Importance of a Back Up Space

Outdoor weddings and events are always very popular . Having nature surrounding you for your big day is always a dream setting. However, there is a downside to a beach or any outdoor wedding that many brides don’t like to think of. The main question is: WHAT HAPPENS IF IT RAINS?

As professional planners, we need to think of the good and the bad, and having a rain plan is a very important thing to consider. It’s important to discuss this with your venue, decorator, DJ, and planner and come up with a plan ahead of time so that everyone is on the same page. We have gone through many situations where there is no back up space and guests are left to wonder why the event is being held outside, even though the weather is not conducive.

Here is a list of questions to ask your venue BEFORE signing them:
1. What is your back up space? Do you like the back up space as well as the outdoor space?
2. What is the latest time you can make the weather call?
3. Are there any additional charges if the event needs to be moved indoors?
4. If the event is outside and it rains, will the venue provide umbrellas for all guests and the DJ (especially for his equipment)?
5. Will your back up space hold the same amount of guests as your original space would?
6. Will the venue create a floor plan for the backup space?
7. Will the venue set up the outside and inside space simultaneously for no additional charge? This is just so that if at last minute, everything needs to be pulled inside, the room is already set.

We have been in countless situations where there is no weather back up at all for an outdoor event. It really is very difficult when discussions on the weather happen two weeks before the event and there are virtually no options. We love outdoor events just as much as our brides, but as planners, we want to talk about all options before a bride signs the venue and is left to pay hefty back up charges.

Real Weddings: Falguni and Jason

This past weekend we could not have asked for better weather in PR. Our lovely couple got to enjoy a weekend full of sunshine for their intimate wedding.

It all started Friday night with a fun Cocktail Party in the roof top ballroom of La Concha Resort. Guests enjoyed some mexican and stir fry dishes, while local spanish guitarist Pancho Irizzary seranaded everyone with some local tunes. The night ended with a surprise from the sister of the bride, a fireworks show which left the bride in tears (happy ones ofcourse!).

Saturday was a full day jam packed with activities. It all started with a beach side Hindu Ceremony fulls of many emotions and laughter.

Later in the day we headed to the hotels Ocean Pool for a short and sweet American Ceremony followed by some delicious local cocktails that included Mango and Passion Fruit Mojitos.

It all ended with a colorful reception where guests never left the dancefloor and enjoyed a full night of dancing.

We want to thank all the vendors that heleped make this weekend possible: Noel del Pilar, NDF, DJ Manan, Jessica Rivera from La Concha Resort, Intic, Lourdes Padilla, Music Factory and Lizzie Ibarra.

Congratulations to Falguni and Jason!

Real Weddings: Aarti & Arun

We had a wonderful time at Aarti & Arun’s wedding this past weekend at The Turnberry Isle Miami. The festivities all began with their Welcome Night on Thursday, which gave their guests a taste of the fun to come. Next, their guests had a fun-filled evening of food and dance at their lavish and lively sangeet on Friday night. The ceremony was held on Saturday, and the bride and groom looked absolutely stunning as they stood under a floral draped mandap. Finally, Aarti & Arun danced the night away with their family and friends at their gorgeously decorated reception. Although a little rain set us back, the wedding went on without a hitch and was gorgeous! Congratulations to the happy couple!

We’d like to thank the vendors who made this event possible, especially The Turnberry Isle Miami, Maloman Studios, LaFrance Films, DJ Suhel, Xquisite Events, Amy Palma, and Copper Chimney catering.

Top 10 Questions to Ask a DJ

Long after the food, flowers and location of your reception have been forgotten, the one thing that will stay with your family and friends will be whether or not they had a good time! The best way to ensure that your guests have a blast is to have an amazing DJ. A great DJ should not only pump up the crowd and keep them dancing all night long, but also should make all announcements on time and be aware of all of your wedding details.

References are incredibly important when it comes to choosing the right DJ – make sure to ask them for references from past brides they have worked with. Next, you should plan to interview 2 to 3 different DJs. To make your life easier, we have compiled a Top Ten list of questions to ask your DJ:

1) How many years of experience do you have?

2) Are you familiar with our venue?

3) Are you going to be the DJ we get if we hire you, or will it be one of your partners?

4) How many people will you bring to the event?

5) Will you cover your own parking (if in NYC or City with parking issues)?

6) What kind of power requirements do you have?

7) How many weddings do you do in a weekend?

8) Do you MC the event as well?

9) Do you offer lighting packages?

10) Are you familiar with Indian music?

Wedding Packed Weekend

We are getting ready for a super busy weekend of wedding events. We have not one, but two major weddings!

We are super excited to get away from the cold NY weather and head to the tropics. Half of our team is heading to Miami while the other half heads to Puerto Rico.

In Miami we are excited to be working with the Turnberry Isles for the three day wedding events of Aarti and Arun. We worked on the bride's brothers wedding 2 yrs ago and can't wait to celebrate with Aarti this time around.

Over in Puerto Rico we have the two day events of Falguni and Jason at La Concha Resort. This multicultural wedding is small and intimate, which makes PR the perfect location for it.

Check back next week for photos from both events!

Table Sizes

Knowing the different sizes of tables and how many people can fit at each is key when making your floor plans. This is just one of the many topics we cover in our upcoming book, The Complete Guide to Planning the Perfect South Asian Wedding – read this sneak peak now to help you out!

It is handy to know how many people can be seated at which kind of table, and a little bit about how to put them together in ways that are both practical and aesthetic. Use the chart above to help create a floor plan that includes a nice mix of varied tables, balanced on each side of your banquet room.

            It can be a revelation to many who are planning seating for a wedding to find that it may not be necessary to rent additional tables. Your venue will generally have a range of standard round and long tables. Placed long sides together, six-foot and eight-foot tables will both make square tables ready for ten quests. A six-foot and an eight-foot rectangle table placed end to end creates seating for twenty, as do three six-foot rectangle tables places together in the same fashion. Note that while the seventy-two-inch round and two eight-foot rectangle tables together each may accommodate ten to twelve guests, twelve may feel a little crowded. If possible, keep it at ten for your guests’ maximum comfort. With just a little creative thinking, you will have saved some rental fees and designed a smart-looking room.

Equipment Rental List for Raw Space

Planning an event at an empty space can seem to be simple at first. How hard could it be? Take is from experts, it’s harder than you might think. Having events in a bare space involves accounting for a lot of small details. Earlier this week we discussed how to figure out your bar.

In addition to all the food and alcohol you need to consider the following:
1. Where are guest sitting? Do you need tables? Do you need chairs? Do you need linen?
2. Is the caterer bringing his own equipment? Chaffing dishes, sternos, utensils, etc.
3. What about the bar and bartenders, what are their needs?
4. What about plates, spoons, cups, glasses?
5. Do you have enough trash cans?

These are just some of the things to think about. We recently did an event for 200 guests and compiled a very helpful list of things the client had to rent. The list below can be used for any guest count, just duplicate or triple according to your guest list

For the Bar:
4- Bar Fronts (2 Bars For Cocktail Hour/ 2 Bars For Dinner)
4- 8ft Tables- For Bar Back
2- Beverage Tub With Stand (For Bars)
12- Plastic Tubs for ice and bottle chilling
12- Ice Scoops
32Pkts- Disposable Cocktail Napkins (For Bars)
600- 8 Oz. Wine Glass (For Bars)

For the Cocktail Hour:
50- Chairs (For Cocktail Hour)
10- Water Pitcher (Glass)—To Serve your guests water at their table
10- High Boys (For Cocktail Hour) With 10 Linen
10- Cocktail Tables (For Cocktail Hour) With 10 Linen
240- Salad Forks (For Appetizer Stations)
4- Bread Baskets (For Napkins and Forks On Appetizer Stations)
400- Band B&B Plate (No Lace) (For Cocktail Hour)
1-60" Round Table (For Placecards) With Linen—If you are doing assigned seating

For the Buffets:
3- 6ft Tables (For Buffets)
3- 6ft Table Linen (For Buffets)
300- Dinner Plate (For Buffets)
210- Heavy Soup Bowl (For Buffets)

For the Dinner Reception:
210- Chivari Chair- Chairs For Ballroom (10 Chairs Per Table)
210- Cushion For Chivari Chair (For Chiavari Chairs In Ballroom)
21- 72” Round Tables (For The Ballroom)
21- 72” Round Table Linen To The Ground (For Ballroom Tables)
205- Charger Plate - Gold (For Guest Tables)
220- Beverage Goblet (For Guest Tables)
700- 12.5 Oz. Beverage Glass (For Guest Tables And Bars)
220- Dinner Fork (For Dinner Tables)
220- Dinner Knives (For Dinner Tables)
220- Teaspoon (For Dinner Tables)
200- Dinner Napkins (For Guest Tables)

For Staging:
8- Wenger Carpeted (Gray) 3' X 6' - Indoor Only (Bride And Groom Stage)
Wenger Steps (For Bride And Groom Stage)
16" X 12' Black Stage Skirt (For Bride And Groom Stage)

For Kitchen and Staffing:
5- Electric Food Cabinet (Large)
12- Hot Boxes For Caterer
60- Full Sheet Pan (18" X 26")- For Hot Boxes
12- Trash Cans With Trash Can Bags- Industrial Grey
12- Clean Up Trays And Stands

There are two very very important things to point out when doing rentals. You should always rent a few items above your guest count just in case something arrives broken or damaged. Secondly its important to note that with any rental items everything must be returned. If the rental company is missing any items or anything is returned broken or damaged you will be charged a replacement fee per item and this can become very costly.

Alcohol Calculator

Planning a home event can be a very tedious job. There are lots of minor details that you need to think about from renting tables, chairs, catering equipment and so much more. One of the most important factors is your bar and figuring out how much alcohol to buy. The one thing you never want to happen at a party is to run out of alcohol, therefore it is important to know how much beer, wine and liquor to get. This can be a bit tricky but we have discovered some very helpful sites that will make calculation the amount of alcohol you need so much easier.

Perfect Party Planning offers you a calculator where you can plug in your guest count and what type of alcohol you need and it will estimate the number of bottles you need to get.

Dummies.com offers a pre calculated chart based on 100 guests and a 4hr open bar that let's you know exactly how much to get of each different type of liquor. This is a very easy chart to use no matter what your guest count is.