Beehive
Feature Launched: Aug 31, 2006
About: A forum for readers to post questions and get feedback from the hive, aka the weddingbee community.
In today’s hive:
- Jill needs a Philadelphia-area florist for her and her wedding party’s bouquets. Any recommendations?
- kesm and her fiance are skipping the traditional shower and having a couples’ BBQ. She knows it’s improper etiquette, but they’re inviting coworkers who aren’t invited to the wedding. They don’t care about presents; they’d just like a fun gathering with friends and family before the big day. Any suggestions on how to handle the invites without offending anyone?
- e is looking for small glassine bags for favors; she only needs 200, but can’t find them sold in quantities less than 2500. Can anyone recommend a seller, either online or in NYC?
- Mary has a tentative date of January, and is looking for a good venue in the San Francisco, Oakland area. Her only requirement is that it not be a church. She’d prefer something outside, and will probably have a Chinese wedding banquet after the ceremony.
- christina is doing a candy buffet with a Willy Wonka theme. She’s got candy topiaries a la Martha Stewart and Dylan Lauren, but what should she use as containers? (Glass just seems so blah.)
- Sara and her fiance would like to do a charity donation for Ovarian Cancer at their wedding. Does anyone have a template, or can anyone suggest a way she can get a donation card letting guests know about it? Any creative ideas are appreciated!
To add your question to the beehive, leave a comment below and we’ll update this post to include your question. See all past beehives here.
32 Responses to “Beehive”
e- you can get corsage bags from the flower district in nyc. They may have glassine bags but if you can find them the cellophane bags come in a box of 250 I think for under 10 dollars. You could try a restaurant supply store in Chinatown?
good ideas, fran. thanks!
kesm - I would suggest just calling it a BBQ or party then, and do *not* use the word “shower” in any context surrounding the party - not in the invitation, or in talking about it face to face with anyone. If it’s just a party (and neither a gift grab nor particularly related to wedding festivities) then they can’t really be offended, can they?
Mary - YankSing at the Rincon Center ATRIUM. I had my banquet there and it was gorgeous…especially if you want a yummy Chinese banquet minus the tacky Chinese restaurant. YankSing had delicious food and it felt like a more Western atmostphere. Their coordinator, Joy, is a great person to talk with…she gives tons of information and they totally know what they’re doing. They provide you with 2 day-of coordinators who definitely know their stuff, so I wasn’t bugged at all on the day of and was really able to enjoy the whole wedding. I only had my banquet there, but I know that they have ceremonies in the Atrium as well.
e- try http://www.nashvillewraps.com they have some under candy and coffee bags
Would love recommendations for florists and photographers in Los Angeles who are priced mid-range. TIA!
How can I get vendors to call me back without bugging the hell out of them? My MC and florist have been minimally responsive to my emails and/or calls. Even my coordinator has tried with no success. My MC, he sent me a questionnaire but no contract and it’s been over almost a month since he last contacted me. My florist sent me a contract but I want to make changes before sending a deposit and want to drop off vases for her to use. It’s getting close to crunch time and I don’t want to turn into a bridezilla.
Sara I am doing the same thing. I am doing flat fans with my menu on one side and the donation on the other. Sorry I don’t have a template but here is my wording…
Dearest Family and Friends,
Thank you for being a part of our special day in honor of you, our guests, in lieu of a traditional wedding favor and in memory our Uncles we had made a special donation. In memory of Bliss Uncle Mr. Joe Anderson a donation has been made to the Northwest Kidney Foundation. And In memory of Groom Uncle Mr. Joe Jones a donation has been made to the American Cancer Society. Both of these originations are dedicated to help raise awareness for much needed research and care of their patients. With all our Love,
Bliss and Groom
I think I got the original wording from a knottie but you can really make it your own by including what the organization does. Since we are donation to two I didn’t have room. I was also considering adding an in honor of another uncle who is currently battling cancer as well.
e: paper source sells glassine envelopes in different sizes in packs of 50. you can buy them at their stores or online at http://www.paper-source.com
e- you can find the bags for about 10$ for 100 at Michaels! Look in the wedding section!
Sara- go to justgive.org. you can create a wedding registry with your charity of your choice.
do you know where i can find a great calligraphy program for the computer?
Sara-here’s how the Diabetes Association does it:
https://diabetes.org/img/donate_steps/wedding/440×480tent-card.jpg
https://diabetes.org/img/donate_steps/wedding/440×480bookmark.jpg
e-I recall people getting bags on eBay. They may still be in big lots (500 sounds familiar), but that’s better’n 2500.
Christina–how about gallon paint cans, with candies arranged by color?
E- I’m planing to purchase from clearbags [dot] com I haven’t purchased yet (still deciding on the size) but they are definitely the best source I’ve been able to find. I called and they were really nice and helpful and ship within days.
E- p.s. they are listed under “specialty envelopes” and can be bought in quantity multiples of 50.
e - I was just shopping for glassine bags today also. I’m not sure exactly how small you want, but ebay has 100 under $8.00 including shipping.
There’s also even smaller ones for $2.50 for 50 bags.
Kesm, maybe you could do invites to people that aren’t invited to the wedding that say The wedding might be small, but we wanna party! Or something.
Hi Jill,
What kind of budget are looking to spend? There’s a lot of great florist in the Philly area. Some require a minimum rate like at least $2000 and there’s a lot of other florists who will work with your budget. I like Honeybunches Floral Design & Petals Lane the most. Also check out your local florists because sometimes they do events. If you have a tight budget, I would avoid florists working in the city. They tend to charge more for events compared to florists working outside the city.
Mary -
I first looked at having a wedding in San Francisco before choosing to do in in Minnesota. We absolutely LOVED the James Flood mansion. It’s so elegant and has the best view of the city I’ve ever seen. They have a website if you search for them on google. You can have a ceremony or coctails in an outdoor courtyard.
If you want only outside, there are beautiful rose gardens in Berekely in Oakland that rent for events. Might be chilly in January though!
Hi, I am a mid priced randge weding photo girl serving all fo california and beyond
contact me.
http://paperpresentation.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=GLASS
all sizes, 50 per pack
Happy Shopping!
i second yanksing, but it is pricey!
Thanks for the ideas on favor donations! Very helpful! =)
Jill-
I used Amaranth Flowers in Narberth, PA. She delivers to center city, did a good job, and is such a bargain. (you can see her work in my knot bio: mrsmek). http://www.amaranthflorist.com
I also recommend sheesh events: http://www.sheeshevents.com/
good luck!
Thanks Laura and Becky! We’re thinking we might have the invites come from our cats like they are hosting the party (yes, we are weirdos!) saying something like, “come celebrate our humans ___ & ___”
Jill,
I’m working with a woman who does flowers as a side job out of her home. She’s in Paoli and only gets jobs via word of mouth. She has come up with some great ideas to make my small-ish budget work. If you want more information email me at j fanelle at temple dot edu.
I’m looking for a less expensive version of one of these two Carolee necklaces:
http://tinyurl.com/38k6j4
or
http://tinyurl.com/2sjo6d
Can anyone help me out?
We’re making Oragami Flowers for our centerpieces. (Joe made me oragami flowers for Valentines Day.) Does anyone know where I can get bulk oragami paper? We need to make alot of flowers!
[…] MK would love recommendations for florists and photographers in LA who are priced mid-range. […]
I have to recommend my florist and my photographers. My florist is Flowers by George Barnes run by David, not only is a lover of birds (he takes in abandoned pet birds) but he’s an incredible florist that works at an incredibly reasonable rate.
http://www.georgebarnesflowers.com/enter.asp
Next, my photographers, Adi and Cat at Next Exit Photography. A brilliant and talented husband and wife team. They did my engagement pictures:
http://nextexitphotography.com/blog/?p=69
and you should check out their website:
http://www.nextexitphotography.com/
Best of luck!
Eileen,
I went through a non-responsive mode with my florist. I went to the knot and look at forums about her. I wasn’t the only bride feeling that way about her; however, I only found out that it is common for my florist to be passive until the month leading the wedding. She also received great reviews from previous brides. To my surprise, she called me the day after i made a comment on the knot.
My advice would be to continue calling her with specific request.
It is peak season for wedding so give her time to get back to you. Remember, you are not the only client.
Good luck!
Molly, Tiny Panda and Miss Bell Pepper — Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very helpful
