Wedding Reception Decorations - Guidelines To Follow

Before you decide on your wedding reception decorations, you're going to have to do some planning. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Does your wedding have a theme? Themed weddings can be a lot of fun for everyone involved. Some popular themes are black & white, Valentine's Day, garden party, country & western, beach and medieval.

What's your budget and how many people are you expecting? The number of guests and the amount of money you have to spend will have a big impact on how extravagant your decorations will be. Keep in mind that while table decorations and favors seem inexpensive, the totals add up quickly when you have a large number of guests.

Where are you holding your reception? Your choice of venue will have a lot to do with deciding on your decorations. A country club wedding will be decorated much differently than a beach side barbecue.

If you decide not to use a theme for your wedding, you'll need to choose a color or two to focus on. Many brides find floral catalogs inspiring or you might want to browse through wedding magazines and take note of the color combinations that catch your eye.

Here's an example of how one bride decorated for her informal Valentine's Day wedding. The reception was held in a large Victorian home. The dining area was decorated with bouquets of red heart-shaped mylar balloons with alternating red and white ribbons. The balloons were held in place with a weighted base covered in metallic red tissue paper.

On the walls were dried flower arrangements purchased from a garden catalog. What's so lovely about this idea is the bride was able to keep the decorations after the wedding and use them in her new home.

A friend of mine helped a bride put together her very low budget wedding reception in a small Mexican restaurant. They started with white and peach paper tablecloths to cover the tables. Then they added a clear glass bowl in the center of each table with 4 or 5 peach floating candles. The effect was really pretty.

Another fun addition to this reception was the disposable camera that was placed on each table. The idea was for the guests to use the camera to take candid shots and then leave the camera on the table at the end of the evening. Once they returned from their honeymoon, the bride and groom had a great time looking through all the casual photos their friends and family had taken.

Many of the items you need to decorate can be found at discount stores, craft stores and online. Once you decide on your theme and your colors, you're ready to go. Plan it out in advance and your wedding reception decorations will be fantastic!

Melinda Barton is an Internationally recognized wedding planner and author of the book Wedding Planning Secrets. She has given several TV and radio appearances and is passionate about helping everyone succeed in their desire to have the best wedding through simple and easy to use wedding planning secrets.