Merry Christmas

On behalf of the crew from The Wedding Gurus, we would like to wish you all a fabulously merry christmas and an inspiring, exciting and fantastic new year. We have so many great things coming up in 2013 to share with you as we continue to grow and be inspired by all of the creative, new and innovative ideas that keep us forever busy.

We look forward to your feedback, comments and suggestions and a 2013 full of wedding perfection!

The Wedding Gurus
xxx

Handfasting Ceremony Wording

Welcome to week 26 of 52 Wedding Traditions/Rituals in 52 Weeks.

To accompany our handfasting ceremony video we thought it would be helpful to provide you with the a couple of the more popular wording variations.

Example 1:

Celebrant:‘Nicole and Gary have chosen to include a hand fasting ritual in their ceremony today as a symbol of their love Nicole and Gary please hold your hands, palms up, so you may see the gift that they are to each of you.’

(the hands are bound lightly by celebrant)

‘These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and vibrant with love, which are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other all the days of your life.

These are the hands that will work alongside of yours, as together you build your future, as you laugh and cry, as you share your innermost secrets and dreams.

These are that hands which will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

These are the hands which will comfort you in illness, and hold you when fear or grief engulfs your heart.

These are the hands that will give you support and encourage you to chase down your dreams. Together as a team, everything you wish for can be realised.

This binding represents the love that has bound you together to this point. It will continue to bind you to one another until the binding of your rings takes it place.’

The ceremony continues with the couple’s hands bound until the ring exchange at which point the celebrant removes the binding, and the rings then take its place as their binding for life.

Example 2:

Celebrant: Please join hands. As your hands are joined, so now are your lives. (Celebrant binds the hands)

Above you are the stars
below you are the stones
as time does pass
Remember
Like a star should your love be constant
Like a stone should your love be firm
Be close, but not too close
Posses one another, but be understanding
Have patience with one another
For storms will come, but they will go quickly
Be free in the giving of affection and warmth
Make love often, and be sensuous with one another
Have no fear and let not the ways or words
of the unenlightened give you unease for the Gods are with you.

Hands remain bound until the ring exchange.

Example 3:  Handfasting with Children

Celebrant: 'When we think about marriage we immediately visualize the joining of two people. But this is not always so. Marriages unite families and as is the case in many families today, who already have children, they give us a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and embrace some of the other important relationships in our lives.

During a wedding ceremony rings are sometimes exchanged with a promise. As (Bride) and (Groom) are not exchanging rings, but instead binding their hands, they thought appropriate that their children should also take part as reminder of their promise to them on this day.
They wanted to find a way to let them know now how special and wonderful they are, and how privileged and blessed they feel to be their parents.

Children step forward and their hands are bound with the parents
 
Celebrant addresses children:

(Insert children’s names) These are the hands that will support encourage and protect you through all of life’s ups and downs, happy times, sad times, love and we hope, great joy. This binding is a reminder of the love and respect that each of you have for the others and that which will last for a lifetime.

You may also like to view our video example of a Handfasting Ritual by clicking here

The Wedding Gurus
xxx

Top 10 All Time 'Calssic' 1st dance songs

In keeping with our recent posts on fabulous wedding songs, here is the 'Top 10 All Time Classics' list for first dance songs. Just like the others these are our picks so we appreciate that some of you may have some all time favourites yourselves. If you have, let us know, we'd love to hear them.

We hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we did putting them together!

Top 10 All Time Calssics

10. It had to be you – Harry Connick Jr

9. Unchained melody – The Righteous Brothers

8. Don’t know much – Aaron Neville & Linda Rohnstadt

7. Can’t help falling in love with you – Elvis

6. Endless Love – Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey

5. Because of you – Tony Bennett

4. Sea of love – The Honeydrippers

3. Because you loved me – Celine Dion

2. Amazed – Lonestar

1. At last – Etta James

The Wedding Gurusxxxx

Wedding Reception Options – Hilton Adelaide

Planning your wedding reception is probably going to be one of the single most stressful and costly decisions you will ever make. Finding the right venue that is the perfect expressions of your imagination and within budget constraints is not an easy task.

So we’ve made it our mission to get out and really have a look around at what’s out there and we are starting off with Hilton Adelaide.

Note: We can honestly tell you that we were not paid or persuaded in any way to write this post showing Hilton in a positive light, we were simply invited to come take a look and judge for ourselves.

When you hear the name Hilton, there are many images that spring to mind. The name is so well known the world over that most of us could probably say that at some point we have stayed or at least been to a Hilton hotel.

We were lucky enough o sit down recently with the lovely Laura, Marketing Communication Manager and Rachela, Events Manager of Hilton Adelaide to get a first hand look at their fabulous wedding and corporate events offerings.

While Hilton itself has been a well known brand, it has in the past been more traditionally linked with corporate style events and business class accommodation. But while this is still very much the case, Hilton have launched a brand new focus on ‘Weddings’ and along with this new approach comes a team dedicated to making weddings at Hilton something amazing.

Beginning with a tour of the main function rooms, followed by a look over the wide range of package and menu options and some detailed questions on specifics, we finished the visit with coffee in the stunning ground floor lobby.

So what did we find out?

Well……

Hilton in Adelaide is centrally located adjacent the gorgeous gardens of Victoria Square. With the Adelaide central Market next door it is a great place to spend the weekend of your wedding as you prepare for the big day.

With three fabulous room options for your reception, each absolutely stunning, but varying in style and taste, there is something to suit every concept idea.

Our tour began with the ‘Victoria’ room, a lavishly decorated, modern space which captures your breath on entrance. If you are looking to really wow your guests then this may be the location for you.

The ‘Victoria’ Room

The ‘Victoria’ room, located on the ground floor is a gorgeous modern space, lavishly decorated with a unique metallic mesh ceiling. The room gives off a very stylish attitude, perfect for the modern couple wanting to entertain their guests with a contemporary, spacious and upmarket reception.

With the addition of a dance floor, the ‘Victoria’ room has the capacity to hold 150 guests comfortably and if your considering a cocktail reception the capacity stretches to 250.

Next we moved onto the ‘Balcony Room’

 The 'Balcony' Room

With so many possibilities, the ‘Balcony’ room, located on level 1, offers the opportunity to really create your own feel. Beautifully decorated with a warm feel and overlooking the gardens of Victoria Square, you really need to see it to appreciate it fully. Ideal for an intimate sit-down or cocktail style reception, this room has the capacity to seat 120 with a dance floor or 250, cocktail style.

Set up with oval tables, pictured above and decorated to your own colour scheme, the magnificent lighting and open feel of the balcony rooms are unique to Hilton. To sit at the table amongst friends and family on a warm summer evening with the concertina doors fully extended is magnificent.

On the day we visited this room was set up somewhat differently with a long table running the entire length of the room, something we had never seen before. With guests all at one table and the bride and groom perfectly placed in the middle, we only wished that we were on the guest list to really experience this exquisite set up.

Moving on to the ‘Grand Ballroom’ was where we were truly awe inspired!

The 'Grand Ballroom'

Although the picture above, shows a beautifully decorated, modern space, it does not even come close to doing it justice. Entering this room there was an immediate sense of class, sophistication and style. The lighting above catches the eye immediately with its very unique look and the room itself is massive, 660m2 in fact, easily catering for 450 with a dance floor or 800 cocktail style.

Located on level 1, the ‘Grand Ballroom’ is where you want to be  if you are planning a large wedding and want to really give your guests something to talk about. Featuring a 5.8m-high wall-to-wall curtain of intricately woven metal it brings the room to life creating a shimmering veil.

Amazingly, the ‘Grand Ballroom’ is the ONLY pillar free hotel ballroom in the state.

On the day of our visit, this room was being prepared for a large wedding. The tables were elegantly prepared, the ceiling draped with panels of sheer material and the entire front of the room was being set up by light and sound engineers to create some added extras the couple had chosen to incorporate to wow their friends and family.

When asked about how far couples can go in personalising their receptions, the answer was clear….. Hilton staff were happy to work with them to create anything their heart desired as long as it was safe and attainable.

Leaving the ‘Grand Ballroom’ we headed down the main stairs that overlooked the ground floor to the ‘Lobby Lounge’. It’s hard not to be impressed by the glamour of Hilton and the efforts they have made in recent years in updating these areas to an open plan, inviting and contemporary space.

Lobby Lounge

Next on the agenda was the ‘details’, discussed over a delicious coffee and chocolate.

The Complete Package:

Laura began by eagerly telling us about how committed the team were at Hilton Adelaide to providing affordable, yet fabulous wedding packages for all sizes and budgets. She talked about how Hilton’s focus had really shifted to the wedding industry and how they could offer premium services attached to the well known Hilton brand to provide couples with new and exciting options.

Their main aim was to offer ‘Complete Packages’ which left the couple with nothing left to organise or worry about. Despite being very impressed we did have to wonder how much all of this was going to cost. Rachela smiled, telling us that this was the best part, the part that they really wanted to get across to couples – that their packages were affordable and competitive, starting with the base package at just $100, but with more inclusions than most of their competitors.

With world class kitchen staff, Hilton can also cater for any food choice. Having done weddings involving all Indian food, all Asian food and many others, their ability to adapt and meet clients needs is second to none.

With inclusions like Chair covers and audiovisual options which are usually ad-ons, Hilton have really created some enticing inclusions. So what WILL you get included in your package?

Well each package contains a range of items including menu choices, canape’s, room hire, stage and dance floor etc ( a full list of package options can be requested from their webpage at:

http://www3.hilton.com/en/events/weddings/receptions/index.html

But, believe it or not each package contains a 5 hour drinks package, including pre-dinner drinks and are you ready for this? An overnight stay, access to all facilities and with sparkling wine, chocolates and breakfast!

If that wasn’t enough in addition every couple receives:

Chair covers
Audiovisual options
A menu tasting
Printed, personalised menus
First anniversary gift vouchers – Choose from a $250 dinner voucher OR an overnight stay in a deluxe room with a bottle of sparkling, chocolates AND buffet breakfast
A gift box with $1000 of gift vouchers to spend at other suppliers including transport, photography, Make-up, flowers, bridal shoes and more
Accommodation is also provided for your guests at 25%off their best available rate.

(*inclusions as at Nov 2012, subject to change)

Overall we have to say that we were really impressed with Hilton given that in all honesty, they would not have been top of our list to consider as being a premier provider in the wedding industry, simply because we just didn’t know what they had to offer.

Deciding on a reception venue is a really big deal and not one that should be taken lightly, but in our experience, most couples prefer a situation where everything they need can be done under one roof to take away the thousands of little tid bits of organisation that often drive them completely mad by the time the big day arrives.

To be able to stay at the hotel the night before, wake up to a nice breakfast and a day of pampering which can all be organised within the hotel, be whisked off to your ceremony and return knowing that absolutely everything is on time and organised is worth it’s weight in gold. After all your only planning to do this once, so when it’s over you want to be able to look back at it fondly for the next however many years!

If you are interested in getting package prices or in discussing the possibility of having your reception at Hilton, then contact:

The Hilton Adelaide Event Sales Team
08 8237 0363 
catering.sales@hitlon.com

If you are planning a wedding at another Hilton, here is the link to their web page

http://www3.hilton.com/en/events/weddings/receptions/index.html

We had a great time researching this post, so we hope this helps you with thinking about your reception and we hope to bring you another Hotel/Reception venue review soon.

The Wedding Gurus
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