When you are organizing a budgeted menu, you have to first know what your exact budget is when it comes to the food and drink specifically. Some people keep the food and drinks separate, but usually, the food and drink are a part of the same bill.

If you can afford the more expensive catering services, then by all means enjoy. However, if you are like most of us, you will likely need a little bit of help in creating a menu that is fits your budget.
If you are hosting an indoor reception in a hall and plan to have a dinner option, you have to ensure that you cater for the needs of all of your guests which include vegetarians. You should request that the guests RSVP beforehand so that you can get the right amount of vegetarian plates.

The way that you choose to serve the dinners can vary. Here are some tips on how you can choose to serve the guests to make it a bit cheaper for you.
* You could serve the meals buffet style, with this option you can have people forego wedding gifts in favor of bringing a dish
* You could offer vegetable, fruit an meat platters with dips and crackers instead of foods
* You could ask each guest to contribute a small amount of money to the reception or to make donations toward the reception rather than buying a gift.
* You could offer a soup and salad menu rather than a full blown entrée
* Offer a limited bar which means that you offer an open bar only at specific times such as after dinner and during toasting etc. that way your guests aren’t paying and you won’t go broke, the reminder of the time offer a cash bar
* Offer around the world appetizers instead of a meal. This will give you the opportunity to offer fill ups such as crab, shrimp. Etc. as well as casual appetizers like cheese sticks, chicken wings, and mushroom caps etc. the around the world motif will also provide your party with a variety of different tastes.
* Request that each immediate family member provide a dish instead of a present
* Do not pay for extras like servers, bartenders etc. asking a friend or family member to do it instead as a wedding present to you

Outdoor receptions give you much freedom when selecting your menu because you can serve anything that you want including barbecue, long group submarine sandwiches or pizza.

As long as you offer foods that will cater for both carnivores and vegetarians, you will be fine. You can always find items to suit all of your needs and every budget as long as your budget is reasonable for the number of people that you are planning to serve. If it doesn’t fit, you may have to reduce the invite list.
And ask a friend or family member to act as your wedding MC more about their role and duties:
Wedding mc tips
Checklist for mc at wedding
Wedding emcee

Reception themes are a first rate way to personalize your reception. People often choose their themes based on their personalities and individual character. Some themes are based around hobbies and others are based around dreams and hopes.

No matter what type of theme that you choose for your reception, you can always find the right way to represent it. Some special themes for your reception include but are not limited to:
* Fairy Wonderland: Decorating in fairy’s wings, sheer fabrics draped around you, moss, and serving fine breads and appetizers as well as all things beautiful. This theme really allows the bride bring her childhood dreams to life. Music like Enya would be nice to listen to for this theme
* Ethnic traditions: This theme requires that you choose specialty foods and decorations from the ethnicity of your choice. For example, if you choose a Scottish theme, you would listen to fiddle and bagpipe music, dress in the Scottish fashion and do all things Scottish.
* Mexican fiesta: This fun theme can have you hitting a piñata, serving popular Mexican dishes, mixing a bit of Santa Fe decorative blankets for the walls and many other things. You can play mariachi music or Spanish guitars for this theme.
* Holiday themes: for example Valentines day
* Arabian Nights: Filling your reception hall with beautiful linens; letting your bridal party have costumes should they wish to. You can also serve Arabic foods or appetizers and pita breads etc. this theme is very versatile and fun.
* Greek Mythology: This theme can be geared toward a particular Greek saga or more popularly, guests can each come dressed as a particular Grecian of their choice. Greek foods like fresh fruits, wine, and other edibles of ancient Greece can be offered.
* Hawaiian: You can use your imagination to create any Hawaiian fantasy that you wish. You can give out fresh leis or artificial ones as wedding favors. You can serve fresh tropical island fruits such as pineapples and serve those cute tropical drinks with decorative umbrellas etc. Wherever your imagination takes you.
* Disney
* The Wild West: This theme can be as fun as you want. You can set up your reception area to look like an old saloon. You can have dancers give a burlesque show etc. You can do all kinds of fun things with this theme. You can also serve easy to create entrees like meatloaf or more expensive steaks etc. As long as you stick with your theme (leave out the shrimp cocktail) you can have a super time.

When it comes to themes, the possibilities are endless. Coming up with them can be much of the fun. After you have decided on your theme, you can brainstorm ideas to expand upon it for the decorations and foods.

The themes that have been touched upon here were designed to be as easy as possible, but they can be as fancy as you want.

Another way to minimize the cost of your reception is to ask a friend or family member to act as the wedding emcee. Discover more about the role and its duties:
Wedding mc
Wedding emcee
Role of mc at wedding

These days some brides desire long receptions that continue through the night and into the morning. If this is you, organizing a few activities and games for those long night time hours is required.

Generally, if an all-night wedding reception is planned, it goes something like this: the wedding is held in the early evening and reception follows. By about midnight, many of the wedding guests will have left and the group that is remaining (usually the younger guests, but not always) will stay on to enjoy the revelry into the early morning hours. At some point, breakfast will be offered and then everyone head home.

Why do you need activities and games for such a reception? The answer is simple. You need to keep everyone entertained through the long night. You have to provide them with a real party.

For starters, you must to be well organized about the activities and games you plan. Discuss with your wedding MC about these activities and games and leave it to him or her to keep things on a schedule.

Do not plan to cut the cake in the middle of the night. That activity should take place during the more traditional evening hours, so
those not planning to stay all night can still get to witness this ceremony.

Depending on your wedding guest list, you might hold off on the father-daughter waltz until after midnight, or you could save a few toasts for the late night hours. In any event, having some other fun activities and games is a great idea.

The wedding MC could bring in a piñata, which you can buy in various shapes including a bridal dress, a wedding ring or a champagne flute. It should be filled with goodies. Candy is always popular, but you could also fill it with silly toys found in party stores. Have the wedding MC introduce a spirited song and let wedding guests have a chance at the piñata. Do this on the dance floor and really let the guests have a swing at it. There should be lots of room. Once the piñata breaks open, everyone can enjoy a taste of sweet candy or can get some silly little carnival toy or game.

People who stay for the duration of the reception are going to need a rest. Arrange a photo presentation or video viewing. You could have someone who's familiar with PowerPoint put together a photo presentation or have someone put together a dvd of photos. Do this around 2.30 or 3 am and it should last a half hour to 40 minutes. This gives everyone an opportunity to sit down and relax and also allows the DJ and wedding emcee a chance to sit, have a rest and recharge the batteries for the next round.

In that same vein of permitting the guests some relaxation, one activity that some brides use is a non-activity. If the wedding is outdoors, you can provide inflatable mattresses and have some torches lit. If any guests want to sit down and relax, they can do so on the mattresses but still be part of the activity while resting.

If it's been a long day and a wedding guest wants to rest, those formal room chairs don't seem the most comfortable. If the reception is indoors, think about providing large pillows for guests to sit on or arrange a corner with inflatable mattresses and lots of fabric. This can be a chatting area where anyone can go to relax but still be part of the fun. They can chat and catch up with other guests and then head back for more party fun when they're recovered.

Learn more about the role of a wedding MC in these articles
Wedding mc
Wedding master of ceremonies
Wedding mc

Before you can have a wedding, there are many of consequence purchases that you need to do and decorating for wedding receptions are among the ultimate. Finding the chief wedding decorations is so of consequence since they can really set the tone for the wedding. That's why you want to make sure that you specify wedding decorations that are made of the chief possible calibre.

When choosing your wedding decorations, you need to first specify the type of wedding ceremony you are going to have. There are loads of types of weddings, from the most casual to the most formal and elaborate. Casual wedding decorations are not expedient for a formal wedding. Indistinguishably, formal wedding decorations would not look wonderful in a casual style wedding.

There are loads of places you can go to single out more information on the chief wedding decorations. Wedding planning guides and bridal magazines are a wonderful source of information so be sure to get some of them to help you specify the type of wedding decorations that will look wonderful on your wedding. You can also ask your friends or family members who have recently planned their weddings for tips on what you should get for your wedding. As a replacement, you can use the internet and access to tons of fruitful information on wedding decorations to help you make the decision.

Not every bride and groom wants to shut out children from their wedding. Many are very happy to welcome children to their wedding celebration both as members of the wedding party and as guests.

However, having children at the wedding creates countless problems.

Should you just leave the children to their own devices and hope they behave and don't get in the way? Or,do you organize a room with childcare so they are "present" but not too much under foot? Perhaps the best result is a combination of both, with a bit of fun built in.

If children are to be invited to the wedding, take into account the ages of the children. Babies will have to stay with a parent, for a variety of reasons. Therefore planning to have all the children in a separate room might not be workable. However if the children are toddlers up to about age twelve, you can arrange a separate room for them with childcare and make some activities available to them.

If the children will be in a separate room at the reception, you can provide a coloring table, perhaps a TV with an appropriate movie ready to roll, and , of course, some board games. That is probably sufficient for the duration of the wedding reception.

A few things to remember: you should have a ratio of at least 1 adult for every 5 children if the children are toddlers, or 1 adult to every 10 children if the children are older. Don't expect the children to just start getting involved in the activities on their own, but rather tell the childcare provider to get the children involved in the activities by taking part in them him or herself.

What if the children will be part of the wedding reception festivities? What activities can be aimed especially to children at the reception? There are plenty of things you can do, really. You can plan a coloring table at the rear of the reception hall or room. There, you can provide loads of paper, coloring books, markers and crayons. Paints are not advisable, for obvious reasons, and moms will be grateful if you remember to provide the children with washable markers and crayons only.

The art table can be for more than just coloring, however. Purchase a giant bag of pipe cleaners. Children can amuse themselves for ages, making animals, odd figures and such like. Make sure there are at least 25 or more pipe cleaners for every child, however, as children can go through these quickly. Also, think about "clean" clay, the new products that don't stick to anything and don't leave a trace on furniture. With some different colors, children can make a variety of figures, faces or forms.

Some brides like to plan more formally for their small wedding guests. There are several options if this is the path you wish to take. One very popular option is to organize paid entertainment on hand solely for the children. This can take place in a different room or toward the rear of the reception room or hall if it's very large and the guest list is big. You can hire a balloon artist or clown. Or you can have someone provide temporary tattoos or braid the childrens’ hair. If there is a separate room available, you can even hire a children's musician to The choices are endless.

If no plans are arranged for the children, but they arrive at the reception expecting entertainment, you'll have to make some arrangements. One possibility is a "child only" dance, which allows only the children on the dance floor. This is not only delightful to watch, and could be entertaining too, but it will bring a smile to the face of every grandmother and grandpa present.

Have a word with your wedding emcee about planning some party games and activities that are suitable for both children and adults.

Other wedding emcee articles which maybe of interest:
Duties of a wedding mc
Wedding master of ceremonies
How to mc at wedding

Dancing is a requisite component at most wedding festivities. We look forward to for the couple's first waltz and not forgetting the bride's special waltz with her father. It's also an opportunity to let go and have some fun, whether you're a wedding guest or one of the official wedding party.

But the wedding emcee can add some fun by including fun activities to the dance floor. And no this take on the "Bunny Hop", which may be essential but is hardly unique.

But there are many other fun activities the wedding mc can include in the dance floor activities that are sure to be a success.

Try a jolly game of the "chicken dance". Okay, so that doesn't sound that original. But if most of the guests are just sitting at their tables, watching a few brave couples dancing you might want to get many more guests up and having fun. Here’s a game you could try.

The MC announces a number. Everyone looks under his or her chair, where there is a number. Depending on the number of guests at the wedding, there could only be numbers "1" and "2" or more, up to 5.

So, say the MC announces number "4". Everybody looks under their chair to see what their number is. Thenumbers can be written simply on a piece of masking tape and fastened to the bottom of the seats when the reception is being set up. Everybody with a number 4 will go onto the dance floor to do the chicken dance with the other "4s". Not only does this get the guests and wedding party out of their seats and on to the dance floor, but they get the chance to mix with other wedding guests they might not otherwise mix with.

Another fun activity to get everybody onto the dance floor, and that includes even the very shy, is something you can refer to as the "snowball" dance. This is an excellent way to jumpstart the dancing at the beginning of the evening.

So what is the “snowball” dance?The MC invites the wedding party, bride and groom included, to head to the dance floor for a fun dance. The music for this dance should have a fairly fast beat, maybe something with a disco beat or a upbeat song that most guests will instantly recognize. After a bit of wedding party dancing, the music will stop. Then the female members of the wedding party go in amongst the guests and bring back one male each. The male wedding party members do the same, but they come back with female guests. The dancing then starts again. This is repeated until all the guests are on the dance floor. It's truly a snowball effect!

To learn more about the role of a wedding mc check out these articles:
Duties of mc at wedding
Wedding mc tips
Wedding emcee

When a bride chooses her bridal bouquet, it it may not occur to her that any "activities" will come from it other than as something for the bride to hold. But the bridal bouquet can be the source of many amusing activities and meaningful gestures.

If the bride decides not to have a unity candle, but wants some gesture like it, she could have her bridal bouquet designed by putting together several small bouquets. At a suitable moment during the festivities, the wedding bouquet is "broken up" and various people might receive a portion, such as the mothers and grandmothers of the happy couple.

So, if the bride wants to hold onto onto her bridal bouquet during the wedding ceremony, but is amenable to have some fun with it at the festivities, there are a few options there as well. How about a dance connected with the bridal bouquet? This is silly, but fun. The wedding bouquet is displayed near the dance floor and the wedding guests must guess a flower that's part of the bouquet before they are allowed onto the dance floor. The first few guests might not have any difficulty as some flowers are very popular, like roses and tulips, but others might give the wedding guests trouble. It will be obvious, this cannot work if the wedding bouquet is all roses or some other single and obvious flower but for a traditional assorted floral bouquet, it works well.

When it is time for the bride to throw the bouquet, there are several options. Some brides elect not to hold onto their bouquet and just pull out a single flower out of it before flinging the whole arrangement during the bouquet tossing ceremony bunch of flowers set aside for tossing, and there are other choices too.

Are there a plenty of unattached women coming to the wedding? Maybe a single tossed bouquet is not adequate. Many brides these days are opting for something a little more fun. There are several alternatives, really.

One fashionable choice is to have the florist to arrange a few small bouquets and then bundle them to look like a single bouquet. They are bound lightly with a ribbon. When it is time for the ceremony of the tossing of the bouquet, the bride simply loosens the ribbon, and lobs the "bouquet" which is really a few small bouquets. That means several women will catch the bouquet, rather than just one.

Long before the big day the wedding emcee must discuss with the forthcoming bride exactly what ceremonies she would like to have in connection with the bridal bouquet. This should be agreed along with all the other duties the bridal couple want the wedding emcee to perform at the wedding reception.

Then it’s time to plan and organize for the role of wedding emcee.

Other articles
duties of a wedding mc
how to mc wedding
wedding mc

Would you accept an offer of employment without knowing what was involved? No I’m sure you wouldn’t. So why do so many accept a request from one of their family or a close friend to be their wedding emcee without giving a thought to what's required in the role of mc at a wedding function?

Being the emcee is unpaid but nevertheless it is still a job. After all the wedding mc has to ensure the reception runs smoothly. That does not just happen. It requires detailed planning and organizing. Do you have theaptitudes for that?

The first thing you should do is arrange a meeting with the happy couple and ascertain your spin[responsibilities|duties[/spin]. There is no set role of master of ceremonies at a wedding so you need to know specifically what yours will be. It’s best to get this in writing so as to avoid any possible disagreements later on.

So what are the typical duties of a mc at a wedding? They may involve:

* lending a hand to show the bridal party to their position in the receiving line;
* announcing the arrival of the bride and groom;
* introducing yourself and explaining your role as the master of ceremonies for the festivities;
* formally welcoming the guests to the festivities;
* inviting the guests to take their seats for the serving of dinner;
* introducing the head table;
* introducing each speaker (including those giving a toast). Learn wedding master of ceremonies tips for introducing the speakers;
* inviting the bride and groom to cut the cake;
* announcing the first waltz;
* encouraging all the single girls to gather round for the tossing of the bride’s bouquet;
* arranging some party games suitable for all;
* inviting the guests to form a guard of honor for the exit of the bridal;
* letting the guests know when the reception will close; and
* saying farewell to the guests.

Speaking in public is said to create alarm and terror in many. It does not have to be. Follow these wedding emcee tips for public speaking.

The role of wedding mc is a very important one. Get it wrong and the reception could be notable for all the wrong reasons. Think I’m exaggerating? Check out the ways in which an ill prepared wedding emcee can create shambles. These are errors you clearly do not want to duplicate.

Doing your homework is the key to being an accomplished wedding master of ceremonies. Knowing you have thoroughly planned and organized everything helps to reduce the big day jitters. This will help you revel in the whole experience.

What are the different types of wedding favors? Well there are many different types of wedding favor that will be great for your wedding reception.

wedding favor come in many different shapes, sizes, colors and themes. There are beach wedding favors that will be great for any destination wedding. Some common beach wedding favor are listed below:

Handpainted Beach Ball Bottle Stopper Wedding Favor:
Life's a beach…or at least your event will be with these classic symbols of seaside fun! A clever and fun-filled favor that is both practical yet whimsical. Guaranteed to bring a punch of color to your party tables, it is the perfect favor to remind your guests that they had a ball at your event! This favor is accented with a kaleidoscope of colors in a clear gift box and matching "For You" beach ball tag. Stopper fits any standard size wine bottle and is a practical gift guests will love. These beach favors are will make an excellent addition to any destination wedding.

Elegant Chrome Luggage Tag Favor:

Having a destination wedding? Make sure your guests travel with class! Give them these sophisticated luggage tags complete with a beautifully engraved heart. These luggage tags not only serve as the perfect favor for your guests but they can double as place card holders. You may choose to insert each guest's name and table number in the window. Sleek and stylish, the luggage tags come with a black leather strap and arrive boxed with a pre-tied organza bow, ready for giving. This chrome luggage tag is great for destination weddings.

Some different types of Candle Wedding Favors:

Snowflake Gel Candle:

Picture glittering snowflakes floating to earth from a clear-blue winter sky, then magically becoming an astonishing winter wonderland. That dream-like image comes enchantingly alive in Kate Aspen’s Snowflake Gel Candle, making it a “must-have” favor for any winter event. The ice-blue gel, sparkling with silver glitter, fills a uniquely shaped glass container with a dazzling, silver-studded snowflake embedded on the front. This 3” x 2.75” x 1.5” gem is an ideal illustration of winter’s majesty and your distinctive style. The clear gift box arrives complete with a lovely silver-and-white organza ribbon and "For You" gift tag. This candle favor makes an excellent addition to any winter wedding day decor.

These are just a few of the many different types of wedding favors that there are to choose from. So just take your time and choose the favors that are great for your wedding day.

Planning your wedding is not only draining and time consuming, but it is also difficult to stay within your budget. This is really your special day to shine and you want it to be perfect, but you have to remember that a lot of things can get way too out of hand and you might end up with a bill that you just do not have the money for. You do not want to start off your marriage with financial problems so you should definitely try making sure that you can find the best deals of dining hall rentals, fees for your guests, decorations, and cheap wedding favors.

Things like wedding favor, place card holders, table decorations, and anything else that you have to order in bulk can really become expensive fast if you are not conscious of getting good deals. I will tell you a big secret to finding cheap wedding favors and that is to really just be dedicated and to try shopping not only in different stores but also on different online sites. A store front is not always the best way to find a deal, because a lot of times there are much better offers for you out there and you just have to look a little bit harder to find them.

Place card holders are wonderful because they are functional decorations. You can choose really elegant place card holders and frames that match your theme but they will always be useful to you in addition to what they do to enhance your décor. The reason they are really useful is because you can put the names of your guests in them so that they will know where to sit when they walk in the door. You can use one in the center to have the table number and that can definitely be useful too. You can even try putting in photos or personal messages to make these card holders a bit more of a prized keepsake for your guests.

Horse Coach Place Card Frame:

This is a horse drawn carriage and really goes well with a fantasy or royal type theme. It is a bit reminiscent of Cinderella, which is a really romantic story and can add a lot to your wedding reception. The resin frame has a bright finish on it that will really bring a little bit of sparkle and brilliance to each and every table that it sits on. Your guests will love this classy place card holder that can double as a wedding favor for them because they will be really excited to display it in their own home.

Gold Place Card Frame with Stones:

This is a really classic looking place card holder and it is done over in a gold finish, which makes it seem very regal and sophisticated. The stones add a nice touch because it makes it seem even more elegant and your guests will feel like you are spoiling them. This is a fantastic way to make your guests feel appreciated and to save money at the same time.

Get your wedding favors now!