The Wedding Planners Blog

Las Vegas Bachelorette Ideas

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

Each year we travel to Las Vegas to speak on behalf of The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada at the Wedding MBA Convention.  While there, we always make the most of it and find perfect Bachelorette Party ideas.

Here are some of my must-dos (broken down into Hotel, Shows, Shopping, Dinner & Night Clubs):

Hotel

In Las Vegas you can find rooms on the ranging in price from $25 to $1000 per night.  You want to stay on the strip, that is a given.  We always stay at the New York, New York Hotel & Casino.  Its on the strip and in walking distance to most of the things I am going to mention in this article.  Rooms are always under $100, the 4-star hotel is great and has a Starbucks in the lobby, need I say more??  For a fun risque show, go see Shades of Temptation. Plus, club-hopping is really easy with Coyote Ugly and three other bars all under the roof!

Shows

Thunder From Down Under at Excalibur Hotel- Nothing says Bachelorette better than hot, scantily-clad Australian men.

The Anthony Cools Experience (X-Rated Hypnotist) at Paris Hotel- So much fun if someone you are with becomes part of the show!

Shopping

ROSS, ROSS and ROSS, oh yeah, Marshall's & TJ Maxx too.  Stock up on Brand names like Calvin Klein, Coach & Jones New York at rock-bottom prices.  There is a ROSS on the strip, directly across from the New York, New York Hotel.

Dinner

Max Brenner at Caesar's Palace - An all-ladies dinner must include chocolate, chocolate and chocolate. From fun cocktails (Like the "Guaranteed Satisfaction" above) to mains dusted in cocoa powder, topped off with syringes full of chocolate, Max Brenner's is your place.

Nightclubs

You are going to find a good party just about anywhere, but some fun places to note are:

TAO Beach at The Venetian - Great for a girls' night, hot men escort each step of the way to the gorgeous outdoor nightclub.

Ghostbar at The Palms - 56 stories above the Vegas Strip, great music and cool space.

Minus 5 Ice Bar at the Monte Carlo - Dress in faux-fur and drink out of ice.  This bar is definitely cool!  (Literally and figuratively) ;)

Destination Wedding: Shakespeare

'With love's light wings did I o'er-perch these walls; For stony limits cannot hold love out.' Romeo and Juliet

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

Are you a true romantic? What could be more romantic than getting married where Romeo & Juliet were first introduced to the world?

Marry on Shakespeare's stage, in the famous Swan Theatre or at the of the theatre tower.  They have many spaces for receptions small and large including a rooftop space or a room on top of the theatre!

If you are interested in Stratford, England make sure to contact us, we are Destination Wedding experts.

Photo from The Royal Shakespeare Company.

Destination Weddings: Abaco Beach Resort in Abaco, Bahamas

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel Abaco Beach Resort is located just north of the Tropic of Cancer, 165 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida, on Grand Abaco Island, the second-largest island in The Bahamas.  The laid-back, understated elegance of the resort sets you at ease the minute you set foot on the property.  I was lucky enough to be hosted by the Abaco Beach Resort & Marina for a WPIC Alumni Familiarization trip to see the property.

Renowned for its Sport Fishing Tournaments, this luxury resort is perfect for families, sun-soakers who want to relax, wedding groups ready for fun, snowbirds who want to be apart of a community of peers, adventure-seeking sportsmen and newlyweds who would like to be alone.  It is amazing that one resort can offer so much to so many.   Abaco Beach resort is made up of well-appointed hotel rooms, 2-3 bedroom bungalows, condos available for rent or purchase and a marina where snowbirds live on their boat.  Abaco Beach MarinaBungalowOne of the condos

With 8,750 total feet of event space, there is no shortage of options for Destination Weddings either: Garden Pool, offering elegant island ambiance for evening events or daytime affairs, with lights from tiki torches sparkling off the water as the live band plays poolside. Follow it up with a bon-fire and S'mores on the beach!The Great Lawn is a palm-tree lined, expansive setting with panoramic ocean views, perfect for cocktail parties, receptions, and buffets.The Marquee offers 6, 250 square feet of space, seats 400 and offers the option of glass walls overlooking the marina or slide the the doors away for a clear-span tent.For indoor receptions, Below Decks overlooks the pool, ocean and beach and accommodates 150 for dinner.

Abaco Beach Resort offers 4 Wedding packages to build off of (Tropical Affection, Junkanoo Love, Hand-in-Hand/Toes in the Sand or Seaside Elegance) or we can create something custom with you.  

In a subsequent post, I will detail just some of what there is to do in the Abacos, such as island-hopping, boating and adventure tourism.

Things to do in New York - Iron Chef Morimoto's Restaurant

Iron Chef Morimoto in front of his restaurant Moriomoto's NYC in Chelsea Source: JustAskAlice.com

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

Tracey and I, along with a few other WPIC certified Coordinators, travelled to New York last week to attend “The Wedding Party”. 

While in New York, Tracey and I make sure to do something interesting so we can see what the city has to offer our wedding clients.  So far, we have done a walking food tour of SoHo and Greenwich Village, taken a horse-drawn carriage ride through Central Park, gone to see Wicked on Broadway, experienced what The Plaza Hotel has to offer wedding clients and eaten at some truly incredible restaurants.  On this whirlwind trip to New York City, we decided to dine at Iron Chef Morimoto’s restaurant, Morimoto.  It is located in the Chelsea Market.

We booked our reservation a month early and were actually able to secure a spot for 8pm on a Saturday!  The restaurant was packed, but the staff were wonderful and attentive.

We started with drinks at the bar downstairs and before we could finish them we were taken to our seats.  The hostess came with a tray to carry our drinks, we expected to have to wait a lot longer, so this was wonderful!

This is where we sat with an awesome view of the open kitchen. Photo source: archrecord.construction.com

Tracey and I like to order the Chef’s Tasting Menu whenever possible and this is what we did.

We started with Morimoto's signature dish: Toro Tartar

Sashimi topped with mushrooms

How pretty is this? Vegetable crudite with a warm anchovy dipping sauce. Since I don't eat pork, they made me a skewer of tempura lobster!

Cooked oyster with fois gras

An assortment of sushi

For the intermezzo (palate cleanser), house-made gingerale!

For the main: Morimoto's surf & turf. Lobster tail with an indian masala sauce, lobster claw and marinated steak (so good!)

And to finish, Sweet Potato Pots de Creme!

Absolutely everything was fantastic, but I could have ordered three of the Toro Tartars!  No wonder that is his signature dish!

Cool Places for Wedding Party or Engagement Photos

By: Tracey Manailescu

An email was sent to me recently with great locations in it for Bus Stops around the world. Of course, my mind went instantly to weddings and I started thinking how great it would be to have engagement photos or wedding party photos at one of them.

Obviously, wedding party photos would mean a Destination wedding, which YES we can help you with at The Wedding Planners!

Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

Source: farm3.static.flickr.com

San Diego, Californa, USA

Source: farm4.static.flickr.com

Rakvere, Estonia

Source:  farm3.static.flickr.com

Yemin Orde, Israel

Source:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/n2b/2635759707/ 

Helicopter to Sandals in St. Lucia?

By: Tracey Manailescu

Yes, you read this right! 

 
How did we hear about this? We met a newlywed couple on the plane who, instead of taking the hour long shuttle from the airport, opted to take an extremely scenic route. The 12 minute helicopter ride to the Sandals Grande St. Lucian is available for $145 USD each person (one way).

St. Lucia Helicopters offers this amazing service for up to six people. It comes highly recommended. Watch the video to see what they saw. 

St Lucia is such a lush and mountainous island, that it is so worth experiencing from different angles.

VIP Wedding Tour of St. Lucia - Sandals Regency La Toc

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

Last week, Tracey Manailescu, Jenn Dobrijevic, Jennifer Borgh & I were invited for a special VIP Wedding Tour of the Sandals Resorts in St. Lucia.  Here we are with our Sandals Representative, Gina Tsirmpas, National Promotions Manager.
Sandals has three resorts on this gorgeous island: Sandals Regency La Toc, Sandals Halcyon and Sandals Grande St. Lucian.  We stayed at Sandals La Toc and attended events at the other two properties.

We were invited to a vow renewal and 2 weddings while we were in St. Lucia.

Every wedding or vow renewal at Sandals is one of six  Sandals Weddings by Martha Stewart

Beautiful Beginnings:

Flutter of Romance:

 
Vision in White:

Seaside Seranade:

Chic & Natural:

Island Paradise:

Contact us for more information on how to book your Sandals Wedding or Vow Renewal. We are CSS and have already coordianted a Destination wedding with Sandals last year at Royal Bahamian.

*Photos from Wedding Packages are all from the Sandals Website

 

 

Stunning Hand-Painted Bridal Shoes

by Tracey Manailescu

A fellow WPICer, Christie Vito from Stellar Events in Ottawa, put me on to this amazingly talented lady and her company, Figgie Shoes.

Deborah Thomson (aka "Figgie") is the mastermind behind this collection and she is from Windsor, ON.

Photo by: Michele Bowman

The above photo is the first pair of hand-painted perfection, ever created by Figgie Shoes.   

If you look closely, you can see the special items on the shoes; The place they got engaged, a caricature of themselves and their dog, coffee cups, vintage cameras and motorcycles, etc. which were all items that the bride wanted integrated into the shoes.

 Thomson's mission: "Making the world a more beautiful and customized place... starting with your feet!"

Check out this video:

Meet Figgie Shoes from Everything Wedding on Vimeo. 

Pre-Wedding Travel? Travel like a Rock Star!

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

Whether its for a Bachelor or Bachelorette Party, a romantic get-away or nearby honeymoon, travel in style with your own private chartered plane!

Amazingly affordable, Presidential Air offers VIP and Special Event Charters 24-hours a day, 365 days a year, for 1-8 people in a luxury private plane.  Bachelors can take the groom to party in Montreal, the Bride can surprise her bridesmaids with a Spa get-away including a champagne flight.  The groom can whisk his bride to a romantic get-away in Quebec City!  The options are endless.

Pricing is by the hour, rather than per passenger and includes the entire aircraft.  

Some other advantages include: 

• Book anytime, not months in advance
• No line ups, arrive minutes before take-off
• Free parking or have their driver pick you up
• Fly when you want and where you want
• Customized catering
• On board GRO (guest relations officer) if required
• Fly to airports not serviced by other airlines
• Less total travel time
• Relax in their lounge before & after your flight

Presidential is a Canadian company operating out of Ontario and services Canada & Northern US.

NYC- "Celebrate Love" Destination Weddings Symposium

by Danielle Andrews Sunkel

Each year, Tracey and I get invited to one of our favourite events: The Celebrate Love Destination Wedding Symposium.  This is an Invitation-only event for Media and a few select Wedding Planners.

The New York event is held in the Grand Ballroom at The Plaza Hotel.Source: The Plaza Hotel 

This year 27 resort companies and tourism boards were in attendance including places we have experienced first-hand and love, Palace Resorts, The Cayman Islands and Boca Raton Resort & Club to name a few.

Everything about this event is upscale, from the venue, to the participants to the giveaways and the experience as a whole.

This event is put together by  Destination Weddings & Honeymoons Magazine.  At each event, the magazine unveils their Reader Survey Executive Summary (conducted by Walker Communications this year).  The report gives attendees important information, facts and figures about the Destination Wedding Market, trends and client desires & expectations.
 
Here is just some of the eye candy we experienced at this event...

Beautiful florals by Laura Clare Design greeted us at Registration and adorned all of the tables:

 
 

Some of the beautiful cakes created by Palermo's Bakery on display: 
 
 

The Booths:




 
Lunch:

This year was another wonderful and informative experience.  I look forward to the next!