Ask The Celebration Advisor: Is it possible to have lilac's in the brides flower bouquet? Debbie – Elyria OH

Celebration Advisor Flower Expert Reply: It depends. If the florist is using a bouquet holder with floral foam to create your wedding bouquet, the answer would be no. Lilac doesn't do well in floral foam because of the woody nature of the lilac stems.  For this reason, lilac is normally considered a vase arrangement flower.  However, your wedding flower florist may be able to use lilac in a hand-tied bouquet by placing the lilac stem in a water pick.  One of Wedding and Party Network's wedding flower florists in Elyria OH, may have other ideas on how they can incorporate lilac into the bridal bouquet.

Good Luck with your wedding. Please keep us posted and be sure to send us pictures of your wedding.

Planning a wedding in Elyria OH? Wedding and Party Network can help you with your wedding  planning needs.

Ask The Celebration Advisor:

My husband and I got married at the courthouse and I was wondering if it was appropriate to have a small reception, nothing formal just a small cook out with friends and family?

–Jamie

Celebration Advisor Reply:
First of all, congratulations on your marriage! We here at Wedding and Party Network believe that every marriage deserves a celebration! We love your idea for a simple cook out with friends and family. The weather is warming, and the flowers are blooming. Getting outside for a wedding reception would be a perfect way to commemorate such a special occasion. We love nothing more than a relaxed, laid-back get together, and this fits perfectly with your no-frills attitude.

Invite friends and family using simple, yet fun invitations. Check out invitations and party favors that grow when you plant them! Adding a fun touch will let guests know they're in for an easy-going afternoon. Add a few bouquets of fresh flowers on a few tables to dress up the gathering just a little, so guests will feel like they're here to celebrate a special event. You don't want it to be just another cookout. It can be an informal gathering and also have a purpose.

Another great trend to try for a outdoor wedding reception would be cupcakes. Every wedding deserves something sweet to top it off, and cupcakes are a great option that is easy and fun. Make them yourself, or call your local baker to have a few delivered the day of your cook out.

It sounds like you two make it a point to stay true to who you are as a couple, and we have no doubt that your get-t0gether will be the perfect representation of just that. So go out, get your friends together and celebrate the fact that you found each other!

This Celebration Advisor post is sponsored by Wedding and Party Network.

Ask The Celebration Advisor: Are there any upcoming bridal/wedding events in Fargo? Irene

Celebration Advisor Reply:

Yes, KVLY-TV11 will celebrate its' 23rd Annual Bridal Prevue this month. Bridal Prevue 2010 hits the Fargo Civic Center on Sunday, January 17th. Doors open at 11:00am. Entrance fee for the bridal show is $10. Brides and grooms who pre-register for the Bridal Prevue will receive free entrance to the show and will be entered in the $15000 give-a-way. All brides planning a wedding in Fargo ND should attend by this event

Ask The Celebration Advisor: im having a quince in two years but i want everything to be picked out now  but im looking for a place to have my party it need to be in providence rhode island and has to have a dance floor huge one and needs to have  at least one long table for seven damas and cabajeros and two more for me  and my escort i want it to be then best quince no one will ever forget ~ Alicia

The Celebration Advisor: It sounds like you're ready for the most grandiose Quinceanera Providence Rhode Island has ever seen! There are several options available to you when choosing a reception venue for your Quinceanera.

For example, consider wedding reception locations. These venues are often grand enough to host extravagant Quinceaneras and other events as well.

When searching for reception venues in Providence Rhode Island, consider luxury hotels, banquet halls, large churches and other facilities that typically host on-site events like wedding receptions and parties. These venues will have experience hosting elegant occasions like yours which will help planning your Quinceanera go smoothly.

Note: Be sure to visit many venues before you make your decision.

Ask The Celebration Advisor: I'm the father of the groom, the wedding will be in formal attire and the rehearsal dinner will be semi-formal. Is it appropriate for me to wear a dinner jacket to the rehearsal dinner? If not, what do you recommend? Thank you for your advise!! ~ FV

The Celebration Advisor: Yes, a dinner jacket is appropriate attire. For a semi-formal rehearsal dinner, consider lightweight fabrics in standard colors such as navy blue, black and charcoal gray. Dinner jackets in these colors conform to most formal and semi-formal standards of rehearsal dinner attire. We're sure you'll look dapper!

Something to consider is the type of pants that you will be wearing. Jeans/denim are NOT appropriate for a semi-formal occasion. Semi-formal rehearsal dinners call for a more formal fabric such as khaki or cotton slacks.

A simple suit would be the best attire for a rehearsal dinner. It doesn't have to be your best suit (save that for the wedding) but it can be the runner up. The rehearsal dinner is where you can don your best khaki colored suit, gray suit, or some other neutral color that you are not likely to wear to a very formal occasion. Stray from tuxedos. They're too ritzy for a semi-formal rehearsal dinner.

You'll look great for certain. If you need help picking out appropriate formal wear, contact a local formal wear shop near you. The experts there will be happy to help you create a smooth and refined look.

Ask The Celebration Advisor:
I was wondering if you did specialty order cakes? Also, how much do your cakes run? I was wanting a special and pretty specific cake for my daughter's 3rd birthday this coming May(2010). I can give you more details about it after I find out if you make them…thanks! April in Sheridan IN


Celebration Advisor Reply:
How exciting a 3rd birthday. Although Wedding and Party Network is a great place to plan your birthday party, we don't actually provide the services or products. Instead we have a network of professional local businesses who provide everything you need for a party in your area.

There is a fantastic bakery near Sheridan IN, who is one of our members. Classic Cakes is a bakery in Carmel IN and just 19 minutes from Sheridan. They create some awesome children's birthday cakes like the one below.

Their Princess Birthday Cake is one of my favorites. No two of their cakes are alike. They can custom create a cake for any occasion – birthday, anniversary, wedding or special event. You can even select different flavors or fillings as well as different designs. So give Classic Cakes a call  and they will help you work out all of the details.

Good luck. Please come back after the party and share pictures with us.

Ask the Celebration Advisor: I read your post titled "Birthday Cakes in the Shape of What?" and I was wondering how do bakers create such realistic cakes? My brother who lives in Lawton, OK is having his birthday soon and I want to get him good with a specialty humorous birthday cake.

The Celebration Advisor: Birthday cakes have evolved from their primitive box-shape cousins to an array of elaborate and creative styles even Charles Darwin could be proud of. As the focal point of a birthday, birthday cakes should be proud structures that stand to commemorate the recipient, rather than cower close to the table. In Lawton, OK bakeries have taken this new trend of birthday cakes to the next level with the use of some special techniques and materials.

Of course the first step to designing a birthday cake is to have the appropriate canvas. After the cake base is baked and left to cool off, expert bakers will coat the cake in an even coating of butter cream frosting. Now is the point where a cake starts coming to life before your eyes. Just like a sculptor, bakers will form small edible figurines out of gum paste. Gum paste is an edible sugar dough that when formed into a shape will appear to look porcelain or ceramic. Any figurine you can imagine can be a tasty addition to a birthday cake.

A humorous birthday cake from Lawton, OK would be great for your brother. You have the perfect opportunity here to pull his leg a bit and give him a birthday cake that he'll remember for a lifetime. Some of the funniest cakes I have seen include toilets, skeletons, Chuck Norris, hamburgers and horse dung. It would be great to see the look on his face when he meets cake Chuck Norris' kung fu stare.

With the adaptation of special materials and artisan techniques, cakes have been made into an edible art form. Thankfully for your brother's birthday cake, Lawton bakeries have the tools and expertise to bring to life any humorous themed cake you can imagine.

Ask The Celebration Advisor: My husband and I are moving to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and will be getting married there a few weeks later after all of the details are wrapped up. A few of the guests will be longtime residents of there, well Edmond anyway. I want a very contemporary wedding cake design with a unique flavor. Is OKC too tradition for that to be ok with those friends? ~ Aria

The Celebration Advisor: The simple answer is that you're fine with the wedding cake of your choice. Whether contemporary/modern or traditional, people in OKC tend to have open minds about wedding cakes. Of course, you know your wedding guests and their mentalities so it's easier to judge your decision about wedding cakes based on what you know about your friends.

Remember to keep in mind that this is YOUR wedding day, not theirs. There is no wedding cake etiquette that says you have to have a certain flavor or design at the reception so go with what you think everyone will like but the ultimate choice should be what you like and what you want. Thankfully, Oklahoma City bakeries provide many different options for the wedding cake so you can even get the cake of your dreams locally!

People in Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma City metro area are pretty cool with contemporary wedding cakes. You'll find many wedding cakes at OKC wedding receptions that are decorated with color, very unique cake toppers, multiple tiers, and some that are a unique shape. Don't be afraid to step outside of the box with your wedding cake. You're good to go!

Here's a quick hint though: Oklahoma City wedding cake bakeries have seen and created a multitude of contemporary wedding cakes. Bakers and pastry chefs here know the local tastes and that doesn't just refer to flavor. They can give you excellent advice on popular wedding cake styles, designs, flavors and accessories for the perfect contemporary wedding cake. Modern wedding cakes feature a lot of different aspects so be sure to talk them over with a local baker before you make your final decision.

Ask the Celebration Advisor: I am planning a beach party for my closest friends soon and I want to arrange something special for all of us. Since there will be quite a few people in attendance it would be much easier to hire a caterer for the event. Are there any caterers from Newark, DE that can tend my party?

The Celebration Advisor: The planning and preparation that goes into a party can be an enjoyable but stressful time. Caterers from Newark are experts at melting stress away. You can feel a weight lifted off you shoulders as soon as these experts in their craft take the hard bits of the planning process and complete them to your instructions. Even for your party on the beach, creative caterers can prepare a delicious surf-n-turf buffet for all of your guests which leaves you free to enjoy the food and the cool sea breeze.

Upon first deciding a menu with a caterer, you will be able to sample the foods and decide which are best for the event. Typically a catering service can deliver the freshly prepared food to the wedding or party. However there are a few catering services that offer customers the option for a portable kitchen to be set up on location. Guests are known to congregate around a master chef working his magic in these portable kitchens and wind up enjoying themselves thoroughly.

I can assume that because you are having the party on a beach, a buffet set-up would relay a more laid-back tone to guests. This would allow for your friends to go and grab food as they please and not feel restricted to a table. Even if you plan for this to be a more formal event, Newark caterers can plan for a bar and wait staff to be present and take your guests orders table-side just as in a full service restaurant.

Your idea of having a catered beach party will be a blast. With the beautiful scenery and deliciously spiced gourmet foods, you and your guests can feel relaxed and pampered thanks to Newark, DE caterers. I definately agree that this will be special event for everyone in attendance.

Ask the Celebration Advisor: For my wedding in Salt Lake City, UT I would like to have a professional photographer taking photos. I am always so impressed with the quality of my friend's wedding pictures. What can I expect from a wedding photographer at my wedding? -Mary Anne

The Celebration Advisor: Photographs are one of the best conversation makers and that is why people say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say why stop at a thousand? You can make it two with a professional wedding photographer from Salt Lake City. If you are to be more than satisfied with images of the happiest day of your life, then being satisfied with a photographer is your first big step.

The wedding photographer you choose should have the personality that you get along with best and the energy that matches that of your wedding day. The last thing you would want is for an introverted photographer to shy away from the dance floor. By interviewing a few you can get a head start weeding out the sticks in the mud.

Some photographers will offer to bring external lighting. I suggest this because as photographers know, lighting is never ideal. Sometimes distracting shadows can ruin a picture that could have benefited by some flash photography. Also have in mind scenic backdrops for the photographer to use at your wedding. Oftentimes brides will suggest to include a sunset or mountains into the background. And what better of a backdrop is there in Salt Lake City than the beautiful snow capped mountains?

Wedding photographers will also have various photo packages to choose from. These packages can varry in price from $500 – $10,000 and include different amounts of prints, hours of coverage, special albums and multiple locations. As a rule of thumb with photographers, it is not necessarily true that what you pay for is what you get. Many times you can find fairly low prices that adversely represent the quality you can expect.

Above all else, the Salt Lake City wedding photographer you choose can be expected to provide you with beautiful pictures that are a tangible record of your happiest day. For generations to come, your relatives will find joy in your timeless snippets from the past.