I was recently informed of a question posted on a well-known wedding forum.  I happen to have nothing against the website at all, except that at least in this specific case, the answer to a Bride’s inquiry regarding the timing of her sunset wedding was completely off-course.  Exhibit A:

Q.

My fiance and I are having an outdoor wedding at sunset. We had planned on a 4:30 p.m. start time, since the sun will go down at 4:45. But several of the wedding professionals we’ve spoken to have told us that the wedding ceremony most likely won’t actually start until 5:00, since many wedding guests are likely to be late. Should we put an earlier start time on the wedding invitations or just begin at the time we specified, whether or not everyone has arrived? We don’t want to say our wedding vows in the dark.

A.

Exchanging outdoor vows at sunset is a great idea. Your wedding professionals are right: More guests than one would like to think do show up late to wedding ceremonies, but there’s a simple solution: as you suggested, your invitations should have an earlier start time — say, half an hour before you actually want the ceremony to begin. If you want things to get going at 4:30 p.m., simply invite your guests for 4:00 — and enjoy that sunset.

Because 98% of the weddings I design, plan and coordinate take place on the beach at sunset, I feel both confident and qualified to answer this question correctly.

First of all, because you are most likely paying for some really gorgeous photos of your ceremony, you want the lighting to be perfect.

Lighting, after all, is everything, right?

If you wait until the sun is ACTUALLY setting to walk down the aisle, your lighting is already nearly gone. Starting your ceremony one to one and a half hours before the actual sunset time will give you the most amazing photos because the sunlight will be perfect.

Most beach ceremonies last somewhere between fifteen and twenty minutes, after which the guests usually head to the cocktail hour while the photographer does some fun, casual post-ceremony shots with family, the wedding party and/or just the Bride and Groom.  If you start your wedding at sunset (or even 30 minutes prior, as suggested in the Answer above), you will all be in the dark by the time you’ve said, “I Do”, resulting in dim, dark photos, to say the least!

The second part of this Q & A that is completely errant is the assumption (and acceptance) that your guests will show up late to your wedding and you should, therefore choose the time of your wedding to accommodate their tardiness.  This is absolutely appalling to me, and should be to anyone planning a wedding!  You should set the ceremony start time for whatever time YOU want, not based on how late you anticipate your guests will be!

Again, because the vast majority of our weddings are Destination Weddings, EVERYBODY is on vacation (or as I refer to it, “on Beach Time”).  I am very upfront with my Brides about this but I also let them know that their ceremony WILL start on time.  The reason for this is that not only is that what I am being paid to do, but every single element of the rest of the night is based on the time the ceremony is to start.  You are paying every one of your vendors to perform a service to the best of their ability and have told everyone from the officiant to the musicians, from the caterer to the photographer what time to be ready.  If the ceremony starts late then the reception starts late, which puts every carefully planned and coordinated detail of your event behind schedule as well.

During the rehearsal I emphasize to the family and Bridal Party how important it is that everyone be on time and I am sure to have them on site on Wedding Day early enough to ensure there are no close calls.

Occasionally there will be a late guest or two but their lack of punctuality, whether due to unforeseen circumstances or just plain bad manners, should NOT be what you base YOUR Wedding Day around.

So, are you planning a sunset wedding?  What are your thoughts? And Photographers….I’d LOVE for you to weigh in on this matter too!

photo of Mix Mingle Glow wedding courtesy of Kate Crafton Photography

I get to design weddings at some super cool venues along the Gulf Coast.  Brittany and Fred’s wedding was the first wedding to be hosted at the illustrious Casa Destino private home on the beach in Destin.  It is not only HUGE (over 16,000 square feet) but the view from every room on all 4 floors is breathtaking.  The house did double duty as accommodations for the families during their stay as well as the venue for the big event.

Brittany had her heart set on a beach ceremony but also wanted her guests to enjoy an amazing dinner on the sand, under the moonlight.  Dancing and celebrating could go on long into the wee hours of the morning inside the expansive house (which also doubled as our Plan B in case of rain).  The weather was absolutely gorgeous and everyone enjoyed dinner under the stars while the waves softly crashed behind them.  Another wedding in Paradise!

OK, now I’ll hush so you can look at all the pretty details!

Can’t get enough of Brittany & Fred’s wedding?  Head on over to our Facebook Fan page and see the rest of the album.  While you’re there, become a Fan and you’ll be automatically entered in our “Every 100 Fans $100 Giveaway“.

Thanks to Candice K for taking these gorgeous photos.  She’s pretty amazing (clearly) and really, really fun to work with.

Tiffany is ridiculous: RIDICULOUSLY sweet and unassuming, RIDICULOUSLY gorgeous, RIDICULOUSLY kind (she’s an ER pediatric nurse).  People adore this girl.

Alan is painful:  PAINFULLY gracious, PAINFULLY hard working (he’s a successful entrepreneur), PAINFULLY in love.  Everyone loves him.

Seriously, a Match Made in Heaven.

I had so much fun planning this wedding with Tiffany.  She was open to all my ideas and knew just what she wanted.    Tiffany and Alan decided to have their ceremony overlooking the Bay side of Sandestin with lots of traditional roses in shades of pink and touches of tropical green cymbidium orchids.  It was the perfect complement to their Kentucky roots and their Florida beach nuptials.

After the ceremony, we arranged for a shuttle to take the wedding party over to the beach where Candice K captured some of my all time favorite shots while the guests enjoyed an amazing outdoor cocktail hour.  The salmon colored bridesmaid dresses from JCrew looked spectacular on the beach right before sunset!

Some sweet personal touches included the Bride’s brother officiating the wedding and her sorority sisters gathering around the Bride and Groom during the reception, hand in hand, serenading the happy couple.

I’ll let Candice’s gorgeous photography tell the rest of the story, but since everyone loves to hear the behind the scenes stories, here are a few reasons we were glad Tiffany had a Wedding Planner!:

~ The Bride and Bridesmaids were enjoying a lovely pre-ceremony photoshoot outside of the Bride’s vacation rental, when we discovered the Groom and Groomsmen were going to be driving right by on their way to the ceremony.  A quick phone call to the Best Man’s cell kept us up to date on their location so I could quickly grab the bride and hide her behind a bush as the guys drove by, completely oblivious!

~ The wind picked up before the ceremony, causing concern for the rose petal aisle that was planned.  Not to be deterred, our rockstar floral team whipped out a can of spray adhesive and those petals didn’t move one bit!

~ The assistant to the pastry chef inadvertently placed the cake on his standard cake plate and delivered it during the ceremony.  During cocktail hour, before the guests had come into the reception, I realized the oversight.  I don’t even want to know how, but he was able, in less than 2 minutes, transfer the cake, completely unscathed, to the cake plate the Bride’s mother had dropped off to the kitchen earlier in the week before anyone was the wiser.

~The adorable flower girl, although prepped and rehearsed, caught a case of stage fright at the very last second.  Without hesitation, we calmly instructed the rest of the Bridal Party to casually walk right past her and continue the processional without any incident or commotion.   Amazingly, Miss Flower Girl stood perfectly still and let everyone pass her, and then calmly walked to her mother and sat down.

LESSON:  Nothing is perfect and things WILL happen, but your Wedding Planner will save the day!

This very intimate birthday party for a five year old girl needed to pack a lot of punch on a small scale.  The beach was the perfect backdrop but every little detail had to count since we didn’t require a lot of area for our setup with only 8 little Mermaid guests.  We took advantage of the guest count by splurging on amazing party favors and creating some fun crafted accents.

One of those accents were the teacups themselves.  A trip to the thrift store resulted in a set of 8 porcelain cups.  A coat of plaster of Paris and an application of crushed seashells yielded adorable vessels for the Mermaid “tea”.  The tea itself was one of those silly little details that was thought about, mulled over, tossed around but could not be nailed down.  It really all came down to the COLOR of the tea (because of course these things are of utmost importance to five year old girls!).  Finally I made the decision FOR our little Mermaid (sort of).  I purchased Invisible Kool-Aid and told her she could wait until just before the party to let me know what color tea Mermaids like to drink.  Armed with every variety of food coloring under the sun (even the fluorescents!) the obvious choice ended up being blue (”just like the ocean“…of course!).   

The over-sized strawberry cupcakes were topped with strawberry cream cheese frosting and candy coated chocolate seashells and served on large scallop shells embellished with a beaded edging. 

As the Mermaids splashed in the waves, each place at the table was set with a rolled up Mermaid Tail Towel Beach Cover-Up from Kiki’s Things.  Could you DIE over how cute they are???  They can be worn up high under the arms as a full body cover-up or around the waist more like a skirt cover-up.  Each tail has a loop to wear around the wrist, as well as hook-and-eye to “bustle” it so it doesn’t get tripped over!  She even gave us a discount for purchasing several at one time.

The centerpiece was supposed to be a large fish bowl filled with several goldfish nestled amongst grass and seashells.  Sadly, as I picked up the bowl it shattered in my hand.  The fish weren’t in the bowl of water yet, so they were unharmed.  Unfortunately the same could not be said for one of my fingers…but, the show must go on, so we improvised with what we had to create a suitable centerpiece.  No one was the wiser (although for days I obsessed about the perfection that could have been…). 

The girls were also adorned with seashell necklaces, candy bracelets and big sparkly rings, befitting of a Mermaid’s treasure trove.   There was plenty of built-in entertainment as the girls splashed in the water and buried each other in the sand on one of the last beach days of the year.  It really was a precious little party.  One adorable party guest said, “I never knew I could feel like a REAL mermaid!”

**LOTS more photos from this Mermaid Tea Party, as well as other Mix Mingle Glow events can be viewed on our Facebook Fan page!  Become a fan and qualify for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Target, Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma and more!

We recently had the pleasure of planning a big SURPRISE 40th Anniversary Party.  Every single year, the adorable couple drives from Memphis, TN to celebrate the week of their anniversary at the beach in Destin, FL.  This year, however, would be different!  Their daughter decided to invite all their friends and family to join in a week of boating, golfing, beaching, and shopping, unbeknownst to her sweet parents.  Guests came from all over the nation for the surprise party, which was held the very first night of their stay.  There was laughter and tears, grandchildren and childhood friends, cousins and neighbors.  It was a very, very sweet night.

Our mission:  to create an elegant “beachy” venue with everything the Couple of Honor loved from colors to food (”Daddy loves Motown, Mama likes sparkly things”).

Food selections were also based solely on favorites.  We payed no attention to traditional fare.  After 40 years of marriage, you know what you like and that’s what you should have at your party, right?  Oyster shooters for Daddy, chicken salad for Mama, grits bar (served in martini glasses) for both.  Key lime pie shooters for Daddy, chocolate fountain for Mama, oreo truffles (in white and milk chocolate) for both.  Other items on the menu included pecan chicken skewers, carved beef , bacon wrapped veggie bundles and the most delicious shrimp toast ever.

For lots more photos of this and other Mix Mingle Glow events, visit our gallery on Facebook.

I got an interesting email tonight.  To be honest, I have a few friends who have asked me very similar questions to the one posed in the letter, so I thought I’d share it.  Especially because last week I received a sweet Thank You letter that is a perfect response.  Please note that in no way do I share the second letter to show off or sing my own praises or appear braggy.  I wouldn’t post it at all if it weren’t such a lovely answer to such a common question!

Read on:

Such a nice compliment, and I think that the following letter might explain why, despite our willingness to name so many awesome vendors, venues and ideas here on this blog, we continue to book weddings and parties well into 2010:

No, no, no…thank YOU!