Memorial Day marks the start of summer fun, picnics and outdoor celebrations, but the real meaning behind Memorial Day often brings sadness and a heavy heart to those who have lost someone very near and dear to them. Memorial Day marks the day of remembering those of our nation’s military who died in service to their country. In your family celebrations and gatherings this weekend, please take the time to do something in honor of  these courageous men and women that so willingly chose to protect and serve.  If you need some fun ideas to help commemorate the day , check out the post at Party Bluprints Blog.

Party Bluprints Blog – Memorial Day Party

Stay Safe!

]]> http://www.alphaprosperitymanagement.com/blog/honor-memorial-day/feed/ 0 http://www.alphaprosperitymanagement.com/wedding-coordination/diy-outdoor-wedding-event-tips/ http://www.alphaprosperitymanagement.com/wedding-coordination/diy-outdoor-wedding-event-tips/#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 16:00:51 +0000 Missouri City Wedding Planner http://www.alphaprosperitymanagement.com/?p=2467 If you are considering an outdoor space for your wedding ceremony or reception event, the sky is the limit for your decor options. You can be as elegant as you want or as casual as you want. I love the possibilities for outdoor spaces but make sure you choose a comfortable time of year to host outdoors or be prepared to bring in the necessary items to keep your guests comfortable.  Decor ideas can be as simple as embellishing what you already have access to. You will more than likely need to bring in items to keep your guests comfortable and the party atmosphere flowing.

When considering table placement, make sure you allow enough space for guests to comfortable seat themselves and pass throughout the space. Don’t cram too many tables into the space if the space doesn’t allow for it.

White garden chairs and floral in white boxes create a visual impact for the ceremony aisle.  Floral in photo above created and designed by Arteflora Design ~ Houston.

Decor for outdoor doesn’t always require a lot. A few strategically placed potted plants with color added for cohesiveness, go a long way.

Outdoor wedding events can get pretty warm, especially here in the Houston, Missouri City, TX  and surrounding areas. If your selected space doesn’t have a covered or sheltered area, you may need to seriously consider renting some sort of tenting option to keep your guests comfortable and sheltered from the elements.

 Imagine your man surrounded by Armani silk, crystal, leather, chrome and orchids! Pure sexy, sophistication is what comes to my mind. Make sure your groom or sophisticated gentleman is surrounded by the things that make him feel handsome, sexy and spectacular, too.

]]> http://www.alphaprosperitymanagement.com/blog/sophisticated-gentleman/feed/ 0 http://www.alphaprosperitymanagement.com/business-ideas-trends-helpful-info/event-destination-south-padre-island-tx/ http://www.alphaprosperitymanagement.com/business-ideas-trends-helpful-info/event-destination-south-padre-island-tx/#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 15:37:43 +0000 Missouri City Wedding Planner http://www.alphaprosperitymanagement.com/?p=2649 Although most of my time is spent assisting couples with the planning details of weddings and vow renewal celebrations, I occasionally get to plan other types of corporate and social events. As a matter of fact, at the writing of this post, I am in conference planning mode, coordinating the space logistics for a statewide organization’s annual conference. With my conference planning clients, I get the opportunity to travel and explore event destinations all over the state of Texas, and sometimes I get lucky enough to have my event planning worlds overlap. Working in South Padre Island, Texas this week is providing just the opportunity for that to happen.

As a wedding and event planner, based in Missouri City, Texas, I am always on the lookout for great event destinations, wedding ideas, and inspirations for my engaged couples. Many of those couples consider the possibility of a destination wedding and honeymoon. Did you know that 24% of brides and grooms choose to have destination weddings and that 55% of couples choose a tropical location for a honeymoon destination. Many couples love the idea but are concerned about the cost to their family and friends. Worry no more and get to know South Padre Island, Texas, a little slice of event destination heaven right around the corner.

Yes, I know, being in the Houston – Missouri City area, we do have the closer island of Galveston, Texas right next door, but sometimes it’s nice to venture out and feel like you are really getting away, without the passport and financial headache that often comes with tropical, resort like travel. South Padre Island is a hop, skip and easy drive or flight, so it provides an affordable option for those wanting an event destination without the travel expense and headache.

We have made quite a number of friends down here and can provide some great contacts to help make your destination wedding a dream come true. Planning a corporate or social function that requires a relaxed event destination? We can help with that too. The folks in the know are pretty friendly and I must give a huge shout out to my friends at The Pearl South Padre and the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau. They provide some great event assistance and incentives and I am sure if you give them the chance, they will roll out the red carpet for you and your guests, as well.

Because This Time It’s Different!

Applauding our encore brides and grooms for their courage, and belief that love conquers all, I just wanted to share a few planning tidbits to consider while on your encore wedding planning journey. It is estimated that 40% of  all weddings are encore weddings. An encore wedding is defined as a wedding where the bride and/or groom was married before and have now chosen to embark on a new life journey with another person.

Have your wedding celebration your way. Don’t let the well-meaning thoughts or opinions of others, deter you from the day you both have envisioned. If you want traditional, do traditional. If you want casual, do casual.

Be open to the suggestions or feelings of your intended. Have a real discussion about what is important to your both and LISTEN. Is this their first wedding? Is this an encore wedding for them? What is important to him or her? Plan your celebration together.

Make sure you both have put closure on a previous marriage, legally, financially and emotionally. Nobody likes surprises and if your affairs aren’t in order, then you must delay the union  or you may find yourself dealing with hassles that will make you and your future spouse very unhappy.

Thursday, Friday and Sunday’s are great options for your event. Not only will you find great deals on venues and vendor pricing but wedding events on those days tend to be less stressful and more relaxed.

Wear what you feel defines you. You can wear white if you want to but consider wearing something that defines the person that you have become.

Dress for where you are going or where your event will take place. If you’re having a simple courthouse ceremony, try a beautiful tailored suit.  If you’re eloping in fun and festive Las Vegas, wear that fun, sexy, short dress. Having your encore wedding on the beach, dress for the sand, surf and breeze.

Step-families and remarriages are relationships that deserve to be celebrated.  If your children are up to it and excited about the union, have them participate in the wedding ceremony or other activities. Don’t push for activity if they are not ready; let the relationship row and build itself.

Don’t concern yourself with any nay sayers or party-poopers. They won’t get why you feel the need to have a wedding event.  Your love and commitment for each other deserves celebrating, and if others don’t get it, then that’s their problem, not yours.

Need help planning your special day? Give us a call. Encore weddings are our specialty. We know what it takes to create a beautiful wedding day experience because we’ve been there. Second weddings are a beautiful opportunity to celebrate the choice to love again so just have fun with it.

This is how we celebrate Saturdays; sharing quotes about love, marriage and togetherness. This one sums up why we love weddings, vow renewals, showers and all celebrations of love.

Enjoy your “love-ly” day!

Colin Cowie Weddings

Looking for a wow factor for your wedding ceremony? Ever considered blinging out your ceremony aisle runner? The one seen here is from Colin Cowie Weddings and uses purple and white flowers  that were hand-sewn onto the crystals and attached to a white aisle runner. This is a great option to use for wedding ceremony decor especially if you are limited by rules of the church or venue. An aisle runner is most always allowed at most churches and venues and the decor for the one shown here is quick and easy to do.

• It eliminates the need for lots of petals
• The beauty of the design will still be there when it’s time for the bride to walk down the aisle
• It is easily removed when the ceremony is over with no fuss or mess

Colin Cowie Weddings

When you need inspiration for your wedding or event, you can’t go wrong with inspirations from top event designers. You don’t want to copy what they have already created but viewing their work can ig

Love Quote Saturday

Hello everyone. It’s Saturday and that can only mean that it is wedding day for some beautiful, happy couple out there. Is Saturday the only day for weddings and marriage? Of course not. But it is the day we choose to celebrate    weddings and wedding events with our weekly segment, Love Quote Saturday.

This week we share several famous quotes found at our favorite hangout spot, Pinterest. These quotes are famous because most of us remember at least one from a movie of our time. I could probably add a few to this list but I think you get the gist.

Why not do something fun with these or other movie quotes for your wedding reception or other special event. What do I have in mind, you ask? How about instead of table numbers, name your tables for famous movies and list a love quote as well. It will definitely get your guests talking.

The Wedding Hunter

Now that’s a cool idea. You can do it with any of the quotes you have seen or will see here. Now that’s a reason to keep coming back. If you need additional planning ideas like this, more specific to your wedding event, give us a shout. We have so many ideas, just for you!

Until next week!

Love Quote Saturday

Hello my lovelies. It’s Love Quote Saturday, and you know what that means…someone, somewhere is definitely, getting married today.   So, in keeping with our idea to celebrate a day when lots of love celebrations are happening, we bring you another weekly quote about love, weddings, marriage and togetherness and this love quote is quite fitting, especially when talking about every person’s dream of weddings and marriage. To go confidently into the direction of your dreams of being married to that someone special is a huge risk. Will that person value you the way that you do them; will you support each other through the good and bad; will that person love you forever?! Go boldly and live the life you imagined with your bride or groom by your side and believe it will all be just fine!

Are you in the middle of planning your wedding or other special event to celebrate love? We would love to assist you in the planning or coordination of your special day. You can bounce ideas off of us, use our great vendors, or utilize us to bring it all together for you, so you are not dealing with the stress or headache. Contact us today to get started on your stress free, event planning journey.

And until next week, have a prosperous, lovely day!

I love my job as an event planner, because I occasionally get to travel to some fun places. Currently, I am working on planning some conference logistics for a small non-profit and this week, my job calls for me to spend the last two days on the beach in South Padre Island, TX. It’s a tough job but I think I am up to the challenge (smile). While enjoying some down time, I was perusing the internet and ran across this gorgeous photo.  Being surrounded by sand, water, shells and all things beachy, I was inspired by these beautiful tropical centerpieces from Colin Cowie Weddings.

With this wedding decor centerpiece I am not just in love with the flowers, but the containers are what sent me over the moon. When you use your imagination and a little elbow grease, just about anything is possible. I believe you can achieve this wedding decor look with beautiful fabric, paper or paint with various shaped vases or other containers you may have around your home already. Beautiful decor options for your wedding or event centerpieces can be all within reach of your design budget with just a little photo inspiration to ignite the creativity.  Just a personal tip – make sure to start early in the process to allow enough time to create your wedding decor project and once you decide on your project, don’t flip-flop back and forth.

Need some help to find your creative side or just want some ideas for your wedding or special event? Give us a call so we can get started on a vision for you.

I really enjoyed working with this couple and other members of their beautiful family. The bride and groom have a toddler daughter and have careers in very demanding and stressful fields. The bride is a surgical nurse and the groom is a firefighter, and both work long hours. The bride had very specific ideas of creating a wedding that her rustic groom would enjoy but she also wanted just few touches of those romantic details and traditional ideas that every girl dreams of.

 Wedding cake created by All About Cakes – Sugar Land mimics the beautiful ruffle details from the bride’s wedding gown.

 Bride Tiffany and her bridesmaids all dressed in red dresses with cream colored hydrangea bouquets are stunning against the lighted backdrop of Cindy’s Palace, in Richmond, TX. Nothing says romance like red in  the month of February.

Romantic detail captured in the beautiful red rose, calla lilies and tulip bridal bouquet.

 Sweet flower girl basket photographed with candle decor and red petals to add touches of romantic details.

 Tiffany and Lance, married at last.

Hope you enjoyed just a few peeks into the wedding of this beautiful couple. I think a good time was had by all, no matter what design element they were partial too. Of course you can see more of our work at our website and Facebook page. If you haven’t like our Facebook page, please do. I so enjoy connecting with our fans and supporters so make sure you join us.

Love Quote Saturday

Hello my lovelies. It’s Love Quote Saturday, and you know what that means…someone, somewhere is getting married today. As a matter of fact, we are heading out to Katy, TX to manage a wedding in just a couple of hours.   So, in keeping with our idea to celebrate a day when lots of love celebrations are happening, we bring you another weekly quote of love, weddings, marriage and togetherness.

Are you in the middle of planning your wedding or other special event to celebrate love? We would love to assist you in the planning or coordination of your special day. You can bounce ideas off of us, use our great vendors, or utilize us to bring it all together for you, so you are not dealing with the stress or headache. Contact us today to get started on your stress free, event planning journey.

Planning a wedding is a major undertaking. There are budgets, guests lists and invitations to coordinate; venues and entertainment to select; gowns, dresses and tuxedos to choose, and let’s not forget about the decor coordination and set-up of your wedding day event items.

Knowing all that is involved, you are still excited about creating something personal and special for your guest book, favors for each place setting and even a cute little pillow for the rings. You have a specific idea in mind for the assigned table seating and even want to do something different for the photo booth. You want your fingerprint on every wedding element because that personal touch is so important to you. You have given careful thought to every detail and have set your mind on making it happen. You are a real “Do It Yourself-er ” and know you can accomplish the task. And accomplish the task, you do.

Every wedding element has been completed and the big day is right around the corner but then you realize, there’s no one to set up your beautifully created centerpieces, favors, and other decor elements. Maybe some of the bridesmaids can do it, but no; all of your family and friends, including you, will be busy getting primped and prettied for the big day. Who will help complete your masterpiece and set everything up? Don’t worry, we have a wedding decor service just for that.

Tags for Reserved Seating

Our Decor Coordination and Management Services can save the day and your sanity, too. This service is perfect for the DIY Bride or couple that already have design elements planned, completed and ready to go, but don’t have the time to place them where needed.  We take care of your vision, implementing each of the decor details for your wedding or special event, according to your design or decor plan. We even have a great priced option where you can add that all important Day of Coordinator to the package, to coordinate your other selected vendors, timelines and wedding day activities.

Every Detail Handled According to Your Design Plan

This wedding decor coordination package is also perfect for the couple that have a small decor budget and need some ideas on how to stretch that budget to get the best bang for their dollar. We meet with you to discuss ideas, color schemes, and possibilities. We then call in our vendors to make it happen, all on budget.

Alpha Prosperity Events Decor Coordination Services

So, stop stressing. Your work is done. When you turn the details over to us, you can sit back, relax and enjoy being catered to as the beautiful bride that you are. It’s your day to shine so enjoy the celebration.

In this real wedding segment, romantic meets rustic at the wedding of Tiffany and Lance, which took place at Cindy’s Palace in Richmond, TX. The colors for this beautiful wedding were red, black, ivory and silver. Tiffany and her mom, Elizabeth brought us in to help create decor ideas for a wedding that encompassed both the bride’s romantic side and the groom’s rustic side.

Romantic meets rustic in the centerpiece for Tiffany and Lance’s wedding, in Richmond, TX.  Tiered vases utilizing branches, river rock floating candles and hydrangeas. Perfect touch for an dressy but casual feel.

The meal of choice for this romantic meets rustic wedding? Barbecue, of course.  Catered by some award winning barbecue cook-off champions known throughout the State of Texas and believe me, they don’t play around when it comes to great tasting barbecue.

Rustic groom’s cake, designed to look like the farm that the groom grew up on, complete with farm animals, tractors and of course, a hook and ladder fire engine, representing the groom’s career choice as a proud fire fighter. 

I know, I know. You want to see more and you will. Tune in next week as we share some of the romantic touches from this beautiful Richmond, Texas wedding. Romantic meets rustic looks pretty good, if I must say so myself.

See you next time!

• Are you hosting your first Easter celebration or trying to split time between two families?
• Are you holding fast to your traditional way of celebrating, only to realize your spouse has a different way of celebrating, if they celebrate it at all?
• Are you feeling the pressure to participate for the sake of getting along, all the while, dreading the whole day or weekend?

Marriage takes time. Getting adjusted to the personality of one person is difficult in itself but having to adjust to a whole new family and their way of celebrating holidays doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to incorporate his family ideas with yours and your family ideas with his. Be prepared to compromise and speak up to those things you feel very strongly about. Don’t expect your spouse to read your mind or to just know that you still look for a basket of candy at Easter.

And speaking of Easter baskets, why not start some new traditions for your new family like exchanging baskets catered to your loved ones hobbies or interests. You can never miss me with a basket of candy or snack goodies but maybe you want to do something a bit more masculine for your hubby. How about a sports themed basket for the sports enthusiast . Fill a basket for your husband with a pair of baseball tickets, some peanuts, popcorn, a couple bottles of root beer or beer, baseball cap, glove and sunshades.  Or if he is the poker playing type, how about a basket filled with poker chips, a deck of cards, a bottle of his favorite liquor, and various poker party snacks.

Hosting the family Easter dinner? Create personal touches that you can get excited about and that may have significance to you and your spouse. You don’t have to set the dinner table the same way his mother or your mother does. Create a new way with new ideas and make sure you use all of your new dinner place settings and serving pieces that you received as wedding gifts. If you relax, and enjoy the process of setting a beautiful table, as a couple and hosting a wonderful holiday celebration as a couple, it will show to all of your guests and they will enjoy the time with you both and appreciate being included.

Make this first holiday a special time for each other first, creating new memories and new traditions. If you are inviting others to be a part of your new family celebration that is great too. Your first Easter together could be the start of many more special holiday traditions together.

Alpha Prosperity Events would like to take this time to thank our many readers for supporting us and just being a part of our extended family. We wish each of you a blessed and joyous Easter.

Style Me Pretty

Finishing up our segment on the best wedding meal options for your reception event, we come to our final selection for discussion, the Cocktail Only Reception. Not to be confused with the mini cocktail hour between the ceremony and reception where limited, bite sized appetizers are served, the cocktail only reception we speak of is one that generally provides a selection of heavier hor d’oeuvres and a variety food stations.

If you choose to have a cocktail reception during prime meal hours (lunch or dinner), make sure you follow the suggestions of your caterer about quantities and filling choices for the time of your event. When serving a cocktail only reception during prime meal times, guests will come expecting enough food to fill them like a meal so make sure you have a good selection of favorites and enough to keep them happy.  When choosing this type of meal selection make sure your chosen caterer is aware of what you want and that they can make it happen before signing the contract.

Appetizers from San Diego Destination Wedding

The cocktail only reception can cost about the same as a plated dinner service or may even be a bit pricier  but it allows for more flexibility during your reception, which for some couples is quite appealing. They don’t want the stuffiness that goes with sit down dinners or buffets and want the guests to have a variety of foods provided to them whenever they are ready to eat. Guests can dance, mingle, sit where they want and can move about, all while getting a chance to eat and eat some more after dancing and celebrating.  Yes, like all options where food is catered, you still need to provide an accurate guest count, but you don’t have to worry with specific meal selections or place cards for all of your invited guests.

I hope you found our series on meal options for your wedding reception helpful. You now have some great starting information to help you to make key decisions about which meal option works best for you. Please be sure to discuss all of the options with your professional caterer, because ultimately they will know best about service and food options that will make your wedding reception a joy for you and the wonderful talk of all of your guests.

If you decide that you really don’t want to tackle these or any of the other wedding planning or coordination details alone, give us a call.  We are happy to assist you with details such as these or any other planning details that you are necessary for your wedding event. No detail is too big or too small. Remember, a stress free planning and celebration experience is what we are all about. Allow us to make that happen for you. Call us today.

Happy Planning!

Let’s all strive for this type of happiness today, this week and the rest of our lives. Enjoy!

Are you in the middle of planning your wedding or other special event to celebrate love? We would love to assist you in the planning or coordination of your special day. You can bounce ideas off of us, use our great vendors, or utilize us to bring it all together for you, so you are not dealing with the stress or headache. Contact us today to get started on your stress free, event planning journey.

Still need a little help with this are any other wedding planning ideas?  Contact us today. We are happy to assist you with details such as this. No detail is too big or too small. A stress-free, celebration experience is what we are all about. Let us help you celebrate your brightest, shining moment.

Happy Planning!

Photo Credit – Entertaining Company - http://www.modernindiancelebrations.com

When choosing this option, you may need to consider the cost, as the plated service option is more labor intensive not only for the caterer but also for you. Often with plated dinners your guests are given an option of entrees, to include any special dietary requests. This requires an expense of additional postage for guests to respond with their selections, place setting or menu indicator cards for each guest as well as seating or table charts. Meticulous organization with your RSVP’s, is a must to assure a smooth meal service.

The plated service requires an accurate meal count, so you may spend a significant amount of time following up with those guests that have yet to respond. Things get complicated when you have guests that didn’t respond and show up anyway or you have guests who respond that they will attend and then something comes up and they don’t. You still have to pay for those meals that you have guaranteed or any meals over what you guaranteed. A meal guarantee is required for buffet options as well but when the count is off, it is not so obvious.

Happy Planning!

In honor of Saturdays being the most celebrated day for weddings, I thought it would be fun to bring you some weekly quotes of love, weddings, marriage and togetherness. You may even find some of these quotes useful when writing your personal wedding vows or language of love to your spouse or loved one. So, join us each Saturday for a new quote of love and marriage. Enjoy!

And of course, if you have wrapped up all of your wedding planning and are looking for a savvy, organized wedding coordinator to bring it all together, we are the wedding coordinator for you.  Contact us and we will be more than happy to step in and coordinate the ceremony and reception details so you don’t have to deal with that stress and headache.

Wishing you a lovely and prosperous, planning day!

Wedding Coordination Services

Missouri City, Houston, Galveston Areas

Photo Credit – http://asfreetoflyasafeather.tumblr.com/