I need help trying to do an affordable wedding reception. Please help.
By sheena from Shreveport
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First off you don't need a lot of decorations, balloons are inexpensive and make a good showing, Silk flowers aren't real expensive, along with tulle to make large fluffy bows. Tulle is really cheap as far as fabric goes. You don't need a dance, that is probably one of more expensive parts of a reception. Food, if you have the wedding at a time of day where the guests won't expect a meal, you can get by with cake, coffee, tea, and punch.
My daughter is getting married in May, and she is holding her reception in a local large aquarium -- they supply the decorations and table linens for a great price.
I second the potluck idea, or even a "cake and punch" reception. No need to spend a fortune on one day -- it's the marriage that matters, not the wedding!
You don't say when the wedding is or where it is, so your food and decorations would depend on that. My daughter got married 6 years ago. We are here at the beach so she decided not to go "beachy" but to use some of the decorations. Her colors were periwinkle and white. For the reception, we set the tables with periwinkle, white, or purple cloths.
I agree with everyone else; an early punch and cake reception is quite common here. You can make it elegant by having a cookie table and/or a table with fruit and a chocolate fountain. Don't forget to add nuts and mints. If you choose, finger sandwiches may be added along with some champagne for the bridal toast.
Receptions have over the years indeed got out of hand. When I was growing up and then got married we had cake, punch, coffee, mints and nuts no matter what time of day you had the ceremony. Everyone eat before coming or after the ceremony was over. Everyone concentrated on the couple, the ceremony and then had a little social time after. What happened to that concept?
I would consider getting a membership to a warehouse store for your purchases. You can buy decor, flowers, cake, snacks, food, invitations, alcoholic beverages. A great thing is that you can return unused things, so if you buy more drinks or food than you need you can get your money back.
My daughter was married in a park where all the guests brought a picnic basket and blanket and wore casual clothes. We made hors d'oevres and supplied the cake and some drinks. Her wedding dress was a Japanese kimono costing $300.
I just tried the website from what I posted and I'm sorry to say that it did not work. Just look up Dayle's Growlies for groups, large quantity recipes, and you should be able to find it!
Firefly and everybody else
The link you posted will work if you remove the period dot at the end of the link.
You can have a beautiful reception without spending all your savings. Here are some easy ideas.
- Have a pasta bar instead of a sit down dinner, it's filling but much less expensive and perfect for vegetarians too!
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