Jhordice and Mauricio Munoz’s wedding is a perfect example of the “WOW factor weddings” Laurie creates every weekend. This lavish October wedding had show-stopping entertainment.  Laurie hired 10 of the finest ballroom dancers in America, including some from the hit TV Show, Dancing with the Stars, to perform throughout the wedding reception. The jaw-dropping dancing inspired all the guests to try their own special dance moves, which might not have looked as perfect as the professionals, but definitely a sight to see!

And if this wasn’t enough fun for Jhordice and Mauricio’s  lucky, lucky, guests, a personalized version of the Newlywed Game, starring the brand new newlyweds, left everyone hysterically laughing. 

For more wedding eye candy, go to Laurie’s blog at Five Star Weddings & Events and Beautiful Day Photography’s website, who shared these beautiful photos with us.

Unfortunately, I do know what it feels like to lose your spouse way too soon. When I look back on my short but oh so sweet marriage, what I know for sure is that I am happy that my husband and I had celebrated our relationship surrounded by friends and family. Weddings are life-affirming celebrations of love and the precious memories of my wedding keep a smile in my broken, but slowly mending, heart.

Although I didn’t know before my wedding that I would lose my husband shortly afterwards, there are many people who do know that they will have only a short time to create happy memories together. With the pure exhaustion of dealing with a terminal illness, along with the health care bills that all too often bankrupt Americans (over 60% of all bankruptcies in the United States  are related to medical bills), there are few resources left for a wedding. Wish Upon a Wedding is the love child of wedding specialist, Liz Guthrie, who recognized that there needed to be an organization that granted wedding assistance to  couples challenged by a terminal illness. Liz explains the impetus of Wish Upon A Wedding: “Many couples have endured life threatening disease and illness, but stay together through it all, offering support and encouragement to their partners. I want to be certain that this kind of love is celebrated. By celebrating the courage & spirit of these couples, it is our hope that others facing similar situations will find hope, strength, and the promise of eternal love.”

Liz gathered the support of some of the best of the best in the wedding industry and together they officially launched this non-profit organization in January 2010. Led by National President, Sasha Souza, they currently have 20 chapters officially open for business and there are many new chapters in the development stage throughout the world.

The organizers of Wish Upon A Wedding are happy to accept applications from those who would like a wedding wish granted, and those who would like to be a part of the Wedding Granter Team. There are many ways to help this organization, all of which can be found on their website. I hope all BKB readers will contribute to this fabulous endeavor. Visit their website to see how you can help make dreams come true.

Wish Upon A Wedding

www.wishuponawedding.org

info@wishuponawedding.org

(877) 305-WISH

Mailing Address:

Po Box 1141

Santa Clara, CA 95052

Where else would a woman from Singapore and a man from Poland get married other than the French Alps?  Might not sound like an obvious choice, but Jeanette and Peter had some good reasoning…  If they got married in Poland there would be hundreds and hundreds of people that would need to be invited (and they wanted a smaller more intimate wedding) and they wanted to keep all future in-laws happy by choosing a neutral country.  Both families love to ski and Peter and Jeanette had fallen in love with the French Alps…. So the French Alps won!

Jeanette is an interior designer and she knew exactly the type of atmosphere she wanted to create for their wedding. The venue choice was a charming, neo-classic style Palace with breathtaking views over Lake Annecy, nestled in the mountains in the heart of the French Alps. They chose to marry on December 30^th but enjoyed this prime location for a whole week with their guests who had flown in from all over the world.  They spent a lot of time enjoying the spectacular views and skiing, which unfortunately left one of the groomsmen with a broken arm – but still totally able to enjoy all the festivities.

Here are notes about this wedding from the wedding planners at Chateau and Villa weddings: “We had lots of fun organizing this four-day event for Jeanette and Peter. A gift basket with locally made chocolates and personalized water bottles awaited each guest as they arrived at the Palace from all around the globe. A special shuttle service was organized to bring guests from the local train station and Geneva international airport. After enjoying a welcome buffet at the Palace, guests were free to relax and discover the grounds of the Palace.

On the day of the wedding, after much pampering by professional hairdressers and make-up artists, Jeanette stole away with Peter, their photographers and videographers, to have some intimate photos taken before the ceremony which took place at 2pm within the Palace. One of Jeanette’s friends hand-made the beautiful aisle runner, making the ceremony that much more special.

Cocktails were served in the restaurant with a panoramic view over the lake before guests were invited to step outside to view a spectacular fire-eater show. Guests were then asked to create an archway by lining up opposite each other and holding lighted sparklers with their arms held high. The bride and groom ran under their guests’ sparkling archway to their wedding banquet.

The angled, U-shaped, rectangular table configuration blended perfectly with the contemporary style reception room. A troop of Brazilian Samba dancers dressed in beautiful bright costumes and ostrich feathers regaled guests with their lively music and dancing between each course and encouraged participation from the guests. The rest of the evening’s music was provided by a very popular wedding band.

We organized a private tour of the old city of Annecy for a group of 30 of their guests on the afternoon following the wedding with an English-speaking guide. Since the day after the wedding happened to fall on New Year’s Eve, Jeanette and Peter took advantage and had a New Year’s Eve buffet dinner in the restaurant to ring in the new year.  Lots of red, orange and yellow balloons helped to create a party atmosphere. The dress code was black tie and everyone had to come wearing a Venetian mask.  An oriental menu was served and between courses, guests were entertained by an oriental dancer, who brought accessories with her and dressed up some of the guests and had them dance with her. A Fabulous DJ then took over and kept everyone on the dance floor until the early hours of the morning.”

Now is that an international celebration or what???

Thank you Chateau and Villa Weddings for sharing this very special wedding with us.  And much happiness to Jeanette and Peter!

Please share stories of your wedding so you can ignite the creativity of future Brides and Grooms. Email your story to us at info@BridesKnowBest.com.

Click here for more info on Chateau and Villa Weddings.

Thank you to Studio Cabrelli for these great pictures.

Emily Taffel-Schaper and Fritz Schaper

With a price-tag of  $20,000 for the average American wedding, I am ecstatic to receive emails from creative brides who create fabulous celebrations for far less.  Emily Taffel-Schaper sent in the following article about her wedding with loads (I mean loads!) of valuable ideas on how she executed her wedding for $3,500. Emily, her husband Fritz Schaper, and her 125 guests had a wonderful time and there are no leftover bills endangering their newlywed bliss status. Here is Emily’s story in her own words…

“When my husband and I got engaged I was thrilled, but the excitement was tempered because neither of our families were in the position to help us pay for a wedding.  I didn’t want to give up the wedding I had dreamed of, so with a little creativity, a year of smart shopping and a lot of help from our friends and family, we had a wedding that looked like a million bucks, but only cost $3,500 (not including the rings).

It all started with a donation of invitations from my Aunt’s shop, Pushing the Envelope CT.  They did our invites for free and that sparked us to see what else we could find discounts on.

After several trips to bridal stores that left me in tears over the prices, I found a local boutique that rented gowns. They had brand new, never before worn dresses and offered a free altering service as well. I got married in my dream gown for only $300 and bought my veil and tiara ($40) to have something to remember it by.  My husband picked up his tux at AfterHours Formal wear for $150.

The ceremony and reception were held at Shall We Dance, a ballroom dancing hall in Deerfield Beach, Florida.  Everyone thought we were crazy to book a “hole-in-the-wall” location, situated above a golf shop, but by choosing “off-the-beaten-path” and trusting in our ability to make it work, we got floor-to-ceiling windows lining each wall, hardwood floors and a location equipped with tables, chairs and a full kitchen for only $500 (5 hours plus 3 hours of set-up time).  Linens and chair sashes came from Fabulous Events, and were almost our most expensive purchase at $650.

We covered the ceiling with twinkle lights and tulle, bought at an after-Christmas garage sale for $10.00.  A friend had pictures of us blown up to poster size, to cover some ugly framed paintings on the dance  studio’s walls. It really personalized the location for us.

Friends decorated our chuppah with silk flowers, tulle, twinkle lights and hanging crystals. The poles came from Home Depot and the buckets that housed them were found for free from a local ice cream shop, Kilwin’s. Total cost: $30.

Roses for the bouquets and centerpieces were bought from a local farm. We bartered our time in exchange for a discount; once a month we helped them tend to the garden and they let us buy 200 roses for only $200.  

Our centerpieces were branches collected in the woods behind a friend’s house, sprayed gold, placed in dollar store vases and accessorized with leftover roses from the bouquets.  My brother folded 100 origami birds for us as well. We sprinkled dollar store gold glitter on the tables, surrounded the centerpieces with candles and adorned each window with hanging candle-holders we created using ribbon hot glued on.  Tea lights were bought for $2 per 50 at Party City.  By turning off the overhead lights and just using the twinkle lights and candles, the entire room was transformed. Total cost: $150.

We had a candy buffet for our favors. Chinese food containers from Oriental Trading cost less than $10 for 100 and we sourced candy from many locations – local grocery stores, ethnic markets and even the Cracker Barrel. Total cost: $100.

Food & drinks were a little harder, but after researching caterers, we hired a chef/friend.  We held the wedding late, 7 p.m. on a Saturday, in order to serve a buffet of just hors d’ouevres and desserts, which kept the cost down. We hired another friend to bartend, bought bulk soda and water at Costco, negotiated with a local liquor company on bulk wine and beer and had a “Stock our Wedding” party for liquor.  We hold a ton of parties for our friends and normally we provide the food and wine, but this time, we asked everyone to please bring 1-2 bottles of liquor that could be used at our wedding. We had a great BBQ dinner and thanks to our friends, stocked our wedding bar.  Total out-of-pocket cost for food and drink at our wedding : $800.

No one missed the full dinner service since the entire night was spent on the dance floor.  We negotiated with a local DJ company and they exchanged their services at a discount rate provided they were able to put out flyers at the dance school. Total cost: $200 for 4 hours.

After all that,  we  had some money leftover to buy groomsmen and bridesmaid gifts from etsy.com.  It was a magical evening that I wouldn’t have done differently, even if we had a million dollars to spend.

Planning our wedding had an added benefit; it motivated me to start a business, Pretty. Useful. Stuff., where I work with brides to help them create one-of-a-kind weddings and events of their own, without breaking the bank to do it.”

Thanks Emily for sharing all your useful ideas. We’d love to showcase the wisdom and creativity of other Experienced Brides as well. Email us your pictures and posts at info@bridesknowbest.com.

The most amazing day with the most amazing man…..

By Samantha Lewis

After Matt had asked my two children, Nathan, age 12 and Katie, age 10, for their permission to marry me and had received enthusiastic reactions, wedding plans began. Discussions ran from a quick trip to Lake Tahoe in Nevada with the children for a small lakeside wedding to a more formalized affair with 150 of our closest friends. In creating a guest list, it occurred to us that our families alone accounted for two dozen attendees….

Since I had experienced a traditional wedding, my priorities shifted to my future husband’s ideal wedding. He had made it clear that gift registries and seating charts were not in his future wedding plans and when asked what he wanted, he jokingly answered, “just you, the kids and our families.” We immediately began planning our surprise wedding to take place in less than two weeks at our family’s “Engagement Celebration Barbecue.” The only other people who knew of our secret wedding plans were my children, our minister and my dear friend, Leslie, who took the photographs.

When people talk about a wedding taking 12 months or 18 months to plan…. well, all I can say is that ours was done in less than two weeks and it was amazing! Matt and I raced off to the florist and bakery and placed orders. While Matt and Nathan were fitted for tuxedos, my daughter and I found perfect dresses – off the rack! My dear friend agreed to photograph our wedding and since Matt is an audiophile, music was no problem. We live near the ocean and it was instantly agreed that our backdrop would be the local harbor. We met with our minister, wrote our vows, double swore the children to secrecy and invited our families to a casual backyard Barbecue- “to celebrate our engagement”.

Family began arriving, some driving as many as 2-1/2 hours…. all dressed in shorts and summer dresses for the casual barbecue. My mother, who was quite psychic, asked my son upon entering the front door, “Are we attending a wedding today?” to which my son replied, “No way, Mimi!” After a couple of hours of chatting and hors d’oeuvres in the backyard, Matt and Nathan disappeared upstairs for a quick change into tuxedos while my daughter and I retreated upstairs to put on gowns. Matt and Nathan reappeared downstairs and inquired, “Who wants to go to a wedding?” to which there were enthusiastic shouts and screams of delight. Matt herded everyone into cars to caravan to the harbor while my three sisters and Matt’s two sisters raced upstairs to congratulate, hug and apply the typical last minute girly-touches to make-up, hair and dresses. We then proceeded to the harbor.

The day was amazing….. clear, light breezes and warm sun – the sounds of sailboat lines clanging against the posts were like our own wind chime orchestra. Vows were said to one another and to the children, photographs were taken and everyone returned back to our home for a wonderful backyard Barbecue of Shish Kabobs! I wouldn’t do one single thing differently.

BKB: Isn’t that a great story? Do you have another Surprise Wedding to share with us? Please do!

If we are to be honest – 99% of all brides want to be the star of their wedding day. You don’t want a bridesmaid to be hotter, you don’t want your larger than life mother-in-law to steal the show and you have prayed for the last 6 months that your husband’s ex-girlfriend won’t show up and make a scene… or something like that. For me, my reality was that I was upstaged by an inanimate object – my wedding cake.

People did not ask for pictures of my husband and I after our wedding – they asked for pictures of our wedding cake. People who I didn’t even know but had heard about “The Wedding Cake” asked me for pictures of the cake. It was… weird. I had a famous cake.

Fess up - you wanted to see the cake - not us! Right?

Now in today’s standards, my cake is clearly outdated but several decades ago, it was quite special. The first reason why my cake was such a hit was that there were 7 different flavors of cake hidden underneath the whipped cream frosting – key lime cheesecake, Swedish Princess, chocolate decadence, carrot cake, peanut butter cheesecake, banana nut cake, and a diabetic spice cake for some diabetic relatives. My wedding cake was made by my parents who do most every thing food-related a bit over the top… actually, way over the top! I had 125 guests, the cake should have served about 250 and by the end of the afternoon reception, there was not one bite of cake left. The only piece I got was the one my husband fed me. Our guests, on the other hand, ate several pieces of cake and ran around with forks in their hands eating from their friends’ plates. It was quite a sight to see. It was a fricken’ cake orgy.

The second fun cake related issue was that I did not feed my husband cake… I fed him cake batter! Yes, not a healthy choice and don’t try this at home if you don’t want to risk food poisoning, but my husband had fond memories of his grandmother giving him cake batter so I wanted him to have this little nod to his late nana. In the middle of the reception my mom went and made a simple butter cake batter, placed it in a beautiful glass bowl and hid it underneath the cake table for the big reveal. Right after we did the traditional cutting of the cake, I slipped my hands underneath the table and brought this batter filled bowl out. I then fed my husband his favorite treat (in a large acrylic spoon decorated by mom of course.) To say that my husband loved this surprise would be a great understatement! He walked around for the rest of the reception with bowl in hand and the biggest grin on his face.

Yup… I was clearly not the star of my wedding but I love every vivid memory of watching people go crazy over my parents’ creation, not me – the cake!

There is nothing wrong with what we call a “Cookie-Cutter Wedding” – a classic traditional wedding can be executed beautifully. But just like a recipe for your favorite old fashioned cookie, if you add just one special ingredient, you can make a typical cookie (I mean wedding) extra special and definitely “all yours.”

Alix and Russell wanted their traditional wedding to begin with great fanfare. I would bet there isn’t one of their wedding guests that will ever forget when two fantastic Opera Singers (hiding in the balcony) started singing “All I Ask of You,” just before the processional began. You could literally hear people gasp, whisper “Wow!” and even wipe some tears from their face. For those who knew that this couple LOVED the Phantom of the Opera, it was an extra special moment. And the nice budget news on something so special? Hiring two professional singers from the San Francisco Opera Company cost them less than $600! Even Opera Stars will moonlight when available. No harm in asking right?

Andy loved cars and Lauren wanted Andy to be one happy boy. So Lauren arranged to have a very special surprise for her groom when the “Limo” picked them up from the church to go to their reception – it was “the star car” used in Andy’s favorite movie – “Tucker – The Man and His Dreams” (if you are a car lover you love this movie!). Andy knew the car at first glance and stayed happy all day long. This classic car was a perfect backdrop for some great pictures and cost less than what you would think.

Lisa wanted a traditional wedding cake to be the centerpiece of her reception but wanted to add very personalized accents. The cake table’s tablecloth was made out of her Grandmother’s wedding dress, framed pictures of the bride’s and groom’s parents cutting their wedding cakes flanked the cake, the antique knife to cut the cake was from the groom’s great grandparents’ wedding and the cake topper was two beautiful ceramic doves that the groom’s father created. I have never seen a more meaningful cake presentation to this day.

So Experienced Brides, tell us how you made your traditional wedding classically special.

Image by: Emin Kuliyev, Emin Photography www.em34.com

As a Wedding Coordinator, probably the most common question I am asked is: “Will you tell me about the greatest wedding you’ve ever seen?” I think most people are expecting me to talk about the couture designed gowns and Waterford crystal favors – the limitless budget weddings. But the greatest wedding I’ve ever had the honor of experiencing, was Suzie and Bob’s wedding.

On Suzie and Bob’s wedding day, it rained and rained. In fact it was one of the worse floods in the history of their hometown. Suzie and Bob knew most of their 130 guests couldn’t get to the church (only 30 made it) and the caterer, photographer and DJ had all called saying it would take a miracle for them to get to their wedding site (none were able to). But Suzie and Bob decided to go ahead with their evening wedding.

The thirty guests, minister and groom waited for two hours before Suzie’s Limo arrived. Knowing where Suzie came from, I still believe her Chauffeur had to be Noah to get her there. When Suzie hurriedly got out of the car, a bicyclist rode by and sprayed a muddy mist all over her wedding dress. Personally I am amazed my heart stayed in my chest when I saw this happen. I couldn’t imagine how Suzie could still be standing. As Suzie walked toward me I thought to myself, how am I ever going to get this mud off and not ruin this dress? Out loud I said, “Suzie, let’s go into the bathroom and you can dry your hair and touch up your make-up while I clean up your dress.” Suzie took my hands and smiled, “I’ve waited three years to marry this man, I’m not waiting a minute longer.”

Suzie proceeded to the double door entrance of the sanctuary and yelled “Dad, come and get me!” Everyone clapped when they heard Suzie’s voice. Her Dad came quickly down the aisle as the bridesmaids, groomsmen, minister and groom went and stood on the altar. With no music, nor wedding party processional, Suzie, escorted by her dad, walked up the aisle, muddied dress and all. When she got to the very first aisle that had any guests in it, Suzie looked around at all her guests and said “you made it, I can’t believe you all made it, thank you so much!” Tears started to roll, but then we all “lost it” when Suzie got the first glimpse of her soon-to-be husband. She looked at Bob and then turned to her guests and said “I am the luckiest woman in the whole wide world!”

Suzie is the most amazing bride I’ve ever had the honor to meet and experience. She got it. She knew it wasn’t about the dress, the photographer, the DJ, and yes, not even about the fabulous wedding coordinator. Suzie knew that a wedding is about having the people you love surround you when you get to marry the person you will be honored to call your husband or wife. Bring this wisdom to your wedding day, and you will create a moment that you and your guests will never forget.

I wish you all true celebrations of love

P.S. Many years later, Suzie and Bob have three kids. When they talk about their wedding, they say it was the most beautiful day in their lives.

Do you have a story about a Bride who filled the room with joy? Please share!

Mary and Jim surround themselves with “Foodies and Winos”. No one can really cook better than their own friends and they all love to show off their culinary skills.

So when Mary and Jim decided to say “I do” they asked their friends to leave the gravy boats at Macy’s and instead, “gift” them, with their favorite recipe and a plate of it to share at their wedding reception. On the response card their friends told them what they were bringing and sent a copy of the recipe. Three friends coordinated what they would need to set up a beautiful buffet that would not only show off each dish but would keep all the food at the right temperature (not only for flavor but to avoid food poisoning). They prepared a silver framed label for each dish that featured the name of the recipe and cook.

The Bride and Groom chose amazing wine to share with their guests, added a few of their own favorite recipes to the buffet and hired a “Day-of coordinator” and some party staff so they could truly enjoy their celebration. The reception was a huge success and the food… let’s just say it was one culinary orgasm after another…

For a thank you gift, they sent their guests a “Wedding Cookbook,” a collection of recipes from their potluck reception. The cookbook included wedding pictures and a heart-felt thank you letter to their treasured friends.

This was such a special wedding that perfectly reflected the bride and groom and their guests. What could be better than that?

Please share your ideas on how to create a potluck worthy of a wedding day!