When it comes to amenities, Heritage Hills is top-notch.  In addition to the usual fair of nice tables, chairs and linens Heritage Hills also offers a complimentary dance floor, 12” square mirrors and/or votive center pieces and discounted rates on any audio / video equipment rentals you may need.  But one of the best parts is that Heritage Hills does not charge you to set up or clean up for your event, nor do they charge you fees just to pop a few corks on champagne bottles!

Getting to the Heritage Hills Golf & Conference Center is pretty easy as it sits in very close proximity to Interstate 83 and U.S. Route 30 on Mount Rose Avenue.  The facility offers plenty of off-street parking as well as 100 guest rooms for your family and friends who may be traveling long distances to be with you on your special day.  Last but far from least, in addition to the golfing facilities on site, you can also enjoy some downtime at one of their on-site restaurants which include Ironwoods Restaurant, Knickers Pub and Bogey Macaw’s.

Heritage Hills Golf Resort & Conference Center
2700 Mount Rose Avenue
York, PA 17402

For more information about Heritage Hills Golf Resort & Conference Center, please call their phone number at 877.782.9752 or visit their website at www.hhgr.com/events.html.

How Much Should Your Wedding DJ Cost

Particularly, I truly appreciate the fact that Stacie has taken the time to really do her research with this article.  She talked to brides and grooms, other wedding vendors and even a few DJs too; so be sure to take a few minutes and read this article thoroughly.

It should also be noted that Stacie’s article is in fact one of the many topics the book ‘Wed Without Regrets‘ tackles in great detail.  Way to go Stacie!

First taking a look at Prudhomme’s on 4th, this facility was renovated by Sharon and David to serve as a special events/wedding hall and small conference center, located just a few blocks away from their restaurant.  The interior of the facility is immaculate with period wooden floors, unfinished brick walls and beautiful woodwork on the ceiling.  The facility can be arranged to suit your needs and features some off-street parking.

Next is taking a look at Prudhomme’s Lost Cajun Kitchen Catering.  Sharon typically meets with brides – who always state working with her was fun and easy – to help them develop a menu to suit their needs, their particular tastes and of course their wedding budget.  David takes great care of the food preparation, carefully prepping and cooking all the dishes to meet even the most discerning client’s wishes.  Together, they are a dynamic husband and wife team that go above and beyond the call of duty to provide a truly high-quality service and just some of the best dang food you’ll find anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon.

As an interesting side-note, Sharon and Dave recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary as well as the 20th anniversary for Prudhomme’s Lost Cajun Kitchen. Sharon is also a locally famous TV chef that has celebrated more than 10 years on air with ABC Channel 27 News – Midday Gourmet.  David is the nephew of famous Chef Paul Prudhomme – who just so happens to also be the very first chef (Cajun or Southern) to start blackening meat in 1972.

Prudhomme’s Lost Cajun Kitchen
50 Lancaster Avenue
Columbia, PA 17512

To learn more about Prudhomme’s Lost Cajun Kitchen, Prudhomme’s on 4th and Prudhomme’s Lost Cajun Catering, please contact Sharon and Dave at 717.684.1706 or visit their website at www.LostCajunKitchen.com.

Currently Lauxmont Farms Banquet Center offers five locations to choose from.  These locations are the Rotunda, Sunken Gardens, Japanese Gardens, Cobblestone Courtyard and Pretty Pastures.  All of the locations offer something different and unique from the rest and are bound to suit the most discerning bride’s tastes in panoramic views and supple scenery as the perfect backdrop for amazing photographs.  The entire facility sits high above the Susquehanna River, overlooking the surrounding communities on a spacious fourteen hundred acres of prime real estate.

But wait that’s not all!  Lauxmont also offers a wide range of amenities to further customize your special day, making it a one-stop shopping experience for most of your wedding planning needs.  These additional amenities include arches, mounted attendants, horse & carriage, fresh flowers, potted plants, tables & chairs, tents and even a site coordinator should you desire one.

Additionally, the Lauxmont Farms Banquet Center website offers a number of resources including ample pictures of their facilities.  Other wedding planning resources are also available on the website with wedding vendor contact information and contact information to arrange for a tour of the grounds as well as other professional services.  These services include photography, a bakery-creamery and a wedding coordinator to name just a few!

Getting to the facility is just a few minutes from the Wrightsville exit of U.S. Route 30 and is very easy to find.  Also of great importance is the fact that Lauxmont Farms also offers ample parking at both the Rotunda location and another large parking area for Sunken Gardens, etc.

Lauxmont Farms Banquet Center
1215 long Level Road
Wrightsville, PA 17368

For guided tours of the facility, please contact Laura Kohr at 717.779.5052.  Or for more information about Lauxmont Farms Banquet Center, please visit their website at www.LauxmontFarms.com.

The next step is taking a look at all of your funding sources, totaling them up so that you know how much you have to work with.  Sources of funding may be your own income, savings or dedicated accounts, credit cards and so on.  Other sources may include parents from both sides of the family.  The caveat is if someone else is helping to foot the bill, be sure to include them in your budgeting and planning activities too. 

The average total cost of a wedding in the Harrisburg – Lancaster – York region of Pennsylvania is about $26,175 with the majority of spending falling somewhere between $19,600 and $32,7181.  These figures are slightly less than the national average which in 2008 was approximately $28,000.  This average includes attire & accessories, beauty & health expenses, entertainment, flowers & decorations, gifts & favors, invitations, jewelry, photography & video, planner/consultant, transportation, venue & catering and of course the marriage license.  It does not include the honeymoon, lodging, meals, travel or any other expenses outside of the actual wedding ceremony or reception.

Just keep in mind that these wedding costs figures are based on averages.  In other words, there are a lot of weddings that cost less than $20,000 and there are some that cost a whole lot more!  The other thing to keep in mind is that these figures are based on average wedding vendor costs; more experienced and/or talented services will cost more.

In any case, as was discussed in the priorities article, your next step is to start allocating portions of your wedding budget to your prioritized list.  So if your top priorities are to have a visually stunning reception, you of course need to dedicate more of your budget towards location, flowers and décor.  Your lower priority items should command less of your budget and little of your initial planning efforts.

Over the years, I have seen far too many couples run out of money before they had all of their planning details covered.  Often this is a result of couples having little or no formal plan and the spending quickly overruns their monetary limitations.  Of course this becomes a major source of friction between couples and their families as credit card balances spiral out of control, but the bills keep coming in. 

However, in recent years, I have been urging my clients and couples who attend my seminars or workshops in the Harrisburg, PA region to create a plan and stick to it.  The biggest part of that wedding plan is setting your priorities.

Setting your priorities is simple in concept, but has far reaching implications that I will touch upon in future articles.  The biggest thing that you need to do though is figure out what kind of wedding and reception that you want to have.  For example, if you want a fun wedding reception, then you priority needs to be on securing the wedding entertainment first and should command a significantly larger portion of your budget.  If stunning pictures are what you really want, then you will of course need to look at photographers first.

Once you know what your top priority is, then you will need to think about what is next most important, working your way through all aspects of the wedding planning, until you have set your priorities for all services.  This includes your photographer, videographer, entertainment, master of ceremonies, caterer, florist, cake, attire, décor, and so forth.  When you have that completed, then you know where you need to dedicate more time and resources to get the wedding you always dreamed of.

In a nutshell, most of these sites state that you should expect to budget 10% for your reception music.  However I always emphasize that it is JUST music for their reception and does not include their ceremony or extras such as lighting.  For example, the average spent on a wedding in Winchester, VA is between $16,369 and $27,282 with the median being $21,825 – 10% is real easy to figure out.  Likewise, the American Disc Jockey Association website states that DJ pricing can be as much as $5,000 or more!

Either way, if you are planning a wedding, be sure to check our availability and I will be happy to sit down with you to further discuss this and your wedding plans.

One particular thing that I realized is that the Spring 2010 release date may have to be pushed back to the Fall of this year due to a number of delays.  Although nearly 60% of the writing is already completed, getting a manuscript properly proofread and formatted for printing tends to be a pretty time consuming endeavor.  Also of considerable importance is that the cover design work has not been approved yet either.

On the other hand, the good news is that I have also had more time to do more research as well as expand that research with the help of a number of industry friends.  What that means for the bride-to-be is that she will have the benefit of knowledge coming from brides who have recently went through everything involved with wedding planning!  Stay tuned for more details coming soon!!!

It’s an awefully hard way to learn the minimum basics of hiring a DJ for your wedding or special event… 

The premise of the book is quite simple; what The Knot, Modern Bride and so many other wedding publications DO NOT tell you can fill a book!  That’s exactly what I am doing; writing a book about what most media sources will not tell you.  For example, the latest version of The Knot wedding guide book for 2010 consists of more than 400 pages.  Of those 400+ pages, you will be amazed, shocked and astonished by what they don’t tell you!!!

But it’s not all about conspiracies and misinformation, this book draws upon my experiences from more than 1,000 wedding over the last 25 years.  I offer plenty of practical examples, discuss common wedding planning hurdles and offer the reader real options, sometimes in a humorous manner.  Additionally, the smart Bride-to-be will find several chapters chock full of information that The Knot, Modern Bride and others simply cannot or will not tell you.

The shroud of mystery will be pulled back in 2010 with a targeted release date currently set for the beginning of April.  The estimated cover price will be in the range of $24.95 USD and will be available as softbound print and ebook versions.  Pre-sales will begin mid to late February 2010.

Stay tuned for some teasers excerted from the book, cover art, etc. in the coming weeks!