Destination: Las Vegas

Congratulations ~ You have successfully and stylishly announced your engagement!  Family and friends swoon as you proudly show off your sparkler, recounting every touching moment of your beautiful proposal.  They naturally ask about wedding plans, and you excitedly tell them that you will be getting married in Las Vegas.  Friends and family are (mostly) thrilled, but you still get the occasional "Vegas?  Really?"

Las Vegas had long been synonymous with quick and easy weddings, devoid of the glamour and artistry associated with other major metropolitan cities.  This thinking dates back to a time in the early 1940's and 50's when we had only a handful of chapels, playing host to a mere 20,000 weddings a year.  

Today Las Vegas proudly serves as the backdrop for over 115,000 nuptials annually.  What the city offers is virtually limitless and unmatched anywhere in the world!

• Over 140,000 beautiful hotel rooms, 4 & 5 Star Resorts
• 9.8 million square feet of resort function space
• James Beard Award Winning Chefs
• World-Class Catering Departments 
• Award Winning Wedding Planners, event designers, photographers, florists, DJs, and other professionals
• Entertainment in the form of gambling, shows, nightclubs, etc.
• Over 60 Gold Courses throughout the valley
• Convenient travel for friends and family spread far & wide

Today, a Las Vegas Bride walks down an aisle lushly covered with rose petals, to the sounds of a live harpist, and recites her vows surrounded by friends and family under amber lighting.  “Rubber chicken” wedding meals have given way to meticulously planned tasting menus and wine pairings. Master mixologist create cocktails unique to the couple, served in fine crystal.  Florals and linens are imported, lighting is set, and musical options include everything from celebrity performers, DJs, live bands, and jazz trios.  

So, as you plan your Las Vegas destination wedding, close your eyes and envision a candlelit aisle, rich woods, and lush floral displays.  Design a menu featuring your favorite comfort food served alongside avant-garde chef specialties.  Can't decide whether you should have a big-band entertainer or a DJs take the stage? Book both, and delight in knowing that they will work together to give your guests the biggest party they have ever seen as your custom designed monogram swirls across the dance floor...

With each and every detail looked after and cultivated by some of the most talented individuals in the world.

Too much?  Perhaps you're choosing Vegas to escape the pomp and circumstance of a traditional wedding, and your idea of romance is just the two of you (and an Elvis impersonator) outside of the courthouse.  Well, if that's the case - Don't worry.  We still do that, too.  

And we do it better than anyone anywhere else in the world.

Always...A

An Announcement

As soon as I finished writing the The Art of Engagement I thought, “Well, that’s only half of the story...”  

After the Art of Engagement comes The Announcement.  

After all questions have been asked and answered comes the excitement of telling those closest to you the good news.  Even if, unbeknownst to you, they have been in on it all along, the telling of your story is a chance to share the infectious excitement with those around you.

Years ago, engagements were announced formally, complete with engraved stationary and a feature in the local paper.  I, personally, still love the formality of a papered announcement, but with today’s technology (and sometimes complicated social structures) it is more likely that your friends and family will find out through a mass text, Facebook posting, or TwitPic!  

Your parents and siblings should be the first to be told (in person if possible).  Once you have announced it to them, you can ask that they spread the word to extended members, such as aunts, uncles, and cousins.  

To share your news quickly (and appropriately), consider the following:

*Upload a video and email to your friends and family.  You may choose to do this via text, as well, if you aren’t near a computer and just can’t wait!

*Send an e-Card with a short note.

*Create a wedding website.  No need to get elaborate - Just select a layout, upload a picture, and sent to friends and family with a note saying that there is more news to come.

*If you can stand to keep the secret a for a day or so, call friends over for an impromptu party and announce the news during cocktails.

*When making your announcement to at work, similar etiquette applies.  Tell your boss privately first and ask their suggestion on the most appropriate time to announce.  Everyone will want to see your ring and hear all of the details, so you want to make your announcement at a time that will interfere least with work.

One of my favorite engagement announcements took place as a part of an elaborate proposal!  It involved an enterprising groom who proposed privately in a hotel suite, and then lead his fiance to dinner, where a handful of family and friends were waiting as a sweet surprise!  

And, of course, you may wish to simply not say anything, and let the sparkler speak for itself!  But I warn you, it will be a hard secret to keep!

Enjoy!

Always...A

The Art of Engagement

This one is for the boys...Or, in some cases, the girls!

I have had the extreme honor of helping a group of amazing, romantic men propose to the women they love.  Setting the stage for these magical proposals has meant the world to me.  What gesture is more romantic than asking someone to spend the rest of their lives with you?

So often we focus on the bride, on the ring, on the dress.  Well, if the wedding is “the Bride’s Day” then the proposal, in many ways, is the Groom’s.  The very act of asking has become an art form, and seeing men so dedicated to being a hero in that moment for the women they love is breathtaking.

Some proposals have happened quickly.  I was once called on a Thursday by a groom-to-be who had staged a faux-girl’s weekend for his love.  With the best friend in on it, we lured her to a private balcony, a carpet of red rose petals, and table for two overlooking The Strip.  Others proposal have taken longer to orchestrate.  For example, on one occasion the ring wasn’t quite ready in time for Christmas.  My fast-thinking groom decided not to propose without the bling, and presented his girlfriend with a trip to Las Vegas instead, complete with special dress to wear to their dinner.  Several months later, she put on that dress, and when they arrived at their destination we had recreated Christmas for them, complete with a tree, twinkle lights, tinsel, and a very sparkly, be-lated gift!

And one proposal that, admittedly, I had little to do with, took place over a Thanksgiving Day dinner with my best friend proposed to his now wife, because she was what he was truly thankful for!  I may have missed out on the proposal, but I got to plan the wedding!

Planning a proposal is not unlike planning a wedding.  Put thought into where and how you are going to ask the question.  Guys, know your audience!  And by that, I mean, your girl!  If she is shy and hates to be the center of attention then having the ring brought out on a platter with dessert in the middle of a 5 Star restaurant is probably a bad idea.  Does she come from a tight-knit family that means the world to her?  Then proposing at a family affair (after asking her father’s permission) may be perfect.  In all cases, see if you can get someone to take a few sneaky snapshots or video for you.  You’ll love looking back on the moment together, and it can serve as amazing inspiration for your engagement announcements, wedding stationary, or even theme!

No matter how long, how elaborate, or how personal the proposal, the true beauty is that for a moment there is one man loving a woman enough to do anything to make her happy.  

And a moment (or two) later...there is a woman who just says “Yes!”

Always...A

And so it begins...

Welcome to Andrea Eppolito Weddings & Events.  

I'm so glad you found me...Thank you!  

The days and weeks leading up to your wedding will be all about you.  But I firmly believe that in order to work together, we need to get to know each other, to like each other, and understand one another.  I want you to feel completely comfortable with me.  And so, today, I thought we'd start with me.

Today I am in my office, proudly drafting my first blog entry as the Founder and Chief Designer of Andrea Eppolito Weddings and Events. Today, my two year old little boy is chasing the dog on his scooter, trying to carry more than 3 cars in his arms at a time, while singing about dinosaurs.  Today, I have been sharing my life with his amazing father for 5 years, 10 months, and...22, 23, 24...24 days.  Yes, I can pinpoint the moment I fell in love with almost everything in my life...

I fell in love with weddings at 15 years old. I had been planning my Sweet 16 for two years, carrying my Inspiration Book everywhere, obsessing over every flower, every linen, every favor. One day a friend's mother asked if she could see it.  As she flipped through the pages, she smiled and said, "This is good.  You should be a wedding planner."

A wedding planner?  You mean I could do this...For a living?  Forever?  When I was offered the chance to work the reception desk at a wedding event, I jumped at the chance. 

That was all it took.  I was hooked.  

That was (gasp!) almost 20 years ago, and weddings have been my passion ever since.  I fell in love with every aspect of weddings.  The engagement.  The jewelry.  The flowers and photography, menu and music. The vows.  I love the vows.

But most importantly, I fell in love with the love stories, and how each wedding told a different one. Each detail like a secret, whispering something about who these two people were and are, and who they hope to become together.  

A wedding is not just a wedding.  It’s a love song.  A wish.  A prayer and a meditation.  

Andrea Eppolito Weddings & Events is my dream, two decades in the making. And so it begins...

I have realized my dream.  

Now, it’s time to focus on yours...

Always...A