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As a wedding event planner, it is always fun to unexpectedly come across a wedding or special event being set up.  Recently, I was traveling in Spain and our hotel had one of the most beautiful outdoor wedding locations I had ever seen.  I saw that they were hosting this wedding using white wedding décor which of course sparked the idea for this blog that describes various wedding decorating ideas.

First let’s discuss outdoor wedding locations and why this site in particular stood out as one of the prettiest I have ever seen.  Situated on the Mediterranean, the St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort has a stunning view of the ocean from their large lawn where the wedding was held.  They also have a path with bougainvillea archways that is beautiful for bride and groom pictures.

Other wonderful hotel features in respect to fabulous outdoor wedding locations is the grand patio where cocktails were held.  This terrace is located just off of the main bar of the hotel and is beautifully furnished with outdoor furniture.  Therefore, you can save some money and not bring in any of your own furniture (other cost-saving wedding ideas can be found in Budget Bash).

Finally, as a wedding event planner, I felt completely at ease speaking with the catering department as they were setting up the event, and I got the sense that the hotel is very accommodating and understands the task at hand in making the wedding day special for the bride and groom.  In addition, the food and service I experienced at the hotel were among the best I have had at any hotel.

Now for some wedding decorating ideas I picked up while watching the hotel set up the white wedding décor for this wedding.

• Use smaller tents and put them together creating individual spaces or rooms versus one large tent.  Plus the bonus of using smaller tents is that you can leave off one corner and create an outside lounge or dancing area.
• Keep costs down with your lounge by using just votives on the coffee tables or simple white cymbidium orchids in votive glasses. (Check out other easy inexpensive décor ideas in Budget Bash – Simply Fabulous Events on a Budget.)

As a wedding event planner, I really liked the idea that they used sand as filler for the flower vase instead of colored glass or rocks.  This is a great white wedding décor idea incorporating the location with the wedding.

Other wedding decorating ideas include:

• Use different types of flowers and vases on the tables for an eclectic look and a contrasting color such as black for an accent color.

• Cover the chairs with white chair covers to give a clean and uniform style to the event.
• Bring in some fun décor pieces like these 2’ diameter-sized large round candle holders and intersperse them around the reception area.

I hope you found these wedding decorating ideas interesting and can possibly incorporate them with your white wedding décor.  As I mentioned above, the hotel in Mardavall was spectacular and I would consider one of the prettiest outdoor wedding locations I have seen.

Until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun & economical to all!

Today I went to interview a professional wedding photographer for my wedding occurring next year, and it sparked an idea to share my experience with my readers.  As a wedding event planner, why not provide some wedding photography tips and a wedding photography checklist to help another fellow bride with her wedding?

I think it is important when you are researching a professional wedding photographer to let your groom in on the experience. (Based upon the fact that he’s interested!)  My fiancée happens to be a professional photographer so he has a vested interest in this part of the wedding.

Therefore, take a look at different photographers’ portfolios, ask your friends, relatives, your wedding event planner for references as well as research online at various wedding sites that offer suggestions and wedding photography tips when you are first selecting your photographer.

Next, go and interview your potential photographer like I did today (well, I didn’t really interview Michael since I have worked with him as a wedding event planner on other weddings)!  It’s important that you and your fiancée are comfortable with your photographer so that you will look relaxed and happy in your pictures no matter what happens at the party.

Discuss with your professional wedding photographer what type of pictures you are looking for.

• Do you want wedding portraits or journalistic-styled pictures?
• Do you want black and white and color shots?
• What type of wedding photography package do they offer?

Prior to the meeting, you should create a wedding photography checklist to help you focus in on hiring the right type of photographer for you and your fiancée.

Other wedding photography tips to think about include providing the photographer with the name of your other vendors, such as the DJ, wedding event planner and florist since many times they work together at other weddings and will talk amongst themselves as to what important shots should be captured that day.  (For additional tips on hiring your photographer as well as other vendors checkout pages 32 to 35 in Budget Bash.)

Also, very important, well in advance of your wedding, create a wedding photography checklist for your wedding day.  Remember to include and write down which type of family shots you want and who you want in them, ceremony shots, bridal room shots, candid pictures during cocktails and the reception and party shots to name a few.

Keep in mind where you’re getting married (indoors or outdoors) as well as the time of day.  You want to make sure that your photographer knows the people you want photographed by face and/or name so you might want to consider making a “facebook” for your photographer.  All of these elements are just the tip of the iceberg when you start to generate your checklist, and this is why you want to start early with your list and then continue to add to it up until your wedding day.

I hope you found these wedding photography tips helpful for when you start your selection of a professional wedding photographer.  It is not only important to create a wedding photography checklist during the selection process but also one for the wedding itself.

Until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun & economical to all!

When you buy a wedding dress, there are quite a few things to consider with wedding dress designs.  What I thought I would share with you are some wedding dress tips that I learned while in the process of buying my wedding dress.

1.    One of the first wedding dress tips you should consider is to keep an open mind.  Since there are so many wedding dress styles available, even before you go to buy a wedding dress, you can easily be overwhelmed.

I was very specific about the type of wedding dress I was going to wear.  I swore I was going to buy a tea length wedding dress that was vintage, very 50’s, and ended up purchasing a mermaid wedding dress.  Go figure!  Therefore, don’t be surprised if you end up trying on something you thought you would never wear and end up loving it.

2.    Go with your gut.  Once you try on the dress and it looks fabulous on you, then you are done shopping and you don’t need to continue looking at various wedding dress designs.  You will stress out and make yourself crazy if you start comparing your dress with others you see in magazines, stores and online.

3.    Before you buy a wedding dress, determine what your budget is.  When I was researching various wedding dress styles, I telephoned the manufacturer to learn where the dress was sold locally.  I then called the store to find out what the price was to determine if the dress was in my budget.  Don’t discount a dress if it is very inexpensive, again go try it on, you might be pleasantly surprised.

4.    On a tight budget? Then once you have an idea of wedding dress styles and what type of wedding dress looks good on you, check out eBay, wedding dress consignment stores, thrift stores, sample sales and in some cities, you can rent your wedding dress as well.  I knew someone who once stumbled upon a garage sale and there, hanging on the garage, was her wedding dress!  (For a sample wedding budget check out page 8 in Budget Bash.)

5.    Some other wedding dress tips to keep in mind are to remember that you want to be comfortable on your wedding day.  Never in a million years did I think I would be comfortable in a mermaid wedding dress but was pleasantly surprised when I tried it on and not only did it fit perfectly but it was also easy to move around in.

6.    Also, remember not all wedding dress designs will fit you perfectly especially in the dress length.  Therefore, leave yourself a few months for alterations.  If you have to order the dress, then tag on another 6 months leaving yourself with at least an 8 months lead time for manufacturing and altering the dress prior to your wedding day.

Of course, I can’t show you my dress, wouldn’t be fair to my fiancée.  However, it’s an off-white mermaid wedding dress and I love it!  Until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun & economical to all!

Here are a couple of pictures to illustrate wedding flower centerpieces using pink wedding flowers.  Wedding flower arrangements vary in price and when you are on a budget, it is important to think about what types of flowers to use for your wedding as well as the quantity of flowers in each wedding flower arrangement.

When thinking about what type of wedding flower centerpieces you would like to have at your wedding, try and coordinate the colors of your wedding with your wedding flower arrangements.  One simple inexpensive wedding flower arrangement using pink wedding flowers is the above flower arrangement using a pink cymbidium orchid and submerging it in water with votive candles and pink rose petals surrounding it.

In Budget Bash, I give detailed instructions on how to create this wedding flower arrangement.  It is an inexpensive way to create an elegant look on your table and you can make these type of wedding flower centerpieces on your own.   Plus you can reuse the vase, rocks and votive candle holders again for other events you may throw after your wedding.

Using all pink wedding flowers as your centerpieces gives you the options to use pink hydrangeas or pink roses.  It is less expensive to use all pink hydrangeas for wedding flower arrangements because they are larger and use more room in the vase as oppose to pink roses.  An added bonus using hydrangeas for your wedding flower arrangement is that the flower itself dries so beautifully and you can make pretty wreaths with the dried flowers as another reminder of your special day.

Add some color to your pink wedding flowers by wrapping the inside of the glass container with a tea leaf or other such greenery.  Another idea for your wedding flower centerpieces is to place some contrasting colored rose petals around the vase.  If you are considering an evening wedding, add votive candles to create a romantic soft look to your wedding flower arrangement.

Another idea for your wedding flower arrangements is to use succulent flowers and intersperse them with pink wedding flowers such as cymbidium orchids or roses.  What is great about using succulents is that you can then keep the plant after the wedding and have a living reminder of your special day.  Either re-plant the succulents in bigger pots or your backyard if you have one and watch your wedding reminder continue to flourish and grow as your marriage does!

I hope you picked up some ideas for wedding flower centerpieces using pink wedding flowers.  You can keep your costs down with your wedding flower arrangements by using simple floral decor such as all hydrangeas or submerge cymbidium orchids and surround the wedding flower arrangement with rose petals and votive candles.

Until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra:  make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun and economical for all!

In my previous post I discussed some of the preliminary steps when planning a wedding reception and thought I would now provide more detail in regards to the wedding planning budget and determining a wedding planning checklist since most often the two are intertwined.

It is always best when determining your wedding planning budget to start with an initial number and decide what elements you want t include at your wedding reception.  For example, I am working with a bride right now who had a preliminary budget in mind and found her wedding reception venue.  From there she was able to create her wedding planning checklist to include the elements most important to her.

Thus, with an $18,000 wedding planning budget that included the ceremony, luncheon, open bar, cake and wedding reception venue, this bride had an additional $12,000 to spend for her wedding reception.  Her wedding planning checklist for the basic remaining elements for her wedding day include the following:

Wedding Reception Flowers – Her idea is a twist on the usual table flowers.  The bride wishes to use the money normally reserved for table flowers and have a simple inexpensive table arrangement and then donate the balance of the flower budget to charity.

Invitations, Escort Cards and Thank You Cards – This is an area in which you can save on your wedding planning budget by creating these elements yourself on the computer or use a local stationary store or on-line service.

DJ – A DJ is less expensive than hiring a band as well as musicians for the ceremony and cocktail hour.

Gown – Can always rent versus buying a gown and then not have to worry about cleaning or storage!

Make-up and Hair – So many choices since make-up and hair is so personal. Most often, the least expensive mode for hair and makeup is to go to the salon versus having someone come to the wedding reception venue that day.

Photographer – Always nice to have a professional, but if you are finding your budget running low and you know someone who can handle the job, then you can chance it.  My recommendation is to interview different photographers at all different rate levels and select the one that best suits your purposes.  Maybe if funds are low, the professional photographer can do the ceremony and family shots and then friends or family can take the wedding reception shots.

Officiate – Got to have one to make it legal.  No way around this no matter what your budget is.

Of course there are additional items that can be added to your wedding planning budget such as party favors, specialty lighting, room décor and specialty rentals.  (For more information and cost-saving tips about these items, check out Budget Bash.) However, the above listed items are the basics of a wedding planning checklist, and most often, including the wedding reception venue, comprise the majority of the wedding reception budget.

I hope you found these tips helpful and until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun and economical for all!

There are so many steps involved when planning a wedding.  In fact, it can be overwhelming and stressful for someone unfamiliar with special event planning.  I was asked by Great Places Directory to write about wedding planning and this article is the beginning of a series that will help explain how to plan a wedding.

One of the first steps when planning a wedding is to determine your wedding planning budget.  It is important to be realistic with this budget – don’t expect caviar and champagne and yet only spend what you would for hamburgers and beer!

No matter what type of wedding you are planning you must decide in the beginning how much you want to spend and stick to that budget.  This dollar amount will help you stay on track with your wedding and make your life a lot easier.  If something doesn’t fit in the budget, then you will need to take creative steps to find alternatives or eliminate it all together.  (More cost-saving tips can be found in Budget Bash.)

As a special event planning coordinator, I am often asked how to plan a wedding and when to start a wedding planning budget.  My first response is to consider all aspects of the wedding itself from the dress and invitations, to the venue, the menu as well as the guest favors.  In fact, here are some of the basic budget line items to consider when planning a wedding:

Dress
Invitations, escort cards and thank you cards
Food and Beverage
Venue Fees – including parking and ceremony site
Officiate Fee
Music for ceremony and reception
Flowers
Event Rentals such as a special chair, linen or upgraded china to name a few
Room Décor and upgraded lighting
Photographer and Videographer
Cake
Special event planning or wedding coordinator fee
Party Favors
Hair and Makeup
Special Event Insurance

With each one of these line items, there are numerous options a bride should take into account when she starts to consider how to plan a wedding for herself and her fiancée.  And don’t forget, these days many fiancées want to be part of the wedding planning process as well.

In the upcoming articles on this topic, I will provide more details on the wedding planning budget in efforts to help ease your stress when planning a wedding.  Wedding planning is a job within itself and it is important to consider all aspects of the special event planning budget so that your lasting wedding day memories are a joy to remember.  Until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun and economical for all!

Earlier this week I was at an event at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica CA.  I think this space offers some nice options as an outdoor wedding venue.

Wolfgang Puck Catering provided the delicious food at the event.  We were served a variety of interesting and creative appetizers from spicy tuna sushi cones to mint-pea soup with crap served in an egg shell as well as blue red velvet mini cupcakes for dessert.  Keeping with an outdoor wedding venue theme, they also served raspberry lychee nut lemonade.

It is important when selecting a wedding venue especially an outdoor wedding venue to consider the weather, time of year and your location.   You want to ensure you have an alternative if the weather is not cooperating on your special day.

Other important details to consider with an outdoor wedding venue are the cost of event rentals, catering and lighting to name a few as well as any noise or permitting issues.   More details on wedding planning on a budget can be found in Budget Bash – Simply Fabulous Events on a Budget.

What I liked about the Annenberg Community Beach House is that it offers many on-site alternatives whether for an outdoor wedding venue or an interior wedding space.  There is a private home on the property for rent as well as an outdoor pool area.   When considering wedding planning on a budget, you can easily plan a small wedding with lovely cocktails and appetizers with the spectacular Pacific Ocean just a few hundred feet away.

Other wedding planning on a budget options at this location include accessible guest parking as well as tables and chairs on site.  The floor to ceiling windows are a great decor bonus since the view to the ocean can’t be beat.

I hope you found these tips for wedding planning on a budget as well as my experience at this outdoor wedding venue helpful.  Until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun and economical to all!

As a wedding event planner, I wanted to share with you some ideas for you to think about when you are planning a wedding on a budget.  As I tell all my brides, when planning your wedding it is important to determine a budget and stick to it or you will find costs spiraling out of control.

Here is a simple yet elegant idea for you to use when planning a wedding on a budget.   Purchase different types of votive candle holders.  As a wedding event planner, I advise my clients to be on the lookout and pick up candle holders where ever they might find them, or if there is a party or craft store, check out the store’s inventory and don’t be afraid to mix and match color, shape or size.

Planning your wedding can take up to a year or more so that gives you plenty of time to find a variety of votive candle holders.  Go for an eclectic look, you don’t necessarily have to have the same type of votive holder on each table.

Using candlelight can add a new dimension of decor and romance when planning a wedding on a budget.  Also as you can see in this picture below, you can mix and match simple votive holders with ones that are more decorative and detailed.  The simple votive candle holders are in the background with the more detailed candle holders on the table.

Want to add some color to the table? One of the tips I suggest as a wedding event planner is to use rose petals which you can easily purchase in a variety of colors.  You can also arrange individual loose flowers on the table or you can use ribbon and tie these loose flowers together in small bunches. (For more easy and inexpensive flower arrangements, go to pages 59-65 in Budget Bash.)

Finally, when planning a wedding think about bringing something in that has sentimental value or meaning.   Maybe your family has a white decorative table linen that you can use as an overlay on the reception or cake table.  Setting up family pictures at the sign-in or reception tables is another idea especially if you can find pictures that date back two to three generations, all of which were taken on their respective wedding days.

I hope you find these simple ideas useful if you are planning a wedding on a budget.   Again, as a wedding event planner, I stress the importance of determining your budget in the beginning and maintaining it throughout the process of planning your wedding.

Until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra; make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun and economical to all!

When planning your wedding, no matter what season you are getting married in, consider white wedding flowers.  I was recently at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City and I saw a spectacular reception table centerpiece using white winter wedding flowers.  As a wedding event planner, I am always on the look out for new and different ways to incorporate wedding floral arrangements.

White wedding flowers always give the room an elegant look and feel.  You have so many options with adding color in other areas of the room as well as your wedding when you use white wedding floral arrangements.  A black and white wedding where the wedding party except for the bride is dressed in black stands out beautifully against an all white decorated room.

When planning your wedding, consider bringing in color in other areas of your wedding reception such as the wedding cake or room lighting.  If you dress your bridal party in black, you can compliment them with a black and white fleur-de-lis pattern on the wedding cake.

Want a winter wonderland feel to the room? Add blue up-lighting to the walls and include a white dance floor with a gobo to illuminate it.  (More special event lighting ideas can be found starting on page 26 in Budget Bash.)

As a wedding event planner, I enjoy seeing other industry work especially when I am traveling.  This past weekend, while I was staying at the Waldorf-Astoria I happen to snap this picture incorporating orchids used as winter wedding flowers.  I am sure these wedding floral arrangements were very expensive but you also have to consider how simplistic they are considering only white flowers are being used.

Common white wedding flowers used in these arrangements are white roses and white hydrangeas.  To give these wedding floral arrangements some depth, it appears that green cymbidium orchids were used as well.  What makes these arrangements using winter wedding flowers so extravagant and expensive are the amount of flowers used with no green fillers.

Looking to emulate these white wedding flowers when planning your wedding?  Start by making the top part of the centerpiece smaller.  Instead of wrapping white orchids from the base of the flower tree to the top, use white birch branches or better yet, wrap white French ribbon around the base that holds these flower balls.  Instead of hanging white orchids from the top of the centerpieces, use clear glass beads.

On my next post, I will provide some more wedding event planner tips on using white wedding flowers to create wedding floral arrangements on a budget.  Until then, remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun & economical to all!

I was recently hired as a wedding coordinator for a wedding that occurred over the Valentine’s Day weekend and I wanted to share with you the options you have with white wedding flowers for your wedding table décor.

For this wedding, we used white wedding flowers since the wedding day occurred one day before Valentine’s Day.  As a wedding coordinator, I always advise my clients to try and stay clear of major holidays in which flowers are an important element such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or even Christmas.  Wholesale flower costs always increase temporarily during these times of the year.

However, wedding dates are set and as a wedding coordinator we have to work around them and provide our brides with the most for their money.  For this wedding, the wedding table décor consisted of white flowers since the theme was Winter Wonderland.

White roses and hydrangeas were used along with white votive candles wrapped with lemon leaves and white ribbon.  In addition, white floating and pillar candles were part of the wedding table décor. The linen was white sequined and silver napkins were tied with white ribbon.  (For more theme ideas including napkin folding instructions check out my easy-to-read book, Budget Bash.)

The Winter Wonderland theme worked perfectly for this past weekend since Valentine’s Day was the day after the wedding and we were able to avoid using the expensive red and pink roses usually sent on Valentine’s Day.  In fact for added flower décor, we interspersed crystals throughout the centerpieces as well.

We took a cue from the guest wedding table décor and incorporated the same look and feel for the sweetheart table using heavily clustered white wedding flowers along with floating white candles and clear crystals as seen in the picture above.

The place card table for guest seating also illustrated our white Winter Wonderland theme with a white silk table linen and a tall crystal tree wrapped with white wedding flowers.  Clear crystal beads as well as battery operated votive candles hung from the tree to enhance the wedding table decor.  The guest cards were white and for the party gift, white cake boxes were filled with wedding cake for guests to take home.

One of the important roles of a wedding coordinator is to make sure that all the elements of the wedding flow from the invitation to the ceremony and finally to the guest reception.  Sometimes, as in this wedding, last minute changes are made.

Even though the original theme was a black and white art deco theme used on the invitations, we were able to coordinate the new Winter Wonderland theme within two days of the wedding.  We did this by substituting the colored flowers for white wedding flowers, exchanging black and white linen for white sequined linen, black napkins for silver and black chiavari chairs for crystal clear chiavari chairs.  And no one ever knew!

I hope you found this article about white wedding flowers and wedding table décor helpful for your wedding day.  To learn more cost-saving and helpful wedding planning tips, simply pick up your copy of Budget Bash – Simply Fabulous Events on a Budget and remember to keep in mind the Budget Bash mantra; make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun & economical to all!