Trends We Love: The Pre-Ceremony Beverage Station or Cocktail Hour

A wedding is a time of celebration and fun - and an opportunity to flex your hospitality muscles! All good hosts know it's best to welcome guests into your home by offering them something to drink right away. We love extending this sentiment to weddings with the pre-ceremony beverage.

Think of this trend as the cocktail hour before the wedding. But, the beverages do not necessarily have to be alcoholic! The pre-ceremony cocktail hour is a fun way to have your guests mingle and get to know one another before the official festivities start.

This idea really works best when your ceremony is at a venue that's not a church, temple or other place of worship because of time and space constraints or the facility's policies. The pre-ceremony drink station is especially appreciated if your ceremony is outside. In the fall, a warm beverage station (think coffee, cider and hot cocoa - spiked or not) is a fantastic way to welcome your guests and help them ward off a chill while waiting for your walk down the aisle.

And, now that we're enjoying warmer weather, something cool and refreshing would be the go-to for a pre-wedding drink!

It can be something simple, such as flavored or sparkling water to lemonade and tea (ooooohhh, Arnold Palmers!) to mimosas or maybe even a signature cocktail just for your special day. Just make sure if you decided to serve cocktails to keep the time relatively short and consider having the drinks passed so guests don't consume too much alcohol before your ceremony.

 

 

Consult with your caterer or ceremony venue contact to explore what your options are for a pre-ceremony beverage offering. Or brainstorm with your wedding planner on other fun and creative ways you can make your day special. Oh, you don't have one of those? Our talented Weddings by StarDust planning team would love to chat with you about how they can help you have the beautiful, imaginative wedding you've dreamed of! Schedule your initial consultation with one of our expert wedding planners online now!

images: first shot Helmutwalker; all others via SMP

Real Wedding: Jenna and John's Big Fun Italian Wedding

Last year, our talented Weddings by StarDust team designed and planned an over-the-top Italian celebration for fun-loving Jenna and John. This past November, we got to see the event come to fruition in fabulous fashion. Jenna hails from a large New York Italian family, and while John is not Italian, family is very important to him, as well, so they wanted their reception to resemble a very large family dinner party. We developed an over-the-top Italian feast atmosphere with a color palette of ivory, blush and gold, and full of incredible Italian food, lush, aromatic flowers and lots of fantastic music. You see, Jenna is a country music singer, so really good music was vital to their celebration. Bella Flora knocked the stunning floral out of the park, and the dance floor was packed the whole night, thanks to The Jam Wows and Marcus Rollins. Photographers Jenny and Eddie Martell were on hand to capture all the great moments. Here are some of them - feast your eyes on this!

Jenna looked simply gorgeous in her YSA Makino gown. We love that lace with the subtly colored liner!

Mother of the Bride (MOB) Joanne looked nearly as stunning in her VM for Mori Lee black lace gown.

The traditional Catholic Mass Ceremony was just lovely.

We love this twist on the guest sign-in!

The Four Seasons was the perfect location for this beautiful reception!

The cake so pretty! We still adore monograms!

Groom John is a filmmaker - check out his cool cake!

The lighting, linens and floral were so sophisticated and striking!

The specialty sweets table was a huge hit!

Aren't they just adorable?! We love seeing our couples so happy!

The Jam Wows brought it!

Off to Bora Bora with a sparkler sendoff on the Four Seasons golf cart!

Big thanks to our fantastic vendor team:
Beauty: Michael Gonzalez for bride and MOB's hair/makeup; Elan for bridesmaids' hair
Bridal Apparel/Accessories: YSA Makino gown, fuzzy shawl and Paris earrings from StarDust Celebrations
Cakes: bride's - Delicious Cakes; groom's - Fancy Cakes by Lauren
Ceremony Music: Stradivarius Strings
Ceremony Venue: St. Ann Catholic Parish
Floral: Bella Flora
Lighting: Marcus Rollins
Linens: Seat by Design; cake linens through Bella Flora
Mother of the Bride Apparel: VM for Mori Lee gown from StarDust Celebrations
Photography: Jenny Martel
Photo Booth: Picstrips
Reception Music: band The Jam Wows!; DJ/Emcee Marcus Rollins
Reception Venue: Four Seasons Resort Dallas at Las Colinas
Rentals: dance floor, band façade and steps - DFW Dance Floors
Stationery: StarDust Celebrations
Transportation: Blue Diamond
Treat Table (favors): mini pies - Crème de la Cookie; other sweets flown in from NY the day prior to the wedding
Videography: RC Studios
Wedding Design and Planning: Weddings by StarDust