Weddings Reception Decorations

Any suggestions for unique ideas for wedding decorations and small gifts for the guests?

I am getting married on the 30th of August and was looking for decorating ideas for the reception, and gift ideas for the guests. We are considering personalised stubby coolers, but how do the women feel about that? We are getting married on the beach, and reception at a cafe overlooking the nearby valley. We are EXTREMELY cost concious as I have recently been made redundant, and money is in short supply. Please help!

Public Comments

1. I like the idea of giving out decorated fans ( gonna be hot) and you can order personalized ribbons to put on each one of them. I did this idea for a friend of mine. I ordered personalized ribbons in many different colors on Ebay. Just type in personalized ribbons and you get many offers. make sure that the ribbon will be long enough to add your names and the date. The one I did for a friend read something like this, "Dick and Jane got hitched." on the other side of the bow when it's tied into a bow it read the month, day, and year. As for the fans just order cheap ones nothing fancy. You can find these at www.orientaltrading.com Prices are cheap there. as for the personalized stubby cooolers that's a great idea. As for decorations a great idea to view beach weddings is on www.youtube.com just type in Beach weddings. You can see many videos and get ideas from flowers etc. Congratulations to you!!!
2. Decorate your tables with plants in nice pots and give them out as gifts at the end of the day. Wedding favours containing sugared almonds and made of a layer of tulle/net/lace and a simple ribbon bow to tie them up are really cheap to make yourself. The almonds themselves represent Health, Wealth, Happiness, Long Life and Fertility. (not sure if this is just an english tradition or not).
3. email me..i am a wedding favor artist....mention in your email where you live and craft stores near you..i will help you come up with something dirt cheap on your own
4. Have you considered not having a gift for your guests? I have worked at lots of weddings and most of the favors get left behind, so if you are looking to save money then this may be an area where you could. Beach weddings are great, a simple idea (and cheap) for your decorations is to use lanterns on each table and then have flowers for decoration in prominant areas - top table & entrance. For more beach ideas have a look at the link below Good luck with your plans!
5. I love the idea to give every couple a One-Time-Use Camera..let them take pics and get the cam back to develop the pics ,make a collage and send or give every couple the pics they made...it is fun, it is a way to to socialize and brake ice...we did it and was a success....
6. As far as the favors go, we got clickable pens that have a window in the side of them. Every time you click it, the saying changes. It has verses like, "To have and to hold," "From this day forward," etc. It is a very nice pen and is refillable. We are going to get some kind of individually wrapped butter mints, or, candy, put them in a clear plastic gift bag with the pen(or fabric) and tie them with a ribbon in our colors. The pens were a steal at 59 cents each! Go to the following website. ALso, if you enter coupon code: "dotful" upon check out, you get $5.00 off, no matter what your balance is.
7. well u mustnt give gifts to ur guests.it shld be the other way round.jus hv the wedding at the beach where every1 cn dance barefoot and u cn hv a good time as well.
8. I made mine myself. I bought little terracotta pots painted them made stickers one with our names and the date of our wedding and another with a poem which is about love starting from a seed. we are going to pot them up with seeds and then I have clear boxes to place them in and then tie up with a bow etc. its going to cost about $3-4.00 each. Another cheap idea is go to a $2 shop and buy little tiny lolly jars and buy candy you can get them personalised with your names and then fill the jars yourself and dress them up yourself. If you get something that you can make look pretty then that will dress the tables up at the same time so you won't have to do much to the tables. Usually they will have vases you can put a couple of tall flowers in each nothing to much and it will make it look pretty. good luck hope it all goes well for you.