Wedding Decoration

Seated Wedding Reception Games

2010-03-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

Nothing is worse than having a wedding reception filled with seated guests who look tired and maybe a little bit bored. Maybe this wedding doesn't feature a DJ and rockin' music. Or maybe the crowd isn't into that whole dancing thing.

What to do? It's not that hard. There are a myriad of activities you can plan that will not only engage and entertain the guests, but also help them get to know each other and - most importantly - the bride and groom just a little bit better.

Here's one that's fun and might remind you just a little bit of a football game. Make a placard for each guest. On one side, letter "Bride" and on the other, "Groom". Someone, and if you have a DJ it can be him or her, or the best man or maid of honor, asks a series of questions. They might be simple, like "who was born in New York City"? Or they might be more complicated, such as "who, at 6, broke their leg when they were playing with their German shepherd puppy"?

Guests don't yell their answer, but rather show their placard, turning it to the "bride" side of they think the question pertains to the bride or to the "groom" side if it's the opposite. The guests' guesses can be revealing, but even more revealing, are the true answers. It's a great, fun way for everyone to get to know a little more about the bride and groom.

One word of caution about the above activity: Keep ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends out of the questions and don't ask anything that might be a little too revealing or too risqué. Remember, grandmothers and grandfathers and young children will likely be present!

If it's too much work to create signs for each person, you can create just two and create two teams - a team of men and a team of women. Grouped together, the teams can work together to decide on the answer and answer as a group. This "men versus women" concept is always popular and sure to be fun for everyone.

One silly game that's always a hit really puts the groom in the spotlight. How well does he know the feel and touch of his new wife? In this game, everyone finds out. You can do this several ways. You can enlist just the wedding party in this game, or as many of the wedding guests that want to participate.

Line each participant up and blindfold the groom. Put the bride somewhere in the mix, and send the groom on a hunt for his bride. The participants can either shake the groom's hand or give him a kiss on the cheek. In some versions, he might feel their hair or their leg. The details are up to you.

Depending on how far you want to take this game, you can add a fun element to it that is sometimes popular. You have the groom feel the leg of each participant. The best man, or other male member of the wedding party, rolls up his pant leg, puts on a garter and has the groom feel that. The groom has to kiss whoever he thinks is his bride, while still blindfolded. Often, he ends up kissing a man.

For an activity that allows the guests to be audience members instead of participants, consider the game of "feed me". In this game, the bride is seated and the groom is (again) blindfolded. He's given a piece of food and then spun around a few times so he's a little bit dizzy. Guided only by the helpful words of his new bride, he has to find her and get the piece of food into her mouth. Be sure to have the wedding party shadowing him so there are no accidents.

Once the groom has fed his new wife, the tables are turned and she is blindfolded and must find him.

A few notes about this activity: when feeding the bride, don't use wedding cake or a piece of bread with dip. In other words, don't use anything too messy. If the groom has a hard time finding her mouth, he might likely smear the food on the bride's face and that is something that won't make a bride - prettily made up just hours before - too happy.

Pre Wedding Activities

2010-03-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

Planning pre-wedding activities is a little something extra that's not required, but certainly fun and entertaining for the guests. If the bride and groom keep in mind the distance some guests have traveled and keep activities relevant to that level of fatigue, they're sure to hit on some winning activities.

As you go about planning activities for the wedding, keep in mind other factors as well. Do many people have children with them? Will you provide childcare or will the children be participants in the activities? If you have several guests who are older, perhaps activities can be tailored in a ay they can participate as well.

Some of the more popular pre-wedding activities include things like a group manicure. All the women in the wedding party or ho are close to the bride (and certainly this could include men if they like manicures and want to hang out with the ladies) head to a nail salon and get their nails done. This can be relaxing for many women and provide a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the wedding weekend. The men might choose to golf or play a game of tennis while this is going on.

Many brides and grooms choose to provide structured activities for their guests prior to the wedding. If the wedding is on a Saturday night, for example, they might choose to provide a Friday activity, especially if most guests are local to the wedding. You might have a wedding luau. Many times pre-wedding activities center around bachelor and bachelorette parties, but what about a stag party that includes all the members of the brides and grooms families? You could plan some fun (and appropriate) games and head out to a restaurant for a night of fun and games. Be sure to limit the drinking and carousing as this might not sit well with some family members.

Here is a fun activity that can be done right before the wedding. Have someone begin a gift basket. The theme of the basket is "advice for the couple" and could be started by the best man or maid of honor. They take the basket to someone else's house, perhaps an aunt or cousin and leave it on the doorstep. That person adds an item (a book on how to end spousal arguments? Or a CD of romantic music?) and brings the basket to someone else's house. This activity can begin a week or two before the wedding and everyone should know it is coming around.

The basket can also be circulated the weekend of the wedding, but this ill only work if everyone is local and if they know the basket is coming. In this case, it also might be helpful to have someone bring the basket to a house, collect the item and the take the basket to the next location, reducing the need to have each person take the basket to its next location. Once it's full, someone can be in charge of putting the basket items together, wrapping it all up to make it look nice and bringing it to the bride and groom. It can be delivered right to the wedding as a gift in and of itself.

Whatever activities you choose, be sure to keep in mind the needs of your guests and the limitations of those guests. If you want to plan an activity that includes everyone, and you choose golf, but grandpa is in a wheelchair or uses a walker, that might not be the best activity to plan.

Four weeks to go - need to lose weight fast!

2009-09-18T02:25:00.000-07:00

I have been writing about weddings for quite some years - now I´m getting married myself! I´ve got pretty much all covered - with one exception. Some of the friends who are coming to the wedding haven´t seen me for almost fifteen years, and while I can´t (and don´t want to) do much about the wrinkles, I do would like to shed some weight. I put on a whopping 33 pounds (some 15 kilos) after the birth of our twins - I am a stress eater. Well, the last three years haven´t been exactly easy - job, three kids (two of them extremely active toddlers) and a big house - so I have never been able to get them off again - an believe me, I have tried!

So yesterday I bought one of these weight loss books that promise to show you how to lose weight fast - I usually don´t believe in this kind of crash diets, but I´m really desperate! I didn´t really found the time to read the book, i´ll have to do that today. I guess I might have to head over to the health food store as well - we´ll see.

This is the program I am talking about: The Wedding Day Diet

I´ll keep you updated if it works - it´d better!

Wedding on a Budget

2009-08-30T01:57:00.001-07:00

With the economy getting tighter every day, more and more couples have to look for creative solutions when it comes to planning their wedding. The Bridal Association in America found out the the average cost of a wedding 2007 was around 27.000 dollars. More and more often the parents of the bride, who traditionally have to pay for the wedding, are just not able to spend this kind of money on their daughters wedding. If you can believe a recent poll, around 30 out of every 100 couples contribute to their own wedding, and the parents of the groom chip in as well.

But being able to spend less at your wedding doesn't mean that you have to have a barbecue in your backyard as a reception. You might just have to be more creative and to set priorities. If you want to have a great wedding on a shoestring budget, consider these general rules:

Set up your budget: ask both of your parents how much they will be able to contribute. Estimate how much you and your future husband can save up until the day of the wedding. If you plan a longer engagement you still have time to stash away a certain amount of your paycheck every month. Go to your bank and open up a wedding account. You will be surprised how much you will be able to save up this way!

Set priorities: make a list of the three most important factors of your dream wedding. If you want the perfect dress, a life band for the party after the reception and professional wedding pictures, splurge out on these three factors and try to cut back on other factors like food and decoration.
Be willing to compromise. You would just love to have these gorgeous white orchids for your table decoration? Go for the equally beautiful white roses that will cost you only a fraction and create a similar impression.

Go for quality not quantity: sometimes less is more. Rather than going overboard with quantity go for higher quality. That applies to flowers and decoration, but also to the food. Choose a higher quality three course meal over a lower quality five courses. Get a good photographer for a limited time, instead of a bad one all day.

Ask for discounts: most businesses won't offer you a discount, but if you ask they will happily oblige. Always be respectful. Know the average prices for the service you are looking for and don't go too low, you will insult people.

Go with the season: keep in mind the season at all stages of the planning process. Choose flowers that are in season (and therefore cheaper) and try to set the date out of season (that way you will be able to get discounts more easily).

Ask for help: most people will feel honoured if you ask them if they can help you with a special talent and do your hair for example instead of bringing a wedding gift. The help of friends and family can make the difference between just another wedding or the wedding of your dreams. If you don't have to shell out money for a professional photographer, you will be able to get the wedding cake of your dreams - and so on!

Be yourself: don't plan the wedding everybody else think you should have - plan YOUR wedding. Don't compare your reception to the ones you attended as a guest. If you like the local park better then the Hyatt Regency - all the better for you!

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