When Tara Met Blog: weddings

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Real Wedding: River Vale, NJ

My friends Laura & Josh tied the knot earlier this month in River Vale, New Jersey at The Estate at Florentine Gardens for a beautiful outdoor ceremony and indoor reception.

I was really impressed with how the couple brought in the latest technology & social media to add to their celebration and to better connect everyone.

Guests were given the custom hashtag #ChasingLaura (the groom's last name is Chaise, so how cute is that?) for any photos uploaded to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. We were also given a code to use a free wedding app called WedPics, which allowed everyone to post their mobile pics directly to a group album to view, share and download instantly.

The Knot recently listed the Top 10 Trends in Weddings for 2015 and among which was embracing tech like selfie sticks. Remember years ago, people would put those disposable cameras on the table? Now, brides and grooms should consider adding a Selfie Stick to encourage candid pics that a wedding photographer wouldn't take. I thought I'd test this idea out and brought with me a Selfie Stick from The Click Stick, which allowed for some fun dance floor pics and large group shots. Sure, I looked a little weird having it around, but I had a blast. The cool thing about this selfie stick is that no batteries nor a Bluetooth connection are needed. It also has a button on the stick itself to snap the final photo. Since I'm petite, it also gave me additional height to snap the perfect pic. I also made this fun video using video that I captured via the stick.

Here are some other real wedding touches that the couple used:

Gotta love a LOVE ice sculpture

Peonies make such a bold and fragrant bouquet addition, perfect for a spring wedding

You can't leave out matching flowers on the cake either

Or colorful rose petals strewn along both sides of the aisle during the ceremony

I thought their chuppah was romantic and unique too

Bold centerpieces

Oh, and the mint ruffle dress that I wore, I found via this pin on Pinterest!

As if the beautiful cake wasn't enough, this dessert trio was provided as well and yes, that is an edible chocolate spoon!

A Florida Tuscany Wedding

I recently had the honor of being a bridesmaid for one of my bridesmaids :) Her wedding took place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but had a Tuscan theme with wine corks, grapes and shades of purple weaved throughout the celebrations.

Take a look at Stef & Manny's magical day:

Decor, Flowers & Favors

Instead of blowing bubbles, throwing rice or holding sparklers as the new couple exited the church, they provided guests with Wedding Wands to wave with satin ribbons and bells attached making for a fun photo without the mess.

Bridesmaid Gowns - Same Dress, Different Color
Each of the bridesmaids wore the same dress (Alfred Angelo Style #514), but in a different shade of purple. I loved the bright purple that I wore and how glamorous the cut was. I never received so many compliments for a bridesmaid gown before!

Bride & Groom
After the ceremony, the newlyweds arrived at the reception in style via a gondola on the riverwalk area of Las Olas Blvd. So romantic. I also loved this train track photo too.

Some of the above photos are from their wedding photographer Gio Morales Photography.

Guess the Panties Bachelorette Party Game

I've taken part in the typical Bachelorette party games, scavenger hunts, suck for a buck tricks over the years of celebrations, so I was pleasantly surprised to play a new game while attending my friend Laura's party last weekend.

STEP 1: Each Guest Buys Panties

Party guests were instructed to bring sexy panties for the bride-to-be as a gift, but unwrapped and without a card. The chosen underwear could be lacy, animal print, dainty or downright dirty, but should be a reflection of the person who brought them and NOT the bride's own style.

STEP 2: Bride Guesses Who They Are From

Then, without the bride seeing us do it, we all deposited our chosen designs in a bag anonymously. The bachelorette reaches into the bag and pulls out one pair of panties. The bachelorette then shows the panties to everyone and must then identify who bought her those particular panties.

STEP 3: Someone Drinks

If the bachelorette correctly guesses who gave her the underwear then the giftee takes a drink. However, if she guesses incorrectly then the bride takes a drink with each wrong guess! One pair she guessed incorrectly 3 times for. Whoops! lol

Now what panties identify me? That was the question I had to ask myself. I also had to think about how the bride sees me too. Finally, I went with a sexy red lacy number from Frederick's of Hollywood. I figured the boldness of them would signify me and that the color red would also reflect the red heart tattoo on my left butt cheek (that's another story).

The bride post panty raid

The first undergarment that the bride selected from the bag was a silly lion thong in orange neon colors, which Laura thought were mine, lol. Drink up! She also thought the next wild navy pair that she pulled out were mine too. Sip again. However, the third selection was in fact mine and she guessed it correctly this time, so it was my turn to gulp. I found it funny that she thought all of the bold and crazy ones had to be from me, but I suppose she wasn't too off in thinking that ;) wink wink. Oh, and another attendee brought official Jets panties since she is a fan of the football team, but luckily enough that is also the groom's team.

For bridal parties that stretch late into the night, having a quick caffeine boost on hand can be a lifesaver. Keeping a variety of flavorful single-serve coffee pods ensures guests can easily brew a cup of coffee and stay energized for more games, dancing, and celebrations without missing a beat.

Related posts: Sex and the City Bridal Shower

A Newport Beach Wedding

A few months ago, I attended the wedding of my friends Quynh and Donnie, whom I first met when I moved to Los Angeles 8 years ago. Not only did I get to enjoy a beautiful wedding, it was like a west coast reunion.

The ceremony took place in Newport Beach outside on the Newport Dunes. Raphael was one of the groomsmen, check it out, the orchids alone were amazing.

Now, this little ring barer caused a bunch of awes from the crowd when he came down the aisle before the bride holding this sign:

Psst that's me in blue behind him. I later changed into a teal dress for the evening though. The reception meanwhile was held at a banquet hall with a photo prop station where guests were able to pose with the bride and groom. The tables carried the purple flowers seen during the reception along with wine cork accents for the table numbers and placement cards.

Here's our table being silly for our group picture:

I was especially wow'd by the Vietnamese traditions that were incorporated from the bride's heritage, which made for an even more fun and memorable night, like with these lion dancers:

Orange themed Labor Day Wedding

Over the holiday weekend, I attended the wedding of my high school friend Carolyn and her sweetheart Gossett in Greenwich, CT.

Since the groom is a big Mets fan, the color theme was orange, which carried over from their invites, boutonnieres, bouquets, favors and table settings. Even Mr. Met cupcakes with the mascot's face appearing in just some of the fondant icing in their cupcake tower.

If you're ever planning a wedding in the tri-state area, be sure and book NYC Swing. It was literally the best wedding band ever, mixing blues, hip-hop, rap and pop. Here's a fun clip from the dance floor.

Instead of throwing rice, flower petals or blowing bubbles, this wedding had a fun twist where everyone grabbed large sparklers for a grand send-off. The sparks created a flaming walkway for the new couple to walk through as they exited at the end of the joyous evening.

A Wedding in Toronto

Recently, my childhood friend/pseudo-brother, Joey, married his college girlfriend of eight years, Heather. It was a lovely, intimate wedding in their home city of Toronto. Take a look inside their magical day complete with a run-in with the police: