It is becoming more and more popular to have wedding receptions at home. Not only is it a cheaper alternative to hiring a venue, you are almost always guaranteed to get the date you want! There are of course some decorating trends to think about so that you can make your home as inviting as you can for all of your wedding guests.
Utilise Your Garden
If you are planning on having your wedding reception outside in your garden then you can kill two birds with one stone. Who isn’t always going on about making the garden neat, tidy and presentable? Save money on your wedding by having it at your home, but at the same time spend money on your garden, something you will be able to keep.Plan well in advance and fill your garden with perennials and annuals, shrubs, ferns, raised beds and whatever you want. Choose plants of a suitable colour for your theme and make sure you choose those that will be in full bloom on your wedding day.
If possible hire a landscape gardener a year before the big day and get them design everything for you. The week of wedding get the grass cut and trimmed so that it looks neat and tidy.
Clean Up Your Home
Plan for unexpected weather. Just because you have planned to have your wedding reception in your garden doesn’t mean that will happen. Due to that use your wedding as an excuse to give the inside of your house a lick of paint. Any decorations that you were thinking of purchasing; think about how they could be used inside and out and utilise them accordingly.
Choose unique aspects of your house to feature. For example if you have a stunning staircase, an open fireplace or perhaps a large room focus most of your creative flow into this facet.
On the day make your garden and home look like a paradise with some of the current decorating trends:
Ribbons – hang ribbons on trees, bushes and even your garden fence to create an elegant backdrop. Dress up chairs, washing lines and sheds with multiple ribbons. You could make them a focal point by buying fabric markers and having your guests sign them like a guest book.
Inside hang them from the ceiling or perhaps around the bannister on your stairs.
Ornaments – Use a myriad of decorative ornaments, hang them from trees, plant them in flower beds or attach them to the back of chairs. You could even ask your guests to take one as your favours.
Flowers – Although you have no doubt brought your garden up to scratch on the plant front, there is nothing wrong with adding even more flowers. A popular way to do this is to attach small colourful buckets to chairs along aisles and fill them with flowers. Centre pieces always go down well. Fill tall vases with long stems or fill bowls with water and petals.
Lights – Having any special lighting at a wedding reception always creates an amazing effect. In your garden why not hang tea lights in mason jars from trees. Or light the way with a variety of solar lights planted in flower beds. You could event line garden fences with lanterns or fairy lights.
If you are hiring musical entertainment they may provide lighting, always ask as this may save you money.
Inside have a variety of candles placed strategically around the home. Have fairy lights around shelving, the bannister, the fireplace, even around doorways.
Chalkboards– These are ever so popular. Whether you just wish to welcome your guests or perhaps give some useful directions, chalkboards seem to be a big hit.
Bunting – Back in fashion is good old bunting. Available in a variety of different colour these can be strung anywhere.
Conclusion
