Need good wedding reception ideas?
by Editor on March 2, 2010
in Wedding reception
I need help, i’m getting married next year and need good wedding reception ideas, i have a big family and we are planning to invite about 80 – 90 guests to our wedding.
How can we have the inexpensive reception, we don’t have a lot of money. I would like to do something creative don’t want to use a lot of money.
And where would be a good idea to hold a wedding reception?
Please help with ideas…
Well my husband (then fiancee) owns an art gallery. (i’m an artist) We had our reception and ceremony there. I guess we are not traditional but I would say that my husband can be a bit of a snob so it was high class. We had art all over the walls and three different rooms for guests to stroll in, plus we rented a tent in the backyard and set up tables back there. One room was a “bar” with rented cocktail tables and a sushi chef with all of the booze in that room. We got all the booze at costco and hired friends (who work in the food industry) as bartenders and bussstaff. Another room was the main gallery with art all over the wall and we had 3 different buffet stations set up with all sorts of hors dorves. We had all the food made by a local catering company and dropped off. We rented chafing dishes and linens. We hired our own staff (friends) that was so much cheaper than using the catering company. Costco has some great food (apps and desserts) that if you had help setting things up it would turn out great. We had cocktail shrimp, cheese and crackers, dips, beef and chicken wellingtons, scallops, chcicken kobos, and more…..a mexican table, a little bit of everthing!!!! We had over 200 ppl at our wedding and it was perfect.We had a coffee bar set up with a rented coffee pot and put out baileys and whipped cream with a huge table of petit desserts. Our wedding cake was a cupcake tree, with a small cake on top for us to cut. (we were too busy to cut it) We rented high top cocktail tables for that room. We only used elegant 8 inch plates with plstic forks and set the tables up all fancy. We rented nice linens for the tables. There was no sit down dinner or time everyone had to eat. Guests ate when they wanted to. We had music playing through our sound system on an ipod in another room that had long tables for guests to sit down and eat at, and an area for dancing. We didn’t have a dj just the ipod and it was awesome, because we didn’t have a cheesy dj there. Everyone loved it and to this day says it’s the best wedding they’ve ever been to. It was like a big art opening reception. Everyone got to mingle from room to room and no one was ever bored. Our biggest cost was booze! But that’s what makes a wedding fun! If you know of a hip art gallery in town I would recommend it. They would probably love to hold such an event since no one is really spending money on art these days. It’s original and chic and not so expensive.
Here are a few ideas that have saved lots of money when I have helped throw a few weddings.
1. A back yard,
With a tent and a dance floor placed down for dancing.
Instead of doing the whole dinner thing just do drinks and desserts. You can decorate the tent with all the colors and fun things and make it look beautiful.
2. If you have a big family, talk with them about maybe making a dish or two for your present instead of a gift. Ask Aunt Betty to make her “famous” potato salad, and Uncle Bill if he make a batch of his baked beans. By asking the close family to help with the food you can save alot. For meat, roast a pig, and have some chicken baking in the oven. You can rent the local VFW for very little cash and have it look amazing.
3. A Bed and Breakfast- Search around your area and then find a few to check out. Sometimes you can find one that is just happy to have the business and they don’t cost a fortune to hold. You have it already with decorations from the house, and you can add some finishing touches. You can make your own music as most of them have radio’s inside the house.
Not having a DJ can save you $$$
i have gone to several weddings and have held my own this past year.
I did mine at a Bed and Breakfast, It turned out amazing. They placed the colors I wanted on the tables, had flowers around for decorations. I made all my own music to play during the dinner and all the dance music. I loved it. It was very elegant and we had so much fun.
The weddings outside with just the desserts and dancing was amazing too They gave the guests a few hours in between to go eat dinner if they chose to, and had finger sandwiches, and finger food at the reception. They had fun desserts (choloclate fountain) (punch fountain) and it made the tables look beautiful. They did rent the dancefloor and DJ, but I’m pretty sure they saved alot by not having the dinner.
My cousin just had her wedding outside in her backyard. Beautiful summer day. She asked all of the family and cousins, to please make a dish for the event and we all did. She just played music on a radio that was heard all throught the yard and the kids had fun dancing underneath the tent. (she didn’t have the floor). It turned out very well.
Remember it’s YOUR wedding and YOUR day!!
Enjoy it and good luck
I saved hundreds by shopping at orientaltrading.com for all the little things you need like guest book,garder,favors etc. and willowtreelane.com for invites choose the package deals and get complete invites with recep. cards etc. 100 of them for as little as $97.If you use oriental trading and spend $60 you get free shipping with this coupon code WC86275 hope this all helps you have a great wedding without breaking the bank!!
One of the most pleasant receptions I’ve attended was held immediately following the ceremony in the church hall. The hall was nicely decorated. There was delicious food (if you have a big family, will they help with the food?). There was good conversation with friends. Our hosts had a harpist playing quiet background music during the reception. There were plenty of chairs, so we didn’t have to stand the whole time. It was just pleasant. There were no expensive extras. Just good food, enjoyable music, and pleasant conversation with friends. There was no alcohol (one, it was at a church . . . and two, it is just another way to keep costs down). I vote for keeping it simple. Make sure your guests are comfortable, and greet as many people as you can. That’s all that is really necessary.
If you want a “traditional” reception it’s going to cost you a lot of money…no way around it. However, if your willing to do something a little different then try this.
Don’t call it a “reception.” Call it a celebration party. (Or something like that.) Have a outdoor party an keep it very informal. Have a cookout or even a “Pot Luck.” Have games for the kids like badmitton or small blow up pool, or just toys for the kids to use. You could let people know you will provide a keg and if they want anything else to feel free to BYOB.
If you want to be a little more formal then that you can still have the party catered. Catering for a outdoor event, buffet style, is still a lot less expensive then a full sit down dinner at a stuffy hall. You can play your own music, hire a DJ or a band depending on your budget.
The most important thing is to have fun. Do what YOU want, not what you think others expect. It is your day, not theirs. I’ve been married twice. First time was the traditional ceremony and reception. Second time was an outdoor celebration. I can tell you everyone had a MUCH better time at the outdoor party.
Good luck to you
Even a very formal reception can be inexpensive if you give a tea rather than a meal. Of course, the ceremony and reception should be short. You can’t keep people more than three hours without providing substantial refreshments.
If it is informal, then go for a buffet with chicken and veg. If you serve each guest a premium ice cream treat (like a Dove bar) for dessert, they will forgive the thrifty menu for the main course.
Miss Manners’ books are good guides on how to give a tea, a dessert & champagne reception, etc.
You didn’t ask this, but another good way to keep costs down is to invite guests BY NAME. None of this “and guest” baloney that allows your guest to entertain a guest of his/her own choosing at YOUR expense. Each guest gets his/her very own invitation with his/her very own name on it, even children. (The excpetion is married or “darn near married” couples, which get a joint invitation.)
You can be as strict or as lax with the “no ring = no bring” rule as you wish. But if Cousin Clara’s new love interest is to be invited, find out his name and send him an invitation — no open ended “and guest” invites.
By eliminating all those strangers that you’ve never met (and probably will never see again), you will have more money to entertain people that you actually DO know and care about.
What I did for my daughters reception recently was rented a nice tent , it had removable sides, so that if the weather turned out bad we could keep them on and if it was sunny we could remove them. It was 20/40 ft in size, and there were more than 100 people, the same agency provided tables, chairs and white table clothes. We decorated them ourselves with things we picked up at a local ‘party store’ a place one can get decorations, which you might have in your area. I rented chafing dishes (4) for hot food, they are large stainless steel pans with a heating source. also from the party store, they were just a few dollars a piece to rent and they are rented out by the day. My daughter and I made up fruit and vegetable trays, and I cooked ribs and baked macaroni and cheeze and mashed potatos, these went in the heated pans, we made our own fruit punch and mixed in our favourite rum…the cost for it all was minimal, the most expense was the purchasing of the raw materials to cook, preparation of food which we started the previous day took less time than I had expected and once we served everything we had more than enough for everyone, the way I planned it was by piece count, number of people=2 pieces of each item or one large serving spoon of stuff like macaroni etc. When you go to buy meats go to a butcher shop instead of the local store, there you can get deals on quantity of items.
Alternatively, if you are short of money ask relatives to contribute towards purchasing some of the things you will be needing, And ask for their help in doing the preparation.
As to the venue, use the back or front yard of one of your family, its 100 times cheaper than a restaurant. Especially if you and your family pitch in and do the catering.
Have it at a local park.. there is usually only a small fee to use the pavillion or gazebo area. Find a local catering company who will serve and set up for you. You can rent a few tents..some tables, a dancefloor, and decorate yourself. BUT.. remember.. they close at dark.. ususally. The same idea can be used a the beach.
My cousin had their wedding in their big backyard. Food was prepared ahead of time by the family and it was one of the greatest, relaxed weddings yet.
And I am sure it saved them thousands…as the food/reception hall is the biggest expense.