Monthly Archives: August 2012

Designing Your Sweetheart Table

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Alison in Inside Scoop, Planning

In this election year where we are listening to candidates pontificate their opinions and policies, I would like a turn to step up to the podium and ask my fellow Americans (and all other non-Americans who read The Wedding Yentas) to stand with me on this ever-important topic; this movement; this debate: To sweetheart table or not to sweetheart table? The answer, my friends, is to sweetheart table. Thank you. May G-d bless you. And may G-d bless America.

After making such a bold statement in support of marriage between newlyweds and a sweetheart table, I will have my cabinet on standby to take calls from the press, but allow me to continue with a state of the sweetheart table spiel (p.s., this year, I say all news outlets should hold spiels instead of debates. Much more entertaining).

Why am I in favor of sweetheart tables?

Three reasons:

You have your own personal home base. You won’t be sitting much anyway, but when you are, it’ll be nice to have a little turf you can call your own. Your guests who want to offer you mazels and hugs know where to find you to have an intimate chat sometime between the salad and the entree. This takes some of the pressure off of you to have to get up and make the rounds in a small amount of time. People can come to you and they won’t mind.
You’ll have another opportunity to extend your style. Props like “Mr.” & “Mrs.” signs, decked out chairs, or flower arrangements can furnish your sweetheart table, thereby making it a vehicle to tie in your theme, color scheme, or any additional design concepts.
You get the best seat in the house! Normally, sweetheart tables are placed in front of the dance floor and in a position where you can look out and see all your guests surrounding you. If you are at a long banquet table with your bridal party, the placement of the table is not as flexible as a small, intimate table for two. Having the best seat in the reception hall is ideal during speeches, watching special dances, and generally taking it all in. You’ll be the focus of the reception area and why shouldn’t you be?

Photo by Orange Girl Photographs

However, it is important to make your sweetheart table tasteful. Setting it apart from the rest of the tables is fine; those few, subtle touches that declare the table special and unique to the bride and groom is totally acceptable. On the flip side, decking it out in gaudy drapery or an over abundance of flowers that make you look like Tarzan and Jane in the jungle is not the way to go.

Bottomline: The sweetheart table should complement the main tables, not appear to be out of place or swallow you up in the general world of your wedding reception ambiance.

Okay, I’m just going to leave it at that.

Moving on…

While it’s nice to have the home base of a sweetheart table, that also doesn’t take you off the hook of doing the right thing and making the rounds to see your guests. At a time that feels right for you (this is usually at some point during the salad or entree), you should really make sure you visit the tables to say hello and thanks to your guests. They will think you are both a lovely couple: a gracious bride and a mensch of a groom. The concept of you home base is to give you a semi-private place to enjoy each other’s company as newlyweds, but you should definitely not ignore your guests altogether.

Needs ideas for sweetheart table design? Look below for some sweet eye candy!

Stacy & Drew by Rosie Hernandez Photography

Desiree & Richard by Heidi Ryder Photography

Jackie & Danny by Photography by Verdi

Erica & Adi by Duke Photography

Jaynee & Sean by Mi Belle Photography

Serene & Mike by Ashleigh Taylor Photography

Naomi & Andrew by Phototerra

Real Jewish Weddings | Richmond, VA

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Alison in Real Jewish Weddings

Lauren and Harrison created a warm and inviting wedding ceremony and reception: it warmed the hearts of all who attended and invited them all into their new lives as husband and wife. Lauren was inspired throughout her wedding planning from the blogs and magazines she frequented, as well as Pinterest. She settled on a silver and black theme, letting the exquisite decor of the Empire Room at The Jefferson Hotel, speak for itself. White flowers with a touch of color were selected to complement the overall look as well as the bridesmaids’ slate dresses. Favorite details from the wedding day include the tablescapes: from the centerpieces and menus to the event lighting that accented the details, the tables were the focal points of the reception room.

In looking back, Lauren says the ceremony was her favorite part of the day, which was officiated by a rabbi who was also a family friend. As for advice for future brides, Lauren shared with us, “Make sure you have fun with the planning and don’t let yourself get stressed out over little details. I think that everyone focuses so much on small items, but the guests remember the big picture and will probably never notice the small things that may not go as you planned on the day of the actual event. I enjoyed every minute of planning the wedding with both my family and Harrison’s family.”

Mazel tov, Lauren and Harrison!

richmond-jewish-weddings

Photographer: PW Photography
Floral Designer: Flowers Make Scents
Ceremony and Reception Venue, Catering & Wedding Cake: The Jefferson
Dress Store: Bella Rosa
Band: Attraction
Lighting: Blue Steel Lighting Design
Ketubah: ketubah.com

This wedding was submitted to The Wedding Yentas via Two Bright Lights!

Pingback: The Wedding Yentas- Wedding PR Feature

Shopping for Vendors on The Wedding Yentas

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Alison in Planning, Tales from the Veil

Ali is newly engaged and was proposed to at her dream location: the empty stage of a Broadway theatre! The 20-something-year-old actress met her soon-to-be husband while working on a show together, and they love to spend time seeing theatre, taking in a baseball game, and playing pop culture trivia. Ali also nannies for several families in the Los Angeles area, looks forward to Disneyland trips, and enjoys a good deli lunch. She is enjoying her journey of planning her wedding and learning about the details that go into the big day. In order to successfully achieve her vision, Ali has been using resources like The Wedding Yentas, family and friends who’ve been-there-done-that, and bridal magazines. Ali is getting married this October in Southern California.

Today, Ali shares with us how she has used The Wedding Yentas to find her vendors! Yes, almost all of her vendors have been booked based on what she’s seen right here!

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I was never the kind of girl who dreamed about or planned my wedding since I was little. Okay, I might have put on a fake wedding dress and walked down a backyard aisle with my friend’s little brother, but I had no idea what I actually wanted to do when I had a real wedding.

So when Michael asked me to marry him, I was elated, but I also realized I was getting a very late start on the wedding planning in comparison to most girls. I knew who I wanted in my bridal party, and those calls were made immediately, but that was all the prior planning that I had done. I didn’t know where to start.

I knew about The Wedding Yentas and had spent many days looking at the great inventory of Real Weddings posts, marveling at every couple’s ability to make their wedding fit their personality, but my perusals had always been just for fun. It wasn’t until I was engaged that the Real Weddings photos helped me find inspiration for my wedding style and, even more importantly, find excellent vendors who would be perfect for my Los Angeles wedding. Since all the vendors had links to their sites, I clicked and clicked and thus began my great big “vendor hunt.”

Initially I was browsing through the California weddings and clicking on the vendor links simply to get to know each vendor and to learn what kinds of elements were important to me. It dawned on me that I could actually just use The Wedding Yentas to find and book my vendors. As I started to become the girl I never was, obsessing over all the pretty ideas I could implement in my wedding, I really started to have strong opinions about what I wanted.

I started with photographers. I looked at every single Southern California wedding and decided which pictures I liked and which I didn’t. I always preferred the candid, less artsy shots (just my personal taste, as I like photojournalism) and narrowed it down to about five photographers that I liked. I then showed my fiance all the pictures of the weddings that the photographers shot, and he narrowed it down to three photographers based solely on their work.

We then started emailing and calling these photographers to learn about their availability, packages, and personalities because all three factors had to match our needs. We scheduled meetings and phone calls, and it was very clear to us who we should hire. I was so excited to see this important part of our wedding planning come to fruition.

We took our engagement photos and after seeing the finished product, we are so happy with our choice and can’t wait to see the wedding photos in just two months.

es photography

Next came music and we really wanted a band. As a singer who comes from a family of musicians, I am very picky about this area of vendor selection. My fiance is also a singer and piano player, so he, too, has his strong opinions about the band. Our work was cut out for us so again, I searched all the bands on The Wedding Yentas and narrowed them down based on the clips we heard on their websites. We sent out emails and met with the contenders, and voila! We now have a great group of musicians and we love our band! Lather. Rinse. Repeat. The same story goes for hiring our florist and other wedding vendors to assemble our team.

It’s so overwhelming to shop for vendors online, but checking out the vendor list that’s part of every wedding in the Real Weddings section made it possible for me to make decisions because I could see their work in action on the weddings that are published.

So far, wedding planning has been far less overwhelming than I would have thought, especially since I am a girl who got a late start in having a vision for my wedding. Everyone I talk to is always so shocked with how easily and quickly I nailed down my main vendors, but it was because I was able to see their work so clearly and in an unbiased light on The Wedding Yentas! So for that, I am eternally grateful to The Wedding Yentas and look forward to continuing to “stalk” the Real Weddings posts and appreciate who all the other couples chose to make their big day special.

es photography

Real Jewish Weddings | Atlanta, Georgia

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Alison in Real Jewish Weddings

Sometimes, love just isn’t as obvious in your home town. Monica and Neil grew up just one mile from each other in Marietta, GA, but had to make their way to New York City before they would become a couple. However, they did share a single romantic moment together when Neil was a senior in high school and Monica was just a sophomore. Monica was invited to a senior’s party and Neil caught her eye that night. Monica flirted with Neil all night and they ended up sharing a kiss. Neil soon graduated and they did not see each other for nine years. After college, Monica found out from a friend that Neil was moving to New York City where she was calling home. Monica sent Neil a Facebook message and they began emailing and chatting online for four months before Neil finally moved to NYC. They reconnected in person and realized how much they had in common and how much they enjoyed spending time together. When the couple’s parents met, Monica was thrilled when she heard the mothers exchanging matzo ball recipes. She never realized just how much it meant to have a wonderful man that was Jewish in her life.

Eight months later, Neil popped the question in Central Park to an absolutely stunned Monica who replied, “How did you do this??” Of course she finally came to her senses and said, “Yes!” Fifteen minutes after the proposal Neil asked Monica if she would like to try on the ring. She was so overwhelmed and excited that she was going to spend the rest of her life with Neil that she forgot a ring was involved! Seven months later, the couple wed in April at the Four Seasons in Atlanta, GA in a traditional Conservative Jewish ceremony.

Mazel tov, Monica and Neil!

Venue- The Four Seasons Atlanta, GA
Photographer: MyLife Photography
Coordinator- Sashay Events
Florist- Darryl Wiseman
Videographer- James Futch Photography
Entertainment / Music- Kingsized
Dress- Bel Fiore Bridal
Officiant- Rabbi Shalom Lewis of Congregation Etz Chaim in Marietta, GA
Tuxedos- Mens Wearhouse
Ketubah- J. Levine Co.

real-jewish-weddings-|-atlanta,-ga

This wedding was submitted via Two Bright Lights! The Wedding Yentas is always looking for wonderful Jewish weddings from photographers who utilize Two Bright Lights.

Yenta-quette: Ask Desiree, Edition 3

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Alison in Yenta-quette

The Wedding Yentas is so excited to bring back another edition of a wedding advice column, Yenta-quette, featuring questions and answers about wedding etiquette from a Los Angeles foodie, social butterfly, and former Real Weddings bride, Desiree Jacobs.

Desiree, more than anything, enjoys coming home from work and putting on pajamas. She loves to eat Mexican food and sushi (not together) and couldn’t live without chocolate. She’s got a penchant for reality tv and 90s music. She lives with her husband Richard and the cutest dog that ever lived, Breaker. She wears a size 7 shoe and would love the entire current Sam Edelman collection and black Louboutains. Feel free to send them her way! Oh and Kate Spade bags are also appreciated. If you love Yenta-quette and you’re like, “I NEED MORE OF THAT” visit her blog at www.bundtsofsteelblog.com. Need advice? You are encouraged to submit questions for Desiree to alison@theweddingyentas.com for a future edition of Yenta-quette.

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My mother-in-law to-be is wearing a really bright color that clashes with everything. It looks like she’s trying to take all the attention and make it about her. My mom is wearing a neutral dress, which is fine with me. Is there anything I can do to tell her to choose a different dress?

This question makes me really sad because I know so many girls face problems like this with their in-laws and their own parents. I’ve heard this in terms of the dress choices and in terms of others trying to steal your thunder and show you up. There’s just something about weddings that brings out a little bit of crazy for a lot of people. I had a similar situation in my own wedding where someone (not a parent, but someone who would be in pictures) wanted to wear a red dress (not a color that fit in with my color scheme in the least). She had my mother-in-law ask me how I felt about this in advance. I wasn’t thrilled with her choice to wear a red dress, but I didn’t want to tell her no and look demanding, but I was very bothered with this situation. I chose to tell her she could wear whatever she pleases. I realized that it says more about her (the red dress wearer) than it does about me. No one will hold you accountable for their poor fashion choices, it’s a reflection of them. This is the kind of thing that will probably irritate you leading up to your wedding day, but you probably won’t really care on the actual day. In the end, all you’re left with are the pictures of your wedding day, and you will probably only order pictures to display that are of you and your husband and you never need to look at her clashy dress choice again! I’ll let you in on a little secret too: no one is looking at her; all eyes are actually on you that day.

If you really can’t get past this one and your fiance agrees with you, let him handle it. It’s his mother and if he sees things your way, let it be his beast of burden, and don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.

(In case you’re wondering about how the red dress went over at my wedding, because I’m sure you are on the edge of your seat about such crucial information, I will fill you in! I saw her walk into the hotel wearing the red dress while we were taking pictures. I didn’t even care at the time, but luckily the stars aligned and she changed into a classic black dress. The change was appreciated and I didn’t even have to say anything to her about it. Win win!)

Heidi Ryder Photography

My bridesmaids are not really that enthusiastic about my wedding. No one has mentioned a bachelorette party yet and my aunt is hosting the shower because they didn’t step up to the plate. Should I say anything? I feel like I can’t approach this situation without sounding like a bridezilla even though I feel it’s not bridezilla-like.

To start, I’m really sorry your bridal party isn’t more supportive, excited, and ready to step up to the plate in ways you were hoping. You don’t sound like a bridezilla; you sound like you are just looking for a little support and for others to do the traditional activities that help make the months leading up to your wedding more special. It’s an important time in your life and you really do deserve all those things. The question of who hosts a bridal shower seems to get different answers depending on who you ask. In my circle, showers are typically hosted by friends or family of the mother of the bride or mother-in-law rather than the bride’s friends. I know this isn’t how it works everywhere, but this has just been my experience. I was upfront with my bridesmaids about my expectations of them and I think it’s really important to be clear with them for your peace of mind and so they know what they are in for when they accept that honor. I think you’ll feel better if you have a little heart to heart with your girls. I would suggest starting with your maid of honor. She can take the lead in encouraging the other girls to step up in a way you two are comfortable with. You aren’t being a bridezilla; you simply want the girls who mean the most to you to be excited for you and be more participatory. That’s not too much to ask if you ask nicely.

I always break out in a sweat when I drink alcohol so on the morning of the wedding, I want to do a toast with my girls but Champagne will make me tipsy and hot. What other suggestions do you have for bridesmaid bonding on the morning of the wedding?

We can’t have any bridal sweating going on for you, so let’s toss the Champagne bottles straight out the door… for you anyway. I wouldn’t recommend going out for brunch; that is a time killer! It’s nice to provide some kind of breakfast or brunch for your girls and having a girly meal together is a great way to bond. If you’re at a hotel, they can provide a little nosh and maybe some colorful juices to start the day off on a well-nourished foot. Perhaps you have a close family friend or relative who can bring breakfast to you all while you get ready at your house or venue. People are happy to help, so don’t be scared to ask. Since the day of your wedding tends to get pretty hectic pretty quickly, don’t get caught up in taking on too much in the morning. You’ll want to get a head start on getting extra gorgeous, so do something low key. Take advantage of what you already have planned for that day and find ways to make the necessary bullets on your to-do list a little more special. Nothing brings girls together like a good meal! Another opportunity for girl bonding on the morning of your wedding is when you present your bridesmaids with a little gift to say thank you for being in your wedding. That’s a sweet part of the day and you can turn it into a really special moment.

On the morning of my wedding, my girls, the moms, and I got our hair done together at a salon near the hotel. We brought in bagels, fruit, and other treats. The salon also played a wedding themed movie which really added extra ambiance and got everyone in the mood to celebrate. I definitely recommend doing something like this as it was so fun to see the girls go from their everyday to wedding ready looks and get pampered together. Don’t forget to have someone take pictures!

Sweet Tea Photography

What do you do if you find out your bridesmaids are saying mean things behind your back or are not being cooperative throughout the wedding planning time?

I’m a firm believer that you should always try to make things work with any relationship before cutting it off and rarely advise in ending relationships off the bat, but I have to say this is one of those situations that is unacceptable.

As a Yenta, I know we all enjoy a little gossip now and then and sometimes this comes from a place of love and sometimes it does not. It’s the latter of these that is behavior you should not have to tolerate from people who claim to love you, support you, and are going to participate in your wedding. I really think the root of the issue comes from a place of jealousy from bridesmaids in these situations. It’s safe to say we’ve all experienced a pang of jealousy in our day and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Where this starts to get out of hand is when you inappropriately respond to that jealousy and take it out on others. Keep your green monsters to yourselves, ladies! The time leading up to a wedding is definitely special and exciting, but it’s also stressful in a way that you could never have imagined. You don’t need any added stress and cutting your losses might not be the worst idea. Unfortunately, this situation calls for some action: an honest conversation with the perpetrators of girl code is in order and asking them if they really want to be in your bridal party or if they would rather come as a guest. Let them know you are comfortable with it if they would prefer to back out of the bridal party. This will definitely be emotional for you and I’m sure your feelings WILL be hurt, but I think you’ll also feel a tremendous sense of relief. It is such an honor to be a part of someone’s wedding day in any capacity, but the girls who stand up there with you are girls you will never forget and you want those memories to be positive ones. I think this is a last resort situation and will probably test your friendship and may cause more stirs of gossip, but when it’s all said and done, you don’t want to look at pictures of the girl(s) who caused to so much pain.

Mi Belle Photography