Saturday, May 29, 2010

One-of-a-kind Weddings

How about a little something different?

We thought our readers might enjoy some tips from recent brides and brides-to-be on how they made their own weddings creative and unique. What we found were several brides who went above and beyond to find innovative ways to celebrate their big days, and it sounds like their families and friends won’t soon forget it! Check out their creative wedding ideas:

The Venue: For Laura Bretz, a unique location was key. After considering over 100 wedding and reception venues, she found the perfect fit in Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo. “The zoo’s tram took [guests] around to the cocktail hour and guests loved getting to have cocktails with the animals… The balcony overlooking the zoo at the reception was great. We took [pictures] with the animals, inside exhibits, on the carousel and on the playground,” Bretz explained. What a fantastic idea, and talk about being able to save on décor! What better backdrop than live giraffes and gazelles roaming the savannah?

Guest Entertainment: Why not teach your guests something completely new? That is exactly what Melissa Miranda of Palo Alto, CA decided to do at her destination wedding in the Dominican Republic. Miranda arranged kiteboard lessons for guests (kiteboarding was a passion of the groom’s!) and twenty of their guests went home kiteboarders. This tropical bash sounds like a blast, and Miranda did an excellent job of arranging ways to keep her guests busy and entertained. No matter the location, teaching guests something new is a great idea! Family and friends will appreciate the opportunity to participate in more than just the traditional dancing (although you’ll want to include plenty of that too!)

The Ceremony: Desiree Modano of Quincy, MA is of Mexican descent on her mother’s side of the family. At her Newport, RI wedding, Modano wanted to include something special as a tribute to her Mexican relatives and had always wanted to have a mariachi band play a part in her wedding day. Her ceremony venue was a gothic cathedral that had organs tucked away up in its large balconies. Modano hid a mariachi band behind the organs before the start of the ceremony. Modano described the day: “We had typical piano music for the [procession.] When we were pronounced man and wife, we turned to the audience and the mariachis came out in front of the organs and began to play a celebratory song. Everyone was surprised… [My mother] started to cry and was absolutely thrilled!” Modano’s idea is great because it has that element of surprise, but it also pays tribute to a part of her life that is important, not only to her, but to many of her relatives as well.

Cake by Cake Rentals Confidential

The Cake: It is a tradition in Jane Davis’ family of NewYork, NY that her grandmother bakes the family wedding cakes. So it only made sense for Davis to ask her to make the wedding cake for her April 2010 celebration. But Davis' grandmother was worried that her cake decorating skills weren’t quite as good as they used to be, and was hesitant to make Davis’. After pricing several wedding cakes from NYC bakeries ($10 a slice!) Davis came across an alternative solution. Cakes Confidential is a company that rents fake wedding cakes (that look real) for a fraction of the cost of a real cake. Davis decided to rent a cake for display, but asked her grandmother to bake a sheet cake instead. “Once a cake is sliced it all looks the same,” Davis said. “Since my grandmother’s sheet cake was free, our total cost for 200 guests was just $250! The best part was that we took the $1,750 we saved and put it towards our honeymoon!” Talk about a creative and cost-effective alternative, and Davis’ guests never even knew the difference!

We received many other unique ideas which we will include in next week’s blog, so be sure to check back then for many other inventive and unusual wedding tips!

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