How To Choose Your Wedding Theme

Wedding themes— there are thousands of possibilities! How will you ever pick just one? Here are some helpful questions and activities to help you decide on the perfect wedding theme that reflects the two of you as a couple. 

Explore Pinterest for Wedding Themes 

Are you a Pinterest fan? Pinterest can be a great source of inspiration for you and your soon-to-be spouse. Search for weddings, wedding colors, wedding theme ideas, or unique wedding decor, and pin every image that appeals to you to a special wedding planning board within the app. Both of you can do this exercise, together or separately! Once you have a board full of images, go through them together and figure out which pictures you both love. It’s a great way to get the imagination going and figure out a shared vision for the day. 

Go Back to Shared Interests 

What do you and your special someone like to do together? Do you enjoy hiking, biking, or hot air balloon rides? Perhaps you love nothing better than trying new foods or cooking together. Maybe you love golf, horseback riding, traveling, or browsing art galleries. Choose an interest that you share, something that you’re both passionate about, and draw inspiration from that activity for the theme of your wedding. 

Tell Your Love Story 

Maybe you met at an amusement park, or on the beach. Perhaps he proposed during a weekend getaway in the mountains, or maybe you popped the question while you shared popcorn and a movie. Whatever your story is, there’s a way to turn it into your wedding theme. 

Snap Some Photos of Possible Wedding Colors 

When you are walking through the mall, visiting your favorite shop, browsing an art gallery, or strolling the downtown scene, keep your eyes open for colors and contrasts. When you see hues that mesh well together or images that evoke a romantic feeling, take a photo! Soon you’ll be able to see which colors and objects inspire the sense of romance, fun, uniqueness, or elegance that you want for your wedding. 

Choose a Holiday Theme for Your Wedding 

If you enjoy the unique sense of togetherness and celebration that a holiday can bring, you can pick a particular holiday as the theme of your wedding. A wedding near Valentine’s Day can be all about hearts and romance; a wedding on Memorial Day weekend could infuse military traditions and celebrate America. The winter holidays lend themselves well to weddings, with their traditions of festive lights, evergreen garlands, and rich colors. 

Let Your Wedding Venue Inspire You

Your venue can be a wonderful source of inspiration. A venue like Nanina’s in the Park lends itself to a whole range of different themes; but it is particularly suited to weddings that include elements of romance, intimacy, and classic elegance. 

Remember, a wedding theme can be as subtle or overstated as you like. It’s your day, and if you and your spouse are having fun, everyone else will, too!

Visit our website at https://www.naninasinthepark.com

Alternative Centerpiece Ideas

When it comes to weddings, putting a new twist on a time-honored tradition can yield some unique and wonderful memories. Discover how to transform the traditional floral centerpiece and decorate the tables at your wedding reception with some impressive non-floral elements.

Candles
Candles are sometimes used in combination with flowers as a centerpiece, but they work well on their own as well. Use electric versions if your venue views real candles as a fire hazard. Include different sizes and shapes of candles to form a sculptural look and to give your reception a romantic glow.

Branches
Are you amazed by the beauty of blooming branches in the spring, or boughs bedecked with colorful leaves in the fall? Ask your florist to use these elements in your centerpiece. Even bare branches twined with tiny lights or strings of beads lend a wonderful natural beauty to your reception tables. If you’re having a holiday wedding, procure some branches encrusted with artificial snow and hung with glittering pine cones, pendants, or lights.

Driftwood
For a beach-themed wedding, obtain some big pieces of driftwood, perfectly weathered by saltwater, sand, and wind. Make sure they’re clean so they don’t sift sand onto your tables. Add seaweed, shells, bits of netting, and feathery grasses to the ensemble.

Lanterns
If you’re in love with the modern combination of the elegant and the rustic, place lantern centerpieces on the tables at your elegant wedding venue. The lanterns give a sense of cozy intimacy, and you can accessorize them with ribbons, flowers, or other bits of finery to tie them into the rest of your wedding decor.

Clocks
Your love is timeless, and time is precious— whichever sentiment you prefer, you can make your point by incorporating beautiful vintage clocks into the centerpieces at your wedding reception. Borrow some amazing old clocks from friends or purchase some from thrift stores and antique shops.

Feathers
Do you love the roaring twenties? Think Great Gatsby glamour and fill bead-bedazzled vases with huge, feathery plumes. Tall feathers that are all one color have the biggest impact.

Books
Imagine thick, beautiful volumes, your favorite old romance, and modern stories, piled on the tables at your reception. Add handwritten, framed cards with some of your favorite quotations, and include a candle or two or a bud vase with some choice blooms. The books represent your shared love of words, and they provide great conversation pieces for your guests.

Hot Air Balloons
Encase round helium balloons in netting, reminiscent of old-fashioned hot air balloons, and weight them with little baskets or vases. Add tassels, ribbons, or flowers as you like, and you’ll have fun centerpieces that guests will love to look at.

Fruits and Vegetables
Bring the farm to the table! Use small wooden troughs or bowls, milk pails, or pottery pieces and have them filled to overflowing with fresh fruits or vegetables, interspersed with leaves and flowers. Invite guests to take a piece of the farm-fresh goodness home with them after the wedding reception.
Vases, pinecones, shells, desserts, lamps, candelabra, games, and photos can all turn into fantastic centerpieces. Use your imagination and find your own way turn the usual floral centerpieces into something unique and special.

Visit our website at https://www.naninasinthepark.com

10 Unique Wedding Invitations

When you’re planning an intimate wedding close to home, you may start to feel a little lost among all the generic options presented by vendors. How can you ensure that your wedding feels personal to you as a couple and expresses your special love story? The difference is in the little things— including the wedding invitation. Check out these 10 ideas for unique wedding invitations.

A Pop-Up Invitation for Your Wedding 
Who doesn’t love a pop-up book? Pop-ups aren’t just for kids’ books— they can be beautifully crafted art pieces. Hire a local designer to make a pop-up version of your wedding invitation. It will cost more than a standard 2D invitation, but the extra delight that your guests will feel when they open it just might be worth the price.

A Ticket to Your Wedding Venue 
How many movies, concerts, or shows have you attended as a couple? Your wedding invitation could take the form of tickets. A vintage playbill theater ticket, an old-fashioned train ticket with flowing script, or a modern-style concert ticket are all fun sources of inspiration, especially when paired with wording like “Admit Two” or “For One Night Only.”

A Balloon with the Wedding Details 
One couple attached a deflated balloon to their invitations. When inflated, the balloon revealed the date and time of the wedding, along with other details. It set the tone for unbridled fun that the pair wanted to have on their special day.

A Passport-Style Wedding Invitation
Do you love to travel with your spouse-to-be? Why not use a travel-themed wedding invitation that acts as the guest’s “passport” to the wedding? You could also print faux boarding passes as a nod to your love of travel, even if your wedding takes place close to home.

One-of-a-Kind Art for Your Wedding Invitation 
Suppose you really have to keep a tight rein on the invitation budget. Can you still have something unique? Ask an artistic friend to design a unique style of typography or some interesting art to feature on the invitation.

A Handkerchief Map to the Wedding Venue 
One couple printed a map to their wedding venue on a custom handkerchief and wrapped it in a brown paper sleeve with additional wedding details. The handkerchief serves as a reminder, a useful tool, and an artistic keepsake.

A Wedding Invitation of Engraved Wood 
One couple had their wedding invitations engraved onto slim pieces of thin wood, about the size of a bookmark, but thicker. The effect was beautiful! To save money, have the invitations block-printed instead of engraved.

Origami as an Invitation 
Do you enjoy Oriental art or Asian culture? Order invitations that are beautiful examples of the paper-folding art. Each new piece that is unfolded reveals a fresh detail about the wedding.

A Wanted Poster Wedding Invitation
Maybe you share a love of the Old West and its rough-and-tumble charm. Create wedding invitations that mimic old-time wanted posters. Incorporate rustic decor and western elements into the wedding itself to unify the theme.

Invitation to a Ball
If you’re having your wedding at a beautiful estate, you could always go the “fairytale romance” route. Choose a design reminiscent of the Cinderella story or a masquerade ball.

Any of these unique invitations will blend beautifully with a corresponding theme, no matter what type of venue you choose. However, most of them work best when your wedding is set at a beautiful location like Nanina’s in the Park. Remember to use an invitation that both of you love, one that sets the tone for your special day. 

How To Balance Dramatic And Elegant Wedding Colors

Some women have their wedding colors selected from the time they are very young, but those favorites may change with age or come and go with the current wedding trends. Choosing a color palette that carries the right balance of drama and elegance can be more difficult than you think. Explore these guidelines for select colors that complement each other, rather than clashing. 

Keep It Simple 

If you’re a lover of color, you may find it hard to narrow down your wedding colors. Ideally, you should have three to four colors in your wedding palette. Any more than that, and your decor will begin to look too busy, and you may accidentally include hues that clash. 

Play with Wedding Color Swatches and Samples 

Visit a paint store or a shop that sells cloth to obtain some free color cards or cloth swatches. Take them home and play around with the colors, mixing and matching the ones you like into different combinations. You can have a bold color and two paler hues, or two vivid colors and a lighter one, but try to include at least one calmer hue for elegance and balance. 

Ask Your Fiancé to Help 

If you’re stuck, ask your spouse-to-be to choose one color that he or she really loves from the selection of paint samples or cloth swatches that you’ve collected. Start with that shade, and add complementary hues to create your wedding colors. 

Include a Neutral  

Let’s imagine that you’ve selected two complementary colors, sunshine yellow and cornflower blue. You need another color, a neutral, to balance those bright choices and lend elegance to the ensemble. White or gold will accomplish that nicely. Dramatic hues like eggplant and navy need the gentle elegance of gold; aqua and cherry red look better with the addition of khaki as a balancing color. Vivid boysenberry and blush get that touch of holiday elegance when you introduce frosty silver to the mix. 

Bring In the Bold Color 

Maybe you’re discovering that your chosen colors are all on the pale, elegant side. You’ll need to add a punch of extra color by including a vibrant hue. With cream and gold, add emerald or burgundy. With yellow and beige, add cinnamon. For pale green and white, add velvety black. Chartreuse and powder blue receive an extra jolt of energy when you add cornflower blue, while peach and sage look richer with merlot red.

Test the Colors at the Wedding Venue 

At some point during your color selection process, take some swatches and samples of your colors to the venue. You need to make sure that the colors you’ve selected actually look good in the space. If you’re having an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception, or vice versa, test the colors in both areas. You may want to check the swatches under different kinds of lighting as well. Fortunately, most classic wedding venues, like Nanina’s in the Park, decorate with beautiful neutrals that form the ideal background for a variety of wedding color schemes. 

If you’re having trouble picking a palette that really works for your wedding, ask some artistic or design-savvy friends to help you out. With a little patience and experimentation, you’ll solve the wedding palette problem and come up with colors that wow your guests and make your day even more special.

The Best Wedding Venue In New Jersey

Welcome to Nanina’s In the Park, a New Jersey Landmark nestled in the cherry blossoms. We invite you to a beautiful picturesque setting within a historical park which creates a picture perfect ambiance for both intimate weddings to large corporate events. Voted as a “Top 10” wedding venue by www.bestofnj.com and a multiple award winner from The Knot, NJ Bride, Manhattan Bride and MyWeddings.com, Nanina’s in the Park has been hosting weddings for over 65 years and along with a new multi-million dollar renovation provide an experience that is second to none.

The lavishly manicured grounds and traditional architecture provide the perfect scenery for an outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour. Our famous cherry gardens and Tuscan style villa will create the perfect backdrop which you must see-to-believe, and together with our exceptional cuisine and service will make your event unforgettable.

It is this combination of location, service and ambiance that set us apart. Feel free to schedule a tour to see what makes Nanina’s In the Park the best place to host your wedding or private event.

Visit our website at, https://www.naninasinthepark.com/

Best Floor Plan Layouts For A Smaller Indoor Wedding

It’s time to decide how you will accommodate your guests for the reception dinner at your upcoming wedding! Since you have elected to have a smaller indoor wedding, you won’t have to worry about the weather, and you can enjoy a cozy, comfortable celebration with your guests. Here are a few ideas to help you start selecting the best floor plan layouts for your smaller indoor wedding. 

Venue Visit 

First, visit the space with your wedding coordinator or planner. You may have been to the venue before, but this time you’re looking more carefully at the available space and design of the room. If you can’t make an extra trip to the venue due to time constraints or for some other reason, your contact at the venue can provide a sample floor plan that the venue has prepared for other guests with similar weddings. 

Round Tables 

One popular layout consists of the dance floor in the center of the room, with the bride and groom’s table at the head of the room. As you face the couple’s table, the cake table is the right and the table for cards is to the left. Round tables seating six guests flank the dance floor on either side. Across the dance floor, opposite to the head table, are the tables with food and beverages. 

Parallel Plan 

Another possible layout could feature longer, rectangular tables that run parallel to the dance floor and seat larger numbers of guests, as many as eight or ten at a table. You could keep the couple’s table at the head of the room with the buffet table across from it. 

Mix-and-Match 

Some people like to intersperse circular tables with rectangular ones for more visual variety. The circular tables could seat 6-8 guests, while the rectangular ones seat ten guests. This offers you a little more flexibility as you are planning your seating chart. Think of each table as its own miniature dinner party, and place guests with others of similar ages or tastes. 

Strategic Spacing 

Want to make the reception feel even more cozy and intimate? Choose smaller round tables with just four or five guests at each. The buffet can go at the head of the room, while the head table is placed on one side. The cake table could be in a corner of the room, still in view but tucked out of the way. This way, the bride and groom have the opportunity to greet guests as they make their way across the space to cut the cake later in the evening. 

Circle Time 

If you’re having the wedding reception in a wide, open space without architectural features like a pre-defined dance floor, try placing the bride and groom’s large round table in the center. Surround it with the other tables, with the buffet to the side and the dance floor and DJ at one end of the space. 

Benefits of a Smaller Indoor Wedding Venue 

Some smaller indoor wedding venues may only be able to accommodate a couple of different types of floor plans because of limited space or certain design features within the ballroom. This can actually be a blessing in disguise since it cuts down on the number of options you have to consider. With so many decisions to make during the wedding planning phase, you’ll probably appreciate having a smaller set of options from which to choose.  

How To Ensure You Don’t Miss Anyone Important At Your Intimate Wedding

You’re having a small, intimate wedding— but maybe you’re still concerned about the number of guests. How will you ever have time to talk to them all? What if you skip over someone without intending to? Find out how to ensure you don’t miss anyone important at your intimate wedding. 

A Receiving Line 

One way to make sure that you speak to everyone is to have a receiving line. After the ceremony, you and your new spouse stand at the exit of the ceremony space and greet each person as they are leaving. If you speak to each person for only 10 seconds, you’ll get through six people in about a minute. If you have 100 guests, that’s over 15 minutes. Keep time constraints in mind if you select this method of greeting your guests. 

If you’re having your intimate wedding outdoors, there’s a chance that people might find another way out or slip past you, making it difficult to tell if you really greeted everyone. If you choose to have a receiving line, ask your wedding coordinator to arrange the layout so that people are channeled towards you as they leave the ceremony area. 

A Cocktail Hour 

Take your photos in advance so you don’t have to snap too many shots right after the ceremony. This way, you can go directly to a cocktail hour with your guests. Enjoy drinks and mingle with everyone at your intimate wedding. Bridal organizers suggest that you and your spouse stay together; that way, you can speak to more people at once. 

A Tour of the Tables 

At the reception, you’ll want to have some time to eat and drink at your own table; but after you have eaten something yourself, you and your new spouse can wander through the reception space, stopping by tables to visit for a few minutes. This can be a time-saving method, since you don’t have to find and greet each person separately. Don’t forget to take photos with out-of-town guests or VIP guests while you’re doing your table tour!

A Partner Swap on the Dance Floor 

Dancing with your new spouse is probably at the top of your to-do list for the evening, but make a little time for other dance partners as well! It’s a great way to have fun and connect with relatives, friends, and out-of-town guests. Don’t forget to dance with the smaller guests at the party, too. Little ones love being swept into the fun to dance with the bride or groom. 

At your wedding, every guest is important, from the oldest great-grandparent to the smallest member of the family. Just remember that you don’t have to have a long conversation with everyone! It’s primarily about saying hello and acknowledging the people who set aside time to celebrate your big life event. With a little strategy and a lot of smiles, you can ensure that everyone feels valued and welcome at your intimate wedding.