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StratusRose
Guest
Since our wedding is on Cinco de Mayo, we’re having chips and salsa and elegant metal buckets of Coronas on the table. I want to get a Pinata for the kids, too!
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leonie
Guest
We had a backyard reception at my parents’ house. My parents planted beautiful flowers, but we didn’t do anything for the tables. I am glad we went really simple.
I had a CD player out, but no one could really hear it. So, I’d say unless you are renting a dance floor, just skip the music.
I thought it was a great reception. It was low stress. It did rain a little in the morning and then after we left the reception. Oh yeah, and my parents’ septic system went out the week before.
The only thing I would do differently is invite everyone I know instead of trying to keep the attendance lower. In the end, about a third of the invitees didn’t come anyway.
I had a CD player out, but no one could really hear it. So, I’d say unless you are renting a dance floor, just skip the music.
I thought it was a great reception. It was low stress. It did rain a little in the morning and then after we left the reception. Oh yeah, and my parents’ septic system went out the week before.
The only thing I would do differently is invite everyone I know instead of trying to keep the attendance lower. In the end, about a third of the invitees didn’t come anyway.
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LittleRose
Guest
If you do the decorating yourself, it’s good to plan all those little details ahead of time like what to have, where to put it, how to get it there, when, and who is going to help you!
For centerpieces at ours, we got these bowls for floating candles at a craft store that had room on the inside to stuff them with silk flowers. We got lots of silk flowers and then had a little party the night before, right after the rehearsal dinner to put them together. The caterers can light the candles for you and put out the centerpieces and everything when they set the tables. Our centerpieces ended up being about $20 each, which isn’t bad if you don’t need too many tables. To get a florist to do them would have been about twice that.
Since our reception was in a really pretty garden setting (kind of like someone’s backyard) We really didn’t need to do much else, decorating-wise because it was already so pretty. This left us a little more to play with as far as flowers for the church.
Also, if you get a DJ, see if you can get one who is good at doing weddings–ours was great. He acted as an M.C. for the whole thing, announcing dances, bouquet tosses, etc, and keeping everything flowing, so we had music and no chaos!
We found that getting recommendations for wedding professionals from other wedding professionals was a good way to make sure we got good people. Try asking your caterer, maybe.
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kevinsgirl
Guest
Monicad,
Thanks so much for your insight! That’s exactly what I want to avoid with this reception and I’m going to do my best with that…
One reason I’m having it at my fiance’s home is because he’s buying it right now, so by the time the wedding rolls around, it’ll still be a fairly unfurnished house with wood floors–perfect for dancing in the living room.
As for the last minute stuff, I was afraid that might happen with having it at a reception hall because I wouldn’t have enough time to decorate it and would have to enlist the help of unwilling guests… This way, I’m hoping to have it pretty much decorated a week before the wedding!
It’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m going to try to pull it off…and thanks for telling me things to avoid!
kevinsgirl
Thanks so much for your insight! That’s exactly what I want to avoid with this reception and I’m going to do my best with that…
One reason I’m having it at my fiance’s home is because he’s buying it right now, so by the time the wedding rolls around, it’ll still be a fairly unfurnished house with wood floors–perfect for dancing in the living room.
As for the last minute stuff, I was afraid that might happen with having it at a reception hall because I wouldn’t have enough time to decorate it and would have to enlist the help of unwilling guests… This way, I’m hoping to have it pretty much decorated a week before the wedding!
It’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m going to try to pull it off…and thanks for telling me things to avoid!
kevinsgirl
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kevinsgirl
Guest
I love those ideas, StratusRose! :dancing: There’s actually a playhouse in the backyard that I’m gradually filling up with cute garage sale toys. That way the kids will have something to play with and the toys won’t get underfoot or anything…
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thechrismyster
Guest
our wedding was october 30th… we had a whole halloween feel to the reception
centerpieces were carved ceramic pumpkins (which i molded, painted and fired myself - each one signed and numbered and we gave them away at the end of the night to one person from each table) on a bed of fall foilage. the wedding cake looked traditional, but on the inside it was a pumpkin cake with cheesecake swirls throughout on a bed of sugared fall leaves we cut the cake to the ‘psycho’ theme song… napkins and settings were orange/black…party favors were pumpkin candles wrapped in toule…wedding party came into the place with the munsters theme song and we walked in to the Halloween theme song… most everything else was traditional wedding reception stuff… lots of fall type music (moondance - van morrison / witchy woman - Kansas / Monster Mash for the kids) … it was an awesome reception)
it’s nice i think to incorporate things into the reception that reflect the feel of the season. We go to too many wedding receptions that are very nice, antiseptic and SOooooooo forgetable. How many times can you watch couples walk into the hall to the Rocky theme and not yawn? predictable… meh.
oh… the point to my post, as other have pointed out…
you may save money by not renting a hall… but it may cost you much more in the end.
centerpieces were carved ceramic pumpkins (which i molded, painted and fired myself - each one signed and numbered and we gave them away at the end of the night to one person from each table) on a bed of fall foilage. the wedding cake looked traditional, but on the inside it was a pumpkin cake with cheesecake swirls throughout on a bed of sugared fall leaves we cut the cake to the ‘psycho’ theme song… napkins and settings were orange/black…party favors were pumpkin candles wrapped in toule…wedding party came into the place with the munsters theme song and we walked in to the Halloween theme song… most everything else was traditional wedding reception stuff… lots of fall type music (moondance - van morrison / witchy woman - Kansas / Monster Mash for the kids) … it was an awesome reception)
it’s nice i think to incorporate things into the reception that reflect the feel of the season. We go to too many wedding receptions that are very nice, antiseptic and SOooooooo forgetable. How many times can you watch couples walk into the hall to the Rocky theme and not yawn? predictable… meh.
oh… the point to my post, as other have pointed out…
you may save money by not renting a hall… but it may cost you much more in the end.
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kevinsgirl
Guest
Does anyone have any floral arrangement books that they’d highly recommend? I know I could wander into the floral section at Barnes and Noble’s and find something, but I’d really like to have some titles if anyone had a good experience with them…
By the way, you guys have been great about helping me with all this planning–both on this thread and the other one on bridesmaid dresses! I really appreciate all the (name removed by moderator)ut!
Thanks,
kevinsgirl
By the way, you guys have been great about helping me with all this planning–both on this thread and the other one on bridesmaid dresses! I really appreciate all the (name removed by moderator)ut!
Thanks,
kevinsgirl
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