The Current "HOT" theme for weddings in Lake Tahoe: Shabby Chic!

With Pinterest gaining popularity as the ultimate sharing place for wedding ideas, we’re seeing many brides interested in a lot of the same ideas.  A very common theme we’re hearing from our Lake Tahoe wedding couples this year:  I want a shabby chic wedding!  Shabby chic also refers to vintage and we have a lot of great vintage and shabby chic wedding ideas!

Shabby chic is an easy, do it yourself theme, which helps create a beautiful and unique wedding while also keeping costs down.  We started a Shabby Chic wedding board on pinterest

• Tiffany Blue Hydrangeas as your wedding flower
• Mason Jars as centerpieces, either filled with branches and wildflowers or candles
• Chalkboard painted anything for signage or directions
• Branches to enhance the decor
• Ribbons and lace on tables, chairs and around the wedding venue

There are great Lake Tahoe wedding venues where the shabby chic theme can work very well.  Imagine our Paradise Park wedding venue with its grasses and trees, filled with mason jars, flowers and ribbons hanging from the chairs.  Or, imagine the romantic, vintage look surrounding our historic estate wedding venue.  The venue already speaks vintage and romance with its high fireplace, authentic wood floors and walls and wrap around outside deck.

Since our wedding planners have a head start on shabby chic weddings they can help you with all of your Lake Tahoe wedding plans.  Contact them today and get your shabby on!

What are commitment ceremonies?

Commitment ceremonies can mean many different things to different people.

• For some, its the ability for a couple to declare their love for one another publicly where the law prohibits marriage.
• For others, its where a couple celebrates their devotion without the legally binding contract of a marriage.

No matter which meaning is relevant, rituals and ceremonies are important events in our lives.  The moment we officially proclaim to the world our love for each other can take the form of a wedding or a commitment ceremony.

While more common among same sex and transgender couples, commitment ceremonies are gaining popularity with heterosexual couples who choose to commit to loved ones without signing a marriage certificate.

A Lake Tahoe couple recently had a commitment ceremony to show their kids that they are committed to each other.  Each member of the family took part in the sand ceremony. Here is their story in pictures:

Unique opportunity for a Lake Tahoe Wedding: a Valhalla Wedding in July!

Did you get engaged on Valentine’s Day?  Last minute wedding plans to make? Been procrastinating? Our beautiful Historic Lake Front Estate wedding venue  is normally completely full during July but we have opened up some times for our brides and grooms!

We have special date rates in July for either a wedding and reception or for an intimate ceremony.  A beautiful Lake Tahoe wedding in July is one of the top events of the summer.  Call us to book…these dates won’t be available very long.

Your Wedding Budget

Did you know that the average cost of a wedding in the United States is now $25,631?  And that is the cost before the honeymoon expenses are figured in!  Of course, not all weddings need to be that expensive, and our Lake Tahoe weddings are priced to meet all budgets, from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.

Now that you have set the big day you need to figure out your budget.  Once the budget has been determined you can start prioritizing and figuring out what is important to you in your wedding.  If others are helping pay for the wedding, an early determination of who is paying what will help all go much more smoothly.

• The Dress: Is a Vera Wang wedding dress what your heart is set on?  Or, is Kate Middleton’s $400,000 dress more like it? Many women start dreaming of their wedding dress from the time they are a young girl so many aren’t willing to cut any corners in order to get the right dress. But, there are many economical choices should you so desire.
• The Venue: You want a drop dead beautiful location for your wedding, but are you willing to pay the cost? Or, will you switch your ideal wedding from a $10,000 day rental fee to one that will cost you several hundred?  Lake Tahoe wedding venues may just look expensive due to the million dollar views, but the price tags don’t come close!
• The Guest List:  Are you planning on having 100′s of guests or just a handful? The higher the guest count the higher the price tag, so determine if this is one area you don’t want to scrimp on.
• The food:  Do you want a full sit down dinner, appetizers or just champagne and cake?  Any option is a great one so don’t feel obligated to feed your guests steak, lobster and Dom Perignon unless that is what your budget allows. Do you want a cake that would make the Cake Boss drool in envy? Lake Tahoe is blessed with great bakers who have many size (and price) cakes to choose from.
•  The flowers:  You can get fabulous fresh wedding flowers to meet all budgets as well as artificial or silk flowers that can be rented. Determine if this is an area you can cut your budget on or if you want to go all out on costs.
•  The reception:  Where do you want your reception to be held?  At a restaurant, the town hall, the beach or a park?  Lake Tahoe has many reception venues as does any other location so don’t limit yourself to just what you know.  Your wedding planner will be able to make suggestions to meet your budget.
• The music:  Is your heart set on that band who had a #1 hit last year or would you be just as happy with a DJ or even a CD Player? This is another area that has a broad range of excellent choices. \
• The photography:  Is a disposable camera enough or would you like to hire a professional?  For many couples, this is one of the most important expenses since photos, along with the memories, are meant to last. Maybe you have a family member that is a professional and offering you the photos as a gift.  Great..that frees up the money you would have spent to go into another area. Do you want videography?  Lots of decisions to make, so the sooner you know what path you’re taking, the better off you’ll be on keeping on budget.

Start a list and decide what is most important to you in your wedding and work your way down to what is the least important.  Decide on what your budget is and start planning.

Your wedding planner can help you put these seemingly daunting tasks into perspective and help you plan the perfect wedding day!

How to cut food costs at your wedding

Since we’re in the wedding business we get to talk to hundreds of couples a year about their Lake Tahoe wedding plans. It’s an exciting time for everyone and we’re here to help guide them through the steps of planning.

Food for a wedding reception is a very big cost and it surprises almost all of our brides to be, especially when the guest list is 75 or 100!  Sit down dinners and buffet dinners come with high food costs but that shouldn’t stop you when planning your reception.

• Serve heavy hors d’oeuvres instead of a meal. Have the trays passed by servers and people will just grab an item or two and won’t load up plates full.
• Have a cash bar instead of a hosted bar.  Or, if hosted, have beer and wine only or a “no shot” policy so expensive brands aren’t consumed.
• Have appetizer platters and salads.
• Serve cake and champagne only.
• Order locally made and foods in season.
• Enlist a culinary school (and in South Lake Tahoe the culinary arts program at the college and the jail are great, inexpensive choices)
• Have brunch instead of a lunch or dinner.  Brunch items cost less than the other meals.
• Schedule in the off season…banquet costs can be less when not busy.
• Have kid’s plate options for your younger guests so you won’t be charged adult prices.
• Bring in your own alcohol.  Many reception venues will allow this while others will not so you’ll have to check.  Much cheaper to have bottles you purchased at a discount store.

Most couples want to keep the party going after the wedding ceremony and have a reception, who can blame them?  What a special time in their lives!  Guests don’t expect you to feed them massive amounts of food and most are happy if they just have appetizers or small plates.

Your Lake Tahoe wedding consultant will be able to help you stick to a food budget and offer solutions to save you money.  Our staff is very knowledgeable on what is available in the Lake Tahoe area and they have handled all types of budgets.  Contact us today with any questions or comments.

Destination Wedding Facts & Figures

Most of the weddings held in Lake Tahoe are destination weddings so we thought we’d look at some of the facts and figures associated with them.

1 in 4 couples choose a wedding venue that is away from their home.  This idea of having a destination wedding is growing among brides, and it goes hand in hand with the fact that most people no longer live where they grew up,” says Carley Roney, co-founder of XO Group, Inc., creator of theknot.com and weddingchannel.com. “When family is spread all over the country, a destination wedding is the perfect way to bring everyone together.”

• The average bride of a destination wedding is 30 years old.
• 70% of destination weddings for Americans took place in the continental U.S.  The top three states for the location of these weddings are, in order: Florida, California and Nevada.  The top three destinations outside of the continental U.S. are, in order: the Caribbean, Mexico and Hawaii.
• The average number of guests for a destination wedding are 86.
• 51% of of destination weddings use a wedding planner.
• Destination-wedding couples spend more per guest than their more traditional wedding counterparts. The median destination-wedding spend is $225 per guest domestically, compared with the national wedding average of $137 per guest. Travel, accommodations and group activity expenses account for part of the difference.
• 86% of couples still take a honeymoon after their destination wedding.
• Almost 33% of couples have other parties to celebrate their wedding when they return home.

We use the best of the Nevada and California areas of our beautiful region for our selection of Lake Tahoe wedding venues. with California being number 2 and Nevada being number 3 for destinations of U.S. weddings, how could we go wrong?

Over half of the national destination weddings use a wedding planner.  The experienced professional at the locale you hold your wedding will assist with all the details needed.  Our wedding coordinators are knowledgeable about the Lake Tahoe wedding venues available as well as all of the necessary vendors that provide all elements of the wedding.

Brides can use a wedding planner as someone to plan the whole event or just small parts of it, whichever they prefer. Lake Front Wedding & Events offers caring Full Service, Partial Service and Day of the Event Coordination.

A few of the services we offer:

• Ceremony Site – helping you find the perfect Lake Tahoe wedding venue for your special day.  We take your budget, dreams and needs and help you find the right location.
• Receptions
• Rehearsal Dinners
• Catering – everything from champagne toast with cake to an elegant sit down dinner
• Delicious Wedding Cakes
• Beautiful Wedding Flowers
• DJ or Live Music
• Professional Wedding & Event Coordination
• Professional Photography – engagement sessions, wedding and reception photography as well as printed coffee table books
• Professional Videography
• Specialty Linens
• Wedding Officiant
• Notary Services
• Event Rentals
• Paying of all site fees
• Wedding and Honeymoon accommodations
• Travel Planning

Contact us to start planning your own destination wedding.

Unique Wedding Ceremony Customs

There are weddings every day around the world, an estimated 2,000,000 weddings per year in the U.S. alone!  Indonesia listed 1,677,00 weddings and China recorded over 9,000,000 weddings in 2005 so can you imagine how many weddings are held in the world each day?

Because of the diverse cultures involved we can find some fun, funky and strange wedding ceremony customs.  Here are some that we found:

• In India, a Hindu wedding includes a host of religious responsibilities and customs. They start off with the couple performing pre-wedding rites and the wedding itself has 7 ceremonies, each representing a blessing that will be bestowed upon the couple. The groom places Sindoor (red vermillion powder) in the parting of the bride’s hair to show respect and honor for her wisdom. This is considered to be one of the most sacred rituals of a Hindu wedding ceremony. He then places a Mangal Sutra (a necklace made of gold and black beads) around her neck to symbolize his enduring commitment to her and their marriage.
• At the end of a wedding ceremony in Denmark, the bride and groom will break a beer mug into pieces and the single women will pick up the pieces.  The one who gets the biggest piece will marry soon.  Brides and grooms traditionally cross-dressed to confuse evil spirits and weddings are often held secretly to do the same thing!
• In Germany there is a custom for the guests at the wedding to break bowls, plates or basins.  This is supposed to help the couple get rid of their troubles and have a happy life.
• Bitter wine: In Russian ceremonies someone cries “How Bitter!”  Later, all the guests echo the same words.  According to their custom the wine is bitter and the newlywed should change it into sweet wine with their kisses.
• Traditional Shinto, a Japanese wedding, has the couple drinking fine rice wine at the end of the ceremony after the priestess prays for the bride and groom.
• In many cul­tures around the world — includ­ing Celtic, Hindu and Egypt­ian wed­dings — the hands of a bride and groom are lit­er­ally tied together to demon­strate the couple’s com­mit­ment to each other and their new bond as a mar­ried cou­ple (giv­ing us the pop­u­lar phrase “tying the knot”).

When planning a wedding many couples don’t think beyond the basics:  venue, flowers, photography, minister.  You can add your own character to your Lake Tahoe wedding, or wherever you have the ceremony.

• The groom car­ries the bride across the thresh­old to bravely pro­tect her from evil spir­its lurk­ing below.
• The Eng­lish believe a spi­der found in a wed­ding dress means good luck. Yikes!
• In Hol­land, a pine tree is planted out­side the new­ly­weds’ home as a sym­bol of fer­til­ity and luck.
• Engage­ment and wed­ding rings are worn on the fourth fin­ger of the left hand because it was once thought that a vein in that fin­ger led directly to the heart.
• Ancient Greeks and Romans thought the veil pro­tected the bride from evil spir­its. Brides have worn veils ever since.
• Brides carry or wear “some­thing old” on their wed­ding day to sym­bol­ize con­ti­nu­ity with the past.
• The “some­thing blue” in a bridal ensem­ble sym­bol­izes purity, fidelity, and love.

At our Lake Tahoe wedding ceremonies we have seen some real fun additions to the traditional ceremony:

• The bride got her groom a “funfetti” cake because he loved boxed cakes.
• Ring bearer walking down the aisle with a sign “Here comes the bride.”
• The bridal party dancing down the aisle with signs the bride made “We Did It!”

No matter what touches you want to add, they will be perfect!  Our Lake Tahoe wedding planners will help you coordinate everything you want in your wedding at any of our wedding venues.  Contact Lake Front Wedding & Events and we’ll help you with your custom wedding!

Top Wedding Trends for 2013

It’s a brand new year, out with the old, in with the new….and a whole, fresh palette in front of you, waiting to be filled in.  6 months ago we filled you in on what we thought the trends for Lake Tahoe weddings would be, and here are more!

• Sophistication.  An outdoor event with crystal and gold silverware and chargers. A chandelier hanging from the limb of a tree.  Candles on the beach.  Bring in the sophisticated elements you dream of, no matter where your wedding is help. Lake Tahoe weddings are in a variety of wedding venues, but don’t let the venue determine what you can or cannot do, just let it be the backdrop.

• Neutral colors.  Many wedding designers are seeing grey and taupe with a pop of black.  Layers of beige can be broken up with bold color….put look for the basic palette to be full of neutral colors.

• Camping and the outdoors.  This is a perfect theme for your Lake Tahoe wedding too!  The idea of a grown up summer camp is going to be very popular with brides this year.  Term “Glamping” is new…combine glamour and camping and voila! Many of our wedding venues in Lake Tahoe can accommodate a tent.  The heated tent can come complete with fine linens.  Throw in a kid’s tent for the younger ones to have their own reception.  S’mores at your reception?  Of course!

• Peonies for your wedding bouquet. This soft and lush flower has been the most requested wedding flower in the US for the last 2 years. The problem is that the flower is only available for 2 months out of the year, and depending on where your wedding is, these months vary.  A good 2nd choice instead of the peony is the garden rose….they are both full and lush, and beautiful!

• Garlands galore.  Have garlands at your engagement party, wedding ceremony and reception.  All events of your wedding can benefit from garlands. You may have just put away from evergreen garlands from Christmas, but that shouldn’t stop you from thinking of ribbon garlands, flower garlands, ones made from paper or beads.  The sky is the limit on what you can create.

• Plated Dinners.  The big trend for receptions has gone from buffets to plated dinners. With all of the attention on the plethora of cooking shows on the television these days, the palate and surging number of foodies, expectations are changing.

No matter what trend you want to include in your Lake Tahoe wedding, or what new aspects you want to include, Lake Front Wedding & Events is here to help you plan it.

Our popular historic Lake Tahoe wedding venue can be the scene for a vintage wedding or for one with lots of sophistication. Our Paradise Park wedding venue can be like a day at camp. Call your Lake Tahoe wedding planner today and we’ll get you started on the best day of your life!