Wedding Planning|Wedding Planning & Wedding Advice

Lots and Lots of Gummy Bears

Of course, the most important part of a Gummy Bear themed party will be gummy bears of all sizes…Candywarehouse.com has what you need.

Tipsy Gummy Bears

The Gummy Bear Margarita

Photo: Voodoo Tiki Tequila. Recipe: cocktails.about.com as reported by Colleen Graham.

The Gummy Bear Martini

Photo and recipe from grinandbakeit.com. Also check out their instructions for infusing the bears with vodka, for a candy dish with some kick!

Gummi Bear Decorations

Artist YaYa Chou has exploited the luminosity of gummy bears – using them to make candles and chandeliers. You can create decorations by stringing gummy bears together. A beaded gummy curtain? Gummy braclets for guests? Share your ideas with us in the comments section!

Also, leave gummy bears in glass dishes around the party: use different shapes or sort the bears by color.

Buy tablecloths, plates, and napkins in the classic gummy colors: red, green, orange, yellow…

These gummy bear lamps from itsugar.com would also light up your venue.

Gummy Bear Snacks

Don’t forget to decorate all of the other goodies at the party with Gummy Bears, too. Check out these delicious looking rice crispie snacks from crispiesweets.com.

Gummy Bear Soundtrack

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Last week, in the first part of our Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst series, we focused on The Bride. This week we focus on one of my favorite topics, food.

Part 2: FOOD

A good meal goes a long way to a great wedding!

Tips

1. Select a menu that your guests will enjoy – consider age range, lifestyle, etc.

2. Butter cream frosting and real whipped cream are tastier than their counterparts, but they do not have staying power. You can have your tasty cake and eat it , too, but make sure your venue will have room in the refrigerator and limit the display time before the cake cutting begins (particularly if the venue is warm – and most are…). While we’re on the topic of cakes – make sure your cake it out of harm’s way and on a stable surface.

3. Don’t miss out on the sample tasting your caterer offers – you want to make sure you like their recipes!

4. Use caterers, bakeries, and other vendors that have good reputations and staying power (they’ve been around for a long time or you know them personally and trust them). You only need one good relationship with a company that provides weddig services and then you can ask them to suggest other companies for everything you will need. You can also check online wedding forums for reviews or pay for a one-time consultation with a wedding planner and get recommendations.

Here’s a great example of why it is important to use a reputable business! A British online news service, The Bromley Times, reports that 29 weddings guests became ill after eating improperly cooked chicken and unpasteurized eggs at the reception. During the investigation, it was discovered that that the venue’s fridge was also malfunctioning. (Powell, Doug, “This is why we got married at city hall…”, Barflbog)

Sources, Additional Information, Great Articles:

Cohen, Gabriel, “Wedding-Food Disasters”, Gourmet

Shin, Jeanette, “Avoid Wedding Cake Disasters”, Food Editorials

Here are some of the funniest comments I’ve found from people about their real-life wedding disasters: Disaster Stories at Tressugar.com.

I am now going to share something with you that is very valuable. It is the minute-by-minute schedule for a wedding ceremony and reception that went off without a hitch! When I created this, I was a Project Manager for a large corporation (I now work as a consultant – and as a freelance writer on the side).

If you’re not sure if you want to plan your own event, you should read two of my earlier posts at this blog: Planning Your Own Wedding: R-R-R-R-R-R-really? and Do I Need a Wedding Planner or Not?

Even if you are convinced that you are going to ‘do it yourself’, you might change your mind once you see the schedule below! Those involved in the event referred to it as “the novel” – it’s pretty long and detailed, but IT WORKED. Everyone involved received a copy with their responsibilities highlighted. We met and went through the document word for word about a week before the big day to make sure every one understood their role and how it fit into the big picture. I also tried to speak to each person one-on-one where it was possible. We didn’t really have a wedding rehearsal at the venue – we had everyone stand in their places and then we practiced leaving after the ceremony was over.

Some notes about the schedule below:

The wedding ceremony and reception took place at same venue, keeping our costs down. The martini bar opened immediately after the ceremony so guests stayed at the venue while we ran around the corner to a nearby park for pictures. I removed names due to privacy so you will see people are called “Best Man1″ or “Friend5″. Some people had two roles – for example, one of the Best Men was also the Master of Ceremonies (the wedding party was a bit different because it had two best men and two maids of honor.) Even with the double-duties, you can see that there were A LOT of friends and family involved (the wedding party, moms, a dad, brothers, sisters, 3 nieces, 2 nephews, 7 friends, and a dog).

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