Valentine's Day Baby Shower

As most of our 2011 brides know, my officemate Hayley is expecting her first baby in April. We had a small shower for her here in the office last week and I thought it might be worth posting a few pictures.

There are LOTS of moms here at the Abbey, so Hayley got a ton of tips!

Hayley has two pugs which has clearly prepared her well for motherhood; she announced one gift as a "chew toy." (It was a teething ring!) I thought that was just hilarious!

Hayley will continue working through March, if at all possible, and while she's enjoying those first 8 weeks or so with her new little one, I will be holding down the fort here in the wedding department.

All of us here at The Abbey wish Hayley all the best and can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl!

Guest Post - Renee from Frontier Flowers of Fontana

Here is my second-ever guest post from one of our absolute FAVORITE vendors, Renee at Frontier Flowers of Fontana. Renee is a real pro; the first time I noticed was at a wedding here in 2008 when someone with her shop dropped off flowers and a few hours later she personally came by to wipe fingerprints off the vases. It was then that I knew I could recommend her to brides without a moment's hesitation.

Here's Renee's take on what to look for in a florist for your wedding:

Your flowers add one of those finishing flourishes that complete your wedding's look. There are many different directions you can take with your decor; would you like a classic look that exudes romance and timeless elegance, or something a little edgier and funkier that pushes new design concepts? Either way (or any of the multiple ways in-between) it is important that your floral designs are reflective of your tastes, personality and style.

It is necessary when selecting a florist that you find one that understands and contributes to your vision. This does become difficult when you, as a client, are unsure of what you want. Before meeting with prospective florists, take time to compile a file of images, fabrics, textures and other elements that inspire you. Even if you may not know what it is you like about these things, a good designer will use the items as keys to unlock the creative direction for your event decor.

Find someone you trust, a designer who is confident in their abilities and is experienced in wedding design will help to ease any concerns you may have regarding your flowers. Find someone with depth of skill; look for a portfolio that exhibits a broad range of design capabilities and not just the same arrangement in 15 different color combinations. Find someone who listens to you; the right designer will take your ideas and give you some options that will help elevate your wedding to the next level.

Be sure to have a budget in mind when you go to your first consultation. General rule of thumb is 8-10% of the overall cost of the wedding should be budgeted for flowers, but I've done weddings with much more and much less...it's largely a personal preference. Budget is a really critical area to consider before you go through a consulation. Not having a reasonable budgeting plan can lead to a lot of frustration and upset. As a creative person who often has some pretty big ideas and concepts in my mind, if your budget restricts some of the more elaborate ideas I may share with you we may both end up disappointed. Communication at the beginning of the consulation is key to a successful first meeting.

Thanks, Renee!

Anyone can put together a vase full of flowers to put on the middle of the the table, but Renee is a true artist and has a wealth of ideas to make your wedding the amazing event you want it to be. (Did I mention she's also an absolute HOOT to work with?)

Back soon with pictures of our February 11th wedding in the Harbor Ballroom...

Overnight Guestrooms

Just about all our brides need guestrooms for at least some of their guests. Even if they're not traveling from far away, it's most convenient for guests to "take the elevator home." It also stops the worry of anyone drinking and driving, of course. You want your guests to enjoy themselves and not worry about a thing on the night of your wedding, right?

The Abbey has over 330 guestrooms and we're happy to help with your guestroom needs. Below are a few guidelines you will see in your contract, should you book rooms at The Abbey:

1. We can hold up to ten rooms per night as a courtesy to you. Any unused rooms in the block would be released on your cut-off date (usually 30 days prior to your wedding) at no penalty to you. If/when you fill the original block, the hotel would make the decision on whether or not we can accept more at the discounted rate.

2. If you know you are going to need more than ten rooms, you can hold up to a maximum of thirty per night but that is going to expose you to attrition. What this means, is that when we get to the 30 day cut-off date you will need to have filled at least 80% of those rooms or you will get charged for the difference. Again, at the point this block fills we would then determine if we could accept more rooms at the discounted rate.

3. Often in the summer and early fall weeks, there are two night minimum stay requirements placed on guestrooms and those do apply to weddings, as well. If it's a concern that some of your guests will want to stay for just one night, sometimes we can get a limited number of Saturday night stays listed in the contract. That rate may or may not be elevated over the two-night stay rate. Be sure to ask about this at the time you're contracting. If your original block fills, a minimum stay requirement might also be placed on additional rooms when/if you need them.

4. We have a very limited number of suites here at The Abbey - only thirteen! - so if you want a suite, please book it as early as possible!

5. As mentioned above, there are discounted rates for weddings and wedding blocks. The discount varies greatly between seasons and even specific weekends, depending on what's going on in the hotel. These discounted rates will apply only to the rooms listed in your original contract, so make sure you consider this when blocking rooms.

6. Many people ask if guestrooms for their wedding are going to be all located in one area of the hotel and we do our best to arrange this. However, with different requests coming from the guests (bed types, handicap accessible, etc) it's sometimes difficult to accomodate this. As people are booking, they can certainly request to be near other specific people and we will do our best to make it happen for them.

Hopefully this will clear up some of the questions you have regarding guestrooms. As always, be sure to ask Hayley or I if you have any more and we'll be more than happy to help!

Next Stop: The Abbey

I thought I would do a quick post on what to expect during a site visit with Hayley or I. If you linked up to this blog through our website or through the email we sent to you, a site visit is going to be your next step. Below are a few tips to prepare for your site visit:

1. MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. The Abbey is always open and anyone is free to walk around and see the resort at any time. BUT, if you want to actually talk specifics about having your wedding here, you will need to schedule time with Hayley or I. Most brides like to come in on weekends and we are usually booked, booked, BOOKED. It's best to call us at least a week in advance if you are going to be in the area. During the summer season when we have weddings, it's rare that we offer afternoon tours, so that we can give our full attention to the bride(s).

2. ALLOW AT LEAST AN HOUR. If you are scheduling tours at different properties in the area, please allow travel time between destinations. If you have a tour with us starting at 1pm and your next one is in Lake Geneva at 2pm, you will not be able to receive a complete tour from us.

3. LIMIT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON THE INITIAL TOUR. We completely understand that your families want to be involved in this exciting process. However, the more people on the tour, the longer it takes. My advice would be to narrow down the list of contenders before bringing along the parents.

4. WEAR COMFY SHOES. It took me a little while to give in to flats, but now they are the only thing I wear on a day when I have several tours. The Abbey is a large property so there's a lot of walking involved. You'll be glad you took this bit of advice!

Now that we've gotten those items out of the way, I will describe to you what a typical tour entails.

We will meet in the front lobby and you'll be given a packet. If we haven't had a chance to go over the general information regarding your wedding yet (number of guests, preferred date, etc), I will gather it at this time.

The first thing you will see are the guestrooms. If we are in the busy season, the early tours might not get to see as many room types as afternoon tours because the rooms are still occupied and/or dirty from the night before. We have over 300 guestrooms in the hotel, but only 13 of those are suites. For that reason, it's very common to NOT have a suite to show prospective brides, especially on weekend tours. We will, of course, do our best to accomodate because we know most brides are very interested in the suites.

After we see guestrooms, we will head down to the Avani Spa and we'll show you the fitness center, as well. This is a great place for all your wedding preparations and it's so convenient for it to be right there near the guestrooms, too!

Once we get that general part of the tour out of the way, we will begin to talk more specifically about YOUR wedding (otherwise known as the FUN part of the tour!) If you are planning on an outdoor ceremony, we will view the gazebos that are available and show you where your cocktail hour and reception can be held. Afterwards, we will go to our office and you will be provided with a complete estimate based on your approximate guest count and bar preferences.

If you haven't yet seen our office, it really is quite nice. Local vendors have been kind enough to "bedazzle" it so that prospective brides can see some of the possibilities and get ideas.

We look forward to scheduling a tour with you and showing you all The Abbey has to offer!