Weddings Reception Decorations - Weddings Reception Decorations Knowledge Base

Weddings Reception Decorations Knowledge Base

What are the BEST BOOKS, MAGAZINES and WEBSITES that would show me WEDDING and RECEPTION DECORATIONS/ IDEAS? I already know about theknot.com and weddingchannel.com (searched them over again and again -- The Knot has some great stuff with Real Weddings that has helped me out) and I have been looking at Brides, Elegant Brides, Modern Bride, etc. They all seem to focus more on the dresses and rings and not on decorations or reception ideas. We are having an outdoor summertime evening wedding next year and we want it to be in between formal and informal. I was thinking of a country (but not gingham check tablecloths and sunflowers) and sunset theme (idea from a YahooAnswers buddy...Thanks Miss D!!). Do you know of any books, magazines, websites that would for sure have ideas for what I am talking about or anything you think might have some ideas? If so, I would greatly appreciate any help! Thanks! :)

Where are good locations for Weddings/Receptions in Ohio? looking for outdoor garden/water or castles that actually look like castles. ballroom or some type of covered reception area. Also any places that will handle some details like decorations, flowers, linens, photography etc. for a reasonable price. I'd like to keep my budget at around $2000

decorations for wedding and reception? clueless!? I am so bad with this sort of stuff...were having our wedding at a church and the reception at the fire hall banquet hall area. all the tables, napkins, etc are white (not my choice, its from catering) the colors for the wedding party is dark blue. how should i get flowers? where should i put them? do you put them up at the actual wedding too? on the tables at the reception? since its at a fire hall i don't really know where i would go to get decorations for the tables and such. I feel so lost i just want it to look nice. any ideas of budget things? im the first of my friends/family to get married so im kind of at a lost (also have been to few weddings)

Help with this centerpiece!? So this is my centerpiece: http://www.rebeccassilverrose.com/weddings/reception-decorations/calla-lily-centerpiece-LED-light.jpg (with votives and all that around it, etc...) My question: I'm using silk calla lilies, will they end up floating? Is there any way I can have them stay under the water? I'm not sure the stem will be hollow, but if it is, I could probably put something up there right? (obviously so guests couldn't see it though) Or is there another way I could make them sink if they DO indeed end up floating? I'd prefer not to have rocks at the bottom... The clue could actually work, but we're using the reception venues cylinders so that can't happen! :( As long as the tack isn't crazy hard to get off then I don't see why not. I wonder if the water would loosen the tack though... I may have to do some trial and error before hand... but I wouldn't mind some kind of crystal covering it if that's what we HAVE to do to make it work!!

What do you think of this centerpiece? Ah... going crazy with centerpiece ideas... What do you think of this? 2-3 calla lilies in a simple glass vase like this: http://www.rebeccassilverrose.com/weddings/reception-decorations/calla-lily-centerpiece-LED-light.jpg Arond each cylinder there would be 2 glass votives: http://www.dollartree.com/floral-decor/Wholesale-Bulk-Candles-Holders-Votives/3-inch-Round-Glass-Votive-Holder/202c205c205p294369/index.pro We will have a mirror underneath this as well. Should I add anything like a few silk petals around the cylinder/votives? Has anyone used calla lilies like this? Did they wilt or did you have any problems? lol everyone keeps saying they love the first one... there IS only one! haha the votives would just go AROUND the big cylinder. Yes they would be under water... is this okay?

Need some advice on decorations for my reception!?!? I am getting married in less than 2 weeks and have been so busy that I haven't been able to sit and figure out how I want to decorate the reception hall. We are having it at a banquet hall in a hotel so the room is very nice so I won't have to go "overboard", but I still want to do some things. Like how to decorate my cake table, I already know how I'm going to decorate the head table. I also have the florist doing my centerpieces...just need some creative ideas for anything??? I've been going to a lot of weddings this year and they had so many cool ideas and I am just lost...if any of you know of any websites or have any pictures that would be very helpful I would greatly appreciate it! If you need to know, my wedding color is latte.

Why do people throw cheap or tacky weddings? Do people just not realise that you do have to spend money if you wish to have a wedding and reception that guests can attend without being bored stupid or starving at? I'm appalled at some of the questions and answers on here about people throwing $1000-$5000 weddings! They list their menus and it's barely enough to provide a light snack each, no alcohol, poor decorations and flowers, etc, then they have the gall to register for gifts! If you don't have the money to put on a decent celebration of your marriage, why get married at all?

Can someone give me a cost breakdown for weddings? I know weddings can range from nearly nothing to thousands and thousands of dollars... I'm not looking for specifics.. I'm asking you to share what you know from experience for 'average joes' that want nice weddings. What kinds of costs can be associated with cakes? decorations? bars? transportation? booking a place for a reception? All the nuts and bolts.. what kinds of experiences have you had? We are trying to budget accordingly and would like some initial things to look at. Thanks.

are there people who rent out their nice yards for weddings/receptions? i don't want a typical company-owned venue that costs $10,000 not including the decorations, flowers, and all that. is there a website or any source that could lead me to people who just have a nice big yard or a bit of land they can rent out for a few hours? new england areas, please. (:

reception?? Okay, so my fiance and I have decided that we are going to use red and yellow as our colors for the wedding. The only problem is that I cannot find a lot of nice red and yellow reception decorations. I've found a little bit of gold, but I would much rather stick with yellow to match the dresses. I have found tons of stuff in silver, though, that I love. So I have two questions... 1) Does anyone know of any websites (I'll try ebay, but other than that any sites?) 2) If I can't find anything I like in red and yellow, would it be okay to do the reception hall in silver and white, with a splash of red(flowers)? I am totally lost on this. I want to do red and yellow, but like I said I haven't found anything I like. We are doing a Marine Corps theme, so if you all find any links to websites that have stuff for weddings in that theme it'd be awesome!! THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

How do weddings work where you are from? I am curious how weddings work in other places. Where I am from we usually have the ceremony in a church and the the reception in a hall or a hotel ballroom. We have dinner, speeches, Couples first dance, Father daughter dance, Mother son dance and a bridal party dance. Then everybody dances and the party lasts until 1-2am. During the evening there is the boquet toss, the garter toss, cake cutting and sometimes silly games, sometime the chicken dance (we are not doing this). The bride may change partway through the night into a dress that is easier to dance in or stay in her gown the whole night. Then at the end of the night the couple leaves to their suite and the family cleans up decorations. The next day is an open house/gift opening at a hotel or house. There is food and the couple opens their gifts and has a last visit with out of town guests. How does if work where you are from, ceremony, reception, bridal attire, day after etc. I am really curious to find out.

Am I responsible for the rental linens damaged by the restaurant after my wedding reception? My wedding reception was on the past Satureday at a local chinese restaurant. This restaurant is very famous in this town and it was featured on so many local magazines (including wedding ones). We chose it because the decoration and food is good. And since they claim they did many many weddings before, we thought we're in good hands. I didn't like their table cloth so I rented some from a rental company, I had white linens at the reception table and red linens on the dinning tables. After the reception, me and my hubby hurried to the after party and my mother and inlaws cleaned up the decorations. On monday, I received an email from the rental company charging me $330 for 4 damaged linens, I have talked with them and found out that when they went to pick up the linen, the restaurant already packed all the linens in a bag, and told them they could only count the linens out side the restaurant. When they counted the linens in the parking lot outside the restaurant, they found that the left over food, drink, trash are literally wraped in side the linens, and the owner described it as beyond disgusting. The owner told me the linens aren't meant to be treated the way the restaurant treated them, and when she called the restaurant management she was told that those trash are the client's so they don't want to clean it up and have it on their carpet. I don't think I am responsible for the damage. Those white linens at reception table were the one's that're damaged. We use the reception table for half an hour and there were nothing on it besides guest book and pen! besides, isn't it the restaurant's job for cleaning up the left over food, drink, and trash? I didn't know that we are expected to clean up the tables, what next they'll ask me to do, wash the dishes?

My wedding and my friend's are just one month and one week apart!? I'm getting married by the end of May and one of my friends in July. We will use the same church and the same decorators. Even the people we have invited are largely the same. Receptions will be held at different salons, though. The point is: comparations between the 2 weddings will be inevitable. Since I go first, I think I have the upper hand in some aspects. But I'm still trying to figure out how to make MY wedding memorable. I'm not talking about competition, because I believe every wedding has its own charm. But I do want my wedding to stand out. Do you guys have any ideas of what can I do to have a very unique wedding? I'm talking about ideas for the ceremony, the reception, even decorations! I've found some neat ideas on the Internet that I'm planning to use, but I could use some more to choose from. Every advice will be greatly appreciated.

Wedding colors - gold and hot pink - ideas? I'm planning my wedding (Feb 07) and my colours are gold and hot pink. Bridesmaids are wearing champagne/gold and my dress will be ivory with gold accents and I will have hot pink flowers. The reception will be hot pink and gold but I'm having trouble finding any pictures of this colour combination.. it is usually white and something.. I don't really want too much white if I can help it as I am Chinese and white is not a wedding colour. Most Chinese weddings are red/gold but I want to be different which is why I chose hot pink and gold. Thanks! Any suggestions would be appreciate - ceremony decorations, reception decorations, invitations, flowers, etc.. Only helpful answers please!!

Do I really need a special use permit to hold Weddings on my private property if I don't charge? I have charged people money to do and have their weddings on my 10 acres of wooded property. What I charge is very inexpensive compared to other wedding facilities. My setting is rustic. We have clean porta potties (better than what you find in a government owned park) and people enjoy the relaxed nature of the forest setting. Last month the county says I need a conditional use permit. They don't have a 'conditional use permit' especially for weddings on private property. So, to be 'legal' they want me to lie and go under 'resorts' or 'church' conditions. I am not a resort and I am not a church. to comply, we are talking thousands of dollars and ruining the rustic quiet setting we offer. We only do 12 to 15 weddings plus receptions a year, for a few hours. It is not all year round- If I don't charge for people to use my property for their wedding- do I still need a conditional use permit? What are my rights? I have a business in town and would charge the people to rent tables, chairs, linens, decorations and to coordinate the wedding and just let them use the property for no fee. Any attorneys with some real advise? How can I legally force the county make a provision for a conditional use for others like me who do only weddings? The county planners said many people have requested a permit to do weddings on their property and if they had taken charge a few years ago, guidelines would have been in place by now. As it stands now, people can either build a big asphalt commercial mess as per the conditions of the county or give it up. Are there any 'citizens against government control' organizations I may contact? I don't have a lot of money, I am just trying to make ends meet in an economy that is killing everyone except the banks and government.

Ideas for mountain weddings? Im planning a wedding in the mountains, we rented a big gym for the reception, I need some ideas for centerpieces? The colors i like are pink, green and brown. I want to stay true to the mountain scenery but with modern class? What are things that i can incorporate in the decorations that would be low key casual, not fancy, but still beautiful and orginal?

Why does future mother in law try to take over decoration shopping for weddings? My mother in law just adores me and i guess since she thinks we are so close that she can be so blunt and tell me things like she is going to do the decorations. And she keeps hinting around and that is making me really upset seriously to the point that i wake up and think i have to hurry and get my decoration ideas together fast and quick, or i keep telling my fiance lets just go shopping by ourself. What are any of you girls experience with mother in laws roles in the wedding period. I mean i know she is excited but she is also bossy (but in a sweet way and not all the time lol) but not honey not to me. Now i am willing to let her do other things in the wedding like help my fiance out with his guest list,help find rental space for the reception and find tables and chairs we can rent now that is enough don't you think? My Aunt is getting angry because she is getting to excited and trying to take over. Now Girls Mother in Laws i need advice from both of you on this. Thanks in advance and no rude comments or you will be reported. Thewedding is 7 months away. And me and my fiance are flipping the bill lol! One thing i could do is have all my ideas printed out and just tell i have all my final i deas. Think she will get the hint

What are the duties of an honorary bridesmaid? I have a cousin who is getting married in the summer and she has chosen to have her 3 cousins and brothers wife (sister-in-law) as honorary bridesmaids. I spoke with her on the phone today and she was talking about all sorts of obligations for the honorary bridesmaids the day before and day of the ceremony, ie. decorating the church and the reception hall. I have been a bridesmaid and an honorary bridesmaid in the past and have never been solely responsbile for decorations, there has always been a give and take and a sharing of responsibilities. The last weddings I was an honorary and Bridesmaid in I helped take down decorations after the ceremony but didn't decorate. I guess my real question is what is a reasonable amount of effort to contribute, what should I do as an Honorary, what is too much for her to ask?

For people married in a church or Catholic Church? I've been reading about Catholic weddings. On a few sites, it said the couple is expected to leave the flowers at the church for others to enjoy. We were going to double our flowers as decorations at the reception. We're already meeting with the Priest tonight, but I want to know what other people say first. What did you do with your flowers?? I suppose we could bring them back after the reception...

What are some good decoration ideas for my wedding reception? I am getting married in July of this year and after much arguing back and forth, my fiance has persuaded me to have our reception in his parent's backyard. Now, the idea has really grown on me as they really do have a nice property with lots of space and lots of trees, such as Oaks and Pines. And we live in Texas so hopefully everything will still be green by the end of July (it rarely rains here in the summer and let me tell you it gets HOT!). Anyway my question is, what are some good decoration ideas for an outdoor reception. I really want to have white lights in some of the trees and possibly rent a tent (the kind you always see for weddings and such). But then again we might just have it under the big Texas sky. We are having a Southern, Texas style wedding with catered barbeque and my colors are Olive Green, Dusty Rose, and I'm using Sunflowers in my bouquets and floral arrangements. I'm really looking for Rustic Elegance. Any other ideas would be lovely! Thanks! Thanks so far ladies. I guess I should have mentioned that we'll be having the ceremony at 5 and so it will be a nighttime reception (which is why I want to have the white lights--I think it would be really pretty!) And I do want it to be simple as far as our budget goes haha and it will be casual (we're telling everyone to go home and change into their jeans beforehand). But I still want it to be be "special." Hope that makes sense! Let me revise again. I need to mention that the ceremony itself will be held at a Church. The only part that will be outdoors and in his parent's backyard will be the reception.

Community hall for reception? We have set the date and we are trying to book a reception venue. We are going for Valentines day (and it's not completely booked out being a Saturday and all). The prices we are getting are so so high starting from $100 per head. We are thinking of just hiring a hall and doing our own decorations and hiring linen separatly and hiring a caterer. But it's still going to be a community hall. We are having so many guests that we can't afford to go to a reception centre. His family is very big . Has anyone else had to miss out on their reception centre of choice and go to a community hall? Are you regretting it? We have been to weddings there before I think it only hosts weddings now. I don't want to go into debt to have a wedding. We want to spend $15000 all up including honeymoon. It's not that bad looking it just has some tacky pictures on the wall and stuff.

Brown and pink decorations for wedding. But, fuschia bridesmaid dresses? I really love the look of fuschia at weddings. But, I like the decorative look of pink and brown and may use that at my wedding, I was thinking light pink, fuschia and ivory flowers with fuschia dresses but it may be strange because everything inside the reception would be more of a chocolate and lighter pink. I am not sure I like the idea of brown bridesmaid dresses. Any suggestions on how to incorporate all of these somehow, with fuschia? Problem is, I do not love fuschia and brown as much as light pink and brown from what I have seen. Decorations consist of: White chair covers, brown table runners, pink flowers in the middle (with a few ivory), brown satin chair sash with possibly a light pink organza sash over that to give a 2-D look with 2 colors. Thanks! I am not sure I like light pink bridesmaid dresses. It seems very "old school" I guess?.. I may warm up to the idea.

What do I need to do when we go to a place that we're considering for our wedding/reception? My fiance and I are going to a place where we want to have our wedding tomorrow afternoon to meet with the lady in charge. It's a restaurant that has a terrace with a great view. The lady said it should only take about 15 minutes for the meeting, but that seems fast to me - don't you normally want to look at the prospective contract, talk about what is/isn't allowed (for decorations, times, etc.)? Or do you normally go back and do that when you actually plan on signing the contract? They have a few dates available next May and June, so I'm sure we'll end up having our wedding there (not worried about getting a date). Anyway, I guess what I'm wondering is what I should ask the lady when we're there tomorrow, and what I should look for about which room we decide to have the reception in (there are 2 options) (for example, I've heard I should look at the restroom situation - what else?). Here's a link to their wedding info: http://www.cocopalmrestaurant.com/weddings.htm

Any ideas for a mixed race wedding? I am a Shanghai born Asian musician and going to married a white Catholic guy in Dec. I have googled some western style weddings, but I really like to add some oriental detail to our wedding. Please share any ideas of a mixed culture wedding, such as the ceremony, reception, decoration, food, music, cake, wedding gown, bridesmaids' dresses...

Are you decorating your reception yourself? I met with my venue today, as the wedding is only 19 days away. I wanted clarification as to when myself and my MOH & daughters could get in to decorate for the reception. She looked at me as if I had two heads! You can drop off the decoration to us the Wednesday before the wedding, we will take care of it. Is this normal? I'm not sure that I'm comfortable letting them do it, she assured me that they have done hundreds of weddings and would do a beautiful job, but seriously.. I hand picked and made every decoration by hand, right down to the 12 different types of handmade chocolates for the dessert buffet, all the favors, the seating cards, even the centerpieces, and although I'm a pretty easy going person I can totally see me going bridezilla on these people if it's not decorated the way I have it pictured in my head. They are making it virtually impossible for me to do the decorating myself by not getting the room set up until 2 hours before the wedding. Do the venues normally do all the decorating? Am I being paranoid for no reason? Should I just trust them and hope that it will turn out ok or should I be a little more pushy and insist that they get it set up in the morning so that I can atleast go in and approve it before it's too late?

Ideas for this special day! (wedding reception)? I am planning on having a wedding reception. And these are the ideas I have so far. First of the reception is going to be a mixture of cultures I should say. Part of the decoration will be chinese, asian and feng shui. And for the chair decor some of it is coming from my interior design knowledge. My partner wants a bartender. Of course the DJ. I am a belly dancer, therefore I want belly dancers in my wedding. In the middle east belly dancers are an essence in weddings because they help spread joy around. Chefs of course. As for food I have thought about Thailand food so far. I am hoping the place we look for has a pool. As for maid of honors and grooms dancing we wont really have those. Any other ideas or games we can have to entertain our guess? One more question: Should I/we have all the things we want to have in our reception without minding that some people may think is too much or ambitious? Thank you so much! As for the guesses enjoying themselves I dont think it is something I should really worry about because as a person you are suppose to find the things that enjoy you. They always say you are responsible for your own happines. The entertainment will be there, is up to the guest to know how to have fun. And belly dancers, since I know much about belly dancers, not all dances are exotic some dances include covering your whole body and dancing a slow song. IM A LITTLE UPSET AT THE WAY PEOPLE ARE ANSWERING THIS QUESTION. I AM ASKING FOR MORE IDEAS ON ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE RECEPTION. THEREFORE JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION BY GIVING ME IDEAS. DONT JUMP TO OTHER THINGS. AND TALK ABOUT OTHER STUFF. IF YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION WITHOUT HAVING TO TALK ABOUT OTHER STUFF IT WILL BE MORE HELPFUL FOR ME. BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE PEOPLE ARE JUST JUMPING FROM ONE THING TO THE NEXT.

what is some decoration ideas for fall wedding receptions? im getting married on october 6 this yr and need some decoration ideas and tips for fall weddings. i havent decided what to decorate the tables and everything in.... i would like the decorations to be elegant but yet laid back, my cake colors are burgundy and ivory, so i could play off those and still do a fall themed reception also, do you think?

What's your opinion on weddings? I have always wanted a nice wedding. Not too big but not too small either. I see a lot of people posting questions on here about wedding plans and some of them I think are just way over board. I just went to a wedding two weeks ago that was planned within two weeks. It was a very simple church wedding. There were no decorations, there were no bridesmaids and groomsmen. The bride wore a simple white sundress with a blue jean jacket and the groom wore a brown button up shirt and nice blue jeans and their parents stood at the front with them. The also had a pot luck reception held at the church. I originally thought it would be tacky and awful, but after going it turned out to be a nice wedding. After all, it's about the two people coming together as one, not about all the material things. I want a traditional wedding dress, my grandmother will make it as she did my mother's and my three aunt's. I will wear my mother veil (if I can get it cleaned). I cannot decide on if I want bridesmaids or not. I don't have many close friends but my boyfriend does (I'm not making plans yet, just thinking of things). It would be uneven and I don't want to include people in my wedding as bridesmaids that I'm not close to. Anyway, I just wanted to see what everyone thinks.

Two daughters getting married 6 months apart, two entirely different weddings.....? Both girls received the same amount of money from parents. Younger daughter planned entire wedding and honeymoon with it and has her future MIL and me helping all the way. It's at a B&B that supplies everything (decorations, food, cakes, etc.) It's out of state, about a 2 hour drive away. They are having it at 2:00 p.m. so people have time to drive home. The older daughter is getting married in NYC and is having a 6 figure wedding, professional everything (they are paying the difference). I've been up two times to shop, look around, etc., but that's clear across the country and I just can't pop in every weekend. She's upset that a lot of her family and friends can't come because they can't afford it. I tried to talk her into having a reception in her home state later, but she says this is what they want. She thinks we are ignoring hers and going overboard for her sister. I don't understand why she is being so "showy" but haven't said anything, and never will. What to do? Funny thing is the older one is the level headed, down to earth one. The younger one is the one I thought would have wanted all the truly expensive stuff! I probably should have said that both daughters live in the towns where the weddings are being held. It's just that one is close, the other is across the country. But, they are still considered "destination" weddings for the hometown folks. Kateqd30: We have spent hours and hours on the phone and internet together. I even did most of the research for her, because she is so busy that she doesn't have time, and put lists together of possible florists, caterers, etc., that she visited and made her choices. I cut out pictures of what she was wanting and sent snail mail. Some she used, some she didn't - and that's ok. I even found the dressmaker for her. This will be a very beautiful, lavish affair. I know NYC is different and more expensive. The weddings are much larger affairs that what I am used to. But there is an ownership factor about actually making favors, and doing the flowers yourself, and things like that so there is more time involved with the younger one's wedding. I just have a hard time wrapping my mind around wedding favors that cost 75.00 each, and a florist bill that costs more than my car. I got married in blue jeans at the courthouse and had a cheeseburger afterward, which also is not for everybody I didn't say her Dad and I won't go - I'd go if it was at the North Pole in a snowstorm and I had to mush in with dogs! I will also make sure that her sisters and husbands are there as well. Also, just to let everyone know, his family is from Ireland and only 3 people are coming (at least as far as I know). Also, they are paying the balance themselves - they both have great jobs.

I dont want to serve food at my wedding? Im getting married this June and Ive been going over the details all night, and I wanted some opinions :) I wont be serving food at my reception or my wedding. There will be a cake, but it is only for decoration and it wont be eaten (it wont even be eaten by me or my husband). So what do you guys think? Ive been to other weddings where food was served, but I thought it would be better if there was a bar and thats it. So at least people can drink, but no food. any opinions?

Married women, can you help me? Okay so I'm doing a project on weddings for school, and I was wondering if any of you women would help me out.... I am trying to figure out whats the most common price spent on a wedding. This includes bridesmaids dresses, ushers blazers and (if you did buy) the outfit for the brides mother. Please copy and paste the list below and add the price that you think you had on that item :) Outfits - Bridesmaids: Ushers: Brides Mother: Pageboy: Flower girl: Best man: Wedding ceremony: Church: Vicor: Decorations in the church: Wedding reception: Venue: Decorations: Meal: Cake: Additionals: Wedding invitations: Wedding rings (and engagement ring if you like): Make-up: Hair and nails: Wedding favors for the bridesmaids, ushers, parents, guests: Please feel free to add anything that I have missed :)

General wedding questions? Alright, I've got several, so please bear with me!! How important was your decorations for for your wedding, and how expensive were they? I've been to a couple weddings with no decorations at all, and they still looked really classy. I'm not on an extremely tight budget, just would like to save $$ when I can, and it seems a bit trivial to waste hundreds of dollars on something that will be thrown away. Would it be acceptable to just serve beer and wine at the reception? Or should we maybe have a mixed drink or two on the menu? How long was your actual ceremony? I've been talking to our pastor, and he said the ceremony with everything we've got planned will probably only be 1/2 an hour...is this too short? If you could've done anything differently, or left anything out of your wedding, what would it have been? I'm just trying to get some ideas on what is really important, and what we can lax a bit on. Your help is greatly appreciated!!!

Can you define what a wedding "theme" actually is? I know we have discussed this before, but I'm still curious. Some people talk about having "themes" for their weddings. Sometimes it can be something elaborate, like a Halloween theme, beach theme, mardi gras theme, Twilight theme, Romeo and Juliet theme, colonial theme, etc. Sometimes the theme seems to be an object, like hearts or doves or so on. And sometimes the theme is something more intangible, like "Sailing off into the sunset," "Robbed by love," "Traveling the world together" or goodness who knows. I don't get wedding themes. Never had and still don't. When people say, "I need to find a theme for my wedding" what exactly do they mean? Do they mean one of the elaborate things above, like "Should my wedding be Peter Pan themed, or should it be a Christmas in July theme?" Or, on the other hand, by "theme" do they mean the style and general appearance of the event, like the underlying design? If so, then maybe more of us have themes than we thought? For example, say my fiance and I really like orange and yellow polka dots. So we put orange and yellow polka dots on our invitations. Then we decide to put them on our wedding website. Then we find a way to incorporate them into the BM dresses or the menus or the decorations at the reception. So, does that mean we have a theme of orange and yellow polka dots? Just curious what ya'll think. I don't think weddings need themes at all -- it's a wedding! That's the theme! -- but some consistent design elements do make sense to me.

Two questions one about me ad my dad, the other about bridesmaids.? So first is anyone else as emotional as me when they think about their dad giving them away. My mom will tell me that my dad started tearing up over one wedding thing or another and it just makes me start crying so bad. Im not sure if its just the fact that i'm not gonna have his last name anymore or that i'm his only daughter or what but its really hard. Anyone else feel this way? The other thing is my mom has mentioned my maid of honor and one of my bridesmaids mentioned their weddings aren't gonna be like mine. That mine is too elaborate and i'm too picky. This really hurts me to know they are saying this. I mean I let them pick out their dresses and shoes and am totally just go with the flow for everything regarding them. Also i'm getting married in San Diego a big city for $16000 which i don't think is bad at all for 125 people. Ive found great deals on lots of stuff. The only thing i am really spending a lot of money on is flowers $1000 because i love flowers and they are the only real decorations in the reception room. So am hurt that they are saying its too elaborate, there's really nothing special at all! And as for being picky aren't i allowed to have my wedding how i want it am i just supposed to settle on everything?!?!?

My wedding is less than three weeks away....? and I'm really not that stressed. Not that I'm complaining, but everyone has been telling me that brides always get really stressed this close to the wedding. I am getting really excited and just slightly nervous, but not stressed out. I've contacted the florist and the flowers are good. Paid for and all arrangements made. The gal baking my cake knows the plan and has already started making the decorations. (They are non-edible picks that go all over the cake.) Also paid for. The pastor has everything on his schedule. My dress is already fitted and pressed, waiting to be put on. My fiance's tux arrangements are set. We go on the twentieth for final fitting and pick up. (The weddings on the 25th.) The decorations are all set, just have to put them up the day before. The reception is cake and punch and the church women's group is taking care of that. The rings are with my mom. The bridesmaids and groomsmen have their clothing set. The invitations were sent out. Am I forgetting something? It seems weird that there's nothing left to do. The favors are being made. (I hate tedious work so I'm taking my time.) I've known other brides who are panicking at this point. Am I doing something wrong? I've tried not to be a bridezilla about this. I've actually been pretty laid back. I let the bridal party pick their own clothes. The girls picked out their own dress in a particular color and the guys are wearing suits they already owned instead of renting tuxes. Hair and nail appts are set. Anyone else see something I missed? PS - not having a bachlorette party. My matron of honor is in law school and I'm a teacher. We're just to tired to worry about it. I already had my bridal shower. And even sent out the thank you notes for that. Oh yeah - we can't afford a formal photographer so we are having a family friend who dabbles in photography snap some good candid shot and going a few weeks later to have some nice portraits shot at a studio. Bridesmaid, groomsmen gifts set. Marriage license being picked up on the 20th as well. (You only have ten days after initial issuance to get the pastor to sign it in the state of OK) Rehearsal dinner is a no go. Small bridal party and no one wanted to deal with it. Plus we are on a really tight budget. The only traveling family is the future sister-in-law and she is staying with the future mother-in-law.

how do you make your wedding different from everyone else's? i have 3 sisters & 1 brother, all of whom have had amazing weddings and very personalized Alyssa met her husband at McDonald's, he was in front her & her daughter who was complaining about being thirsty, so he let them in front of him, they chatted then had the meal together, exchanged numbers 6 months later they planned their wedding & reception at the same mcdonald's they met at, complete with the same foods they had the first day they met, they even had the 2 ushers dress up like ronald mcdonald Kate met her husband sky diving, he was the instructor, she got scared, so he went down with her, she broke her arm, he felt guilty so he kept calling and sending flowers.....they got married bungee jumping off a cliff, they said i do on the way down Jessie met her husband at work, they worked together for 5 yrs before they started dating, their wedding and reception was all based on work, i mean it was crazy cool, there were staplers and phones etc as decorations, they made it work though, the reception was in the office they worked at. my brother met his wife at a tractor bar, http://www.tractorbar.com/ so they had a john deere wedding complete with the reception at the tractor bar, even the wedding pictures were on tractors, complete with us all changing into jeans for the reception with shirts saying "i got plowed at the tractor bar" & "i got my hoe at the tractor bar" yes very nice. now here it's my turn to have a big wedding, i have know mine all my life, we grew up together, went to the same church, same school, etc, so how do i even compete with theirs? we like dancing, we like joking around, etc, so have you seen the video where they dance down the aisle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEh3Z56v8UQ so i'm thinking maybe i can do something fun, not that, but something fun as we both like to joke around & have fun, instead of a traditional wedding, any ideas? thank you. we are writing our own vows when i say we like to play around like this for instance http://s650.photobucket.com/albums/uu225/hihowyoudoing/first%20dress/second%20dress/ we have a lot of friends over for pool parties, i'm not so much trying to compete, as i want my wedding to be just as unique as theirs i like photography, he likes play station games, i like to cook, he likes being inside, i like outdoors & sports he proposed in hawaii, so maybe a wedding centering around that, very relaxed

What did your big city (NYC, Philly, Chicago, Atlanta, L.A.) wedding cost? I live in Philadelphia and am planning my wedding. It's going to be very expensive, but I know that I could have went even higher. IMO, I'm doing a middle of the road wedding for my area. I'm having about 150-175 guests. What was your TOTAL wedding cost (expect for engagement ring and honeymoon since really they are before the event and after)...reception costs, photographer, videographer, flowers, attendant gifts, limo, decorations, DJ, wedding rings, attire, church costs, etc. What bothers me is that I'm reading on yahoo answers that some people spend only 10K (or less!) on their weddings! I don't think that would be possible where I live, even if I had the wedding at the most inexpensive catering hall. Is this just because these people might live in an area that isn't as expensive? I'm just wondering what other people who live in major cities are paying...how many guests are you having, etc?

Catering dilemma.? My MIL and FIL to be are going to pay for the catering b/c they're inviting 450 of the 500 guest wedding.(its all my fiance's family) However I said that in my family we always have roast beef and pasta at weddings. His family they always have fried chicken and ham. I talked to the caterer and they said they can do fried chicken and roast beef plates. But my MIL is objecting b/c her family is pork farmers, she says it would be rude to the family(its not their pigs being made into the ham) Am I wrong for insisting on a compromise? She has already gotten to choose the church, the reception hall, the season and is now impeding on the decorations.....She's driving me up a wall! So am I wrong for wanting her to back off? Or for wanting the beef instead of the ham?

Will I regret this later? I don't like weddings. Well... that's not quite true. I love the idea of my perfect wedding - the perfect dress, flowers, food, decorations, etc. But, I don't like actually going to weddings. I don't like parties and if I had my choice I'd rather be at home with a good book or at a coffee shop with friends as opposed to at a wedding. But... I'm getting married and can't decide if I want to have a real wedding (because like I said, I do dream about my perfect day) or if I want to just run off and elope somewhere. I *hate* being the center of attention. (I haven't even done anything big for my birthday since I was 12 because of it.) My fiance doesn't care what we do and said he's happy either way, as long as in the end I'm his wife. (Hehe, okay, so maybe I'm a bit of a romantic!) Anyone who eloped, did you regret it? Or, if you had a regular wedding despite considering eloping, do you regret that? I really just don't know what to do. I really always love the idea of going to someone's wedding, but then don't want to be there once it's happening. If we do have a "real" wedding, it'll be pretty small (less than 50 people) but half the guests would be flying from across the country as my fiance is from back east. I hate for them to fly all the way here and then have just a short dinner reception with no dancing or anything afterwards... Any experiences or advice would be really appreciated! Thank you!

What is a reasonable budget for wedding flowers? I don't even know where to start. I've only been to a couple of weddings, and I was young. I am having my wedding and reception at a Botanical Center, so I really won't need to have flowers as decorations. I'd like to have a bouquet, but what other arrangements should I expect to buy? Also, what is a reasonable price to pay for these things? Will I have to have them delivered, or can I make other arrangements to get them there? I am trying to be frugal and I don't want the florists to take advantage of my ignorance when I meet with them next week.

What is a reasonable budget for my wedding Flowers? I don't even know where to start. I've only been to a couple of weddings, and I was young. I am having my wedding and reception at a Botanical Center, so I really won't need to have flowers as decorations. I'd like to have a bouquet, but what other arrangements should I expect to buy? Also, what is a reasonable price to pay for these things? Will I have to have them delivered, or can I make other arrangements to get them there? I am trying to be frugal and I don't want the florists to take advantage of my ignorance when I meet with them next week.

does anyone else have issues with live fish for wedding centerpieces? A lot of my wedding magazines suggest it and recently some family pointed it out to me as something that was cute. If there was a way to safely and humanely have live animals at my reception I would totally go for it. but animals + reception usually= bad things happening. There was a time I wanted to incorporate my pet hermit crabs into the reception but to actually have them there would be a nightmare. So photographs seem to be the way to go. My fiance as a student worked at a country club which made most of its money though the wedding industry. A few weddings had fish bowls one even had black mollies give birth during the toasts. He broke my heart when he told me that lots of times no one takes the fish home after the wedding. Or people killed the fish during the reception or they just died. The worst was when he told me the decorator of one wedding came back to collect the decorations and when he asked about the fish she told him she flushed them. Anyone else have issues with fish centerpieces? Any good or bad experiences? don't worry I'm not going to have fishies at the wedding. too much of a heartache and headache for me. if we decide to tie in our pets there my be a few photos of them if that.

Dissapointed in how Wedding turned out - How can I get over this? After a solid year of planning, my wedding day turned out to be somewhat of a disaster. First one of the groomsmen dropped out, and I had to move my brother from usher to groomsman and find a new usher. Then the day of my beautiful blue runner had to be pulled becasuse of bad weather and high winds- they tried everything to hold it down and it wouldn't stay. The programs I had designed and ordered online were due to arrive the day before the wedding did not because of an error of UPS, (who basically told me there was nothing they could do) and I had to get up early on my wedding day and BEG Kinkos to do me a favor and print out some more. My hairstylist put my 2 teired veil on backward! I didn't realize it until later because we were already late starting while my mother was in the next town picking up the flowers and got caught in a hail storm and got drenched (all my wedding photos have the backward veil -short on bottom, long on top). My mother was late because she was waiting for my father's nurse to arrive who had promised the previous day that she would come and un-hook him from his IVs for the ceremony and then just didn't show up. As a result, my dad had to walk me down the aisle with an X-Games backpack on! Half the wedding party got caught by a train and so one of the bridesmaids never made it to the changing room to put on her hair decoration. The venue kicked us out of the changing room in the building next to the wedding stating that they were closing up- so I and my people had to cart ALL of our stuff out to the parking lot so they could lock up before the ceremony.So imagine me going down stairs in my wedding gown with a dress bag and my purse! A LOT of guests didn't show, many of whom gave no indication they weren't going to show, the others the result of a death in their family 3 days before the wedding, thus leaving ALOT of open seats and alot of paid for plated meals. My veil got stuck on the steps and almost got pulled out of my hair (I had to reach up during the cremony and fix it to keep it from falling out). The same storm that took out my runner and hailed on my mom made some loud booms during our vows ( I had to laugh at it but it was like yikes) The DJ sucked, played none of the songs we requested, except for one, citing that his ITunes was messed up. The Bridal display portraits I ordered got ruined in route to us, and there they were outside the reception with huge bubble wrap marks melted into the varnish (we had to display them, no time to get others). Our cake came out looking waaaaay different than in the picture (supposed to be blue PEARLS but instead were blue BLOBS dotting the cake) and there was a side that had apparently got smashed against the box, the attendants had to cover the boo boo by turning the messed up spot away and using rose petals to cover it, and our cake topper was leaning and looked like it would fall over any minute. After the meal 1/2 the guests left. And a 1/2 hour before the end of the reception my dad told people to start cleaning up and they were taking all my beautiful tablecloths and chair covers and decorations off - How embarassing. On the way out no one was around to grab my purse, so in our petal toss pictures I am holding my coach bag (How fairytale!). And the groom's uncle stepped on my train also turing the petal toss/exit. Ever since then, I have been so upset and bitter, I don't want to see or hear anything about or even remotely related to a wedding. I hear people talking about bachelorette parties, and spa time with the girls and how beautiful everything was in their weddings, and I didn't have any of that. I feel like my special day was ruined. After all my hard work, and all the money spent it came out so awful and ghetto, I can't let it go. And no one understands why it bothers me so much and why I am so dissapointed but I can't help it- I didn't go to prom, was the ugly duckiling in school and this was my one chance to shine and I feel it was totally TOTALLY ruined. I want a re-do, but I can't afford it. How can I make peace with this and stop the dissappointment and sense of loss? My husband and everyone are tired of me moping. I AM glad to be married, and I am happy that it is to the right man, and I do believe that the marriage is worth more than the wedding but I just can't stop obsessing or wishing it would have gone a bit smoother, and I get kind of jealous when people talk about weddings they had or have been to that were like, fairy tale nice. I know something always goes wrong in a wedding but I feel like mine was an extreme case, I am so sad.

Wedding budgeting? I don't know ANYTHING about the cost of weddings. Suppose two people are considering the budget of a wedding. Both are middle class, him living on his own pulling in about 50K/year, her currently living with mom, trying to get a decent job after getting her Master's. Mom wants to help, but Dad just died. Important: Great dress, tons of flowers, nice reception hall with decent food and a competent DJ Negligable: Ice swan, table decorations, cake, transportation Oh, and 12K has already been offered by the grandmother. What kind of budget would be typical for this kind of idea? I know lots of people, so we're probably talking 200-250 guests Also--it probably isn't rushed, and I live in Wisconsin ...AND the 12K isn't my total budget, it's just a portion of it I don't have to worry about.

All wedding questions!? I just got engaged and I'm wondering what the most popular trends are when it comes to weddings. feel free to only answer the ones you want! (pictures are appreciated!) 1. what kind of dress did/will you wear? mermaid, ballgown, a-line? what did it look like? 2. what was your color scheme and/or theme? 3. what month was your wedding in? did you base your colors on that season? 4. what did your bridesmaids wear? what color & type of bouquets? 5. where was your ceremony/reception? indoor or outdoor? 6. did you use silk flowers? how much did all your flowers cost (bouquets, boutonnieres, & decorations?) 7. how much of the planning was DIY? did you make everything yourself? 8. what did your centerpieces look like? 9. what songs did you use? (processional, presenting of wedding party at the reception, first dance, father/daughter?) 10. what kind of food did you serve? was it buffet style? 11. did you have favors? what were they? 12. garter toss? is that tacky? what about money bags? 13. how much did your wedding cost all together?

How much should I plan on spending????????? I want a nice/cheap wedding. With real flowers, centerpieces, buffet, alcohol, band, cake, and that's about it I suppose. The church is free since that is where we go and the pastor is paid by donation so you can give as much to him as you would like. The church is fairly nice as all churches usually are. It's a simple white small town church. Stained glass windows (huge) and with not very many things hanging on the walls just a few crosses. So I'm thinking the church doesn't need much in the way of decorations considering all that. All I want at the church is a few pew flowers on the end (not every pew just the one's towards the front. Flowers on the banister going outside and maybe an archway which which I found one I like for rent for $35. So all in all I figure about $150-200 for the church plus whatever we give the pastor. How much should I expect to pay for the reception? If you had your reception at a hotel how much was it to rent out the banquet room? This would be the same hotel the guest are staying at. There will be 100 guest or less (more than likely less we both have smaller families) and we aren't inviting too many friends. My fiance's step-mom and her friend have all the dj equipment and she said that her friend and her would do the music for free (they have done other weddings in the past) so we probably won't have to pay for the music. I really want real flowers even if that means getting cheaper flowers as opposed to roses or other expensive flowers. The centerpieces don't have to be huge or anything like that just something nice. So about how much should we expect to spend? This is not including the dress, invites, ect. I found a lady that can do the invites and such for fairly cheap (less than $1 a piece including response cards and envelopes). The colors we want are black, pink, and white. Not one specific pink just all shades of pink. I think it looks better that way and you don't have to worry about matching everything to your sample. The bridesmaid dresses are going to be black as are the tux's.

do you think it's greedy to want a wedding? Really long but please read :) I've seen a lot of questions on here asking people if they regret their wedding and most of them say that they regret how much they paid and it's better to go to the court house & use the money for a honeymoon because it's only one day & weddings are to much trouble....anyway I would prefer to have a wedding and it's not like I'd break the bank on it, I've already found cheap but nice decorations & flowers, bridesmaid dresses, and I would make my dress or find one on ebay, and I wouldn't have to pay that much for a photographer because my moms cousin is one and he said he wouldn't charge her (but she would pay him anyway), and we have looked at a nice outdoor area by a lake where we could have the wedding & reception, they only thing to worry about is food.... but I feel greedy to ask for a wedding even though it would be small, and also when my fiances brother got married at the reception some one I think the brides family kept telling us we could use use the left overs from his brothers wedding and it mad me feel bad like they thought we couldn't afford anything new, and another woman told use that she didn't think she could help with our wedding EVEN THOUGH NO ON ASKED HER TO sorry this was long and sounded like I was venting, I'm just very emotional and get upset easy

Very Limited Budget......IDEAS for Cheap wedding? I'm not into fancy weddings and neither is my fiance. IDK how I am even going to explain my situation. Have a budget for $500. Yeah I said $500.... My parents are not wealthy and his parents are not helping at all. I just want to get married, but I want it to look pretty and be decent. I am a plush size girl and I did find a dress for under $200. Found bridemaid dresses for $20 a dress. There is going to be two of those. Got the flower girl dress because her mother has one already. I just need CHEAP very CHEAP ideas for the rest. For the dj, my brother has a sound system and I have a mp3 player full of music that could be the music. I just need ideas for food and decorations. I'm not exactly sure which color is going to be used, the dresses that are 20 dollars are black and going to put red sash around it. Or if I can find royal blue brides dress that would be another option. Should i go with a buffet type setting at the reception or finger foods? Which is cheapest? I know the timing of the reception has a great deal of wether or not a full dinner or finger foods. I would love to have a wedding around 2ish or 3ish. Please all comments are welcome, this is so stressing me out because I'm limited with time and DEFFO limited with money. I am pretty sure family can help out with food, but just not money. I was thinking of bbq, but my fiance hates bbq...lol PLEASE HELP :) Oh and I forgot about floral arrangments... grrr its always something else....lol I like the idea with a covered dish. But wouldn't that be too unappropriate or not? Would you be willing to bring a covered dish to a wedding? I just need all ideas.... Mia u just a rude little B****! 100-150 people are invited to the wedding, not for sure if all will stay for the reception. My grandfather will officiate it for free and it will be at a church for free and the reception will be in a fellowship hall which is free. Let me make it more clear, all I need is flowers and food. I have all the dresses and tuxs covered.

TO: Most Bang for My Wedding Buck?? Help!? Check out www.CraigsList.org, select your state then city and then pick Events and you should find all kinds of vendors that can help you. I found a Country Club with a Gazebo that will provide: setting up chairs for outside; the Reception room-tables-linens-dinnerware, etc.; appetizers; Cash Bar with Bartender; after Ceremony the dinner with Salad, 2 Meats, 1 Starch, 1 Vegetable, Rolls; Champagne Toast; Cake Cutting; 2 Private Rooms for the Bride & Groom to dress and change in; and all clean up for $1,050.00. I also found a photographer who is still in college looking to do Weddings for her portfolio, she is free. My daughter goes to school with a student who will do the DJ/MC for just gas money. I am making the 3 tier cake - it's not that hard - get a Wilton book and follow directions. And I'm making all the decorations; plus Ring Bearer Pillow, Toasting Glasses with the Bride & Groom's clothes, Gift Card Box & Guest Book. I'm very crafty too but it's very easy. An idea I just had today was instead of buying 7 vases for the tables, which even at the Dollar store is going to cost $7.00 I am going to buy a box of 8 - 17 oz. glasses and 8 tumblers for $9.00 at WalMart and use 7 of the glasses as vases for artificial flowers on the tables and then after the Reception they can have the whole box and after washing the glasses they are as good as new! Other than the Country Club the most expensive thing would be flowers but check online for wholesale distributors. My daughter found her custom made Bridal Gown at www.lightinthebox.com and it is beautiful and was only $78.00 (yes seventy eight dollars) plus $40.00 for shipping and reviews on the site were all good - no alternations needed, etc. Hope this post helps someone!

2 More Wedding Questions!!!!? OK, sorry for the constant questioning but none of us knows much about weddings! Firstly, if you don't have a wedding planner, who sets up the reception venue? we think my cousin is getting married in a marquee at a hotel and we assume the marquee will be set up by the staff at the venue, but who puts out the decorations and centrepieces and cutlery and stuff? does the bride do this herself the day before or something? ALSO... do you have to have a wedding rehearsal? we all hate the idea of having it all pre-arranged as we think it will be less spontaneous... my cousin and her fiancee don't like things too organised so is it really necessary? if so why? Thankyou!! what are the benefits of having a rehearsal?

A Decoration question? So apparently I had too much detail in the last question! I have two other questions with this same topic that no one answered! Would You use lights to decorate your reception. I guess Christmas lights?And should I use blue or just white or mix. I have alotof detail questions, just not enough pictures. Does anyone have pictures of weddings decorated at the reception with the lights? I was actually not going to let the lights hang. I have been looking and it looks a bit thrown together. I will let the tulle hang, but the lights will be more or less pulled tight. I was looking for something with a ceiling that's pretty big. As in a big room being brought down to size. Rope lights sound better?

Wedding Rip Off in Gran Canaria, what do you think? Gran canaria sunshine weddings. www.wedding-planner-gran-canaria.com www.grancanariasunshineweddings.com Think twice about getting a wedding planner in gran canaria!! Here's why... Hi, I got married in Pureto Rico in August, Pureto Rico has some beautiful places, also pureto mogan, its beautiful. As For Gran canaria sunshine weddings, they are great help UNTILL YOU PAY THEM. I had numerous of problems and loads of things that were ment to be in my package that I had paid for, were NOT there for my wedding reception. We had originally planned all the wedding ourselves, untill the hotel we had booked for our reception became unavailable to hold our reception. A few weeks away from our wedding date, naturally i started to panic. I got onto gran canaria weddings via the internet, and to my delight, they were able to help us. Great!....eh.. not so great. From the word go they knew that we had most of the wedding already sorted, that we just needed a reception. we then saw on there website that they do vegas themed weddings, so we decided to go with the package as it sounded lovely.... Las Vegas Theme, you can either have just the show which is a 45 min- 1 hour show with a 5 piece (female singer, 2 show girls and 2 showboys) with a photo option afterwards where the cast will pose with guests or you can really capture the whole Las Vegas feel, Together, you sweep into the banquet hall under the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign. Arm in arm, you stroll down the red carpet that can only signify a VIP affair. The guest tables feature bold red napkins on white skirted tables sprinkled with poker confetti. Gold lame bows on each chair cover bring the glamour stakes high. Guests found their way to their seat thanks to elegant vegas style place cards, and signs that name the tables after famous old Vegas casinos: The Golden Nugget, Binion's Horseshoe, Jackie Gaughan, etc. Your guests will fall in love with the individual favours at their seat ... Vegas chocolate bars personalized with the date of the wedding and the name of the bride and groom. A scattering of coins and a mini slot machine on every table will give guests plenty to talk about while they wait for your big entrance, and disposable cameras will make sure you don't miss a minute of your reception - even the bits you don't see. To leave no doubt that this was a wedding your centrepieces are glamourous yet traditional, and all infused with a touch of Vegas thanks to the casino finishing effects. At the back of the room is a mini-casino area where guests can play a hand or two ... all with the chips provided of course! Background music will of course be Vegas themed too, featuring classics such as Ol’ Blue Eyes’ "Luck Be a Lady,” “The Lady is a Tramp,” and “Fly Me To The Moon,” Elvis’ "Viva Las Vegas," Nat King Cole’s “I'm Shooting High,” and Ella’s “Ace In The Hole.” A glamourous Las Vegas themed cake is provided with this evening for you and your guests to enjoy We can do smaller packages and part themes but to create the whole las Vegas theme you might as well go for broke! As you read, it sounded lovey. But. most of it was missing! 1. No red carpet 2. No overhead welcome to las vegas sign 3. No cameras 4. No cordless microphones. 5. Only 3 singers & dancers turned up 6. No stage or lighting, we could not see the show? 7.No Backround music. 8.No mini casion area? there was a deck of cards and a smaill tin of chips put onto a table out of view, after 11:30pm. 9. No mini slot machines on the tables or coins or poker confetti. 10. I was told we were not getting centre pieces as i organised my own flowers, so I spent alot of money buying my own centre pieces, but i was charged for my own centre pieces. 11. we got wedding favours chocolate bars for our guests, but again these were not given out, but were put onto a table out of sight, after 12am 12. The dj did do her best, but her hard drive with all the music on it was broke when we arrived, and we had to party to no up to date music 13. we were also charged €200 for table cloths that the HOTEL provided, and a pack of paper napkins.. 14. we asked for a bottle of champaine, and were told no, the hotel ran out of most bottled beer by 10pm and we were told No when requested to buy them from the other bar in the same hotel. We paid for a vegas style show with vegas singers and decorations, a full theme, we got no Stage, and no lighting, it should have been a 5pc show and the day of my wedding i was told there would be only three.(although we were prommised it)we could not see the singers or dancers, i can email you over photos of these, and my hair, if you would like to see. There was loads of things missing and loads of things that went wrong, the wedding planner basically told me that she employed someone to do the decorations and entertainment (vegas theme)and the things that went wrong were not her fault, and that i had to chace up the problems i had with the entertainers and try

Would you ever want to married in a theme/amusment park? Why or why not? What do you think about my idea? I want to get married at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo. It's about a five hour drive from where we live and it looks very affordable, and most of all FUN! I won't have to invite everybody I have ever known, just 55 of our closests friends and family. Plus, you can have a reception right in the park and I really like the cariage ride package. I want to do in November with all the Christmas lights!! I think it would be very stress free to. Just send them a check and they take care of the food, flowers, cake, decorations, all that stuff! What do you think? Here is a link so you can check it out yourself? http://bransonsilverdollarcity.com/weddings/default.aspx Wow, so many people have been sharing! Thanks for all your input. We are childhood sweethearts so I would really like something fun and upbeat. I want it to be a good party, a good time. Romance isn't my priority. (That's for the honeymoon, ha ha)

ideas for wedding decor in a sapphire blue color? My fiance and I are tying the knot Sept 2010 and I have yet to come up with ideas for decorations.. our colors are sapphire(blue velvet-davids bridal) and silver. We chose the blue sapphire because not only is our wedding in September, but our birthdays are as well. SOO what I would like to do is incorporate the meaning of sapphire in our wedding. We are having an outdoor wedding in the park overlooking Lake Michigan and having an indoor reception(not sure if it will be a sit down or a cocktail- do i still do centerpieces??) any advice at all would help ALOT.. im a novice when it comes to weddings.. :/ thanks everyone!! that all reallllyyy helped :) feel free to add more advice tho! i can use it!!

Opinions on cupcake tiers? My fiance and I are having a very small wedding, only about 20 people. Once we've moved and settled into our new place, we're having a bigger reception with friends/extended family and probably having a bigger cake. (There will be about 120 people there) So, for the dinner after the actual wedding ceremony, with only 20 people, I was thinking of getting a cupcake tier. So we can have the cute cutting the cake picture, but not have a ton of cake for only a few people. Would a cupcake tier look odd? I'm not sure how popular they are for weddings. Perhaps I should just get a very small cake? Here's an example of what it would look like, except obviously different decorations and such: http://www.maisiefantaisie.co.uk/cakepopup/rosecupcakeweddingcake.jpg

Florist rip off, have you heard of this? So we called a florist today for one of my friends who is having a very small wedding Feb 2nd. We wanted to set up delivery and make sure it is there by the set up time. She is having a very small wedding of only 48 total guests. Well the centerpieces she wanted were just simple rose bouquets in square glass short vases that are sold at the local florist. She picked them out on their web site. Since they are not having an over the top wedding, just low key with minimal decorations other than the colored linens and such she thought this would be the least expensive. Well on the web site they are $39.99 each plus delivery charges. So she called in and told them that she needed six of these for her six tables. The lady asked her what the occasion was and she told her a wedding reception. Ok fine, when she gets the total it was way off. It ends up they are charging $59.99 per bouquet NOT including the tax or delivery charge...instead of the $39.99 because it is for a wedding and they have a surcharge on weddings. WHAT?? They are being delivered only, not set up, nothing special, they are not part of the wedding flower section, just basic 12 red roses in a clear square vase that is listed at 39.99. How can they charge $20 more for each just because it was a wedding. And then she would have to pay the tax and delivery on top of the $20 extra per item. What is that. She cancelled the order and told the lady that was absurd. We ended up calling another florist that sells the same thing and told them we would pick them up, they are for a baby shower. Why are they only $39.99 now. How can they do that just for a wedding even though they are doing absolutely nothing extra?

How does this sound for a budget wedding? I found a venue for $2,000 that holds the ceremony and reception. I have a four hour event time, with two additional hours to set up and take pictures and clean after wards. The venue includes the tables, chairs, and linens in my color as well as some of the decorations for the tables and candles throughout the room. My budget is $8k total, and I expect no more than 70 people. I found an Italian catering restaurant that I love (the food is really good) and the cost would be $14 per person for the salad, entree, drinks, veggie trays, utensils, plates, napkins, etc. and the service fee is 18% to set up, serve, and break down. My dress budget is $400 including alterations, my fiancee's tux is free because my 'father' of the bride, three groomsmen and ring bearer give us enough men to receive the special of one free tux and 40% off the others. I'm keeping the three bridesmaids dresses under $130 for THEIR benefit. My friend will DJ free, another friend is going to video, and my cousin's friend is going to give me a deal of $500-$1000 for a full day of photography. (I'm still trying to find someone cheaper) I'm using silk flowers (except MAYBE my bouquet) and will probably have candy favors (need advice on that one) and will exit with sparklers. I haven't found an officiant :( maybe my friend's grandmother will stand in since she has done two weddings before? Okay the photographer is a friend, and she DOES have a business. So she DOES have experience. The DJ is performing ALL of it, since it is... like I said... in a HOUSE. Oh yeah, I've added in gifts, etc. I used theknot budgeter! LOL, says I have $600 left to be flexible with if I do what I say I'm going to! AND the invites are being done by a friend who has a great printer (part of his business) so all I have to buy is the cardstock, stamps... same goes for any save the dates (if I want them) and program :) I think the list someone gave me that included a limo is ridiculous. I am not having an aisle runner because I"m in a house with solid wood floors. Correction: a mansion with solid wood floors and stone arches in the room I'm getting married. So we need minimal decor, and I'm probably doing no more alcohol than a glass of champagne for a toast. No need to get everyone drunk. We can have a party at home for that.

planning a wedding and need ideas? im getting married in a church and im planning to have 2 pedestal's at the alter and the pew bows on the side of the seating in the isle is this enough for the church do i need anymore decoration etc? do i put favours on the table at reception during the meal or after the meal? do i buy my guests drinks and how many? anyone know any images or links to good wedding dresses but has to be the cinderella style (like the big puffy skirt and train) what is the most popular flowers for weddings in july and any pictures of any. what kind of car is best to go for old classic or the newish ones and any other ideas people could help with i do plan to make it alcohol bar rather than non-alcoholic. i thought that you buy each guest 2 or 3 drinks and then they buy their own from there. do i pay all night for drinks?that would be a couple of thousand just on drink

Disney World Escape Wedding? I have been to the Disney Weddings website and like the idea of an Escape wedding. I am wondering what decoration is provided with the $4000 package. I know you can purchase additional decor, but are there some already included with the package? For example, do you have to pay for chairs, tables, or the alter? They seem pretty basic and I think they would be included, but, it wouldn't surprise me either if you had to pay extra for them. Also, the site states that you can add on receptions to this package. Does anyone know what these options are?

What happends at a tradicional Colombian Wedding Ceremony? It's 4 months to our wedding and every body keeps asking me what's the culture behind a Colombian Wedding? What happens at church, I know the general things about a Catholic wedding, but what makes it Colombian? What happens at the reception? my fiances family are Polish and they do a hat with things on it and have some romantic music just for weddings... but when I am asked about my culture I have no idea! sad I know, on my defence, I have never ever been part of a wedding there or here... and I moved here to young too. I did go to Colombia to by unique hand made things as favors and decoration, but still wondering on how else I can incoraporate my culture to the wedding.

Does this sound like a fun wedding? (both to be in and be a guest of?) -early summer daytime wedding for 40-50 guests (11am ceremony) at a historical "living history" themepark (one of the largest in the country) in our home city, so guests won't have to travel far to location. -followed immediately by really good lunch buffet with light drinks (but food quality and variety will be more like a dinner, so guests won't go hungry) -brief toasts/brief, funny and meaningful slideshow will follow -then, guests will have already been treated to free park admission (discounted group rates are available, so of course I would provide admission for my guests) so we are all free to have fun in the park until 6pm closing -guests are mostly 20s/30s; no children; a few elderly people, but park has such a wide range of (mostly free, or very cheap) activities that everyone will find something to keep them entertained -i.e. old timey midway, mini golf, saloon, fur trading fort, houses, free operating steam train and streetcar that takes guests all over park (even from main parking lot to wedding venue, so accessability not an issue), awesome bakery, animals, interpreters everywhere...just a really fun time for a variety of tastes. -we could only have the reception venue until 2pm, so 2-6 would be park time (there are several indoor attractions if it rains). I'm just sick of boring evening weddings that don't even last that long, and that prevent guests from going out with other plans that evening. Plus, neither of us are great dancers and could do without the dance element (we'd have our favourite playlists on Ipod/speakers throughout dinner, so it wouldn't be all somber). Sooo...would you like to attend this? (It should be PRETTY low stress for me; I'd cater most things and go simple on the flowers and decoration, and the ceremony would be civil and straightforward (we'd just have one witness each in our "party"). EDIT Nora: I completely understand; my mom is in the same situation as you, which is another reason why I didn't want to force the festivities late into the evening and make her feel that she "missed out" in some way. I would completely understand if she chose to just chill on the steam train with my dad, or relax in a tea house for a bit, and would not be offended if she got tuckered out and had to leave before 6pm. Alternatively...anyone have ideas for how I could meet up with guests around 5:30 or so, for a final goodbye/thank you/group shot? (I would encourage everyone to go nuts with their digital cameras all afternoon and send their shots of funtimes to me to compile.)