The New in Dinner Service

Posted on February 22, 2012 by molly

Who knew there were so many choices when it comes to serving your guests on your wedding day? I can honestly say I had no idea how many options existed until stepping through the doors of the catering company I now work for. I walked into a world of seemingly endless service options! There’s plated and buffet—which most everyone knows of, and then there are Stations, Cocktail Style service, Russian service, Family Style, French service… the list goes on and on. I wanted to take a minute and give you a brief education about two styles we are seeing more and more out here on the East Coast.

The first being Family Style Dining:
This option is a perfect for a bride looking to have a sit down dinner, but doesn’t want it to be super formal. This service helps guests feel “right at home,” and offers guests a variety of options. Food is prepared, placed on big beautiful platters (if you have a good caterer) and set on the table for guests to pass at their leisure—just as if you were sitting at the Sunday dinner table with your own family. This also allows guests to pick and choose what they would like to eat, without being as extensive as a buffet. This style also eliminates people having to choose “beef or chicken” beforehand which means less tracking and organizing for you!

The second and rapidly growing in popularity is Russian Style Service:
This style is popping up more and more out here. It’s Family Style Dining with a higher-end feel. Food is prepared and arranged just like Family Style, but the waitstaff does not leave the food on the tables. Instead, the staff walks around each table serving guests from a variety of food he/she has to offer. This requires a larger number of servers, and therefore will cost you a bit more than Family Style or a plated dinner, but it makes for an impressive service.
Don’t get overwhelmed with options. First decide what kind of feel you want guests to have on your wedding day. If you find yourself a good caterer, they will be able to point you in the direction that is right for you!

Photos by Molly Lorincz

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How to pick a bridesmaid dress she will REALLY wear again

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Ananda

Tips from Sublime Couture:

Keep these three things in mind when choosing bridesmaids gowns that your girls could really wear again.

1. Choose a color that is neutral, like Black, Navy, and shades of Gray or Brown. Because these colors are not bold and memorable there is more of a chance they can be worn again and no one will say, oh that was the dress from so and so’s wedding. These colors tend to flatter most people as well.

2. Consider length. Short dresses tend to be less formal which as we discussed earlier makes them more easily worn for less formal events in the future.

3. Streamline the details. Consider the cut of the dress, if the dress has more of an a-line cut its going to flatter most people. Also you want avoid any large details on the dress , like flowers bows or ruffles, unless they can be removed.

More tips from Sublime here. Book an appointment with Sublime Couture here. See Sublime dresses on the Wedding Essentials runway.

Source: Pronovias gowns

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MOB dress: The hits and misses

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Ananda

From Miss Deco:

Leaving the guys to enjoy some basketball and beer, Mom Deco and I were off on our shopping adventure! Of course, on a Saturday at David’s Bridal it’s crazy busy, but that allowed us the freedom to grab what we wanted. While waiting outside the dressing room, I watched as other girls modeled prom, bridesmaid and wedding dresses. It made me so happy that I have found my perfect dress and the overwhelming feelings of finding that dress were over! There was a 9 on my cloud :)

Magically, the first dress Mom Deco tried on was a winner (at least we thought). Light and airy with a sophisticated elegance, and most importantly, comfortable. The fit was fabulous! As she tried on several more dresses, but nothing compared to the first dress. They were nice, just weren’t the look Mom Deco was going for. So she put the first dress back on. Confident we had found the perfect dress, we wrote down the style number and headed out to Von Maur.

At Von Maur, we instantly got side-tracked in their bridal section. I tried on a couple cardigans in case our October date is chilly, and sported a few tiaras for laughs. Back on track, we moved into the women’s dresses. We were please with Von Maur’s selection and we even found one from a sale rack. Mom Deco came out in the first dress and it was even better than we ever imagined. It was elegant with a nice vintage feel, perfect for a wedding at the Durham.

We sent a picture to Dad Deco for his opinion, but Mom Deco was convinced this was THE dress. She humored me and tried on a few more: A nice gray dress that weighed a ton was prettier on the hanger and the sale rack find. Now we know why it was on the sale rack…it was impossible to get on!

After getting all the layers positioned correctly, we both busted out laughing. It was a dress straight out of the Sound of Music! Complete with sheer flowy sleeves just like the dress that Maria had on while dancing with Captain Von Trapp. It was decided, the vintage-feel dress from Von Maur was perfect for the mother of the bride. Not taking any chances, she bought it.

The day was perfect! We shared tons of smiles and laughs that will be great memories for years to come. Love you Mom Deco!

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Happy Friday

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Ananda

Three words: Canadian Destination Wedding

Photos from Hotel de Glace, Montreal, Quebec. More photos here.

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Found! “movie trailer” wedding videographer (that will wow you!)

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Jennifer

Been looking for a videographer who does wedding videos like the studios I’ve been cyber-stalking in southern Cali. I felt like I hit the jackpot when I stumbled across this video one night! It’s by Bellus Photo + Film and they’re in OMAHA!

Ron + Pam from Bellus Films on Vimeo.

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The Tux

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Ananda

From Miss June:

Sharp. Dressed. Man.

I found it! The perfect tuxedo combination. Not without the help of my close friend, and bridesmaid, Felicia. She’s amazing at being a friend, and amazing at making all the choices I am too indecisive to make. She’s there to offer a logical opinion and politely tell me I am almost to at the “crazy” level. She was just kidding.

So, it’s done! It’s in the books and money is down. It’s going to be a classic look to go along with the rest of the wedding. The tux’s are black, with Mr. June’s being a light pearl vest and tie on a white shirt and The Gents will be looking handsome in black vests and ties. That’s another thing, I call them “The Gents.”

The road to this classy look was yet another over-analyzed aspect to our wedding. I went to many (every) tux shop in town, compared prices and colors, and went with TIP TOP TUX. I would highly recommend booking with a tuxedo rental store at a bridal show. We received $50 off every tux, a couple free, and some other incentives thrown in. Prices were raised from when we looked at the tux’s in the store, but at the end of the day we saved about $20-30 a tux at the bridal fair.

Take someone with you when you go to pick colors, and definitely bring a swatch of the dress colors. My dress is a shade of champagne that is not quite gold and not quite silver, and was incredibly hard to match. We found something that worked, though, and that’s what’s important at this point in wedding planning … making a decision and moving on to the next.

Next up, finding the perfect flower girl dress. : )

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Happy Valentines Day

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Ananda

Put the planning on hold for today and focus on having fun with your sweetie.

Photo by Lane Weddings, preferred vendor.

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Lovely Lace

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Ananda

There is no bigger wedding trend happening right now than lace. Reasons to love lace, it’s: delicate, timeless and adds texture.

Credits: balls, garland, gown, tree, tape, invite, Headband

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Polka dot feathers

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Ananda

Guinea feathers are great for a black and white wedding, a grey and yellow wedding or, let’s be honest, any wedding theme.

Sources: Bouquet, Boutennier, Boutenniers, Headband, Heart, Rings, Garter, Centerpiece

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Omaha vendors rock

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Ananda

From Miss June:

I have met and worked with countless amazing wedding professionals over the past few months and I can tell you that it’s very hard to go wrong in Omaha. Everyone is so knowledgeable and eager to be a part of my special day… it’s wonderful. It makes having a perpetual to-do list something that is still enjoyable!　

I had an appointment at Platinum Wedding Rentals where I worked with the wonderful, Fran Rounsborg as she helped me create some amazing centerpieces, head tables arrangements, and the complete look and feel for our reception. She’s so good at what she does and knows exactly what kind of look I want: Statement, Classic, Bam! … and all within a set price.

I’ve found a great mix of doing floral through Platinum Wedding Rentals (in Kearney) with silk flowers for some the center pieces, ordering bulk roses (~75 roses for $50-65!!!! Amazing!) and other floral from Sam’s Club for some of the other center piece we will do ourselves, and then looking for a florist to do the whole wedding party floral designing and seeing who can come up with the best idea for the place card table “statement” piece… bam! perfect. It’s between a big floral design or something with a tree/brances with candles hanging from them with flowers. I’m not sure. We will see what the different vedors can come up with and go from there. I’m pretty excited.

I found invitations I really liked through Village Stationary. They are the simple, old-school, elegant I am looking for. Those are my favorite thus far, but I’m going to look into a few more DIY options before making a final decision. 　

The STDs just went out last week… I’m never hand-writing 300 addresses again by myself! I might have to grab a few bottles of my favorite wines and have all my bridesmaids over to help address them. Never again! 　