Your Party
Of A Lifetime

SHARON NAYLOR SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

lanning your wed-
ding reception is an
enormous undertak-
ing. Wedding ex-
perts estimate that the cost of
a reception reaches up to 50
percent of an entire wedding
budget, and that's just a small
indicator of the amount of
work that goes into all the re-
searching, decision-making,
scrambling and arranging nec-
essary to create the perfect
post-wedding celebration.
The ultimate goal is to plan
the reception of your dreams.
It should be an expression of
your joy, an extension of your
ceremony and a good time to
be had by all.
You undoubtedly have a
picture in your mind, perhaps
the one you've had since you
were young. In your vision of
the ideal, you see an expan-
sive ballroom filled with
sparkling crystal chandeliers
and champagne flutes, hun-
dreds of white roses, a 10-tier
cake, an orchestra and hun-
dreds of formally dressed,
waltzing guests. And there
you are in the center of it all,
the radiant bride and the
handsome groom.
Of course, your vision is
now yours to create, and un-
less you have a wedding coor-
dinator to arrange all the
details from start to finish, it's
up to you to put all the ele-
ments together. Sure it's a big
job, and sure it'll take some
Sharon Naylor is the author of
"1, 001 Ways to Save Money
and Still Have a Dazzling Wed-
ding" (Contemporary Books)

time, but many brides love
this part the most.
Here, then, are some of the
main elements to consider as
you begin to create your re-
ception:

THE VENUE
Make sure your venue is
available on the date of your
ceremony. This may take
some legwork and some date
scrambling in the beginning,
but it's vital to book your
venue before you make any
other plans.
Book your venue solidly.
Get it in writing with the date
and time recorded, then con-
firm again before the date of
the wedding.
Make sure it's big enough.
Will there be plenty of room
for your 250 guests, or will
they have to climb over the
chairs to get to the dance
floor?
Make sure it's accessible.
Can your elderly or handi-
capped guests get to the site?
Can they get around within

it?

Make sure it has adequate
facilities. The kitchen should
be large enough to accommo-
date many entrees at once,
the bathrooms should be suffi-
cient for your crowd, and for
a cool-weather wedding,
make sure there's a place to
check coats. Also important:
Are there fire exits?
Check out the ambience.
What is the tone of the room?
Is there an elegant, oversize
crystal chandelier in the cen-

PARTY page C42

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