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Tag Archives: wedding reception ideas
Create clever napkin folds for the perfect finishing touch!
For a celebration that looks like it was planned to perfection, use colorful napkins to create a polished look. We’ve come up with a few clever ways to use napkins in your place settings that will delight guests with your attention to detail — check them out and see which look is right for your wedding reception. Remember to personalize your napkins with your choice of design for a look that coordinates with your wedding style and theme.
Napkin fold: cute cones!
1. Fold your napkins into a cone shape to use for treats like popcorn, mixed nuts and candy. Wrap two opposite corners of the napkin together, staple or tie with ribbon and you’ll have an adorable pouch for goodies. Display the cones in baskets or trays so guests can help themselves.
Napkin fold: silverware wrap!
2. Dress up your place settings by wrapping a napkin around your silverware. This puts your personalization on display and provides a creative touch to your place settings.
Napkin fold: glassware accents!
3. Add a decorative touch to your toasting flutes and glasses on your reception tables by adding napkins to them. Fold the napkins into cones or fluff them out for a fancier look.
Napkin fold: layered look!
4. Create a layered look and provide guests with the convenience of two napkins by layering a personalized paper napkin over a cloth dinner napkin. This gives you the opportunity to add even more color and style to your tables.
As a general rule, order two napkins per guests to make sure you have enough. Order cocktail napkins to have at your bar and cake table and dinner napkins for your meal. Mix and match colors for a custom, colorful look.
Enjoy!
Keep your bar budget in check with these creative options!
You want everybody to have a great time celebrating at your reception. But the last thing you want is to have the alcohol budget — or your guests — to get out of control. How do you keep the bar tab in check while still encouraging guests to enjoy themselves in moderation?
It’s a delicate balance, but we’ve got some great options for you to consider when planning your reception refreshments.
1,3. Treat guests to a complimentary “cheers” on the newlyweds with one of these cute little drink tickets. Print the tickets with a fun design and your names in an ink color that matches your wedding and tuck the cards under the ribbons on your favor boxes or present them in sweet, sheer little envelopes. This can be a way encourage guests to have only one drink at your reception, or a way to treat guests to a free drink if you’re having a cash bar.
2. Work with your reception site’s bar manager to create a drink menu that matches your wedding season and theme. Print the menu on menu cards and have these drinks available to guests free of charge during a set time period, like during your social hour or during the dinner hour. Only offering drinks during limited time can be a great way to control your alcohol budget. If you’d like to continue offering drinks to guests, you can offer free wine and beer afterward, or open up a cash bar after the free drink hour is over.
3. Create a signature drink that matches your wedding theme and colors and ask circulating servers to offer it to guests from trays. Doing this will make sure your guests are served efficiently and that no one will have to stand in the endless line at the bar. As a fun touch, print cocktail napkins with your signature drink recipe. Again, you can have your signature drink be the only alcohol option, or you can open up a cash bar after these drinks are circulated.
Enjoy!
Real wedding DIY ideas!
We
love real weddings and the real ideas brides have for making their celebrations
personal, beautiful and unforgettable!
Photo by Red Shoe
Gallery Photography (www.redshoegallery.com)
Recently,
we got to see a real wedding in action from beginning to end when our staff
member Robin's daughter got married. Robin is so talented and created, and she
and her daughter, Brooke, came up with some wonderful DIY projects to make the
wedding unique. Here, Robin tells you all about a few of their ideas — get
inspired to create unique accents for YOUR wedding!
"Instead
of having a guest book, we wanted to be creative and have guest write their
wishes for the couple. We used Dreaming Up Designs scrapbooking paper and cut out bird shapes printed with instructions on the back to write a
wedding wish. We found a gorgeous, ornate birdcage to hold the wish cards and
painted it gold to match Brooke's color scheme. For a finishing touch, we
ordered aluminum art in the word "wish," painted it gold and attached it to the cage.
Guests loved writing their wishes for the newlyweds and the couple had a great
time reading the cards in the days after the wedding."
"We
wanted to greet guests with everything they'd need to make the reception
relaxing and fun. So we ordered envelopes in Brooke's natural-tone colors or espresso, olive, celery, cream and white,
and then we added a printed sticker with the guests's name and table assignment to the outside. Inside, we placed
the bird-shaped wish cards, plus two leaf-shaped cards we cut out from olive
and spice blank card stock
and printed them as complimentary drink tickets. Everyone raved about the
presentation!"
"All
the envelopes lined up on the place card table pulled the colors together and
looked really stunning. Guests milled around the table for a long time admiring
everything!"
Get
creative and DIY your way to a unique wedding!
Enjoy!
The best way to end your wedding reception
You've
surely thought of every detail to make your wedding reception perfect: the
décor, the food, the beverages, the cakes the favors, the dance music.
But
have you thought about how your reception should END? Remember, a well-planned
event doesn't just fizzle out and cause guests to wander out aimlessly. It
leaves guests delighted with one last surprise that causes them to remember
your wedding forever.
How
do you do it? Delight guests by setting up a coffee or hot chocolate bar just
as the dance is ending! They'll love the little treat to refresh themselves
after kicking up their heels, and they'll relish devouring the treats on the
way home.
Have
a selection of gourmet coffees and hot chocolates ready for guests to pour into
take-away cups, and arrange donuts and bagels on pretty silver trays or in vases for guests to help themselves to. Don't forget to order personalized napkins
and cellophane bags
or favor bags
for guests to use when serving themselves. Add printed menu cards to encourage guests to enjoy! Or, you could package donuts or bagels and a hot
chocolate or coffee packet in a cellophane bag, add a personalized seal
and a ribbon,
and send guests off with a sweet treat they can enjoy in the morning. Or on the way home…
A “Romantic Vintage” reception theme in pink and pewter to inspire you!
Today
we’re continuing our "Romantic Vintage" theme with beautiful ideas
for your reception in shades of pink and pewter. Just look at all the options
you have for mixing, matching and coordinating!
1.
Traditional, square white coasters with pretty, scalloped edges add a sweet touch to your bar, punch and coffee
tables. Personalize them for an extra-special touch!
2.
Unique, wedge-shaped favor boxes embossed with a romantic floral pattern are fun to display on cake plates in
the shape of a wedding cake! It's a simple way to add unforgettable, romantic
style to your reception.
3.
Want to add a little bit of vintage glam to your favors? Choose pewter
two-piece favor boxes, fill with pink candies and add a puff of feathers to the top to bring to mind
Old Hollywood movie stars!
4.
Get stylish down to your cocktail and dinner napkins!
Pink napkins are printed with the damask-patterned design JM979 for a pretty,
vintage look.
5.
Make your reception tables a vintage vision by choosing old-fashioned flowers
like peonies, lilacs or roses. Sleek vases put all the beauty on the blossoms. Add a table number card for centerpieces and table numbers in one!
6.
Give gifts that match your theme! Our quilted, satin cosmetic bags call to mind the dressing tables of days gone by. Each is embroidered for a
pretty finishing touch. Choose pink for the maid of honor,
brown for bridesmaids and white for the bride.
7.
Every fashionable girl of yore carried a compact to check her lipstick. Todays
girls are no different — your bridesmaids will love having compacts to remind them of your beautiful wedding day!
8.
Cut and serve your wedding cake in traditional style with a stylish, silver-plated
cake knife and server.
Enjoy!
P.S.
Shop now for great savings during our Summer Lovin' Sale!
Posted in Ceremony and Reception Decorating, Wedding Favors, Wedding Themes, Looks and Color Stories
Tagged bridal party gifts, bridesmaids gifts, cocktail wedding napkins, reception vases, square white coasters, two piece wedding favor boxes, wedding cake server sets, wedding favor boxes, wedding reception ideas, wedding table number cards
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Put the “fresh” in refreshments at your summer wedding with a lemonade bar!
Summer
is upon us, and that means warm-weather weddings are just around the corner.
Treat your guests to a lemonade bar after your ceremony to not only help them
quench their thirst, but to add an irresistible touch of freshness and fun to
your entire event.
Set
up everything guests will need for helping themselves to a cold, lemony
beverage — and make it welcoming! Place straws, lemon drops and lemon wedges in
heart-shaped vases for a fun presentation. Serve bottled lemonade that's been chilling in
ice-filled buckets, or ask your caterer to concoct batches of lemonade in glass serving containers.
Be
sure to provide guests with colorful coasters and napkins printed with fun designs to coordinate with your wedding colors and your
refreshments.
Enjoy!
Posted in Ceremony and Reception Decorating, Outdoor Weddings, Wedding Reception
Tagged coaster, colorful drink coasters, colorful napkins, heart shaped glass vases, heart shaped vases, lemonade wedding bar, napkin, personalized buckets, personalized napkins, wedding reception ideas, white buckets
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How to throw a fun and energized wedding reception
You
have planned every last detail for what will undoubtedly be a beautiful wedding
reception, but have you given any thought to entertaining your guests? Here are
a few tips to help you throw a fun and energized reception that all of your
guests will enjoy.
Lounge
areas set apart from the music and the dining area are all the rage. Provide
couches, chairs and floor cushions for guests to gather and relax and visit
with each other.
•
Set up a gaming room for gambling fans to try their luck and take a break from
the reception action. Provide billiard tables, casino games and a poker table
with a dealer.
•
Have the videographer set up a stationery camera so guests can record their own
messages to the bride and groom throughout the evening.
•
During cocktail hour, consider offering a dance class. Guests will have fun
learning and it will get them in the mood to dance later on. It also might help
coax a few of those shy closet-dancers out onto the floor.
•
Place a card with the words to your first dance song at each place setting so
guests can serenade you during that magical first dance.
•
Try candy instead of cake. Set up a candy buffet that is sure to entice every
taste bud. It adds to your wedding décor AND it’s a fun way for guests to
mingle and satisfy their sweet cravings.
•
Write place cards with a few words that describe each guest. They will
appreciate the thought and you will have a blast describing your friends and
family with words like “super mom” or “wildly entertaining.”
Now, use your creative side and come up with some
unique-to-you wedding reception ideas for your fabulous reception!
Enjoy!
Beautiful, money-saving alternatives for having the wedding of your dreams.
Saving money and
paying attention to your budget doesn’t mean you have to give up all of your
dreams. It just means thinking about things differently and working those
dreams into realistic wedding plans.
1. The
dream: a
big, posh hotel wedding.
The
beautiful, money-saving alternative: A celebration in a smaller, chic restaurant.
You’ll still have a great dinner and superb atmosphere at great savings, versus holding your wedding at a full-service hotel banquet hall. You’ll also probably
get more unique menu options and more personalized service if the restaurant
is independent and locally owned.
And you’re more
likely to be able to bring in items that are important to you, like a cake
baked by the baker of your choice, special wine, personalized napkins and your own toasting glassware.
2. The
dream:
Riding with your entire party in a stretch limo from ceremony to reception.
The
beautiful, money-saving alternative: Being whisked off, just you and your new
hubby, in a friend’s sports car. The ride will be much more romantic — and it’s
a great opportunity to surprise your new spouse with a special gift. Riding in a friend’s car or renting a small car for just the two of you will
save you hundreds and hundreds of dollars over booking a top-of-the-line limo.
Just be sure that everyone in your wedding party does have transportation to
the reception site; arrange for family members and friends with cars to provide
rides.
photo:
Clark Art Photography • clarkartphoto.com
3. The
dream:
A wedding bash in the heart of the city.
The
beautiful, money-saving reality: An elegant wedding with all the trimmings in
your hometown. You can still have everything you want to make your wedding special
when you host it in your hometown, but it will cost you a fraction of the bill
you’d be presented with if you’d hold it in the city on a weekend. You'll also
have the opportunity to take advantage of activities, services and products
that make your wedding unique, like trolley transportation in a historic town,
a getaway in a decorated boat at the lake or providing local treats for favors.
Art Photography • clarkartphoto.com
Enjoy!
