Reasons to Ring in The New Year With “I do!”

You Get To Be With Your Friends and Family

It’s very rare to be able to get all of the most important people in your lives in the same room for a celebration on a holiday. And, a NYE wedding adds another dimension to the celebration. Meaning, you’ll get to experience a truly unique way to mark the passage of time with all your nearest and dearest. 

Everyone Has The Next Day Off

Almost all companies give their employees a day off for New Year’s, so even if your wedding date falls during the week,  your guests shouldn’t have to use up a vacation or personal day to celebrate with you!

Not Everyone Has Fun Plans For NYE

It isn’t always an easy task to make plans to ring in the new year! In fact, for some people, finding something to do can be seriously stressful! So, many of your potential wedding guests will appreciate having something set on their calendars well in advance of the big day! And, even better, you’ll be planning all of the fun, and all they have to do is show up!

Guests Can Go Glam

If you want to host a formal or semi-formal affair, NYE is one of  the perfect dates for it! You can request the guys to get dressed in their best tux or suit, while the ladies can wear as much sparkle and shine as they want. And, the couple can really turn it up when it comes to their own wedding day attire. They can use the holiday for a reason to go bold and unexpected with their wardrobe.

Celebrate Into The Early Hours

Since your wedding is on New Year’s Eve, some venues might allow you to extend your reception hours at no extra charge, as you might already be paying a holiday premium rental rate. But, if that isn’t an option, you might still want to consider adding an extra hour (or more) to your party so that people don’t have to leave as soon as the clock strikes midnight.

Over The Top Decor

New Year’s Eve is all about glitz and glam, so couples might want to showcase bold statements like metallic colors, champagne towers, lots of twinkling lights, big balloons, neon signs, and disco ball décor! A New Year’s Eve wedding is an open invitation to do something huge and really make a statement with your decor.

Easy Wedding Favors

Couples that decide to get married on NYE won’t have to think too hard about what kind of favors to give their guests. A great solution is to simply hand out party hats, noisemakers, confetti bombs, and anything you’d like your guests to use when the clock strikes midnight!

Start The Year As Newlyweds

One of the best parts of having a NYE wedding is that you get to start the new year off as a married couple! Talk about starting your lives together in style! Your first kiss of the new year will be as newlyweds!

Super Memorable Anniversary

Not only will your wedding anniversary be easy to remember for you (and all of your guests), but you’ll also have a built in excuse to really celebrate each and every New Year’s Eve!

The post Reasons to Ring in The New Year With “I do!” appeared first on SCE Event Group.

Just Got Engaged! Now What?!

Stop, and Enjoy the Moment

Before you jump into wedding planning, stop and take a moment to bask in and savor your newly engaged status! In other words, this is a huge milestone in your lives, so take the time to really celebrate your engagement! And no, we’re not – necessarily – talking about a formal engagement, We mean taking a little time to revel in – and share – your new relationship status before getting all wrapped up in the busy process of wedding planning. But, why, you might ask!? Well, because it’s a huge life event in and of itself, and should be properly acknowledged. Whether that means a date night with your fiancé, a casual backyard BBQ with your families, or even a full-on catered cocktail style engagement party, be sure to embrace your new fiance status and savor your engagement before diving into the planning process!

Get Your Ducks in a Row

As you start planning your wedding, you’re going to end up with lots of ideas, checklists, vendor and venue recommendations, photo inspiration, wedding magazines, bridal show tickets, contracts, and. Etc. So, you’re going to want to figure out an organizational system, so that you can keep track of all your wedding-related material. That way all your information will be right at your fingertips when you meet with potential wedding vendors or your wedding planner. You can keep all that info in a Google Doc, Evernote, a dedicated Pinterest board, an old fashioned wedding binder, a calendar app, or maybe a combination of several systems. The important thing is that it works for you and your fiance! We promise that getting yourself organized early will help to minimize wedding stress, so you can hit the ground running with all of those important wedding decisions!

Choose a Date (or Date Range)

Unfortunately, even if you have your heart set on a certain day in particular, you may not know your exact wedding date for a while! The truth is that the day you say “I do!” depends on many factors, like the actual availability of your top 3 potential wedding venues. 

That being said, settling on a general date range will enable you to get some of your planning process started. For example: “Spring 2024” or “Next fall” will give your plans a little structure, and make it seem real! It will also be nice to finally have an answer when all your friends and family members start asking, “Sooooo, when’s the big day?!” Because, trust us, they’re going to ask!

Set Your Priorities and Budget

Setting your budget should be one of the first items mentioned on any wedding checklist! It’s crucially important that you and your fiancé are on the same page as far as how much you’re willing to spend on your big day! Now is a good time to consider your savings, family contributions to the big day, and  things like your current debt load (including student loans). Then, have “the money talk” with your significant other to come up with a ballpark range. Once you come to a ballpark figure, you can start brainstorming ideas and getting in touch with vendors for pricing information. This will help shape your priorities, as in, “We absolutely need to have a photo booth at our wedding!” or “We’re not attached to the idea of having a traditional wedding cake at our reception.”

Create Your Custom Wedding Checklist

Maybe you have a really tight timeline. Or maybe you’re just not into the “traditional” wedding elements that most planners include on their lists. That’s why we think it’s a good idea to review a handful of different checklists and pull things from them to create your own, custom wedding to-do list. By piecing together all of the items that are applicable to you, you’ll have a personalized, hyper-focused guideline of what needs to be done, and when (where and why) you need to do it, so that you can accomplish your unique wedding goals!

The post Just Got Engaged! Now What?! appeared first on SCE Event Group.

Top 5 Tips For Choosing Wedding Vendors

We know it’s both incredibly exciting, as well as a little overwhelming to plan your wedding! It can be tempting to rush through the process of hiring your wedding vendors, just to secure your date. But, you really don’t want just anybody to provide services on one of the biggest days of your life together! You want to find qualified professionals who really get who you are as a couple, and the vibe you want to create for your wedding day.

So, we’ve put together 5 tips (or guiding principles if you will) to use to help pick and hire your wedding vendors. 

Overflowing With Gratitude

You want to hire wedding professionals that understand that it’s an honor to be chosen to be part of a couple’s celebration, and who treat that honor with respect! You also want to hire wedding professionals that feel grateful to be a part of the industry, and realize that it’s a privilege to have a vocation that helps people celebrate life, love and family.

Always Learning

You want wedding vendors that stay on top of industry trends, are always learning new ways to improve the service they provide and the rapport they have with their clients, and who aren’t too proud to admit that there is always more to learn! In other words, you want your wedding vendors to operate from a growth mindset! 

 “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities

 can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent 

are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and 

a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” – Carol Dweck

Takes Responsibility

You want to hire wedding professionals that take responsibility for their actions, and who don’t assign blame when or if problems arise. To that end, taking responsibility requires the realization that we all play a part in every situation or experience and therefore, we have some degree of responsibility over the outcomes or consequences. It also means that the first reaction when a mistake is made or a conflict arises, shouldn’t be to blame others, make excuses, twist the facts, or flat out lie. Instead, it’s important to swiftly acknowledge there is a problem, identify your possible role in it, and implement an action plan to minimize (or entirely eliminate) the chances of it happening again.

Honors Your Time

Planning a wedding is a huge commitment, and will require a lot of your time in the next 6 months to a year (or longer). So you want to hire wedding professionals that understand that your time (and theirs) is precious and should be spent wisely. Some clues to weather or not your prospective wedding vendors value you time are: They start and end meetings on time, they state the amount of time that they will need from you (and stick to it), they’ll let you know is something unforeseen has come up and they are running behind schedule, they will cancel or reschedule meetings with lots of advance notice (when possible), and last but not least, when you’re together they will give you their undivided attention. 

Has Good Vibes

This last tip might seem a bit funny, as ‘good vibes’ are kind of an intangible concept, but trust your gut on this one. If you feel like your prospective wedding professionals don’t live up to the baseline of gratitude, growth, accountability and recognition of your time, and you feel a lack of authenticity in your interactions with them, then they’re probably not the wedding vendors you should hire! After all, you are bringing people into one of the most intimate and special days of your lives together! You need to feel like your vendors really ‘get’ you and have your best interests at heart!

The post Top 5 Tips For Choosing Wedding Vendors appeared first on SCE Event Group.

Irish Prayers and Blessings for Your Wedding

You certainly don’t have to be Irish or have distant Irish Heritage to appreciate the sentiment of an Irish wedding blessing! But, if you have Irish heritage, you can embrace it on your wedding day by including a collection of well-loved blessings or maybe even prayers, spread throughout the celebration. 

Just make sure you select your ceremony blessings with care and keep the more lighthearted (or inappropriate) verses for after the wedding formalities, because, while some Irish blessings might not quite be appropriate for a ceremony, they can certainly add some humor to the less formal reception!

Your first task will be to distinguish the Irish Prayers from the Blessings. In the simplest description, a prayer is considered a direct conversation with God or a higher power. During a prayer you can ask for something for yourself and others and maybe even offer praise and gratitude, while a blessing is a form of prayer, typically requested on behalf of another. It’s a subtle but distinct difference. 

Your next task is to decide who will recite the reading, and when the prayer will be included in the wedding mass or ceremony. This honor is typically reserved for family, godparents, or very close friends, and generally a prayer would be recited early on in the ceremony, and possibly as part of the welcome address or even the sermon. While a blessing is generally recited towards the end of the ceremony after most of the big formalities have been completed.

Irish blessings at weddings are used as a way to send the newly married couple off into the world with overflowing positivity, and typically whoever is officiating the wedding would give the final blessing, but alternatively, a very close friend or family member could also recite the blessing. If you need further guidance on this, be sure to talk to your priest, as they will be your best reference when planning out your wedding mass and ceremony. 

With all of that fresh in your mind, here are a few of the most uplifting Irish Wedding Blessings and Prayers!

Irish Wedding Prayer

“By the power that Christ brought from heaven, mayst thou love me.

As the sun follows its course, mayst thou follow me.

As light to the eye, as bread to the hungry, as joy to the heart, may thy presence be with me, oh, one that I love,’til death comes to part us asunder.”

Excerpt from St. Patrick’s Prayer:

“I arise today, through the strength of heaven, the light of the sun, the radiance of the moon, the splendor of fire, the speed of lightning, the swiftness of wind, the depth of the sea, the stability of the earth, the firmness of rock.

I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me, God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s shield to protect me, God’s host to save me from snares of devils, from the temptation of vices, from everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and near.”

Irish Wedding Blessings

“May love and laughter light your days and warm your heart and home. May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam. May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures. May all life’s passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!”

“May joy and peace surround you both, contentment latch your door, and happiness be with you now, and God bless you evermore. May you live your life with trust, and nurture lifelong affection, May your lifelong dreams come true for you, move ever that direction.”

“May God grant you always a sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering angel so nothing can harm you. Laughter to cheer you, faithful friends near you. And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you.”

“In good times and bad times, in sickness and health, may they know that riches aren’t needed for wealth. Help them face problems they’ll meet on their way—God bless this couple who marry today. May they find peace of mind comes to all who are kind, may the rough times ahead become triumphs in time, may their children be happy each day—God bless this family who started today. As they go, may they know every love that was shown, and as life it gets shorter may their feelings grow. Wherever they travel, wherever they stay, God bless this couple who marry today.”

“May your mornings bring joy and your evenings bring peace. May your troubles grow few as your blessings increase. May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past. May your hands be forever clasped in friendship and your hearts joined forever in love. Your lives are very special, and God has touched you in many ways. May his blessings rest upon you and fill all your coming days.”

In closing we’ll leave you with one of our favorites:

 “May the blessings of each day be the blessings you need most.”

The post Irish Prayers and Blessings for Your Wedding appeared first on SCE Event Group.

The Perks of Hosting a Winter Wedding

While it might be too late to plan for a winter wedding this year, it’s just the right time to start planning your Winter 2023 Wedding! 

I know that most people think of the summer and early fall as prime wedding season, but winter weddings really have a lot going for them! It’s true! Yes, we know that summer weddings are stunning, but there really are a few downsides to consider when getting married at the height of summer! 

But, when you plan a winter wedding, you can avoid all of those downsides and get stunning snowy wedding photos, featuring holiday-themed wedding decorations, and more. But, if you’re not convinced, keep reading, because being a winter bride or groom is basically the best!

Reasons to get married in the winter…

Less Stress

One thing about winter weddings is the lack of stress about the weather since they do tend to take place inside. Whereas planning a wedding in the summer, the risk of rain, hail, wind and extreme heat can make the planning period stressful and potentially costly if you need to add a tent, or have a whole (weather related) back-up plan in place.

More Venue Date Availability and Better Rates

Most venues and vendors book up all their prime weekend spots quickly during the summer months, and they often come with a large price tag, whereas those same locations and vendors might be available for a lower price during the winter months of the shoulder season or off-season. Because the winter months aren’t as busy as others, the venue will also be able to focus more attention on your big day.

Bonus Decorations!

Although the festive time of year might not be the reason you chose a winter wedding, there are many benefits to a celebration aligned with the holiday season. It’s very likely that any venue you choose will already be decorated for the holiday season adding an even more celebratory feel to your special day. This is a huge bonus, because really, who doesn’t like twinkle lights?!

No Summer Wedding Season Fatigue

The spring and summer months can get so jam-packed with weddings that your family, friends, and guests can start to get a serious case of wedding celebration fatigue. Not to mention the cost of attending numerous weddings over the summer! 

But, a December, January, February, or March wedding is likely to be the only one your guests attend that season (unless of course, you’re living in the deep south or somewhere very warm), which makes it something that people will really look forward to. 

Something a Little Different

From your color palette to flowers, there are many elements of the season to inspire your theme! Meaning that your wedding decor will likely stand out in your guests memories, in a sea of peonies and summer brights. You can embrace the season even further by throwing cozy blankets over guests’ chairs, keeping them warm by serving a hot signature cocktail, like a rum toddy, cider or mulled wine, or even embracing nordic vibes by having an outdoor space available to your guests that includes patio heaters, fireplaces and cozy sheepskin rugs to sit on!

It’s the Best Weather for Black Tie Events

Really! If you’re planning a formal wedding, you can bet you’ll hear much less complaining from your wedding party and guests in black-tie attire when it’s cold outside. Tuxedos really aren’t meant for outdoor ceremonies and cocktail hours in the blazing heat of the summer, however, they are definitely the perfect choice for indoor winter weddings!

You Won’t Be a Hot and Sweaty Mess

Some people really don’t deal well in the heat! The heat simply makes them irritated, cranky, and not to mention, a sweaty mess. If that’s you, or your loved ones, it might be best to embrace a winter wedding! Because, when it comes to weather, you can always add layers to combat the cold, but in the hotter months, well, there’s only so much you can take off and still be wedding (or publicly) appropriate.

Stunning and Magical Snowy Wedding Photos

If you’re lucky enough to be blessed with a sprinkling of snow ahead of or on your big day, your photographer can capture some absolutely stunning snowy wedding photos that’ll rival any sun-drenched summer photo!

The post The Perks of Hosting a Winter Wedding appeared first on SCE Event Group.

Planning an Epic Cocktail Party Reception

You and your fiancé have looked at all your options and have decided to embrace a cocktail party style reception for your wedding! Well, we think that’s Awesome! Some of the best parties we’ve been a part of have embraced the more informal (but no less amazing) cocktail style reception! And, it’s your wedding, so if you’ve always wanted a wedding reception that feels like one big party, we say… Go for it!

So without any further ado, here’s a quick list of tips and tricks to bring out the fun and absolutely rock your cocktail party celebration!

The food is always a really big part of a cocktail style wedding – it truly is one of the main features – even more so than during a sit down dinner where there are lots of other distractions and formalities. As such, there are many opportunities in the choice of hors d’oeuvres, food bars, desserts, and late night stations to have fun and tailor the entire menu to your (and your fiancé’s) family heritage or traditions or  maybe even your sparkling personalities!

Keep the food coming throughout the evening! Seriously! People will be dancing and enjoying cocktails and will burn off all of those hor d’oeuvres and smaller bites fairly quickly. And, you never want your guests to feel the need to leave because they’re hungry! And, trust us, too many cocktails with too little food isn’t a recipe for a fun party, it’s usually a recipe for an early night!

Even Though you’re having a cocktail party style reception, it’s best to still include some comfy and inviting seating nooks or areas and likely even a small collection of tables and chairs. Your older guests, and guests with young children will appreciate a place to sit, have a break and chat while they have a bite to each. You seriously don’t want your guests to leave so that they can sit down and take a rest, so give them the opportunity to do that in your celebration space, so they’re ready to get right back to partying!

If you want to have a great dance party, make sure your venue isn’t too big and cavernous! Ideally you want to hit that sweet spot where your reception doesn’t feel crowded and cramped, but still feels intimate. And, the same goes for your actual dance floor! People tend to feel a little shyer and a bit slower to warm up if the dance floor is too big or the guestlist isn’t big enough to fill it! Also, if you hire an awesome DJ (hint, hint), they will often need to bring more sound equipment to fill that large space, which could affect your bottom line as well as increasing set-up/tear-down time. 

Since you’re unlikely to have quite as many formal wedding reception elements in a cocktail style reception, you may need to tweak the wedding timeline. Sometimes shorter can sweeter when it comes to cocktail receptions. After all, guests will be coming ready to party and if they arrive at 6pm oftentimes a 6 hour cocktail reception can be too much without some of the more time consuming elements of a traditional reception. After all, of course you want our guests to come, mingle, celebrate, enjoy and party, but it’s always best to end the party on a high note! Sometimes the best parties leave the guests wanting just a little bit more. It’s kind of like having out of town guests… the best visits are the ones you find yourself wishing were just a little longer, the worst are ones that go on way too long.

You are, of course, welcome to take or leave our advice! And, always, always do what works best for you as a couple! But, these are some of the elements of the most successful cocktail style receptions we’ve been a part of, and we’ve been to quite a few over the years!

The post Planning an Epic Cocktail Party Reception appeared first on SCE Event Group.

9 Tips For Delivering a Killer Wedding Speech

When you think about all of the weddings you’ve been to, what does every absolutely killer wedding speech have in common?!  I bet your answer falls somewhere along the lines of “It had the right flow and it wasn’t too long!” 

So, if you have a wedding speech to write and deliver in the near future, and are feeling a little nervous, we recommend that you factor in some of the below guidelines to help you find your own short but sweet wedding speech flow!

Open With a Statement or  Maybe a Question

Don’t lead with a joke or a reference to how nervous you are. After all, the goal is to engage your audience, not make it a boring one-way message. And, it can be as simple as “Hello and welcome everyone. I hope you’re all having a great night so far.”

Address Your Audience

Focusing on yourself only enhances speech delivering nerves. Instead, it’s wise to concentrate on your audience and how you want to make them feel with your words. This will help you to speak from the heart, and will convey your gratitude for being chosen for such a special moment. Ideally you want to make the happy couple feel special while also engaging the audience.

Zero in a Few Important Points

We recommend that you select one to three aspects of the newlyweds that you love and appreciate, along with very simple, and succinct stories where the bride and groom are the heroes to illustrate your points. This is an excellent way to keep your message clear and focused. And, definitely avoid inside jokes and “You had to be there” stories, or you will lose your audience’s attention.

Rehearse, But Not TOO Much!

The better prepared you are, the more confident you will feel behind the podium and the better your speech will be. A good rule of thumb is to practice your speech enough that you can remember the most important points you want to make and the order in which you plan to make them. That will free you up to relax into the moment and make eye contact with some of the guests. But, don’t practice so much that you are simply reciting from memory, word for word. You want it to feel sincere, not canned!

Record Speech Practice

We suggest that you use your phone to take a video of yourself during your practice sessions. We know that it can feel a little uncomfortable to watch yourself, but you’ll be able to identify distracting mannerisms and body language. It will also help to weed out verbal pauses such as, ‘um,’ ‘uh,’ and ‘like’.” It’s also a good idea to practice your speech in front of someone else, as a second opinion can help you make your speech that much stronger.

Minimize Pre-Speech Cocktails

Although it may be tempting to look for a bit of liquid courage, alcohol definitely won’t do you any favors. But, if you really feel like you need a drink to loosen up the nerves or don’t feel like you can refrain from participating in other toasts, stick to one glass of Champagne or one cocktail before you address the crowd. Don’t let all your pre-speech prep go to waste by slurring your speech, or forgetting your most important points!

Be Yourself

Keep in mind that you’re not putting on a show, only sharing your personal perspective and well wishes. And, trying too hard to force the funny can yield the opposite of the desired effect! Remember this isn’t about you! To that end, we’ve noticed that keeping it short, sweet, heartfelt, and authentic and staying focused on the couple generates some of the most wonderful wedding speech moments. 

Don’t Embarrass the Newlyweds

It’s a wedding speech, not a roast! So, while this should go without saying, make sure you keep the bachelor or bachelorette party jokes out of it, and remember that grandma and your friends’ colleagues are in the audience!  It can be okay, at times, to look back at childhood and refer to something funny, but ask yourself this first… If the shoe was on the other foot, would you like 100-plus of your closest friends knowing that story about you?

Refer to Your Notes

Reading your speech straight from a piece of paper is absolutely a big no-no! However, having a couple of note cards handy is encouraged, and will make you feel more prepared. After all, you’re likely to feel a little nervous, excited, which can make you forget your lines. The audience won’t care if you glance at your notes from time to time. In fact, there’s a good chance they won’t even notice.

The post 9 Tips For Delivering a Killer Wedding Speech appeared first on SCE Event Group.