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Wedding Trends for Fall 2018

Fall is fast approaching, and with it, fall weddings. With warm days, cool nights, and bright
colors, fall is the perfect wedding season. The fall 2018 wedding will, in many ways, look
similar to the traditional wedding, but it will feature some very different twists. Here are
some trends to watch out for if you are planning or attending a wedding this fall!

Fashion

This fall, expect the wedding party to be wearing subtle colors and jewel tones. Subtle pink
or beige bridal gowns and pastel or jewel tone bridesmaid’s dresses will be very popular.
Brides will favor simple silhouetted gowns with intricate yet subtle lace or bead work. We
might also see some shorter gowns and even jumpsuits! We will see brides with natural
makeup and hair looks, paired with statement hair pieces and rings. This fall, it’s all about
subtlety… with a twist!

Décor

Fall weddings will feature simple décor, with jewel tones and black and gold color schemes
(black is back!). Expect to see leafy plant arrangements in place of large florals. Lastly, from
handwritten invitations to simple, homemade table signs, DIY is not going away; we will
still see DIY touches this fall! Think simple yet elegant!

Venue

It will be all about venue this fall. Indoor-outdoor weddings and clear-top tent weddings
will be very popular this fall to feature the beautiful colors of the season. These venues hold
a casual vibe and the structure will allow the ceremony and reception to blend easily.
Reach out to Coastline Convention Center for the perfect coastal, indoor-outdoor venue
right on the water. Historic locations will also be popular wedding venues this fall. The vibe
and look of a historic venue will pair perfectly with this year’s fall wedding trends.

Food

Little is more important that good food at a wedding. This fall, expect receptions to have
unique food presentations. You might see buffet stations, each with a different style of food,
food served on glow cubes, or even on hanging swings. Another trend this year are
statement cakes with intricate and bold designs. In years past, traditional wedding cakes
have been ditched for cupcake stand or other treats, but they will be making a comeback
this fall!

Entertainment

This fall, there will be a heavy emphasis on entertainment. We will see more live music this
fall instead of DJ’s and we will see unique activities, such as caricature artists and photo
booths. We will also see an emphasis on kid-friendly entertainment this fall, such as
twister, bouncy houses, and magic shows.

Why Venue Matters for Your Event

For event planning purposes, the venue you choose for your event should be a top
priority. The venue you choose can directly affect the success of your event and can
also reflect either poorly or positively on your reputation. When researching which
venue you will choose for your event, there are many factors to consider. Keep these
tips in mind when making your venue considerations for your next gathering.

Through Research

As with any other aspect of your event, you will need to do your research before settling
on the venue of your choice. Take some time to search online for the locations you are
interested in. Many of the event spaces will have their own websites where you can see
photos of the space. You can also search reviews online, as the first-hand experience
from those who have used the event space in the past, or guests of an event at the
particular venue, are often influential in making your decision as well.

Space and Style Matters

The amount of space the venue provides will also be an important factor in the success of
your event. When choosing your event space, consider the number of attendees to the event,
and speak in detail with the venue representative about the level of accommodation for the
attendees. Make sure that there are plenty of smaller spaces should you need it, and
consider the outdoor space as well.

The style of the space is also an important factor in choosing a venue. Depending on the type
of event you are planning, the location’s style should match the theme or need of the event.
Be sure to visit the venue and consider what you can do with the space prior to making your
final decision. Ask about prior events held in the space in the past, etc.

While the particular style might not be applicable to all events, at other times it is a crucial part
of choosing your location. For example, you would want to pick a nice location for hosting a
wedding, rather than a venue that doesn’t have anything to offer aesthetically.

If you are looking for the perfect venue for holding your next event, reach out to Coastline
Convention Center for all of your needs! They have just the right space for your next event,
and you will not be disappointed in what you see!

Wedding Tunes: DJ or Band?

The key to any successful wedding celebration is enjoyable entertainment. Deciding which music choice is best to deliver this entertainment to your guests can be the tricky part. In some cases, the bride and groom know exactly what type of music they want. Unfortunately, this is not always that simple. Prior to making your final decision on hiring a DJ or band, consider the following factors:

Budget

The budget is usually the top concern for couples who are planning their wedding celebration. It is safe to say that a DJ is less costly than a live band and a ten-piece band is costlier than say, a three-piece band given the fact that more people are needed. Another aspect that plays a key role is the amount of time the band or DJ will play. Keep in mind, taking a break is easier for a DJ than it would be for a band.

Atmosphere

The kind of music you choose for your wedding can easily set the tone and theme for your celebration. Consider what music genre is best at mirroring your personalities as well as stimulates the atmosphere you wish to create. The way music is delivered can also affect the environment.

Type of Music

The type of music you wish to have played is another factor to consider. A DJ will have a wider range of music choices than a live band. However, sounds of a big band are best heard live.

Venue

Another key factor to consider is how many guests you are planning on attending and the amount of space available for your reception site. A live band requires more space than a DJ. Also, are there any restrictions on the pieces of equipment or on the number of musicians that may be brought into the venue? Is there any noise or power supply limitations? For example, a large speaker may not be allowed in certain locations. Be sure to ask questions when scoping out your intended reception venue.

Band or DJ

Regardless if you choose a DJ or live band, it is always ideal to learn about their abilities prior to signing on the dotted line. Even though a DJ does not perform the music themselves, their performance is still important. Be sure they are not afraid to interact with the audience. Provide a personal request list to ensure the band or DJ can play them.

Most importantly, relax and enjoy your wedding celebration. Now go have fun!

Planning a Rehearsal Dinner

A rehearsal dinner is an informal dinner after a wedding rehearsal that traditionally takes place the night before the wedding. For Saturday weddings, this usually occurs about 7 PM to allow attendants sufficient time to arrive after work. More options are available for weddings that take place on a Sunday or on a holiday. This dinner gives the bride and grooms a chance to thank those who have helped them with their wedding planning and also gives the wedding party a chance to get to know one another.

Dinner Hosts

The mother of the groom traditionally plans and hosts this celebration. Providing that you’re soon to be mother-in-law is willing and able to plan this event, it is a wonderful idea to allow her to do so even if her tastes differ from yours. In some situations, the parents of both the bride and groom share this responsibility by hosting it together.

Nowadays, many couples are including this cost into their overall wedding budget.

Guests to Invite

The guest list should at least include your immediate family, parents of children attendants, and members of the wedding party as well as their significant others. Including the children attendants themselves on this invite list is up to you. Although they may not come, the officiant and his/her significant other should also be invited.

How to Invite

Generally, a couple of days after the wedding invitations were sent out, invitations are sent. Depending on how elaborate this event is expected to be, invites can include formal invitations, DIY invites, an e-vite, or personal phone call. To have a head count, be sure to ask your invites to RSVP.

Location

A nice restaurant or hotel ballroom are often chosen as the locations. However, some rehearsal dinners take place in more extravagant location or somewhere as simple as the backyard.

What Takes Place

In addition to eating, the couple thanks and toasts the wedding party and their family. Other toasts take place as well with the groom’s father going first. Bridal party gifts may be handed out at this event, although subtly. Some couples also use this time to exchange special wedding gifts with each other. Parent gifts are typically more private but can occur at the wedding rehearsal too.

This is an ideal time to inform for last-minute reminders. Ensure the wedding party knows where and when to arrive and what they are supposed to do.

Most importantly, relax and enjoy the time with your guests.

Best Office Party Venues Wilmington NC

Finding the Best Holiday Office Party Venue Wilmington NC

Holiday office party venues Wilmington NC are often an event that is looked forward to by many employees, and in some cases is not anticipated. To make your next holiday office party a hit, try some of these tips and hopefully your employees will have a great time!

Show your Appreciation to the Employees

When planning a holiday office party, it is important that the employees feel appreciated. This would be a good time to recognize anyone in the office who has received awards or recognition, or simply gone above and beyond to complete their job duties. If you can, throw in some small token of appreciation for everyone in the form of a small gift so that your employees know they are being thought of this holiday season. If at all possible, hold the party during working hours and don’t make it mandatory. The last thing anyone wants is to feel obligated to attend a party or to take time out of their personal lives to attend a work-related event.

Create an Enjoyable Atmosphere

To make your holiday office party a little more fun, hold it at an offsite location like a nice restaurant or fun spot that everyone enjoys. Include festive decorations to the inviting atmosphere, along with some good music and food, and you’ve got a party everyone can enjoy. Themes for parties can be a good and fun idea. For a holiday party, you could make it ugly sweater optional and have a contest for the ugliest sweater. Or a Christmas pajama party. Again, make the participation in the theme optional so others don’t feel obligated. Location is key when it comes to nice parties so be sure to pick an elegant and nice location.

Activities

Games and prizes are always a major hit at any party. Let loose with some fun holiday inspired activities and games and offer small prizes to the winners. The prizes would even be work related so no money has to be spent, such as a two-hour lunch break, or pass to leave early on a Friday, etc. You can really get creative with your prizes and the participation is likely to increase if you are offering work-related tokens!

There are many ways to make your work party enjoyable. For more ideas and a great venue, contact us at Coastline Convention Center to set up your office holiday party!

Wilmington NC Catering Trends for Your Wedding

4 Food Bar Types You Need to Try

Planning a wedding is enjoyable and a chance to really get creative and throw in some fun ideas for your reception. A growing trend for wedding venues in Wilmington NC is food bars. Check out some ideas for some great food bars and consider adding them to your lineup of Wilmington NC catering options.

Baked Potato Bar

A baked potato bar is a great way to mix things up and bring something unique and different to your wedding. Have plenty of toppings for guests to choose from like sour cream, different shredded cheeses, bacon, chives, onions, broccoli, diced tomatoes, salsa, etc. and this bar will be a hit with your guests. Not to mention potatoes are very filling and your guests will leave with a full stomach.

Taco Bar

Who doesn’t love a good taco? If you have a taco bar at your wedding, it is sure to be a hit. You can really get creative with the tacos and have options like fish tacos, beef, chicken, veggie, and even dessert tacos. Top them off with a myriad of toppings and your wedding is sure to be the talk of all of your guests for months to come!

Snack Bars

Snack bars are quickly becoming a popular choice among couples as options for their wedding receptions or rehearsal dinners. Snack bars are a great way to get creative. You can feature them for cocktail hour, as an added treat in addition to a full meal, or go all out and have several snack bars throughout the reception. A great idea for a snack bar would be a pretzel bar with all sorts of dipping sauces. Or another idea would be a nacho bar or create your own trail mix bar. The options are limitless when it comes to snack bars!

Dessert Bars

To top it all off, dessert bars are the way to go. Dessert bars can be in addition to your wedding cake, or some couples are choosing to replace the wedding cake altogether with a delicious dessert bar like a cupcake or pie bar. A smoothie bar would also be fun, where the guests can choose their own ingredients and the smoothie is made on the spot. Or how about a cookies and milk bar? Everyone loves desserts so you can never go wrong with a dessert bar.

Coastline Convention Center offers top -notch Wilmington NC catering services. Give us a call today, we are here to make your wedding dream come true with an full service event venue!

Awesome Advantages of Having a Winter Wedding

Choosing a date for your wedding can be stressful. A winter wedding has numerous benefits that you may be unaware of. It will stand out by being fun and different. Consider some awesome advantages to having a winter wedding before settling on a date.

Greater Availability of Venues

Winter weddings provide the advantage of greater availability too much of the popular venues, vendors, and photographers. Winter weddings are less common which allows you a better chance of having your special day at your dream venue. Also, many venues offer reduced rates during the off-season saves you money.

Stunning Photo Opportunities

Simply step outdoors for unique wedding photos. Winter is a very romantic, unique and beautiful time of year. Winter provides plenty of spectacular photo opportunities such as snow blanketed landscapes and tree branches lightly dusted with frost, the opportunities are endless.

Reduced Stress

Stressing about the elements is reduced with winter weddings because they generally occur inside. The risks of wind and rain not only is stressful, but costlier as well when tents are needed. An outdoor wedding can be uncomfortable to your guests when exposed to heat as well. Stress is reduced for you, your family and friends, and your vendors when you do not need to consider Mother Nature. Also an indoor venue is convenient as you can also host

Less Expensive Travel and Accommodations

Travel and hotel expenses are most expensive during the summer months, while school is in recess and families vacation. You and your guests benefit with off-season pricing for hotels and travel with a winter wedding.

Extremely Romantic

Getting married to your soulmate in a sparkling winter wonderland outdoor wedding venue is extremely romantic. With luck, Mother Nature will oblige and give your special day a fresh white backdrop.

Best Time of Year for Black Tie Weddings

If you are considering a formal wedding, guests with black tie attire will be much more appreciative of a winter wedding. Tuxedos and gown were not designed for outdoor ceremonies in the sweltering summer but are ideal for indoor wedding recpetions

Decorated Venues

Pre-wedding events held during the holiday season can benefit from the gorgeous free decorations displayed this time of year. For example, bridal showers tend to take place approximately one month prior to the wedding. This means, bridal showers taking place during the holiday season are exquisitely decorated with garland, wreaths, and white sparkling lights giving a celebratory feel to any Wilmington NC wedding reception venue you choose.

5 Steps to the Perfect Corporate Retreat

Responsibilities of getting the job done can place pressure and stress on employees around the world and companies are beginning to take notice. Add the seemingly endless amount of phone calls, emails, deadlines, and meetings to the mix and turnover rates are higher than ever for many organizations.

Companies in every industry must take time to reset and a company retreat is an ideal place to accomplish this. Corporate retreats provide co-workers with an outstanding opportunity to join together to reflect on work matters while enjoying themselves at the same time. Company bottom lines are improved in the long run due to these retreats. They are being utilized more and more to help rev up people in the workforce for the upcoming work.

But what does it take to plan the perfect corporate retreat? Organizing an event such as this takes hard work and effort. Preparing an agenda, booking venues, planning transportation, and ensuring everything goes as planned. The five most important steps to the perfect corporate retreat are as follows:

To plan a successful corporate retreat, the objectives must be determined.

• Identify the purpose of the retreat.
• What issues will be attempted to be resolved?
• What internal issues will you be working on?
• What external issues do you want to repair by using teamwork?
• Is this an opportunity for team building?

2. Who will attend this event? Is this event company-wide or for specific departments? Deciding who will attend and what contribution will be made by each person is helps with action plans and goal setting. Who to invite depends mostly on the purpose and agenda of the retreat.
3. Determining the right agenda is important to ensure you get the most out of your corporate retreat. Keep an agenda that is focused, detailed, and attainable. You can only get so much reasonably done, and by attempting to do too much you risk the chance of accomplishing nothing at all.
4. If you prefer not to lead the retreat yourself, a committee can be appointed, or an outside facilitator for the best possible results. Be sure whoever leads the event is involved right from planning stages, including catering services. Facilitators ensure the meeting stays on track.
5. Determining location is extremely important for your retreat. The ideal locations are near major airports and a short driving distance to help your guests feel comfortable and excited they will be spending time with fellow co-workers.  

Coastline Convention Center, is a premiere event venue in Wilmington, NC to host a successful corporate retreat.

Contact us today for pricing and date availability, let’s get your business event planned for 2018!

The Hottest Wedding Trends of 2017

It may seem as though wedding trends are getting a little over the top. They are and people are loving it! The new rules for 2017, is there are no rules. You can keep your wedding traditional, or you can throw convention to the wind and do something that is new and different, and possibly trendsetting.

Couples are looking at their big day a little differently than in years past, and the dresses, food, and decorum are all following suit. There are some amazing wedding trends that are emerging as the hottest for the 2017 year. Here are some of the top trends:

Fashion

Everyone knows that people primarily go to and have weddings to show off and look at the fashion. This year metallic’s and loose silhouettes are the dresses of choice for the bride and their bridesmaids. From sparkly bridal gowns with metallic beading that twinkle in the light to formal evening gowns for bridesmaids made with flowing and soft fabrics that slink down the body, subtle and effortless is the key.

Food

The traditional sit down and be served weddings are out this year, and food and drink stations and food trucks are in. Couples are able to provide their guest with a fun interactive experience that gives them a little more of a taste of who you are. Food trucks allow for the guest to choose the food they want to eat from the menu available, and with the fun food stations, they can choose how they want to eat their food like standing up or down, or be traditional or try something new. There are more options for your guest which is what people want to provide their guest.

Decorations and Decorum

People are getting the excitement for their wedding started from the beginning. Sending out beautiful invitations with various types of catchy trends like glow in the dark ink, foil stamping, or large bold envelopes with bright writing or special engravings. Color has made a comeback in 2017. Deep bold colors and various shades of green are the top wedding choices for 2017 which fits great in with the greenery and au naturale look and style of the wedding.

Entertainment

Photo booths are so 2016. In 2017, couples are thinking exceptional entertainment for their guests. Body painters, full and semi-choirs that sing only R&B and Pop songs, ballerinas and contortionist, and water performers and gymnast are all hot trends for keeping your guest entertained beyond looking at the unbridled love of the couple they are there to celebrate.

Contact the Coastline Convention Center today for a complimentary consultation with our onsite event planner!