Kid Friendly Receptions

If you choose to invite children to your reception, here’s some ideas to make the event fun for them too.

Milk and cookie bar. Milk and cookies make everyone smile. Consider having a milk and cookie bar for your dessert. You can have white, chocolate and strawberry milk and a variety of cookies for dunking.

Signature “kid” drinks. Remember when you thought a “shirley temple” was a special treat. Ask your venue to offer kid friendly drinks, but be sure they are presented in a different glass to avoid confusion!

Coloring books and crayons. Any family friendly restaurant knows that occupied children make for more enjoyable dining. Consider presenting your younger guests with coloring books and crayons as a guest favor. Mom and Dad will thank you for your thoughtfulness!

“Kid” table. Conversation at the adult table during long dinner service can get pretty boring for a nine-year-old. When creating your seating arrangement, consider putting older children at a table in the middle of their parents. They’ll have a fun time interacting with kids their age while mom and dad talk to adults.

Finger food. While the audits will appreciate filet for dinner, children would be just as happy with chicken fingers. See if your caterer has kid friendly options – this could also be budget friendly.

Planning A Budget

Planning a budget for the wedding is one of the first tasks engaged couples need to complete. Here’s some advice on how to get started.

Who’s Got the Money? While the bride’s parents traditionally paid for the wedding costs, this is less common now. Most couples contribute to their wedding and both families assist if able. Have an honest conversation with both families to see what they are willing to contribute so that you’ll have a starting point to build from. Discuss what level of decision making they think their “gift” buys them.

How Much Does It Cost? Once you know how much money you are working with, it’s time to start dividing the pot. Think about what services, vendors and items you must have, or would like to have, and how much you need to allocate for each. This is a great time to prioritize your wish list. If you want extensive floral arrangements, you might need to consider less guest favors.

Where Is That Spreadsheet? Now that you know how much money you have, and how much you have mentally spent, it’s time to start planning and tracking the budget. If you’re lucky enough to have a full wedding account, consider stretching it further by putting it into an interest earning account. Just make sure it’s easily accessible as you begin to make deposits.

If you’ll be charging your wedding purchases, look for credit cards that offer points or airline miles that you can use for your honeymoon flights.

We Spent WHAT?! Regularly review your wedding budget with your fiance so that you are both on the same page. This is a great practice to get into as you start building budgets for your household too!

We offer some great savings when you bundle services. Want to learn more? Click here

Raise Your Glass

The Wedding Toast. A great tradition of well wishes for the new couple – and an event that often causes anxiety. Here’s some tips to ease your mind.

Who toasts the couple? A toast is usually given by the best man and maid of honor. If you choose, the parents hosting the event may also give a toast. Many couples will also give a toast to thank their guests for joining them. Of course, it’s your reception, so anyone of your choosing is acceptable as well. Create a timeline of who will be toasting and when. Consider how long your guests will be asked to listen to well wishes and how the toasts will impact dinner service. Your DJ will act as the MC to introduce each speaker and keep the timeline moving.

When do toasts occur? Most receptions follow a similar timeline of grand entrance, cake cutting, and toasts before dinner service begins. This allows your guests to focus on the messages without the distraction of wait staff. However, toasts can occur at anytime during the reception, between courses, after the meal – it’s your choice. Be sure to share your timeline with your vendors, such as photographers and videographers, so they are prepared to capture these great moments.

What is toasting etiquette? The toaster should stand during the toast. The bride and groom remain seating during all toasts. At the end of each toast, the bride and groom should smile and say thank you. Applause is not necessary.

If you will address your guests, both the bride and groom stand, regardless of which of you is speaking. It is acceptable for you to each address your friends and family.

What to say? Toasts should be fun and for public consumption. If you wouldn’t say it to Grandma, don’t say it in the toast (Grandma is likely seated at the first table).

Make the message heartfelt, but brief. You can always expand on your wishes on the wedding video. Listeners start to tune out after two minutes.

The MC will introduce you so it isn’t necessary to restate your name. You can let everyone know your relationship to the couple.

The toasts should mention both the bride and the groom, not focus on one exclusively.

Remember to invite the listeners to toast the couple at the conclusion of your toast.

Our DJs will coordinate the reception, including the toasts. Click here to learn more.

Photo Trend: Daddy's Little Girl

The bride and her father share some special moments on her wedding day. The walk down the aisle, the father/daughter dance and more recently the first look.

When a father sees his little girl as a grown bride can be quite a tender moment. Consider giving some thought as to how this will unfold. Will he see you as you come down the stairs from your childhood room? Will this moment happen in the bridal suite at the church? Can you create a moment just for the two of you? More brides are finding a way to share that special moment with Dad.

Interested in discussing your wedding photography? Click here.

Wedding Trend: Signature Drinks

Signature, or custom, drinks are a hot wedding trend. They are an affordable way to add your flair (think of them as liquid decorations). When choosing a drink to brand your reception, consider the following:

Name That Drink. Part of the fun of a signature drink is adding your stamp to it. Think of fun ways that you can work your first or last names into the drink.

Presentation is Key. A custom drink should match the glassware. A martini from a stein just doesn’t feel right. Make sure your venue has the appropriate stemware available.

Where To Start. Having a tropical honeymoon? Consider Margaritas as a base for your signature drink. Marrying a southern gent? Sweet Tea is a must have. Beach themed weddings often have a rum based custom drink. You can also use your favorite movies, music and more for inspiration.

Ready to start planning your wedding day? Click here to get started.

There’s a saying in Michigan; “If you don’t like the weather, wait ten minutes and it will change”. But your wedding day isn’t the time to have weather changes ruin your plans!Here are some things to consider as you plan your Michigan wedding.

Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall? While the weather may not always be predictable, there are some averages you can expect. Do you like warm summer days or the beauty of new fallen snow? Decide what your favorite weather is, and decide what time of year you’d like to be married. You’ll want to factor in prime wedding dates, travel plans foe out of town guests and work schedules too. Below are the averages for the metro-Detroit area.

Month Low High Precipitation

Jan 17.8° 31.1° 1.91″

Feb 20.0° 34.4° 1.88″

Mar 28.5° 45.2° 2.52″

Apr 38.4° 57.8° 3.05″

May 49.4° 70.2° 3.05″

Jun 58.9° 79.0° 3.55″

Jul 63.6° 83.4° 3.16″

Aug 62.2° 81.4° 3.10″

Sep 54.1° 73.7° 3.27″

Oct 42.5° 61.2° 2.23″

Nov 33.5° 47.8° 2.66″

Dec 23.4° 35.9° 2.51″

Plan for the unexpected. Averages are by no means guarantees. Unseasonably cool or warm weather may occur. If you are planning an outdoor ceremony, look for a venue that offers shady spots. Ask in advance if they offer patio heaters. You’ll want to have a backup location on site in case of precipitation too.

Don’t worry until it’s time to worry. Weather forecasts change often. Begin checking the outlook the week of your wedding, knowing that an accurate forecast is probably strongest a few days before the wedding. If there is a chance of showers, you can check the radar on most smart phones and make a determination close to ceremony time. Ask your venue how much notice they will need to move the ceremony indoors and plan accordingly.

Just have fun! Regardless of the weather conditions, you’re marrying your best friend. If you can remember that, you can handle whatever Mother Nature throws at you. And umbrellas can make beautiful wedding accessories.

Rain or shine, we’re ready to discuss your wedding plans. Click here to learn more.

You’re excited about wedding planning (as you should be), but your boss won’t be happy if your job suffers as a result. So what’s a working bride to do?! Read these tips to balance work and planning.

Get Organized! Appointment books, smart calendars and bridal planners are essential for a busy professional. Block out time for planning and prioritize what you will do when. If you need to speak with wedding professionals during the day, block out time during your lunch, commutes and during any downtime you have during the day. Color coding between professional and personal engagements will help you to better visualize how your time will be spent. For a copy of Metro Detroit’s ultimate wedding planner, click here.

Go With What You Know! Do you use google docs and calendars to keep track of your daily tasks and important notes? Color code project files at work? Whatever method you are accustomed to using daily will work well for you as you plan your wedding.

Schedule Downtime! It may seem counterintuitive, but you need downtime too. Go to a movie, have a nice dinner and don’t discuss wedding plans. It’s important not to let wedding planning take over. This is even more important when you are working on a big project. You can take a week off planning to focus on your career.

Multitask! It would never be a good idea to address your wedding invitations during a department meeting, but you can do that during your lunch hour. Look for little pieces of time you can claim for simple tasks that won’t interfere with your work duties.

Ask For Help! Marriage is a partnership; so is wedding planning. Ask your fiance to help handle whatever details you are comfortable sharing. We often meet with grooms that are in charge of the entertainment. If you have a bridesmaid or parent that offers to help, take them up on it.

Flex Your Time! If you have more vacation days than you will need for the wedding prep and honeymoon, speak to your boss about using a few hours each week to meet with vendors. Ask about working a few extra hours each day to get one afternoon off. Your boss will likely appreciate your commitment to focus during work hours and plan on personal time.

We offer appointments that fit your schedule. Click here to learn more.

Or call us at (248) 689-0777