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Posted by Eileen Neuweg on November 22, 2011 at 12:05 PM under
• 0 commentsNovember is go green month, and here at Volunteer Princess Cruises, we strive to protect our environment as much as possible. While cruising on the Tennessee River, we come across wildlife ranging from geese to local fish. It is heartbreaking to see them swimming through filthy water. Here are some ways you can better the environment for the last few days of Go Green month AND the rest of your life! Keep in mind, you can use these tips when planning an event with us on the Volunteer Princess!
- Recycle vs. Trash: Knoxville is teamed with Waste Connections to ensure that Knoxville residents have the opportunity to recycle. One way to simplify your life is having both a trash can and a recycling bin in your kitchen, bath and other rooms in the house. Bottles and cans won't pile up on your counter tops.
- Skip the bottled water: Plastic bottles of water are popular when it comes to wedding favors. Unfortunately, plastic bottles take almost a thousand years to biodegrade. If it's in your budget, opt for a metal bottle; your guests would love this light weight and dishwasher safe bottle. Plus, it is a reminder of your special day for years to come.
- Buy non-toxic cleaning products: These will be helpful toward protecting the environment and keeping your home, office or boat smelling clean.
- Become a Paper Saver: The Volunteer Princess office strives to consume less paper. Any paper that is printed we will cut the unwritten space and use it as notepads and/or scratch paper. Once the paper is used, we recycle it. This past year, we've put more of our manifests and information on the computer to cut back on paper use. You can save paper when looking for your next event invitations- keep in mind using recycled paper.
- Go Organic: When planning an event, food and drinks are always a must. The Princess finds the best local food in the area to ensure that both taste and quality are exquisite. Buying organic meats, vegetables and even wines ensures that your food and drinks are healthy and taste better.
- Get involved with an organization: Give back to the community by cleaning up streets, parks and/or rivers. Here at the Volunteer Princess, we share offices with the Fort Loudon Lake Association. Their goal is to make the TN River and Fort Loudon Lake as clean as possible. We do our best to get involved with the many activities they plan. FLLA does great work for the Knoxville River system and deserves all support from local businesses and local patrons of the TN River. Fort Loudon Lake Association
Try to remember these key tips to keep our city a clean place to live, for both you and the local inhabitants here on the Tennessee River.
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Posted by Maggie Nichols on November 11, 2011 at 11:30 AM under
• 0 comments
The
frosty, glistening white months of the winter season provide great times to get
married. This time of year allows brides to be festively creative with their
special day. Here are some particular things to consider when planning your
winter wedding.
For
winter brides, the date is
especially important because many of your guests travel for the holidays. If
your wedding isn’t on Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Day, be cautious of
setting your date too close to the actual holiday. However, if you’re planning
a Christmas wedding, give your guests extra time to evaluate their holiday
plans. The beginning of December is usually a better time for guests as opposed
to the end. If you give your guests enough time to plan accordingly most will
be able to make it.
The venue throws brides a twist if cold
temperatures are likely. While you may want to hold your ceremony outdoors and
hope for a snowy evening under the twinkling stars, you should consider having an
indoor reception. It’s very difficult for your guests to enjoy your wedding when
they’re forming icicles. Look for banquet halls with adjacent gardens or large
outdoor areas. This way, you can have a starlight celebration outside and head
indoors for some fun in the heat. For example, the Volunteer Princess is an
ideal venue for winter weddings. You and your guests will be indoors (in the
heat) without having to comprise on scenery. Talk about a win/win situation!
Putting
creative touches on the menu gives
you the chance to showcase your style. A unique idea for winter weddings is a
hot chocolate bar. Set up hot chocolate dispensers at one end of the bar, and
have different toppings and garnishes next to it. Whipped cream, chocolate
sprinkles, marshmallows, cinnamon or cinnamon sticks are delicious ways to
dress up hot chocolate. 
Try serving warm cocktails, such as an apple cider
margarita [*see below for the recipe!]. Drinks such as this allow guests to
stay warm while enjoying the party. Also, consider having a soup bar. Soup is a
winter staple; it tastes great and will keep your guests warm inside! Be sure
to have several different kinds available and serve with crackers or toasted
bread. The
majority of your posed pictures are
probably going to be taken outside. With that being said, you should lay out a
plan for the different poses you will capture and who will be in each picture.
Because it will be cold outside, it will be much less painful for you and your
bridal party and are able to get out of the cold as quickly as possible.
Being
prepared for bad weather is crucial
for winter weddings. If a snowstorm were to happen during the ceremony or
reception, you need to have a plan of what your bridal party and guests will
do. Remember, safety first! If ice is likely to be a problem, valet parking is
a great solution. Your guests won’t have to walk far in the cold, and you won’t
have to have an emergency trip to the hospital because someone slipped on ice.
All
weddings cause stress for brides, but if you remember these winter points, you
should be in the clear. Have fun, take pictures and hope for snow (but not too
much…)
* Here is a great recipe for apple cider
margaritas from How Sweet Eats
1 ounce Grand Marnier
1 ounce gold tequila
5-6 ounces sweet apple cider
Orange segments and apple slices
Cinnamon, cane sugar and coarse sugar for the glass rim
Cinnamon sticks for garnish
Add a few spoonfuls of cane sugar, coarse
sugar and cinnamon to a plate. Run an orange segment around the edge of the
glass, then press into the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat the rim. Place a few
orange slices in the bottom of the glass, fill with ice and then add the Grand
Marnier, tequila and apple cider. Stir, then garnish with apple slices and
cinnamon sticks. Enjoy!
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Posted by Meghan Slater on August 9, 2011 at 1:53 PM under
• 0 commentsSummer: a
time for watermelon, swimming and parties. What else does summer bring?
Weddings, weddings and more weddings!
Here
at the Volunteer Princess, we love to help plan and design each wedding we host
on our yacht. We have heard, seen and read many trends lately and here are some
of our favorites:
Pre-Wedding
- Help is on the way! Lately,
brides ask for help in organizing their wedding celebrations, including
everything from hair and make up to using a professional events coordinator
to fix the little details. A hired group of people who focus on the
couple’s needs and wants has lifted the burden of figuring out all the
small decisions of the bigger and better picture. The less stressed you
are, the more fun you will have on your big day!
- Along with hiring a
coordinator for the wedding celebration, themes have had a huge impact
surrounding the day. A trend that we see is the Nautical theme- and, of
course, the Princess is a perfect venue! Anchors, seashells and seafood
have been objects of desire for couples this season. You can incorporate a
theme everywhere, including pre- and post-wedding events examples, such
as: invitations, party favors, food and décor.
- “Going Green” isn’t just for
businesses anymore! Being environmentally friendly has grown in an
exceptional way with the wedding season. This doesn’t mean couples are
with-holding invitations! They are just sending them in a unique way:
personal videos or web invitations. This also is a great instant
gratification tool with RSVPs coming through by website or email. And no
worries, if you are a traditionalist, you can incorporate 100% recycled
stationary to get your save the dates out.
Wedding
- Brides are bringing back hair
accessories. Don’t think 80s style, however. Ornate hair combs such as
feathers, beading or bands have replaced veils. It easily shows off the
bride’s personality. Some brides are going big and do both: veil for the
wedding and hair accessory for the reception. Hair has always been a big
part of the decision-making process; hair accessories accentuate you and
your dress.
- Flowers have always been a
part of the wedding. However, just like hair accessories, flowers have
brought upon the option of their own accessories. Pearls, rhinestones and
other jewelry have been added to a bolder floral arrangement to make it an
additional eye-catching wedding piece.
- One of the biggest trends
we’ve seen and heard lately is the party dress. This allows a bride to
pick out an extravagant wedding dress for her ceremony and not stress
about the heat, sweat and mobility at the wedding reception. Once the
ceremony ends, a bride breezes into a short and fun cocktail dress.
Post-Wedding
- Cakes have been the catalyst
of many arguments throughout the wedding centuries. However, it’s becoming
easier to choose a cake (or specific dessert). Creamy butter cream cakes
have been the go-to of the bride this season instead of the overused
fondant. Brides have also chosen to incorporate their themes, using real
flowers and fruit instead of sugar remakes. Also, cupcakes have turned
into the main dessert of a celebration. Instead of one giant cake that
takes time to cut into, guests can pick and choose from an array of
decorative cupcakes!
- Why not continue the
celebration? It’s your special day, so celebrate it with everyone you can!
Couples this season have enjoyed both a reception and an after party. Why
not? Receptions are great, don’t get us wrong, but the bride and groom are
constantly talking to each guest and don’t exactly get to live it up on
the dance floor as newlyweds. Having an after party gives all the early
bed-goers a break, while the couple can celebrate longer with more drinks,
entertainment and friends.
- When thinking about the
wedding, you always have to think about the honeymoon! Couples these days
are going across the world for an exotic experience. Brides and grooms
have chosen the exploration route and vacation in places such as Bora Bora, Fiji,
Morocco, Africa and Costa Rica.
These travel destinations offer more adventure-seeking couples a getaway
to scuba dive, horseback ride, kayak or kite surf.
Even if
you aren’t planning to get married just yet or have already said the “I do,”
it’s still fun to keep a watch on wedding trends! Here are some of the sites
we’ve read and been keeping a watch on:
Weddingsjubilee.blogspot.com
Savethedateevent.com
Noteableexpressions.net
Mypersonalartist.com
Stylishweddingsideas.com
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Posted by Nikki LeMasurier on August 2, 2011 at 2:17 PM under
• 1 commentWhy decide between holding a Wedding Ceremony or a Rehearsal Dinner on the Volunteer Princess when you can do them both? Around two weeks ago, TJ and Kalie, did just this. Friday, July 22, 2011 they held their Rehearsal Dinner and Rehearsal onboard. It was a laid back, fun atmosphere and the bride and groom, to be, had a great time. They had time to become comfortable with the wedding venue and at the same time get a little crazy! The next day they were back onboard the Princess for their Wedding Ceremony. It was a great way for us to get to know this happy couple and for them to become familiar with the place they said I do.The mother of the groom sent us this after the cruise, "Nikki, you guys did an awesome job!!!! We all had such a great time. Thank you so very much for making this a wonderful moment in time for the new couple. Wanda Myers."
Here is TJ and two of his Groomsmen on Rehearsal Dinner night. They are comfortable and relaxed, just ready to get the show on the road. I wish I would have snapped a picture at the end of the night after a few of our wonderful cocktails! They were ready to celebrate TJ's last night as a single man.
Here is Kalie and two of her bridesmaids. They had a great time onboard as well. Kalie did not stop smiling the entire night. She was so excited for her wedding day to get here that she was just beaming from check to check all night long.
These are the two flower girls. They are sisters and family of the happy couple. Here they are practicing for the big day. It's difficult to do more than one thing at once and we are asking them to walk as gracefully as possible down the aisle while smiling and throwing rose petals...it's hard being a flower girl. SPOILER ALERT: They pulled it off and looked beautiful doing so!
The beautiful ceremony set up. White chair covers, white tulle on the sconses, and big white bows set the stage for a wonderful wedding.
The beatiful bride prior to the wedding ceremony taking some interesting photos. I am sure the photographer got some great ones because Kalie looked absolutely stunning. She was decked out from the tip of her head all the way down to her feet in jewels and sparkles. The bride is supposed to be the center of attention and the way Kalie looked on Saturday, 7-23-11 you couldn't help but watch her enjoy this day. She exuded happiness and love!
After a lot of planning and even more planning, the Wedding Rehearsal/Rehearsal Dinner and the Wedding Ceremony were perfect. TJ and Kalie were wonderful to work with and I feel as though I know them better because we were able to spend all weekend together. Thank you guys for cruising with us for these events. I am thrilled to have been apart of your wedding weekend. We wish you all the love and happiness in the years to come.
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