Tips for a Magical Winter Wedding

In the movies, everyone seems to get married in June. But a winter wedding can be terribly glamorous, cinematic and magical. With the right elements, your winter wedding will be a wonderland.

Attire for Your Winter Wedding

Think about you and your sweetie in the elegant look of old Hollywood; the groom in tails, and the bride in a white long silk dress with a white fur or faux fur wrap. Evoke the season with "ice" –diamond or diamond-like jewelry. 90% of wedding dresses are strapless or sleeveless, but that's not so practical for a bride who wants to take pictures outside, or needs to walk any distance. Look for wraps, shrugs, and capes, or dramatic coats. I've always loved the look of a bride in a white dress and a large red shawl, huddled against her groom who has a red boutonnière.

And don't forget your bridesmaids! An attractive wrap to wear on the day of your wedding and beyond makes a great bridesmaid present.

Where to Have a Winter Wedding

Look for an inn with a fireplace for an intimate winter wedding. For a larger affair, you may be able to use a historic mansion or private club that will still have intimate warmth. Unless you're getting married in a state that will have guaranteed snow during your wedding date, avoid a room that has a large picture window. You may imagine drifts of beautiful snow, and end up with a grey rainy day. Be sure to ask what seasonal decorations they use – you'll save money as many sites are already heavily decorated. Also, check to make sure your site will be adequately heated during the winter months; old churches can be especially drafty.

Planning the Menu

You can have all of your favorite food but add some winter touches like a squash dish, or warm pumpkin soup. Consider serving eggnog, spiced wine, or hot chocolate (alcoholic or non-) as special treats. Look for an all-white cake, decorated with snowflake patterns, silver embellishments, or sugar sculptures. Ask your caterer about using a decorative snow globe as a cake topper.

Winter Wedding Flowers

Decide whether you want to go for a silver and white elegant look, or celebrate the season with reds and greens. For those who like silver, look for dusty miller, silver-dollar eucalyptus, and baby blue eucalyptus, mixed with white flowers such as roses, football mums, crocus, lilies and stephanotis. If you're looking for a brighter bouquet, consider red roses with holly and pine-tree greenery. In season flowers such as tulips, roses, and ornamental berries generally will be less expensive choices. (Talk to your florist, as your region may have different availability.)
Consider a flower vase in ice to hold your greenery.

Contact Ice Sculpture Designs, the tri-state's leading purveyor of ice sculptures at 631.243.3360 for a custom quote.

The Décor for Your Winter Wedding

Decorate your tables with simple and inexpensive white poinsettias, or fill the room with light by arranging pillar candles on a bed of pine branches.

A fire and ice display is also an elegant addition to your décor. Contact Ice Sculpture Designs, the tri-state's leading purveyor of ice sculptures at 631.243.3360 for a custom quote.

Favors

If you and most of your guests celebrate Christmas, an ornament makes a perfect favor. An inexpensive homemade favor is a pretty tin of spiced hot chocolate mix or hot cocoa. Also consider a snow globe, with a bride and groom inside, or a holiday cookie cutter with a cookie recipe attached that says your names, wedding date, and "truly cut out for each other".

Special touches

• Have the bride and groom travel by horse and carriage to the reception, complete with a fur throw to keep them warm of course!
• Decorate the reception with miniature and life-size Christmas trees.
• Commission an ice sculpture to decorate the reception hall.
• Use a crystal bouquet for that extra wintery feel. As a bonus, you'll get to keep your your bouquet forever.
• Greet your guests with warm coffee or hot chocolate as soon as they come in the ceremony or reception site.

Ice Sculpture Designs
New York's Oldest and Most Prestigious Ice Sculpting Company!
866.877.3360 (toll free)
631.243.3360 (in NY)
http://www.icesculpturedesigns.com/
dawn@icesculpturedesigns.com

(Contributions by Nina Callaway)

7 Ideas for Corporate Holiday Parties

1. VENUE: Big Spaces for Big Parties These new large venues are ideal spots for big corporate holiday parties: LQ, a modern-looking Midtown nightclub, can hold 1,200 for receptions inside its 15,000-square-feet space. It offers two VIP sections and three bars. Avalon, a 20,000-square-foot retro-looking club in the former Limelight space, can hold 1,750 for cocktails. It offers nine separate rooms, each with its own look. New Age-y Spirit in Chelsea, scheduled to open in late November, will offer 38,000 square feet in three rooms: Mind offers tarot readings and chakra balancing, Soul is an organic food restaurant and Body is a 15,000-square-foot dance floor and performance space. And Crobar, slated to open in early December, will be an Art Deco space in Chelsea with 31,000 square feet, three VIP areas and space for 2,500.

2. FOOD: Eat a House For a mouth-watering centerpiece this holiday season, try Red Envelope's gingerbread house. The freshly baked house is frosted and decked with an assortment of sweets, including candy canes, holiday candy corn, gingerbread men, and other sweet holiday treats. To top it all off, the house can be personalized with a company logo or special message. Cost is $55, including personalizing.

3. ENTERTAINMENT: End on a High Note Entertain everyone with a year-in-review musical revue. The Tribute Company poses a singer on stage as an executive to congratulate the guests on the year’s successes. As a holiday tune interrupts the speaker, the waiters get in on the act and all the performers commemorate the company’s year in song.

4. DECOR: 'Tis the Season to Decorate with Ice Why spend your budget on bland decorations when you can have your corporate logo or other customized message engraved in ice. With thousands of hand-carved options that meet and beat budgets at multiple price points, Ice Sculpture Designs is the tri-state's leading purveyer of elegant ice sculptures. Call Dawn at 631.243.3360 or visit http://www.icesculpturedesigns.com/.

5. CATERING: Make Them Feel Like Family Get employees talking—even if it’s just to say “pass the pasta”—by serving a family-style meal at a company holiday party. Thomas Preti Caterers suggests using long, banquet-style tables and serving large dishes of holiday fare like risotto with mussels and lobster fra diavolo. Prices start at $150 per person.

6. SPIRIT: Picture-Perfect Employees How to make employees feel involved in the party? Event producer Jes Gordon suggests putting their pictures in acrylic photo cubes of varying sizes and shapes and pairing them with dozens of twinkling votive candles. The photo cubes—available at Sam Flax for $11 to $15—can double as gifts.

7. FLOWERS: Stop and Smell the Evergreens Getting everyone into the holiday mood can be as simple as a bringing in the right flower arrangements. Plaza Flowers' holiday bouquets start with beds of dark green evergreens such as blue spruce and adds pine cones, scarlet red amaryllis blooms and roses.

Ice Sculpture Designs

New York's Oldest and Most Prestigious Ice Sculpting Company!

866.877.3360 (toll free)

631.243.3360 (in NY)

http://www.icesculpturedesigns.com/

dawn@icesculpturedesigns.com

Welcome to Ice Sculpture Designs Party & Event Planning Tips!

The season is upon us... many of you are probably hitting the supermarkets today and tomorrow to stock up on all the Thanksgiving essentials. I thought I'd open this blog with some tips for making your Thanksgiving Dinner event as special as it can be.

The Setting

It's so easy to decorate for Thanksgiving. You can make a gorgeous centerpiece using items from around your house. Use a basket filled with gourds, fallen leaves, Indian corn, pinecones, corn husks, squash and mini pumpkins. You can also use these things to decorate your home. A few well placed mini pumpkins do wonders to set the mood for Thanksgiving.

The Table

Make sure you have clearly marked placecards for each person, so they know where to sit. Also, be sure to leave enough room on the table for all your serving dishes. It's a good idea to have extra chairs handy for any surprise guests who show up.

Consider a dazzling ice sculpture which can also be a functional addition to your food service. In the New York Metro area? Contact Ice Sculpture Designs for some custom ideas at 631.243.3360 or visit www.icesculpturedesigns.com.

Meal Preparation Tips

Preparing a complete Thanksgiving meal can be quite a task, but with proper preparation ahead of time, you should be able to pull it off without a hitch. First, write down your menu and make a shopping list. Just in case, buy a little more of each item, so you won't be stuck with having too little of something on Thanksgiving day and all the stores are closed. Do your shopping a couple days ahead of time to beat the inevitable last minute rush of Thanksgiving Eve. Make sure you have plenty of room in your kitchen and refrigerator and freezer to hold all the food you'll buy. You'll want to begin preparation of your dishes on Thanksgiving Eve unless you want to get up very early. Make sure you pay special attention to what needs to be done to the turkey. Hopefully, it's not frozen, but if it is, you can put it in the kitchen sink with lukewarm water and just keep changing the water every hour or so to hasten the thawing. For other dishes, prepare as much as you can ahead of time. You can usually make many side dishes and desserts completely ahead of time.

Backup Meal Plans

Your turkey will probably turn out ok, or at least edible, but if it doesn't, make sure to have an alternate available. Some good choices would be a ham, pot roast, a salmon or other fish.

Choices

It's a good idea to call each of your guests well ahead of time to make sure you won't be getting any surprises, like your brother's 15 year old has just turned vegetarian and won't be able to eat the turkey. Make sure to have plenty of something that a vegetarian would not have a problem with. I've found vegetarians are often happy with some really tasty side dishes like mashed potatoes, green beans, bread and a salad. Though, a Tofurky would be a good choice to have if there are multiple vegetarians coming over. Don't forget others with special food requirements, such as allergies, diabetics, low sodium diets etc.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing isn't just for tech companies! To make your day easier, consider outsourcing a portion of the meal. Have a guest or two bring over a side dish or appetizer. Or consider buying the dessert. A few pumpkin pies from your local bakery topped with whipped cream would work just fine and I bet no one would know the difference!

Entertainment

After the meal, some guests may go home, while most others will opt to stay for a while. Football and basketball games will be plentiful on TV, but what about those not into watching sports? Have some board games on hand as well as party games that involve many players.

Conversation

One of the main points of the holiday season is to bring family and friends together to catch up and enjoy each other's company. Make it easy to have conversations in your home. Make sure you have some quiet areas and plenty of seating to make conversation easy.

The Kids

If you're going to be having multiple kids at your gathering, you need to be prepared for their needs. Make sure the kids have a separate table or are seated next to adults that will supervise them. After the meal, have games and activities especially for them, or have family games that can involve children.

Prepare For Emergencies

No, not a natural disaster or even a medical emergency, it's not nearly as bad as those but it certainly has the potential to ruin your holiday. I'm talking about the dreaded toilet back up. The last thing you want is to be stuck cleaning up that kind of mess when you're supposed to be preparing food. Make sure you have a plunger and some Drano or Liquid Plumber on hand in the bathroom that the guests will use. When and if it happens, you'll be very glad you prepared for it. Trust me! Follow these tips and you should be one step closer to a safer, happier Thanksgiving holiday.


Ice Sculpture Designs
New York's Oldest and Most Prestigious Ice Sculpting Company!
866.877.3360 (toll free)
631.243.3360 (in NY)
www.icesculpturedesigns.com
dawn@icesculpturedesigns.com


(Party tips courtesy of Lydia Quinn)