Monthly Archives: November 2011

How-To Tips, Receptions

A Petal-Filled Flower Wonderland

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Sandy Utah wedding venue, recommends Hillside Floral for their intricate designs and creations.

There are several things a couple should take into consideration when setting a floral budget. First, using flowers that are in season and do not require importation will be far less expensive than exotic flowers that are not locally in season. Exotic flowers in non-exotic locations can be very expensive. Flowers help set the theme and tone of the wedding. From the simple calla lily, which radiates a refined elegance, to the exotic playful orchid that highlights a tropical playfulness, flowers help define a wedding’s theme.

Several arrangements are traditionally required in a wedding ceremony. They include the bride’s bouquet, maid of honor’s/matron of honor’s bouquet, bridesmaids’ bouquets, groom’s boutonniere, best man’s boutonniere, groomsmen’s boutonnieres, mothers’ corsages and fathers’ boutonnieres. Additionally, if a wedding party has a flower girl, she typically has an assortment of hair flowers, including a basket of petals she lightly tosses down the aisle. A bride typically wants to retain her actual bouquet to have it preserved, so often florists will make a throw bouquet. Sometimes guests give their grandparents or other close family members corsages or boutonnieres to wear. All these are important to factor into the budget.

Centerpieces should also be included in the flower budget. Different options can be incorporated to help supplement flowers, including greenery, windy limbs, ferns, berry-type plants, feathers, pearly vines, etc. Often times these small details can help tie ceremonial flowers and décor to the Utah wedding reception. Florists typically rent the vases to couples but it is important to inquire if guests can take the flowers in the centerpiece home as a gift. Florists typically set up the flowers for the ceremony, distribute boutonnieres, bouquets, set up the reception area, etc. Hiring a Utah florist to complete these tasks helps make the momentous day less stressful.

A bride’s bouquet compliments her gown and is a stunning accessory that does not overpower her stature and size, but allows the radiance of her attire to glow. Often times incorporating certain colors, ribbons or pearls into the bouquet can help tie the dress to the bouquet and make it a flowing accessory.

Not only should the reception area have centerpieces, but also couples should consider adding colorful flowers or exhibits to the gift and wedding guest book table. Adding a variety of colorful potted plants, twigs or other nature-filled displays will also help tie the room together, making it feel as though the tables, walls, and surrounding perimeter flow into a cohesive magical theme.

 

How-To Tips, Receptions

Memorable Reception Catering

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Atrium reception center in Sandy, Utah works with an exceptional, highly qualified caterer that helps make a couple’s dream reception a reality. While not required to use a recommended caterer, Heritage Gardens Catering, is an excellent choice since they are familiar with the facility and layout.

There is a variety of options available for serving guests. If a couple’s wedding is on a tight budget, it might be best to serve hors d’oueves. Serving small appetizers and beverages is a cost-effective way to satisfy guests yet allow mingling and introductions. If the budget has more flexibility, a formal sit down three-course meal is advisable. A sit-down meal typically allows the option of a beef or pork tenderloin, chicken, salmon and a vegetarian dish. Giving guests the opportunity to select their menu choices ahead of time allows them to choose something that fits into their dietary preferences. It is important to remember that while couples invite their family and friends, they do not know the dietary requirements of all guests in attendance. Another excellent option is a buffet-style meal that allows for a variety of dishes, does not require people to select specific meal options ahead of time and helps promote mingling while people stand in line. It is important to consider space requirements, size of the room and the number of guests when considering what type of meal is served. If the room is an odd shape, it will be more difficult for guests to mingle in a buffet line. If the room is large, a buffet line might help draw people together by promoting conversation.

Buffets are an outstanding option for a luncheon reception. It helps give the reception a lighter, less formal feel, while allowing guests to comment on the wedding ceremony and catch up with one another.

Couples should confirm that the caterer is responsible for setting up the meals and cleaning up at the end of the event. This is another benefit of hiring a professional caterer; it will help streamline a couple’s special day.

Typically, catering companies also provide waiters and beverage servers. It is vital to make sure a catering company is on top of guests’ needs and requests, as this helps ensure that guests have a memorable evening. It is essential that food be served when the beverages begin making their way to guests. To help avoid an embarrassing event, guests should have a full stomach while partaking in alcoholic beverages.

Working with professionals at Sandy reception center helps ensure that the couple has a stress free event, focusing on their memorable day. Atrium Weddings has an outstanding Utah wedding reception center in Sandy, Utah.

About Our Venue, How-To Tips

The Atrium at Western Gardens: Wedding Décor for Every Budget

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Many details go into decorating for wedding décor. Often time’s couples feel they can tackle this task themselves, only to later realize that hiring someone is much less stressful. The Atrium Sandy reception center offers assistance with décor, helping couples achieve the vision they seek while maintaining track of their budget.

Flowers are the visual center for the reception. It is important that the ceremonial theme carry over into the reception, so the wedding itself feels cohesive and well planned. Flower themes include colors, types – ranging from the exotic to common, greenery and even potted plants.

Many couples choose to focus on lightening as well. Soft tea lights casting shadows around the reception area is warm and inviting, giving guests a comforted feeling. Tea lights are also an inexpensive, yet elegant, way to add warm light, flickering ambiance and easily incorporate into flower centerpieces.

Often times linens help create the base canvas for a theme. Selecting simple white linen to selecting bold linen, this helps create a vision for the reception. The Atrium provides base linens, polyester toppers and chairs. Upgrade options are available including organza toppers, bows, chair covers, table runners, etc.

The selection of plates, silverware and glassware are also an extension of the wedding theme. If the theme were simple, then restaurant-style white plates and elegant crystal-style glasses would be complimentary. If the theme were artistic and whimsical, it might be best to select vibrant glassware to compliment simple plates and silverware, yet perhaps impart a stylish flair into a cloth napkin or table runner.

Many couples opt to display pictures of their courtship, when they were young, growing up and pictures with family members. Pictures are a fun way to help guests mingle and introduce themselves to one another. Pictures can easily be a conversation opener, giving guests the opportunity to recall fond memories of the couple, remember years’ past, discuss how they met the couple or know their families, etc. If a couple’s family has not previously met, pictures are also an excellent way for them to get to know each family better, promote flowing conversation and help everyone feel comfortable and at ease. Nothing is worse than an uncomfortable wedding where people do not mingle or speak to one another. It is important that the décor and surroundings reflect the couple’s personalized style, imparting warmth and helping guests feel comfortable and have an enjoyable experience. 

The Atrium reception centers Utah is able to assist couples in the process of décor and reception decorations. Using them is a valuable, timesaving resource as a couple will have many things on their plate on their important day, including photos, introducing family members and entertaining guests. Having one’s mind at ease that the Sandy Utah wedding venue has everything covered, is well worth working into one’s budget. 


Ceremonies, How-To Tips

The Atrium at Western Gardens: Helping Design Dream Wedding Cakes

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The Atrium at Western Gardens Sandy, Utah wedding reception center is an exclusive wedding and reception venue. The employees at Atrium weddings strive to make a couple’s experience as personal and simple as possible. Their goal is to help a couple achieve long-lasting memories of their wedding day and give guests a lasting impression of the reception.

Selecting a wedding cake is the centerpiece of the Sandy, UT reception, whether it is round, square, multi-tier or personalized mini-cupcakes. The most important aspect of selecting a cake is the flavor. Often times this is overlooked as a couple focuses on the external beauty of the cake, but it is important to select a flavorful cake that satisfies guests. The Atrium works with an exclusive baker that has more than 25 years of experience. While couples are free to select their own baker, the Atrium’s has more than 50 varieties and styles they regularly work with to help couples design the custom cake of their dreams. While vanilla, chocolate, raspberry filled, carrot cake and even cheesecake are popular cake flavors, selecting the base flavor is the first step. Second, a couple must select the type of icing, as that literally makes the cake. Vanilla, chocolate, butter cream and cheesecake are all popular icing flavors. Fondant is a type of sugar icing dough that rolls out and fits to the cake’s form, giving it a seamless appearance. While some people feel that fondant lacks flavor, it does give an unparalleled external beauty to the cake, seamlessly blending the layers.

It is important to take into consideration that couple’s freeze the top layer of their cake, only to thaw it and eat it on their first anniversary. This customary tradition, helps invoke fond memories from a year gone by. Some cakes will freeze well while others will not. It is important to discuss this with a baker, as couples may opt for a special cake flavor for the top tier to accommodate a one-year deep freeze.

Cakes are available in a variety of sizes, ranging from 12-inch, 9-inch and 7-inch to 14-inch, 10-inch and 7-inch tiers. The number of people attending the wedding determines the size of the cake. Often times couples opt for cake decorations, albeit it simple or a vivid, colorful artistic theme. Fresh flowers are a common addition, as are pearls, leaves and fruit.

Tradition dictates that couples are the first ones to slice the cake and feed each other a piece. This ritual shows the promised bond that the husband and wife will always be there for each other, and help feed one another.

Ivy House Weddings, Utah wedding venues, is a sister company to the Atrium, and can also help provide cake selection services by coordinating with their baker as well.

How-To Tips

Being Great Hosts for Your Wedding

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It’s your wedding! It’s your party – and yes, you can dance, sing or even cry if you want to. However, you must consider that you are inviting guests to share with your special day and you as a host are responsible for making your guests enjoy this occasion, to feel comfortable and appreciated for their taking time to make sure that they are present during your wedding.

Here are a few tips and etiquette reminders so that both you and your guests thoroughly enjoy the moments of your wedding:

–          Choose your wedding date and wedding location in consideration with your guests.  Select your wedding date and location to also be convenient for your guests. You may consider setting your wedding on a weekday but also think about how this will affect your guests’ schedule. Also, choose a wedding location that is easy to access, especially for those who will be using public transportation.

–          Choose your wedding location for your guests’ comfort and convenience. What facilities does your selected wedding reception venue have? Does it have enough parking spaces? If you are inviting someone who is on a wheelchair, are there wheelchair ramps to provide easy access into the venue? Is the venue comfortable – with sufficient heating/air-conditioning, enough coat check facilities, enough rest rooms and so on?

–          Select your menu carefully. Are your guests as adventurous as you when it comes to food? Are there guests who have dietary restrictions? Are there vegans, vegetarians or people who only eat kosher food in your guest list or guests that are allergic to certain food? Talk this out with your caterer. Choose a “standard”, familiar food that could suit those who are less adventurous or allergic to some foods. If you can, you can also go with the caterer in your selected Sandy, UT wedding reception center. In-house caterers make it easier to make arrangements like these.

–          Don’t keep your guests waiting. Don’t make your ceremony too long. Keep vows at a minimum of 1 to 3 minutes each. Also, there will be photos before the ceremony, but be sure that these are done by the time the ceremony is about to start. Also, consider your out of town guests. If you plan a morning ceremony with evening cocktails for your reception, think about how your guests will use the time between the ceremony and the reception. As much as possible, there should only be limited “down time” between the ceremony and reception (two hours at the most). If you have to extend this waiting time, provide entertainment options for your guests.

–          Take a look at your guest list. Are there people who would rather not be in the same room together (i.e. your newly divorced aunt, your uncle-in law and his new girlfriend)? Carefully review these sticky situations and consider how you can either manage traffic between hostile guests or decide if you should not invite the one to spare the other’s feelings.

–          Greet your guests. Make your guests feel appreciated by personally welcoming them. If you need to, you can have a receiving line or visit each table to thank each one for coming. Be sure to make eye contact when conversing with your guests.

–          Designate someone who is tasked to meet your guests’ needs. Have a go-to person/s who will help guests feel comfortable (i.e. guiding them to the buffet table, encouraging them to go into the dance floor by dancing with them and so on).

–          Study seat assignments. Place guests where they will be most comfortable. Special consideration should also be given to single guests who went without a date.

–          Give your thanks promptly. Send thank-you notes as quickly as you can. One good way to thank those who sent out gifts is to acknowledge the specific gift and make a remark about how you will enjoy these.

 

 

Ceremonies, How-To Tips

Main Parts of a Wedding Ceremony

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You’ve been to weddings before, but now that you’re planning yours, you’re not really sure of what goes on in a wedding ceremony. Which part goes first? What elements are “must-haves” and what things can you do to personalize your wedding?

One thing you must remember is that it’s your wedding. Although there are a lot of predetermined formats available for you to choose from, in the end, all that really matters is that you’ve made this day special for you and your soon-to-be spouse. If you decide on having an officiant or minister, one important role he can play is in helping you with your wedding ceremony.

To help you craft your own ceremony, here are some of the main parts that are usually included:

Wedding processional. This is one of the much-awaited parts of the program – the main feature being the sight of the bride majestically marching down the aisle in all her beauty and splendor. The wedding processional covers the entrance of the wedding party. The usual order goes like this: the officiating minister, the best man, the groom, the bridesmaids and the groom’s men, the ring bearers, the flower girls, the maid of honor, and then, of course, the bride. The bride can opt to walk the aisle alone or with her parents or just the father. Sometimes, the groom and the best man enter by a side door. A highly-creative “grand entrance” that garnered considerable popularity in YouTube shows the wedding party dancing their way to the altar. This is one creative way to make you and your fiancé’s mark on your wedding.

Reading. This could be a poem, some verses from the Bible, other religious wedding readings or a piece of literature. These readings often cover the topic of love or marriage.

Officiant’s Opening Word. This acts as the welcoming word for the guests and a statement of purpose. The officiant says words like, “We are gathered here to witness the union of ___________ and ___________ in marriage.” The opening word will set the mood of the entire wedding – if you want your wedding to be light, sprinkled with a bit of fun, formal or sentimental.

Giving away of the bride. This is a tradition where the parents of the bride are supposed to “give the bride away”. The officiant will ask, “Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” and the parents of the bride say, “We do.” However, this is optional as in some modern marriage ceremonies, this is omitted or revised to say, “Who supports this couple in their marriage?”

Charge to the couple. This is when the officiant defines marriage for the couple, giving them a few words of advice about marriage and their new life as husband and wife.

Exchange of Wedding Vows.  The bride and the groom face each other as they say their vows. They can repeat the words provided by the officiant or have their own personalized vows.

Exchange of Rings. In religious ceremonies, this includes the blessing of the rings and an explanation of the meaning of the rings. And then, the bride and groom exchange the rings, symbolizing their vow to love and commit to each other.

Unity ceremony. (Optional) The bride and groom may opt to include a unity ceremony, which is a visual symbol of their union. There are many unity ceremonies to choose from. The most common would be the lighting of the unity candle. Two smaller candles are held by the groom and the bride and together they light a bigger unity candle. This symbolizes their becoming one. Other unity ceremonies include the sand ceremony, the water ceremony, the wine ceremony and the salt ceremony.

Declaration of marriage  and The Kiss. This is where the officiant will proclaim that the couple is married. The words usually used are, “By the power vested upon me by the state of…, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.” This signals the bride and groom to have their first kiss as a legally married couple. In modern ceremonies, the words, “You may kiss the bride” are omitted as some feel weird about having to give a grown man permission to kiss his bride.

Benediction and Presentation of the Couple. In religious ceremonies, the officiant will pray for the couple or offer good wishes for them. Then, the couple will face the audience as the officiant announces, “Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with pleasure that I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.”

Recessional. The newlyweds march back down the aisle as the audience cheers on.

These are the main elements that you can find in a wedding. This is also the usual order of the elements. However, as we have said, it depends on how you want to personalize your wedding. You may have to consult the officiant for any legal requirement but if there are no legal barriers, you can basically craft your own wedding ceremony.

The next step would be to decide your Utah wedding location. To make your wedding ceremony even more beautiful, it is important to consider the surroundings by which you will be married.

As you carefully think of the wedding ceremony, your choice of wedding venue should reflect the mood you want to set for the ceremony, as well as other practical aspects. You should consider the width of the aisle (or whether this is adjustable). You should also consider the number of seats available, the altar where you will be standing, the backdrop of the ceremony and the overall look of the wedding.

If you are planning to hold a wedding in Sandy, Utah, one excellent wedding venue in Sandy, Utah is The Atrium. Ideal for weddings and receptions, The Atrium boasts of a well-decorated facility. It is equipped with all you need to make your wedding extra special.

 

Ceremonies, How-To Tips

Planning Beautiful, Low budget Weddings

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Weddings need not cost an arm and a leg for it to be beautiful. Remember, the beauty of a wedding rests mainly on the moments (where love just flows and is felt by everyone present) in that wedding. And this does not necessarily come with an expensive price tag.

Here are some tips for planning a beautiful wedding on a budget:

–          Choose the time and day. Weekends and evening affairs cost more. If you can, go for a weekday for your wedding date and an afternoon or morning reception instead of dinner. Also, peak seasons for weddings are from May to October, as well as December, so you can do well to stay away from these months.

–          Choose a good wedding venue.  A Sandy, UT wedding venue that provides a comprehensive package will cut a lot of corners. Choose a wedding venue that already provides a good sound system (as well as a video system, if you need it), enough seats and tables (as well as linens – a number of wedding locations offer standard linens free of charge) and other necessities such as parking spaces, room for the bride to dress and decorative elements that make the wedding all the more beautiful.

–          Borrow or rent. You don’t have to buy some of the necessities in your wedding. Look to relatives and friends who recently wed. Chances are, they already have what you need – the flower girl’s baskets, the ring bearer’s pillow, cake topper, cake cutter and server and toasting glasses. And the bride’s outfit includes something borrow – so borrow your wedding jewelry, as well as your headpiece, veil and even the gown!

–          Forego the dessert section. Instead, get a small wedding cake for display and enough sheet cake in the kitchen to be served during dessert time. This will complete your meal without necessarily eating a lot in your budget.

–          A buffet is more economical than a sit-down dinner. This means you will need less servers (and thus, less tips). If you want a sit-down dinner, you may think about trimming one or two courses out of the five-course meal.

–          Cut down on printing and mailing costs. For instance, include the information for the reception on your invitation so that you won’t have to spend on reception cards. Rather than sending your save-the-date reminders through the mail, consider sending them via e-mail. When choosing your type of invitation, go for standard sizes. Oddly-shaped or over-sized letters may cost more to mail.

–          Go for simple flowers. Choose flowers that are available locally and that are available in season. Your floral arrangements need not be expensive to be beautiful. When decorating with flowers, add more of the greenery (to add volume) and incorporate fewer flowers.

–          Set a realistic budget and stick to it as much as possible. You can play around with your budget – but you can do so by cutting corners on other items in your budget. That way, the total won’t be much affected.

–          Go DIY. If you have plenty of time or have an extra pair of hands to help, you can go the do-it-yourself route for much of your wedding items – invites, favors, jewelry for the entourage and so on.

–          Vendors? Consider your family and friends. You can cut costs by looking towards friends and relatives to act as your photographer, wedding planner or caterer. Also, instead of getting a DJ or a live band, use your iPod or computer and setup a playlist that a friend or a loved one can cue at the right moments. You must, however, weigh the savings against the risks. You may not necessarily get what you expect, especially if you plan to work with amateurs instead of professionals. If you don’t want to take the risk with the photos, you can consider hiring a professional photographer to take your formal wedding shots prior to and during the ceremony. Then, have family and friends who are camera-loving enthusiasts to take the pictures in the wedding reception venue.

 

 

How-To Tips

Special Ceremonies You Can Add To Your Wedding Ceremony

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Special ceremonies give your wedding ceremony that extra oomph and say a lot about you, your beliefs and what you hold dear. The roots of these “special ceremonies” may be traditional or cultural.

Here are some special ceremonies that you can add to your wedding:

–          Unity Candle. This is perhaps one of the more popular unity ceremonies used during weddings. At the beginning of the ceremony, the mothers or parents of the couple each light one candle – one representing the bride and one representing the groom. This symbolizes the bride and the groom’s lives as individuals. After the vows are spoken, the bride and the groom each get their respective candle and light the larger unity candle. Then, they blow out the smaller candles they are holding. This symbolizes their union – they are no longer separate, but united as one. Before deciding on this ceremony, inquire from your wedding location if lighting candles are prohibited or not.

–          Breaking the Glass. Just as broken glass has a finality to it (you can’t put it back to what it was before), so is marriage. The breaking the glass ceremony highlights the symbolism of how two individuals have said goodbye to their past and look forward to the future with their partner. This ceremony is Jewish in origin and is usually added after the officiant has pronounced the couple as man and wife. The glass is wrapped in cloth. The groom steps on this on the floor while the audience cheers on and sing Mazel Tov. Take note: again, be sure to ask from the wedding venue if this is allowed.

–          Jumping the broom. This is also ideally placed after the pronouncement of the couple and after they have kissed. The couple is given the opportunity to jump over a broomstick to symbolize how the broom will clean away “bad luck” and each other’s past. The broom symbolizes a clean, new start for the couple. This is African in origin.

–          Circling the groom. This is right after the bridal march. The bride, upon reaching the end of the aisle, goes to the groom and circles the groom seven times. This is reminiscent of the creation of the earth, where God created the world in seven days. Circling the groom symbolizes the couple making a new “world” for themselves when they marry.

–          Coin ceremony. This symbolizes the financial union of the marriage. This tradition is Spanish in origin. Here, the groom gives his bride 13 gold coins. This symbolizes how the husband is to provide for the family and how the wife is to be the steward of the family’s finances. In modern ceremonies, after the groom pours the coins into his wife’s hands, the wife then pours the coins into the groom’s hand. This shows that the couple is mutually responsible to provide for and be stewards of their family’s finances.

–          Handfasting. This is an ancient tradition with Celtic origins. Handfasting can be used to celebrate a betrothal (where the couple is traditionally engaged for a “year and a day” and married after). It can also be used during the wedding ceremony. Here, the bride and the groom’s hands are bound together by colorful cords while the officiant explains the significance of the ceremony and while the couple recites their vows to each other. It symbolizes the union of two people (body, mind and spirit).

–          Honoring the mothers. This is usually done before the bride is presented to the groom (after the bridal march) or before the recessional. The bride takes two pieces from her bridal bouquet and gives each piece to her mother and her mother-in-law. The flowers (may be a single rose) are given with a kiss. Some brides hold a variation of this, where they have their bouquet fashioned into three smaller bouquets. Before the bride goes to the altar with the groom, she divides the big bouquet into three and gives two of these to her mother and her husband-to-be’s mother.

–          Releasing of the doves. Doves are loyal mates – once they have a partner, that partner is for life. Here, the bride and groom release two doves. This is ideally done after the kissing of the couples or during the recessional. Again, make sure to ask the wedding hall or location whether releasing doves are allowed.

–          Rose ceremony. This may be used for the husband and wife. The couple exchange roses as their first gift to one another. This exchange is to symbolize one’s love to the spouse. The officiant may also encourage the couple to continue exchanging a single rose during anniversaries to remind them of their marriage vow.

–          Salt Covenant. During the wedding ceremony, the bride and the groom each hold a pouch of salt and they pour it into one container. The container is then shaken. Salt is used to seal a promise during Biblical times, when salt was considered a precious commodity. Each time a covenant is made between two parties, these two parties each get a pinch of salt from their pouch and place it in the other party’s salt pouch. This marks the finality of the covenant. To break a covenant, you have to retrieve your grains of salt from the other’s pouch and the other party has to do the same from your pouch. As one’s grains of salt cannot be identified and retrieved from the other party’s pouch when the salt has already mixed together, it is also impossible to break the covenant.

–          Sand ceremony. The sand ceremony is a variation of the salt covenant. Here, the bride and the groom hold vases filled with colored sand, one color for the bride, the groom and the officiant (optional). The officiant pours his colored sand into a larger vase, which acts as a base for the other sand. In religious ceremonies, the first base symbolizes the presence of God in their marriage. Then the bride and the groom alternately pour layers of their colored sand into the vase. Lastly, they pour the rest of their colored sand together. This symbolizes the couple’s life as an individual and their life together. Other variations include members of the family (such as the couple’s parents, or any children each may have had prior to the marriage).


Adding these special ceremonies provide additional layers to your wedding ceremony, making it all the more beautiful. But before you decide on including these in your ceremony, remember that your ceremony is a reflection of who you and your spouse-to-be are. You should both be comfortable with the ceremony.

Another thing to consider is your wedding and reception location. Your choice of wedding location will help set the mood of your ceremony. If you are planning to have a wedding in Sandy, Utah, be sure to drop by Western Gardens’ The Atrium, which provides a gorgeous setting for a wedding with its well-appointed and well-thought out facilities and equipment.