Alcohol

Over the past decade receptions have become much grander. In the past the bride and groom had cake and punch and that was it. Now it's all about the food and alcohol, and when it comes to both you want to impress your guests, but you don't want to spend a fortune. Here are a few tips on how you can have alcohol at your reception without breaking the bank.

1. Create a specialty cocktail. While this seems like it might be more expensive, it can actually limit the amount of alcohol going in to each drink. One bottle of vodka could yield 50 servings of your drink (mix with juices, triple sec, etc.) or it could only fulfill 25 vodka tonics.
2. Get the most popular liquors like vodka and gin and don't offer scotch, rum, etc.
3. Instead of a champagne toast, have guests raise a glass of whatever they're already drinking.
4. Try having a beer cocktail as your signature drink. Beer is cheaper than liquor and when mixed with a little bit of flavored vodka and a liquer it's just as delicious.
5. Or just have a beer and wine bar, cutting out liquor all together.
6. Make your own sangria. Pick a cheap red wine and add brandy, triple sec, apples, plums, grapes, and lemons or a cheap white wine and add triple sec, green grapes, kiwi, green melon, and pears. You can also add sugar to taste. With all those extra goodies in there guests won't notice that you only spent $7 per bottle instead of $30.
7. Think about choosing a venue (like us) that allows you to bring your own alcohol and doesn't limit you to using their bartender. That way you can stock up on "wine Wednesdays" deals and look for other deals liquor stores offer.
8. Buy a few bags of 9 oz punch cups instead of renting a bunch of glassware. If you're having an open bar guests won't care what type of glass their drink comes in. If you're having a cash bar they still won't care. Alcohol is alcohol.

Wedding Trends

Here are some upcoming wedding trends we found:

With 2 Snow White-inspired movies coming out this year and the beautiful "Twilight" wedding last year, it's no wonder that this year's dresses are off the shoulder, have longer sleeves, have lots of lace, and offer alluring romance.

Bouquets are also following the Snow White trend as well as all the hype over Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit." So think ethereal, woodsy, and "fluffy": English garden roses and peonies with greenery and natural sprigs.

Pastels are making a huge comeback this spring so for invitations and table settings use watercolors especially in lavender and light pink.

Have you read the young adult not-just-for-young-adults book "The Hunger Games"? If you said no, you'd better run out and grab the entire trilogy before the movie hits theaters this March. And no, these books have nothing to do with what food to serve at your reception; instead, they have everything to do with your bachelor and bachelorette parties. Ladies are attending self-defense classes, learning to drive like a member of Nascar, and learning how to survive in the wild. Gentlemen are also learning to drive like they're in Nascar as well as playing poker.

This year it's all about flaunting your best assets, like Marilyn Monroe did with her signature red lips and tighter-than-the-norm skirts. If you love your legs, be daring and get a dress with a slit. If you love your bottom half, go for a mermaid dress. You know your body, so flaunt what you got!

As for photography, it's less about photoshop and "artist" angles and more about formal and classy. Try getting a panoramic shot of you and all of your guests!

Now this one sounds like fun! A high-class reception on a ranch! Not necessarily in a barn, but that would be a definite plus to have the food and cake set up inside and have the doors open to the seating outside. Ways to keep it classy: bring in chandeliers, beautiful flowers (roses, lilies, gardenias), and delicious food (something fancy like quail).

One of the classic love stories of all time, "When Harry Met Sally," inspires this next trend: make a video that details your own love story. You can either send snippets of the video out with e-save-the-dates and/or show the video at your reception; don't forget to film the guests while they're watching so you can save the reactions.

Brides are feeling a bit adventurous this year and are booking honeymoons that don't just take them to one destination but take them on a journey around the world. This is your first big as a married couple, and what better way to spend it than by experiencing a ton of new and exciting cultures together?

Colors schemes

Picking a color scheme can definitely be overwhelming. There are so many beautiful colors to choose from! And what if you're not the best at picking what goes best with what...? Sometimes you'll run across something in a store that inspires you, but if you're stuck try picking your favorite color and look below to see what colors might make the best complements.

GREEN                                                                            BLUE
                                                            
Pale green with silver-gray and                                         Baby blue with bright blue
dark purple                                                                        and navy blue

                                                             
Mossy green with light aqua                                              Peacock blue with white
and navy blue                                                                    and lemon yellow

                                                             
Emerald green with chartreuse                                           Navy blue with hot pink
and chocolate brown                                                          and lime green

PURPLE                                                                           PINK/RED
                                                            
Pale lavender with white                                                   Baby pink with hot pink
and raspberry red                                                              and mossy green

                                                            
Bright purple with khaki                                                   Medium pink with mustard
and mocha brown                                                             yellow and chocolate brown

                                                           
Eggplant with baby blue                                                  Strawberry with turquoise
and chambray blue                                                           and white

ORANGE                                                                       YELLOW
                                                          
Peach with raspberry and                              Pale yellow with strawberry
mocha brown                                                and velvet red

                                        
Coral with khaki and pale aqua                    Bright yellow with charcoal gray and white

                                        
Orange with pale pink and                            Mustard yellow with bright blue
hot pink                                                         and chambray blue

Here at The Hamilton Event Center when you come in to see us we'll have 10 tables set up in different color schemes so either you'll see a color you've already picked out or you'll find something that hopefully inspires you.