Blog - Page 7 of 9 - Sacramento Golf Weddings

The First Look

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Debating on whether or not to see each other prior to the ceremony? While I firmly believe the first look is a personal decision, I’m here to shine the light on why a first look might be ideal for your ceremony.

What is the First Look all about? This is a special moment when the groom is able to see the bride for the first time before the ceremony. Usually the groom is looking away out over a field, or at the end of pier, or even by a beautiful old oak tree. Most photographers like to “tell the story” by capturing photos of the bride approaching the groom and then to see both of their expressions as they see each other for the first time simultaneously. It is a wonderful and precious moment. This isn’t a replacement to the walking down the aisle experience but it is actually in addition to that moment. So in essence you are adding to the day by getting a second special look instead of replacing it.

The benefits to doing a First Look are countless and can dramatically impact the flow of your day, allowing you to optimize time together, for photos, and with your guests.

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chrishowardimagery-97 Photos by Chris Howard Photography

Scheduling – A first look allows a much more relaxed wedding day timeline, giving you the ability to take all of your formal wedding party and family photos pre-ceremony. Instead of corralling everyone for formal photos post-ceremony during cocktail hour when there are many distractions, you can instead spend that time alone soaking in the “just married” feeling, eating dinner, or mingling at cocktail hour.

Privacy & Nerves – Doing a first look is easily one of the quickest ways to settle pre-wedding jitters. Nothing soothes you like being able to wrap up in one anothers arms and take a deep breath together, to tell one another how good you each look, how excited you are, or to be able to laugh, hug, pray, or exchange gifts or letters in private.

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Photos by Doug Miranda Photography

More Time Together – A first look affords so much more time together on your wedding day. It really is crazy to think that often times you are spending the majority of your wedding day apart! Sometimes you’re waiting until 4, 5, or even 6 in the evening to finally spend together! And those few minutes at your ceremony are all business. A first look allows you to spend so much more time together, as well as with your wedding party and family.

More Time With Your Guests – Many of your guests have traveled long distances to celebrate with you at your wedding, and a first look (and in turn having all formal photos done pre-ceremony) gives you the ability to spend as much time as possible with them.

More Photos Together – Couples who have a first look typically have 50%, if not more, portraits in their final gallery than a couple who has an aisle reveal. We’re able to not only capture some of the most emotional images of the day, but we can also capitalize on that extra time together for more portraits of just the two of you.

View More: http://deeandkrisphotography.pass.us/brianaandsteven

Photos by Dee and Kris Photography

Ideal For Winter Weddings – A first look is the perfect solution for weddings where daylight is limited and it’s most often dark even after a 4pm ceremony.

Being Present – Since you’ve gotten rid of the nerves, had your private moment, relaxed together and with your wedding party and family, you are so very present for your walk down the aisle. You’re making eye contact with not only your guests and family but with your groom. You are in the moment and more than anything, you’re EXCITED. As for the groom, not one single one has ever said he wished they hadn’t done a first look. It simply does not take the gravity of seeing your future wife walk toward you during your marriage ceremony…that is a moment that is uniquely it’s own.

And for those not entirely sold on the idea of a first look, this couple met around a door frame to just have one moment together prior to seeing each other walking down the aisle. Such a sweet moment.

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Moment Captured by Tra Huyn

If you are interested in the First Look concept, check out our pinterest board HERE for more inspiration.

Interested in hosting a wedding or event at the Pavilion at Haggin Oaks? Call Rebecca Kirtlan at 916-870-8597 for more information.

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Edible Wedding Favor Ideas

I love wedding favors.

They’re a small detail, they’re often overlooked, and sometimes (despite you so carefully hand-tying each one with the perfectly-matched coral twine) they often get left behind by your guests.

But not these ones… Because these ones, are edible!

From homemade baked goods to artisan eats, food favors are great conversation starters, can have many meanings behind them, are often budget friendly, and are also more useful than many other kinds of favors.

A Seasonal Treat
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Photo by Jesslaine Elise Photography

Consider gifting guests a favor that reflects the season, like mini apple pies in the fall or strawberry jam in the spring. If you’re a novice in the kitchen, enlist the help of your caterer or a local bake shop. Whether you make it yourself, use a local producer, or your favorite big brand, I love the idea of sharing a little pot of something you love with your guests.

Something Sweet

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Send guests home in sweet euphoria with a sweet treat. Trail mix is meant to be taken on the road, so what better way to send your guests off with . Easy DIY mason jar trail mix favors can be filled with all your favorite ingredients and can be assembled up to one-month ahead of time… it’s just all so good.

A Midnight Snack

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Photo by The Nichols

Keep your guests partying to the wee hours, or bring them down gently with a midnight snack that’ll meet the mood.

A Family Recipe

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Photo by Jose Villa

Does your family have an old recipe people go nuts for? Whip up a batch of your famous oatmeal cookies, buttermilk biscuits or caramel popcorn. Package the treat to reflect your wedding style, and if you’re feeling really hospitable, let your guests in on the recipe.

S’more Of That

Smore-Wedding-Favours-Bridal-Musings-Wedding-Blog- DIY & Printable via The Flair Exchange

Everyone loves s’mores, right? So if you want a favor that’s guaranteed to please, why not make your own kit?

Chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallow is all you need for a cost effective wedding favor, that will result in sticky fingers and happy guests!

So, there you have it, some of my favorite ideas for edible favors.

If there’s any edibles you’d like to share, please do in the comments below – I’d love to hear them.

Vendor Spotlight: Doug Miranda Photography

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For anyone in the midst of planning their Sacramento area wedding, you’re in for a treat today. Our newest Vendor Spotlight is on Doug Miranda, a Sacramento and Tahoe area photographer who specializes in wedding photography, and his images are truly breathtaking. Doug combines an eye for impeccable lighting, and composition to create authentic, timeless images that will be swooned over for generations to come. Not to mention, he may just be one of the nicest people I’ve ever corresponded with!

I can’t thank him enough for being a part of our vendor spotlight, so sit back relax and enjoy this short little Q & A with Doug. Happy Friday!

What led you to wedding photography?
I had just graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography and I needed to start paying back my student loans. Brooks Institute helped with me finding a photography job. It ended up being for a photography company in Las Vegas. The company photographed all the chapel weddings at the Monte Carlo and Paris Casino. Besides that we photographed tons of conventions in Vegas. With the year that I worked in Vegas, I ended up shooting over 600 weddings! The funny thing is when I was going to photography school I said I would never photograph weddings. Now I’ve shot hundreds of them and love to so much!

How long have you been a photographer?
I’ve been shooting since 1998 and and I’ve been running my own business since 2007. It’s crazy because it just seems like yesterday that I started my own business.

Seriously, just look at Doug Miranda Photography’s sweet photos of this recent wedding ceremony at the Pavilion at Haggin Oaks. I’m feeling the love.

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What do you love most about being a photographer in the Sacramento area?

What I love the most about being a wedding photographer in this area is that there is such a diversity in the wedding venues. You have city weddings in the downtown area, you have all the golf courses that host weddings like the Pavilion at Haggin Oaks , you have country weddings, vineyard weddings and then you have the foothills and Lake Tahoe. It’s so fun to photograph at some many different locations, were most parts of the country all the wedding venues are the same.

What do you love most about photographing weddings?
What I love the most while photographing a wedding day is range of emotions that happen in the course of a wedding and trying to capture that. From crying, laughing, nervousness, joy and love.
That’s a tough one to answers. Honestly every wedding I photograph is memorable and has something special happen during the event that I usually remember it.

Can you share three photos from a recent wedding at Pavilion at Haggin Oaks and Why you love them?

I love this photo from the pure joy that the couple is experiencing for see each other for the first time on their wedding day.
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This is one of my favorites just for the emotions and happiness on the couple’s faces as they walk back down the aisle for the first time as husband and wife.
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For some reason I just really like this wedding portrait. I don’t know what it is, but I just love it as they’re walking down this dirt road at Haggin Oaks.

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If you only had 3 words to describe your photography style/aesthetic what would they be?
Natural, fun and timeless.

If you could tell a soon-to-be bride and groom one thing about photography on their wedding day, what would it be?
To have fun with it and don’t worry about all the craziness that’s happening around you and on your wedding day. If you do worry and get stressed out it will show in your photos and that’s not how you want to remember your wedding day by looking at photos of yourself all stressed out.

What makes your photography unique?
It’s hard to say, but I would go with capturing the true emotions of the couple I’m photographing.

Enjoy Doug’s photographs from the Tahoe area:

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Any favorite wedding trends happening right now?
Not really. Maybe the wedding dress trend of brides getting vignette style/laced wedding dress’s now. They look amazing on brides!

Travel policy?
I have none really and I love to travel to photograph weddings. I mainly stay in the Northern California area though.

Now go check out Doug Miranda Photography & lose yourself in his gorgeous Sacramento and Tahoe area weddings!

Interested in hosting an event at the Pavilion at Haggin Oaks? Call Rebecca Kirtlan at 916-870-8597 for more information.

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Wedding Spotlight: Shadelle and JR

ShadelleJR-476 I’m pretty smitten with Shaddelle and Jr’s wedding, it’s everything one wants their wedding to be – fun, romantic and really personal. All the lovely details from the groom are highlighted beautifully thanks to Tra Huynh’s editorial eye—all the shots below show just how lighthearted and warm the whole day was.

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From the Groom: Shadelle and I initially met in middle school, through friends. Over the years, we were just acquaintances until the summer of 2009 when a spontaneous phone call to hang out in Sacramento lead to more.

I proposed on her 28th Birthday. Shadelle likes to call it her “Great 28”. I threw her a surprise birthday party and throughout the entire night, friends and family had suspicions that I was going to propose. I DENIED it all. In the middle of the festivities, I set up the projector screen and played a birthday video that included all of her friends and family wishing Shadelle happy birthday.

As the end of the video draws to a close and fades to black, I thank everyone for coming out to celebrate her birthday. Suddenly, you hear a iPhone ringtone playing through the speakers, and as I look around at people being confused, the video pulls back it’s focus on the screen and everyone starts to watch a facetime conversation between me and Shadelle’s Mom. Finally, I popped the question in front of our friends and family.

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Sign

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We dedicated our wedding to Shadelle’s grandparents, whose dying wish was to see her get married before they passed away. They meant the world to her. We took an engagement shoot that replicated a picture of her grandparents’ and used it as one of our guest frames for our guests to sign.
Shadelle made a bouquet charm of her favorite picture of her grandparents as a way to have them be there as she walked down the aisle, and wore her grandmother’s necklace as her “something old”.

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Could this bridal party be in cuter? Swooning. I think Tra did an amazing job showing everyone’s personalities throughout the day.
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One of our favorite moments was that we wrote our own vows. ShadelleJR-414

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The above picture takes my breath away.

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From the groom: The colors of our wedding were an ombre of coral colors with highlights of gold. The style and look was just overall simple. We weren’t too particular with decorations because the venue was beautiful enough to carry our “look” of the wedding we wanted (especially in the evening). We just added some coral uplights to brighten up the tent in the evening.

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Shadelle’s mom created the majority of the decorations especially the centerpieces and the gazebo. We couldn’t thank her enough for all the work she has done to make our day beautiful. Shadelle’s sister helped make some of the signs that we displayed.

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cupcakes

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Since we couldn’t decide on just one flavor, we decided to have his and her cupcakes which were Maple Bacon (HIS) and Banana Nut (HERS) which we ordered from Icing on the Cupcake. I wanted a nice cutting cake so we ordered a spice cake with cream cheese filling decorated with coral buttercream from Cake Castle Bakery. ShadelleJR-881

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ShadelleJR-886 Seriously, how much fun are these two?

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Our grand entrance was another one of our favorite moments of the day. The entrance included us walking out to WWE’s D’Generation X theme song with Tag Team Championship belts followed by a custom lyric rap we created with a help of our close friend and groomsman Gerrold, to Young Money’s – Every Girl. It’s “our” song and we had our own lyrics to it which described our relationship. ShadelleJR-933

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One piece of advice we would give any soon to be newlyweds is to not stress too much about the little details. For us, we liked our wedding details simple, but just enough to be effective. What really mattered to us was the atmosphere, chemistry and the flow of the wedding. Our friends and family are very important to us so we made sure to have time to be able to talk, dance and celebrate with them. Also, many of our married friends told us this piece of advice which is to pause and let the moments soak in for a bit because your day is going to go SUPER fast. We want to wish all future newlyweds the best of love and luck in their marriage. Always remember to cherish, respect and love each other and that you guys are now part of a bigger picture, you guys are a TEAM and compromise will go a long way in wedding planning and in your marriage!

Wishing you all the best, Shadelle + JR!

Vendors:

Interested in hosting a wedding or event at the Pavilion at Haggin Oaks? Call Rebecca Kirtlan at 916-870-8597 for more information.

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5 Ideas for Your Something Blue

When it comes to finding your “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue,” there’s a lot more wiggle room to change it up and find bits and pieces that fit your personality and your wedding style. Especially when it comes to the something blue. There are lots of options out there, whether it’s footwear, jewelry, or even wearing a blue wedding gown.

I’ve rounded up 5 of my favorite ideas from classic to creative to inspire your something blue!

NAILS

Subtle and sweet, we’re loving a light powder blue hue for a wedding mani.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SVETLA VESNAYA AT PURPLE TREE PHOTOGRAPHY

EMBROIDERED BLUE

Have a blue monogram embroidered inside your dress with your new monogram and wedding date!
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BRIDESMAIDS

Why not dress your ‘maids in beautiful blues? None of your maids will complain about wearing the universally flattering shade.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY LANE DITTOE FINE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHS

RIBBON

Your bouquet is a great place to tie in a little something blue. Either wrap the stems with blue ribbon or tuck one small blue flower into your arrangement.
blueribbonboquet PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTINA MCNEILL

SECRET BOW

I love the idea of tying a blue ribbon bow in a layered dress. Sweet, simple and easy to execute at the last minute for any of you procrastinators out there.
bluebow_dress PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES MOES

THE GARTER
Slip on a little something blue underneath!
blue_garter PHOTOGRAPHY BY CATHERINE HALL STUDIOS

Can you think of any other creative ways to wear your ‘something blue?’

Please share them in the comments!

Interested in hosting an event at the Pavilion at Haggin Oaks? Call Rebecca Kirtlan at 916-870-8597 for more information.

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Wedding Spotlight: Alyssa and Scott

Today’s wedding spotlight celebration of chic is infused with a touch of old school glam. There’s so much to love about this gorgeous affair, the chic black, gold and red color palette, the Old Hollywood vibe. And don’t forget the gorgeous bride and groom, who are literally beaming in every beautiful image snapped up by Carlos Almanza at XSight Photography and Video.

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From the Bride…

How did you meet?

We met at work, we were both working for AAA at the time.

Favorite moment from your wedding day?

The ceremony in general was our favorite. We thought we would love the party aspect (which was fun of course), but the ceremony was very special to us. We wrote our own vows and kept them a secret until the wedding day. I created my own kind of “traditional” feel by hiring a string quartet to play all the ceremony music. They played all the classic songs for the ceremony like “here comes the bride” and after we were announced husband and wife they played “marry you” by Bruno Mars.

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Any inspiration for the feel of your wedding day?

We were going for a very classic wedding so we came up with our own theme of “Old Hollywood Movie.” Everything from our engagement pictures to our outfits had Old Hollywood inspiration. Scott created a huge Hollywood sign to replicate the white sign in the Hollywood hills. Everyone loved it and it became a photo opportunity for our guests!

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Favorite detail from wedding?

We had a flip book station that everyone loved. It’s a small book with a series of pictures, when the pages are turned quickly they animate a short video clip that you have just created in the flipbook “studio” aka green screen :) It was good entertainment for our guests who didn’t want to be on the dance floor the whole night.

We chose The Pavilion at Haggin Oaks because it was a blank canvas for us. We were able to bring in things that were never done before and made our wedding very unique. We also loved the indoor/outdoor feel which is perfect for California weather!

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Musical Choices:
Processional: Wedding Party-Canon in D-Pachelbel Bride-Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)
Recessional: Marry You by Burno Mars
First Dance: You and I by John Legend
Any Advice for Brides currently planning their wedding?
Just try to enjoy every moment with each other, make decisions together. It was nice to have every single detail created by the both of us. After all, that’s what marriage is all about!

We absolutely loved working with this amazing couple. We wish you many years of love and happiness in your marriage. Congratulations and best wishes, Alyssa and Scott!

Interested in hosting an event at the Pavilion at Haggin Oaks? Call Rebecca Kirtlan at 916-870-8597 for more information.

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Beat the Heat – Tips to Stay Cool at Your Summer Wedding

Now that Summer is in full swing, we’re kicking things off with tips for beating the heat at a summer wedding. Here you’ll find the perfect tips for staying cool as a cucumber during wedding season.

HydrationStation Photo Credit: Style Me Pretty

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

Make sure you keep guests cool by offering a few non-alcoholic beverages before the ceremony begins. Set up a hydration station as guests walk in with fruit-infused water, lemonade, sweet tea, or any other refreshing beverages. Once the ceremony concludes, offer guests frozen cocktails to kick off cocktail hour.

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Timing

Avoid having midday ceremonies when the sun is at its strongest. Try to push back the ceremony to late afternoon, this way guests can avoid the scorching heat and it is great timing for your post-ceremony photographs. In addition to our beautiful reception tent, we have a 145 year old oak tree as a our gazebo area and the 17th Fairway. All of these locations not only provides you with ample shade and visual appeal, but offers an unlimited number of layouts so you can design your ceremony exactly to your vision.

fans Photo Credit: the pretty blog; Scott Hopkins Photography

Fans

Cool down your guests by leaving fans on their chairs. This idea also doubles as a fun favor for guests to take home. For a sweet touch, attach a personalized note addressed to your guests thanking them for joining you on your big day. If you happen to be a DIY bride, clink the link to the pretty blog for a free printable for the bright, bright sunshining day fan.

potted-plant-wedding-centerpieces Photo Credit: Once Wed

Florals

Keep in mind, your guests aren’t the only ones who are thirsty in the summer’s heat! It only takes a few hours to cause some delicate flowers start wilting. Make sure you talk to your florist about which flowers are best for your outdoor wedding, it might be fun to use some potted plants and flowers here and there to battle the sun. They will still hold up in the heat and add that touch of color that every wedding needs. Succulents are also a great option and are still on trend.

Bryce Covey Photography via Style Me Pretty (left); Marcia Campbell Photography via Poptastic Bride (right)

Sunnies
Most of your guests’ bags may be too small for sunglasses, and nobody wants to have to squint during the whole ceremony if the sun is blaring. Customize sunglasses with your wedding logo or your initials on the side for guests to put on while they are outdoors (and probably again on the dance floor).

Have you had a summer wedding? How did you keep your guests cool?

Share your ideas with us in the comments below.

Interested in hosting an event at the Pavilion at Haggin Oaks? Call Rebecca Kirtlan at 916-870-8597 for more information.

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Vendor Spotlight: Amrit Dhillon Bains of Anais Events

The moment I saw the photos to this stunning, eclectic engagement party from Aperina Studios, I knew I would have to find out more about the person who styled it. With so many obscure goods, & even more importantly – so much personality – I knew I’d have to Spotlight Amrit Dhillon Bains of Anais Events. The couch – chandeliers – the COCKTAIL SERVER, pure perfection. I’m so happy to formally introduce to our Sacramento brides Ms. Amrit Dhillon Bain. Enjoy all the eye candy!

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Please describe your work?
Anaïs Events is an event design, styling and planning firm offering each client events with impeccable styling and personal planning.

How did you find your career path in event design?
I have been creating art in one form or another since age five (doodling instead of eating at the dinner table, much to my family’s dismay). With advanced degrees in Graphic Design and Business Management, I paired my organizational skills with an artistic background, love for travel, creativity and passion for design to develop unique solutions that are a perfect fit for my clients! Specializing in clever invitations, favors and party ephemera for both private and corporate clients, I also designs logos, monograms and related business and event collateral. My fresh perspective and eye for design has made me the choice of discerning clients for contemporary, ethnic, and cross-cultural events.

What services do you offer?
Anaïs Event Design is a northern-California based boutique, full-service company specializing in upscale, highly personalized event planning and production of southeast asian weddings and celebrations. We design, style and plan weddings and events. As a full-service company, we also create floral arrangements, provide rentals, linens and custom stationery services to all of our clients.

How many team members do you have?
Our team member count varies depending on the event size but I manage all the client requests directly.

What makes you unique in the industry?
Being a full-service design, planning and one-stop rental studio sets us apart. The venues we work with love that we manage every detail, every delivery and every aspect of the wedding day for brides and grooms.

What does a typical day at the office look like?
Busy! Lots of emails, Instagram shares, Pinterest boards and even text messages from brides.

Advice for bride and groom planning a wedding?
As much as you love them, don’t let other people influence your wedding day look. It’s imperative YOU look and feel beautiful.

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Don’t you love her?! Be sure to contact Amrit at Anais Events to reserve your wedding or engagement party date!

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Wedding Trend: Lawn Games

Happy Summer Solstice, you guys! We couldn’t think of a more perfect way to celebrate this day than with a blog post featuring lawn games for your wedding.

This is a wedding trend we’re loving- perfect for sunny, warm-weather, outdoor Northern California weddings. Wedding Games are a great icebreaker to get guests together, and let them have some fun during cocktail hour and the reception. Here we share our favorite summertime lawn games.
cornhole_jenga_bocce_sign_mandy-fierens-photography Croquet

Croquet is an American favorite As a wedding yard game, croquet can keep any age group entertained for hours. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that you do need a designated area for it, as the wickets in the game can easily trip guests up during the reception when not clearly marked.

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Green Wedding Shoes

Bocce Ball

As a part of your lawn or indoor wedding games you can have a limbo pole. With a bit of festive music in the background and some friends that will be more than happy to bend over backwards, you cannot go wrong with this party favourite.

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Green Wedding Shoes

Badminton

If you are having a summer time wedding badminton will be perfect for your wedding games. Opt for the ‘old school’ look of things and give the ‘net’ a vintage feel. Badminton is sure to attract some players and it might be the perfect icebreaker for sport lovers.

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Green Wedding Shoes

Horseshoes

There’s something about horseshoes at a wedding that always make me smile. Horseshoes are considered a lucky gift to give the bride and groom, supposedly providing both luck and fertility to the happy couple as they enter their marriage. When you incorporate horseshoes into your wedding lawn games of choice, it can be seen as a nod to both good luck and good fun for all ages!

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Cornhole

Arguably the most popular yard game seen at weddings this year, cornhole is certainly an entertaining pastime for guests of all ages. It’s so popular that many companies on etsy have built a business on creating custom wedding cornhole games especially for your celebration. There’s a wide variety of unique options. Designs can be as simple as monograms or as elaborate as full images of you and your sweetie.

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Chris Howard Photography

The best part of having lawn games? You’ll be able to break them out every summer for years to come, remembering your special day.

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Happy Father’s Day

As Father’s Day approaches this weekend, we wanted to pay tribute to all the Dad’s out there.

Maybe it’s your biological father, or maybe it’s a step-dad, older brother, uncle, cousin, or even a grandpa…whoever played the role of “dad” in your life is someone special. They’ve watched you grow up, coached your sports team, and cried when you left for college. And now, they’ll walk you down the aisle. As happy as they’ll be on your wedding day, they’ll also be just a teeny bit sad. This might sound mean but we LOVE to see photos of dads crying. All of their raw emotion – the bittersweetness, happiness, joy, sadness, and more – is captured in one frame that is tear-jerking in and of itself. But along with that, I also love the look on a dad’s face when he meets his daughter’s groom at the end of the aisle, or when he’s dancing with his baby girl, or even when he’s toasting to the newlyweds. It’s as much his day as it is yours. To all the dads out there, thanks for showing us what unconditional love really means. Happy Father’s Day!

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