Inexpensive Wedding Reception Ideas
By Sunshyne77 from East Chicago, IN
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RE: Inexpensive Wedding Reception Ideas
SAVE & USE coupons! It may sound cheap, but it's well worth it in the end, as others will tell you.
HobbyLobby.com has weekly coupons (http://www.hobbylobby.com/weekly/weekly.cfm) that you can print on your home computer. Their current coupon is for 40% off any ONE regular-priced item. Print it off 3 or 4 times, and make several trips, but you get what you need at a price you can afford. You can do this at Michael's and other craft stores as well.
Hobby Lobby has 54" wide tulle for decorating for 99 cents/yd. With that coupon, you can get 40 YARDS of it for $23 bucks. Not bad- and you can decorate quite a bit for that amount!
Also with those 40% and 50% off coupons, you could pick up a cake pan set in the baking aisles of the craft stores and make your own wedding cake. If you aren't having a ton of guests, this may be a perfect solution for you. I know they have baking pan sets (I think it's a 14", 10" and 6" pan set) for about $35 at both Michael's & Hobby Lobby, so use those coupons and drop that price to $17.50, and make a wedding cake that you will always remember because you made it. With that set (if you save the top layer for your 1st anniversary) should be plenty to feed about 35-50 depending on your slices.
My local Dollar Store has some really pretty tealight candle holders. You'd definitely think they cost more than a dollar each! They also sell bags of tealights for a buck too!
Shop clearance! You have plenty of time to search those clearance racks of wedding related items.
Youtube.com also has tons of videos on decorating for receptions, How to's, cake decorating, etc. Educate yourself now, and you will have a beautiful, inexpensive wedding and reception that will be out of this world!
Now, about those invitations. You can print them from your home computer if you prefer. Originally this was my choice and I purchased a prepackaged box of do-it-yourself invitations for about $20. The box contained just the invitations and plain white envelopes. When I attempted to print them, the first few didn't turn out the way I wanted, plus they weren't always aligned correctly. I ditched that idea and ended up purchasing my invitations, RSVP cards, etc. from (www.123print.com). They have tons of styles to choose from (we choose seaside romance because of the starfish) and you can't beat the price!! It cost me $148 for 100 invitations with envelopes (my address printed on the back) PLUS 100 RSVP cards (with envelopes) PLUS 50 Reception cards. If your wedding and reception is much smaller, they also advertise some as low as $12.95 for 25 invitations. They look great, are professionally done, and will arrive in less than a week (we were actually amazed at how quickly we got them).
Congratulations, and Best wishes! If you need more helpful hints, be specific in your questions (need help decorating tables, table centerpieces, etc.). This site has tons of wonderful ideas!
Post by Brittsmama
RE: Inexpensive Wedding Reception Ideas
Local parks that have a pond or a lake will rent a pavilion for less than $100, and some are free. Have a family member or friend Grill a bunch of food and decorate the tables really pretty. You can gather tables from others to borrow and gather table cloths to match the colors of your wedding.
Surely between both families and friends you can gather several white tablecloths and a few colored ones with tables. That won't cost you a dime. Also, for centerpieces; you can do the same. Gather different flower vases and/or candle votives or holders to match your theme. Each table doesn't have to be alike.
You can even make your own place cards. Print out the guest names with a pretty font on some card stock or bond paper and put them in a paper frame, which you can get a cutter for at a craft or scrap booking store- or on line. Use some pretty paper to match your stuff and just place the cards without a frame. It will have simple elegance and everyone will have a party favor to take home.
Post by eth0301
RE: Inexpensive Wedding Reception Ideas
We did this for a dance at the Vet's club one year. Get grapevine from a wooded area and let dry out for a month. Clean off the dry leaves. Hang the grapevine across the ceiling with string or thin wire but let it hang down aways. Put white xmas lights throughout the grapevine. Cut out different size stars out of tagboard or any thin cardboard. Spray them gold. Hang them up from the grapevine. Punch a hole in the top of the star and tie with thread or string. It will look like the sky with stars when it is lit up. The grapevine is free and you can borrow the lights from friends and relatives. You can use any cardboard, that is free. You can buy the gold paint for $1 at WalMart. Buy string at the Dollar store. It is a little work but get your wedding party to help you. It will look like fantastic. Good luck!
Post by Judieb
RE: Inexpensive Wedding Reception Ideas
I'm not a gardener, but could you have friends grow flowers to use in decorating and for your bouquet...probably not zinnias, but I'm sure there are yard flowers that would work. Good luck.
Post by tennesue
RE: Inexpensive Wedding Reception Ideas
My daughter in law had hers at her church, where she is an active member, and the ladies there helped so much! Her theme was simple---Camo and Flowers. It wasn't tacky---alot of mason jars with inexpensive artificial daisies, greenery, tables covered with cheap camo netting and fabric. Hunting themed decor---toy guns, ammo, No Hunting signs, stuffed (toy) animals like deer, raccoons, real deer antlers, etc. She wore camo crocs under her gown, the bridesmaids had dresses of sage green and tan, and the men wore camo vests/ties with their tuxes. Food was simple, with everyone, including church memebers, family, etc bringing a 'potluck' dish, or chips, dips, sodas, etc. The church was decorated very simply but nicely as well, with the same type of flowers, inexpensive candles, and alot of green/brn/tan netting and ribbons to decorate the pews.
Post by fatboyslimsmom
RE: Inexpensive Wedding Reception Ideas
The Shriners in our town have a pavilion with kitchen and bathrooms and I think it cost me like $200. from like 8am till midnight for you could check with local groups in your area
Post by wvrdnkwmn
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