Destination Wedding Tips

When you imagine your wedding day, where do you picture yourself? Are you on a tropical island with the sand between your toes, are you at a cozy lodge in the mountains or are you somewhere closer to home? Options for your wedding local can be endless if you expand your venue search outside of your hometown,

These days, destination weddings have become an increasingly popular choice for couples. Destination weddings can often be more cost effective and intimate than weddings at home. This is due in part to their smaller guest lists. Not only does this allow you to spend more one on one time with your guests, but it allows you create a more unique and personal experience for you and your guests to enjoy.

Here are some tips to help you get started planning your destination wedding:

1)      Check With Close Family And Friends: Make sure that those most important to you will be able to come. If a close family member won’t be able to make the journey you may want to reconsider having a destination wedding.

2)      Plan Ahead: Destination weddings require a lot of planning. You’ll want to have the venue, room blocks and major vendors booked before you invite your guests. At least one planning trip to check out the venue and meet local vendors is also a good idea. A certified wedding planner with destination wedding experience can be you best ally when securing vendors and working with your venue.

3)      Give Guests Plenty Of Notice: Guests will need time to make travel arrangements like flights, rental cars and hotel rooms. It is courteous to give them at least six months notice. If you are planning on getting married out of the country this is especially important because your guest will need to have all of their travel documents like passports and visas up to date.

4)      Know The Facts About Getting Married At Your Destination:  The embassy or tourist information bureau of the country in which you wish to get married is a great source for this information. Each country has different requirements; some require blood test and a myriad of other documents in order to get married there. Be knowledgeable and have all of your documents in order before you arrive for your wedding.

5)      Have A Back-Up Plan: Make sure you plan for that unexpected hurricane or natural disaster which can affect travel for you and your guests. Travel or wedding insurance is a great idea for destination weddings. It can cover everything from a postponed event due to weather, damaged property, and even lost luggage.

The world is filled with exotic destinations, but the perfect location for your destination wedding may be closer than you think. If you live in Houston, there are beautiful resorts and boutique hotels in the Texas Hill Country and gorgeous historic properties in New Orleans that are just a few hours drive away but will give you and your guests the same feeling of escape and relaxation as a tropical resort. 

Bon Voyage!

Megan Hardy
Wedding Planner
Green Lily Weddings

Chic Fall Color Inspiration

 

 

Are you considering a fall wedding, but worry that your wedding decor will be limited to pumpkins, fall leaves and earthy colors? Well, have no fear! Fall is the perfect time to play with color. Bridging the bright, sunny colors of summer and the darker tones of winter, there is a huge spectrum of colors that will make your fall wedding pop.

 

 Pantone's Fashion Report Fall 2010 is a great tool for finding the perfect palette for your wedding. It showcases this season’s hottest colors for fall, chosen by fashion and design experts. I love the combination of Oyster Grey and Endive with touches of Golden Glow for pop and pairing Chocolate Truffle with Living Coral is just plain fabulous.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with color! It is an easy way to showcase your personality and make your wedding unique. Be sure to check out The Knot's Wedding Color Guide for even more color inspiration.

Megan Hardy

Wedding Planner

Green Lily Weddings

Making Outdoor Weddings A Breeze!

If you’ve lived in Houston for just a little while, the thought of having an outside wedding may sound scary- frightening even. With no way to foresee weather conditions during the planning phases, it may cause you to rule out an outdoor wedding altogether. Well for Erica and Evan’s special day, the “Nature Gods” seemed to be aligned with every vision put forth for this outdoor garden inspired wedding.

The weather was beautiful- not a single strand of the bride’s stunning up-do was displaced by wind. There was no humidity, rain, or unexpected natural disasters present during this gorgeous October day. The venue, The Gardens of Bammel Lane, had so much personality and such a unique layout that allowed guests to flow freely throughout the courtyard.
A back-up plan should be in place in any situation, and an outdoor wedding is no different. If issues do arise you can always place a tent over the outdoor area or have an indoor area on stand-by, all scenarios that can be seamless if you have an exceptional wedding planner.

Outdoor weddings are romantic and can open up possibilities for unique ideas that will really “wow” your guests and make your wedding a day that they will not forget!

Heart Strings

Have you ever dreamed of walking down the aisle to Canon in D or Bridal March like in the romantic Hollywood movies?  Nothing evokes more emotion than the powerful elegance of a live string assembly.  For the couple that wants to add a special touch of sophistication to their ceremony, the beauty and elegance of string instruments makes the perfect addition.  There are many talented string assemblies in Houston and we at Green Lily Weddings recently had the pleasure of working with Amy Floyd of Third Floor Strings.  They are a team of dedicated musicians with a wealth of experience in weddings and receptions.  Their repertoire includes classical and contemporary with new favories and requests added every month.  Third Floor Strings prides themselves not only in providing quality music, but a great customer experience, as well.  Brides across the Houston area also love them because they have an assembly for every budget and desire.  Amy and her team can be reached by phone at 281-795-5336 or by email at amyfloyd@gmail.com.

Tara Dohrmann

Wedding Planner

tara@greenlilyweddings.com

Sprinkle a Little Love....

Sprinkle a Little Love on Your Wedding Day with Sprinkles Cupcakes.... A special treat for your guests.....

Looking to offer your guests something different and delicious? Why not consider a trendy cupcake tower which doubles as conversation peice and makes your guests anticpate the dessert ?

Cupcakes offer flexibility in flavor choice (why settle on just one?), ease in serving, and diverse presentation options. For brides who want a traditional wedding cake but are excited about cupcakes, they can send guests home with a sweet souvenir from their wedding celebration. At Sprinkles, they offer Favor Boxes which package individual cupcakes as a parting gift. For an added surprise, place a thank you note inside the boxes!

Recently, the Sprinkles staff has told us that they received many requests for custom decorations on cupcakes. We place couples’ monograms or even photos on sugar decorations which adorn the cupcakes. This really adds an extra touch!

Red velvet has long been a popular wedding flavor at Sprinkles. However, coconut and vanilla come in a close second. For couples looking for a chocolate cupcake but desire white frosting for aesthetics, our black & white cupcake is a popular choice.

For more information on Sprinkles visit :  Sprinkles Wedding  , Houston or call: 713.871.9929.

Happy Tasting ! Make sure you tell Sprinkles you read about it on the Houston Knot Blog....

Jessica Zapatero
Green Lily Weddings

Do Your Guests a Favor....

The tradition of wedding favors started with European Royalty bestowing gifts to all their guests as a thank you for celebrating their wedding. A popular favor of the time were small boxes of crystal which held delicate confections such as cubes of sugar which at the time, was ultimate symbol of wealth and royalty.

Today, a favor can be any type of keepsake but why not keep this royal tradition by offering your guests a sweet treat ? Edible favors are very popular even today. What can be more welcome as a little late night munch after your guests have danced the night away?

An edible favor can be customized to reflect your theme, your monogram and even your colors. One of our favorite local vendors, Michael's Cookie Jar offers a plethora of delicious bites that will surely delight the tastebuds of your guests. These treats are handcrafted with real, natural ingredients such as butter and flour imparting that home baked taste that few can duplicate.

Michael Savino, Pastry Chef extraordinaire will sit with you and personally customize your cookie favor to match your wedding theme. We hope that you will stop by to admire the gorgeous cookie tower on display and sample the most delicious cookies in town.

Michael's Cookie Jar is centrally located at :

5330 Weslayan Street, Houston 

Make sure you call ahead to reserve your time with a designer:   (713) 771-8603

For more information please visit:

http://www.michaelscookiejar.com/

Happy Tasting !

Jessica Zapatero

Green Lily Events

No More Diva Dilemas with Clean Heels: Announcing High Heel Stoppers !

When I received this email, with an introduction to this product, I thought-"WOW" !  This is really a showstopper. What creative genius thought of something such as protecting a girls most important posession- her shoes !

How many times have you been invited to a wedding or a special occassion where you sport your most special part of your ensemble only to have your heel cought in the crack of of stones or tiles or embedded deep in the dirt? Not to mention the uncomfortable feeling of wobbling your shoe out.  

The ingenious inventor of Clean Heels/ Heel Stoppers is Ally Stevenson, a savvy fashionista that thought outside the box to bring us this very important accessory.

Her mission was to  provide a product so that ladies no longer have a fashion dilemma while dressing for an outdoor event. High Heel Stoppers prevent even the thinnest heel from penetrating the lawn by providing a discreet platform that prevents sinking in grass or getting stuck in-between decking. No more sinking stilettos, no more ruined heels. The wide rubber base will keep you worry and damage free when walking on wooden floors or teak decks. No more dents and dings, no more walking barefoot in a cocktail dress while your gorgeous heels sit lonely and abandoned by the door. High Heel Stoppers even protects wood flooring from stiletto damage and have become wildly popular throughout the mega-yacht industry for protecting their luxurious flooring while keeping the Fabulous fashionable. To order your Clean Heels High Heel Stoppers please visit : http://www.divadilemmas.com/

or email : divasavers@gmail.com

Please tell them you saw it on the Knot Houston.

Happy Dressing !

Jessica Zapatero

Green Lily Events