The Main Event by Memory Makers Event Planning, LLC

Are you on active duty with the military and want to get married? Your fiance/fiancee can't be present either? That's okay in Montana, the only U.S. state that allows double proxy marriages, but only in a few counties. For a fee, you can hire someone to stand in for both the bride and groom. To qualify for such a marriage, both the bride and groom must be U.S. citizens. In addition, either the bride or groom must be a Montana resident or be on active duty with the military. Several legal steps must be satisfied and the fee for a proxy marriage can be hefty. Double proxy marriages are recognized by all states except Iowa. Single proxy marriages can be performed in California, Texas, and Colorado, usually for active duty military personnnel. Colorado law, however, also allows for proxy marriages for those who are incarcerated.   So, if you are in the military and really want to get married, you might consider a proxy marriage. But a proxy honeymoon - I don't think s...

This past weekend I had my first winter wedding at Tamarack Resort in the mountains about 70 miles north of Boise. The ceremony was held in the Arling Chapel with the reception in the Arling Grange Hall across a cobblestone courtyard. There was at least 3 feet of snow on the ground and much more piled around where the roads had been cleared. For the photos, the bride skied the bunny hill in her gown. The groom and groomsmen wore kilts and they skied with her. The photographer secured some awesome shots. The ceremony was standing room only. We had a bagpiper hidden away to play for the wedding party's recessional. After they exited, he re-entered and piped the guests out and across to the reception center where a sit-down dinner was served followed by dancing. During the course of the evening we received many comments about the facility and how lovely everything was. Unfortunately, Tamarack Resort is now closed, so events like this will exist only in memory.  Photo co...

Every year between Thanksgiving and New Years our local botanical garden hosts Winter Garden Aglow , an evening event during which the trees, bushes, fences and other areas are decked in twinkle lights, totally transforming the look of the garden. This year on December 22 I had the opportunity to coordinate a wedding for a couple who created their own version of Winter Garden Aglow in the backyard of a private home. A grape arbor runs between the back door and the garage. It was covered in lights, as was the fence and the deck cover. Lights hung from the trees. The ceremony occurred in a small courtyard to one side of the arbor where a fire pit helped dispel the cold. The 60 guests walked out the front door of the home, around the corner, and through the gate into the backyard where they formed two lines under the grape arbor. Each held a battery-operated candle. The bride then walked through the line of guests and collected flowers for her bouquet from eight ladies. It began to sno...

October was the month for multi-cultural ceremonies. First, I planned and coordinated a vow renewal ceremony for a lady from Bulgaria. She and her husband, who is from here, married a year ago in Bulgaria at the registrar's office with her parents and sister, brother-in-law, and niece present. This ceremony was for his family and friends. While in Bulgaria, the wife had two gowns made, one for the simple ceremony there and a more elaborate one for the Idaho ceremony. The formal gown was very pretty and a bit different from our typical American gowns. It was two-piece, strapless, and laced up the back. The skirt had three deep gathers of fabric from just below the waistline to mid-thigh. The remainder of the skirt was organza with embroidery. At the end of a Bulgarian ceremony, a mother (in this case the husband's grandmother) breaks a loaf of wedding bread. She then dips small pieces in honey and feeds a piece to the wife and husband to symbolize always having food ...

A couple of weeks ago I participated in a wedding show. One of the new products featured at the show was custom-designed unity candles. A bride and groom can order a candle in colors to match their wedding. They can also customize the candle with a picture, poem, their names, or any other information they choose. The candles can also be used for anniversary celebrations, vow renewal ceremonies, and as memorial candles. The candles are available over the internet at http://www.unitycandles.com/ . If you are looking for something unique for your event, this may be just the item.

Want to add a bit of pizazz to your wedding photos and you don't mind damaging your gown? If so, you might consider taking "trash the dress" photos. This is a new fad created by wedding photographers to create unique, once in a lifetime, photos. When a bride is willing to get her dress wet or dirty, she may be photographed wading in the ocean or a lake, jumping into a pool or lake, sitting on a mountainside or on the beach, riding a motorcycle, rolling in the mud, or in other unconventional situations or positions that can harm her dress. This summer one of my brides was photographed playing in the fountain at the Grove Plaza in downtown Boise while wearing her gown, though she was careful not to get too wet. A photographer told me about shooting a bride who jumped into a swimming pool at a country club in her gown. The groom and several of the groomsmen then joined her. (If they were wearing rented tuxes, they now own them.) Another bride told me about her wedding in ...

On Friday I coordinated my third wedding this season at our outdoor Shakespeare Theater. All three were in different locations within the theater grounds and all were very different. The first, held on Memorial week-end in May, was held in a grassy area behind the amphitheater. The reception was held on the patio under a tent and inside the multi-purpose building. The second wedding occurred on a very hot 7-7-07 on the amphitheater stage in the bright sun. The play Arsenic and Old Lace opened that day, so we had to work around the sets. The reception was held at the Basque Center out of the heat. On Friday the most recent ceremony occurred at one end of the property in a clearing overlooking a pond. It was a small morning ceremony with about 30 guests. After the ceremony we went to a private club for lunch on their patio. In the evening, about 300 guests joined us at the bride's parent's farm for a reception. Three brides, each with different ideas and personalities,...

You are probably familiar with wedding web sites and other special event web sites. The latest trend is creating a blog for your event instead of or in addition to a web site. A blog will allow you to share the planning details for your family reunion, wedding, or other event and also share photos of everything from the location to the gown. By posting regular updates, a blog allows the opportunity to write about the details of the event as they occur. By doing so, friends and family both near and far away can share the journey with you, increasing their excitement and their feeling of involvement. Creating a blog is easy. If you can write a letter, you can update a blog. Creating a blog is also free, unlike the cost of many web sites. Give it a try for your next event. You may decide to make it a permanet part of your family's communication.

If you are planning an outdoor event you will want to visit http://www.bridalweather.com/ . This unique site, created by a professional meteorologist, can predict the weather for your event months into the future. The weather for a number of U.S. cities is available and more are being added all the time. The predictions are based on historical data.   Though the name of the site implies it is directed to weddings, the information can be used for any outdoor event, including family reunions, picnics, festivals, and more. If family and friends will be traveling to your special event, you can find travel weather information as well. Brides and grooms can also add customized weather information to their web sites as a unique touch.

This has been an interesting season, with a number of bookings on short notice. One of the most interesting was a 50th birthday party that occurred last week-end. The lady who was celebrating her birthday is a silent films afficionado and she wanted to have a costume party reflecting that era. The party was held at her home where we created a Prohibition-era speak easy, complete with a gambling den, secret password to enter, and two young men (her grandsons) with Tommy guns to greet guests as they arrived. After checking local resources for a casino party, the most reasonable option was to rent the tables and then hire actors from a local community theater to serve as dealers. One of them failed to show up, but those who did were most entertaining. The hostess said her guests had a great time and it was one of the most unique parties she has held. In the process of planning the party, I learned that theater companies are a great resource for many things, from actors who will h...

Over Labor Day week-end I had a wedding for 450 at Whitetail Golf Course and Club in McCall. The ceremony was held under a big tent on the golf course with the reception at Whitetail Club. The bride and her parents arrived at the ceremony by horse-drawn carriage. The couple left by carriage and traveled to the marina where they boarded a boat for their arrival at Whitetail. It was a most memorable day. This is booking season for next summer's events. If things continue to go as they are now, it should be another great year. Several new locations are entering the market and they are greatly needed. We look forward to more unique events like this one.

Planning a wedding in the mountains of Idaho is currently a "hot" media topic. Treasure Magazine , a publication of the Idaho Statesman, published a lengthy article on mountain weddings in their Spring/Summer issue. Two couples were profiled, both of whom were married in the Stanley area. I helped plan and coordinated one of the weddings and consulted with the bride on the other one. Several of photographer Chris Butler's photos illustrated the article. Another magazine, Idaho Resort Weddings , will be published in the fall and handed out at area wedding shows. The magazine will feature articles on planning weddings at several of Idaho's resorts. I wrote an article on planning a wilderness wedding. If you are thinking about planning a wedding in the mountains, you may want to look for both publications. Planning a mountain wedding takes a huge amount of pre-planning and coordination to make it happen successfully, but the results can be awesome.

This is the height of event season. Nearly every week-end is busy except for a couple this month. Since it was supposed to be 104 degrees on Saturday (it was actually 107), I will be more than happy to spend the day with company and not out in the heat. Calls are coming in for next year and it is looking like another great year. If you are planning a family reunion, wedding, or company event, don't wait to book a location or start your planning.

Are you getting cabin fever, wondering when winter will end? If so, you can add some fun to your calendar by planning a progressive dinner for a group of family or friends. Perhaps you belong to a club or a church group that would enjoy this special social gathering. A progressive dinner is one in which the various courses of the meal are served at different homes or locations, such as a church or club. You will need at least three homes in which to briefly meet. You can use additional homes if you would like. Assuming that you use three locations, the first stop will be for appetizers/soup/salad. The entree will be served at the second home, followed by dessert and perhaps a short program or social activity at the last home or location. Divide the attendees into groups and ask each to bring an item to contribute to one portion of the meal. You may need to assign more people to the entree portion than to other courses. Guests will arrive at the first home where they will...

This whopping 5-pounds of fudge molded in a bundt cake pan was first served at a fund-raising event in Baton Rouge, LA in 1990. It is guaranteed to be the talk of the party. Here's the recipe: 4 1/2 cups sugar 12-ounce can evaporated milk 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted (do not use margarine) pinch of salt 3 six-ounce packages of semi-sweet chocolate chips (18 ounces total) 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme 1 tablespoon vanilla 4 cups pecans, chopped Mix sugar, milk, butter and salt in a large heavy pan. Stir well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 8 minutes on low, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips, marshmallow creme, and vanilla. Stir until everything is melted and is well blended. Stir in the pecans. Quickly pour mixture into a bundt pan that has been well sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. (This works best when a thin, flexible pan is used.) To serve, place the pan in a few inches of hot water in th...

The Wedding Party Show, Boise's oldest and largest wedding show has come and gone and what a show it was. Nearly 900 brides streamed through in two days and they were in a buying mood. Usually, calls trickle in over a period of weeks and months. Not this time. I booked 4 weddings the day after the show ended and have booked two more since. And the show ended only three days ago! If the response is any indication, this will be a great year for events.

Cookies and holidays go together. This is the time of year when families pull out their favorite cookie recipes even if they haven't baked all year. You can add to your recipe collection and try new cookies by organizing a cookie exchange. The exchange can be its own special event or it can be combined with another holiday activity. If you would like to get to know your neighbors, invite them over for coffee and cookies and add a cookie exchange. Or plan one at your church to coincide with a hoilday program or coffee hour. You might also arrange to exchange cookies with your work associates during the lunch hour one day. To plan an exchange, ask each person or family to bring homemade cookies (no store-bought ones, please) to munch and a dozen cookies on a separate plate to exchange. The host can provide paper plates and perhaps large zip-lock bags as well. Then, each family or person who brought cookies goes around and chooses a dozen cookies to take home. The biggest problem will...

If you plan to invite many guests to your event, chances are most will arrive by car and they will need a place to park. Many hotels and conference centers have parking lots. Others are located in areas where on-street parking is available. If your facility doesn't have adequate parking, you may need to rent a trolley, van, or bus to transport guests from and back to their hotel or a public parking area. If you are planning an event to be held at a private home, street parking may not be an option for a large number of cars. If the cars block a narrow street, they could be ticketed and even towed for blocking a fire lane (this actually happened at an event held in McCall). Be sure to check with neighbors and with the fire department if you are planning an event at a private home. If your event will be held at a college, university, or a business that allows only students or employees who have permits to park in their lot, you will need to contact the school or business and o...

Every event can be enhanced by music. Whether you are planning a backyard barbeque, a wedding or reception, or a formal dinner, music will add to the ambiance of the event. The type of music you choose should reflect the formality of the event and the overall mood you want to create. Your budget will also be a consideration. Hiring a band is the most expensive option and the price will vary by the number of musicians in the group. You can choose anything from a three-piece blue grass group to a 15 member swing or jazz band. A band offers less flexibility than a DJ. Most play for 45 minutes, then take a 15 minute break. If you plan to have toasts or make any type of announcements, those activities usually occur during the band's breaks. A band is great for events at which the primary activity will be dancing. If you are planning a wedding, you might choose to hire a string trio or quartet, a brass ensemble, a harpist, or several guitarists to play for the ceremony. If you have a chu...

Fall is the perfect time to hold a block party. School is in session; vacations are over; the days are no longer miserably hot. You can host the party or you can co-host it with some of your neighbors. If you live in a cul-de-sac, you might close the street and party in it (be sure to check with the police and fire department first). If you live on a conventional street, then have the party in someone's yard. Set up games, such as volley ball, croquet, or bad minton, to attract the younger crowd. You may need to make it a BYOLC party - bring your own lawn chair - to have enough seating, or spread blankets on the grass. Be sure to provide munchies and something to drink. It might be as simple as cookies or you might have a barbeque and ask guests to bring a dish to share. The party is a good time to get acquainted with your neighbors and to also conduct any neighborhood "business." You might discuss safety or crime issues, set up a neighborhood watch program, or make plans...