Happy Holidays!!!!

This year has been full of amazing weddings and even better clients. We can't believe it is almost coming to an end. We are super excited for all the weddings we are working on for next year and can't wait for 2012!



The entire SJS Events team would like to wish you all and your families an amazing Holiday Season!

Home Sweet Home

While we get lots of calls from brides who want to do a home wedding, it is definitely not the easiest “venue” to have for a wedding. Over the many years of doing weddings, we have found that there are some easy things to keep in mind to make your home event/ wedding successful:

1. Put up a tent no matter what—some clients think it is too much of an expensive but when it comes to weather, you really do not want to take chances. It is worth the investment.

2. Hire adequate staffing

3. Have enough alcohol and beverages

4. Make sure you order extra linen and napkins

5. Hire a cleaning crew to just clean during and after the event. Most of the time the serving staff does not do clean up.

Vidhi and Wamiz

This past weekend we had our last wedding of the year and we couldn't be happier with how everything turned out!

The wedding took place at one of our favorite venues, The Eden Roc Miami Beach. The staff there is superb and always take such great care of us and our clients. They went above and beyond to make sure that everything was perfect.

The couple who celebrated with only their closest family and friends enjoyed an outside ceremony followed by cocktails and reception in the hotels Penthouse Floor which offered great views of Miami. Even though it was a small group, they made sure to enjoy the night and kept dancing into the early hours!

Once again Congratulations to Vidhi and Wamiz!

Miami Here We Come!

The SJS team is heading to Miami for our last wedding of the year!

We can't believe another year full of weddings has gone by and that the last one is finally here. We are going back to The Eden Roc which is one of our favorite venues to work at, and this should be a fun one as it only has 40guests!!!

We can't wait to be back in the warm weather!

Welcome To Our Wedding!

Whether you are planning a destination wedding or a local affair it is always fun to pamper your out of towns guests to show them your appreciation for traveling for your big day.

A great way to do this is to have a Welcome Bag waiting for them when they check into their hotel. Here is a list of welcome bag essentials:

- Welcome Letter with Schedule of Events
- Water and or Soda
- Map of the Area
- Local Snacks
- Your favorite Snack
- Hangover Helper Essentials
- List of restaurant and activity recommendations

Your guests will appreciate the thought no matter how big or small.

Why Is It Less Expensive To Do Plated Dinners versus Buffet?

One of the first things to determine when you are planning your wedding is whether you want a sit down dinner, or a buffet. Both meal options give different feelings to your special day. To make your decision a little easier, we have broken down the different options to give you some pros and cons for each:

Sit Down equals Formal. Plated food is served to each guest. Table cards with meal selections and place cards are needed so that the catering staff knows what to serve to which guest.

The Pros:

- You can serve exactly what your guests want by giving them options for meals. They can get an appetizer to start, then their meal choice, then dessert.

- Food is hot right out of the kitchen.

- This is the more elegant way to present food at a wedding,

- There is portion control so your costs are and should be less than buffet.

The Cons:

- Sit-down service usually takes longer to get everyone fed.

- There is usually a 15-minute window between the first table and the last at a large wedding.

- If you are crunched for time, this might not be your best option as the focus is on the level of service and not on the speed.

Buffet equals Casual. Food is nicely displayed on a long table where guests serve themselves.

The Pros:

- In a less formal environment, this option is great for your guests to socialize and get to know one another.

- Guests can get their food at their leisure- Guests can also keep going back for more.

The Cons:

- Buffets can be hard to get around if they aren’t planned well.

- Sometimes, people and tables get in the way so you need to make sure the caterer plans a good place to set up the table.

- There are long lines for guests to wait for their food.

In the end, even though your pocketbook is important, choose your service by the look and feel you want on your wedding day.

Planning Trip to Puerto Rico

Happy Monday! What an exciting weekend we had with our couple Deepti and Anup in Puerto Rico.

We arrived on Friday and did everything from menu tasting to viewing all of their decor to cake tasting.

I think it was very helpful to go there again and finalize all items for their May wedding. After months and months of planning, we are finally seeing it all come together.

Private Island Wedding

When planning a destination wedding, some of our clients want to feel like they are the only ones at the resort. While most resorts have hundreds of rooms and lots of tourists, these resorts offer a change. Here, you and your guests will definitely be the only ones and taking over the resort, takes on a whole new meaning.

Peteri Island Resort
This resort is very private and can only accommodate about 150 people

Necker Island
It can accommodate up to 26 guests and is such a perfect setting for a destination wedding

Jumby Bay Resort
Jumby Bay holds 40 suites and 11 two-bedroom villas with private plunge pools.

Young Island
The only property on one of the private islands near St. Vincent in the Grenadines.

A Private Island
Off the coast of Belize

Guana
This 150-acre Bahamas getaway surrounded by sugary beaches can accommodate a private party of up to 24 people

Managing Your Guest List and What A Wedding Can Really Cost You

It would be lovely to have the availability to invite everyone you know to your wedding. From that coworker that you barely know to distantly related cousins and their plus ones. For most, there are budget restrictions, people we don’t particularly care to include, space restrictions at your venue, and other possible limitations. It isn’t fun to cut people from your dream-wedding list, but sometimes it just has to be done. Here is some advice on how to handle this situation:

When making your guest list, you should organize it into priority groups. The first priority could include your immediate family, significant others of the groomsmen and bridal party, and close friends. The second priority could be your extended family, coworkers and acquaintances, and friends and colleagues of your parents. Your different groups may look varied depending on who is most important for you to spend your special day with.

If cuts become necessary, make them group-by-group, this way you aren’t inviting some of your coworkers but not others, or some third cousins and not others. Also, always keep in mind when you are making your list that some of your guests will decline your invitation.

No matter what the number ends up being, make sure that all the guests are those who you want there, and that will help to make your wedding much more special.

Keep An Eye Out For The Extras

When signing your hotel room block it is very important to read your contract very closely and pay attention to the fine print. There can be a lot of small extra costs that can add up in the end. Here is a list of things to look out for:

- Wifi Charges
- Newspaper Charges
- Beach Towel Service
- Resort Charges
- Service Charges

These may all seem like small things but when you add them up your $140 room rate can end up being over $200!! Make sure to ask your sales rep about all extra charges so that you can inform your guests accordingly so that they are not surprised once they get their final bill.

Sunset Times and Lighting For Your Outdoor Wedding

Being able to exchange your outdoor vows at sunset is a very romantic idea. But how can you make sure your guests are on time and able to share in the beauty of it?

A simple solution is that your invitations should have an earlier starting time-- about half an hour before your actual ceremony beings and the sun starts to set. A lot of brides forget to check the sunset time and figure out the appropriate lighting. To make sure that you can pin-point exactly when the sun will set, you can use an online sunrise and sunset calculator which gives you an accurate time no matter the date or place.

Once you have figured out the exact timing, you can talk to your venue and your photographer to make sure that you get the most out of the beautiful backdrop.

Grand Cayman Island

Hello from the Grand Cayman Island! We are so excited to be on this beautiful Island again planning another wedding for our couple Mansi and Phil. Grand Cayman is a great spot for a destination wedding. The Island offers guests amazing sites, great activities, and a relaxing vacation. With numerous direct flights from the tri-state area, Grand Cayman is a stress free destination for any wedding.

Shoes For Your Special Day

On your wedding day, everything needs to be perfect. You have picked out the perfect wedding dress, now all you have to do is find the perfect wedding shoes. They not only accent the dress, but they pull your entire ensemble up together and add that bit of elegance to your look. What better a time to splurge on a pair of shoes and really satisfy those designer desires than on your wedding day? Don’t be afraid to go high-end. Here are some of our favorite designers that that can help add to your special day:

1) Manolo Blahnik

2) Miu Miu

3) Prada

4) Jimmy Choo

5) Christian Louboutin

6) Roberto Cavalli

7) Alexander McQueen

8) Yves Saint Laurent

9) Moschino

10) Gucci

Should You Do Multiple Events For Your Wedding?

When planning your dream wedding, it is easy to get carried away with the details. But with a little creativity and some research, you are able to cut costs without sacrificing quality and flare.

Here are a few ideas that can help you save:

1. Your Wedding Date: The peak wedding season is anywhere between April and September. If you pick a date that is between November and March, more resources will be available and you will cut costs. Also, more venues will be available.

2. Creative Centerpieces: Many brides purchase centerpieces from the decorators, which can be expensive, especially if the number of guests add up. But by being a little creative, you can create your own centerpieces that cost less. You can even visit discount stores or order things in bulk. You don’t have to have extravagant flower arrangements to project elegance and flare.

3. Lighting: If you have a budget that can’t include wall to wall lighting for each event, limit the special lighting to one of the events of your wedding. Also, opt to do four lights per wall to still give it a little bit of an effect.

4. Flowers: Asking your florist/decorator to reuse flowers is a cost friendly choice. In a different setting and lighting, the flowers will look different and unique. Don’t forget that you can use the flowers to decorate the room, bathroom, or even the cake.

5. Limiting Alcohol: Alcohol can take up a big part of your budget. You can cut the cost by limiting the amount you offer to your guests. It is not required for you to provide a full bar for all of your events. For cocktail hour, you can just limit it to select wines and beers. Maybe for the night before you do specialty drinks, like an assorted moito bar, or frozen drinks.

6. The Cake: To cut down the per slice cost, ask your bakery for only one or two real tiers of cake instead of all of your tiers. Most bakeries will give you the option of installing fake tiers for a minimum per tier charge. This option can easily help you save and still give you the cake you want. Also, maybe consider ordering cake for only half of your guests if there are also other desserts being offered.

7. Linens: If a full linen ensemble is not in your budget, you can get away with doing a runner on the table, charger plates on the table, or use just chair covers and sashes. Use the table linens provided by your venue and then rent the chair covers. To finish the look, select a chair sash to match the main color of your centerpiece.