Events Blog

Unless you have specifically noted, either verbally or on your invitations, "no children" under a certain age; it's probable that you will have at least a few young guests at your wedding reception.  Unfortunately having young guests sometimes means having the issues associated with them (outbursts, taking over the dance floor, etc.) To prevent the possibility of problems plaguing your peaceful event, we suggest a few simple ideas to help make the event enjoyable for both you and the youngest guests on your list!

 * Special Seating - we like to call this the VILP section; very important little people.  If possible, keep child seating away from the main dinning room, but don't make them feel like outcasts or they won't want to sit there!  Decorating with special table linens, centerpieces and even giving them special seating cards will entice them to stay at their own VIP tables.  Special non-alcoholic drinks in fun, bright colors and cool party favors can't hurt either!

* Menu - for most young children, eating something new is not an easy task.  Therefore, why force strange food on them at your event?  Asking your caterer for a kids menu will save you from having hungry, cranky kids and will save you money.  Most caterers will gladly offer you a kids menu selection, which is much cheaper than your general guest selections.  Entrees range from hamburgers, chicken fingers, grilled cheese to hot dogs & fries.  These selections keep kids happy and satisfied.

* Games & Activities - idle hands and minds can cause nothing but trouble, so keep them occupied!  Why not include games and activities on the table for kids to use.  Covering the table in white paper and giving them crayons is always a fun idea, but doodle books, mazes & word finds are also fun. Make sure your games don't have too many small parts; that's just asking for a mess! It's also great to have the games go with the event theme if you can.  For example; if you theme is a beach wedding, why not give each young guest a beach pail with their name on it, filled with activities!

* Supervision - while it's great to give the kids enough activities to keep them busy, it's not a great idea to leave them on their own too long at your event.  To ensure that everyone enjoys the reception to the fullest, hire an "non-guest" to supervise the children during the reception.

With their very own seating area, special menu, activities to keep them occupied and adult supervision, your young guests will be happy and your event trouble free! Knowing that the kids are enjoying themselves is going to allow your guests to have a lot of fun themselves - giving you an awesome reception!

Another ball has dropped and 2012 is upon us; Happy New Year!  However the ball in Times Square wasn't the only bling to be seen this past week.  With the holidays comes a whirlwind of wedding proposals. Research indicates that over 1/3 of all engagements in the U.S. happen between Thanksgiving & New Year's Eve. All of those engagements bring new trends and ideas for 2012 weddings.  This wedding season it's all about natural decor, illusion necklines and having fun.

   Tree bark, natural colors and leaves.  It might seem like we are talking about a nature painting but in fact, wedding centerpieces are the topic here.  Many brides are using potted plants (which can double as take home favors) as centerpiece mainstays.  Greens and leaves are also very popular, especially given their very reasonable price and durability. Finally don't forget to mismatch.  Centerpieces that don't all look the same are hot, hot, hot. So, don't forget to use different flower types, colors or even elevation levels to make your centerpieces stand out.

   It may have started with the royal wedding but the illusion neckline has now made it's way to the trend meter.  2012 wedding dresses are all about personal style and wearing what you, as a bride, look good in and are comfortable with.  The illusion neckline can make what was a strapless dress or open back, a bit easier to wear for the common bride. After all, confidence is the most important accessory for any woman.  When you feel good in what you are wearing, it shines through.

   The proof is on YouTube and it can be seen on invitations and in reception themes;  brides and grooms want to have fun at their wedding!  Forget the stuffy events of the past; brides want to dance down the aisle to R&B favorites, grooms want to dawn sneakers and bust a move into their reception, forget the formal menu and bring in food trucks with burgers and fries.  It's all about being fun, unforgettable and fancy free. After all this is your big day and it should be your style.  Make it fun, make it creative and most important make it your own!

Great news! We are one of the first wedding planners in South Florida to offer groom's concierge services.  Now, you may be asking yourself what are groom's concierge services?  Think of it as a personal assistant especially for the groom. After all, although the wedding day is technically all about the bride, groom's need love too!  Our line of groom's services is centered around both the days and weeks leading up to the event date, as well as the wedding day itself. In the weeks prior to the wedding, our coordinators can assist grooms with scheduling sporting events for friends and family, obtaining event tickets, entertainment outings, scheduling grooming, planning the bachelor party and finally working with the event coordinator on the event day to assist the groom with any needs, all at a very reasonable price. Call us today to talk about how Six Cents Events can help you plan the event of your dreams with change left over!  

I had the pleasure of attending a bridal show on Sunday at the Hollywood Beach Marriott.  I met some fabulous brides, chatted about what sound like great weddings and had a really fun day overall.  However, like pretty much every other show that I attend, the same question kept coming up again and again…”Why do I need a Day-of-Event Coordinator?” Brides and moms would site that either their best friend or their aunt was going to make sure everything ran smoothly on their wedding day, that they have all of their vendors already chosen or my favorite – the venue has a manager; so they are all set right? WRONG!  Choosing a Day-of to assist with your wedding is pure choice. First, let me say that you don’t need any one person or any one thing (short of the actual piece of paper that says you are married) on your actual wedding day to make it special and perfect.  Everyone has different tastes and every wedding is different. Now that being said, I can tell you a short story – a few years ago I attended a wedding.  The bride was beautiful and everything looked perfect.  She asked a good friend to help her on the wedding day, which was great in theory.  The weather turned bad about an hour before the ceremony.  She was a half hour late, which pushed the ceremony back, which led to the reception starting late.  The friend that was helping didn’t understand the importance of trying to catch up or make up the time and the on-site catering manager was involved in making sure that food was running smoothly.  At 11PM, the caterer walked over to the mom and asked her if she wanted to “continue the event?”.  The bride’s mother, not understanding the severity of what she was agreeing to, said yes.  The event continued on until 11:30 so that the cake cutting and bouquet toss could be done.  Obviously, the DJ hung out to make sure there was music for everyone who remained on the dance floor and the bar continued to stay open.  However, when the cake cutting and bouquet toss were done, there was no photographer or videographer…. Where could they have gone?! The answer is very simple.  Those two vendors were contracted until 11PM.  At that time, they told the friend in charge, who had been drinking and enjoying the party, that they were contracted until 11PM and if she didn’t need them for anything else; they were going to leave.  She agreed, waved goodbye and out the door they went, along with the chance for the bride to capture the cake cutting and bouquet toss on film. However this wasn’t the worst part… the father was also asked for two checks at the end of the night for the DJ’s overtime as well as the catering overtime for staff and additional open bar.  Yes, it’s a true story, but I’m not trying to scare anyone.  It doesn’t happen all of the time, but it does happen.  This whole situation could have been easily managed if the time would have been made up and a proper schedule was drafted.  Plus, a good planner knows how to negotiate with vendors to try to get you through the sticky situation of overages.  So, that brings me back to the question of “Do I really need a Day-of-Coordinator for my wedding?” My personal answer is simple… if you want peace of mind then yes.  If you want to be able to enjoy your event and allow everyone at that event to enjoy it along with you, yes.  If you want to make sure that the amount that you paid when every last contract was signed is the same amount that you pay at the end of your event, then yes.  If you want it done professionally with attention to detail, budget and time…YES!