Even though you may be planning your wedding on a strict budget, that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on having the reception you’ve always dreamed of. Here are a few tips and ideas to remember when it’s time to begin thinking of budget-friendly wedding reception ideas.

Book as early as possible to get the best rates, and be sure to bargain shop for prices before settling on a location for the wedding reception. Inquire about their down payment and refund policies, and make certain you know all of the extra, or additional costs well ahead of time.

Choose an off time of year, such as in the winter, usually during January or March, to find the best prices on everything from caterers, reception venues, and honeymoon costs. Likewise, getting married on a day of the week such as Monday or Friday will be considerably cheaper than the usual Saturday or Sunday affairs.

Alcohol will usually drive the price of a wedding reception right through the roof, unless of course you either eliminate it altogether, have a “beer or wine only” affair, or provide all of your own liquor instead of being charged by the venue or caterers. Another option considered to be perfectly acceptable at hotels or banquet halls is having a cash bar instead of an open bar.

Forget the traditional banquet hall and instead find a church or recreation hall, or your local community center, many of which charge prices that are considerably lower than other venues.

Depending on the number of tables at the reception, it may be a bit expensive to have disposable cameras at each table. Instead, include small, decorative note cards on every other table, along with a few pens for friends and family to record their well wishes for the happy couple. Be sure to add a small sign at each table asking guests to please write their thoughts or words of wisdom for the newlyweds on the cards that will soon be paired with photos from the disposable cameras.

Decorations don’t have to cost an arm and a leg to be beautiful. Visit your local craft store, as well as the area dollar stores to find a dizzying array of decorative possibilities, including tulle, which can be used to decorate just about anything. Dollar stores have a variety of candles, mirrors, and small decorative items that will easily turn any location into one that’s fit for a day of love and enchantment.

If possible, include a “kids only” area for those guests under a certain age to play and have fun. This is one of the most helpful wedding reception ideas of all, especially if there are any parents in the wedding party. Recruit the help of a teenage friend or relative to keep the kids under control, and be sure to provide plenty of distractions, such as coloring books and crayons, puzzles, books, and a variety of games. If you’re lucky enough to have access to a separate room, splurge and bring along a television, some fun movies and cartoons, or a few video games to keep the little ones entertained throughout the evening.

To save money on food, choose an appetizer only reception, which is usually held between the hours of 4 and 7PM, or a tea reception, serving only finger sandwiches, cake, coffee, and tea between 2 and 5PM, or a brunch or breakfast reception which would follow a wedding held during the late morning hours.

You can read more about fun wedding reception ideas on TheBridesHeart.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brenda_Jackson

You are engaged and it is time to begin your wedding planning. Stop and take a deep breath before you become overwhelmed with the planning details. You must be organized. The first thing you need to do is map out a budget with your groom. List all the items and expenses. After you have everything accounted for; shift around the money so it fits your personal preferences. You may care more about your floral arrangements than the cake. Move things around for your custom wedding day plans.

The biggest hurdle to wedding planning is finding a venue. After you choose a location and book a date, the wedding has a deadline. Choose your venue wisely. This is the most expense bill of the wedding. Shop smart and go over all your options before you sign anything. Before choosing, you need your budget and rough guest list. Aside from aesthetics, these will be factors in determining where the perfect spot will be.

Take the time to find the perfect venue for your wedding. There is no turning back after you have made a formal commitment. There are hidden treasures all over town. There may be a beautiful historic building that would be perfect for your reception. Or a family friend may offer to host your reception on their property. Consider everything. You may be surprised by what you find by doing the leg work yourself.

While you are planning your wedding, it is important not to be overwhelmed. The expenses and deadlines can be very stressful. Try not to devote every extra minute of your time to wedding plans. Your friends may not want to talk about how the flowers match the details of the bridesmaid dresses. Take a breath and walk away every once in a while. In order to stay sane, ask your good friends for help. Having another perspective can take the pressure off when you are making expensive decisions.

Although it often seems as though surprises are impossible these days what with Blackberrys, email and text messaging, there are ways that it can be done. If you want to throw a Bridal shower surprise there are a few things that you will want to keep in mind and which will help to make it the best Bridal shower surprise ever.

Prepare the Lists First

You cannot do anything without having a proper guest list first. Send proper invitations to them, with an RSVP so that you know who will actually attend and who won’t. If there are adjustments to be made, such as some of the guests find some other day suitable than what you have chosen, try to make the changes. You also have to take their traveling into consideration.

Who to include in the guest list? The close family members and the friends of the bride must all be there. This is a way to start making the list actually.

Choose the Date

Once you have your guest lists ready, you can go ahead and plan the date. Selecting a date is never an easy affair. The biggest problem is that you are keeping this a secret from the bride, but at the same time you have to make sure that she will be able to come to the venue (whichever you choose) on that date, without having an inkling that you are planning something for her.

You will have to take her fiancé into confidence. Request him to coordinate the date; he will be the best candidate for that job.

Keep the Bride Occupied

If the bride has no work to do, she can become suspicious sooner, especially when her close people are busy with something else, i.e. planning a shower for her that she does not know about. A good thing to do if you want to surprise her is to keep her busy. This allows you to plan and implement things better. But remember, she should not understand that you are trying to keep her out of the way.

Have a Secrecy Pact

Bridal showers can be very exciting, especially a Bridal shower surprise, but you have to make sure that everyone keeps quiet. The more people each person tells about the surprise party the more likely that it is going to leak out and the guest of honor will find out about the surprise, so make sure that all of the invited guests are tight lipped and keep it on a need to know basis.

Because of its significance to the involved couple’s lives, most people direct much effort, interest, time, and resources towards enhancing their marriage event thus, engraving it effectively in their minds and their hearts. Because it signifies the turning point in their life as a change from a single life towards being a part of a married couple and a foundation of an upcoming family, it is directly appropriate to develop this event into something they can indeed cherish and commemorate for a lifetime. As such, much effort and ideas are given to the various elements and factors involved in the marriage event making such as aesthetic design, dress, decorations, themes, venue, and others to create a collective atmosphere of a wonderful occasion.

To symbolize the significance of the said event and commemorate its occurrence, desiring couples acquire a wedding party favor for their marriage event symbolizing as the token of the said occasion for them and their guest. This wedding party favor can become anything from a figure, a small item, or a simple gift that is giveaway to the guests of the couple as their personal remembrance token for their involvement in the wedding event enabling the recipient to cherish the said event down the course of memory lane.

Creating Your Wedding Party Favor

Every marriage has their respective wedding party favor unique to each event through various characteristics and style. In finding this particular item, it is important to initially establish a wedding party favor idea that is applicable for the interest of the couple, suitable to the theme of their occasion, and also affordable to their situation.

Basically, a wedding party favor is something unique to the couple’s special occasion in which there are numerous to establish this characteristic. A common approach to this is through resorting to personally made handicrafts as the couple’s wedding party favor such as a basket of chocolates, preserve flower bouquet, a brooch, a figurine with engravings, cards, framed photographs, and others. Likely, this approach also addresses the affordability concern for the wedding party favor as personal handicrafts are a lot cheaper than commercial brand however, making them requires time. The aesthetic design of the wedding party favor should also be made suitable to the thematic nature of the wedding thus, making them more commemorative of the wedding event. For example, for outdoor garden wedding, the couple could consider synthetic plant decoration or a cactus garden for a wedding party favor or a butterfly brooch for wedding of the same type.

Indeed, with the right type of a wedding party favor, you can effectively treasure your wedding memories for the rest of your lives as a memorable experience of love and mutual union with your lifetime partner.

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