Stephanie and William 7-19-2008

What a lovely wedding! Such a nice couple and so much fun to plan with. Their day started out stormy and dark but by late afternoon when the wedding party had arrived to take pictures, they were able to get some nice outdoor shots. When the wedding ended, they released the rows themselves, and when all the guests had gone out front with their bubbles, they rang the bell and then went out to a beautiful cloud of bubbles!! It's always such a great photo op!! There were just a few sprinkles in the air, but nobody seemed to mind.
Much love to you both Stephanie and William! All of us at Aberdeen Manor wish you many years of happiness!

Envelopments = Fabulous!!!

We finally received our Envelopments Design Studio a while back. What fun! We've been kind of keeping it a secret because we needed to familiarize ourselves with it, but now we are ready to go for it! They have tons of colors and types of papers, lots of different pocket folders, and different things to make an invitation unique and different. Envelope liners too that are patterned and match the solids. It's an amazing line of invitations because YOU are the designer! What is most amazing is that they are very reasonable when you purchase the components and put them together yourself. Labor is an expensive factor in any product, and that is what makes many invitations really high priced. The amount of hand labor involved in an invitation directly drives the cost; ribbons, layers, special papers, anything that a machine can't do.
So, with this line, you can do as much or as little as you want to, or feel capable doing. Of course, we can do all the printing here at Affairs, adding flourishes and decorative elements if you want them. We can do all the putting together too, if that's how you want to do it. We are very flexible, and will help you with as much or as little as you want. The big thing is the papers! I have never seen a company that has such a broad line of colors. Gosh! If they can't match your wedding, nobody can!
The coolest thing about the Envelopments program is that you can do a totally customized, unique invitation, for the same price as a generic hohum invitation, if you put them together yourself! It's really fabulous! Come by and see us and we'll show you all the possibilities!

How long does it REALLY take to plan a wedding?

I am always amazed at how many people think you need to have at least a year to plan a wedding properly. Honestly, there are only two reasons I can think of to wait a year, the first is to get the place to have the reception and the second is to SAVE for the wedding. But if you can get a date you like at a place you like for your reception sooner, there is really no other reason to have to wait a year.
Back in the stone age when I was in college, if you were engaged for more than 6 months it was considered highly improper. Couples would become engaged, and have their wedding generally in 3 to 6 months. Of course, back then I don't recall ever even going to a dinner/dancing type reception. It was usually cake and punch in the church basement or parlor or social hall. If you were really going all out, you served finger sandwiches or some other little hors d'oeuvre type finger food. And of course, there were always the little bowls of nuts and pastel pillow mints to go with the cake. Those were the days. :)
With the growth in popularity of the dinner/dancing reception, the planning period for weddings has stretched out longer and longer, but only because of the availability of the halls and the expense!
Personally, I LOVE planning weddings on shorter time frames. The biggest challenge is being organized and getting all your ducks lined up. I have planned weddings in as little as 4 days! We put together a wedding in three and a half weeks for over two hundred guests. The hardest thing with that one was getting their invitations out, but we ordered them the night that they came in to book their date, and since we usually get them within a week, they had them out in the mail the following week. Obviously it didn't give their guests the usual 6 to 8 weeks notice, but it didn't seem to bother anyone. Our favorites list was a big help for them too. We went through and decided what services they would need, and I flagged names from the list for her to call, with an alternate choice if the first choice was already booked. She told me later that she had all of her vendors lined up and booked in about 45 minutes!
Another challenge when you are on a short time frame, is the gowns. That's where a good bridal shop can really be a huge help. They all have certain lines of both wedding gowns and bridesmaid gowns that they can order quickly. One of my gals bought her gown on sale! She was able to buy a sample of a discontinued gown that was absolutely beautiful. Another option is to have your gown custom made by a seamstress/designer. When you are working with someone local, they are aware of your time constraints and can react.
Something else to consider; one of the big bridal magazines did a study a few years ago, and they found that for EACH AND EVERY MONTH OVER SIX MONTHS that you plan a wedding, the COST GOES UP 10%! So, if you want to SAVE money on your wedding, don't take a year or two to plan it!
Obviously, the key to planning on a short time frame is having someone to help you that knows what they are doing and who to call. That's where Aberdeen Manor is perfect because we have the expertise to help you with all the details whether you have 2 years or 2 weeks to plan it.\
So now that you have all sorts of confidence to plan a wedding in less time, think about some of the December through March dates we have coming up! We have HUGE discounts and specials going on for these months. Our Christmas weddings are awesome! The decorations are gorgeous and with the bichon tablecloths and centerpieces that are included for no additional charge during those months, you have your guests practically swooning when they walk into the ballroom! Think about it, and give us a call to check dates, or just stop in. Hope to see you soon!

DJ's the Trials and Tribulations!

Your DJ can make or break your party, it's just that simple. Playing the music is really a minor part of his job. The DJ is the "Master of Ceremonies" for your event. He keeps your guests informed of what is going on and where they need to be, he keeps the events of the evening (cake cutting, toasts, formal dances etc.) on track and timely. Think about it, when you have 200 people in a very large room, how are you going to make anything happen?

I had to testify in court against a DJ a few years ago who had totally ruined a reception at Aberdeen Manor. It broke my heart. He didn't have the right music for the formal dances, he delayed the dancing for over an hour and a half, and he then argued with the bride that she hadn't sent him the names of the songs (she had emailed him and had the hard copy to prove it!) Then at the end of the evening, he argued again with the bride that she should pay him the full amount due because he thought he had done his job. It was pathetic.

Needless to say, this DJ was never on our recommended list and he is one of the DJ's that I try to protect people from by asking them to CALL ME before they hire any DJ other than Transaudio!! It isn't that I am some sort of control freak, I just want to protect our clients from a couple of DJ's and a couple of photographers that are really awful. The guests at the above reception would unfortunately remember that reception as "the one where the DJ was so bad and ruined everything". That's not how we want guests to remember receptions!

So we started out with a list of DJ's that we felt we could recommend. Then we started having little problems here and there. Nothing huge, just little irritating things--a DJ that showed up with contacts that looked like goat eyes (really creepy!!) DJ's that were late arriving and ended up setting up their equipment when the guests were already arriving--DJ's that behaved in an inappropriate manner--DJ's that wouldn't listen to us when we told them we needed to let them know when we were done pouring champagne and consequently they would start the toasts and we would still be pouring! The only DJ that we NEVER had any issues with was Transaudio. They were consistently professional, cooperative, on time, efficient, and totally prepared. Mark even keeps one DJ always on reserve so that if one of the other DJ's becomes ill or has an emergency, you are not without a DJ! Think about it, what happens if you have a DJ that works alone, just for himself, and he gets sick? You are without a DJ! After a couple years of beating our heads against the wall over other DJ's we finally decided that we were crazy to recommend anyone else other than Transaudio.

We had always had an excellent relationship with Transaudio. And by the way, we have never accepted any kickbacks or commissions from ANY vendors, Transaudio included. We don't believe in that. There are many banquet facilities that have "recommendations" that are simply people that have agreed to pay them a percentage for being recommended! How would you know that they are any good? Maybe they are just giving the hall a big percentage in order to work there, and the folks at the hall really don't care if they are good or not because they are getting a nice fat check every time that DJ works there. Think about it. This is a question that you should ask any vendor who recommends other vendors. Are they doing it because they are good and they want to see you have a fabulous reception, or are they getting some sort of financial reward for recommending them? We work only for YOU the BRIDE and GROOM, no one else. Your best interests are our most important consideration.

Because we only recommend Transaudio, Mark has installed speakers in the center tray of our ceiling on the four corners of the dance floor. This makes for some really nice "surround sound" rather than the somewhat flat blaring sound that comes from speakers that are just around the DJ. It makes such a difference. His system is small and compact, and it doesn't take up half the dancefloor. They have also installed special lighting on top of the wall behind the DJ for spotlights and dance lighting.

Transaudio also has a separate small system that they bring out for garden weddings. This is SO important! We have had other DJ's come in and try to provide music and microphones for garden weddings, and it is always a piecemeal, patched together, inadequate mess. They are simply not set up for it. When Transaudio does the wedding music, they have a totally separate system, so the dinner music is playing in the ballroom and the wedding music is playing in the garden, it's seamless. There is no schlepping speakers back in to the dancefloor after the wedding--the guests are walking into a room that is ready for a party, not dead silence. It makes such a difference!

I guess I need to qualify this by saying that I know there are other good DJ's out there. I'm not trying to say that Transaudio is the only good DJ in the country. BUT what I am saying is that Transaudio is uniquely positioned to provide the BEST service for your wedding and reception at Aberdeen Manor.
I often compare a wedding to an orchestra. I am the conductor and all the vendors are the various sections of the orchestra. When we have all worked and practiced together many times before, we make beautiful music together. But when you put a violin section (i.e. a vendor who isn't on our referral list) in our orchestra that has never practiced with us, the music gets all messed up because the violins aren't on the same page and don't know the music! Just as there are lots of good violinists, that still doesn't mean that they can just walk in and sit down and play with an orchestra without practice! Even great musicians practice with their orchestra before a performance, and that is what I am saying--Transaudio has practiced and practiced and practiced! We work together so closely, and so well. Isn't that the way you want your team to be?

What it all comes down to folks is this--we want your wedding and reception to be the very best that it can be. We know how important the DJ is, and we also know how important it is that we all work together. We call them A-Team Weddings when all the vendors are off of our Favorites List, because everything goes like clockwork. Everyone works together, the bride and groom have a fabulous evening! They don't have vendors asking them questions every five minutes, they don't need to worry because they know that they have great vendors, and everything comes off without a hitch.

We really shy away from telling someone who they HAVE TO use, but when it comes to your DJ, especially if your ceremony is at Aberdeen as well as the reception, we really feel that if you want a perfect event, you MUST have Transaudio. And after all, you only get one chance, so let's make sure your orchestra is all tuned up!

Good Grief!!!

Yesterday was April 28th, and what a miserable day it was weather wise. In the morning it was cold, dreary, and stormy. But the kicker was last night when we put the dogs outside and the ground was WHITE! Can you believe it? Snow on April 28th! It was only about an inch or so, but still, when the grass is finally getting green, and the trees are leafing out, that is just wrong!

I guess we can't say we are ever bored with the weather around here. It seems like it is always changing, never consistent from year to year.

I'm always amazed by the optimism of brides. They plan an outdoor wedding in a park or location with nowhere to go if the weather goes bad, and they are convinced that there is absolutely no need for an alternative location! Ha! This is not San Diego folks! The weather around here changes daily, sometimes hourly! If you are planning an outdoor ceremony, you have to have an alternate location in case of bad weather, and the closer it is the better. If you have to move people a couple of miles to a church or hall, you will have to start letting them know early on.

The hardest days to deal with this are the ones where it's cloudy and overcast, and it looks like it might rain, but you just don't know for sure. Murphy's Law says that if you decide 2 or 3 hours ahead of time to move the ceremony inside, that it will be sunny and beautiful when the wedding begins, and if you try to tempt fate and have it outside anyway, it will pour. This is where having your ceremony AND your alternative location in the same place is so much easier. You can wait till the last minute to decide.

Outdoor weddings are risky, be sure you have your ducks in a row! They may need to swim for it! :)

Cool Pictures!

Ok, so maybe this won't be as interesting to anyone else as it is to me, but I thought these photos my brother, Stu, took from a Cessna flying over our building were REALLY COOL! Since Jim and I are both Google Earth junkies, we thought these pictures were really something.

I just wish that our original building, the Manor, had a nicer roof! It isn't a very pretty roof from the air. The Chapel, on the other hand, looks great! Oh well, it IS a standing seam, 25 year guarantee roof on our building, so guess we can't complain too much. The Chapel does look beautiful sitting there though, doesn't it?

What do YOU think?

To Market, To Market!

Well, I guess I flunk blogging! Sometimes life just gets a little crazy, that's my only excuse.
So anyway, now that I have begged your forgiveness for my neglect, the big news of the day.
We (Connie, Megan and I) went to the National Bridal Market in Chicago last Sunday. Bridal Market is where we go to buy all the fun things we have in our shop. It comes twice a year, in April and in October, the October show being much larger than the April show. We can always order from catalogs and the like, but it's so much nicer to be able to actually see products in person, touch them and turn them around in our hands. Sometimes things that look really boring in the catalogs are great in person, and of course, vise versa!
Being as the spring Market was much smaller than the fall, we didn't find as many new things as we will in October, but there are a couple of items worth mentioning. The first is silk thread jewelry. This stuff is GORGEOUS!!!! They use real fresh water pearls and Swarovski crystals, and they are strung and knotted on beautiful, shiny, fine silk cord. The best thing about this jewelry? It will NEVER tarnish! That's a biggy for us in the shop--polishing jewelry is practically a daily activity. We have a number of different styles coming as well as different colors, although the majority are the white/ivory pearls and clear or AB crystals.
We also have some beautiful new cathedral length veils coming from Malis Henderson. Many of our clients have been asking for cathedral length, so we tried to find some really beautiful new veils for display. Keep in mind that most of our veils can be ordered in many different shades of white and ivory. We can also special order different edgings and trims. You can try on some veils and the shop and then we can build a custom veil for you that is exactly what you want. AND all at a price that is usually 1/3 to 1/2 of the cost you will see veils in other bridal shops!
While we are talking about the shop, we also have the new samples of vest colors and ties for the spring. We have a new line of vests and ties that come in a rainbow of colors to match just about any wedding. Beautiful!
Stop by and see all our new goodies. The jewelry should be arriving any day now. We're all watching for UPS on a daily basis!