THE GARDEN ROUTE - WEDDING RECEPTION IDEAS
A little girl grows up dreaming of her wedding day with a perfect picture in her mind on how it is supposed to be. Then we grow up, get engaged and become shocked at how expensive everything is. Things become crazy and we get stressed out wanting everything to be perfect but wondering how to pay for it all. A wedding should not put you in debt. Debt is not a good way to start a new life with the person you love. The reception can be the most expensive part of your wedding; the location rental, the food, the alcohol and other beverages, the DJ or band, the flowers, the place settings, etc., etc. There are ways to cut costs. First of all it is your reception; do not worry about pleasing your guests. They are supposed to be there to share in your special day, not to critique the food and the decorations. One of the easiest ways to cut the expense of your reception is to cut all the extras. You can choose to have your reception earlier in the day so you don’t have to provide guests with dinner. You can have hors d’oeuvres and finger foods along with your wedding cake. You can skip the alcohol or just have the champagne toast and a cash bar, letting guests pay for their own alcohol while you provide just tea, coffee, punch or soft drinks. If you really want to have a dinner reception check your area for culinary arts schools or cooking schools, sometimes they will cater an event for just the cost of food. You could even have pot luck. Have close friends and family each cook a special dish for your reception. You are bound to have great food without the cost of a caterer. Skip the fancy linen tablecloths, china, and silverware settings. You can coordinate the plates, napkins, and silverware with your wedding colours and it will look very pretty. If you want decent entertainment, check out local colleges for bands or DJ’s. With modern technology and computers many college students have excellent music skills. Music can be downloaded from the internet and saved on an MP3 player or burned onto a CD. You can get a techno savvy person to play music at your reception. Just give them a play list of certain songs you want played at certain times and make sure they have plenty of your type of music on hand. Give them a list a head of time so they can download any specific songs you may want. Be creative when planning the wedding and reception and find ways to cut costs. Remember it is your wedding and if anyone has any problems with what you are planning ask them if they would like to pay for it to be done their way. If not remind them it is your wedding and your money you are spending! |