Hark! Hark to the wind! ‘Tis the night, they say,
When all souls come back from the far away-
The dead, forgotten this many a day!
~Virna Sheard

For many across the world, today is Halloween, a day of tricks and treats, fun costumes and spooky decorations.  As we celebrate, it is fun to reflect on the dark history that has shaped Halloween into what we know it as today.  Halloween is a holiday with ancient roots beginning around 2,000 years ago.  During this time, the Celts recognized Samhain, or New Years, on November 1.   Samhain signified the end of the year bringing an end to summer, the harvesting season and the beginning of winter.  Winter was a feared time of year and a time of death and famine among the people and their livestock.  The Celtics believed that this was due to the boundary opening between the living and the dead on October 31, unleashing the spirits of the dead.  Some of these spirits were believed to possess the living, ruin crops, or search for passage to the afterlife.  Costumes were worn in an attempt to ward off the evil spirits from the land giving birth to the modern day wearing of costumes.
It was also believed that during this time faeries would dress as beggars and ask for food from door to door.   Faeries rewarded those who gave food and punished those who did not.   This is believed to be the origins of what we know as “trick or treating” today.
When Christianity began to spread over the next several hundred years, the Christian church attempted to replace Samhain with All Saints Day or All Hollows, to honour the dead church saints and martyrs.  Since Samhain was celebrated the night before November 1, the celebration became known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween.
May you all have a safe and eventful Halloween!

by Laura, ECC

Looking for a way to add unique details to your wedding or special event?  Check out artisans and local artists to your area featured on Etsy! (www.Etsy.com) Featuring a large assortment of unique and homemade items, Etsy supports handmade goods and is a great way to add a unique and personal touch to your wedding or event from start to finish!  For details on the specific items featured here, check out local San Antonio/New Braunfels artisan and wedding stationer Jennifer Bishop of Architette Studios. http://www.etsy.com/people/architette.  Architette’s Etsy page features hand drawn prints that are perfect for cards, wedding invitations and save the date cards personalized to add that unique flair to your wedding or special event!

By Laura, ECC

“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.” -William Cullen Bryant

Autumn has officially arrived and while the weather here in San Antonio may not always look or feel like autumn, let Plaza Lecea give you some great autumn décor ideas to bring the look and feel of autumn to your event!

Party favors are great ways to thank your guests for coming to your event and can also add that touch of festivity to your event décor.  When we think of autumn, it just doesn’t seem complete without pumpkins!  Mini pumpkins can be purchased locally at craft stores and some grocers.  A simple ribbon hot glued around the pumpkin adds a great finishing touch to these easy and fun party favors.  For extra detail, a “thank you” note can easily be tied on to the stem!

Centerpieces:

For those events with multiple or even one main table, think candy corn for the centerpieces!  These bright and colorful little candies add the perfect blend of fall colors to create a brilliant centerpiece.  By filling a glass jar with your desired amount of candy corn and topping off with either candles or flowers, a festive and elegant centerpiece is born!

Another fun idea is using pumpkins and leaves! What isn’t more autumn than this duo? We love the idea of pinning leaves to the top of a pumpkin so that the pumpkin looks like a vase and the leaves look like flowers. Using silk leaves with wire “veining” works best and using lots of leaves will give the best full-effect. Even using a combination of pumpkins, leaves and candy corn will really bring an autumn theme to life!

Decoration:

When deciding upon your event decorations, don’t think expensive, think CONSTRUCTIVE!  For a spook-tacular event, these fun and simple decorative candles can be made with an inexpensive glass votive and black construction paper!  A hole punch and a permanent marker can be used to create the appearance of eyes.

Want a more elegant feel to your candles?  Choose a burnt orange or a crimson red and a leaf or floral shaped hole punch that can be located at your local craft store!

Linens:

Don’t forget that your table linens can create all the difference when it comes to bringing color to your event!  We have tons of fall colors, including burnt orange, deep red, chocolate brown, champagne, olive green, plum and ivory in lots of different textures! At Plaza Lecea, we provide linens for your booked event with us, so stop in and we will show you the perfect linens for your autumn event!

We still have a few open dates left in December for holiday parties! Be sure to check out our special rates for events during the week as we have rates starting as low as $400 (http://www.plazalecea.com/conference-room-prices.html). For Friday events, we have rates starting at $1250 (http://www.plazalecea.com/reception-hall-fees.html). Call us today to schedule an appointment to tour: 210.615.0009.