Wedding Planning | The Gardens of Castle Rock

August72017NOCOMMENTS

Avoiding Wedding Drama

It’s no surprise they generate a little drama: they’re a big deal!

Weddings are enormous, landmark, life-changing events. They’re an elaborate celebration of the merging of two families and of two individuals as they make a life-long commitment. It’s no surprise they generate a little drama: they’re a big deal!

You can divide the drama into three chronological categories: the lead-up; the big day; the after game dynamics. Mastering the lead-up drama can help minimize the wedding day and post-wedding drama. We’ve helped many couples tie the knot, so we’ve learned a few tips to share:

Take time for yourself. Practice self-care by eating well, exercising, and remembering that there is a future beyond your wedding day. Don’t get so caught up in the planning that nothing else matters
Take time as a couple. Schedule romantic dates in which wedding planning topics are totally off limits.
Recognize you can’t change people and you can’t please everyone. Don’t let people make you the unwilling referee or the bad guy. Pick your battles.
Remember that a big event like this brings up all kinds of issues in loved ones, and most conflicts are really about deeper issues. Parents may be reliving their own hopes and disappointments. A sense of loss may be triggered in the widowed, the divorced, the single, the unhappily married. Past hurts may surface, veiled as conflicts about wedding matters.
Embrace your sovereignty. You aren’t obligated to invite people who will misbehave, and you don’t have to follow traditions. If the bride doesn’t want to be “given away,” that’s a valid choice.
Try to resolve conflicts while they’re fresh and small.
Never be afraid to ask questions… your vendors are there for you.
Be an example of grace and generosity: hopefully you’re friends and family will be inspired to emulate you.
Establish unity as a couple on decisions before involving others in the planning process.
Don’t share details about your wedding decisions with people who will try to talk you out of them.

Let go… Once your planning is complete and the big day is here, you’re the only one who knows every detail. Let go of the small stuff and enjoy how your day unfolds.
Enlist a wise and close friend for ongoing emotional support.
Keep your sense of humor alive.
Stuff happens… Keys get locked in cars, rings are forgotten in the dressing room, the grand march song gets played for the prelude… it all becomes part of the story, your guests will play off of your emotions. Enjoy and have fun with the bloopers.
Ditch your phone on the big day.
Insert a micro-honeymoon into the wedding day: schedule an interlude after the vows for the bride and groom to be together, alone, and really savor the weight and the joy of what they’ve just done.
Above all… be present in the moment! Savor everything about your day!

The wedding venue you choose can go along way in minimizing the drama. Venues that can host the ceremony and reception eliminate the stress involved and time lost with extra travel. A venues ability to work seamlessly with other vendors is paramount to a successful event.

One of the most effective ways to sidestep wedding day tension is to build a clear, shared timeline with your vendors and any key participants well in advance. When everyone knows where they need to be and when they need to be there it dramatically reduces last-minute confusion and finger-pointing. Designate a point-person like a day-of coordinator, to handle questions and small issues so they don’t reach you. This will allow you to stay focused on what truly matters, celebrating your love and being fully present with the people who came to support you.

The Gardens offers the flexibility for you to plan and execute a wedding that is of your design and comfort. “Glenn, Michelle, Deb, and team were so amazing and helpful with any questions I had and always instilled a sense of calmness in me.” said Stephanie about her recent wedding at The Gardens. The Gardens would love the opportunity to help you minimize the drama and create a wonderful experience for your whole wedding. Email The Gardens today or call 651-264-9510

August72017NOCOMMENTS

Glenn Switzer

The Gardens, Wedding Decor, Wedding Planning

Create a Wedding that Reflects You as a Couple

Express yourselves as a couple!

Your wedding might be the biggest party you ever throw, and it’s a great opportunity to express yourselves as a couple. No doubt the two of you share a passion for something wonderful, whether it’s a sport, a hobby or a profession. You can make that passion a central theme of your wedding.

Some couples exchange vows while running a marathon, SCUBA diving or sky diving, which is a ton of fun but tends to limit the guest list. Other couples bring their passion into the wedding ceremony and reception, relying on it to inform the theme of the event.

Is there something that brought the two of you together to start with? Maybe you met at a photography exhibit, a soccer game, or a kayaking meet-up. Do you devote your free time to classic films, volunteering at the Humane Society, or wine tasting? Do you share a passion for sci-fi, square-dancing or scrabble? Maybe there’s a book, a film, or a city you both love. Consider what passions and past-times you share and consider reflecting it in your wedding.

For example, a couple who loves to go hunting together can embrace the camo theme. Yes, it’s possible to buy a camo wedding dress–Google it and find out! If fishing is more your speed, get married in waders, and have centerpieces inspired by hand-tied flies.

Perhaps your first vacation together was to Paris, or it’s your dream honeymoon destination. Let the French city of light inspire your outfits and your decor, with cafe-style seating, beautiful patisseries, and Eiffel tower invitations and decor. Don’t forget Edith Piaf and accordion music!

Was your first date at a tiki bar? A tiki-themed wedding is guaranteed fun, with tiki torches, bright colors, luscious pupu platters and a miniature umbrella in every mai tai.
Do you love golfing together? Think green and white for a color scheme, with a 19th hole serving Arnold Palmers and a white wedding cake dimpled like a golf ball.

One couple who works from home decided on a pajama wedding. Since they both spend the better part of their days in PJ’s, they invited guests to play along and wear pajamas to the ceremony.

If you share an obsession with a favorite movie, draw your theme from it. Whether it’s Star Wars, Casablanca or Gone with the Wind, you’ll have fun choosing gowns, suits, decor, music, food and drink to share your passion with family and friends.

A couple devoted to travel can incorporate maps, luggage tags and vintage suitcases into the decor. A couple infatuated with photography can make centerpieces out of vintage cameras and use black-and-white prints as placemats. Minnesota Vikings season ticket-holders can rely on purple and gold for their colors, and serve hot dogs, pretzels and beer.

Interactive guest experiences are also on trend, such as audio guest books where guest can leave a message for the couple to listen to later. Live artists such as live wedding painters or fashion illustrators can caption a specific moment in time for you or your guests to remember your wedding day. Bringing in late-night food that reflets your cultural roots or hometown favorites can make your wedding day feel unique and authentically you.

The bottom line: it’s YOUR wedding, make it your own! Creating a celebration that truly represents who you are together rather than what a wedding is “supposed” to be will make it that much more memorable for you as well as your guests. If you exchange vows wearing waders, you know you’ll make a long-lasting impression.

To begin planning your perfect wedding that is a direct reflection of who you are as a couple email The Gardens or just pick up the phone and give us a call…. 651-264-9510

June262017NOCOMMENTS

Glenn Switzer

The Gardens, Wedding Planning

Hiring Wedding Vendors… Key Questions to Ask

The right vendors will make your wedding day perfect!

Couples visit with vendors at the Northfield Wedding Fair hosted by The Gardens of Castle Rock.

Your wedding is probably the biggest party you’ve ever thrown. A typical wedding relies on multiple vendors and has much more in common with a corporate event than a cocktail party, so you have to embrace the fact that you are now a project manager for a large, complicated and expensive project. If that’s not enough pressure, it’s also a project with many stakeholders and potentially significant emotional baggage.

Wedding fairs are a great way to meet several vendors all in one location.

Contributing to the complexity are the multiple moving parts–your various vendors. At minimum, most weddings rely on these: wedding planner, venue, caterer, officiant, photographer, florist, and DJ. Bonus vendors may range from bartenders to gown consultants to videographers to photo booths. Organizing a wedding is not for the faint of heart!

We’ve got some tips for you, but they’re just the tip of the ice berg. Here are some basics, but we suggest you consult the vast and very helpful resources online. Search “questions to ask wedding venue” and you’ll find lists with as many as a hundred questions! Scan the resources, articles and checklists on the web and consolidate a list of questions that reflects your needs. Each vendor will require questions specific to their services, but here are a few important questions that will apply to any vendor:

What’s your story? Why and how did you get into this business?
Are you available on our date?
Will you work with our venue?
Will you work with us according to our budget? Are you in our price range?
How long have you been in business?
How many weddings do you do each year?
What percentage or your business is weddings?
What’s your availability, during planning and on the day of?
Who is the wedding day point person, and how to I contact him/her?
Can you share recent references?
Can you share recent examples of your work?
What’s your cancellation policy?
What’s your payment structure?
Do you have liability insurance? (This will cover little surprises like injury due to falls or damage to rental items)
What’s your backup plan if you’re ill or indisposed at the last minute?
What’s your backup plan if the weather goes bad?
Do you charge travel and/or overtime fees?
What does your planning process look like?
What’s your preferred mode of communication?

Sampling at a wedding fair is just a sneak peek at what a vendor has to offer. Always schedule a full tasting with prospective vendors.

It’s also vital to embrace your role as a project manager. Arranging a wedding is like a second job, and should be treated like one. As you deal with a range of professionals, conducting yourself in a professional manner will get the best results. Be punctual and business-like at meetings and expect the same from your vendors. Presenting yourself in business or business-casual attire will convey a better impression than showing up to your first meeting in workout wear. It’s literally a job interview for the vendor, and you are the boss!

While it’s tempting to meet with a dozen competing vendors for each role, that’s sure to invite burnout. Limit yourself to three or four candidates. Hone your short list by getting recommendations from friends, giving extra credence to those who had recent events. Check the list of preferred vendors provided by your venue, and also the lists on other reputable venue sites. Check vendor websites and make a quick initial inquiry to verify that they’re in your budget, they are available on your date, and they will work with your venue.

Vendors have experience. Ask them questions and get specific advice for what you are planning.

When you meet, take chemistry into account. You’ll be working closely with these people on a very big day, perhaps under significant pressure: It’s important to feel some mutual connection. You have plenty of questions, and your vendor should be patient and gracious in responding to them. It’s vital that your communication styles are in sync.

After the meeting, take time to digest the experience. You don’t need to make a snap decision: most vendors will hold your date for two to seven days after the meeting. Consult your notes, compare your experience with the various candidates, and honor your gut instincts.

One thing to not overlook when hiring wedding vendors is confirming how well they collaborate with your other vendors you’ve booked. Seamless coordination between your venue, caterer, planner, and entertainment can make the difference between a smooth, stress-free wedding day and one filled with last-minute hiccups. Ask vendors if they’ve worked at your venue before or if they are willing to connect with the venue coordinator in advance to review logistics and any guidelines they may have. Vendors who prioritize communication and teamwork will help ensure your wedding day flows effortlessly from start to finish, allowing you to stay present and enjoy every moment.

In a future blog we’ll give you some ideas on where to find the perfect vendors for you wedding. Attending local wedding or bridal fairs is a great way to informally meet several vendors in one outing. The Gardens of Castle Rock hosts a wedding fair each Spring. You can always just contact us and we can provide recommendations from the numerous vendors who have provided services for events at The Gardens. The right vendors will make your wedding day perfect!

Photos by Anthologie

May252017NOCOMMENTS

The Gardens of Castle Rock ~ Minnesota Outdoor Wedding Venue - Outdoor Games for your Wedding

Glenn Switzer

The Gardens, Wedding Planning

Wedding Day Fun! Outdoor Games for your Reception

Make your wedding day fun and enjoyable for everyone!

One of the pleasures of a daytime wedding is the chance to play outdoors with family and friends. While daytime dancing is still an option, you can broaden the activity choices by offering fun diversions for folks of all ages.

To make your outdoor wedding reception even more memorable consider creating a dedicated lawn game zone that doubles as entertainment and decor. Popular lawn games like giant Jenga or Connect Four, and personalized cornhole boards not only keep guests engaged but also add a visual charm to your wedding. These interactive outdoor wedding activities are perfect for cocktail hour.

There’s so much more to choose from, so consider your guest list and your theme. Do you have lots of families with young children? Athletic 20-somethings? Seniors? Is your theme and decor casual and outdoorsy? Vintage?

If you and your crowd love the vintage charm of a bygone era, consider complementary recreation. Consider Italian bocce, or its French cousins pétanque and boules. Offer these traditional European games accompanied by a refreshing aperitif like Pernod, as they’re enjoyed in Italy and France. There’s even a cocktail called the Bocce Ball, featuring orange juice, vodka and amaretto. These leisurely pastimes are the perfect opportunity for some playful competition while catching up with old friends or making new ones, and kids can join in too. Croquet and badminton are also great options for traditional fun that appeals to many generations.

For a more Americana-inclined crowd, set up corn hole games and lawn bowling. If your crowd is competitive, set up teams and playoffs, and reward the champs with a trophy.

Maybe inspiring laughter and silliness is more your style. Draw on classic contests from church picnics like three-legged races, potato sack races and egg-and-spoon races. Stencil circles on the lawn for an adult-scale Twister game. A giant ring toss, using lawn flamingos for targets, or a javelin throw using pool noodles will provoke lots of belly laughs. Set up a glow-in-the-dark outdoor bowling alley with colored glow sticks in water bottles as the pins. Bring the hilarity onto the dance floor with a limbo competition.

If your crowd is more crafty than competitive, set up a paper airplane table. Include a few books or diagrams with design ideas, and encourage folks to write on them and send airborne messages. A few stations for making giant soap bubbles will entrance kids and adults too.

How about a scavenger hunt? There are plenty of ideas online for scavenger hunts for kids, picnics, weddings and more. Various scavenger hunts require collecting items, spotting items or taking pictures of specific things. A kid-specific version can task children to spot natural features like an insect, a seed and a forked stick. Check the internet for inspiration and printable checklists.

Make the most of your outdoor wedding by bringing friends and family together to laugh and show off their skills. For some folks, diversions like these are just the ticket to enjoying themselves and finding a way to “connect across the aisle” with new people as two families celebrate merging into one.

By choosing a wedding venue that can host your ceremony and reception you’ll have more time to enjoy the day with friends and family. So much more fun playing yard games then driving from one location to another. The expansive lawn area right next to the reception patio The Gardens is the perfect venue to host your wedding day fun.

May252017NOCOMMENTS

Jessa & Alex at The Gardens of Castle Rock - Minnesota Nature Inspired Wedding

Glenn Switzer

The Gardens, Wedding Decor, Wedding Planning

Heads Up! Hanging Flowers at Your Wedding

Let the beauty rise above it all… Flowers are popping up everywhere!

The latest floral design trend explores an unexpected frontier: Look, up above! Not a bird, not a plane, but flowers!

Formerly the domain of lights and lanterns, hanging floral accents are increasingly making dramatic statements at wedding venues. A quick online search reveals hanging floral features ranging from simple, rustic and modest to incredibly lavish and over-the-top. Explore all those gorgeous images and maybe you’ll see something perfect for your big day.

Many iterations on the theme depend on a container. We love those clear glass orbs often used with air plants. Hang by a ribbon or fishing line, and tuck a single rose, peony or orchid in each. Intersperse votive candles in some of them, and give them away to guests at the end of the party. Mason jars wrapped with wire, ribbon or beads can hang above tables holding small bouquets. Clear or colored wine bottles also make pretty vases, and a DIY enthusiast can make dozens of attractive hanging vases from light bulbs.

Pomanders are trending. Echoing the shape of a tissue pompom and named after the fragrant clove-studded orange beloved at Christmas, florists are crafting beautiful monochromatic orbs of tightly packed flowers, or looser spheres exploding with baby’s breath. If you’ve got access to a few hydrangea bushes, you can approximate this look with simple hydrangea crowns dangling above.

Anderson & Palm Ceremony at The Gardens of Castle Rock Wedding Venue

Photo by Vick Photography

Vertical strands of flowers make a beautiful backdrop for the ceremony, the cake or photos. They can also cascade from the ceiling in a wash of color. A truly show-stopping option is a cascading wisteria-style installation. These trailing florals create a soft, garden-like canopy overhead, adding movement and elegance to a space like a ceremony aisle.

Continuous garlands in the tradition of Indian temple decorations and Hawaiian leis are one option, or attach flower heads to clear fishing line at intervals for a transparent floating effect. Using a range of shades of one color enables a lovely ombre effect.

For a simple, elegant, floating look, tulips and certain other long-stemmed flowers can be hung over wires or chandeliers, right where the stem meets a leaf. Add a touch of sparkle with some hanging crystals or lights, or switch to a culinary angle with plump bunches of green and red grapes with ivy.

If you incline toward rustic refined, consider a hanging shelf made of a weathered board. Vases and candles can be secured on top, or flowers can be arranged right on top, cascading over the edges. Bring a woodland effect to the arrangement with driftwood, moss, ferns, leaves and curly willow. Another attractive vintage accessory: the birdcage, oozing and overflowing with flowers.

Lighted garlands of greens or flowers, attached to the structural components of the tent, lend a festive Midsummer’s Night Dream effect to the party. Echo the theme with horizontal hanging wreaths of ivy topped with votives.

Talented florists can craft large inverted arrangements in virtually any style, from geometrical and compact to lavish tangles of blooms–perhaps to set the head table off from the rest of the room, without obstructing sight lines like a traditional table-top arrangement.

Enhance any of these eye-catching up-above arrangements with other hanging attractions. Edison bulbs, lanterns, crystals, jewels, paper parasols, paper fans and origami cranes can all provide an extra pop of color or texture in your heads-up decor.

Cherish Design… we love when couples get creative with their decor. Especially floral, after all it is The Gardens. Contact The Gardens it you want to take your wedding experience up a notch!

April262017NOCOMMENTS

Glenn Switzer

The Gardens, Wedding Planning

Imagine the Possibilities, Consider a Friday or Sunday Wedding

When choosing your wedding date, consider you and your wedding guests!

Saturday may be the big day for weddings, but Friday and Sunday are catching up in popularity. We’re here to catch you up on some of the pros to booking a Friday or Sunday Wedding.

Before we do that, check out this great video of S + T’s Sunday wedding. You’ll get an inside look to how lovely a Sunday wedding can be.

Availability

Popular wedding spots get booked up one or two years in advance on prime days, so couples often face the decision to either postpone their wedding or abandon their dream venue. Some services will be booked too, like your preferred DJ, caterer or photographer.

Choosing a Friday or Sunday wedding can open the door to experiencing your dream wedding venue at its very best. With more flexibility in scheduling, couples may receive extended rental hours and more personalized attention from venue staff. Off-peak dates can give you more opportunities to bring your vision to life and help secure the perfect setting while maximizing both value and availability.

Ashley and Kevin exchange vows in The Lath House during their lovely Friday wedding. Photo by: Type and Timber

Pricing

Saturday nights demand premium pricing, so you may be able to save money by booking on the off-peak days. Check with your venue for discounts, and be sure to check with your other vendors. Some vendors, like wedding planners, may not accept more than one job per weekend, but others may be happy to book two or three events per weekend. In any case, careful shopping may yield a savings of 15-20%.

Wedding Day and Life Schedules

Fridays and Sundays each lend themselves to a different kind of wedding party. Friday weddings will typically start late in the day, corresponding with the dinner hour, to accommodate guests who travelled or worked a part or full day on Friday. A Friday night wedding might skip the sit-down dinner in favor of cocktails and heavy appetizers, to emphasize the party atmosphere. Evening weddings are the perfect venue for elegant attire, so if that’s your style it’s a better choice than Sunday. If your heart is set on a raging dance party, nighttime is the right time.

Live music at cocktail hour is a perfect addition to any Friday or Sunday wedding. Photo By: Audrey Nicole Photography

“It sets the tone that your wedding is about the party,” Carley Roney, the editor in chief of The Knot, tells the New York Times. It also is significantly less kid friendly, so consider whether that’s the kind of party you want, or arrange an alternate kid activity.

Some brides and grooms appreciate that a Friday wedding gives them earlier access to the space for set-up and decorations. On a Saturday, you’ll seldom get more than a few hours in advance to set up, but some venues grant Thursday access for a Friday wedding.

This DIY tent reception was decorated by the wedding couple’s family!

A Friday evening wedding frees up the pre-wedding crunch. If the gathering doesn’t start until 6 or 7PM, the couple can enjoy a more relaxed day with their wedding party. It’s wonderful to not have to rush, and it’s important not to plan too much, so you’re not exhausted by the start of the ceremony. Book spa treatments and a nice lunch to build some leisure into the day.

Once the wedding is over, you can enjoy your guests, especially those from out of town, for the whole weekend.

A + D’s Sunday wedding allowed for fun upgrades like their amazing head table light installation. Photo by Empiria Studios

Sunday Brunch or Swaray?

Tia and Justin’s Sunday wedding was as sweet and relaxed as they are. Photo By: Erin Kathleen Photography

If a Friday night fête sounds too late and too much, how about Sunday? Follow a sit-down brunch with outdoor games for a family-friendly event. It needn’t be austere–mimosas, Bloody Marys, and spiked coffee can cultivate an atmosphere of celebration. However, if a teetotaling event suits you, a morning ceremony is perfect. With an early start, the official party can be over by four or five o’clock, and you can still rock an after-party and be in bed by eleven. Older guests and families with kids will be pleased.

Brunch isn’t the only option for a Sunday event. Even starting as late as 4PM allows six hours of festivities before 10PM rolls around.

A Sunday party allows extra time with out-of-town guests before the ceremony, and you can doubtless persuade some of them to take on helpful volunteer roles.

Travel

Out-of-town guests may find it easier to travel late on Friday or Saturday and take Monday off to travel home, and they may get better deals on airfare this way. Plus, lots of folks find it easier to take a Monday off than a Friday.

Opening your options to Friday or Sunday can have plenty of benefits. Be sure to check the calendar to verify whether it’s a holiday weekend, because that could impact price, availability and ease of travel.

A final smooch for the road for these two sweet brides! Guests from near and far were happy to join Blake and Shaylee for their wedding at The Gardens. Photo By: Courtney James Photography (CLJ Photography)

«←2 3 4 5 6

ORDER LIST

Avoiding Wedding Drama

Avoiding Wedding Drama

It’s no surprise they generate a little drama: they’re a big deal!

Create a Wedding that Reflects You as a Couple

Create a Wedding that Reflects You as a Couple

Express yourselves as a couple!

Hiring Wedding Vendors… Key Questions to Ask

Hiring Wedding Vendors… Key Questions to Ask

The right vendors will make your wedding day perfect!

Wedding Day Fun! Outdoor Games for your Reception

Wedding Day Fun! Outdoor Games for your Reception

Make your wedding day fun and enjoyable for everyone!

Heads Up! Hanging Flowers at Your Wedding

Heads Up! Hanging Flowers at Your Wedding

Let the beauty rise above it all… Flowers are popping up everywhere!

Imagine the Possibilities, Consider a Friday or Sunday Wedding

When choosing your wedding date, consider you and your wedding guests!

Availability

Pricing

Wedding Day and Life Schedules

Sunday Brunch or Swaray?

Travel

the Gardens of Castle Rock

Copyright

Contact

Follow Us