AboutShannon M Mason Expertise As an accredited Professional Bridal Consultant, I can answer questions involving all aspects of wedding and event planning. From budgets and organization to menus and timelines, each part of the planning process is just as important as the next. Whether you are looking for answers to traditional wedding questions or you want to venture outside the box, ask away! If we don’t have the answer we will find it for you!
Experience I am the owner of New Beginnings Wedding & Event Management and have been planning weddings and events for 13 years. I attend networking and training classes on a regular basis to keep abreast of the latest trends and fashions.
Organizations 21st Century Nuptials, Coordinators Corner, Jacksonville Bridal Association
Education/Credentials Professional Bridal Consultant - Association of Bridal Consultants
Expert: Shannon M Mason Date: 5/15/2008 Subject: breaking the ice at wedding rehersal dinner
Question QUESTION: I had an idea of putting questions in a bowl and asking each guest to pick one and have someone answer it. The questions are to be about the bride or groom. The object is to get funny stories told about thier childhood, school years, happenings with friends or family, ect....
my problem is how do I get the questions to ask and how do I get them to the respective guest that the question is to ask, or the story for them to tell?
ANSWER: Lisa:
You might want to actually go to some different people prior to the rehearsal dinner (a few weeks) and see what kind of stories they have and then ask them to share with everyone at the rehearsal dinner. Sort of like a "this is your life."
I would suggest getting a few people who are not afraid to talk in front of others so that they can get things started.
Good luck!
~Shannon
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QUESTION: That would be great but I don't know any of the brides family and they are all from out of town. Most is in a different state. What I am trying to do is make it easier for everyone to get to know each other. Some kind of an ice breaker. It is a very formal wedding, I had one idea of either getting different colored sheets of paper and putting them at each place setting and asking each guest to write down some kind of advice for the bride and groom about being married and then having the bride and groom read them outloud. But I can't decide how would be the best way to do this. I would like for them to be able to keep these sheets but how do I do that. I have a journal but I thought that would be too confusing because they would have to pass it around the tables and someone would get left out. Any suggestions? I also want to get pictures of them growing up and copy them to use as decorations on each table. Maybe by putting them at different angles and sizes along the middle of the tables? How can I do this quickly photo copy i know but how do I attach them to the table clothes so they won't move. I also dont want the kids to know until we get there.
Answer Lisa:
I would suggest that you have a table set up for people to write their advice. I have done this a few different ways but my favorite is by getting a large fish bowl (or a large novelty wine glass) and have 3x5 size cards pre-cut. The guests write their advice and then place the card in the bowl. This also makes it easy to place these into some type of journal or scrapbook.
Whereas this is a good keepsake for the couple, I don't know if it will truly capture what you are trying to accomplish.
If the different sides of the family truly do not know each other, then you are going to need to rely on others to "break the ice." Have each guests introduce themselves to the room and say how they met the bride and/or groom and ask them to briefly speak about either their fondest or funniest memory that included the bride and/or groom.
For the pictures, they should be put in picture frames and placed on the tables. You can get various size and style frames from any $1 store.
