Introduction
The wedding day is the event people want to remember for a lifetime. Therefore, it is critical that the ceremony is beautiful, well-established, and respects the interests of all guests. The wedding is a family event, but at the same time, this day is especially important for the bride, who wants to express herself and demonstrate her love for the groom and guests. Reconciling these two somewhat conflicting goals is no easy task. Therefore, holding a wedding requires careful preliminary planning, with all the nuances of the celebration. This paper aims to create a plan for the themed ‘enchanted garden’ wedding.
Description of the Overall Vision
The themed wedding usually starts with choosing the concept relating to how the couple imagines the upcoming holiday. The ‘enchanted garden’ is a popular choice, as this theme offers a wide range of decorating options, including the arrangement of the venue, décor, music, and overall mood of the event. Brides love this ‘floral’ theme as the abundance of decorations makes sure that the guests will feel special and the bride will feel beautiful and unique. The ‘enchanted garden’ concept is about creating an intimate atmosphere at the venue, where guests can retreat to various gazebos and secluded corners of a natural or ornamental ‘garden,’ feeling safe and connected to the secret of connecting two loving hearts.
Key Persons
Key persons will receive special attention from the entertainment team, including the master of ceremonies or priest, host, photographer, videographer, waiters, and other people who help conduct the celebration. At weddings, the key persons are the couple – the groom and the bride, the parents, and the bridesmaids. Other guests are brothers and sisters, relatives, friends, and colleagues. Key persons usually have to wear particular clothes, such as a white bridesmaid dress, bridesmaids’ dresses, and the groom’s suit.
Key persons also must be present in the photos and videos, and much of the ceremony focuses on the marriage ceremony, which involves the bride and groom. The total number of party members will be 100 people, which is not so much, given that the wedding budget is quite large – $50,000. Notably, American weddings, like weddings in other cultures, are considered well done depending on the number of guests, which speaks of the newlyweds’ generosity and goodwill.
Decor
Décor is the backdrop for the ceremony, and quite often a bad backdrop can ruin the best ceremony, while the right decor adds to the enjoyment of the attendees. For this ‘enchanted garden’ wedding, the floral décor will be used extensively – for table decorations, a decorative framed roof over the ceremony venue, and other venue objects. The bridesmaids will wear dresses and shoes in various shades of yellow and orange. Yellow and orange colors will also be used in the table design. Tablecloths and napkins will be the color of lemon cream, and the bouquets on the tables will include yellow and orange flowers.
The lighting will be warm and given that the wedding will be held in the summer and on the coast, red paper lanterns will be used as a symbol of happiness and good luck. Special attention should be paid to the flower gazebo, where guests and newlyweds can take beautiful pictures. The fortune-telling tent will also be decorated with flowers, where a gypsy woman will predict the future to the guests using tarot cards.
Food and Cakes
The wedding will be held on the sea coast, with plenty of seafood appetizers on the menu. Main dishes will include cream soups, fresh vegetable salads, seafood salads, and fish or meat fillet steaks, garnished with fresh vegetables and baked potatoes. Dessert will consist of a wedding cake and a wide selection of ice cream, with a costumed Ice Cream Man and stand, a stand of cotton candy, and other sweets commonly sold at fairs.
The theme of the fair is not particularly consistent with the theme of the ‘enchanted garden,’ but, recalling the novel plot, its main characters were children who created their unique world inside the walls of the enchanted garden. Therefore, the bride and groom will also create their world during the holiday, without any restrictions. The dessert table will be a buffet with punch fountains, as, by the end of the feast, guests will probably be happy to dance or take a walk. The wedding cake will be made in the form of a beautiful bright flower, perhaps a lily or a rose, which will symbolize the love of the bride and groom.
Venues
The first venue will be the church, where the newlyweds will take their vows to the priest to solemn music in front of the guests. An alternative to a church could be a second venue, and if the bride and groom are atheists or of a non-Christian religion, the venue should suit their preferences. The second venue is a seaside café, which will be creatively adapted and enhanced with furniture and decorations to fit the concept. Venues will also include the photo arbor, sweets stand, and fortune-telling tent.
Stationery, Music, and Vendors
Invitations, programs, menus, escorts, and place cards will use floral motives. The invitations will include the time, venue, and the dress-code expectations. The programs will feature the main parts of the ceremony, such as the exchange of vows, a buffet table, photography, lunch, a sweet table, musical breaks, and a dance of the bride and groom. The guests will have an opportunity to choose from the menu cards provided, to ensure that everyone gets the right amounts and types of food. They will additionally be asked by the waiters which dishes they choose from those offered. The music during the ceremony and reception will be classical and correspond to the type of event. In the late afternoon, a musical group with female vocals will perform beautiful instrumental music for the guests.
The DJ will play dance hits in different musical directions to cheer up and interest the guests. In the evening, the fire theater will perform for the guests, who will show amazing tricks, and then there will be a fireworks display in honor of the newlyweds and an after-party, where guests can stay until the morning. The playlist will be separately coordinated according to the tastes of the couple. Vendors who will help organize the wedding day will include a photographer, videographer, entertainment, officiants, host, fortune teller gypsy, ice cream man, candy vendors, and musicians.
Budget for the Wedding
The budget for the wedding will be totaling $50,000, which will include the cost of paying rent, a feast, and the labor of the hired vendors. First, the budget planner fee will be $1000, as she will be responsible for the whole ceremony. Then, the food for 100 guests will cost $150 per person, and the beverages – $60 per person, which will add up to $21,000 spent on food. Additionally, $3000 will be spent on the sweet treats and $500 – on the wedding cake. The considerable amount of money spent on food has a rationale and is determined by the cost of the work of cooks and the meal’s ingredients, as the wedding will be held in a respectable restaurant. An additional amount spent on sweet treats and alcoholic beverages is required to make sure the guests have a good mood. The meals will include seafood salads, and fish and meat steaks with side dishes, soups, and appetizers for the buffet.
There will be ten officiants to serve the guests, whose wages will sum up to $4000. The venue rent will cost $2000, and the décor will sum up to $4000. The musical band will be paid $2000, the fire theater will be paid $2000, the fireworks will cost $2000, and the work of the DJ will cost $2000. The work of the candy vendors and the gypsy will sum up to $4,000, and the installation of tents, tables, roofs, and gazebos will add up to $4,500.
Timeline for Rehearsal and Wedding Day
The wedding day for Miss Mary Mathew and Mister David Jones will be held on the first day of summer – the 1st of June, 2022. The officiants who will serve the reception are the BigMeal catering company which provides the best officiants in the city. Other vendors are the FleurDecor with a talented decorator Henry Ford, BloodyMary rock music band with female vocals, FireStage fire theater, photographer Jamie Crawl, videographer Luke Fellini, DJ Murray von Murray, candy vendors Bill, Will, and Jill, and charming gypsy Esmeralda.
The budget planner will be responsible for the ceremony, party and reception organization, music, décor, entertainment, and meals. The ceremony will start in the church at noon when the bride and groom take their vows. Minivans will take guests to the church and then to the party venue. The party will start at 13:30, with congratulations from the host and a buffet with cold and hot appetizers, and strong alcohol to relax the guests a little. Vendors will arrive at 11:00 to prepare their workplaces, and go through the rehearsal. At 14:20 hot meals will be served, then from 14:20 to 19:00 guests can taste any dishes from the menu of their choice. Waiters will change dishes individually, depending on the appetite and mood of the guests.
At 18:00, when dusk begins, a sweet table will be announced and a less formal entertainment program will begin, which will last until 23:00. During this time, guests will be able to re-order hot dishes or salads of their choice, about which they will be persistently notified by the waiters. At 23:00, fireworks will begin in honor of the newlyweds, and guests will go home in minivans or stay at the after-party until 3:00 in the morning when minivans will take home the remaining guests. The theater of fire will perform at 20:00, and from 13:00 to 23:00 a prediction tent and sweets sellers will be open. The musical band will perform during the party, from 14:30-14:50, 15:30-16:00, and from 17:00 to 18:30. The musicians will play gentle instrumental background music, “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” by Bryan Adams for the wedding dance at 15:00, and from 17:00 to 18:30 – some popular dance hits, after which a DJ will start working, who will play tracks from 18:30 to 2:00.
Ceremony Diagram
