The Finishing Touch — Weddings, Events, Design, Paperie

The Association of Bridal Consultants has recently paired up with NH-Hotels to provide us with exclusive discounts and deals for our brides and grooms. Having over 340 locations around the globe which are ideal for honeymooning, NH-Hotels expand to include South Africa, South America, and throughout Europe.

To kick off this fabulous relationship with the ABC, NH Riviera Cancun in the Riviera Maya, Mexico, invited 20 bridal consultants from the Americas to join them for a week of touring of the sites, learning about Mexican culture and what it has to offer and of course, some fun in the sun. Cancun DMC, a transportation company, joined NH Riviera Cancun to provide for our transportation needs between the airport as well as our off-resort activities.

I was lucky enough to fly to Mexico this past April to learn of this great new opportunity we are able to extend to our couples. Upon arrival, David from Cancun DMC was front & center waiting for me with a bottle of ice water and a cold wet hand towel. Believe me; it was well needed with the Mexico sun! Only a 20-minute ride from the airport, I was greeted and taken to my ocean-view suite. A modernly decorated room complete with a huge marble waterfall shower, a Jacuzzi with views of the ocean, a stocked mini bar, plush white bedding and a plasma T.V., I felt incredibly comfortable!

After spending a couple hours under a tiki hut on the beach, while being brought ice cold margaritas (hey, I had to get in the spirit of Mexico!) and enjoying the crystal blue waters, I showered and arrived at the front lobby to meet my fellow ABC group. I met with bridal consultants from around the nation, as well as Argentina and Mexico. We enjoyed the resort’s buffet restaurant which conveniently offers a side room which can be closed to the public for private events, such as welcome lunches/dinners for your guests or even as a rehearsal dinner space. The food was delicious and offered a wide array of items to suit anyone’s taste.  The resort’s event coordinator, marketing coordinator and general manager provided us with a warm welcome and were honestly the friendliest people willing to assist with any requests.

Tuesday we began with a site inspection of the hotel and the abundance of rooms they have to offer.  With 2,640 feet of crystal white sand, 27 acres of lush Tropical grounds and 12 premier restaurants & bars, it felt like Heaven on earth. As an upscale Luxury All-Inclusive resort, it featured 550 suites divided into two categories: Junior Suites and Paradise Club. The Paradise Club is for adults only and is carefully designed with suites and select amenities. The great selling point for their resort is the fact that they are all-inclusive (if you so choose). Nothing seems better to me than to eat and drink my little heart out, without having to worry about racking up my room bill or pulling cash out at the dinner table; I simply wore a colored wrist-band (which I made sure to move around while tanning to avoid the band line!) and gained access to all the resort’s offerings.

We visited their incredibly large theatre with a 550 person capacity, which can be divided into three separate sections, depending on the size of your event. As for outdoor locations, which of course are more ideal, we attended two mock weddings that evening. We first experienced a ceremony set-up on the plush green grass overlooking the ocean with an altar in-between two perfectly positioned palm trees. A second option consisted of having a ceremony upstairs on a large balcony under a large wood arch-like structure overlooks the beach, ocean, and has a perfect view of the sunset. There is also a conveniently located outdoor bar which could be closed for private parties and perfect for cocktail hour.

Tuesday we were also treated to mini massages at the resort’s spa and I have to say, it was one of the best massages I have ever received. The staff was extremely professional and friendly and their spa was state of the art. Included with my body massages, I also gained access to their sauna, steam room and hot tub. Great news for our couples, the spa offers generous discounts to our brides and grooms.  In the evening, our group was treated to the resort’s semi-outdoor Asian restaurant where I tried sushi for the first time and loved it!

Stay tuned for more details of my Mexican trip soon…

Click here to read Part II

http://www.nh-hotels.com/

Happy Traveling,

Nicole

The Finishing Touch, Wedding and Event Planning is proud to be featured on (201) Bride with our tips on how to plan fabulous destination weddings for their July 2009 web exclusive.

Click here to read the article.

Candice was also featured for speaking at a recent (201) Bride event.

Click here to read more.

When our clients Nancy & Rafael went for their engagement photo session in Central Park back in April, we had expected to see the typical "Springtime in the City" type shots.  Instead the photos were romantic, chic and really captured the feel of NYC.  These gorgeous photos were taken by David and Tami of the Studio Photographers who never cease to impress us.  

To ensure all of their guests could share in the experience, the photos were made into a fabulous guest book for the wedding and we placed additional photos on display at the reception.

If you think these pictures are great, wait until you see the amazing detail that went into their wedding day in June.  We are so excited to share those details and the fantastic photos from the Studio Photographers ~ we promise they are coming soon!

To see more photos and read details from their engagement shoot, visit the Studio Photographer's blog.

Happy Planning,

Priscilla
  

In the current economy talk seems to always be focusing on ways for Brides and Grooms to have the best day they can while staying within their budget. Recently Candice was asked to contribute to an article in the Fall 2009 issue of NJ Bride on just that.   Candice tells brides doing things such as trimming down your guest list while keeping the wedding personalized and memorable will help them have a magical night. We are pleased to say that the article also also features some wonderful photographs from our previous weddings.  Check out the ones on pages 3 and 4 for our work.   Give us a call anytime for more helpful hints.

Hello – and thank you to Candice, Leah, Nicole, Priscilla, and Soroya for inviting me to be a contributor to Finishing Touch’s Wedding Wisdom.  My name is Sue Nairn Smith and I am the owner and founder of The Romantic Garden in Morristown, NJ.  We create floral designs exclusively for weddings and special events and it has been our privilege to do so for over 13 years.  One of the best aspects of working with our clients is being a part of designing and collaborating on one of the most magical days of their life.  Here’s our step by step process for anyone in the process of selecting and working with a floral professional.

1.   Start clipping pictures!  The looks you are attracted to will provide a wealth of information to your designer.

2.  Research your potential florist’s style and range by reviewing their website’s gallery and seeing if there are looks that match the ones you’ve been clipping.

3.  When meeting with your potential florists, go with your gut.  So much of the success in this process is that you are working with someone with whom you feel comfortable  and who you feel is truly listening to what your vision is.

4.  Once you’ve communicated your style, and selected your designer, listen to his or her  recommendations for adapting it to the locations you’ve selected for your ceremony and reception and for working with your target budget.  This one can be a bit tricky, and here’s the one thing to notice about the shots you’re drawn to when you’re clipping the photos:  are you selecting looks that are mostly presented in white tents during daylight and your reception is in an elaborate reception hall at night?  The space you’ve selected for your event and the ambient lighting that will be present at your event time is a big consideration when creating your floral designs.  Some design styles and colors just will not work well in certain settings (unless you are willing to make some additional décor modifications to your space – draping, rental of alternative furniture, specialty lighting).

5. Have your designer provide a sample centerpiece, ideally at your reception facility, on a table that is set with the linens you are conidering and the china and glassware that will be present on the tables when your guests are first seated.  Sometimes this process will be an iterative one if you have a multi-faceted or multiple item/collection type centerpiece.  Remember that this demo is intented to be played with and modified until it meets all your criterion.   

What your designer will be considering when creating your floral pieces will be how the following aspects match your preferences:

Color – from monochromatic to multi, degree of contrast between colors

Style – modern, garden, tropical, classic elegance, sensual, etc.

Scale – size of overall piece and size of elements (detailed – many small elements to dramatic with all large elements)

Density – mounded, pave style arrangements to loosely structured, airy ones

Elements – preferences for florals, branches, foliages, fruits, pods, berries, etc.

Texture – soft, “blousy” elements to rough, structural elements

Budget – the use of more unusual or “premium” elements, and the more innovative the design style desired, the more budget should be allocated.

Obviously, a topic I love to go on and on about, but then this would become a novelette, not a blog!  Thanks for reading!

Best Wishes,

Sue

The Finishing Touch is proud to have our intern Misha Shah join us for the Summer.  She is an energetic and lively junior at Towson University in Maryland, who is a business major with a concentration in Entrepreneurship.  Misha has been instrumental in assisting with some of our biggest weddings this summer, as well as working on some of our new marketing initiatives. 

Misha has lived in Livingston, New Jersey for 17 years. Her family is of Indian decent and she has visited India 6 times and loves the diverse culture. Since graduating from Livingston High School in 2007, Misha has known she wants to pursue a career that will utilize her enthusiasm and creativity.  She aspires to work in the business field and knows that her love for business and her sociable personality will lead her to great success.

Misha is very excited to be with The Finishing Touch this summer and to help out in every way!  She has been a tremendous asset to the team!

Happy Planning,

Candice, Leah, Nicole, Priscilla, Soroya & Misha