Happy New Year everyone! There are some great opportunities and great deals to be had when planning your NJ wedding for 2012, and here at Hotels Unlimited we have some exciting news to tell you about. Looking forward to the new year, we are excited to see what the latest trends for 2012 will be for weddings. Here are some popular trends for the upcoming year.
The Dress
According to Brides.com, some really popular dress trends for 2012 include the invisible neckline that would allow for additional support for any bride. This also includes lace sleeves.
Although some consider it taboo to not have a white dress, the wedding industry is slowly starting to break from the 200+ year Victorian tradition and is starting into blush, lavender and green accents into the dress.
Finally the other significant change is the double skirt look. Rather than bunching and gathering, a double layered skirt can accent a bride’s curves.
Flowers… or perhaps not?
With the high cost of flowers, many brides are getting craftier and going the DIY route on their bouquets. This can mean using non-traditional accents such as small berries, fruit, buttons, fabric, broaches, gems, wire and more. This is also a more eco-friendly option as flowers wilt and die within hours of the wedding. However, brides that opt for an all floral bouquet can choose locally grown options for the season as it is a more cost-effective option than ordering flowers and paying for shipping.
Vintage Themes
Looking to save some money on the big day? Many brides are looking towards the vintage route to include being crafty and incorporating the family theme. Some brides have done this by including old marriage photos from the family, incorporating older elements into their wedding.
Yes folks, it is two days away from Christmas Day which is why today our topic of inspiration here is Fruitcake: the good, the bad, and the misunderstood.
please don't judge.
Like any other type of food or delicacy, Fruitcake has its good and bad varieties. Although sources indicate that Fruitcake has historical dates as far back as Ancient Egypt & Rome, it wasn’t until Victorian England in the 1800s that would dictate the Fruitcake that we have come to know it by today. The English had created fruitcake as early as the 1600s using dried fruit when they discovered that fruit could be preserved using sugar. Instantaneously becoming a hit in England, fruitcake began to emerge as a contender for any major celebration and holidays. So popular in fact that the Church had deemed it “sinfully rich” and made Fruitcake illegal. (literally).
Despite its reputation, fruitcake still represents an iconic food of the holiday season and still maintains its popularity in England to this day. -Proof you ask? Well, talk to Fiona Cairns, wedding cake designer for the English Royal Wedding. Kate Middleton and Prince William had enjoyed an eight tier wedding fruitcake during their celebration in April 2011. That’s right folks. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Royal Wedding Cake was made with 17 individual fruitcakes with 12 of those cakes serving at just the base alone.
Kate Middleton & Prince William's wedding fruitcake
So next time some one offers a fruitcake, at least attempt to try a piece as it could easily be the most misunderstood confection of the baking world.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have your wedding at the Windsor Ballroom in East Windsor NJ? We have an insider’s perspective of a wedding that took place at our Central NJ wedding facility. Here our catering coordinators Tara and Jason will show you everything from our cakes, catering, linens, chairs, lighting, and our award-winning staff that is there to ease your mind and fill your every wedding wish. Enjoy our Windsor Trilogy series as we take you on a journey.
Part 1: The Wedding Ceremony at the Windsor Ballroom
Part 2: Transitioning the Ceremony to the Reception
According to a recent article found on Business Insurance, event planners are showing a trend of NOT insuring their events. According to research, the article suggests that many of the 50,000 event planners across the country are independently operated and will only get insurance for an event at the client’s request.
Photos of some of our outdoor ceremonies & nearby beach weddings
But like anyone else, we are only human and cannot control everything. For example in last August, Hurricane Irene had ruined more than 6,000 weddings across the east coast according to a report from CNN Money. The average cost of a wedding is about $30,000 and about a whopping $70,000 in New York City.. ouch!
So would you consider insuring your wedding or large gala event? As we all have learned throughout life, poop happens and so does the weather. Although we always can hope for the best for anyone’s big day, we can only do just that. Hope.
Here at Hotels Unlimited we have a committed staff at each of our locations that is here to cater to our clients’ needs. Today, we continue with our ”Meet the Staff” series in which we will inform you of our resources that are available for your opportune moment.
VL: I have worked with Hotels Unlimited a little over three years now, and have been at the Radisson for all three years.
HU: What is the most common type of event that your banquet facility holds?
VL: We do tons of Weddings, Bat Mitzvahs and Bar Mitzvahs. We do everything from corporate events to social including anniversaries, bridal showers, breakfast the next day after the event, and baby showers.
HU: What is your most memorable event that you have done?
VL: The most memorable event we had done was a wedding that was planned through David Tutera, the famous celebrity planner who is on “My Fair Wedding.” David and his whole crew had chosen one of our brides and had selected our venue for the show. It was very exciting.
HU: What do your clients like most about the facility?
VL: Our clients like the beautiful chandeliers which you will have to see for yourself when you come visit. We have outdoor wedding ceremonies, and just the convenience of the hotel as well.
HU: What enhancers do your clients use the most?
VL: Our clients like to use our chair covers as well as our Hollywood lighting packages for the night because it definitely changes the mood of the evening and they can make it their own, and I am a big fan of the Sweet Memories package in which we serve sweet treats butler style.
HU: What is your favorite part of the event planning process?
VL: My favorite part is the initial working with the clients and watching them see the Crystal Ballroom for the first time and see the “wow” look on their faces. I also really enjoy walking with them through the whole booking process and it’s so wonderful to feel that they chose me for their special day.
HU: Any advice you would recommend to any couples getting married that are looking around?
VL: Don’t listen to too many opinions of family and friends. Obviously they should work with the parents and such, but brides seem to have too many people put in their opinion and it can get overwhelming. When something is right, they will feel it. Although everyone has a budget to work with, all of our properties will work with them and in the end it is their decision.
HU: What is your most unusual event request?
VL: We had many unusual event requests, but there are two that really stick out to me. Once while planning a Bar Mitzvah, we had a client who wanted to ride in on a dirt bike since the party theme was extreme sports.
The other event was during a gay wedding where the couple had requested a drag show during the reception and “Beyoncè” was part of the act.
