Hey Wedding Lady
Wedding tips, tricks, and straight up pretty
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Wedding Branding Part…Whatever: I see the frames on the left quite frequently at weddings - table numbers, at the sign in book, specialty drink signs, you name it. You can find them at Ikea and they’re cheap, which is why they’re everywhere.
The frame on the left is from a styled photo shoot which I’ll post more of later so you can see how wonderfully it complements the rest of the decor. Hunt down vintage-esque frames at the flea market, Ross, or Marshall’s to fill those same purposes. Don’t worry about uniformity - go eclectic as long as they fit a theme, or splash out on a set of matching frames then gift them to bridal party members with keepsake photos after the wedding. Find frames that suit your theme - like simple white wood frames for a nautical wedding or plain brown wood for rustic or beach themes.
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A submitter asked me about a resource for vases earlier and I recommended the always awesome resource Save on Crafts. I did an earlier post about how to recreate a centerpiece from their items, and since there’s interest I wanted to delve into it a little further.
I posted a full length photo of one of my all-time favorite centerpieces last week so I thought it’d be the perfect example for this. First off: moss. Since there’ll be food served on this, I’d recommend putting a piece of cut glass over the moss, or confining it to the center of the table. Anchor a branch or tree in the moss and hide it with floral foam that you can cover with flowers. Wrap the branches in garlands or real flowers and hang votives. Silver plated julep cups make gorgeous accents filled with clusters of flowers from a wholesale florist.
Check out the rest of the site and personalize your own table!
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I briefly touched on ‘branding’ your wedding to make it all tie in together before, and here are some great examples. I have worked with a lot of brides on budgets and my best advice to them is to make the wedding feel cohesive without breaking the bank. Check out the first three pictures - the same logo is on their invite, program, and menu, then is reinterpreted in the laser cut table numbers. The same colors and design is used throughout, so it looks like they all belong together.
The bottom two pictures are from a bridal shower - from the dessert bar and the favors, respectively. I love the simplicity of designing a simple sign like the one here at the dessert bar, popping it into a frame of your choosing, and using it to tie all your auxiliary tables together. Make a custom drink sign for the bar, a sweet sign for your cake table, and an invitation to take guests’ escort cards. Scatter small vases with one or two flowers, or some candles in simple votives so your auxiliary tables feel full and lovely, and tie in with more elaborate centerpieces on your dining tables.
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Nearly no one has an unlimited budget for their wedding these days, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create the day you’ve been dreaming of. Today I’m going to focus on little tricks I’ve picked up to make a wedding on a budget feel like a fairy tale.
First up - tie everything together. The weddings that feel the most thought out and complete are the ones that use decor and other elements to make sure each table looks like it should be a part of the wedding. Use custom signage (we’ll go over that in another post) or small decor items to make it feel like someone branded the wedding just for you. This picture demonstrates one of my favorite techniques - don’t forget the bar. Hopefully those three chandeliers come standard, but whoever planned this wedding mad sure to include a few extra flower arrangements and candles for the bar. Even if they’re not in your floral budget, find some inexpensive vases and hit a flower wholesaler for a few different kinds that tie into your professional pieces. Cluster them together like you see above and voila, the bar ties in to the rest of the event.
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This video is both hilarious and timely because I literally just had a very interesting conversation in the office about pricing for services for a ‘wedding’ vs. an ‘event’ (and wrote this whole thing prior to stumbling across the video five minutes ago on Cake Wrecks which is almost freakishly prescient). We do get a lot of comments (and complaints) from couples or parents that they feel the cost of a service skyrockets the moment someone mentions the word ‘wedding’ in connection with it. You call a bakery and order a cake, it costs $$, you tell them it’s a wedding cake, it costs $$$$. While we completely understand that this is irritating and inconvenient for you and your budget, there’s a very good reason for the price difference for anything with the word wedding involved.When a baker makes a cake for a birthday party or a social event, their goal is to make something that suits the client’s needs in terms of taste and aesthetics. If there is an issue, it’s usually very simple to replace it with an alternative that will be just as good. The stakes are much, much higher for a wedding cake. First off, there’s a lot more pre-event work involved – usually at least one tasting, and at least one design consultation. Brides tend to contact their vendors much more frequently than other clients, so there is a lot of time that goes into communication, stress-reduction, putting out fires, etc. Baking and decorating also becomes a minefield because nothing less than perfection will do. A good baker will also personally oversee delivery and install as well, since cakes are beyond delicate. If the conditions aren’t just right, a cake will tip over, sink, melt, you name it. Most reputable venues won’t even touch your cake until the first cut has been made, because cakes are such a huge liability. I personally will refuse to touch, adjust, or move a wedding cake unless the worst has already happened and I have to go into fix-it mode.This is the same for all other vendors – the amount of work and detail that goes into a wedding actually does validate those high prices with the right vendors. I truly believe that you get what you pay for, so consider that when looking at a vendor’s price sheet. Ask for photos of past work, testimonials from clients, and even check in with other vendors to get their opinion. Do your research diligently before signing a contract and putting down a deposit, and you should feel like you get your money’s worth.
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I know these signs have become completely played out, but I have to agree with this one. Even if you’re event savvy and have all the pre-wedding details under control, it is so worth having a Day-Of Coordinator to run the show on the big day. Hiring a coordinator ensures that you, your family, and your bridal party get to relax and enjoy the day, not worry about things like did the DJ show up, is the ceremony going to start on time, did the MOB step out of the room right before toasts? A good coordinator takes on all of those worries and so much more, allowing you to sip champagne, visit with your guests, and revel in the happiest day of your life.
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I’ve talked about the genius of using your aisle decor as centerpieces before, but I wanted to share this nifty twist on the usual iron stanchions holding aisle arrangements. These are shaped like roots and branches so it looks as though the flowers are growing from the stand!
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Dreamy calla lily colors - I love the mix of black cherry lilies and white with purple hearts. Calla lilies are also easy to buy wholesale, and simple to arrange, if you’re planning to DIY your flowers.
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Martha does it again - like how we’re on a first name basis? We’re pals, me and Martha - these boxes are so simple but the different heights create an elaborate seeming centerpiece that will keep your floral budget down but still make your tables feel full
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Sunset photos may screw with my timeline 9 times out of 10, but I can’t deny that they’re worth it. Talk with your photographer and planner about sunset times and how to build an extra half hour into your timeline to make sure you capture the right light, and I promise you won’t regret it
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After posting so many elaborate aisle treatments, this feels like such a nice palate cleanser. These can still double as your centerpieces to get the most of your floral budget!
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Right and Wrong - for the love of all that is holy, please don’t have open seating! When venues ask for a seating chart, they don’t necessarily mean you have to assign each guest to a seat, just each guest to a table. Ask what the minimum and maximum number of seats per table are, then assign 6-10 guests to a table group accordingly.
This is required for sit down and family style meals, and highly recommended for buffets as well. Even if you think it’s casual and people can choose where they sit, this causes many more problems than it prevents. It takes much longer to seat guests, which can disrupt your timeline and the chef’s plan for dinner. Guests also don’t clump together in nice, easy to fit at one table groups, and inevitably there’s a group of 12 that demands to all sit together. Cut your poor caterers a bit of a break and at least make a seating chart, like the one in the bottom picture (just make sure to list them alphabetically by last name, ahem)
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Inspiration shoots for magazines and websites should be taken as just that: inspiration. Use them as a jumping off point and incorporate certain elements or emulate the overall feel, but attempting to recreate one entirely would be disastrous on your budget. Using what I’m calling the Rule of 10 budget, this tablescape would be an astronomical amount per guest. Mimic an inspiration shoot on your head table and tone down other aspects for the rest of your decor.
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This is pretty genius. Double check with your venue on how many guests each table holds - it could be 8-10 depending on the size and shape.
