Where do you get your wedding reception ideas? How do you decide between a formal dinner and a buffet? Do you really want to create a seating chart for 200 people? Do you want to embrace the pomp and the circumstance of the receiving line? Where do you look for your wedding reception ideas? The answer to that is a simple one. You look to your own life, the life of your soon to be spouse and you find the a happy middle ground that satisfies you both.
The wedding reception is the first major event hosted by you and your new spouse. It’s a function that celebrates your marriage and invites all of your family and friends to celebrate alongside you. The reception is as much for your guests as it is for you. In fact, in many cases your wedding reception will continue after you and your new spouse leave it to head out for the honeymoon.
Wedding reception ideas come from mixing both the drama and the fantasy in our lives. Think of a romantic setting that you’d like to share with your wedding guests and create it. If that means creating a beautiful outdoor setting with tents and paper lanterns that mix both natural and quiet illuminations as well as dramatic shadows; then that’s what you do.
Your wedding reception ideas might include a brightly lit room with colorful decorations, loud music and lots of group dances. Your wedding reception ideas have to come from who the two of you are individually and who you want to be together. It’s the first couple of paragraphs in the new chapter of your lives. So create the setting you want to be seen in and you want to enjoy in and that’s where your wedding reception ideas come from.
Describe Your Wedding Photography for Your
Photographer
When you meet with your wedding photographer, you will have a
lot to talk about. There will be many different moments happening before, during
and after the wedding. Wedding photography is part photojournalism and part
portraiture. You want your wedding photographer to be prepared for the
unexpected. During your interview with them, you want to ask them about their
style; their background and their experience.
You want a wedding
photographer who watches the people around them. You want wedding photography
that comes from being unobtrusive where they catch not only the key wedding
moments, but also the moments of deep connection between the bride, the groom,
the family members and other guests.
Imagine, standing in the vestibule
of the Church while the Bride is waiting with her father for their cue. They
aren’t saying anything with words, but Dad brushes her cheek with his knuckles,
ever so lightly and her eyes shimmer with tears. The corners of her mouth turn
up just ever so slightly and her father’s face softens as well. That is the shot
you want in your wedding photography. Be sure to give your wedding photographer
clear details of the wedding location, venue, theme and most of all – what you
want to see.
Take the time to talk to your wedding photographer during
the interview and during the wedding planning. If it helps, write down what you
want your wedding album to look like before you meet with the photographer in
order to give them clear directions. Remember, however, that while the wedding
photographer is a professional, it’s still your wedding.
Make Your Own Wedding Favors
Weddings can be very
expensive. Whether you do all the planning yourself, including making the food
for the reception, hosting the wedding in your home or yard and setting up the
floral arrangements yourself, you are going to be spending money. The more
guests you have, the more expensive the wedding will be. One of the ways you can
save money at your wedding is to make your own wedding favors.
Homemade
wedding favors can include such charming ideas as the votive candle holder.
These are very simple and yet look classical in their setting on the guest
tables. If you like chocolate, you can wander through the craft stores and find
a series of different things that you can place your chocolates in such as glass
slippers.
Another popular idea for homemade wedding favors is bottles of
decorative sand. While this may not sound like much of a favor, consider the
fact that the wedding favor should reflect some aspect of the wedding. If the
wedding is as beach ceremony and the reception is hosted with decorations of
seashells and ocean themes, a bottle of decorative sand is the ideal. That's the
beauty of making your own wedding favors, they can tell the story you want them
to tell and accent the theme you want it to accent.
