Ask the Experts: Sponsoring a Wedding
Q: Is it appropriate to have your wedding sponsored? For example, a company will supply champagne for free if their name is printed on the invitation.
A: While many Hollywood stars have made headlines for lavish wedding budgets underwritten by eager sponsors, this is one area where emulating celebrities is ill advised. “Sponsors are for corporate events. Weddings are personal events,” says Donna Kim, owner of the Perfect Details in Concord.
Q: Is it appropriate to have your wedding sponsored? For example, a company will supply champagne for free if their name is printed on the invitation.
A: While many Hollywood stars have made headlines for lavish wedding budgets underwritten by eager sponsors, this is one area where emulating celebrities is ill advised. “Sponsors are for corporate events. Weddings are personal events,” says Donna Kim, owner of the Perfect Details in Concord.
Tasha Bracken, owner and principal design coordinator of Simple Details in Boston, says there are much better ways of cutting costs if that’s your motivation. A knowledgeable planner can suggest cut-rate liquor suppliers or inexpensive invitation printers—areas where you might be otherwise tempted to tap a sponsor.
Still, if you can’t think of a way to create your dream day without advertisers, planners advise at least keeping the invitation sacrosanct. Suggest to the vendor that postcards on tables or a note in the program might be a less intrusive way to acknowledge their contribution.
Q: My reception is at night, and some of the guests are bringing young children. I’m worried they’ll leave early to put the kids to bed. Is there any way to make sure the parents aren’t party poopers?
A: Allowing children at your wedding doesn’t entitle you to make them orphans for the evening. “The only way you can ask people to not tend to their children is to provide alternative care,” says Jane Souza, consultant at Occasions wedding planners in Franklin.
Fortunately, that doesn’t mean your bridesmaids will need to tote pacifiers. Many services will provide multiple sitters to tend to tuckered tykes. If your guests are staying in the hotel where your reception will be taking place, this can even be done in-room.
In the Boston area, Nanny Poppins is a full-service agency that provides a wide variety of sitter services. For destination weddings, survey some local moms about their preferred sitters. A good referral is your best bet.
Another suggestion is to create kid-friendly entertainment. Bernadette Smith, owner, and Lisette Garcia, artistic director, of It’s About Time wedding planners in Boston, work with children’s entertainers who will organize crafts, storytelling or even bubble blowing to keep kids occupied. One risk: Sometimes the games are too enticing for even the adults to stay away.