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.

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In any wedding reception party, wedding centerpieces play a very important role in determining the mood of the party and it is also a reflection of the taste of the couple. Before you move to a final plan for centerpieces for weddings, you must consider the theme of the wedding and also your budget. You can also consult a florist or a wedding planner to get some innovative ideas. But the idea you choose needs to go with the theme of the wedding. But you should not worry if you have a limited budget. There are really many cheap ideas available which can really make excellent centerpieces for your weddings. In addition, you must also consider what type of surroundings you are looking for and also what size of tables you are going to use in the reception.

Depending on your budget and theme you can have a lot of ideas for centerpieces in wedding reception. You can decorate it with flowers. Though many flowers are available in the market, before choosing a flower you must see that it is available in that season and it suits your budget. There are many inexpensive flowers available in the market that may suit your budget and also the theme of the wedding.

You can also make the centerpieces with fruits. You can decorate them with colorful fruits that may look great. If you can add fruits like citrus, it has got a beautiful smell and your guests will really feel charmed. The fruits can be kept as a whole or they can be cut and decorated in pieces, whatever you want. The proper color combination of the fruits may present a very elegant atmosphere to the wedding.

You can also decorate the tables with vegetables in the same manner. You can make different designs using the vegetables and create many wonderful centerpieces for your wedding. This is really an inexpensive idea, but at the same time, will add beauty to your guest tables. For this purpose, you can choose asparagus, artichoke or even green beans.

Using candles is another wonderful idea of decorating the centerpieces of weddings. Candle is such a beautiful option that it goes along with any budget or any taste. It helps to create a very romantic atmosphere, if the wedding takes place in the evening. If the wedding hall is dimly lit and if you can add some flowers to the decoration, then using candles as centerpieces for weddings will have a long lasting impact on your guests.

But you can make great centerpieces if you are planning to get married in fall. The weather is cool and you can get a lot of beautiful flowers at that time. If you are planning a beach side reception party, the centerpiece colors have to be bright and vibrant. It is wise to use sunflowers as the focus flower and can have some carnations and golden rod to add more colors. If it is a Mexican theme reception food, you can add some peppers that may go well with the centerpiece design.

Your wedding reception is the time to celebrate with all the family and friends that you love. The goal should be to host an event that everyone can enjoy. When planning your wedding reception, find a compromise between what you want and what will make your guests the most comfortable.

For your reception you must choose what kind of meal you would like to offer. This is a big expense in you wedding budget. If the wedding reception is going to be hosted for most of the evening, it is assumed that there will be dinner offered to the guests. If you are having a morning wedding you may be able to host a low key reception with hors d’oeuvres and a cocktail hour after the ceremony. Remember that you should be considerate in how you would like to host your guests. They traveled to celebrate with you and have probably brought you a generous gift.

Another big ticket item is the bar. First you should consider if you would like to host an open bar. Given the size of your guest list, this bill can become outrageous. A good compromise is hosting an open bar to a cash limit or for a fixed number of hours. If your guests wish to drink more after you have already bought the first couple rounds, then they can do so.

Many hosts want to create a party with their reception. Others may want to host a quiet and enjoyable evening. Make sure you choose the right band or DJ to create the scene you want. Music can create the mood and move the evening along. Create a sequence with your DJ. When first entering the reception hall, try some background music while everyone is taking their seats and getting acquainted. During dinner, romantic music is enjoyable. While the evening progresses, move to faster music while everyone begins to dance. The party will carry on with the music.

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The expectation from long ago is that the father of the bride is the host of his daughter’s wedding breakfast. In times past that meant paying for the reception too, though the costs are usually shared these days. In keeping with that custom, the bride’s father is usually expected to act as the host for the wedding reception.

Sometimes a professional wedding MC is engaged, especially for society weddings. At most weddings the father of the bride is expected to give an opening speech and propose the toast to the newly wed couple at the beginning of the wedding reception.

There are five key steps to a successful father of the bride speech.

At the outset it is usual to say a few welcoming words to set the scene and create a happy atmosphere for a great wedding reception. The main objective is to get the guests to relax. A good way to do this is to talk about the wedding ceremony, the beautiful bride, the venue for the reception or even the weather — things that all the guests have their own views about — and how much you are looking forward to meeting everyone and enjoying the reception.

Secondly, as the host, the father of the bride welcomes all of the guests. It is usual to introduce any special guests, especially the groom’s family and those who have made a special effort to get to the wedding. Missing guests are often acknowledged at this stage also, especially those with close links with the bride or groom who have been unable to get to the wedding. A loved grandparent or favorite uncle who has recently passed away is often remembered at this point.

A third key component of the speech is to build some anticipation about the schedule for the reception, such as the highlight of the best man’s speech and any entertainment planned for during the reception, and for after the reception. Your guests will appreciate knowing what lies ahead for the reception.

As a fourth step in their wedding speech, most proud fathers want to say a few heartfelt words in public about the bride, their daughter. This is often the most difficult part of the speech to prepare for many fathers. There is not just one way to express your love for your daughter. Telling funny stories about your daughter growing up and quoting poetry are popular approaches, among many others.

Finally, to focus the attention of the wedding guests firmly on the newlywed couple it is customary for the father of the bride to call for guests to join him in a toast to the bride and groom. Choosing the right words for the toast is important.

Every father of the bride will use his own personality, humor and feelings into their father of the bride speeches around this or a similar simple five step speech framework.

Because few fathers will have much prior experience speaking at their own daughter’s wedding, most will find a professional wedding speech guide can be very helpful. Speech outlines and example wedding speeches are available, along with checklists of things and people that really should be mentioned, and valuable suggestions, such as popular jokes, quotes and poems to choose from.

The wedding cake is something that may take some deciding to choose. Many brides and grooms believe that this aspect of a wedding reception needs to be chosen carefully in order to achieve the right kind of classiness. Mostly couples love using real wedding cake flowers to decorate their cake. On the other hand, fake wedding cake flowers can also be used as wedding cake flowers for certain reason such as allergies, sanitation and the likes. 

Wedding Cake Flowers, Made With Fresh Flowers

Wedding cake flowers can really be made with fresh live flowers with the right way of cleaning and meticulous attention to its storage. Wedding cake makers will readily agree to the use fresh flowers for the wedding cake as long as the flowers are available. Fresh wedding cake flowers will look doubly nice on the cake as well as coordinate well with the reception flower arrangements and may be even with the wedding flower bouquet of the bride.

Some great suggestions for wedding cake flowersare chrysanthemums, lily of the valley, gerberas, roses and tulips. The chrysanthemums, roses and gerbera can individually be used to mark the separation between each tier of the wedding cake. An example of this would be red roses in between each layer of cake for a three tier cake. The wedding cake flowers can also be used not as a separator for each tier but also as a decoration for the cake. Lilies of the valley do well as a focal point for each tier of the cake. The flower can be placed on the topmost tier of a three or more layer cake and then subsequent flowers can be attached to each other with a fondant vine design. The colors of the wedding cake flowers should coordinate with the motif of the wedding as well as complement the colors used in the wedding cake.

Fresh wedding cake flowerssuch as gerberas or hyacinths can also be individually attached to the cake sides in a polka dot pattern. It is usually the smaller varieties of flowers that suit this kind of wedding cake flower arrangement. Bunches of small flowers such as hyacinths, cornflowers and smaller varieties of mums can also be placed in strategic places of the wedding cake. Using different colors that complement each other or colors that are similar to each other will help to bring out the best of a plain off white wedding cake.

Wedding cake flowers are not limited to those suggested above. The wedding cake can also be decorated by many other type of flowers. It is best to take one’s time in choosing whichever flower is to be used as wedding cake flowers to avoid continually changing one’s mind even when the cake decision is already finished.