My Daughters getting married, do any of you have any advice or ideas?

[I LOVE COCHINS]

Wow, You

are all amazing! Thanks so much for all the great info and ideas. Schultz thanks for sharing one of your wedding pictures. lovely.
Where they're getting married is on private property (On a beautiful mountain ranch where she grew up). We have tents, chairs and linens ordered. I didn't know about walmart making wedding cakes. I love the picture frame mat and fan ideas.

I can't wait to share these great ideas with my Daughter. Keep the advice and ideas coming.
Thanks again.

 

[Whispering Winds]

I would check to see if someone local does cakes, because around here I don't think the Wal-Marts don't set them up for you . . . but private cake people will, and they are usually cheaper too. When our daughter got married four years ago, the lady did the three tier cake for $60 and it was going to be over $135 at WM when it was all said and done. The $1 stores are fantastic for finding bowls and stuff, I did them for our son's wedding with crystal stones in them with a lavender candle and navy blue alternately . . .very pretty. I also saw favors at the $1 store a couple of weeks ago too. . . that is what kills you. My neice had sewing kits like matchbooks at her wedding, which was nice and practical. . .the fans sound great too!! We have a rental supply store that is dirt cheap, and I rented the arch, the columns, the ferns, lights and everything for $125. Had to go get them and do them myself, but they are light and easy to manage. . .the white lights to me, add so much "pretty" to weddings, I love them with white tulle puffed around, and Ivy intermingled. Good Luck. I love the outdoor weddings, but the one suggestion about a back up plan is a good one~~~

 

[Buckguy20]

Shoot the groom and don't worry about planning the wedding.

 

[friendlyearth]

Oh my BuckGuy20 is tooo funny!

Forget the guests and use the $$ for house down payment or really nice honeymoon.

My sister made my cake which saved a bunch.

Don't forget to use a chicken for the ring bearer!

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

Dont know where you are. But BUG SPRAY!!!!!

We got married May 4th 2001 out doors at 6pm and we forgot to supply bug spray to our guests. Nor did we remember it for ourselves or the attendants.

Luckily the photographers were prepared.

My photographer and dj were from the same company and OMG they were wonderful. The head photographer was more help than my maid of honor when it came to my bustle. I have a picture of the head photographer fixing my bustle while I am talking to some guests.

 

[ChevygirlBeth]

I'm glad that you do have tents planned. We had an outdoor wedding and we ended up having one heck of a storm that hit right after the ceremony and pictures. The tent for the wedding was nice because it was hot before the storm and provided some shade and the tent for reception was helpful since it stormed during the beginning of the reception (actually the storm blew the tent down, but our wonderful family and friends had it set back up and tied off to pickup trucks just in case by the time we arrived!).

Invitations can be very expensive. I bought DIY invites at Pat Catan's (a craft store) on clearance and printed my own for cheaper than it would have been to order some. I loved being able to personalize them with a my own drawing, too.

Don't drive yourself crazy over favors. A lot of the things people commonly use for favors at the reception end up being thrown away. Not everyone wants a trinket with the bride and groom's name and wedding date on it. Favors aren't required, but if you do them, I suggest you stick with something edible/useful. We made chocolates in the shapes of tractors, hearts, and daisies for our wedding favors and they were a big hit! The fans would also be a great idea and the guests would definitely appreciate them if it is hot.

Don't spend a lot of money on extra flowers and decorations for an outdoor wedding - more than likely it is already a beautiful setting. Keep the decorations minimal so that they accent the natural beauty rather than taking away from it.

If there is going to be a bit of a wait in between the ceremony and reception while pictures are being taken, it is a good thing to have some food to tide the guests over. We had fruit and veggie trays available for our guests. I know at our weddings we have attended, we always appreciate being able to eat something while we're waiting for the wedding party to make their entrance.

We got married last June on my husband's grandparent's farm with about 300 guests and spent around $4300 on everything.