The Wedding Bug

As some of you may know, I am a newly wed as of November 15th of 2014. We had a beautiful wedding in the Redlands at "The Cooper Estate", which is an A-MAZ-ING venue. If you want a rustic historic venue, in South Florida, I highly recommend checking it out. Our wedding was small, only 80 guests, and it was an absolute "fairly tale" for my now husband and I. We really were so happy with the way everything turned out, that if we could do it all over again we wouldn't change a thing.

There are some key elements that go into planning a wedding, which are so important into the personalization and uniquness that will differentiate your wedding from everyone elses. In this blog installment, I am going to share with you the 5 key points you will need to assure that everyone that comes to your wedding will know they are there for you and your significant other, and not just for a party. (I mean, unless that's the feel you're going for.... then by all means)

1. Monogram- Some people can go a bit "over board" with this one. Monograms are one of those things that too much, is TOO MUCH! It's like, ok people, we get that your initial is "P", we don't need to see it everyehere. However, I think that monograms are also very important. For example, my beautiful godsister (yes godsister, she is my godmothers daughter, and therefore, she is my godsister) had a lot of monogram throughout her wedding. Very tastefully done, might I add. She did just enough to assure that everyone knew her last name would now start with an "R". She did a light-cast monogram on her dance floor, the "R" in swarovski crystals on her cake (which I did as well), and a few others throughout her venue. It was elegant, tasteful, and made her wedding customized to her husband and herself.

2. Theme- No, this is not a kiddie party! Therefore power rangers, my little pony, and strawberry shortcake are not acceptable themes people! (Can you tell I'm a child of the 80's) Although, you may be a fan of all those things mentioned, and similar others, you want to select a theme that is a reflection of you and your significant other. For example, my husband loves Game of Thrones, I love Twilight. However, I was not going to make our wedding into a "vampire" "red wedding". So, instead I thought about the characteristics of both of those that we like. We both like the greenery and earthiness you see in GOT and Twilight, and we both love history and old world architecture, etc. So we selected our venue, which fit into this theme, and we went with a very natural earthy, rustic theme. So we got the look and feel we love, without making it into a circus act.

3. Menu- My husband and I refer to ourselves as food aficionados. We love food. We love good food. Definite foodies, for sure! So for us, at our wedding, our menu was so important. I have been to weddings in the past where the couple didn't care what food they had for their guests, and all I can say is, "you should have tried harder on the menu!" Your guests are literally eating something you selected for them. From the horderves during the cocktail hour, to the entree and cake at the reception, these are all selections you are making for your guests to intake into their bodies. It's kind of important! Our venu, did not allow us to give the option to our guests to select either fish, chicken or beef. We had to select one option and that was it. We ended up tasting all the food and assuring that what we selected was the best they had, and something everyone would enjoy. We ended up going with the churassco steak, with chimichurri sauce, a parmesean rissoto, and asparagus. It was delicious! They fortunately did allow us to have an alternative for my father-in-law who doesn't eat red meat, he was able to have salmon.

4. Favors- A favor can be anything that is important to you and your significant other as well as something that fits into your theme. Usually a favor is given at the end of the night, or set on the place setting on the table at the reception. Favors can range in pricing depending on your budget. It doesn't have to be something you spend a ton of money on, as it is just a little token for your guest to take home to continue to enjoy the memories of your wedding after it is over. I think this is a great opportunity for personalization. Do something that you like, or something that people relate to you. For example, my husband and I love coffee... Like, seriously, we LOVE coffee. We have a definite addiction and it's bad. So, we gave our guests small boxes that coordinated with our theme, and the boxes were filled with chocolate covered espresso beans. People loved them.

5. Music- This is an "iffy" one. The reason being that not everyone is into music as much as the next person. However, music is generally a very important part of a wedding. You have to select your first dance songs, if the bride is doing a father daughter dance, you need a song for that as well, and then the music that plays throughout the wedding will set the tone for the events throughout. Even for your ceremony, you need a song to walk into and exit to. I think music is a big reflection on the couple getting married. Speaking with your DJ ahead of time is key in assuring the music played is what you want. DJ's are not psychics. They cannot just know that you want certain music played. And generally they appreciate when the clients tell them what to play, and what NOT to play. If there are specific songs you greatly dislike, let them know. That way they have a heads up and no one is offended.

Credits / Vendors:

Photography: Wedding Girls Photography by Natalia and Devon

Papergoods: G-Raf Designs by Giselle Rafael

Venue: The Cooper Estate

Dress: Justin Alexander from Happy Bride

Makeup: Jerralee Fierce Artistry

Hair: Brianna Barres

#weddings #thecooperestate #southflorida #event #eventplanning #love #marriage #theme #gameofthrones #diy #monogram #GOT #rustic #rusticwedding #moss #architecture