HOLLYWOODLAND
Creating a Wedding From the Movies
Without the Drama
Jennifer Lopez stands at the back of the room with a headphone on her head directing one of her employees to adjust the flowers. And even though you were watching the movie with your girlfriend, you couldn’t help but to notice how nice the flowers were and that you liked the centerpieces at the reception.
You’ve noticed in the movies and even snuck a peak in the celebrity magazines. We’re fascinated with what celebrities with unlimited money and show-stopping resources can do! But if $2,000 per plate and endless streams of flowers is not within your budget, wedding planner Harriette Rose Katz of Gourmet Advisory Services/Harriette Rose Katz Events (gourmetadvisory.com) has a few tips to make you and your fiancée feel like a celebrity without breaking the bank.
Katz, who designed celebrity weddings for Billy Baldwin and Chynna Phillips, and Donny Deutsch, says the way to get glamour within a budget is to do a chic, Hollywood-style cocktail wedding where the party never stops.
HOW TO PLAN THE CEREMONY:
- Start with a beautiful, classic ceremony like any other…save surprises for later!
THE COCKTAIL HOUR:
- Pass hors d’oeuvres during a cocktail hour. They build excitement during the transition time from ceremony to the reception.
THE RECEPTION:
- Start the party immediately. Welcome your guests into the reception with music playing so they take the dance floor immediately.
- Hold the good stuff until later. Save the best hors d’oeuvres until when guests enter the reception. Wait until the end of the first round of dancing to open the buffet stations. Then, when you do open those stations, quiet the music down.
- Go minimalist. Use smaller cocktail tables and not big, round tables. Go very modern with a small glass bowl with one floating magnolia bud. Don’t forget, votives add to a romantic look and make a statement.
- Rent furniture or use what your venue owns. Vignettes of couches, cushy chairs and cocktail tables look great as décor.
- Lighting is important! Find either a lighting company or a florist who can do lighting as well. A little lighting focused on your vignettes will add depth to the room.
TIPS TO REMEMBER
- Use a schedule with your band and catering manager. on a timing schedule. Party timing is critical to keep your party alive. Include speeches, first dances and cake cutting at intervals to use as devices to pace your party.
- Limit seating to 66 percent of your guests. This way, there is enough seating to eat while others are at the buffet. People understand at a cocktail-style party, there is not a chair for each person.
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