Weddings are stressful, but with the right outlook, they can be fun. By learning as much as you can in advance of planning, you will save a lot of time and energy. These tips will help you out.
When planning a wedding, alcohol needs to be a consideration as to what type you want to serve, as well as what the costs are going to be. Open bars are typically very expensive, especially when they are open for long time-periods. Inquire at your venue what your alcoholic beverage serving options are.
Shopping Wholesale
You can make great use of big box stores, like Costco, when planning your own food service for your wedding day. This is no secret but buying your foods from the big club stores will save quite a bit of money over retail grocery chains and that is considering the membership charge. You can also see if your friends can help with food costs.
If you plan to serve your own food at the wedding, try shopping wholesale at places like Costco. When you’re shopping wholesale, you will be able to purchase a lot more food for a lot less than if you were to shop elsewhere. Also, ask family or friends to help offset the cost of the food.
Choosing your favorite gown online can be faster and cheaper, but do so well in advance to allot extra time for alterations. I bought my gorgeous gown online for only $150, but it cost me another $200 to have it altered to fit me perfectly. Figure in this additional cost while making your budget.
If there will be speeches, then be sure to censor the content to make them appropriate. If there are going to be different generations there, you don’t want to offend anyone.
Have your wedding at a location owned by friends or family. Having your wedding in someone’s yard or even farm can reduce wedding costs. Tell this person you will pay for pre- and post-cleaning costs.
Have your wedding at a location owned by friends or family. If you’re in touch with people with a farm or a big backyard, this can be a cheap place for you to host a wedding ceremony. Pay them in advance to do this for you.
The single most important factor when you are getting married is also the most obvious, your choice in bride or groom. There is no reason to hurry things–you have an entire lifetime with this person! Carefully think about that person and the things you cannot live without and the things that might drive you crazy.
Add decorative items in your wedding. Use the same ribbon on the bouquet for your gown, centerpieces, or even your hair. It’s the little details which will make your wedding look superior as it shows you’ve put a real effort into make it your perfect day.
If your family joins you for a destination wedding, have them join your on your honeymoon as well. Many hotels will reduce their prices for extended stay vacations as opposed to just staying for the wedding itself. Your guests will have a memorable trip as well.
While you should always let your DJ know what songs you want played for your reception, it is just as important to alert him to any songs you do not like or want played. It doesn’t matter what type of music. Make sure to tell your husband-to-be what type of music won’t be played.
Your guests shouldn’t wait while you are having pictures taken. Take your bridal party photos in advance of the wedding when you are all fresh and crisp. This means that your guests won’t have to wait as long at the reception for you to get there.
For destination weddings, a fantastic gift to give your guests is a basket full of goodies that is delivered directly to their hotel room. You will want to include useful items such as a disposable camera, tourist map that shows fun places in the local area, sunglasses and a hat. Another nice gesture is to include a restaurant guide, since people do need to eat after all.
When you are planning your reception set the time for the afternoon hours. Alcohol consumption will be less during a day reception, which could help to reduce costs. It will also be cheaper if you have a lunch time reception and you can have better food or use the money saved to invest in your honeymoon!
Make sure the lights at your reception venue have dimmer switches. This small detail allows for little things like low lights on the first dance, and bright for the duration of the event. Discuss this with the venues you’re considering before making your final choice.
Rent a venue, with lights that are capable of being dimmed, for your wedding reception. This might seem a tad bit trivial, but the option should be there if you prefer to have low lighting for your first dance, as opposed to brighter lighting for the other activities. Be sure to ask the if the venue has this feature before you commit to it.
Look on Craigslist for talent to make your wedding special. However, you should always meet a prospective vendor before committing to payment.
When you plan your seating arrangements for your wedding, be sure that the number of guests at each table is even. Try to group tables according to age, so that they could find similar things to talk about.
See if you can borrow a special item of apparel from a friend for your wedding ceremony. This can provide you with the look you wish to achieve, and make your wedding stand out.
Plan your speech ahead of time if you want to give one. If you don’t get all the practice you need, it’s easy to forget what you want to say, make a misstep, or leave the audience bored.
If you are planning an outdoor reception, make sure that your caterer is aware of this. The food you serve will need to be kept at certain temperatures to be safe, or will need to be shielded from wind and flying debris. You might be able to use fancy or insulated covers for dishes. You may want to have a refrigerator or some coolers on site to keep the drinks cold.
Make your caterer aware that the reception will be outdoors. Various foods will need to be judged for their ability to withstand outdoor conditions, such as wind, heat or cold. There are, however, good covers available to protect the dishes. If you feel a need to have cold drinks present, a mini refrigerator should work nicely.
Your wedding vibe can be translated to each different decorative element. You can use a vintage theme for a classy look. These could include red poppies, brilliant daisies, and pink and yellow peonies that smell beautiful.
Be considerate of your guests and their travel arrangements when planning a destination wedding. You always want to make sure that you give your guests enough time to plan. Send out invitations 8 months beforehand.
Potted Plants
A gift registry is a wedding tradition. Let your guest know, they don’t need to bring anything. Make sure they have varied choices for gifts and varied prices. People need to be comfortable giving what they are able to afford bringing.
Costly wedding floral arrangements can be replaced with ornamental potted plants for an aesthetic and exotic effect. Ceramic pots that have been painted or decorated with ribbons make a wonderful table centerpiece. After the wedding, guests can take the potted plants home as a wedding favor, or the new couple can plant them in their yard.
To help add depth to floral arrangements, incorporate flowers of different heights throughout your arrangements. Use tall vases and have some short and some tall flowers. Surround the tall flowers with short, stocky flowers. The shorter and smaller flowers should be paler than the main flowers.
Plan out the activities for your wedding day so that wedding party attendants and guests can interact in fun ways. Don’t leave your loved ones bored as they wait for your wedding to be over. Include a variety of activities, like contests, photobooths, karaoke or miniature golf. It can be an unforgettable wedding if everyone is able to interact with one another and have some fun.
Interview candidates to see their past work. Note the editing and sound quality that the videographer provides. VHS wedding videos were popular years ago, but make sure you get either a DVD or digital video which can be played for many years. Make choices based on your impressions and other factors mentioned.
For bridesmaids, be certain you know exactly what you want them to wear before you ask them to be in your wedding. A lot of friendships are strained because of different opinions about the gowns for the bridesmaids. Find a dress that is not too expensive, matches your theme, and will suit and delight each of your bridesmaids. This will keep the tension really low at the wedding.
Always do your research before you hire a band or DJ. Have them provide references, then follow up with those references before you make a final decision. When you make your choice, it is important they know of the wedding date and that you both sign the contract. These things are of utmost importance in making sure there will be music instead of silence for your wedding.
It really is possible to plan a wedding with a shoestring budget. There is no need to go broke to have a great wedding. There are many things like invitations, favors or floral arrangements that can be made as opposed to bought. You can look to family and friends to assist you and you can look for a venue that will allow for both a ceremony and reception in one place.
Use a credit card that has rewards or other perks to pay for everything. Since weddings can be very expensive, having a credit card that gives you miles or other great deals is essential. If you use the rewards card for everything related to your wedding, you should soon earn substantial rewards.
The bride’s mother and bridesmaids who are planning to assist you in preparing should be dressed and ready long before the time comes for you to slip on your gown. Make sure you are the main focus before the ceremony actually begins. If they still are getting ready, then they have no way of focusing on assisting you.
After you decide on the design for your wedding, write it down and start looking for wedding services or party planners who will specialize in your design. Once you start seeing what service providers will work with your design, you can begin to sort things out by price and type of services offered.
Tan Lines
You will surely want to be photographed with a number of your wedding guests. If you have a large wedding, it can be quite hectic trying to find all these people for photographs if you do not have a special dedicated time for taking pictures. Decide on a specific time for pictures to be taken, and inform your guests in advance as to where you would like them to be for their pictures.
An important tip for any bride planning a wedding is making sure to avoid tan lines that will distract guests and detract from the beauty of your dress. This is important because you may try to get a nice tan before the wedding but tan lines may be distracting when in your dress.
Invitations are one of the most integral parts of any wedding, aside from the the theme and date. Invitations usually include the colors you have chosen in your wedding theme, and will typically give your guests clues about what your theme is. Check out a variety of invitation types before settling on one.
A great gift for a bridal party would be some great jewelry that will help you connect to the girls. Once your big day has passed, the girls will remember the good times whenever they look at the jewelry piece.
Choose your wedding dress carefully and with forethought if you are expecting a baby. Be certain to choose a gown that will fit you flatteringly, even as your body changes.
There will be plenty of guests at your wedding that you will desire to take pictures with. This can be hard, especially if it’s a big wedding with lots of attendees and very little time to give them. Let your guests know beforehand when and where you want to take pictures with them and set aside a few hours with your photographer for this.
Leave a space of time after the wedding prior to the beginning time of the reception. In that way, it won’t matter if your wedding runs a little overtime. Your reception should start at the announced time. Generally, your reception booking has a definitive start and end time. If your wedding ends up running late, then you are paying money for time everyone can’t enjoy.
The hope is that the advice you have read will make it easier for you to have the wedding you always wanted. Just remember to stay positive to keep learning what you can for your big day.
If you aren’t religious but have a partner who is, consider a church wedding. After all, this won’t affect you greatly, but it could mean the world to others. They have probably been envisioning the event for years.