Tag Archives: wedding reception venue

Beautiful Celebrations, Ceremonies, How-To Tips, Planning your event, Receptions

Tuesday’s Tip – Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Utah Wedding Venues

June 3, 2014 Wendy Pettit Leave a comment

You have all kinds of ideas that you have been dreaming of and conjuring up for your perfect ceremony and reception at any of the many wonderful Utah wedding venues. Your ideas are wonderful because they are yours! After all, this is YOUR day, not your mother’s or your sister’s. It’s your enchanting day at your wedding reception venue!

WM Mantel fabric swags IH13 09-28-13 2 — This bride asked to create her own swag and decorations on the mantel to reflect her flair. Beautiful!

Some brides become too timid and are afraid to ask about doing certain things or using certain decorations and such at their venue. Of course using proper etiquette and courteous tones, simply ask your Utah wedding reception center’s coordinator, wedding planner or vendor about your ideas. Most times the ideas are wonderful and the vendor can oblige exactly as you envision. Sometimes it can’t be done exactly the way you wanted, but something similar can happen. Other times, it just is simply against a policy or a building code. But why not ask? The worst they can say is “no”. Be brave. This is YOUR special day. Your reception needs to reflect your style and flair. See some of the unique out of the ordinary styles that our Ivy House Brides have displayed over the past several years. All they had to do is ask and we worked with them where possible.

wedding venues in Utah with hanging lanterns — The wedding party wanted to hang lanterns and tissue discs. This is now allowed from our lofty chandeliers, so they created this stand to frame their serving buffet tables. Turned out beautiful!

Wedding planners at Utah wedding venues should be your most-trusted experts that you will work with in this planning phase. You should feel free to bounce ideas off her or him and trust that they are giving you honest answers and not just putting you off. Having honest conversations with all your wedding reception vendors is crucial. They should be helping you create a wonderful memory of a lifetime while helping you stay within your wedding budget. So don’t hold back. Be bold and ask them exactly what you are wishing for and how they can help you make it happen. Remember to be flexible, but at least you’ve approached the ultimate request.

Utah wedding locations with mirrors and beautiful wedding cakes — Very carefully, this bride hung a wedding portrait from the mirror behind her wedding cake to add another dimension.

So, I encourage you to just ask about the possibilities at reception centers in Utah. Usually the answer is “What a wonderful idea! We can do that!” Plus be ready to be creative when compromise is called for. What an exciting time! Be brave and make it happen!

salt lake city wedding venues with spiral staircase — Though most do not, some brides like decorating the spiral staircase with lights or flowers or ribbons. This bride chose ribbon and lights. Striking!

utah weddings and pasta bar servers — Pasta bar chefs cooked up each guest’s pasta to perfection! This was a self-catered event.

Beautiful entrances at wedding venues salt lake city — Brides have added decals to our front entrance doors for a special elegant touch.

wedding canopies at utah reception centers — This bride hired a company to bring in a beautiful canopy to set up in the corner with a chandelier in the middle.

clever ideas at utah wedding reception — Picture frames hanging from the balcony to “frame” the cake nook.

Beautiful Celebrations

A Wedding Planning Meal: Part 1 – The Appetizer

March 13, 2012 Wendy Pettit Leave a comment

So, you’ve chosen to have your wedding celebration at a wedding reception venue? Don’t want to hassle with the weather in your backyard, or the generic feel of a church gym? Now what do you do? It can seem overwhelming, but if you think of the planning process like eating a huge meal the Weight Watchers way, methodically eating one bite at a time. As you strategically chew each morsel and savor it, your delicious wedding planning meal will be very satisfying. Your special day will be here before you know it and you’ll be calm as a cucumber to enjoy every moment of the day.

Planning a wedding event for a Salt Lake City wedding reception can be overwhelming like eating Thanksgiving dinner in one bite. — Wedding reception events are easily planned step-by-step, like taking one bite at a time at Thanksgiving!

The first task to do before you eat any meal is……set your napkin in your lap, of course. Your napkin is most important and you use it the entire meal. You pull it out whenever you need it. Well, in our little analogy, your napkin is a file of some sort. It is most important during this meal because you’ll need it quite often and it needs to be handy. Acquire some type of file system that works for you and is very easy to haul around (keep on your lap)! You will be writing down all your decisions and the details of your findings. Keep it all in one place. If a pad of paper and pencil are too old-school, pull out that iPad or other techno tool. Whatever it is, this will become your wedding bible! Don’t leave home without it! Now it’s time to eat!

Like when eating a meal, Salt Lake City weddings are best planned always having your napkin (planning file) close by! — Never forget your napkin! Keep that organizer close by!

The Appetizer – The first course of your wedding planning meal. There are three items that must basically be decided before you move on. Remember don’t take too big of bites or you might choke! Bite number one, which you and your beau may have already figured out, is to decide when your wedding event will take place?

Know your possible wedding dates before you hunt for the perfect wedding reception center.

Before you choose a wedding reception venue, I suggest having one or two dates in mind. It can be very disappointing when you think you’ve found your dream reception place only to be told that another bride has already booked it. If your date/dates are not available, save yourself frustration and move on to another wedding venue that will work.

Bite number two of the appetizer is discovering the location where you will celebrate. Now that you’ve eaten the date (ha-ha), venture out to the web or to the streets to find the place where your memories will be created! You’re armed with your planning file and 2 dates. If you are students, keep in mind that when school ends, people get married. Many Utah wedding reception venues book up quickly for that week after finals!

Salt Lake City wedding venues are numerous and can be found on the web — Browse the wedding venues that are located within a reasonable distance you want you and your guests to travel.

A very smart place to begin in your quest for a wedding location is the internet. You can enjoy this bite by being selective of what you search in your favorite search engine. If you simply type “wedding reception venues” you may end up with reception places in another state or even in another country. That would be a shock to the mother-in-law, wouldn’t it? So, make this a simple delicious morsel by being specific as to where you are willing to travel for your reception. You only need to add the city after your search. For example “wedding reception venues in Salt Lake City” works well. Or you can even leave out the “in” – wedding reception venues Salt Lake City. Doing this will save your surfing time and isolate your options to your benefit. You may wish to send an email requesting information from any venue that catches your eye as a possibility. A simple and good question to ask is about the availability of the venue for the dates you’ve chosen. This way you’ll know if the company is attentive, thus possibly indicating they will be attentive to you as a bride should you choose them.

Sit-down dinner at Salt Lake wedding reception center Ivy House Weddings — Do you want a sit-down dinner at your wedding venue?

The third bite of the appetizer is deciding generally what you want to do at your wedding reception. Want dancing? Want a full-course dinner? Finger foods? Do you want a cake? These are the things that only you and your beau can decide; its your special day.

Wedding reception centers in Salt Lake City can serve whatever the bride wants. — Wide varieties of smaller goodies please a crowd

You’ve eaten your date, your location possibilities, and the activities you wish to include. Now it’s time for you to go out and find that dream reception center in Salt Lake or wherever you live. You’ll find the one that meets your needs.

Next you’ll be devouring the second course of your wedding planning meal. Stay tuned!

How-To Tips

Ivy House Tips Covering Wedding Planning Basics

December 8, 2011 Wendy Pettit Leave a comment

To have the wedding of your dreams, there are basic steps to follow. Many people feel overwhelmed from all the details of planning a wedding. They can have a much easier experience, when they are organized and utilize a checklist. Using a checklist makes it easy to check off the different steps of the planning phase.

Using a wedding planner, either online or just a folder, will keep everything organized for easier planning. The people you choose to help with the details, or vendors that you hire, will benefit from an online plan. Begin by putting all the ideas you already have, and have been dreaming about for your wedding, into the folder or online planner.

All of your other decisions will revolve around the next item that you need to take care of, which is the budget that you have to set for your wedding. On average, people spend approximately 50% of their wedding budget on their Utah wedding reception. A popular way that a lot of people are reducing the cost of their wedding, while still having the wedding of their dreams, is to hold their wedding receptions in Salt Lake City Utah, at the same Salt Lake City Utah reception center as you have the Salt Lake City wedding venue booked.

Ivy House, Salt Lake City Utah wedding venues can provide you with an elegant wedding, while helping reduce your overall costs. Your Salt Lake City wedding reception cost can be lower, because when you use the same SLC wedding venue as you do for the reception centers in Salt Lake City Utah, all the decorations and flowers will be the same, plus will not need to be transported.

The brides maids, best man, groomsmen, ring bearer, flower girl, ushers, and anyone else that will be part of the wedding will need to be considered next. With the busy lives that we all lead, it will be good to get this out of the way in the beginning, so people that are chosen can plan to participate. Another reason you will want to do this step now, is because many of these people can help with all the other planning details for the wedding venues in Salt Lake City plus the reception centers Salt Lake City.

Now your budget will determine the number of guests that you can invite. Once all the costs are totaled for the wedding venues in Utah that you have want, your dress plus the other clothing for the wedding that you are providing, the pictures, music, flowers, and invitations, use what is left in the budget for the guests. When you figure a per guest cost, you will know how many people can be on the guest list.

When the budget is not limited you can consider hiring a wedding planner. There are savvy wedding planners that have the ability to gain discounts on certain Utah wedding locations.

Utah wedding venues are extremely busy, so book as soon as possible. Many of the popular wedding venues Utah are booked way in advance, so you will probably have to set your wedding date among their unbooked dates. The size of the guest list will also be a deciding factor on which Utah wedding reception center to choose.

Get the different vendors that supply everything for the wedding reserved at this point, so you will not be disappointed if they are unavailable. This is where all those wonderful people that are going to be part of the wedding come in, delegate some of the different tasks, because many of these people are more than willing to help out.

Throw the engagement party now, because you have lots to celebrate about! Remember to make sure the people you invite to the engagement party are on the SLC wedding reception guest list. Get busy, you have a spectacular adventure ahead of you, and your closest friends will want to share in it.

Ceremonies, How-To Tips

Wedding Budgeting and Etiquette Basics

November 7, 2011 Wendy Pettit Leave a comment

Weddings are, by and large, social events, which have certain expectations on etiquette, especially when it comes to financial responsibilities. Questions like, who will pay for the SLC, UT wedding venue? Who will cover the entourage’s clothes? These are based on culture, as well as your beliefs and preferences as individuals. These financial etiquette basics can serve as your guideline to help you decide how to go about your wedding planning.

Financial responsibilities

Traditionally, the bride’s parents, especially the father pays for everything, including the gowns, the wedding location, the reception and so on. Now, in modern times, the bride, the groom and their respective families are expected to pay for specific items needed for the wedding. However, in more modern times, some brides and grooms have amended these to suit their personalities. For instance, some couples decide to shoulder all the expenses.

Below are some of the usual financial responsibilities. These may vary, depending on culture/traditions:

The Groom: The groom is usually expected to pay for the engagement ring (unless his mother passes on a family heirloom such as her own engagement ring), the wedding ring for the bride, the expenses to get the marriage license, the male entourage’s gifts, accessories and accommodations, the honeymoon, the flowers for the entourage and the fee/honorarium for the officiant.

The Bride. The bride usually pays for the female entourage’s accessories/gifts and accommodations, as well as the wedding ring and gift for the groom.

The groom’s family. The groom’s family will pay for the wedding clothes, lodging and travel expenses (where applicable) and for the wedding gift for the couple. The groom’s family will also host the rehearsal dinner.

The bride’s family. The bride’s family, on the other hand, will cover the expenses for the wedding gown and trousseau, the printed materials (i.e. invitation and mailing costs), the reception (including rental of the wedding reception location), as well as for the videographer, photographer and other costs related to the ceremony. The bride’s family will also hold the bridesmaids’ luncheon.

The entourage. The best man, maid of honor, groom’s man and brides’ maid typically shell out for their own clothes and travel expenses, and expenses for hosting a stag or hen party. The attendants typically also provide one gift for the bachelor/bachelorette party and one wedding gift. However, some couples decide to pay for the entourage’s outfits and accessories as part of their gift to their attendants.

With regards to financial responsibilities of the groom, the bride and their respective families, tradition has varied so that the families may sit down together and decide on how they will handle wedding expenses. For instance, the families of the bride and groom may decide to foot half of the set budget each. This is particularly true if the families are on equal footing, financially. If one family can also afford to contribute more, it is now okay for them to contribute a larger percentage of the wedding budget. Or, the families may decide to cover the wedding expenses for each guest they want included in the wedding party.

The important thing is that each one involved in the wedding understands and agrees to his or her part of the wedding.

Beautiful Celebrations, Ceremonies, How-To Tips, Receptions

How a Wedding Planner can Help Create Your Dream Wedding

August 8, 2011 Wendy Pettit 4 Comments

A wedding is actually one large project with a lot of mini-projects. You will have to manage these mini-projects to ensure that each one is according to your specifications and requirements. Depending on how involved you want to be for your wedding, a lot of your work and time will be eaten up by the all the wedding preparations.

For instance, you will have to keep track of your gowns (as well as the suits and gowns of your entourage), your wedding favors, your wedding invitations and the guests’ responses, the food and cake, the marriage license and all its legal requirements, the bridal registry, the flowers, booking the wedding reception location, the caterer’s tableware and linen, hair and makeup trials and booking, the musicians or DJ and so much more. Whew! Does the list make you dizzy just by reading it?

A wedding organizer or wedding planner may just be the ticket. A wedding planner can actually be a bride’s best friend as a wedding planner will work to make things easier for you. Your wedding planner can be as involved as you want – if you want to retain decision-making and control, you can still do so, only without having to do the legwork.

Here are some benefits to working with a wedding planner:

A wedding planner saves you money. Wedding planners have great relationships with wedding-related suppliers – such as seamstresses, caterers, wedding venues and so on. They can work out better deals –not just with the monetary cost but also on the quality of service.

A wedding planner saves your sanity. Going at it on your own can be a challenge. If you are inexperienced, you may end up making mistakes that may cost you. The stress and tension of the preparations may also chafe on your emotions and even affect your relationship with your fiance. A lot of fights between couples during this time will have something to do with the wedding preparations. Indeed, wedding preparations can be chaotic. Here is where a wedding planner can come in. Forgot something important at the last minute? The wedding planner will most likely have thought about it and will come up with an alternative. Do you have a stain on your gown? The wedding planner will have the tools to fix these mishaps. With a wedding planner, you can actually reduce your stress level and have peace of mind, knowing that someone is there to take care of the details.

A wedding planner guarantees can help create a flawless wedding. A wedding will need a lot of “backstage preparations and emergencies”, especially on the wedding day itself. With a wedding planner running the show, you have an increased chance of better coordination and implementation of each part of the wedding.

A wedding planner helps save you time. Instead of you taking time out to research suppliers, try out possible vendors, choose the decorations for the wedding reception location and so on, what you need to do is simply to appear and decide. The wedding planner will iron out the small details for you.

Simply put, a wedding planner will help you achieve the kind of wedding you want without you having to exert much effort. All you have to do is to make your choice and the wedding planner will make sure it is ordered, produced and delivered according to specifications.

A wedding planner can give you valuable advice. Since they plan weddings for a business, they are already aware of possible pitfalls to avoid, as well as the latest trends you can choose. How will you set up the wedding reception venue? Just how many extra plates should you add to your current list to allow for breakages? What kind of flowers did Kate Middleton have for her royal wedding? What are the latest innovations and trends in wedding favors – is there something that others have not yet tried? These are the kind of questions that a wedding planner can help you with.

Help with getting a wedding planner

To hire a wedding planner, you can ask for referrals from friends and coworkers who have already married. That way, they can give you feedback on the performance of their wedding planner. You can also book with a Utah reception center that also offers a wedding planner with the package.

The Ivy House is a SLC, Utah reception center that provides not just a wedding planner but also other essential services and providers such as the baker, caterer, floral arranger and photographer and videographer. The Ivy House provides you with these choices for a hassle-free wedding where you can fully enjoy your big day.