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Archive for the ‘Receptions’ Category

The Hora

If you’ve ever been to a Jewish wedding, you’ve no doubt seen a cheerful dance called the Hora. This is a lively circle dance that is traditional at Jewish weddings and often at bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs.

The Hora came to America in the early 20^th century with Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. The tradition was kept alive and the dance is still being danced today at Jewish ceremonies. The word Hora comes from the Greek word khoros which is found in English words such as chorus and choreograph.

The dance is usually performed to the Hebrew folk tune of Hava Nagila. The title translates literally into “Let us rejoice,” and is very appropriate for festive occasions.

The dance is simple yet poetic and very entertaining to watch. At a wedding reception, the bride and groom would grasp an end of the same handkerchief. Then, they are seated on chairs. The men lift the chairs over their shoulders and carry the bride and groom around. The rest of the party forms a closed circle. They dance steps that resemble the winding of a grapevine.

To do the dance, enter the circle and grasp hands with the people on either side of you. Take a step to the side and bring your left foot behind your right foot. As the circle moves to the music, move your right foot next to your left foot. Alternate for the next set of steps—left in front of right.

As the music plays, the circle will pick up momentum. You’ll need to add a hop to your steps to keep up. The continuous circle will move as one into the center of the circle and raise their linked hands into the air. Then, everyone moves back to their original place and the circle continues moving.

There are, of course, shouts of joy and much animation during this celebratory dance. To really enjoy it, you must be a part of it. The spinning can get pretty wild, so often you’ll see women taking their high heels off and dancing barefoot. Don’t be surprised if the group breaks into hysterical laughter when they can’t keep up with the music. That’s all part of the fun.

Mezinke Tanz or The Krenzl

Another dance you may see at a Jewish wedding is the Mezinke Tanz, or The Krenzl. Krenzl, meaning crown, is a dance that is danced only when a mother’s last daughter is married. In this touching dance, the bride’s mother sits in the center of a circle and her daughters crown her with flowers and guests dance around them. In the Mezinke Tanz version, both of the bride’s parents sit in the center of the circle as their daughters present crowns of flowers. The guests dance around them along with the daughters.

These days modern Jewish couples may opt to include the traditional dances or not. It is up to them. But often, the dances are included not only to please parents but also to avoid disappointing guests who will be looking forward to the traditions being included. There is no hard and fast rule as to which dances a couple should include. Often, today’s couples will hire a band that knows all the traditional wedding dance numbers, but also plays a full array of oldies and current music as well.

If you enjoyed this article, you will probably like this post on Jewish Wedding Traditions.

The chances are good that you’ll be receiving a number of cards at your wedding reception. They’ll contain cash gifts, so you’ll want to store them somewhere safe, but you also want that place to be attractive and easy for your guests to find. That’s where a wedding card box comes in. It’s a box designed for guests to slip their cards into at the reception. How you decorate it can make all the difference between ho-hum and fantastic.

Making your own wedding card box will save you money and you can personalize it your wedding theme. Be sure to ask someone who is close to you but not in the wedding party to keep an eye on it and bring it home after the reception. You can decorate your box yourself or purchase one. There are many retailers online who sell nice ones, but if you choose to make your own, here are some tips.

Birdcage

Go for a decorated bird cage for a sweet look, this is especially cute if you're having a love bird wedding. Bring a little bit of nature indoors. You can purchase a wire birdcage at a pet store if they have nice ones. We’re not talking the kind a pet canary would live in. Avoid the square, plastic bottom ones. You want ornate. So go for a domed top cage that looks delicate and sweet. If your pet store doesn’t carry any you like, and they may not, try a craft store next. The trend of birdcages as card holders is catching on, so they are likely to have just what you want. But you can also find them at antique stores or flea markets. If it’s not white when you find it, you can always spray paint it white or off white to match your theme. Next, add silk flowers. Wind silk ivy around the cage and add in some raffia or a bird’s nest in the bottom. It’s a really cute look and you can set it out on your place card table so all will see it.

A Tiered Cake

Another cute idea is to decorate three boxes to form a tiered wedding cake.

You can use round or square boxes. Find three boxes in varying sizes from large to small. Look for silk covered boxes or paper-mâché boxes that you can paint and decorate yourself.

Tie a wide ribbon around the stack and place a slit in the top box big enough to hold cards.

You’d pay around $80 for a similar store bought wedding cake box like this, so save some change and make it yourself.

A Treasure Chest

Find a domed lid box and decorate it like a treasure chest with faux jewels that you find at a craft store. Often, mass retailers or off-price stores will carry boxes in their wedding stationery section that are just perfect for this.

They are often covered in silk already, so all you do is add the bling. You can either cut a slit for the cards or if you’d rather not, you can allow guests to open the lid and place their card inside.

Your wedding card box doesn’t have to be limited to just a box. You can make it any shape you like as long as there’s a way for guests to slip their card in, so think outside the box when planning your box.

Related Articles:

Wedding Thank You Note Etiquette

Guide To Wedding Reception Accessories

Your reception is your big chance to have everything you’ve ever wanted in an event. Chances are you’ve dreamed since you were a little girl of the moment you’d walk in, arm in arm, with the most fabulous man on the planet. Being announced as Mr. and Mrs. can be a heady feeling, and it will only add to the excitement when your decor is absolutely perfect.

There are so many ways to add your own personality to a wedding reception. It’s the one time you can have total say over what is included and what is left out. There will be many well-wishers who offer advice that you may or may not want to take. Above all, don’t feel pressured to have anything at your reception that you don’t love. If mom wants you to go with gold and silver, but you hate the combination, consider talking with her and telling her how you feel. She will most likely want you to be happy, and you can select an alternate color scheme.

Set your mind on the colors that make you the happiest. Do you love muted tones of red and brown? The vintage look can really be chic in these colors. Have a down home country reception complete with a wagon and a hay bale in it, candles in rustic colors, tables draped in hues of burnt reds, and even rent out a barn if you can. You can have an elegant barn wedding reception, if the climate allows, that is everything you hoped it would be and more. Hang gauzy curtains at the barn door entrance. Have dancing on the open floor. Just be sure that it’s a non-working barn so it’s clean and available without any animals (and their odors) in it. Many barns are now heated and have lovely wooden flooring that’s perfect for dancing.

Just about any theme will work as long as you carry it throughout the day. If you are sports fans, you and your new husband can incorporate just about any sport into the day. Have football candies as favors. Decorate a whimsical cake with soccer ball icing. Include memorabilia from the sport, trophies, or pennants to suggest the good old days of the sport. You can really have fun with it. Offer baseball cards as favors or have vintage bats and balls on display. Chances are you’ve got a collection somewhere if you’re sports nuts. Why not bring them out?

Wedding reception decor is totally dependent on the bride and groom’s tastes. Have a chocolate fountain if you love chocolate and go with a Willy Wonka theme. Or have a truly upscale champagne and strawberries theme. Whatever you decide to have, look at every detail from the invitations to the wedding favors, and everything in between. Put your little touches into each area of the reception decor and you will find that everyone loves what you’ve done. Don’t forget to make your mark with special food choices as well. You can have the caterer do edible chocolate spoons for guests to eat their cold strawberry soup with.

The magic is in the details. Plan on cutting out lots of ideas from magazines and gather up a file so that when the final decisions need to be made, you’ll have lots of ideas.

Related Articles:

• Wedding Reception Accessories
• Personalized Reception Items
• Add a Unique Coffee Bar to your Reception
• Guide To Wedding Reception Accessories

Brides and grooms these days are departing from the old standards and seeking new alternatives for just about everything at their weddings. The traditional guest books, where guests sign their name at the reception in a bound book, is currently being replaced by something called a Wishing Tree.

The Wishing, or Wish Tree, is a custom that hearkens back to the Dutch. They had a tradition of hanging wishes on trees to send the bride and groom off to their new life together. And that’s exactly what modern couples are choosing for their guest book alternatives.

Out with the line of guests wait to sign a book. Instead, guests are delighted by an arrangement of branches, often strung with decorative lights or crystals. They’ll find paper leaves or card stock squares on which to write a wish to the happy couple. When their wish is written, they attach it to the tree. By the end of the evening the tree will be full of lovely cards sending wishes of happiness all around. More than one guest can write at a time, so there’s really no waiting.

How can you make a Wishing Tree part of your wedding? It’s not that hard. Just be prepared to assign someone the task of assembling the reception decoration ahead of time. There’s no good way to move it in one piece, so you’ll need to have someone in charge of putting it together at the sign in table.

The branches for your tree can be as simple or as ornate as you like. You might choose a single branch with many segments and offer a small bell attached to a decorative card and strung with ribbon. If you are having a fall wedding, you might cut branches from trees and use silk leaves in bright fall colors as your wish leaves. If you’re having a winter wedding, you might choose tiny pine or spruce trees and offer mini ornaments for the guests to write their wishes on. It’s up to you. It’s usually your best bet to collect branches or small bush trees local to your area. If you have to order trees you may pay a pretty penny. And why should you? You can get just as nice a result with backyard findings.

Next, you’ll want to find containers to house your branches. You can use hurricane vases with pretty rocks or Spanish moss inside. Or fill them with colored or plain water. You might use watering cans, fish bowls, ceramic pots—anything you like that fits your theme. Stand the branches up in random arrangements. If you’re using small shrubs or trees, pot them in urns or other decorative containers.

Here’s where your personal style really comes in. You can decorate your trees so that they drip with strands of crystals, berries, white or colored lights or tinsel. Whatever suits your taste. And the cards or leaves you choose can be as simple as a silk leaf from a craft store or an ornately edged card stock. Have a good permanent writing pen on hand. And plan to have extras in case someone accidentally pockets it. The guests can clip their wishes on with decorative clothespins or you can attach ribbon to each card or leaf ahead of time to make a hang loop.

Set the whole thing up where it won’t be in the way of traffic. Off to the side of the main entrance is a good idea. People will see it, but won’t be blocking the doorway when they step over to write their wishes.

After the big day, you can collect all the wishes and read them over. Arrange them in a scrapbook or in your wedding album next to the faces of the people who wrote them. This is a lovely way to remember who was at your wedding and also a nice touch when you include a thank you for each guest’s specific wish in your thank you cards.

Related Posts:

• Guide To Wedding Reception Accessories
• WedCasts - The perfect solution for long-distance guests
• What to Do When You Have Missing or Late RSVP's

After all the seriousness of the wedding ceremony, many couples decide to bring the bridal party into the reception with a bang. If you're one of those brides who loves to have a great time and wants to pump your guests up for the night with your grand entrance, then you're probably looking for a great song to make the most of the moment. Here are a few great ideas to get you started, and if you have one to add then feel free to add it in the comments section! You'll be helping out fellow brides which is so thoughtful of you.

Before starting this article, I should probably let you know that I am one of the brides described above. For my wedding, I wanted the guests to know that it was going to be a fun night and that we weren't afraid to let loose and enjoy ourselves. So what did we do? We had the bridal party come in to the song, "I Gotta Feelin" by the Black Eyed Peas and when it was our turn to come in - I had the DJ play the song, "Bring 'em out" by T.I.. My husband and I put our sunglasses on and danced hysterically to the head table. And I have to say, it really got the mood going! People were laughing and clapping and having a great time!

So, without further ado, here are some great songs to use for your grand entrance!

Fun, Pump-Up Entrance Songs:

1. I Gotta Feelin - Black Eyed Peas
2. Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
3. Time of My Life - Black Eyed Peas
4. Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO
5. On the Floor - Jennifer Lopez
6. Now That We Found Love - Heavy D & The Boyz
7. Raise Your Glass - Pink
8. Sandstorm - Darude
9. Friday - Rebecca Black (funny for Friday weddings)
10. Old Time Rock & Roll - Bob Seger
11. Blow - Ke$ha
12. Rocky Theme Song
13. Let's Get Loud - Jennifer Lopez
14. Marry You - Bruno Mars
15. Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N' Roses

Sweet, Sentimental Entrance Songs:

1. My Wish - Rascal Flatts
2. The Way You Look Tonight - Frank Sinatra
3. Better Together - Jack Johnson
4. Lost in this Moment - Big & Rich
5. How Sweet It Is - James Taylor
6. 1, 2, 3, 4 - Plain White T's
7. A Moment Like This - Kelly Clarkson
8. The Luckiest - Ben Folds
9. Everything - Michael Buble
10. I'll Be There - Michael Jackson
11. Me and You - Kenny Chesney
12. Love - Matt White
13. Say Hey, I Love You - Michael Franti & Spearhead
14. Marry Me - Train
15. We are Family - Sister Sledge

Got an idea? Post a comment!

Need more reception help? Try some of these great articles:

• Cash Bar at the Reception - Tacky or Not?
• Add a Unique Coffee Bar to your Reception
• Stocking the Bar at Your Wedding Reception

So you want to have a destination wedding—Aruba, Jamaica, Hawaii—and can’t invite everyone from back home? What should you do if you still want to have a reception when you return so that you can celebrate with everyone? This can be a touchy subject with some, so consider how you present your reception and the timing of it.

First off, some guests may feel snubbed if they are not invited to the actual wedding. They feel they should at least have been offered the invite even if they can’t hop a flight to Jamaica. They may also feel that you only invited the “good” people and that they are second string. To avoid hurt feelings you should consider the wording on your invitation. If you are going to send out invitations to your post-destination reception before your off-site wedding, you will not want to include the exact date and time of your reception back home. For instance, you should say something like, “Joe and Rita are going to be married June 8^th in Hawaii. A reception will be held in Milwaukee on Friday, July 7 at 9:00.” Notice, you are giving the guest just enough information to say the wedding will take place off-site but not so much that they feel you are flaunting it in their face that they are not invited. The wording above makes it seem like everyone has been invited to the wedding reception back home and hence, the guest is not missing out on anything.

While there are various schools of thought on exactly when you should host that post-destination party, it’s usually a good idea to schedule it for within a month of your actual wedding. However, if you live in an area of the country where it is going to be extremely cold or the weather is prohibitive and may ruin your party, then by all means, stretch the date to a time when it’s nicer where you live. But most people will find it odd if you don’t have your reception within at least a few months from your wedding date.

Make sure you enlist the help of a family member or friend back home to mail your wedding stationery & invitations while you are at your destination on your honeymoon. The invitations should arrive in your guests’ mailboxes while you are away so that the announcement that you were just married remains fresh. So have Aunt Barb take your invitations to the post office while you’re gone and you can rest easy on your honeymoon knowing you’ve taken care of everything.

Prepare your invitations well in advance with the correct wording and you’ll have one less thing to think about. You might choose to do an informal set of invitations if the reception is going to be an outdoor barbecue. Or, you send something formal if you’re going ahead with a very upscale reception. Just have your date set in advance for the reception. The worst thing you can do is run off and get married in a tropical destination thinking you’ll plan the reception when you return. You’ll have so much to do when you get back that the plans may fall behind and you’ll end up not scheduling your reception (or not being able to get a venue) for six or seven months after the wedding. This will make guests feel left out. By the time half a year rolls around, the excitement of the initial celebration will have faded in the minds of your guests and they may feel forgotten.

So a good rule of thumb to stick with is to invite everyone in writing before you leave for your wedding. Have everything booked and ready to roll for within a month of your actual wedding date. Of course you can take care of wedding favors and other little details when you return, but don’t hold off on booking a band or hiring a caterer until you return. Have your reservations etched in stone at the restaurant or hall so that there are no unpleasant surprises when you return home to pick up your reception planning again.

Helpful Article: How to Announce that You Have Eloped

When you’re planning a wedding reception, music is an crucial factor to consider. There’s the romantic first-dance track to pick, the classics, the ones to sing along to, and generally a whole evening to fill with perfectly appropriate music that will get even your grandparents up and dancing.

The first question to ask is what to choose: a band or a DJ? Well, both can be equally catastrophic. A band could be great because the live element always makes the music more special and spontaneous. You can even request your favorite songs. But equally, they could know none of your requests and be incredibly poor musicians. Take this painful example from The Wedding Singer where the band turns into a nightmare and effectively ruins the whole wedding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB3PdPMjeIY

A lot can go wrong with a DJ, as well, as shown by another equally painful moment in Love Actually where the hired disc jockey repeatedly fails to play a decent track. This culminates with him putting on ‘Puppy Love’ and being pronounced ‘the worst DJ in the world’. However, DJs have the slight advantage of being easier to control – you can even provide them with a pre-made playlist. Plus, if they put on a disagreeable track, you can always go over and request that they quietly fade it out. DJs are also a little less expensive, so there’ll be more to spend on the honeymoon!

So, you’ve gone with the DJ. What next?  Well now, it’s time to plan the ultimate wedding playlist. For your first dance, make sure you choose something personal – a song that helped you find love together. Apart from that, just make sure you add these ten classics to the list:

Track 1. Mr Brightside The Killers

To sing along to with all your friends…

Track 2. Chasing Cars Snow Patrol

To hold your lighters up to… (but not if in a tent)

Track 3. Don’t Stop Me Now Queen

To dance energetically to… (without falling over in your wedding heels)

Track 4. (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life Franke and the Knockouts

To make your mother-in-law cry, and to try out your very own dirty dancing choreography…

Track 5. Don’t Stop Believing Journey

To have your very own Glee moment to…

Track 6. Final Countdown Europe

To get people on the dance floor…

Track 7. YMCA The Village People

To have everyone doing the actions…

Track 8. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow Carole King

To waltz to, and have a private romantic moment…

Track 9. Stand By Me Ben E King

To sing passionately along to with your friends before breaking down and sobbing in a corner…

Track 10. Angels Robbie Williams

To end the night with in a many-armed hug…

Whether you’ve met through online dating sites or through friends, your big day deserves a carefully planned wedding playlist – just make sure you include all the classics.

As the stresses of wedding planning mount, you may be tempted to cut down the guest list to two: you and your spouse-to-be.  This feeling only grows as you tackle one of the trickiest aspects of a wedding, the reception seating list. There are so many factors to consider that you may be tempted to throw in the towel and have everyone grab the first seat you can.  You could always arrange a reception-wide game of musical chairs, or you could take a deep breath and follow these tips.

The first step is an easy one: find out how many guests you have (planning for those one or two who RSVP at the last minute or decide to bring another guest) and how many tables and chairs you will need.  Call your reception venue and ask how they will be arranging the tables.  If the venue is somewhere that you are going to set up, like a backyard, then work on the configuration first.  How would you like the tables arranged, and how many people will fit comfortably at each?

Next, decide how you want to arrange the head table.  Traditionally, the bride and groom sit with their attendants at a table in the front of the reception location.  Some couples are now forgoing that tradition in favor of having a table-for-two to themselves.  The attendants either sit at another “head” table or with the other guests.  This is purely up to your preference and which option you think your bridesmaids and groomsman will be most comfortable with.

These exercises are the warm-up. Now comes the workout.  It helps to enlist the aid of both sets of parents if there are a lot of family members coming or if they have invited guests with whom they are more familiar.  They can give you suggestions as to who should be seated next to each other based on their prior relationship or interests.

With relatives and friends, try to seat people who know and like each other together. If, for instance, you invite your five work friends, have them sit together.  If you have six or seven person tables, add a couple that you think will mingle well with them.  If you have “random” guests, or those who don’t know your other guests, try to pair them with your chatty friends and family members so they feel more comfortable at your reception.  If you make an entire table of these unrelated, unfamiliar guests, chances are they will become bored or uncomfortable, especially if they are more reserved or quiet.

The seating at tables is difficult, but the positioning of the place cards at the tables can be even more challenging.  Your mother wants to be front and center, his mother wants to be right up there, too.  Your best friend wants to be at the table closest to the couple, but your aunt thinks that is her rightful place.  People seem to think that the closer they are to the table, the more important they are to the wedding!

Feelings can be hurt.  Before you start worrying about that, worry about things like children and elderly or handicapped guests.  Small children may need to be close to exits or bathrooms, and you might want to arrange tables of similarly aged children together.  Elderly guests may need to be within short walking distance to the buffet line or among the tables that do not have to be moved for dancing.  These types of considerations trump whose mom feels most important.

Seating parents can be a big challenge, especially if there are step-parents to consider in the seating chart.  Your mother may not want to sit with your father and his new wife, for instance.  Traditionally, the best table is reserved for the bride’s parents, with the second best going to the groom’s.  If one or both sets of parents are divorced, have a table for the mother and a separate one for the father (unless their relationship is completely amicable, which may be rare).  Maternal and paternal grandparents can then sit with their children.  If there is room, you can seat siblings and significant others here.

In general, you then seat other close relatives closer to the head table.  After close relatives are seated, you can arrange the remaining guests in a way that is most convenient.  To avoid hard feelings, make sure to visit each and every table at your reception.  Starting at the back is perhaps the best idea, as is spending a little extra time there.

No matter how hard you try, someone will always manage to be offended or feel slighted.  There is really no way to get around this if you have friends and family members like this.  The best tip is to arrange people as they and you will feel most comfortable.  If the would-be offended guest is very important to you, like your mother, you could save yourself the trouble and just ask her where she would like to sit.

Another helpful resource is this article on Seating Chart Creation Tips.

Of all the things you’ll be doing to prepare for your wedding, the seating chart ranks right up there with a trip to the dentist. No one looks forward to planning a layout that not only matches like-minded people together but also does not offend anyone at the same time.

Where to start? Well, the good news is that technology can be your best friend here. Use your home computer and Excel to create a seating chart. Or, go online and design a seating arrangement easily with sites like Simple Seating (www.simpleseating.com). There is a free version of the program or you can upgrade and pay for services like importing your guest list to it. On this site you can drop and drag seats to arrange and rearrange table assignments to your heart’s desire. When you’re done, print it out and you’re done. There are lots of features to check out that will make your life easier.

But whether you’re doing your chart online or the old fashioned pen and paper way, you still have lots to think about. Take a deep breath and realize that you can always make changes. Just get your basic layout in place and the rest will all come together.

Do you have to seat boy, girl, boy, girl? Not anymore. In today’s blended and step-families, there are so many things to consider that the every-other seating has all but disappeared. Seat people in order that makes sense. If you have four siblings that are girls, seat them all together around the table. If you have friends from college who happen to both be male, seat them together. It’s perfectly fine, simply use your wedding placecards to lead the way.

Do you have to sit at a head table with all of your bridal party? Not at all! You can create a table for two at the head of the room and seat the rest of the bridal party with their spouses or friends. It makes more sense for everyone, especially if you have moms who want to sit with their children or spouse.

Do both pairs of parents have to sit together at one table? No. You can have your parents sit with relatives from your side and at another table your groom’s parents can do the same.

One rule you should stick to is placing the most “important” relatives nearest the bride and groom. This would include your Aunt Connie who would be offended if you put her anywhere else than at Table 1 as well as step-fathers, biological fathers, step moms and your own mom. While the step-family has created challenges, use your head. If your mom and dad are divorced and remarried, they may feel uncomfortable being placed at the same table. Ask them. If they would prefer to sit apart, make sure they do.

As for friends, you can seat them just about anywhere. If you have a fun friend who you know will liven up a quiet group, place him at that table. If you have friends who you know would rather all be together, seat them that way. Give younger people the tables that elders might complain about. If you have one that’s in a highly trafficked area or near the kitchen, give it to the younger crowd. They are less apt to care.

Use your best judgment and just get the basics down. As your wedding approaches you’ll care less and less about where people are seated and more about your exciting big day!

Get more help on seating charts:

• How to Set Up the Reception Seating
• What to Do When You Have Missing or Late RSVPs

So you want to have a Las Vegas wedding? Whether you plan on doing a spur of the moment ceremony or want to fly in friends and family, Vegas offers an exciting backdrop for the wedding of your dreams.

Getting a License

First thing you will need is a marriage license. You will need to get that through the Nevada Marriage Licenses bureau. You can find them at:

Clark County Court House
200 South Third Street, First Floor
Las Vegas, Nevada 89115
702-455-4415

They stay open until midnight most nights, and on holidays they are open 24-hours. You’ll need to be at least 18 or have written parental consent if you’re 16 or 17. You’ll need to bring photo identifications, so call the Court House to see which documents they require to avoid disappointment. No blood tests are required. For a cash fee of $35, you’ll be granted a license you can use any time within one year from the issue date.

The Finer Points

As you might imagine, there are a host of businesses in Vegas that specialize in nothing but weddings. You’ll find more information online than you ever thought possible. Everything you need to know about a Vegas wedding can be found by searching “Vegas wedding” online. Ideas for chapels, reception venues, cakes, flowers and more abound. www.vegasweddingguide is a great source as is www.vegas.com, the official Las Vegas travel site.

Planning Logistics

Assuming you live outside the greater Las Vegas area, you’ll need to plan how you are going to get your guests into town. Allow guests enough time to make their travel arrangements. Send out Save the Date cards up to a year in advance if you can. Block out rooms at a hotel for guests and include that information with the card. Try to make everything as simple as possible for people.

Other things such as Vegas wedding favors or table centerpieces can get really creative. Play up your Las Vegas theme, and pick favors and decor that will be really fun for you and your guests. If you’re planning an elopement, keep reading.

Eloping

What an adventure to fly off to Vegas with just you and your fiancé to get married! If this is the route you are choosing, you can add little traditional elements that make the day special. There are bakeries in Las Vegas that will deliver you a miniature wedding cake for free. You and your new husband can enjoy it back at your hotel room. And speaking of hotels, there are many wonderful packages offered that include the wedding ceremony and hotel. You can find those on the internet. Often for as little as $199 you can have the ceremony and a night at a nice hotel.

There are also companies that will do your whole wedding outdoors in a garden or park including limo, flowers and champagne. Check out www.lasvegasmasterpieceweddings.com as a starting point. They’ll even include a minister for you! Other companies will provide a helicopter wedding complete with transport from your hotel to the top of a canyon for the ceremony. You can even get a violinist and special foods and beverages included. Vegas offers everything from gondola ride weddings to the original Elvis chapel. So dream big. If you can dream it, Vegas can accommodate it.

Consider…

While it may sound romantic to fly off to Vegas to get married, keep some important factors in mind.

• From May through September, temperatures can often reach a scorching one hundred degrees or hotter. A bridal gown with long sleeves or a heavy tuxedo jacket may not be the best option. Also, consider the time of year you’re going. Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve are two of the most crowded times for weddings in Vegas. You might want to plan for fall or early spring to beat the wedding chapel lines.
• You can actually rent a wedding gown in Vegas! This might be something to consider so you don’t have to invest a fortune in a dress you’ll wear once.
• Have your hair and makeup done in the hotel’s spa. It will save you having to run around looking for a stylist. And have your coiffure done right before you plan to leave for the ceremony so it doesn’t fall flat.
• If this is either party’s second marriage, you’ll need to have your divorce decree handy. You’ll need to provide the exact date and state of the divorce before you’ll be able to get a new license.

For more tips on Las Vegas weddings, try:

• Vegas Themed Wedding Cake Ideas
• Decorating for your Las Vegas Wedding
• Las Vegas Wedding Invitations
• Planning a Las Vegas Wedding