A Romantic Soiree Under the Stars...Il Cielo Beverly Hills Wedding Venue

Snuggled in the outskirts of Beverly Hills is a romantic escape at the beautiful Il Cielo Restaurant.  Located on Burton Way, Il Cielo is in a charming building that used to be a home.  And when you walk through the gorgeous front entryway, you will feel as if you have arrived at a special home indeed.  The architectural details are delightful, and the atmosphere is intimate.  It has an old world feel that transports you and your guests to another world even though you are right here in the city.

The owner, Pasquale Vericella, has built a restaurant in Los Angeles that feels like an Italian bungalow!  He grew up in both the country side in Italy and the country side in Pennsylvania.  he has brought the magic, serenity, and charm of those places to life in this spectacular Beverly Hills wedding venue.  Il Cielo is widely considered to be one of the most romantic spots in all of Los Angeles.  It has also been ranked as one of the top 7 places to get married in Los Angeles.  

And before we get too lost in what Il Cielo offers for your wedding day, let's not forget the food!  The food at Il Cielo is spectacular.  

Zagat rates the food and service at "very good to excellent", and the decor at "extraordinary to perfection".  

Yelp users have ranked Il Cielo a four star restaurant with over 130 5 star rankings ( more 5 star rankings than any other number.)  This is a favorite among locals for sure.

Not only will your guests feel the magic of the atmosphere at Il Cielo, they will be happily satisfied by their meal in celebration of your love!

Il Cielo offers several different areas for your event - both indoors and out.  The ceremonies take place in a room with a retractable glass roof, giving you the option of a starry night wedding!  For cocktail hour, you and your guests can move to the front patio which is open air three seasons of the year, and has a Cinderella-like clear tent in the winter months.  The tent just adds to the charm ~ there are two stunning sister chandeliers suspended from the peak of the tent.....just lovely.  The twinkling of the stars combined with the twinkling of the lights creates a magical sight.

The inside of the restaurant is equally charming, with a heart warming fireplace, and elegantly rustic decor throughout.  The fresh take on the bar area gives your guests another place to chat, visit, and celebrate.

There is a private room for the bridal party to prepare for the wedding, and for the bride and groom to lounge in private after the ceremony.  The potential for great wedding photos is great.  Il Cielo feels as if it was created to celebrate love.....a place where fairy-tales are brought to life.

Frankly, Il Cielo is so lovely, it should be a go to place for nearly any romantic event you need to plan.  Looking for the perfect place to pop the question?  Anniversary dinner?  Ready to take your relationship to the next level?  Make a reservation at Il Cielo right away.

We consider Il Cielo to be a wonderful venue for vow renewal as well. 

A few considerations in regards to having your wedding at Il Cielo ~ it is a perfect venue for an intimate, exclusive celebration.  For an evening with dining and dancing, your number of guests should be about 90 or less.  They can accommodate a few more guests; however, you will lose some of the dance floor space if there are many more over 90.  

So if you are looking for the feel of a Tuscan wedding without having to leave our beloved city......then Il Cielo is for you!  Contact us and we will be happy to send you more information, or meet with you to view this precious venue for your wedding needs.   With An Amazing Affair wedding coordination and Il Cielo as your Beverly Hills wedding venue.....you are guaranteed a memorable celebration!  Contact us at bridgetanndooney@anamazingaffair.com. 

Theme for your wedding? Or no theme? That is the question...

Or someone would say at a 'Hamlet" wedding!  

Themed weddings used to be the predilection of science fiction fans, renaissance faire addicts, and civil war reenactors.  Then the 'Gone with the Wind' devotees.  The historical fiction lovers.  The Disneyphiles.  The French Revolution libertines.  The Vampire and zombie wanna-bes.  

Now it seems to have boiled down to "themed" and "non themed".  (And - for those of you that think that a color scheme is a theme - I beg to differ.  It is a color scheme!)  And nearly everything and anything goes!  (Cole Porter theme, anyone?)  Themes can revolve around the bride and grooms favorite pastimes, their favorite cities or places, favorite movies, or events.  Favorite authors, books, historical time periods, music, types of travel, holidays, or food.  Or, as previously stated, anything goes!

There are passionate arguments for having a theme, and equally passionate arguments for making your theme simply 'your wedding'!  Here are some of the arguments put forth in favor of themed weddings and receptions:

  

1.  Themes make your wedding different and memorable.  Not many people can forget a Star Trek wedding conducted on a replica of the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.  Nor will many people forget a Zombie wedding.  How about a Moulin Rouge wedding?  Although the main components of ceremony/cocktail hour/reception will probably be followed, the theme adds a dramatic element that can be very memorable.  

2.  Themes make it easier to choose decorations, formality, dresses/attire, and music.    (How do you dance with music that goes with science fiction?  Hhhmmm.)  There are so many choices to make while planning a wedding.  Having a theme eliminates many options, so theoretically, choices will be easier.

3.  Themes definitely give you the opportunity to express what makes the two of you, as a couple, special (aside from your love and devotion to each other!).  

There are a few things to consider when choosing a theme wedding.  How far do you want to carry the theme?  From the "Save-the-Date" cards all the way through to the Thank You cards?  Will it be a part of the ceremony itself, or just the reception?  If you are getting married at a religious venue, are their limitations on decor or changes to the traditional ceremony to accommodate a theme?  If the theme is just going to be "sprinkled on top" of the reception, will it even make sense to the guests? Or just be a distraction from the main event?  

One of the main arguments against having a themed wedding is that a wedding is a theme in and of itself!  Many marrying couples prefer to have the essential fact that they found each other, and they are openly celebrating the creation of their new family, and commemorating their love for each other is the theme.  

If you are getting married, are you planning on having a theme?  For the already marrieds, did you have a theme?  If so, what was it, and how did it go?

In this blog, we will be discussing different theme options for couples in the future.  Feel free to contact us at An Amazing Affair to explore a theme for you and your wedding now though!  No need to wait!

Thanks for reading - have a great day!

The guests need to eat. Buffet or plated dinner? Decisions, decisions....

One of the many decisions couples have to face is.........buffet or seated dinner?  Sheesh.  This is a polarizing issue.  Some people are absolutely opposed to having to get up and get their food, and others want more choices and control over how much they get to eat.   Things get interesting when there is one of each in the marrying couple!  One of our last weddings, the bride hated buffets and the groom hated the limitations on plated dinners.

Years ago, the decision was usually a financial one.  Nine times out of ten the buffet was less expensive than the plated service.  Brides and grooms were able to have more guests and feed them all while still staying in their budget.  However, with the amazing buffets and action stations that many couple are opting to make a part of their wedding, often the costs are comparable.

So, what are the factors to consider when making this decision?  It is a big one to be sure.  

Buffet Pros:

1.  Amazing variety of foods and choices.  Gone are the days of plain chicken, grayish brown mystery meat with mystery sauce, and green beans in water.  Today, buffets can be creative, trendy, and fantastic.  Of course, carving stations are always a hit (at least with all the meat eaters).  However, now you can have action stations, where chefs create anything from hand rolled sushi to stir fry to customized pasta.  

2.  It is All You Can Eat!   Your guests can eat as much or as little as they like.  No one will be left wanting more.  If someone is in love with your gratin potatoes, they can sneak more without the embarrassment of asking the server for another plate of potatoes!

3.  More guests in less space.  On a practical note, the dinner tables can be slightly closer together than with a plated service.  If space is a concern, or you want a longer guest list, this can be a consideration.

4.  Your guests will get up, move, and mingle.  Your guests will see more of the other guests, more of the room, and more of you decor and personal touches.  Sometimes, when you have plated service, some guests "take root" in their seats and settle in for the evening.

Buffet Cons:

1.  The long, long, long line.  Please try to avoid this at all costs!  Have the DJ or the band announce tables to go up one at a time for crowd control.  Keep the line so that there is never more than three to five people before your guests reach the plates.

2.  Cold food, or food that runs out.  Make sure as you work with your wedding planner that the caterer is excellent at managing the temperatures (both hot and cold) and amounts needed to keep everyone happy.

3.  Carrying it all - plate, glass, napkin, flatware.  Consider your guests - make sure that getting their food is an easy, relatively effortless endeavor.  Just the plate, thank you.

4.  Mystery foods.  For both your picky eaters AND your foodie friends, make sure that your foods are labeled, or that your program has a detailed menu for them to peruse.

Plated Service Pros:

1.  There is a natural sophistication and elegance to plated service. Your guests feel as if they are being taken care of, and being served.  

2.  Better time management and crowd control.  It is easier to do toasts during dinner after everyone has been served (and are hopefully nibbling happily).  This is tougher with a buffet because people are focused on getting their food.  This can allow for more dancing after dinner!

3.  The Bride and Groom will actually eat!  So often at weddings, the bride and groom do not really eat dinner.  Having a plated service gives the bride a groom a chance to catch their breath and actually eat at their own wedding!

4.  You can express yourself!  You can choose both of your favorite dishes, and make it a part of personalizing your wedding reception.

Plated Service Cons:

1.  More expensive.  Even thought this is a smaller margin than before, the plated service usually still costs a little more than the buffet due to the need for more wait staff.  

2.  Still may not be perfect!  By the time it is served, the food may be cold.  Or vegetarians may accidentally be served meat.   Or, if you have children at your wedding, they may turn up their noses at the beautiful presented masterpiece.

3.  The guests just get what they get.  Their choices are usually more limited.  (I know of one wedding where the guests had nine main entree choices for the plated service!)

4.  Another item to track.  If you are having the guests send in their preference with their RSVP, make sure that your wedding coordinator has simplified how you will track who is eating what and sitting where!

A few more thoughts - if there are children at the wedding, it is easier for the parents to just make a plate from the buffet of food they know their kids will eat.  however, some of your other guests may get nervous about kids being near the food being served!  (Sometimes, it seems like a no win situation!)  Buffets do allow your guests to make their food the way they like it - sauce/no sauce, more veg/no veg, shrimp feast/no seafood.  Plated service adds a touch of elegance to a wedding that is undeniable, and makes crowd control a little bit easier.

One last note about buffets - please still have drink service at the table, and please still set the tables beautifully.  No wedding guest should risk spilling food and drink all over themselves and/or someone else trying to wrangle everything at once to their seat!

Ultimately, working with your wedding planner to make sure that they know what is important to you in terms of food experience, ambiance, spacing, and options is critical.  Then, having a masterful catering company to execute your dreams is crucial.  The reality is that both can be amazing, and both can be horrible.  As for the divided couple that had opposing views?  They ultimately had a fantastic buffet, with a carving station, and gourmet choices with an excellent caterer to pull it off with style!

What do you think is better?  And for those of you that are already married, which did you choose?

Kids at the wedding? Or no kids at the wedding?

Romantic visions of girls with charming dresses with bows and sashes being chased across a lush green lawn by tuxedoed boys, bow ties askew, with gorgeous grown ups looking on holding champagne flutes and knowing grins on their faces.....that is the dream of kids at your wedding.  And this moment might happen.  Other moments might happen too - a child crying right during the exchange of vows, and no one beyond the first two rows can here you.  Toddlers and young children taking over the dance floor.  Temper tantrums.  Tipsy teens (inadvertently, of course).  Sugar crazies followed by sleeping sugar slumps. And, this is tough to say but true, spotlight stealers.  

Absolutely, your own children and your fiance's children should be there and when it is right for the kids, be a part of the proceedings.  But how do you decide on other people bringing their children?  If you do decide to have "No Kids", at what age are they able to come?  How do you address this in invitations and addressing of invitations?  And, worst of all, how do you handle it if you are having a "No Kids" wedding and someone shows up with their kids?  Argh.  

First of all, let me assure you that this is a choice that you and your fiance can make confidently and based on your desires entirely.  Do not allow anyone else to pressure you one way or the other.  The two of you need to decide privately, and then stand behind your decision.  In all likelihood, you will be spending somewhere between $25,000 to $40,000 (if not more) on this ceremonial life changing event.  You get to decide, and either decision is fine.  Your 6 year old nephew will have no lasting impact on his life one way or the other if he attends your wedding or not.  And the new parents that just cannot imagine leaving Junior or Junette with a sitter at just 9 months old - they will either get a sitter and thank you later, or they can stay home and you and your love will still get married and have an awesome time.

Second, if you dream of being surrounded by lovely children like an Estee Lauder perfume advertisement, you can do that too!!  You run the risk of having people get upset that children are there.  Too bad!  This is one issue where, as mentioned above, you and your fiance decide to suit yourselves.  So, your Uncle Herbert might leave the reception early because of all the young hooligans, or you may hear chatter that the kids are interfering with the dancing.  Oh well.  If you have the feeling and photos and ambiance you want, then that is all that matters.

So, here are some thoughts to consider while making the decision:

1.  Wedding days are long - even for adults.  

2.  The time of day and your venue may help make the decision.  An outdoor daytime wedding will handle the presence of children with less impact on other guests than a formal evening with dinner and dancing in a banquet hall. 

3.  Guests want to hear the vows and the ceremony (usually!).  Babies and children can interfere with this in a significant way.  Work with your wedding coordinator to have a separate room or area with a video feed so that parents that need to leave with a crying child can still watch the proceedings without ruining it for other guests.  Let your guests know that you have set up this special lounge for them.  

4.  If you are having your wedding at a hotel or a banquet facility, arrange a daycare room, and provide a Red Cross Certified babysitter for your guests to use as needed.  This can be a godsend for the parents of babies and toddlers, especially if they are traveling from out of town and have to bring their kids with them on the trip.

5.  If you are not having children at the wedding, include information regarding babysitting services in your area to your out of town guests.  Many hotels have recommended and approved sitters that will come right to the hotel.  Or www.care.com and www.sittercity.com have built good reputations for having skilled and reliable sitter services.

There really isn't a right or wrong answer regarding this issue.  Make your own choice.  Remember, as W. C. Fields said, "Never work with children or animals".  However, I believe he did both!

Let me know if you have any questions, or additional ideas on this issue!

Top Ten Reasons to hire a Wedding Coordinator

Here are our Top Ten Reasons why you should hire a wedding coordinator soon after your engagement!

1.  TIME

      Planning, shopping, comparing, deciding, tasting, reviewing, negotiating, creating, listing, writing, calling, driving, finding, reference checking, inviting, placating.....it all takes an enormous amount of time.  If you and your fiancé both work, the challenges of the time organizing a wedding can be daunting.  Whether it is a large or small wedding, many of the tasks involved take the same amount of time to complete.

2.  MONEY

    Weddings - especially in the Los Angeles area - are expensive.  Many brides and grooms have to eliminate whole elements of their dream wedding because they cannot afford to "have it all".  At An Amazing Affair, we have relationships with local talent and vendors for your wedding at the BEST price.  This allows you to have the wedding you desire without sacrificing what you want.   Many of our clients make up the difference in hiring us in their flower bill alone.

3.  SANITY

    We all have our family and friends to rely on during the entire wedding process.  However, there are times when it is wonderful to have an unbiased third party confidant to help with tough decisions, offer honest advice, and to be a liaison if tensions arise among the wedding party or families.

4.  DREAMS TO REALITY
     Do you have visions of fairy lights suspended over on open courtyard?  Personalized Photos for place card holders? Transforming a "banquet hall" into a magnificent woodland grotto?  AND - do you want it to look lush and beautiful rather than like a prom hall from the '80's?  We sit with brides and grooms and actually make sketches of their visions.  We then work with our talented production and lighting specialists to turn your vision into reality.

5.  ALL THE EXTRAS

    Did you want an Engagement Party, but never got around to pulling it off in time?  Did you think about writing a special letter to each bridesmaid to give her at the rehearsal dinner but forgot?  At An Amazing Affair, in addition to all of the "regular" wedding coordination services, we have thought of the sentimental extras that add depth and emotion to your engagement and wedding.  

6.  MESSAGE DELIVERY

    With our full services, we offer a 30 minute phone consultation with the Maid of Honor and the Best Man.  During this consultation, we let them know the responsibilities of the position, as well as delivering any requests and wishes regarding Bachelor and Bachelorette parties.  

7.  DO-IT-YOURSELF or LET-US-DO-IT-ALL

    At An Amazing Affair, we work with DIY brides and grooms as well as clients who wouldn't know a glue gun from a Bedazzler!  It is a misconception that DIY brides do not need a coordinator! 

8.  ENJOY THE WEDDING - ONE AND ALL!

     While your friends and family may offer to help with the day of the wedding, why not let everyone have the day off and just enjoy the moments, enjoy the time with you, relax into the ceremony and reception.  Let An Amazing Affair do the heavy lifting.

9.  DECISIONS

     Theme or no theme?  Kids or no kids?  Large party or small?  Buffet or family style or sit down dinner?  Open bar?  Wording on the invitations?  Daytime or evening?  Religious or secular?  DJ or band?  Champagne toast?  Favors or a candy bar?  Photo booth?  Lighting specialist?  Fascinator or veil?  We will give you the information you need to make the right decision for you and your family.

10.  PERSONALIZATION

    Yes, personalization.  Believe it or not, oftentimes more of your personality and your fiancé’s personality will shine through the rehearsal, ceremony, cocktail hour and reception when you turn over the planning to us.  Make the day your own......let us help.

 www.anamazingaffair.com