My brother Joseph is getting married this year. I chose to help plan his wedding because I would like to get an idea on how it is to plan a wedding. Joseph and Courtney will be having their wedding September 20, 2008. The main objective for this event is for them to become a happy married couple. They chose to have their wedding in September because it is the beginning of fall. Courtney loves the colors of the fall, and they thought September would be perfect time of year.
Audience
I am a part of a large family. The groom’s side of the family is roughly seventy people in the immediate family, which the extended family is also rather large. The bride’s side of the family is about forty-five in her immediate family. We added in some extended family that will be attending and the bride and groom’s close friends. The total count for the wedding will be between 150 and 175. It will be a small wedding to say the least. The age of all attendees ranges from one year to seventy-five years old. Most everyone that is attending the wedding lives either in Nashville or Hendersonville. I fell that these people want to attend is because they are family, and I know they would all love to see Joseph and Courtney say their vows. They have technically already gotten married; in front of a judge, with no ceremony. To accommodate to both the people that live in Nashville and Hendersonville, the couples chose two venues.
Site Assessment Since the family is Catholic, the wedding ceremony will be held at Christ the King Church in Nashville. The capacity for the church holds about six hundred people. The church will not be even half full. The wanted a small wedding; they decided to cut back on costs and everything else. Christ the King is a very old church. It has cathedral ceilings and it is just an elegant church. The cost for the church if one is a member, which we are is going to be three hundred dollars. If we were not members, it would double plus half to have a wedding there.
The reception will be held in Hendersonville Country club. It is a very nice facility to have a wedding, with a big open dance area. It is one big room with about eight tables with six chairs to a table and the other forty chairs are around the room and dance floor. As you walk into the reception hall, there will be tables coming from each direction; four on each side. The food will be lined against the far back wall; directly across from the entrance, with the bar next to it. The country club capacity for this room is about 200 people; there will be plenty of space for everyone to enjoy and have a good time. The cost to have the reception here is one hundred and fifty dollars. Courtney’s family is a member, so we got the club for a good price.
Colors
The theme we are going with is fall. Courtney’s dress is a champagne color, which goes perfect with her pale skin; the bridesmaid dresses are latte with a champagne sash, which is a bit darker but very nice. The colors Courtney chose for the wedding are elegant. The flowers she chose for the wedding are burnt orange roses as the main flowers. The reception is going to be burnt oranges, fall green and brown decorations all around the room. We want to try to make people aware that it is fall and the colors will be fun and sophisticated.
Food and Beverages
Courtney found a woman to cater the reception. Her name is Sandy Swan. She is a free lance cater which she found very cheap. It will cost three hundred dollars for her to cater the reception. The food will include: a pasta table; spaghetti, noodles, spinach ravioli, fettuccini alfredo, and spaghetti sauces. The next table will include the salad bar: boiled eggs, bacon bits, salad dressings, croutons, tomatoes, cheese, etc. It will also include garlic rolls. The final table will be the fruits and vegetables: strawberries, pineapple, grapes, carrots, celery, and broccoli. There will be a chocolate fountain for dipping strawberries. This table may also be for finger foods. They haven’t really decided if they want to do that yet or not. Sandy Swan does not have a website or anything to check out her work. There is going to be two bartenders to serve drinks. It will be a full bar including: soda, wine, beer, and liquor.
Other Vendors
Another vendor that they are going to work with is the photographer. Courtney’s aunt is taking a photography class with a man named Jeremy Byrd. He has done weddings before and is known to be a very good photographer. He is charging six hundred dollars to do the wedding and reception; Joseph and Courtney get to keep all of the pictures he takes. The entertainment they are going to have is a disc jockey. He will play mostly anything we request and will be a lot of fun. They have no picked a DJ yet, but I have looked into prices and it could possibly be about two hundred and fifty dollars.
Timeline
I have put together a timeline for their wedding. It will make it less stressful on everyone to set certain dates for everything to be done and booked in a timely manner.
April:
·Book photographer. Find out packages and what you get from the photographers.
·Book caterer and discuss foods to create.
May:
·Find a DJ. Let him know what music you like the most.
·Pick out the flowers. Find a florist with cheap prices.
·Find the baker for the cake.
June:
·Find a party favor for guests.
July:
·Prepare invitations.
August:
·Send out invitations.
·Finalize plans with all vendors.
September:
·Relax. Have plans put together.
Goals
I think the wedding will go smoothly. I feel everyone will show up to the wedding. As long as everyone has fun, I think my goals will be reached with helping plan their wedding.
Conclusion
I had fun talking to Courtney about the wedding plans. She knows what she wants and knows how she wants it to be done. The found good deals with vendors and the venues. Nashville is about thirty minutes away from Hendersonville for travel. I think it is going to be a whole lot of fun. Weddings are fun when you are with your close family and friends. I made a list below of the total in costs for what is to be done so far and rough estimates on what has not been figured yet.
