Thursday, October 28, 2010

Favors Do them or Don't

For some reason we love favors, although they are not required and really an added expense that couples can't afford! And sometimes guests just choose to "forget" to take home! This brings up the question why do we feel the need to provide them then? Well partly because they're a great way to do something "nice" for those guests that spent time and money to attend your wedding.

To assist the couples who "have" to give favors at your wedding one thing I would suggest is put yourself in your guests shoes when deciding on what little trinket to give. In reality we all have enough candy dishes or picture frames, and who needs trinkets with another couples' name on them?

Favors more often than not take alot of your money, time and creativity. And few of these guests appreciate all that you put into them, so to not seem hurtful and rude some people deliberately leave them behind, hoping you’ll think they simply forgot, and hoping you can use them better than they can. So as a result you are left with the very gifts you spent all your time creating!

Here are some helpful and inexpensive ideas for those of you who feel you "must" give favors.

*Book of matches with writing on it like The Perfect Match and your names and wedding date below.

*Tulle wrapped candy all you need is tulle, ribbon, and candy keep in mind the weather or environment when choosing the candy itself but it is always a hit for grown ups and children alike!

*Tree or flower seeds with a small clay or plastic pot (wrap the plastic pot to disguise it)

*for children give small boxes of crayons and color book not only will they love it, it also serves a dual purpose to give them something to do during the "boring" parts of the reception

*there are many ways to create inexpensive and thoughtful favors that won't be left behind!

Until next time Happy Planning and be sure to visit us at www.magicalmomentweddings.com or call us at 239-878-3526 you can also find us on facebook Magical Moment Weddings!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Broadway Palm Dinner Theater More than Just a Show!

Broadway Palm Dinner Theater More than Just a Show!


Last night was my first experience viewing a live show at the Broadway where I had the pleasure of seeing a very talented group of actors preform a live version of Hairspray. Although the “leading” lady is billed as the ever talented Danielle Arci in the roll of Tracy Turnblad; my entire evening was spent watching and waiting for the oh so talented and ever so entertaining Chuck Caruso in the roll of Edna Turnblad to come back on stage! This gentleman played the roll of Tracy's mother phenomenally with all the grace and humor you could wish for.

The supporting cast truly made this performance a Must See for all! The singing, dancing and acting make this show worth the trip, not to mention the abundance of mouth watering food! My masterpiece menu choice of the night was the carved ham simply stupendous! And the best thing is it's a buffet filled with a variety of choices to please everyone's pallet. I can't forget to sing the praises of all the staff members from the time you pick up your tickets at the box office to the waitstaff and the final salutations you will feel welcome and warm.

At first you may be wondering why I am writing about a dinner theater as opposed to the Atypical wedding; well I want to expand your thoughts to different venues available in Florida for your wedding reception and possibly even your wedding. The Broadway Palm Dinner Theater offers many wonderful areas such as the Cafe in which they will cater your wedding reception with scrumptious foods that will surely please you and your wedding guests. This area offers a stage for your band or DJ and accommodates plenty of dance space in the center of seating. Located on Colonial Blvd in Fort Myers, Florida this is truly a think about venue for your wedding reception.

My rating is a definite A++ Be sure to visit us at www.magicalmomentweddings.com

Friday, October 22, 2010

Simple Ways to Save Money!

Ways to Save!

Even though you may be very organized in keeping track of your financial investments for your wedding, there is always going to be times when you are tempted to go over budget. Over the next 2 days you will learn numerous ways to stay in the black, starting with what’s important and the guest list.

What’s Important?
You can start by making a list of your top 3 aspects of the wedding that are most important to you. Once you’ve made your list, allocate a little extra money into those categories. Now, create a new list of the 3 items that are of lowest importance and subtract the total amount of money you’ve assigned to the others amongst them.

Cut the Guest List
The next step is considering cutting the guest list. Of course we know cutting your guest list would be tough, but it could potentially save you quite a bit of money. At $100 person, removing 10 guests would save you $1000! There are a few rules you can use as guide lines for this option. Rule #1: If you have never met, spoken to or recognize a name on the guest list, they get cut. Rule #2: Decide whether or not you’d like to invite children. Not inviting children could also save a substantial amount of money, especially if each family has more than 1 child. Last but not least, Rule #3: Decide whether or not you’d like to invite the significant others of friends/family if they are only dating. That is totally up to your transgression. However, this could come in handy. If So and So has a girlfriend you just don’t like, don’t feel obligated to invite her. You’ve just saved yourself $100 and a lot of annoyance. 

Also reconsidering the number of woman in your bridal party will help with staying on budget. Although it would be hard to cut a few of your closest family or friends, paying for gifts, hair and makeup for 3 bridesmaids would be a lot easier on your pocket book than for 6. If you cannot bear to cut the list, which is totally understandable, simply ask each bridesmaid if she would be willing to purchase her own dress and wedding day essentials.

Flower Selections
It’s been said that by using more greenery and only one or two types of flowers in your bouquets and centerpieces can save a fair amount of cash. Buying flowers that are in season are also going to be more affordable, so shop around to see what’s the best price for flowers in season. Be mindful that a simple switch of peonies to roses can cost you 5 times less in the long run! That’s right! You heard me correctly! Peonies can cost up to 5 times more than roses! By including non floral elements into your centerpieces you can also save on the floral budget.

Reception
While cutting your guest list can save on your final reception tab, there are a few other ways that will help. For example, by having bigger tables you can seat more guests at one table eliminating the need to have to order extra centerpieces and tablecloths. Shopping off season for your wedding needs is also a very good idea. If your wedding is black and pink, you can purchase modern black vases on sale after Halloween and pink ones after Valentine’s Day, same goes for red and green and more than likely silver or gold after Christmas.

By only serving a select number of alcoholic beverages as opposed to a full bar or having a cash bar and skipping the champagne toast you could save greatly. Serving comfort foods like barbeque chicken and macaroni and cheese is often cheaper, and everyone is sure to enjoy it.
Wedding cakes can certainly be expensive so it is recommended that you only order a small one or two tier cake for the traditional bride and groom cake cutting ceremony but then supplement larger sheet cakes hidden in the kitchen for your guests. By forgoing expensive sugar flowers, specialty fillings, using butter cream frosting instead of fondant and reusing ceremony flowers on the cake table for decoration you can significantly reduce your overall cost.

Favors can be costly so having them do double duty would be fantastic. Using a favor that doubles as an escort card would be ideal. You could also make the cake your favor, delicious and simple. If double duty isn’t for you, it is possible to reduce the number of favors you need by giving only one per married couple.

Saving money is easy; it only takes a little time and effort. Remembering the two most important questions when you aren’t sure if there is an expense too large will help you figure out if it’s worth it or not. “Will anyone notice I didn’t do this?” and “Will I regret having/not having this as part of my wedding in 10 years?” If the answer is no, then move along.  We here at Magical Moment Weddings hope this blog has inspired you to go the extra mile to save some of your hard earned money and make the most of your wedding budget! For more information please visit us at www.magicalmomentweddings.com

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Hiring a Wedding Planner

Hiring a wedding planner - 6 extraordinary reasons why you should choose Magical Moment Weddings.

Professionalism

Here at Magical Moment Weddings we have vowed to practice incomparable professionalism. We pride ourselves on providing all of our brides - to - be with exceptional service and assistance at all times. Our warm personalities along with excellence, expertise and attention to detail will easily make your planning experience enjoyable, so you and your guests can enjoy your Magical Moment Wedding!

Passionate and Helpful

Our team is passionate about helping you have the magical wedding of your dreams. We are willing to do all the necessary research to ensure you have all of the options available for your special day. We have a wealth of knowledge about local beaches, venues and vendors. We will do everything in our power to create the most magical wedding day possible.

Efficient

The team at Magical Moment Wedding is very efficient. We are motivated to be well-organized, competent, resourceful, capable and great at our jobs. We strive to uphold our goals and values of ensuring your wedding day will be absolute perfection.

One Stop Shop

Magical Moment Weddings is an all inclusive wedding service business. We can provide you with everything you will need. We offer photography, officiating, bouquets, beautiful floral beach archways, ceremony sound system, ceremony and reception décor, DJ services, wedding cakes, catering, limousine or horse and carriage service, honeymoon arrangements and so much more. You need to look no further than us to create the wedding of your dreams.

Creative

Since we offer our own specially created bouquets, floral archways, décor, and cakes among other items, we pride ourselves on having a creative edge. Everything that is involved in your wedding can be custom designed to meet your needs and vision.

Affordable

Affordability is of the utmost importance in our current economy. That is why Magical Moment Weddings has a package plan for those with every budget. Whether you want a large or small wedding, we can customize an appropriate package just for you. We will tailor your wedding to your specific requests; therefore you will only pay for the items you want and your budget can be utilized more efficiently to ensure no overage is required. You may consult www.magicalmomentweddings.com to view a general over view of all wedding packages that we offer.




Choosing a wedding planner can be a tough job, but I hope we’ve given you all the reasons you need to choose us. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can visit our website at www.magicalmomentweddings.com and fill out our “Contact us” page, send us a personal email at magicalmomentweddings@gmail.com or you may also reach us via telephone at 239-878-3526. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Wedding Budget

Wedding Budget: How much and who gets to pay?

Figuring out a reasonable budget for your wedding can be very stressful. Here are a few helpful tips and hints to help you get through.

How Much Do You Actually Need?

Just like buying a house, a pair of jeans or new iPod, when it comes to financing a wedding,you should do some research to guesstimate how big of a price tag comes with the wedding of your dreams. The average cost for a 150-person wedding is about $25,000 and that number could be higher in some areas. Once you have the ball park dollar amount that you need, you can secure contributions accordingly.

Who's Paying?

Talk with your families about who would be willing to pay for what. Some brides' families still abide by the old tradition and pick up the entire tab, but more and more groom's families are contributing also. Some couples find budget is a hard subject to bring into conversation.
For many, talking to each family separately is the best way to have an open discussion.

If the brides’ family isn’t equipped to pick up the entire tab you can remedy that by asking both sets of parents to commit to a specific dollar amount contribution. If neither family is able to set a specific dollar amount, it may be easier to ask them to finance a particular aspect of the wedding such as the ceremony, flowers, or catering. The next step is to decide how much you two, as the bride and groom, can contribute between now and the wedding.

According to TheKnot.com 37 % of the couples polled say they're planning to contribute financially to their wedding. As soon as he puts the ring on your finger you should start putting aside as much of your income as you can. Saving 20% of your monthly income is a respectable goal. Of course the longer your engagement, the more you will be able to save. There are lots of possible ways to save, for example, by limiting your spending on
small things like movie rentals or how many trips you make to Starbucks in a week. Over the period of your engagement it would be possible to save a nice amount of extra cash that will likely cover a good number of your wedding essentials. Once you have spoken to everyone involved then you can add up all of the contributions to create your very own wedding budget.

The following is a breakdown of what you might expect to pay.
Ceremony: 2%-3%
Gifts: 2%-3%

Parking/Transportation: 2%-3%
Stationery: 2%-3%
Wedding Rings: 2%-3%
Miscellaneous: 8%
Attire: 8%-10%
Entertainment/Music: 8%-10%
Flowers: 8%-10%
Photography/Videography: 10%-12%
Reception: 48%-50%

To steer clear of stress, it is always recommended to designate about 5% of your budget to an "in case of emergency" fund.

If you're paying for your honeymoon yourselves, be sure to remember to put that in your budget as well.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Planning for a Sunny Florida Beach Wedding

Although Florida is sunny 90% of the time; all couples should have a back up plan when considering a beach wedding!

Beach weddings are romantic and beautiful. However, there a many things to consider when planning them as they come with additional things to consider. Below we have listed some helpful tips for you to use and hopefully consider when planning your beach wedding!

Consider your guests comfort: Weather on the beach is normally sunny and HOT. Be a considerate Bride and Groom, think about providing ice cold water bottles for your guest so you don't leave them melting and dehydrated during the ceremony. Your ushers can pass these out as guests arrive to their seats or you can provide a decorated bucket filled with ice and water. Another idea is to provide your wedding program pre-printed on a hand fan or simple umbrellas that color coordinate with your wedding. And don't forget the unscented bug spray, citronella candles or a bug zapper so that your guests won't spend the whole ceremony swatting at the air.!

Have a backup plan: Find a location that has a gazebo or another shelter that you can use for your ceremony or a waiting area for guests just in case Florida showers pass thru. Most couples can generally wait out the brief showers that happen during the summer afternoons here. A tent is another option, but only for light to moderate rain storms and in most locations a permit is required! No tents are allowed on state and federal property. Check with your hotel to see if they offer a room that can be used just in case of heavy showers that will prevent you from having your wedding outside.

Ocean noise can your guests hear your ceremony? When you dream of your wedding at the beach, you're probably not hearing the roaring of the waves, the rushing wind, or the kids screaming around you. Remember your guests took time and spent money to be at your ceremony so be sure they can hear what they paid for.....Magical Moment Weddings offers a sound system with microphone and music for your Magical Ceremony for a price of $75.00.

Visit us for more information and Package pricing at www.magicalmomentweddings.com or contact us at magicalmomentweddings@gmail.com we would love to help you plan your destination beach wedding! Happy Planning!!