Ask Alex
Alexandra “Alex” Charpentier, our resident wedding expert has been planning weddings across the country since 1996. Alex has a Masters in Management from prestigious Cornell University’s Hotel School and has worked as a Catering Manager, Sales Manager and Marketing/Public Relations Manager in hotels, resorts and country clubs in the Carribean, Mexico, New York, Chicago and Orange County, California. Alex served on the board of the National Association of Catering Executives, Orange County Chapter from 1998 to 2001, the leading catering organization in the country. She specializes in high-end weddings and helping her clients select the perfect food and beverage to suit their personalities and their event. “So often couples tend to compromise the most important aspect of their reception, what their guests will eat and drink. I help my clients not only ensure that this important part of their event is something guests will enjoy, but that it also fits their overall theme.” In addition to her hotel expertise, Alex also spent a year as the in-house Wedding Expert for a top Orange County floral and event production company, producing weddings and events with budgets of over $100,000 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Laguna Niguel, the Four Seasons Hotel Newport Beach and the St. Regis Hotel Monarch Beach. Alex has an innovative approach to wedding planning, combining her knowledge of the inner workings of wedding suppliers and ability to bring to life the hopes and dreams of her brides. Her insight and ideas are an inspiration to brides to be, and are always easy to implement.
These questions have been submitted to and answered by Alex.
Ask Alex
Q: How can I make sure that the entertainment at
my wedding reception is fun but tasteful?
A: Your best option is to choose a music vendor
who will listen to you and understand what kind of mood you want to set during
the different stages of your reception.
For example, if you use a DJ be sure that you and your groom sit down
with him a few weeks prior to the reception and select a sampling of songs you
want played during the cocktail hour, dinner service and then post cake cutting
dancing. This is a great way to create
a different mood throughout the evening and ensure that the music played
enhances that mood, and does not compete with it.
Q: I am tired of the
same boring wedding cake flavors, is there anything new out there?
A: Cakes have really evolved in the last few
years offering many delicious and beautiful options for your wedding day. My favorite cakes are those that not only
look great but taste like my favorite desserts. Many bakeries now offer a variety of cheesecake flavors, carrot
cake, lemon poppy seed cake, and other unique flavors in addition to
traditional favorites. Often, each
layer of your cake can be a completely different flavor, offering your guests
great variety and a fun topic of conversation at the table.
Q: I want to walk up the aisle after the
ceremony as man and wife to something special, any suggestions?
A: Doing something special for your walk up the
aisle after the wedding ceremony provides a great photo opportunity for a
beautiful lasting memory. Many brides
provide their guests with flower petals, bubbles or traditional rice to throw
as they walk by. For an outside
ceremony, the release of trained doves or butterflies also makes a dramatic
finale to the celebration. All of these
options provide lovely images for photographs, just be sure you check with your
ceremony coordinator to ensure that whatever you would like use is approved.
Q: We want to include our dog in our wedding
but do not want to be tacky. What can
you suggest?
A: This is a
very common trend among couples that consider their dogs as members of the
family, and thus want to involve them in their wedding party. The first thing you must do is ensure that
the locations you have selected for your ceremony and reception allows
pets. Also, if your dog is not trained,
this is probably not a good idea, as you would hate for something to happen to
either a guest or your dog. Having your
dog walk down the aisle, either escorted or alone, and then joining you and
your groom during your vows is a very special way to involve him. If you are having an outdoor reception you
can have your dog attend and hire a dog sitter to care for him to ensure he has
a good time. You can involve him in
different aspects of the reception where appropriate.