BEAUTIFUL WEDDING BOUQUETS

If you have decided to announce your upcoming marriage at an engagement party, here are a few ideas for your party:

Cost Efficient –

Outdoors - Celebrate your engagement at the beach, the pool or with a backyard barbeque! Guests will enjoy sharing in your joy when they get to spend the afternoon or evening with family and friends. Simply throw together a fun evening for everyone – it’s inexpensive and entertaining.

Indoors – An elegant open house is another stress free way of sharing your joy with everyone.  Since people are in and out all evening, you won’t have to worry about keeping everyone entertained at once. You can provide some homemade hors d’oeuvres and voila!

A Little More Expensive –

            Champagne and hors d’oeuvres – Book a location and party the night away! This type of party provides quite a few options. You can give the night your own personal theme (maybe it would be a prelude to what’s to come at your wedding) based on those little things you and your fiancé share – a favorite movie, a favorite song or a favorite venue – be creative!

            Cocktail Party – Let your guests star as your favorite couples from history – and you star as your favorite couple – yourselves! Create your own cocktails, use outrageous serving glasses and make your bartender ready to earn his wages! Your friends and family will love this exciting engagement party where they can dance, relax and enjoy.

Formal Engagement –

            Wine tasting/microbrewery – Send all your guests invitations to a local winery or brewery and make a party of it. Announce your engagement in fun, interesting ways, like embossed napkins or engraved shot glasses. Serve wine or beer all night long with your favorite appetizers and when you pick a favorite taste, see if your winery creates personal labels for you so you can age your own brand name brew!

Your wedding style is very important.  Are you looking to do a casual wedding or a formal one? You need to decide what style fits you and your fiancé best so you can make out your invitations and inform your wedding planner. Here are a few questions that will help you determine your style:

1.)   Are you budgeted for a Joan Rivers affair or an evening with Jimmy Buffet?

2.)   Is your wedding in the morning, afternoon or evening?

3.)   Where are you having your wedding?

Ø      CASUAL/INFORMAL – You can wear a wedding dress or a bathing suit and still have a casual wedding. If the groom is in a suit or a linen shirt and pants, casual is definitely a possibility. If you’re on a limited budget, casual might be perfect for you. Attendants, male or female, are not a necessity. Casual is also nice for an afternoon wedding. It gets warm in the afternoon hours and guests tend to feel uncomfortable in dress attire, so be considerate of their comfort. If your wedding is outdoors, casual is perfect. Sundresses and light, airy pants are much more enjoyable outdoors. If you chose a casual style, make sure you put any specifics on your invitations (i.e. casual attire – no shorts) if you have any! You can have a casual reception like a barbeque or garden party and everyone will fit right in. Or, take your guests to a restaurant following your ceremony (see reception themes/ideas).

Ø      DRESSY/SEMI FORMAL – If the bride is in a wedding dress and the groom is in a tux or suit, you can choose a dressy style. It’s not quite as cost efficient as a casual wedding, but you have a lot of options. Semi formal usually refers to two to six bridesmaids and ushers/groomsmen, a maid/matron of honor and a best man. Guests wear dresses/skirts or dress pants. If you’re having a morning wedding or an evening wedding, dressy fits in perfectly. It can work for a garden, beach or church, whatever you choose. Semi-formal receptions are usually followed by a buffet or cocktail style reception (see reception themes/ideas).

Ø      FORMAL – This is the hardest style to achieve. Most guests aren’t quite sure what you mean by “formal” so be specific. “Black tie” can also mean a lot of things. Your guests need to know exactly what you want them to wear, so be blunt about it. You can write “Black and white formal affair” on your invitations if you want your guests to only come in black or white. You can write “Cocktail” if you want your guests to be comfortably dressy. Just make them aware of what you want so they are prepared and don’t show up looking out of place. Formal is perfect for a church, hotel, banquet hall or garden.  Most formal weddings have four to eight bridesmaids and ushers/groomsmen and a maid/matron of honor and a best man.  Formal weddings are usually followed by formal receptions, which could be an indoor buffet style or sit down dinner (see reception themes/ideas).

Picking a date and time can be quite a task to undertake. Here are a few things to consider while choosing your date and time.

o       Remember, a lot of people choose the weekends for nuptials, so you need to reserve your locations earlier than if you choose a weekday

o       Weekends and holidays are more expensive than other days

o       Florida is exceptionally hot in the summer months, particularly June, July and August, so if you are getting married any of those months, choose an evening or morning wedding over an afternoon one

o       Try to avoid tourist seasons – especially if you’re having a beach wedding

DETERMINING YOUR BUDGET

Budgeting for a wedding can put quite a strain on everyone. Once you determine who will be financing the endeavor, you need to set yourself a number you can live with. Remember, the more people you invite, the more expensive it will be.

            If you want to do a ceremony and reception, a rule of thumb is this:  Budget yourself $100 per person for everyone attending your wedding and reception. If you budget $100 each, with Allen Weddings, that should sufficiently cover your ceremony and reception with a buffet style dinner.

o       A ceremony followed by a reception for a wedding party of 10 and 20 guests - $3,000

o       A ceremony followed by a reception for a wedding party of 10 and 50 guests - $6,000

o       A ceremony followed by a reception for a wedding party of 10 and 75 guests - $8,500

o       A ceremony followed by a reception for a wedding party of 10 and 100 guests - $10,000

o       A ceremony followed by a reception for a wedding party of 10 and $200 guests - $20,000

            It is extremely difficult selecting your guest list for a wedding – especially if you’re on a budget. Here are some tips to help you decide just who you want getting down on your dance floor:

LIMITED BUDGET

o       Keep the guest list minimal

o       Stick to family and close friends

o       Apologize to others who want to attend, informing them it is a small affair and you couldn’t invite everyone you wanted to.

o       If you have a large extended family and need to cut corners, consider a small intimate ceremony with immediate family only and a larger “party” at a later date when your budget is a little bigger. Maybe someone in the family would be willing to throw you a congratulatory party a few weeks after the wedding.

LET’S PARTY

o       Invite everyone you want to attend and set up an early RSVP date

o       Remember, invitations are usually for an invitee and a guest, so any single attendees may bring someone else.

o       The best parties are those who have the most fun people attending. Invite 5 or 6 people who have a personality that has it’s own zip code. They will keep the dance floor hopping and give the party some gusto when you’re too tired to keep it going yourself.

SELECTING YOUR CEREMONY

Debating between a religious and a civil ceremony? Whichever you decide upon, Allen Weddings can fulfill your request. We have several non-denominational ministers on board, as well as a civil officiant/notary, a catholic priest and a rabbi, so we can perform any type of wedding you choose. If you wish to use your own minister, we welcome that as well.

            Also, many couples have some idea of what they want said during the ceremony. They may want to include a poem or a quote; however, many times these additions subtract from the importance of the ceremony rather than add to it.  They are distracting to the guests and break up the ceremony. Trust your officiant. He or she has been doing weddings for several years and has a feel for what will work well or won’t. If an officiant refuses to add something into his or her presentation, don’t be discouraged, they are thinking of your best interests.

Ah, choosing a venue can be so stressful. Deciding where you want to have your ceremony and reception and booking it for the date and time you have chosen can be an ordeal in itself.  There are several things to consider. Here is a brief list of wheres, whys and why nots.

o       Beach – people love getting married on a beach, and it can be absolutely beautiful; but be careful. You don’t want to choose a beach that is going to be packed with sunbathers during your ceremony! Choose a beach with less traffic.

Why –  A beach is casual and fun, has a great background for photos and more; and what’s better, it’s affordable!
(Even FREE under most circumstances)

Why not - Remember, beaches are not good locations for ceremonies with an exceptional amount of guests. Children will get bored and want to play, if the ceremony is too long, and guests will get overwhelmed in the heat, particularly in the middle of the day.

o       Garden – A garden can be a beautiful place for a wedding. Allen Tropical Garden is made for wedding nuptials with an intimate feel. Tropical foliage adds to the romantic feel of a garden ceremony. Botanical Gardens are also often a nice choice for larger groups.

Why – A garden is a nice cool, relaxing atmosphere in which your guests can enjoy your ceremony. They can also, depending on the weather, enjoy an outdoor reception.

Why not – Gardens are not always built for large groups, so make sure when selecting you find out how many people your choice garden can accommodate. (Allen Weddings Tropical Garden accommodates up to 75).

o       Church ­– A church wedding is a beautiful, formal or semiformal way of celebrating your life together.  Churches can usually accommodate large groups and have a way of making your wedding seem more formal.

Why – Churches allow you a traditional wedding with the comfort level of your choice. Our Historic Chapel is a quaint little church with a small town feel. Churches also provide bridal rooms and some have reception rooms available.

Why not – Churches can be difficult to work with, and expensive. Many churches require you to be of their denomination to use their facilities as a venue, others request a lofty amount of money to secure their location. Be sure you check with the church you’re considering about its rules and regulations before making a deposit. The historic chapel we typically use does not have these rules and is affordable too!

o       Park – Parks are so beautiful, relaxing and fun, and they are open to the public. Often a park is a beautiful choice for a wedding, giving you the opportunity to hold your reception in a pavillioned area near your ceremony site.

Why – Parks have a lot of props in them that you don’t have to rent on your own – picnic tables, gazebos, park benches and more. They are nice and open and there are activities for the young ones as well.

Why not  - Parks can be busy with walkers, joggers and children. Sometimes an open venue like this makes it difficult for your guests to hear and concentrate on the reason they’re there – you!

o       Personal Homes – A lot of couples decide to hold their ceremony at their home or at the home of a family member/friend. Homes have their ups and downs.

Why –  This choice is very cost efficient and makes it easy to decorate and set up since time is not an issue. But you need to be considerate of the homeowner. You don’t want his or her home to get torn up by your guests.

Why not – Homes are not usually set up to hold large groups. Remember, everyone needs a place to sit and enjoy their dinner, or even to see and enjoy the reception. You want to be able to keep your group together so they don’t scatter into personal bedrooms while at your wedding. It’s impolite to visit a room without the homeowner’s permission. If choosing a house as a venue, you may want to consider one that has a large bottom floor with a bathroom and bedrooms upstairs, so you can rope off that section.

o       Hotels – Hotels can be a great choice for locations. They have their own beaches, their own banquet halls, and rooms for your guests to stay in if they want to enjoy the weekend away from home!

Why – Hotels are very efficient and have some idea of what it will take to work with you. Things are very accommodating, and you can walk from your wedding to your reception. Also, if your guests plan on drinking, they won’t have to drive home, they can stay at the hotel.

Why not – Hotels have very strict regulations. Most hotels restrict the catering choices. They will not allow you to bring in outside caterers and require a food and beverage minimum. Hotels also restrict the hours on their facilities because they are located close to the guest rooms, so there is a noise regulation. Some hotels charge parking to those who have not paid for rooms for the night.

o       Banquet Halls – Banquet halls are another option for a location for nuptials. They are often in a good location for your guests and make your planning easier. They can be used for both ceremonies and receptions.

Why – Banquet halls are spacious and can accommodate parties of any size. You can have your wedding in one area and your reception in another without changing venues. Most are already decorated for your convenience.

Why not – Banquet halls are often expensive and don’t give you much time to set up for your event.  You purchase your time by the hour, so you need to be out by the regulated time.  Check with any banquet halls you are interested in to see what their rules and regulations include. Under most circumstances, you have to use the catering that the hall provides.

o       Rental Halls – Rental halls are a great choice for a reception and give you many options.

Why - Rental halls are more cost efficient than banquet halls or hotels and generally have very few time restrictions. They allow you to decorate in your choice colors/themes and provide tables and chairs.

Why not – Unless you hire a company like Allen Weddings to take care of it for you, you are responsible for set up prior to and clean up after your reception. Some do have restrictions such as no alcohol and no date change. Halls do not always have kitchen facilities or sound systems for use.

o       Boats – Many couples choose an evening on the water for their ceremony and/or reception. It’s a beautiful way to celebrate – sailing off into the sunset with the love of your life.

o       Why – Being on the water is relaxing and enjoyable. Your guests will love an evening cruise following your ceremony and the sea has many wonderful creatures to look for. Allen Weddings provides Boat Weddings for two to 280 passengers; you can choose from a small sailboat to a large dining yacht. Boats provide many possibilities. Dining yachts generally have a good choice for entrees and tend to make for a memorable evening.

o       Why not – Boats do have their downfalls. Remind your guests that they will be on a cruise for up to 4 hours, depending on the boat wedding you choose. Though there are facilities aboard, there is no land access once the ship has departed. Boats, just like every other venue, have their restrictions. Some will allow you to decorate, but others do not, and some do not allow you to bring your own food aboard. Check with your captain to see what you need to do.

Maid/Matron of Honor and Best man– You need people you can trust; hands down, no negotiations. These two or three people need to help you where you need help and keep you calm when your anxiety has hit an all time high. Make sure your maid of honor or best man isn't higher maintainance than you are. Don’t choose someone you don’t know well or someone you know has too much going on in his or her life. If your best friends happen to be unreliable or exceptionally busy, have a talk with them. Let them know you really want them to be in your wedding, but the job requires a lot of time and effort and you don’t want to stretch them too thin. Give them a list of things you’re going to need help with so they can see exactly what it takes. When you make this important offer to someone, they need to go into it knowing what you expect from them. Don’t feel bad if someone turns you down. Be glad that the person wants the day to be yours and doesn’t want to diminish it’s importance with their own busy schedule. Be straightforward. These people are your friends. They should already know their strengths and weaknesses and you should be close enough to them to be able to tell them.

Bridesmaids/ Groomsmen

            These people have much smaller roles to play in your wedding. Duties include:

o       Showing  up to your showers and parties,

o       ordering and altering their clothing in a reasonable amount of time

o       showing up for the wedding (on time) ready to love and support you.

            It’s not necessary to have the same amount of bridesmaids as ushers, but it does make your pictures look more balanced. Remember, you don’t have to ask every friend you ever had. Just let them know, you’ve decided to only select a certain number of people and they should understand.

Flower girl(s)/Ring bearer

            Remember, the younger the children are, the harder it is to get them to do what you want them to. So, though you may want your two year old niece or nephew in the wedding, it may not be practical. Also, don’t choose too many. Two of each is more than enough (you’ll see what we mean…)

 Here are some things to consider.

o       Does the child want to be in your wedding? Ask – they’ll tell you

o       Is the child old enough to follow orders? (4 and up is best)

Selecting your wedding parties’ attire is one of the most headache stimulating tasks imaginable. Remember that you’ll have your pictures to look back on forever and your bridesmaids and groomsmen are in most of them. Light and Bright colors show up much better than blacks and dark hues. Here are some tips and things for you to ask yourself:

DRESSES - style

Short or long?

Remember, comfort is a factor

Look at your bridesmaid’s heights – which will be best for you?

Do you want your bridesmaids to have something they might wear again?

Fun, simple or extravagant?

What does your personality reflect? Make sure your wedding looks like it is 100% you!

Letting them choose – DON’T

Letting your bridesmaids choose their actual dress without limitations is a big no-no.

They don’t always choose what looks best on them.

They may choose something you hate. It’s your wedding day and you need to LOVE IT!

It’s hard to make a decision like that. Especially if you’re a real friend. If you leave it up to them, you’ll not only stress yourself out, you’ll stress them out too!

One dress or many different styles?

Think pictures. Your pictures will look much better if everyone looks alike.

If you have all sizes of girls, you need to look at your largest bridesmaid first. What looks good on her? You may want to take her out on her own shopping so she doesn’t feel bad about herself while shopping with your size 2 friends.

If your girls are different shapes, you may want to consider 2 styles, but make sure they look enough alike for guests to realize they all belong in your party.

Different styles on all the girls only work in a few cases. If you don’t fit in to one of these categories, we don’t recommend you try it. Why? Because it looks unorganized and mismatched.

Bridesmaids of all ages – different tops and one skirt look great for this bridal party. The older women can have sleeves or straps and the young ones halters or corsets. It looks fine because it’s age appropriate.

Using all different colors – sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. If you’re doing something really unique, feel free to try it, but we wish you luck.

Sign up for a dress registry.

If it’s available, do it. It will keep you organized and keep them in line.

If you are unable to go with your maids to try on the dresses, you know they’ll get the right thing because you registered.

It keeps hard to remember dress names and style numbers from getting changed into other names and numbers

It keeps you ORGANIZED.

DRESSES – color

Bright or Pastel?

What time of year is it? Your colors need to represent that.

Are your girls pale or do they have warm tones? Warm pale people up with warmer/richer colors.

Brighter colors show up better in your photos! Reds, Rubies, Pinks tend to work on the most people. It gives them pink in their cheeks and looks awesome. Oranges and Cinnamons are great too.

Two colors or one?  

Two colors are fine, as long as you don’t put your girls in two different colored dresses and stop there. Follow through with the theme. Put a ribbon in the opposite color around the girls so the colors tie in. Put both colored ribbons around the flower girl, and make sure the groomsmen’s ties correspond. Carry the two-toned theme into your reception.

What about more than two?

As long as it has a color story, we say go for it.

Use all the colors in the rainbow to brighten up your wedding

Or use all brights or pastels. Brights will make those photos look awesome!

One shade or more? Monochromatic

Shades can be a lot of fun. Pick one color and go with all its hues.

Ivory to sage, all the way to hunter green is a great color flow, especially for a garden wedding.

So can white to pink all the way to cranberry.

Go to the fabric store or paint store and look at what colors show the best runs.

Black or not?

We recommend not. Blacks are really hard to work with. They don’t give your wedding any color.

Blacks are dark and in the heat of Florida are very uncomfortable for your bridesmaids, especially during an outdoor wedding.

Black and white photos don’t turn out as well as color ones. With everyone on either side of the bride in black and her in white, she looks very pasty and sometimes the photos come out with an outline around her.

If your heart is set on black, request that your photographer use mainly black and white film.

TUXES, SUITS OR LINENS

Depends on how fancy you want it. Tuxes look awkward on the beach, but suits (with or without jackets) or linens look great.

Linens are more comfortable for everyone, so consider that.

If the bride is wearing ivory, make sure the groom and his men are too. Mixing the two is a big no-no. Whoever is wearing ivory looks DIRTY!

MOBS AND MOGS

Despite how you may feel about her, your future mother in law will be attending the wedding and will be in the photos with you. She may think she is the most fashionable person on the planet, but that doesn’t matter. Tell her what to wear. At least tell her what color.  Same thing with your own mother. They need to look like they fit in, not look like an older bridesmaid or an outrageous wedding guest.

The fact is, if you don’t tell them what to wear, they may show up in a hideous dress/color that you absolutely hate, and you’ll get out your photo album and relive the dread forever.

MOBs and MOGs can wear the same color, though the same dress may look awkward. They are on either side of you, so balance out the picture, remember. Think symmetry!

Here are some great options:

Champagnes are great on almost everyone and they come in so many different styles they’re plenty to choose from

Go monochromatic – if the girls are in a light color, recommend a darker hue of the same color for the mothers.

Black – a lot of mom’s just feel well hidden in it, and that’s fine, just don’t let them wear solid black. Recommend something with a light top and dark skirt, or a colorful jacket.

THE BRIDE AND GROOM

BRIDE

Wear what makes you feel beautiful. The truth is this: You will look your most beautiful when you feel your most beautiful. If you love your dress, you’ll feel like a queen.

Halter or strapless?

Try on both. Just because you don’t think you’ll like something, doesn’t mean you’ll feel the same once you have it on.

Halters are nice for both big busted and small busted people

Halters make people look taller, drawing everyone’s eyes up to the neckline.

Strapless dresses need to fit properly for you to see how they’re going to look.

Big and Puffy or small and simple?

Once again, choose for you (and your location)

Pick something you’re going to be comfortable in

Pick something you fall in love with.

GROOM

Now, this could be difficult. If your wedding is formal, then he needs a tux, but if it isn’t, there are options.  Remember ladies, this is his wedding day too and he just wants to be comfortable.

Grooms love the idea of linen pants and silk shirts. It's fun, it's casual and it's comfortable.

Most men won’t fight you on a suit, especially if they can remove the jacket when they get warm. He too, is going to look better if he’s happier, and comfort is bliss.

Makeup can be a big deal. There are a lot of things to consider when getting your makeup done for your big day (or doing it yourself).

o       Don’t make it too light. Most artists recommend a lighter shade than normal, but if your dress is a halter or strapless, your guests will be comparing the color of your face to the color of your neck and chest, so the closer they are, the better. You don’t want to look like a clown!

o       Don’t make it too thick. Remember, if you’re having your wedding outside (especially in Florida) it gets H-O-T! You don’t want to melt away.

o       Don’t do the drama queen! It’s your wedding day; you want to look more natural! Don’t look back at your photos in 30 years and regret choosing MACs new Purple and Green fad for your wedding day! Try that at Christmas or a fun party, stick to pinks, peaches, browns and taupes for your big day.