Arizona Gay Wedding

|Sip and Twirl| Arizona Wedding Planner - 5 Steps to Transform Your Wedding Vision into Your Wedding Day Reality by Laurie Cohen

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I simply can't believe it is almost St. Patrick's Day again.  One of my favorite holidays and who doesn't love green? It's Spring again, and that means transformation.  New season, new colors, new couples are getting engaged.  In Arizona, we have so many gorgeous desert weddings being held.  For all who are feeling a little overwhelmed with part or all of the wedding planning process, do not worry.   YOU ARE NOT ALONE.  Most of us feel that way the first time we take on any task with so many elements.  One of the most exciting and yet confusing parts of planning your wedding can communicating and developing your wedding vision. And then making that transformation happen.  Your wedding planner can help with this, and today I am going to break it down to 5steps.   Some of these are things you are doing already.

1.  Make sure you have a very detailed wedding budget so you have an idea of what you can spend on wedding decor.  Stay tuned for a blog post about budgets. So many of the budgets online are misleading and add to the confusion. 

2. Use Pinterest:  Pin. A lot.  Pin wedding venues, pin flowers, pin reception decor.  Pin tables,  ceremonies and wedding dresses. Pin escort cards, linens, lounge furniture, and favors.  Pin everything that is important to you. Take some time every couple of days to populate your pinterest board.  Bedtime is a great time to play in pinterest-land. 

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3.  Don't limit yourself. Well, focus on items that are appropriate to your budget but don't limit yourself to what has been done before.  Use your imagination. The reception photo to the left didn't always look like a reception.  The area where guests are seated was a volleyball court 24 hours (and a lot of planning) earlier.  See below. 

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4. Take a break from pinning and look back at your board(s).  You will notice a lot of similarities and trends.  Decide on the general direction you are most excited about and pick a color palette (One or two main colors and some accent colors).  This step can be daunting for many people, but if your wedding planner has a design team, they can help you with this.  There are a lot of elements that go into your wedding day design. It can be confusing to imagine what all of your individual choices will look like when they are combined together on your wedding day.  Most wedding designers will host a design "mock up" so you can see what a bunch of the pieces will look like together (a tablescape, for example). 

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5. Last but not least: Ask for help.  Ask around about the best vendors for linens, lighting, crystal, rental furniture and wedding decor.  Discuss timing and limitations with your wedding planner or your wedding venue.  Your wedding planner may be able to get you discounts on your wedding decor and they can certainly help you explore the possibilities. There are so many elements involved in taking an open space or empty room into your wedding fantasy, if you would like support navigating the wedding planning or design process, contact the wedding planning team at Sip and Twirl today. 

 

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Sip and Twirl Equality Corner by Laurie Cohen

Sip and Twirl would like to celebrate the successes of 2013 and looks forward to the upcoming year.   We have added an important new area to our website.  The "Equality Corner."  

In Arizona, LGBT couples are not yet allowed to obtain marriage licenses.  Sip and Twirl are among many Arizona wedding industry professionals who would like to change that.  A great number of us encourage, celebrate and would welcome the opportunity to participate in designing and planning your ceremonies in Arizona, with or without a law. We, at Sip and Twirl think that this issue is of critical importance and work with many, many vendors who share our sentiments.  But we are aware that a ceremony without the license is, frankly, not good enough. So until the time when Arizona passes a Marriage Equality Act of it's own, I am proud to say that my home state of Hawai'i has provided us with a tropical alternative.

The Hawai'i Marriage Equality Act was passed by Hawai'i State Legislature and signed into Law by Governor Neil Abercrombie on November 13, 2013.  The Law took effect on Monday, December 2nd.  

Many folks have questions about getting married in Hawaii and we would like to help.  You do not need to be a resident of the State of Hawai'i in order to be married in Hawai'i and obtain a Marriage License.  For more information, check out this FAQ

If you and your partner would like to marry, but are not currently able to do so in Arizona, please contact us for a complimentary consultation and wedding packet and let's discuss your path forward.