Cutting Reception Costs
The wedding reception generally eats up at least half of your total wedding budget. Being the most costly part of your wedding also means that it is the reception that gives you the most opportunities to cut costs. These are some great tips that will help you save money without sacrificing on style.
1. Decorate with food. You are going to be serving food anyway; why not let it do double duty and help to beautify your tables as well? If you choose family style service over individually served plates, you will actually save in a few areas. You may be able to reduce the number of servers needed, and it can also be less expensive to serve large platters of passed favorites, rather than single plates of more expensive dishes. The best part is that if you choose pretty decorative platters, they will take up a lot of space on the tables, reducing the need for a lot of costly flowers.
2. Speaking of flowers, they don’t have to cost a fortune. One thing that you might not have considered is that by selecting vases with smaller openings, it will take fewer blooms to make them appear full and lush. Isn’t it funny to think that such a small change could make such a big difference? Another cost cutting measure is to use masses of inexpensive flowers over a just a few stems of very pricey ones. You will get a lot more impact for your budget, and the look is very chic and modern.
3. Speaking of the newlyweds’ grand entrance, don’t feel like you have to follow the hot trend of changing into a second bridal gown and party jewelry. The band or d.j. can make a big fuss over your entrance to the reception, and it really isn’t necessary to do anything more to make a big splash. If you want to make a subtle change to signal the transition from ceremony to reception, an easy thing to do is to choose a hairstyle that is designed to be worn up for the ceremony and down for the party. Switch out your studs for more festive bridal jewelry like chandelier earrings, and you will be ready to dance the night away.
4. Make your placecards do double duty as favors. The most popular favors are edible, and they can be very inexpensive. For instance, place one beautiful ripe pear at each guest’s seat. Tie a paper “leaf” to the stem with the name of the guest written in calligraphy. It will look pretty at the table, let each guest know where to sit, and serve as a favor all at the same time.
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