Weddings are, or certainly should be, joyous occasions, free of the stress or distraction that can be caused by over extending yourself or your family financially. One way to avoid some of the excesses that inevitably inflate wedding reception costs is to put some of your energy and ingenuity into planning a wedding that includes lots of do it yourself elements. Choosing and expanding upon this do it yourself wedding reception advice can help you to produce a highly personalized, less expensive and potentially less stressful day for you and your spouse.
1. The Function Hall Typically one of the largest expenses couples encounter is the cost of renting out a venue for their reception. Too often couples and their parents fall into the trap of just accepting that what many people do and pay for is what they have to do and pay for without ever considering other possibilities. While many couples choose standard wedding reception halls such as restaurant, hotel or country club function rooms, the rooms themselves are hardly necessary for you to have the reception event you want.
A room after all is only a room and you may find that with a little effort there are plenty of rooms owned by churches, fraternal organizations or veterans groups that can be rented for far less and give you approximately the same amount of space with a little less glamor. If you dig a little bit further you may discover that someone close to you or your spouse is a member of the owning organization and may be able to get you the best rate possible for your event. It certainly is worth asking. Another bit of do it yourself wedding reception advice is to check area RV parks, camps or state parks that may have multi-purpose rooms that can accommodate your numbers. To broaden your choices you might also check out reception halls on line at www.banquetfacilities.com . The more possibilities you check out the greater your chances to come up with something that meets your price and your taste . That’s where the do it yourself part comes in. You and your fiance have to commit to getting on the phone or on line to do the actual leg work of checking.
2. The Food People who are interested in conserving funds in the purchase of the food to be served at their wedding need to remember this do it yourself wedding reception advice: there are no magic rules about serving food after your wedding that have to be observed. It is of course consider good manners to provide those who have traveled to your wedding with something to eat and drink before sending them on their way. But after that basic etiquette you are really on your own to do it yourself any way that makes you happy.
If you have decided to avoid the fancy venue offered by a hotel, restaurant or country club and opted for a more simple setting, including possibly even your own back yard or home, then you have probably already reduced the price of your wedding reception meal. When you choose to celebrate your reception in a hall you will likely have the option to bring in your own caterer. This allows you to go into do it yourself mode. Certainly you can hire a caterer and you can add do it yourself ideas to the meal by working with a caterer who is willing to do things your way. You will be less likely to run into stubborn cooks and more likely to be able to strike a bargain.
Your choice of food need not be elaborate. In fact so many people today seem to have very similar wedding reception meals that breaking out some really good Italian food, barbecue or other personal favorites will be a welcomed do it yourself idea.
3. Music Choosing a band or a DJ can often be expensive and the results frequently turn out to be far from satisfactory. The band leader or DJ don’t know you or your family. They often come across as being very impersonal and stiff. They may not really get you or what you really want. So some good do it yourself wedding reception advice is to survey your family members for music connections. You will find that less professional is sometimes more desirable and usually less expensive.
When the person serving you as DJ or MC is someone you even vaguely know, you and your spouse will find it much easier to discuss your musical wishes for your big day. You will work together to make things come out right. The wedding music will not be seen as a performance but rather as simple background for dinner time and some music for dancing.
Another bit of do it yourself wedding reception advice is to remember that the musician is being paid by you. You should be satisfied with the music that is provided. You can be more sure of this if you provide the music folks with a short but non-negotiable list of songs that must be heard, write it into the contract. You are the customer, this is what you are ordering,this is what needs to be delivered.
4. Photography Couples who hold their wedding reception in a formal setting are likely to find that a photographer is provided as part of the total fee. When you move outside of a formal setting by taking your reception to a hall or other multi function center you avoid getting snared by the all inclusive package. You can hire a professional photographer and be confident of your results or again you can survey your friends and relatives for other suggestions. You may be surprised to find several amateur photographers among your invitees.
Certainly you want clear, well posed pictures of all the important people at your wedding, but , depending on your taste, you may not want nearly as many shots or angles or groupings as a professional photographer will insist on taking. You can shorten the picture taking process, reduce your overall expense and remove the aggravation of person you don’t know telling you which way to look all day by enlisting a friend or relative to take the pictures you want. Good do it yourself wedding reception advice would include getting a few other friends to take some back up pictures, just in case.
5 Extras They may not seem like extras to the people setting up a formal wedding package, but if you are really trying for a do it yourself wedding reception good advice is to make a list of all the extras you can think of . Then with your fiance go through the list and check off those things you don’t need at all and those things you can find among your friends and relatives or purchase for a knock off or reduced price.
Some examples of these extras would be invitations, centerpieces, toast glasses, favors, knife and cake decoration, cake, flowers , wedding coordinator. There are ways around most of these and you and your fiance may actually enjoy the challenge of finding ways to make your wedding less stylized and more personal by altering the extras in a way that suits you. For example how about using mom and dad’s wine glasses for your toast, its certainly more sentimental than using something just purchased from the store for the occasion and it didn’t cost you anything. You will be amazed at how much ownership you can actually take of your wedding just by following a little do it yourself wedding reception advice.
Your wedding day should be about you. Sometimes the only way to make that happen is to forget the fancy hotel weddings and follow some do it yourself wedding reception advice.
