Day: February 15, 2017

A FEW THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN PLANNING YOUR WEDDING

If you are ahead of the game, you already started planning in the fall. If not because you hiberating during the coldness of this winter, here are just a few things to think about upon the arrival of the wedding planning season crunch…

VENUES – When booking a hall/caterer, the most expensive part of your wedding can be scary. There are ways to save. Some halls like The Museum of Dance in Saratoga and Pruyn House of Latham allow you to select your own caterer. If you can book anyone, you can find deals, think outside the box, and even DIY bartender and save a ton!

INCLUDE YOUR DJ IN TIMING OF EVENTS – A good DJ who has done a bunch of weddings knows when things should happen. Another thing to think about when planning with venues/caterers is they really know food, but they don’t always include what is best for entertainment reasons into their agenda.

Case in point… THE CAKE. Sometimes the event organizer provided by the hall may push for the wedding cake to be cut and served immediately after dinner, this way they can “get it out of the way.”  However,  I have seen this be a disaster with some groups. The moment after the cake is cut, people bail and the hall is then empty for two more hours. The cake is a point of exit for many. Golden tips like this are often easily tapped when your DJ is consulted. Just ask!

PLAN EARLY – Make sure and give yourself at least 6 months ahead of time to book your entertainment and up to a year ahead for your venue.

HOT THIS YEAR – Last year was the photo booth. This year, wedding pops are predicted to be the new THING for this wedding season.

HAVE GUESTS SIGN DIFFERENT BOTTLES TO BE OPENED ON CERTAIN YEAR ANNIVERSARIES

At The Altamont Manor in Altamont, NY this past Saturday (a nice little place that I was the DJ for about 15 minutes out of Albany,) I saw a great new idea to try at your wedding. Instead of signing a book that will barely never get read, how about having your wedding guests sign wine bottles?

Here is an interesting and a more creative do-it-yourself idea that throws a twist on the traditional wedding guest book.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR ONE WINE BOTTLE GUEST BOOK –

1) First, purchase four different colored wine bottles.
2) Next, remove the manufacturer’s labels by soaking the bottles in hot water.
3) Clean and scrape off any remaining label remnants with lighter fluid, or a good adhesive remover like Goof Off. (You can also use WD-40  as a cleaning agent.)
4) Create custom wine labels made up with the bride & groom’s names printed on them, and the numbers 1,5,10 and 20.
5) Make a nice display on a small table . Place the table with the bottles and metallic ink pens at the entrance door to the wedding reception. 
6) Add an instructional photo frame, explaining that the bottles will be used in place of the traditional wedding guestbook and consumed on certain year anniversaries.
7) Encourage guests to sign the bottles with silver metallic ink pens, throughout the evening.

WHEN TO DRINK – The idea is that the newlyweds should drink the wine on their first, fifth, tenth and twentieth anniversaries. It should also be explained that the reason for consumption years down the line from these bottles is to remember their friends’ best wishes once again, as immortalized on the bottle in silver ink.

What a great idea! It is like morphing together the traditions of the wedding guest book and freezing a piece of wedding cake to eat a year later.