Add some fun to your wedding reception – here are my 4 favorite ideas that will add enthusiastic participation to your event! Try one or all four.

Children’s Buffet: Little ones delight in this one. Prepare a separate buffet for the small guests at your wedding reception. Place it on a pint-sized table and watch what happens. When we do this, we use animal shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, cookies, cheese, box drinks, etc. The hardest thing for us is keeping the adults away from the kids table!

We typically have short engagements as compared to the rest of the world. 4 months is about the average that we see here at the Eldredge Manor. So let’s say that you want a beautiful reception, and the cultural hall, no matter how much you spend on decorations, doesn’t cut it for you. The problem is that the great reception centers are already booked for your weekend date and that the only ones available are cheesier than the cultural hall! In fact, you find out that your specific date was actually booked before you even met your fiancé! Funny as that sounds, it is not uncommon. Engagements for those outside our culture are anywhere from nine months to two years. Your man was just arriving in the mission field!

Admittedly this may be self-serving, but I will try to be as dispassionate and fair as I can… This is an article I was asked to write a few years ago but it may be even more relevant today.

The main job of a reception center is to assure that you and your guests have an extraordinarily, fun and safe event. As much as you are concerned about the right venue to fit your personality, you should also seriously weigh the choice of a particular venue from your guests’ point of view! Here are some points to ponder –

I was just thinking… we rarely book a reception for the first daughter of a family to be married, but we almost always book the reception for the second daughter. Why? Because most parents believe they will save money by doing it themselves. Funny how that attitude changes when time rolls around for the next daughter!

So, if you have a wedding in your future, there’s no need to lower expectations just because of the economy. Wonderful wedding receptions can be done on a budget. There are many ways to save money and still have a fantastic event.

Photography is important at any wedding or reception – very important! But, can I just offer a little advice from watching guests come and go here at The Manor? There is one thing that can put a crimp in your wedding quicker than any other, that is a photographer that is only interested in money – their money.

At wedding receptions, I have witnessed brides brought to tears by photographers. Your photographer should never dictate how and when you can cut the cake or dance just to meet their schedule. There are plenty of great photographers out there who will stay the whole night. Besides, the candid photos are the best and those opportunities happen throughout the event.

The New Year brings new trends for wedding floral arrangements. So what are 2009 brides asking for?

Wedding Bouquets

When it comes to bouquet styles, the round clutch retains its popularity. But cascade and hand-held bouquets are making a comeback, this time in simpler forms than in years past. Cascade bouquets have been unpopular because of their cumbersome extravagance, especially during the 80s. No one wants a bouquet that touches the ground or outweighs the bride, but the basic cascade shape can be a beautiful and elegant choice if you keep it simple. Simplicity is key — don’t complicate things.

Wedding etiquette, especially the wording of wedding invitations, invitations verses announcements, and who is truly hosting the party, are the most common questions we are asked at The Manor at Eldredge Square. Most areas in Utah and even within the Intermountain West seem to follow different rules of etiquette when compared to the rest of the country. Here are The Manor’s answers for things to think about before composing and mailing your wedding invitations:

Who is the host and whose wedding party is it?

The host is whoever sends out the invitations. In other words, the people who are “requesting the honor of your presence” are generally viewed as the hosts of the event. Typically, these are the parents of the bride.