Monday, January 23, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Invitations
Invitation retailers, such as myself, have to face the fact that almost every consumer now uses the Internet at least to do research. The good news is many consumers have every intention of buying locally, but are just searching for ideas. I spend a great deal of time with you, I understand what you are going through. I can answer your questions right away, does the computer talk back to you right away? I don't think so ....I have hundreds of invitations you can see and feel. Can you feel and really see the correct size and color of the paper on the computer? I don't think so......I can give you a proof of the wording and hand it to you, can the computer do that? I don't think so. I give you coffee, tea, cookies and candy...now I know the computer cannot do that! So when you begin searching for invitations, think of Andrea Solomon for your next order." Perfection made simple" by a professional experienced stationery and wedding consultant, Andrea Solomon.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Wedding Wire.com
We are excited to announce Andrea Solomon.com LLC has won the Bride's Choice Awards™ 2012. This prestigious award is determined by reviews from your past clients and recognizes the top 5 percent of local Wedding Professionals from the WeddingWire Network.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
How to plan a Wedding
You got engaged, Congratulations! That's wonderful.......you start telling everyone and the first question they ask is "so when are you getting married?"
This is the first item you have to take care of....The date
To book a date a year or more in advance is not uncommon. Especially in this fast pace world we live in. Most people plan vacations and graduations months in advance. Well weddings are no different. Especially if you want it on a holiday weekend. Check to see that no large festival is happening near your location or that the biggest college football game will not be in town.
Most brides have a good idea where they want to get married, be it a place of worship , hotel, country club, restaurant, banquet facility, theatre, park or a friends back yard.. Once you have a date in mind
The second item you need to do is ....Call and reserve your clergy/ ceremony location
Now that you have your date, clergy and ceremony location, things will fall into place fast. You can talk intelligently to any vendor. Now that you have the date and ceremony location you have to decide: is this where I want to have my reception?
If so, is it big enough? Is it to big? Will there be other parties happening at the same time?
Is there a smooth transition from room to room or from one location to another?
The third thing you need to do is .... Book the reception location
This could be very tiresome and drive you crazy if you let it.
You have to do your homework first.
You have to have a budget in mind. When someone asks you what your budget is, it does not mean that you have to take their highest package. It just gives them a starting place. If you say you want to spend $30.00 per person and their packages start at $45 per person. Then move on, do not waste your time or theirs. Be serious and be firm. One thing a lot of people do not realize is that TAX AND GRATUTITY ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF FOOD THEY QUOTE YOU!
Once you add tax and gratuity, you will be adding about 25% more to your price. The more questions you ask the better the venue will be able to tell you if you can work together. Also be sure to ask what they offer, such as, some places will give you white linens, votive candles and free cake cutting. While others may offer a disc jockey, cake, chair covers, linens and votive candles.
So now you have your date, ceremony and clergy, reception site......
Now the fourth thing you need is your photographer. This is one thing I would not skimp on. I would not use a cousin who did his sons football team or a neighbor. This is one of the most important decisions I feel you will make. You must not only like their work but like them. You are going to spend one of the most important days of your life with them so interview a few until you find a perfect fit.
Number five you may not think is necessary, but I think a videographer is very important. You may not think so now, but your children will love seeing their "Mom and Dad" on their wedding day. Who cares if you only pull the video out once a year. Some videographers have a special highlight version also, like 20 minutes or less. Like a photographer, there are many priced videographers out there. Choose one that you can afford, but I think you should have a photographer and a videographer.
Now number six is a florist. Hear you have to be careful. A lot of people say they are florist, again because they did their sisters wedding or a friends wedding. There is a lot to know about flowers. Are they in season? do they come in my color, are they locally grown? do you carry glass, wooden, silver, metal containers? have you been to my location? etc. Usually the bride is looking to the florist for guidance. I would use a reputable florist. Most florist are willing to work with any realistic budget.
The seventh item you need is a band or D.J. If someone refers one to you then go to a party or wedding they are playing and see how they interact with the guests. How is the band dressed? Will you have to feed the band? Can you add pieces to the band? How many hours do they play? Is overtime by the 1/2 hour or by the hour? Listen to the MC. You need the MC to be on top of it. He is the person who runs your party. He needs to know the itinerary, how to pronounce names, is he working with the other vendors.
The eighth item is the ceremony music. What do you like? A string quartet or trio? A piano? A harp? A piano, flute and guitar? What ever you like keep your music to a minimum. For the ceremony, in my opinion, you only need three songs. One for everyone in the bridal party to walk in on. One for the bride to come in on. And one for the bride and Groom and entire bridal party to go out on. After those three songs, what they play as your guests are being seated or as your guests leave, is not that important. You will not be in the room. Yes, you can say, for example, play all Beatle songs as my guests enter or play music from the 70's as they enter or play Broadway hits as the guests leave. Unless you are a real music person, keep it simple and it will be wonderful
Once you have the 8 items above booked, you can take a breather. Because next week we are going to talk about DETAILS.
This is the first item you have to take care of....The date
To book a date a year or more in advance is not uncommon. Especially in this fast pace world we live in. Most people plan vacations and graduations months in advance. Well weddings are no different. Especially if you want it on a holiday weekend. Check to see that no large festival is happening near your location or that the biggest college football game will not be in town.
Most brides have a good idea where they want to get married, be it a place of worship , hotel, country club, restaurant, banquet facility, theatre, park or a friends back yard.. Once you have a date in mind
The second item you need to do is ....Call and reserve your clergy/ ceremony location
Now that you have your date, clergy and ceremony location, things will fall into place fast. You can talk intelligently to any vendor. Now that you have the date and ceremony location you have to decide: is this where I want to have my reception?
If so, is it big enough? Is it to big? Will there be other parties happening at the same time?
Is there a smooth transition from room to room or from one location to another?
The third thing you need to do is .... Book the reception location
This could be very tiresome and drive you crazy if you let it.
You have to do your homework first.
You have to have a budget in mind. When someone asks you what your budget is, it does not mean that you have to take their highest package. It just gives them a starting place. If you say you want to spend $30.00 per person and their packages start at $45 per person. Then move on, do not waste your time or theirs. Be serious and be firm. One thing a lot of people do not realize is that TAX AND GRATUTITY ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF FOOD THEY QUOTE YOU!
Once you add tax and gratuity, you will be adding about 25% more to your price. The more questions you ask the better the venue will be able to tell you if you can work together. Also be sure to ask what they offer, such as, some places will give you white linens, votive candles and free cake cutting. While others may offer a disc jockey, cake, chair covers, linens and votive candles.
So now you have your date, ceremony and clergy, reception site......
Now the fourth thing you need is your photographer. This is one thing I would not skimp on. I would not use a cousin who did his sons football team or a neighbor. This is one of the most important decisions I feel you will make. You must not only like their work but like them. You are going to spend one of the most important days of your life with them so interview a few until you find a perfect fit.
Number five you may not think is necessary, but I think a videographer is very important. You may not think so now, but your children will love seeing their "Mom and Dad" on their wedding day. Who cares if you only pull the video out once a year. Some videographers have a special highlight version also, like 20 minutes or less. Like a photographer, there are many priced videographers out there. Choose one that you can afford, but I think you should have a photographer and a videographer.
Now number six is a florist. Hear you have to be careful. A lot of people say they are florist, again because they did their sisters wedding or a friends wedding. There is a lot to know about flowers. Are they in season? do they come in my color, are they locally grown? do you carry glass, wooden, silver, metal containers? have you been to my location? etc. Usually the bride is looking to the florist for guidance. I would use a reputable florist. Most florist are willing to work with any realistic budget.
The seventh item you need is a band or D.J. If someone refers one to you then go to a party or wedding they are playing and see how they interact with the guests. How is the band dressed? Will you have to feed the band? Can you add pieces to the band? How many hours do they play? Is overtime by the 1/2 hour or by the hour? Listen to the MC. You need the MC to be on top of it. He is the person who runs your party. He needs to know the itinerary, how to pronounce names, is he working with the other vendors.
The eighth item is the ceremony music. What do you like? A string quartet or trio? A piano? A harp? A piano, flute and guitar? What ever you like keep your music to a minimum. For the ceremony, in my opinion, you only need three songs. One for everyone in the bridal party to walk in on. One for the bride to come in on. And one for the bride and Groom and entire bridal party to go out on. After those three songs, what they play as your guests are being seated or as your guests leave, is not that important. You will not be in the room. Yes, you can say, for example, play all Beatle songs as my guests enter or play music from the 70's as they enter or play Broadway hits as the guests leave. Unless you are a real music person, keep it simple and it will be wonderful
Once you have the 8 items above booked, you can take a breather. Because next week we are going to talk about DETAILS.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
New Years Eve Wedding 2011
A beautiful wedding cake was made for Sarah and Joel Kirsch for their New Years Eve wedding at the Bloomfield Radisson on Woodward . After the bride and groom cut the cake it was put on the sweet table. The cake was from Party Cakes in Berkley.
The colors of the wedding were blue and silver. The grooms mom found beautiful silver pieces at estate sales to be incorporated in the centerpieces. David Heidt did all the flowers and hung small white chandeliers over 1/2 the tables. The flowers, all in white, were low so all the guests could talk and see each other. Sandy made her delicious candied nuts, which were put on the tables along with chocolate. The tables looked beautiful. All the linens were from Chair Covers and Linens in Madison Heights
The chuppah was 10 x 10 and on the "stage" so everyone could see the ceremony. Her 18 attendants were all standing behind the parents and they Skyped the ceremony so a great aunt who could not travel could watch the ceremony. Isn't technology wonderful ?
What a wonderful way to start the evening off, with a little split of champagne, but this champagne was not only your place card, it was CHOCOLATE! 
Friends since middle school, the grooms mom, Sandy Stiebel Kirsch, David Heidt, the decorator and Andrea Rott Solomon, the party planner, all had a great evening! We were all finding it hard to believe "how did we get here!"
I know not to many people really watch the father/daughter dance and the mother/son dance. But of all the traditions, this is the one that I hold close to my heart and love to watch. Just thinking of how close all my girls are with their dad, and how they all love to dance with him, it brings tears to my eyes as I think of this for my own daughter(s) (one just got engaged) The sunken dance floor made it easy for everyone to watch as the bride and groom danced with their parents to Louie Armstrong.
What a cleaver idea putting a clock on the sweet table, for New Years. It was a beautifully laid out table, colorful and full of what the bride loved, fruit and cookies. Of course the hotel added their special touches and foods. No one went home hungry AND at midnight they brought out a slider bar. Hot, hot hamburgers with all the fixings.
The cutest was the brides sister made special little New Years Eve hats for just the bridal party to wear. She made a beautiful white one for the bride where everyone else got a black one. I had my hat on, I was there to the end....2am when the band quit. A great time was had by all. The hotel was filled with all their guests and a brunch was only 8 hours away!
A beautiful bridal party and lots of fun also. Joel and Sarah, I wish you many years of happiness and fun. Because this is a fun couple. Mazel Tov on your marriage.
They had couches and tables on the dance floor from Todd at Colonial Rental, Laura Rice Photography was their photographer from Ferndale, and Charles Brandt did the video. His company is called First to Last Productions. Charles W. Brandt can be reached at: firsttolastproductions@gmail.
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