Welcoming your Out-of-Town Guests

Weddings are events that bring together all your loved ones near and far.

Most wedding celebrations will include guests, family and friends, from out-of-town.

The bride and groom, and their respective families will surely want to take care of these people the best they can and thank them for their presence.

Here are some ways to make your guests feel welcome and have a great time:

- Make a list of your out-of-town guests that you would like to invite and send them a Save-the-Date card or notice once you have set the date. The sooner they know when the wedding will be the more preparation time they have.

- For these guests, make sure to include a map of the area and all the places around the ceremony & reception venues.

- Make a list of hotels that you recommend, but make sue to include a few different price ranges. Call the hotels in advance and ask for a special wedding group rate. When guests mention the wedding group title, they will receive the special rate. Include this information in your invite.

- When you know where your guests are staying, prepare welcome baskets to be delivered to their hotel room upon their day of arrival. Include sweet and savory snacks, bottled water and a welcome note.

- Make a list of activities for your guests to enjoy, such as restaurants, cafes, shopping, landmarks...

- If time allows, schedule an out-of-towner lunch or dinner so you may spend time with them before the wedding Alternatively, you may also have a wedding-day-after brunch to thank guests and say farewell.

For ideas on welcome wedding packages and help on caring for guests:

Rita: 514.816.7482

Have a blast!

KABANA Restaurant... Everything you need.

Dinner last night at Kabana was just PERFECT.

This gorgeous new supperclub is the newest addition to the Med, Cavalli, Primadonna, Bice, Otto group.

Each restaurant from this group has always offered the top in food, service, entertainment and ambiance. Kabana is no exception.

Located in the beautiful Quartier Dix 30, here in Brossard, it is definitely the new gem of the South Shore.

My husband, TODDY FLORES, resident DJ at Med for more than 6 years and dedicated DJ for this supperclub group for over 10 years is the Thursday night DJ now at Kabana.

After a few drinks at my home, 2 minutes away, my friends and I decided to check out Kabana on a Wednesday night.

What a great time we had. The ambiance as gorgeous as when we saw it at the Opening party last month, service was very attentive and the food was just impeccable. Creative and tasty, the perfect meal.

We all had different entrees. I had the meatballs that are so moist and juicy from the braising.

Topped with goat cheese and crispy eggplant chip.

Then, I had the Chilean sea bass. (Picture didn't come out)

Light, flaky and so delicious.

Then, to die for.... Check out these mini doughnuts with the caramel, chocolate and strawberry sauce. Giorgio Damiani, you spoil us always!

This heavenly cheesecake dessert was also light, airy and so flavorful.

Fresh and dreamy.

Then, an assortment of sorbet for us to taste and to clean off the palate for our special coffees.

The prices are so reasonable for such a beautiful place.

Top quality in everything offered.

A one-stop shop for ambiance, dinner and dancing.

This venue is also a perfect choice for corporate events, wedding rehearsal dinners, birthdays, any special celebration.

Do check it out.

Thank you, KABANA, Dix 30 for giving me a place in the South Shore to dine and party in STYLE!

No kiddies, please....

How to kindly but clearly let your guests know that kids are not invited to the reception...

Many brides and grooms are choosing not to include kids in their wedding reception.

For many reasons, wedding receptions are favoring adult-only attendance.

To avoid the uncertainty and uneasiness, here are very clear but polite ways to get your point across:

In your invitation, include these words and phrases to the bottom of your RSVP card:

Adult Reception We hope that the (# of) of you will be able to join us (# of) seats have been reserved in your names Tuck those little ones in and have a great night!

BLING!

WOW! Like BLING?

Check out this wedding shoe from designer Jean-Michel Cazabut.

I love, love, love it!

Creative Wedding Entrances

One of the best ways to start the reception off with a bang and get everyone excited is to have a fun and unexpected entrance.

One that always makes me smile is a church entrance on You Tube.

Baptism Celebration

My beautiful god-daughter's baptism was this past Sunday and it was a simply special and happy day. Loving family and friends were there to celebrate and share in the joy.

Courtesy of Rita Wong Events, Madeleine cakes were set at each place-setting...

My god-daughter's name is Madeleine, so Madeleines by Madeleine for everyone!

Wedding Website

Wedding websites are a great way to keep your guests up to date with all the details of your wedding. Especially if you have many out-of-town guests, you may want to use the website to include information about the hotel suggestions, directions to church, reception venue and other venues for wedding festivities. This tool will help you save on costs as well, as you will save money on printing costs .

A great wedding website to try out is mywedding.com.

Great selection of templates, many sections to offer info and bet of all.. free to use!