Brooklyn Wedding Reception Venues, Sweet 16, First Communion Celebration, Corporate Events, Banquet Halls - The El Caribe

Creating Unforgettable Memories For Over 35 Years

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4 Things To Do The Day You’re Engaged

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(Photo Credit JORDY B PHOTOGRAPHY)

It may be the most exciting day of your life! While you’re feeling all those emotions of finally being engaged to the love of your life you may also start to feel overwhelmed with all that comes next. Before you are overcome with analysis paralysis it’s important to remember to celebrate the moment with each other, and then consider the following list for things to do the day you get engaged.

  1. Keep it secret and celebrate! Take some time for just the two of you. Soak it in! Celebrate! Everything else will come later but for now it’s just the two of you! Spend the day, the evening, whatever you need but spend it with your new fiancé and enjoy it. The strength and joy that comes from taking in the moment will help you in the planning months ahead.
  2. What are your must-haves. Take a moment together and make a quick list of all the must-haves for your wedding, the things you really want no matter what. This will make you feel better and stay focus before starting any other wedding plans.
  3. Share with the closest. After you’ve soaked in the moment and processed all the excitement for your future, share it with those very closest to you so they can share in the happy news. In case it spread by social media, those in your inner circle will know before the rest of the world does. Sharing with them will be a special moment!
  4. Wait to make any wedding decisions. Don’t jump right in planning in the first 24 hours. In fact, it’s best if you wait a few weeks to let things settle in, letting your feet land on the ground again, with a clear head to begin making plans. There will be plenty of time for planning. Again, take in the moment and joy since it only comes once in a lifetime and then after some time, begin your plans.
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8 Things No One Tells You About Getting Engaged

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So, you’re engaged. Congratulations! It’s an exciting time and comes with new discoveries and truths you never knew about being engaged. We’re sure you’ve already discovered a few. Here’s our list.

1. Everything Will Feel Different
Even if you’ve been together for years, everything will now feel different. You’ve just committed to spend the rest of your lives together. That’s serious business. So, take a deep breath. Then, begin working on long term plans, things you may not have discussed while dating for your new lives together. Where will you spend holidays? Do you want children? If so, how many? It’s likely things may change as life is filled with surprises. It’s best you’re on the same page as you get started. You may consider premarital/pre-wedding counseling. Working thru hard things at the beginning makes the rest of your time together far more enjoyable.

2. You Won’t Stop Staring (but you’re allowed)
Your hand will feel different because there’s a sparkle on it that keeps grabbing your attention. If you’ve not worn rings before it may feel strange, or, should we call it “new”. This stunning piece of jewelry on your finger is a symbol of something you’ve dreamed of your whole life. Now it’s here. It’s okay to be a “little obsessed” over the sparkle on your finger. Since everyone will be asking to see it, get yourself a manicure to nicely frame that ring. CAUTION, don’t stare at the ring while driving.

3. You’ll Feel Like A Broken Record
With the excitement of being engaged, everyone will want to ask about the proposal. This may get wearing over time but, hey, that’s the fun of being engaged, telling and retelling your story. To save time, and remember the details of the proposal story, write it down in a journal and then post it your favorite social media site so you can easily share it with friends and family.

4. They’ll Ask Before You Know the Question
They’ll be a lot of buzz and excitement around your recent engagement. You won’t have time to set a date or location for the big day before people will be asking for the date and venue details. To save yourself some stress, you may want to come up with something simple to say when asked like, “We’re just so thrilled to be engaged right now. We’ll be working on the details soon.”

5. You Can’t Make Everyone Happy…
While you’re hoping your family and friends will be thrilled, there will be those that may not be so supportive or excited about your recent news. This is a time for you to celebrate! Stay positive and focus on the excitement of getting married. Remember the attitude of less supportive people is a reflection on them and not you.

6. You’ll Discover Your True Friends
Your true friends will be those who immediately cheer your engagement news on social media, help you celebrate on the town the next day and ask what they can do to help you make plans for the big day. Keep those friends in your inner circle and get them involved in your wedding plans. They asked because they want to help. This is where some of the strongest friendships are built.

7. Those Wedding Movies Won’t Mean the Same
All those wedding films you’ve watched in the past will mean something entirely different now that you’re engaged. You may find yourself watching them all over again and a certain interest in wedding movies or tv shows. It’s okay to binge a bit. You may discover some ideas to better celebrate your special day.

8. You’ll Get Plenty of Advice (some unsolicited).
Your friends and family, who have great intentions and “maybe” some good ideas, will have plenty of ideas and advice for you. Take it in stride. They care about you and are just trying to help. As they give you their “should & shouldn’t” advice graciously listen and thank them for the thought or idea. You can decide privately what to do with your wedding plans.

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4 Wedding Planning Tips For Those Who Just Said Yes

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four wedding planning tips for those recently engaged
The cork has been popped after replying “yes” to the big question. There are many things to consider as you plan your big day. With more than 35 years experience, and three generations of family operations creating unforgettable memories at the El Caribe, we’d like to share four wedding planning tips, for event planning as well, to help you along.

  1. Define Your Guest List. You probably have a lot of people who have been a special part of your life. You’ll want to invite them to celebrate this milestone. Take time to sit with your fiancé and put a guest list from your family and friends before you consider your budget and location for the event.
  2. Consider Your Budget. There are a lot things to consider with your budget. How big a celebration do you want to? Is it simple and intimate, big and extravagant or a destination wedding? Do you have money in investments or savings you’ve set aside and/or do you have time to save for the wedding?
  3. Quality vs Size. Many hope to only marry once. Since there is a lot of time, effort and stress involved in this celebration, consider choosing higher quality over the size of your event. You have options in choosing to have a small number of guests and spending more on higher quality venue, menu, decor, and celebration than the opposite – mediocre venue, menus, décor, etc. The tradeoff can be huge in quality and creating that special experience for you and your guests with the cost being very similar.
  4. Vendor Packages. Your wedding is a memory of a lifetime. Many of those memories you’ll keep in photographs or experience with a DJ on the dance floor. As you look at different vendors consider quality vs quantity. While one photographer will give you all day coverage remember it doesn’t mean it’s quality photos. For instance, you can hire a wedding photographer who’s mediocre work will get you pictures all day long or you can hire a top notch photographer to get the highlights of your wedding day. In the end won’t it be the highlights and important moments you’ll frame? Take this into to consider with all your vendor choices, do you want smaller amounts of the highest quality or lots of mediocre.

Take the time to consider these four wedding planning tips, and most importantly, try to enjoy the journey to your big wedding day. Using these four tips will help you eliminate unneeded stress and give you the wedding you’ve dreamed of.

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Rules of Engagement: Finding the Ring

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Tis the season to get engaged! There’s plenty of advice from friends and loved ones about how to prepare, propose and of course buy that engagement ring. Since it’s that season, here are some things we’ve learned about buying rings and the advice of some experts in the business.

The jewelry industry as a whole has significant markups from 20-50%. The well-advertised stores offer the worst deals and play on the deep emotions of proposing to the one you love. “Historically, the diamond industry has been shrouded in secrecy and the old guard likes it that way,” said Josh Holland, a spokesperson for BlueNile.com. That shroud is no longer! With some good educational information and access to the internet, you’re armed to get what you want at a fair price.

Understanding the 4C’s (Carat, Colour, Clarity, Cut) is a good start and allows for better comparison as you shop.

The old standard of buying her an engagement ring based on 2-3 month’s salary rule is pretty well ignored by most girls today. It’s more the psychology around the ring. Men consider it a short term purchase while women consider it something to be cherished and held forever.

Find out what she wants. Consider this is not just a short term purchase. Whatever your budget, remember you only propose once and you’ll be with her for lifetime. Some rings are cherished enough to be handed down to the next generation. So, it’s put your best effort forward in buying a nice ring. The goal is to make your budget, whatever it may be, go as far as possible. And be wise to buy her a real diamond, not synthetic.

Here are some specific tips to consider:

  • Find out what kind of ring she likes. There are two parts to this: the stone and setting. The stone is the actual diamond or jewel. The setting is the metal the stone sits in on the ring. There are different cuts of stones; square, round, oval, etc. Find out size she wants (as in carats). Lastly and most importantly, remember to find out her ring size.
  • Learn and understand the 4 C’s. Discover online the value of the stones you’re considering so you know how the pricing is with retail stores you shop.
  • Ask recently engaged friends where they got their ring. This could save you time and money.
  • If you have a friend who’s a skilled gemologist take them to lunch to pick their brain about buying a ring.
  • Consider the size of the stone and perfect setting size for her hand. A small stone on a large hand will seem to vanish.
  • Remember that diamond prices jump upward at whole-carat sizes (.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, etc) compared with pricing of .95, 1.45, etc, where the diamond size is essentially the same.
  • When visiting jewelers and finding some stones you like, write down the GIA number. You can use this to find similar diamond stock on the internet and discover what the jewelers markup is allowing you power to negotiate or go somewhere else.
  • Once you’ve put the stone and setting together get it appraised and get it insured as soon as possible.
  • Lastly, get a GIA certificate. Without that, the stone is worthless.

The goal? Educate yourself so you’re armed with information to get a beautiful ring she’ll love.  It’s not about  spending the most or getting the biggest. It’s about finding the right ring.

We hope she says yes.