Jane Allen Events: January 2010

I just got back from an Association of Bridal Consultants Mini Conference in Columbus, IN and it was two days of learning and fun.

The first day was at the Hotel Indigo in Columbus, IN. Sandra Monahan, Weddings Without Worries, spoke about Etiquette within the wedding industry and everyday life.

Her presentation was then followed by short topics from other Bridal Consultants on industry trends.

The second day was at the Chateau De Pique Winery in Seymour, IN.

One highlight of the day was Tonya Shadoan who spoke about goal setting and achieving.

We then got to experience a tour and gain information about the Chateau De Pique Winery. If you are close or around the Seymour, IN area, check them out. www.chateaudepique.com This is a great wedding venue!

To highlight our newest advertisement on The Knot.com and bring in the New Year, here are some of the Knot's top 2010 Wedding trends.

Trend 1: Retro-Chic Weddings
Retro-style weddings -- at a hotel, in your parents’ backyard, or even at a restaurant -- are huge right now, and we’ll continue to see a lot of the style in 2010. It’s really no wonder: A wedding filled with vintage details, whether from the 1950s, ’60s, or even ’70s, can make for a meaningful heirloom-filled, back-in-the-day vibe, and the decor options are limitless. Use a turquoise-and-raspberry color combo, get milk-glass cake stands for your dessert table, dress the tables with pretty eyelet runners, and ask your florist to arrange your centerpieces in small porcelain vases or silver pitchers. Even your menu options can get in on the action with pigs in blankets and punch (served up in glass punch glasses, of course) at the cocktail hour.

Trend 2: Dinner-Focused Receptions
Say good-bye to informal buffet lines and light hors d’oeuvres stations and welcome back the sit-down reception dinner. Think of it as a re-creation of a dinner party in your own home: lots of food and a comfortable setting are both key. To achieve this level of comfort, order starter plates to get guests munching and chatting from the get-go and choose a dinner menu of the meat-and-potatoes variety. Have the meal served family-style so that all the food, wine, and iced tea or lemonade is set in the middle of the table for guests to help themselves, just like they’d do at their own homes. Do it this way and you’ll encourage conversation and create a more intimate atmosphere.

Trend 3: Innovative Ceremony Setups
This year, it's really all about comfort, so whether your ceremony takes place in a church, at a farm, or in a ballroom, consider adding elements that make your guests feel right at home. Skip the common aisle-down-the-middle arrangement and create a living-room vibe using a mix of couches and chairs, replace all those chairs with hay bales covered with quilts, or even spread blankets on the ground right in front of the altar for the kids. The best part is that anything goes just so long as the details create an intimate feeling.