Making Cheap Wedding Receptions Work

Outdoor wedding ideas are essential for throwing a successful wedding outside. A lot of time and hard work goes to planning a wedding, and an outdoor wedding can pose additional challenges.

There are things to consider like whether to have the ceremony in a church or not, if the weather will cooperate and how to coordinate everything associated with having a wedding outdoors.

Spring and fall are great times for an outside wedding as the weather is usually not too hot or cold in most regions. In fall you also get to take advantage of the beautiful backdrop that the season brings.

There will be many loose ends to tie up that you wouldn’t have with an indoor wedding. For example, if you are having your ceremony outside the transition to the reception will have to be coordinated.

A tent will also most likely be required, and caterers often have specific needs for working outside. For reasons like these, brides often turn to the services of wedding planners for help in coordinating the day.

The money you spend on hiring a wedding planner will pay off quickly during the days leading up to the wedding and on the wedding day itself.

One of the most important parts of an outdoor wedding is the location. Here are three ideas for a location.

Backyard

Have a big backyard or know of someone who does? A backyard wedding can be a lot of fun, and it could also potentially save you some money by not having to pay a site fee.

There are a few requirements, however, when thinking about a backyard wedding.

First, the backyard in question has to be big enough to hold all of your guests. Second, there is the chance that the backyard could incur some damage, and third, you have to make sure there is enough room for all of your guests to park.

The Beach

Getting married with you toes in the sand has become a very popular option. If you live near a beach, this might be the perfect option for you.

Destination weddings have become very popular, so even if you don’t live near a beach you can always fly to the Caribbean or Hawaii with your close friends and family to get married.

Try looking for resorts that offer beach weddings. They will have packages that include your ceremony in the sand which will help to avoid the extra work of obtaining a permit.

Public Parks

There are many great public parks that can provide the perfect atmosphere for your wedding. Look online for parks in your area that might be good locations for your wedding.

The fees are usually relatively inexpensive. Just make sure you file for all necessary permits and find out what rules you need to follow for your wedding. Some parks have strict rules especially if they are historic sites.

Gardens, arboretums, farms and national historic sites are all outdoor wedding ideas that you can research in your area.

By Stephen Badiali

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When planning a wedding reception, there is nothing that says a couple MUST just have a sit-down dinner at a reception hall. This is a good time for the creativity of the couple to come shining through, especially if your friends and relations share some kind of special interest.

One fun idea for your budget wedding reception is to plan to have a family-style picnic, either in your back yard or at a local park like a town or state park where you can rent a picnic shelter. This allows you to take advantage of anything special available at the site like a swimming pool or barbecue pits that may be available. You can also allow the people attending to provide their own foods for the day, and be responsible only for providing the wedding cake as dessert, and beverages like lemonade for the group.

By selecting this type of event, you provide fun activities as well as allowing the guests to change out of any formalized dress they might have worn for the actual ceremony. This will allow your guests to more fully relax and can help to take some of the burden off you in the form of reduced costs for the reception. Often the cost of the rental of a picnic pavilion will be far below that of a reception hall with catering.

Other activities available at this kind of site can include volleyball games, football games, baseball games and the space necessary to conduct races or activities for the kids in who might be in attendance to keep them less bored and more engaged to keep them out of mischief. Depending on the rules of the site chosen, cleanup can be as simple as policing the area you are utilizing (easier with the participation of other guests) and seeing that the garbage is contained appropriately for pick up.

Another fun idea for your budget wedding reception is to schedule it in conjunction with some sort of event put on by a group that caters to a shared interest like a medieval faire or sci-fi or comic convention. If the bride and groom are members of the group sponsoring the event, they can usually work with the sponsoring group to make appropriate accommodations for the reception. By sharing in some of the costs of the event, the bridal couple can find exceptional savings over what it would cost to rent a hall.

Members of the bridal party and any interested guests could put on appropriate costumes to attend the event, and chances are they couple could enlist other members of the group to help find costumes or other appropriate clothing for anyone who didn’t have any but were interested in having some to better participate.

One final fun idea for your budget wedding reception is to have the option of hiring live music for the reception that more accurately reflects your personal tastes in music and that of the majority of your guests. If you prefer country or Celtic music, for example, how much more preferable would that be over a DJ who offers only canned music via CDs? If chosen carefully, the cost of live music could be equal to or even less than the cost of a DJ, and often a live group can go farther in engaging the guests who attend your reception.

Participation from the audience in singing with the band would be encouraged, whereas this might not be possible with a DJ. Dancing as a participatory exercise for more ages might be possible for guests at a reception where there is an abundance of songs familiar to a greater population of your guests.

To your beautiful wedding reception!

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Technorati Tags: Budget Wedding Reception, Cheap wedding receptions, Wedding Ideas, wedding reception, wedding reception site

Planning the meal for your wedding reception can be one of the greatest expenses you are likely to encounter. With the following tips for your reception meal for your wedding on a budget, you should be able to significantly reduce the cost of the food budget.

To plan for your reception meal for a wedding on a budget, try to keep your guest list to a reasonable number. You’ll need to keep this optimal number (assuming that EVERYONE you invite will be in attendance) in mind as you look for a venue for the food for your wedding reception meal. Make sure you have a definite attended count at least 2 weeks before the reception so you can negotiate price if you have less attending than you thought.

First, shop around to see what kinds of services are offered based on the type of place you choose to hold your reception. Halls which offer individual service by a wait staff will always prove to be higher in cost than a family-style buffet line offered by other venues. The additional money goes to pay the salaries of anyone else who is necessary to provide service.

There is the possibility that the cost of less expensive food includes the pay for a few people who will stand with the food offered on the buffet line and serve it as your guests go by with plates in hand to get their meals. In some rare instances, the only server who will actually stand with the food will be someone who will dispense measured portions of whatever meat may be offered to insure that everyone there gets a serving.

Get an estimation of what the cost would be per person, depending on what fare is offered. Be aware that the more exotic the fare, the higher the cost will be, especially if there is a choice of two or three meats offered. At a family-style affair, you are likely to get one meat choice, some sort of starch, either in the form of a pasta dish or mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls or other bread, green salad with a simple dressing, and a choice of water, coffee or tea to drink. In some instances, the pasta dish (usually shells or ziti with some sort of marinara sauce) will contain meat as a component.

Dessert will more than likely be the wedding cake, although in some instances ice cream or sorbet can be included. If an alcoholic beverage like champagne for toasts allowed and offered, there is the possibility that it will have to be provided by the bridal party.

Some venues not only allow alcoholic beverages, but will offer bartending services. In this case, you need to try and determine whether it is worth the expense to offer open bar services (usually including some sort of soft drinks for non-drinkers) or whether you should make it the type of service where guests have to pay for any drink they want. Be aware that open bars can run upwards of $500 and could go as high as $2500 depending on the number of guests you expect to have served.

As a final tip for your wedding reception meal for a wedding on a budget, consider having finger foods, especially if your wedding is scheduled for the morning or early afternoon. The choice of small sandwiches and items like cookies or pastries is a much lighter fare that will sit better, especially if guests have already had breakfast or lunch.

This sort of item will cost far less than a traditional reception sit-down meal. You may also find that if you have family or friends can help provide the lighter foods, you will need minimal staff at the hall. In this instance you can also serve the wedding cake at the end, and can bring in a punch or other assorted beverages (be they alcoholic or non–alcoholic) that can go in and on paper dishes and cups that you provide.

To your beautiful wedding reception!

By: Bob Hamilton

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Technorati Tags: reception meal, wedding cake, wedding food, wedding reception

Reception

The reception is the largest of all wedding expenditure. Take your time choosing the venue and look toughly into all options in your chosen area. Many restaurants will charge a premium just because it’s a wedding. Be clear with the venue what you expect the quote to include and what you don’t require, as many venues consider the most basic things an extra. When getting your quote find out the total price and the price per head so you know how changing the amount of guests will affect the total cost. Having said this it is a good idea to ensure the venue does not have a minimum amount of guest for the per head price you have been quoted. Also find out the breakdown of the quote, how much is for food and how much is for drinks. Sometimes the drink portion may be much more that you expect your guests to average and you may save money by paying by consumption on the day.

Keep away from peak wedding season and Saturdays if at all possible. Saturday is the most common by avoiding it you could avoid paying a premium. If you have a small budget consider a brunch reception as the food cost is usually greatly less and your guest will usually not drink so much.

The best way to keep the wedding reception cost down is to keep the amount of guests to a minimum. Be aware of how much each guest is going to cost and consider who you could do without. A wedding reception with your closest friends and family is going to be a more pleasurable event than a room full of strangers and you will save a fortune. Just think how nice it will be when you are looking through your wedding photos in 20 years and you still know the people in them. Having no children at the wedding reception can also greatly reduce the numbers and save you a fortune.

Serving the wedding cake for desert can be a great money saving alternative, just make sure you have the venue include the cost of cutting and serving the cake in the quote.

Photographer

Save a fortune on your wedding photographer by booking them for only a few hours not the whole day. This gives plenty of time for getting ready photos, photos of the ceremony, stages shots and some of the reception, and then you are free to enjoy the rest of your day in peace.

Filming your Wedding

Contact your local university or TAFE the hire a promising student to film your wedding. Some of these students have the latest knowledge and access to top equipment. Students doing these courses often do a fantastic job of editing your wedding footage to resulting is a high quality keepsake.

Transport

Consider hiring a self-drive vehicle and have a friend or family member drive you. You may even be lucky enough to have a friend with the perfect car.

Flowers

Choose your florist carefully some love to overcharge for bridal bouquets. To avoid this try going into the florist and pointing out a bouquet you love and ask the price. Then if you are happy you can say that’s great I would like to order them for my wedding. It’s a bit hard for them to change the price then. Just be certain the flowers you have chosen will be blooming at the time of your wedding. You may also consider making your own bridal bouquet from either fresh or silk flowers. Silk flowers have the advantage of allowing you plenty of time to get your bouquets perfect well in advance of your big day. If you are considering creating your bouquets try using a step-by-step guide

Bride and Bridesmaids Dresses

Consider hiring your dream wedding dress. This gives you the opportunity to wear a gown you may otherwise not be able to afford. If the thought of giving your wedding dress back after your big day leaves you cold, consider buying an ex rental gown. Some bridal boutiques even have a second hand section which can be a great choice considering the dress has only been worn once and can shave thousands off the price. Bridesmaid’s gowns can be acquired from a boutique rather than a bridal shop. This saves a fortune and may offer a greater selection with fresher choices.

Wedding Cake

Consider chocolate mud or an alternative to the traditional wedding cake. If you can’t go without the traditional wedding cake consider buying the cake undecorated and having a flower arrangement made for the top of the cake. This looks fantastic and the price difference is huge.

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Technorati Tags: Wedding Ideas, wedding invatations., wedding reception