple should not assume that everyone they invite will be able to attend the wedding and guests should not assume that the couple (or the couple’s families) will be paying for a majority of the trip. We have found that, on average, a guest may spend between $750 and $1,100 to attend a destination wedding. “
Now comes the problem. What if a guest is invited and perhaps in the wedding party but cannot attend the wedding because of finances? Then what? Who is supposed to pay then? And what happens if the bride and/or groom get upset because you cannot attend? What are you supposed to do then?

In my opinion, brides and grooms should pay for guests to attend a destination wedding if that is what they chose to do for their wedding. Brides and grooms cannot just assume that guests will be able to pay for a destination wedding. And if that is the issue then the brides and grooms need to understand if guests cannot come and they need to be okay with the outcome because they are the ones who wanted to have a destination wedding.

So whether you are planning a wedding in your town or a destination wedding, Such and Event is here to help! Please contact Such an Event at 630-689-3181 or suchanevent@yahoo.com

Bridal Expo: Vendor Overload or Heaven on Earth? June 26, 2011

Today was the Luxury Bridal Expo Chicago/Milwaukee at the Hotel Arista in Naperville. If you were not there and you are a bride to be, I would be awfully surprised. This place was PACKED!

When we first walked in we were greeted by one of the reps for the bridal show. She gave the brides a sheet to fill out for their drawing at the end of the day. We then proceeded to “check in” and we got a BRIDE bag to use for all the vendor information we were about to receive. We then walked down the hallway to all the vendors.

As soon as you walked in to where the vendors were, they were bombarding you with information. The first table was an ice sculpture. I could have cared less but they wanted to give me information anyway. I put it right into the bag and didn’t give it a second thought. Then there was photography, laser hair removal, DJ’s, bridal shops, limo services, tuxedo rentals, and the list goes on and on! Basically you go up to every vendor, they ask you if you have booked anyone for their service and then they proceed to give you their whole speech and then tons of information. Then you move along. Some vendor were giving things away like a discount, free products and so on and you definitely want to take advantage of that! Any way to help you save on your budget is a good thing.

Now don’t get me wrong, bridal expos are great places to go to get information. But it can be overwhelming. There is just so much information thrown at you that it’s hard to digest. Take all your information home and look at it all there. That way you can really read through things and figure out what you want and don’t want, and who to set up appointments with. And don’t forget to bring address labels! You will be filling out SO much information and it will definitely help your hand in the end!

So overall bridal expos are a great thing to go to when you are engaged, just be careful not to get overwhelmed! There is a ton of information, but it will help you in the end when you are trying to decide on vendors! Don’t forget about wedding planners as well… like Such an Event! We’re here to help you. We will be there from the time you get engaged until the end of your wedding day. Let Such an Event make your event everything you dreamed of!

Such an Event 630-689-3181 suchanevent@yahoo.com

Old Traditions Renewed: The Engagement Party May 5, 2011

There are several trends that used to be popular that kind of fizzled out that have now become popular again. One of these is the engagement party. They have started to become popular again. Couples are choosing to celebrate their engagement with family and friends in a very fun way. If you are one of the brides who may be considering an engagement party, here are some things you may want to consider.

Setting the date:
Usually engagement parties take place not too long after the actual engagement, about 2 months or so. Unless you are planning on having a long engagement then you can choose to wait a little while longer. When you are trying to decide a date, make sure that it is not too close to your wedding as you are celebrating your engagement not the wedding…yet.

Guest List:
Typically the brides parents host, but these days anyone can! Anyone that you invite to the engagement party, you have to invite to the actual wedding. It would be in poor taste not to. So you may want to consider how many people you are going to invite to the wedding before sending out invites to the engagement party. Typically these parties are for close friends and family. You don’t want to invite everyone you are inviting to the wedding, what would be the point of the wedding then, right?

Gifts:
Gifts are not to be expected at the engagement party. If gifts are given, they are to be opened in private after all the guests have gone home. You don’t want to embarrass anyone by opening gifts in front of your guests. Also don’t forget to send out thank-you notes!!!

Theme:
Consider the time of year when you got engaged and maybe mimic that in your theme. If you got engaged in June, maybe you want to have a backyard BBQ. Or if you got engaged during the Christmas holiday, maybe have a new year themed party. You may also want to consider what kind of theme you are going to have for your wedding. It might be interesting if you are having your wedding reception at the Trump Hotel in Chicago, maybe you want to have a luau themed engagement party. Just make sure that whatever theme and decorations you choose for the engagement party, that it doesn’t outdo the actual wedding reception!

Timeline:
Typically the father of the bride will make a toast and welcome everyone to the party. He will usually be the one to actually make the announcement. If your father is not involved or something along those lines, whoever is hosting the engagement party can make the announcement. Then most often the couple will speak and thank everyone for coming and sharing in their joy! Then just hang loose and have fun!

So whether you are just engaged or you are well into the planning process, Such an Event can help. We can be there from helping with the engagement party, to helping out through the wedding planning. There are many different packages that are available and we can tailor them to your individual needs. I invite you to call Such an Event at 630-689-3181 or email at suchanevent@yahoo.com to help you plan the wedding of your dreams.

Let Such an Event make your event everything you dreamed it would be.

Royal Wedding: Just Two People In Love April 30, 2011

Yesterday, the world was a buzz as two billion people watched the Royal Wedding. Probably the best-kept secret was about Kate’s stunning gown, which was designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. Prior to the wedding there was much speculation as to who would be designing Kate’s wedding gown and the details were not confirmed until the day of the Royal Wedding. The crowds roared as they caught their first glimpse of Kate’s wedding gown. Some were even saying that there was much similarity to Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco’s, timeless wedding gown.

As part of tradition, the groom is not to see the bride until she arrives at the altar. The aisle at Westminster Abbey is 300 feet long and took Kate almost 4 minutes to arrive at the altar. The whole time, Prince William was turned forward waiting. Prince Harry did catch a glimpse of Kate and told his brother, “Wait ‘til you see her.” And then Kate arrived at the altar, and at the moment, Prince William looked at Kate and said to her “You look beautiful.” Prince William then told Papa Michael “We were supposed to have just a small family affair.”

After the ceremony, Prince William and Catherine, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, took a carriage to Buckingham Palace and since kissing is not allowed at Westminster Abbey, the couple kissed on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. And it was not one kiss but two that made the crowd roar.

Whether a wedding is being planned for 50 people or 5,000 people, some of the same amount of planning goes into the wedding. As an experienced wedding coordinator, there is certainly a lot of stress that goes into that planning, but it is my job to eliminate all the stress. An experienced event planner and coordinator can incorporate old and new traditions into your special day. The first steps are to determine what is most important to the bride and groom. Consider all the traditions and sometimes, to learn just what made those traditions special helps in determining whether they will be a part of your special day.

It is very common that despite all the planning, the weeks just before the wedding can be the most stressful. Most brides have dreamed of their wedding day and they want that day to be just as perfect as they dreamed it would be. As an experienced wedding coordinator, it is my job to turn the wedding of your dreams into a reality.

I invite you to call Such an Event at 630-689-3181 or email suchanevent@yahoo.com for a complimentary consultation.

Royal Wedding: What If Someone Objects?? April 29, 2011

In the final moments before the ring ceremony, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will say “Anyone opposed to the marriage should speak now or forever hold their peace.” What if someone objects? What would Kate Middleton and Prince William do? This would certainly create chaos at the Royal Wedding. But, just like every other detail of the Royal Wedding, there is a plan if someone should speak and oppose the wedding.

Though this is an unlikely event, Westminster Abbey officials have stated that the wedding would be immediately suspended. Officials would usher the complainant to a private room at the Abbey and the complainant would then have to explain to the Archbishop and the Church of England’s legal advisory board why the couple should not be married. If there is no justifiable reason why the Kate Middleton and Prince William should not be married, then the decision would be made to continue the ceremony. In the meantime, Kate Middleton and Prince William and all the guests in attendance at the Royal Wedding would just have to wait.

It would be hard enough if this should happen, but what if the wedding planners did not consider that this event could happen and it did happen. No matter how hard you try to plan your special day, “what if” situations could happen. As a certified wedding planner, it is my responsibility to prepare for the “what if” situations and to make sure that even the smallest of details is taken care of so that the bride and groom can just relax and enjoy their wedding day.

The benefits of hiring a certified wedding planner are endless. From negotiating contracts, to executing a flawless event, and taking care of all the “what if” situations, a wedding planner is worth the money. Such an Event offers several levels of service to take the stress out of the planning of the biggest day of your life. If you are looking for someone to help throughout the entire planning process or just to handle the details the day of the wedding than Such an Event can help. Such an Event can offer the finest details for weddings with style.

I invite you to contact Such an Event at 630-689-3181 or email suchanevent@yahoo.com for a complimentary consultation on the wedding packages that we offer.

Such an Event can turn the wedding of your dreams into a reality.

Royal Wedding: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue April 28, 2011

It is said that Kate Middleton’s wedding dress is something new. Her engagement ring is something old and something blue, since it was Princess Diana’s engagement ring and has a Ceylon Sapphire surrounded by diamonds. Kate’s something borrowed will be the Russian Fringe Tiara, also known as the George III Tiara. Kate will be wearing the same tiara that Queen Elizabeth II wore when she married Prince Philip on November 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey. When Queen Elizabeth II wore the tiara, it too was her something borrowed. She borrowed the tiara from her mother, the Queen Mum.

As Queen Elizabeth was getting dressed at Buckingham Palace before leaving for Westminster Abbey, the tiara snapped. The wedding planners had made certain that the court jeweler was on hand in case he was needed, and so the tiara was repaired in time for the wedding. It can also be said that there are things that go beyond even the wedding planner’s control. Things like the weather or the electric. As the royal wedding approaches the John Hall, the Dean of Westminster Abbey, is worried that the electric might go out. There have been two Fridays in the past month when the electric went out briefly. Electricians have been working to make sure this does not happen on William and Kate’s big day.

There are so many details that go into planning a wedding, let alone a wedding suitable for royalty. With every wedding there can be customs and traditions that are involved or even new customs that mean something special to the bride and groom. Simple traditions of something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue can often have more symbolism than we realize, just like the tiara that Kate will be wearing.

The big day is almost here, and speaking as a wedding planner, I am certain that every last detail of the Royal Wedding has been checked and double checked and Kate Middleton has peace of mind in knowing that her wedding day will go just as she has always dreamed it would be. After all, doesn’t every girl dream of marrying a prince?

If you are planning your wedding, Such an Event can help with all the details so you can relax and enjoy the day of your dreams.

If your wedding is in the area surrounding DeKalb, Illinois, I invite you to call Such an Event at 630-689-3181 or email suchanevent@yahoo.com for a complimentary consultation.

Will Kate Middleton Toss Her Bouquet?? April 25, 2011

To toss, or not to toss, is a decision left up to every bride. The tossing of the wedding bouquet is tradition that it is said to have started in England. The bride’s bouquet symbolizes fertility and it originally consisted of herbs, then later orange blossoms and today’s tradition of flowers. In early times, just after the ceremony, single women would try to rip a piece of the bride’s dress or snatch one of the flowers from the bouquet to bring good luck in finding a husband, and so it became that a bride would toss her bouquet and run. In today’s weddings, all the single women stand in a group behind the bride. The bride then bride tosses her bouquet over her shoulder into the group. The woman who catches the bouquet will be the next to marry.

British royal protocol dictates that instead of the bouquet being tossed, it would be placed on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The story behind the protocol was started by Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother, when she married Prince Albert, the Duke of York, at Westminster Abbey on April 26, 1923. On her way into Westminster Abbey, she unexpectedly stopped and laid her bouquet on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. On Elizabeth’s fourteenth birthday, Britain had declared war on Germany, and four of her brothers served in the army. Her eldest brother, Fergus, was killed in action.

In a gesture to honor the military, Kate Middleton has decided that she would not toss her bouquet, but instead would lay her bouquet on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Queen Elizabeth feels it is a touching nod to the military. So after the Royal Wedding, on the way out of Westminster Abbey, Kate will be stopping to place her bouquet at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Whether you are carrying out old traditions or starting new ones, as Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon did, your wedding day is a reflection of all the things that are important to you. As a DeKalb wedding planner, I am dedicated to helping you with all the details of your special day. As a bride, you deserve to relax and enjoy your wedding and reception and Such an Event can help.

I invite you to contact Such an Event at 630-689-3181 or email suchanevent@yahoo.com, for a complimentary consultation with a DeKalb wedding planner.

You deserve a wedding that is everything you have dreamed it would be and Such an Event can help.

Royal Wedding: It’s Almost Here! April 20, 2011

The royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is April 29th at Westminster Abbey in London. Their wedding is almost 30 years after the wedding of Prince William’s parents, Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles of Wales, who were married on July 29, 1981 at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The wedding of Lady Diana and Princes Charles was televised and watched by an audience of 750 million viewers while 600,000 million people lined the streets just to try and catch a glimpse of Lady Diana. The wedding of Lady Diana and Prince Charles became widely known as a “fairytale wedding”. It is estimated that the Royal Wedding 2011 will be watched by two billion people.

On October 19, 2010, while on a trip to Kenya, East Africa, Prince William proposed to Kate at the Lewa Wildlife Conservatory, which is one of Prince William’s favorite spots. The couple has asked that in place of traditional wedding gifts that donations are made to charities instead. They have established a charity named the Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton Charitable Gift Fund, which focuses on a variety of charities.

Following the wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey, the couple will travel to Buckingham Palace where they will attend a luncheon hosted by the Queen. An expected 1900 guests will be in attendance at ceremony at the Abbey. The luncheon will have approximately 600 in attendance, and in the evening, Prince Charles will give a private dinner for approximately 300 people, which will be followed by dancing.

There is a lot of care going into the planning and execution of William and Kate’s royal wedding. It’s hard to imagine, but there was a little more than 6 months from the date of William and Kate’s engagement to their wedding date. Every detail will be handled with the highest of care. As a certified wedding planner, I treat every wedding like a royal wedding overseeing every detail. So whether you are having a wedding for 30 or 3,000 of your closest friends and family, Such an Event, DeKalb’s premier wedding planning service, will handle all the details of your special day so you can relax and enjoy the wedding of your dreams.

I invite you to contact Such an Event, DeKalb’s premier wedding planning service. Call 630-689-3181 or email suchanevent@yahoo.com, today for a complimentary consultation with a certified wedding planner.

Let Such an Event make your event everything you dreamed it would be.

Kate Middleton’s Engagement Ring April 18, 2011

Prince William presented Kate with the royal engagement ring consisting of an 18 karat white gold setting containing a 12 carat oval shape Ceylon Sapphire surrounded by 14 round diamonds. Kate Middleton’s engagement ring is stunning. Diana had chosen the ring as her engagement ring after a dinner with Charles at Windsor Castle. Princess Diana had selected the ring, simply because she thought it was beautiful. Prince William felt it was his way of making sure that his mother did not miss out on the excitement that he and Kate were going to spend the rest of their lives together.

The history of engagement rings dates back to the Roman times. It is said that the engagement ring is worn on the ring finger of the left hand because according to an Egyptian myth, it the ring finger on the left hand contained a vein that runs straight to the heart. Engagement rings come in all shapes and sizes. Some engagement rings have been handed down for generations. Some engagement rings contain diamonds and some contain other stones like rubies, emeralds or sapphires, like Kate Middleton’s engagement ring.

Often times, the engagement ring is complimented with a wedding ring. At which time, the wedding ring goes on the ring finger first and then the engagement ring. The engagement ring is a symbol of the promise of marriage, while the wedding ring is a symbol eternal love and devotion. Originally worn by wives only, wedding rings became customary for both husbands and wives during World War II when couples were marrying and soldiers were going off to war. Both husband and wife wore wedding rings as a symbol of their eternal love and commitment. Today, wedding rings have become a symbol of the meaning “I do.”

 As you begin to plan your wedding, you will realize that there are many traditions that are incorporated into the wedding itself. As a certified wedding planner, Such an Event can help incorporate those traditions that would make a simple wedding an extraordinary wedding. Such an Event is currently providing wedding planning service to the DeKalb, Illinois area.

I invite you to call 630-689-3181 or email suchanevent@yahoo.com, for a complimentary consultation of the services Such an Event can provide that will fit your budget.

Let Such an Event make your event everything you dreamed it would be.

You’re Engaged! Congratulations! Now What? April 15, 2011

He’s popped the big question and you said yes.  You’re engaged! Congratulations! Now what?

The first thing is to tell all your family and friends of the exciting news.  They usually ask questions like “have you set a date yet?” or “how did he propose?”  The first couple of weeks of your engagement are very exciting, because everyone loves hearing good news.

Once the announcement has been made, it’s time to start planning your wedding.  Maybe you’ve dreamt of your wedding day since you were a little girl, or maybe you didn’t even think about it until now.  Organizing your timeline makes planning your wedding a little easier.  As a DeKalb Certified Wedding Planner, here are the first basic steps to help in your planning:

1.  GUEST LIST

Our first reaction is to include everyone, but then the reality sets in of how many people can we actually afford to invite.  Keeping your list manageable should not be such an overwhelming task.  Divide your guest list into sections and have your fiancé and both sets of parents review the list.

A.    Immediate family and close friends that are important to you and your fiancé and should be included.
B.    Distant relatives, friends and co-workers that you and your fiancé would like to include if your budget allows.

2.  SETTING YOUR DATE

Determine the date you would like to have as your wedding date and then have two back up dates selected as well.  There is always the possibility that your first date may not be available for the ceremony or the celebration.

3.  BUDGET

Try and make a list including everything from your dress, invitations and your reception and establish how much you intend on spending on each detail.  This too, should be broken down like you did with your guest list by sections.

A.   What is most important to include
B.     What you would like to include

As a DeKalb Certified Wedding Planner, Such an Event can offer areas to skimp and areas to spend, for example, the limo versus the photographer.  The photographer would be on the most important list and the limo would be on the like to include list.  In budgeting for your wedding, it is surprising how fast your expenses can add up.  Such an Event can help in taking a lot of the stress out of planning your wedding.  As a DeKalb Certified Wedding Planner, I can customize a package for you.

I invite you to call Such an Event, a DeKalb Certified Wedding Planner, for a complimentary consultation of the services we can provide 630-689-3181 or email at suchanevent@yahoo.com.

Let Such an Event make your event everything you dreamed it would be.