One Fine Day Featured on Catherine Hall’s Blog

One Fine Day is featured on Catherine Hall Studios' blog about the issue many brides and grooms have about inviting kids. You can view the post below or go to Catherine's new site:

Kids or no Kids: A Wedding Conundrum

Event planner Stephanie Anderson of One Fine Day and the brand-new wedding site, Tahoe Unveiled, authored a guest post for my blog. Stephanie is a talented professional with a gift for producing off-the-charts events. Today, she addresses a couple's inevitiable wedding conundrum.

Inviting kids to a wedding? A few of my brides have inquired about the difficulties of guests with kids. Although kids are lovely and can be very endearing, you may not want to hear crying and screaming on your wedding day. In addition, it can be pretty tricky to invite your friends and not their kids, especially if travel is involved. To avoid the hassle, the arguments, and any hard feelings, try one of these ideas:

1. Hire a babysitter. Inform your guests that a babysitter will take care of your kids throughout the ceremony and reception. For your slightly paranoid parents, you may want to hire someone with First Aid certification or from an agency. Ask your venue if they have a spare room you can use as the kid's room.

2. Kiddie Corner. Designate one or two tables at the reception to kids only. Garnish the table with GI Joes, coloring books, Pretty Pretty Princess, and Hungry Hippo (clearly my childhood favorites). If you are worried about the kids wandering off, hire a babysitter to sit at the table with them.

3. Hire a magician! Kids are easily distracted, so if games won’t cut it, then hire a clown or a magician to keep them entertained and away from your lime light!

Thank you Catherine for featuring One Fine Day on your blog!

To view Catherine Hall's new website or to learn more about One Fine Day, click on the following: www.catherinehall.net www.onefinedayevents.com

Candy Buffets ~ The pros and cons of candy favors

The perfect assemblance of a color coordinated candy buffet  will evoke "oohs and ahhs" when your guests first enter the room. The cohesive architecture is intended to portray somewhat of an entertaining decoration. But, consider the alternate vision as the evening ensues and more guests dive into their sugar craving, leaving half full containers and candy spilled all over the table. Before you purchase infinite amounts of candy and varying vases and jars, consider the following pros and cons:

Pros ~

1. The look is dramatic, organized, and colorful - you can easily accentuate your colors in a bold manner.

2. Not only does it serve as a favor, but it can also serve as a late night snack.

3. The cost can be relatively cheap, as you can reuse the vases and jars in your house.

4. Kids will love it!

Cons ~

1. During the reception, the table will look messy and disorganized, which in essence negates the purpose of the display.

2. Requires someone to repeatedly refill the containers and clean up the mess ~ not a task for a guest, as their favorite song may drag them to the dance floor, stealing their "candy attending" attention.

3. Requires you to also purchase coordinating bags or boxes for the candy.

4. If you're reception is outdoors, the animals may devour it prior to your guests!

5. If kids attend your wedding, they will occupy the table.

6. When you run out of candy the look turns from fab to drab.

Kids or no Kids? How to handle inviting guest's kids to your wedding.

Inviting kids to a wedding? A few of my brides have inquired about the difficulties of guests with kids. Although kids are lovely and can be very endearing, you may not want to hear crying and screaming on your wedding day. In addition, it can be pretty tricky to invite your friends and not their kids, especially if travel is involved. To avoid the hassle, the arguments, and any hard feelings, try one of these ideas:

1. Hire a babysitter. Inform your guests that a babysitter will take care of your kids throughout the ceremony and reception. For your slightly paranoid parents, you may want to hire someone with First Aid certification. Ask your venue if they have a spare room you can use as the kids corner.

2. Kiddie Corner. Designate one or two tables at the reception to kids only. Garnish the table with GI Joes, coloring books, Pretty Pretty Princess, and Hungry Hippo (clearly my childhood favorites). If you are worried about the kids wondering off, hire a babysitter to sit at the table with them.

3. Hire a magician! Kids are easily distracted, so if games won't cut it, then hire a clown or a magician to keep them entertained and away from your lime light!