Reception Seating Anxiety

There are few things that can cause more drama and angst than seating arrangements for the wedding reception. It’s a balancing act that can require tact, diplomacy and hard choices—especially if you have family drama.

We’ve seen a number of approaches that have worked well. If it is a larger sized wedding, you can assign guests to a table and then let them chose their own seats. If you have a mid-size wedding, you might assign seats at all the tables.

For us, we selected one very large family-size table (for about 20 people), but had reserved seating and name cards for the guests to find their assigned seats. This mixed up our families (and ensured the bride’s parents, no divorced, were not seated together).

Image source: http://www.imagebridal.com/starfish.html

Really now, how can you not like Martha Stewart Wedding Stuff?

I stopped at the PO Box today and found the Fall 07 Martha Stewart Weddings! YEA! I know, I'm a bit of a dork, but I really get excited when it comes. I read 1/2 of it in the lobby at the Ritz (arrived a bit early for our meeting) and I was bending down pages left and right. First of all on page 66 there is an article about Tiecrafters. You can send them fabric and they will make you a tie! This is great for those who want the boys to match the girls exactly. Just purchase additional yardage from your bridemaid dress manufacturer. A little out of budget? No fear, I still swear by SolidColorNeckTies.com (hello, $7 per tie, 52 shades of fabulous).

Then on page 70, there's an article called stir things up. This is one of those little details that costs next to nothing, takes a small amount of effort and makes a big impact. Great use of color. Sorry about the crease in the picture...I really do fold down pages I want to go back to!

Wedding Showcase Round up

2 more tabletops showed up this afternoon, so I'm going to extend the date by a day, if anyone else wants to send one in. The 2 I received today, I'll be posting late tomorrow along with my final mock-up. Ciao gang!

I have the BEST clients.

Yes, I understand that there are many a wedding planners who will read this and swear that their clients are the best, but I have to argue- mine are just amazing. The absolute hardest part of wedding planning, besides keeping budgets under control and seating lists is menu planning. When you're planning an average of 4 eating opportunities for the same 50-75 people in one weekend, it is not a simple task. But today, I am in menu planning heaven. Last week we finished planning 3 wedding weekend menus, 2 of which aren't even until late next spring! This afternoon at the Ritz Carlton Naples we had a tasting that blew me and the bride & groom away. Then I get back here to my office and find a wedding menu in my inbox for J's wedding weekend next March. Considering I just asked them to start looking at the menus like 4 days ago, I was floored by this. So to my clients- really- you're all awesome! Now we can move on to the fun stuff, making the dinner look even better with the details; woohoo!

Wondering what's on that plate?
Grilled filet of beef with a Parsley & Horseradish crust
Maine Lobster "3 ways", Tempura Claw, Butter Poached Tail & Lobster Basil Mashed Potatoes
Grilled Asparagus
Roasted red tomato topped with frise


And this one is warm chocolate cake with a liquid Grand Marnier center and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. The photo isn't from the best angle, but that stick across the center is actaully a baked chocolate spoon!

Betty+Toby=Epic

Ever since Betty moved to Bejing to be with Toby, their life has been one grand adventure! And their wedding day was no different! With their ceremony at the regal Hycroft Manor (one of our favourite venues!), a trek to the top of a skyscraper, and a midnight stroll by the downtown city lights, their first day together as husband and wife was filled with excitement -and we were so glad to be along for the ride!

Some of our favs from the day!

Beautiful details.


Beautiful bride.


Toby was one happy guy seeing Betty walk between the pillars and down the stairs toward him.

Love the colours in the Solarium!

Snuggling in the elevator on the way up to the top of the Bentall Centre, Toby's corporate headquarters and one of Vancouver's tallest buildings.


Okay, so giant air conditioners may not seem that romantic, but they sure make for some cool images.

On top of the world (with no guard rails - gulp!)!


The guys climb down and down and strike a pose.


And the girls goad Betty and Toby on!


We had to walk through the ventilation room to get back to the elevator - we couldn't resist creating some images there too.


Don't worry - we got some more classic portraits for mom at Stanley Park - always one of our favourite locations - so very Vancouver.

The reception was full of love. Betty and her girls have known each other since grade five! There was not a dry eye in the house when Betty thanked them all or when Kelli sang to the couple.


An impromptu first dance - my favourite shot of the night.


Well, except maybe for this one - so glad you guys snuck out with us to create this night portrait. Hugs to both of you!

Lucky Me the have a W!

This morning I was still trying to catch up on all my blogs and I came across these letterpress stickers on Darcy's post and I had to have them and I had to have them now. Especially considering they're only $2.50 a pack!

Yep, that's me super impatient when it comes to shopping. But uh oh, I got there, pulled down the menu to pick W (for weddings of course) and it was missing! ACK! So I emailed Sarah at Lucky Star Press, and she quickly added W to the list. Crisis overted and I now have lots of W's and S's on the way to my mailbox. I'm so excited.

Check out Lucky Star Press when you have a few...cool stuff. Oooooh I'm digging these blue & orange notecards.

Showcase #6.5 How cool is this?

From: Mark Kingsdorf, The Queen of Hearts


"These images are representative of an Afro-centric wedding reception.
Items of note are the traditional cloth runner of gold, black and red which accent the long hardwood tables for family style service."

Additionally I chose to include harvest items such as corn, nuts, vegetables and fruit all accented by a collection of candles. Other important elements of the tables are the inclusion of handcrafted items such as the hand made serving containers, ceramic napkin rings and the carved wooden animals used as place card holders…"

For those who don't know Mark Kingsdorf, he's one of the most well knowledged wedding planners there is. Mark is my go-to guy for Wedding Etiquette, catering questions, and a constant source of laughter. The man is ridiculously funny.