Entertaining children at the wedding reception

Reception entertainment is a common concern among our brides, and rightfully so. You want your guests to have a great time at your wedding reception which is why you hire a dj, a band, or another form of musically inclined artists to provide the entertainment at your wedding reception.
When our brides are partially concerned with entertaining children at the wedding reception we suggest setting up a children's table, or area where we display games and crafty items to occupy the kids while the adults enjoy the reception entertainment. Recently though, we have encouraged our brides to embark on a new entertainment development. Welcome the game PODs. These are the newest form of reception entertainment to hit the wedding industry since the photo booth. You can keep kids occupied for hours with these things! They come with a touch screen, oodles of games and options, and are even internet compatible! Not only are they functional and fun, but they are very price effective as well.



We highly suggest any bride who is concerned with entertaining children at the wedding reception to check out Hyped Gaming PODs. Contact Jon Shoemaker, Regional Sales Director at Hyped Gaming - Solutions by EBS Office: 757-631-0590 jshoemaker@hypedgaming.com www.hypedgaming.com It's an investment that will pay dividends on the day of your wedding. Your guests will LOVE the PODs! Trust us! Ask Jon about Hyped Gaming PODs for adult gaming as well!

Unique Accents

At As You Wish Weddings and Events we believe that every wedding should be as unique as the bride behind it all. So when we first stumbled across the Cute & Unique online boutique we fell head over heels in love! How many weddings have you attended where the bridesmaids' hair broachs matched the groomsmens' ties? What a fun idea!!

This peonny clip had us at first glance! Isn't it stunning?



These custom made clutches make a wonderfully thoughtful gift for your bridemaids, and can make their debut during the ceremony processional in lieu of bridesmaids' bouquets!






If you're looking for something unique, beautiful, and handmade for your wedding day head on over to Cute & Unique and take a look at their delightful pieces. And remember, it's ok to window shop!





Be sure to mention As You Wish when placing your order for a sweet deal!

Wedding Cake Toppers

One aspect of the wedding where a couple can have a lot of fun, and show off their uniqueness is with their wedding cake topper. At As You Wish we always encourage our clients to have fun with the wedding planning and enjoy every aspect of planning the actual wedding day. While it's encouraged to honor tradition when it comes to certain things, at As You Wish we also encourage our brides to get a little crazy and think outside of the box when it comes to other aspects of the wedding. The wedding cake topper is a perfect example! Some couples prefer an elegant, beautiful cake topper that compliments their cake (and personality) perfectly. The couple that chose this topper


was a spitting image of the lovebirds they chose to adorn their cake with. Such a sweet, loving couple, and it came as no surprise to us that their wedding cake topper would resemble those same beautiful characteristics.

What a lot of couples don't realize is that there are a lot of options out there for wedding cake toppers. You can do monogrammed letters, plastic figurines, flowers...these are all very beautiful traditional, classic options for a wedding cake topper.

For couples looking for something a little more unique and customizable feast your eyes on some of our favorite wedding cake toppers we've had the pleasure of coming across:












and lastly



Happy wedding planning!

Daniel & Angelina

This couple was so much fun! They were so laid back and relaxed! We love when couples think outside of the box and this couple was a great example! They had a late afternoon wedding and reception at the Smithfield Center. Their colors were black, and cobalt blue with hints of silver, and a lime green accent and they just happened to get married on September 19th which is International Talk Like A Pirate Day so they took full advantage of that by making a treasure chest card box in their colors, complete with a pirate stencil on the back.



They also ordered a customized wedding guestbook from http://www.etsy.com/shop/itsmyday that turned out beautifully!




The bride got really creative with the table numbers and purchased tiles from the local home improvement store and spray painted her table numbers on them which looked amazing throughout the evening by candlelight!



The cake was provided by the talented artist and cake decorator, Carolyn Neal who provided an amazingly true to life watercolor of the cake during their initial consultation. Check out the comparison!




Congratulations Daniel and Angelina! We had a wonderful time working with you on your wedding and wish you all the best!

Kathlyn and Jeremiah

Kathlyn and Jeremiah are by far one of the sweetest couples we have ever met! Over 300 of their closest friends and family members attended their wedding at St. Matthew's Catholic Church and their reception at The Westin in Town Center, Virginia Beach. It was truly a beautiful feeling to see and feel the love and admiration that everyone had for this couple, and the couple had for each other.







Both the bride and the groom enjoyed the planning process, and included some great elements and personal touches into their special day. The couple ordered cardboard cutouts of themselves which the guests used in pictures during the cocktail hour. The wonderful photographer Andi Grant of Andi Grant Photography set up a photo area for guests to have their chance to shine with the newlywed couple

The couple had a large projection screen set up in the reception that displayed their monogram and later showed a beautiful photo montage. When the parents, sponsors, and bridal party were announced into the reception the screen and projector were used to produce shadows of the people prior to their actual appearance. The bridal party had a lot of fun with this, and the guests loved the unique twist to the traditional announcements.



Kathlyn and her bridesmaids preformed a beautifully choreographed and surprise Hawaiian dance followed by the couple taking part in the traditional money dance. So fun!




The bride's younger brother provided the guests with a little taste of breakdancing which everyone loved.


The sweet and thoughtful groom (hint hint to all the guys out there) requested that we end of the evening with one last element of surprise for his new bride


Kathlyn and Jeremiah, we loved being a part of your special day, and wish you all the best!


Images courtesy of Andi Grant Photography

The perfect bridesmaid dress!

Finally, a bridesmaid dress that is both versatile, and re-wearable! It is both complimenting, and can be tailored to suit the body wearing it, even if you're working with 5 different body types! Introducing....drumroll please..........the Dessy Twist!



The dessy twist is an amazing creation that comes in two lengths; short or long, and 13 Pantone colors! This dress allow you, the bride to ensure your bridesmaids stick to your pantone color, while allowing them to chose the style of their choice. What a wonderfully pleasant concept! Finally, a dress that works for everyone!





Have you fallen in love? We don't blame you! If you want to check out this dress in person, and live in the Hampton Roads area plan a visit to one of the following locations:

All The Rage At Hilltop
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
757-491-1418


Pure English
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
757-631-9810


Maya Couture
Norfolk, VA 23502
757-461-1690

A Pinwheel Wedding

When we think of fond memories of childhood and summertime we think of daisies, bubbles, running barefoot through the grass, sun dresses, and of course...PINWHEELS! We've seen all of the other elements incorporated into an outdoor wedding, so of course a pinwheel themed wedding was sure to follow! They are a perfect fit for the creative, free spirited, fun loving bride who wants to add a little fun, color, and movement to her special day. Check out this great collection of inspirational pictures!




If you love the idea of incorporating pinwheels into your wedding, but not going all out consider mixing a few into the bridesmaids bouquets and using them in place of a traditional floral boutonniere, or having pinwheels serve as your placecards, and securing the sticks into a patch of grass for a whimsical presentation!