Although summer has finally arrived, it’s never too early for crafty brides to make preparations for their winter weddings. A great way to personalize a wedding while saving money and make it even more spectacular is by creating some of the decorations yourself or with the help of family and close friends.
The first thing that any bride should do when preparing for her big day is to know her budget. This will allow the bride to plan accordingly for what items can be purchased and what can be made.
A great way to save money on a winter wedding reception is through the use of candles. For my own wedding reception a million years ago, I used candles of varying heights to create centerpieces. Pick candles that fit with your color scheme and that are varying widths; tie them with a beautiful ribbon and place them on a mirror and voila! An inexpensive, yet elegant centerpiece. Websites such as candles4less.com can provide inexpensive candles or use your favorite search engine to find others. Local party supply stores may also have candles.
For an outdoor wedding reception, Japanese paper lanterns provide a wonderful source of lighting, are festive and can bring a wonderful glow to the reception site. Oriental trading.com is a wonderful source for paper lanterns and other wedding favors and decorations.
Another way brides can save money on winter wedding decorations is by recycling flowers. I used my wedding alter flowers to decorate the reception site, alter flowers can be placed at the bride’s and groom’s table or in any area of the reception site that can use a shot of color. Afterwards, guests can take them home for added enjoyment. Potted plants of the season such as poinsettias or amaryllis could be used as centerpieces or to decorate the wedding cake table or place card table.
Brides getting married during the winter holiday season can take advantage of seasonal decorations such as Christmas trees or Christmas lights. White Christmas lights can have a variety of uses, from framing a doorway to being intertwined in a piece of tulle to make a sparkling backdrop for the dance floor. Other Christmas decorations such as ornaments can also be used as winter wedding decorations. A large container can be filled with Christmas balls that match the bride’s color scheme. These containers can then be placed on guest tables, the wedding party table and the gift table. Individual Christmas balls and other ornaments (such as snowflakes) can decorate the cake table or can be hung throughout the reception site to bring a touch of the season to the reception. The Container Store has a wide variety of containers that could be used.
While not wedding decorations per se, guest place cards are another way that brides can put their craft skills to use. A bride could buy inexpensive card stock and use her home computer to print out guest place cards. A bride who is adept at baking could whip up a batch of sugar cookies and decorate them with the names and table seating of guests.
For those readers who are interested in many other ways to decorate their winter weddings on a budget, The DIY Wedding by Kelly Bare can be a great place to start. Michael’s crafts is another store that brides should check out for winter wedding decoration ideas.
Happy crafting!
