Archive for the ‘Weddings’ Category
The wedding planner may very well be a lifesaver – especially when you’re bombarded by all the things that clamor for your attention and decision. This makes hiring a wedding planner one very good idea – it can ease out a lot of stress and pressure. Remember, the wedding is your special day – you don’t have to spend it being all stressed out. Rather, you’d want to enjoy the day and let someone else handle the nitty-gritty details.
A wedding planner may be as involved in the planning and execution as you want him or her to be. They can coordinate and work with vendors so that all you have to do is to make decisions as to which designs to go with. The wedding planner can take care of ordering the wedding favors, dress, cake and floral arrangements and ensure that these are delivered on time. They can also be there in the wedding location to help supervise the decorations and even stay after the wedding to look after the clean up.
Indeed, the wedding planner may help you keep your sanity, ensure that the wedding is a success and kept well within budget. That said, you need to be careful in your choice of your wedding planner, since he or she plays such a crucial role in your wedding.
Here are some things you’d want to know with regards to your wedding planner:
- Availability. First, determine whether the planner has an open schedule for your wedding date. You need to know if he or she has other clients booked for that day or for the days leading up to your wedding day. You’d want to have a wedding planner that is fully committed towards your event and will not give only half of his or her attention to it due to the fact that he or she also is juggling other events. Another important thing to check is whether the planner is doing wedding planning as a part-time or fulltime career. Having one that works part time will mean that he or she is only available for calls or meetings during certain days and times.
- Communication. How will you and the wedding planner communicate – by phone, e-mail or both? How quickly can you expect the wedding planner to respond? How easily can you contact him or her and how often will you meet during the planning stage? Remember, some wedding planners will only provide you with a limited number of phone calls/meetings per week and may charge extra for more frequent calls and meetings.
- Services provided. Essentially, wedding planners will adjust themselves according to the level of involvement you want them to have for your wedding. There are some brides who prefer someone who will do the planning and coordinating with the vendors, choosing the wedding reception center and other items such as wedding favors, invitations and so on. There are also some brides who enjoy planning the details and doing the legwork of the wedding and simply need someone behind the curtains on the day of the wedding itself. Ask the planner if the wedding planning package being offered includes helping plan the bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner or honeymoon.
- Experience. A wedding planner’s particular niche should match with what you have in mind for a wedding. Wedding planners who are used to big-budget and elaborate affairs may not be a good fit for a wedding with a small budget. Someone who specializes in formal and church weddings may not have the experience to coordinate a destination wedding. Be sure that the wedding planner you choose has the experience to handle your kind of wedding. You should also ask for referrals for previous clients.
- Vendor network. A good wedding planner can actually help you save money or stretch your budget even further due to the fact that he or she can negotiate with vendors and work out deals so that you will enjoy more bang for your buck. Be sure to ask if the wedding planner can help you stick with your budget.
- Cost. Of course, it is important to discuss how much a wedding planner’s services will cost. Some wedding planners charge a flat fee while others tack on a percentage of the wedding’s total cost. Before you sign the contract, be sure to know the details of the costing – what services are included and what extra charges may be added.
A wedding planner gives you something precious you can enjoy – peace of mind. There are also some wedding venues that provide an in-house coordinator for your wedding day needs. This way, you have someone to go to for any needs you may have during the day of the wedding.
One such wedding reception venue is Western Gardens’ The Atrium in Sandy Utah. Aside from an in-house coordinator, this Sandy, Utah wedding venue offers a wide variety of facilities such as in-house vendors, beautiful backdrops for both indoor and outdoor weddings, a lovely water installation and much more.
Choosing the right Sandy reception center for your post nuptial celebration can seem like an uphill battle with the amount of venues located in Sandy, Utah. Though many of these reception locations fall short on a variety of levels and you may come across many that might not meet your expectations or budget. There are many considerations to mull over before when deciding on your ideal Utah wedding venue, such as availability, cost, services, and space. All of these factors should be completed prior to beginning your reception venue search, that way you will be prepared to make an informed and well thought out decision when the time comes.
Price Evaluation
Planning out your reception center budget prior to booking your Sandy, Utah wedding venue is the primary key. Without itemizing your wedding expenses first, your budget can run amuck and you will end up paying more out of pocket than you expected. After figuring out your wedding funds, you will find that you will have more wiggle room if you have a price range with a high and low figure rather than a firm fixed price for your reception allotment. If you find a Utah reception center that you adore but it is slightly out of your budget, don’t fret try negotiating with the reception manager to see if they can work something out and offer you a discount.
Services Offered
If you are going about your wedding sans wedding planner, it may be in your best interest to consider booking a Sandy, UT wedding reception location that can assist you with their various local vendor contacts. Reception centers often have ongoing relationships with caterers, florists, and entertainment providers; it is these beneficial working relationships that can help you obtain great deals on these essential services for your reception party. Additionally, some reception centers even present tables, chairs, linens, and invitations either included in the rental cost or for an added reasonable fee.
Type of Reception Center
Before beginning to set up appointments to check out local reception centers you should think about what type of venue sets your heart a flutter and decide if you would like an outdoor or indoor reception. The Sandy reception center that you choose would both appeal to your aesthetic senses and be a tasteful blank palette for which you can embellish upon with your personalization.
After contemplating these entire reception venue matters, you should take a moment to consider what the Atrium at Western Gardens has to offer. The Atrium currently has an existing setup that is geared specifically for events like weddings and receptions. Their Utah wedding venue is reasonably priced; presents a broad spectrum of services, and an ambiance that is soothing and stylish. The Atrium maintains the assistance of a wedding organizer who is there to help couples attain the goal of a blissful ceremony and reception with minimal hassle or stress.
Your Utah wedding venue has been decided on, now you need to busy yourself with the details of the reception; the biggest of which is deciding on a caterer and what to serve to your multitude of guests. Caterers today often offer alternatives to the traditional sit and service meal, in these modern days and economic times more and more couples are deciding to opt for the less expensive cocktail or dessert receptions, which includes hors d’oeuvres or pastries, drinks, and wedding cake.
But if you can afford the cost of a full meal in the form of a buffet or multi-course sit down service this would likely be preferable to your guests attending your Sandy, UT wedding reception. A caterer will be able to help you determine which type of service to offer based on your budget and food preferences. A banquet buffet will give your wedding guests the most options for variety and quantity, though it will require them to stand in line to receive their food. A sit down waiter service gives your guests the opportunity to comfortably relax and converse while waiting for their food, but this limits their portions and types of food that they may sample.
What kinds of food should be served at a reception and what should not?
Coming to an agreement on the menu as a couple is vital to having a satisfying catered event. The majority of caterers have cohesive menus that can be selected as is or customized to fit your preferences. To get an idea of what you would like to serve you should ask your caterer if you can sample some of their food. By doing this you will be able to pick out what exactly you want and get an idea of the caterers cooking abilities.
Typical main dish fares at a Utah wedding reception include beef, pork, chicken, and salmon. Incorporating a vegetarian option along with the meats as a main course is an excellent inclusive decision. Offering a variety is your best bet for pleasing everyone, and a safe one at that since it is impossible to know the dietary habits of all of your guests.
While it is important to cater to your guests at your Sandy, UT wedding reception, you should also make sure that you serve the types of food that you and future spouse find enjoyable. While you may decide to offer up a meal that is atypical, such as an exotic foreign dish, make sure you have more standard options available to those guests who are less adventurous. This way you satisfy both yourselves and your guests will leave your wedding event with a full and satisfying feeling of contentment.
The Atrium at Western Gardens has great contacts with an exceptional caterer that works regularly with this Sandy, Utah wedding venue. The Atrium’s unique relationship with their catering vendor allows them to pass savings on to you since they receive an economical rate for being a repeat and steady client. On top of all this they offer varied menus that can be customized to meet your wedding reception needs.
Your man has presented you with the loveliest of engagement rings and got down on his knees to ask you to be his wife. And of course, you happily said, “Yes!”. And now the wedding preparations begin. You realize that preparing your dream wedding is like being caught in a whirlwind – there is a continuous swirl of things to do, wedding providers to select, choices with regards to styles, colors, themes and so on.
To give you an idea, here are the basic things you need to do for your wedding:
- Set the date and ensure that your choice of church and wedding reception venue is booked for this date.
- Set the wedding budget
- Choose your wedding gown, as well as the gowns for your female entourage
- Choose the ring
- Build the guest list
- Prepare “save the date” announcements and/or announce the engagement(possibly via an engagement party)
- Get your marriage license and prepare all the necessary documents
- Send out wedding invitations and record RSVPs
- Decide on the bridal gift registry items
- Choose the caterer and the menu for the wedding and arrange for food tasting
- Choose the cake design and the baker
- Hiring the florist and deciding on floral arrangements
- Book musicians or DJ and agreeing on the music to be played
- Talk with the officiant and discussing the details of the wedding ceremony
- Prepare other printed items (place cards, wedding ceremony programs, thank you cards, inserts, etc.)
- Hire a videographer and photographer
- Book a makeup artist, having a makeup and hair test to check which kind you want
- Arrange for the transporation of guests or even hotel bookings and lodging (for out of town guests)
- Arrange the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner
- Write your vows
- Schedule and arrange the honeymoon
Aside from these, you will need to continuously follow up with wedding vendors to ensure that everything is ready for the big day.
Whew! All the hustle and bustle involved with the wedding preparations can make you wish that there was some easier way. And really, there is! You can either hire a wedding coordinator to ease away the hassle or you can also avail of the wedding packages provided by some Utah wedding locations.
For instance, The Atrium, a Sandy, Utah wedding venue offers not just a place for you to hold your wedding ceremony and/or reception; it also offers wedding packages that saves you a lot of trouble in terms on planning and selecting providers. With this Utah wedding reception center, you can also make use of their other services such as catering, linens, cakes and floral arrangements.
The Atrium is also equipped with all the necessary amenities to ensure that your wedding runs smoothly and that the overall ambiance is just the way you want it. The Atrium’s attention to detail and sense of style have made it one of the best wedding venues in Utah. What’s more, The Atrium will also provide a host during the day of the wedding to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Now, that’s wedding planning made easier!
It is possible to have a match made in heaven. The best wedding cakes that can be found anywhere in Salt Lake City are made at The Atrium at Western Garden Centers, known to be one of the best wedding reception venues in Utah.
The Atrium is set in an environment of lush greenery both inside and outside, with beautiful waterfalls that impart an incredible peace and tranquility to the surroundings, bringing a quiet contentment to any occasion that is hosted there. Couples who are planning their wedding or anniversary receptions or corporate events gravitate towards this wedding reception location in Sandy because of all that it has to offer.
Why a match made in heaven? To find professional cake designers with a wealth of international expertise and experience in the art of baking and decorating large cake orders based at a perfectly romantic wedding reception location, is as miraculous as finding gold in California in the gold rush days!
Wedding cakes date back to the days of the Roman Empire and the one thing that has not changed in the last thousand years is a quietly ingrained understanding that the cutting of the cake is symbolic of the bride and groom working hand in hand, to complete their first task as a couple! Having a wedding cake is considered to be one of the items that must be included in the wedding preparations of equal importance to the wedding rings!
Whether it is a five-tiered cake for a large guest list or the popular three-tiered wedding cake for an average guest list of about one hundred and twenty people, the wedding cake features prominently as an item which is guaranteed to be included in the wedding budget. To cater to a large guest list requires that the diameters of the tiers be increased and/or additional tiers be added.
In more recent times, couples have opted for variations in the cake recipes used for each tier. Gone are the days when one flavor cake was used throughout every tier and topped with only white buttercream icing. This means that every guest can now get a flavor of cake that they can possibly enjoy. Wedding cake decorations are now wonderfully creative, color-coordinating the wedding theme colors and whatever colors appeal to the bride and groom.
The wedding cake designers at the Atrium, have been creatively matching the wedding cake requests of thousands of couples over the last twenty-five years no matter how unique the requests. They have consistently exceeded the expectations of each of the couples, matching cake design, flavor and fillings and coming up with wedding cakes that look as good as they taste and can satisfy the guests’ individual flavor selections.
It is wise to visit the cake designers at the Atrium early in the wedding planning process and work out exactly what your dream wedding cake is going to look like. Many couples are choosing unique wedding themes and the cake designers at this Utah wedding reception center work with the recipes from any of the more than fifty basic cake design templates, eighteen different fillings and more than eighteen different flavors, jazzing up the wedding cake until it far surpasses the creative masterpiece which the couple envisioned and then requested.
So, if you are still a bit skeptical about how this will all work out? The best approach is to request a sampling session at the Sandy wedding reception venue, where the cake designers can provide small bite size samples of the cakes which are on your shortlist of favorite cake flavors and fillings. From here you can make some solid choices for your wedding day cake. The sizes, shapes, colors, design and flavor cakes that complement the decorating of your wedding cake, can only be limited by your imagination and the professional handiwork of the wedding cake designers.
Planning your dream wedding at your parents’ spacious backyard? This provides a personal touch to a deeply personal occasion. In addition, it can also save you a considerable amount of money, money you save by not renting a wedding reception venue.
However, there are some considerations you have to make if you plan to have your wedding on your own backyard:
- Planning and organizing. You will need to carefully plan and organize not just your time but also the amount of space you need to work with. Please remember that having your wedding or your wedding reception at your own backyard will mean a lot of work and will require a lot of hands to pitch in. You will need to make sure that the decorations and equipment are in place, plan space for important aspects of the wedding such as a dressing room for the bride and the entourage, space for the caterers to work with, and so on.
- Equipment rental. Even if your backyard has ample space, you still need to rent a lot of things. This include your audio system, chairs, gazebo (if you want one), plates and linens, lighting system, dance floor, tables and more.
- Weather. When planning an outdoor wedding, it is best to also make provisions in case the weather makes a turn for the worse. You can cross your fingers and earnestly hope that it doesn’t rain on the day of your wedding. But sometimes, hoping may not be enough. Does the house have enough space for all the guests in case it rains?
- Decorations. A lot of work will need to go with the set up and decorations. Even if the caterer is on hand to prepare the tables, you will want to have your wedding venue ready for those photographs and videos. Some areas to consider will be the guests’ entrance, the venue where the ceremony will be done, centerpieces, lighting (to set the right mood) and the restrooms. Another consideration may be that due to the limited space, you may have to have your wedding ceremony and reception on the same spot. This will take some organizing and work since you need to set up the chairs for the ceremony then the tables for the reception – with a bit of space for those in the mood for some dancing.
- Food preparations. If you are self-catering, please recognize that the standard kitchen may not provide ample space. And if you get someone to cater, make sure that they have enough space for the food preparations (plating, heating, etc.).
- Availability of parking. You may need to sweet-talk a lot of neighbors to allow your guests to park in nearby spaces. You may need to provide valet parking to ensure that there is minimal inconvenience for both your guests and your neighbors.
Having you wedding at your own backyard may be a wonderful thing, but you must also be prepared to organize, plan and work to make it the kind of wedding you want.
Now, you can also consider renting a wedding reception location in Salt Lake City, Utah to rid yourself of the additional hassles of setting up, organizing and preparing. Western Gardens’ The Atrium is a wedding reception venue in Sandy, Utah that can provide you with the amenities that can serve all your wedding requirements. Wide, open spaces, a baby grand piano, ample parking areas, a dance floor and more.
As far as reception centers in Sandy, Utah go, The Atrium is an excellent choice. These are equipped not just with what you need in terms of amenities but also create a romantic ambiance that is perfect for weddings and other special occasions. With such a wedding location in Utah, you can enjoy your wedding without having to worry about every tiny detail.
