Wedding Colors: Ideas to Help Find Your “Tone”
Figuring out your wedding color scheme is indeed one of the first things you need to do, as many of your decisions from here out you will need to know a color for.
When it comes to determining your wedding colors, ideas can come from all sorts of inspiration. And that’s what you have to decide on – what is your inspiration?
And as a side note here, let me just say, “Oh boy, finally something about the wedding planning process that is not only fun and exciting, but one of the cheapest things on your checklist.” For once, your wedding budget does not have to be considered, so really enjoy this part because it doesn’t matter if you pick brown or fuchsia, one doesn’t cost more than the other – yeah!!
For wedding colors, ideas should be pulled from your inspiration items mixed with “who you are” – not due to a trend.
While we certainly have articles on wedding color trends because our subscribers want to know these things and of course it’s interesting, but please don’t choose your wedding colors due to a trend; your wedding is about you, not anyone else’s!
Wedding Colors – Ideas on how to help you decide on YOUR wedding colors:
- Your personality type. Start by considering your personality type, are you and your fiancé traditional and conservative or a bit funky and bold. I do think your wedding day is NOT the time to try to be something you’re not, even though I know we all “work on ourselves” to be a little more like this or a little less like that, but your wedding day is a life time memory and it should reflect the “core” you. You’ll be much happier if you stick to what your gut tells you.
- The “language” of color. Now that you’ve considered your personality traits, let’s consider what some basic colors from the color wheel represent. Most colors have strong associations that everyone seems to share. This subtle “language of color” is an important consideration in color selection. We couldn’t fit all this information into one article, so to find out which colors most represent your personality/character traits, read our article on Wedding Colors, Ideas about “Color Language”.
- Your Inspiration. What places or clothes or paintings make you feel good? Do you have a favorite room in your house? If so, it may be the color scheme that you are drawn to and you don’t even realize it. What about a painting, you can draw your color inspiration from your favorite piece of artwork. And I found the greatest tool for you to “draw out” the colors of these inspiration pieces. I love it!! It’s a Color Palette Generator Tool and it helps you to choose the perfect colors based on an image that you love. Just upload your image (take a digital picture of that painting to upload it) and poof, you see the colors behind the scene. Following is an example of using a Color Palette Generator Tool. Another palette generator tool you might like is ColorHunter.
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And as is the case when putting on any special event, your surroundings play an important role as does the mood you want to portray, so the following are also considerations when thinking about your wedding colors ideas:
- Where is the wedding and reception? Choose colors that complement the setting. Consider the carpeting, drapery and decor, etc.
- What mood do you want to create? Vibrant colors add drama, while soft colors evoke a more romantic atmosphere.
- What time of year will you marry? The season may influence your color scheme. Spring and summer colors tend to be lighter, while fall and winter colors are generally darker.
Look and think about all of these aids when considering your wedding colors and you will be assured to come up with a well coordinated color scheme, and enjoy the process!!
By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com. See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.
“Create Your Own Wedding — Own Your Style, Not Someone Else’s — and do it all while keeping money in your pocket!”
Wedding Colors, Ideas about “Color Language”
Color plays such an important role in our lives whether we realize it or not. It has the ability to influence our feelings and emotions in a way that few other mediums can. It can control our moods and thoughts. And for weddings, determining your color scheme helps to set the stage for the style wedding you envision.
“When thinking about your wedding colors, ideas can be reached from also considering the subliminal meanings colors give off. They have symbolic meanings that change amongst cultures and countries.”
Color is a part of our life. Colors are a part of our pop-culture. We associate our favorite sports team by their team colors. Red Sox, White Sox, Cleveland Browns, Duke Blue Devils are among a few teams to incorporate a color into their name. Hmmm, maybe the colors of your favorite sports teams should be considered when coming up with ideas for your wedding color choices – maybe not.
Most colors have strong associations that everyone seems to share — “color language.” This subtle “language of color” could be considered an important consideration in your wedding colors selection. The following offers some generalizations about certain colors as well as some “adjectives” used to describe these colors that you can coordinate with your personalities when working on choosing your wedding colors. When thinking about your wedding colors, ideas can be reached from also considering the subliminal meanings colors give off. They have symbolic meanings that change amongst cultures and countries.
Red: Red is viewed as an exciting, dramatic color. The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. The darkest reds, such as burgundy and maroon, have a rich stately feeling. Red clothing gets noticed and can make the wearer appear heavier. The most romantic color, pink, is more tranquilizing.
Stimulate * Exciting * Energy * Attention * Advancing * Warm * Powerful * Activates * Dramatic * Beautiful * Strong * Passionate * Sensuality * Desire
Orange: Orange gives off an aura that is cheerful, bold, and exciting. Orange has a friendly, informal feeling. Rust, a dark muted orange, is a quiet color that conjures up misty autumn days, while the paler peach makes a cheerful, warm but understated, impact.
Stimulate * Flamboyant * Brilliant * Warm * Spontaneous * Bold * Daring * Robust * Joyful * Adventuresome
Yellow: Cheerful sunny yellow is an attention getter. It is the most difficult color for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused. Gold and ochre tones of yellow create a formal, antique atmosphere. Soft yellows have been popular since Colonial days, and these warm, inviting shades can do justice to any wedding color scheme. However, not a good color on white stationery.
Optimism * Enlightenment * Happiness * Cheerful * Stimulating * Intelligent * Expressive * Warm * Wisdom
Green: Green is nature’s favorite color. Perhaps because of this strong association with nature, green is a very soothing color to most people. Because green is easy on the eyes, it has long been a popular color. Green is a versatile color that looks good anywhere. Brides in the Middle Ages wore green to symbolize fertility. Dark green is masculine, conservative, and implies wealth.
Peace * Ecology * Soothing * Relaxing * Renewal * Self-control * Harmony * Tranquil * Restful * Secure * Flexible
Blue: Blue is America’s “favorite color.” The universal appeal of blue skies and blue water create a feeling of serenity and openness. Aqua blue is a more frivolous and sunny color. It causes the opposite reaction as red. Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it is often used in bedrooms.
Trustworthy * Dependable * Committed * Calming * Cooling * Tranquil * Peaceful
Purple: Purple brings to mind of wealth and royalty. Purple and violet are indeed luxurious shades. Lavender, a tint of violet, is gaining popularity and conveys a feeling of low-key refinement. It is also feminine and romantic. However, because it is rare in nature, purple can appear artificial.
Uplifting * Calming * Spirituality * Stately * Regal * Respected * Humble * Richness
Brown: Solid, reliable brown is the color of earth and is abundant in nature. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is more refined. Brown can also be sad and wistful. Men are more apt to say brown is one of their favorite colors.
Organic * Stability * Earth * Reliability * Approachability * Wholesomeness
White: White symbolizes freshness, purity, and cleanliness. Brides wear white to symbolize innocence and purity. You can’t go wrong with white: it offsets any color you use it with. White reflects light and is considered a summer color. White is popular in fashion because it is light, neutral, and goes with everything. Another “color” that obviously doesn’t work on a white background.
Purity * Cleanliness * Neutrality * Fresh
Black: Black is an authoritative classic color that conveys sophistication. Black provides a neutral yet dramatic counterpoint to any color you choose. It is popular in fashion because it makes people appear thinner. It is also stylish and timeless. Black also implies submission. Priests wear black to signify submission to God. Some fashion experts say a woman wearing black implies submission to men. Black outfits can also be overpowering, or make the wearer seem aloof or evil.
Authoritative * Powerful * Mysterious * Dignified * Refinement * Sophistication
Gray: Gray is an elegant neutral that has enjoyed a lot of attention. Gray has a definite business-like, urban feel to it. Because gray is so neutral, you can accent it with any color you please.
Security * Reliability * Intelligence * Conservative * Maturity * Practical,
If you want to delve more into the meaning of colors while deciding on your wedding colors, ideas about color from what they mean in different cultures to what other colors go best with your choices can be found aplenty on the internet. Just type in your keyword search questions such as “what does yellow mean,” what goes good with yellow” and you will get a tremendous amount of education about colors.
By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com. See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.
“Create Your Own Wedding — Own Your Style, Not Someone Else’s — and do it all while keeping money in your pocket!”
Free Wedding Graphics
Since we are a website whose primary focus is helping you to create a stylish wedding within your budget, we certainly need to talk about how you can find some “free” things, so today let’s look at Free Wedding Graphics. Clipart and photos can be a great way to embellish wedding-related items, and whenever we can find something for free, that makes it that much better, but keep in mind that for something as simple as clipart to be appealing and professional, you need to be careful about which images you use and how you use them.
“The Internet is full of places for you to find free wedding graphics for all your do-it-yourself wedding projects.”
You should choose clipart that appeals to your tastes and also coordinates with your wedding’s formality and theme. A brightly-colored image of ducks in a tuxedo and wedding gown may be funny, but it is not suitable for formal wedding needs. Similarly, a classic, elegant bride in a high-necked, long-sleeved antique gown holding hands with a groom in a top hat and tails may be a lovely image, but it could confuse your guests if you are having a casual beach wedding — but you knew that already!
Whether you’re looking specifically for bride groom free clipart or free wedding graphics that have a variety of clipart, the Internet is full of places for you to find “clipable” art for all your do-it-yourself wedding projects. However, while finding free wedding graphics and clipart online may seem like a simple task, many websites feature the same common images with little unique to offer. However, we found the following websites that seem to offer extensive collections: Webweaver, Cool Clips, Wedding Clipart and Microsoft Office Clipart Gallery
From invitations to programs to creating a wedding website, all of these are the type of items you can create yourself to save money. However, it will save quite a bit of time if you hone in on a type clipart you are looking for instead of typing the very generic keyword search of “free wedding graphics”. Be more specific as to what wedding clipart you are looking for, such as some of the ideas below, and you will find what you want quick:
- Wedding cakes or cake slices
- Wedding and engagement ring images
- Limousines or “Just Married” signs
- Floral bouquets and centerpieces
- Hearts — of every shape, size, and design
- Pair of doves
- Bells, with or without ribbons and flowers
- Champagne glasses
- Churches, Crosses, Bibles, and other religious imagery
Wedding invitations are one of the more expensive printed items for a wedding, but if you have the time and just a little computer know-how, they don’t have to be. You can purchase some lovely invitation paper from stores like Kelly Paper or even some office stores, like Staples. There are a couple quality online stores that offer blank printable stationery that are worth looking into as well:
www.Rexcraft.com — Go to their “Do It Yourself/Print your own invitations” section
InvitationsbyDawn.com – Go to their “Do It Yourself Invitation Kits”
With your free wedding graphics and some classy paper, you can print your own wonderful wedding invitations, save the date cards, engagement announcements, etc. Just be sure you choose an appropriate wedding graphic for your invitation – I mean if you’re looking for bride groom free clipart, mostly what you will find are caricatures of couples, which if you are going way informal could work.
An Option to Using Clipart
Another great idea to add “free” art to any of your projects is just to use photos of you and your fiancé. You can “jazz” the photos up using a simple Photoshop technique like smearing to create something really unique and interesting for your wedding programs or wedding save the date cards (maybe not invitations). I just clicked on “Neon Glow” in my Photoshop to create the picture to the right.
So, as you see, free wedding graphics aren’t just the ones you find on the web, but you can do a variety of unique techniques to personalize your wedding stationary that isn’t costly. Creating a thank you card using a collage of pictures from your wedding on the front and printing on cardstock is a great idea. I did the collage style postcard below for our catering company . . . I know, it’s for a caterer not a wedding, but you get the idea, and I just happened to have this one handy to show you.
I’m sure you already have in mind what you want to use your wedding graphics for or you wouldn’t have typed in the keyword “free wedding graphics” and found this article, but maybe the following gives you some ideas you hadn’t thought of yet for the use of your free wedding graphics clipart:
Engagement announcements * Wedding favor tags * Save the date cards * Wedding programs * Casual wedding invitations * Wedding thank you notes * Wedding website graphics * Wedding newsletters
Not Creative, Need Help?
Whether you are the creative type or not, we can all use some help from examples and samples, and that is what you will get from The Artful Bride: Wedding Invitations: A Stylish Bride’s Guide to Simple, Handmade Wedding Correspondence
But lastly, if all the above is not for you, and time is more valuable than money, or you’re just not the do-it-yourselfer type of person, YourWeddingDollars is very comfortable in recommending you take a look at the Wedding Invitations by Wedding Paper Divas. They are of great quality, offer many style choices, and their prices are reasonable when compared to other companies with similar quality.
Whichever way you choose, from free wedding graphics or touched up photos that you place on blank stationery with your special wording to ordering it all done and ready to just add your address and postage, so long as you keep to what the style of your wedding is and keep within your budget, you are bound to be happy with the outcome!
By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com. See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.
“Create Your Own Wedding — Own Your Style, Not Someone Else’s — and do it all while keeping money in your pocket!”
“Homemade” Wedding Party Gifts – Using Snapfish makes it a Snap
When it comes to wedding photo gifts, you have a lot of options for online digital processing of photo books to coffee mugs, and I have tried several of them myself for a variety of gifts. While they are all a little bit different with some focusing mainly on their price, some that focus strongly on their quality, some that have user friendly websites and some that don’t, my vote for the most ease of use, good customer service, and best quality for your “wedding” dollars is Snapfish.com .
To me, for creating “homemade” wedding party gifts, Snapfish.com offers the best balance of quality and price, and with their unique 110% guarantee (if users are unhappy with any Snapfish purchase, the site will refund the cost of the order and issue a 10-percent-off coupon for a future order), they win our vote hands down. PC Magazine and Consumer Reports each compare a large number of digital photo printing services, and they both agree that Snapfish.com
is a good choice, with Shutterfly
being another recommendation of theirs. Shutterfly
, however, while their product is of a high quality it was on the pricey side, which is why they were not our number one choice, but if you are OK with their pricing, then Shutterfly
is certainly a wonderful source as well for photo type “homemade” wedding party gifts and they do offer some different options.
Snapfish is owned by Hewlett Packard and offers competitively priced photo gifts as well as a wide variety of photo gift ideas perfect for your wedding and bridal party gifts, including novelty items like photo boxer shorts, tote bags and neckties, as well as traditional mugs, calendars and photo books. In fact, the huge choice of photo gifts they offer is something that sets Snapfish.com apart from other online photo printing services, and they seem to regularly introduce new photo gift products.
Getting started with Snapfish.com is a snap (pun intended). There is a very simple sign up form that asks for your name and email address and of course you will have to create a password and then that’s it, after which you can get started right away creating your photo gifts.
Sometimes, uploading photos can be a challenge, but in Snapfish.com I find it very easy. Photos within your account are organized into albums, which allows you to divide photos based on an event, by date, by person or any other way that makes it easy for you. Most digital processing options have one downfall or another and for Snapfish.com
, I believe it’s the inability to easily move photos between albums, but considering the average photo bound book would probably only have 20 to 30 photos, and a gift such as mugs or tote bags would have just a few photos, this “issue” will probably not cause you any concern.
All products in the photo gifts area are easy to create by choosing the photo(s) you wish to use, and then viewing the online proof of the gift that will be created. You will be given plenty of time to rotate, crop and move your photos around, and there are lots of great templates to choose from.
So, start thinking about and creating your “homemade” wedding party gifts for all to enjoy and if you want to check Snapfish.com out, just click on their logo below:
P.S. Some of you might wonder why I put the word homemade in quotes in this article; it’s because this is a gift that might not really be considered homemade (I mean you didn’t labor over a sewing machine or a stove), but it is “homemade” because of the time and care you take to choose just the right pictures and just the right “article” to put them on!
By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com. See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.
“Create Your Own Wedding — Own Your Style, Not Someone Else’s — and do it all while keeping money in your pocket!”
Whether Target Bridal Registry or Bed Bath Beyond Registry – Ideas for registering for wedding gifts
It doesn’t matter if you’re building a Target Bridal Registry or a Macy*s Bridal Registry, the same etiquette principles will always apply. You should provide your guests with a range of price points, options and variety that reflect you and your personal style
If you are newly engaged and thinking about store hopping registering for shower and wedding gifts, a terrific guide book with updated insight into the new trends in bridal registries is written by wedding author and expert, Sharon Naylor, and you can get it through Amazon.com – The Ultimate Wedding Registry Workbook: Choosing the Best Wedding Gifts for Your Life Together
While we recommend this book as a great resource for seriously helping you make the right decisions for your registry (and you only have one go at it), we also offer some of our own basic thoughts into what you should and shouldn’t be “zapping” with your scanner and some basic gift registry etiquette. And it doesn’t matter whether you are looking at a Target bridal registry, Macy s Bridal Registry, Bed Bath Beyond Bridal Registry or anything in between, these tips and ideas are the same for any gift registry.
How much should I register for?
While it may feel greedy, you should actually register for slightly more gifts than you think you ought. Giving your guests a range of choices and budget options from which to choose from rather than them being constrained by a seriously limited wedding registry is courteous! Aim to have at least twice as many items on your list as guests at your wedding. See the section below titled “Update Often” for more tips on this.
When should I register?
Registering for wedding gifts should be one of the first tasks you tackle when you get engaged. Friends and relatives will be looking to buy wedding gifts as soon as he pops the question. Really! Take the guesswork out of gift buying by making sure they know what you want. You don’t need to complete your list just yet, but at least have a selection for guests to browse.
Oh, and do it TOGETHER! That’s essential. After all, the gifts are for both of you and it’s a fun day and a day to find out more about each other and your likes and dislikes in the world of “things.”
What types of items should you register for?
I think you should only choose items that you will love, use and cherish. Think about how you live and try to avoid filling your list with things you’re never going to use. If you’re not the formal type, then you’re probably not ever going to reach for that crystal punch bowl sitting in your closet. Guests would rather give you cash than buy something you’ll never touch. It’s tough to curtail you choices when you have that “zapper” in your hand or your are online clicking away with ease, but do try hard to pick wisely. If you and your partner have lived alone for awhile, you probably already have lots of your basic needs so going for some more fun things such as your china makes sense, but if you are completely new to setting up house, straight from mom and dad’s pad, for instance, register for the items that you will be using all the time and need right away.
Should I have only one registry?
Just having a single registry such as signing up for the Target wedding gift registry will make your life simpler; however, one store might not have the full selection you’re looking for. And, more importantly, if your guests are from all over, not all cities have every store. However, guests can now purchase their wedding gifts online for most stores and that certainly makes things easier and more versatile! But the tried and true registries are still well received as well as offer a variety of items and prices ranges:
Target Bridal Registry – Affordable and accessible for all your guests and even covers garden items
Macy*s Bridal Registry — A prime choice because it offers something for every room in the home
Bed Bath Beyond Bridal Registry – Who can’t use something from Bed Bath & Beyond?
Crate N Barrel Bridal Registry – Great trendy items, this store is always on top of what people are looking for from home decorating items to functional kitchen items and baskets.
Also, when deciding where to register, check the store’s return/exchange policies. The reason being is obviously self-explanatory.
Can I have too many inexpensive items on my registry?
A basic rule of thumb is to give guests a range of options. You want some higher-end, expensive items and then an equal number of mid- and low-priced options. There are close people to you, like grandparents and parents, who might want to buy for you one of your larger or higher-end items. That said, inexpensive items are an essential part of a registry and make a great pool for shower gifts. When you do pick lower-priced items, be sure to choose gifts that you really want and will use.
Update Often!
When a guest buys a gift for you, your registry should automatically update, allowing other guests to see what’s been purchased! Make sure to revisit your registry often and update it with additional selections as products are purchased so that guests always have a variety of things to choose from. I don’t know if this has ever happened to you, but it has to me because sadly I admit I am a terrible procrastinator and so much into my work I don’t get right on things such as buying gifts – but I recently went to a gift registry to look for something for my nephew, and being late in the game, I didn’t find anything that I wanted to purchase and found that quite frustrating. Remember, your guests also want to make their gift to you personal, they might be major into cooking and therefore want to buy you a cooking appliance, but if all that is left are towels and glassware, they might just go out and pick something on their own (that you didn’t even know you wanted) – which could be good, or NOT!
How do I tell guests where I am registered?
Again, it doesn’t matter if you used a Target bridal registry, Macy s bridal registry or any other wedding gift registry; the most important rule is to never include the information with your paper invitations. It is considered to be in poor taste. Instead, you can include a link to all your bridal registries on your wedding website (if you haven’t created one yet, you might be interested in our review of the Wedding Tracker website builder), or simply ask your maid-of-honor, best man and parents to spread the word. When your guests get their invitation, if you haven’t created a wedding website that they know they can go to, and if they haven’t already decided on a particular gift they have in mind for you, they will seek out your parents or maid of honor/best man and ask them where you are registered.
When should I send a thank you note?
Thank you cards can start going out as soon as gifts are received. In fact, writing your thank you cards in small batches will help you get a handle on a major time task and help keep track of who gave what gift.
That said, according to traditional etiquette rule, you have up to one year from the date of the wedding to write and send your thank you cards – but I wouldn’t wait. If you were the gift giver, wouldn’t you be wondering/concerned if they ever received your gift. It’s also acceptable to send one card for both the wedding and shower gift, but you should mention both items in your note.
So, go have some fun and “SHOP”!
By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com. See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.
“Create Your Own Wedding — Own Your Style, Not Someone Else’s — and do it all while keeping money in your pocket!”
How to Decorate a Red Wagon for a Wedding
Ah, this can be fun and is so quaint! Let your imagination go! When you think about how to decorate a red wagon for a wedding – specifically YOUR wedding, let’s talk “personalization” – How about painting it white with your names in red all around it – like: Cheryl Loves Jim . . . Jim Loves Cheryl. Well, that’s one idea; here are several more ideas not only on how to decorate a red wagon for a wedding but what to do with it:
Ideas for Ways to Decorate a Red Wagon for a Wedding, Fill your Wagon, Display your Wagon or Use your Wagon:
- How about decorating it with ribbons all around, placing a ribbon covered pole in the center with long ribbons hanging from it for the kids to dance around
- Looking to add more color to your ceremony or reception, fill the wagon with flowers that complement your wedding theme colors
- Want to add a little “sexy” to your wedding, fill the wagon with water and have rose petals floating in the water
- For a beach themed wedding, fill the wagon with sand and seashells
- Would you like to smell your favorite fragrance at your wedding, place scented candle arrangements in the wagon
- What about creating a romantic corner, fill the wagon with tons of little votive electric candles (safety first)
- Fill it with food — how about exotic fruits or your favorite treats! Or a candy buffet on wheels! This is a great twist to the traditional candy buffet; just arrange the jars of candy it in a little red wagon and assign one of the older children to take the wagon from table to table during the reception.
- Lay grass and twigs (greenery) in the bottom and put an ice carving on the top sitting it near your buffet table
- Are you into horticulture or landscaping? Create a mini-garden in your wagon by putting flowers, pebbles, and rocks, or have beautiful plants of all heights emerging from the wagon
- Have it sitting right next to the ceremony arch
- Have it center stage when your guests arrive at the reception location
- Have someone pull the wagon down the aisle with your dog in it; and of course s/he should have a color coordinated ribbon as his/her collar.
- Does the bride or groom have children? Have your children sit in the wagon; well, this obviously works best with children who are too young to walk or still young enough to be too shy to walk down the aisle alone. This will help them remember your day!
- Fill the wagon with wedding favors and take home gifts
- A wagon is a unique photo prop. You could have a large sized photo of the bride and groom in the wagon or display your engagement photos and photos of you as children
- A great ring pillow alternative – have your ring bearer carry the rings in a decorated little red wagon; it’s so much more fun for him and for your guests especially if you are having a garden or beach wedding.
- Other ways to cover the wagon is to use a small table cloth, some tulle or a length of fabric in a color or pattern that matches your wedding theme and drape it over the edge of the wagon.
- Decorate it like a float – Use decor elements like garlands, tulle, flowers, etc to cover the sides of your wedding.
Wedding wagons add a unique and interesting addition to any type of wedding and you can see from above that there are boundless ideas of just how to decorate a red wagon for a wedding, but one really great idea that is not listed above is NOT to decorate it all. If the bride or groom have a little red wagon that they’ve had since they were a kid, putting something in it is one thing, but changing its look – I’m not so sure I would do that. Maybe just “snuggle” in it for a photo op!
By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com. See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.
“Create Your Own Wedding — Own Your Style, Not Someone Else’s — and do it all while keeping money in your pocket!”
Small Weddings are In – or How to Decorate a Red Wagon for a Wedding
Iheard it on an early morning show (too early to remember which one) – that the NEW TREND in weddings is SMALL! And I say, Amen to that. You know it’s true; just look at how many “how-tos” are showing up on the web for How to Decorate a Red Wagon for a Wedding. I know . . . you can certainly decorate a red wagon for any size wedding, but the concept shows how a little imagination and creativity can go a long way to adding zest and fun to even the smallest of weddings! If you want to actually check out our “red wagon” ideas, just click on: How to Decorate a Red Wagon for a Wedding.
Otherwise, let’s look at the reasons why I love a wedding that is Small, Intimate and Personal, and you will too!
- You can save money! (This is YourWeddingDollars.com here, and that is our goal!). You could potentially save thousands of dollars by having an intimate wedding as the guest count makes a difference on so many things in a wedding from food to favors!
- You could splurge (no I’m not contradicting the “YourWeddingDollars.com” motto here). I mean splurge with the budget you have. If, for example, you have a $10,000 budget, think of the “niceties” you could add to your wedding ceremony or reception if you only needed a place for 60 instead of 160, if you only needed to feed 60 instead of 160, etc. $10,000 divided by 160 guests is an average of $62.50 per guest or for only 60 guests it is $166.67 per guest. What do you think you could do for the “style” of your wedding with an additional $104.17 per guest? You get the picture!
You can be more imaginative with your wedding venue choice. When you don’t need a “banquet room” type set up to accommodate 160 people, many doors open to you. Read our article titled Save Money with a Boutique Wedding Reception Venue or look for places similar to Gatherings (our intimate wedding venue in Monterey) in the area you want to get married in.- You get to celebrate one of the biggest days of your life surrounded by people who love you (not ALL acquaintances, friends of parents, and co-workers, etc.), and subsequently you will be more relaxed because you will be surrounded by friends and family. Wouldn’t it be great to go around the room chatting with everyone and not have to be introduced to someone you really don’t know or remember?!
- A small wedding gives you the opportunity to let your creative juices flow and make your wedding a unique reflection of the two of you – like the “how to decorate a red wagon for a wedding” idea!
- Your guests will love this style wedding because you will be able to spend more time with them which will make them feel welcome, and they will have a better chance to mingle with all your other family and friends getting to know “all” about you!
- Lastly, people will remember a Small, Intimate and Personal wedding because your wedding won’t be typical – the kind your guests have been to over and over again!
You’ll notice I went a bit overboard with all the exclamation points, but I really do love a wedding that is small, intimate and personal for all the reasons above!! And I’m sure you will too!
By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com. See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.
“Create Your Own Wedding — Own Your Style, Not Someone Else’s — and do it all while keeping money in your pocket!”
Unique Ideas for Wedding Party Gifts – Photo Bound
You probably have a few very important people on your list that you would like to give a special gift to. Whether it is wedding gift ideas for children of parents getting married, maid of honor gift ideas, gift ideas for your parents, bridal party gifts, or that someone special that stayed by your side through the whole planning process, deciding what memorable gift to give can be an over-whelming task – especially if you are as anal as I am and want it to be perfect!
So, I believe the key word here is “memorable,” and add to that other keywords such as “keepsake,” “personal,” and “unique,” and I believe the answer to unique ideas for wedding party gifts is to be “Photo Bound” – give gifts made with personalized photos you pick out specifically for that special person you want to give a wedding memory gift too.
Some of my favorite gifts I have received revolve around photos – from a wedding photo scrapbook given to us by our daughter to a wonderful photo book of a family vacation given to us by our daughter-in-law and coffee cups with a picture of our newly built house on them from a dear friend – I cherish these gifts!! And remember by using photos you can make each gift personal and unique for the one you are giving it to. These types of personalized “homemade” wedding party gifts take time to think about and the time you take to put them together shows the recipient that they really do mean a lot to you!
There are so many ideas where gifts involving photos can create the ultimate perfect gift. For instance, let’s say you are the “combined” children of parents getting married – a blended family about to be. What a wonderful idea it would be for all the kids to bring some of their favorite photos of themselves with their mom or dad and put them together in one “blended” album. Or, if you are one of those lucky brides who have a very special relationship with your father, what about putting a photo bound book together of your favorite pictures of you and your daddy through all your years – from birth to the picture of him walking you down the aisle. And then there is that very special someone, whether it is your mother or best friend or sister, who has stuck with you through thick and thin of your wedding planning process – think about this one ahead of time and snap pictures throughout the process of everywhere you go, all the errands you run together, from looking at venues, to trying on wedding dresses, to her hanging out with you helping you organize your checklist, and all the great lunches in between and create a special memory book of all those moments for that very special person!
And it doesn’t have to be just photo bound books, they can include calendars, posters, mugs, stationary, key rings, mouse pads, mugs, golf towels, neck ties, playing cards, tote bags, and so on.
There are many places you can go to for these “photo bound” personalized unique ideas for wedding party gifts, but my favorite when it comes to the best price for the quality (after all, the main focus of YourWeddingDollars.com is about being smart with your wedding dollars!), is Snapfish.com by HP
. You can find out more about Snapfish in our Resources & Reviews section.
By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com. See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.