Invitation Sale!

We have 25 Ivory Invitations with Black Organza Ribbon for sale...at a REALLY CHEAP PRICE! One of our clients accidentally ordered too many and wants to sale them so that they are not just put in a box and never used.

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The sale includes everything that you see above. Here are the details:

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-25 Cream Smooth Front Cards with Envelope

-25 Cream Smooth Front Response Cards

-25 Cream Smooth Front Reception Cards

-15 Cream Direction / Map Cards

- 25 Cream Tea Length Menu Cards

- 25 Cream Place Cards

- 3 Black Ribbon Spools (25 yards each)

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The asking price for these invitations is $50.00 (that equals out to $2.00 each! That is a GREAT deal!)

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These are perfect cards for a smaller wedding (say a Destination Wedding!) The cards are blank, ready for you to print your own wording on them.

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Call Natasha at 423-468-0815 or email her at Natasha@allureeventconsulting.com if you would like to know more or to purchase these cards.

Destination Wedding Dream Weekend!

A lot of people have never heard of Mackinac Island but let me tell you, it truly is a gem. Located in Michigan, Mackinac Island is known as the "all natural" theme park of America. To get to the island you must travel by a ferry and once there the transportation is limited to horse and buggy, bicycle or foot. One of the main reasons travelers visit this wonderful island is for the annual Lilac Festival which is held every Spring.

With that said, Mackinac Island would be a wonderful in-country destination wedding. Most of the time people feel that they have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars traveling oversees to have a destination wedding. What they do not realize is that anywhere that they go is considered a destination as long as it isn't the hometown that you live in.

This October 10th - 12th Mackinac Island is holding a Destination Wedding Dream Weekend for any one who is interested in learning more about weddings. They will have a symposium with wedding professionals, ceremony and reception site tours, family events, bridal party events, pub crawls and a lot more. Go to Mackinac.com to view all the details.

-Allure

Happy Hour with Allure {New Hotel}

I just received information on a new hotel in breath-taking Bora Bora. If there could be any location in the world that would be the most romantic and beautiful spot, I would have to say it is Bora Bora. After all, the island is known as the most romantic place on Earth.

The new hotel is the Four Seasons Resort and it offers a wide-range of amenities, including wedding packages for those who are going for a Destination Wedding. Contact their wedding specialist for any questions that you may have.

Happy Hour with Allure {Great Website}

I found a GREAT website for anyone wanting to travel or get married in Greece. I posted a few weeks ago about why Greece is such a fabulous location....and now here is an Everything You Need to Know About Greece guide so you can make sure that you are covered when you travel to the great country.

The website is Greek Travel and the author is an expert on all things Greek. If you have any questions, email him and he will email you back within just a few days.

Just imagine...getting married on the white sandy beaches of the Greek Isles.....just seems like perfection.

Happy Hour with Allure {Save Some Money!}

I found an article on www.moneysmartlife.com and thought it was something that all of you destination brides and grooms could benefit from:

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON A DESTINATION WEDDING:

1. Give yourself as much time to plan as possible – Booking your flights and hotels as far in advance as possible will save a considerable amount of money for you and your guests. Keep in mind that when you plan a destination wedding, the polite thing to do is to pay the hotel and some meal expenses for your guests. Guests at a destination wedding are typically expected to pay for their own flights, but not much else.

2. Consider getting married in the off-season – Flights, hotels and nearly everything you can imagine will be cheaper this way. Now, I am not telling you to get married on a beach in the middle of winter! If you can time your wedding just before, or just after the area’s peak season, then all of the associated discounts are yours for the taking.

3. Keep your guest list small – Having a destination wedding gives you the perfect excuse to pare down your guest list. After all, not everyone is going to be able to take off work and travel to your wedding – no matter how much they might want to. By keeping your guest list to the bare minimum (i.e. the wedding party, close family, and best friends) you will have the people there that really matter to you and your future spouse, and you will get to spend a lot more time with them before and after the ceremony.

4. Always ask for a group discount – Both hotels and airlines offer excellent group discount rates when you have parties of ten or more. The best way to maximize your money is to combine group rates with early bookings and off-season specials. If you can manage to do all of those things, then you could save as much as 40% off of your total travel costs.

5. Consider getting married at a resort, or on a cruise – Destination resorts and even some cruise ships often keep a wedding planner on staff. The planner they provide to you will already be familiar with the local caterers, bakeries and florists, and they can usually help you save money on every aspect of your dream wedding.

6. Buy a “package deal” – Destination resorts also usually offer pre-planned wedding packages where all you have to do is make a few decisions, and then show up for the big day. The wedding packages range from simple and elegant, to the truly extravagant. If you take some time to research online, and call around, then you should not have any trouble finding a package that fits your needs, and your budget.

7. Give simple favors to your guests – Suntan lotion, local chocolates and specialties, or even a group scuba trip are all nice ways to treat your guests to the local culture and encourage them to have fun – without spending a ton of money.

Don’t be fooled:
Paying for your wedding guest’s food and lodging might seem outrageously expensive, but if you put it in perspective, it’s really not. Consider this:

If you stayed at home, rented a church, and had a large traditional wedding with a sit down reception you could end up paying upwards of $50 - $100 per guest. Getting married locally would encourage everyone you knew to attend, so that $50 to $100 per person could easily turn into $5,000 - $10,000 dollars if you have close to 100 guests.

A destination wedding on the other hand, requires only that you pay for the hotel rooms and several of your guest’s meals. Some resorts will even offer you a free wedding package in exchange for booking your group into their hotel!

If you took ten people to your destination wedding, and paid an average of $500 each, you would still only be out $5,000 on your guests. And you would have a more intimate, romantic setting for everyone involved.

Where ever you choose to have your destination wedding please be sure that you give yourself and your guests enough time to get passports, book flights and take off of work. This will be one of the most special days of your entire life. Careful planning will not only make things run smoother, but will save you a lot of money in the end.

Happy Hour with Allure {Cute Save the Dates}

I don't think I have ever seen cuter Save the Dates than these! My husband and I love to travel and ALWAYS use luggage tags so we make sure that the bag we are grabbing off of the belt is ours and not Joe Blows. What a great way to set off your Destination Wedding! These tags will get everyone excited for their trip and wedding. I love that you can keep reusing them too...what a perfect gift! Check them out on their website!

Honeymoon: St. Lucia

Beth & Greg

We went to St. Lucia for our honeymoon. We stayed at the Sandals Grande and I would highly recommend that to other couples. We have great weather, great service, great food and a great time relaxing in the sun! Tyler and Seth (2 of Greg's groomsmen) got us a canopy tour for our wedding present. I was a little scared and was secretly wishing they just got us a couple's massage, but I was grateful for the gift when we were ziplining through the rain forest :)

When we were on our honeymoon, we saw a couple getting married on the beach - just the 2 of them. They had dinner (or their reception if you want to get technical) in a hut that was directly in front of the hot tub we were sitting in, so we literally had a front row seat to their wedding. A gentleman from the resort was taking pictures, but all of them were posed and he didn't take as many as I thought he should have!! I desperately wanted to take them to the beach for a photo shoot by the water, but Greg said I shouldn't bother them while they were trying to get MARRIED! When they were finished with dinner, I just couldn't help myself and I hopped out of the hot tub before Greg could catch me. Turns out they were very excited to have more pictures from their wedding day and I had a great time "playing Tracy" for 20 minutes. The POINT of my story is that I am so glad you are doing destination weddings...there are lots of brides getting married on beaches that need a professional photographer like YOU to document their day :)

Happy Hour with Allure {Book an agent}

One of the most important things in planning a Destination Wedding is to book a travel agent. If you are not very familiar with your location (and most likely you are not) booking an agent can save you both time and headaches. While American-based travel agencies are great for weddings that take place on American soil, they are typically not what I go with when planning a wedding in another country. If you are wanting to plan a wedding in London, a London-based agent will know much more about the hotels, travel arrangements, construction that is going on, etc. Most agents only are able to travel to places one (if that) time a year and they just can't know everything that you would need to know about the area.

While a wedding planner is a necessity for your wedding, they are not travel agents. Yes, we can assist you with booking venues, etc. but to give you the inside scoop on the location and all of it's secrets, that is a travel agent's job. Travel agents can also give your guests the peace of mind that you want them to have. If Aunt Ida hasn't ever left the country, questions will be racing her mind like, "How do I know if the hotel is nice?", "Will I be safe?", "What is closest store in case of my hose run?" and so on. A good travel agent should know all the answers to these questions, putting Aunt Ida to ease, therefore putting you to ease knowing that your guests are not worried.

To find a good travel agent research those that are in the area that you are going to have your Destination Wedding. Find three agents and contact all of them by phone, email and web form (if they have one on their website) to see how timely they are in getting back to you. This will be the first indication of a good travel agent. Don't be afraid to ask a million questions either. That is what they are there for. It is better to ask them now than end up having a situation that could have been avoided with one little question.