Get Organized
Before you can actually start putting your celebrity-style wedding reception together, you need to get yourself organized. Think about what you want. At this stage, don’t worry about how much things will cost. When you get to the shopping stage you will be able to determine what is feasible or not. The main items you should include on your list are wedding venue, decorations, food and drink, placecards, centerpieces, and music. Need a Plan? Download your free Wedding Planning Guide here!

Enlist the Troops
If you want to save money on your wedding reception-skip hiring a professional. These individuals are typically highly skilled in what they do and their fees prove it! Your best bet is to find people who are willing to help you for free. You shouldn’t have look further than your family and friends. Enlist the services of as many people as you can. This includes children. Children can be especially helpful with repetitive crafts, so include them in your wedding reception plans. Don’t wait until the last minute to solicit assistance. Let people know way in advance that you will need them to help you with your wedding reception.

Time to Shop
With your list of wedding reception ideas in hand, it is time to start shopping. The venue for your wedding reception will probably be the most expensive part of the reception. Cheap alternatives that don’t look cheap include restaurants and church halls. If you choose to have your wedding reception at a restaurant, make sure that you can use your own flatware, plates, and glasses. You can purchase elegant versions of these at discount shops for less than $100, depending on the number of guests you invite. Simplify food at your wedding reception by having three choices from which your guests can choose when they RSVP to your invitation. Caters charge less when you order by the plate. As an added touch you can place a delicious assortment of divinity on each table. For your centerpieces and decorations, hobby shops offer the best prices. You can find design ideas that you can create you and your troops can create for very little. Placecards aren’t a necessity, but if you have assigned people at tables, placecards will help people to find their table. You can create your own wedding reception placecards by purchasing an inexpensive greeting card software program and elegant paper. You will need an inkjet printer to print the cards. Unless you know someone who will offer you a cheap price for wedding reception music, skip the DJ and the live band. Creating a few CDs of various popular love songs is a less expensive choice. Go Here to get more ideas!

Reward the Troops
A wedding dinner with the wedding party (bride, groom, bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents) just before the wedding ceremony is traditional. It is a good idea to either invite your wedding reception helpers to this dinner or to a separate fun event. At this event you should show your appreciation for helping make your wedding reception the best ever!

Wire Snowflake Place Card Holders (Set Of 12)
From: Beau-coup Wedding Favors

If you´d prefer an elegant winter wedding, you might chose white, ice blue, light lue or even white with in combination with silver or gold as your wedding colors. If you feel like doing your own decoartion for the reception, consider White Tulle , it provides the perfect base for a winter wedding reception. Add some Snow Flakes, you might even consider to use these Snow Flake Trees as an original centerpiece. These Snowflake Votive Lanterns make great centerpieces as well – and you´ll get to keep them after the wedding, as opposed to floral centerpieces that are expensive at this time of the year and will wilt away rapidly…

Before starting the actual planning for your diy beach wedding let your imagination swing – what do you associate with the beach? Going on vacation, feeling the sun and the breeze on your skin, collecting shells, watching the ships go by, listening to the seagulls… Happy moments of carelessness… When putting together the elements of your diy beach wedding, keep these sensations in your mind and heart and try to recreate them for your guests.

There are as many possibilities to decorate a beach wedding as there are beaches in the world. Usually when you think of a beach wedding, a tropical beach with white sand comes to our minds – so a decoration would include white sand, startfish and big shells. But think about other types of beaches to get inspiration: The rocky coast of maine, the green wild coast of Southern Alaska, think gray rocks, lobster, fishing boats…

I live on the mediterranean coast in Northern Spain, in my village there is no sand, just rocky beaches, massive grey cliffs and very little vegetation. If I should create a decoration inspired by the coast in my village, I could include rocks from the beach, some aromatic herbs (in summer everythin smells of wild basil and thyme) and maybe some branches of olive trees. Add a few simple candles and you have a unique and very original decoration.