rehearsal dinner Archives

Tips to Plan the Perfect Wedding

It’s all about creating the perfect, most memorable wedding for your special bride and groom. This last article will provide a one stop shop for the tips and direction found in this series with an important goal…to see you through to the start of something new — a new life together kicked off by special memories. I decided to start this series to help others, since as a bookworm, I was thrown into a difficult situation when the books didn’t work for me.

During the course of planning a wedding, you’ll probably have to deal with one uninvited guest on a regular basis — stress. This article provides tips on alleviating it for a healthier you.

wedding, cakes, decorations, the Stanley, creative, Christmas, ornaments, Estes Park, bakeries, wedding cake top, wedding cake, decorator, baker — Victoria with her Dad, Uncle George, Uncle Mike, and Aunt Theresa – Courtesy of Laura Grace Photography

When planning the perfect wedding, the date will make all the difference in the world with availability and cost. Check out what to look for… .

wedding, wedding planner, Hidden Bloodlines, wedding budget, Stanley Hotel, Christmas, Christmas wedding, budget, checklist, timeline, organization, organization tips, library, military discount, veterans, savings, cost savings, Our Lady of the Mountains, Estes Park, Colorado, preferred vendor lists, vendors, D.J., Disc Jockey, Sound Junction, Gary Liebowitz — Gary Liebowitz with Sound Junction

Finding just the right D.J. is key to a great wedding. This may not be an easy task, at least it wasn’t for me, but thankfully I found a phenomenal one! If you’re in the front range area, you can’t go wrong with Gary Liebowitz at Sound Junction. He is phenomenal as he kept the wedding party dancing and moving. If you’re not, this article has tips on finding one.

wedding, wedding planner, books, Hidden Bloodlines, wedding budget, Stanley Hotel, Christmas, Christmas wedding, budget, checklist, timeline, organization, organization tips, library, military discount, veterans, savings, cost savings, Our Lady of the Mountains, Estes Park, Colorado, University of Colorado, photographer, videographer, Laura Grace Petersen, Jackson Dorfman — Laura Grace Petersen
Laura Grace Photography

The word “wedding” added to anything tends to increase the cost at least by double if not more, but there are reasonable vendors available available. If you’re in the front range area and are interested in making beautiful memories, I highly recommend:

Laura Grace Photography

Jackson Dorfman – Jackson.dorfman@colorado.edu 970-306-2775

Wedding Planner, decorations, creative, artists, reception, Hidden Bloodlines, bookclub, Stanley Hotel, Black Friday — Sandy, Karen, & Carlene

The wedding decorations could be a daunting task. You can pay an expert if it’s in your budget, or rely on your very talented friends, as I did.

The perfect wedding cake doesn’t have to cost any where near $1000. Find out how to keep the cost less than a quarter of the cost.

Jacqueline & Elizabeth — Beautiful Bridesmaids — Courtesy of Laura Grace Photography

You’ll want your beautiful bridesmaids dressed to perfection in a dress they can afford and could perhaps use again.

Despite your best efforts, more than likely at least one aspect won’t go as planned, but no one needs to know. In my case, a miscount snowballed… .

Delicious and safe food is a key ingredient for a great wedding. This article gives you key pointers to look for.

Beautiful Bridesmaids Dressed to Perfection — The Wedding Party at the Head Table — Courtesy of Laura Grace Photography

The Music — A Requirement for Every Wedding Ceremony, but it’s not as easy as you’d think.

The Wedding Celebrant — Who Do You Want to Marry You? Do you have someone in particular in mind? We did, Father Mbala, and there are no words to describe what he added and the inspiration he instilled in all of us.

The Rehearsal & Dinner Kicks Off the Wedding Events.

Historic hotels can provide an exciting venue in more ways than one. Check out why.

If your ceremony and/or reception will take place at an historic hotel, there are important factors to take into consideration. Check them out at: The Wedding Hotel Accommodations — Historic vs. Contemporary.

Choose the right hotel for a comfortable and affordable stay for those celebrating with you. The Right Hotel for Your Wedding Guests provides guidelines and a checklist to help you find just the right hotel.

Most of all, have fun and dance the night away, even if things didn’t turn out exactly as planned. Most likely, you’ll be the only one to know. This will most likely be the last article on the Wedding Planner Series; the bride graduates medical school Sunday and will shortly start her residency in Neurosurgery. Congratulations to my beautiful daughter!

wedding, time, medical student, white coat — Medical Student

The Rehearsal & Dinner Kicks Off the Wedding Events

The rehearsal and dinner kicks off the wedding events. Often it’s the first time we encounter the family of our adult “child’s” significant other, especially when they meet at college. Some already have a relationship with the other’s family (which may or may not be a good thing). In our case, we had not had the pleasure of meeting our soon to be son’s family until the rehearsal.

Venue

A Christmas time wedding in Estes Park is full of surprises, the main one being the weather. It is virtually impossible to anticipate, especially enough in advance to book rehearsal dinner reservations. Alas, my goal was to find a few options for the groom’s mother to choose from close to the church as well as the hotel. I started my search during my first meeting with the wedding planner from the Stanley and decided to have lunch at one of the potential restaurants — Mama Rose’s, a local Italian restaurant close to both the church and hotel. The pasta was homemade and delicious, the menu looked great, and their prices were very reasonable.

The Call

My initial contact with my future son’s mother was with a phone call. She had already started checking out restaurants online, and was disappointed with what she found both in expense and ultimately location. We had a delightful conversation where I shared what I found, and then forwarded her the relevant information. She took it from there, and chose Mama Rose’s.

The Rehearsal Dinner

The groom’s parents arranged the perfect rehearsal dinner with great food and drink where we had the opportunity to sit together and get acquainted. Getting to Estes Park was a whirlwind, especially for those flying in from around the country. In light of the extensive travel, the groom’s parents not only invited the bridal party to the rehearsal dinner, but also those relatives who came from afar (just about the entire guest list). It was a great time of fun and creating new relationships!

What was your favorite rehearsal dinner experience?

Beautiful Bridesmaids Dressed to Perfection

Every bride wants their beautiful bridesmaids dressed to perfection, with specially designed jewelry that sets off the gown and accents each girl’s beauty with just the right sparkle. My daughter chose a beautiful, reasonably priced, Christmas green dress in a style designed for many body types (the dress I was not going to touch, and you know why). Now the jewelry was right up my alley — about the only thing I was uniquely qualified to handle with the necessary experience.

bride, bridesmaids, jewelry, the Stanley, wedding planner, wedding, unique, original, rehearsal dinner, bridesmaids gifts, gifts, Swarovski Crystal, sterling silver, Christmas, bridesmaids dresses — Bride & Bridesmaids
Courtesy of Laura Grace Photography

A Little History

It all started when my daughter was just 13 years old. She asked for a small Swarovski Crystal necklace for her birthday. We lived in South Florida and at that time, the going rate was about $200. As a frugal, conscientious mom, my response was brief, “Sweetheart, unfortunately that’s a little steep and not in the budget.”

As a very creative young lady who thought outside the box, she responded, “What if I can find the crystal at a good price and we make it?”

I shrugged, “Why not?”

In short order, she found the Swarovski Crystal in bulk and at a fair price. Although the cost to make one necklace was reasonable, the up front cost to make the necklace with the remaining materials was not. Of course my creative, business minded daughter had the solution … . Since we already enjoyed making jewelry together, we’d make high quality jewelry to sell at art shows. Once we earned back our out-of-pocket expenses, we’d help others in need with the profits.

One of our offerings included original jewelry sets for the bride and bridesmaids …

Victoria designed the jewelry for her bridesmaids and I made it.

Oops

Last week it was all about the wedding cake, but that wasn’t my first major faux pas. My first lulu didn’t come to my attention until the rehearsal dinner. It was toward the end of a lovely dinner when my daughter gave the bridesmaids their gifts — a Swarovski Crystal and sterling silver jewelry set designed by her and made by me.

“Mom? We’re missing a set.”

“No we’re not. I made 6 sets.”

“But there are 7 bridesmaids with the maid of honor.”

“Uh oh… . Give the 6 bridesmaids their gifts and tell your maid of honor (my niece, Elizabeth) what happened. I’ll make the 7th set before the wedding….”

Unique

The designs we make for each bridal party are unique, and in this case, I didn’t know if I had the materials left to make another set. Although we were staying at the Stanley because of the distance, I had to

make it back home before the wedding,
in bad weather,
with the closure of the main road closest to my house.

My husband and I left early the next morning and made it back with plenty of time and materials to make just one more set (and I do mean just one more down to the last sterling silver tube bead). And fortunately, I had a photo of the set from which to work.

But that also meant, if I had the wrong count for the bridesmaids gifts, then I also had the wrong count for … . Stay tuned next week for the next twist of the lemons… .

What was your biggest event planning oops?

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Venue

The Call

The Rehearsal Dinner

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A Little History

Oops

Unique

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