Aleximani Events

Creating great tablescapes will help you make your tables say "Wow" at you pre-wedding and wedding festivities. For fall events adding natural elements help you tie in the season in a unique and eco-friendly way.

Here are a few of my favorite, check out each link for DIY instructions:

Autumn Berries

Nature

Pumpkins

Celebrations at Home: Lovely Autumn Centerpiece

Wedding flowers are an integral part of your wedding, making the right choices is important to help tie various different elements together. Elements such as your venue, the style of you wedding, your bridesmaids dress and of course your colors. Once you have determined your venue, wedding day colors and formality, you are ready to choose your flowers.

Look through various wedding magazines, books and websites. This will help you to have an idea of what you would like to see at your wedding. Look at wedding magazines, websites and books to get an idea of what type of wedding flowers you like. These resources will have specific flowers and color combinations that may coordinate with your wedding. Armed with a swatch of your bridesmaids dresses and your vision, follow these steps:

Establish your budget

You should go back to your wedding budget and confirm what you have set as your floral budget. Keep in mind that your flower budget covers all flowers for your wedding day from ceremony to reception and everything in between. Flowers usually take about 10% of your wedding budget, so if you have a $20,000 dollar wedding budget the amount for your wedding flowers would be $2000. Be sure to stand firm on your budget when talking to your florists, $100 dollars over your budget may not be a bad thing, however $3000 dollars over is a great deal and will throw you off budget. If you really love flowers and want to spend a little more, to remain within your budget, you might want to spend less on another area of your wedding.

Find your color vision and establish your style

Make sure that before you see a Florist that you know your color scheme. When you meet with florist this is one of the first questions that they will ask. They will not be able to refer you to the right flowers for your day, this might be frustrating for you and the florist. You should have swatches of your girls dresses and your overall color scheme.

The style of your wedding is equally as important. A garden bouquets will probably not work well at a formal evening wedding. The style of your wedding dress is also important as it will determine what bouquet is best for your dress. The florist will want to know how ornate your dress is, whether it's white or cream, if it's classic or contemporary, and other important details. This information is crucial when meeting with a florist.

Consider your wedding location

Think about your wedding location, how many flowers will you need to complete your wedding look? Do you need alot of flowers for your ceremony if you are getting married at a great outdoor venue with wonderful landscaping? Are the walls of your indoor venue covered with a floral pattern? or is it a blank canvas? The answer to these questions will help the florist to draw out a vision for your overall floral decor.

Find a Florist

You need to meet with florists. Like any other vendor it should be someone with whom you connect. This will be important as they will help to execute your vision. Consider the type of person that will work best with you? Always ask to see a portfolio!! A florist may say that they have done it before, but such an important part of the visual aspects of your wedding should not be left unchecked. References from friends that have recently planned a wedding is a good place to start. You can check out a company with the Better Business Bureau where you can find out if anyone has had problems with them in the past. Get everything in writing, make sure the contract details include date of your wedding, delivery place and time, flowers chosen, number of flowers ,colors and of course price. There are a host of various wedding websites that will assist you with finding a wedding florist in your area, some of these sites allow you to sign up to find a florist in your area and within your budget.

Check out these sites:

Justwedding.com

Weddingwire.com

TheKnot.com

WeddingChannel.com

Be Inspired and informed when choosing your flowers!!!!!!!!!!!

In recent times when hosting a party we are growing more concerned with catering to special dietary needs. A good host would never invite a vegetarian friend over for dinner and not provide for their dietary preferences. Your wedding is the first and possibly the biggest party that you will ever host as a couple and so you should remember considering your guests special needs.

You and your spouse to be may also have dietary preferences, it would be no fun if you could not enjoy your the food at your own wedding because it did not cater to your preferences.

Planning a wedding involves many details and the more details that you add the more flustered you could get. Here are some tips for planning a vegetarian and/or vegan wedding.

The first thing I would offer for consideration when planning a special diet wedding is identifying your vegetarian guests and your vegan guests. While it sounds like their needs would be the same, they are not. I have a very good friend and he is a Vegan, I often feel really bad when we are invited to a wedding or formal party. They never know how to cater to him. A Vegan is a strict vegetarian that consumes no animal or dairy products. As in my friends case they might be very specific as to the preparation of their food as well.

Most catering halls will offer vegetarian alternatives, ask them about these alternatives. Chefs are expanding their menus to include delectable vegetarian dishes. Vegetarian cuisine has come into its own and there is no reason to have to settle for pasta primavera or stir-fried veggies. Vegan alternatives are also available even in the dessert area, I have tasted them and they were very delicious. Please be mindful that a plate of broccoli is not a very considerate Vegan alternative. I say this because when I attended a wedding with my friend, this is what they offered him when he stated he was a vegan.

If only one or two of your friends are Vegans consider asking if you could bringing in a specialty dish from a Vegan caterer or restaurant. If your catering hall has a problem with that alternative, you need to stress to them that they are unable to furnish you with the options you need for your guests.

As a couple if you are choosing to have a vegetarian wedding, start by expressing your choices to your family, especially if they are contributing in some way to your wedding. If you are hosting a vegetarian wedding you may have to think in reverse and speak to your caterers about offering some meat options to your guests.

When considering a full vegetarian event you want to consider a caterer that offers a varied and interesting menu. Talk to your caterer feel free to offer recipes or menu suggestions, I am sure they will be happy to be able to add these recipes to their repertoire. Consider a Kosher caterer as their special preparation rules prohibit meat and dairy in the same meal. They would have also have access to countless meatless meal options. A large part of Indian cuisine include vegetarian options as well.

You should definitely aim for a delicious, innovative and varied menu.

Vegan cakes are also on the rise as individuals are facing lactose, glutten and peanut allergies. I have had the pleasure to meet an excellent baker who caters to special dietary concerns when she bakes, Marney from Marney Cakes located in Long Island, NY. She will definately be able to cater to your vegetarian and vegan needs.

Vegan or Vegetarian options can extend to other aspects of your wedding. For Cruelty-Free Cosmetics check out PETA's list of companies.

Donations to various charitable companies are options that some couples choose for their weddings, why not make a donation to an animal shelter or animal rights organization in your guests' name.

If you having vegetarian options as part of a green wedding check out green weddings, including green weddings dresses and invitations.

For a directory of Vegetarian (vegan) caterers, click here.

Be Inspired to plan a great vegetarian (vegan) wedding.