Party Planning

By Caitlyn Bradley, Director of Private Dining, Ram’s Head Inn

The Destination Bachelor/Bachelorette party is now a popular option. From spa weekends, to quick European getaways and the ever popular Las Vegas excursion. Keep everyone’s budget in mind when planning a destination bachelor/bachelorette party. Make sure you choose a destination that allows the most people to come and join in the fun.

For couples getting married at any of our four Knowles restaurants in the New Jersey, New York metro area , closer to home options include a dinner in New York City followed by a night cap at a wine bar or lounge, topped off with a night at a great boutique hotel. A spa weekend can really be done in your own backyard, too, if you live in this area. There a number of great spas in our region people travel far and wide to get to. So that’s a choice that can make you look smart, as well as beautiful!

All the best,

Caitlyn

by Rolf Shick, Banquet Manager, The Manor

Wedding showers aren’t just for the bride and her female friends and bridesmaids anymore; today they can actually be co-ed affairs. Some couples are turning this tradition into another opportunity to socialize and get to know friends of their spouse-to-be a little better. You can base a shower around brunch and finish with an array of desserts. A signature drink can also be a fun way to incorporate a theme or set off the décor for the pre-wedding shower.

The gifts traditionally given at a shower can also be realigned in keeping with the new focus of the gathering. If you’ve spent a lot on the wedding itself and had to dispense with a honeymoon as a result, think about registering your honeymoon instead of having a traditional gift registry. After all, a lot of brides and grooms are already forgoing the traditional registry and instead registering for high-tech electronics or wines to add to their collection. And a variety of hotels allow brides and grooms to let guests make contributions to the honeymoon fund on their hotel websites.

Thank you!

Rolf

By Christopher Gellings, Banquet Manager, Highlawn Pavilion

Honeymoons can be as diverse as weddings are nowadays. So don’t feel you have to do the traditional honeymoon destination. Do what fits your lifestyle. While beach bliss honeymoons are still popular, the default location is often Hawaii. But Tahiti and Bora Bora are gaining favor. Staying in thatch huts above the clear waters and enjoying massages and just de-stressing from the wedding process seems to be the most natural way to go.

Keep in mind that depending on the time of year you get married will determine where you want to go based on what climate you’re looking for. If you decide to have a winter wedding there are some great winter honeymoon options. You can choose to stay in Norway’s snowy wonderland known as the Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel that is open only for a few months a year and considered as “green” as they come. If you’re a summer bride looking for a winter honeymoon look no further than South America with endless possibilities of winter activities throughout Patagonia (Argentina and Chile).

If adventure is what you’re seeking, then a Safari in Africa or a walkabout in Australia might be the right choice for you. There are luxury packages for both of these to accommodate your needs

Eco-Hotels are a great choice for the eco-conscious bride and groom. Going Green does not mean giving up luxury, either. One Napa Valley green hotel has the right mix of green and luxury. When you arrive you receive bicycles to discover the surrounding town with and a portion of your room rate is donated to the Napa Valley Land Trust.

Thanks!

Christopher

By, Caitlyn Bradley, Director of Sales and Catering, Pleasantdale Château

Let’s hear it for commitment! We’re seeing more married couples in the New York metro area having ceremonies to renew wedding vows. What makes these ceremonies especially meaningful is that they’re completely voluntary. When a couple gets married, the wedding ceremony is practically a given, and all the attendant social obligations that go with it means the couple don’t always get to enjoy it quite as much as they might in a more relaxed ceremony. But when vows are renewed, there aren’t two families to please, or parents to appease. It’s a real display of deep and enduring love.

New rings engraved with a special saying are perfect to commemorate the renewal of wedding vows. An outside ceremony is often very fitting if you want the ceremony to be about rebirth. No need to be traditional with the wedding vows, either – you’ve done that once already. Instead, you can have your vows end with a poem that you find fitting, for example. For music you can use the song from your wedding or one that has meant something to you over the years. Renewing vows can be an intimate gathering with a simple lunch or brunch or a lavish formal affair.

Best,

Andrew

By Christopher Gellings, Banquet Manager, Highlawn Pavilion

Here at the Knowles restaurants in the New Jersey, New York metro area, we’re seeing more interest in all things “eco friendly” and “green” when it comes to wedding ceremonies and wedding receptions these days. These “green” trends range from choosing wedding and reception locations that minimize travel for guests, to selecting invitations made from recycled paper. Now we’re also seeing the green trend in the wedding favors the bride and groom bestow upon guests.

If you’re interested in giving guests an eco-type gift, here are a couple of recent examples from ceremonies hosted at the Highlawn Pavilion . One couple gave their guests potted saplings. We’ve seen other couples make charitable donations in their guests’ names to organizations from Greenpeace to the Environmental Defense Fund. You could also dispense with favors altogether and explain it’s part of your effort to minimize the footprint of your wedding celebration, and save yourself some green in the bargain. The things you can do to inject a green element into your wedding are almost limitless. However, we would draw the line at choosing recycled burlap for your wedding gown!

Thanks!

Christopher

By Rolf Shick, Banquet Manager, The Manor

We want everything to be perfect on our wedding day. But sometimes things out of your control go wrong – for example, a vendor messes something up. Maybe the flowers are droopy, or the photographers or musicians are dressed sloppily. The possibility of a vendor faux pas is one reason why it’s important that a contract or contracts with vendors for all your wedding services stipulate the last check is due at the end of the wedding day. That gives you leverage to hold out on final payment if you are unsatisfied with the performance of any of your vendors. If you are unhappy with the way the flowers look or the musicians are dressed, for example, make sure someone you know takes photos of the culprits or offending items so you have visual documentation of what you are unsatisfied with. Even pictures from a camera phone can suffice, and almost everyone has one of those today. That way, even if your dream wedding isn’t completely picture perfect, you can help ensure vendors will make the proper financial adjustments to their fees.

Thank you!

Rolf

By Laura Madden, Senior Sales Manager, Pleasantdale Château
The ceremonial “First Dance” at a wedding reception often looks uncomfortably like its name implies: The newlyweds are usually nervous and hesitant, even if they took dance lessons a few weeks before their wedding day to be prepared for their pas de deux. We say don’t worry about it – just grin and bear it. First dance songs are usually a classic or traditional standard, and danced in relatively slow motion anyway, so there’s not much risk of embarrassing yourselves. But one trend that’s getting more popular at wedding receptions is the Second Dance.

The Second Dance can be a surprise the bride gives to the groom, a dance for the newly married couple to really enjoy themselves. It can be fun and fast or slower and romantic, but it’s a way that a bride can really show her new husband a good time on the dance floor. It’s also one more time where you two can steal the spotlight together, dancing. If the couple had trouble agreeing on what to play for the first dance, you can use the song that got passed over for the second dance. (In other words, the groom’s choice that he was gallant enough to defer in favor of the bride’s selection!) Whatever song you choose, the Second Dance is another good way for newlyweds to start off their new life together in step.

Have a great day!

Laura

By Rolf Shick, Banquet Manager, The Manor
By now we’ve all seen the crazy freestyle dance on YouTube, and again during The Office’s season finale when Pam and Jim got married. But that style of wild celebration clearly isn’t for everyone. That begs the question: How should the bride and groom, and the wedding party make their entrance to the wedding reception? One interesting way to introduce the bridal party is to use a song that builds up over the course of a minute or so, with the bride and groom coming into the reception at the highpoint of the musical build up. The Dave Matthew’s Band’s “Two Step” is an example of a song that works well as an entrance soundtrack. If you’re sports fans, you can use Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll (part 2)” or Queen’s “We Are the Champions,” both famous for being played during the intros of many professional sporting events. A simple announcement made by a member of the wedding party or event staff will also work for an entrance, but for couples who want something a little more, there’s nothing wrong with putting a little pizzazz into it.

Thank you!

Rolf

By Laura Madden, Senior Sales Manager, Pleasantdale Château
Remember playing the daydreaming game, “He loves me, he loves me not?” Well, if he’s marrying you, he obviously does love you, but some brides-to-be play a version of this game with their bouquets: they put so much attention and thought into them, they ask themselves, “Should I or shouldn’t I toss my real bouquet?”

Be that as it may, it’s smart to spend time planning your bouquet. And invariably the first question that comes up is, “What size should the wedding bouquet be?” The answer depends on a number of things. And the flowers you want to use aren’t the only consideration. Your size and, believe it or not, even your strength – no, not so you can toss the bouquet across the room – are important factors to consider, as well. The size of the wedding bouquet should be appropriate to the size of the bride. Petite brides could get lost behind an overly large bouquet, while a larger bride could make some bouquet arrangements look undersized. And consider your strength – You’ll be holding the bouquet for a long time, so you don’t want a bouquet that’s going to seem like a lead weight after a few minutes.

And let’s not forget the boutonniere for the gentleman. A smaller flower for the guy is a must. Keep the boutonniere a modest size. I’ve seen some grooms parties where the men look like they’re wearing corsages. For bouquets and boutonnieres alike, size does matter.

Have a great day!

Laura

By Lars Johnson, General Manager, Pleasantdale Château
The music selection for your wedding literally sets the tone for the ceremony. You’ve got a lot of options to consider – not only in terms of the music selection itself, but also the kind of musician or ensemble to play it. Do you want a harpist? A flautist? A string quartet, or Mariachi band? The truth is, you can use recorded music, but having live musicians can be a really nice touch. Keep a few simple rules in mind. First, make sure the choice of musicians is appropriate for the venue. For example, if you plan to have a harpist and your ceremony is outside, make sure that you aren’t underneath the path of low-flying airplanes – Your guests might never hear a note of music, otherwise. In a church wedding, organists traditionally provide the music, but duets singing Ave Maria or other classic songs are gaining favor with brides. We’ve seen family members who are opera singers lending a hand, or rather, voice, to wedding ceremonies, too. But we’re talking about trained singers. Your wedding is not a time or place for Uncle Al to show off the vocal talents he’s too old to showcase on American Idol. So put a little time into your music selection, and you’ll start your wedding ceremony off on the right note.

Best,

Lars