An Abbey Wedding

Ok, so it wasn't a wedding at The Abbey Resort....but it was at Westminster Abbey, so close enough, right?

I think all the upcoming brides must have watched the festivities on Friday. Wow, those Brits set the bar high, don't they? Starting with the bride....

I can't imagine a more perfect dress for Kate. It suited her perfectly - both modern and timeless - and will be copied for years! I also loved her simple white bouquet. There was NOTHING in this wedding that took your attention away from her, and that's what every bride wants.

As one who facilitates weddings, there were a few things that struck me as different on the opposite side of the pond. One was that the bridal party was so young - mostly flower girls and "pages" - and also that they followed the bride down the aisle, as opposed to preceding her entrance as is common here in the States.

I heard that Kate did her own make-up for the wedding and I think she did an AMAZING job! She looked so beautiful and yet natural, didn't she?

One thing that everyone kept saying during the coverage on Friday morning was how "relaxed" everyone seemed and that is soooo refreshing. I really hope all the 2011 brides here are this relaxed. It showed on her face, didn't it?

As much as I loved Kate's dress and thought it was 100% appropriate for her role as future Queen of England, the dress I think I will see more of here in the States is her sister, Pippa's. She looked gorgeous, as well. I also think we might see more all-white weddings. It was such a clean, simple look.

Another trend I think might come out of this is hats - not for the bride, a la 1981, but for wedding guests. What a fun way to accessorize and really make a statement. We saw hats at a wedding last summer, but I really hope to see more of them coming up.

Although this one might make visibility a challenge...

And these are a little bit much...

But leave it to Posh to show us Yanks how it's done...

And Kate's mum and new in-laws didn't look too shabby, either...

Brilliant job, William and Kate! What a way to kick off the 2011 wedding season!

Real Wedding - February 11, 2011

Jessica and Eric got married in the Harbor Ballroom on February 11th - yes, a Friday. The date was 2-11-2011 and a lot of couples like having a cool anniversary to remember. (That's why 9-10-11 is such a popular date this year.)



Their ceremony was held on the steps in Harbor I, just as Melissa and Mark's was last month.



Jessica and her future mother in law worked on most of the decor themselves, including all the bouquets and centerpieces. The Abbey provided the lighting and paper lanterns to finish off the look. I have pictures of the ballroom with the lights on and off, so you can see the difference:

A big thanks to Michelle, from Jamie & Michelle Photography, for sending me these images. And congratulations to Jessica and Eric on a beautiful wedding AND for choosing JAMAICA as your place to honeymoon in February. Excellent pick, guys!

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!

Real Wedding - January 22, 2011

Melissa and Mark had a beautiful winter wedding this past Saturday. The snow was fresh and clean, but not enough to impact travel plans for their 180 guests. Their ceremony was on the steps in the Harbor Ballroom. Take a look:


The bride and groom were out of Rockford, IL and brought in Event Floral to do their flowers and centerpieces. They also supplied some of the linens, including the chair covers. Pink uplighting was done by our in-house AV company (PSAV) and added a lot to both the ceremony and the reception, don't you think?

I always love cute kids involved in weddings, and these two were about as cute as they come! And they did really well considering how young they were; the ringbearer was just barely four!

After the ceremony, guests went out to the foyer for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres while we flipped the ballroom for dinner.

Melissa did what I always say brides should do, and that's pay attention to the placecard table! She was very specific that she wanted a round one, rather than the standard rectangular one. She got a colored linen to set off the white cards and did a simple, yet elegant, centerpiece. Good job, Melissa!

After cocktail hour, the whole ballroom was open and it was a "winter wonderland." I'm so glad Matt Mason, a Lake Geneva photographer, was able to get these shots for me right away for this blog. Mark and Melissa had a different photographer, so I just asked Matt to come in and take a few pictures that will help highlight our ability to host beautiful indoor ceremonies. Thanks, Matt!

Congratulations to Mark and Melisssa, who were also kind enough to stop by my office to say goodbye on Monday. So sweet! Have fun up in the Dells, you guys!

New Year's Eve

Ok, so it wasn't a wedding but I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of how our Harbor Ballroom looked on New Year's Eve. The colors were black and silver with burgundy accents. The tablecloths were called "Black Bombay" and had a silver circular pattern on them. And, of course, black satin chair covers with silver ties.

In this pictures you get a closer look at the centerpieces, designed by my talented counterpart, Hayley. She spray painted curly willow silver and we worked tirelessly making many, many large tissue paper pom poms. It was definitely a fun-looking room!

First Look Photography

As we head into our slower winter season, I will be inviting a few local wedding specialists to guest blog for me. They will offer their viewpoints on how to make your wedding as beautiful and stress-free as possible.

My first guest blogger is Matt Mason of Matt Mason Photography. He's been shooting weddings for several years now and was the first person to tell me about "first look" photography. I am a HUGE fan of this, mostly because it frees up the bride and groom to enjoy their cocktail hour and reception. Below is Matt's take on the benefits of a first look with my comments in italics.

Beautiful, timeless, romantic, fun, exciting, precious, emotional, anticipation, tradition, memorable. These are all words to describe weddings. However, some people attach other words: Stressful, nerve wracking, busy, pressure, appearances, expectations, superstitions.
One of the more stressful parts of the happy couple’s day centers around not seeing each other before the ceremony. Tradition dictates that the groom waits too see his bride until the moment when the beautiful bride in all her glory walks down the aisle. This is a splendid moment full of emotion. There is no doubt, as a photographer, that this is a very exciting moment to capture.

But this article is about the “First Look.” This is a trend in weddings that I am seeing more and more and quite honestly I am trying to be the trend setter in the Midwest for many reasons.

Let me explain what the First Look is all about. This is a special moment when the groom is able to see the bride for the first time before the ceremony. I usually like to position the groom looking away out over a field, or at the end of pier, or even by a beautiful old oak tree. I like to “tell the story” by capturing photos of the bride approaching the groom and then to see both of their expressions as they see each other for the first time simultaneously. It is a wonderful and precious moment. For Courtney and Elmer's wedding on September 4, Matt even put a microphone on Elmer so that the moment was captured on video and they will always remember their first words to each other on their wedding day.

As I describe this special event to brides and grooms this isn’t a replacement to the walking down the aisle photo but actually in addition to that moment. So in essence you are adding to the day by getting a second special look instead of replacing it.


Benefits to a well planned first look:
Add another memorable moment to your day
Takes pressure off a busy day
Enjoy a few minutes to yourselves in a day where everyone is vying for your attention It really is more intimate and special when it's just the two of you.
Your photographer is able capture dozens or even hundreds more beautiful photos with the extra time now available Imagine the difference in photos if you're not all rushed to get through them so you can join your guests at the cocktail hour.
You will be able to enjoy more of your cocktail hour/reception If you have your ceremony on site and want to attend the cocktail hour, you almost HAVE to do a first look.
Spend more time with your family and guests by getting all the most important photos done before the ceremony

Negatives of doing a first look:
Superstition
Change from tradition
Disappoint parents with expectations

Decades ago when our parents got married, their ceremonies were early in the day so not seeing each other until the ceremony wasn't a big deal. With prime time in our gazebo being 4-6pm, that means you will basically be "hiding" from each other for the bulk of your wedding day. Do any of the negatives listed above justify sticking with this tradition even though it will take away from your overall enjoyment of your reception? Ask yourself that before you dismiss the idea of a first look.

How many times have you heard brides say that the evening went by "so fast?" First Look Photography allows couples to make the most of those few hours with all their friends and family surrounding them. I would strongly encourage all brides-to-be to seriously consider adding a first look photo to their wedding day timeline.

Real Wedding - November 27, 2010

Michelle and Jarrett got married at The Abbey on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We didn't have snow at that time, but they did brave some pretty cold temps to get these beautiful outdoor shots prior to the ceremony...

All images courtesy of Alyssa Miserendino Photography.

In lieu of a traditional pillow their adorable ring bearer carried this dish down the aisle, which will be the one they put their wedding rings in when they're not wearing them. I love this idea!

(In case you can't read the words, it says "To Have & To Hold")

I told Michelle about a hundred times that their tasting was one of the most fun afternoons at work I've ever had! It was just her, Jarrett and Michelle's dad and they had me doubled over with laughter almost the whole time. Here's a picture of Michelle and her dad coming down the aisle where you can just tell how funny they both are. I love that their smiles almost match!

That's Marcia officiating Michelle and Jarrett's ceremony. I hadn't had Marcia conduct one of my ceremonies in some time and having her here that weekend made me remember why we always recommend her. She makes the ceremony completely personalized for the bride and groom and is such a calm, peaceful presence to have here on a wedding day.

After the ceremony in the Sandbar, guests went up to the Ballroom Foyer for cocktails and then into the Harbor Ballroom for dinner. There were about 130 guests, so we only used 3 sections of the ballroom and put the dance floor up near the windows.

Floral (and those trees!) provided by Renee at Frontier Flowers of Fontana.

I love these pictures from the reception. Thank you to Alyssa Miserendino for sending them over. Alyssa was so sweet to work with and I think she did a wonderful job capturing the "organic" feeling Michelle and Jarrett were going for with their wedding.

One more thing to note: As cool as I always thought Michelle was, she became even cooler on her wedding day when she told me she was donating her GORGEOUS wedding dress and shoes to an organization that provides bridal gowns to military brides. I'm not sure of the exact organization she's donating hers to, but you can read more about this cause here.

Congratulations to Michelle and Jarrett!