Wedding Season is here... some helpful tips to save you money on that big day from Shades Within You, Event Planners

Choose a less popular day and time.

Most weddings take place on Saturdays which means it is the most expensive day to book a reception hall. Consider having an evening ceremony and reception on a Friday. If you really want a good price for a Saturday look into booking the ceremony in the morning and having an early afternoon reception. Brunch weddings are a popular new trend that are considerably less costly than evening dinner receptions. Other budget ideas for the ceremony and reception: consider a Sunday afternoon wedding or serving only a light meal instead of a full dinner.

Cut out unnecessary expenses.
One of the best ideas is to skip some extras you don’t really need. Do you really need a professional videographer? If you really want a video of the ceremony today’s high resolution handheld video cameras can do a great job and it’s likely you or someone you know has one. Ask someone in the front row to record the wedding for you. Other low cost wedding ideas include asking the photographer to deliver the negatives to you and arranging for your own prints and skipping rental cars or limousines and simply driving your own car to and from the wedding.

Do it yourself.
There are plenty of inexpensive things you can do yourself rather than hiring someone to do them. Make your own centerpieces and decorations even wedding favours! Low cost wedding ideas for the favours include things like small decorative pouches or boxes of candy or a candle that you have decorated yourself with ribbon. You can also print your own invitations place cards and thank you cards at home using affordable kits available at stationary stores. There are many do it yourself low cost wedding ideas that can save your budget while still making your wedding beautiful!

Look for experts among your friends.
There may be a wealth of inexpensive wedding ideas hidden among your friends and family. Find out if anyone is a good photographer and if they will do the honours at a good price for you. Do you have a friend who plays an instrument and can supply ceremony music? Or maybe you know someone who can officiate at your wedding. Not only are these great ideas but hiring friends also makes the day more special. Your friends may even have more ideas to share!

There are many wedding ideas to help you stay within your budget and still have a beautiful wedding. Doing a little work yourself and asking friends to help out are all wedding ideas that are easy to implement. Hopefully with these great low cost wedding ideas you will have some money left over for a great honeymoon

Let Shades help you make all your dreams come alive on that special day

Sample of our "Diaper Baskets and Center Pieces" for Mother to be...

Baby  Basket Center Pieces:  Shades Within You

Baby in a Wagon

Samples of our designs also will go on sale soon on  "Ebay"    One dollar will be donated to St. Jude

Rock-A-By-Baby



Created by Shades Within You

Created by Shades Within You:  Baby Basket for a Queen

Purple Passion if you want to order any designs or want someone to plan your next party email

Shadeswithinyou@gmail.com.... Party Planner

This is for anyone hosting a party. Five Steps for Hosting a Dinner Party--- Have FUN, EAT, DRINK, AND PARTY

Creation that I made after much planning for a party of 100

Have you every been to a bad dinner party  ...  believe me I have no names to follow.  So I put together a list that will help anyone host a great dinner party.  The most important thing is to organize, brainstorm, and plan by doing this you will be able to enjoy your guest(s).  Please do me a favor if you can't cook hire someone.  Eat, Party, Dance, and Drink......Enjoy from Tassajo

1)  Organize - decide where you will keep your notes, ideas, and lists so that they're all in one place and you can find them quickly. You can use paper (dedicate a section in a notebook) or, if you are more technically inclined, create a virtual notebook for your party using your smartphone or computer.

2)  Brainstorm - start with 3 lists: guests, menu, and "things I might need" (for things that you're bound to forget until the last minute). Go through each list one at a time, and quickly brainstorm any thoughts or ideas that come to mind. Then go back to each list and make any decisions you can, starting with the most basic like the date, time, and number of guests.  You really don't want to know what my list look like. I have pictures, color themes, note pads... I'm a planner and planning is what I do.   That why me and my sisters started a  party planning business each of us brought something to the table.

3)  Do a reality check - delete, diminish or delegate as much as you need to. Delete anything that is going to put undue pressure on you (like making a new or complicated dish), simplify where you can (like with dishes you can prepare in advance, or picking up dessert instead of making it yourself) and make note of any tasks you might be able to delegate (like grocery shopping or cleaning the house).  This is very important for new party planners PLEASE DO A REALITY CHECK




Our Table Setting


4)  Plan - with your calendar or planner open, work backwards from the date you picked for the party, go through your lists, and figure out the things you'll need to do, and by when, and put them into your calendar or to-do list. And remember that some things always take longer than expected, like shopping for something special to wear - so give yourself enough "cushion" time whenever possible.

If you have already decided on the menu, use this time to figure out any ingredients you'll need, set up a manicure appointment or other beauty treatments you might want to get, and go through your "Things I might need" list again to double check that you're all set (think through any extra seating, tables, or serving dishes you might need, anything special you might need to do with your pets, etc.).

One of the Table setting we created

5)  Keep it together - be realistic with how much you'll be able to do the day of. Whenever possible, set the table the night before, try on what you're going to wear, and do a last-minute check through the house for anything you might have overlooked. On the day of, work backwards from the time you're expecting your guests to arrive and give yourself enough time to get ready, set out the appetizers, put on the music, and open up a bottle of wine to let it breathe



Our drink that night was a Caribbean Cosmopolitan

 After a few of these your party will be the talk of the town.....Good luck and happy party planning

With Love (Shade Within Your) TM

One Dish Recipes

Versatile Vegies

Once a week I will add a new recipe for people on the go.

Pasta With Roasted Vegetable

1 (2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes1
(10-ounce) container fresh Brussels sprouts, each cut into halves
1 small bulb fennel (about 8 ounces), trimmed, halved and thinly slice
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and halved lengthwise
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leave
8 ounces penne or ziti pasta or pasta of your choice
1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons TABASCO brand Pepper Sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450F. In roasting pan, combine squash, Brussels sprouts, fennel, olive oil, garlic, salt and oregano. Bake 20 Minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, prepare penne (or pasta of choice) according to package directions. During last 2 minutes of roasting vegetables, add pumpkin seeds to vegetables. Continue cooking until seeds are lightly toasted.

To serve, toss cooked, drained pasta with roasted vegetables, TABASCO sauce and Parmesan cheese to mix well.

Note:

Generally, fresh Brussels sprouts are removed from their stalks and sold by the pound or in cardboard containers covered with cellophane. At farmers' markets, they also may be found still attached to their stalks. These sprouts are fresher and have better flavor. Do not remove them from the stalk until just before cooking.