How to handle those late arriving wedding guests

As a event specialist here at Elegant Occasions, I get many South Florida brides who lament about the fact that many of their family are "famous" for arriving late to events. Many Dade, Broward and Palm Beach brides have this problem and therefore put the starting time in the invitations as much as an hour earlier than it really is to make sure everyone gets there on time. They admit however that their family know the time is earlier than real so mentally adjust the time to what they think is the real time and are late anyway!

Years ago a bride told me about an idea she tried and I have passed it on to many of my couples since. When listing the starting time for the ceremony make it an unusual one. For example, if you want the ceremony to start at 6:00 word the invitations to state, "ceremony to begin promptly at 5:37"!

Now here is the important part, when your family start to call (and they will!) to ask why the ceremony starts at 5:37 you must reply in a cryptic voice, "You'll see!". Curiosity will cause family members to start calling each other to find out what's going on. For this reason you should tell NO ONE why the time is as it is.

It will soon be the talk of the family and guests will come up with all kinds of crazy theories as to why the time is 5:37. Most important, you will be amazed how many of your guests are seated and ready at 5:35 just to see what is going to happen at 5:37!

Mystery is the key. Make sure NO ONE knows why you did this and it will be very successful.

Medieval Theme Wedding

I was just approached to do a Medieval theme wedding ceremony for a couple planning their second wedding in Broward county at the Parkland Golf & Country Club.

As a ceremony officiant who is both an ordained minister and a notary public I have been approached to do a vast variety of themes and traditions for ceremonies. From hand fasting and unity candles to jumping the broom and breaking the glass, there are many wonderful traditions to make your ceremony a personalized experience.

Don't settle for the same old, same old on your wedding day. Personalize! Take a good look at your family tree and get creative with your special day. Embrace your roots.

I am from a Scottish background and while my wife would not agree to Kilts, she did agree to let me wear a cummerbund and bow tie with my family's tartan (yes we actually wore cummerbunds and bow ties back then).

The afore mentioned bride and groom will be dressed in Celtic garb with the groom in kilt. They are planning to have me in medieval robes and a bagpiper to play the wedding march! We will be doing a Celtic handfasting ceremony along with other traditions. Just imagine the photography and videography we will be able to capture of this day!

One thing is for certain, if this couples family attend ten weddings this year, they will all remember the Celtic wedding best.

Congratulations Chari & Carlton Horton!!

I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Chari & Carlton Horton on their recent destination wedding at the Fontainbleau Hotel in Miami Beach on Saturday July 11, 2009. Elegant Occasions provided a DJ and MC for their wedding ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. Everything was beautiful and went off perfectly.

Michelle Cannici from the Fontainbleau did a great job putting everything together at the hotel while the entertainment staff worked together with a photographer from the DC area coordinating everything smoothly. The ghuests had a great time and Chari & Carlton were visibly eccstatic.

Destination weddings are a great way to share a unique experience withyour closest family and friends. However, it is imperative to secure the right venue and the right destination photographer and entertainment to ensure everything goes as planned.

-Elliot

EOEP Divisions: EO Studios, Forte Entertainment & E Produtions

As a result of our commitment to quality and integrity to all of our customers; and the wide range of services we provide in-house, Elegant Occasions Event professionals also known as EOEP has grown in leaps and bounds. We have further strengthened our stability even more and have established three very different divisions that work in tandem to create the most fluid, well-run events. EOEP is the parent company and overseeing entity providing unmatched customer service and quality control to the following divisions:

EO Studios- Our artistically elite photography and video studio. The major difference between us and other studios is that we can handle all aspects of our studio in house. Including in-studio & on-location portraiture, social & corporate event photography and video, album & graphic design, photo lab work, large format printing, mounting, editing, sound studio recording, voice over and more. There is a difference.

Forte Entertainment- A one-stop entertainment solution. Our entertainment specialists provide consultation and entertainment for social and corporate events with our talented certified staff and specialty performers. These performers include a host of in-house, certified MC's, DJ's, VJ's and dancers. Specialty performers include musicians & soloists, unique bands, cirque shows, mentalists & magicians, Brazilian Carnivale, percussionists, aerialists, exotic animal shows and more. When details count, Forte Entertainment delivers. http://www.forte.eoep.com/

E Productions- Our full Service event production company serving the Miami Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Tri County area. Our complete inventory includes but is not limited to lighting, sound, audio visual equipment, portable power, staging, as well as corporate photography and videography services . This allows us to service our clients with full attention to detail. From the most basic of needs to a more demanding large production you can rest assured that we will exceed your expectations. http://www.eproductionsfl.com/