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A wedding reception is a celebration of a marriage between two souls and thus needs to be specially planned and arranged to perfection. Of course, one of the most important elements of wedding planning involves the search for the wedding reception venue of your dreams. If you are planning for an Arizona wedding reception, then you will probably have a great time considering your options. This is as Arizona has much to offer from beautiful and historical resorts, to lush garden surroundings as well as modern city hotel ballrooms for a contemporary look and feel.

The Arizona Inn is just the place that you are looking for if you seeking for neat and well-cared for lawns and trees combined with lush gardens and a serene view. Apart from that, this inn is also filled with fragrances of roses and oranges as well as eye-catching fountains. There is no doubt on the exquisiteness of the Arizona Inn, having won numerous hotel awards in addition to being a host to many of Arizona’s best wedding receptions. In fact, its prestige extends to being named one of the top 50 small hotels in the US based on the Zagat survey. In this venue, you can definitely plan for a romantic wedding reception as their reception halls are uniquely designed with French doors, antiques and high-beamed ceilings. This is the reason why your wedding reception at the Arizona Inn will be an event that will never be forgotten.

If you are seeking for a good city venue for a wedding reception in Arizona, then you should consider the Sheraton Crescent Hotel in Phoenix. This hotel offers attractive well-designed interiors with outstanding services as well as 342 rooms and suites available for your wedding guests. Apart from that, the proximity of this venue to the city and the airport makes it convenient for guests from out of town. Furthermore, this venue is also splendid for guests who may want to access shopping locations within the city. For the wedding reception, the Crescent Ballroom in this hotel has a capacity of up to 1000 guests while the Phoenix Garden and Patio is suited for outdoor wedding parties for up to 500 guests.

For couples seeking a location with a splendid backdrop, then the Amara Creekside Resort would be a perfect choice. Surrounded by creations of Mother Nature with stone hills and pines amidst sunny and bright weather, the Amara Creekside Resort is suited for a wedding reception of romance and beauty. Apart from having a comprehensive list of menu items to choose from, the Amara caters to indoor wedding receptions in their Meditation Room, as well as picturesque outdoor weddings in the Oak Creek Courtyard.

Arizona is indeed a place that is full of beautiful and romantic wedding reception sites complete with full services on wedding planning. Beautiful locations require advanced bookings as they will always be in great demand. Therefore, it is essential to start your explorations now, in order to get the best wedding reception location to create the wedding of your dreams!

© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

As a wedding DJ and Videographer in Phoenix, Arizona with many years of experience in the wedding industry, I\’ve noticed an interesting surge recently in themed weddings. Of course, thought has always been given to the style of dress, whether it will be casual, semi-formal or black tie formal. However, there are a few more folks these days going a step further with an old idea that is new again.

Personal interests and hobbies are ideal themes for a wedding. Skydiving, scuba and art are all pursuits that have been incorporated into recent wedding celebrations. Mountains, rivers, lakes and deserts have provided stunning backdrops for memorable weddings that made tremendous impressions on friends and relatives, and provided an interesting alternative to traditional settings. Needless to say, it is important in these cases to choose your wedding vendors carefully to insure that you are working with professionals who are willing to go above and beyond the norm to help you achieve your vision of your special day.

Here in Arizona we are blessed with some beautiful scenery in breathtaking areas. Red rocks and clear streams can provide a colorful backdrop that enhances photography and videography, and make the wedding video a joy to produce and watch. My wife and I have had the pleasure of being included in two recent weddings that took advantage of natural beauty here. One involved being set up to DJ on the banks of Oak Creek in Sedona, which introduced a festive and unique feel to the event, and the other involved videography with gorgeous red rocks and green foliage splashed on nature\’s canvas to create a dramatic and spectacular look which translated magnificently onto video.

There are folks who take the theme idea even further. A while back we had the pleasure of creating a wedding video for a couple who along with their bridal party, dressed as pirates complete with novelty swords! There were many delighted guests who took away a fun and unique memory of the event. The idea must be catching on, as we will be participating in another wedding in the near future utilizing a similar theme.

Princesses, the beach, horses, special flowers, zoot suits, whatever you like, let your imagination run wild and don\’t be afraid to be unique and let your interests and favorite colors be reflected in your wedding.  You may have seen a recent Hollywood motion picture that incorporated bridal gowns and bridesmaids dresses in various styles and colors that emphasized this themed concept.

On the subject of colors, it is important to note that the traditional rules don\’t necessarily apply anymore. If you took art class and remember the color wheel, you may be inclined to follow the conventional wisdom regarding primary and complimentary color selection. However, many people simply don\’t adhere to this principle in contemporary settings.

Current popular color combinations include many pairings that may be traditionally considered as incorrect. For instance, I am noticing liberal use of pink with colors other than red or white. Pink with brown is surprisingly popular, as is pink with blue. Most fashion experts will tell you that black with brown is not correct, but to modern tastes it can be rather appealing. Light and dark brown, also called chocolate or mocha, is being used on a regular basis.

Multiple colors are proving to be useful as well. Recent weddings have included fall leaves (red, orange, yellow, brown) and berries from red to purple. Another bride chose a green theme, but allowed all of her bridesmaids to choose their own shade within a certain range and use a different pattern that appealed to each of them separately.

Have fun and experiment with different colors and themes before deciding on what represents your personality and preferences on your wonderful wedding day!  Celebrate your wedding with color and excitement.

 

Looking for a vacation that actually brings the family together? Try visiting one of California’s guest ranches, where the outdoor scenery is only exceeded by the down-home family values.

The summer season is prime time for guest ranching families who maybe have tried Disneyland or taken a family cruise vacation but have been searching for another unique experience that every member of the family can enjoy. A week-long stay at a guest ranch means that Mom, Dad and the kids will all be eating together — three hearty home-cooked meals a day – and that the parents will actually have some inkling where, at any given time, they can find their kids.

If that sounds good for parents, it gets even better for kids. There is a long list of games and family activities available as guest ranches compete with theme parks for the California vacation dollar. There’s the obvious – horseback riding, and plenty of it – but add to that such activities as swimming, tubing on nearby rivers, volleyball, darts, fly fishing, archery and gold panning.

“We had one Australia family visit Disneyland and our ranch in the same vacation,” recalled Alicia Ryan of Coffee Creek Guest Ranch, “and the family emailed us from home just to tell us that the ranch was all the kids were talking about.”

Score one for guest ranches. The ranches will score a few more points with adults who deal with city traffic and crowded workplaces every day of the work week and figure the last thing they want to do on vacation is stand in long lines for theme parks and their rides. Once they’re settled in at a guest ranch, they may find a total of just 50 or 60 other guests spread out over many acres with most guests out riding or involved in activities. End result: peace and quiet for Mom and Dad.

When the movie “City Slickers” came out several years back, the impact on the guest ranch industry was significant. Maybe it was the way the movie showed every-day city people adapting very well, thank you, to the Great Outdoors — whatever the reason, ranches saw more business than ever. In recent years, some ranches have found that growth has leveled off somewhat as competitors such as cruise lines lower their prices and rising gasoline prices discourage long distance car travel. So nowadays, many guest ranches are including everything but the kitchen sink in their “all-inclusive” price.

Operators of guest ranches say that most people who come to stay at a guest ranch share a love of the outdoors, although the majority of visitors are not experienced horseback riders. If you really want to get out and enjoy the scenery, the horseback riding is the best way. Rides generally are scheduled several times each day. Skill levels are taken into account when deciding what horse you will be riding while at the ranch and, often, guests will get training and greatly improve their skills as the week goes on.

But not everyone who comes to stay at a guest ranch is focused on horseback riding. “That’s where the swimming pool comes in,” says Trish Wilburn, owner of Greenhorn Creek Guest Ranch, “and the hot tub, the porch swing, the fishing pond – they never run out of things to do.”

Ranch accommodations vary, but generally the ranches offer a more rustic type of lodging than people expect from a fancy resort. Private bathrooms are generally the rule, but rooms and cabins are more “clean and nice” than luxurious. The only people who are disappointed, ranch operators say, are the people who expect five-star accommodations, which can be impractical in the more remote locations.

The home-cooked food is where most guest ranches shine – ample helpings of beef, pork, chicken and many other basics are available either buffet-style or in family-style serving dishes ready for guests on the table.

Most ranches offer all-inclusive rates that include lodging, food and activities, and sometimes unlimited horseback riding. Prices for a week at a guest ranch can run from $800 to $1,400 per person, per week, depending on the season and whether horseback riding, taxes and gratuities are included. Daily rates are available at some ranches while others require a one-week minimum. Also ask for family or group rates, which may save you money if you’re taking a family.

California offers several guest ranches located in various parts of California. Here are three examples of California guest ranches:

Greenhorn Creek Ranch – located near Quincy, California about 70 miles northwest of Reno, NV, this ranch has been catering to California travelers for many years. For the last five years, Ralph and Trish Wilburn have operated the ranch, steadily building clientele and adding amenities. This heavily timbered part of California is known for its many lakes and streams, and ranch guests are always impressed by the area’s overall beauty. The ranch can accommodate up to 80 people in 16 cabins and 12 lodge rooms. A week-long stay at Greenhorn begins with a one-hour riding lesson and basic orientation that matches each guest with the appropriate horse. Throughout the week, guests can get additional instruction and ride on various terrains ranging from gentle slopes to dirt and gravel roads to trails. Other ranch activities include trout fishing in the ranch’s own pond, swimming, frog-racing, square and line dancing, hayrides, bon fires, golf, hiking and even a rodeo. For more information, phone 800-587-2418 or visit www.greenhornranch.com.

Coffee Creek Ranch – This ranch is about 72 miles northwest of Redding and located in the heart of the Trinity Alps. This mountainous location is quite wooded and has long been known as an outdoorsman’s favorite. Alicia Ryan is a third-generation owner of the ranch and has put together a variety of activities including horseback riding, swimming, gold panning, archery, skeet shooting and target practice, fly fishing, tubing on a local creek, kids’ games, hayrides, bon fires, line and square dancing and even a talent show. All horseback rides take guests into the high country and many include meals or overnight stays. There is about one ranch employee for every two guests, and typically the ranch will accommodate around 50 people. Hiking trips can be planned, and mountain bike trails parallel the wilderness area. Summer youth programs are specially designed by age group. The ranch even has its own musical group, the “Rattlesnakes,” to entertain guests. For more information, phone 800-624-4480 or visit www.coffeecreekranch.com.

Circle Bar B Ranch – located in the Santa Ynez mountains near Santa Barbara, the Circle Bar B is just three miles from the famous Reagan Ranch, where President Ronald Reagan lived, worked and played. Owner Kathy Williams and her family have been entertaining guests for many years not only with the ranch and its activities, but with a dinner theater that was started 38 years ago. Pat Brown, Kathy’s brother and ranch co-owner, has busied himself building cabins and renovating rooms to the extent that the ranch now has an overnight capacity of 45 guests. Outside the main lodge is a swimming pool, set in a grassy area amongst the oak trees that populate many parts of the property. Not far away are the barns and corrals, and a group of mild-mannered horses that, several times each day, take guests onto many miles of nearby trails and roads. The rides at Circle Bar B are gentle. Terrain is chosen to be well-suited to the horses and generally allows good footing for the animals and lots of space between the horses. The hearty meals at the Circle Bar B are family style and the ranch owners mingle with guests at almost every meal. For more information, phone (805) 968-1113 or visit www.circlebarb.com.