So you have arranged the perfect seating chart but that’s only the first step to keeping your guests happy at the reception table. Even if you seat friends and family together it’s almost inevitable that there will be some strangers sitting together. And since there is nothing more awkward than a table full of strangers, consider these simple tips to helping your guest break the ice.

Conversation starters: These simple conversation starters are sure to get guest talking. Think of easy and fun questions and write them directly on your table number card. This way each guest will have something to bring to the table to get the conversation started.

Get hands on: Give guest something to do with their hands. Favors that they can unwrap and play with at the table are the perfect way to break the ice. Things like Rubik’s cubes, mini checkers or tic tac toe are sure to start a little light-hearted competition for instant bonding. These toys are especially helpful if you have kids at your reception. Create a “games” table for your guests to enjoy!

Get wordy: Mad libs is the perfect way to get people laughing and joking. This simple and easy game lets your guest complete stories by working together. And for a cute and personal twist make these stories about the couple!

Lean on your Friends: Recruit some of you most lively, outgoing and well-known friends and family members to help get the party started. Their task will be to ensure everyone at the table is introduced, included and having a good time!

Try these simple tips and tricks and your wedding guests will be laughing and chatting in no time at all!

The typical American wedding is bursting with traditions from exchanging of rings to the big white dress. But have you ever stopped to think where these wedding traditions come from and what do they actually mean? Here are a few wedding tradition origins you may not have known about.

Bridesmaid dresses: Though the styles have changed in recent years, the origin of all wearing the matching dresses stems from something much older. In the past, Roman law required ten witnesses to make a wedding legal. Several of these witnesses would dress up exactly like the like the bride and groom, to confound any “unwanted evil spirits” who might show up uninvited.

Ring finger: One of the biggest wedding traditions is the exchanging of rings. But have you ever wondered why Americans wear the wedding ring on the left-hand third finger? Well, it’s because of an ancient Greek belief that a vein in that finger ran directly to the heart, how romantic!

Tossing of “everything”: Do you ever think of how much is tossed in the air during a typical wedding? From rice, to flower bouquets, to garters lots is being tossed around. Well rice is tossed on the newly married couples to ensure fertility and bougets are tossed for luck and protections, but Garters may have the best back story. Back in the day people would rip off parts of the wedding dress to capture some of the good luck and fortune of the bride for themselves. Now that these dresses often cost an arm in a leg, garters have become a safe part of the dress you can rip off without having to ruin the dress.

Side by Side: Have you ever wondered why the bride traditionally stands to the left of the altar and the groom on the right? Well way back when, weddings used to be a lot more confrontational, and the groom needed to keep his right hand free in order to swiftly grab his sword and fight off and disgruntled wedding guest that may rush the alter. 

Tying the knot: This seems like an odd saying as there usually aren’t too many knots involved in the typical wedding ceremony. This phrase actually stems from an old Irish custom called “handfasting” which is when the bride and grooms hands are tied together at the ceremony to symbolize their commitment to each other. 

Express yourself on your wedding day and make a statement with these fun and inexpensive ways to customize your wedding day!

Create Signature drinks: Creating a signature drink is a fun way to add a personal touch to your cocktail hour, and can also help save you money. Instead of offering a full bar for your cocktail hour or reception give guest the option of beer, wine and choosing from two signature drinks, this can help you have tons on your liquor bill. As a friendly reminder, one of the many options avaialble for your special day here at the Canoe Club Ballroom is our beverage fountain! This is always a great way for guests to enjoy that "signature drink" as well! Popular selections include: Champagne, Sangria, Planter's Punch, Margaritas, and Mimosas! 

Get Creative With Table Names: Instead of just labeling your tables by numbers offer a more personal touch and get creative with your table names. Give them names of your favorite songs or places you have travelled together. Or one of our favorite ideas is adding childhood photos of the couple at the age of the number of each table. This simple and inexpensive decor adds a personal touch and not to mention is a great conversation starter.

Incorporate Your Favorite Hobby: Adding a favorite hobby of the two of you is a fun and easy way to give your wedding a personal touch. For example, if you love to sail why not have a nautical themed wedding?

Have a Loved One Officiate Your Wedding: What better way to make your wedding ceremony as personal and meaningful as possible than to have a loved one officiate the wedding? Almost anyone can become ordained and having a family member or a close friend marry you will make it all the more special for you and your guests.

Walk down the aisle to a meaningful song: Instead of walking down the aisle to the typical wedding march, walk down to a meaningful song for you and your groom. Whether it be the first song you danced to or one of “your” songs this easy change is sure to give your wedding a personal touch. 

Flowers are one of the main focal points of any wedding and can quickly become a major expense. One way to keep costs down is to opt for flowers that are in bloom during your wedding season. Since summer wedding season is here we thought we would share some of our favorite flowers that won’t break the bank!

Alstroemeria: Alstroemeria are in bloom in late spring or early summer so they are perfect for a May or June wedding. These colorful flowers are also known as Peruvian Lillies and come in a wide range of different colors (over 150 shades!) so they are perfect for any color pallet.

Carnation: Carnations are the perfect flower for weddings due to their lengthy sturdy stem which is great for tall elegant arrangements. They are also perfect for long wedding days because they have a long-lasting bloom even hours after being cut. Carnations are in bloom during late spring so if you are getting married in early summer they may be a great fit.

Daisy: Daisies are a great staple flower, whether being used as a filler flower or to make up an entire bouquet. Daisies may even bring back childhood memories of plucking the white petals off wondering “he loves me, he loves me not”. Daisies are in bloom throughout the summer and into early fall and make an affordable whimsical flower for a more casual wedding.

Sunflower: Sunflowers may be the most summer time flowers of them all. There is something about the big bright petals that just make you happy when you see them. Their bright gold color adds a great pop to any floral arrangement. Sunflowers are in bloom throughout the summer.

Baby's breath: What was once a filler in bouquets and centerpieces baby’s breath is making a comeback on its own. Lately, we have seen lots of brides using baby’s breath in big mounds, which gives a gorgeous whimsical look and goes great with long trailing pastel color ribbons. Baby’s breath is also great for making delicate and airy flower crowns perfect for any summer wedding.

It is no surprise the most popular time of the year to get married is the summer. The weather is nice and you can take advantage of the sunshine and beauty of the South Shore of Massachusetts. With wedding season right around the corner, don’t sweat planning your summer bash, here are a few tips to help your summer wedding beat the heat!

Order a Backup Boutonniere: Boutonnieres are often overlooked and are very fragile, especially during the summer when they need to withstand the heat and humidity. Ask your florist to leave you some extra backup flowers or a second boutonniere for the big day, you’ll be glad you did if your groom's flowers start to droop.

Provide parasols or fans for outdoor ceremonies: During summer, outdoor ceremonies are a must, but the beating sun can often take a toll on your guests. Provide your guest with some shade by offering parasols or small hand fans to keep them cool throughout your ceremony. Your guest will appreciate the extra mile especially if your wedding day falls on a hot summer day.

Cool down with a refreshing drink: Nothing is better on a hot summer day than a nice refreshing drink. Welcome guests with a complimentary refreshing lemonade and water station!

Always have a plan B: No matter what kind of wedding you are planning it is always important to have a plan b. Mother Nature has a mind of her own, and can make you change plans no matter what season.  Make sure to have a backup plan to keep you worry free on your wedding day. Luckily, our plan B for a ceremony in doors here at the CCB is just as beautiful! 

Summer is the perfect time to plan your wedding, but make sure you keep in mind these tips so your big day goes off without a hitch.

If you are planning a summer wedding contact Canoe Club Ballroom we provide the perfect outdoor ceremony venue for any summer wedding! 

Wedding Date: April 30, 2016

Wedding Color: Eggplant

Laura and Billy’s wedding day was picture perfect in every way. The weather could not have been any nicer for their outdoor ceremony, and we were so excited for them to be our very first couple married at the new gazebo!!

From the moment we first met Laura and Billy, we knew that their big day would be a special one. Laura’s parents had their very own wedding here at the CCB—and on the day of Laura and Billy’s rehearsal, her mother brought their wedding album to show us!

Aside from the beautiful décor, one of our favorite wedding details was their “guestbook” that included wooden hearts of their guests’ messages & happy thoughts to be dropped into a shadow box frame for them! (We may have written a special one to them from all of us here as well!!)

Thank you Laura and Billy for allowing us here at the CCB to be a part of your special day! It was such a pleasure working with you both, and your families!!

Perhaps another family member could be in the future?!  We sure hope so!!

Personalizing your wedding is a great way make the big day all that special. Adding unique touches that the bride and groom choose themselves is a great way to let guests feel part of the wedding. These small details also transform the ceremony and reception from to a true reflection of the couple and their relationship. 

One specific detail couples can have a lot of personalizing fun with, is creating their own signature wedding cocktail to serve to guests. But how do you decide on the perfect cocktail as the list is endless? Here are a few tips on how to plan the perfect signature cocktail.

Pick Your Favorites: One of the easiest ways to choose a signature cocktail is by simply picking your favorites. Do you or your future spouse have a go to drink you always order at the bar? Picking your favorite drink is a fun way to make your guest learn a little more about you. You can even do a ‘his and her’ signature cocktail naming them “Bride’s Favorite” & “Groom’s Favorite”. 

Go With The Theme: Does your wedding have a theme? This is a perfect chance for you to tie your theme together by narrowing down a drink that fits the theme. Whether it be a black tie even calling for a more classic drink or a tropical theme calling for a fun fruity drink. Have fun with your theme, there is no harm in adding you own twist to a traditional cocktail recipe to spice things up!

Get Sentimental: Take your guests on a walk down memory lane with a sip of your signature cocktail. When dreaming up your signature wedding cocktail think about all the memories you have shared as a couple. Maybe it was a drink you had on your first date, or maybe you are channeling a vacation you took together, make it something meaningful to both of you. Having a sweet story behind your signature cocktail is a great way to personalize your wedding day. 

Add a Beverage Fountain: Don't forget that you can always add a multi-tiered flowing beverage fountain to your wedding package for your special day! Add a touch of elegance to your cocktail hour and choose from sparkling champagne, margaritas, sangria, mimosas, or planter's punch! 

If you are tasked with throwing the bride her shower for the big day it can quickly become overwhelming. With so much to do leading up to the wedding, it’s important to understand the Do’s and Don’ts that come along with planning a bridal shower.

The Do’s

Do take initiative – Get started planning sooner rather than later and it’s never a bad idea to get the bridal shower conversation starter early. There is a lot that goes into planning a bridal shower never mind the actual wedding so giving yourself plenty of time to plan is always a good idea.

Do pick a date & send out invites early- Don’t wait until the last minute to send out invites or no one will be able to attend. Pick a date early on and send out invites so you can hear back from your RSVPs with plenty of time to adjust anything if necessary. Depending on where guests live, some will need to plan travel time so it’s best for everyone to pick a date early.

Do give guidelines for gifts: Give guests coming to the shower some guidelines on gifts. Share the couple's wedding registry on the invites so that people know where to go to get gifts, but also let guests know that they don’t have to stick to the registry if they have something else in mind.

The Don’ts

Don’t take on all the responsibility on your own. You will soon become overwhelmed by all the task necessary to carry out a bridal shower so don’t think you need to do everything on your own. Enlist the help of the other bridesmaids as well as the bride & grooms family to help you cover the cost as well as carry out the tasks of the shower.

Don’t invite anyone who isn’t invited to the wedding: It is not a good idea to invite anyone to the wedding shower who is not invited to the wedding. One rule of thumb is to ask the bride for her guest's list so you can double check your invite list with hers before sending them out to avoid any hurt feelings.

Don’t forget to send thank you notes: This is one of the most important things to remember. Purchase, address and stamp your thank you notes before the big day then print out a list of all attendees and write down their gifts as they are opened so you don’t have to worry about remembering what each gift each person gave.

Don’t forget to book the Canoe Club Ballroom for your Bridal shower we offer a variety of packages to fit your specific needs! 

Wedding showers have evolved over the years. What was once gathering to shower the couple with gifts, has now transformed into a fun-filled day for everyone involve. Now wedding showers are filled with food and fun and no shower is complete without games.  Here are some of our favorite fun and unique games to try out at your wedding shower.

Toilet Paper Dress: Divide guest into teams to make a funky wedding dress for the bride made completely out of toilet paper. To make things interesting give them a time crunch, so teams are forced to rush to create the best, most creative dress they can come up with. To give this game an extra twist try using the wedding announcement section of the newspaper instead of toilet paper

Memory Lane Mysteries: When you send out the bridal shower invites also add a blank note card along with a request for guests to write down their favorite memory with the bride, or the couple. When guests arrive have them drop the cards in a box. Have the bride, or couple read the cards out loud and try to guess who she shared each memory with.

Read Their Mind: If the fiancé is at the bridal shower, try testing their future spouses’ knowledge of their future spouse.  A week or two before the shower ask the fiancé twenty questions about themselves and record their answers. At the shower ask their fiancé the same questions and see if they can “Read Their Mind”.  Each time the fiancé gets it wrong give them a ball of bubble gum to chew. This way the more they get wrong, the harder it will be for them to talk!

Oven Mitts n’ Hose: This game might be best if you have a lively group of woman who are up for a hilarious challenge. This odd combination makes for one hilarious game. Give each of your guests a pair of oven mitts and pantyhose. With the bride acting as the referee tell your guests the first one to get the pantyhose on while wearing the oven mitts wins!

Wedding Pictionary: This is a fun take on the traditional game of Pictionary. To start you’ll need a large pad of paper or a dry erase board with markers and slips of paper. Have your guests fill out slips of paper with wedding related terms and sayings, such as “going to the chapel” or “happily ever after”. Divide guest into teams and take turns pulling of piecing of paper and drawing the image while the rest of your guest guess the correct saying.  The team who guesses the most correct, wins. 

1.) Tell a little bit about yourselves! (Where did you first meet? Where was your first Date?) 

Vijay and I met when Vijay was interviewing for jobs in the MA area.  At the time he was living in DC, but wanted to relocate to the Boston area.  He landed a job interview in Worcester, but did not have anywhere to stay.  He ended up calling one of his few friends in MA, and asked if he could stay with her the night before the interview.  That friend was, conveniently, my roommate at the time!  Vijay stayed with us for a couple of nights, and while we didn't have too much time to get to know each other, I was immediately attracted to him, and ended up friending him on FB after he left town.  

Long story short, Vijay did not get the job he initially interviewed for, but got another job in MA instead.  Vijay and I had stayed in loose contact over FB, because we were both looking for jobs in the ministry field (I was preparing to graduate from grad school at the time).  Vijay moved to MA in August, and we saw each other a few times here and there, because of mutual friends.  Due to a few major miscommunications and mixed signals (at the time, these felt devastating, now we look back on them and laugh!), it took us a while to realize that we were both interested in one another.

After four months of living in the same state, and seeing each other occasionally, Vijay finally decided enough was enough, and called me at work to ask me out!  A funny side bit- Vijay thought he was calling my direct line, and didn't realize he was actually calling the main line, and would be speaking with the receptionist first.  He was so nervous that when the secretary said hello, he asked her out instead!  By the time he was transferred to me, he was beyond flustered!  

I thought Vijay wanted to meet up for professional networking (we were both in the same field), and it wasn't until our mutual friend told me he intended it to be a date that I realized what was happening!

We met up for coffee on December 11th 2013, and talked, and talked, and talked some more.  We didn't even realize how much time had gone by until the barista came over and informed us the coffee shop was closing.  We had talked for over five hours!  We both left that date knowing that something special was happening.  

2.) The Proposal Story! 

Vijay proposed on April 15th 2015.  The day was like any other, and I woke up having absolutely no idea that Vijay was going to propose!  I had no idea that he had been shopping for a ring, and the ring had been hidden in his apartment for over a month.  We had talked about marriage, but I honestly thought he would propose over the summer.  

April 15th was not a special day for us in any way.  The day was a normal one, and after work I headed over to Vijay's apartment.  We decided to go out to dinner, and ended up having the worst dining out experience ever!  After our disaster of a dinner, we headed back to his apartment.  We were just cuddling on the couch, and I snuggled up to him and said, "I can't wait to marry you!"  Vijay said absolutely nothing in response to this.  

Little did I know that Vijay took this as a sign that the moment to propose was now.  His heart started beating really fast as he internally debated over what to do.  I was laying against his chest, and could feel his heart beating rapidly.  I even asked him if he was okay, commenting that his heart was out of control.  However, I did not have the slightest idea that he was preparing to propose!  

Vijay then got up, and went into his room.  I thought he was just changing into his PJs or something.  I had no idea that he was getting the ring out from its secret hiding space!  Vijay then went into the kitchen (I thought he was getting a snack), and asked me to come in and look at something.  I had been laying on the couch this whole time, and rather than get up, I just shouted, "What is it?".  He told me I had to come in and see for myself, and I begrudgingly got up.  When I turned the corner, there was Vijay, on one knee, with the ring box in hand.  I went into shock, and the first thing I said was "Wait, is this real?"  Vijay then said, "Well,if you say yes, it is!"  I don't really remember what happened next, because I was so surprised and everything was a blur.  Vijay tells me I said yes nine times (he counted), and then I started crying.  He was worried I was going to pass out because I was so overwhelmed with what was happening (overwhelmed with joy, of course!).  We then called our parents and family, who were just as surprised as I was with this unexpected Wednesday proposal!

3.) Wedding Day Details! 

- What is your wedding date, and have you picked out your colors/theme? 

Our wedding is July 2, 2016.  Our colors are light pink and navy.  We don't have a specific theme, but we are trying to create a look that is soft, romantic, and slightly vintage (pearls, gold accents, burlap, lace).

- Why did you choose the CCB for your upcoming wedding? 

We choose CCB for our wedding because we loved that the venue was beautiful, but simple.  We felt there were so many possibilities to decorate, and make the venue our own.  Some of the other venues we looked at did not have as much flexibility, and we appreciated that CCB was open about pricing and options.  We both had a great feeling about CCB based solely on the website.  We toured 6 venues in one day, and started with CCB.  The other venues paled in comparison!  

- What are you most looking forward to on your special day?! 

We are most looking forward to having our friends and family all in one place!  We are from two different states, and have lived in numerous parts of the country.  A lot of Vijay's family also lives abroad, so we have never had the chance to have all of our loved ones meet one another, and be together at the same time.  This is probably the only time in our lives that everyone will be together!  

*Erin and Vijay - Thank you SO much for sharing your special story with us! We are so honored and cannot wait to be a part of your special day on July 2nd!!