Why a Sheet Cake Is Better Than Any Expensive Wedding Cake

What I’m about to write may shock you: I bought my wedding cake at a grocery store. It wasn’t fancy, but it didn’t need to be—all I wanted was a small, simple confection that I could ceremonially slice into hand-in-hand with my new husband, with icing I could smear all over his face. A two-tiered, almond-flavored pound cake with plain white sugar frosting for $109.95 fit the bill, and none of my guests were the wiser.

I’m not the only one who thinks towering fondant monstrosities are supremely overrated. Of the four wedding experts we spoke to, all said that the wedding cake isn’t the must-do tradition it used to be. Still on the fence? Here’s every reason you should reconsider the classic wedding cake (and serve something else instead).

Reason #1: They’re party stoppers

“It’s the sign of a good wedding if you miss dessert,” said Nicole Sheppard, owner of the wedding planning outfit All Who Wander. Making a big to-do of slicing a fancy cake requires shutting down the band and grabbing everyone’s attention, which can have a major wind-down effect on the evening’s energy.

In contrast, “dessert being passed [on trays by waiters] extends your party,” Sheppard suggested. “Having things that are portable and smaller”—like cookies, brownies, donuts, or cupcakes—“are really great because they can be passed around the dance floor. That gives people a way to keep dancing and not have to worry about sitting down and stopping the party.”

Reason #2: They’re style over substance

Not only can cakes with thick layers of rigid, plastic-tasting fondant and intricate, over-the-top detailing be super expensive, they’re “really just decorative more than anything,” said Maureen Larson, vice president of Chicago-based caterer Lettuce Parties. More attention is paid to the cake’s visuals than its taste, she explained. “People will take a bite of that cake and that’s it.”

If the cake-cutting tradition is important to you—it was for me!—Larson suggests buying a small, basic cake to fulfill that purpose. With that out of the way, “you can get fun with the dessert: various cupcake towers, a donut wall with cotton candy woven into it, and different fruits that have been dipped in chocolate, platters of cheese,” to name a few options.

Reason #3: Not everyone is a cake person

Think about it: Do you like plain old wedding cake more than a gooey just-baked chocolate chip cookie? A fudgy brownie? A fresh-from-the-oven apple pie? Even if you didn’t say “yes” to any of those (and we seriously doubt that) plenty of your prospective guests might. And if a wedding is your chance to throw your fantasy bash, why settle for a dessert you and your guests won’t over-the-moon love?

“If you’re not really a cake person, do something else!” said Meagan Stroud, the senior catering manager at The Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C. “I’ve seen couples do pie instead of cake. Crème brûlée instead of cake. If you like more savory things, maybe you do a cheese course instead of a cake.” She was the second source to suggest cheese, so we take that as a sign.

Reason #4: They can be ridiculously pricey

According to Thumbtack.com, in New York City, a three-tiered carrot cake with fondant frosting that serves between 150 and 200 people can cost up to $1,345. Did your eyes just pop out of your head? Because ours did. And sure, if you’re a carrot cake fanatic, maybe such an expensive confection makes sense, but chances are you’re not. What, then, bewitches people into spending such massive sums of money?

“People direct money into ‘as seen on TV’ moments, and I think when people hear the word ‘wedding,’ they think they need to have a big elaborate cake,” said David Mawhinney, the chef at NYC-based catering company and event space Haven’s Kitchen. Brides and grooms get wrapped up in the realm of “supposed to” and don’t consider what will actually make for a enjoyable wedding experience, he added.

“People should get a smaller cake so they can have the ceremonial camera moment,” Mawhinney suggested. “Then we create things that people actually want to eat, like some petit four-style desserts.”

Truth is, you should serve whatever you want at your wedding. But know this: Your guests will probably be just as happy with Costco’s finest sheet cake.

 

See the full article at

www.bonappetit.com

When you think eloping,  it’s a perfect opportunity to hold your service in our historic Florida Wedding Chapel.  Here is a great article about millennials and their growing view of elopement as a solid alternative to a huge formal wedding and why it makes sense to them.

 

Not every little girl grows up clutching a binder packed with doilies and details of her destination wedding. Even if she does, often the numerous, inherent stressors of planning such a shindig bubble up and make her back away from the Pinterest boards. Millennials sure have a knack for ruining institutions previous generations adored—and it seems that includes traditional weddings.

It’s not that millennials reject the concept of marriage as a whole, but many are opting for an alternative by choosing small, sometimes surprise ceremonies over expansive, expensive weddings. Elopements, sans Vegas, are on the rise, inspiring all-inclusive elopement and pop-up wedding businesses to similarly swell in popularity.

Eloping Is Fun, a New York City–based full elopement service, has been in business for about four years; according to founder and wedding photographer Jenny MacFarlane, “Business has kind of doubled every year.” She continues, “We might be hitting a plateau. My company does maybe 60, 70 [weddings] a year, so it’s significant.” And it’s mostly millennials hitting her up. “From what I know about millennials, things are tough financially,” she says. “That’s one of the big reasons, in general. People just want to start their life. They don’t feel like they have to follow any sort of traditional norms anymore.”

Eloping Is Fun, a New York City–based full elopement service, has been in business for about four years; according to founder and wedding photographer Jenny MacFarlane, “Business has kind of doubled every year.” She continues, “We might be hitting a plateau. My company does maybe 60, 70 [weddings] a year, so it’s significant.” And it’s mostly millennials hitting her up. “From what I know about millennials, things are tough financially,” she says. “That’s one of the big reasons, in general. People just want to start their life. They don’t feel like they have to follow any sort of traditional norms anymore.”

Cutting costs is one obvious appeal. The Knot’s 2016 study shows the average wedding costs about $35,500, while the average worker under 35 makes less than $40,000 a year. Price point was the big motivator for 31-year-old Keri, who decided that elopement was right for her and her fiancé. After picking a date and a venue, and whittling the guest list to 150, costs still hovered around $16,000.

“It just kind of made me sick to think like, ‘My God, we’re going to be spending this much money on this wedding for, like, eight hours’ worth of fun,’” Keri says.

A Colorado trip inspired a change of plans. The couple decided to invite 10 of their closest friends and rent a cabin for a group vacation this fall. “Oh, and also we’re going to get married in the middle of it,” Keri says. In Rocky Mountain National Park’s Estes Park, specifically. Even with flights, cabin rental, buying a white dress, and the cost of hiring a wedding photographer, the total for their new plan is about $2,500—nearly a sixth of their original ceremony estimate.

“People just want to start their life. They don’t feel like they have to follow traditional norms anymore.”

That average wedding cost can keep inflating too. Millennials are getting hitched later in life than previous generations, and the number of people in one person’s regular orbit at age 19 is going to be dramatically smaller than it will be by age 29. Take into account that, plus the ever-expanding universe of social media, and most millennials’ social networks may be considered downright sprawling. (And should we even get into the whole business of plus-ones? I’m already tired.)

“The invitation list is one of the most dreaded and anxiety-producing aspects of wedding planning,” says Samantha Burns, a licensed couples therapist and dating coach. “Now you have to consider friends from different walks of life, such as your high school and college friends, those you met while studying abroad, at your first job, your current coworker besties, the running club you go to on the weekends, and the fantastic couple you met on vacation. [Yet] there’s only so much money and so many table seating arrangements that you can afford. The potential for party faux pas and social pressure to edit and cut down your list could result in the end of a friendship, or family drama.” Elopements, just by definition, shave down any guest list considerably.

In past generations, heading to the courthouse to get your “I Do” on was often synonymous with an unexpected pregnancy. Though surely that still inspires some elopements, the country’s uncertain health insurance landscape has become an even more pressing concern, motivating many to tie the knot just to make sure they’re covered in an emergency—and quickly. Leaving a job and the health insurance it provided helped push Amy, 28, and her now husband, Chris, to head to the courthouse for a speedy wedding. The two told only immediate family about their plan and only the day before it happened—but that was less a desire to be sneaky and more because that’s how it got scheduled. “We called the courthouse the day before, and then after Chris got off work that evening, we went to the mall and I went to Anthropologie and found [a white dress],” Amy says. “I was just going to wear something I had in my closet, but I called my mom and she encouraged me to make the day special.” Amy’s mother couldn’t make the wedding on such short notice, but Chris’s parents attended, even taking the newlyweds to lunch—including champagne and cake—afterward.

“I was just going to wear something I had in my closet, but my mom encouraged me to make the day special.”

Though obviously this couple’s wedding was expedited for bureaucratic reasons, Amy says they probably would have eloped anyway. “I’ve never loved being the center of attention,” she says. “Some girls dream about [their wedding day] forever, right? I’ve never really been one of them. [The] more I think about it, the less I think a traditional wedding would have suited me. It’s just not really my thing.”

Amy says when she posted an official announcement about her marriage on Facebook, she was sure to stress the fact she was not pregnant.

By one’s late twenties, a person is already quite the wedding-guest veteran. I’m 29 and by December I will have attended seven weddings this year alone. Over time and with repeated exposure, it’s easy to feel exhausted with weddings in general. Kelley, a 33-year-old wedding photographer in Atlanta, obviously knows the lavish nuptials drill better than most—and sees its potentially ugly side. “I shoot a wedding every week and see a lot of the stuff that goes into that,” she says. “[I often hear] people say, ‘If I could’ve done it different, I would’ve.’”

When she and her girlfriend got engaged last August, Kelley started by planning an ornate wedding, only to reroute to a much smaller courthouse solution in March. They sent an email invite to immediate family only. “Then we just went and ate burgers after, and it was the best day ever,” Kelley says. “It was the most stressfree day.” Surely the energy saved from not making polite small talk with peripheral guests helped Kelley and her wife truly experience the experience as well.

“An emotional benefit of having a small ceremony is that it’s easier to be mentally present and soak it all in, since often times at highly attended weddings, the bride and groom are rushing around to greet all of the guests,” Burns points out. “It’s important for eloping couples not to diminish the event because it’s small and to share and process it with family and friends. I also urge eloping couples to still have a photographer or videographer to capture the memorable moments, so that you can share it with others and also watch and relive the special day over years to come.”

“That’s a dope-ass photo. That’s going to represent you for a really long time.”

That detail is part of what keeps MacFarlane’s business going. Plenty of couples use the money saved on skipping a big ceremony to make it a destination elopement. Iceland is especially popular—MacFarlane says she has four Iceland elopements booked for the month of August alone. “Obviously a lot of people are doing this for the photos. They’re not stupid,” she says. Though her sentiments can far extend exotic locations. A well-framed Instagram announcement can be, well, validating. Kelley even set up a tripod, post-wedding, to capture the moment and post to the ‘Gram. “[Couples] know photos are currency this day and age,” she says. “I mean, that’s a dope-ass photo. That’s going to represent you for a really long time.”

Keri, the bride who will elope to Colorado, says she reserved a significant portion of her budget for just such a dope-ass photographer. “I wanted somebody there to document those things,” she says, noting that she selected Sarah Gormley, a photographer who specializes in a more documentary approach to capture weddings. “Obviously the millennial narcissist in me is like, ‘I can’t wait to post these pictures and it’s going to be really cool.’ I would be lying if I didn’t say I know that people think this is kind of cool.”

But such evidence supports one universal truth with weddings: This day is about you and your partner and your love for each other. It isn’t about tailoring a menu to accommodate your estranged cousin’s girlfriend’s oxalate-free dietary restrictions, or forbidding a DJ from playing Bruno Mars.

“I want to show people that it’s not cheap, it’s not cheesy, and you don’t have to be married by Elvis,” Keri says. “You can do something that’s fun, beautiful, within budget, with your closest friends or your family, and there’s nothing to be afraid of—it’s fine. In order to get married, you don’t have to have a big wedding. It doesn’t have to be some big to-do. You don’t need a hashtag.”

 

Read the entire article at

www.glamour.com

Planning a wedding is challenging!  At Old Church Chapel, a Florida Wedding Chapel, we try and make planning your chapel wedding ceremony as simple,  straightforward, and stress free as possible.  We have found some apps that can be downloaded and installed on your phone.  Hopefully, this will help you with some of the details that you may need to attend to as part of your Florida Wedding Chapel ceremony.

 

Apps That Everyone Planning A Wedding Should Download To Their Phones Immediately

Some people love planning things, and naturally don their cruise-director cap when planning vacations, college reunions, and weddings. I am not one of these people. Planning my wedding was one of the most stressful experiences of my life. Luckily, the best apps for wedding season can make your planning experience a little more enjoyable than mine. Necessity is the mother of invention, and the creation of wedding-planning apps can help you streamline the eleventy-million things you need to keep track of.

These days, apps can help you keep track of everything from your budget to your glam squad so you can get out of the weeds and actually enjoy the process. Many of these apps were created because a stressed-out maid of honor, or bride, threw her hands up and screamed, “there’s got to be a better way.” Gone are the days of the giant wedding binder, the out of control email inbox with quotes from zillions of vendors, and the stack of bridal magazines.

Everything you need to plan the wedding of your dreams fits into the palm of your hand in the form of your trusty smartphone. If your phone isn’t already your best friend it will be after you explore the best apps for wedding season.

WeddingWire

So you’re getting married. Now what? If you have no idea where to begin with your wedding planning, WeddingWire can help. In addition to compiling a list of wedding vendors, WeddingWire offers free, easy-to-use wedding planning tools like customizable wedding checklists, wedding websites with more than 120 different design templates, and a comprehensive wedding registry. You can also create a calendar to remind you of tasks that need to be completed leading up to the big day, manage the guest list, develop a budget, and more. They even offer Snapchat filters for your wedding.

 

Glam App

 

Need a hair and makeup genius? The Glam App can deliver one right to your door. Offering services that range from a blow dry, to make up applications, to manicures, get your own wedding party glam squad. With locations in more than a dozen U.S. cities this app can save you time, and help you look stellar for your big day.

Loverly

 

If you don’t want to look through a trillion websites to search for wedding inspiration, Loverly has put everything in one place. While this one isn’t technically an app, it’s still pretty great. Dubbed the Pinterest of weddings, this helpful haven is a place couples can come for the well-rounded wedding support for everything from bridal-shower ideas to alternative wedding options.

 

Skipper

If you’ve got guests coming in from out of town for the wedding Skipper can simplify and streamline the hotel booking process. This app is like a dating service for finding the perfect hotel for your needs. Enter the size of your group, what you’re looking for and Skipper returns rated matches based on your preferences. Then simply block the rooms from the app. Easy peasy.

 

Wedding Dress Studio

 

When it’s time to say yes to the dress try on your favorite styles virtually with Wedding Dress Studio. This app allows you to choose the style, neckline, materials, details, and more. Upload a full-body photo to try on the dress right from your phone. This is a godsend if you hate shopping. And, each dress is shaped and tailored for every bride so no two are alike.

 

Read the entire Article here www.bustle.com

 

 Old Church Wedding Chapel is known for allowing our couples to have the ceremony of their dreams, no matter what those dreams are.  We are firm believers in traditions – our Florida Wedding Chapel is the place to start your own traditions!

This wedding trend is getting more popular, and it saves everyone money

There’s a new popular wedding trend that has everyone saving money. Brides are saying no to having bridesmaids in 2017. In theory, having your best friends stand with you on the happiest day of your life is a great idea. But in reality… things get complicated. No matter how easy you try to make your wedding, it’s stressful to have/be a bridesmaid. This new trend is a “fix all” for all parties involved.

From the friend-of-the-bride’s perspective, it’s a bittersweet situation from the moment your pal asks you to be part of her special day.

You’re over the moon for your friend, but you also know it’s going to cost a small fortune and countless hours to properly celebrate her wedding.

Unless you’re independently wealthy, you don’t have either of those resources to spare. It’s a huge commitment and can be draining and sometimes damaging to the friendship.

From the bride’s perspective, it’s constant stress to try to not leave anyone out, all while creating a “perfect day.” Managing dresses and avoiding arguments is tricky stuff. Even after taking every precaution, someone is bound to be “grumpy” about something.

Instead of trying to troubleshoot this seemingly impossible task brides have opted to forgo the whole tradition completely. According to Pinterest, millennials are searching for wedding ideas that have no bridal party at all. And this is no niche trend: Pinterest has seen a 100 percent year-over-year increase in related searches.

We think this is a pretty fantastic trend, but brides are allowed to have whatever type of wedding they want. Bridesmaids, no bridesmaids, heck, have goats for bridesmaids, we’re cool with that, too. Ultimately, we love any trend that allows everyone to have an incredible day with memories to last a lifetime.

Read the entire article here hellogiggles.com

 

Old Church Wedding Chapel  is a smaller, historic, fully restored “old Florida” Wedding Chapel.  We are really focused on smaller wedding ceremonies because our Florida Wedding Chapel will seat 7o guests or less.  Here is an interesting article about how to make your very special Florida Wedding Chapel Ceremony and Reception feel like a huge celebration!

Ways to make your small wedding feel like big celebration

It’s not just the ridiculous cost of weddings these days that makes some couple opt to have a small wedding guest list. Whether you live far away from your extended family or simply can’t think of 200+ people you care enough about to invite, small weddings often make more sense.

However, just because your wedding is tiny in size doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t look and feel as glamorous as a bigger shindig. Here are some small wedding ideas that will make your intimate gathering look and feel as special as anything you might see on Pinterest or Instagram.

Dinner party in a forest, anyone? With fewer people’s schedules to accommodate, your intimate wedding is the perfect opportunity to have that tropical island or Italian villa wedding you’ve always dreamed about. Alternatively, it also gives you more options for nearby venues, too. Unlike large-scale weddings, you won’t be forced to pick from personality-less banquet halls or expensive hotel ballrooms and can instead consider hosting your wedding in an offbeat but beautiful place, like an art gallery or in the middle of the woods.

You may also want to consider having an at-home wedding and putting the cash you would otherwise spend towards improvements and decorations for your house. Home weddings are the perfect fit for an intimate guest list, with celebs like Miranda Kerr and Jennifer Aniston opting for chic backyard nuptials.

2 Brunch weddings are the new black tie

Likewise, a Saturday brunch wedding or a Thursday night summer garden party is easier to carry out with fewer people, and you’re likely to find that vendors are much more affordable and available during non-peak days and times of the week. Plus, with mimosas and doughnuts on hand, no one will miss a rubber chicken dinner and lame DJ.

3 Skip the bridal party, if you’d like

For some, having your BFFs by your side during your big day is a non-negotiable, but for others, coming up with a bridal party can bring unneeded drama and awkwardness to your nuptial plans. (Remember Anne Hathaway’s character in Bride Wars?) If your wedding is on the petite side, it doesn’t make sense to ask half of your guests to stand up at the altar with you, so feel free to skip this tradition and make your ceremony just about the two of you.

4 Have fun with your seating plans

Creative seating arrangements are all the rage on wedding blogs these days. Give your guests a better view of your face by seating them in the round or in a semi-circle during the ceremony, something that is impossible to do with 300 bodies.

During dinner, consider seating everyone at one table or a group of long, banquet-style tables that are pushed together. This gives you the opportunity to try another wedding trend – a garland adorned with flowers that acts as both your table runner and centerpiece in one!

5 Get creative with the entertainment

For a big wedding, it’s kind of expected that you will have a DJ or cover band play popular music for your guests to dance to. (Because what else can a large group of people comfortably do together in a ballroom situation?)

However, with an intimate wedding, you can be more thoughtful with your entertainment choices. Are your wedding guests not the types to dance anyway, or are they mostly an older crowd who’d be more inclined to stay seated and chat? Then, perhaps you might want to create a dinner party vibe and have a guitarist or jazz band play background music.

Or, you could forgo live music all together, fire up a Spotify playlist and do something entirely different. For example, you could put out lawn or board games, have an expert host a beer or wine tasting, set up a DIY floral station for guests to make their own boutonnières and flower crowns, or even hire a live painter or a balloonist to entertain guests.

6 Have your photographer take a big group shot

Although photographers typically try to capture portraits all of the bridal VIPs, it’s easy for them to miss capturing the majority of your guests with everything else that’s going on throughout a wedding.

A modest wedding is the perfect opportunity to rectify this situation. After all, 40 people can more easily fit into a frame than 125. Towards the end of cocktail hour, ask your photographer to round up everyone. This is the ideal time to do it as your family and friends should be in high spirits and have a cocktail in hand. Then, have your photog stand on a ladder, if needed, and take one “serious” posed photo of all your guests and then a few goofy ones. These will likely end up being some of your favorite photos from the night. Bonus points for successfully getting your guests to stand in a heart formation!

7 Host an after-party following a restaurant reception

If you’ve decided to host your reception at a restaurant, your wedding isn’t doomed to end as soon as the dessert course is served. An after-party is a great way to keep the good times going and so much easier to arrange with a smaller guest count. Instead of renting out a private space or house, consider taking an Uber to a local nightlife spot. Some bars may only require a reservation or heads-up that your group will be coming in.

Or, if you’re determined to end your big day with drinks and dancing until the wee hours of the morning, a nearby nightclub is your best bet. You may even want to splurge on table service to ensure your guests are able to get in and have a place to rest in between songs. After all, if you don’t deserve a sparkler-adorned bottle of Dom Perignon at your wedding after-party, when will you?

 

Read the entire article here hellogiggles.com

At Old Church Wedding Chapel, one of our specialties is the “pop-in” wedding.  The Wedding Chapel Pop In wedding ceremony was originally intended as a replacement for the courthouse wedding ceremonies which were done away with in 2016.  Marion County Civil Ceremonies are a thing of the past!

Our Wedding Chapel is a beautiful, fully restored, turn of the century church with a lot of history and Southern Charm.  It’s the perfect place for your elopement.

Here is a wonderful article from ABCNews.go.com about the trend for smaller weddings and elopments and the new businesses catering to the wedding couples.

 

New way to wed: Engaged couples opt for help from elopement planners

Some engaged couples who feel overwhelmed or disenchanted by the cost and stress of a traditional wedding are opting to elope and are turning to experts for help.

This new style of elopement may have less in common with what the term has traditionally meant — running away in secret to marry — and more with just a small, simple wedding with minimal emotional baggage.

 

Lorie Smith and John Tremaine had a change of heart about their dream wedding after they began planning the ceremony and saw the likely price tag.

“I’m looking at ‘weddings on a budget,’ and they’re like, ‘Have a wedding for $10,000,’ and that was a small wedding. And I was like, ‘Oh, whoa, no,'” Smith told ABC News. “We just decided, ‘Let’s just elope.'”

The couple came across The Elopement Co., based in Charlotte, North Carolina, which specializes in helping plan what may be actual elopements or just simple weddings, including at courthouses.

Charity Parrish, the company’s founder and creative coordinator, organized Smith and Tremaine’s nuptials in three days. She told ABC News that her company provides a service similar to traditional wedding planning but on a “much smaller scale.”

Charity Parrish, the company’s founder and creative coordinator, organized Smith and Tremaine’s nuptials in three days. She told ABC News that her company provides a service similar to traditional wedding planning but on a “much smaller scale.”

“I don’t have to think of things like caterers and a band and a dance floor and linens on a table,” she said. “Most of it is stuff that I can handle by myself. I bring the cupcakes. I bring the officiant. I make the flowers myself. I put it all together. I work with amazing people in town to get dresses and locations.”

Parrish worked with Smith and Tremaine to help make their ceremony at McGill Rose Garden in Charlotte stress-free and celebratory.

“We didn’t have to do anything,” Tremaine said.

“I didn’t have to worry about a bridesmaid and what they were going to wear and what this person was going to think if I didn’t ask that person and all that stuff,” Smith said.

Parrish believes she has found a niche market for people who would rather spend less money on a wedding but still want to mark their union in a festive way.

“I think a lot of couples these days are trying to be really smart about their decisions. And instead of spending [$20,000] to $30,000 on a wedding, they’re putting that money toward a house, a car, having a child, going on a great vacation,” she said.

Smith’s dressmaker and makeup artist for the big day said they have noticed an influx of interest in eloping or having scaled-down weddings.

“A lot of our newer clients are from brides eloping,” Erin Foley, a dressmaker for RCB Fashion, told ABC News. “It’s gotten to the point where we almost have to turn down work. We’re so busy,”

“I’m seeing more clients who are eloping,” said Lindsay Pizzuti, the bride’s makeup artist. “To me, it totally makes sense, especially for people who are more laid back and nontraditional.”

While running away to Las Vegas may never be out of fashion, Smith said she would recommend planned elopement to others.

“Eloping was really fun,” she said of her and Tremaine’s midweek marriage ceremony. “Everyone else is at work, and we got to run off and get married.”

Read the full article here abcnews.go.com

For couples ooking to have their Wedding Ceremony in Florida, Old Church Wedding Chapel offers a unique, historic, and beautiful location for your Wedding Ceremony.  Old Church Wedding Chapel is a fully restored “Old Florida” Church built and used by the local settlers of Marion County in the late 1800’s.

Old Church Wedding Chapel is non-denominational, we welcome and respect all couples, and appreciate that people wish to celebrate their union with a memorable, unique, ceremony.

Here is an article that discusses the reasons that more and more couples are celebrating their wedding ceremony at our Florida Wedding Chapel.

 

Growing Number of Americans Ditching Church Weddings

Fewer people are getting married in church nowadays.

Stats from The Knot’s 2016 Real Weddings Study found that only 26 percent of couples in the U.S. had their wedding ceremony in a religious institution in 2016; down from 41 percent in 2009.

In most cases, it’s a matter of personal preference.

Popular wedding venues include: farms, barns, beaches, ranches, beach houses, public gardens, wineries, museums and historic buildings and homes.

CBN News reporter Caitlin Burke recently exchanged vows at a lake house.

“I wanted to dictate the look of the ceremony and there’s only so much you can do in a church,” she explained.

She added, “I wanted to have the songs of my choice played during the ceremony, a lot of churches are specific about which songs you can play; i.e. acapella only, hyper critical of lyrics.”

Newlywed Trina Olson Keeny, who had a beach wedding, agreed.

“Our church did not allow wine at the reception and we wanted to dance to oldies. Dancing was allowed but we wanted to respect the church,” said Keeny.

Religious faith–or lack of it–is a major reason why some young couples shy away from traditional church weddings.

Millennials are leaving church at record numbers and they are described as America’s least religious generation.

Pew found that young adults between 1981 and 1996 are less likely than older Americans to pray or attend church regularly or to consider religion an important part of their lives.

The Rev. Dave Fulton, pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, thinks that change in whether people are religious has affected weddings.

“I think it’s basically the sign of the culture, people are moving away from organized religion and churches,” Fulton said in an interview with The Wichita Eagle.

But some opt for different scenery, while holding on to their faith.

“I think couples are realizing that especially within the Christian denominations they can get married and their pastor can come to them at a different location,” said Ashley Moore, founder of Events and Design by Ashley.

“We don’t honestly do church weddings much anymore.”

Read full article here  www1.cbn.com

After you Wedding Chapel Ceremony comes the reception – whatever you decide to do, here are the 5 Drink mistakes you shouldn’t make according to Brides.com.

 

5 Drink Mistakes to Not Make at Your Wedding

The first thing most people do at a wedding is make a beeline for the bar. It makes sense on so many levels: For the single folks, nothing takes the edge off nosy relatives curious about their romantic status like a stiff gin and tonic. Those seated at a table with strangers tend to be stricken with a sudden and intense thirst for social lubricants. As for everyone else? Let’s just say it’s generally frowned upon to toast the happy couple with water.

From the bride and groom’s perspective, the anticipation of getting all your guests adequately liquored up without going overboard—or spending all your money—can seem like a tall order. So we asked five experts about some of the most common wedding drink pitfalls, and how to avoid them. We suggest reading this with a double Scotch in hand.

Mistake #1: Wasting money on Champagne.

Turns out the Champagne toast isn’t what it used to be. “We end up throwing two-thirds of it away,” said Kiran Pinto, the managing partner of the Ivy Room, a private events space in Chicago. “People have really strong feelings toward sparkling wine,” she continued. One person’s favorite Champagne might be too sweet or too tart or too effervescent for another guest; it’s impossible to make everyone happy. Instead, “let people toast with what they like drinking,” Pinto said.

If a Champagne toast is high on your priorities list, Pinto suggests passing around a limited number of flutes right before speeches begin and ditching real-deal Champagne for a less expensive sparkling wine like Prosecco or Pet-Nat. Most of your guests won’t notice the difference. Don’t forget to stash the bar with a few more bottles of your favorite white and red wines to make up for the nixed Champagne.

Mistake #2: Going with a self-serve option.

No one likes a big line at the bar, but putting out easy-access drinks isn’t necessarily the answer. Rebecca Shenkman, owner of the NYC-based wedding planning service Pink Bowtie Events, has seen the well-intentioned tactic go wrong firsthand.

“The venue had these tubs built into the side of this old building, which had nooks,” Shenkman recalled. “They said, ‘we’ve had people put ice and beer in them.’” The hope was that the availability of self-serve beer would ease demand at the bar, but ultimately the solution proved thornier than the initial problem. Guests wound up drinking more beer than anticipated—much more—which led to a drunken, very expensive situation.

Mistake #3: Not having a second bar.

“If you can’t get a drink at the bar quickly, you’re going to order a double or a triple [to save you an extra trip],” he said. That’s a one-way ticket to sloppy-drunk guests and wasted booze. “That satellite bar is really helpful. We may not do a full bar there—maybe just wine or beer or a sparkler—but it prevents a backlog and people won’t have to hoard drinks.”

Mistake #4: Not taking the weather into account.

“If you’re hovering between seasons, that’s something you have to think about,” said Nicole Sheppard, who runs the wedding planning company All Who Wander. Fall and spring are popular times to get married, but they’re also more likely than winter and summer to have big temperature swings. That means being nimble when planning your specialty cocktail, even if your heart is set on an rosé-Aperol spritz.

Nicole suggests choosing two drinks—one for warm weather and another for cold—and making the final call a few days out. Of a recent event she helped plan, Nicole recalled that “it was tracking very warm up until the wedding and then we got to the week of, and we realized how cold and windy it was going to be.” What was supposed to be a summery apple martini morphed into a spiked hot apple cider, no problem.

Mistake #5: Stashing a special bottle behind the bar for VIP guests.

It may seem obvious, but if you pour a pricey single-malt whiskey for Uncle Bob, whoever is behind him at the bar is going to want one, too. Saying no is a bad look, said Maureen Larson, the vice president of Chicago-based caterer Lettuce Parties.

“It’s just such a weird vibe and creates a strange kind of feeling,” she said. “If you’re going to do a specialty bottle, you should make sure it’s not only for the bridal party.” If you’re worried about high-end booze driving up your bar tab, a better move is to only provide the pricey stuff for a certain portion of the evening—say the first three hours—before switching to budget options.

Just remember: Despite even the best laid plans, something (hopefully small) inevitably will go wrong on your wedding day. It never hurts to have a drink on hand to help you roll with the punches.

Read the full article herewww.brides.com

 

If you’re planning an outdoor celebration, researching tents should be at the top of your to do list. Why? For starters: the one thing (OK, maybe one of the things) you can’t control about your wedding day is the weather. There’s no point of spending your life’s savings on a perfectly planned wedding only to have it ruined by summer rain showers. And two, a tent creates set boundaries for the event, thus enclosing your guests in an imitate, party-ready space. But when considering a tented wedding reception, there are a number of things to consider—the budget, the setting, the rentals, et cetera. Basically, you’re creating a wedding venue from scratch when you pitch a tent. This means you’re responsible for bringing in all of the decor, including essential things like flooring (something your girlfriends will be very thankful for when their heels don’t sink/stick in the ground) and lighting that are a given in any other venue. Lucky for you, you can use this to your advantage as the walls, the floors, and the ceiling are the most crucial elements of any tent, structurally and décor-wise.

Take a look at the gallery below—in which we stalk BRIDES.com’s real weddings coverage for the prettiest tents—to gather inspiration. You’ll see pole tents (which have peaks created by center poles), structure tents (which have sides like a room), and clear-top tents (which let you see the outside even when you’re inside). You’ll also see boho lanterns, classic draping, and greenery that’s perfect for a romantic garden party. So as you look through, take note of what you like (and don’t)—and remember, it’s OK to mix styles and ideas (within reason). After all, this is your chance to create your perfect wedding space, from scratch.

At this Miami wedding, Spanish moss and greenery were draped from the top of a clear structure tent to mimic the venue’s surrounding gardens.

Why stop with the inside of the tent? Pro planner Tara Guérard decorated the outside of this dreamy tent with pillar candles.

Every tent should have a proper entrance. Charleston-based Kristin Newman created a statement arch for this tented affair at Montage Palmetto Bluff.

If you and your groom are party animals, this is the tent for you. The string lights up above basically insist on one serious dance sesh!

Hanging drapes and greenery-covered chandeliers add warmth to an otherwise sleek structure tent.

If you’re pitching a classic sailcloth tent, play up the ceiling’s beauty with unique lanterns, like these Moroccan-inspired ones.

Greenery garlands and circle light fixtures add symmetry (and warmth!) to this sailcloth beauty.

If your wedding location is known for beautiful weather, consider this tenting option! Here, a structure was installed but not completely covered. The alternative breezy drapes are perfect because they enclose the space just enough to feel intimate but also allow guests to see the sure-to-gorgeous setting outside.

These mega lanterns (seriously they’re the size of the windows behind!) make a major statement in the center of the tent. Plus, how fun is this seating arrangement?

This white tent, surrounded by candles in white paper bags, blends perfectly into its beach setting. We love the flags up top—and the clear sides, which prevent guests from being splashed by crashing waves nearby.

At this Aspen wedding, the couple concentrated on the bottom of the tent, setting up wood flooring and covering tabletops with pretty blue linens and glassware. It’s a refreshing take on tent decor because it lets the beauty of the simple, sailcloth tent shine.

This one is serious tent #goals. We love how the lighting shines through the overhead drapes!

Don’t be afraid to bring the outdoors inside. This seating set up—featuring boxwoods, patio furniture, and an actual fountain—makes guests feel like they’re lounging in a (very chic) garden.

Greenery, beige linens, and bistro lights up above make for one cozy tent.

Again, string lights rule. This tent is proof that a simple idea can go a very long way!

We love how the bistro lights inside this tent flow in the opposite direction of the tabletops—an unexpected twist on the simple setup.

This tent combines three of the previously mentioned ideas—drapery, statement hanging installations, and lanterns. The mix has potential to overwhelm but this tent’s small scale and simple color palette make it work, perfectly.

See full article here www.brides.com