The Knot recently put out a list of the Top 9 Wedding Music Mistakes Not to Make! Here they are below!
#1: Starting the Ceremony in Silence
Because of the focus on your big entrance, it's easy to forget that chunk of wedding ceremony time before you appear. There will likely be 20-30 minutes where your guests will be waiting for the service to start -- don't try their patience with absolute silence.
#2: Skipping the Sound Check
With destination weddings growing more popular, brides and grooms have to consider making remote locations microphone-friendly. Be sure to carefully assess the setting when coordinating with performers. Crashing waves could easily drown out a string quartet or trio of flutes, and a windy mountain peak could render even the strongest voice silent.
#3: Offending your Officiant
It may be your wedding day, but unfortunately it's not your church. When it comes to ceremony music, many churches and synagogues have certain rules and regulations that will affect your choice of tunes that can be played as you walk up the aisle.
#4: The Unending First Dance
You may have fallen in love to "Free Bird" but imagine how long nine minutes and eight seconds will feel alone on the dance floor. Pay careful attention to your love song's length before committing to it for your first dance.
#5: Letting the DJ Take Control
Don't fall into the trust trap just because your DJ has a fabulous reputation. While you should be comfortable letting your band guide the music, providing a play list (or better yet a no-playlist) will leave you happier in the end. You certainly don't want a song with painful associations to pop up unexpectedly.
#6: Blowing Out the Speakers
Despite the presence of alcohol and all your college friends, a wedding shouldn't resemble a frat party. Club-level volume during the reception will frustrate older family members and make it impossible for your guests to talk to one another.
#7: Playing Punk Songs During Dinner
Sure you want to hear everything in your iTunes collection, but don't destroy your sit-down dinner because you had to fit "I Wanna Be Sedated" in there somewhere. Music should fit the mood of the moment.
#8: Rocking Out to R-rated Songs
Yes, these are more liberal times, but be careful not to confuse progressive with perverted. This is your day, and you shouldn't focus on pleasing everyone with your musical selection, but there's a glaring line you should avoid crossing. "Humpty Dance" -- fair. "The Thong Song" -- pushing it.
#9: Too Much of a Good Thing
You both may truly love late '80s hair bands, but five full hours of Def Leppard and someone might actually go deaf. A night of Nirvana or a rap-based reception is just as bad.
September 15, 2009
September 10, 2009
Paper Flowers at Paper Platypus
Recently, my good friends, Robin and Alex, were getting ready for their wedding in New Hampshire and didn't have a huge budget to spend on their wedding. They decided to make their own flowers for the boutonnieres, bouquets, and table arrangements to save some money. Although it took them awhile to make all the flower arrangements, they saved a LOT of money, the flowers were unique, and they didn't have to worry about the flowers dying and browning in the hot weather. I should note that their wedding ceremony and reception was outside in the middle of August! They were even featured in The Knot for their creativity! Check out their pictures from The Knot below.
Although they made their own flowers, there are companies available that will do the work for you and still make your event unique and affordable! I really like Paper Platypus. They can be found on Etsy, of course:) Look at their individual mums below; they look so real!
Although they made their own flowers, there are companies available that will do the work for you and still make your event unique and affordable! I really like Paper Platypus. They can be found on Etsy, of course:) Look at their individual mums below; they look so real! 
September 9, 2009
We're Featured in Illinois Meetings & Events Magazine
The latest edition of Illinois Meetings & Events magazine is here and C&C Event Planning & Mgt., Inc., is featured!
Illinois Meetings & Events Magazine is filled with advice from industry professionals located in Chicago. I am very grateful and honored to be quoted in such an important industry magazine!
Kolo Albums
One of my absolute favorite weddings albums is from Kolo! If you are unfamiliar with Kolo, they are an online company based out of Connecticut that offers albums, photo books, and photo boxes. I find their albums so unique because they don't feel like they are mass-produced. In fact, the first time I saw one in person, it was from my friend, Annie, a wedding photographer, who showed it to me. Annie, who uses film as opposed to digital photography, actually uses them as wedding albums for her clients for a more vintage-like feel.
A couple of years ago, when a dear family friend of mine was getting married and I was in the wedding, I couldn't figure out what to buy him and his future wife as a wedding gift. After I became acquainted with Kolo, I came up with the brilliant idea of putting together a recipe book. It took me months to collect old family recipes from my mother (since the groom's family and my family grew up together), his mother, the bride's mother, and even some new recipes of my own. I typed up each recipe on an off-white card stock and put it into the recipe book. In the end, I had over 100 recipes in the book, but made sure to leave a handful of pages blank at the end so they could add recipes of their own as well! I even bought some stamps and printed, "Dean Family Recipe Book" on the front cover to make it more personalized:) The bride and groom loved the book and are still using it years later. The present was so affordable and really personal!
Another great item that Kolo offers are their paper albums. They offer a more extensive collection on the website, but I have seen them sold at Jo-Ann Fabrics as well! They serve as great miniature albums. If you had some fun pictures taken of you and your bridesmaids, you could give them to the bridesmaids as gifts.
A couple of years ago, when a dear family friend of mine was getting married and I was in the wedding, I couldn't figure out what to buy him and his future wife as a wedding gift. After I became acquainted with Kolo, I came up with the brilliant idea of putting together a recipe book. It took me months to collect old family recipes from my mother (since the groom's family and my family grew up together), his mother, the bride's mother, and even some new recipes of my own. I typed up each recipe on an off-white card stock and put it into the recipe book. In the end, I had over 100 recipes in the book, but made sure to leave a handful of pages blank at the end so they could add recipes of their own as well! I even bought some stamps and printed, "Dean Family Recipe Book" on the front cover to make it more personalized:) The bride and groom loved the book and are still using it years later. The present was so affordable and really personal! 
Another great item that Kolo offers are their paper albums. They offer a more extensive collection on the website, but I have seen them sold at Jo-Ann Fabrics as well! They serve as great miniature albums. If you had some fun pictures taken of you and your bridesmaids, you could give them to the bridesmaids as gifts.
September 8, 2009
My new love:)
Growing up, my mom and I always had a tradition of buying just one truffle from Godiva to indulge in while shopping at the mall and we still do it every time we go shopping together. Although I still love and will always adore Godiva chocolates, I am now in love with Vosges chocolates!
This past week, I had the privilege of not only going to one of their chocolate boutiques, but was able to visit their corporate office where all the online orders are filled and shipped. I pass by the location every single day and never knew it even excisted because it isn't labeled and is set back in a parking lot. It's a good thing that it isn't labeled, because if everyone knew how much decadent chocolate was stored there, they would have a lot of unwanted visitors!
Any time I've visited a Vosges boutique or their corporate headquarters, everyone has been insanely warm, friendly, and bubbly! It must be because of all the chocolate they get to eat:) AND, the best part of going in person is that each boutique offers enough free samples of chocolate to make a meal out of it and the headquarters were no different; they gave me a FREE LARGE Creole Exotic candy bar to eat while I waited! The chocolate was every bit as good as it sounds and even better!
Not only do they offer large candy bars, but they also sell miniature candy bars in case you can't handle a large bar. Some of their varieties include Red Fire Exotic, Mo's Dark Chocolate Bacon, and Black Pearl Exptic...just to name a few. If you can't decide which candy bar to choose, then you can always purchase their "Mini Exotic Candy Bar Library" to sample all of them! This would be a perfect gift for any chocolate lover:)
I heard about Vosges Chocolates a while back, but it wasn't until I had the pleasure of tasting them that I became a believer and their biggest fan. Do yourself a huge favor and run to your nearest boutique or order them online; please buy something for yourself and consider using them as your event favors and/or gifts!
This past week, I had the privilege of not only going to one of their chocolate boutiques, but was able to visit their corporate office where all the online orders are filled and shipped. I pass by the location every single day and never knew it even excisted because it isn't labeled and is set back in a parking lot. It's a good thing that it isn't labeled, because if everyone knew how much decadent chocolate was stored there, they would have a lot of unwanted visitors!
Any time I've visited a Vosges boutique or their corporate headquarters, everyone has been insanely warm, friendly, and bubbly! It must be because of all the chocolate they get to eat:) AND, the best part of going in person is that each boutique offers enough free samples of chocolate to make a meal out of it and the headquarters were no different; they gave me a FREE LARGE Creole Exotic candy bar to eat while I waited! The chocolate was every bit as good as it sounds and even better! 
Not only do they offer large candy bars, but they also sell miniature candy bars in case you can't handle a large bar. Some of their varieties include Red Fire Exotic, Mo's Dark Chocolate Bacon, and Black Pearl Exptic...just to name a few. If you can't decide which candy bar to choose, then you can always purchase their "Mini Exotic Candy Bar Library" to sample all of them! This would be a perfect gift for any chocolate lover:)I heard about Vosges Chocolates a while back, but it wasn't until I had the pleasure of tasting them that I became a believer and their biggest fan. Do yourself a huge favor and run to your nearest boutique or order them online; please buy something for yourself and consider using them as your event favors and/or gifts!
September 3, 2009
Miss Pickles Press
After spending countless hours on Etsy, I stumbled into Miss Pickles Press! They sell fantastic paper goods such as custom invitations and labels for favors. They definitely have a more of a vintage feel to their items and are perfect for a backyard barbeque or any rustic event. When I saw this company, I immediately thought of my dear friend, Annie, who had a backyard barbeque for her wedding reception. If only I had met Miss Pickless Press before!
I especially LOVE their custom "Spread the Love" labels that can be used for jam jars. They are the perfect favor to give to your guests, especially if you made the jam yourself:) The labels can be customized to match your event colors as well. The prices are really reasonable as well and retail for $15 for 12 labels, making it practically a steal. They have the labels displayed on small mason jars with fabric as the cover and tied with rope. Changing the fabric cover and rope would definitely vary the look of the jars, making it more personalized. Recently I've been obcessed with red and white toile, so I would use toile with white ribbon to give it make it my own:)
Another great item they offer is their "BBQ Cutlery Packets!" Instead of individually wrapping your guests' silverware up in cloth or paper napkins, you could spice it up and use these paper bags with sayings that include, "Good Grub", "Chow Down", or "Dee-Lish." If you were serving barbeque ribs or something messy, these packets would be perfect for holding moist towlettes as well as paper napkins in them. The prices on these packets are the same as the jar labels at $15 for 12 packets.
Check our their website as well to see even more fabulous ideas!
I especially LOVE their custom "Spread the Love" labels that can be used for jam jars. They are the perfect favor to give to your guests, especially if you made the jam yourself:) The labels can be customized to match your event colors as well. The prices are really reasonable as well and retail for $15 for 12 labels, making it practically a steal. They have the labels displayed on small mason jars with fabric as the cover and tied with rope. Changing the fabric cover and rope would definitely vary the look of the jars, making it more personalized. Recently I've been obcessed with red and white toile, so I would use toile with white ribbon to give it make it my own:)
Another great item they offer is their "BBQ Cutlery Packets!" Instead of individually wrapping your guests' silverware up in cloth or paper napkins, you could spice it up and use these paper bags with sayings that include, "Good Grub", "Chow Down", or "Dee-Lish." If you were serving barbeque ribs or something messy, these packets would be perfect for holding moist towlettes as well as paper napkins in them. The prices on these packets are the same as the jar labels at $15 for 12 packets.Check our their website as well to see even more fabulous ideas!
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