What's in a Shoe?

 

Today I feel like talking about shoes.  Wedding shoes to be specific.  It can be one of the easiest or most trying accessories to choose.  They have to be comfortable enough to stand in for extended periods of time, they absolutely must coordinate with the gown, and, now this is a big one, they must must must be the perfect height - don't want to be too tall or too short.  Things to remember - can I dance the night away in these or am I bringing slippers to change into? - how long is my dress and if I choose a low/high heel will it require an insane amount of alterations? -how tall will I be next to my hubs-to-be if I choose a high heel?



The Sissy Wedding Shoe- Europe



The shoes you choose to wear reflect who you are, your personality.  An outrageous, sparkely, glammed out shoe says that you are a fashionista with a wild side.  A simple, elegant shoe says that you are a traditional person with traditional values.  Perhaps you are a free spirit or an outdoorsy kinda gal...you may choose to wear flip flops or go barefoot if you are having an outdoor affair.  It's like choosing the dress and it can definitely be just as much work. 



Advantage Bridal



I have a friend who has purchased 5+ pairs of shoes because she cannot choose the one she loves the most.  If you find yourself in that same position, do not be alarmed!  As long as you have some time to decide and a team of bridesmaids to help you see the light, you will be able to make a decision.  For me, I ordered a pair of shoes online and when they came in they fit, so I kept them.  They were a very low heel, pointed toe sling-back, ivory with a cute little buckle across the top.  Matched my dress, fit my foot, ready to go.  Every bride is different and has a different decision making process. 



Looney Maiden Wedding Jewelry



What about the barefoot bride?  How can a girl make her feet look beautiful without having to wear a shoe?  Simple.  A pretty pedi is more than enough, but if you are looking to add a little sparkle, do what my cousin did and wear foot jewels!  These are a very popular item for destination, beach weddings.  It's a new take on the ankle bracelet but with more pizazz!  There are so many different styles and gem options, you can even get them covered in pearls.  This is a beautiful and unique way to stand out and make a statement. 

No matter who you are or what you do, your shoes can make a big statement.  Just as big a statement as the gown and the groom you choose!  Glam, Casual, Beachy or Ballroom, your shoe should be a reflection of who you are and what you love. 

Older Americans Day

Today is Older Americans Day.  Across the nation senior citizens are being remembered, acknowledged and celebrated.  Our center is no exception.  Today we hosted over 300 seniors from Centers throughout Sussex County and we celebrate them, their accomplishments and their dreams for the future.  Delaware's own Senator Tom Carper was here to announce some of the new reform laws and benefits coming to our senior population.  DJ Sky Brady was here mixing it up and getting everyone up off their seats and dancing the afternoon away with tunes from generations gone by.  A special thank you to the students from Sussex Tech High School who volunteered their time to help serve meals today, as well as to the Choir who sang for us this afternoon.  Everyone had a wonderful time and truly appreciated everything and everyone. 

We also held a tree planting ceremony to honor one of our dedicated, generous CHEER employees who recently passed away, Rick.  Rick worked for CHEER as a food van driver for 10 years.  His generosity and passion for our mission will always be remembered and one way we are going to ensure that his memory lives on is through the planting of a beautiful tree right here on the grounds of the Community Center. 

Throughout the year CHEER hosts many events for the Seniors.  Anything from Older Americans Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Dinner to Prize Bingo and BBQs.  Our entire mission is to keep seniors healthy, active and independent and that's what we do.  When I hold catered events here (weddings, birthday parties, etc.) all of the money we make from renting out the venue goes into ensuring that those less fortunate seniors in the area are receiving care and meals regularly through our Home Health program and our Meals on Wheels Nutrition program.  If you are interested in more information regarding CHEER and all of the wonderful benefits CHEER has to offer, please visit our website at http://www.cheerde.com/  Stay tuned because we will be doing a web redesign over the coming months!!

L&J's Purple, White & Antique Car Wedding

This past Saturday we celebrated the marriage of L&J, a quiet couple with a passion for antique cars.  They arrived on Friday with a team of about 15 people to help get the room put together and boy did it go fast!  They were done in no time at all.  From chair covers and bows to decorating a beautiful archway and cake table, this group was on a mission.  The end result, a beautiful purple and white spring affair (with car flair!).

My favorite part...when each groomsman pulled up in his own antique car with a bridesmaid riding shotgun!  Each car pulled up under the porte cochere and dropped of their bridesmaid, moved around and parked in a reserved space in our parking lot.  It was truly a unique idea and a perfectly executed event.  Unfortunately I did not have the chance to take photos of the cars, but I am hoping the photographer will send me a few.  Meanwhile, enjoy some of these photos that I was able to take before guests started to arrive!


Purple & White on a Perfect May Day



Homemade chocolate cars served as both a table decoration and guest thank you gift!

A fabulous cupcake tree topped with a bride & groom riding off in a car
was the perfect accent for this wedding

 

J&L's Sweetheart Table looked amazing and was an intimate way
 for them to share their first meal as husband & wife

Decision Made.

I cannot believe I made it through today!  I got in at 8am, it's only 2:30, but in 2 more hours I will be at home with my feet up and a nice glass of wine in my hand. 

After a full day of back-to-back meetings yesterday we finally made our catering decision and extended an offer to a company that was more than happy to accept.  I am very confident that this caterer will be a great fit here at the Community Center.  Their experience, personality, pricing and menu choices are going to be a great compliment to the Community Center and I am very much looking forward to working with this new group! 

Today my mission (which I for some crazy reason chose to accept) was to contact every wedding and event on the calendar from now through 2012 and let them know of this change.  Many were receptive and understanding.  I did have a few who were, understandably, less than thrilled.  With weddings right around the corner this is pretty short notice to pull a caterer out from under someone.  I was and am very understanding to every concern, comment, question, but in the end we have to move forward with our new caterer and that's where we are now.  I am very pleased with our 2011/2012 group because they are all so nice and many even said that change is a good thing (which is what my last post was on!  How 'bout that!).  

So there's my short post for today.  Time to move on to other things because tomorrow we have a wedding of 164 to prepare for.  Don't worry, I'll have a great post for this one next week and plenty of pics!  **Spoiler Alert**Antique Cars!!

      

        Please join me in welcoming

            Catchers Catering

                 to the CHEER

            Community Center!!!

Change is a good thing (?)

All good things must come to an end.  All not so good things must come to an end.  I prefer the later to the former.  You? 

At this time my event facility is in the midst of change.  We are doing many improvements and turnovers within our agency and within my facility.  At present, we are deciding on a new catering company to take over all catered events and to run our in-house cafe.  We solicited seven (7) catering companies, one of which was our current caterer.  In total we received proposals from two of those companies, neither of which was from our current caterer.  Now we are in the meeting and weening down phase, which I must say is easier said then done when you have so many things to factor in.  Our final decision must be made by Thursday and as that date draws near and we begin to come to terms with our future, it is becoming increasingly more daunting for me to make this change. 

Both of our options are excellent.  That is not the problem.  For me, being the Events Manager/Wedding Coordinator, this decision means that I must contact every event we have on the books from now through 2012 and inform them that the current caterer will no longer be here and that they will have to work with someone new.  In this county, that could definitely go one of only two ways.  Wish us luck!

Believe me, I have done the whole wedding planning thing, I would be freaking out if I was weeks away from my wedding and received a phone call telling me "Oh, sorry, you have to use this new caterer.  Good luck."  (I, of course, will not be so blunt, but you catch my drift.)  It could potentially to lead to minor turmoil and  cancelled events (hope not) or venue changes (hope not again) because the people in this area know and love our current caterer and change may not be taken so lightly.  Fortunately for us they did not submit a bid, so many complaints can be forwarded directly to them and will make this a little easier (fingers crossed) for me in the coming days. 

On Thursday afternoon we will be announcing formally the company being awarded the contract.  As you may have gathered excitement and nervousness are high on my list of feelings right now.  It's time for change, but change is not always easy and not always taken well by all parties involved.  We are going to try to keep spirits up with a positive change that will help our non-profit in the long run, but also by being realistic to the reasons this change is needed.  My hope is that people are understanding.  My reality is that they may not all be understanding. 

Change is a good thing...

Photo's from Weddings at the CCC

H&U's Purple Spring Wedding

It's May!  Spring.  Picnic weather.  This is when we really get into "Wedding Season" here at the Community Center.  Yes, we have already had two weddings this year, both in March, but May is such a different, beautiful time of year.  The weather is not too hot, not too cold.  It {hopefully} doesn't rain nearly as much as April.  And the colors!!!  This weekend was a pale purple and white wedding.  They came on Friday to do all of their decorating, so I am really excited with everything.  The simplicity and ease of this event was a perfect pairing for this couple.  H&U are so sweet and easy-going, it's no wonder their budget-friendly wedding had that same laid back, low-fuss feel. 

From our first meeting it was clear that these two just wanted to be married.  We met only 5 months ago!  They never stressed or cared much about what would happen with the decorating, the reception, etc.  They were really just looking forward to forever together.  It's so refreshing.  So often these days weddings become about the dress, the reception, the drama.  It's amazing to find a couple so in love that the only thing they are thinking about is the "I Do". 

H&U planned a beautiful outdoor ceremony by our gazebo.  We watched the weather for two weeks and they lucked out with a perfect day.  74 degrees, sunny and breezy.   --In the {unlikely}event that it did rain we do have indoor space to accommodate a ceremony.  That did not happen with this event, but it has in the past and it only takes a few minutes to turn an empty room into a perfect place to say "I Do". 

This coming weekend we have a break from events so I am throwing a birthday bash for my husband (a NASCAR themed BBQ since we live in redneck country and are going to the races on Sunday...which I cannot believe is something I tell people! haha!)  But the following weekend we are right back at it with a dark purple and antique car themed wedding and a bride who really wants her husband-to-be included in every aspect. 

If your engaged or just looking for a great read...

This is a must read!  It will make you laugh and cry.  My favorite story is about a couple who got married in California and had to move to Pennsylvania right after the wedding.  They had decided to keep the top layer of wedding cake, but when they move into their new apartment the freezer was so small they had to decide between having ice and ice cream for a year, or sacrificing that to save the top layer of wedding cake for their anniversary.  They decided to save the cake and sacrifice all the goodies they could have been enjoying.  On the day of their 1st wedding anniversary they took the cake out of the freezer to thaw, cooked a fancy anniversary dinner and enjoyed an evening together.  When they went to slice into the cake the discovered it was a fake layer.  Styrofoam covered in frosting. 

There are many more fun stories like this.  I know this is an old book, but many of these love stories hold true today.  Enjoy a few relaxing, happy moments while reading this great book!

Personalize the Day!

Personalizing your wedding or event is a major part of the planning process.  Today's brides and grooms want to break the cookie cutter mold and do things that really makes the day about them.  There are so many unique and creative ways to add personal touches to any and all aspects of your wedding or event -- from ceremony to celebration.

We had a February wedding.  Winter.  Cold.  It rained.  There was fog.  But I was expecting it to be a blizzard, so I guess we lucked out.  We decided to embrace the season and went with a black and white snow flake theme.  From invitation to cake to table numbers and place cards, snow flakes were incorporated in a tasteful way (I hope!!!), but enough to convey the theme.  We had snow flakes printed on everything.  Napkins, drink stirrers, golf balls and tees (which went with the golf bag grooms cake I surprised my husband with).  The Bride and Groom signs we used on the backs of the chairs at our sweetheart table also had faint snow flakes painted on them.  Our guests loved the ideas we used. 

We also wanted to incorporate our Irish heritage, which we did by having a Celtic unity candle, the Irish Blessing along with a Celtic cross in the program, an Irish coffee bar at the reception, and we gave our guests bottles of Irish Mead as a Thank You that had a blessing tied to them.  We had a wooden sign printed that coordinated with the Bride and Groom chair signs which had the same blessing from the bride and groom to guests as was tied to the Mead bottles. 

Another great way to personalize your wedding/event is by the music you choose to play.  Our first dance was "Smile" - Uncle Kracker.  We thought it was the perfect choice because its an upbeat song and really tells a lot about the way we are as a couple and as individuals.  For the cake cutting we chose "How Sweet it is" which is just a fun song with great lyrics and a fun choice for cutting cake!  When we did the surprise reveal of the grooms cake, I had the band play the song from Adam Sandler's "The Wedding Singer" - "I want to grow old with you".  We both love that movie and from the first time I saw it so many years ago I knew that one day, when I had a wedding of my own that we would have that song play at some point, and what better time then a surprise cake reveal! 

Little touches, even things that your guests don't get to see until maybe the photos, or perhaps things that only you know about, can make a huge impact on the day.  I ordered a personalized wedding hanger for my gown that said Mrs. Hennigan.  The photos of my dress hanging on it look amazing and my family and friends thought it was a great idea.  I also had custom cuff links made for my husband with pictures of our four-legged children -- the dogs.  One of each.  I gave them to him after the rehearsal dinner when we exchanged gifts and he loved them and wore them the entire wedding day.  In the months leading up to the wedding he kept saying how he wished we could have them there, but since we had a formal Catholic wedding/reception, there was no place for pups.  -- Be creative in your ideas and do things that are unique to who you are as individuals and to who you are as a couple.  As husband and wife.  You may be afraid of doing too much, but when you pull it all together you will be so happy that you chose to order those drink stirrers at the last minute, or that you decided to order the cute little blue gemstone shoe-sole stickers that say "I DO" because, even though no one else can see them, you still know that, yes, you just did!!!

Royal Wedding - A New Trend?



With all of the excitement surrounding the Royal Wedding of William and Catherine, I cannot help but wonder if this will become a new trend in the coming months.   Will ordinary couples try to replicate the look and feel of the Royal's for their own special day?  Will celebrities start making their own wedding ceremonies public to gain media attention, or will they stick with the "secret" wedding theme that has been reining for the past few years? 



Catherine Middleton, a perfect choice



Grace Kelly, timeless & beautiful







The Royal wedding can be certainly be duplicated to create your own elegant, regal day.  Catherine wore a beautiful ivory lace gown, a lovely tiara and her hair down in a fairly simple fashion.  She kept her look classic and elegant and will be able to look back at her wedding photos and say, "I'm glad I chose that because I could wear it today if I wanted to".  Too many brides-to-be choose gowns that are tacky, ill-fitted and "trendy".  When I went for my second dress fitting the girl that was there ahead of me had one of those dresses that she will look back on and say "What was I thinking", but no one in her family had the heart to tell her.  She even wore super high, clear plastic stripper heals with it.  Beyond tacky.  I chose a classic ivory lace sweet hear neckline, mermaid fit gown and a 3/4'' ivory pointed toe heel for my special day, and I know I will look back and love my choice because it was a 2011 version of the gown my mom wore back in 1982.  Any bride can create a classic, elegant, "royal" event with the right mindset and a little bit of style. 

The photos above compare Grace Kelly and Catherine's gown style and both have that same timeless feel.  Less is definitely more in both of these cases.   

I look forward to seeing what the coming months will bring now that we have had the impact of the Royal Wedding to contribute to future bridal styles.  What "royal" touches will you be incorporating into your special day?