We love the Holiday Season and are wishing you and your family and friends a wonderful Holiday! If you are traveling near or far be safe as it looks like we will have a White Christmas in Chicago.
Wedding Advice for Grooms
Staggered USA has arrived to the United States and wow do they have some great advice for Grooms. This is something all grooms should for sure add to their blog roll or google reader. Staggered USA brings grooms everything they need to know from what your best man's duties should be to tips for your wedding night speech.
Jewish Wedding Processionals
Wedding Processionals: Who Walks with Who Down the Aisle
A question I get asked a lot as a wedding consultant is what should the order of the processional be? It is a great idea to think about this in advance of your wedding rehearsal. While rehearsals are for that, rehearsing, it is important to have a plan in place before you arrive to your rehearsal. I go thru a worksheet with my clients so I know who is paired up with who so I know the order the bride and groom want when we are practicing.
What is the correct order of a receiving line?
As a wedding planner in Chicago, I get asked many questions by my clients. This was one I received last week that I waned to share with all the readers on my blog. "What is the correct order of a receiving line?" Receiving lines are a great way for you and your new spouse, your parents and your new parents to greet and welcome their guests following the ceremony or during the cocktail hour.
Chicago Style Hot Dogs for Your Chicago Wedding
I am a Chicago girl, born and raised. I graduated from DePaul University right here in Lincoln Park. Nothing tastes better to me than a Chicago-Style Hot Dog to me. And why not embrace your hometown and where your wedding is being celebrated than having Chicago-Style Hot Dogs at your Chicago wedding? Pass them at cocktail hour or maybe you have a station of them later in the evening or passed in the cardboard boxes later on the dance floor. Feel that the whole dogs are too big? Do a mini version passed by the servers around 11:30pm when people need a quick snack to keep them going on the dance floor. Or, what about having a traditional cart come in to offer it to guests as they depart? Carts of Chicago can offer this service to you at your wedding.
New Trends In Engagement Rings
Quick Tip: Removing Deodorant Stains on Dresses
Everyone hates it when you put on deodorant in a rush and then throw on your black dress or bridesmaids put on their dresses and get those stubborn white stains from their deodorant on the arm area of the dress. One trick I have found is using a used laundry dryer sheet. It can quickly whisk off the white stain on the dress with a little light rubbing. I carry one in my emergency kit and every wedding take a new one with me for potential mishaps.
What To Do If It Rains On Your Wedding Day
This pastyear I have had a bunch of clients have outdoor ceremonies and weddings. And as we know in Chicago, the weather can not always be so predictable. The Weather Channel has a great little area on their website where you can read up on the history of the weather on your wedding date, average temperatures and track the weather leading up to your wedding day. Having an evening reception outside? It also allow you to view when the sunset will be taking place on your wedding day. You can set up a wedding weather area where starting 10 days in advance of your wedding it will send you an email with weather updates.
Spa Parties For Your Wedding Party
What better way to thank your bridal party and your Mom and mother-in-law "to be" than having them to your house for a Spa Party. I ran across a company, Sparty, at Biz Bash in Chicago yesterday and boy do they know how to do spas right. Their motto is Sip. Spa. Celebrate; and that they can help you do and in style. They are a company that specializes in at home spa parties so that you can relax in the comfort of your own home. They offer massages, manicures and pedicures, facials and threading. What a great concept for a bridal party get together or even a relaxing alternative to a bachelorette party. Sparty specializes in creating a spa atmosphere either in your home or a hotel room. And don't worry about the robes, they will bring them with! Don't have time to order food and beverage for your event? No worries, Sparty will take care of it for you. They can even provide music to help create your quiet and relaxing spa space.
Photo Booths At Weddings
I just love Photo Booths at weddings and events! It allows guests the opportunity to have a fun take home from your wedding but also gives you an opportunity to have the fun memories placed in a book that your guests can sign. I use a couple of different companies in Chicago. One is called ShutterBooth and the other is Photo Booth Express. Package times can range from 4 to 6 hours and you can chose to include the guest book and materials that your guests can write in or provide them yourself. In a ShutterBooth photo booth your guests can even select if they want color or black and white prints. With both companies you can have a cute wedding logo and your wedding date on the last picture in the photo strips. Also, you can ask them to bring props that your guests can use to make it even more fun for them. Make sure when you are booking your photo booth that you get two copies of the photo; one for you and your spouse and the other for your guests to take home with them. Also, many companies offer the high resolution CD of all the images and easy posting to facebook. Photo Booth Express also offers one of the old school photo booths you would see at fairs and restaurants from your childhood. Don't want the 2 x 6 photo strips? That is okay, each company offers the 4 x 6 grid choice.
Getting Married at OZZFest
Engagement Pictures in Chicago with your Pets
Margo and Skip tied the knot this weekend at The Wit Hotel in Chicago. I can not wait to share the images from their wedding with you soon. Today I wanted to share their engagement pictures they took with their Chicago photographer, Candice Cusic. I wrote a blog about engagement pictures which shares some ideas of what to wear and where to go for your pictures. Margo and Skip chose to bring along their adorable bull dogs with them that day. (And wear their favorite team jerseys)!
Chicago Style Weddings Photo Shoot
Yesterday, I had a FIRST in my career as a wedding consultant in Chicago. I did my first photo shoot for a magazine. Chicago Style Weddings asked me to create two unique tablecapes for their issue coming out in July. Chicago Style Weddingsis the wedding resource for Chicago brides and grooms. They have a wonderful website and an amazing magazine filled with gorgeous pictures and real wedding features. I can't reveal any pictures or the concepts I came up with; you will need to wait for the July magazine to come out! So run, don't walk, to the newstands in July.
Being Original and Unique-Be YOU, Be Extraordinary
I work closely with my clients on how to make their wedding original and unique and a reflection of who they are. I ask them to bring me pictures and send me websites and links to wedding blogs of things they love and make them say "YAY"! We design their wedding based on things they see in the awesome wedding and design magazines and blogs that we have to use for inspiration. But we never copy something exactly. I attend seminars and conferences all over the world and when the design "gods" and "goddesses" (Todd Fiscus, Sasha Souzaand David Beahm to name a few), that I look up to, share their work I don't say, I want to do that exactly.
Save The Date Cards For Your Wedding
Save The Dates have become very popular for brides and grooms to communicate and create excitement for their upcoming wedding. It gives the couple a way to let their guests know their wedding date and accommodation and travel information for their wedding. They also can get guests excited about the upcoming wedding! I find they are useful for not only destination weddings but weddings in the bride or groom's hometown. Living in a big convention city like Chicago, it is important to let guests know about the hotel rates the couple has set up for their guests and proper information for booking.
Happy New Year
Happy New Year to all my readers. I am sure you will be raising a glass to the new decade and the New Year tonight! Here are some of my favorite champagnes that I love to drink when celebrating any occassion. I like to shop in Chicago at Binnys Beverage Depot for wines and champagnes. Have a Safe and Happy New Year and see you in 2010!
Soup to Warm Your Chicago Wedding Guests
"Baby, it's COLD outside", in Chicago that is!! If you are hosting a winter Chicago wedding, why not have your guests enjoy a wonderful warm soup for the first course of your wedding dinner? When a bride and groom of mine could not narrow down their favorite soup in their catering tasting I recommended we serve both! Above you can see they served the two soups in cute clearless mugs with a handle with a mini salad with goat cheese rolled in nuts.
Wedding Favor Ideas for Chicago Brides and Grooms
Recently brides and grooms have come to me expressing that they would rather donate money to a charity in lieu of giving out favors at their wedding. I think this is a great idea and a wonderful way to give back to a cause that means something to you. If you adore pets think about donating to PAWS Chicago. This is a great way to show your generosity in helping animals get adopted. You could make a donation and place it on your menu card or your program letting guests know of your donation. Or you could include a little tag about your donation on a small cookie shaped like a dog bone or each guest to take home at the end of the night. A great resource for custom cookies in Chicago is Amy Beck Cake Design. She can make any custom cookies for you.
