ARC Pavilion

Yes, the ARC Pavilion will be there! Come visit our booth at the “Chico Bridal Showcase” and enter to win $100 discount on your rental of our banquet hall.

Sunday August 15, 2010 – Noon to 4:00 pm @ Silver Dollar Fairgrounds

Chico’s largest gathering of wedding pros…under one roof in one day. Find everything for your wedding, honeymoon and new home all in one convenient place!

Plus all brides can enter to win wonderful prizes! Like…

The Perfect Place for the Perfect Moment – 3 Nights and 4 Days at the Casa Dorado Cabo San Lucas Resort & Spa! An exciting and romantic honeymoon can be yours if you win the drawing for 3 nights 4 days at the Casa Dorada Los Cabos Resort and Spa. The perfect place for the Perfect moment. A luxury five star resort to celebrate your romance.

You can only win if you attend and enter the drawing at the Chico Bridal Showcase on Aug 15th so get your tickets now. We’ll see you there!

Money raised by the ARC Pavilion banquet hall rentals goes to the ARC of Butte County’s Family Support Programs. Since 1953, The ARC has provided services for the developmentally disabled. Now in 2010, The ARC serves approx 900 families with special needs children and adults in Butte and Glenn Counties (Calif., USA).

Your wedding is only a month away and you’re felling pretty good. You have the flowers on order (check), the music selected (check) , the invitations sent (check), the venue booked (check), a loving groom in the wings (check) and the perfect dress picked out (check).

What have you forgotten??? Hmmmm, lets see…AH! THE CAKE!!

Unique? or Traditional? It's your cake!

Relax! Don’t worry! Our little community has unique local bakeries that can create you a beautiful wedding cake in no time flat!

Please, see our Resource Page for a list of local bakeries.

But first you must know what questions to ask before you choose a baker and design.

1) Ask to see a Portfolio. Luckily, many bakers already have these photos on line.

2) Ask for a Tasting. How are you suppose to know what flavor you like unless you get a sample?? It’s pretty standard so don’t be shy.

3) Ask for Delivery and Set up. It’s a lot of work to get a cake transported and set up correctly…and you’ll have better things to do.

4) Ask about Cake Toppers. I know it seems silly but this little detail is easy to forget. If your baker doesn’t have a selection you can always order one on line. Just Google it.

5) Unique or Traditional?? If you’re wanting a wedding cake that reflects your quirky style… your very first question should be about the baker’s creativity and willingness to create your vision.

6) Get it in Writing. Yes, I know this is good advice for everything but it’s especially true when organizing something as chaotic as a wedding.

Well, if at the last minute, you successfully get your perfect cake order, delivered and set up maybe you should consider becoming a Wedding Planner? Why not, you just earned it!

Don’t want the same-old-same-old wedding experience?? What to create a special day you and everyone else will never forget??

Hello Kitty Theme

Check out these unique wedding ideas…

Many couples know that they want a particular kind of wedding, but don’t know where to start, or how to incorporate that theme into their wedding. Browse these themes to see if any of them feel like the right sort of wedding for you, then use them as a launching pad for your own ideas.

Looking to have an incredibly romantic wedding, perhaps on Valentine’s Day? Romantic and Valentine’s Weddings

Are you a couple that loves tennis, bright fresh color combinations, and boating? Weddings for the Country Club Set

Do you dream of a very formal wedding worthy of royalty? The Formal Wedding

Are you more relaxed and want to do something akin to a family reunion? The Casual Wedding

Do you want to feel like a glamorous movie star? Hollywood Glamour Wedding Theme

Do you spend your weekends in hip art galleries and your nights sipping cocktails at swanky downtown parties? Do you consider Damien Hirst passé? Weddings for the Sophisticated Art Lover

Is the Christmas season your favorite time of the year? Do you want to get married in the season of giving? A Christmas Wedding

Do you love nature and value preserving our environment? The Natural Wedding

Have you always loved sports and athletics? Don’t have a frou-frou wedding, go long for a sports-theme! A Wedding for the Sports Fan

For those who love velvet and lace, old-fashioned sensibility, and Victoriana, have a wedding from the 19th century. The Victorian Wedding

If you’re a couple that loves the simplicity of country charm and being out in nature, have a farm wedding. A Country Wedding

If every summer you can be found munching on a mutton chop at your local Ren Fair, why not have a wedding ripped from the pages of Romeo and Juliet? The Medieval Wedding

For those creative couples who have no limit to their imaginations or appreciate show-stopping antics, why not center your wedding around a particular TV show, era, or theme. The Whimsical Wedding

Article from About.com

Music Advice from the “Off Beat Bride”

First dance songs that haven’t been done to death!

Not that I have anything against Etta Jame’s “At Last” or Michael Buble’s “Everything,” — they’re both perfect first dance songs — but I’ve heard them both WAY to many times at weddings. So, combining my database of musician friends, Shrie’s music writing experience and Ariel’s, the OBB team has compiled a list of totally not overused first dance songs, from the silly, to the romantic, to the extremely controversial!

Oldies but Goodies

* The Beach Boys “God Only Knows”
* Shuggie Otis’ “Strawberry Letter 23″
* Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On”
* Otis Redding’s “That’s How Strong My Love Is”
* Van Morrison’s “Sweet Thing”
* The Zombies’ “This Will Be Our Year”
* The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset”
* Toussaint McCall’s “Nothing Takes The Place Of You”
* Al Green’s “Love and Happiness”

Sexy Romantic

* (Ariel’s) Me’Shell Ndegéocello’s “Love Song #1″
* Ben Folds’ “The Luckiest”
* Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes”
* Massive Attack’s “One Love”
* Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You”
* Portishead’s “All Mine”
* Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day”

Wonky ‘n Fun

* Adam Sandler’s “I Wanna Grow Old With You”
* The “Family Matters” theme song “As Days Go By”
* Doris Day’s “A Bushel And A Peck”
* The Velvet Underground’s “I’m Sticking with You”
* The Band’s “Cripple Creek”
* Toto’s “Africa”
* Sam Hart’s “Mario Kart Love Song”

Indie

* (Megan’s) Pavement’s “We Dance”
* Jon Brion’s “Here We Go”
* Neko Case’s “This Tornado Loves You”
* Sufan Stevens’ “The Dress Looks Nice On You”
* Wilco “I’m the Man Who Loves You”
* The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love”
* Bright Eyes’ “First Day of my Life”
* Nick Drake’s “Northern Sky”
* The Pixie’s “La La Love You”

Jazzin’

* Sara Gazarek’s “Makes Me Feel This Way” or her version of “You Are My Sunshine”
* Harry Connick Jr.’s “Come By Me”
* Kurt Elling’s “I Feel So Smoochie”
* Jamie Cullum’s “I Think, I Love”
* Renee Olstead’s ” A Love That Will Last”

Upbeat Swingin’

* (Shrie’s) Chuck Barry’s “You Never Can Tell”
* Barry Louis Polisar’s “All I Want Is You”
* Sly & the Family Stone’s “You Can Make It If You Try”
* Huey “Piano” Smith’s “Little Liza Jane”

Laidback Easy-Peasy

* Mayer Hawthorne’s “Make Her Mine”
* Cat Power’s version of “Sea of Love”
* Peter Gabriel’s “Book of Love”
* Air’s “Playground Love”
* The Fruit Bat’s “When U Love Somebody”

Dark and Romantic

* Judas Priest’s “Angel”
* Rammstein’s “Ohne Dich”
* Type O Negative’s “Love You to Death”
* Stone Temple Pilots’ “Still Remains”
* Incubus’ “Monuments and Melodies”
* Killswitch Engage’s “My Curse”
* HIM’s “Join Me In Death”

Planning a wedding can be confusing to say the least. How do you keep track of everything? How do you remember who charges what?? How do you remember all the advice from your friends and family without pulling all your hair out??

Well, be organized, of course! Yes, yes, I can hear you saying “That’s easier said than done, missy!” Not to worry I wouldn’t hand out flippant advice without giving you something  useful to go with it.

Oh well, I guess I should say Carol of Weddings North Valley wouldn’t do that to you.

Carol’s Wedding Planner Time Line will keep you on track. It shows all the steps for a 12 month time line and gives you space to write everyone’s contact info. It’s a great resource that will keep you organized and your hair safe.

40 best cost-cutting tips for your wedding budget

1. Extend your engagement. A longer planning period means a better chance of getting the best vendors in your price range. Plus, you can typically lock in rates that might increase by the time your wedding date arrives.

2. Imbibe wisely

Many sites offer consumption bars (you pay for the liquor your guests drink) or open bars (a flat fee per guest). If your invitees are light drinkers, a consumption bar will save you cash. One caveat: Make sure you trust the establishment tallying drinks.

3. Limit your attendants. You could save hundreds on the boutonnieres and bouquets, not to mention all of the gifts you would need to buy for a large wedding party.

4. Avoid a Saturday night soiree. Wedding pros charge their highest fees for parties that are held on this evening. If you’re willing to move your event to a Friday or Sunday night, you’ll probably get lower rates-and even better ones for a weeknight wedding.

5. Marry in the off-season. Prime party times are from May to October in most parts of the country. If you instead plan your nuptials for January, for instance, you’ll have a better chance of finding vendors who will drop their rates.

6. Steer clear of holidays. A Valentine’s Day wedding will mean higher costs for flowers-and for nuptials on New Year’s Eve, your site may charge you overtime rates for staffing.

7. Shop strategically. When searching for a gown within your budget, avoid luxe materials and embellishments. Instead, go for textured fabrics like silk organza, crinkled silk and silk faille, which look and feel more expensive than they are.

8. Inquire about freebies. Some sites include a cake, flowers or a honeymoon suite in wedding packages.

9. Pick a multipurpose venue. If you use one site for the ceremony and reception, you’ll save on site fees and won’t have to pay for transportation to both spots.

10. Keep it to one card. If you can fit all of your reception information on the wedding invitation, you’ll save on the materials and printing costs, and possibly even on the postage.

Article from Bride.com