 Hello Moms! Your son or daughter just got engaged! How fun! How crazy! How overwhelming! You are going to have a crazy couple of months ahead of you in the planning process so we decided to collect a list of roles that you will have from now until “I Do”.
Mother of the Bride You have always dreamt of this day when your little girl would find the love of her life and walk down the aisle! Be sure to remember that this is her wedding and she may have some crazy ideas, but you will have to be supportive throughout the stressful process. Here is a list of “Mother-of-the-Bride Roles” for you to keep in mind while she is planning away! - Come up with a budget you are comfortable with early on in the process - Make your guest list and keep in mind that it is not ideal for your daughter to meet anyone for the first time at her wedding! - Be supportive! Times have changed and there is a lot of added stress that comes from planning a wedding. Be her rock when she needs it! - Hire a planner! It is definitely a smart move - mostly because if you don’t have someone there the day of the wedding to help, you may be doing it all and not enjoying the day the way you should. - Be available. There are lots of meetings and decisions that have to be made and you are most likely going to need to be by her side when she makes them. Be sure that you can make yourself available for her when needed. - Get to know the next lady who's role we are going to talk about below. The more you are on the same team, the easier the planning process will go! Mother of the Groom Your son found the love of his life and now the planning begins! We have come up with a list of things for you to keep in mind throughout the planning process! - Make your guest list and keep in mind that it is not ideal for your son to meet anyone for the first time at his wedding! - Be Supportive! Let your soon-to-be daughter or son-in-law live their wedding dreams even if it was not what you would had in mind. - Find a great rehearsal dinner venue and include your son in the process. - Find a beautiful Mother of the Groom dress and be sure to ask what colors would be appropriate. - Enjoy the process. Because it is not your daughter getting married, if you have a daughter, you really need to take a bit of a back seat on this one. When they wants your help with the wedding planning process, they will ask for it, but be sure they know you are available! - Get to know the first lady that we talked about above. The more you are on the same team, the easier the planning process will go!
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 When planning your wedding there are many different vendors you have to research, talk to and book - a florist being one of them. Florists usually range from a more affordable option such as a supermarket to a higher end professional florist and everything in between. As there are so many ways to research and find your florist - there are also a number of different factors to consider when choosing your florist. Check out our list below of topics to consider when finding your florist on Cape Cod.
Budget Your budget should be considered when you are looking into any of your vendors, but when finding your florist it is always a good idea to have a number in mind of what you expect to spend on your flowers. If you present that number to your florist ahead of time it can be easier for them to recommend certain flowers, bouquets and centerpieces that would fit in your price range. Past Weddings Most florists will have hundreds of photos they can show you of past weddings they have done. Really look through their website and social media accounts to see that they have done pieces that fit your vision. If you are looking to go a bit outside the box, be sure you see photos in their portfolio that are fun and different, which shows you that they can really accept any challenge and are not always working with roses and hydrangeas! Work with Your Vision As I mentioned briefly above, you want to make sure that the florist you choose is willing to work with you on your vision and can already ensure you that what you are picturing in your head will be your final product. Ask if they can show you something similar to what you want to do - either in photos or with flowers they may have on hand. Personality When booking any vendor for your wedding, be sure that you enjoy their personality. You will be in contact with them many times throughout the whole process so you want to make sure you enjoy having conversations with them! You also want to make sure you feel that they are invested in you and that you can trust them to do their job. Also be sure they show confidence that they can get the job done! Know Flowers and Alternatives When you start to look for your flowers on pinterest or instagram and on other wedding websites, you may find yourself in love with tulips, but with a September wedding it may not work out. Be sure that when you meet with a florist and you tell them what flowers you are envisioning that they can tell you if they will be in season on your wedding date. And if not, they should be able to tell you alternatives for those flowers that would still be beautiful, but would save you money! You usually can get most any flowers at any time of year, but it depends on if they can get the flowers locally or if they have to shop them in from around the world! Read more on Inspired by This: 10 Questions to Ask Your Florist Before Signing on the Dotted Line Happy New Year and New Decade! We love to take a minute after the holidays and festivities settle, to reflect on all the wonderful things we accomplished in 2019. It was such an amazing year for us here at Cape Cod Celebrations and once again we cannot express how grateful we are for the support and love we receive from friends, family and vendors in the industry. Here is a look back at some of the fabulous things that happened in 2019!
Happy New Year! We love to take a minute after the clock strikes midnight to reflect on all the amazing we had in 2018. It was such a wonderful year for us here at Cape Cod Celebrations and once again we cannot express how grateful we are for the support and love we receive from friends, family and vendors in the industry. Here is a look back at some of the amazing things that happened in 2018!
 Photo Credit: Alanna Scully Photography So I am a firm believer that every wedding is unique in its own way and that all couples can really make the day reflect their personalities, but there are certain formalities that every planner, venue manager or catering manager will ask about. It doesn’t mean that you have to include it in your day, but these are the most typical things that we see at events and we won’t judge you if you want to remove it from your day or even add something else in that is more special to you and your family!
Introductions Once the guests have been seated there is usually some sort of formal introduction. This can be the entire bridal party including parents and grandparents, it could be just the bridal party or could even be just the bride and groom. If you prefer not to be introduced that is fine too! If you do choose to have an introduction, you will need to know how you would like to be introduced - Mr. & Mrs., by your first names, by your nicknames, whatever you choose! Your band or DJ will be in touch with you about the specifics, have fun with it! First Dance After the introductions is typically when the bride and groom will have their first dance. You may have taken dance lessons and this is your time to show off your moves, or you may hate dancing and will ask your bridal party and/or other couples to join you halfway through. Whatever makes you comfortable! Toasts There are many toasts that can take place on the wedding day from the host giving a welcome toast, to the maid of honor and/or best man and even the couple. You will need to discuss with your family who would like to toast and when. Sometimes it is more appropriate for certain family members to toast at the rehearsal dinner instead of the actual wedding day. On the day itself I recommend keeping it to 4 toasts or less - that would include a welcome toast (typically given by the father of the bride), the maid of honor toast, the best man toast and a thank you toast from the couple. Cake Cut As dinner is winding down the couple will typically cut the cake before the party really gets started. This can be announced with a song and everyone’s attention on you or it can be what I call “stealth” where just the parents and the photographer/videographer are invited over to witness it. Obviously others will see it happen as well, but it will not be made a spectacle. Parent Dances A great way to open up the dance floor after dinner is with the parent dances. This is where the bride will dance with her dad and the groom will dance with his mom. We do see a lot where just the bride will dance with her dad or where they will share one parent dance together. Another fun idea is to invite other father/daughter or mother/son pairs that are there that night to join halfway through the dance . Bouquet or Garter Toss Although the bouquet toss and garter toss are not seen too much at weddings anymore I still wanted to include it. This is totally up to you and is usually based on your crowd. Do not do a bouquet toss if only 2 people there are single! Maybe consider giving your bouquet to the couple there that has been married the longest or present it to a grandmother or your mother. Happy New Year! As I sit here and reflect on 2014, I am so grateful for all that we accomplished. It is amazing how much love, support and recognition I continue to receive from my clients, local vendors, and my friends and family. I truly feel blessed. We are excited to look ahead at all of the wonderful clients we are already working with as well as our plan to share some new and exciting things in 2015. Here is a look back at some of the highlights of our 2014 season. Onward and upward to 2015!  Winning Cape Cod SCORE's Small Business Owner of the Year Award!  Cover of Cape & Plymouth Business Magazine  15 Tented Events from Bourne to Provincetown (photo by emilie inc.)  The NotWedding Cape Cod 2014 at the Sea Crest Beach Hotel (photo by Eric Foley)  35 Happily Married Couples (photo by Stacey Hedman)  5 Life Celebrations - Birthdays, Anniversaries, Oh My!   As the Father of the Bride, you have one of the most important roles at your daughter’s wedding, but you may feel left out throughout the planning process as the bride tends to do most of the planning with her mom.
Most dads are okay with the fact that they don’t have to do much, but others want to be included throughout the process as they can, seeing that they may be writing most of the checks to make this dream wedding come to life. Below are some roles that the Father of the Bride (FOB) can jump into throughout the planning process if he really wants to be a part of the journey. Food & Beverage The food and beverage is definitely a big part of the wedding day and a great place for the FOB to chime in if he wants to. Some FOBs love food, wine, beers, etc. and want to make sure the best is selected for his daughter’s special day. If your venue or caterer offers a tasting, this is also a great place for the FOB to be included! Photographer/Florist Depending on if the FOB has an interest in photos or florals, this is a great place to help your daughter select vendors. I have worked with FOBs in the past that have a green thumb and are really interested in the floral selections. Others love photography and want to help the couple select their photographer for the day. It all depends on how much the FOB cares about certain vendors that the couple will book. Walking Your Daughter Down the Aisle So although a lot of FOBs don’t feel very included during the planning process, they do get one of the most important roles of the day - walking their daughter down the aisle. Couple of things to note - you will stand on her right so that your right hand is available to shake her groom’s hand. When you get her up to the front, be sure to give her a hug or a kiss, shake the hand of the groom (or give him a hug) and hand her off! Welcome Toast Another very popular role for the FOB is the welcome toast. Typically the welcome toast is right before dinner is served, or before the blessing. This is usually very short and sweet and congratulates the couple and thanks everyone for coming to celebrate for the weekend. Sometimes the couple will do this toast if they are hosting the event, but a lot of the time the Father will do this toast. Father/Daughter Dance Finally, another very important role is the father/daughter dance. So start thinking of what song you want to share with your daughter on her wedding day. If your daughter chooses to have this as a formal event, the DJ or band will call the both of you to the dance floor to share your special dance together. This is usually followed by the mother/son dance and a killer dance party! The last thing you want to think about is an emergency on your wedding day, but you never know what could possibly happen. I have had bridesmaids' zippers get stuck and tear, and I had to literally sew her into her dress. Stains on dresses or even guests, clothing, headaches, hair issues, stinky breath...you name it, it can happen!
I have compiled a list of things that I keep in my emergency kit while I am working weddings. It is best to put your Maid of Honor on this task and to be the manager of the kit if you do not have a planner on site that has one.
 When you get into the last couple of months of your planning process and you have some extra wiggle room in the budget, it is a good time to look into fun wedding add ons to your party. There are so many new ideas out there, way more than I can list here, but we have come up with a list of great wedding add ons that would work well at any Cape Cod wedding.
Food Truck Food Trucks are so much fun and make a great late night snack option! Food Trucks have been all over the big cities for a while now and the trend has finally hit Cape Cod. There are a number of different food truck vendors on Cape Cod from Wellfleet to Falmouth that you can book for your wedding. Fiddlesticks, DPM and CDogs to name a few! Photo Booth Photo booths are a great way to entertain guests, act as a favor and make memories! There are not many specific photo booth vendors on the Cape, but there are many photographers that offer the photo booth as an option to their packages. Most booths do take up some space, so be sure you have the room in your venue before you book. Flip Book Booth Similar to a photo booth, but with a bit more action, you will find a Flip Book Booth. Here is where your guests can get dressed up in fun attire and make a mini 8-second video that is instantly turned into a flip book to take home. Personalize the cover with your wedding colors, names, etc. It is one of our favorites! Poetry Booth This one has not yet officially made it to Cape Cod, but I was fortunate enough to have fun with one while I was at The NotWedding in NYC this past April. The company is called The Haiku Guys and is definitely a topic conversation. Give the Haiku writer a topic of your choice and come back later for your very own personalized Haiku. Super fun and they will travel! Live Wedding Painter Your wedding photos are one thing and are definitely worth splurging on, but how cool would it be to have someone there painting your ceremony or your first dance or your reception live?! Many local artists offer this service, just ask! It is very interesting for your guests to watch, but also serves as an amazing keepsake from your day! There are so many other fun options to add into your wedding from little details like straws and personalized pint glasses to candy buffets and sundae bars! If you want to add in something clever, think about what best reflects you, your family and your party!  Cape Cod Celebrations has been fortunate enough to have an amazing young woman interning with us for the past 2 years and who will be joining us again this summer, but not only as our intern, but also our new admin!
Olivia has been studying event planning at UMASS Amherst and will be graduating a semester early this fall - smarty pants! Words cannot express how grateful I am that Olivia found us. Her drive and attention to detail is well beyond her years. And in her 2+ years with us she has been on site with me to trouble shoot events with no air conditioning on one of the hottest days of the year, but also to be thankful for beautiful days like the one above at Chequesset Golf Club. We love you Olivia! Thank you for being so awesome! |
Plan. Relax. Enjoy.At Cape Cod Celebrations, your vision is our brand. Learn more about how we can help you pull together your beautiful Cape Cod Wedding. Archives
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