 Weddings are a time of celebration and commitment, they are joyous moments that bring together couples, family, friends, and community. However, for parents of little children, it can also be a dreaded affair. From the moment they receive those gorgeous invitations, their minds immediately race to how they are going to keep the kids quiet and seated during the wedding or reception. Afterall, nobody wants to be THAT family who ruined your special day. We all know planning a wedding can be time consuming and stressful. There are a million things to accomplish on our to-do lists without compromising our work, family, friends, and relationships. Thankfully, while planning our ceremonies and receptions, there are simple steps and accommodations we can add to ensure our big days are successful and even the youngest guests are included and entertained. With a little luck and careful planning, we can keep everyone happy and enjoying the wedding. Scroll through the following 10 tips to include and entertain children during your wedding:  Design wedding BINGO cards. It’s no secret that sitting quietly through wedding ceremonies can be tough for children. On a sheet of paper, create a BINGO game featuring people, items, and parts of the ceremony and hand copies out to the children as they enter. During the wedding, if children notice or find an item, they mark off the square. At the end of the ceremony they can hand in completed game sheets for a small prize. Give children a job. Kids love to help and are often eager to escape the confines of mom and dad’s watchful eyes. Give them a part in the wedding by assigning them a role in the wedding party, having them man the guest table, helping people carry gifts, ushering in family members, or passing out programs and bubbles to guests. Get colorful! Provide children crayons and coloring books that feature black and white versions of your favorite photos that show your love story. There are apps online or you can use a basic paint or photo program in a word program to transform images into black and white colorable prints. Be sure to include captions or interesting facts to add personality to the booklet. Encourage kids to “tag” their table at the reception. Channel a child’s inner artist and cover the kiddie table with butcher paper. Provide crayons, markers, or stickers to decorate the paper to occupy their interests until dinner is served. For added fun, consider supplying simple craft kits the kids can easily assemble on their own. Make them glow! Most children love glow-in-the-dark items. Purchase a variety of bracelets, balloons, necklaces, glow sticks, and more to light up the night or dance floor. Bring on the games! Encourage guests to mingle and interact by placing a variety of board or card games on a centrally located table. All guests, even children, can enjoy playing simple games between events or during the reception. For an added twist, rent or build large versions of classics like Jenga or Kerplunk. Provide kid approved snacks to curb their hunger until the meal or cake is served. There are often lulls between the ceremony, reception, cocktail hour, or dinner while the couple take pictures or travel to the venue. This can be hard on kids, especially hungry ones. Avoid meltdowns, by making sure there are snack mixes, veggie trays, meat or cracker platters, and drinks readily available to tide them over. Hand out swag bags filled with the couple’s favorite childhood items. Add a personal touch and a bit of nostalgia to the festivity by filling goodie bags with your favorite childhood candies, games, or trinkets. Children will love the gift bags and the guests will enjoy taking trip down memory lane with the bride and groom. Give kids a camera. Children love to take photographs and are eager to snap photos at the reception. You can purchase disposable cameras or use a hashtag so they can upload digital photos onto social media sites to help document the big night. For added creativity, provide a selfie station complete with props and backdrops. This is a great way to get one-of-a-kind shots and keep the kids entertained for hours. Consider providing a sitter. Give parents an opportunity to enjoy a kid-free evening by hiring a sitter to watch younger children in an adjacent room. The kids will be entertained and safely cared for, while your friends get a few minutes of adult time. Supply the babysitter with games, movies, snacks, inflatables, and activities to crank up the fun. How will you be including and entertaining children during your wedding? Authored by contributing writer, Shannon Lochwood.  My Big Day Welcomes Feeney's Weenies & Cupcake Libations! We have two new partners for this year's Sloshball Tournament! Feeney's Weenies, a food truck serving inventive dogs, and Cupcake Libations, a confectioner with liquor-laced cupcakes will provide snacks for sale at our big game! We love supporting other local businesses. And with a tournament boasting over 100 players, we decided the event is too big for grilling under the shelter... it's time to bring in the professionals! Feeney's Weenies and Cupcake Libations will be set-up throughout the entire tournament and afterwards, so that hungry players can keep their belly's full!
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Have Fun. Be Young. Let us know how we can help! Original Ideas, superior strategies, your own private party planner... My Big Day llc Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 Email Us Located in Loveland, CO As event planners, we serve the entire front range; Northern Colorado, Southern Wyoming and mountain venues. We had a lovely weekend celebrating the shower of Kris & Susan and their soon to be twins! Susan is the owner of Bliss Couture Design, and came up with a lovely theme for her baby shower, "Ready to Hatch." Below is a photo of her invitation.  Susan was glowing in a room filled with loved ones. Since this baby shower was a single shower for all co-workers, relatives and friends, it was quite large. We hosted it at a rustic venue in Rochester Hills Michigan, Camp Ticonderoga. The setting was perfect for an About to Hatch theme! Guests enjoyed a brunch buffet and had plenty to see and do. With the genders of the babies still unknown, we played a little guessing game. Guests were urged to put berries in their beverage which represent the genders of the babies they are guessing. 2 raspberries for 2 girls, 2 blueberries for 2 boys and 1 of each for both!
Each guest was given favors of blue bird egg soaps, hand-crafted in Colorado. They received a birds nest cupcake from a local Michigan bakery, and a card urging them to fill out "Wishes for Baby" which we made into a photobook for mom and dad. The free printable of the bird - nest wishes for baby template is below. 
The decorations embraced the rustic theme of the venue and supported the bird/nest/hatch theme of the baby shower.
Mom and dad to be were very happy with all the support and love in the room... and they announced the gender of their babies to all who attended! What a fun gender reveal surprise for grandmas! 
Have Fun. Be Young. Let us know how we can help!
Original Ideas, superior strategies, your own private party planner... Christine Forster, Owner/ Party Planner My Big Day llc Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 Located in Loveland, CO As event planners, we serve the entire front range; Northern Colorado, Southern Wyoming and mountain venues. 
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE “My Big Date,” a Valentine’s Day getaway in Loveland, Colorado Loveland, Colorado January 2, 2015– It’s been the sweetheart city since 1877, and now there is a great reason to make Loveland, Colorado your destination this Valentine’s Day. Three Loveland-based, female owned businesses have created My Big Date, a tasty escape to the Sweetheart City. “Loveland has been a destination for art lovers for many years, but we want people to realize that the town is the perfect Valentine’s Day destination,” said Christine Kovacs Forster, founder of My Big Day Events, LLC, an event planning company in Loveland. Last year, Ms. Forster, Mechelle Martz-Mayfield, owner of NOCO Short Bus Tours, LLC, a brewery tour service, and Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer, founder of HeidiTown.com, the place for Colorado festival and travel stories, came together to create My Big Date. There are two packages available this year, and space is limited. The Brunch & Brew package is available on February 14 and 15, 2014. This package includes a coffee tasting at Loco Artisan Coffeehouse, a beer and brunch pairing at Loveland Aleworks and a beer tasting paired with B. Sweet Cupcakes at Crow Hop Brewing Transportation between venues will be provided by NOCO Short Bus Tours, LLC. The second package is a Brewery & Spirits Tour available on February 14, 2014, only. This includes a tour and tasting at Spring 44 Distillery, a tasting flight at Crow Hop Brewing, a tasting flight at Loveland Aleworks and a stop at B. Sweet Cupcakes for a treat. Transportation between venues will be provided by NOCO Short Bus Tours, LLC. Both packages include time for guests to stroll through Loveland’s Fire & Ice winter festival that takes place annually in downtown Loveland over Valentine’s Day weekend. “My Big Date is a great way to introduce people to Loveland,” said Martz-Mayfield. “It’s an introduction to our active brewery scene, our distillery scene and an opportunity to show off downtown.” All 42 participants will receive a gift bag filled with Loveland swag, such as coupons, beer tokens, chocolate and more. In addition, each couple will also receive the book entitled, “14 Days of Foreplay,” by marriage and family therapist, Monica L. Lieser. “My hope is that these two packages will entice people across the Front Range to come experience Loveland this Valentine’s Day. I believe that once they discover what Loveland has to offer, they’ll make future outings here,” said Kerr-Schlaefer. “I want My Big Date to put Loveland on the map as a destination town,” she added. My Big Date is brought to you by My Big Day, LLC, NOCO Short Bus Tours, LLC and HeidiTown.com, and has been endorsed by Visit Loveland. For more information on the subject matter of the press release call Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer at (970) 213-2354, email TheMayor@HeidiTown.com or go to ValentinesDayInLoveland.com Our photography friend, 2M Photography captured some amazing photos of our event rentals. Our client and mom to be, Heather, has a beautiful shower hosted by her mom and sister. They asked My Big Day to decorate, provide serving dishes, and fun baby games. B.Sweet.Cupcakes in Loveland provided the delicious cupcakes. Thank you, Vikki (mom), for thinking of us and allowing us to assist in your special day!  by Brooke Zeller, My Big Day Let’s be real, most girls join a sorority to meet new people. Socials are a fun and unique way to meet other greek life members, so obviously for most sororities, socials are high on the list of important events. Coming up with social themes that haven’t been overdone or wore out can be a huge challenge. My Big Day has come up with a list of 5 sorority social themes to help your planning process run a little more smoothly. 1. 80’s Workout- Sure, we’ve all been to 80’s parties before, but this is an 80’s party with a twist…literally. Break out your neon leotards and scrunchies and put in an old VHS workout DVD. Not only will this fulfill your social goals, but it will boost your physical ones as well. 2. Mad Hatter- Show off your favorite (or most ridiculous) hat by hosting an Alice in Wonderland tea party. Everyone can munch on pastel colored mini cakes and tea while entering contests like tallest hat, best hat, and ugliest hat. 3. Geeks and Gangsters- See who can count cards the best and make the most monopoly money with a casino themed social in which everyone has to dress as either a geek or a gangster. Set up a couple tables including Blackjack and Texas Hold ‘Em so people have several options to choose from. 4. Pajama Jam- This is a great social idea for finals or midterms because it’s comfortable and easy going. Wear your favorite pajamas and watch the latest blockbuster while cuddling up with popcorn and pillows. 5. Draft A Date- Put a spin on the classic date dash in which sororities have a certain amount of time to find a date by making it an army themed party. The more camouflage, the better! By putting a little twist on classic party themes, your socials can feel fresh and creative! 
 Lately My Big Day has received a number of requests for referrals for gluten-free bakeries. Conscious brides and grooms, and thoughtful party hosts think of their guests when planning an event menu. Often you may have guests that are vegetarian, vegan, or have allergies towards nuts, dairy, eggs, dyes, etc. You may have guests who have certain religious beliefs that don't allow them to eat pork, or all food they eat must be Kosher. While chances are, you won't have to meet all of these requests at your event, there is a growing number of folks who are gluten-free.
 Looking for that needle in a haystack for your meeting or event? A good, affordable, flexible, centrally located venue is hard to find! My Big Day receives requests from friends, clients and complete strangers weekly to pass on our 'little known secret' venues. While we can't promise any of our favorite venues are secret, we can say that the places below do meet much of our commonly requested criteria. Check out our recommended venues in Northern Colorado below. And... to pull your event off without a hitch, consider hiring an event planner!
 My Big Day would be crazy not to post about Valentine's Day, since we LOVE love and parties! And we'd also be crazy not to promote the FUN packages we have put together for Valentine's Day. In the 10 years we've lived in Loveland, and 8 years in business, we've always longed for more to do in our great Sweetheart City! Loveland is not only home of the Valentine's re-mailing program, and streets lined with giant wooden hearts with loving messages... we are the home of Valentine's Day! We take great pride in celebrating love. With our friends, Heidi from Heiditown and Mechelle from NoCo Short Bus Tours, we decided to put together packages that celebrate Valentine's Day and all our city has to offer.
 My Big Day Events supports everything wedding and valentine related! One of our favorite annual traditions is the FREE wedding/vow renewal on the top of Loveland Mountain! Loveland Ski Area’s 23nd Annual Mountaintop Matrimony & Ski Free on Valentine’s Day, Friday, February 14 is a “mass wedding” ceremony for couples getting married or renewing their vows. Couples and their guests must be able to ride a chairlift and ski or snowboard back to the base afterwards. The lift ride takes approximately 12 minutes, and the ceremony takes about 30 minutes. After the ceremony, everyone returns to the Loveland Basin day lodge for the Honeymooner’s Apres Party with music, wedding cake, spirits and a best dressed contest (“ski wedding” attire is encouraged). Participating couples must pre-register online by February 12 in order to receive the 2-for-1 lift ticket special. For more information, call 303-571-5580 Ext. 141. Couples getting married are required to bring a Clear Creek County marriage license; the county office is at 405 Argentine St., Georgetown, 303-679-2339. Those renewing their vows do not need a license. All participating couples must sign in on the morning of Feb. 14th and are asked to be at the Ptarmigan Roost Cabin by 11:30 a.m.
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Making Business Personal. We pride ourselves on giving you something to look forward to. We are a connected collective of creatives - owned an operated by outstanding women. Want More?Never miss an event or opportunity. Sign up for our newsletter!
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My Big Day Company LLC 2006-2023 www.MyBigDayCompany.com
970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 EMAIL US
We serve the entire Front Range; Denver, Southern Wyoming, the CO Mountains, and Northern Colorado: Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley, Windsor, Berthoud, Estes Park, Lyons, Longmont, Boulder, Wellington, Johnstown, Evans, Severance, Timnath, Mead, Frederick, Firestone, Milliken
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