Michiana Wedding is the best wedding site to plan your northern Indiana and Southern Michigan Wedding and Reception with! We are here to serve your with ideas, planning advice and a database of available wedding vendors. So if you are getting married in South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart, Granger, Niles, Notre Dame and everywhere in between check us out!
Things to consider when looking for your reception location.
1 Where do you want to host your reception? Traditional banqet facility, restaurant, hotel, club or outdoors?
2 Are there stairs and if there are stairs is there an elevator? Some halls were grandfathered in and weren’t required to have an elevator. If you have family or friends who have a hard time walking up stairs, is there alternative to getting them up to the reception.
3 How many people are you inviting, put together a rough guest list for the count?
4 How many hours are can you reserve the facility for? What is their overtime policy?
5 What are the policies and restrictions that the facility has for music, food, flowers, décor, etc…?
6 Are you able to bring in outside vendors, or are you limited to their services? (i.e. wedding cake, Hors d'oeuvres , entertainment, etc.)
7 Is there room for a disc jockey or band? On thing to note about entertainment, don’t put tables between the dance floor and the entertainment! The entertainment will end up blasting your guests who are seated in the tables to get the sound to the dance floor.
8 Do you want your dinner served plated, buffet, or family style and what is the cost for those options. Plated will usually be more expensive than buffet.
9 Is there reasonable distance from the place of the wedding ceremony to the reception?
10 Are you able to have your wedding ceremony on site if you wish?
11 Do you want an open bar or a cash bar?
12 Are there time limits as to when your decorations, flowers, the DJ or band are able to arrive and set up?
13 If children are invited, is there an area for them to go if needed?
My future brother-in-law emailed this one to me. For decades the bouquet and garter toss was suppose to be an indication of who will be married next. Now the guys have come up with an easier and more direct way to determine who will be the next groom...
What is the proper way to introduce the newlyweds at the reception?
Shelly
Shelly, in our opinion there is no proper way for the reception, this is your reception, infuse it with your personality. The formal way to introduce the newlyweds at the reception would be Mr & Mrs Grooms first and last names. So if your fiance is named Jason Trumbell the formal introduction would be Mr. & Mrs Jason Trumbell. There is also Dr. and Mrs Jason Trumbell or Mr. and Dr. Jason Trumbell for a few variations.
However we say have fun and be yourselves. If you are a less formal type of persons, go with something like Jason and Mary Trumbell. We have even heard just first names at receptions. In our opinion there is no wrong way to introduce yourselves at your own party.
It is a new wedding season starting next week and we decided to overhaul the look of Michiana Weddings to better serve you, the bride and groom. Since the blog saw the most traffic it is now the index page! As you look at the new site, you will see our traditional links to listings of South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart and surrounding area wedding vendors. On the Right is direct links to the websites of some of our favorite wedding vendors! On the right you will also find Planning Your Wedding which are links into our planning articles, be sure to visit them!
Michiana Weddings is about providing you with information about having your wedding in south bend, Notre Dame, Mishawaka, Elkhart, Niles, Edwardsberg, Plymouth, New Carlisle, LaPorte and all of the surrounding areas. Check back often as we will be updating often!
I am a sucker for romantic movies and it seems like there is something in the water of Hollywood. This year we are having a bounty of movies involving in some way wedding planning! First there was the very funny 21 Dresses, and then this summer we have The Accidental Husband and Made Of Honor. Enjoy these movies about weddings!
The Accidental Husband (Uma and Colin, I'm there!)
Emma Lloyd has made a career out of her sensible, mature and responsible approach to relationships. She has a hit radio talk show, an impending book deal, and a loving relationship with her fiancé, Richard, a conventional sort-which is precisely what Emma is drawn to. Then Emma finds out that she is already married to a man she's never met before, a result of a misguided prank that leaves her bewildered and very confused. Worse than that, her plans for the future are now threatened. With her wedding just around the corner, Emma must find the mystery man and obtain an annulment. Emma tracks down her "accidental husband" - Patrick, a charming and handsome neighborhood fireman, with a big secret...that he was behind the "accidental" marriage. Unable to fess up, Patrick goes along with the ruse pretending to be just as baffled as Emma.
Made Of Honor (Patrick Dempsey I'm Sooooo There!) Made of Honor revolves around Tom and Claire, who have been platonic friends for 10 years. He's a serial dater, while she wants marriage but hasn't found Mr. Right. Just as Tom is starting to think that he is relationship material after all, Claire gets engaged. When she asks Tom to be her "maid" of honor, he reluctantly agrees just so he can attempt to stop the wedding and woo her.
Here is a cool idea that is different from the norm! Coaster Invitations from Snow & Graham! Genuine coaster stock, and cool designs with the invitation area on the back, Snow & Graham's double-sided coaster invitations are a unique way to invite guests to your next party or bridal shower!
Really it shouldn't be too surprising, first from Ms. & Mrs. there was the Wedding Survival Kit, then the Bride's Maid Survival Kit and now the Grooms Survival Kit. Included Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Dental Floss, Mints, Pain Reliever, Antacid, Facial Tissues, Deodorant, Razor, Shaving Cream, Styptic Pencil, Adhesive Bandages, Nail Clipper, Hair Comb, Interior Mirror, Lint Remover, Mending Kit, Scissors, Safety Pins, Boutonniere Pins, Stain Remover, Static Remover, Wrinkle Remover, Stress Ball Keychain, Extra Wedding Bands, Black Socks.
Your groom and his men will keep their composure on the big day with this . The kit includes all the essentials to keep his stress level at a minimum. Inside is a collection of 26 wedding day solutions for any emergency that befalls the groom. This sleek and practical Groom's attaché is made of silver chrome and is topped with a stress ball...just in case! Just be prepared to assign a bridesmaid to carrying this one around, you may find your man just a little reluctant to carry it himself. But it is a cool idea, knowing most men! ;-)
Check with Girly Girl Gifts I'm sure they'll have this one in stock!
Cynthia Basker over at Celebrated Events posted a cool idea in her description of the decorations at one of her weddings. Beside each table number, were photos of Kristy and Jason, when they were the age of the table number. For instance, at 5, there were images of the bride and groom, when they were both 5 years old. This is a fantastic idea, especially if your number of tables does not exceed your age!
Monday is Basilica Day when the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame opens their books to brides and grooms who want to book the church for their wedding in 2009. Wake up early ladies and flex those dialing fingers and good luck! Here's hoping you get the date and time you want!
One of my favorite jewelers is Ali Oesch from One Of A Kind Jewelry by Ali. Her work is fresh and creative. Well I didn't know she was coming out with her own line for weddings but over on Girly Girl Gifts, that is exactly what Cynthia says she is doing!
Ever After Collection by Ali Oesch
We here at Girly Girl are excited to announce that Ali Oesch of One of a Kind Jewelry is currently developing a line of wedding jewelry that will debut here, in our store! The Ever After Collection will be designed exclusively for the bride and her bridal entourage. We can't wait to see what Ali creates! We will be holding a trunk show here at Girly Girl to unveil the much anticipated collection on Thursday, March 27, 2008. We will be sending invitations to all of you who are on our mailing list.
----------------- I can not wait! Mark your calendars!
I have been procrastinating on this. Brian from River City Productions forwarded to me some images he took at the best bridal show in the area, The Bridal Spectacular host by Act II Modeling. The show was great and Brian was evidently having some fun with snapshots.
Cynthia Basker and the Girly Girl Booth. Fashion Show, 2 seconds after this was taken Andrea was nearly dropped as the model tripped over her train. The Hilton Garden Inn booth, decorated by Michaelangelos The Event Company. This is one of the best booths I have ever seen at a bridal show and Brian agrees. Love the lighting and I love the Tiffany colors. A Rascia's Creative Cake on display at the Hilton Garden Inn booth. Brian loves his odd angle shots on cakes! :-) Master of Ceremonies Paul Chamberlin of the Music Machine doing his always excellent job and organizer Cynthia of Act II Modeling giving away a door prize. Andrea owner of Act II Modeling displaying a gown during the fashion show. And there you have it everyone. If you are getting married in 2009 be sure to check out next years show, which we will be having more information on as the dates approach.
Guest Blog by Brian Peterson. -----------------------------------------------------------
I've been involved in weddings professionally since 1989 and one of the disappointing things about our local area has been the lack of a facility that can bring the big city feel to a wedding reception. If you ever have been to a wedding in NY, Chicago, LA or Atlanta, you know what I mean. We have fantastic locations like Palais Royale, Windsor Park, Knollwood Country Club, Marriott, etc which are top locations for a wedding. But they are products of the midwest small town feel, lacking the big city type ambiance, attitude and pomp of a Four Seasons, Ritz, Drake or Marriott banquet hall in downtown Chicago. And this has been detrimental to how people look at what can be done when it comes to a wedding in the local area. I cringe every time I hear a guest comparing the wedding they are at locally to one they attended elsewhere and I hear them say "But you couldn't do that in this town..." or in at a wedding that came close to pulling off that big city feel "I didn't know they could do that here..." I know full what that you can do anything here that you can do in the big cities, our professionals in the various industries are just as good as anything Chicago can dig up, but that lack of a certain "ambiance" for lack of a better word has perpetuated this attitude that we are in some way "less" than the big cities.
Well ladies and gentlemen that is about to change!
Tonight I had the honor of being invited to an Open Plate at the new Hilton Garden Innon the Saint Marys Campus and the Fleur de Lis Ballroom (the banquet hall's name may change before they open so from here on out I'm just going to call it the banquet hall or Hilton). An open plate is where a banquet or catering facility invites the professionals they interact with on a regular basis in to show off their capabilities or inform them of something new. Unfortunately Amy couldn't attend so she left it up to me to write up this report on this new facility.
I've been involved in the wedding industry for 18 years and honestly having worked in downtown Chicago, traveled to Las Vegas, NY and Atlanta for jobs I've become somewhat jaded and honestly it takes a lot to impress me. Well tonight I wasn't just impressed I was blown away! General Manager James and his management team of Nicole and Leanne (I'm bad with names so forgive me that I can't remember their last names) are some of the sharpest, friendliest and have a can do attitude that I have not encountered in a long time! They love what they are doing and it shows. Also how open they are to ideas and feedback was very refreshing.
The banquet hall is still under construction and they've barely begun decorating but this is going to be the it place in town. The hotel itself has a bright urban feel to it that will continue into the banquet hall, a major contrast to the "country club" feel that we have in most of our higher end banquet facilities in the region. The hall itself is spacious, open with a large entry area that wraps half way around the hall which will be a fantastic place to hold cocktails before entry into the main hall for dinner and dancing. Of most benefit to someone like me at the Hilton Gardens vendors will no longer have to enter through the same doors and disturb guests trying to get our equipment in. The new facility supplies a hidden side entry where we have direct access to the hall, without cutting through public areas.
Another thing that has me excited about the facility is the lighting opportunities. No banquet hall in town till now has really had the ability to light the hall like many do in the big cities. If you wonder what I mean look at the picture below. While this is very basic and was done at the Bridal Spectacular for the Hilton's booth, this is an example of what can be done. As a videographer this makes me very excited because frankly a hall light entirely like that and then some, makes really pretty pictures. And I like making pretty pictures. So I can't wait to see someone hire Michaelangelos and let them go to town like they've never done locally.
Outside decor. By summer a beautiful garden area will be constructed in front of the hall where they also intend to hold outdoor weddings. From the plans we were shown this is going to be one killer garden.
All of this will be finished soon, their first wedding reception will be held there on February 9 so there is less than a month till it opens.
For me though, the true test of a banquet facility, no matter how pretty the interiors or friendly the staff is the food. When you are paying $30 and up per person to hold a reception and you are served crappy food, well that's not a hall I'm going to refer. So it is always with some trepidation that I have approached a new hall and it's cooking. I've been shocked by how bad some places are. If you're wondering I have nothing but praise for Palais, Windsor, Knollwood and the Marriott listed above and St Hedwigs for it's west side Polish dinners... After a look around we were invited into the kitchen by Jim, Nicole and Leanne to enjoy a dinner from their Chef Kirk Dixon.
We were of course given a run down of the Chef's accomplishments and while many the one that stuck out to me is he was once in the employee of Chef Puck at Spagos. Okay that' s impressive, but how was the food? EXQUISITE! Anyone planning a wedding at Hilton Garden Inn has to have, without a doubt the Crab Cake with remoulade and roasted corn relish, you will be in absolute heaven! These are a regular item on their Bistro menu inside the hotel, so if you get a chance try them, if you are having a wedding there you have to have them!
The whole seven course meal we were served knocked my socks off. Even the Tuna Sashimi was fantastic and it takes a lot to get me to eat sushi and usually that has to be in a rice roll before I'll even contemplate it. Also of note was Chef Dixon's creamy stilton Blue Cheese soup with Granny Smith Apples. Everyone in attendance was all a twitter about this dish. It really tasted like nothing I've ever had the pleasure of eating, it was just fantastic. Unfortunately it is not a regular item in their Bistro, but if you ever get the chance, you'll be begging for more, like most of us were.
The big city has finally come to South Bend, the biggest small town in America as I heard someone refer to us today. If you have not found a banquet facility for your wedding reception yet, then my advice to you is to set up an appointment with Nicole and check out the Hiton Garden Inn's banquet facilities, I'm sure you will be as impressed as I was.
Don't forget everyone, tomorrow is the best and biggest bridal show of the year, the Bridal Spectacular! Doors are open 12:00 to 5:00 at the Century Center. With all this snow melting, getting there should be easy. Stop by some of our favorite vendors, River City Productions, Girly Girl Gifts, The Music Machine, The Hilton Gardens, Knollwood Country Club and many more!
I love these, creative, unique and just too cool. I stumbled over this blog My Aim Is True and found a post about these save the date cards. I like them a lot. -Amy
Happy Holidays everyone! Snow is gently falling here in South Bend, IN and it's looking pretty good for a white Christmas in these parts. In celebration of the Holidays here is a recipe for some sweet and spicy nuts shared with us by Brian from River City Productions and Cynthia from Girly Girl Gifts. Brian cooked the wonderful recipe for Cynthia's open house in November and the second one on this past Thursday, Dec 14.
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Curry Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Honey
3/4 cup black walnuts
3/4 cup pecan halves
Cooking:
Take a cookie sheet and lightly brush with olive oil. In a large nonstick skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Add ginger, curry powder and cayenne pepper. Saute' until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Stir in sugar and honey. add nuts and continuously stir until the mixture is amber in color and the nuts are well coated. Approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Spread on cookie sheet and let cool.
Over at Weddings By Socialites wedding planner Kelly has a write up for her first wedding of the season, strange to say first since for us our season in Michiana has wound down. I love reading her blog and as evidenced by the pictures, obviously a beautiful wedding. Even though I'm not sold on long tables vs round tables... But I absolutely fell in love with the wedding cake pictured in the write up! Very simple, yet very striking and I hope it tasted as good as it looks! Check out more pics from the wedding and Kelly's blog.
Did you notice the new clock on the right hand side of this blog? Right now it's counting down to February 2, 2008. But we'll have more on that date in the days to come.
Right now I'm excited to introduce our newest offering over at Wedlife.net, the wedding countdown clock! Head on over to our countdown clock page at Wedlife.net fill out the date and time of your wedding, choose your background and we'll email you the code that will place a countdown clock to your wedding on your website or blog!
A few people have asked about why we have to email. It's because each clock has to be independently set for your date and time. With the Java script we use we have not found a way to automate this part of the process. We do not share or sell email addresses so that is not something you need to worry about with Michiana Weddings.
So head on over and get your a countdown clock to your wedding day!
Do you have a blog? Not happy with the limited selection of wedding related templates out there? Don't know how to create one yourself? Well we have the answer for you, introducing WedLife.net your source of free Blogger and MySpace templates! We will be adding templates on a regular basis to the site so grab the feed from the WedLife blog to keep up to date on new offerings!
And be sure to check out the sponsors, they help to keep it FREE!
Don't forget ladies, Girly Girl Gifts is having it's open house today and tomorrow! Free Chamagne, a chocolate fountain, Meg Jewelry, it's going to be shopping heaven! Sigh I'll probably spend this weeks paycheck. :-)
Are you having trouble choosing the music for your wedding and reception? Drawing a blank? Don't want to repeat the same music you heard at your friends wedding...
Then check out our new feature, Wedding Grooves! Wedding Grooves is a listing of the various categories of songs standard to most weddings; like First Dance, Father & Daughter Dance, Mother & Son Dance, Bridal Party Dance and more to come! Click on a song title and you'll be taken to a page where you can view the music video for that song, learn what genre it's in and purchase either the album through Amazon.com or the Song through iTunes!
If you are creating CD favors for your guests, this will be a great place to start, too.
I got the idea when I found my sister searching for her father daughter dance song on YouTube.
Check back often we will be updating the listings on a regular basis.
Don't forget there is also the Music For Photo Montages at BridalFilms.net where you can find the popular music to use with those baby and courtship pictures!
Special Thanks to McDonald Studio for the use of the picture.
I was looking at the latest wedding shot by Greg Luzney of Luzney Photography when I ran across this image. A quick call confirmed it was a Rascia's Creative Cake creation. She does such unique and creative work! There is no one else in this market in my opinion that rivals her artistic style and cooking skills, because not only do her cakes look awesome they taste heavenly too!
I don't know why it seems that some vendors, videographers, photographers, bands, disc jockeys think just because they are working a wedding it's okay to drink while doing their job. You wouldn't do it at a weekday 9to5 job so why they think it's okay at a wedding is beyond me.
Sunday, January 6, 2008 South Bend, Century Center (A & B halls) 12:00 pm - 5 pm Bridal Spectacular is proud of being the largest and longest running bridal show in the Michiana area. Over 85 vendors on display everything you need to plan your wedding! Fashion shows at 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm
When I found this image of Jennifer Jason Leigh from T Magazine I just sighed and said to myself, bliss. I don't know why but I've had cake on my mind lately so here are a few of my favorites from Rascia's Creative Cakes. The pictures were taken by Brian at River City Productions. Rascia is such a creative individual and her cakes taste fantastic! Not sure who made the following cake, I just found it cool looking. The picture was taken by Paul Chamberlin at The Music Machine.
Sis and I were surfing the internet tonight in search of some entertainment ideas when we ran across this DJ service, who's name I have made sure is removed, so don't ask. Talk about conflicting messages! They don't have obnoxious DJs, but their image says the DJs are strung out, unshaven and not even close to being properly attired for a wedding, with a look of we don't care on their face! Didn't oversized, goofy looking head phones go out in the 80's.
Wow! We went on to the next. You just have to wonder sometimes, what are people thinking!
Nothing is more romantic than a marriage proposal.
Yesterday Inside Edition did a piece called Proposal Cam where the groom hires a photographer and videographer and has them document the big question from hidden locations. I loved the look on the bride's face when she realized what was happening! I'm trying to track down the video and will post a link as soon as I do.
Then today I'm visiting my favorite blogs and find a lovely proposal set up at Weddings By Socialites. Sooooo romantic. I hope there was video or photos of the actual event!
Yesterday my sister and were out checking out photographers. Of course the ones I like are the ones she doesn't want to visit, go figure! Don't listen to your maid of honor, sis! We saw some nice work, but two photographers really left a bad taste in my mouth.
The first one, I'll call Acme Photo (no real names on this post), was just so obnoxious! His work was good, but his opening sentence was about how great he was, how he was an award winner, how my sisters wedding was his wedding. Which wouldn't be bad, all vendors in the sales pitch tell you how good they are, his just came across as conceited though. It only got worse from there. We were informed that neither family or guests would be allowed to have cameras at my own sister's wedding and that if we wanted video we needed to hire only his referral. Wrong answers buddy! I couldn't pull my sis out of there fast enough. First of all no one is telling me I can't bring my camera to my own sisters wedding! How rude! Some of my favorite pictures from past weddings are the ones I or a friend took. Second no one is dictating who my sister can hire for anything but my sister or our parents who are paying for this extravaganza or me. ;-) I believe who Acme Photo really is is who my predecessor wrote the Consumer Alert about. Never thought I'd actually encounter one of these vendors though. So many professionals believe in working as a team, this guy wanted to be the dictator.
The next photographer we visited was my sister's favorite prospect and the one I call Desperate. His work was nice, but too many fish eye lense shots in his albums in my opinion. Anyways we sat down and started to talk and he was amicable enough. His problem was he just came off as desperate. My sis had no intention of signing a contract with anyone yesterday and I am still trying to get her to agree to check out my favorites. Well we got to the end of the meeting and when mys sis said she needed time to consider he got desperate.
Our original quote for everything my sis wanted was $3000, when she balked at signing he suddenly started throwing add ons into the price. By the time we left by my calculations, his origianl package at $3000 had ballooned in value from $3000 to nearly $8000, he even threw in video production for the price of $3000. We got extra albums, a love story shoot, video and large size wall prints thrown in. Of course on the drive home my sister was ecstatic, she was going to get from Desperate Photographer $8000 worth of merchandise for $3000, what a deal!
I have a different opinion though: What is she going to give up? He started out telling us that 8 hours of wedding day coverage, him as a photographer with an assistant, an Art Leather album, engagement shoot and large frame portrait had a value of $3000. When we walked out the package had grown to include a coffee table album (something that most photographers charge thousands for and he had listed at $2000) two parent albums, a video, thank you post cards, a love story shoot and album and additional large frame pictures. Which left me wondering, his price hadn't changed, but his costs had just skyrocketed! The coffee table album demo he showed us comes from an Italian company, probably the best manufacturer out there and costs $1500 just to print. Video is time to shoot and edit, and burn to disc plus the people he has to pay to do the work. The additional albums for our parents those cost something.
So I'm left wondering what is my sister going to give up to get her $8000 worth or products for $3000? Is the coffee table book going to be of cheaper quality than the one we were showed? Is he going to try and pull double duty and do the video while he also shoots the stills? Will we get his best assistants or the ones with less experience who costs less? Will the pictures be printed on quality archival paper or some cheaper alternative? Or was he just not worth the original price he quoted and the new package for $3000 is a better representation of what he is worth? In other words if my sister had singed for the initial offering would she have been getting ripped off with overpriced product!
Everyone is in business to make money and everything a vendor offers has a specific fixed cost to produce or sell. So I'm just left wondering how do you give someone $8000 worth of product and services for $3000 if there isn't something given up in the process. As I told my sister, you can't go into Tiffany's and purchase the 1 carat diamond, 24 carat gold band priced at $10,000 for $2000. For $2000 you will end up with the 10 carat band and quarter carat diamond!
Ladies if you encounter Acme or Desperate, stay away!
Our resident "official" videographer Brian from River City Productions has posted an interesting idea to his blog, that I'm going to steal.
These are cool! Reusable gift wrap from Lucky Crow Gift Bags. This is a pretty neat idea. Cloth bags, being used as a gift wrapping, that can and should be re-gifted again and again. To me these are far better than the fancy paper gift bags that are so popular these days. It's a neat idea and they are relatively inexpensive.
