Wedding Reception Options – Hilton Adelaide

Planning your wedding reception is probably going to be one of the single most stressful and costly decisions you will ever make. Finding the right venue that is the perfect expressions of your imagination and within budget constraints is not an easy task.

So we’ve made it our mission to get out and really have a look around at what’s out there and we are starting off with Hilton Adelaide.

Note: We can honestly tell you that we were not paid or persuaded in any way to write this post showing Hilton in a positive light, we were simply invited to come take a look and judge for ourselves.

When you hear the name Hilton, there are many images that spring to mind. The name is so well known the world over that most of us could probably say that at some point we have stayed or at least been to a Hilton hotel.

We were lucky enough o sit down recently with the lovely Laura, Marketing Communication Manager and Rachela, Events Manager of Hilton Adelaide to get a first hand look at their fabulous wedding and corporate events offerings.

While Hilton itself has been a well known brand, it has in the past been more traditionally linked with corporate style events and business class accommodation. But while this is still very much the case, Hilton have launched a brand new focus on ‘Weddings’ and along with this new approach comes a team dedicated to making weddings at Hilton something amazing.

Beginning with a tour of the main function rooms, followed by a look over the wide range of package and menu options and some detailed questions on specifics, we finished the visit with coffee in the stunning ground floor lobby.

So what did we find out?

Well……

Hilton in Adelaide is centrally located adjacent the gorgeous gardens of Victoria Square. With the Adelaide central Market next door it is a great place to spend the weekend of your wedding as you prepare for the big day.

With three fabulous room options for your reception, each absolutely stunning, but varying in style and taste, there is something to suit every concept idea.

Our tour began with the ‘Victoria’ room, a lavishly decorated, modern space which captures your breath on entrance. If you are looking to really wow your guests then this may be the location for you.

The ‘Victoria’ Room

The ‘Victoria’ room, located on the ground floor is a gorgeous modern space, lavishly decorated with a unique metallic mesh ceiling. The room gives off a very stylish attitude, perfect for the modern couple wanting to entertain their guests with a contemporary, spacious and upmarket reception.

With the addition of a dance floor, the ‘Victoria’ room has the capacity to hold 150 guests comfortably and if your considering a cocktail reception the capacity stretches to 250.

Next we moved onto the ‘Balcony Room’

 The 'Balcony' Room

With so many possibilities, the ‘Balcony’ room, located on level 1, offers the opportunity to really create your own feel. Beautifully decorated with a warm feel and overlooking the gardens of Victoria Square, you really need to see it to appreciate it fully. Ideal for an intimate sit-down or cocktail style reception, this room has the capacity to seat 120 with a dance floor or 250, cocktail style.

Set up with oval tables, pictured above and decorated to your own colour scheme, the magnificent lighting and open feel of the balcony rooms are unique to Hilton. To sit at the table amongst friends and family on a warm summer evening with the concertina doors fully extended is magnificent.

On the day we visited this room was set up somewhat differently with a long table running the entire length of the room, something we had never seen before. With guests all at one table and the bride and groom perfectly placed in the middle, we only wished that we were on the guest list to really experience this exquisite set up.

Moving on to the ‘Grand Ballroom’ was where we were truly awe inspired!

The 'Grand Ballroom'

Although the picture above, shows a beautifully decorated, modern space, it does not even come close to doing it justice. Entering this room there was an immediate sense of class, sophistication and style. The lighting above catches the eye immediately with its very unique look and the room itself is massive, 660m2 in fact, easily catering for 450 with a dance floor or 800 cocktail style.

Located on level 1, the ‘Grand Ballroom’ is where you want to be  if you are planning a large wedding and want to really give your guests something to talk about. Featuring a 5.8m-high wall-to-wall curtain of intricately woven metal it brings the room to life creating a shimmering veil.

Amazingly, the ‘Grand Ballroom’ is the ONLY pillar free hotel ballroom in the state.

On the day of our visit, this room was being prepared for a large wedding. The tables were elegantly prepared, the ceiling draped with panels of sheer material and the entire front of the room was being set up by light and sound engineers to create some added extras the couple had chosen to incorporate to wow their friends and family.

When asked about how far couples can go in personalising their receptions, the answer was clear….. Hilton staff were happy to work with them to create anything their heart desired as long as it was safe and attainable.

Leaving the ‘Grand Ballroom’ we headed down the main stairs that overlooked the ground floor to the ‘Lobby Lounge’. It’s hard not to be impressed by the glamour of Hilton and the efforts they have made in recent years in updating these areas to an open plan, inviting and contemporary space.

Lobby Lounge

Next on the agenda was the ‘details’, discussed over a delicious coffee and chocolate.

The Complete Package:

Laura began by eagerly telling us about how committed the team were at Hilton Adelaide to providing affordable, yet fabulous wedding packages for all sizes and budgets. She talked about how Hilton’s focus had really shifted to the wedding industry and how they could offer premium services attached to the well known Hilton brand to provide couples with new and exciting options.

Their main aim was to offer ‘Complete Packages’ which left the couple with nothing left to organise or worry about. Despite being very impressed we did have to wonder how much all of this was going to cost. Rachela smiled, telling us that this was the best part, the part that they really wanted to get across to couples – that their packages were affordable and competitive, starting with the base package at just $100, but with more inclusions than most of their competitors.

With world class kitchen staff, Hilton can also cater for any food choice. Having done weddings involving all Indian food, all Asian food and many others, their ability to adapt and meet clients needs is second to none.

With inclusions like Chair covers and audiovisual options which are usually ad-ons, Hilton have really created some enticing inclusions. So what WILL you get included in your package?

Well each package contains a range of items including menu choices, canape’s, room hire, stage and dance floor etc ( a full list of package options can be requested from their webpage at:

http://www3.hilton.com/en/events/weddings/receptions/index.html

But, believe it or not each package contains a 5 hour drinks package, including pre-dinner drinks and are you ready for this? An overnight stay, access to all facilities and with sparkling wine, chocolates and breakfast!

If that wasn’t enough in addition every couple receives:

Chair covers
Audiovisual options
A menu tasting
Printed, personalised menus
First anniversary gift vouchers – Choose from a $250 dinner voucher OR an overnight stay in a deluxe room with a bottle of sparkling, chocolates AND buffet breakfast
A gift box with $1000 of gift vouchers to spend at other suppliers including transport, photography, Make-up, flowers, bridal shoes and more
Accommodation is also provided for your guests at 25%off their best available rate.

(*inclusions as at Nov 2012, subject to change)

Overall we have to say that we were really impressed with Hilton given that in all honesty, they would not have been top of our list to consider as being a premier provider in the wedding industry, simply because we just didn’t know what they had to offer.

Deciding on a reception venue is a really big deal and not one that should be taken lightly, but in our experience, most couples prefer a situation where everything they need can be done under one roof to take away the thousands of little tid bits of organisation that often drive them completely mad by the time the big day arrives.

To be able to stay at the hotel the night before, wake up to a nice breakfast and a day of pampering which can all be organised within the hotel, be whisked off to your ceremony and return knowing that absolutely everything is on time and organised is worth it’s weight in gold. After all your only planning to do this once, so when it’s over you want to be able to look back at it fondly for the next however many years!

If you are interested in getting package prices or in discussing the possibility of having your reception at Hilton, then contact:

The Hilton Adelaide Event Sales Team
08 8237 0363 
catering.sales@hitlon.com

If you are planning a wedding at another Hilton, here is the link to their web page

http://www3.hilton.com/en/events/weddings/receptions/index.html

We had a great time researching this post, so we hope this helps you with thinking about your reception and we hope to bring you another Hotel/Reception venue review soon.

The Wedding Gurus
xxxx

Pagan Rituals - Significance of the Broom

Welcome to week 13 in our ’52 Rituals/Traditions in 52 Weeks’

We are playing a bit of catch-up due to falling a little behind, but we are getting back on track by posting some rituals close together and for week 13 we have decided to look at ‘Pagan Rituals’.

A pagan wedding ceremony is often quite different from a normal civil wedding ceremony. It is rich with colour, natural elements and acknowledges the four directions East (Air), South (Fire), West (Water) and North (Earth) as being an essential component that requires recognition (usually at the very beginning of the ceremony) along with many other ritualistic sentiments.

For some, the idea of a Pagan ceremony is very appealing, although if only one party to the marriage (the bride for instance) is Pagan, then it can be problematic to engage in a full Pagan ceremony.

There are many options in such a case for simply incorporating Pagan elements into your ceremony while still maintaining the format of a ‘normal’ wedding ceremony. There are so many it is hard to just pick a few, but we have chosen some that can be easily adapted.

For example, a Pagan ceremony is conducted inside a sacred circle which can be created from rocks, stones or a combination of candles & crystals. The circle is symbolic of the cycles of life, and it is considered a sacred place in which any negativity form the outside world can be left behind while the couples immense love and happiness can be contained within.
The main theme we wanted to look at was the use of ‘Brooms’ in pagan ceremonies and there are at least two ways in which a broom can be used:

Firstly: The broom is used in a sweeping motion to purify the sacred circle. This can be done by the Celebrant (or the bride & groom themselves).

Once the guests have arrived and are in the circle, whoever is performing the ritual, circles the area in an anti-clockwise direction.

The circle is swept and the following words repeated.

“Sweep, sweep, sweep this place
By Power of Air, I cleanse this space.”

The sweeping, often used to begin the cleansing ritual, is then usually followed by other cleansing powers of Light, Liquid, Dirt and Spirit. These are done most often with a red candle; a chalice of water; a bowl of earth and then words that are spoken in the middle of the circle for Spirit.

Secondly: As the primary use of a broom is to clean and sweep, they are thought to represent a new, clean and fresh start for the couple. The bride and groom jump the broom at the end of the ceremony after all of the words have been spoken and this indicates that they are putting the past behind them and are jumping together into their future.

Pagan ceremonies are very moving and unforgettable to take part in. If you ever have the chance to see one, take it because it will be something that will stay with you forever. Many of today’s rituals are adaptations of original Pagan traditions, but to see them performed in their original context and within a ceremony that incorporates many of them is a great experience.

If you are interested in having a Pagan ceremony or even incorporating components into your own ceremony then there are lots of resources available and we would be happy to point you in the right direction.

The Wedding Gurus

xxx

Week 12 - Libation Ceremony

Welcome to week 12 in our ’52 Rituals/Traditions in 52 Weeks’

This week we have decided to look at ‘libation’ in ceremony and how you can use it to create an interesting and heart felt ceremony.

Some traditions or rituals are not unique to just one culture and are in fact practised in many cultures throughout the world. These rituals are often similar in nature, but may have different relevance or meaning depending on who is practising them. This is certainly true for libation rituals.

The libation ritual is a traditional part of ceremony practised by the Greeks, Romans, Africans and Burmese Buddhists to name only a few. The term ‘libation’ actually means ‘the pouring of a liquid offering as a religious ritual’ and this liquid may be any number of things, again dependant upon who is performing it.

In some African cultures, an essential part of any ceremony is the pouring of libation. Sometimes water, but most often a traditional wine is used for the pouring which it is believed shows recognition and thanks to their ancestors and the Gods. A prayer calling all to attend and participate is given by an elder who through this tradition invokes both ancestors and Gods to be present.

The Ancient Romans were also big believers in the use of libation rituals in ceremony, usually consisting of wine and perfumed oil, it was considered an act of great worship.

These days we still see libation rituals used in ceremony and also in showing recognition to those no longer with us. If you live in the United States you may have heard of the term ‘tipping a forty to their memory’ which involves tipping a small amount of liquid (usually liquor) from the glass before drinking, paying respect to and in memory of those no longer with us.

If you are looking for a simple, easy ritual to use in your wedding ceremony that doesn’t cost anything and allows you to word it specifically to recognise something, then a libation ritual is a fabulous idea.

You could ask the head of either of your families,-a grandmother or grandfather, the celebrant or anyone you wish - to lead the ritual and say a few words as to the sentiment of the ritual.

An example of this may be where a loved one has passed away or unable to be present and you are looking for a way to acknowledge those unable to be with you. A libation is a simple, yet powerful way to pay your respect and honour their significance.

The Wedding Gurus

xxx

Wedding Theme Inspiration

Choosing your wedding setting and decor can be very overwhelming given the endless variety of ideas available to you. In our opinion the first step is to choose a theme, one that suits your personality and style.

 Things to consider when choosing a theme include:

-    Colour - ( ie black and white or purple and silver). Our favourites are soft tones such as ivory, champagne or white with a bold splash of colour such as purple, pink or black to be the most appropriate choice if you are planning for a chic romantic setting. Try to stick to one or two colours to be as effective as possible as more colours mixed in can begin to look a little out of place.

-    Style – Again base this on your personalities. Are you characters of elegance?,  or are you a couple who enjoy the beach, or perhaps lovers of the renaissance or the vintage and antique. Your chosen style can also be arranged around the season of your wedding, if it is an autumn wedding you might like to find an outdoor location amongst the orange of the trees or if in summer, a beautiful beach wedding might be the way to go.

-    Budget – Your theme may be restricted by your budget. Be realistic from early on in the planning stages, remember you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to have a beautiful wedding setting and there are plenty of amazing DIY options available to you. There would be no point in planning a setting filled with arches and vases of lush fresh flowers, crystal candelabras, chandeliers and tea light candles suspended from the ceiling if your budget doesn’t allow. There would be nothing worse than the feeling of having to change your setting plans at the last minute because you have run out of money to pay the florist or hire company.  

Once your theme has been chosen this will guide you in selecting your invitations, wedding and bridesmaid dresses, beautiful centrepieces, bonbonnieres and even food and beverage choices.

To get you started in this thought process we have compiled our top 10 wedding setting pictures as posted by brides and grooms from all over, which we believe radiate romantic elegance and beauty.

 We hope this inspires you towards creating the wedding of your dreams. If you would like to run any ideas past us or if you have a beautiful wedding setting you would like to share please send it in to theweddinggurus@live.com.au for your chance to have your question, idea or picture featured on our page.

The Wedding Guru's

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Please note: These settings have been compiled from numerous sources including Facebook posts and other web pages. These photographs are not the property of The Wedding Guru's. If you would like any information on the owner of a particular photograph we would be happy to assist.

Some more of the 'different' and bizarre

 

Yes, we confess.......we just love the 'out there' and interesting lengths that some couples go to to have the wedding of their dreams. They may not be our dreams, but they entertain us none-the-less.

We've put together a few more of our favourite photos sourced from various locations on the internet that are sure to bring a smile to your face and you never know, if you're a shrek fan, perhaps some great wedding ideas!

 

The Wedding Gurus

xxx