Real Weddings: Choosing a venue and a date

Our first wedding planning task was to find a location for our wedding. We weren't planning a church ceremony, and both agreed we liked the idea of holding the ceremony and reception at the same place. We also looked mostly north of Pittsburgh, since that's where we live.

Some of the place we looked at online:

• The Grand Ballroom at Cornerstone Commons, Butler
• Succop Conservancy, Butler
• Cranberry Highlands, Cranberry Township
• Armstrong Farms, Saxonburg
• The Atrium, Prospect

By looking online and contacting these sites for some more information, we narrowed our choice down to two: The Grand Ballroom and The Atrium. After visits to both, we selected The Atrium.
What we loved about The Atrium was the light, open feel of the whole place. It felt perfect for a summer wedding. Also, David very much liked the idea of an outdoor wedding, but the thought of weather issues scared me. At The Atrium, they offer an indoor greenhouse for ceremonies, as well as an outdoor gazebo. We didn't need to decide until the day of the event which option we would use.

I also loved The Atrium's packages, because they were so affordable and included a lot of things we would have had to pay for elsewhere, like centerpieces. At the same time, there was a good amount of flexibility for things like menu choices.

Now that we had our location, we needed a date. We had decided on a late summer wedding, because I wanted about a year to plan and because all of our brothers were in school out of town. At the time, all of the August dates were already booked but one--and it was on hold. We picked the last weekend in July as a back up, and waited another week before we got the call that August 11 was free. . .and our wedding officially had a date.

Favorite Wedding Movie Moments

Over at IDoSugar, BuzzSugar posted her top five wedding moments from the big screen last week, including Princess Bride, Coming to America, Sixteen Candles, Father of the Bride and this great scene from Love Actually:



Take a look at her list and tell me, what other movies feature your favorite wedding scenes? Personally, I am a fan of Sweet Home Alabama, with its super fancy botched ceremony ending in a punch followed by the down home reception at the bar. . .and the happy couple arriving in handcuffs.

Comment below and share your favorites!

Pittsburgh flair: Eat 'n Park Smiley Cookies

If you're looking for a great Pittsburgh-inspired wedding favor, look no further than the Eat 'n Park Smiley Cookie. Whether you're getting married in Western Pennsylvania or are a couple from the 'Burgh saying your vows elsewhere, it's easy (and pretty affordable) to add this sweet treat to your big day.

Of course if you're in Pittsburgh, you can stop into any Eat 'n Park to pick up the local treat. But now you can also order the cookies online to be delivered anywhere. Plus, the Web site let you design your own cookie, so you can customize the smiling faces to match your wedding colors, whether they're blue and orange or black and gold:
While the cookies would make a great favor at your wedding reception, they'd also be a great item to include in out-of-town welcome baskets for your guests. Visit Eat 'n Park's online store for all the details.

Green Wedding Tip #4: Natural lighting

A daytime wedding will require less lighting, and thus less electricity, and be much more environmentally friendly. But if you're planning an evening affair, you can still reduce your energy impact by using candles to light your event.

Besides saving on electricity for your green wedding, candles can had a romantic, intimate feel to your ceremony and reception. Choose soy candles for an eco-friendly glow.

Find more green wedding advice at the Perfect Memories Wedding Store.

Green Wedding Tip #2: Skip the styrofoam

Make your wedding more green and serve dinner with real china and flatware at your reception. Plastic, paper and Styrofoam cups, plates, napkins and flatware create more waste and some of it is not biodegradable.

By using china, real flatware or silverware and linen napkins, you're using products that can be used again and again at other events. Plus, it will give your wedding a more classy, elegant feel.

Find more green wedding advice at the Perfect Memories Wedding Store.

Pittsburgh flair: Capture your wedding memories with FlashBox

Ever wish you had a better way to remember all of the guests at your wedding? Something other than fuzzy photos or stammering best wishes as the videographer makes his way around the room during dinner?
Check out FlashBox Media, a new and innovative product, and an alternative to a Pittsburgh wedding videographer, that's sure to be the talk of any event. A FlashBox Video Kiosk is set up at your wedding reception, and your guests can approach it at any time to record their messages when they are ready to do so. This results in video clips that are personal, heartfelt, funny and sweet, creating a unique keepsake for years to come.

And FlashBox is something you'll find only in Pittsburgh. A team of Carnegie Mellon graduates developed the technology, and the service is currently only available to events in Western Pennsylvania. No other brides in the country can have this at their wedding receptions.

At your reception, a FlashBox director will monitor the kiosk throughout the evening, encouraging your guests to record a message and assisting them in doing so. Guests can share a favorite memory or embarrassing moment, sing a song, give marriage advice or even perform a skit.

Then, after the wedding, comes the best part! The team at FlashBox will professionally edit the video footage and can even integrate still photos from your wedding. Network-TV caliber computer graphics give your video the look of a television show produced in Hollywood. You'll receive the finished DVD with a personalized keepsake case.

Visit FlashBox's Web site to view sample videos and learn more. And be sure to click on the KDKA icon to see the kiosk featured on Pittsburgh Today Live.

Colorful signature cocktails

Choosing a signature cocktail is a great way to personalize your wedding reception, and picking a drink that's color matches your wedding is a great idea. Absolut's Web site can help you find the cocktail recipe that is perfect for you, with their color picker on the right sidebar.

This drink recipe tool is one of the best I've seen, and it's not just for drinks made with Absolut vodka. You can find tons of cocktails made with gin, rum, tequila, whiskey and brandy as well, to help you plan your entire alcoholic drink menu.

And the volume of recipes is impressive. Click on "Blue Drinks" (perfect for a "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue" specialty cocktail) and you'll discover 245 choices. "Red Drinks" will you give you 2,476 options--happily, the drinks are sorted by rank, to help you pick the best ones.

Image from Absolut

Pittsburgh flair: The cookie table

"No Pittsburgh wedding is complete without one." You can find a cookie table at nearly every wedding in Western Pennsylvania: a long buffet table filed with trays and trays of sweet treats. Many local reception venues even include the table for cookies in their packages, offering to "tray your cookies" for you.

While we like to consider this a Pittsburgh tradition, historical research shows that the cookie table may have actually originated in nearby Youngstown, Ohio. Several other regions across the U.S. indulge in the cookie buffet as well, but nowhere so predominantly as Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

Traditionally, female relatives of the bride all pitch in and bake dozens and dozens of homemade cookies in several varieties before the big day. You can also order the cookies from a local bakery, or mix it up with a combination of homemade and bakery treats.

Give your cookie table a modern twist and combine it with a current national trend, the candy buffet. Pair trays of cookies with bowls of candy and provide bags for guests to create their own favor to take home. Or, go for a different look and serve the cookies out of clear cookie jars instead of tray. Hang a tag from each jar identifying the type and the baker (e.g. "Grandma's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies."

If you're getting married in Pittsburgh, many of your local guests will expect to find cookies at the reception. But your out-of-town guests may be clueless about the tradition. If you want to give them a local history lesson, clue them in with a simple sign explaining the cookie table. In my experience, most out-of-towners are delighted by the idea (case in point, the picture below of an out-of-town college friend of the bride and groom, who went a little too crazy over the cookies).
No matter how you choose to include the cookie table on your wedding day, it is an old-time tradition that will never get old.

Images, from top: Shout Youngstown, Design Mom, Perfect Memories
Sources: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Wikipedia, Miami University of Ohio

Choosing your father-daughter dance song

Head over to iTunes to check out the latest iMix from Perfect Memories. Today's new play list features my top ten choices for your father-daughter dance. I tried to select of range of songs that would work depending on your personality and preferences: from sentimental to sweet, classic to modern.

You can find all of the Perfect Memories play lists here. . .and look for more in the future.

What do you think? What song will you dance to with your dad on your wedding day? Comment below and let me know!

You might be interested in:
Wedding Planning Secrets: How to have a fairy tale wedding on a shoestring budget.

A special first dance: Dirty Dancing style

Choreographed first dances have become quite a wedding trend lately, and truthfully I love them. It's unexpected and memorable for both the couple and the guests. Spend a few minutes on You Tube and you'll find a ton of examples. I may do a future post sharing more of my favorites, but today I want to show you this gem all the way from the UK:



This made me think of one of my college roommates who's always said she wants to do this dance at her wedding one day (but with Patrick Swayze, not her own husband!). Perhaps this will inspire her to actually do it.

Sidenote: I love, love, love that wedding dress!

Fab 5: Bright, bold centerpieces

Happy December everyone! We got our first real snowfall of the season yesterday through this morning, and after getting stuck in a white-out snow squall on the turnpike last night, I could use a little brightening up! So I give you five deliciously colorful centerpieces to brighten up your table.

1. Hot Pink
   
   I used fuchsia at my own wedding, so it will always hold a soft place in my heart. This bright pink floral arrangement, balanced with a bit of green from the pears underneath, sits atop pink table linens.
   Image from Wedding Channel
   
   
2. Faux Floral
   
   For a more abstract touch, decorate your tabletop with works of art, like this metal flowers sculpture painted bright blue, green and yellow.
   Image from The Knot
   
   
3. Fluorescent Flowers
   
   Whoa! Yeah, this is bright. On top of a black tablecloth, these babies practically glow. (Tip: If you're using this color scheme, please let your bridesmaids wear black dresses--unless you want them to hate you.)
   Image from Wedding Channel
   
   
4. Mix-matched Blooms
   
   Arrange a few, small mismatched vases on your table and fill them each with a different brightly colored bloom or two for a casual feel.
   Image from The Knot
   
   
5. Bold Hues
   
   Top your table with a large bowl of boldly red carnations, and they'll just pop off a pale aqua and white color scheme.
   Image from Martha Stewart Weddings
   

Fab 5: Guest book alternatives

Welcome back from a long Thanksgiving weekend. I hope everyone filled up on lots of turkey.

In today's Fab 5, I'm sharing five ideas for your wedding guest book. Almost every wedding has one: a book that guests sign as they enter the reception or ceremony. The traditional guest book contains pages and pages of blank lines (And often costs way more than its worth, just because it is a "wedding" guest book. If you want the traditional book, consider purchasing a pretty journal instead--you'll save money!). Most guests will usually sign just their names, and the book gets shoved on a shelf or in a closet, rarely looked at again.

With just a little creativity, brides and grooms can choose a guest book alternative that will not only be more meaningful to them, but will also be more interesting for their guests. Whichever option you choose, be sure to have a sign with instructions--many guests may be bewildered by a different choice. Here are five popular alternative to the traditional wedding guest book:

1. Wishing Tree
   
   Your guests write wishes or advice for your happiness on individual cards, and hang them from a small tree, which can double as a welcoming decoration at your reception. If you can't swing the tree, pick up some branches from a craft store and display them in a vase. For a more cost-efficient idea, try a "Wishing Bowl" instead, and instruct guests to toss their cards into a glass bowl.
   
   What to do after the wedding? You could use the cards to create a wedding scrapbook, combined with photos, invitations and other mementos from your wedding. Or, store the cards in a memory box and break them out on anniversaries.
   Image from Weddingbee
   
   
2. Polaroid Guest Book
   
   Station a friend at the door to snap photos of your guests as they enter, and have guests write their message in the space next to their photo. You can find these instant photo guest books online, but if you're feeling crafty, create your own with card stock, scrapbook paper and photo corners. The book doubles as a photo album you can share and browse for years to come.
   Image from Beau Coup
   
   
3. Signature Photo Mat
   
   Collect your guests' signatures on a photo mat, add a photo from your wedding and frame. Hang on your wall for memories of all of the people who cared about you and shared in your special day.
   Image from weddingbycolor.com
   
   
4. Wedding Quilt
   
   Set out pre-cut quilt squares and acid-free pens for your guest to sign. You can choose squares that match your wedding colors or, perhaps more practical, the decor of your home. After the wedding, quilt the squares together (add some unsigned squares as well) and cuddle with your new husband under a blanket of love (I know, I'm getting a little cheesy here!).
   Image from brideandbabyfavors.com
   
   
5. Custom Photo Guest Book
   
   Create a customized guest book with your own photos. You can use engagement pictures or pictures of the two of you throughout your relationship--or you could even incorporate pictures of you growing up. This provides another option that doubles as a photo album, plus your guests will enjoy looking at the photos.
   
   I couldn't find a book out there that's sold specifically for this purpose--if you know of one, let me know. However, you can make your own in several different ways. If you have a design program, this would simple enough to create. For my own wedding, I created and purchased the book through iPhoto, using an image of lines created in word when I wanted signing space. By hand, purchase scrapbook paper and attach photos with photo corners--you can find lined paper, but it doesn't have to be.
   

Choosing your first dance song

What song will you and your new hubby choose for your fist dance? In the first ever Perfect Memories iMix on iTunes, I've picked 10 of my favorite tunes for first dance songs. But, these are just my choices. . .what songs do you like best? Let me know and I'll create a "Reader's Choice" play list of first dance songs to share with brides and grooms everywhere.

My iMix:

So what would you pick for your first dance? Leave me a comment and I'll compile the results soon.

An inside look at a Pittsburgh Pirates wedding

Did you ever wish you could see the wedding of a Pittsburgh sports star? Saundra at planning. . .forever events recently planned the wedding of Pirates starting pitcher Zach Duke and his gorgeous bride Kristin in Indiana. You can get an inside look at their wedding, and at the life of an event planner in her four-part recap:

• Part I
  
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV

Enjoy...and congratulations to Zach and Kristin!

P.S. My schedule's a little off this week. . .come back tomorrow for a brand new Fab 5!

Pittsburgh flair: PNC Park weddings

Take me out to the ballgame. . .err, wedding. . .
PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, can be a unique setting for your wedding. With many different options to choose from, the ballpark boasts amazing views of Pittsburgh. When the Pirates aren't playing, you can host your reception in the swanky Lexus Club or on the Pittsburgh Baseball Club Level, in Gunners or Keystone Corner (you can even leave out the pools tables for your guests, if you want!). Your wedding can be as formal and traditional as you like--added baseball elements completely optional.
Want to get even more creative with the space? Use the dugout for a cocktail hour. . .or as a memorable spot for your wedding ceremony!
I also love the idea of tying in a Pirates game with your pre-wedding activities. You could host your rehearsal dinner inside PNC Park, or at one of the nearby restaurants like Outback Steakhouse, Atria's or SoHo. Then you and your wedding party can enjoy the game. Or, purchase group tickets for all of your out-of-town guests for a pre-wedding get together (if paying for everyone's ticket is out of your budget, you could offer them the chance to purchase at the discounted price--they might be interested in a chance to check out the ballpark).

First image: Clip from Modern Bride, Photo by Weddings By Heather
Second, third and fourth image: Pittsburgh Pirates

Dancing, food and flowers

Happy rainy Tuesday everyone! The Post-Gazette added some new wedding articles to their site yesterday, so I thought I'd share:

Ask Carley: Balancing dancing, dinner at reception
My take: If you're having a sit down dinner, dancing during the meal does not seem like a good idea. Plus, guests won't want to dance while food is being served. If your worried about guests getting bored, start the dancing during the cocktail hour and have your band or DJ ask guests to be seated for dinner. You can start again after the meal.

If you really want dancing all night long, consider a different set up for your reception. Offer food stations or heavy hors d'oeuvres throughout the evening with tables situated away from the dance floor to allow for conversation.

It's the flowering accessories that make a wedding blossom
My take: You shouldn't limit yourself to a venue's recommended florist. Sure, they may know who does the best work in their space, but they might also be recommending a florist because it's down the street.

Also, not all venues require that you use one of their florists, so choosing someone else may not be an additional cost. When making a decision, take a look at work that florist has done, both in the space and elsewhere. Ask to see examples of what they can create for you, in your budget.

Carb-o-licious wedding food

Mrs. Strawberry over at Weddingbee posted about the mashed potato martini bar she had at her wedding...yum! This is such a great idea if you are having food stations, and I'm sure it will be a hit with your guests.

Guests are served mashed potatoes in martini glasses, and can top them a selection of goodies, like cheeses, bacon, chives. . .you could certainly get creative here. Dress it up a little bit by serving different kinds of potatoes. Sweet, blue or purple potatoes will not only add taste variety to the mix, but some serious color as well!

I wish I could do my own wedding over again just so I could have mashed potato bar! Seriously, "mashers," as I like to call them, are my favorite, favorite food. I really made out at events during the height of the Atkins craze. . .the girl sitting next to me never wanted her potatoes, and I was more than happy to trade some broccoli!

(In case you can't tell, the potatoes excite me. Hence the overuse of exclamation points in this post.)

Image from Idaho Potato Commission

Personalize your wedding: Time to party

Make your reception fun and memorable for your guests by mixing up the wedding standards. Welcome your guests to the party by having your first dance as they enter the hall. Serve foods or drinks unique to your hometown. At every guest’s favorite, the bar, add your personal touch by offering a signature cocktail (or several…I love the “old, new, borrowed and blue” idea!). Instead of cake, choose your favorite dessert. You can still have a small cake for the newlyweds to cut, or you can just cut the substitute dessert.

These are just a few of the ways your can add a personal touch to your reception. If you have an idea, don't be afraid to try it. Make it unique and make it yours.

The Rise of "Look at Me" Weddings

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette yesterday published a column by Betsy Hart of Scripps Howard News Service about the stunts couples pull at their wedding to make sure attention remains on them, no doubt inspired by this video, referenced in the article:




And, by far my favorite item in the column:

"Another wedding featured a surprise performance from the groom and
groomsmen serenading the bride with a choreographed song from "The Little
Mermaid" in frog and lobster costumes."

I do agree that some couple go way too far when planning these performances. But I don't think there's anything wrong with adding a certain amount of creativity to a wedding reception. Incorporating unique elements can lead to a fun event for guests as well as the bride and groom...and make the day a truly "special" one for all involved.

I also think her logic is a bit misplaced when it comes to destination weddings. Ms. Hart feels these represent another "'all about me' trend." While certainly some couple may be misguided in asking all of their guests to travel for these weddings, I think this rising trend also results from the fact that brides and grooms today less often come from the same hometown and sometimes neither lives there. With the majority of guests travelling anyway, they choose a dream location for the event. Still other couples choose a destination wedding and limit their guest list to a small group of family and friends--sometimes saving money over a large hometown wedding.

In another look at spoiled brides, check out Emily Yoffe's "The Bride From Hell" on Slate.

And my parting words of advice to couples: do not ever tell your guests what color clothes they can wear to your wedding.