BEAT THE CLOCK

Think of your wedding day as a choice of obstacles courses, which one would you rather tackle, one that has marbles rolling downhill or an ocean liner trying to navigate a choppy sea? The flow of your wedding day can resemble one or the other depending on how closely you follow your timeline. I heard it said once that running ten minutes behind schedule is understandable, twenty minutes is excusable, but thirty minutes is intolerable. Running too far behind your schedule generates a lot of standing around and waiting, which creates a lot of antsy and/or bored wedding party members or guests and can start the day off on the wrong foot.

Create a timeline and try to follow it somewhat.

And if I haven’t used enough metaphors yet here is another one. Think of your wedding day as a train, it may start out slow but by the end of the day we are hoping it is barreling full steam forward into a great finale. If the train comes to a stop however, it seems like it takes a mountain to get it moving again.

Slowly, steadily keep pushing forward.

Until next time,

~ Mike ~

A Room with a View

One of the first items on the agenda for most couples as they begin to plan their wedding is securing a site for their reception. Typical factors considered when doing this include the capacity, the décor and of course the price. But choosing your banquet facility also will play into what type of party you wish to have.

Do you want a high energy party or one that presents more of a peaceful, warm feel? For instance:

• ·         What size is the room? If you have found a beautiful and affordable facility that seats 500 and you are only expecting 125 guests it may be difficult to build a lot of energy in the room. Emptiness kills a party.

• ·       A beautiful location overlooking the lake or the valley is wonderful but your guests may wish to spend the afternoon/evening enjoying the view and socializing, which is okay unless you were hoping everyone would be on the dance floor creating a great party. It’s hard for the DJ or band to motivate people if they are out on the deck. More than once I have seen a despondent bride feel like she has been upstaged on her day by the view of her banquet facility.

• ·         This is a general summation but your drinkers are usually your dancers. That is why it is a good idea to have your bar, dance floor and entertainment all in one area of the room. Too many times couples have “split their crowd’ by having the bar at one end of the room, or worse, in another room, and their entertainment at  another. You may have hired the best entertainment money could buy, but it still may be no match for free beer!

• ·         Think of your guests as vampires! They will disappear in sunlight. Again a beautiful location with floor to ceiling windows may be ideal but if they are along the dance floor it tends people to feel more visible, in the spotlight, and thus more apprehensive to cut loose a bit.

• ·         Does your banquet facility have controlled lighting? Some places do not. The lights are either on, or off, and you are not going to let Grandma and some of your aunts and uncles sit in the dark. Face it, Texas Roadhouse and TGIF’s would not seem as ideal if they had fluorescent lights blazing like a High School cafeteria.

Next time we’ll talk about the clock. Until then  . . .

~ Mike ~