The appearance of your reception site has little to do with money and lots to do with creativity.
Here are a few thoughts that may jumpstart your own original ideas.
- Use coloured light bulbs in specific areas to highlight a feature.
- Use small battery-operated lamps with shades as centrepieces.
- Have clusters of candles – everywhere.
- Rent artificial trees and thread white lights throughout the branches.
- Intersperse several low floral centrepieces with a high, dramatic arrangement (perhaps sprayed tree branches) to add glamour to either the head table or a long table that seats many people.
- Arrange seasonal flowers in terra cotta pots to dress up the bathrooms, the bar and the placecard table.
- If guests are seated at long banquet tables, intersperse with both high and low centrepieces. You might alternate clusters of candles with bowls of flowers.
- Buy white picture frames as the bomboniere, insert the menu and set at each place setting.
- Set up a help-yourself candy table with different types of candies but all in one colour. House them in clear glass dishes of various shapes.
- Have waiters pass a signature cocktail on silver trays.
- Choose guest gifts that fit the theme of the wedding. A garden wedding? Give small pots of herbs. Country wedding with maple trees? Give jars of maple syrup. Marrying in Las Vegas? Give a deck of cards. Serving your own homemade wine? Give a small take-home bottle to each guest.
- Decorate the chairs in which the bride and groom will sit at the head table. Twist or thread a long vine of greenery around the back or flowers held by a wide velvet ribbon or just rent special chair covers.
- Use ordinary floor-length white tablecloths and top with a coloured or white-on-white damask overlay that hangs down about a foot. Make them yourself!
- Dress up your table by tying your napkins in the middle with a satin ribbon and then tuck in a tiny flower.
This wedding was held at Gardiner Museum, Toronto. Flowers by Smashing Violets. The soft hues of pink and coral florals complemented the clean lines of the art gallery.
This backyard wedding was a DIY dream! The bride crafted every item herself including the elaborate desert table! Even the flower girl’s favourite stuffy came dressed in appropriate wedding attire!
The Art Gallery of Ontario was the background for clean lines and bold pops of colour! The bride designed the entire event including the floral arrangements.
