Pocono Resort Wedding – Great, Affordable Idea for a Frugal NJ Bride

Photo of Erhardt's Waterfront Resort, Lake Wallenpaupack, PA
Courtesy of Amanda Meyer Photography

I attended a wedding last year for a NJ bride and groom who opted to get married in the Poconos. Their wedding venue of choice was all-inclusive, offering a ceremony and reception on the premises, open bar, catered food and music provided by the venue, and best of all, guests got to stay over in their on-site lodging. Or, at least I'm pretty sure that's what their wedding package was. The music was a DJ, so I assume that they didn't have to bring it in. But I could be wrong about that – best to check.

Anyway, this particular Pocono resort was located in Hawley, PA, although the name escapes me and nothing in my Google research is ringing a bell, either. Something with the word "Lodge" but I can't seem to remember the rest.

It took us about an hour and a half drive to get there from NJ, which I felt was reasonable and actually kind of a sweet little getaway. The place reminded me of "Kellerman's" from Dirty Dancing... kind of a humble and cozy feel, in a peaceful mountain setting, but also with the full amenities: comfortable rooms, swimming pool, shuffleboard, tennis, beautiful views and great food.

All in all, it was a great wedding weekend, and I suspect, considerably less pricey than some of the gargantuan NJ weddings you've probably attended.

To get a look at the choices for a Pocono Wedding that's close enough for your NJ, NY and PA guests to enjoy a mini weekend getaway, visit this link.

Do It Yourself Wedding Almond Favors: What to Buy, How to Make

You may have heard of, or been the recipient of, the infamous little tulle bag of almonds as a wedding favor. Now you're the one getting married, and you're been thinking about doing the same – giving out almond favors to your guests. Here are a few facts about the symbolism behind the gift of 5 almonds, and some simple instructions on how to assemble the almond bags yourself.

Italians, Greeks, and other countries in the Mediterranean consider almonds to be a symbol of good luck on your wedding day. First, the taste of the almonds (bittersweet), is a symbol of life; and second, the candy coating is a wish for the happy couple's life together to be more sweet than bitter.

Traditionally, the almond bag contains five almonds, representing health, wealth, happiness, and longevity. Each guest receives one, wrapped in tulle and tied with a ribbon, and you may also wish to include a printed ribbon or little bit of paper with the bride and groom's name on it.

Preliminaries:

Figure out how many guests will be attending the wedding. Multiply that number by five, and that is the total number of almonds you'll need for the entire project. Of course, you won't know exactly how many guests until the very last leg of the wedding plans, so this is not a project that you can do too far in advance.

Select your colors. Of course, you'll want to match the decor and the bridesmaids dresses. Or, you can use white or off-white according to whichever hue your wedding dress is. You will be purchasing tulle and ribbon to coordinate with the abovementioned colors.

Determine the amount of tulle and ribbon you'll need. You may wish to consult with a fabric or craft store, hopefully they will be able to offer you a discount for your bulk order of each. The tulle should be cut into circles, each 6 to 8 inches in diameter, and the ribbon should be at least 12 to 16 inches long per favor.

Shop around. Research where to find candied almonds in bulk for the best price. You can find a supplier online (do a search for "Jordan almonds"), or check the Yellow Pages for a local gourmet candy supplier.

Time to Make Your Wedding Almond Bags:

Purchase your almonds a few weeks before the wedding. The candies will still be fresh on the big day, so no worries there.

Cut out tulle circles. Use a small plate (like a lunch plate – can be paper) to trace the circle on a piece of the tulle fabric. Cut it out with sewing scissors and put it aside. Do this for the total number of guests. Hopefully you'll have some helping hands such as the mother of the bride and/or groom, the bridesmaids, or other friends who will be attending the wedding, to help make light work of this project!

Tie up each almond bag. Once you have all of your tulle circles laid out, break out your candy-coated almonds. You will need five almonds per circle. Place your little nest of almonds in the circle and tie it up with the ribbon which you can cut on the fly as you go. If you have also ordered little bride-and-groom name tags, add those as well.

Repeat this process for however many guests you expect at your wedding.

Store them and arrange for transport. Store all the almond favors in a couple of weather-proof boxes with lids (plastic is good), and make sure that someone remembers to transport them to the wedding hall on the morning of the big event. You also want to be sure someone can take the time to place each one beside every plate at each table. The wedding hall coordinator may be able to advise whether someone on their staff can be tasked with this project, and whether or not it is included in the total cost of the wedding.

That's it – don't forget to save a little bag of almonds for yourself and your husband!

How to Have Fun at Your Own Wedding: 7 Tips

Don't sweat the small stuff. Really. No one is going to be saving the wrapper that comes on your custom-labeled bride and groom chocolate bar that you invested 30 hours picking out and then hunting for the best price on. Don't get me wrong – if you can get some cheap candy with your names on it virtually hassle-free, then hey. Go for it! But my point is that any miniscule detail that's going to end up causing you anxiety just isn't worth it.

Have a small bridal party. The more people involved, the more planning and coordinating involved.. and the more potential for chaos and confusion. Not to mention... large bridal parties can end up being "the main cast of characters," with other wedding guests, who may in reality be just as important, fading into the background of your day.

No chicken dance, macarena or electric slide. It's safe to say that the majority of wedding guests would rather not perform these humiliating dances, but do so out of a sense of obligation. "Look at this, aren't we having fun, watch me flap my arms and shake my backside like a total fool!"

Get a good band or DJ. Nothing gets people up and dancing than, well... good music of course! Even if you don't have the bucks to spring for a great band, it's easy enough to supply your DJ with list of favorite songs that are also great to cut a rug to. Keep in mind that, while some songs, like Hotel California, may rank high up there in the Sountrack of Your Life Together, they won't exactly get people up out of their seats and moving to the beat.

Don't let the deejay micro-manage. A strong DJ who knows how to pace the party is one thing... a micromanaging DJ, who insists on orchestrating the whole day and "emceeing" to the point that you can't even hold a conversation, is quite another.  

Tone down the picture-taking. Of course, you want all those priceless moments preserved in your wedding album forever. But watch out for photographers who feel they must stage every cliche wedding photo in the book. It's hard to enjoy yourself when you've got paparazzi breathing down your neck for the entire day. Talk to your photographer about keeping his eye on the action but also staying in the background so the fun can unfold naturally.

Encourage people to leave the kids at home. I know some people may disagree on this. We actually had our son at our wedding, so we couldn't very well say no to people who also wanted to bring their children. But if you really want to have a good, 5-hour stretch of grown-up shenanigans... leave the kiddies at home with at sitter. Otherwise, it will inevitably turn into hours upon hours of grown ups standing on the sidelines, smiling those blank, zombie parent-smiles at the kids who are somersaulting maniacally around the dance floor.