Intimate Wedding - Zuckerberg marries long-time girlfriend Priscilla Chan

via graziadaily

Zuckerberg surprized guests at a graduation party for his long-time girlfriend, Priscilla Chan.  Instead of walking into the expected party, guests ended up celebrating the couple's wedding.  The small guest list of about 100 people got to see the couple exchange their vows in a traditional and low-key style.

Zuckerberg is no stranger to the spotlight. From the movie The Social Network to the stock sale of Facebook, Zuckerberg has been heralded as a genius and vilified as a thief. The need for such a personal thing to be out of the public eye was most likely behind the couple's decision to share this special event with friends and family in private fashion.

Many couples are now turning to small venues and intimate weddings.  It makes the event feel even more special when shared with a small group of only the closest people in your life.  Why are so many couples choosing to go small for weddings?  I've put together a list of great reasons to not invite everyone you've ever met to your wedding.

7 Benefits to to hosting a small Wedding

1. Cost.  This is usually the first thing that comes to mind.  Weddings are a big expense.  Cut down the guest list and you cut down the food and bar bill (usually the biggest costs involved).
2. Intimacy. Do you really need to invite your second grade teacher?  No. and she's probably not going to remember you anyway.  Keep it small.  It's less stress on the couple and easier to manage.
3. Giving guests their proper acknowledgement.  If you have a huge group, how in the world will you ever say hello to everyone?  You know you'll get stuck at the table with the one that blabbers on and on and some guests will feel snubbed if you don't say hi.  Keeping your list small ensures you get to give your guests the welcome feeling they deserve.

What Makes an Event Magical?

Fairy Sparkle Dust	magical lights	romantic cake with a surprize

Sometimes I amaze myself how I operate in life (reality) when I daydream so often. I live in a world of hope and fantasize of something better and more beautiful than what is given to me. Give me a word and I'll write you a story.

The best way for me to explain it is that some people see what is, but I see what can be.

Yes, I know I'm a hopeless dreamer and it does get me into trouble sometimes. I sometimes get overwhelmed because I want to draw out into reality what I envision in my subconscious; it's an almost impossible task.

Because I'm driven by hope, I push on and try to bring my vision to life. I'm a creator and can't shake those tendencies.

Now that you know how I operate, let's get back to business...What makes an event magical? Well, It's about a culmination of many elements. The most important things are the idea and the experience.

What's your Party personality type?

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 Ever wonder why you struggle planning a party?  Or maybe you wonder why you're so stressed?  If you've ever wondered how to host a better party, you might need to start with figuring out what personality type you are.  You can easily determine the type of personality you have when it comes to planning by the list I've put together of Party Planner personality types.  Which one are you?

Just as every party is unique in its own way, so are the individuals that host them.Once you know what type you are, you can be better prepared in how to handle planning a party.

You can better determine you plan of action with my guide to dealing with your personality type below.

The No-Fuss Party planner:  You're a casual type of person.  You don't like drama, you don't like worrying about the details.  All you want is for your guests to have a good time.  You're idea of setup is throwing on the radio, putting out some cold appetizers and making sure your alcohol is refrigerated.
The Benefits: The relaxed and casual environment is nice for guests and friends.
The Problems:  You have to choose your audience wisely.  You probably can't mix your rowdy friends with your uptight grandparents if it's a BYOB type of party.
The Solution: Hire an event planner for your party.  They can take care of the details you don't want to stress over and can suggest great ideas to keep your party low-fuss but still feel more personalized than just turning on any music and serving basic foods.  It will be the extra touch to make guests feel special and the link that will make mingling between ages and personalities possible.

Bachelorette Party Giveaway!

Planning on throwing a Girls Night In Bachelorette Party?  This totally fabulous Bachelorette Party in-a-box  is the perfect solution for you and we're giving it away to one lucky follower!  We love that it's ready to go for up to 12 people!

Bachelorette Party Ideas

Since I recently posted about my fun day with my girls at Truro Vineyards, I thought it would be nice to put together a list of activities to do with your girls if you're planning a Bachelorette party.

If you're looking for some fun things to do with the girls, here's a list of some fun ideas:

• Pub Crawl (make up t-shirts & have games to play at each stop!)
• Do a City Scavenger Hunt (Have a lead person make a map with things you need to collect at each stop.  Whichever girl/group finishes first with the most stuff wins!)
•  Have a Spa Day (Either book a place or do at-home pampering with drinks, music and lots of options)
• Visit a Vineyard/ Winery and spend the day sipping and taking notes.
• Booze Cruise: Make sure you get one with a band/dj, food & drinks!  This actually is a great idea if you're doing a combo bachelor / bachelorette party.  I used this for a friend getting married that was stumped on what to do for a combo party.
• Male Encounters: If you want to embarass your friend or just have fun with the girls, this can be a funny thing to go to (especially when you see the little old ladies having fun!)
• Ceramics painting party: Lots of these places let you book a table ahead of time and bring your own wine.  You all grab a cast piece to paint (from plates, to mugs & more) and enjoy chatting and painting your pottery however you want.  They fire it for you and you get a nice piece to use in your home or give as a gift!  Note:  It's really nice if all the girls collectively purchase pieces in a set and paint them to give to the bride to be.  She'll have a collection of say--desert plates from all her maids that are hers to cherish.

Cheap centerpiece vase DIY project

The bonding glue

A completed wedding arrangement vase

Having been to many weddings where the bride decides on an arrangement that's too tall to talk over, I knew I wanted something that was shorter, but still elegant. Also, my fear was that a tall arrangement would be quite expensive.

Another way for me to cut costs, (while still being able to give my guests the arrangements) was to do the bases myself.

New Look Coming Soon....stay tuned!

A big announcement for our avid readers! Thank you for your support and love. I hope to grow this blog to be one of the biggest on the web for all things fun, fabulous and event related.

I hope you'll pardon the appearance of this blog as it becomes more fabulous!  I'm redoing the design and hopefully adding lots of relevant links to other blogs and vendors in the near future.  To expand and grow I hope to reach out to the Wedding and Event community and showcase at some of the local wedding and bridal showcases.

To further make this blog fabulous, I hope to make the site easier to navigate and cleaner.

A christmas cocktail party and a FREE template!

Please don't get mad that I'm talking about Christmas when it's not thanksgiving yet... 

Hey, at least I'm not one of those crazy people that puts up their lights and decorations before Halloween even happens.  Yeah, you know what neighbors I'm talking about.

Anyway, you have to start thinking about these things ahead of time, especially since everyone's party calender gets totally filled up if you wait until December.

So Today I'm sharing my DIY Christmas cocktail party invitations.  I think they're fun and festive and perfect for my low-key get-together.

Boston Brides take two big hits in a couple of months

Brides trying on gowns at the Running of the Brides

We were all disappointed to hear that the fantastic designer house, Pricilla of Boston was going out of business. This high end designer Bridal Boutique was a luxurious and well-loved fixture in the Boston Bridal scene. While many of their gowns were priced well out of reach of Brides on a budget, Boston Brides always had another source for beautiful designer gowns, for a fraction of the cost; The Running of the Brides.

A Pink and Navy Autumn wedding

Happy Halloween Everyone! Boy do I have a Treat for you!  It's a Pink and Navy Autumn wedding. This wedding took place in Gloucester, MA at the Ocean View Inn.

When we met with the fantastic Andrew Kubika of Stay Focused Photography (the talent behind the fabulous photos), we knew he was the perfect personality for our wedding.  He was fun and of course, he took some fantastic photos. His motto is "creatively capturing your most important moments". I'd say that's perfect for his photojournalistic style.

What was this wedding like?  It was a little bit of tradition and a whole lot of fun. Dig into that big bowl of candy and enjoy the Talented Mr. Kubika.

An autumn outdoor Wedding - Template for a beautiful Ceremony

Since our local church as well as the church near the reception hall were both booked a year in advance of our wedding, we decided to have our ceremony outdoors.  It was a lovely day and the ceremony was beautiful in front of the ocean.

Since we couldn't get married in the church, but we still wanted a religious ceremony, I decided to put together a ceremony for the priest that was very traditional, but not as long as a Catholic Ceremony.  I adapted it from traditional Catholic ceremony, the royal wedding and bits and pieces of ceremony ideas from the web.  All in all I think our ceremony was perfect.  Not to long, not to short and beautifully our own.

If you are having an outdoor ceremony, but would still like it to be religious, this is a good basis to work from.  It took a lot of hard work to put this together.  I'm happy I can now share it with you.

Wedding Sneak Peek - Ocean View Inn

Stay tuned in October to see the photos of this amazing wedding located at the Ocean View Inn in Gloucester, Massachusetts. I've added a few teaser shots for you before the fun begins. This was a wedding with a budget of $25k and guest total of 133 people. By doing major DIY projects I believe this wedding turned out looking like a $50k wedding. It's amazing how a wedding can turn out when you have it planned correctly and allocate your budget to the right places.

Contact me for more information on how I can make your next event a night to remember.

How to throw a glamourous, stylish and over-the-top Wedding

I've decided to put together a guide for any Bride and Groom that want to throw a top-notch wedding on a limited or average budget.  This is for the Bride & Groom that are in love with the show "Platinum Weddings" on WE tv but can't afford a 60k+ wedding. 

10. The most expensive part of a Wedding is the food and drinks.  Keep your guest list small to ensure you get a quality day, not a quantity day.  The more people, the more extras you'll have to cut elseware making your event feel less unique, fun and exciting.

It's Freebie Friday! Feather Collection Bridal Shower Menu

Looking to showcase your line-up of delicious foods for your Bridal Shower?  Look no further than the beautiful Blue and Gold Feather-themed menu we have today. 

It's part of our 4 week giveaway.

The menu in this post is an example of what types of foods you could serve at your Bridal Shower. 

In the free download the foods have been left blank so you can add whatever foods you wish.

What are all those crazy titles? 

I've put the titles in English and French.  They run as follows:

• Start - This could be an appetizer, refreshment or simple amuse-bouche 
• Savory - Anything savory would be something without a lot of sweetness to it.  Meat, sandwiches, vegetables.  Place your main food served at your event into this category.
• Sweet - This would be where you would list your dessert(s)
• Refreshments - Any beverages you plan to serve would go in this section.

Free DIY template - Best Wishes Bird Garland

From the Feather collection and part 2 of our series giveaway comes another freebee for you.  Our DIY garland template.

Click here to download the garland template.

What you'll need:

• 2 sheets Heavyweight paper (cardstock is a good choice)
• 
  scissors
• 
  glue
• 
  crepe paper
• satin ribbon (1/2" thick is probably the optimal size)

How to:

1. Print two copies of the file on heavy cardstock and cut out the rounds.
2. Take some crepe paper and fold accordian style around each round from the 1st sheet you cut out so you get a fanned out circle; glue down the crepe paper.
3. Lay out the letters to say "Best Wishes", then flip them so that the backs are facing you.
4. Take a piece of satin ribbon and lay it on top of the crepe papered letters; glue the ribbon to the crepe letter.
5. Place some glue on top of the ribbon on each letter.  Take your matching letter (so "B" with "B", etc.) and place it on top.  You should now have a "letter sandwich"  That is layered letter, crepe paper, ribbon, letter.
6. Repeat this for all the letters spelling out "Best Wishes" 

Use the Bird circles either in the center of the two words, or print extras to make pretty ribbons to hang or pin onto your Bride-to-Be.

Feel free to embelish these with glitter, rhinestones or anything else you like.

I apologize for the shot above.  I had forgotten a big part of the sign, ribbon.  It was really tough to get the sign to stay put because of it.  make sure you remember to use ribbon instead of string.