What a great New Jersey wedding Ceremony!

What a weekend!  The first in the season, actually, with three wonderful couples and a full array of happenings, from a collapsing groomsman to a four year old who decided that his mom and dad were not only saying vows to each other, but to him too …..(he ran up the aisle to be part of the exchange!  And why not…….)

As I entered the charming ballroom  of Victor’s Chateaufor my last ceremony of the weekend, I spied a friendly, somehow familiar face, and greeted that face with, “Hi!  You look so familiar!”

Christian, from Onsightphotosjust laughed. “You did our wedding last summer!” 

Gulp……and so I had!  (Well, we all know what it’s like to see a familiar face in a different surrounding!)  Chrissy and Christian’s wedding, at the charming, rustic Chateau Hathorne, in Warwick NY, was one of my favorites last summer.  Everything they planned was personal, fun, and a little quirky; which is exactly why I love to refer them to my couples. Their wedding photography is exactly the same!

Onsight is really a labor of love for them, and from the moment you meet them, you can tell that they will adopt your wedding as their own. They are true professionals, but they will make your wedding day photography fun, and that is a very rare quality in photographers. (And they also do amazing portraits of babies and families; your wedding photography might be the first step in a long, long collaboration!)

Seek and you shall find…everything you need for your wedding. Wedding lenox is a particularly pretty new site, that can lead you to all sorts of vendors that will make your day care free.  They list bands, photogs, hair people, makeup people, caterers, NJ wedding officiants, and almost anything else you can think of. And you can shop in your jammies!

A traditional Celtic handfasting  can be one of the most visually stunning and spiritually meaningful elements of your ceremony.  Many of my couples include this ritual; the juxtoposition of this ancient common law rite and our modern vows invites us to consider the different kinds of promises we make and how they describe our relationships.

A wonderful resource for information about this romantic and evocative ritual is handfastings.org.  There, you can find different ceremonies, read about the history of handfastings, and find officiants across the country who are legally ordained and available to help you create a memorable service for your wedding or civil union.

After about my fifth couple in a row told me that they had a wonderful photographer, Abella, booked to cover their Nj wedding  (damn, I’m smooth….)   I had to check them out. And what a visual treat it was!  I can’t wait to work with them this spring!

They are dedicated to unobtrusive storytelling. While they excel at ‘photojournalist’ style coverage, they also take the traditional photos that capture the grandeur and importance of the day, while injecting a note of humor.  Their staff is talented, relaxed, and highly professional, and their former clients just love them.  

 I tell my couples that when the potato pancakes are eaten, the flowers pressed, and the inspiring wedding ceremony just a memory, (geez, I am just shameless…), the photos will stay with you. Make sure you choose a company you really love, that will preserve your memories for years to come.

What better way to get in shape for your wedding (and support a great cause) than to train for this picturesque run along the scenic Hudson river! On Sunday, May 17th, hundreds of runners will start a 5K run to benefit the Nj Diabetes Foundation. This great organization presents seminars to health care professionals and the public, helps provide short term medical assistance to patients, and supports Camp Nejeda, a co-ed camp for affected children.

In addition to getting your share of aerobics in, you can also visit their health fair (at the Cliffside Park HS) and get your blood pressure checked (you suspected that all this wedding planning was getting to you? Now you can find out!), learn about diet, exercise and much much more.

You’re about to embark on a journey of great committment to a partner, a new type of life, and a future full of suprises! It is the perfect time to make a committment to your health too, and make sure that your future is a long and healthy one.
You can find out more about the foundation, about Diabetes, and register for the run at this site!

“Run the Palisades”
Sunday, 10:00 AM, May 17th
1st Annual 5K Run/Walk and Health Fair
Location: The Towns of Cliffside Park and Fort Lee, NJ

Some of the most offbeat places can give you the most amazing and off the wall inspiration for your invites, favors, table decor, gifts for your attendants and ceremony ideas. It’s all about being open to the hunt!  Here are a few of my favorite sites, with more to follow.   The Spoon Sisters site  is filled with such an amazing and creative array of “stuff” that it is almost dangerous.  From these cool cocktail napkins (a much hipper version of the “Hi! I’m _______ tag…..) to this nifty “pet” fish, you will find yourself laughing, shopping, and solving a lot of your wedding dilemmas.

Invites, pens, little funny favors, (and maybe a selection of really nifty toys for the “kids” tables; all can be found at Sam Flax, the legendary arts and more store in New York.  They have the most fun stuff; these invites can be totally personalized, and how fun are these lipstick pens as a great little bridal shower favor? (They have cigar shaped ones too….)

We all know about Oriental Trading, (don’t we?) They have all kinds of inexpensive “wedding” type offerings, like votive candles, Jordan Almonds (wow, there is a blast from the past!) and favors, but the real fun happens if you’re having a theme wedding; luah, halloween, western. You will find all kinds of fun touches that can really add to the decor without adding much to the budget!

More to come!

Rehearsals are good; they let everyone know where they need to be during the ceremony. Why not start with the end first? Your banquet hall director, wedding coordinator or officiant will probably be running your rehearsal; it may or may not take place on the traditional “rehersal dinner” night before. With couples increasingly choosing Thursdays, Fridays and other weekdays for their events, your reception site may not be available the night before; in that case, the rehearsal can be done on the same day. (And if the bridal couple is planning to NOT see each other before hand, the whole thing can be done without the bride….)  Having the rehearsal the week before the wedding, or at another place entirely is not worth the precious time it will take.  No one will remember anything, and it just puts one more “to do” on your “to do” list.

A “Reverse Rehearse” can get everyone straight on their role in a minumum of time. 

Start by placing the entire bridal party, including kids, dogs, pot belly pigs, ferrets, in the places that they will end up as they await your arrival at the ceremony focal point,(could be an altar, a table, a gazebo). This way, they can all see what the ceremony tableau would be like in a perfect world; they will see the bigger picture,and their part in it. They will know what to do, and this will be relaxing. Relaxed bridal parties are wonderful things.

Your maid or matron of honor will need to be close enough to take your bouquet when you enter into the ring vows. The best man needs to be close enough to hand you or your officiant the rings, which should be in his pocket, NOT in a box; this minimized fumbling at a moment that is key to the flow of the ceremony. (I prefer to have the rings handed directly to the couple; if one of them drops a ring, it’s funny and memorable; if I drop one, it’s unprofessional.) You want everyone close enough to you and each other that the photos will get capture everyone

After that, rehearse their departure down the aisle; this is a detail that is often overlooked; the grace of the recessional is just as important as the organization of your entrance.

A nice touch that one of my clients incorporated was to have the two sets of parents accompany them as they recessed down the aisle with the bridal party. It was an intentional and heartfelt gesture of respect for their part in the lives of the bride and groom.

No matter how simple, casual,intimate your wedding is going to be, you need a
“go to” person. Your first thought might be a friend or relative, but that might not be the best idea; these people want to have fun and enjoy themselves too. Hiring a bridal consultant, just for the day is a very, very good idea; most planners will offer “day of” or “week of” services and they are worth every cent.
Even if you have lined up the absolute best, the most professional, the most enjoyable vendors, (like your New Jersey wedding officiant), someone still has to manage them that day. It’s a little like being a CEO for 10 hours.
A competant “go-between” will run interference between you and anyone who has a question (and everyone will have a question), pay your vendors, keep track of gifts and the wedding license, and generally make things more relaxed for you. They should have a cell phone on them (until the ceremony, of course), and all your vendors (photographers, caterers, ministers, limo drivers, etc), should have that number. Your person should have a list of the people who are supplying everything from the cake, (as in “where is it!!!!), to the ceremony music, (as in “where are they!!!), to the flowers, (as in, “who ordered the poodle shaped carnation centerpieces???). Communication is a beautiful thing…
I can steer you towards several really top notch planners and coordinators, and you’ll feel the relief wash over you as soon as you speak to them.

Well, I couldn’t be more delighted. My friends as BZZagent sent me a treat from the new Glade “Fragrance Collection” to test and talk about. Talk about delicious!  The scent that I’m smelling is Currants and Acai, and it is gorgeous.  Their interesting scents, like Sheer White Cotton, Lotus Bamboo, and Orange Vanilla are available in a range of products that include two different sizes of candles (soy, of course), and reed diffusers. These babys will do for Glah-day what Mizrahi did for Tar jzay…..

The big candle has three wicks, weighs as much as I do, and lasts forever.  All the selections are pretty enough to treat yourself or your bridesmaids, but they would make a sweet little shower gift too. And the best news is that they are TRES affordable.

Get OUT of those bridal stores an OFF of those bridal websites!  (Except mine of course, lol…..)  Just kidding; all of those great wedding places can solve all sorts of problems, but some of your most incredibly fun, outrageously creative ideas may hit you when you’re somewhere else!  Some of my favorites?  I thought you’d never ask….Of course, I love  Michaels; they have all kinds of neat little favors, packaging details, ribbons, table decor and even invitations.  Your local dollar store is definately the source for votive candles, silk rose petals, tuille, cocktail napkins, and aspirin (for when it all gets to you….)  Don’t forget the the cool candy store or warehouse store to stock up on fun sweeties for a candy table after the reception; the Black River Candy Shoppe has the most incredible selection of favorites, including about 50 flavors of Jelly Bellys, gourmet lollypops, rock candy, and  some vintage brands that are truly hard to find; it’s a real treat! (No pun intended…)