Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you my lovely brides and grooms.

Today, let’s talk about traditions. Maybe if you are of Irish heritage you want to incorporate some of these in your special day.

Did you know that in Ireland, an Irish bride's wedding ring is called a Claddagh. It’s the ring that has the heart, held by two hands with the heart topped by a crown. The hands represent faith, the crown symbolizes honor, and the heart signifies love. The ring’s motto is: “Let love and friendship reign.”

An old Irish tradition calls for the wedding couple to walk to the church together before exchanging their wedding vows. As they walk down the main street to the chapel, onlookers would not only throw rice to bless the marriage, but larger items as well, such as pots and pans. Wow…that would hurt.

The traditional Irish bride often wears a blue wedding dress, rather than a white dress. Blue symbolized purity in ancient times and only in 1499 did a white wedding dress begin to symbolize virginity and purity. I wonder if this is where we got the ‘something blue’? hmmmm

English lavender, an ancient symbol of love, loyalty, devotion and even luck is often mixed with the bride’s wedding flowers to help insure a happy and long-lasting union.

Finally, it is a symbol of luck is to be married on St. Patrick's Day and considered the luckiest wedding anniversary date in Ireland. So if you want a ‘bit of Irish luck today’ why don’t you and your future partner, promise that today will be the first day of your lives. We can all use a bit of luck…just look out for the flying pots and pans.

Until next time I wish you smiling Irish eyes...

It's a nice day for a GREEN WEDDING

There are so many of you that are thinking of having a “GREEN” wedding but is it possible? After some research, I discovered that any party that involves food, drink, or travel means that you, and your guests are increasing your carbon footprint. Let me put it this way, if you spend about $25,000 (which according to statistics is the average spent on a wedding), you have significantly increased your carbon output more than your average dinner party or even you doing a pub crawl with 20 of your friends. Don’t fear, there are ways to make this smaller and over the next several weeks I’ll give you some tips.

Get rid of the non-necessary things.
You’ve been to weddings before right? Do you honestly remember the little ‘take-a-way’ that was on the table? Did you truly drink the ‘wine’ that was in the pretty bottle? If not, then you can save your guests travel footprint by skipping it completely. What you would spend on that little knick-knack, donate that money to the http://www.terrapass.com or http://www.carbonfund.org to offset their travel to your event as well as your event itself.

Recycle a tree
Where every possible use recycled paper for your invitations. You know that really cute little piece of tissue paper in some more ‘formal invitations’, you really don’t need it. It was a custom established a long time ago to prevent invitations from leaking – remember that was the time when each invitation was written by hand with a quill pen. I don’t think you’re going to do that…are you??

Eat locally
Especially if you are having an outdoor wedding, do everything you can to use organic or locally grown food and wine. Even if you’re not, ask your caterer to see if they can what kind of food they are using. Remember it costs a lot less to get locally grown veggies than something that has to travel from a different state or the other side of the country.

Remember 27 Dresses??
Times have changed and bridesmaids’ attire has gotten a lot better. I’m sure that every woman now has a ‘little black dress’ so why not allow your bridal party to wear something they already own. The guys can wear a dark suit. That saves stress as well as money.

Flowers and other stuff.
Instead of hothouse flowers and other flowers that have been covered in preservatives, and shipped from across the planet, look for local and seasonal flowers. That will absolutely save you money as well as they will follow your theme.

Look, it’s not impossible to do it green, you just have to really think about it. No matter what you do, I’m sure you’ll have your family and guests GREEN with envy.

Until next time…

Best man, best woman and all the other guests - how do you choose?

You have only been engaged 48 hours and all ready you feel the stress.Your twelfth cousin, twice removed is expecting to be invited to your wedding. Many years ago when weddings cost a lot less and the bride and groom were 21 with very little to say about the ceremony, you just allowed the mothers to make all the plans.

Well now times have changed and as you find your ‘season’, ask both sets of parents and your fiancée to create a guest list. I know this can be daunting, but I promise you if you don’t do this early, an aunt here, or a co-worker there can create a guest list to rival the inauguration.

Here are some helpful suggestions on how to invite those special people to share your day while keeping your number realistic. Remember – Budget, venue, number of guest, in that order.

Your budget is set, and you don’t want to go over it. You’ve picked your venue and that number – the magic number is all the venue can hold. How do you choose – Rank your guests.

I know it sounds horrible, but believe me it’s necessary and if anyone tells you they haven’t done this for their wedding, don’t believe them.

Ranking:
A’s are your closest family and friends. These are the people that you absolutely can’t live without them sharing your day.

B’s are relatives, co-workers, sorority/fraternity brothers and other assorted people you’ve not seen on a pretty regular basis. Only YOU can determine what ‘regular basis’ means.

Make sure that your parents and fiancé have given you their lists and before you chop off uncle Lou. If he’s already on your mom’s list, take him off yours and like magic…one space has just opened. This is also the time when you have to decide if your going to invite people as single, plus one and do you invite small children.

Don’t forget that your bridal party needs a seat at your reception too.

Speaking of your bridal party…

Just because you’ve been in every cousins wedding since you were 16 doesn’t mean that they want to be in yours. Don’t feel as if you must ‘repay the favor’ an invite them to participate, unless you want to.

Who are the key players?
Maid/Matron of Honor, and a Best Man. These are usually your best friend or closest person in your life. It could also mean your future ‘in-law’ if you have an especially close relationship. It’s completely up to you. Now because friendships blur, don’t be surprised to see a ‘best woman’ or a ‘man standing up for the bride’.
Feel free to have bridesmaids and groomsmen, but the number no longer have to match. You don’t need it to be 1:1, nor does it have to be 12:12. Remember this is a wedding, not a football team. If you have an odd number that’s ok – really!

If you really want to limit the number that attend, because of money or simply because you just can’t say no to anyone try this:

Elope – City Hall or Las Vegas, or anywhere in between. Just you, your fiancé.
Small Intimate Ceremony – Only you and your closest family and friends. OR
Destination Wedding – not a lot of people will travel to Italy but you still may have more than you can afford if you have it in Aruba. Still traveling far away will limit the people that will attend.
Either small and intimate or destination, you can then have a big party after to celebrate. That party can range from something formal to a blowout party. Something super casual and relaxed.

No matter which way you choose, I’m sure it will be beautiful and filled with fun memories.

Until next time…

The Four Seasons Hotel is an elegant reception choice

When you think of timeless elegance, unparalleled service and an attentive staff, the Four Seasons Hotel Located between Park and Madison Avenues, comes to mind. The hotel provides superior luxury even by New York standards; from the moment you enter the door you know you are somewhere special.

Recently Ms. Susan Lee-Bishop, the assistant director of catering, had a few moments to speak with me about the hotel and why couples should consider having their wedding there.

Why should a bride consider having their wedding at the Four Seasons Hotel?

“At the Four Seasons, we have the ability to make a couples dream wedding and honeymoon come true. We can help with you with every detail including wedding invitations and floral decorations; from your cocktail party until your party is over, you don’t have to worry. We can handle every detail for you.

Once you decide to have your wedding here, you can simply relax. We will treat you and your guests as if you are family in our home.”

How far in advance do you need to make reservations?
“We have so much experience and such a great staff that we can create a wedding experience in as little as 3 weeks; if we have the space available. Likewise, we already have reservations for 2010.”

I think that once the couple has a time-frame when they think they want to get married, they should call us. Again it depends on the couple and our space availability, but it’s from seven to nine months.”

Are there any ‘hot months’?
“We are seeing that July through October are the new ‘hot months’ for weddings, but we still have a lot of very traditional May and June weddings as well.”

Along with having great music, the couple is interested in the food. What makes the menus at the hotel unique?
“We have the ability to customize and personalize the menu to just about any theme the couple wants. This means we can offer every type of event from an elegant cocktail buffet to a grand banquet. If there is a ‘special cake’ you want, all you have to do is bring in a photograph of it, and we can recreate it for you.”

That does bring me to the question how much would a wedding reception at the Four Seasons cost?
“We completely understand that given the economy that couples are budget conscious. We were talking about ‘hot months’ before. I think that the ‘hot nights’ if you will, fall on Saturdays. Our wedding package offered on a Friday or Sunday may be more appealing from a price standpoint. Our package includes a honeymoon suite for the evening, as well as a customized wedding cake designed by either famed cake designer Sylvia Weinstock or Ron Ben-Israel."

Are there any additional costs that a couple may have to consider?
“When you have a wedding here, there are no hidden costs in the basic wedding package. I will say, the only potential additional fee is for linens that are not our standard ivory and copper. The reason is because we have to rent them from an outside vendor and the cost if the couple wants them is nominal.”

If you are looking for a hotel that is timeless, then the Four Seasons New York, is the hotel for you.

Until next time...

For more info: Further details, availability and price information may be obtained by contacting the catering department at the Four Seasons Hotel New York at 212-350-6501.

How not to break up with someone like Jason Mesnick

I really have to write just a quick note about the Bachelor last night.

Like many of you who watch and were rooting for this single dad to find the love of his life, I sat there with my mouth open saying “Oh My God”, over and over. I can’t imagine what happened to have him change his mind and to do it so publicly? It seems that Melissa’s parents were ‘right’ not to want to be a part of the publicity of it all and didn't want her heartbroken. I'm not a parent, but I was heartbroken for her just the same. Being in a real-relationship is work, real work and it takes two, so good luck to Jason and Molly.

You my lovely couples are living in the real world; away from the spotlight and the things that are ‘made for television’. Your life and love are hopefully real. The excitement of the engagement is great but it’s just the beginning. While I’m hoping to help you navigate through the sometimes stressful wedding planning, I will say that your partner may sometime see you as, a bride or groomzilla (yes groomzilla’s exist). Don’t worry, as long as you both communicate daily and work together things will be fine. In the end, the engagement is just the beginning, the wedding is just a day – the marriage is what we’re hoping will be for a lifetime.

Key: Being a good partner means being able to communicate daily, and remember the reasons you want to be together.

If however, you have decided to end your relationship, don't do it in public. Don't take them to a restaurant in the hopes that they won't create a scene. For gosh sakes, don't do it in front of millions of people. Keep in mind that at one point in time you, at least liked this person and this, even if 'expected' will still be hurtful. Knowing it's over and hearing it are two very different things. Maybe like Ross and Racheal of "Friends" fame, you just 'need a break'. Take one. Talk it out. If you decide that you can't be together, treat this person with the kindness and dignity they deserve. Remember it could be your brother, sister or even you on the end of a broken heart and relationship.

Until next time…